[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            DOLE TAX BREAKS FOR THE RICH NOT FULLY EXPLAINED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hancock). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Brown] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, former Senator Bob Dole has unveiled 
his new economic plan to the American people. He has outlined a $550 
billion tax break, mostly for the wealthy, but he had not told us how 
he is going to pay for that $550 billion tax break.
  One of Bob Dole's advisers said, ``He has no plans to describe 
specifically what Federal programs he will cut until after the 
election.''
  Former Senator Dole, Citizen Dole, is going around the country 
speaking to organizations promising each of them: I will not cut your 
programs. In fact, maybe I will increase your programs, one group after 
another.
  Yesterday, talking to some people about crime, he said: You want more 
prisons? I will double the amount of appropriations for Federal 
prisons.
  So at the same time Senator Dole has said he will increase military 
spending to the tune of perhaps $30 or $40 or $50 billion a year over 
the next 5 years, he wants to build star wars. He wants to give this 
major tax break, increase military spending, increase money for 
prisons, increase this, increase that, but he will not tell us how he 
is going to pay for these hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars 
in tax breaks that he says he will give the American people.
  I think it is important then, Mr. Speaker, to look at where in fact 
this money will come from. I think we only have to turn the calendar 
back about 1 year to figure out where Senator Dole will get the $550 
billion to pay for the tax break, some couple hundred billion over 4 or 
5 years, to pay for military spending increases; the tens of billions 
to pay for more prison construction; the other billions of dollars that 
Senator Dole has promised.
  Mr. Speaker, I think we need to look back 1 year, turn the calendar 
back 1 year to figure out how he is going to pay for it. All of us 
remember about 14 months ago Speaker Gingrich unveiled the Republican 
plan to give a $200-and-some billion tax break mostly for the rich, and 
to pay for it with $270 billion in Medicare cuts, a tax break mostly 
for the rich paid for by $270 billion in Medicare cuts.
  At the same time in this legislation were major cuts in student loans 
for middle-class families, major cuts for environmental protection, to 
pay for inspectors, to pay for enforcement, to pay for environmental 
cleanup. All of that was in order to pay for the tax break to go mostly 
to the wealthiest Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, it got so bad, as we recall, several months ago that 
Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole shut the Government down because 
President Clinton vetoed their tax break, mostly for the wealthy paid 
for with Medicare cuts. President Clinton said: I will not give that 
kind of a tax break mostly to the rich. I will not give the rich a tax 
break paid by Medicaid and Medicare and student loan cuts and cuts in 
environmental protection. It simply did not make sense.
  Mr. Speaker, the President was right. Those of us who stuck by the 
President on this side of the aisle were right, and clearly that is 
what the American people reiterated over and over and over again. We do 
not give tax breaks for the rich and cut Medicare and cut Medicaid and 
cut student loans and cut environmental protection to pay for them.
  The same folks who brought us the Government shutdown, the same folks 
who tried last year for a major cut in Medicare are back this year. 
Last year the tax break was about $250 billion for the wealthy. This 
year the Dole tax cut is twice that, and he is not telling us how he is 
going to pay for it. So it is clear the way that Senator Dole is going 
to pay for this major tax break is to go right at the heart of Medicare 
and right at the heart of Medicaid and right at the heart of student 
loans and also right at the heart of environmental protection. That is 
clearly not what the American people want.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people last fall, early this winter, blamed 
Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole for the Government shutdown because 
they did not want to see these major cuts in Medicaid and Medicare and 
student loans and the environment. Here we go again. Senator Dole wants 
to give tax breaks of twice that size, but Senator Dole has learned 
something from his mistake because this year in this campaign, at least 
before the election, he will not tell us that that in fact is what is 
going to happen; that it is going to be cuts in Medicare, cuts in 
Medicaid, cuts in student loans, and cuts in environmental protection.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that we understand Senator Dole's and 
Speaker Gingrich's attitude toward the Government program that has 
probably been the best program Government has ever put together, and 
that has been the Medicare Program. Thirty years ago in 1965, when 
Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare, only 46 percent of America's elderly 
had health care insurance; only 46 percent 30 years ago. Today, 99 
percent of America's elderly have health care insurance.
  Mr. Speaker, Medicare has worked, but we would not know it from 
listening to Speaker Gingrich and Senator Dole. Senator Dole and Mr. 
Gingrich have made it clear that they oppose these programs. They want 
to give tax breaks for the wealthy and pay for it with Medicare cuts.

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