Andrea Seastrand: “I strongly believe that Americans should be able to earn more, keep more and do more with their families, their churches…”

“I strongly believe that Americans should be able to earn more, keep more and do more with their families, their churches and communities. In that regard we are looking toward relief to help working families. Specifically, we are taking the lead in repealing the President's harmful gas tax increase, a gas tax increase which is costing taxpayers $4.8 billion a year. What is the President doing? Well, he is calling for a government investigation. But keep in mind that the era of big government is over. President Clinton said so. The increase in revenues from the President's tax increase is funding more big government spending, not the maintenance of our Nation's highways, our roads and bridges, as is historically the case. Mr. Speaker, the worst thing is that this tax increase especially hurts lower income families. According to the Joint Economic Committee, the lowest 20 percent of taxpayers pay 7.1 percent of their income on gasoline while the top 20 percent pay only 1.6 percent. In other words, lower income families in America pay four times as much as others. I strongly urge the repeal of this tax.”