Ralph Hall: “today, of course, is tax day for millions of Americans. It is also tax day for Congress. I think what we do in the next…”

“today, of course, is tax day for millions of Americans. It is also tax day for Congress. I think what we do in the next few hours will send a message to all the hard-working Americans all across the country. It will either give Americans some hope for the future, some hope for tax relief, or it will give them nothing but the status quo. In the next few hours, we will have an opportunity to vote in support of House Joint Resolution 159, the tax limitation amendment to the Constitution. This amendment would require a two-thirds, a supermajority vote in the House and Senate for any bill that would raise Federal taxes. If a two-thirds requirement had been in place over the past 15 years, major tax increases in the years 1982, 1984, 1987, 1990, and 1993 would have failed. It does not mean we would not have had a tax bill, but it would have been a more sensible tax bill. It would have been sent back and reworked and we would have had more cuts in spending and less taxes on the backs of the American people. This is a much higher standard than a simple majority vote and a standard that would be far more representative of the wishes of the American people. Most of us here in Congress, like most Americans, support efforts to balance the Federal budget, and last year Members of the House went on record to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Now today we have another opportunity to show where we stand on an issue that will affect everyone in this country.”