[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 102 (Thursday, July 17, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                TAX CUTS

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I hope the American people that 
are observing this debate over taxes now realize why tax cuts come so 
slowly in this Congress. There are some elitists in this Chamber and a 
lot of egos that think that Washington can spend your money better than 
you can.
  The tax bill currently before Congress is going to benefit every 
American, whether it is a $400 more in your pocket or $1,500 more in 
your pocket. Middle class working families are going to gain a little 
bit from this tax cut. But this tax cut is just a little bit. Compared 
to the $250 billion tax increase that we just had 4 years ago, this is 
an $85 billion net tax cut, just a portion of the huge tax increase 
that just happened a few years ago.
  If we are going to have a country that has been as successful as we 
have, we have to get back to a system where we let the people keep more 
of the money in their pocket, where we reward the people that work 
hard, that try, that save, that invest, and the people that work hard 
are better off than those that do not.

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