Oct. 20 marked the end of the 105th Congress of the United States, and while the past two years have seen their share of controversy on a variety of issues, we have nonetheless had many legislative victories that have improved the quality of life for all Americans.

The Republican Congress came to Washington with a plan to balance the budget, reduce taxes, reform welfare, improve education, provide retirement security, improve healthcare, strengthen the military, and reduce the size and reach of the federal government.

Our accomplishments in these areas and more have made this the most productive Congress in history. On Jan. 1, 1995, budget officials had estimated that during the next decade, the federal government would spend $3.1 trillion more in taxpayer funds than it received through revenues. By mid-1998, the budget officials estimated that over the next ten years, the federal government will spend $1.6 trillion less than it receives from taxpayers. The federal government now has a positive cash flow, something few thought could ever happen.

Our success has been dependent on several priorities on which we continue to focus. I believe that the key to the financial security of every citizen is tax relief, and the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 provided $100 billion in tax cuts over five years, including: a $500 per child tax cut, alternative minimum tax relief for small businesses, capital gains tax cuts on the sale of homes and investments, death tax relief, tax incentives to reduce the cost of education, and new Roth IRAs to expand retirement savings.

Although the House passed a Taxpayer Relief Act of 1998 with $80 billion in tax cuts over five years, the President strongly opposed significant tax relief and was only willing to agree to a much smaller $9.2 billion bill that provided relief for farmers and the self-employed.

Another issue which has been of great concern to the public for decades was the need to overhaul our failed welfare system. Congress passed legislation fundamentally reforming the welfare system by focusing on the idea that getting able-bodied men and women off welfare and providing them with opportunity and responsibility is better than trapping them in a lifelong cycle of poverty. Welfare reform is about helping people to help themselves and the changes that have occurred are ensuring that happens.

The results have been incredible: Welfare rolls are down 42 percent since 1994. Addicts and alcoholics no longer get disability checks, saving $5.8 billion. Thousands of prisoners are now being denied welfare, saving $3.5 billion. Taxpayers are expected to save over $40 billion through 2002. We continue to monitor and improve on reforms.

In the area of education, our goal has been to return the control of our children's education to states, school districts, and parents. The House of Representatives passed a number of reforms including the Dollars to Classroom Act and the Higher Education Act. These reforms would consolidate the bureaucracy of the federal education system, provide increased funding on the local level for education initiatives, increased funding for Pell Grant awards to low-income college students, and incorporated reforms that would reduce the student loan interest rate, making formal education less expensive. While these specific bills were not enacted into law independently, many of these reforms were included in the omnibus appropriations bill that was signed into law last week.

This Congress has also made strides in addressing changes needed in health care. We passed legislation which allowed the self-employed to deduct 100 percent of the costs of health care, extended the life of Medicare through 2010, and expanded Medicare benefits to include additional mammography and diabetic services.

In addition, the House of Representatives passed health care reform focused on protecting the patient/doctor relationship in managed care. Unfortunately, opponents rallied behind strengthening the patient/lawyer relationship by supporting measures that would increase litigation, potentially interjecting the judicial system into the doctor's office.

The Patient Protection Act eliminates gag clauses, establishes privacy standards, ensures emergency room coverage, creates an appeals process for denied coverage, provides new coverage options for uninsured, guarantees women and children the right to an OB/GYN or pediatrician without going through gatekeepers, includes privacy protections for medical information, establishes outside appeals for denied claims, and limits non-economic damages in malpractice suits to $250,000.

While the Senate has failed to take action on this legislation, it will undoubtedly be on the top of the legislative priorities list in the 106th Congress.

Another issue I want to highlight for the 105th Congress, is national defense. The issue of the state of readiness of our military is a matter of great concern.

Despite strong funding for defense provided by Congress, the current Administration is not equally committed to ensuring that our troops are adequately prepared for military action. Defense readiness will be at the forefront of our concerns in the coming Congress. There is reason for serious concerns when Congress is appropriating more money for our national defense, yet our readiness continues to decline.