Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, our country is in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Much of the blame lies here in Washington where living beyond our means and micromanaging the economy is, to quote some in this town, ``just the way Washington works.''

Well, Mr. Chairman, Washington doesn't work. Any business that has tried to break ground and build something knows what I'm talking about: dozens of Federal agencies representing varied interests competing against each other while special interest groups wait in the wings to hold projects hostage for ransom.

Mr. Chairman, allow me to sum up what our permitting process should be.

Our Federal permitting and review processes must provide a

transparent, consistent, and predictable path for both

project sponsors and affected communities. They must ensure

that agencies set and adhere to timelines and schedules for

completion of reviews, set clear permitting performance

goals, and track progress against those goals. They must

encourage early collaboration among agencies, project

sponsors, and affected stakeholders in order to incorporate

and address their interests and minimize delays.

What I just read is verbatim from a March 2012 executive order by President Barack Obama, and I agree with the President 100 percent.

Mr. Chairman, we achieve these goals of the President in H.R. 4078, and it could not come soon enough for those looking for work. A March 2011 study conducted by the United States Chamber of Commerce identified some 351 projects that are being stymied by the current regulatory review process; 1.9 million jobs are on hold, $1.1 trillion economic impact to this country.

These jobs are not CEOs or jet-setters. These jobs are miners. They're machinists. They're blue collar workers. I know because I've watched this happen in my community where 200 jobs were lost because, after 7 years and 14 Federal, State, and local agencies went through a permitting process, a company then, 1 month later, was shut down in their project because some environmental group went to a very lenient judge and shut them down, moms and dads wondering where their mortgage payment and supper would come from. They wondered why an environmental activist group--that I can tell you does not represent the interest of my district--could put them out of work.

Make no mistake, Mr. Chairman, these projects are halted because businesses that will invest billions in a project cannot do so without some idea of certainty.

Some say this legislation will allow corporations to harm our clean air and clean water. I say to that: Nonsense. This part of my legislation merely says that all parties, from environmental groups to government agencies, must be at the table sharing concerns and offering remedies from the start. It says that the process has a time limit and that government must meet those time limits. It says that, if you don't get in at the beginning, you can't come in after years of hard work and remediation and use a sympathetic judge to shut it down.

This is not an academic exercise either. This same process was used in 2005 when the House voted 412-8 to impose the SAFETEA-LU program, which provided the same detailed streamlining procedures that have now reduced the permitting process under NEPA in transportation highway construction from 73 months to 37 months.

Mr. Chairman, the process is broken. This legislation presents solutions that are eminently sensible and immediately effective. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and give millions of our fellow citizens a hope for a better future.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Madam Chair, this amendment would unnecessarily exempt regulations from title I and consent decrees and settlement agreements contained in title III. Title I already contains adequate exceptions for necessary covered regulations. Agencies do not yet need another loophole to make regulations by consent decree or settlement agreement.

As to title V, the part of the bill that was formerly known as the Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development Act, also known as the RAPID Act, this amendment would block needed construction projects from breaking ground.

Unemployment is stuck above 8 percent and millions of Americans are looking for work. The March 2011 Project No Project study identified 351 energy projects, including nuclear projects, that, if approved, could generate $1.1 trillion for the economy and 1.9 million jobs.

I appreciate that the gentleman is concerned about the safety of nuclear power, but this act does not require agencies to approve or deny any particular project or permit application, nor would any agency ever act on a permit application before all of the relevant review and analysis has been completed; rather, the act establishes a reasonable timetable for agencies to follow when conducting environmental review and making permitting decisions. This will give job creators and investors confidence that the process will not drag on indefinitely.

The act is consistent with the administration's own guidance and rhetoric and with the President's Jobs Council's recommendations. It builds upon bipartisan legislation that passed the 109th Congress, which has dramatically reduced the time it takes to prepare environmental impact statements for transportation projects. In short, the road to economic recovery runs through permit streamlining.

For these reasons, I oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, let's look at this. If the sponsoring agency decides to hold back and there is a presumption or approval, who better to have the onus of having to prove that it should not be built than those who fail to act as opposed to those who are ready to act?

The one thing that we found out is that the regulatory environment is so burdensome that whatever recovery our country attempts to pursue right now is being strangled. Polls show it. A Gallup poll on February 15 of 2012 among 85 percent of U.S. small business owners who are not hiring, nearly 46 percent of these cited being worried about new government regulations. Small business owners cite complying with government regulations as their most important problem.

It is overwhelming that we have placed in the hands of bureaucratic agencies unaccountable authority that is strangling the business recovery of this country. This bill as it is, without this amendment, will allow for the streamlining and 4\1/2\ years of the permitting process, and the permitting process will allow us to invest private capital to create private sector jobs.

With that, I urge opposition to this amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, recent economic indicators show that another recession is a real danger. Consumer confidence is plummeting, businesses aren't hiring, and recovery continues to slow. Real unemployment is at 14.9 percent, and millions of Americans have given up hope. The World Bank reports that the U.S. is now 13th in the world when measuring the ease of starting a new business. In 2007, we were ranked third. Last month, American manufacturing shrank for the first time in nearly 2 years. Economists are revising their growth projections downward. Inflation looms on the horizon, and Europe's sovereign debt crisis continues unabated.

Some of the circumstances that led to this crisis are out of anybody's control, but many of these circumstances are not. Policymakers in Washington have an obligation to our constituents and to this country to work together to create an environment where the American people prosper. We have such an opportunity today. The Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act takes a balanced approach towards regulatory reforms that are desperately needed in today's market.

For 25 years, before I was elected, I was a small businessman. I started a business not because of a government program or because of government lending; in fact, I couldn't even get a bank to loan me money. I borrowed money from a friend and grew that business over 20- some years to 27 employees. I didn't do it because there were good bridges and roads next door to me. I saw a need, I took a risk, and worked harder than the next guy. I also knew the rules and understood that government was the referee, not the player.

Today, the regulatory climate and litigious nature of many government agencies create uncertainty. Some falsely claim that certainty has nothing to do with our current economic crisis. Mr. Speaker, economics is as much a behavioral science as anything. When businesses don't know what the next regulatory hurdle will be, they won't invest.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce has recently done a study of small

businesses in Florida. The results were clear: uncertainty is the number one issue facing job creators and entrepreneurs. Right now there are projects waiting on the sidelines that have the potential to create 1.9 million jobs annually in this country. Talk about a shot in the arm to the economy.

The only thing certain about this President has been the uncertainty that he has provided and the regulatory reform and tax reform for small business. Take my home State of Florida for example. According to research by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there is potential for 121,000 jobs there if we have regulatory certainty. In the first year of operations, businesses could generate over $2 billion in employment earnings. This bill is not about generating profits for fat cats and Big Oil. How do I know? Because I have seen firsthand a project in my area come to a halt because of a litigious activist group that affected 200 blue color jobs: secretaries, machinists, and more. There were 14 Federal agencies, State and local agencies, 7 years of permits and review, only to have a lawsuit 1 month later kill the dreams of a better life for my neighbors.

Mr. Speaker, one thing I know about government is that before it gives to someone, it must take from someone else. This legislation presents solutions that are sensible and immediately effective. My neighbors are tired of the regulatory burden. I'm tired of the regulatory burden.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to offer my support to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Congress.

In December 2010, Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed with a gun that was allowed to walk across the border as a result of Operation Fast and Furious.

Mr. Speaker, some, including this Attorney General and some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, state that this operation began in a previous administration. This is demonstrably false, and nothing could be further from the truth.

While there was a program under the previous administration known as Wide Receiver, the differences are quite stark. Under Wide Receiver, weapons were tracked, the Mexican government was involved, and no one died as a result of that operation. In fact, Operation Wide Receiver ended in late 2007, nearly 2 years before Fast and Furious began and nearly 9 months before this President was sworn into office.

Fast and Furious allowed guns to walk across the Mexican border with no tracking, no involvement by Mexican officials. Over 2,000 firearms disappeared across the border under this failed operation. Hundreds of Mexicans are dead because of this failed operation.

An American hero and United States Marine, Agent Brian Terry, is dead because of this failed operation. Agent Terry stood his ground and told moms and dads across America that no one would hurt their children on his watch. He stood up and took that responsibility.

To this day, no one, and I mean no one, in this administration has had the guts to stand up and say, ``It was my fault.'' Attorney General Holder has refused to comply with a congressional subpoena that was issued in October of 2011.

I was a practicing attorney in the real world before I came to Congress. In the real world, Americans are expected to comply with subpoenas. Is the Attorney General any different? No, he is not.

Are we just supposed to take Mr. Holder's word that we have all the information?

That may be how Washington works, Mr. Attorney General, but that is not how Main Street works.

Mr. Attorney General, what are you hiding? What are you hiding from the Brian Terry family? What are you hiding from the American public?

I've said it before and I will say it again: you can delegate authority but you cannot delegate responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, the Attorney General can stonewall all he wants. The Attorney General can misremember all he wants. But whether he likes it or not, today responsibility will land on his desk.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud Chairman Issa for his steadfast leadership in the pursuit of the truth. I applaud my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are putting the search of the truth before party.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud all of those, like Agent Terry, who wear the uniform of the Armed Forces or stand on the border and guard our Nation. Agent Terry knew a thing or two about duty. He died while on duty.

It is now the duty of this Congress to hold those responsible and accountable for this failed operation. We will not forget, and we will always stand with you.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I extend my congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Ma Ying-jeou and the people of Taiwan as they celebrate Mr. Ma's presidential inauguration this May 20. Mr. Ma Ying- jeou won re-election as the fifth freely elected president of the Republic of China on January 14.

President George W. Bush once famously described Taiwan as ``a beacon of democracy to Asia and the world.'' His words were recognition of Taiwan's achievements in democratic developments. The United States and Taiwan value human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law. Our shared values have produced a strong and dependable friendship for the past century. Taiwan was one of the first to come to our aid after the events of September 11th and Hurricane Katrina. Taiwan continues to be our ally in the war against terrorism by cooperating with humanitarian assistance in Iraq and Afghanistan and providing intelligence. They have shown generosity and compassion by donating to the Twin Towers Fund and Pentagon Memorial Fund.

In honoring Taiwan, we need to continue to sell defensive weapons to Taiwan under the framework of the Taiwan Relations Act. Despite the rapprochement that has been built up between Taiwan and the PRC, a well-armed Taiwan is still the best guarantee to permanent peace in the Strait. Also, I firmly believe that Taiwan should have a much broader international visibility. I encourage my colleagues to support Taiwan's current bid to join the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as an observer.

To President Ma and the people of Taiwan, I extend my congratulations on their Presidential Inauguration Day.

Thank you, chairman, for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2011, also known as the DATA Act.

The DATA Act finally does what America wants: opens up the books of government and lets the taxpayers see what is being spent. The bill also cuts agency travel spending by hundreds of millions of dollars per year, a great and necessary first step.

By requiring Federal agencies to report how their funds are spent and capping travel expenses, this commonsense bipartisan bill will bring much-needed accountability and transparency to Federal spending. The DATA Act should also send a clear message to bureaucrats here in Washington, D.C.

The American taxpayer is watching, and they're sick and tired of the blank-check mentality. Let's make sure that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on lavish conferences. But with this bill we can also begin to crowdsource all Federal spending.

I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) for introducing this bill and for his leadership on transparency and accountability in government. Let's make sure that common sense becomes something common in government.

Please join me in supporting the DATA Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the STOCK Act today and in support of extending its reach to the executive branch. All of us who have been honored by our fellow citizens with the enormous responsibility of protecting the liberties of this Republic have a duty to hold ourselves to the highest of standards.

You know, it's ironic that in 2012 we are here debating a bill that would prevent public officials from enriching themselves through our positions.

It's ironic because one of the great causes that impelled the separation from Great Britain was the common practice of public officials using their office to increase their personal wealth.

Madam Speaker, 236 years ago, those patriots said ``enough.'' That spirit is in America's DNA, and we would do a disservice to all who came before us if we failed to act. I know that a vast majority of my friends on the other side of the aisle share this belief as well. A calling to service knows no party label.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the University of South Florida (USF). USF has become an academic powerhouse not only in the State of Florida, but nationally as well. Boasting an enrollment of approximately thirty-seven thousand graduate and undergraduate students, USF has attracted top quality students from all over the world, making it a true model of diversity. And more students will be coming.

USF states that it offers more than two hundred programs for its students to choose from and has a library system with two and a half million volumes and six facilities. In 2010, according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association, USF ranked ninth world-wide among fourteen universities ranked among three-hundred organizations that earned the most patents in 2010. In addition to its top flight academic programs, USF has emerged as an athletic powerhouse. Its student-athletes compete at the highest levels of collegiate athletics, with some continuing their playing careers professionally. In fact, USF alum Jason Pierre-Paul, a Pro Bowl defensive end with the New York Giants, will be playing for a Super Bowl championship this Sunday.

Aside from the accomplishments I have just stated, the National Academy of Inventors notes that it was founded at USF in 2010. According to the Academy, it encourages intellectual property innovation and development, which contributes greatly to societal advancement. History has shown us that creative minds, such as the ones at USF, are often responsible for breakthroughs that change how we live. From Thomas Edison's light bulb to the Wright brothers' airplane, we need to continue cultivating today's young minds to be as bold as their predecessors. I am proud to say that USF's National Academy of Inventors is leading this charge.

The National Academy of Inventors will soon be holding a conference in Tampa in the USF Research Park from February 16-17th. I salute the achievements of the Academy to date, and look forward to what the future holds for these innovators. As a whole, USF continues to produce tremendous results. It can no longer be said that USF is emerging, rather it has arrived and it will continue to make Floridians proud. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing USF's exceptional achievements.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3835) to extend the pay limitation for Members of Congress and Federal employees.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I ask unanimous consent that the Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3835, to extend the pay limitation for Members of Congress and Federal employees. Our Federal employees provide an essential work function for the Federal Government. They're good people. They do good work. And they do good work so long as it's essential government functions. We appreciate their service, and believe Federal employees should be compensated fairly.

Yet, current Federal salaries and benefits are not in line with the marketplace when compared to the private workforce. Federal civilian workers receive generous benefits, pay, and job security. In fact, there is a four times greater chance of losing your job in the private sector than there is with the Federal workforce.

Our Federal workforce performs essential functions. We appreciate their service, and believe Federal employees should be compensated fully.

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released a study which found that total compensation for Federal employees was 16 percent greater than for private sector workers. When they looked at the benefits of hardworking taxpayers, they take home 72 percent less in benefits than their government counterparts.

To top it off, these hardworking private sector taxpayers, with a high school diploma or some college, make 32 to 36 percent less than Federal employees with the same education level. Those who work the hardest to pay taxes are the ones bearing the burden of a bloated Federal government.

The contrast between the Federal Government and private sector is troubling. With 13 million Americans unemployed, why would we allow automatic raises to occur for a group of workers whose average compensation exceeds $100,000, and for the Members of Congress, whose compensation is $174,000?

The reality is that the Federal Government has no incentive or no obligation to reduce salaries in order to be competitive to stay in business. We simply raise taxes, or we go into more debt. And our government continues to borrow. Just yesterday, for example, the CBO released a report that our Federal budget deficit will top another $1 trillion for a fourth straight year in a row. This is unprecedented. It is unsustainable.

The President's fiscal commission, a bipartisan commission, the Simpson-Bowles Commission, a commission which not only the President but this Congress should consider, has recommended a 3-year freeze on civilian payroll and Member pay. In its report, the Commissioners reminded us that ``in time of budget shortfalls, all levels of government must trim back.'' Following this advice, the President, to

his credit, did recommend, and this Congress did freeze Federal employee pay through 2012. This measure alone saved the Federal Government $60 billion.

As Americans continue to sacrifice, we must lead by example. H.R. 3835 continues the temporary freeze on across-the-board annual salary adjustments for Federal civilian workers.

Federal employees will continue to receive salary increases under the step program. Now, this has been going on, even despite the Federal pay freeze, a step increase, 3 percent every year. 99.9 percent of all Federal employees eligible for a step increase received it. Where else can a pay freeze equal a 3 percent increase a year but in Washington,

I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from the great State of North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

I yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of this bill, my distinguished colleague from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy).

I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz).

Madam Speaker, at this time I have no further speakers, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz).

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

I'm new here. I'm one of those freshmen. I'm one of those freshmen who's been told you don't know how Washington works. I'm one of those freshmen who's been told you need to get in line, that's been told you need to get in line.

Well, if successive 4 years of trillion-dollar deficits is the way Washington works, then I don't want it working that way. You see, I wasn't sent here to learn how Washington works; I was sent here to change the way Washington works.

And when we have a President proposing a military budget that cuts our military back to pre-World War II levels, and yet we continue to increase our Federal payroll while private sector payroll employment goes down, there's something wrong with the way Washington works.

Washington is broken, and I submit to you that we need to lead by example. We have done so already by reducing our MRAs, our Members' accounts, by 11 percent. We've done so already by reducing our committee budgets. But we need to go further if we're going to lead by example, because you see, leadership is not a title. Leadership is an act. And I submit to you, Madam Speaker, that today we lead by example, and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 3835, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor of H.R. 3261.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

Madam Speaker, today I rise against the debt ceiling, and I rise in favor of reality.

Madam Speaker, my freshman colleagues and I arrived in Washington, D.C. from various backgrounds. Many, like me, owned their own businesses. Others include auto dealers, funeral home directors, a dentist, doctors, soldiers, a pilot, law enforcement officers, a football player, a roofing contractor and others. The point is, Madam Speaker, people who lived and worked in the real world came in as freshman as my colleagues.

Many of that same group have been told, ``We just don't understand how Washington works.'' The fact is, Washington doesn't work. Only in Washington is slowing the rate of growth in spending called a cut. Only in Washington are job creators called a myth, but bailouts are called a stimulus.

Madam Speaker, the sad reality is that Washington doesn't work. But what is more saddening is that it can. Our founders, in their enduring wisdom, crafted a system of government with checks and balances.

Just because we have a President that is willing to spend our way into further debt does not mean that this branch of government has to go along with it. We have the ability, right here, right now, to stop repeating the fiscal insanity that has led us to trillions in debts and deficits.

The fact that we're even talking about raising the debt limit without any realistic credible plan to pay off our debts shows just how ingrained in our thinking this irresponsible spending has become. The fact that this President wants to spend 23 to 25 percent of GDP, when over the last 80 years this government has never come close to matching that in revenues, regardless of tax rates, is a travesty to the American people, our children and our grandchildren.

The fact that our friends across the Capitol can't pass a budget for more than 1,000 days is unacceptable. The fact that we are printing money to buy our own debt makes sense only if you got your economics degree by passing go and collecting $200.

Madam Speaker, the entire government has a choice. We can make a government work for the betterment of the American people.

We can make Washington work for the betterment of the American people. Will we live in the real world, prioritize spending and yes, go without, or will we continue to play in Congressional Candyland, the place where some say the sky is blue while others say the sky is red, and at the last minute, a deal is declared saying it's purple, and it's called progress.

Madam Speaker, the sky is blue, and at this time, I ask Congress and the President to join the rest of America in the real world.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the recognition and also

for bringing forth this most necessary legislation.

I rise in support of H.R. 3094. Quite simply put, the National Labor Relations Board has lost all credibility. From its anti-American attack on Boeing to its inability to allow Delta employees to choose their own labor future, the NLRB has become nothing more than a taxpayer-funded Big Labor advocate.

The Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act is just what it says it is, legislation that, if passed, will enshrine in law the rights of the American worker to both information and choice, two things my friends on the other side of the aisle believe in as well.

What is truly sad, Mr. Chairman, is that taxpayers, already living under the burden of exploding debt and record unemployment, are paying the salaries of NLRB attorneys and administrators to stifle employment and to ship jobs overseas. The proposed NLRB rule remedied by this legislation requiring elections be held in as little as 10 days gives workers virtually no opportunity to inform themselves about their rights.

To show just how radical this NLRB has become, we must ask ourselves, when in the history of this great Republic has shortening the time for an election been considered more fair? We hear Members from the other side of the aisle say that even requiring some to show identification to vote is unfair and restrictive. But drastically cutting short the time for an election is more fair?

As if that was not radical enough, the NLRB's decision on micro- unions overturns 30 years of successful precedent. For example, at retail stores, multiple labor unions could target unorganized different groups of workers. Sales persons, merchandise managers, department managers, stock clerks, and security guards could each form separate unions. This will put worker against worker, and employers will spend more time negotiating with unions than they do on focusing on their jobs and on their business.

The question we must ask is, what are they so afraid of? The answer is they're afraid of an American worker free to work hard and earn the fruits of that labor. They're afraid of the American worker given the right to choose their own future. I don't know about anyone else, but I trust the American worker to make the right decision. I don't trust the government.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill.

Now more than ever, regulatory and tax reform are needed. The 3 percent contractor withholding requirement is yet another onerous regulatory tax policy that will hinder small business' ability to survive and hire new employees. The 10.6 percent unemployment in my home State of Florida cannot handle another government job-killing regulation.

Repealing this legislation will ensure America's small businesses are not assessed another regulatory cost that will either be passed on to consumers in cost or will force another small business to shut its doors.

The 3 percent withholding requirement was originally intended to make sure contractors paid taxes. In reality, it is simply a one-size-fits- all government approach to a problem filled with unintended consequences.

One of the most tragic consequences could be the cost to our seniors. Ninety-five percent of Medicare physicians will be affected by this withholding tax. Our seniors should not suffer because our Tax Code is too confusing, too burdensome, and too big.

Mr. Speaker, this regulation shows why we need a Tax Code that is flatter and smaller and why we need Medicare reform with fewer scare tactics and more choices.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation on behalf of the American public that has had enough; on behalf of those tens of millions of people who pay their taxes, live within their means, and give their hand to a neighbor in need, for they have had enough; on behalf of those like Boeing, whose innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology ensures that more moms and dads will not have to witness a flag-draped coffin bringing their son or daughter home from a land far away, for they, too, have had enough. I rise on behalf of those like my dad, who fought and bled against tyranny to make sure that the future that he gave to his children would be a future of freedom, for those, too, have had enough.

Mr. Speaker, there is no defending the overzealous oligarchs at the National Labor Relations Board. Their actions are a symptom of a regulatory board gone amuck. In fact, the irony of

this is that if Boeing wants to escape their reach, their jurisdiction, the only way to do so is to move overseas, which is contrary to what any of us want when we want jobs here in America. Nowhere in America should your government be able to tell you what you can or cannot do just because they believe what your intentions are.

Mr. Speaker, this administration needs to stop reading minds and start reading the Constitution. The Boeing decision is a vivid reminder that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And we could dismiss it if it were only an isolated case, but it is not. Americans have endured an administration that fines American citizens for not buying a product, raids--with guns drawn--an American guitar manufacturer for not shipping jobs overseas, conducts aerial searches and seizures of American businesses without their knowledge, and orders Federal employees not to speak to Members of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, free enterprise is not the problem; it is the solution. And, Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the other side may say, labor is not the enemy. Labor is the backbone of the American economy. But both should be aware of a government that can tell you what to do just because of what you think, and both should be aware of a government that can tell you what to buy just because they think that's what you need.

I pray that this legislation is the cornerstone of a renewed free market citadel called America. The reign of the regulator is over. The American people want their country back, and there are still patriots in this House.

Offered By: Mr. Ross of Florida

Amendment No. 30: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following: