J.C. Watts: “Mr. Chairman, we hear that giving people their money back is a risky thing. It is a risky thing for the economy not to…”

“Mr. Chairman, we hear that giving people their money back is a risky thing. It is a risky thing for the economy not to give people their money back, because what happens is, if those dollars stay here in Washington, we then grow the Government and create more government; and then we have to take more money from the American people to feed those new government programs. It is an amazing thing to me that someone would say that it is risky to give people their money back when you consider that the economy, the strength of the economy is driven by, or 70 percent of the economy is driven by consumer spending. So when you give people their money back to buy appliances, to buy food for the kids, to buy cars, or to buy new tires, to buy a new washer and dryer, to make the house payment, that is good for the economy. That is not risky. Again, I repeat, it is risky to leave that money here in Washington. I think the Committee on the Budget has come up with a very responsible budget. It takes care of 100 percent of the Social Security surplus. It strengthens Medicare and prescription drugs. It sets aside about $40 billion for the prescription drug benefit, retires the public debt by 2013. I think it is important that we pay down the public debt, that we get rid of that public debt and not strap our kids and our grandkids with that. It promotes tax fairness for families and farmers and seniors.”