[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 25446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         REPUBLICANS ARE PROTECTING SOCIAL SECURITY AND SURPLUS

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans in the House have passed 
domestic discretionary spending that has kept within our budget. In 
fact, as a percent of gross domestic product, it is the lowest since 
1974.
  Now, some of our opponents on the other side of the aisle would like 
to say that we have passed these larger and larger budgets, but the 
truth is we have been in negotiation with the White House and we have 
tried to reach an agreement with him.
  As other speakers have said earlier, we have matched him on most of 
the bills that have been passed. There are just a few outstanding that 
are still being negotiated. But the President wants to continue to add 
more and more money in and start more and more new programs.
  We are protecting Social Security. We are protecting the surplus on 
Social Security. We are protecting the surplus for Medicare. We have 
even passed a bill that gives some tax relief and also strengthens 
Medicare by adding more than $12 billion and to strengthen hospitals, 
including more than $1 billion for rural hospitals. In Kansas, rural 
hospitals are in desperate need of this legislation and this bill. But 
the President is holding it hostage and is refusing to do it.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I just hope that he will sign these bills into law 
and we can finish this session.

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