[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H3130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CAN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICA?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Wamp] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to ask a series of questions 
and to make some statements, and the first question is: Can the Federal 
Government solve the problems of America? You know, I asked that 
question as I campaigned for the last 4 years.
  I really believe the average person out there is this country does 
not think for a minute that the Federal Government is going to solve 
the problems that we have in this country, and there is a tremendous 
amount of misinformation and disinformation.
  I returned to Washington today from Chattanooga, TN, my home, and I 
can tell you from being there this weekend that this issue has outraged 
so many people who know better and know that there is some untruth 
being told. The words ``cutting'' and ``eliminating'' are being used 
over and over again on editorial pages all across this country. It has 
gotten so out of hand that small children are writing letters to 
Members of Congress, I am sure at the instruction of their teachers or 
maybe even their parents, saying, ``Mr. Congressman, please, don't cut 
my lunches. Please, don't eliminate the food from my table.''

                              {time}  1945

  And another question I have tonight is, who is actually taking 
advantage of children here? When you ask small children who don't know 
any better to write a letter to their Congressman with the threat that 
you are going to take food off of their plate in front of them and they 
are not explaining to these children what the truth is.
  You know block grants is what we are talking about. Decentralization 
is what we are talking about. It is a recognition that things are not 
working, things have not been working. Federal Government got too big, 
too powerful, out of control. It is outrageous, and we are trying to 
block grant these dollars back to the State and the local governments.
  You know, Al Harris runs the Chattanooga housing authority in my home 
city, and does an outstanding job there. They are concerned. Let me 
tell you what he says about block grants. He says block grants work. He 
says, ``Send the money down, unleash the shackles. We got too many 
rules, too many regulations, too much bureaucracy. Send us the money. 
We can produce.'' He looks at this as a good thing, as decentralizing 
the
 Federal Government and sending the money on down.

  I heard in church Sunday morning a teacher in Hamilton County, 
Tennessee, said, We have got problems with school lunch programs. Those 
people who are in need are not getting the services because people who 
do not qualify are abusing the system. People are applying for and 
receiving free lunches in our schools and they drive up in about BMW's 
to let their kids off in the morning. You know why that happens? 
Because this is a big Federal bureaucracy micromanaged out of 
Washington, DC, and every time we have turned these programs over to 
the Federal Government they have got out of hand. Fraud sets in and 
money is wasted and people do without.
  In about 2 weeks, this House, I believe this majority, will vote to 
put $500 in the pocket of every child in this country whose parents are 
working and paying taxes. That is the kind of child relief--that is the 
kind of child support that we need to be engaged in, and there is more 
help on the way. We are sending this money back to the States. We are 
not cutting or eliminating anything, and my colleagues have said that 
over and over again.
  What I think this really boils down to is whether or not we trust our 
State and our local governments, because I do not believe the liberals 
in this country will acknowledge that our States and our local 
governments have done a better job than we have done up here in 
Congress for the last 30 years.
  You know, they are balancing their budgets at home. They are 
responsible. They have got their priorities in order. They are not 
about to go out and borrow money with a credit card like these voting 
cards here. The worst and most expensive credit card in the history of 
the world here is the credit card that Members of Congress use to vote 
in this Chamber, moneys that they do not have, and it is out of hand. 
We have got to do something about it.
  So let us send the money back to the responsible governments, the 
State and the local governments. I know in my home State that our 
governor and our State legislature is going to do the right thing with 
these moneys when we block grant them back there, and if your program 
is good, you will get more money, not less money, through block grants 
and then you won't have the Federal Government breathing down your 
throat on everything.
  I want to close with a statement I know you have heard before but we 
need to remember it right now, 1995, while this country is at risk. A 
government big enough to give you everything you want is a government 
big enough to take from you everything you have.
  Patriotic, freedom-loving Americans need to recognize that our 
Federal Government is out of control. We have got more government than 
our Founding Fathers ever wanted. We have got more government on a 
Federal level, more micromanagement, more bureaucrats, more waste, 
fraud and abuse than I ever wanted to deal with, and we are up here 
trying to do something about it and they are not telling the truth.
  Now, if we are going to have a legitimate dialog in this country 
about what is best for our children and our future, let us at least be 
honest. We are not running campaigns anymore. That comes up next year. 
You know, we knew when we got into it you would not tell the truth 
about us in our campaigns. That is part of campaigning. This is 
lawmaking. This is serious business.
  Let us at least tell the country the truth on this issue of block 
grants because this is the beginning of downsizing the Federal 
Government, returning the power and the money to the States that have 
acted responsibly.


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