[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H1744-H1745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GOP FRESHMEN ANNOUNCE GOVERNMENT REFORM PLANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to take this 
opportunity to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the 
approval of House bill 728, which will in fact give us the opportunity 
to increase the number of police officers on the street, as well as 
have those outstanding crime prevention programs that we want for each 
of their districts, whether it is town watch, the drug court, working 
with senior citizens and their protection, child protection, community 
policing. This will give, in the block grants, the opportunity for 
every single person to be involved in forward-thinking programs that 
will give maximum public safety.
  Another important event took place in the Capitol which I wish to 
bring to the attention of all the Members.
  Mr. Speaker, today at a press conference, I joined other freshman 
Republicans in an attempt to return the power of government back to the 
States and local governments. The freshman leaders are proposing the 
elimination of four Federal bureaucracies--the Departments of Commerce, 
Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Education. The proposal calls 
for the phasing out of these Departments, privatizing some of their 
duties and transferring important remaining duties to other Government 
agencies and the States.
  This group of freshman Members of Congress has been meeting since the 
beginning of the 104th Congress to develop their reform proposals. 
Citizens across the country are crying out for an end to big Government 
meddling in every aspect of society. The proposal is step one in 
completing the agenda set forth by the people.
  The time for talking about a smaller, more efficient Government has 
ended. Now is the time for action. Last November the people sent a 
message to Washington, DC--they want a smaller, less intrusive 
Government and we intend to give them just that.
  While there are no specific pieces of legislation drafted at this 
point, four task forces have been formed to begin writing legislation 
to carry out the proposed reforms. The task force will examine 
consolidating some programs, privatizing others and eliminating those 
that can not be justified. The goal of the group is to submit 
legislation in the spring of 1995.
  Created in 1965 to deal with the burgeoning urban city crisis, HUD 
and other Federal departments have since spent more than $5 trillion in 
human assistance. Unfortunately, despite this spending, the Nation's 
urban problems are actually worse than they were in 1965.
  With a total annual outlay approaching $30 billion we need to make 
sure the truly needy are being helped. Despite its failures, HUD is one 
of the fastest growing departments in terms of discretionary spending 
with a 9 percent annual growth rate.
  [[Page H1745]] We aren't proposing these cuts out of partisan 
hostility. In fact, we hope this will be a bipartisan effort. We 
propose these cuts because we can no longer afford well-meaning but 
failed programs and if you examine the sum result of the Departments of 
Energy, Commerce, Education and HUD, the record is one of failure.
  Thomas Jefferson once said, ``I place economy among the first and 
important * * * virtues and public debt as the greatest dangers to be 
feared.`'
  For fiscal 1994, the interest on the national debt was $203 billion 
and, under the Clinton plan, will rise to $309 billion in the year 
2000--a 50-percent increase in interest payments. ``Those kind of 
staggering statistics call for decisive measures such as the one we are 
proposing. We need to seek ways to empower people and make them less 
dependent on Government. We must be dramatic and brave if we are to 
stop mortgaging our children's future.


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