Jon L. Christensen: “Mr. Speaker, when I got here 4 years ago, I always heard that we could not cut taxes because there was a deficit. And…”

“Mr. Speaker, when I got here 4 years ago, I always heard that we could not cut taxes because there was a deficit. And now we cannot cut taxes because there is a surplus. But we have not heard the same debate on the Y2K debate, or on Bosnia. But when it comes to the people's money, we always cannot give it back to them. Coming from Nebraska, I have had an opportunity to talk to a lot of farmers and hear what they have to say. In my own family, we have my brother and brother-in-law who are involved in farming operations. They said, ``What can you do for us this year, because we are going through an incredible crisis?'' Mr. Speaker, I said, what about 100 percent health care deduction for the self-employed? And they said, that is in the bill? And I said, absolutely. That will help. What about allowing the profits that a business has made in the last 5 years to be able to be offset from losses this year? And they said, that is in the bill? And I said, yes. That will help. That is a small provision. Every little bit will help in the this bill. It is not a perfect bill as far as we wanted more. We always want more for the farmers and ranchers. But it is a great start, and I thank the gentleman from Texas (Chairman Archer) for putting this bill together.”