Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to put this week's debate about scheduled budget cuts into some much-needed context. The Federal Government spent $3.5 trillion last year. And yet, even with the $85 billion in cuts scheduled to occur over the next 7 months, the CBO still projects that Federal spending will be $15 billion higher this year than last year.

Only in Washington can billions in cuts be made, total spending still increase, and some claim that the problem is that taxes still aren't high enough. The President got his tax increase 7 weeks ago. But the government spent every dime of this year's revenue from that tax increase in just 7 days.

Mr. Speaker, raising taxes is a lousy deficit reduction strategy because in Washington, tax revenue is never dedicated to deficit reduction. Instead, new taxes are always used to finance more government and more spending.

Rather than demand more tax increases as the solution, I encourage everyone to work together to replace the indiscriminate spending cuts with a smarter plan that sets priorities--but which still enacts an equal amount of much-needed spending restraint.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that I rise today to recognize my friends and members of the Kentucky Right to Life Association, who in 2013 will celebrate 40 years of nobly and steadfastly defending the rights of all human life, born and unborn, young and old, regardless of ability or disability.

The Kentucky Right to Life Association came together 40 years ago in response to the 1973 Roe vs. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision which disregarded the ethical traditions of countless Americans by superseding the traditional prerogative of states and local communities to protect life. Today, the Kentucky Right to Life Association is comprised of thousands of individuals working together to restore the law to protect the lives of the unborn and the most vulnerable among us, and to uphold the belief that every human being has a right to live--a belief that I strongly share. Right to Life is comprised of individuals of different faiths, political beliefs, and backgrounds, all united in one purpose. Their special union sets a strong example of organizational leadership for other movements and causes of moral consequence.

Today, I congratulate my friends with the Kentucky Right to Life Association for their 40 years of leadership on this, the most consequential moral issue of our time. I also would like to personally welcome those members joining me in Washington, DC this Friday, January 25, 2013, to participate in the annual March for Life on the National Mall. I hold each and every one of you in the highest regard and firmly stand behind you in this great endeavor.

Mr. Speaker, when I graduated from Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Kentucky, just over 20 years ago, I had little notion that I would stand before you today occupying the seat which the Great Compromiser himself once held.

Henry Clay was first elected to this House in 1811 becoming the only person elected as Speaker the same day he took office. During his remarkable four decades on the national stage, he steered America through a daunting array of crises, each of which might have shattered the Union absent his remarkable leadership.

Indeed, Henry Clay demonstrated that an unwavering dedication to principle and a practical commitment to compromise are not incompatible values. They are, instead, the tools of statesmanship, the implements of progress, and the guardians of freedom.

He was Abraham Lincoln's ``beau ideal of a great man.'' Eulogizing Clay in 1852, Lincoln called him ``the man for a crisis,'' declaring that Clay ``desired the prosperity of his countrymen partly because they were his countrymen, but chiefly to show the world that freemen could be prosperous.

Henry Clay understood the indispensable link between liberty, prosperity, and basic human dignity. His struggle to harness our system of checks and balances to serve these goals echoes across the generations. The process was messy, and the path ahead was fraught with danger and uncertainty; but the Great Compromiser governed in the national interest without comprising himself or forgetting who sent him there.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored, indeed I am awed, by the legacy of Henry Clay and the exceptional men who followed him; but I did not come here as the self-styled heir to that legacy.

Instead, I came here as a father concerned about his children's future. I came here as a Kentuckian determined to fight for my State's signature industries. And I came here as an American committed to restoring the American Dream.

My district, in central and eastern Kentucky, offers a panoramic view of the values, dreams, and passions that have animated our Nation since its beginnings. Historically anchored in Kentucky's bluegrass region, the Sixth District now extends to the Appalachian foothills, bordering the coalfields of the Cumberland Plateau.

We are perhaps most recognized as the horse capital of the world. Indeed, the world came to Kentucky just over 2 years ago when Lexington hosted the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Yet that event offers just the latest example of our State's deep integration with the global economy.

Georgetown, Kentucky, is home to the largest Toyota manufacturing facility outside of Japan, a facility which provides 7,000 well-paying jobs that produces the Camry, the most popular American-made car in the United States.

These jobs in turn rely upon some of the lowest electricity costs in the Nation, which Kentucky's coal industry makes possible. Having endured the astonishing assault of the war on coal during the last 4 years, Kentucky's coal industry continues to offer the reality of affordable energy today and the promise of an affordable, reliable, and clean source of American energy for centuries to come.

Kentuckians are also capitalizing upon our State's enormous potential for tourism through creative initiatives like the Bourbon Trail, which now draws an estimated 400,000 visitors every year. We are introducing the world to our special distilling heritage.

The Sixth District offers a number of historic treasures, such as Daniel Boone's settlement, Fort Boonesborough, and in Frankfort, even our new State capitol and executive mansion are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Plus, tourists and residents alike can enjoy natural attractions of stunning majesty, such as Red River Gorge, Natural Bridge, and Cave Run, which provide almost limitless opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The Sixth District also remains home to a diverse and thriving agricultural economy. We are best known for tobacco, but many people may not know that Kentucky possesses more head of cattle than any State east of the Mississippi.

These industries are supported with colleges and universities filled with outstanding teaching and research professionals. Institutions like the University of Kentucky--my alma mater--Eastern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, Kentucky State University, Georgetown College, Midway College, and the members of our community and technical college system.

The University of Kentucky is well-known for its proud tradition of college basketball, having won eight national championships, most recently in 2012.

Underlying all of these success stories is the unique pride and attachment to place that distinguishes Kentuckians wherever you find us. Our State's pioneer heritage survives as the well-spring of our determination to survive and excel against overwhelming odds. No matter the challenge, we will persevere. We will lead. And with God's help, we will prosper together.

Mr. Speaker, I am humbled beyond measure to represent a people who embody the spirit, the generosity, and the creativity that define America's greatness. I pray that my service proves equal to their trust.

Through the lens of time, Henry Clay appears larger than life, yet our Republic has a habit of producing the right men and women at the right time. Together, let's strive after Henry Clay's model of leadership. Given the gravity of our challenge, each of us must.

With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I strongly support the provision of immediate federal relief to the victims of Hurricane Sandy and other disasters. We absolutely have a responsibility to provide targeted resources to help communities meet their true emergency needs following a natural disaster. But I remain convinced that we can, and should, put in the tough work to do this in a fiscally responsible manner. This means finding a way to pay for what we spend.

Our national debt currently exceeds $16.4 trillion--and grows by billions of dollars each day. This is a symptom of Washington's inability to live within its means, and unless we reform the way Washington has traditionally gone about its business, this debt is going to dramatically limit the potential of our children and grandchildren. We must do better.

As I have traveled throughout Kentucky's Sixth District, people have asked me repeatedly to stand firm for common sense and fiscal responsibility. This is what families and small businesses in my district do every day, and this is the mentality that we need to start bringing to Washington. The Federal Government spent a massive $3.6 trillion in fiscal year 2012, so there are clearly savings that we can find. I am willing to do that work, and I encourage my colleagues to do so as well. Congress should not use the urgency of disaster relief as its excuse for continuing to run up our $16.4 trillion national debt.

Amendment IV:

``The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.''

Amendment V:

``No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.''