[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 27, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H9508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         REFLECTIONS ON THE 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONTRACT

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, it has been 1 year since House Republicans 
stood on the west front of the Capitol and promised to change 
dramatically the way Congress works. We signed a contract that said 
that we will bring to the floor 10 legislative priorities important to 
the American people. We brought those bills to the floor and passed 
nine of them. We kept our promises. We proved that politicians can tell 
the truth. We proved that real change is possible in Washington.
  Mr. Speaker, Rome was not built in a day, and completely reforming 
the Congress will take more than 1 year. But we have made great 
strides.
  This fall we will focus on four issues critical to our Nation's 
future: We will pass a budget that balances in 7 years; we will 
strengthen and protect the Medicare system; we will get tax relief to 
families who need to have more money to raise their children; and we 
will reform welfare to give folks a hand up and not a handout.
  Columnist David Broder has called this Congress ``a rout of historic 
proportions.'' Is it not amazing what can happen when you keep your 
promises to the American people?

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