Rod Grams: “my freshman colleagues and I have come to the floor this morning to share our thoughts about the future. It is a vision…”

“my freshman colleagues and I have come to the floor this morning to share our thoughts about the future. It is a vision for tomorrow not bound in political partisanship, because ours is not a Republican agenda, but an American agenda: A message every citizen can embrace, whether they are just starting out on the job, a new parent, an executive working their way up the ladder, a long time employee in a union shop, a student, a senior citizen. Anybody who is searching for something better, and the freedom to achieve it, is welcome. And our message for the future can be spelled out in just six words: Lower taxes, less Government, more jobs. The vision those six words embodies contrasts sharply with the reality that has been imposed on the American people by their own Government. Instead of making real achievements on behalf of America's families, the last Congress, the 103d, was most noted for enacting the largest tax increase in American history. The $265 billion in new taxes it demanded from the middle class could not have been further from what the taxpayers wanted or deserved. This Congress heard their calls and we have pointed Washington in a new direction by seeking dramatically lower taxes for working Americans. We heard the people when they told us that they, not some tax collector or career bureaucrat in Washington, know what is best for their families and how to spend their money which they worked so hard for.”