[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 180 (Tuesday, November 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H12195-H12196]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        END TO BUSINESS AS USUAL

  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Madam Speaker, Winston Churchill once observed that 
sometimes doing our best is not enough. Sometimes we have to do what is 
required.
  A little over 1 year ago the voters of this Nation went to the polls, 
and I think they sent a very unmistakable message to this Capitol and 
to the people who were elected to serve them.
  I think the message was clear: They wanted an end to business as 
usual; they wanted to put the Federal Government on a diet; they wanted 
to lift the burden of senseless regulation; they wanted to allow 
families to keep and spend more of their earnings. Finally, and perhaps 
most important, they wanted us, for the first time in more than two 
decades, to balance the Federal budget.
  Madam Speaker, from the very first day, this Congress, this House, 
and indeed this majority, has done its best to keep its faith with the 
American people. We have done what is required.
  We accomplished much in the very first day. We made the Congress live 
by the same rules as everybody else. We downsized the staff. We have 
made enormous attempts to open up the process so that the 
committee meetings are open to the public. We eliminated the process 
whereby committee chairmen could have all of the votes lined up and no 
one even showed up for committee meetings. We have opened up this 
process and changed the way this Congress does business from the very 
first day.

  We have marshaled through smoke screens of the defenders of the 
status quo, and during the flak from the media elites and the firestorm 
of special interests. We have been subjected to half truths, 
distortions, and indeed, bald-faced lies.
  For example, we are being accused today of cutting Medicare, of 
cutting school lunch, of eliminating student loans, when the other 
folks who say this know that these are not true. As a matter of fact, 
when one talks about Medicare, we are increasing Medicare by over 45 
percent over the next 7 years. The average Medicare recipient will go 
from $4,800 this year to $6,700 in only 7 years.
  As a matter of fact, recently a poll came back and when Americans 
were informed that we are actually talking about increasing Medicare 
from $4,800 per recipient to $6,700 per recipient, 63 percent of the 
people, when informed of that, said that we are raising Medicare too 
much. School lunch, and some will recall we had this debate earlier 
this year, was being cut, but in fact, the truth is school lunch 
programs will increase, nutrition programs will increase by over 35 
percent over the next 7 years.
  I wonder how many of our college students actually know that the 
total appropriations for school loans will increase by 47 percent over 
the next 7 years.
  We are also being accused of doing all of these very mean-spirited 
things in order to pay for a tax cut for the rich. Again, anyone who 
has studied the issue more than 10 minutes knows that this is simply 
not true. As a matter of fact, our $500 per child tax credit for 
families will go to benefit mostly families earning under $75,000 a 
year. As a matter of fact, 74 percent of the benefits of that tax 
credit program will go to benefit those earning less than $75,000 a 
year.
  More important, when they talk about tax cuts for the rich, 
frequently what they are really talking about is an increase of cutting 
the capital gains tax rate. But the truth of the matter is, even there, 
and particularly people back in the Midwest know this, that 44 percent 
of the people who get stuck paying a capital gains tax are rich for 1 
day, the day they sell their farm, the day they sell their business, or 
the day they sell an investment which they have been holding and paying 
taxes on, in many cases for a long period of time.
  Madam Speaker, 3 years ago our President campaigned promising to 
downsize the Federal Government, to end welfare as we know it, to 
reform and save the Medicare system. He promised tax cuts for the 
middle class, and he promised to balance the budget within 5 years. He 
has not kept his promises. What is worse than that, and particularly on 
behalf of many of my 

[[Page H 12196]]
freshmen colleagues, he is keeping us from keeping our promises.
  It is unfortunate that this impasse has been reached and that 
nonessential Federal employees are being sent home, but it would be a 
tragedy of historic proportions if we were to back down now on our 
commitment to keep the promises that we made and to keep the promises 
that he made.
  Madam Speaker, we must not turn back now. I think the American people 
are counting on us to keep our promises, to do what we said, to change 
the way Government does business and to make the Government live within 
its means.

                          ____________________