On the recordSeptember 22, 2004
10 years ago, 25 hearty souls met for 3 hours every week to decide whether we could change the course of America, led by then House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich. We said that if you gave us the authority and the power, we would change the way America works, and we did it with a specific Contract With America; 9 million additional people voted in that election and gave us the opportunity to lead. We believed that too many people were on welfare, and they deserved an opportunity to get off, so we changed that. We balanced the budget and paid down debt. Some of that is going by the wayside now with a war to fund, but when we stood before the American people in 1994, we stood for something solid, and we can do it again. We want to thank the American people for giving us the opportunity. And, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Newt Gingrich, who would be our Speaker ultimately, for leading us to that majority.
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