[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PRESIDENT'S BUDGET DOES NOT AGREE WITH DECLARATION THAT ERA OF BIG 
                           GOVERNMENT IS OVER

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, I often go home to my district and I ask my 
constituents: Is there any message for Washington? I would like to pass 
on some of the responses that I have been getting.
  They say: Do not spend the surplus; do not bust the budget deal that 
you agreed to last summer; do not start any new government programs; do 
not create new entitlement programs; and do not add more people to 
Medicare until we first figure out how we are going to save Medicare 
from going bankrupt. Oh, yes, the big one is, do not raise taxes.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, I hear over and over again that the President's 
budget is going in the wrong direction because it does all those things 
that most people are opposed to: Taxes are raised by billions and 
billions of dollars, spending is increased by hundreds of billions of 
dollars, entitlements are expanded, and new spending programs are 
created. It simply does not agree with the President's declaration to 
the American people 2 years ago that the era of big government is over.
  Mr. Speaker, the American people tell me that words mean something 
and that it is time that here in Washington we start honoring the 
pledges we make.

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