[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16888]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



WHO IS GOING TO CONTROL AN AMERICAN'S LIFE: THE AMERICAN OR GOVERNMENT?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. DeMint) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeMINT. Mr. Speaker, some in Washington and some in the media say 
disagreements in Congress are between the right and the left, liberals 
versus conservatives, Republicans versus Democrats. They say the 
debates are about which party is for Social Security, Medicare, 
education, or the environment. But we know that we are all committed to 
find the best solutions to these important issues.
  The real debate on the floor of the House and the Senate and in all 
of our committees is about who is going to control one's life, one or 
the government.
  There are some in Washington who believe one is better off if many of 
the decisions about one's life and the lives of one's family members 
are made here in Washington. Their intentions are good, and many times 
their programs sound good, but the evidence over the last 40 years is 
undeniable.
  When Washington takes our money and makes the important decisions 
about our lives, we not only lose our freedom, but we lose the security 
which comes from having control of our own lives.
  The Republicans in Congress believe that one is most secure when one 
is most free. That is why we call ourselves the GOP, the government of 
the people. We believe our job is not to manage one's life, but to 
provide a framework of freedom so one can manage one's own life and 
have equal access to all the opportunities this country has to offer.
  We believe in securing the future for every American by returning 
dollars, decisions, and freedoms back to the people, back to 
individuals, families, communities, businesses, and back to our States.
  The GOP believes, just as my colleagues do, that we can best secure 
the future for every child by returning dollars and decisions for 
education to parents and to local schools.
  There are some here in Washington that think we can run our schools 
better from the White House. We tried that, and our test scores and the 
quality of our schools declined since the Federal role expanded in the 
1960s.
  Today, Republicans in Congress have passed legislation that allows 
States to use Federal money without all the red tape and to decide how 
the money can best be used to help their schools. We worked to give 
teachers and principals the flexibility to restore common-sense 
discipline in our children's classrooms. We are working to return 95 
percent of all Federal education dollars back to the classroom, where 
the money belongs and is needed for new books, supplies, and school 
repairs.
  We all know that our children get the best education when parents, 
teachers, and principals have the flexibility and resources they need.

                              {time}  1915

  We are making progress in education.
  The GOP believes that we can best secure the future for every family 
by letting Americans keep more of what they earn. It is not fair to ask 
both parents to work harder and longer and then to take up to half of 
everything they make. High taxes create stress in our families and make 
it almost impossible to save for the future, for new homes, for 
education.
  Republicans in Congress have already passed tax reductions that 
include child tax credits, education savings accounts, and less taxes 
on savings. Tomorrow, the GOP will pass legislation that will reduce 
the tax penalty on married couples, eliminate the earnings limits on 
senior citizens, lower capital gains tax, eliminate the death tax, and 
begin to lower taxes for everyone.
  In addition to bringing tax fairness and relief, we are going to make 
sure that taxpayers' hard-earned money is wisely used. We know 
Americans work hard for every penny that they earn, and they should 
expect their government not to waste or abuse their money. Americans 
can be sure that we are making progress on tax relief and tax fairness.
  The GOP believes that we can secure the future for every senior 
citizen by not spending one dime of Social Security and Medicare for 
other programs. No matter how good these other programs sound, 
taxpayers have worked hard to secure a retirement for themselves, and 
they should expect their retirement money to be there when they retire.
  To safeguard American taxpayers' money, Republicans have created a 
lock box that will protect Social Security and Medicare and guaranty 
the benefits. And unlike some proposals that come out of Washington, we 
are going to stick to this pledge to the end. And we are glad that the 
AARP and the President have endorsed our lock box plan.
  But we also know that Social Security and Medicare need repair. We 
are working hard to make sure Social Security and Medicare are there 
for future generations so all Americans can rest easy in their 
retirement knowing they have more control of their retirement income 
and health care.
  In 1994, the American taxpayer trusted the GOP to lead Congress and 
make progress towards a more free and secure America. Since then we 
have balanced the budget and reformed welfare, putting over 4 million 
people to work. We have repealed some taxes passed by the President, 
passed tax credits and the largest tax relief package in 16 years.
  We stopped the practice of spending Social Security and Medicare 
funds. We have given local schools the control and resources they need 
to succeed. And we have begun to rebuild our military.
  The American people and our economy have responded. And while we 
still have much work to do--we are on the right path towards securing 
the future for every American. In the months to come, you will see us 
continue to return dollars, decisions and freedoms back home--back to 
you, your family, your businesses and your communities. Back to where 
it belongs and where progress begins.
  We are Republicans, the government of the people, and we believe that 
Americans are most secure when you are most free, when you keep more of 
what you earn and make your own decisions, when you are in control of 
your life. We are committed to secure the future for every American by 
giving you that control, and we hope that every American will reach out 
for the freedoms and opportunities that come with being an essential 
part of the government of the people.
  Mr. Speaker, we are Republicans, and the American taxpayer can trust 
us to make sure they are in control of their life instead of 
government.

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