[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5591-H5592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SPENDING CUTS SAVED CANADA--NOT HIGHER TAXES
(Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in The Wall Street
Journal, Fred Barnes documented on July 21 that in 1993 Canada faced a
fiscal disaster similar to the one we're facing today. Government
spending was on the rise, huge deficits were setting peacetime records,
the economy was stagnant, an unemployment rate that was around 9
percent with interest payments on debt using 35 cents of every tax
dollar.
The newly elected Prime Minister in 1993 listened to the voters by
stating, ``Canadians have told us they want the deficit brought down by
reducing government spending, not by raising taxes, and we agree.''
By cutting spending, the Canadian economy roared back from 1995 to
1998 and turned a $36.6 billion deficit into a $3 billion surplus. The
Prime Minister was able to put aside partisan politics
[[Page H5592]]
and listen to the wishes of the Canadian people.
By leading in a manner that cut spending instead of raising taxes,
the Prime Minister put Canada first. Our President should change from
his failed policies and stop tax increases and destroying jobs.
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