[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 139]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           BIG SPENDING HURTS TAXPAYERS IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, we learned a painful lesson in the not so 
distant past; that when the big spenders in Washington get their way, 
the taxpayers get the shaft. When the budget is drained to fund all 
sorts of pork barrel projects and special interest boondoggles, there 
is nothing left for those who pay the freight: Working American 
families.
  Not only do our working folks fail to get a long overdue and well-
deserved tax break, we now learn that the Federal Reserve Board is 
watching Congress very closely to see if it intends to engage in more 
reckless spending. If it does, the Fed is apparently ready to raise 
interest rates to head off any inflation that excessive government 
spending may bring about.
  So who is the big loser? Again, my colleagues may have guessed it, 
the American taxpayer. Not only is the taxpayer denied a tax reduction, 
because there is no money left in the bank, but he or she will also pay 
higher interest rates on mortgages, on car payments, on education 
loans, on credit cards, et cetera.
  Mr. Speaker, this year let us tell the President and his free-
spending friends in this body that enough is enough. We are not going 
to let them pick the taxpayers' pockets any more.

                          ____________________