William Martini: “as we have kept our promises these first 100 days, we have made the democratic process work. This week it will continue…”

“as we have kept our promises these first 100 days, we have made the democratic process work. This week it will continue to work with the passage of this rule and this bill. Mr. Speaker, as originally written I must confess that I was concerned that the tax package in the Contract With America did not place enough emphasis on deficit reduction. Mindful of that concern, a group of us, including the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle], the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Upton], the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon], and a host of others from both sides of the aisle, worked with the Republican leadership and fashioned an agreement on the issue that makes it entirely clear to the public that in passing tax relief we will not abandon our pledge to bring the deficit down to zero. According to the new provision, the tax cuts in the bill cannot go into effect until a budget is passed, putting us on course to a balanced budget in the year 2002, and each year thereafter Congress will have to revisit our deficit reduction goals to make sure we stay on track. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that with the addition of these provisions to this original bill my concerns have been satisfied. A good bill has been made better, and the process is working again. I urge support of this rule and this bill.”