[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 128 (Thursday, August 3, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8312-H8313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PHILADEPHIA'S EXAMPLE

  (Mr. SANFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SANFORD. Madam Speaker, the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight held a field hearing in early July in Cleveland. Amongst 
those who gave testimony were the mayor of Philadelphia, Edward 
Rendell.
  Madam Speaker, I was fascinated by his story because 3\1/2\ years ago 
Philadelphia stood at the brink of financial disaster. They were a 
quarter of a billion dollars in debt. Their bonds had 

[[Page H 8313]]
been rated junk. Vendors as lowly as toilet paper suppliers said, ``No 
more. We are not dealing with Philadelphia.''
  They had lost 30 percent of their tax base. Taxes had gone up 19 
times over the last 11 years. Yet today, Madam Speaker, the city enjoys 
a $29 million surplus. They have investment-grade bonds. For the first 
time since World War II, they have had a tax cut.
  How did they do it? One, they created an entrepreneurial environment 
wherein government was to view customers as king, and in this case, the 
taxpayer was to be king. Two, they were to spend government dollars as 
if they were their own.
  Madam Speaker, if Philadelphia can do that, I think America and the 
Federal Government can do that.


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