Reducing the amount authorized for salaries and expenses of Member, committee, and leadership offices in 2011 and 2012.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 22) reducing the amount authorized for salaries and expenses of Member, committee, and leadership offices in 2011 and 2012.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today is a momentous day. We are all here together as Members of a new Congress and, more importantly, at the cusp of a new era in America's political life. I find it humbling and most appropriate that while yesterday we were ceremonially sworn in in this historic House Chamber and appropriately voted on a transparency- enhancing rules package, today we began our proceedings with a reading of the United States Constitution. The Constitution not only establishes our polity and our framework of government, it enshrines as our fundamental law the proper role of government.

Mr. Speaker, as we promised in our Pledge to America, today's reading was an affirmation of our commitment to return this government back to its proper role--a smaller, less costly, more accountable one.

Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us, introduced by my colleague from Oregon, is extremely important to today's affirmation. And it is no accident that this is our first piece of legislative business in this the 112th Congress.

This legislation is significant because, along with our other activities here on the House floor this week, this bill committing ourselves to a more responsible and efficient stewardship of

the taxpayers' dollars demonstrates, we hope, to the American people that we are listening.

Mr. Speaker, the people's House should act first and lead by example. Everybody knows that across this country families and small businesses have cut their spending, are paying off their debt, and are striving to live within their means. We should do the same, and this legislation is a beginning. It will do that by having an immediate impact, and I would like to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) and his transition team for their hard work and their constructive ideas.

Under this resolution, each leadership, committee and Member office in the 112th Congress will receive no more than 95 percent of its 111th Congress funding level. In fiscal year 2011, this will mean a savings of $1 million from leadership offices, a savings of $8.1 million from committee budgets, and a savings of $26.1 million from, collectively, the Members' office budgets. For those who may not know, the Members' office budgets are the specific amounts that are given to Members so that they can carry out their functions as Members of Congress. It includes the ability to communicate with their constituents, it includes paying for their staff, it includes paying for their transportation from their district to Washington, D.C. and back; it includes the rental on their district offices. In other words, it is the money that is utilized for Members to carry out their official activities. These are important jobs that Members are required to do if in fact we are to represent our people appropriately. Nonetheless, even though these are important things that we do, we should try to be even more efficient in the way that we do them. That is the purpose of this legislation before us.

Mr. Speaker, these are substantial cuts in budgets, in budgets that frankly cannot continue indefinitely on an upward trajectory. We must all find ways to do more with less, to enhance our productivity, and to ferret out waste or inefficiencies wherever they may be. With that being said, this initial savings is only a down payment on future efforts. My colleagues and I on House Administration are dedicated to continuing savings and reductions in spending in other areas as well. Thus, for fiscal year 2012, we have committed to keeping this 5 percent reduction in place. We are also directing all House officers, such as the Clerk, the Sergeant at Arms and the Chief Administrative Officer, to find savings within their own organizations without sacrificing their services and the excellence they pride themselves on maintaining; in other words, to do what all Americans are attempting in their own lives, finding ways to do more with less. We look forward to hearing from these and other House offices in specificity as to what their cost-savings plans will be.

As has been said by our Speaker, we have committed to cutting domestic spending and returning non-security discretionary spending to 2008 levels. If we could live on that level of spending a mere 2 years ago, surely we can find ways to do so again. Again, American families are doing it. American businesses are doing it. We must try as well.

Mr. Speaker, listening to the American people and restoring the proper role of government means decreasing spending, ending our deficit mentality, and fostering job creation. These are the virtues that have made this country great and will sustain us in the future.

I want to publicly thank my colleague from Oregon (Mr. Walden) and his transition team for the efforts that they have put into this legislation, and I would urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) who spent an enormous amount of time beginning immediately after the elections to bring us to this point.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw).

At this time I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), a member of the transition team.

At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Scott).

Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), a member of the transition team.

Mr. Speaker, at this time it gives me a great deal of pleasure to yield 1 minute to the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to another gentleman who served us well on the transition team, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger).

At this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper), a member of the House Administration Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is my privilege to yield 3 minutes a new member of our House Administration Committee but a veteran of this House, the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller), who has done great work in the past about the operations of this House.

Mr. Speaker, I would make an inquiry as to whether the gentleman has further requests for time.

If the gentleman is going to yield back the balance of his time after his statement, I will do the same on this side.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman, my friend from the great State of Pennsylvania, who has worked on a bipartisan basis, most of the time, and what I mean by that is about 85 percent or 90 percent of the work we do on our committee has to do with making this place work, helping Members do the job that they were elected to do to represent their constituents, and making sure this institution of the House of Representatives works. There is a sense of a pride of the institution that I think marks our committee, and we try in a very real way to work, both on the Democratic and Republican sides, to ensure the productivity of the membership here and to ensure that, frankly, the people get their money's worth.

About 10 or 15 percent of what we have to do has to do with election law, and I might say that that's not always as obviously bipartisan, but we've always done it in the spirit of civility and always done it in the spirit of respect for one another, and for that, I would like to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Speaker, this is an important vote. In comparison to a trillion- dollar budget and trillion-dollar deficit people

might say this is a small amount. It is not a small amount. It is a serious 5 percent cut with respect to the operations of this House in very, very significant ways. It is a down payment on the future actions of this House with respect to other operations of the House, but as we scan across the entire Federal Government, this marks the down payment on that new vision.

So I would once again like to thank the Congressman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).

I have just discovered that I do have another speaker here, and with the indulgence of my friend on the other side, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Walsh).

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution. Let's make it a bipartisan effort. Let's show that we have the commitment of the membership here towards responding to the reality of our times.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank Mr. Lungren. I thank Mr. Brady. I thank Mr. Walden and the members of the transition team, many of whom have spoken on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, clearly, it is time for us--we Members of Congress of the House of Representatives--with House Resolution 22, to show good faith and regard to tightening our belts. It has been said by other Members that cutting the Members' representational allowance is kind of routine for a lot of the Members.

I know that, this past year, I returned something like $160,000 of the MRA to the Treasury and, over the course of my 8 years in Congress, in the aggregate, some $900,000. Quite honestly, that is more than a 5 percent cut. So it can be done, and many Members have done that as well.

We have concerns, of course, as to where that money goes to. Does it go to truly reducing the deficit and long-term debt?

I will be introducing, Mr. Speaker, legislation later on today that by law requires that that money that is turned back in goes back to the taxpayer. Yet this piece of legislation, House Resolution 22, is something that I think will have wide, if not unanimous, bipartisan support.

As I say, the former chairman of this committee, Mr. Brady, now the ranking member of the current chairman's committee, my good friend Dan Lungren from California, is of the same mind in regard to fiscal responsibility and doing what is right for the American people.

On November 2, they were telling us, Look, we are sick and tired of you guys who just keep throwing money at things, like the $1 trillion cost of the stimulus bill and another $1 trillion for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Some people recognize that better as ObamaCare. But, you know, when you've got $1.4 trillion worth of deficit for 2 or 3 years in a row, no wonder you add $5 trillion to the long-term debt, and you get up to something like $14 trillion.

So, Mr. Speaker, at a time when there is a 9.8 percent unemployment rate and when families across the country are forced to tighten their belts, I wholeheartedly believe that Congress should lead by example. That is what we are doing with this bill.

I appreciate my colleagues giving me time to weigh in on this. I fully support it, and I look forward to being a member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 22, a resolution that will reduce House budgets by 5% across the board for the 112th Congress. I commend the author of this legislation--my colleague from the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Walden--for his leadership on this resolution and for the work he has done over the past few months in leading the Republican transition efforts.

On November 2, 2010, the American people spoke very clearly at the ballot box to stop the out-of-control spending here in Washington. They were rightfully tired of the $1 trillion so-called ``Stimulus'' bill and the $1 trillion ObamaCare bill.

As you know, Mr. Speaker, these bills are largely to blame for $1.4 trillion deficit for Fiscal Year 2010 that has ballooned our national debt to $14 trillion.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when there is 9.8% unemployment and families across the country are forced to tighten their belts, I wholeheartedly believe that Congress should lead by example.

H. Res. 22 provides for a 5% reduction for each Member's MRA, which I--as a new Member of the House Administration Committee--believe is a good starting point for us to rein in federal spending.

I know that some of my colleagues across the aisle will criticize this proposal for being an act of political theater or not going far enough, so I would ask them a simple question. If--as Members of Congress--we cannot support proposals to cut our own budgets, then how can the American people trust us to make much more difficult budget decisions down the road to reduce our massive debt?

Mr. Speaker, as families across the country continue to struggle financially, it is imperative that we show fiscal restraint, and there is no better place to start than here in the halls of Congress.

I ask all of my colleagues to support H. Res. 22.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the House Administration Committee for his help and assistance as we worked through the transition. I also want to thank the ranking member the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) as well who were designated by then-Speaker Pelosi to be a formal conduit for us on the transition. They were most helpful and gave us good insights. And I want to thank all the Members who participated and the staff whom we reached out to in a survey across this campus to say, How can we do this better? How can we be more efficient with our time and the taxpayers' money? Where can we cut costs?

Today is that first installment. There is an old saying that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a single step forward, but it is a $35 million first step. We think we can at least save that in this effort today, and leadership really starts at the top.

The American people have spoken loudly and clearly. They are very concerned about the economy and their jobs and their communities and they are equally and deeply concerned about the deficits that have been racked up by both parties over time. We have to turn that around, or we end up looking like some of these countries elsewhere around the globe that are facing financial ruin if they don't change. We have to change, too, and we are asking ourselves to take the first step here and save at least $35 million.

As the gentleman from Pennsylvania has pointed out and the gentleman from California has pointed out, this is the first installment. Our management team in this organization is looking at each department on how they can achieve additional savings. As you know, we have an Inspector General that looks at everything on Capitol Hill and identifies ways we can improve safety and security and cut costs and be more efficient, so we are letting them do their management piece.

Now, I was a small business owner for 22 years with my wife out in Oregon. I understand that if you don't watch the pennies and the nickels, you will never get to the dollars. You have to look at

everything you do in real time to try and squeeze out efficiency, and I think we have done that.

As Republicans, our pledge to America was to do exactly that across the government, and you will see oversight hearings about policy, oversight hearings about job-killing regulations because we want to get America working again. And I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle share that view, that it is the private sector jobs that we have to get restored in this country. We have to grow the economy and create jobs and put Washington's fiscal house back in order, and we will take the first steps today with this legislation and this resolution.

So, specifically, we cut we believe $35 million out of our own budgets. It is a 5-percent reduction, except, I should point out, the Appropriations Committee will actually suffer a 9-percent reduction, and they came forward with that level. I applaud them for that.

This is firm, but flexible. Members will still determine within their budgets how they are spent. We don't micromanage here. We treat you as adults, and we are going to treat government agencies as adults. But we will expect results because the American people spoke clearly in November and said, we want transparency, we want openness, we want accountability, we want you to cut deficit spending, and we want you to create private sector jobs.

So, Mr. Chairman, I think we have begun that process today. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for supporting this bipartisan effort.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, as a staunch advocate for strong, accountable stewardship of hard-earned taxpayer dollars, I applaud any effort to responsibly address this concern. I travel back and forth to my district every day in the city of Philadelphia, and I spend a large portion of every day listening to constituents as they voice their concerns over our economy and the real impact it has on their day-to- day lives. Certainly this House must take steps to ensure that resources are effectively utilized, administered and accounted for. To that end, I support this resolution and encourage my colleagues to do so as well.

During the 111th Congress, significant steps were taken by the House leadership to expand transparency and responsible use of taxpayer dollars. At the direction of Speaker Pelosi, the Committee on House Administration under my chairmanship worked with the office of the CAO to introduce the House statement of disbursements in an online, electronic format. For the first time, constituents, the media and other concerned individuals could review every penny spent by Members, committees and leadership offices.

Through the Green the Capitol initiative and with the cooperation of the Architect of the Capitol, we rolled out enhancements designed to increase the energy efficiency of the Capitol Complex, resulting in cost savings.

Under the Democratic majority, we put in place requirements that only vehicles meeting lower greenhouse emissions standards were eligible for MRA-funded lease payments. Not only does this have a positive environmental impact, it also reduces fuel costs, since these vehicles are generally more fuel efficient.

The cost savings that were introduced were done so responsibly and with a constant eye on ensuring that Members have the resources they need also to be able to serve their constituency. That's ultimately the reason why we are here. I look forward to exploring additional, responsible cost savings opportunities with Chairman Lungren in the spirit of bipartisanship cooperation that we have enjoyed for many years, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I also would like to thank Mr. Walden for allowing us to participate, myself and Mr. Andrews from New Jersey.

I certainly do not want to get you in any kind of trouble here today, but we did have some ideas that happened to fall into and come into implementation of your plan. I know that was just great minds thinking alike. It wasn't that it was our idea that did that. But I am talking especially toward the schedule. I do appreciate that. I appreciate you allowing us to participate in what you have done there and look forward again to working with you in the future.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

I don't think so, no.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this is a historic time for this Congress, this House and my committee. I can say without a moment's hesitation that this day represents a crucial turning point for our Nation as this new Congress begins a path to fiscal sanity.

With this resolution today, Congress will begin immediately to reduce spending, starting here and now with our own office budgets and our committee budgets and the like.

To demonstrate my strong commitment to slashing spending, reducing our national deficit and getting our economy back on track, I have directed my own committee budget to be cut not by 5 percent, Mr. Speaker, but by 9 percent, nearly double the amount of reduction proposed for other House offices. What the Appropriations Committee is saying to all other committees is, we see your five; we raise you four. So we are cutting 9 percent.

This year, the Appropriations Committee will be ground zero for a wide range of reductions across the Federal Government; and by cutting our own budget first, Mr. Speaker, we are showing we are willing to lead by example.

This is a critical time for the Appropriations Committee, as we will carry out the most expansive reduction of discretionary spending in the history of this country. Under my watch, the Appropriations Committee will be an instrument of change, to enforce the will of the American people.

My Republican colleagues on the committee and I are ready to stand and fight for the American people and show that we are serious about our commitment to rein in government spending and control our exploding deficits. Yet it is important to remember that slashing spending to save taxpayer dollars and reducing the size of government is a means to an end. We must always keep our eyes on the ultimate goal--improving our economy, getting our people back to work and safeguarding the Nation's financial security for the future.

The one and only mandate that we received from the American people in November, in my judgment, was to put our economy and jobs first. This is why people came to the polls and voted for a change in this body, and this is the duty that we must fulfill.

To this end, it is clear that this Congress cannot let favored, yet troublesome, programs slip by or allow turf battles to cloud our shared interest in protecting the taxpayer. Our budget ax will swing wide and true, and no area of the Federal Government will be immune from our scrutiny and cuts. Sacred cows are, for all intents and purposes, extinct.

Mr. Speaker, we have a big job ahead of us. While this resolution is a small step forward, it is a giant leap to show, in a very personal and practical way, the commitment we have to reducing spending and getting our economy back on track. The first drawn blood is ours.