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“TWO MORE RIDICULOUS BIG GOVERNMENT TAXES” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H10499-H10500 on Sept. 17, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TWO MORE RIDICULOUS BIG GOVERNMENT TAXES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, two more ridiculous big government taxes have been put out by the Clinton administration this week. The first one is under the name of safety in the workplace as respects violence. This is an OSHA proposal, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, megabureaucrats who love to come into small businesses and tell them what they are already doing.
This is what their proposal is. They have, through a study, detected that there is a lot of violence at night at convenience stores, restaurants, and hotels, and places that are open 24 hours a day.
So what do the Washington big government bureaucrats do? Instead of saying, maybe, that we need to address violence in society, maybe more police officers, maybe look into something that we can do, instead of going to businesses and saying, how can we help you with the problems of violence, they go to businesses and say, what are you going to do about it?
So the businesses now, through a new OSHA proposal, will be required, if this passes, to have bulletproof glass; cash registers only at street level, so if people are driving by they can see if they are being held up or not; video cameras, speed bumps, speed bumps in hotels and restaurants because that will cut down on the violence. I can just see some drug dealer saying, come on, do not rob that convenience store, they have speed bumps there; that will keep me from doing it.
There is a requirement also that you have no more than $25 in your cash register at one time, and have paperwork and training for your employees.
This is what the Clinton administration's view of private businesses are about: We are from the government, we are going to go into the convenience stores, the hotels and the restaurants all up and down the interstates, and anywhere else they might be open 24 hours a day, and say this is what you have to have. If you do not have it, guess who will be happy to sue you? Their friends in the legal community. This is just big, crazy, insane Washington bureaucracy out of control, and these are Clinton appointees who are pushing it.
What else is on the Clinton agenda? A new tax on backpacks and bird calls. This one comes from the Department of the Interior. This is one that the Clinton-appointed Secretary of the Interior says ``This is a win-win situation.''
What they want to do is put up to a 5-percent tax on the following items, Madam Speaker: Backpacks. That means all you little schoolkids going off, you are going to have to start paying 5 percent more for the Clinton administration tax on you; camping stoves, camping fuel, camping tarpaulins, camping utensils. That little fork is going to cost you 5 percent more if Secretary Babbitt has his way. Dry bags. I guess nobody would take wet bags on a trip. Hiking boots, hiking equipment, spray skirts for kayaks, tents, paddles, wild bird baths, film, camera, lenses. Boy, I am glad they came out with this after the Olympics. Also photo disks, binoculars; and just think, binoculars are not the only one they are picking on, monoculars, also, so you cannot get around this; tripods, window mounts, hand lenses, ``how-to'' guides.
When I was a kid I used to like to, and still do, liked to collect reptiles and amphibians. There is a great field guide by a man named Roger Konack. If I bought that when I was a 10-year-old or my 11-year-
old son buys it, Mr. Babbitt wants my son John to pay 5 percent more on a field guide, so when he goes out and identifies fishes, reptiles, amphibians, or other insects and buys other ``how-to'' guides, he is going to have to pay extra, because the Department of the Interior needs money.
This is the kind of mega-big-government thinking we do not need. This is why we do not need 4 more years of Bill Clinton and the megabureaucrats. We need to put people who have common sense and have normal values and realize that the middle-class people in America are sick and tired of their taxes going up.
In the 1950's, the average middle-class family paid 5-percent Federal income tax. Today that same middle-income family pays 24-percent Federal income tax.
People are sick and tired of it. They are working harder. They are getting less to show for it. They are concerned that their children are not going to be better off than they are. They are concerned that big government and Washington bureaucrats are stealing the American dream. Madam Speaker, I think under Bill Clinton that is what is going on.
We need to have commonsense reform in government. We need to have a balanced budget. We need to have local control of government decisions, not being made by Washington bureaucracy. We need to have commonsense in government, not bureaucrats making all the decisions.
Madam Speaker, I include for the Record the Teaming With Wildlife Product List.
The information referred to follows:
Teaming With Wildlife Product List
The following list is a draft of those products being considered for a user fee. Before this list is incorporated into the draft legislation, we are asking companies, customers (users) and coalition members to provide feedback on this list, as well as other details of the proposal. The products listed below would have a graduated user fee of \1/4\%-5% of the manufacturer's price. The user fee must not act as a barrier to a product's sale. Beside each category is a suggested level for the user fee. Feedback from companies and consumers will help determine the final list of products and the percent to apply to each.
outdoor recreation equipment (5%)
BackpacksCamping stovesCamping stove fuelCamping tarpsCamping utensils (connected/folding)CanoesCanteensClimbing equipmentCompassesCooking kitsDry BagsFlotation vests (selected classes--not standard life boat vests)Hiking bootsHiking stavesKayaks/Spray skirtsMountain bicyclesOutdoor sleeping matsSkis/Poles/Boots (cross-country, downhill, telemark)Sleeping bagsSnowshoesTentsPaddlesPortable water purifiersPrepacked camp foodsScuba diving masks/Snorkels/Goggles/FlippersSnowboardsStuff sacksWet suits/Air tanks/Regulators/SpeargunsWhitewater rafts
backyard and wildlife products (5%)
Wild bird seed and other wild animal feed (except seed packaged for pet feed)Wild animal and wild bird feeders such as hummingbird feeders, suet feeders and other types of feedersWild bird bathsWild bird houses, bat houses, squirrel houses and houses constructed for use by other wildlifeNest platforms for wild birds
Books, videos, audio (5%)
Field guides to bird identification, nest identification, animal tracks, mammals, fishes, butterflies, insects and other animal groups
``How-to'' guides such as wildlife viewing guides, hiking and paddling guides, etc.Audio tapes of wildlife callsCD-Rom guides to wildlife and its enjoyment
BINOC, monoc and spot scopes (5%)
BinocularsHand lensesMonocularsSpotting scopesTripodsWindow mounts
Photographic equipment and supplies (2-3%)
CamerasFilmLensesLens filtersPhoto discRange finders (including those designed for use with photographic cameras and parts thereof)
recreational vehicles (RV's) (\1/4\%-\1/2\%, no more than $100)
Campers/Motor homes/Travel trailers
sport utility vehicles (\1/4\%, no more than $100)
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