[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3227-3228]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                          WHITHER THE TAX CUT

  (Mr. SANDLIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, the American public is not fooled by the 
charade before us today. Many in this Chamber claim that we have a $5 
trillion surplus. The fact is this: We have

[[Page 3228]]

a $5 trillion debt. Only in Washington, D.C., only here in the Nation's 
capital can a $5 trillion debt somehow magically transform itself into 
a $5 trillion surplus. That is new math at its finest. I do not know 
about you, but where I went to school in Texas, that just does not add 
up.
  According to my figures, in order to have a $5 trillion surplus, we 
would need to have $10 trillion in the bank. But as our friend Chris 
Farley might have said, ``We don't have Jack Squat.'' We need tax cuts 
in America. I support tax cuts in America. The Blue Dogs support tax 
cuts in America. But let us be responsible. We need a budget before we 
have tax cuts. We need to do what every family farmer does and every 
family business. Every family in America has a budget first. Mr. 
Speaker, let us formulate a budget first. Then we will give America the 
tax break that it deserves.

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