[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   DEMOCRATS WANT TO PAY OFF THE DEBT

  (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the last Speaker 
would say that if the money from the so-called surplus is left in 
Washington that Americans should not trust us because ``we'' would 
spend it. The last I heard, the Republicans were the ``we''. The 
Republicans are in the majority.
  If the Republicans are so fractionalized, if they are so disorganized 
that basically they are saying we should take the surplus and get it 
out of here as quick as we can and stop us before we hurt the Nation 
any further, then I understand the argument.
  But if it is that no matter what economist we might listen to, no 
matter what American we might talk to, the


whole idea of the surplus is that the President says that we are close 
to $4 trillion, we now have the ability to pay off some of that debt, 
and we should do that. And that is what we are talking about on our 
side.

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