[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H11788-H11789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        IT IS TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. Speaker, when this historic Congress convened, a number of us in 
the new majority promised our constituents that we would work hard to 
eliminate wasteful Federal agencies that cater to special interests. 
Soon we will have an opportunity to do just that by eliminating the 
Department of Commerce.
  The Commerce Department, which was ostensibly created to promote 
American business interests, has evolved into a mish-mash of 
ineffective 

[[Page H 11789]]
and outmoded programs which soak the American taxpayer for hundreds of 
millions of dollars while providing precious little in return.
  We promised we would balance the budget, not by raising taxes but by 
cutting wasteful spending. This is a perfect example, the Department of 
Commerce, of wasteful spending.
  Mr. Speaker, we have to crack down on corporate welfare, and the 
Department of Commerce is a good place to begin. It is little more than 
a welfare department for big corporations. We should have the courage 
to eliminate it.

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