[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 96 (Wednesday, July 9, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H5003-H5004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TAX RELIEF TO THE MIDDLE CLASS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, what if we were to go on a 6-month diet to 
lose 30 pounds and we got to the 4th month and we had already lost 28 
pounds? Would we quit exercising and quit dieting because we were so 
far ahead of schedule? We had not reached our goal yet but we were way 
ahead of the game.
  The United States Congress and the American people are in that 
situation right now with deficit reduction. An article today in The 
Washington Post shows that the deficit, the projected deficit may go 
down to $45 billion, which is way lower than the expectation. Now, what 
this means is that Congress and the American people may not have to 
wait until the year 2002 to see a balanced budget. We may see it a lot 
sooner, even potentially as soon as next year.
  So how do we react? Well, all over America people will be very 
pleased to hear this. But how do certain big-government liberal types 
in Washington react? Hey, we are ahead of schedule; that means we can 
relax and we do not have to cut so many programs and we can spend more 
money. We can have more pork back home. It is very good news to some of 
them.
  I would say to my colleagues that, if we change from the path of 
having fiscal responsibility and lower spending, then we will get back 
into the hole that we are just now digging out of. A balanced budget to 
the folks back home is not about numbers, it is about opportunities, it 
is about lower interest rates. Lower interest rates on a home mortgage 
of $75,000 over a 30-year period means we would pay $37,000 less. On a 
$15,000 car loan, lower interest rates means that we would pay about 
$900 less. It means that college education is more affordable because 
student loans are lower. Also, Mr. Speaker, it means taxes are lower 
because we do not have to spend so much on deficit spending.
  Now, the Republican plan to lower and give middle class tax relief is 
very simple. Under that, 76 percent, and I have a chart, Mr. Speaker, 
but 76 percent of the tax relief goes to people, households, making 
below $75,000 a year. This is what a middle class tax cut is all about.
  Now, a lot of folks say, well, this tax cut only benefits the rich. 
Well, that is true if the definition of rich is people who make below 
$75,000. And incidentally, the interesting way the Clinton 
administration and some of the liberals get there is by playing games 
with paychecks, by adding to it, for example, the rental value of a 
house. So if a person makes $45,000 a year, under the Democrat liberal 
formula that individual is making over $75,000 a year, so they can say 
this tax cut does not apply to them.
  I would say this. If we go try to get a loan or buy a house based on 
the numbers the President tells us we are making, it will not work.
  Ninety percent of this tax relief goes to families and to education. 
I am from Georgia. We have the HOPE scholarship. The HOPE scholarship 
is for students who make a B or above in State schools, and they have 
their tuition paid for. The national HOPE scholarship is not as 
generous as the Georgia HOPE scholarship, but it is still very good, 
because if students and children want to compete in the world today, 
they have to have a college education. The Republican plan makes 
college education more affordable.
  Tax relief at this time is proper. Why is tax relief important? 
Because the more money Americans have in their pocket, because the 
Government is taking less out of it, the more shoes they will buy, the 
more clothes they will buy, the more shirts, the more cars, and so 
forth. And when Americans do that, small businesses respond by 
expanding. When businesses expand, more jobs are created. When more 
jobs are created, more people go to work, less people are on welfare, 
and more people are paying taxes.

  Is tax relief consistent with deficit reduction? Absolutely. It 
certainly is,

[[Page H5004]]

Mr. Speaker, and that is why we need it. Because the easiest way to 
balance the budget is to have economic growth.

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