[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 24911-24912]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF LAST 7 YEARS

  (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, I have been in this House approximately 7 
years now, and as we approach the end of this session, it is time for a 
retrospective.
  When I arrived in this House, we had a deficit of $300 billion. And, 
in addition to that, we spent every cent, every single penny of the 
money that came in for Social Security, and it was spent on behalf of 
general government projects rather than on behalf of the people who 
contributed it.
  Today we have a surplus of over $100 billion, plus we are not taking 
one cent of the Social Security money that is coming in. What a 
difference in 7 years! If you want to know what that difference means 
for the average taxpayer, it is more than $2,200 for each and every 
taxpayer in this country.
  What a change! What an accomplishment! I am very proud to have been 
part of the House during this transition, from a time of immense 
deficit spending, stealing Social Security

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money, and now not touching the Social Security money and saving the 
money, having a surplus.

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