[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9921]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  EXPLAINING OPPOSITION TO TAX RELIEF

  (Mr. DeLAY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DeLAY. Madam Speaker, the number one domestic priority of this 
administration and this Congress is to stimulate the sluggish economy. 
The President's tax relief proposal will create jobs. It will grow the 
economy. It will spur investment and innovation in the private sector. 
And it will put more money into the pockets of the American men and 
women who earn it.
  By contrast, the alternative plan being touted is insufficient, and 
its proponents have some explaining to do. As the President put it the 
other day, if they agree that tax relief creates jobs, then why are 
they for a little itty bitty tax relief package?
  Well, some oppose tax relief because they think the money belongs to 
the government instead of the people who earn it. The good news is that 
this is an intellectually consistent response. The bad news is, the 
only person in the Western Hemisphere who believes it is Fidel Castro.
  Others say they worry about the deficit, but their argument 
contradicts itself. The budget was balanced in the 1990s through 
spending restraint and economic growth. Letting people keep more of 
their own money stimulates the economy and limits our ability to spend.
  Those opposing significant tax relief would intentionally hamstring 
the economy and leave hundreds of billions in Washington, D.C. to be 
spent like a stray $20 bill in Las Vegas, not exactly a recipe for a 
balanced budget.
  Finally, some in Washington just attack everything that the President 
proposes. This, unfortunately, describes too many Democrats in 
Congress, more interested in griping than governing.
  Madam Speaker, whether their reasons are extreme, self-contradictory, 
or partisan, the enemies of significant tax relief are wrong. We need 
real tax relief to create jobs, grow an economy that can afford all our 
priorities, balance the budget, and hold the line on spending. That is, 
after all, why the American people elected Republican leaders in the 
first place.

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