[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 144 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H10645]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A VERY PRODUCTIVE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, government does not have to be as 
complicated as we here in Washington make it. In fact, the only thing 
that counts to the folks that we represent, and the district that I 
represent runs from the Mississippi River across the top of the State 
of Illinois to within one county of Lake Michigan, and the people there 
are just like the people in the rest of the United States.
  They get up early in the morning, go to work, pack their lunch bags. 
Then on Friday night, the husband and wife will sit down and say, you 
know, we do not understand it. We are both working and yet we are 
taking home less money and it cost more to live than ever before.
  What those people want is what most Americans want. They want a tax 
rate that is fair. They want a government that is efficient. They want 
to be able to use the fruits of their own labors.
  That is why this very productive Republican Congress is allowing the 
taxpayers of this country the ability to keep more of their hard-earned 
dollars, as opposed to sending it to Washington to be wasted on one of 
the 10,000 Federal programs that are here.
  I was at a luncheon for Scott Forge, a major forge back in our 
district in McHenry County, and talked to a great number of the work 
force. I asked, ``How many here have children under 17 years old?'' And 
about half of them raised their hands. And I said, ``Do you believe 
that you as parents can make a better decision as to how to spend money 
on those children than 535 Members of Congress 820 miles from here?'' 
And they all said yes.
  Then I said, ``For those of you who raised your hands, for every 
child you have, this year you will pay $400 less in income taxes and 
next year $500 less in income taxes.'' And they looked at each other 
and I said, ``Sir, how many children do you have?'' And he said, ``I 
have 4.'' I said, ``Next year you will pay $2,000 less in income tax,'' 
and the place started to cheer.
  I asked, ``How many here have kids in the first 2 years of college?'' 
Several people raised their hands. I said, ``Would you not be better 
off spending your money on your kids' college tuition as opposed to 
paying income tax?'' They said yes. And I said, ``That is exactly what 
this Republican Congress has done. They are called Hope scholarships. 
Up to $1,500 per year for the first 2 years that you can use towards 
your kid's college education as opposed to paying taxes.''
  That really is the Republican message. A productive Congress is a 
Congress that does things for people, not for itself. Do my colleagues 
think it is productive just because a Congress meets more and more and 
more days and passes more and more and more laws?
  Mr. Speaker, more laws usually mean bigger government, more 
regulations, and higher taxes to pay for those new programs.
  So, while the Republicans are being assailed as a ``Do Nothing 
Congress,'' we do nothing liberal on the Republican side. But we are 
doing everything possible for the working people out there. The people 
that I represent, the ones who are working that Scott Forge who get up 
very early in the morning and go to work and work there doing all kinds 
of great things with their hands.
  I can look them in the eye and say, ``I am your United States 
Representative of Congress in Washington, and I helped craft and I 
voted for legislation that lowers your taxes and allows to you keep 
more of your hard-earned dollars.''
  That is the message. That is the message that people in this country 
want to hear. It is a very simple message. I could talk about the 
President and all the new programs he wants to institute and this and 
that. But we have to ask, who is going to pay for it all? Do we really 
think that all the new things that he proposes are going to be free? 
Who is going to pay for it all?
  That is what matters to the people that get up in the morning and go 
to Scott Forge and work very hard. And I would suggest that these are 
the people who count. These are the people who have made America, and 
these are the people that are the beneficiaries of this Republican-led 
productive Congress.

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