Date: 2003-05-14
Speaker: MARIO DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Absolutely. You mention a specific issue that. by the way. is in the bill that we passed which would create jobs. Another thing that would create Jobs that is also in the bill that we passed. and by the way. it would also save. it would provide relief for 92 million Americans. 92 million Americans. an average of $1.083 in the year 2003. allowing them to keep more of their money. That would put more than a hundred million dollars into the economy of our country over the next 12 months. creating jobs. turning over that economic engine. You mentioned a little while ago that the way to get out of the deficit. by the way. to pay for the essential service that we all want to pay for. including what the Republican majority is doing with. for example. the prescription drug coverage under Medicare. Is to expand the economy. That is not to raise taxes to the point where people cannot pay them and you destroy business. It is to grow the economy. One way to grow the economy is. again. by allowing the 2 million Americans. now I know. I know. some of our friends on the Democratic side will say. those are rich folk. You are going to cut $1.083 in the year 2003 on 92 million Americans. Those are rich folks. I wish. by the way. there were 92 million rich people in the United States. Those are not the facts. But that will allow Americans to keep more of their money. to spend more of their money. to invest more of their money. to put it into their businesses. and that alone is a hundred million dollars into the economy that right now is being sucked in. this huge sucking sound that goes from every single city. town. village in our country of money coming up here to D.C. to do with it as we know the government does with it. including some of the things that we mentioned. The plan that we passed also would see the tax burden eliminated entirely on 3 million moderateincome families. Three million moderateincome families would pay zippo. zilch. nada. zero. Those are rich people? No. Those are working families. Those are working families. How about the child tax credit that will be raised from $600 to $1.000? Tell me that is not something that has to happen. Tell me that is not something that the American people deserve. Tell me that is not something that the American people can do better with their money than us in D.C.. with the bureaucracies. and the size of this government. again. 23 million small businesses would. again. in H.R. 2. the bill that we passed. House Resolution 2. by having more capital to expand on their businesses. That is what this country needs. And I know that some are content to think. no. we should not do anything. We should just kind of pretend that things are okay. They will complain here on the floor. but they will not propose anything that creates any jobs. I am so proud to have been able to support this package that actually will create. just create so many jobs for the hardworking people of this country. I do not know about the area that the gentleman represents. but in the State of Florida. the area that I represent. people are concerned. People want jobs. People want to work. People want to have good highpaying jobs. And they are looking for government to do something to incentivize this economy. not to just sit back and pretend that things are okay. I am pretty sure it has got to be the same where you are.