[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       A BUDGET FOR THE TAXPAYERS

  (Mr. COOK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. COOK. Mr. Speaker, I think the middle class has been getting a 
raw deal long enough. It should be getting easier to start a family and 
to buy a house, not harder. It should be getting easier to save for 
college tuition for your kids, not harder. It should be getting easier 
to make ends meet, not harder.
  So what is the problem? The problem is simple. It is the fact that 
Congress has not been presenting budgets that are balanced, and it is 
because Congress has been presenting budgets that raise taxes. I think 
it is time Congress does exactly the opposite. I think it is time the 
middle class got a break, instead of giving all the breaks to the 
special interest groups.
  That is why this balanced budget agreement should be ratified. It 
should be supported and voted on here in the House. It lets American 
families keep a lot more of what they earn, and it balances the budget 
for the first time since 1969.
  This is a budget for the forgotten middle class. I think it is time 
to pass a budget for the taxpaying middle class.

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