[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H338-H339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESS CONTROLS NATIONAL PURSE STRINGS

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, as Congress considers budget legislation 
this year, it might be helpful to recall a few things about our 
constitutional system.
  Congress controls the purse strings, not the President. And for the 
taxpayers, it is a good thing the Republicans control Congress, because 
we all

[[Page H339]]

know what happened to spending and to the deficit over the past 40 
years, the 40 years when liberal Democrats controlled the Congress.
  Consider the 1980s when President Reagan was President. The Democrats 
controlled Congress and spent more than Reagan asked for 7 out of 8 of 
those years, and then turned around and blamed President Reagan for the 
deficits.
  Think of it. Democrats in Congress refused to control spending, 
adding more and more big government programs each and every year, and 
then blamed President Reagan for the deficits.
  Well, now Republicans control Congress by a slim margin and the ``big 
spender'' is down in the White House. We must reject his proposals to 
spend any projected surpluses and instead let us pay down the national 
debt and let us cut taxes.

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