[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H1493-H1494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TAX RELIEF FOR ALL AMERICANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kim). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from 
Arizona.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. I thank my good friend from Pennsylvania, and again 
just to reemphasize, the notion of tax relief for all Americans is 
something that is not selfish. It is just simply this realization: that 
that single mother with three children receiving or able to hang onto 
$1,500 of her money with a $500 per child tax credit, she knows how 
best to spend that money, not the Washington bureaucrats. She 
understands, and she should be free to save, spend and invest for her 
family.
  So my colleague from Georgia, though he might take me to task on some 
historical interpretations, is absolutely correct when he talks about 
the vital need for tax reform across the spectrum of age and across 
this Nation, benefiting middle-class Americans and all working 
Americans.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. I yield to my friend from Georgia.
  Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman.
  I wanted to just conclude this $500 per child tax credit with this 
chart right here; the big blue section shows that 89 percent of the 
people who will benefit from $500 per child tax credit have a combined 
family income of $75,000 or less.
  Now, the red line is in the category of $75,000 to $100,000. That is 
7 percent. Above $100,000, it is 4 percent.
  So, you know, if we want to do something to help middle America, if 
we want to do something to help America's middle class, this is the 
ticket to go, and not an increase in the minimum wage. This is real 
dollars. This will help them in their pocket.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. I again would just like our friend from Georgia to 
articulate this, make sure that I understand, and, Mr. Speaker, those 
may be joining us this evening coast to coast and beyond understand 
what we are talking about. Is this $500 per child tax credit helping 
almost 90 percent of our population earning under $75,000? That is 
something that we absolutely have to herald and have to remind the 
American people of, and, further, I think it is just vital to 
understand that our current policy and indeed as I have heard some 
people put it, working families are those earning under $75,000 a year.
  Indeed, 2 years ago, in the first State of the Union Message, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania and I were personally in attendance here 
for having been newly elected to the Congress; President Clinton called 
working families those families making under $75,000 a year, which begs 
the question: Should families making in excess of that somehow be 
punished? Should there be an arbitrary line where we designate 
Americans as working but those Americans, ofttimes two-income families 
who work hard, who cross that magic $75,000 line, is it being implied 
that are not working families, that they are not worth of tax relief?
  Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, it is obvious, relief must come 
because we are penalizing people who are succeeding.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. I would say this, the fact is in this 
Congress we have already come forward with not 

[[Page H1494]]
only tax reform but spending reductions and deficit reductions, which 
gives the change to have help for working families, for seniors and for 
our children.

  I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Let me just say this, in the 1992 presidential primary, 
candidate Bill Clinton had an ad that said this: ``Hi, I am Bill 
Clinton. I believe you deserve a change. That is why I have a plan to 
stimulate the economy, starting with a middle-class tax cut.''
  Now, we all know, after running on a promise of a middle-class tax 
cut, the President turned around and in 1993 passed the largest tax 
increase in the history of our country. But it is ironic, the other day 
he said, ``I was raised in an old-fashioned home, in an old fashioned 
time, maybe, but I still think when you tell somebody you are going to 
do something, you ought to do everything you can to do it.'' That was 
President Bill Clinton at a press conference, January 5, just over 2 
months ago, 1996.
  All we are saying is, great we are glad, let us use those old-
fashioned hometown values that we all love in America, both Democrats 
and Republicans think highly of. Let us go ahead and give middle-class 
America the tax cut that he promised and that we want to give him.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Reclaiming my time, the fact is in this 
Congress we have already moved pretty close to the balanced budget. I 
think we can get it. We have added $440 billion back for environment, 
education, Medicare, Medicaid. I think we are very close to getting a 
balanced budget, still maintaining the vital services people need.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. And our colleague from Georgia again brings us a 
troubling aspect to this entire endeavor, and perhaps we will have to 
wait for another time to share that with our friends.

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