Political Quotes

“as vice chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and as one of the House conferees on the tax bill, it is with great pleasure that I rise today on the floor of the House of Representatives to speak in strong support of legislation which will provide substantial tax relief for the American people. Most importantly, it appears that this bill, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, will be signed into law and will become the first major tax relief package the American taxpayer has seen enacted since 1981. Although it was in 1994 that Republicans gained the majority in the House of Representatives and started pushing in earnest for a tax cut, it took us nearly 3 years to finally convince this President that the American people were in need of real tax relief. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the taxpayers of the Eighth Congressional District of Illinois, I'm glad the President finally got the message. By now everyone should know the story of the middle class taxpayer. Today, the typical family devotes more of their family budget to combined Federal, State, and local taxes than they do to food, clothing, and housing. Considering this statement, it should come as no surprise that it is also a fact that Americans are being taxed today at record high levels. The time to reverse these trends is long overdue, and the legislation before us today is, I hope, only the first significant step toward relieving family tax burdens.”