[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 28, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H13666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN IS UNFAIR

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have been very critical of the Republican 
budget plan because I believe that it cuts Medicare in order to provide 
major tax breaks primarily for wealthy Americans. This of course is 
disputed by some of the Republican leaders, most notably the gentleman 
from Texas [Mr. Archer], who is the chairman of the Republican, or in 
this case, the House Committee on Ways and Means, the tax-cutting 
committee.
  The New York Times last week put out an editorial based on the 
Treasury Department's figures. Basically the Treasury Department shows 
that in fact the tax breaks are primarily for the wealthy in this 
Republican bill.
  It says in the New York Times editorial that the Treasury estimated 
that the richest 1 percent would rake in almost twice as much, or 17 
percent of the tax cut under the bill. Indeed, under the Republican 
bill the poorest 20 percent of families, taken as a group, would pay 
higher taxes as a percentage of their income. The Treasury figures are 
solid evidence that the Republican tax cut is heavily weighted toward 
the rich.
  As we proceed over the next 2 weeks in this budget battle, in 
negotiating a compromise, I am very hopeful that we will see a lot of 
money brought back into Medicare, to make sure that the Medicare 
Program is viable, and that we cut back on these tax breaks for wealthy 
Americans. It is not fair to cut Medicare and essentially destroy it at 
the expense of the average American in order to finance tax breaks 
primarily for those wealthier members among us.

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