[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          10TH ANNIVERSARY OF REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN CONGRESS

  (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, what a difference a decade makes. It is true 
we are marking the 10th anniversary of the Republican majority 
controlling this institution, and it has been great for the American 
people.
  One issue that is of paramount interest and is often forgotten is the 
fact that leading up to our having won the majority in 1994, we in this 
country, from the early 1960s forward, were dealing with a very tragic 
generational cycle of welfare. We saw this cycle of dependence 
continuing on and on and on where people were in fact losing their 
motivation, losing the kind of incentive that they needed to succeed in 
life. And when we in 1995, 1996 worked very hard to bring about an end 
to that generational cycling of welfare, what is it that we did? We not 
only created opportunity for people, but story after story had us 
telling anecdotal evidence of people saying, I have finally gotten the 
pride back that was so desperately needed.
  So, Mr. Speaker, that is just one example of the kind of success that 
we have had with our majority, and I hope we can keep working for the 
American people for years to come.

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