[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 19456]]

   TAXES ARE HIGHER THAN THEY NEED TO BE SO WASHINGTON CAN SPEND MORE

  (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, the pollsters and political 
consultants tell us not to use statistics in our speeches. They tell us 
that peoples' eyes just glaze over at hearing the numbers. No matter. 
Honest statistics, facts, do matter.
  For instance, when Bill Clinton became president in 1993, the Federal 
Government took 17.8 percent of our productivity. Today that share is 
20.7 percent, nearly 3 percent higher. Let us hear those numbers again, 
because they are important in discussing whether or not tax cuts are a 
good idea. They are also numbers that we will never, ever hear the 
other side refer to, ever.
  In 1993 when Bill Clinton became president, Federal taxes were 17.8 
percent of our economy. Today Federal taxes are 20.7 percent of the 
economy. In other words, the Federal tax burden is at a record 
peacetime level. Taxes are higher than they need to be so that 
Washington can spend more and more money, creating new programs, 
expanding old ones, and giving us less power and control over our own 
lives.
  One-fifth of the economy in Federal taxes is just too much.

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