[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H6687-H6688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 THE CONCLUSION OF A MOMENTOUS PROCESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hutchinson). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentleman from South Dakota [Mr. Thune] is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to be here this 
evening at the conclusion of such a momentous process. For the first 
time in 30 years we have balanced this country's budget. For the first 
time in 16 years we are bringing tax relief to the hard-working men and 
women and families of this country, and we are saving Medicare for the 
next generation.
  These things are so inseparable from my whole objective in being a 
part of this process and my desire to seek this position in the first 
place. It was on a fundamental level, because I believe in those 
values.
  And what a difference a Republican Congress can make. These are our 
values. When we start talking about balancing the budget and lowering 
taxes and saving Medicare and reforming welfare, those are the things 
for which we have stood.
  The reason we have succeeded today in a bipartisan way, with the 
support of a lot of Democrats in balancing the budget and lowering 
taxes and saving Medicare, is because the other side has also figured 
out that these things are consistent with the values that the American 
people hold. The reason we were able to succeed in doing this is 
because the American people, very clearly, sent a message that they 
believe in a balanced budget, that they want lower taxes, that they 
want smaller government, that they want more freedom at home. And for 
the first time in a generation, we are sending more power and control 
back to the people of this country.
  So this is an historic day, and it is a privilege to be a part of 
this process and be here when all this happens. It is the fulfillment 
of a goal that many of us have had. And as we look at the progress that 
we have made in achieving those goals, this has to be the cap stone.
  Think about what we have accomplished and what we did today for the 
first time in a long time. We can talk about the intricacies of tax 
law, but it is really about people and it is about giving them more 
control of their economic future. In this Congress we have committed 
ourselves to doing just that.
  When we look at the tax cut and the relief that will go back, and I 
have likened this in many respects to trying to drive a Mack truck 
through a car wash, because the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Bill Archer, 
the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, and his 
colleagues on that committee, had an enormous and daunting challenge, 
and that is how to find some tax relief, how to take a small amount of 
revenue and make it go as far as we can in terms of bringing relief to 
the largest number of people in this country. I think they did that.
  We could not afford to build a bigger car wash so we had to come up 
with a smaller vehicle, and yet the vehicle that we have has a 
tremendous number of things that will be important to the people in my 
State of South Dakota. I look at what this bill contains and I am 
delighted to be a part of this.
  I think rural America will fare very, very well in the final 
analysis. There is death tax relief. My State of South Dakota consists 
primarily of small businesses and family farms, and we want to 
encourage people who are on the farm, people who are in those 
businesses to be able to pass those on to the next generation. This is 
an important first step.
  There will be a health care deduction, deductibility for insurance 
premiums paid by self-employed people. That also is something that is 
very pro small business, very pro family farm. And a home office 
deduction for people who work out of their homes.
  The capital gains tax relief. If someone sells a steer or a stock or 
a home, they will pay a lower rate. In fact, when they sell their home, 
and it fits within the criteria in this bill, they will not pay any 
capital gains tax. What a wonderful thing for the homeowners and the 
families of this country who are trying to pursue the American dream.
  And of course education tax relief, the tax incentives that are in 
here to encourage young people, families, to get the higher education 
they need that will make us competitive and prepare us as we approach 
the 21st Century.
  These are all things that help enable people to make the decisions 
that affect their daily lives, and it puts more freedom and more 
control, and it is a shift of power out of Washington, DC and back 
home. That is something for which I am, indeed, very, very proud.
  If we look at where we have to go, this is an important first step. 
We have a long road ahead of us, but for the first time in a long time 
we have recognized how important it is that we take a portion of that 
which Washington takes from the hard-working people in this country and 
give it back.
  I think there will be a lot of people taking credit for the way this 
bill has played out. We have heard a lot of discussion on the floor 
today about various components and parts of that, but take, for 
example, the family tax credit. The other side has claimed some amount 
of credit for that, but look at where that originated.

[[Page H6688]]

  That was in the Contract With America in 1994 that the Republicans, 
before they were elected to Congress, signed on to. It is an important 
part of this final package, and it is something that will benefit a 
whole lot of families in this country, and I am glad that we were able 
to retain it in there.
  We have started down a road on which we have a long ways to go before 
we reach completion in this battle, and one of the things that I hope 
to be a part of, as we continue that fight, is simplification of the 
Tax Code.

                              {time}  1830

  One thing that we have done, if nothing else, we have, hopefully, at 
least started to lower the revenues and made Government smaller, the 
values that we believe in. But we still have an inordinately complex 
Tax Code which is in desperate need for simplification. And we have not 
done anything in this bill that in any way lessens the complexity in 
the tax bill.
  So I hope that as we continue down the road that one of the 
priorities for this Congress, as we come back here in September, is to 
continue to bring additional tax relief, but also to come up with a Tax 
Code that makes sense to the American people who have to comply with 
that Tax Code. I am looking forward to being a part of that process.
  Again, I want to thank my many colleagues who supported this bill 
today because it is an important first step and it is a critical step 
for the future of this country.

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