[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 109 (Thursday, July 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H6588-H6589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          REPUBLICAN TAX BILL OUT OF STEP WITH AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1

[[Page H6589]]

minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, we have a projected Federal surplus, the 
first in three decades. We must be responsible. We must use that 
surplus so that it reflects our values as a people and as a Nation. 
Sadly, the Republican leadership would rather give whopping tax breaks 
to the wealthiest Americans.
  Instead of reasonable tax relief targeted to working, middle-class 
families, the House Republican leadership passed a scheme that gives 65 
percent of the benefit to the top 10 percent of Americans. Their plan 
does nothing to extend Social Security by a single day. It dedicates 
not one penny to strengthening Medicare. It forces deep cuts in 
education, crime fighting and national defense. These tax breaks for 
the wealthy are evidence that Republican values are out of step with 
the American people. I hope we will heed the advice of the Federal 
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who warned that, and I quote, the time 
is not right for whopping tax breaks. I call upon cooler heads to 
prevail so that we can use this surplus to strengthen Medicare and 
Social Security to keep faith with our parents and with our children, 
give tax relief to middle-class families and reduce the Federal debt.

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