Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dallas legend Ebby Halliday on her 100th Birthday.

On March 9, Dallas legend Ebby Halliday will celebrate a century of life. From her humble beginning on a farm in Kansas where she started selling tins of Clovertine Salve at age eight to her successful real estate company, which is now one of the largest privately owned real estate firms in the United States, Ebby has always reached for the stars and inspired others to do the same.

From her first job after graduation selling hats, to the real estate mogul we all know and love today, Ebby Halliday truly personifies the American Dream. Not only has she revolutionized the real estate business with her savvy, her whit, and her charm--Ebby's dedication to serving her community has made her a household name and a true Dallas treasure. Known to many as ``The First Lady of Real Estate,'' I am privileged to call her friend.

Happy Birthday Ebby, and thank you for the many contributions you have made to the State of Texas and our nation over the past 100 years.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to commemorate the 100th anniversary of White Rock Lake.

As Dallas began to grow in population during the early 1900s, the availability of water became an increasing problem. In 1909, the City of Dallas awarded a contract to build a dam on White Rock Creek which, two years later, led to the creation of what is known today as White Rock Lake.

Over the last century, White Rock Lake has not only provided essential water resources to one of the fastest growing areas of the country, it has also become an ideal place for outdoor activities for Dallas residents and visitors alike. Often referred to as ``the jewel of Dallas,'' White Rock Lake is home to the Dallas Arboretum and maintains numerous playgrounds and trails for hiking, running, and biking. Like many Dallas residents, I enjoy spending quality time at this lake with my family, and am proud to have White Rock Lake in my district.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 836.

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

Mr. Chairman, the American people woke up several days ago to the very sad reality that this Nation has just incurred its single largest monthly deficit in the history of the Nation, $226 billion, which, by a back-of-the-envelope calculation, that is roughly $2,500 for every household in just 1 month. And, Mr. Chairman, February is the shortest month of the year. This is on top of our Nation's first trillion-dollar deficit, our Nation's second trillion-dollar deficit. And now, according to the budget presented by the President of the United States, the third-largest, the largest deficit, in America's history and the third trillion-dollar-plus deficit.

Mr. Chairman, the Nation is drowning in a sea of red ink. If we want to help job creators create jobs today, we have got to start taking away the uncertainty of this huge national debt. If we want to save our children from bankruptcy tomorrow, we have to start doing something about the national debt. But everybody says essentially: well, not in my backyard. Not with my programs. Not today. Let's do it some other day. Let's kick the can down the road.

But, Mr. Chairman, this is a Nation that is borrowing 40 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and we are sending the bill to our children and grandchildren. This is a form of intergenerational theft. The Democratic whip, the gentleman from Maryland, when Republicans were in control and the deficit was a fraction, a fraction of what it is today, he termed it ``fiscal child abuse.'' The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) said that when the annual deficit was $200 billion. Now the monthly deficit is $200 billion. If we want to help create jobs today, if we want to spare our children bankruptcy, we have got to quit spending money we don't have.

And so this week, Mr. Chairman, House Republicans have brought a couple of bills to the floor to do something that is rarely ever done in this institution, and that is to save American families and save small businesses money: terminate a program. You know, as we are coming off the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birthday, I am reminded, and perhaps I don't have the quote exact, but he said something along the lines of the closest thing to eternal life on Earth is a Federal program.

So the bill we have before us today is a program that was originally authorized in 1975 and was never funded in its 35-year history. Now, a billion dollars has been allocated for this program. It is not out the door. Nobody has used that money. It is in a series of so-called foreclosure mitigation programs that the administration has put forth, almost all of which have been abject failures even by their own yardstick, by their own measurement.

Number one, the best foreclosure mitigation program in America is a job. It's a paycheck. It's not a government check, it's a paycheck. Job creators are hampered by the uncertainty of the national debt. Historic levels of debt will lead to historic levels of taxation, which leads to historic levels of unemployment.

The equation could not be more true. The equation could not be more elementary.

But don't take my word for it, Mr. Chairman. Let's hear from some of the job creators in America. Let's hear from the CEO of Caterpillar, which employs tens of thousands of people across our Nation: Unfunded entitlement programs, coupled with the coming wave of retiring baby boomers, will push the deficit to untenable levels. It is a train wreck.

Mike Jackson, the CEO of AutoNation, with 19,000 employees: The best thing that this town could do to help the economic recovery become sustainable is to deal with the deficit.

Bernie Marcus, the former chairman and CEO of Home Depot, with over 200,000 employees in the U.S.: If we continue this kind of policy, we are dead in the water. Businesspeople, they don't know what's coming-- the debt, the budget. This debt we have is in the trillions. I'm going to have to pay for this somehow.

Mr. Chairman, these are just a few of the voices of job creators.

I am heartened to see that the unemployment rate ticked down last month. Frankly, it is attributable mostly to the fact that we now have a divided government. Job creators now know there is at least some check on the excesses of the Obama administration. It is a testament to the fact that, at the end of the last Congress, Republicans were successful in blocking, at least for 2 years, the single largest tax increase in America's history, and I don't know any American who believes that if you increase taxes on one's company that that's going to lead to a raise, to a bonus, or to employing more workers.

Finally, we have what Warren Buffett calls the regenerative nature of the free enterprise system. This is an economy that wants to recover; but since the Great Depression, we've never had a longer recession or a more tepid recovery, which is due to the policies of the President and of the previous Democratic Congresses. So, if we want to help create jobs today, we're going to have to show that we can put the Nation on a fiscally sustainable path.

Now, this is a $1 billion program where not $1 has left the door yet. I'm sitting here thinking, Mr. Chairman: If this body, after having 75, 76 some odd different government housing programs that add up to, roughly, 56 some odd billion dollars that, frankly, have grown at an exponential over the family budget--the family budget has to pay for the HUD budget--if we can't terminate, in order to save our children from bankruptcy, in order to help create jobs, one program at $1 billion where not one penny has left the door, how are we ever going to make the tough decisions that are necessary to save the country from bankruptcy?

Mr. Chairman, at some point, you've got to quit spending money you don't have. At some point, when do you ever say enough is enough? When do you say we are tired of borrowing money from the Chinese? Is it the future of our children? Is it their destiny to shine the shoes of the Chinese? Is it our children's destiny that one day they'll wait tables for the Chinese? It's not the dream I have for my 7-year-old son. It's not the dream I have for my 9-year-old daughter. It's not the American dream.

The American Dream is to leave your children with greater freedoms, greater opportunity, and a higher standard of living. That's what I believe the American Dream is.

If we can't terminate one program from which the Obama administration itself says we're going to lose 98 cents on the dollar--I didn't say it; it was the Obama administration that said it, losing 98 cents on the dollar. If we can't do this, Mr. Chairman, I have great fear and great trepidation for the future.

So I urge my colleagues to take one small, tiny baby step towards the path of fiscal sustainability. Take one measured baby step, and tell job creators in

America we are going to put the Nation's fiscal house in order. Go ahead. It's safe to invest in America again. It's safe to create jobs.

We're going to get this done. Take one tiny step today to help create those jobs and save our children from a pathway to bankruptcy.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished majority leader, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Madam Chair, again, we cannot lose sight of the fact that our Nation is drowning in a sea of red ink. It is a sea of red ink that continues to hamper job creation. Job creators today are uncertain of our future.

They know, though, they know that historic levels of debt lead to historic levels of taxation, which can only lead to historic levels of unemployment. They are looking for some signal from this body that we get it, that we get it, that we are going to stop borrowing 40 cents on the dollar, much of it from the Chinese, and sending the bill to our children and our grandchildren.

Again, when the annual deficit, the annual deficit was $200 billion and dropping, as opposed to the monthly deficit, which is now over 200 billion, but when the annual deficit was 200 billion, the gentleman from Maryland, the Democratic whip, said that was fiscal child abuse.

Now, my friends on the other side of the aisle are introducing the term ``mean spirited.'' I don't know. Is fiscal child abuse mean spirited? It's their term, Madam Chair. I will let them reflect upon that.

Now I hear the ranking member talk about fiscal responsibility, and he points to one item: cotton. We have heard cotton throughout this debate. But I would note that the ranking member apparently voted for the conference report on the farm bill which includes cotton subsidies that he comes to this floor to decry.

He speaks about a WTO decision, but it's the Obama administration that says that countervailing measures would have cost this country more than 800 million. I suppose we could have that debate, but I would recommend that the ranking member have the debate with the Obama administration, because that's where many of us got the information.

I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Reclaiming my time, I would just point out to the ranking member that was not the vote before us. And if there was a chance to get out the cotton subsidies--and I must admit people on both sides of the aisle vote for them, but the opportunity was at the point of the conference report on the farm bill which the gentleman from Massachusetts voted for.

But to put this again in a larger context, we on this side of the aisle fervently believe that you will not have job creation until you put the Nation on a fiscally sustainable path. We are talking about $1 billion here. If we can't do it on this program, what program can we do it on?

And I must admit, I also find it ironic how many of my friends on the other side of the aisle will come to the floor and say, You know what? There are people in this Nation trying to force loans onto people who are unemployed, people who can't afford to pay it back, people who are in debt. That's predatory lending, and now they want the government to do the same thing.

We heard throughout the debate there needs to be a consistency, a consistency of debate. So let me get this right. A payday lender is guilty of predatory lending if they loan money to somebody who is underwater, to somebody who may be struggling, but if the Federal Government does it, it's something else. It's noble. I don't see the consistency in the debate there, Madam Chair.

But again, most importantly, when does the day arrive that we quit spending money we do not have? I say today is that day.

Madam Chair, I reserve a point of order against this amendment.

Madam Chair, I would note that the gentlelady from California's economic program known as the stimulus has helped another 3 million of our fellow citizens lose their jobs.

Point of Order

Madam Chair, I make the point of order that the amendment violates clause 10 of rule XXI known as the cut-go rule.

I have been advised by the chair of the Committee on the Budget that the amendment would cause a net increase in mandatory spending relative to the bill in the period specified in the rule.

Accordingly, the point of order lies, and I ask for a ruling from the chair.

I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, we can do better than trillions of dollars of debt that is borrowed from the Chinese and the bills are sent to our children and grandchildren. When the annual deficit was $200 billion and falling, another gentleman from Maryland, the distinguished Democratic whip, said it was fiscal child abuse. Now we have a monthly deficit equaling that annual deficit.

So I listened carefully to this gentleman from Maryland. And when I go to church on Sunday, I'm going to be very glad in my heart, in my head, that I did not commit an act of fiscal child abuse on my children or anybody else's children or grandchildren. We have got to stop spending money we don't have.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Ms. Waters

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

I yield to the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee, the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus).

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee brought to our attention something that, I believe, every veteran now knows, which is that the biggest threat to our national security is our national debt.

I am not a veteran. My brother was. He fought during the Cold War. My father was. He fought during Korea. My grandfather was. He fought during World War II. So I know veterans, Mr. Speaker, and there are no citizens in our country who are more passionate about the preservation of our national security than our veterans. There is no veteran I know of who would not put country before self. There is no veteran I know of who wants to mortgage our Nation's future to China. There is no veteran I know of who wouldn't be ashamed and embarrassed to have China foreclose on our Nation because of the national debt that has been run up by our friends on the other side of the aisle.

If we want to have a secure Nation, if we want jobs, if we want to save America from bankruptcy for our children, we've got to quit spending money we don't have. Veterans put country before self.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to the distinguished chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of H.R. 836, the Clerk be authorized to correct section numbers, punctuation, and cross-references, and to make such other technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to accurately reflect the actions of the House.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the proceedings had during the recess be printed in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the State of Texas on the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas.

Texas Independence Day commemorates the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836. Sixty delegates from across Texas signed the declaration. Its language in many ways parallels our nation's 1776 Declaration of Independence.

Only six days before the signing of Texas' declaration, 150 patriots under the command of Colonel William Barret Travis made their last stand against Santa Anna's Mexican army at the Alamo. Though vastly outnumbered, the Alamo patriots were committed to the cause of liberty for Texas. On February 24th, Colonel Travis dispatched arguably the most historic letter in Texas history, calling for reinforcements. ``I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, and everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch,'' pleaded Travis.

The strength of character and commitment to freedom displayed by Colonel Travis and his men has endured in the hearts of every Texan throughout our 175 years as a Republic. It is this spirit that makes Texas great, and has allowed us to weather challenging times. More than ever, I think we could use a lot more of that undeniable Texas spirit and determination in Washington.

It is with great pleasure I take the time to recognize the great State of Texas on this monumental occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding service that the Terrell Lions Club provides the communities in Kaufman County, Texas.

Lions Club International was founded in 1917 in Chicago to aid the blind and visually impaired. The Terrell Lions Club was founded on February 28, 1921 and was one of the first chartered in Texas.

Since that time, the Terrell Lions Club created the Lions Club Park in 1948 on sixteen acres of land for the National Guard Armory, as well as two community tennis courts.

The Terrell Lions work to eradicate blindness by providing free vision screenings, eye examinations and glasses for the needy, as well as promoting the Lions Eye Bank.

Lions contribute time, talent and resources to the Texas Lions Club Camp in Kerrville, which provides free residential camping experiences for children with physical disabilities, Type 1 diabetes and cancer.

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 Terrell Lions Club.

As the Congressman for the Fifth District of Texas, I am pleased today to recognize the Terrell Lions Club for their 90 years of service to Kaufman 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.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, if we want to have jobs today, if we want to protect our children from bankruptcy tomorrow,

we've got to quit spending money we don't have. There is a debt crisis in America, and it is spending driven, being led by the President and other friends from the other side of the aisle. It is a true crisis. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said the biggest threat we have to our national security is our debt. One of these reputable economists that the previous gentleman spoke about, Robert Samuelson, has said this spending could trigger an economic and political death spiral. Democrat Erskine Bowles, who headed up the President's Fiscal Responsibility Commission, said the ``debt is like a cancer. It's truly going to destroy the country from within.'' And what do we have, Mr. Chairman? We have the President presenting a new budget that will again double the national debt in 5 years, triple it in 10, add $13 trillion worth of red ink to the Nation's debt. This is after expanding garden-variety government 84 percent in 2 years, non-defense discretionary. Mr. Chairman, you can't spend money you don't have. Massive debts lead to massive tax increases. Massive tax increases lead to no jobs.

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve has said one of the best ways that we can improve jobs today is to put our Nation on a sustainable fiscal course. And I heard the gentleman say that entitlement spending should be on the table. Clearly, the President hasn't gotten the message. It's not what we saw in his budget. We haven't seen it in any other Democrat budget. So it would be wonderful if we saw it. But we don't see it.

I talk to business people in my own district, Mr. Chairman, like Diane Ford of Kaufman, Texas, a small business lady. When she stares in the face of this debt and she sees the tax increase, she writes, ``Congressman, I couldn't hire any more employees. I couldn't expand my business. I would definitely have to close up shop. As a small business owner, I'm afraid of my future.'' Small business people all around the Nation know that massive debt leads to massive tax increases. It leads to no jobs. If we want to create jobs, we have to take care of this debt.

And think about future generations, Mr. Chairman. I heard from one of my other constituents who said, ``I've never felt so embarrassed and ashamed about anything I've done in my life as I do about leaving this mess in the laps of Tyler and Caitlin, my precious grandkids.'' He's talking about the national debt.

To protect future generations, to create jobs today, we've got to quit spending money we don't have. And I want to congratulate the chairman of the Appropriations Committee for his excellent work in turning the corner.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, it is almost impossible to imagine what the world would be like today if Ronald Reagan had never come along. That is because so much of the past 100 years of American and world history was directly impacted by the courage and convictions of our 40th President.

As we all know, the course of the 20th century was not always a smooth ride for the United States or for freedom. At a time when we needed a hero, we got one in the Gipper.

When Ronald Reagan saw the country he loved succumb to the hubris of the welfare state, high taxation, rampant spending and crippling regulation, he set his sights on Washington to turn things around. He believed that government was not the solution but the problem. The status quo of the time begged to differ and he saw no choice but to challenge it. Against all odds, he succeeded.

That same misguided consensus also told us that Soviet communism would forever co-habit the globe with Western democracy. Again, President Reagan disagreed. To him, communism wasn't just flawed--it was evil. That conviction shaped his entire worldview. His forecast for the Cold War was simple: ``We win, they lose.'' His optimism led him to predict a decade before the Cold War ended that ``the West won't contain communism, it will transcend communism.'' Again, President Reagan was right.

All Americans live in a freer and more prosperous world because of Ronald Reagan.

One hundred years from now, President Reagan's legacy will continue to inspire Americans to believe in the greatness of our country. And as long as his principles are cherished and passed down to every new generation, America will remain that ``shining city on a hill'' and the last best hope for man on earth.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Republican Conference, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.