[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18749]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  TAXES AND REGULATORY COSTS AMOUNT TO ONE-HALF OF AMERICANS' INCOMES

  (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, the national media has created some very 
false impressions about the tax cut legislation passed by the House.
  First, the tax cut amounts to less than 30 percent of the projected 
surpluses over the 10-year period of the bill.
  Second, in separate legislation, we have set aside more than 70 
percent of the surpluses to help pay down the national debt and in a 
lockbox to meet future needs of Social Security and Medicare.
  Third, we added language that says that tax cuts will not kick in if 
the surpluses do not come in as projected.
  Fourth, this is a tax cut spread over 10 years, with the cuts during 
the first 5 years amounting to only 1\1/2\ percent of Federal revenues 
over that period.
  The tax cuts are very moderate, and the Republicans in the House have 
set aside more than 70 percent of the future surpluses for debt 
reduction, Social Security, and Medicare.
  Mr. Speaker, the average taxpayer pays almost 40 percent of his or 
her income in taxes now and another 10 percent in government regulatory 
costs that are passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. 
One-half of everybody's income is too much. Let us give a little bit of 
it back.

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