[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      GENERATIONAL ACCOUNTING ASKS: WHO IS GOING TO PAY THE BILL?

  (Mr. LARGENT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LARGENT. Mr. Speaker, I came to the House with one speech in hand 
to give but I feel compelled to give another.
  I just came from a committee meeting of the House Budget Committee 
where we talked about generational accounting. I just want to say that 
we have heard many passionate pleas from the other side of the aisle 
about how we cannot reduce spending, we cannot cut funds in education, 
in the environment, so on and so forth.
  The bottom line is, who is going to pay that bill? It is going to be 
many of the young people sitting in the House Chamber at this very 
moment that are going to have to pay that bill.
  Generational accounting does this. It says if we continue the current 
policies that we have in place today, what will the tax rate be on the 
future generations, my children and my grandchildren? Those experts 
that testified before that committee said this: that children that are 
born today will face an effective tax rate of 84 percent over their 
lifetime if we continue current policies.
  Yes, we have tough decisions that we have to make, but it truly is 
about the future of our country and the future of our children. Just 
imagine yourself keeping 16 cents of every dollar you earn in the 
future if we do not make these tough decisions.

                          ____________________