[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9521-9522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                                 TAXES

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise to talk about taxes, which is the 
focus of where we are, and prior to that, to mention that despite all 
the discussions we have had about certain issues, this Senate has 
accomplished quite a bit in the several months we have been in session. 
That is our task; we ought to be doing that.
  A number of things have happened. First of all, we abolished the 
Clinton ergonomics regulation. We used a technique that allows the 
Congress to bring back regulations that are put in and to review them, 
which, quite frankly, is something we ought to be able to do on all 
regulations. I come from Wyoming. I was in the Wyoming Legislature. 
There, when you have a statute passed by the legislature, the rules are 
then put in by the appropriate agency, and those rules come back to the 
legislature to see if, indeed, they are consistent with the purpose of 
the legislation.
  That doesn't happen in the Congress. It is too bad. You can pass a 
law, and by the time the regulations are in, the concepts under the law 
can be quite different. In any event, this one was brought back on 
ergonomics. It was successfully overhauled in the Congress. That is 
good.
  Of course, we approved a deficit reduction budget, a budget that 
still has more expenditures perhaps than we ought to have. But in any 
event, it probably is about a 5-percent increase, which is less than 
the increases of the past number of years--less because when you have a 
surplus, it is awfully hard to hold down spending. It was an 
appropriate thing to have this budget that does reflect at least some 
control in spending and we are pleased about that.
  Of course, currently pending and perhaps the most important thing we 
will do in a very long time will be the tax reduction that is now being 
considered by committee. It has passed the Senate as well as the House. 
And when the conference committee completes their work, it will be back 
here for consideration. We are anxious for that to happen.
  The Bankruptcy Reform Act was passed as well. We had brownfields 
revitalization, which is something that has gone on for a very long 
time that allows lands to be put back into use

[[Page 9522]]

more easily. We have construction of a memorial honoring World War II 
and those who served there. We have intellectual property, a number of 
things that are quite important and that have, in fact, been achieved 
during this relatively short time.
  So we are looking forward to that. But in the meantime, I am going to 
soon yield the floor to my friend from Idaho. I believe one of the most 
important bills we will be passing in this session of the Congress is 
the bill to cut tax rates across the board, bury the death tax, fix the 
marriage penalty, and double the child credit. We can do a lot to make 
this economy stronger, more fair, and to allow people to utilize more 
of their own money for the purposes upon which they decide.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Idaho is 
recognized.

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