Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Again, we have two different budgets before us. The Democratic budget, again, it spends too much--the largest budget in American history; taxes too much--national energy tax, tax on small business, tax on capital gains; borrows too much--greatest amount of debt in our Nation's history. We are going to run up more debt in the next 10 years than in the previous 220. Budget deficit up tenfold in just 2 years under their watch. A crushing level of debt that I don't know if the next generation will ever recover.

It borrows too much, it spends too much, it taxes too much. And then, Madam Speaker, it gets worse from there. It gets worse from there. This thing called reconciliation, kind of this inside-the-beltway term of art, is really nothing more than a budget sleight of hand that will facilitate cramming through policies that need to be debated on this House floor and in the Senate under regular order.

The Senate itself, Madam Speaker, apparently doesn't want this in the budget. Again, Senator Conrad, the Democratic Budget Committee chairman, has said, ``Once you've unleashed reconciliation you can't get it back in the barn. It could be used for a lot of different things that are completely unintended at this moment.'' That's the Democratic budget chairman. Senator Byrd--frankly, the author of reconciliation-- said, ``not designed to create a new climate in energy regime, and certainly not to restructure our entire health care system.''

I mean, reconciliation means that the American people are going to have to reconcile themselves to a new national energy tax imposed by the Democratic majority through this budget sleight of hand. It means that the American people are going to have to reconcile themselves to more job loss as American small businesses are taxed even more and have to lay off even more workers. It means that the American people are going to have to reconcile themselves to rationed health care with a Federal Government bureaucrat helping choose their health care provider and whether or not they even receive the health care that they desire. That's what reconciliation in this context means.

Now, it was meant for something different. And it has been used on a bipartisan basis to actually save jobs, to actually save hope, actually save the future of the American people and be used for budget savings. It is being used for a completely different purpose. And if these ideas of the Democratic majority are so meritorious, then why can't they be debated in regular order? That's what I question. Why use this budget sleight of hand? We need to reject that and accept this motion.

Madam Speaker, for the past seven years, the greater Mesquite area has embraced the opportunity to honor many exceptional women in the community through the Women in Service and Enterprise (WISE) Award Luncheon and Style Show. Today I would like to honor this year's award recipient, Mrs. Jana Hunter-Kovar, who is a shining example of a committed community advocate and servant. I would also like to recognize honorees Barbara Dunn, Lois Buford and Adrianna Harris for their valuable service and commitment to their community.

Jana Hunter-Kovar has dedicated her life and energy to the Mesquite community for many years. She began her work as a home sales advisor before retiring to care for her family and volunteer full time. Through her participation in the Leadership Mesquite Class of 1996, the Mesquite Citizen's Police Academy Class of 1998, as well as her service on the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce Board, Parks & Recreation Board, Mesquite Services League Board, Mesquite Symphony Orchestra Association Board, Mesquite Symphony Guild Board, and the Mesquite Social Services Board, Jana has truly had an integral hand in shaping Mesquite into the successful city it is today.

In recognition of her many hours of service and sacrifice, Jana has been honored with the 2004 Mesquite Social Services' Outstanding Commitment & Achievement Award, the 2003 and 2006 Mesquite Social Services' Star Board Member Award and the 2005-2006 Mesquite Independent School Board's Volunteer of the Year award. In addition to her many civic activities, Jana has been married to her husband, Mike, for 21 and 1/2 years and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Kyleigh and Kaitlyn.

Past WISE Award winners have served in a variety of ways, but they are united by the long-lasting impact they have made on their community. Their service, community involvement and dedication to enterprise continue to inspire younger generations.

Today, I would like to recognize all of the WISE honorees for their outstanding service and congratulate them on their awards. Thank you, ladies, for helping make our community, state and country a better place.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional service and leadership of Mr. Gary Chasey of Athens, Texas. Mr. Chasey has served his community for years in many capacities and was recently recognized as the ``Citizen of the Year'' by the Athens Chamber of Commerce.

Gary, along with his wife, Sharon, volunteers with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Through this very special and important capacity, Gary has changed the lives of dozens of children in his community. As a CASA volunteer, he looks after the interest of children who are in the court system. He has spent countless hours advocating and watching over abused and neglected children.

For several years, Gary has served as President and Vice-President for Labor of Love of Henderson County. Labor of Love is an organization that repairs homes for those in the community who cannot afford to make repairs or complete maintenance tasks. As a leader in Labor of Love, Gary has helped increase completed projects by over 90%. His financial expertise, leadership and tireless work ethic have undoubtedly benefited countless citizens.

In addition, Gary is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and is active with the

Methodist Men at First United Methodist Church.

As the Congressman for the Fifth District of Texas, I am pleased today to recognize Gary Chasey for his many years of public service and countless contributions he has made to make his community and his country a better place. Gary, on behalf of all the constituents of the Fifth District, especially those in Henderson County, I would like to extend our most sincere thanks.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding service that Labor of Love provides the communities in Henderson County, Texas.

The Athens Samaritans was formed as a precursor to Labor of Love in 1986 when members of the First Christian Church of Athens went to Amarillo to help with a Habitat for Humanity project. Members became energized about founding their own organization locally that would help with housing for the disadvantaged. The group decided to focus on repairing existing homes and thus organized the Labor of Love in 1987.

Since that time, the First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church and First Baptist Church joined the effort and helped expand the organization. Labor of Love now has 12 project managers who recruit workers from dozens of volunteers.

In 2008 alone, Labor of Love completed 231 projects in Henderson County. The organization's efforts are supported with resources from the Henderson County United Way, the Cain Foundation and the Murchison Foundation, as well as other foundations, churches, businesses and individuals. Labor of Love also sponsors paint projects for groups such as the Boy Scouts, Young Life, 4-H, church groups and businesses.

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

As the Congressman for the Fifth District of Texas, I am pleased today to recognize the Labor of Love for their contributions to Henderson 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.

Madam Speaker, today I would like to honor Mr. Robert Ayers Gould, Sr., for his exceptional leadership and outstanding public service.

After graduating from Athens High School in 1957, Bob joined the United States Navy where he served aboard the USS Coral Sea. Following an Honorable Discharge, he returned to Athens where he opened the Gould Insurance Agency in 1962, which he has owned and operated for over forty years.

Bob Gould served on the City Council of Athens for twelve years before his retirement in 2007, where he oversaw many projects benefiting his community. Among his many civic activities, Bob has been the Director and Vice-President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, Co- Founder of the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Charter Director for the Henderson County YMCA. He has also received many awards from his community, including the Roadhand Award from the Texas Highway Commission and the Athens Citizen of the Year Award in 1984.

In addition to faithfully serving his community, Bob is a husband to Mrs. Peggy Lorene Lubben Gould and father of four children: Robert Jr., Joseph, Patricia, and Mary.

I want to recognize Bob for his service and commitment to his community. Due to Bob's leadership in the city and throughout the business community, Athens remains a strong, supportive, and vibrant community.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the 5th District of Texas, it is my pleasure to recognize my good friend Mr. Robert Ayers Gould, Sr. for being an invaluable public servant and community leader.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. As I listened closely to my friends on the other side of the aisle, there's a couple of themes that continue to reoccur. One theme is: It's not our fault. This mess was inherited. We sympathize with President Obama. He inherited a mess.

Well, Madam Chairman, he did inherit a mess--but he inherited a mess from a Democratic-controlled Congress.

In 2007 the deficit stood at $161 billion. Now, this year, for 2009, it's going to be $1.8 trillion--a tenfold increase under the Democratic watch in just 2 years. They inherited their own mess.

In December of 2006, unemployment stood at 4.4 percent. Now, 8.1 percent. Up 84 percent. On January 3, 2007, the Dow stood at 12,400. Most recently, it is now down 40 percent. The economic calamity happened on their watch.

Now, Madam Chair, I don't blame them for everything, but I don't understand how they accept responsibility for nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Madam Chair, what is so ironic, and it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad, is we have had Democratic leaders

come to the floor on previous budgets to decry the size of the national debt, to decry the size of the deficit.

When the deficit was less than $400 billion, and falling--still too great a number--the majority leader of the House, then minority leader, Mr. Hoyer, the gentleman from Maryland, said this was equivalent to fiscal child abuse. Fiscal child abuse. And now we have a deficit of four and five times that--and stone-cold silence from the other side.

Madam Chair, reckless doesn't do justice to this budget. This is a radical budget. Radical. Never in the history of America have so few voted so fast to put so many in debt. More debt will be run up on this Democratic budget--this radical budget--in 10 years than has been run up in the entire history of our Republic. A sea of red ink for generations to come.

Now, part of that generation to come is my 7-year-old daughter and my 5-year-old son. I know the people on the other side of the aisle, they love their children, they love their grandchildren. But it is clear they don't love my children; because if they did, this radical budget would not be coming to the floor to put this level of debt which will bankrupt our Nation and crush the next generation, it wouldn't be on the floor. It would not be on the floor.

And one other point I would like to make. I don't see the gentleman from New Jersey on the floor now. But in speaking about the national energy tax, it reminds me of that old joke, which I will not and cannot repeat on the floor but whose punch line is: Now we know what you are, now we are just haggling over price.

The Congressional Budget Office says the national energy tax is going to cost the average American family at least $1,600. We know what you are: You are a national energy tax. Now we are just haggling over the cost that will be imposed on struggling, hard-working families in America imposed by the Democrats.

Madam Chair, I rise to claim the time in opposition.

Madam Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Chair, first I do want to offer my congratulations to the gentlelady for simply offering the budget. As one who has written budgets before, on behalf of the Republican Study Committee, it is hard, difficult, challenging work, but I know the lady is committed to her set of principles. They are diametrically opposed to mine, but I respect her body of work and her commitment to her philosophy.

Madam Chairman, as we look at this budget and the other Democrat alternatives, frankly, they have a whole lot more in common than they have in their differences. All of these budgets, all of these Democratic budgets, are simply radical. They are radical departures from over 200 years of history in America.

Every single one, Madam Chairman, spends too much. They tax too much, and they borrow too much. We are looking, even prior to the submission of this progressive budget, much less the Democratic-controlled House Budget Committee budget, we were looking at drowning in a sea of red ink. We were looking at entitlement spending simply being out of control.

And don't take my word for it, Madam Chairman. Let's listen to the Federal Reserve. ``Without early and meaningful action to address the rapid growth of entitlements, the U.S. economy could be seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost.''

Listen to our most recent former Comptroller General Walker of the General Accountability Office. ``The rising costs of government entitlements are a fiscal cancer, a fiscal cancer that threatens catastrophic consequences for our country and could bankrupt America.''

Now, Madam Chairman, that was all before the submissions of these budgets. And let's look at the recent history of this Democratic- controlled Congress. Seven hundred billion dollars of bailout money, costing every American household $6,034. Now, some Members on the other side of the aisle claim the taxpayer is going to get his money back. I hope that proves to be true. As history is my guide, I have some doubts.

A $1.13 trillion government stimulus plan, not a plan to stimulate the economy, a plan to stimulate big government, costing every American household $9,810. Madam Chairman, where are they going to get this money? People are losing their jobs. Credit is being contracted. And yet, spending bill after spending bill after spending bill.

Then, Madam Chairman, a $410 billion omnibus spending bill, costing every American household $3,534. Now, on top of all this, on top of all this massive spending, we have the single largest budget in American history being proposed, more spending than this Nation has ever seen. More spending than this Nation has ever seen, even with respect to the economy, with the exception of World War II.

These are budgets that are going to impose costs on the average American family of over $30,000. Again, Madam Chairman, this progressive budget, along with all the other Democratic budgets, spends too much, it taxes too much, and it borrows too much.

Now, Madam Chairman, speaker after speaker has come to the floor to decry the inherited economic mess. There is an economic mess. But our President inherited this economic mess from a Democratic-controlled Congress. When the Republicans were last in control of Congress, the deficit was $160 billion and falling. And now, just 2 years later, just 2 years later, it was $1.3 trillion, and the President decided to add on another 500, $600 billion on top of that. We're looking at an increase in the Federal deficit of tenfold in just 2 years.

And now, Madam Chairman, each one of these Democratic budgets is proposing more debt, more debt in the next 10 years than has been run up in the previous 200 years of our Nation's history, going back to the dawn of the Republic. We have never seen these levels of debt.

Again, Madam Chairman, never in our history have so few voted so fast to indebt so many and do so little good. As history is my guide, no nation, no nation has ever borrowed or spent its way into prosperity, no matter how they tried. This is simply radical.

Madam Chairman, who ever thought we would see the day where European socialists are lecturing the United States of America about fiscal responsibility. What a topsy-turvy world we live in, Madam Chairman. Never thought we would have seen the day. But now that spectacle is on television.

Madam Chairman, who ever thought we would see the day where our Secretary of State has to go to China and beg them to keep on buying our debt? Even the Chinese, the Communist Chinese, are now lecturing the United States of America about its profligate spending.

Madam Chairman, if any of these Democratic budgets are passed, we will be the first generation in America's history to leave the next generation with less freedom, less opportunity and a lower standard of living. It is unavoidable. And that's why this budget is so radical.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I would first yield myself 30 seconds to say to the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee, and my friend, that I would certainly concede the point that he is probably far more familiar with socialists in Europe than I am, and I concede that point.

I would be happy to yield to the distinguished chairman.

With 30 seconds, I'll reclaim my time.

I would also point out to the distinguished chairman of the Financial Services Committee Article I, section 9 of our Constitution that puts the spending power with the Congress, and to remind him that his party has been in control for the last 2 years.

With that, Madam Chair, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Madam Chair, may I inquire how much time is remaining on each side?

At this time, Madam Chair, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Madam Chair, never in our history have so few voted so fast to indebt so many. This is courtesy of a Democratic-controlled Congress.

$700 billion of bailout money, $6,034 per household; a $1.138 trillion government stimulus plan, $9,810 per American household; a $410 billion omnibus spending plan, $3,534 per American household.

On top of this, the Democrats now propose the single largest budget in American history and the largest as a share of the economy since World War II. It is a budget that will increase spending to $3.6 trillion, over $31,000 per American household. It is a budget that spends too much. It is a budget that taxes too much. It is a budget that borrows too much, and it threatens to bankrupt our country.

Even before all of the spending described above, our Nation was headed for a day of reckoning, but don't take my word for it. Listen to the Federal Reserve:

``Without early and meaningful action to address the rapid growth of entitlements, the U.S. economy could be seriously weakened with future generations bearing much of the cost.''

Listen to the former Comptroller General with the Government Accountability Office:

``The rising cost of government entitlements are a fiscal cancer, a fiscal cancer that threatens catastrophic consequences for our country and could bankrupt America.''

The Democrats' budget will nearly triple the national debt in 10 years, costing taxpayers a dizzying $148,926 per household. Madam Chair, just look at this chart. It is a sea of red ink for generations to come. This budget, this Democratic budget, will create more debt for America in the next 10 years than was run up in the previous 220. Now, Madam Chair, let me repeat that just in case anybody missed it. This Democratic budget will create more debt for America in the next 10 years than was run up in the previous 220. Our Nation has never seen this level of debt in its entire history. It very well may bankrupt us.

Now, Madam Chair, using history as my guide, no Nation has ever borrowed and spent its way into prosperity. At the outset of World War II, Henry Morgenthau, FDR's Secretary of Treasury, said the following:

``We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before, and it does not work . . .

After 8 years of this administration, we have just as much unemployment as when we started . . . and an enormous debt to boot.''

Let's recall Japan's lost decade of the 1990s when they attempted to borrow and spend their way into prosperity. They took on the greatest amount of debt of any industrialized Nation in the world, and after 10 years, they had no economic growth, no new jobs, and their per capita income fell from second in the world to 10th. Read what the New York Times had to say about it:

``Japan failed to generate a convincing recovery. This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations. Among ordinary Japanese, the spending is widely disparaged for having turned the Nation into a public works-based welfare state and for making regional economies dependent on Tokyo for jobs.''

Madam Chair, this Democratic budget spends too much. It taxes too much. It borrows too much, and it threatens to bankrupt our Nation.

On top of this, Madam Chair, the Democratic budget is proposing a national energy tax, a national energy tax, which, according to studies at MIT, could pose a $3,128 burden on every working family in America. They're offering a half-a-trillion-dollar tax increase on small businesses--the job engine in America, the font of three out of four new jobs created in America. They're offering a tax on capital of up to one-third when we desperately need capital to help preserve the jobs we have today and to grow the jobs of tomorrow. Madam Chair, I've heard from struggling Americans about how this Democratic budget is going to impact them.

I've heard from Gary of Garland, Texas, who said, ``The money that government is so lavishly spending is coming from people who have worked very hard and made good decisions and, thus, pay taxes. Money is being stolen from our children and grandchildren to bail out just about anyone who was irresponsible.''

We've heard how this Democratic budget affects small business. We've heard from Susan of Tennessee Colony:

``I have owned my company for 25 years . . . but today, I have had to lay off 25 people and cut hours on the remaining 35 . . . and now Mr. Obama wants to place higher taxes on me because I am successful. So much for our American dream.''

We've heard how this Democratic budget affects the education dreams of America. We've heard from Bruce in Idaho Falls:

``We are at the point where we just have enough money to send our oldest daughter to college. An additional energy expense would make it impossible for us to pay for the expenses for our daughter's college education.'' This is how the Democratic budget affects the education dreams of Americans.

Madam Chair, the President's chief of staff has said, ``Never let a serious crisis go to waste. It's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before.''

Well, the Democrats are going to spend like never before. They are going to tax like never before. They are going to borrow like never before. They will bankrupt our Nation. There is a better alternative that promotes freedom, economic opportunity and jobs for all. It's the Republican alternative. We'll see it tomorrow.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Chair, I listened very carefully to the distinguished chairman of the House Budget Committee. But unfortunately, I think he may need a history lesson on who has controlled this institution for the last 2 years. And also, as I read the Constitution, Madam Chair, I would say to my friend from South Carolina, if I were allowed to speak to him, it says that it is Congress, Congress is in charge of spending decisions, Congress has the ability to spend money, create debts and create deficits. And I agree. President Obama inherited a huge deficit. He inherited it from Democrats in the United States Congress. So he took a $1.3 trillion debt, it was a $160 billion deficit rather, and now he and the Democrats in Congress are adding to it a sea of red ink for as far as the eye could see. Never in the history of this country have we seen so much debt.

Their budget, Madam Chair, will simply bankrupt this country. And they seem to be oblivious to the facts. Again, never, never have so few voted so fast to indebt so many. And it is just the start of their economic calamity that they are trying to impose upon the Nation.

Now we hear all of this lofty talk about, well, we need this wonderful budget and all of this spending to get us out of the recession. Then why, why is it that the President's own OMB says that we are out of this recession in the fourth quarter of 2009? Then why impose this unconscionable burden of debt on our children?

Madam Chair, there was a time in America's history when the American ethic was, you work hard today so your children can live better tomorrow. Well, this Democratic economic program just turns that around and says, let government live better today so our children can work harder tomorrow. It is an outrage. It is an outrage. A national energy tax. Tax on small businesses. Taxes on the capital of capitalism. As one of my colleagues said, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mack), our budget is about we the people. Their budget is about I the government. If you think you can borrow your way, spend your way, tax your way into prosperity, Madam Chair, then that is the budget for you. But if you think America is about rolling up your sleeves, working hard, risking capital and dreaming bold dreams so that people can go to work and find their own future, then there is an alternative, Madam Chair. It is the Republican budget that will be offered tomorrow. And it will give a great Nation a great future.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

The outrage is continued. What we have today here is nothing short of a legislative coverup. That's what we're looking at here, Mr. Speaker. And when you look at these two different proposals that have come to the floor, one of which would trample on the Constitution in order to perpetrate this legislative coverup. And now we have the spectacle of Senator Dodd pointing the finger at Secretary Geithner, and Secretary Geithner pointing the finger at Senator Dodd. But what we do know

is that our friends on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats, could have prevented this. But this language got in the bill, and all of a sudden it has no parents. Nobody will claim where this came from, this magical language that somehow allows these outrageous AIG bonuses to be paid.

Here's a news flash: Why don't we tell them, ``No more Federal money, AIG, until these bonuses are repaid?'' Don't come up with this political cover-your-backside language, trying to excuse all the people who are responsible for this in the first place. Don't trample on our Constitution in order to do this legislative coverup.

What happened to supposedly the most open and honest Congress in the history of America? This is transparency? This is honesty? And instead, we have cover up. Vote it down.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, to state the obvious, everybody in this economy is hurting. I've got personal friends of mine who never thought they would lose their jobs who have lost their jobs.

But when we look at this piece of legislation, you have to ask the question who are you helping, why are you helping, and whom are you hurting to help the other people? We need to remember, Mr. Chairman, that, first, 94 percent of all America still is either renting their home, they own it outright, or they're current on their mortgage.

Now, I want to make sure that we help those who through no fault of their own are finding themselves in arrears. I want to help the person who lost their job or through some debilitating disease can't keep up with their mortgage.

But, Mr. Chairman, mortgage fraud has ran rampant for the last 2 years. There were people out there who speculated in real estate. There were people who turned their homes into personal ATM machines. There are people who could have made sacrifices and now they expect their neighbor to make the sacrifice. Mr. Chairman, it's just patently unfair when you're struggling to pay your mortgage to be forced to pay your neighbor's as well.

I heard from one of my constituents about this very subject. I heard from Theresa Steele in Mesquite, Texas, and she wrote me: ``Congressman, I had to put off purchasing a home because of medical expenses that my family had to deal with. While paying these medical expenses, I was able to pay rent on a house. But it's really frustrating. You cannot get a break because our taxes keep going up along with the cost of groceries and gas, et cetera, and it seems no matter what you do, you cannot get ahead when others are out there throwing caution to the wind and seem able to have my tax dollars bail them out. It doesn't seem right to me.''

Well, Mr. Chairman, if Theresa Steele was here, I would say it doesn't seem right to me either. To increase her taxes to pay for somebody else's mistake is patently unfair, will not help our economy. You cannot tax and borrow your way back into prosperity.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, as our countrymen are hurting, as our unemployment news grows grim, what is the answer of the Democrat majority? They have brought us the largest single 1-year increase in the Federal deficit; they have brought us the largest deficit ever, $1.2 trillion, 8.3 percent of our economy; they've brought us the largest government debt ever, a debt that will be passed on to our children and grandchildren. And today they bring the largest regular appropriations process in history to the floor totaling at $1 trillion.

They have achieved, Mr. Speaker, a trifecta of trillions: a trillion dollars to stimulate government, a trillion dollars of Federal deficit, a trillion dollars for a regular appropriations bill.

This bill, Mr. Speaker, is going to grow the government 8.3 percent. Washington can grow 8.3 percent, the Federal budget can grow 8.3 percent. But the family budget, which has to pay for the Federal budget, only grew at 1.3 percent last year. So somehow Washington is entitled to almost a six-fold increase in their budget but working families are not?

You know, I don't see it. I don't see it, Mr. Speaker.

Now, something I do see is an old quote from Yogi Berra: ``It's deja vu all over again.''

So now I'm seeing $3.13 billion for the 2010 census on top of the billion dollars

that was given to the census in the so-called stimulus bill; $1.45 billion for Amtrak on top of the $1.3 billion Amtrak received in the stimulus bill. And the list goes on and on.

Again, Mr. Speaker, this is more legislation designed to stimulate the government and not to stimulate the economy.

Let me give you a quote from one of our Secretaries of Treasury. He said, ``We are spending more than we have ever spent before, and it does not work. We have never made good on our promises. After 8 years of this administration, we have just as much in unemployment as when we started, an enormous debt to boot.'' The Secretary of Treasury was Henry Morgenthau, FDR's Secretary of Treasury. Those words were spoken in 1939.

And now we see the example of Japan. Mr. Speaker, you cannot spend and borrow your way into economic prosperity. They had nothing to show for what they did in Japan. Ten stimulus bills, but no jobs, no economic growth, and the largest per capita debt in the world. We should reject following the Japanese way.

Will the gentleman yield?

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for yielding once again.

And I was happy to see I could save the gentleman from Massachusetts the trouble of looking into his earmark books, as he will find none for me.

I noticed that the gentleman from Massachusetts didn't deny any of the factual assertions. Since Democrats took control of the Congress, we have the single largest 1-year increase in the deficit. He didn't deny it. Go to CBO. You'll find the fact.

We now have the largest deficit ever since Democrats took control of this Chamber. Go to CBO, you'll find out it's a fact. We have the largest government debt ever under Democrat control of this House. He did not deny the fact. I would also point out--since the gentleman has been in this body for quite some time--that it is Congress, it is Congress that passes budgets, not the White House, as much as he would like to blame all of this on the White House. It is Congress.

And every year I've been here, Mr. Speaker, whenever the Republicans have presented a budget--and I haven't been ecstatic about each and every one--my friends on the other side of the aisle present a budget with even more spending that ultimately leads to higher taxes on struggling families in America. That is the fact.

Madam Speaker, it is with profound admiration and respect that I commemorate the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth. From humble beginnings in a one room log cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky, Lincoln, a self-taught lawyer, went on to win a narrow victory in 1860 to become our 16th president.

Not long after he took office, our country was plunged into a war between the states that threatened to destroy everything our Founding Fathers had fought so hard to establish. As the war raged, Lincoln led the Union through the maelstrom to save our Republic. At the same time, he paved the way to freedom for millions who had never known it. Sadly, an assassin's bullet stole Lincoln from his people just days after the Civil War ended.

Madam Speaker, as we commemorate his 200th birthday, I reflect upon the life of President Lincoln and the sacrifices he made to protect the principles of freedom we cherish so deeply. A man of great wisdom and courage who guided our country through some of its darkest hours, President Lincoln embodies the true meaning of what it is to be an American.

While, in the words of Secretary of War Edwin M. Staunton, Lincoln ``belongs to the ages,'' he lives in the hearts of freedom loving people in the United States and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, people want to know how did we get into this painful economy. Too many of our fellow citizens borrowed too much. They spent too much, and they couldn't pay it back. And now the mistakes of individuals, the Democrats want to force upon us collectively.

Mr. Speaker, you cannot borrow and spend your way into prosperity. Even the Democrats' own Congressional Budget Office says H.R. 1 is the single greatest spending bill in the history of America, will leave us the greatest debt in the history of America, and ultimately, will hurt our economy, leaving a legacy of debt, crushing debt for future generations.

The Republicans want to stimulate the economy by helping small business. The Democrats want to stimulate big government. The Democrats want to spend millions on urban canals. The Republicans want to spend millions on small businesses like Williams Paint and Body, to preserve and grow 21 jobs. Democrats want to spend $300 million to buy government bureaucrats new cars. Republicans want to spend money on Terry Manufacturing, to preserve and secure 20 new jobs. Big government or small business? Choose small business.

Well, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank my friend for his leadership in helping educate the American people, in this case they no longer need it, on the perils involved in this so- called ``stimulus'' bill. And Mr. Speaker, I guess it is a stimulus bill. It is a bill to stimulate Big Government. Unfortunately, it is not a bill to stimulate our economy.

When I come to the House floor, I understand that elections have consequences. And I usually don't complain about the process. But I must note that when Speaker Pelosi took over the speakership of the House of Representatives, she said publicly that she wanted a new day to dawn, that we would have more openness, more transparency, that there would be input from the minority. It is not true. Not one meeting, not one meeting with the Republican leadership with respect to this bill. There are no amendments allowed on the floor. She told us that it was immoral the debt that we were placing on future generations and that with Democrats in control of the House of Representatives and of this government, that they would end deficit spending.

And now, according to the Congressional Budget Office, we're looking at the largest single increase in the deficit that we've seen in our history. And it wasn't, what, 48 hours ago that on this very floor we voted as a House to ensure that the American people had at least 48 hours to view what the press says will be a 1,400-page bill, the single most expensive piece of legislation in the history of America. And Mr. Speaker, as I look at the clock, it is a little after 7 o'clock East Coast time, and we're due to vote on this thing tomorrow. I haven't seen the bill. I don't know if my colleagues have seen the bill. I doubt seriously the American

people have seen the bill. I stand corrected. Apparently the gentleman from Texas has one hot off the press.

I will be happy to yield.

Mr. Speaker, people are hurting in this economy. Personal friends of mine, hardworking, smart individuals and well educated individuals are laid off from their jobs. People are having to dig deep into their savings. People are running out of their savings. And so the Republicans have come up with not just a theory, but a piece of legislation that is backed up by history that can help preserve jobs, help create jobs, help expand that take-home pay for American families, help the unemployed, and get to the root cause, the root cause of this economic calamity, and that is to help remove some of this excess real estate from the market.

Every time we have faced a recession, you can go to earlier this decade, you can go back to 1981 and 1982. You can go back to the Kennedy administration, every time you lower marginal rates for hardworking American people, you expand their paychecks. And that is how you expand the economy. But, Mr. Speaker, when you look at this bill, less than 18 percent of this bill has anything to do with tax relief. And at least in the last version we were able to see, since the Democrats have not had the courtesy to show us what we're going to vote on tomorrow, less than 3 percent of that was geared towards small businesses. The job engine in America is small business.

I looked at this bill, and there is next to nothing, next to nothing for the small businesses that I represent in the Fifth Congressional District of Texas. I looked at the House version that was voted on earlier. I can tell you, there is nothing in it for First Choice Tax Service in Seagoville, Texas. I looked very hard. I can find nothing for Gator Auto Transport in Canton. I really looked down deep, and there is nothing here for Tallyho Plastics in Jacksonville, Texas. Nothing to preserve jobs and create jobs in small business. Instead, what we have is a 40-year wish list of the left to grow Big Government.

And so that is why we see debt service and growing Big Government is about 80 percent of this legislation. That is why we give $200 million for computer centers at community colleges and $10 million for urban canals. I'm not completely certain what an urban canal is, but I'm fairly certain that the taxpayers, the struggling families, the struggling small businesses of the Fifth District of Texas don't want to pay for it. There is $255 million for a polar icebreaker for the Coast Guard. Now, Mr. Speaker maybe the Coast Guard does need a new polar icebreaker. But somebody needs to explain to me and my constituents how that is going to stimulate the economy and how that is going to make their paycheck safer. I don't see it. There is $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution. I love the Smithsonian. But Mr. Speaker, this doesn't stimulate the economy. There is $20 million to remove fish passage barriers. Maybe the fish enjoy it. But again, I see nothing in it for the small businesses in America. And I think it is such a pivotal point in our Nation's history. What a poor charade, a poor charade on the American people.

In a spate of candor, the former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, now Chief of Staff to the President, said to his former colleagues, our friends on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats, ``never let a serious crisis go to waste.'' And Mr. Speaker, I assure you, they haven't.

And they have loaded it up with every big government idea known to mankind. And I see we have other colleagues here, and I don't want to dominate all the time.

But I think it's also important, Mr. Speaker, that we know that when you look at this so-called stimulus bill, this bill to stimulate big government, it's been tried before. Anybody who has studied economic history knows about Japan's lost decade. In fact, I have a recent story from the New York Times dated February 6, not exactly a bastion of conservative thought, I might add, Mr. Speaker. It's entitled ``Japan's Big-Works Stimulus is a Lesson.'' And it talks about the time when Japan faced a similar economic challenge.

And it says, ``During those 2 decades, Japan accumulated the largest public debt in the developed world, totaling 180 percent of its economy, while failing to generate a convincing recovery.''

I read further in the article. ``This has led many to conclude that spending did little more than sink Japan deeply into debt, leaving an enormous tax burden for future generations.''

I've studied the model. The Democrat stimulus bill is based on that model. You know what happened? Not only did Japan have the highest per capita debt of any industrialized nation in the world, they didn't create any new jobs in the entire decade of the nineties. Their per capita income went from second in the world to tenth in the world, and they left a legacy of debt for generations to come.

And that's why, Mr. Speaker, I'm so sad to come to this House floor, knowing that this body, the People's House, is on the precipice of doing exactly the same thing. And so I come down to this House floor to raise my voice. I'm the father of two small children, a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old. I don't want to leave them a legacy of debt that this bill will leave them, the largest single debt in American history. How are they ever, ever going to work that off?

There's an alternative. Help small businesses. Increase the family paycheck. Help the unemployed. Get the excess housing off the market. It's the Republican alternative. It is the alternative that creates twice as many jobs at half the cost, and does not leave an unconscionable, unconscionable and immoral debt burden on our children and grandchildren.

And so I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank him for his leadership. And I yield back.

Well, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And indeed, President Obama, contrary to Speaker Pelosi, did reach out a hand to Republicans. He met with all the Republicans in the House of Representatives, something I don't think Speaker Pelosi has ever done. He met with our leadership twice in trying to craft legislation. I give him the utmost credit for that.

I don't know our President well. I've met him a few times, but he struck me as a very sincere and honest man. And we disagree on many aspects of the stimulus bill. But the exchange I had with him, I know that he is also a father of two small children. And it's so easy in Washington to spend other people's money and hand the bill to the next generation. Frankly, it happens here every single day of the week.

And I just asked the President and implored the President, please, Mr. President, please, Mr. President, before you sign this piece of legislation, in whatever final form it may be, think first of your children, my children and the Nation's children and how will we ever pay for this.

Now, again, he disagreed with me on certain issues, but I believe he was sincere and passionate in his concern about this debt. And I believe he made

a commitment to us, and I hope he'll have ample opportunities in his term as President to see it good, that, regardless of what the cost is of this legislation, that he knows that other legislation will be necessary. And I believe--I don't want to quote the President. People will have to, reporters can talk to him about what he said.

But what I thought I heard him say is that if all we passed is this stimulus bill, we would be doing a disservice to future generations. So I'll take him at his word.

I don't believe this is the right legislation. I feel he has concern, but I'm always, always curious how Speaker Pelosi and some of my other friends on the other side of the aisle think that we will ever, ever, ever, be able to pay off this debt. And I certainly want to give the President plenty of opportunities in the future to do something about that.

And again, I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I thank him for yielding.

I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I listened carefully to the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. We agree there are people who are suffering.

But, Mr. Chairman, the people who are going to suffer the most are children and grandchildren who are about to inherit $1.2 trillion of additional debt burden for a piece of legislation that has not received one, not one congressional hearing and will have little to no economic stimulus.

Now, Mr. Chairman, something else I agree on with my friends on the other side of the aisle, this Nation needs a stimulus bill, but we need an economic stimulus bill, not a big government stimulus bill. That's why, Mr. Chairman, I am proud to rise in support of the Republican alternative that will help preserve jobs, that will help grow job opportunities in small businesses all across America. I am proud to support an alternative that will expand the paycheck of working Americans so that they can pay for their mortgages, so that they can send their kids to college, so that they can pay their health care premiums.

I am proud to support an alternative that helps the unemployed at this time of need, that will help reduce the housing glut from the market and, perhaps, even more importantly, Mr. Chairman, doesn't send the bill to our children and our grandchildren.

What our Democrat colleagues send us is a bill that, even if you were a Keynesian, doesn't help stimulate economic growth. Only 3 or 4 percent of this is about traditional infrastructure. Instead, we have $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $1 billion for Amtrak, an extra $1 billion to follow up the Census. Over half of this bill is on traditional big government.

We know what Rahm Emanuel, the former chairman of the DNC has said: never waste a crisis. They are not wasting it. They are building big government.