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News Release

January 14, 2003

Media Contact: (202) 789-5200

Cato Handbook for Congress
New book charts path to limited, constitutional government

Lawmakers who want to restore the federal government to its constitutionally limited role now have an instruction manual, the Cato Handbook for Congress: 108th Congress.

Being released to members of Congress today and tomorrow, the Cato Handbook for Congress recognizes that the biggest problem facing America is a federal government that has slipped its constitutional bounds to become a threat to our lives, liberties and pursuit of happiness. Four "Urgent Action Items" are noted in particular for the 108th Congress:

• Threats to Civil Liberties
• Social Security Reform
• Confronting Terror
• Tax Reform

The fifth edition of the Handbook is bigger than ever with 66 chapters and at nearly 700 pages, because the federal government is bigger than ever. Easy to access and read, each chapter in the Cato Handbook for Congress starts with a list of bulleted policy recommendations for quick reference.

Co-edited by Edward H. Crane, founder and president of Cato, and Cato executive vice president David Boaz, there is a definite need for the Handbook. According to Crane, "the political mood in America is as skeptical of big government as it has ever been. If members of Congress want to heed both the Constitution and the voters, they would do well to follow the advice of the Cato Handbook for Congress: reduce taxes and spending, protect civil liberties, reform Social Security, and protect Americans from the threat of terrorism."