[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3496-H3497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DO NOT RAISE TAXES ON WORKING AMERICANS

  (Mr. TATE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. TATE. Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago my good friends across the aisle 
raised taxes on senior citizens, raised taxes on working Americans in 
the form of higher gas taxes, raised taxes on small business owners. 
But the new Republican Congress tried to provide tax relief for working 
Americans in the form of a $5,000 tax credit for working Americans that 
want to adopt a child, tax relief for small businesses.
  Now it is an election year, and my good friends across the aisle say 
raise the minimum wage. Well, they controlled the Congress and the 
Presidency for 2 years. If I look at their record and look closely 
enough, what the folks across the aisle truly want to do is raise taxes 
on working Americans. That is what they are truly interested in.

[[Page H3497]]



           REPUBLICANS WOULD ROLL BACK ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I know that we are leading up to Earth Day 
next Monday. I was involved in the original Earth Day 26 years ago, and 
I think it is very unfortunate that now in this Congress under Speaker 
Gingrich we see the worst environmental record in the history of the 
Congress.
  In effect, what is happening is that the Republican leadership is 
doing their best to try to roll back 25 years or 26 years of 
environmental progress that we have seen in this Congress on a 
bipartisan basis since the first Earth Day.

                              {time}  1130

  The worst part, I think, is with regard to enforcement. One of the 
things that I have always said is that if you do not have proper 
enforcement and investigation to make sure that there are teeth in your 
environmental laws, then you in effect do not have any environmental 
laws.
  This continued process with the Republican leadership where they do 
not provide enough funding for the EPA and other agencies that are 
involved in environmental protection so that there are not the 
enforcers or the environmental cops on the beat, if you will, out there 
doing the investigations, catching the polluters, indicating or making 
it possible to impose penalties against those who violate our 
environmental laws, this constant effort is hurting environmental 
protection in this country.

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