[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             WHAT A DIFFERENCE A REPUBLICAN CONGRESS MAKES

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, what a difference a Republican 
Congress makes. For 40 years, Congress debated ways to expand 
government, promising more benefits in exchange for a bit less freedom.
  Few, if any, candidates ran on tax increases, but somehow taxes kept 
getting higher and higher.
  Welfare assistance was so broke that even those on welfare knew that 
the system was seriously wrong, counterproductive, and harmful. Yet, 
nothing was done.
  Then the American people said enough and elected Republicans to the 
majority in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.
  Now we are debating ways to cut taxes, not raise them. Perhaps the 
most significant achievement is the historic welfare reform bill signed 
into law in 1996. For millions and millions of families who have moved 
from welfare to work, they now have hopes for a brighter future, a 
seemingly impossible dream when despair filled their days and nights. 
The children in those families now have productive and fulfilling lives 
to look forward to.
  What a difference the Republican Congress makes.

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