Martin Hoke: “I thank the gentleman from Oregon, and rise today in strong support of House Joint Resolution 103, the Stenholm- Smith…”

“I thank the gentleman from Oregon, and rise today in strong support of House Joint Resolution 103, the Stenholm- Smith balanced budget amendment. Mr. Chairman, as I stand here, I am reminded of the James Taylor song, ``That's Why I Am Here'' because in fact this is one of the fundamental reasons that I was sent to Congress, to balance the budget. Mr. Chairman, nearly 220 years ago the colonial subjects of King George III were energized, inspired, and finally incited to revolution by the slogan ``No taxation without representation.'' It was the central, unifying theme of the Declaration of Independence. Taxation without representation was the straw, if you will, that broke the people's back. It was the single most inflammatory, unacceptable, and abhorrent characteristic of England's colonial domination and dominion over the fledgling colonies. Taxation without representation was the fundamental cause of the American Revolution. And here we stand, fully two centuries later, having indulged for the past 25 years in the subtlest--and yet all the more insidious--kind of taxation without representation ever perpetrated. That is--a tax which we in this Congress and Congresses past have levied on our children, and our children's children--and perhaps their children too--without any representation at all. They have no vote; they have no choice; They cannot speak; and who will speak for them?”