[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 609]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             MORE PROOF WE CAN'T TAX OUR WAY TO PROSPERITY

  (Mr. HULTGREN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, a recent report from a respected 
Illinois think tank found that within 5 years the State of Illinois 
will have amassed an incredible $34.8 billion in unpaid bills. This, of 
course, comes only 1 year after an allegedly temporary tax hike that 
they were told would help restore the State to fiscal health, but 
instead has made the State's economy much worse.
  Yesterday, the CBO reported that, for the 4th consecutive year, the 
Federal budget deficit will once again exceed $1 trillion. This is a 
mind-boggling number, and it underlines the need for serious fiscal 
reforms such as the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act that we passed last year.
  But, Madam Speaker, I'd like everyone in this Chamber to learn a 
lesson from my home State of Illinois. We need to learn from the 
mistakes that they've made. Despite what some people here believe, we 
can never tax our way to prosperity. Let's heed the warning of the Land 
of Lincoln and make the tough decisions to break Washington's spending 
addiction.

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