[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E541]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 159, 
               CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT RELATING TO TAXES

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                               speech of

                          HON. J.C. WATTS, JR.

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 15, 1996

  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, Americans understand the 
necessity of paying bills, balancing checkbooks, and living within 
their means. It is unfortunate that Americans must struggle to make 
ends meet, but their Government does not understand that concept.
  The current Tax Code, with its high marginal rates and thousands of 
pages of rules, regulations, and redtape, poses a formidable barrier to 
economic growth. Tax reform must move toward making the Tax Code more 
user friendly and create incentives for savings and investment.
  America's voters sent Washington a message in November 1994--just as 
Americans balance their budgets, so should the Government. This 
Congress has made fiscal responsibility the hallmark of our legislative 
agenda. We passed the Balanced Budget Act of 1995, which included a tax 
reform package, but unfortunately, the President vetoed it.
  Today, millions of Americans will pay the Federal Government their 
share of the tax cut that the Republican Congress promised, then 
passed, and that the President promised, then vetoed. The Congress 
passed this tax cut because we believe the people who earn the money 
should keep more of what they earn, so they can do more for themselves, 
their children, their churches, and their communities.
  For too long, Congress denied its responsibility by using tax 
increases to cover up its own lack of political will to make tough 
budgetary decisions. Because Federal benefits tend to be targeted at 
specific groups, special interest groups consistently come together to 
effectively lobby for more spending. Taxes, on the other hand, are 
spread among many millions of working Americans who don't hire 
Washington lobbyists.
  Limiting the ability of Congress to raise taxes will force Congress 
to set real budget priorities. To safeguard our children and 
grandchildren from a return to the profligate ways of the past, of tax 
and spend, and spend and tax, we must enact a tax limitation amendment 
that ensures congressional accountability for the taxpayers' money.
  My home State of Oklahoma has had a tax limitation on its books since 
1922. It also has a balanced budget law. In Oklahoma any new tax must 
be submitted to a vote of the people of the State unless the tax 
receives a three-fourths supermajority of both the State house and the 
State senate. I wonder how many new taxes or tax increases would pass 
if they required a two-thirds supermajority or were submitted to a vote 
of the American people?

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