[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2083-2084]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            AMERICANS KNOW BEST HOW TO SPEND THEIR OWN MONEY

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, as American taxpayers keep a steady eye 
on April 15, only 65 days away, many will notice that the $500 per 
child tax credit passed by the Republican Congress in 1997 will make 
things a little easier this year.
  For those with children, the pain of April 15 will be mitigated 
somewhat because the Republican Congress passed legislation allowing 
middle class families with children to keep a little bit more of what 
they earned.
  Let us remember a key point that seems to be overlooked by those on 
the other side of the aisle: Washington did not ``give'' anything to 
millions of middle class families with children; Uncle Sam is merely 
allowing them to keep a little bit more of what already belongs to 
them.

[[Page 2084]]

  This legislation was passed because Republicans think the tax burden 
on the middle class is too high. Revenues to Uncle Sam are at record 
levels. Taxes paid in Washington have risen steadily higher since the 
days of Ronald Reagan ended.
  The idea that the Federal Government, of all things, can be trusted 
better to spend our money than the people that earned it, is simply 
mind-boggling.

                          ____________________