Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 104th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m.

Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

H 4435

House of Representatives

Vol. 141 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, MAY 1, 1995 No. 70

The House met at 12:30 p.m. and was

called to order by the Speaker pro tempore [Mrs. WALDHOLTZ]

f.

DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO

TEMPORE

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following communication from the Speaker:

WASHINGTON, DC,

May 1, 1995.

I hereby designate the Honorable ENID G.

WALDHOLTZ to act as Speaker pro tempore on

this day.

NEWT GINGRICH,

The SPEAKER pro tempore. PursuSpeaker of the House of Representatives.

MORNING BUSINESS

fant to the order of the House of January 4, 1995, the Chair will now recognize Members from lists submitted by

the majority and minority leaders for

morning hour debates. The Chair will

alternate recognition between the parties, with each party limited to not to

exceed 30 minutes, and each Member

except the majority and minority leaders limited to not to exceed 5 minutes.

RECESS IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under

fthe Speaker’s announced policy of January 4, 1995, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. GOSS] is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. GOSS. Madam Speaker, the

House has just completed a district

work period, as Members know. Members are returning to Washington as we

speak. The district work period is a

time we all go home and listen to what

the people we work for have to say. We

reflect on what has been accomplished

here in Washington. We report back to

them. We get a little bit of a report

card on how things should be done and

instructions about what it is that the

people that we work for would like us

to try and achieve as we go forward

with the congressional agenda.

This year’s spring break tragically,

as we all know, was overshadowed by

the terrible bomb blast that occurred

April 19 in Oklahoma City. Our hearts

and our prayers go out to the victims,

their families, the entire Oklahoma

community, and all the extraordinary

Americans who have rallied together in

this time of crisis. So many people

were touched by this tragedy. Even in

remote southwest Florida that I represent the grief was felt in families

who lost loved ones who were killed in

the blast. We certainly applaud the efforts of the President, Federal and

local law enforcement, and Members of

this Congress in coming together to

bring the perpetrators to justice and

explore the challenge of preventing

such a tragedy from recurring again.

Madam Speaker, I spent a good part

of the break meeting with citizens in

Florida, from small business owners

and operators to students, to representatives of the media, a broad cross

section of the people who make things

tick in our small corner of America. It

was an extremely valuable period of dialog for me, a time to share ideas and

reflect on where we as a nation need to

be headed. The timing of the recess—

which we all know included the tax filing deadline of April 17—helped focus

people’s attention on the functions of

their Federal Government and the need

for change in the way we conduct the

Nation’s business. Just about everywhere I went in my travels throughout

the district and beyond the district as

well, people were encouraged by the

changes that are taking place up here

in Congress in terms of increased efficiency, streamlined operations, less

Government interference in their daily

life, and maybe even achieving a better

return to citizens for their hard-earned

tax dollars in the way we spend them.

But there was also growing interest in

tackling the challenge of reforming our

tax system in a comprehensive way,

and I suspect that may have had something to do with the fact that people

were trying to understand those very

difficult instruction forms at the last

minute on April 15 when they were

rushing to get in even before the extended deadline of April 17 this year. I

think most people recognize that our

current tax structure is inefficient, it

is unfair, and it is largely incomprehensive certainly to the average American if they try and read the instructions. The paperwork alone is enough

to ruin anyone’s day, and the feeling is

pervasive that many filers are paying

too much and do not see a fair return

on the investment they are required to

make, and I think many agree that

taxes are not moneys that are always

well spent by Washington.

In fact, it was while I was home over

this break that I received a note from

our UPS delivery person who brought a

package to my house. He scribbled his

message right on the little yellow delivery ticket one gets right over the

printed instructions so I could not read

it exactly, but the sentiment was very

clear. It said: ‘‘Today’s tax system is

unfair and needs to be changed.’’ This

particular citizen urged my support for

a flat tax, an option that is gaining in

popularity and deserves our close attention. There are, in fact, many possibilities for tax overhaul, including not

just the flat tax, or some version of it,

but the national sales tax and other

variations on those themes. I am

pleased that the chairman of the House

Committee on Ways and Means and the

House majority leader have committed

to beginning the dialog of tax reform

this year, with the possibility of real

change by next year. That would certainly be a welcome relief by the time

April 15 came around.