Congressional Record, Volume 143 Issue 36 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)

[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H1165-H1172]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

AMERICA'S FUTURE LIES SECURELY IN THE HANDS OF OUR FAMILIES

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McInnis). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 7, 1997, the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Hulshof] is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion about
what came out of Hershey, PA. Of course, the tone of civility and
discussion about civility was probably the predominant theme. However,
there were matters of substance.
In fact, David McCullough, an award-winning author, provided some
pretty inspiring comments for those of us who chose to attend. Mr.
McCullough invited us, really, to take stock of history so we could get
a perspective of where we want to go as a Congress and what agendas we
wish to promote. Mr. McCullough pointed out that, of course, back in
the 1860's when Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President, as our 16th
President of this country, the national agenda was focused around the
civil strife that our country was enduring.
Moving ahead in history through the Great Depression, the national
ambition was, of course, to pull ourselves out of the Depression, as
well as with World War II and eventually the cold war with the growing
Soviet menace. All those things had outside forces essentially
dictating what the national policy was to be.
Mr. Speaker, now that the cold war is over, I think outside forces no
longer are dictating our national agenda. I think we stand on the verge
of a historic opportunity. I believe it is time, Mr. Speaker, that we
create a new vision for this country. The newly elected Members of the
Republican class of the 105th Congress have been speaking out in a
positive way about the new vision that we hope to foster in the coming
months and years ahead.
Last week, Mr. Speaker, Members may recall we focused as a class on
community renewal. We touted real life success stories from individual
districts that showcased creative ways that faith-based charities and
private industries and communities were reaching out to the poor and
needy, and ways to help the poor and needy, and ways Government could
be a partner, rather than a parent.
Tonight, Mr. Speaker, our class has decided to focus on the family,
and ways that this institution can help promote a family friendly
agenda. We believe that strong families can make for a better America.
In that fashion, Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the newest member
of our class who joined us after a special election in December. I
yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brady].
Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, at the start of a school year, a teacher noticed that
one of her students was particularly well behaved. Her manner was, in
fact, exemplary. As the weeks went on she noticed even more because it
stood out so much in her class. At one point she finally approached the
young child and asked, Who taught you to be so polite and so kind-
hearted? And the little girl laughed and said, really, no one. It runs
in our family.
Enduring traits that built America run in America's families: That of
individual responsibility, of caring for your neighbors, of
contributing to the community in which you live and grow up and work,
being involved in your church, in your Boy Scout troop, helping to
build the community in which you live. America's future lies very
securely in the hands of our families.

This year in the 105th Congress, the Republican leadership and the
Republican Congress will take significant steps to make a real
difference in our lives and in our families' lives. We will continue to
bring the budget into balance, to rein in the IRS, and to lower
interest rates. We must, because today most of us pay more in taxes
than for food, clothing, and shelter combined. A balanced budget means
lower rates on our mortgages, our student loans, and our car loans, and
annual savings of about $857 for a typical American family.
It is also time, and we are going to work hard, to restore safety to
our streets and neighborhoods by waging a real war on drugs and violent
crime. We want parents to be able to spend more time with their
children, so today we have passed a family friendly workplace policy
that Members are going to hear more about tonight. We will work to
ensure our children inherit a clean, healthy environment, and receive
the quality education they need to survive and succeed in this
increasingly competitive world.
We face a lot of challenges, but America is blessed with hardworking,
sturdy families. I believe so strongly in families because my family
believes so strongly in me. My dad was killed when I was young, and my
mom raised five of us by herself. She taught us by her example to take
responsibility for ourselves, to practice our faith each day, and to
give back to the community in which we live.
In our family my mom is a true American hero. If you look around your
family and around your dinner table, and around the gatherings during
the holiday, and listening on the

[[Page H1166]]

phone when you visit with your family, you will likely see a hero or
two whose personal sacrifice is the reason for your success and for the
success of our country.
Tonight, in the next few minutes, we are going to hear from the
Republican freshman Members from across this country, led by our
President, who is going to talk about the changes and improvements we
are going to bring to the quality of life of America's families. It is
important because America's families are the foundation for America,
and we can, with their help, we can meet every challenge America faces
today.
Mr. HULSHOF. I thank the gentleman, and I especially welcome him to
our group, and I appreciate very much the leadership that he has taken
on this particular issue. I think his points are well taken. We have
begun that road. We have got a great distance to travel, and we look
forward to working with the gentleman during this 105th Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr.
Paul], another Texan, and I do not know necessarily that Texans have a
corner on family virtue, but I am happy to yield to my friend.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I am
delighted the gentleman has called this special order tonight, and I am
pleased I can participate in it.
Earlier today we had a vote on the Working Families Flexibility Act.
This came out of the committee I had been working on, and I was a
strong supporter of this. We did promote this as a family-oriented
piece of legislation.
As we all know, this piece of legislation allows more choices for the
family in the way they can spend their overtime or their time off.
Obviously, this is a benefit to the families. In one way I was a little
disappointed that we had to go through it, because if we live in a free
society it is assumed that you can make these agreements with your
employer, but under the circumstances it was not available to many of
our families unless we passed this piece of legislation, so I was
delighted we were able to do that.
During that debate I mentioned that one of my favorite bumper
stickers says simply ``Legalize Freedom.'' Any time we do that in this
Congress, I am very pleased.
The other thing I would like to suggest, along with our nice title
there, ``Strong Families for a Better America,'' I would like to put a
subtitle there and say, ``Freedom is Family-Friendly.'' I think the
more freedom we have, the stronger our families are.
We have seen a tremendous effort, sincere efforts, over the past 30
or 40 years with the promotion of the welfare state. It is always done
in the name of helping people and families, but quite frankly, there is
very little evidence to show that the $5 trillion spent on the welfare
system has strengthened our families. As a matter of fact, I think it
has done quite the opposite.
In the same sense, these many funds were spent to strengthen
education, and if we look at our educational system, it has not helped.
If we have an educational system that is not working hardly, are we
doing much benefit to our families?
So, I think the opposite of the statement, freedom is family
friendly, I think big government is not. I do not believe that if power
and responsibility and authority and responsibility gravitates here to
Washington that it is beneficial to the family. The more freedom we
have, the more local options we have, the more choice we have for our
families, I think the better off we are.
Obviously, families would have a lot more choices if they had a lot
less taxes, so we have emphasized that as well. I think our reducing
taxes on families and giving tax credits for children would certainly
be a great benefit.
I would like to bring up very briefly one subject that is dear to my
heart, because it involves families. It is generally believed by many
in this country that the women's movement was the main reason why women
went out to work. Quite frankly, I think there are a lot of women who
were forced to work in order to take care of their families in the best
way they can see fit. This to me was so often a reflection of inflation
because of the cost of living. I believe that eventually we have to
address this subject and deal with it to make sure our families have
the greatest opportunity possible that we can provide for them.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman's points are well
taken, particularly as far as the workplace is concerned. I think that
of course when you have two-parent families and both parents are having
to work to pay the tax bill, I think what we have done today, again, is
a step in that direction as far as helping provide some balance in the
workplace with more flexibility for employees, and again, this is just
a step, I think, in the right direction.
I know that the dean of our Republican delegation, the gentleman from
Missouri, Jim Talent, who is the chair of the Committee on Small
Business, also has measures that he will be addressing, like home-based
businesses and really promoting ways that home-based businesses can
help balance the job as well as family responsibilities.

{time} 1845

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I think it is interesting to note that the
workers in the public sector have already had this right. I think it
was only fair that we give this to the individual workers throughout
the country.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman is correct. I think
that the misnomer, perhaps some of the misinformation about the
flexibility act is that somehow it abolishes the 40 hour work week
which of course it does not.
I see the gentleman from Alabama is in the well of the House. I yield
to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Riley).
Mr. RILEY. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding to me.
As most of my colleagues in the freshman class probably realize,
probably more than I thought possible, how important my family is to me
and how important it has been to me. One of the primary reasons I ran
for this office was to protect my family. Primarily, my first
granddaughter.
When she was born 2 years ago, she was $187,000 in debt. Today she is
$200,000 in debt. We must come together on both sides of the aisle and
produce a balanced budget this year, because we cannot continue to make
our children and our grandchildren pay for the debts of our generation.
We must allow them the opportunity to begin life with the same
opportunities that we have.
Unfortunately, today working families across this country gather
around kitchen tables each week and wonder why they cannot make ends
meet. They wonder why they work longer, why they have to take second
jobs. And they feel like they are literally running in place. Many
families have given up the American dream that their children will
achieve a higher standard of living than their parents or grandparents.
In my opinion, the best way we in Congress can help the American family
is to once and for all balance the Federal budget.
What will a balanced budget mean to you and your family? A balanced
budget will result in no less than a 2 percent drop in interest rates.
To put this in perspective, the cost of a $75,000 mortgage would be
reduced by as much as $37,000 over 30 years. A family would save $2000
on $11,000 in student loans. The real beneficiary of a balanced budget,
Mr. Speaker, would be the American family.
I guess that is one of the reasons that today I cosponsored the
Working Families Flexibility Act, and I want to commend all of those
who helped pass this legislation today. This will give the private
sector employees the same opportunity as public sector employees to
spend time with their families. By taking comptime from work instead of
overtime pay should they choose to do so in this fast paced day and age
where two-income families continue to rise, families will be able to
increase this valuable time together because of the Working Families
Flexibility Act.
My commitment to families is also why I cosponsored H.R. 902, the
Family Heritage Preservation Act, which will repeal the estate tax.
Most of the families in this country work hard all of their lives for
two reasons: They want to provide a better standard of living for their
own families, and they want to leave the fruits of their labor to their
children and to their grandchildren. However, today many families are
forced to sell off the family farm or the family business just to pay
the Government's estate tax.

[[Page H1167]]

It is time we stopped the Federal Government from confiscating up to
55 percent of a lifetime's accumulation. Seventy percent of all the
small businesses do not survive to the second generation because they
have to liquidate all or a part of the assets just to pay the estate
tax. Furthermore, 87 percent will never be passed on to the third
generation.
Mr. Speaker, our families are and will continue to be the backbone of
our society, and it is incumbent on each of us to help protect and
preserve those who ultimately will decide our very future.
I call on the rest of my colleagues, especially in this freshman
class, to support this family friendly legislation that the Republican
Party has promoted this year and in past years.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the comments of the
gentleman and know that prior to his election here to this esteemed
body that he had quite a probusiness background and certainly a very
successful career. We are glad and honored that he is one of our
number, and we look forward to continued success in the well of this
House.
Mr. RILEY. Mr. Speaker, we look forward to the gentleman's continued
leadership. I want to take this opportunity to tell all the Members of
this class how much they have meant to me personally and how I look
forward to working with all of them in the days to come.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado [Mr.
Bob Schaffer].
Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I cannot think of a better
topic to discuss tonight, and I commend you on your leadership for
bringing this topic forward and giving us this opportunity, because
this whole topic of focusing on families and the impact that
legislation that we pass here in Washington and what that means for
families across the country is precisely the reason I came here in the
first place.
I believe very firmly that we should be motivated in every piece of
legislation that we pass, from the comptime bill that we dealt with
today to balancing the budget and our assessment of tax policy and how
we lead the country should be driven from the perspective of how it
impacts families.
Clearly one of the pillars that many of us hold in common and
bringing us here tonight is our belief that families represent the most
central and essential social unit in American life. I know that is true
in Colorado and in your home State as well. And for all of us here,
having families regarded as a central social unit, essential in
everything that we believe to be the focus of American life includes
welfare, for example.
When we talk about welfare reform, when we saw this Congress, the
104th Congress pass welfare reform back to the States, once again we
saw that maintaining the integrity of families was at the center of
that effort.
What we are seeing right now in all 50 States is they deal with
reforming welfare systems on a State by State basis, just as this
Congress envisioned. We are seeing programs that encourage self-
sufficiency, that encourage work, that reward honest hard work rather
than dependency, that carry on a legacy that Americans have
traditionally enjoyed, one that suggests that young children should
have hope and should be able to aspire to have wonderful jobs, to be
self-sufficient and to be able to take care of themselves.
When we look at health care, the clearest difference that I have
discovered, as a new Member and a freshman, is the difference of
opinion that we see here between those who believe on occasion that it
is in the end the Government's responsibility to provide for the health
care of individuals versus our vision that we wish to empower families
to provide health care for their children and ultimately be responsible
for the health of their kids. A clear difference, a clear distinction.

But I hope that we are successful in continuing to keep our family
focus at the center of the health care debate, too. With respect to
wages, it is we who believe that we need to find whatever strategy we
can come up with here in Congress to increase the family wages and the
earning power of American families, rather than have them continually
look for more and more handout from their Government. So increasing
wages, increasing the ability to seek opportunity is certainly
essential to us.
And all of our efforts that deal with trying to strengthen our
economy, be they our efforts to try to reduce capital gains tax or
estate taxes that we discussed 2 weeks ago, all designed to try to
increase the economic power that we enjoy as Americans and in America
that promote and strengthen American families.
Public education is another topic that I know we are going to be
dealing with quite a bit. Those of us here really believe that it is
ultimately the responsibility of parents to teach their children. We
bear the responsibility as parents, and we in fact employ public school
districts and public school teachers to assist us in that job. That is
again a focus that we need to maintain and be very forceful about here
on the floor in every single bill that we pass.
Finally the institution of marriage, something that is ridiculed on
occasion, something that comes under attack right here in this body and
throughout the country. It is something that I know you share the same
intent that I do, to restore the integrity of the institution of
marriage, to realize that a family, two parents, a child with two
parents has a tremendously greater chance of succeeding and surviving
in American society than those who are struggling with families that
are operating and trying to make a go of it singlehandedly. It is very
difficult. We want to do everything we can to support them.
I want to share something with you and for the rest here, this is a
picture of my daughter. If you have a chance to come to my office, you
can take a look at it a little closer. My daughter Sarah is 6 months
old, 6 months old.
Sarah, on the day of her birth, owed $19,000 to the Federal
Government. That was her obligation to the Federal debt. That was her
obligation to pay for things that, frankly, this Congress did not have
the courage to pay for in years past. They did not think she would
mind.
Well, she probably is going to be furious when she learns to discover
this on her own and understand what that means. That is what she owed
on the day of her birth. Over the course of her working life, the
interest on that debt will amount to almost $200,000. It is quite a
burden we have saddled this child with. I know I keep this picture with
me. I refer to it often and look at this little girl because this
happens to be my girl, but it could be anybody's child. It could be
yours. It could be any child in America. They have no reason to grow up
in a world where they are saddled with that kind of debt, with that
kind of a burden that has been placed upon them.
I think we owe it to Sarah. We owe it to every child in America that
hope and opportunity is something that will be closer and closer and a
chance to achieve that and within their grasp. That is what I am
committed to. I know you are committed to that, too, and the people in
your fine State and the rest that are here today.
I just want to pledge to you and to all here assembled and all those
who are watching this debate today and observing that not a day will go
by that this U.S. Congress is in session and convened that I will not
be fighting for everybody's American family, keeping little girls like
Sarah foremost in my mind in how we conduct our business and keeping my
family and your family and every American family first and foremost in
our daily deliberations.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the remarks,
especially the commitment to family. I know the gentleman touched on
through his remarks some discussion about relief, tax relief. And
certainly I think that is, of course, what we are learning as new
Members of Congress, that that is the challenge that lays ahead of us,
trying to fashion some tax relief for middle income families and all
Americans. I know estate tax relief, I think the gentleman referred to,
is an area that I have a special interest in.
I also know it is something that our friend from Mississippi cares
deeply about.
I yield to our new Member, the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr.
Pickering].
Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Hulshof for putting
this

[[Page H1168]]

together for new Members of Congress so that we can talk about the
importance of family and the importance of families to the success of
our country.
I have four children, four boys, ages 7, 5, 3 and 1. Our campaign
slogan was, ``If not your support, your sympathy.'' And tonight they
are at home watching.
I miss them but I hope as they watch what I do here in this body and
what I try to do to serve my country that at the end of my days they
will see that what we were all about is not just about taxes and
spending and the issues that come before us, but it is about
strengthening and supporting and sustaining the key to our success, our
family, of having a culture that discourages violence and crime, that
promotes strong education, that seeks to remove the barriers and the
penalties and the punishment that we now see too often placed on
families. And if we can be a part of that, then I will be very proud of
my service and that I hope my four boys will think that we did
something to make their generation live in a free and prosperous and
moral country.
In May 1988, President Ronald Reagan visited the Moscow State
University and before leaving held a short question and answer session
with some of the students. He made a statement that I think is
appropriate tonight.
President Reagan said, ``Progress is not foreordained; the key is
freedom.''
For our families to make progress and succeed, our families must have
freedom. Freedom to grow, to prosper, to spend time with their
children, freedom from an overly burdensome government.
Sonny Montgomery served in this district before I did. He met the
challenge of his day helping build a strong defense and contain
communism to give my children and to give us the freedom and the
prosperity that we enjoy today. Men like Bob Dole.
I believe the challenge of my generation, the challenge that we face
today is strengthening and providing the environment for families to
prosper. We will have to make some tough decisions as we go forward.
The American family today is gripped by taxation, regulation. It seems
to punish those things we believe in: marriage, investment, work.

{time} 1900

It seems to side against families trying to raise their families
consistent with their faith and their values. We are trying to propose
legislative solutions that help; that bring common sense and lift the
load and the burden from the family.
What are some of the ideas that we are talking about, some of the
solutions, the alternatives to the failed old policies that have
mortgaged our future? What we want to do is provide hard-working
families more time for their children and more money for their pockets,
and the ability to pass on not only their good name but the fruits of
their labor without the fear of the IRS.
We want to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act, on which we
voted today. We want a balanced budget. We want to end the marriage
penalty and to implement a family tax credit. We want to end the death
tax, the inheritance tax.
Tonight I want to tell a few stories about families back home in my
district. A man named Chester Thigpen, 85 years old, has worked his
entire life to provide for his family, his wife Rosett and four
children, two boys and two girls.
Mr. Thigpen's first day of work was back in 1918. On that day his
labor yielded him 35 cents. Today he is a successful tree farmer, with
several hundred acres of prime timberland. He has been a tree farmer
for over 40 years and he has worked daily to ensure a bright future for
his children.
He is an example of the American dream. He is the first African-
American to win the honor of the Mississippi Tree Farmer of the Year
and the National Tree Farmer of the Year.
But what threatens him and his family today? It is not pine beetles,
it is not tornadoes, it is not termites. His farm is in jeopardy
because of the death tax, the inheritance tax.
He has worked hard his entire life and would like to leave what he
has done to his children, to give them the fruits of his labor. In
Proverbs it says that a good man leaves an inheritance for his
children's children. Mr. Thigpen wants to do this, yet our Federal Tax
Code wants to confiscate it, to take it away. He has been successful,
so our Government wants to penalize him.
He did not work his entire life to see his farm, his inheritance that
he wants to leave to his children, taken away. The Thigpens say to
their children, ``Let what you do be an asset to your community.'' They
have lived that. They are testimonies and they are examples of that.
We need to stand for Mr. Thigpen and his family, to do away with an
estate tax that punishes hard work, that takes away the inheritance he
wants to leave his children. It is clearly the worst example that we
have in our tax system, to tax people from their grave. Taxation
without representation in its purest sense. It is a horrible, horrible
example that must be changed.
I want to talk about hard-working families that now pay more in taxes
than they pay in clothing, in transportation, in their mortgages and
their rents. They pay all of that, more than that, in taxes.
In 1948, the typical family of four paid 3 percent of its income to
the Federal Government in direct taxes. In 1994, the equivalent family
paid 24.5 percent of its income to the Federal Government. We do not
need another 46 years of growth in taxes, we need 46 years of growth in
prosperity for our children and our children's children. This is our
battle for our generation, to preserve the freedom, to support our
families.
I will close with one last example of another family in my district
from Pearl, Mississippi, Bobby and June Pickle. They have two boys,
Brett and Lake. Mr. Pickle said, and I quote, ``Taxes eat us alive.''
When they had their first son, Brett, June, their mother, quit her
job. She wanted to stay home to raise and nurture her family, but she
could not afford to do so. The bills were too high, the taxes were too
high, and she was forced to go back and work.
It is time to change our priorities. Family tax credits that we are
proposing will help families who choose to have a mother or a father
stay home with their children. Hopefully they will have the economic
freedom to do that.
There are many things that are important in this Congress, none more
important than supporting, strengthening and sustaining our families.
The gentleman from Oklahoma, J.C. Watts, is a good leader on the
Community Renewal Act that will help us move families from welfare to
work, that will help strengthen the values that we cherish, to look to
nongovernmental solutions, faith-based and community-based
organizations, to help strengthen families and communities. All this
and more we can do to strengthen our families.
I thank the gentleman for granting me this time tonight and look
forward to working with all the Members in this body to do everything
we can to support our families.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for giving us some
human faces and human life examples as to why we need as a Congress to
create a new vision, I think, especially the story that the gentleman
from Mississippi told about his constituent, Mr. Thigpen, and the
estate tax.
Today in our committee hearing in the Committee on Ways and Means, we
had several individuals who testified about the ravages of the estate
tax. Certainly as the son, only son, of a Missouri farm family, I know
firsthand whereof the gentleman speaks, of the plight of millions of
Americans whose pursuit of the American dream becomes a nightmare when
the realities sink in that a family business has to be liquidated, or
perhaps a family farm has to be auctioned off on the steps of the
courthouse just to pay the Federal tax.
I know our family as well as millions of family members across this
country have invested not only money into family businesses but their
hearts and souls. I know family businesses often take the risks and
then navigate those treacherous straits of regulation. And just as open
waters and calmer seas lie on the horizon, the Federal Government
crashes a tidal wave over the bow of the boats of these family-owned
businesses. I applaud the gentleman for his comments.

[[Page H1169]]

I also recognize my friend from New Jersey, who also is a leader in
his community. I know that last week he provided some inspiring
comments about success stories in his district about community renewal,
and I am happy to yield to him now.
Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time
to me.
Mr. Speaker, most of us know the famous line from the movie the
Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy clicks her heels together and says
``There's no place like home.'' Well, more and more business owners,
just like Dorothy, are sharing the same sentiment that there is no
place like home.
Over 14,000,000 business owners around this country work out of their
home, Mr. Speaker. Each of us know people who work from their homes:
consultants, salespeople, lawyers, doctors, accountants, graphic
designers, bookkeepers, and the list goes on. But beyond their jobs,
many of these people are parents. The advent of fax machines, the
Internet and teleconferencing has literally changed the face of doing
business. No longer are businesses confined to large office buildings.

Last week I announced that I have introduced legislation, H.R. 955,
the Family Freedom Home Office Deduction Act of 1997 that, if enacted,
will literally help America's families.
Seventy percent of all home-based businesses are started by women. I
was pleased to announce the introduction of this legislation at the
site of the New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners' State
luncheon. I was joined by many business owners from the 12th District
of New Jersey who successfully run home-based businesses.
Each of these people expressed support for the legislation, and many
of them mentioned that running a home-based business gave them the
opportunity to both work and take care of family commitments. While
they could start and run a business, they could also go to doctors'
appointments with their children, attend a teacher's conference or do
numerous other things with their children.
Operating a home-based business takes away many of the constraints
that currently prohibit parents from being able to attend to important
events in their child's life.
As we were getting ready to make the announcement, a woman who has
been active in the home-based business issue approached me. She had
written a book about starting a home office, a home-based business, and
expressed support for my bill. In fact, she autographed her book and
signed it, ``To MIKE PAPPAS. There is no place like home.''
So many of the issues that we will take up this year, and so many of
the proposals that private industry is undertaking, seek to create a
more family-friendly work environment and promote family values. We
have acknowledged so many times before that families are working harder
and longer just to keep up as their tax burden has risen and college
costs have soared through the roof.
Many parents spend every last minute, sometimes working two jobs
themselves, just to pay the bills and try to save for their children's
education. Sometimes, though, as they work so hard to provide and save
for their family, they are unable to be there for the family members.
How can we expect parents to monitor what their children are watching
on television if they are not able to be at home? How can we expect
parents to monitor their children on the Internet if they are not at
home? For many, the simple solution is the home office.
Think about it for a second. Parents can still work, can still pursue
greater prosperity and can do it while being at home with their
children. Whether it is the father who wants to be there for his
children or the mother who works as a consultant, working from home has
become increasingly appealing.
The Tax Code should reflect the modern business environment of
America and the IRS should recognize its impact on our future.
Currently, the IRS severely restricts the ability of home-based workers
to deduct the expenses relating to their home office.
I think that all of us, on both sides of the aisle, can agree that
giving parents the opportunity to spend more time with their children
would have a positive effect on America's families.
As we stand here tonight on the brink of a new century, dreaming of
the future, embracing the next advance in technology, we must not
forget and we must strive to maintain our country's greatest asset, our
families.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments, and
in looking about I am happy to see my colleague from Kansas.
If I could share this quick personal story, not to certainly comment
upon my colleague's age, but I recall sitting in front of a black and
white television set in the mid 1960's and watching the Olympics and
cheering the gentleman on to victory and to an Olympic medal. It is an
extreme honor to have the gentleman from Kansas joining us as a new
Member, and I would yield to the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Ryun].
Mr. RYUN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time and thank
him for yielding.
I also thank the gentleman from New Jersey for having mentioned the
great State of Kansas in his comments about the movie ``Gone With The
Wind'' and the ``Wizard of Oz.'' Kansas is a great State and I am
pleased to represent the second District.
I am also pleased that my freshmen colleagues have chosen to come and
speak on a subject that is dear to all of us, and that is the family.
As a father of four children, ranging in ages from 21 to 26, I know how
important this subject will be to them and their future families.
Normally, we send our children to school as freshmen, but in this
case my family, our children, sent me to Congress as a freshman, and it
is a pleasure to be here and serve the second District and to also
speak on how important this issue is for families.
Mr. Speaker, it is important, I believe, that we look at the issue of
balancing the budget, because what it does, it protects not only our
children and our future children, but it protects our Nation. The
current national debt is approximately $5 trillion.
Just how much is $5 trillion? Well, if we paid a million dollars a
day for 365 days, that is every day of the year, it would take us
13,699 years to pay off our national debt.
It is also a terrible tragedy when we saddle our children born today
with a debt. They owe the Federal Government $200,000 just on the
interest on the debt alone. That is something we need to correct. That
is why balancing the budget is imperative.
Balancing the budget would reduce the interest rates, according to
Federal Reserve director Alan Greenspan, by as much as 2 percentage
points. What does that mean? Well, that means that for a typical
family, it would save them in these particular areas: Say a student
loan, a typical student loan, it would save them $216 per year. It
means if a family had a typical car loan, it would save that family as
much as $180 a year.
For a family that is purchasing a 30-year mortgage on a $50,000 home,
with 15 percent down, it would mean that it would save them $1,230 of
their hard-earned money. It means that a family who would be
purchasing, let us say, a $100,000 home, putting down 15 percent, again
on a 30-year mortgage, it would mean a savings of $2,160 back to
families, back helping them in the areas that they should be receiving
an award.
We all agree we are facing a tremendous budget crisis. The reason we
are facing the budget crisis is not because we are taxed too little, it
is because the Government simply spends too much.
I know, Mr. Speaker, like all of us that are seated here, we have to
learn to balance our checkbook. That is what we are really asking the
Government to do, is not to spend more than it really has.

{time} 1915

The $1.6 trillion in revenue that makes up the President's budget
request is not the Government's money; it is the product of hard work
and sacrifice that belongs to American families and Kansas families. It
is hard earned money. They should be receiving their rewards. The
Nation's capital does not create wealth. All the money that sits in the
U.S. Treasury was taken from someone's pocket; that is, the hardworking
taxpayers.
I would like to put that money back into the pockets of the American
people, back to the people of the Second

[[Page H1170]]

District. They simply are taxed too much. We need to make those
changes. Families deserve tax relief from this crushing tax burden. A
$500 per child tax credit would benefit the families who need it. It
would also help single mothers who have incomes less than $25,000 a
year, helping them specifically.
A repeal of the estate tax and gift tax would enhance the chance for
families, family farms and family businesses to succeed and pass it on
to the next generation. Reducing the capital gains tax would simply
create more jobs, it would help the economy grow, it would encourage
better jobs for more people, it would encourage them to work and to
save more and to invest more. Balancing the budget and relieving the
American taxpayer, families in general, taking away that crushing tax
burden is pro-life, Mr. Speaker, and it is imperative that we do it.
Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the inspiring remarks of the gentleman from
Kansas and am happy to have him as a leader among our newly elected
Members on the Republican side and of this House.
Again, Mr. Speaker, as we look for positive solutions to many of the
problems that lie ahead and as we as a class forge our identity and we
help to create the vision for the future, we are happy tonight to focus
on the family, and in that way I yield to my friend from Alabama, Mr.
Aderholt.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, this evening as some of my colleagues are
doing, I would like to take a few minutes to share my thoughts about
the American family.
I believe there is nothing more important than strengthening families
in America today. As Representatives in Congress, we should ever be
mindful of the role we play in supporting America's families. It is
because of this belief that I intend to do everything in my power, the
power given to me by the people of the Fourth District of Alabama, to
take a stand on the issues that are affecting our Nation's families.
Two of the greatest gifts I believe that we can give our children are
a balanced budget and lower taxes. We need to cut spending and reduce
the tax burden to make sure that we have strong economic growth so that
our children and our children's children can enjoy the same benefits
that we have been given.
It is time for the Federal Government to take responsibility for its
decisions and their effect on the American people. Federal spending
should be reined in and controlled. Reducing the growth of Federal
spending is the way to get a balanced budget, not by taking more money
from hardworking people who are already struggling to make ends meet.
By balancing the budget, a middle-class family easily saves $1,500
per year. Who do you know would turn down having an extra $1,500 per
year in their pocket?
Another pressing concern for families is taxes. The American family
is the most heavily taxed entity in the Nation. As has been pointed out
several times here tonight, the average family in 1954 were paying just
about 2 percent of its adjusted gross income in Federal income taxes.
Today that figure has soared to 25 percent. And when you add State and
local taxes, the average family of four pays almost 40 percent of its
income in taxes. Forty percent. That is more than most families spend
on housing, clothing, and food combined.
The strain of meeting America's crushing tax burden has forced many
homemakers into the work force, reducing the amount of time that
parents spend with their children by approximately one-half. Part of
the Republican agenda is to allow families the opportunity to spend
more time together. By giving men and women the option to choose
comptime instead of overtime, they are given the chance to spend more
time with their families.
Last, tonight as we focus on the issue of abortion on the House floor
tomorrow, an issue that greatly affects the very existence of families,
I would like to state my unwavering commitment to restoring respect for
human life, born and unborn, in the 105th Congress. As we consider the
partial birth abortion ban, I ask my colleagues to consider the words
of Mother Theresa, who once stated that abortion is the greatest
destroyer of peace today. It is a war against the child, a direct
killing of the innocent child. Let us put an end to this brutal
procedure that has taken the lives of so many babies each year and
every day.
In closing, recently I brought a resolution to the floor that would
reaffirm the role of the Ten Commandments as a cornerstone of a fair
and just society. I believe that this symbolic gesture is important in
reaffirming the Judeo-Christian values on which this Nation was
founded.
As Representatives in Congress, we should always be mindful of the
role that we play in setting the course of the American family. This is
an awesome responsibility. But with God's help to see the right, we can
make this great Nation a city on the hill.
Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's remarks and especially his
efforts and was happy that his resolution the week before last did pass
this body.
I am happy, Mr. Speaker, to yield to a good friend from Texas, Mr.
Sessions. Of the 32 new Members on the Republican side, Mr. Speaker, 30
of us sought congressional seats for the first time this time. My
friend from Texas and I, however, gave it a shot back in 1994.
Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, tonight what we are talking about in plain and simple
terms is not only stronger families for a better America, but what we
are talking about is how American families are going to survive in the
1990's and in the future. Tonight we have heard discussion after
discussion, person after person offer an argument for the best thing
that we can do for America's families. Of course, Mr. Speaker, I would
say that that is that we need to balance the budget.
The last time the budget was balanced was in 1969, when President
Lyndon B. Johnson was President. I know that we can improve the lives
and the conditions for families through lower interest rates, on homes,
cars, college loans and through more job opportunities, now and in our
future. But it is time that we do that now, and it is now time that we
say we must have a balanced budget.
The result of a balanced budget according to a DRI/McGraw Hill study
is that there would be a drop in the 30-year Treasury bond rate to 4.5
percent. It is now over 7.5 percent, so you can see that that is
an astonishing drop of 3 percent. This would cause fixed rate mortgages
to drop by the rate of 2.7 percent which would cause housing starts to
rise to 65,000 units.

What would this mean? For the people who I represent in Texas in the
5th Congressional District, this would mean that there would be a
savings of over $1,230 a year on the average home mortgage, $216 for a
student loan, and $180 on average for a car loan. That is why we must
balance the budget. It will provide real savings for working families,
and instead of taking a second job to meet the financial needs of the
family, parents might find that they have more time to spend with their
families.
What we do here in Washington does have a real impact on the lives of
families throughout this country. We must show the courage and the
discipline it takes to balance the budget. Our spending entitlements
continue to grow each year. That means that money available for
discretionary spending on programs such as education, welfare,
Medicare, Medicaid, will continue to decrease. We simply cannot allow
that to happen.
Reducing the cost of government means lower taxes for working
families. It means preserving, protecting and strengthening Medicare
and Social Security. It means returning enough money to my home in the
State of Texas to cover the cost of a good education for all of our
children and taking care of all of our citizens.
It is important that we constantly ask ourselves what we pass in the
way of legislation, will that cause a burden or a reduction on
America's families?
I am glad today that we voted for the Working Families Flexibility
Act. This is exactly what we need to be doing. It will allow all
workers to have the option of either overtime pay or extra time off.
This would allow working mothers and fathers the choice of taking time
off to do the following things: Perhaps to take their children to
school for the first day of school, watching a school pageant,
attending a parent-teacher conference, or staying

[[Page H1171]]

at home with a sick child. I believe we are on the right track. This
bill would give greater freedom to families in Texas and also those all
around the country to raise and educate their children.
Texans and Americans are counting on us to get the job done. If we
can educate ourselves about the benefits of balancing the budget and
the dire consequences of continuing these deficits, we will have the
discipline to do the right thing. I say, let us balance the budget now.
Having laid out these facts for you tonight, for the American people,
I would just like to leave them with a few questions.
First, how could your family survive year after year spending more
money than it earned?
Second, what could your family do with extra money if at the time we
balance the budget, we deducted $500 off the top 6 those families's
taxes for each child that they are trying to raise?
And, third, what would you think of your Member of Congress if that
person misled you and did not balance the budget?
Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's remarks and his courage and
discipline, not only for the Members of his district in Texas but for
the country.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.
Mr. PEASE. I thank my colleague from Missouri for the leadership he
has provided, not only this evening but throughout this Congress to
date.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with some of my
constituents from the Disabled American Veterans, Indiana Chapter.
While speaking with them, Jim Powers, a disabled Hoosier veteran
commented: ``Family is all that is important. Without it, nothing else
aside from faith much matters.''
Jim was speaking from personal experience. Having been married for 38
years, he and his wife are fortunate enough to have their family close
at hand in Indiana. One of the most important roles Jim has the
opportunity to play is grandfather. He and his two granddaughters are
fortunate that they see each other every day, and he is significantly
involved in their personal development. He cherishes the closeness of
his family. Though I wish this were true for every family, the
statistics today are quite disheartening. Many, many individuals are
disconnected from family members while others search for anything that
remotely resembles a family unit. Those who lack a traditional family
find themselves without the togetherness, stability and aid in times of
need that faith and families provide.
In the past, the system to rectify this increasingly common
shortcoming has been to increase Federal funding of welfare and social
services. Unfortunately, this system of increasing Federal spending and
trying to supplant the family unit with a bureaucratic machine has
proven inefficient, ineffective and in many cases actually destructive
of families.
Now the trend is moving many of these services away from the Federal
Government to the States and local governments. While I do believe this
is a step in the right direction, I am increasingly certain that it is
not enough simply to shift these programs from Washington to the States
and local governments, for in many cases the lack of a family unit, the
real heart of our social problems, will still exist no matter which
government spends the money.
We certainly cannot legislate a traditional family for all those who
lack one. However, we can, through legislation, encourage and provide
support for private charities and faith-based institutions to assist in
the roles of support and family services which so many desperately
need.
Tax deductions for charitable contributions must be maintained. And
the implementation of tax credits for charitable contributions to
organizations which perform social services can help those Americans
who need a family unit or support for their existing families. Services
such as counseling and educational funding, health services, youth
programs and elderly assistance can all be administered through private
organizations, such as scouting, YM and YWCA's and Habitat for
Humanity, among others, and faith-based institutions.

{time} 1930

The 105th Congress is taking measures to ensure the strengthening of
families. One thing above all is clear. Our Government cannot and
should not try to be a replacement for the traditional family. Instead
we must call on our local charities, churches, and community
organizations to expand their role in providing support to families in
stress and to rebuilding families that have disintegrated.
The private partnership of neighbor helping neighbor has been one of
the great traditions of this Nation. We in the Congress must find ways
to strengthen, not supplant, that tradition. When we do, our families
and thus the Nation will be the stronger.
Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's comments.
Mr. Speaker, I know time is drawing short, and I yield to the
gentleman from South Dakota [Mr. Thune].
Mr. THUNE. I want to thank my colleague from Missouri and the many
other of our freshman class who have joined us here this evening to
talk about things that are important to the American family.
Mr. Speaker, the Declaration of Independence, our founders,
articulated what is one of the most profound and simple statements of
self-government that the world has ever seen, and yet they said that
all men are created equal and they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable rights and among these are the right to life, to
liberty, to the pursuit of happiness. In order to secure these rights,
governments are instituted among men deriving their just powers from
the consent of the governed.
In that very basic statement, we have become the model for the world
and people from all over the world come here; and as Bill Bennett has
described the gates test, that is what happens when you open your
gates; do people want to get in or do they want to get out? In America
people are flocking to come here because of the things that we stand
for and have stood for over the years.
I had the opportunity here a couple of weeks back to take my 9-year-
old and my 7-year-old to the Lincoln Memorial, and as we went up the
two flights of steps and there he was, honest Abe in all his glory, the
big statue, my 7-year-old remarked, I did not realize that he was so
big; and we had to explain that that was not his actual size, his feet
really were not this long.
But as I thought about her statement, I thought to myself in many
ways he was big. He was in terms of his ideals, his principles, his
convictions. The things that he stood for are many of the things that
motivated me to run for office, things like freedom, things like
equality, things like a belief that government should not do for
people. Only it should do for people only those things that they cannot
do for themselves.
And we have heard this evening from a number of our colleagues
talking about the important priorities that we see in terms of this
Congress and the things that we can accomplish to advance freedom,
freedom for families. We had a vote today on a bill that would give
families more flexibility, more freedom, more opportunities to spend
time with each other. We will vote tomorrow on a bill that respects the
sanctity of life, one of those unalienable rights that we heard about
earlier in the Declaration of Independence. And last year we had an
opportunity and we are seeing the effects of it this year to vote on
welfare reform, which in my judgment provides more freedom for
families, it restores self-respect, self-sufficiency, independence, and
I think we are seeing the fruits of that bill that was enacted last
year. We have already seen welfare cases drop 15 percent between
January 1995 and September 1996.
And so as we talk about these various issues throughout this
Congress, I think those are the things that we as a class want very
much to keep at the forefront of the agenda. We talk about the rights
that we as a country enumerated and established when our founders and
their great foresight laid down the Declaration of Independence. They
talked about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that is
really

[[Page H1172]]

what we are about is giving our children an opportunity to pursue
happiness, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberty that we have in this
country and to respect the right for life.
Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments.
Mr. Speaker, to conclude as we have discussed newly elected
Republican Members, as we try to create and help fashion a vision for
our country tonight, we have focused on strengthening the families in
ways that this body can provide family friendly legislation such as the
measure we passed today. Our message is rooted in hope and in optimism
because that is indeed what our country was founded on.

____________________