Urging the President to authorize the return to the people of the Philippines of two church bells that were taken by the United States Army in 1901 from the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar, Philippines, and are currently displayed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.

Mr. Speaker, in the last few weeks as I traveled across my district, the 24th District of Texas, it became very obvious to me that the number one issue on the minds of my constituents is out-of- control Federal spending.

In the last legislative session in Texas, my former colleagues in the Texas legislature passed a resolution addressing this out-of-control Federal spending. The resolution requested that the Congress pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and send it to the States for ratification.

This is the resolution I have in my hand that was sent to me by the State representatives and the senators in my district that I represent. By overwhelming votes in both houses, the house and the senate, the Texas legislature passed this resolution that I'm holding right here in my hand. The Texas House of Representatives approved this bill by a vote of 115-17 on April 13, and the Senate adopted the bill on May 19 by a vote of 28-3.

This resolution calls on Congress to enact the best measure to stop runaway Federal spending. We can best ensure our future prosperity by passing a balanced budget amendment. I would like to personally thank the members of the Texas legislature that represent parts of my district, the 24th District of Texas. I applaud them for sending this resolution urging us to take action. My sincere thanks go to State Senator Jane Nelson, State Senator Chris Harris and State Senator John Carona, and to State representatives Vicki Truitt, Burt Solomons, Linda Harper-Brown, and Todd Smith. These brave men and women have taken a courageous stand on this issue, and I feel it's my obligation to follow through with their request.

The Federal Government must end sustained deficit spending. In fiscal year 2010, the Federal Government accumulated a deficit in excess of $1.3 trillion, an annual deficit that exceeds the entire gross State product of Texas. In order to finance our current deficit, we borrow 40 cents of every dollar we spend--40 cents on the dollar--money that could easily go to pay our national debt down.

The longer we wait only results in more debt, debt that we will pass along to our children and to our grandchildren. Our national debt currently stands at $14.7 trillion, which equals a debt per taxpayer of $131,288. This is a problem we can no longer ignore.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Texas legislature's request for prompt passage of a balanced budget amendment.

The State of Texas House of Representatives

House Concurrent Resolution No. 18

Whereas, the gravity of federal debt and federal

obligations was established early in American history, with

deficit occurring only in relation to extraordinary

circumstances, such as war; yet for much of the 20th century

and into the 21st, the United States has operated on a budget

deficit, including the 2010 budget year, which surpassed an

astounding $1.3 trillion, an annual deficit that exceeded the

entire gross state product of Texas; and

Whereas, the federal debt is greater than $14 trillion, a

sum that if shared equally by each person in America would be

a burden of over $45,000 per person, and yet the federal

government continues to accrue debt; and

Whereas, the higher the deficit, the more the government

must spend on paying interest on the debt; compounding the

problem is the use of deficit spending, which becomes a

responsibility for future generations of Americans to assume

without their consent; and

Whereas, Congress has attempted to set budgetary restraints

for itself in the form of a balanced budget amendment; the

proposal won wide support in 1995, failing by only one vote

in the senate; and

Whereas, many states have previously requested that

Congress propose a constitutional amendment requiring a

balanced budget, but Congress has proven to be unresponsive;

and

Whereas, this growing burden of public debt is a threat to

the nation's economic health, and action must be taken to

restore fiscal responsibility; a balanced budget amendment

would require the government not to spend more than it

receives in revenues and compel lawmakers to carefully

consider choices about spending and taxes; by encouraging

spending control and discouraging deficit spending, a

balanced budget amendment will help put the nation on the

path to lasting prosperity; Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas

hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to

propose and submit to the states for ratification an

amendment to the United States Constitution providing that

except during a war declared by the Congress of the United

States pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 11, United

States Constitution, or other national emergency, the total

of all federal appropriations for a fiscal year may not

exceed the total of all estimated federal revenue for that

fiscal year and providing for a spending limitation; and, be

it further

Resolved, That the Texas Secretary of State forward

official copies of this resolution to the president of the

United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives

and the president of the senate of the United States

Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to

the congress with the request that this resolution be

officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial

to the Congress of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I recently reintroduced my bill, H. Con. Res. 18, which urges the President to authorize the transfer of ownership to the Philippines of the bells taken in 1901 from the town of Balangiga in the Philippines. The bells are currently displayed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In the 110 years since the taking of the bells occurred, the citizens of the United States and the Philippines have shared many historic and political ties. The Philippines was a staunch ally of the United States during World War II. Brave Filipino soldiers were drafted into service by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, fought side-by-side with American soldiers, and were instrumental in the successful outcome of World War II. Filipino soldiers also fought alongside our soldiers on the battlefields of Korea and Vietnam.

Since the independence of the Philippines in 1946, the U.S.- Philippine relationship has been largely one of friendship and cooperation. The Philippines is a republic patterned basically on our own system of government. The Philippines is a valuable trading partner of the U.S. and an ally in the war against terrorism. Approximately 2.9 million Americans are of Filipino descent and close to 250,000 United States citizens reside in the Philippines. The acts of conflict that surrounded the taking of the bells of Balangiga are not consistent with the friendship that is currently an integral part of the relationship between our two nations.

The Republic of the Philippines has repeatedly requested the return of the bells. They

are an important symbol to the Filipino people, who wish to have them re-installed in the belfry of the Balangiga Church. I believe that it is time to resolve this situation in order to solidify the bonds between our two nations. My resolution would honor and promote the positive relationship our counties enjoy.

As the years pass, I am confident that relations between our two nations will grow even stronger. To that end, the United States Government which has final disposition over the bells of Balangiga should transfer ownership of the bells to the people of the Philippines as a measure of good will and cooperation.