[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 148 (Friday, October 16, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H11027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           PROUD OF THE 105TH

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, it is a time of year when we do our 
retrospectives on what this Congress has accomplished, and we have 
heard some comments about that already. We have cut taxes for the first 
time in 16 years; we have balanced the budget for the first time since 
1969. Even better than that, we have achieved a surplus, and when I was 
first elected 5 years ago, we had nearly a $300 billion deficit in this 
Congress and for this Nation; today, approximately $85 billion surplus.
  How does that affect us as citizens and legislators of this country? 
Just an example:
  My daughter and her husband are in the process of buying their first 
house. The interest rates are the lowest they have been in this Nation 
in many, many years. That is related to our budget surplus because the 
government is not in the market borrowing an additional $300 billion, 
but they are pumping $85 billion back in, and that reduces interest 
rates.
  Much else has happened in this Congress. I participated in developing 
the first science policy statement that this Congress has adopted in 
many years, and that is going to have a real impact on the science and 
technology and will certainly make our Nation more competitive among 
all.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been a good Congress, and I am proud to have been 
part of it.




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