[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   PRESIDENT'S FY2000 BUDGET PROPOSAL

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                            HON. RON PACKARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 2, 1999

  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, in his State of the Union address, 
President Clinton proposed to create or expand fifty-four government 
programs. Fifty-four new ways to spend other people's money, but not 
one major proposal to give back to hard-working American families. 
While the President continues to champion targeted tax cuts for a 
select few, the net result for most Americans is plain as day--higher 
taxes. In case anyone doubted his words that night, President Clinton 
made sure it was all in black and white yesterday when he delivered his 
FY2000 budget to Congress.
  The President's plan includes more than 80 tax hikes and new fees 
that would raise the tax burden on the American people by more than 
$100 billion over 5 years. According to the President's own plan, 
Americans shouldn't expect to see any income tax relief until sometime 
after 2015. This is wrong. Washington does not have unlimited rights to 
spend the hard earned money of American families without 
accountability.
  A surplus is nothing more than an overpayment by taxpayers that 
should have never made it to Washington in the first place. We should 
give it back. The Republican agenda will control government spending 
and provide American families with immediate, across-the-board tax 
relief. We will continue to dedicate much of the surplus to saving 
Social Security, eliminate the death tax and the marriage tax penalty. 
We should never forget that these dollars still belong to the American 
people, not Washington bureaucrats.
  Mr. Speaker, under President Clinton's budget, big government will 
prosper and working Americans will be forced to work harder. Under our 
proposal, families could keep substantially more of what they earn. A 
ten-percent across-the-board tax cut would return $600 to a couple 
earning a combined income of $40,000. Does anybody really think that 
this $600 would be better spent here in Washington?
  Mr. Speaker, the choice is clear. Either you support the family 
budget or you support Clinton's federal budget. I urge my colleagues to 
resist new spending and higher taxes and to work together to return 
this surplus to those who earned it, the American people.

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