[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE CHERRY TREE

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Madam Speaker, last Sunday, the Nation celebrated George 
Washington's birthday. Washington was known for his honesty. We all 
remember that story of how he admitted to chopping down the cherry 
tree.
  Now, if that were Bill Clinton, he would have blamed Ken Starr and 
the vast right-wing conspiracy for chopping down that poor cherry tree. 
We might say that Bill Clinton has a credibility problem.
  So, Madam Speaker, when he says we should reserve the surplus for 
Social Security, I think we all need to be very, very careful. We know 
Bill Clinton wants to spend more money. In fact, as the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Green) just said, his budget has close to $100 billion in 
new Washington spending programs. Now that is a lot of cherry trees.
  When it comes to the surplus, I believe the money belongs not to 
Washington bureaucrats, but to the American people. Madam Speaker, let 
us not allow the President to spend that surplus.

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