[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2130
     REPUBLICANS SHOULD TAKE NOTICE OF ELECTION RESULTS IN VIRGINIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bilbray). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Payne] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PAYNE of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, the Commonwealth of Virginia held 
an election yesterday, and the Republicans in this House ought to sit 
up and take notice at the results. Yesterday's outcome says a lot about 
the direction of this country, our priorities here in Congress, and 
public attitudes about the Republican tax cut.
  George Allen, who is our State's Republican Governor, tried to make 
the election a referendum on his program of tax cuts. Under the 
Governor's plan, which was proposed and debated during this year's 
General Assembly session, deep tax cuts would be paid for by slashing 
spending for a host of vital public programs.
  The Governor proposed $2.1 billion in long-term tax reductions, but 
only identified $400 million in spending cuts to pay for them. Future 
Governors would have been left to make the cuts that would have been 
necessitated by the Governor's tax plan.
  And when it comes to the $400 million in spending cuts Governor Allen 
did specify, here is what was in the Governor's plan:
  $10.5 million designed to keep students from dropping out of school;
  $3.2 million designed to help low-income students finish high school;
  $1.3 million for child health clinics;
  $7.3 million for 4-H programs;
  More than $90 million total for education, including Virginia's 
colleges and universities.
  And on and on it goes. And when the Democratic majorities said no to 
this agenda, the Governor called them obstructionist. He pledged an all 
out effort to defeat the Democrats at the polls. And that is exactly 
what he attempted to do.
  Does that sound familiar? Deep tax cuts that are paid for by deep 
cuts in important programs?
  This is exactly the course that this House is following right now in 
the Republican Budget Reconciliation Act.
  The people of Virginia got a good look at the Allen plan, and despite 
the Governor's tireless campaigning, they rejected his extreme program 
by a big margin.
  They defied the odds and kept the Virginia General Assembly, in 
Democratic hands.
  Under the leadership of the Democratic Party, in the General Assembly 
Virginia enjoys a balanced budget, a triple A bond rating, and the 
reputation as one of the best fiscally managed States in the country. 
We will yield to no State in our belief in fiscal conservatism. But our 
citizens know that a tax cut that will give them a few dollars more 
each month isn't worth diminished colleges and universities, reductions 
in law enforcement, cuts in health care programs.
  The message from yesterday is clear: people want responsible 
government, not a radical program that will gut programs that educate 
our children, protect our seniors, and help to make our communities 
strong. They also demand fiscal responsibility.
  Having had the opportunity to personally campaign with many of our 
Virginia candidates, I am more convinced than ever that the course we 
are pursuing here in Congress is wrong. A budget reconciliation act 
that cuts Medicare, Medicaid, and other domestic initiatives just to 
pay for a $245 billion tax cut sounds a lot like the Republicans' 
program in Virginia. And we see how far it got them.
  It's a lesson that we ought to learn here in Washington.

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