[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  REPUBLICANS HAVE FOCUSED ON RESULTS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2004

  Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, since I was elected to 
Congress, I have heard endless rhetoric from those on the other side of 
the aisle about the economy, tax cuts and the deficit. Unfortunately, 
when the political fog clears, it appears that our Democratic friends 
are more concerned with rhetoric than they are with results.
  Democrats have come to the floor and spoken about an ``exploding 
deficit'' that will ``haunt our children for years to come.'' One 
Democrat has even referred to the deficit as ``immoral.''
  However, their record speaks much larger than their endless rhetoric. 
For example, the Democrats have proposed approximately $890 billion in 
alternatives to major legislation considered on the House floor last 
year. This would have added almost one trillion dollars to the deficit. 
But before the chamber could clear, I am sure those Democrats were back 
on the floor yelling about deficit levels.
  During the Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Resolution, Democrats had another 
great opportunity to focus on the deficit and responsible spending. The 
Budget Committee proposed a one percent reduction in non-defense 
spending in order to reduce the vast amount of waste, fraud and abuse 
so prevalent throughout the federal government. This proposal did not 
receive a single vote by a Democrat on the committee.
  Unfortunately, the deficit is not the only economic issue where 
Democrats are strong on rhetoric, but absent on results. This chamber 
has been the venue for many Democrats complaining about the President's 
tax cuts. Democrats have called the President's tax relief plan 
``reckless tax cuts for the rich'' and even a ``fraud and a failure.''
  Unfortunately, when addressing President Bush's tax relief plan, 
there are no facts that Democrats fail to misrepresent. The accusation 
that this tax relief is a tax cut for the rich is the most often and 
obvious misrepresentation of the facts. Democrats not only voted 
against this tax relief, but some have even advocated rescinding the 
President's entire tax relief package. Let us take a look at what would 
happen had those Democrats been able to rescind the President's tax 
relief.
  Reinstate nine million low-income Americans back on the tax rolls.
  Reinstate the marriage penalty.
  Cut in half the $1,000 per child tax credit.
  Raise taxes on education savings by 75 percent.
  Eliminate income tax deduction for paying college tuition.
  Raise the capital gains tax by 25 percent and 50 percent for lower 
income families.
  Increase the double tax of dividends by as much as 62 percent.
  Reinstate the death tax.
  Reduce the adoption credit and the dependent care credit.
  Eliminate emergency tax relief to areas affected by the attacks of 
September 11, 2001.
  Not only do some of our Democrat friends fight tax relief, they only 
propose one alternative: raise taxes on hard-working American people. 
Their talking points may avoid the facts, but raising taxes is the only 
economic policy Democrats have put forth. In fact, Democrats have 
proposed raising taxes ten times in the House and fifteen times in the 
Senate over the last year. This record speaks for itself.
  It is important, as well, to highlight the reasons why their rhetoric 
about the President's tax relief has been proven wrong. They claim--as 
I have mentioned--that the President's tax relief was only ``for the 
rich.'' I would guess they assume that low and middle income families 
are not affected by the marriage penalty, small family farmers are not 
affected by the death tax and middle-income parents are not affected by 
the adoption tax credit. It also appears that they have forgotten that 
the President's tax relief took millions of low-income Americans off 
the tax rolls all together.
  Democrats have also claimed that the tax relief passed by this 
Congress will create no stimulus for jobs. It is clear that economic 
developments have silenced that argument, but it is important to 
highlight why. According to the Department of Commerce, three million 
fewer Americans would be working today if the tax relief plan were not 
signed into law. Gross Domestic Product would also be as much as 3.5 to 
4% lower by the end of 2004.
  How can Democrats claim that job creation hasn't happened when 
112,000 new jobs were created in January and 366,000 jobs have been 
added over the past five months? How can they claim that the 
President's tax relief plan is not creating jobs when the unemployment 
rate has had the fastest seven month decline in nearly a decade? These 
are the facts and the facts seem to stand in stark contrast to the 
rhetoric we hear from the Democrats when it comes to economic policy.
  Now the Democrats are fighting to allow the tax relief to expire. 
Although Democrats try to avoid it, this policy is a tax increase. If 
the 2001 and 2003 tax relief acts were to expire now, it would raise 
taxes by an average of $1,544 for 109 million taxpayers in 2003, 
according to the Department of Commerce.
  While rhetoric may have led some to believe otherwise, Democrats have 
clearly outlined a plan over the last year that would not only 
contribute almost one trillion dollars to the deficit, but would also 
raise taxes on the American families. These are the facts and the 
records certainly highlight those facts.
  We are at a crucial point in economic policy--as spending-driven 
deficits and burdensome taxes are clearly affecting American families. 
This resolution will address the deficit, spending and eliminating 
waste, fraud and abuse. This stands in stark contrast to the reckless 
spending and taxing advocated by the Democrats.
  As we debate the budget, I encourage my friends on the other side of 
the aisle to join us in reducing the deficit--not by proposing almost a 
trillion dollars in additional spending, but focusing on reductions in 
programs that are wasteful, duplicative or outdated. Furthermore, I 
encourage Democrats to oppose the large increases that only foster high 
deficits, while helping to reduce the burden of the tax code on 
American families--not by raising taxes--but through common sense tax 
relief.
  Republicans have focused on results--the economy is rebounding, the 
trend of job creation is increasing, homeownership is at record levels 
and GDP and consumer confidence is steadily growing. I ask my Democrat 
friends to stop the rhetoric and begin focusing on results.

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