[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               EMPTY PROMISES, BIG GOVERNMENT, HIGH TAXES

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, everyone is familiar with the axiom 
related to the word ``assume,'' which colorfully explains why we should 
avoid doing so, everyone, that is, except the President of the United 
States.
  In his budget proposal the President assumes that the American people 
will not notice the billions of dollars in new Federal spending. He 
assumes the

[[Page H582]]

American people would not notice the creation of numerous additional 
Federal bureaucracies. He assumes that it is okay to spend over $60 
billion in tobacco settlement money that has not even been sent to 
Congress. Finally, he assumes the American people will not notice the 
billions of dollars in higher fees and taxes in his budget.
  But let us be fair, Madam Speaker. The fault does not lie solely with 
the President. The American people must admit our guilt in believing 
his promises. We all assumed that the President was serious when he 
said to all America that the era of big government was over. Yet, this 
budget proposal is the very essence of big government. Empty promises, 
big government, high taxes. Mr. President, you can run from reality, 
but you cannot hide from the American people.

 NOMINATION OF U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

  (Mr. LANTOS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LANTOS. Madam Speaker, peace is fragile anyplace, but it is 
particularly so in the Middle East. Only time will tell whether the 
agreement reached by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in Baghdad will 
hold.
  There are two things, however, which are nondebatable: that the 
presence of our military forces is the best guarantee that the 
agreement will be kept; and that the extraordinary diplomatic skill of 
the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, needs to be 
honored and recognized.
  I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in 
recommending and nominating Kofi Annan for the Nobel Peace Prize. This 
great international public servant deserves this recognition. His 
impeccable integrity and commitment to the finest values manifested 
itself in his negotiations, and may in fact save untold human lives in 
the region and beyond.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in nominating Kofi Annan for the Nobel 
Peace Prize.

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