[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H6662-H6665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2014, TAXPAYER RELIEF ACT OF 1997
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, first let me thank you for interceding in the conference
to make certain that a provision was inserted that allows kids who
dream about college to get there. The President's proposal finally was
given to him in an approved way by the House of Representatives. While
all of us appreciate how important education is at the higher level,
some of us would not have been able to get to college if it was not
that we had the GI bill to get to high school first, and because of the
cooperation of the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Archer] and the Speaker
and the President, we do have that there.
Let me say this, that being bipartisan in my opinion really does not
mean that we have given up the principles of our party. It does mean
that it was this President that decided that the American people in the
middle-income group was entitled to a tax cut. It means that this
President thought the people of the United States of America should
keep up their education and their technology in order to be a part of
this
[[Page H6663]]
growing international trade which we have been a leader in. It was this
President who thought that as we have cut back in the budget, it was
the working people that he wanted to give some type of credit for their
children, that the ever increasing cost of living was there and it had
not been reflected in the tax cut.
When we leave here, I know that some of you would say, well, the
whole idea started with Ronald Reagan and even though we voted against
the 1993 budget, we are in this condition today that we are able to
give it because the economy is robust and Ronald did it. Let me tell
you, from the bottom of my heart, do and say what makes you feel good.
Because when you think about it, some of us truly believe that we are
here today because the President had a veto and you want a bill to take
home. We are here today because some of us really did not think that we
should have a tax cut at all. Some of us were thinking about rebuilding
our cities. Some of us were thinking about having an educational system
that would be superior to any country in the world. Some of us were
really thinking that we should have jobs so that anybody who wants to
work could participate in rebuilding America so that we never would be
in the position we were in before. But when our President speaks and he
calls for bipartisanship, maybe we do not understand it, but the
American people understood it, that they are sick and tired of
listening to our differences and they wanted economic relief.
And so our leadership decided, on both sides, ``Let's go for our
principles and make certain we come out with a bill that everyone can
live with.'' It is absolutely amazing to see the number of Democrats
that find the final work-sheet something that they cannot live with.
Thank God most all of them are in districts that are secure. But the
most important thing is that what they are trying to say is that if we
were in the majority, we would be more than happy than we are today.
But we can count, and you are in the majority, and we have to yield to
some of your priorities. But because there was principle involved, we
did not just say no to you. We went to work and said, ``If we're going
to do it, let's do it in the way that people can go home with pride and
dignity'' and say that we reached an agreement that we would take care
of everybody that we think is deserving.
I do not know your districts as well as I know my own. But really
people do not run inside my clubhouse asking, How did you do on
indexing? And, for God's sake, did you reduce capital gains? I know
that many of you have to deal with it and so you are stuck with your
priorities. I know that when it comes to providing for child care,
where do you find the middle class? It depends on where you come from.
You can go up to $100,000, $200,000 and feel good and we do not mind
that at all, except you are not going to do it at the expense of hard-
working people that have got kids that pay taxes every day. And there
is one thing we are going to do, is that when people get up every
morning, take care of their kids, get out there and work, and just
because they are in lower income brackets and just because we want to
give everybody a hand in meeting their responsibility, we are not going
to call them any longer welfare recipients because you are with us.
When we go back home, we are able to say as a Congress that we did
not determine employer-employee relationships the way employers would
want it. We are not going to be the people that says that a boss can
determine that his payroll taxes are too high, that he does not want to
pay Social Security, that he or she does not want to pay for health
care, that they do not determine who is an independent contractor. We
have a law on the books to determine it. But to broaden it so that
those people who do not want the burden of being employers and taking
care of the responsibility of their employees, no, independent
contracts are out, and we all feel better for it because it was a give-
and-take on our principles.
{time} 1530
We know, we know that whenever we want someone to write a piece of
honest literature, to give us a poll or to give us a graph, that the
one who pays for that poll and graph that they will get what they want.
I just never thought the Republicans could be so creative with their
distribution tables.
My God, when I looked at that, I said ``How could they even make it
up?'' But see, if we forget the last 5 years and just deal with their
first years, it is amazing.
Capital gains cuts makes money. But stop there because when we get
into the next 5 years, all of America are losers.
So what we have to do is this, is to be prepared to say to our
constituents the President of the United States has spoken. He has
demanded, and the American people have supported him in saying that
they want a tax cut, they want to end the fighting and they want
bipartisanship.
We have agreed that we have done it. A lot of people swallowed hard
on their side; I regret that they were not given an opportunity to
express it, but a lot of people on our side had problems, and they were
able to express it.
Let us all say it is not a Republican victory, it is not a Democratic
victory, but the people of the United States, under the leadership of
the President of the United States, with all due respect to President
Reagan, are the winners of this battle.
Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, today truly is a day for the coming together of the
people of this Nation. Yes, some have spoken vibrantly against this
bill, and it is their right because the rights of the minority are
always accorded in the United States of America. But for those who are
in the mainstream majority, we can all revel at what we are about to do
for the American people.
I could cite the differences, the things that I wanted in the bill,
the things that perphaps got in here that I thought were not good
policy, but this is not the day for that. This is a day for coming
together.
On June 9, when I announced this tax plan to the public, I said that
the American people wanted a Democrat President and a Republican
Congress to work together on behalf of our Nation, and today I say to
the American people, ``We heard you, we did it, and this bill is a
product of that effort.''
It is an excellent agreement. It provides tax relief to the American
people throughout their lives from the childhood years to the education
years, from the savings years to the retirement years; yes, and even
provides tax relief at death. It is a victory for all Americans, who
believe that Washington should change its ways so the American people
will not have to change theirs. It says Congress will no longer solve
problems by raising taxes, that instead we solve problems by restoring
hope, power and opportunity to the people who earn and pay those taxes.
Over 40 million children will benefit from the $500 child credit.
Families will be able to have more money to spend or to save, as they
see fit, at their discretion. It is their money, they made it, and they
should be able to keep it.
The education relief tells young people that education is not only
the right thing to do, but it is going to be more affordable from here
on. The capital gains and the individual retirement account are all
incentives to send Americans a message:
``Work hard, save, and you will be able to keep more of the fruits of
your labor.''
Just because taxpayers invest money wisely does not mean that Uncle
Sam has a hunting license to take it away from them.
And finally the death tax, the cruelest tax of all. No one should
have to visit the IRS and the undertaker on the same day. It is wrong
for family farms and small businesses to be broken up just because
widows and widowers and children cannot afford the money to pay the
Federal taxes. The death tax should be repealed, and this is the
beginning of that effort.
But, Mr. Speaker, on this bill we do much more. We make the Orphan
Drug Tax Credit permanent so that people with rare diseases that do not
generate enough volume in the development of drugs will be able to live
when they would not otherwise be able to live and be able to see their
health improved when it would otherwise deteriorate.
And yes, yes, we cut the alternative minimum tax on businesses so
that
[[Page H6664]]
businesses will be able to invest in job producing equipment and get a
deduction for the depreciation that the law allows to them instead of
making them pay tax at the end of the year on the depreciation that the
law said is taken to buy the equipment to create jobs.
And what does that do? Yes, Charlie, a lot of us have been thinking
about how do we create more jobs for Americans. That means greater work
opportunity for greater jobs for working Americans in a competitive
world marketplace.
And last but not least, more than 1 dozen tax loopholes are closed
because no one, no matter who they are, should receive special tax
treatment simply because they are politically powerful.
This plan and a balanced budget are what the American people sent us
here to do, and we have delivered, and I am proud that this agreement
continues a remarkably productive record for the Congress. Yesterday we
saved Medicare from bankruptcy. Last year we fixed the failed welfare
state so that the poor and the needy will receive a helping hand
instead of a handout, a right to be independent instead of dependent.
We protected people who were sick by letting them change jobs without
losing their health insurance. We modernized telecommunications,
creating millions of new jobs for this country, high paying jobs, and
we cut the cost of operating this very body, the Congress of the United
States, by $200 million a year.
We reduced the deficit from $203 billion in November of 1994 to $50
billion or less today, and now, with this bill this year, it will be
eliminated. And with the legislative results of this week that deficit
will be completely eliminated.
Many have heard me talk about my grandson who was born last year, the
twelfth grandchild, and how I looked down upon him in the incubator in
the preemie ward and I thought when he grows up, and he will grow up,
thanks to the technology of modern medicine beyond anything anywhere in
the world, his pro rata responsibility of interest on the national debt
during his lifetime will be $189,000 if he is an average wage earner.
That is unconscionable for us to leave to our children and to their
grandchildren, and this week we said no, we will not do that.
Mr. Speaker, 6.4 million new jobs have been created since 1994,
interest rates have dropped from 8 percent to 6 percent, helping people
pay their bills and buy their homes, and the stock market has advanced
from 3900 on the Dow Jones to 8200 just since the elections in 1994.
Mark my words. Mark my words. We are just warming up. There are more
taxes to be cut, there are more taxes to be cut, and there is more
unnecessary wasteful spending to be cut.
But remember above all, balancing the budget and cutting taxes are
not merely matters of accounting. They are about our values, they are
about our convictions, they are about downsizing the power and the
scope of Washington and upsizing the power and the opportunity of
people.
That is why we are going to fight for more tax relief next year,
because we need to keep the budget in balance while putting big
government on a diet. We need to look the IRS in the eye and say ``It's
not your money, it is the people's money.'' The politicians and the IRS
must stop reaching into the pockets of people and taking what is their
money because they need it for themselves, and that, my colleagues, is
what today is all about. It is about a new beginning for a limited
government, but it is also a return to America that knows no limits.
That is my dream. What a great new beginning it is, what a great
unlimited future the people of this country face. We have pulled
America together, Democrats, Independents, Republicans, and what a
difference a Republican Congress has made.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the conference report.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER. The question is the conference report.
The question was taken; and the Speaker announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Mr. ARCHER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were-- yeas 389,
nays 43, not voting 3, as follows:
[Roll No. 350]
YEAS--389
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Archer
Armey
Bachus
Baesler
Baker
Baldacci
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bateman
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berman
Berry
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonior
Bono
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Brady
Brown (CA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Bryant
Bunning
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Capps
Cardin
Carson
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Christensen
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crapo
Cubin
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (FL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeGette
DeLauro
DeLay
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Ensign
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Fawell
Fazio
Flake
Foglietta
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fowler
Fox
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Furse
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gingrich
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Green
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hamilton
Hansen
Harman
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Hefner
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inglis
Istook
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (WI)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Kanjorski
Kasich
Kelly
Kennelly
Kildee
Kim
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Klink
Klug
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
Livingston
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manton
Manzullo
Martinez
Mascara
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDade
McGovern
McHale
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
Meehan
Meek
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (CA)
Miller (FL)
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Molinari
Mollohan
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Neal
Nethercutt
Neumann
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Olver
Ortiz
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pappas
Parker
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Paxon
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Poshard
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Rangel
Redmond
Regula
Reyes
Riggs
Riley
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ryun
Sabo
Salmon
Sanchez
Sandlin
Sanford
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaefer, Dan
Schaffer, Bob
Schumer
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Sisisky
Skaggs
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (OR)
Smith (TX)
Smith, Adam
Smith, Linda
Snowbarger
Snyder
Solomon
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stabenow
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Stupak
Sununu
Talent
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Thomas
Thompson
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tierney
Torres
Traficant
Turner
Upton
Vento
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
White
Whitfield
Wicker
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wynn
Young (FL)
NAYS--43
Blumenauer
Borski
Campbell
Clay
Conyers
Cummings
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
Delahunt
Dellums
Filner
Frank (MA)
Gephardt
Gutierrez
Hastings (FL)
Hilliard
Jackson (IL)
Kaptur
Kennedy (MA)
Kennedy (RI)
Kilpatrick
Kucinich
Markey
Matsui
McDermott
McNulty
Oberstar
[[Page H6665]]
Obey
Payne
Rahall
Rush
Sanders
Scott
Serrano
Stark
Stokes
Towns
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Yates
NOT VOTING--3
Gonzalez
Schiff
Young (AK)
{time} 1602
Mr. RUSH changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
So the conference report was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________