[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12182]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              SPENDING CUTS SAVED CANADA--NOT HIGHER TAXES

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in The Wall Street 
Journal, Fred Barnes documented on July 21 that in 1993 Canada faced a 
fiscal disaster similar to the one we're facing today. Government 
spending was on the rise, huge deficits were setting peacetime records, 
the economy was stagnant, an unemployment rate that was around 9 
percent with interest payments on debt using 35 cents of every tax 
dollar.
  The newly elected Prime Minister in 1993 listened to the voters by 
stating, ``Canadians have told us they want the deficit brought down by 
reducing government spending, not by raising taxes, and we agree.''
  By cutting spending, the Canadian economy roared back from 1995 to 
1998 and turned a $36.6 billion deficit into a $3 billion surplus. The 
Prime Minister was able to put aside partisan politics and listen to 
the wishes of the Canadian people.
  By leading in a manner that cut spending instead of raising taxes, 
the Prime Minister put Canada first. Our President should change from 
his failed policies and stop tax increases and destroying jobs.

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