Rod Grams: “Mr. Chairman, everyone should be aware that for the previous speaker's district, Mr. Oberstar's 8th District of…”

“Mr. Chairman, everyone should be aware that for the previous speaker's district, Mr. Oberstar's 8th District of Minnesota, the Republican budget provides $61.4 million of family tax relief for 122,815 children. Mr. Chairman, in a few minutes, every Member of this House will have to make a fundamental decision between supporting bigger Government or stronger families. The vote on the Kasich substitute will tell the American people whose side you're on. I believe families are the most basic and effective form of Government. Families are the first Department of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing, and Transportation. Whatever Government can do for children, strong families can do better. But Government interference has made it more difficult for families to make it on their own. Higher taxes, overregulation, and Federal mandates have resulted in poorer families. And who has benefitted most from the improverishment of the American family? Big government and the Bureaucrats who live off it. The Democrats talk about their tax credit, but not their record tax increase. By giving families a $500-per-child tax credit and using specific cuts in Federal spending to pay for it, the Kasich substitute offers us an opportunity to right these wrongs. It takes power away from those who run the Government and returns it to those who pay for the Government.”