Floor Statements

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I thank her for her leadership on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, already we know that in America we are looking at 9.2 percent unemployment. Since the President told us if we would pass his stimulus plan, $1 trillion, unemployment would never go beyond 8 percent, and now he is presiding over the longest period of high unemployment since the Great Depression. We just got the statistics since they've been keeping them. It now takes almost 10 full months for somebody unemployed to find a job. One in seven are on food stamps. The fewest new business starts in 17 years.

This economy is not suffering so much from a lack of capital; it is a lack of confidence, and a lack of confidence primarily in the policies of our President and the previous Congress. Part of that lack of confidence is attributable to Dodd-Frank and this CFPB which, yes, does have some wonderful consumer protection powers but also has historic draconian powers to ration and ban consumer credit for families and small businesses.

Yet here it is, as the gentlelady from West Virginia, the subcommittee chairman, pointed out, almost a year later that only now has the President seen fit to appoint some type of Director.

The lack of confidence in these policies is what is keeping jobs and capital on the sideline. It is incumbent upon us to return that confidence.

So, yes, to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, this is, yet again, another jobs bill. We need to say, You know what, small businesses in America? There is not going to be one czar who controls consumer credit. We're at least going to have a panel representing both primary parties in the United States.

And, by the way, at least now somebody will have to consider safety and soundness in what this bureau does. I mean, the people who are telling us don't worry about it are the very same people who told us don't worry about safety and soundness when it comes to Fannie and Freddie. Come on. It's all about consumers. It's all about homeownership. Let's roll the dice. Don't worry about safety and soundness.

Well, Mr. Chairman, we have to worry about safety and soundness. American small businesses are worried about safety and soundness. It is time to bring some confidence. It is time to bring some certainty so that we can get our friends, our neighbors and our constituents back to work, because they don't want welfare checks; they want paychecks. And this is one small step we can take today to provide that certainty.

Mr. Speaker, every day in my district in Texas, I

hear from small business people who tell me, I'm afraid to hire new workers because I think this national debt will end up bankrupting my business, not to mention my country.

The American people are saying to Washington, quit spending money we don't have.

So today, House Republicans will bring to the floor the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan. Cut Federal spending at least back to its 2008 levels. Who is going around saying government wasn't big enough before Barack Obama came here?

Cap it. Let's make sure government doesn't grow beyond our ability to pay for it.

And then balance. Small businesses, families, States, everyone has to balance their budget except for the Federal Government. Is there any mystery why we have $14 trillion of debt? There is no other credible plan on the table that avoids default and solves the problem.

The Senate, 800 days, no budget. The President, he gives us a speech, not a plan. And the only thing he has put on the table is more job- killing tax increases on small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, that doesn't work. It is time for cut, cap, and balance.

Mr. Speaker, this Nation suffers from a surplus of deficits.

First, our seniors have a health care deficit because, in the last Congress, Democrats cut Medicare by a half a trillion dollars, hastening its bankruptcy and then creating a new board, called the IPAB, in order to ration the access and quality of their health care.

Next, they brought us a jobs deficit. Millions are unemployed and they remain unemployed--the highest duration of long-term unemployment since the Great Depression.

Then, Mr. Speaker, we have the financial deficit. After the President's trillion-dollar stimulus program, which has failed miserably, after his $1.4 trillion takeover of our health care system, after an increase of base government--24 percent in 2 years and three trillion-dollar-plus deficits in a row, we now have a debt crisis. So the President says, Do you know what? We need a balanced plan. I want you, Republicans, to raise taxes to pay for my spending.

Mr. President, one of the greatest impediments we have to job creation today is the threat of taxes to pay for your spending.

Every day, I hear from small business people in my congressional district. I heard from Kristine Tanzillo of Canton, Texas: ``Washington seems to think they can tax its way out of our economic problem, which is not possible. We are not hiring or planning to grow for the next several years. We are concerned that our government will raise taxes or put other burdensome restrictions on us that we will not be profitable.''

The financial deficit is tied to our jobs deficit. The American people have a message for their government:

It is time to quit spending money we do not have. It is time to quit borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and then sending the bill to our children and grandchildren. It is why, today, House Republicans bring to the floor the Cut, Cap, and Balance program.

Cut. It cuts spending to at least the '08 levels. Who thought that government was too small before President Barack Obama came into town?

Cap. Since World War II, spending has averaged 20 percent of our economy. Under this President, it's 25 percent, growing to 40. Let's keep it at 20 percent.

Balance. Every family in America has to balance their budgets around the kitchen table. Every small business has to balance their budgets as do 49 of the 50 States. But no. Our Democrat colleagues said it is radical. It is radical to balance the budget.

What I say is, if we want jobs, hope and opportunity, we must cut, cap, and balance.

Mr. Speaker, on July 4th, we celebrated our political independence from Great Britain.

My constituents want to know when are we going to celebrate our financial independence from China, which funds much of our national debt. My constituents also want to know: Where are the jobs? Mr. Speaker, these two are connected because too much spending-driven debt leads to too few jobs.

Now, our President doesn't seem to get this. If his stimulus, his reckless spending, his small business tax increases, his class warfare rhetoric helped promote job creation, we would be the most highly employed society in the history of mankind; but instead, we are mired in the longest period of sustained high unemployment under his policies since the Great Depression.

House Republicans have a plan for America's job creators. In the trillion dollar deficits, make the Tax Code fairer, flatter, simpler. Stop the President's job-crushing tax increases, and end the dumb regulations that prevent jobs in America.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize Lieutenant George Robert Ludwig for his heroic service to our country. Lieutenant Ludwig entered the Army Aviation Flight School at Fort Rucker, Alabama in 1963 and served in Vietnam and Bien Hoa.

Lieutenant Ludwig was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism while participating in aerial flight. He first distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous action while serving as an aircraft pilot in action at Dong Xoai, Republic of Vietnam from June 10, 1965 to June 14, 1965. When battle erupted on morning of June 1, 1965, he was flying his aircraft with the mission of providing radio relay and acting as an artillery observer. When word was received that the United States compound at Dong Xoai was under heavy attack by a regiment of Viet Cong, Lieutenant Ludwig, who was flying the only aircraft in the immediate area, unhesitatingly volunteered to act as forward air controller for United States fighter bombers en route to the area. During the five-day period following the Viet Cong attack, Lieutenant Ludwig flew numerous radio relay and artillery adjustment missions, successfully and accurately directing many air strikes in support of the besieged compound.

Lieutenant Ludwig also received twenty Air Medals, two Medals of Valor and was the only Army pilot in the Vietnam War to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross by the United States Air Force.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the residents of the 5th District of Texas, to thank Lieutenant Ludwig and his family for their service to this country. We are

eternally grateful for our service men and women, past and present, who have fought to preserve liberty for our generation and generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize Major General (Retired) Paul E. Landers, Jr. for his heroic service to our country. General Landers served as deputy chief of staff, operations and transportation at Headquarters Air Mobility Command on Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

General Landers was a command pilot, logging more than 5,600 flying hours. His military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with two silver stars. While commander of the 437th Military Airlift Wing, he was awarded the Order of the Sword, the highest honor bestowed by the enlisted force.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the residents of the 5th District of Texas, to thank General Landers and his family for their service to this country. We are eternally grateful for our service men and women, past and present, who have fought to preserve liberty for our generation and generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to recognize Captain Richard E. Dwelle from Athens, Texas for his heroic service to our country.

In 1942, Mr. Dwelle joined the United States Army Reserves and in 1944, he was commissioned for active duty as a 2nd Lieutenant. In December of 1944, Mr. Dwelle arrived in Europe and was assigned as a replacement officer to M Company, 329 Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division where he received a promotion to 1st Lieutenant. Following his valorous service at the Battle of the Bulge and during the Rhine Campaign, Mr. Dwelle was discharged from active duty in June of 1946 and promoted to Captain in the Reserves. Mr. Dwelle later resigned from Reserves after a decade of service.

Mr. Dwelle and his wife Peggy have been an integral part of Henderson County, Texas serving on numerous charitable boards. Mr. Dwelle was named Citizen of the Year in Athens in 1971 and was inducted into the Rice University Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the residents of the 5th District of Texas, to thank Mr. Dwelle and his family for their service to this country. We are eternally grateful for our service men and women, past and present, who have fought to preserve liberty for our generation and generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, since President Obama was elected, 2\1/ 2\ million more of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs. Unemployment has now been above 8 percent for 28 straight months, the longest stretch since the Great Depression, and if you look at the underemployment numbers and those who have simply given up, the situation is far worse. The top three credit rating agencies have now all issued warnings about our spending-driven national debt. A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that new business startups are at a 17-year low.

Mr. Speaker, we have got to get this Nation back to work. America is experiencing a deficit of jobs because job creators have a severe deficit of confidence in the President's economic policies. Washington cannot help the job seeker by punishing the job creator with massive debt and massive regulations.

House Republicans have a plan for America's job creators which will put the Nation on a fiscally sustainable path, make our Tax Code more competitive, help create more American-made energy, and take the burden of regulation off our job creators' backs so America can go back to work.

Mr. Speaker, we found out last week that new business

creation is at a 17-year low, and Americans are asking, Mr. President, where are the jobs?

Unemployment has now languished at the highest level since the Great Depression, and Americans are asking, Mr. President, where are the jobs?

One in seven families is now on food stamps, and Americans are asking, Mr. President, where are the jobs?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released that the time it takes to get a new job is at an all-time high, and Americans are asking, Mr. President, where are the jobs?

House Republicans have a plan for America's job creators to put the Nation on a fiscally sustainable path to restore confidence, to make our Tax Code competitive, and to take the burden of regulation off our job creators so that American workers can get the paychecks they need and deserve.

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to pay tribute to a true Texas trailblazer, Governor William ``Bill'' Clements.

After the loss of his family farm during the Great Depression, a young Bill Clements went to work as an oil-field roughneck, no doubt shaping him into the legendary man and governor Texas would come to know and love. Working his way from roughneck to CEO, the invaluable lessons he learned along the way led him to the White House as deputy secretary of defense for Presidents Nixon and Ford.

In 1978, he came home to a Texas politically dominated by the Democrat party to run for governor and, in an upset victory, he became the first Republican elected since Reconstruction. Bringing this experience to the office, Governor Clements changed business as usual in the state by demanding sound budgeting and management policies, taking a tough stance on crime and working toward education improvements. After losing his first re-election bid in 1982, Clements returned to the Governor's Mansion four years later for his second and final term. Governor Clements' hard work and dedication built a firm foundation for Texas's future, and is the reason Texas has remained the successful economic model it is today.

After retiring from public life, Governor Clements made his home in Dallas where he spent his days supporting the Texas treasures he loved so much. He was an avid supporter of the Boy Scouts and contributed generously to the organization. Perhaps one of his most significant contributions was the land he and others worked hard to obtain for the Scouts in Henderson County--known today as ``The Clements Scout Ranch.'' As an Eagle Scout and Representative of Henderson County, I am especially thankful for Governor Clements' dedication to Scouting. I know that, because of his time and effort, generations of Scouts in and around Henderson County will enjoy many summers filled with camping, fishing, hiking and horseback riding.

We will always remember his infectious love for Texas. Bill Clements truly embodied the Lone Star spirit. While he will be missed, his legacy will live on in the hearts and minds of all Texans.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the 80th Anniversary of the Athens Old Fiddlers Contest and Reunion in Henderson County, Texas.

Founded in 1932 in Bethel, the contest was moved to Athens in 1933 and found a permanent home at the Henderson County Courthouse on the square in downtown Athens.

The Athens Old Fiddlers Reunion is one of the oldest continuous fiddle reunions in the United States, and it is devoted to the preservation of the style of music that once brought courage to our starving troops at Valley Forge, earned devoted admirers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, and today continues to delight millions.

On behalf of the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I commend the volunteers who generously donate their time and talents to ensure the future of this festival.

Madam Speaker, I rise to proudly support H.R. 3 for three simple reasons:

Number one, this bill just simply helps codify what has de facto been our policy for 35 years through the Hyde amendment, and that is a policy that no way, shape or form outlaws abortion; it simply says Federal taxpayers will not be compelled to subsidize them.

Second of all, Madam Speaker, at a time when our Nation is going broke, where we're borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren, maybe, maybe those programs that have the least consensus and are most divisive among us ought to be the first to lose their taxpayer subsidies.

Third, and most importantly and profoundly for me, Madam Speaker, in my heart and in my head, I can come to no other conclusion but that life begins at conception. It is our most fundamental right, enshrined in the Constitution. No taxpayer should be compelled against their will to subsidize the loss of human life, truly the least of these.

Mr. Chairman, earlier this week, USA Today reported that we have the fewest participants in our workforce than at any time in 30 years. And my Democratic colleagues announced their plan to increase taxes $1.5 trillion on our economy, much of it on our small businesses.

The Congressional Budget Office has announced that Medicare is going broke in 2020. And my Democratic colleagues announced their plan to double down on the rationing of health care for our seniors.

Announcement By the Acting Chair

Mr. Chairman, the Congressional Budget Office has announced that Social Security will go broke in 2037. And my Democratic colleagues have announced this is not a problem. We're ready to implement the 22 percent benefit cut that's already in our statute.

Survey after survey shows that our fellow citizens believe that their children will be worse off than they are, and yet my Democrat colleagues announced their plan to add $9.1 trillion to the national debt.

Mr. Chairman, it's time to quit spending money we don't have. It's time to quit borrowing 42 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and then send the bill to our children and grandchildren.

The Republican budget will help us create jobs with fundamental tax reform in preventing these tax increases. It will save our social safety net programs. Programs that have been of a great comfort to my parents and grandparents before our eyes are morphing into cruel Ponzi schemes for my third-grade daughter and my first-grade son. And, Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget will put us on the path to pay off the national debt.

Mr. Chairman, I heard from one of my constituents recently. He said, I never felt so embarrassed and ashamed of anything I have done in my life as I do about leaving this mess in the laps of Tyler and Caitlyn, my precious grandkids. I have written them both a heartfelt apology for them to read when they get old enough to understand what I allowed our country's governing authority to do to them.

Mr. Chairman, I have got a message for Mr. Calhoun. Put that letter away. House Republicans are going to stand for Tyler and Caitlyn. We're going to put America back to work. We're going to save the social safety net and preserve the American Dream for ourselves and our posterity.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the 70th Anniversary of the Lend-Lease Act and the subsequent establishment in Terrell, Texas of the first British Flying Training School in the United States.

On March 11, 1941, the Lend-Lease Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The President described the Lend-Lease Act as ``helping to put out the fire in your neighbor's house before your own house caught fire and burned down.''

During World War II, thousands of British pilots learned to fly at six civilian training schools in the United States. The first and largest of the schools was in Terrell, Texas, located in Kaufman County. After the United States entered the War, American Aviation Cadets also trained at the school. More than 2,000 Royal Air Force and American Army Air Force pilots earned their wings in the skies over North Texas between 1941 and 1945 to help our nation achieve victory.

As the Congressman for the Fifth District of Texas, I am pleased today to recognize founding of the first British Flying Training School in the nation. Today, its legacy is commemorated by the No. 1 British Flying Training School Museum in Terrell, Texas. It is my honor to recognize the dedicated museum board of directors and patrons whose efforts afford future generations the opportunity to understand and appreciate America's history.

Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the outstanding service The National Exchange Club provides the citizens of Dallas County, Texas.

The National Exchange Club, a service organization with 700 clubs and approximately

22,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico will celebrate its 100th anniversary on March 27, 2011. For 100 years, its volunteer efforts have supported the needs of the country and of local communities, making it the country's oldest American service organization operating exclusively in this country.

I would like to specifically recognize the clubs in the Fifth Congressional District of Texas--Garland Noon Exchange, Mesquite Noon Exchange, Rowlett Noon Exchange, and Lake Highlands Exchange. Members of these clubs give countless hours to the prevention of child abuse, youth projects, and other community service projects. Exchange Club members also promote the American spirit through their core values of family, community, and nation.

This organization provides an invaluable service to those in the community who truly need assistance. Over the years, thousands of individuals and families have been blessed by the men and women of the Exchange Clubs.

I am pleased today to recognize the Exchange Clubs for their contributions to Dallas County. To all the men and women who give of their time and efforts so generously, on behalf of all the constituents of the Fifth District, I would like to extend our most sincere gratitude.