[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3218-H3219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               ADDRESSING THE CONCERNS OF FOLKS BACK HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to represent a very 
diverse district in Illinois. I represent the south side of Chicago and 
the south suburbs in Cook and Will Counties, a lot of bedroom 
communities and farm towns, too. When one represents such a diverse 
district, they learn to listen to the concerns back home and try and 
respond to those concerns.
  I have had one very common message that I hear in the city and in the 
suburbs and in the country in the diverse district that I represent, 
and that message is pretty simple. People back home want us to work 
together and find solutions to the challenges that we are facing.
  I am proud to say that over the last 4\1/2\ years, we have listened 
and we have responded to those concerns to work to change how 
Washington works, to make Washington more responsive to the folks back 
home. I am proud to say that we accomplished some things we were told 
we could not do. We were told we could not balance the budget. We were 
told we could not balance the budget and lower taxes. We were told we 
could never reform our welfare system, but we did.
  I am proud to say in the last 4\1/2\ years that we balanced the 
budget for the first time in 28 years, producing a projected $2.8 
trillion surplus of extra tax revenues. We lowered taxes for the middle 
class for the first time in 16 years and 3 million Illinois children 
now qualify for the $500 per child tax credit back home in my State of 
Illinois. That is $1.5 billion that will stay in Illinois rather than 
coming here to Washington.
  We also reformed our welfare system, which was failing beyond 
imagination. We reformed our welfare system for the first time in a 
generation. As a result of our welfare reform, we have seen the welfare 
rolls in Illinois cut in half. We have balanced the budget. We lowered 
taxes for the middle class. We reformed

[[Page H3219]]

our welfare system. That is pretty good.
  Folks often say those are real accomplishments, but what is next on 
Congress' agenda? We are working to continue responding to the issues 
and concerns of the folks back home and we have a simple agenda in this 
Congress. The Republican agenda is simple: Good schools, low taxes and 
a secure retirement for all America, and our budget that were working 
on today reflects that.
  I am often asked some questions in town meetings back home. One of 
the most important ones we addressed this year. I am often asked by 
folks, whether at a senior citizen's center, a union hall or a VFW, 
when are the politicians in Washington going to stop raiding the Social 
Security trust fund? That is a pretty important, basic question. Of 
course, Washington has raided the Social Security trust fund for over 
30 years. Back when LBJ was president, Washington began that process, 
and bad habits are hard to break. I am proud to say this Republican 
Congress is going to lock away 100 percent of Social Security revenues 
for social security only.

                              {time}  1245

  Let me point out here what this means, and I will compare the 
Republican budget with the Clinton-Gore budget on Social Security. The 
Republican budget, of course, locks away 100 percent of Social Security 
for Social Security. I would point out that $137 billion of the Social 
Security surplus under our lockbox will stay in Social Security.
  Now, the President talks about 62 percent of the surplus for Social 
Security, and what the President and Vice President Gore are talking 
about doing is spending 38 percent of Social Security on other things. 
That is what the folks back home call raiding the Social Security Trust 
Fund.
  Republicans say 100 percent of Social Security for Social Security. 
Clinton-Gore, they say 62 percent and spend the rest on other things. 
We want to put a stop to that, and that is why the lockbox proposal 
Republicans are moving through the Congress is so important, because it 
is the first step we should take as we work to save Social Security. 
Let us lock away Social Security first before we consider any other 
reforms.
  Another question I am often asked is no one ever talks about the 
national debt. Let me point out that in this budget this year, we are 
in a position where we are going to be able to pay down $1.8 trillion 
of the national debt. Last year we paid off $50 billion; this year we 
are projected to pay off $100 billion of the national debt, and under 
our budget we propose the potential of paying down $1.8 trillion of the 
national debt. Saving Social Security, paying down the debt.
  I am also asked at the union halls and the VFWs and the other 
community centers and the grain elevators in the district that I 
represent, when are we going to do something about the tax burden on 
families? Today the average family in Illinois sends 40 percent of 
their income to Washington and Springfield and the local courthouse in 
taxes.
  The tax burden today for the middle class is at its highest level 
ever in peacetime history. Twenty-one percent of our gross domestic 
product goes to Washington. That is the highest level ever in peacetime 
history, and it is putting a tremendous squeeze on middle class 
families.
  I believe as we work to lower the tax burden on middle class families 
we should simplify the Tax Code; we should work to bring fairness to 
the Tax Code, beginning with the elimination of the marriage tax 
penalty. It is simply wrong that under our Tax Code 21 million married 
working couples on average pay $1,400 more in higher taxes just because 
they are married. Let us lower taxes by simplifying the Tax Code by 
eliminating the marriage tax penalty, let us pay down the national debt 
and let us save Social Security.

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