[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H10499-H10500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TWO MORE RIDICULOUS BIG GOVERNMENT TAXES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, two more ridiculous big government taxes 
have been put out by the Clinton administration this week. The first 
one is under the name of safety in the workplace as respects violence. 
This is an OSHA proposal, the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, megabureaucrats who love to come into small businesses 
and tell them what they are already doing.
  This is what their proposal is. They have, through a study, detected 
that there is a lot of violence at night at convenience stores, 
restaurants, and hotels, and places that are open 24 hours a day.
  So what do the Washington big government bureaucrats do? Instead of 
saying, maybe, that we need to address violence in society, maybe more 
police officers, maybe look into something that we can do, instead of 
going to businesses and saying, how can we help you with the problems 
of violence, they go to businesses and say, what are you going to do 
about it?
  So the businesses now, through a new OSHA proposal, will be required, 
if this passes, to have bulletproof glass; cash registers only at 
street level, so if people are driving by they can see if they are 
being held up or not; video cameras, speed bumps, speed bumps in hotels 
and restaurants because that will cut down on the violence. I can just 
see some drug dealer saying, come on, do not rob that convenience 
store, they have speed bumps there; that will keep me from doing it.
  There is a requirement also that you have no more than $25 in your 
cash register at one time, and have paperwork and training for your 
employees.
  This is what the Clinton administration's view of private businesses 
are about: We are from the government, we are going to go into the 
convenience stores, the hotels and the restaurants all up and down the 
interstates, and anywhere else they might be open 24

[[Page H10500]]

hours a day, and say this is what you have to have. If you do not have 
it, guess who will be happy to sue you? Their friends in the legal 
community. This is just big, crazy, insane Washington bureaucracy out 
of control, and these are Clinton appointees who are pushing it.
  What else is on the Clinton agenda? A new tax on backpacks and bird 
calls. This one comes from the Department of the Interior. This is one 
that the Clinton-appointed Secretary of the Interior says ``This is a 
win-win situation.''

  What they want to do is put up to a 5-percent tax on the following 
items, Madam Speaker: Backpacks. That means all you little schoolkids 
going off, you are going to have to start paying 5 percent more for the 
Clinton administration tax on you; camping stoves, camping fuel, 
camping tarpaulins, camping utensils. That little fork is going to cost 
you 5 percent more if Secretary Babbitt has his way. Dry bags. I guess 
nobody would take wet bags on a trip. Hiking boots, hiking equipment, 
spray skirts for kayaks, tents, paddles, wild bird baths, film, camera, 
lenses. Boy, I am glad they came out with this after the Olympics. Also 
photo disks, binoculars; and just think, binoculars are not the only 
one they are picking on, monoculars, also, so you cannot get around 
this; tripods, window mounts, hand lenses, ``how-to'' guides.
  When I was a kid I used to like to, and still do, liked to collect 
reptiles and amphibians. There is a great field guide by a man named 
Roger Konack. If I bought that when I was a 10-year-old or my 11-year-
old son buys it, Mr. Babbitt wants my son John to pay 5 percent more on 
a field guide, so when he goes out and identifies fishes, reptiles, 
amphibians, or other insects and buys other ``how-to'' guides, he is 
going to have to pay extra, because the Department of the Interior 
needs money.
  This is the kind of mega-big-government thinking we do not need. This 
is why we do not need 4 more years of Bill Clinton and the 
megabureaucrats. We need to put people who have common sense and have 
normal values and realize that the middle-class people in America are 
sick and tired of their taxes going up.
  In the 1950's, the average middle-class family paid 5-percent Federal 
income tax. Today that same middle-income family pays 24-percent 
Federal income tax.
  People are sick and tired of it. They are working harder. They are 
getting less to show for it. They are concerned that their children are 
not going to be better off than they are. They are concerned that big 
government and Washington bureaucrats are stealing the American dream. 
Madam Speaker, I think under Bill Clinton that is what is going on.
  We need to have commonsense reform in government. We need to have a 
balanced budget. We need to have local control of government decisions, 
not being made by Washington bureaucracy. We need to have commonsense 
in government, not bureaucrats making all the decisions.

  Madam Speaker, I include for the Record the Teaming With Wildlife 
Product List.
  The information referred to follows:

                   Teaming With Wildlife Product List

       The following list is a draft of those products being 
     considered for a user fee. Before this list is incorporated 
     into the draft legislation, we are asking companies, 
     customers (users) and coalition members to provide feedback 
     on this list, as well as other details of the proposal. The 
     products listed below would have a graduated user fee of \1/
     4\%-5% of the manufacturer's price. The user fee must not act 
     as a barrier to a product's sale. Beside each category is a 
     suggested level for the user fee. Feedback from companies and 
     consumers will help determine the final list of products and 
     the percent to apply to each.


                   outdoor recreation equipment (5%)

     Backpacks
     Camping stoves
     Camping stove fuel
     Camping tarps
     Camping utensils (connected/folding)
     Canoes
     Canteens
     Climbing equipment
     Compasses
     Cooking kits
     Dry Bags
     Flotation vests (selected classes--not standard life boat 
         vests)
     Hiking boots
     Hiking staves
     Kayaks/Spray skirts
     Mountain bicycles
     Outdoor sleeping mats
     Skis/Poles/Boots (cross-country, downhill, telemark)
     Sleeping bags
     Snowshoes
     Tents
     Paddles
     Portable water purifiers
     Prepacked camp foods
     Scuba diving masks/Snorkels/Goggles/Flippers
     Snowboards
     Stuff sacks
     Wet suits/Air tanks/Regulators/Spearguns
     Whitewater rafts


                  backyard and wildlife products (5%)

     Wild bird seed and other wild animal feed (except seed 
         packaged for pet feed)
     Wild animal and wild bird feeders such as hummingbird 
         feeders, suet feeders and other types of feeders
     Wild bird baths
     Wild bird houses, bat houses, squirrel houses and houses 
         constructed for use by other wildlife
     Nest platforms for wild birds


                       Books, videos, audio (5%)

     Field guides to bird identification, nest identification, 
         animal tracks, mammals, fishes, butterflies, insects and 
         other animal groups
     ``How-to'' guides such as wildlife viewing guides, hiking and 
         paddling guides, etc.
     Audio tapes of wildlife calls
     CD-Rom guides to wildlife and its enjoyment


                   BINOC, monoc and spot scopes (5%)

     Binoculars
     Hand lenses
     Monoculars
     Spotting scopes
     Tripods
     Window mounts


               Photographic equipment and supplies (2-3%)

     Cameras
     Film
     Lenses
     Lens filters
     Photo disc
     Range finders (including those designed for use with 
         photographic cameras and parts thereof)


    recreational vehicles (RV's) (\1/4\%-\1/2\%, no more than $100)

     Campers/Motor homes/Travel trailers


sport utility vehicles (\1/4\%, no more than $100)

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