Jack Kingston: “this Republican Congress that has been so maligned by partisan Democrats has been the first Congress since 1969 to…”

“this Republican Congress that has been so maligned by partisan Democrats has been the first Congress since 1969 to balance the budget. It has been the first Congress to have tax cuts in 16 years. It has been the first Congress to reform and protect Medicare on a bipartisan basis. And the first Congress to have welfare reform and 40 percent of the people who were on welfare in 1994 are now independent, working. This is hardly a record to be scoffed at. What have we done this year? We have protected Social Security. We have stopped the Democrat practice of taking the surplus out of Social Security and spending it on roads and bridges. We have protected the family farm with the farm disaster bill. We have protected education by giving more power to local school boards and less from Washington bureaucracy. And we are on the verge of passing major drug legislation that will give strong interdiction, strong prevention and rehabilitation services. We think this is a solid legacy. This Congress will be remembered as the surplus Congress. I am proud that I played a part of it.”