Thomas Foley: “I will simply read from it. Section 9 of the original Constitution, which has been referred to numerous times today, by…”

“I will simply read from it. Section 9 of the original Constitution, which has been referred to numerous times today, by the Founding Fathers, prohibited taxation. It was an amendment to the Constitution that allowed this Nation to tax its people. Yesterday we heard in the debate about the Census language, ignore the Constitution, it suggests enumeration, but in order to help the minorities we would forget the writing of the Constitution and we will now do a statistical sampling. Madam Speaker, the Constitution is very clear. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scarborough) has raised many times the tax vote in 1993, and that one Member from Pennsylvania, whose arm was twisted and was launched down to the Floor to change her vote in the last seconds of the vote that day, Ms. Mezvinsky from Pennsylvania, changed her vote from a nay to a yea and passed the tax bill. She was defeated by her constituents for raising taxes. I remember the comment by the President of the United States, I believe I raised your taxes too much. It was a little late for Ms. Mezvinsky, who could not apologize. She had lost her office. By one vote they were able to achieve a tax increase that then this president has denounced as maybe it was a bit too ambitious.”