[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H9596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, there is an expression around this town 
that ``people are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not 
entitled to their own facts.'' We have heard a lot in the last couple 
of weeks about this Congress and how little it has accomplished, but 
let us look at the facts.
  For the first time since I was in high school, we have a balanced 
budget. We have more than that. We have a surplus this year. And for 
the first time since Tiger Woods was 5 years old, American families are 
actually going to get some tax relief. Let us talk about some of those 
tax cuts and what they mean to American families.
  We are allowing for a $500-per-child tax credit. We are making it 
easier for families to send their kids to school and to college, and we 
are also making it easier for them to save and invest for their future 
through capital gains tax relief and estate tax relief.
  IRS reform. We are now saying that the IRS has to prove that you are 
guilty rather than the other way around.
  In the area of agriculture, we have made significant progress in 
terms of helping our farmers get through these tough times.
  In health care, we have made it much more portable so if you lose 
your job or change jobs, you can take your health insurance with you.
  In the area of education, this Congress is saying that 90 percent of 
the funds ought to go to the classroom rather than be consumed by the 
bureaucracy.

                              {time}  1015

  On all the areas people are entitled to their own opinions, but they 
are not entitled to their own facts.

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