WASHINGTON – At a Capitol Hill news conference this morning, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) President Thomas A. Schatz joined House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich (R-Ohio) in support of H.R. 3, Chairman Kasich’s 10 percent tax reduction plan.  Following are Schatz’s remarks following the news conference:

“The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste represents 600,000 tax-paying Americans.  They are the people whose hard work has fueled this economic expansion and whose tax dollars are being confiscated by the Clinton Administration.  These Americans deserve more than another year spent debating which special interests should get their money.  These Americans deserve more than so-called targeted tax cuts that are no more than a re-engineered way to do old fashioned liberal social engineering.  Americans are paying too much for their government.  They deserve a rebate.  It’s time for Americans to reap the rewards of their hard work.  That is why the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is supporting the Kasich plan.

“This plan recognizes a simple fact that the Clinton Administration has been avoiding for years – and this Administration has become quite adept at avoiding simple facts.  Despite wonderful economic times, the government is still looking at a mountain of debt.  This is the time to invest in more economic growth.  Alan Greenspan told this Budget Committee last week that ‘cutting taxes is far superior to spending as far as the long term stability of the fiscal system and the economy is concerned.’  Certainly taxpayers do not believe the President when he tells them they can’t be trusted with their own money.  His veracity has been tested once again with his budget plan to spend 151 percent of the surplus over the next 15 years.

“I am proud to stand for our 600,000 members, I am proud to stand on the side of Alan Greenspan, I am proud to stand with Congressman Kasich here today, and I am proud to stand for this tax plan.  In fiscal year 2000, it is time to shift the balance of power from the power brokers in Washington to the taxpayers across this country.  That is what these tax cuts are about, and that is why we at the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste pledge our support for a 10 percent rebate for every taxpayer.  If we leave the money here in Washington, it will be wasted.”