L. Paxon: “since January 1995, since the Republican majority took over the operation of the House of Representatives and the…”

“since January 1995, since the Republican majority took over the operation of the House of Representatives and the leadership of the Congress of the United States, we have accomplished, I think, many great things, many important steps forward, fulfilling our commitment to provide a new direction for this country, the will of the American people. Those successes I believe are in many ways historic, starting with the very opening days of that Congress in January 1995, the decision to reform Congress, to open the doors of this institution once again to the American people, to diminish the power of the all-powerful committee chairs that in the past did what they chose, not what the American people chose, for example. We also were able to pass what I think will go down in history as one of the most historic pieces of legislation of any Congress, basic fundamental welfare reform, giving our States the opportunity to replace welfare with work requirements. We passed illegal immigration reform, and freedom to farm legislation for the first time in 60 years, changing the face positively of American farming. We passed telecommunications reform, and this year plan to extend the life of the Medicare System that has saved the lives of my parents and so many other Americans, as well as tax relief for families.”