[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       VOTING MAKES A DIFFERENCE

  (Mr. EHLERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, Monday evening I spoke to a college 
government class in my community, and a young woman commented during 
the question period. She asked, I just turned 18, I will be voting for 
the first time, can you tell me why I should vote? What difference does 
the government make in my life?
  I gave her two quick examples, and I thought everyone listening to 
this might be interested in these examples. I said, first of all that, 
when I was elected in 1994, we had deficits of $300 billion per year. 
The Republicans took over. We now have a surplus of over $100 billion 
per year. That is a $400 billion per year difference, and that computes 
to $2,200 for every single taxpayer in this Nation. That does make a 
difference to you. You should vote this year.
  The second example I gave is that the interest on the debt is going 
to cost her $185,000 during her lifetime, even if we do not add another 
cent to the debt. This is equivalent to the cost of a nice house in my 
district. It does make a difference who is in control; we have started 
to pay off the debt. It does make a difference, and people should vote 
accordingly. I am very proud of what we have accomplished, and how we 
have put money back in the hands of the people, including this young 
18-year-old lady. I hope that she does vote, and I hope that she does 
vote for the good of this country.

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