Date: 1998-03-04
Speaker: BOB SCHAFFER (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Colorado

Mr. Speaker. let me issue a word of encouragement to conservatives and Republicans across the country based on what I heard back home. I want to share some statistics briefly. It was not too long ago in Colorado that we had runaway spending at the State level and high taxes. The voters in Colorado through a series of initiatives and ballot proposals capped spending of our State budget and spending of all of our local governments. They additionally placed pretty severe tax limitations on State government and local government. I remember at the time when I was serving back in the State Senate. that the liberals in Colorado were just whining and crying about these limitations on spending and tax increases as though it was somehow going to crush the State. And those of us on the conservative side and the Republican party back in Colorado stood our ground and maintained that. no. we believe very firmly in these conservative economic principles that if we lower taxes. we increase revenue to the State because of economic growth and prosperity. And when we lower spending. we move more authority out of the halls of government and into the homes of free people throughout the State. Back in Colorado during the town meetings I just returned from. things are pretty good economically when it comes down to it. Colorado is almost an oasis in the west when it comes to economics. And here is the real impact of tax reduction and spending reductions in my State for those who doubt that these principles work and that the Republicans and conservatives here in Congress are on the right track. This is a report I am going to refer to from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. a very liberal organization in its goals and objectives. But here is what they found in one of the lowest tax States in the union: The poorest onefifth of our population in my State since the mid1980s to the mid1990s realized the greatest amount of economic growth and income growth in poor households. This is the poorest fifth. Their incomes over that 10year period grew 39 percent. The second fifth of income categories. their income grew 21 percent. The middle fifth saw income growth of 12 percent. The fourth group there. which is almost to the richest category. had a 6 percent growth and the richest fifth of Colorado citizens saw 16 percent growth. All income categories saw a remarkable growth over a 10year period. Mr. Speaker. that is very impressive. What is most impressive is that low taxes. smaller spending has resulted in a 39 percent growth rate for the poorest onefifth of the residents of my district in my State. I would suggest when we talk about spending and taxes within the context of compassionate and humanitarian approaches to serving our people. the proof is right here. That it is far more humanitarian. it is far more compassionate to take cash out of Washington. D.C.. not even bring it here but to leave it back into the hands of the people who earned that wealth. who are able to turn income into jobs or are willing to take the risks as entrepreneurs and create wealth on a local level and at the State level in a way that honest to goodness has helped the poorest fifth of my State. That means that there is more dollars to spend not on welfare. not on various entitlement programs and handout programs in my State. although we continue to do that. but more dollars are going to classrooms. .for example. More dollars are going to the important priorities that when I travel around the State people tell me they want to see us invest in. So we are doing it on a State level. These are accomplishments that Congress does not deserve a whole lot of credit for and should not try to take that. But what it does show is that if we can find strategies to turn more of the authority of Washington. D.C. back to our States. we can find strategies to shrink the size of the Federal Government and empower our people locally. that we can expect more of this. We can expect to see more of the poorest families in the country begin to become selfsufficient and move toward higher income categories and achieve real success. That is a Republican vision and a strategy that we all stand for and one that I am proud to say that it is working and it ought to be a point of encouragement for this Congress and the rest of the States of the Union.