Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, this is a difficult time in the life of our Nation-- 9.1 percent unemployment nationally, and millions of Americans families are hurting. And the American people are looking to Washington, D.C., more for solutions than for fights. And today with the Korea free trade agreement, with the Colombia trade promotion agreement and the Panama trade promotion agreement, Washington, D.C., in a bipartisan way is coming together with a solution that will help to create jobs and get this economy moving again, and I heartily support it.

I want to commend Chairman Camp, Ranking Member Levin, Speaker Boehner, Leader Cantor, and even the President of the United States for working together in common purpose to bring us to this important moment. I've always believed that trade means jobs. And I say with some pride, that's especially true in the Hoosier State.

Indiana is uniquely poised to take advantage of the free trade opportunities provided in these agreements, and I'm grateful for the chance to elaborate on that. I often say in Indiana we do two things well: we make things and we grow things. The truth is that in the State of Indiana, we do a lot more than that. But in Indiana, what we grow and what we build is really at the heart of the Hoosier economy, and expanding global markets for what we make and for what we grow is going to create jobs in Indiana, in the city and on the farm.

The American Farm Bureau estimates that implementing these three agreements will increase agricultural exports in Indiana by nearly $55 million a year, creating 500 new agricultural-related jobs.

The Korea agreement that we debate at this moment will eliminate $1.3 billion in tariffs on U.S. exports that cover many products Indiana is known for, like feed corn, soybeans, and dairy. It will eliminate those duties while other duties on products like pork will be phased out. Other industries, like Indiana's growing life sciences sector, will benefit.

Let me say again, I rise in support of these agreements because I believe that trade means jobs. And America and Indiana need jobs like never before. I urge my colleagues in both parties to join in this bipartisan effort, and let's move this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise with a heavy heart to honor the tremendous life and legacy of Virgil Scheidt from my hometown of Columbus, Indiana.

Mr. Scheidt lived a long and blessed life full of family, hard work, and community service. On February 20, 1949, he married the love of his life, Bettie. He began his career as a farmer, and he and Bettie owned and operated their own farm for more than thirty years. But as much as he loved farming, Mr. Scheidt felt called to do more for his community, and in 1960, he was elected Bartholomew County Treasurer. After winning re-election four years later, he was also elected President of the Association of Indiana County Officials, and went on to be elected as a national director of the National County Officials in 1967.

Mr. Scheidt was elected chairman of the Bartholomew County Republican Party in 1965, where he served for 33 years. After serving as district chairman for several years, he was ultimately elected chairman of the Indiana State Republican Party in 1989. His involvement in local, state, and national politics spanned decades and included such honors as serving as an elector of the Indiana Electoral College in the 2000 presidential election, and attending and serving as a delegate for numerous national Republican conventions.

Virgil Scheidt was also an entrepreneur and businessman. Besides his life on the farm, he founded a real estate brokerage firm, and in 1974, was appointed to the Indiana Real Estate Commission where he served as a member for fifteen years and as its chairman from 1983 to 1985. He was named Realtor of the Year in 1987 by the Columbus Board of Realtors and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by them in 1999.

Despite his many business and political activities, Mr. Scheidt was still a dedicated and active member of his community. He was a member of the Columbus Rotary Club, Harrison Lake Country Club, the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Columbia Club. He was also an active and lifelong member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Columbus. His legacy of service was honored by three different governors when each of them gave him the prestigious Sagamore of the Wabash Award, and additionally he received the Distinguished Hoosier Award in 1985 from Governor Robert Orr.

While his loss will be deeply felt, we find hope in the Good Book which tells us that ``the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.'' I offer my deepest condolences, to Mr. Scheidt's beloved family: wife Bettie; sons Randy and Warren; daughters Deborah and Christie; grandchildren Matthew, Leslie, Travis, Zachary, Allison, Katie, Todd, Emily, Nicholas, Olivia, and Madeleine; great-grandson Harrison; as well as his numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. May you find comfort in the eternal hope we find in our faith, and encouragement that Virgil Scheidt will be remembered and honored in the hearts of Hoosiers for his life of service for years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation currently before the House, H.R. 2250 and H.R. 2681, which if enacted into law will go a long way in reining in an Environmental Protection Agency that seems intent on implementing regulations that will not only drive up energy costs for all Americans, but also drive even more of our jobs overseas.

I also rise to address another threat coming from the EPA--the very real and serious danger facing the refrigeration industry from overreaching by the EPA to implement additional regulations on an industry that were never authorized by Congress. As many of my friends know, this industry is currently subject to regulations under the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol, originally signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, was designed to protect the ozone layer by regulating and phasing out ozone-depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs and HCFCs. Those regulations have been implemented and the industry is complying with them as we speak.

Now, the EPA has indicated its intent to regulate hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. It is important to distinguish that HFCs are not ozone depleting substances that would make them subject to the Montreal Protocol, but rather greenhouse gases. The EPA does not currently have the authority to regulate greenhouse gases and the EPA should not be permitted to move forward on their intentions until Congress has given the EPA the express power to do so.

Mr. Speaker, the refrigeration industry, like any other, is feeling the pinch in these difficult economic times. My state is fortunate enough to be home to one of the few remaining domestic refrigerant manufacturers and so I have heard first-hand what this potential regulatory over-reach would mean to this industry.

I urge the House to remain vigilant on the specific issue of HFCs and additionally to pass both pieces of legislation before it this week. We must ensure that the EPA does not overstep its legal authority by issuing regulations on areas where Congress has not delegated its authority, and we must block the implementation of EPA proposed regulations on cement manufacturing facilities, industrial boilers, process heaters and incinerators, which would be terribly harmful to our already fragile economy, costing billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

The EPA regulations dealing with Portland cement force the industry to reach nearly unachievable emissions levels, and according to the Portland Cement Association, will eventually force the shutdown of 18 plants and cost $3.4 billion over the next three years. American cement producers would be put at a significant disadvantage to their foreign competitors and nearly 4,000 cement manufacturing jobs will no longer exist because of the EPA's actions. These regulations would also result in increased costs of $1.2 to $2 billion to state and local governments for road projects.

H.R. 2250 would target the rules finalized by the EPA dealing with industrial boilers, commonly known as Boiler MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology). Boiler MACT would be devastating to the people of Indiana. In fact, according to a study completed by HIS Global Insight, Indiana would be the second hardest hit state by Boiler MACT. There are currently 82 industrial boilers in the Hoosier state and these regulations would cost more than $1 billion and eliminate over 16,000 jobs.

In closing Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass these vital pieces of legislation and to continue to work to ensure that regulations from the EPA do not cost Hoosier jobs.

Mr. Speaker, you know, in the midst of these rancorous and divided days in our Nation's Capital, there is a growing consensus across this country that Washington, D.C., isn't just broke, it's broken.

With a $14 trillion national debt, the American people want solutions, not fights. They want reforms that will transcend political parties and the historic divides that have made this city seem, for most Americans, to appear to be a House divided.

Well, thanks to tough negotiations this summer, the American people deserve to know that Congress has a historic opportunity to vote on just such a bipartisan solution. It's a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

For the first time in 15 years, the House and the Senate will have an up-or-down vote on this historic measure, and every American who is fed up with borrowing and spending and deficits and debts should let their voice be heard and be heard today.

Most Americans work hard, they pay their bills, and they live within their means. I think it's time we had a national government as good as our people. It's time to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, send it from this House to the Senate, and from this Congress to the States for ratification.

Mr. Speaker, like every American, I will never forget where I was on the morning of September 11, 2001. As a Member of Congress from Indiana, that day my duties took me to Capitol Hill and to sights and sounds I will never forget.

I witnessed the U.S. Capitol literally hemorrhaging with people running in every direction. I heard the deafening sounds of sirens all around and thunderous booms of military aircraft going supersonic at low altitude. And I saw the columns of mud-brown smoke billowing out of the Pentagon just across the Potomac River.

As the world watched the towers fall in New York City, I witnessed the aftermath of the first attack on our nation's capital since the War of 1812. It was a day when evil triumphed over good and the cunning plans of the enemies of freedom had their moment. They thought they had unleashed violence sufficient to cow a great nation but they were wrong.

What our enemies intended for harm gave birth to a season of national unity and a new generation of heroes. The unity and call to service appeared almost instantly.

At a time of great national division, it is hard to imagine today what Washington DC was like in the hours, weeks and months following September 11th, but the unity of that day did happen. I was there. I saw it.

In the swirl of events that morning, I knew that Congress would need to convene to provide the authority and resources for our national response. As Capitol Hill police officers urged me to leave the grounds, I asked where I could report for duty and was escorted to the office of the Chief of the Capitol Police where the combined leadership of the House and the Senate in both parties was huddled watching the events unfold on several television screens.

When I arrived in the room, the congressional leaders were standing apart, divided by party and by institutions, but as that fateful morning wore on, things changed. Faced with a merciless attack on our nation, the politics of the room dissolved. There were no Republicans in that room, there were no Democrats in that room, just Americans.

I watched as leaders set aside every divisive issue before the Congress and made plans to move resources and programs designed to meet the moment with bipartisan resolve. And that unity would animate the work of the Congress for months following the attack.

But the true legacy of 9-11 cannot be found among political leaders of the day, but in the citizen soldiers and public safety personnel who answered that day with courage and selflessness.

To the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who answered that day with resolve, who did what needed to be done without regard to their own safety, we owe our deepest gratitude. I have prayed with the families and wept at the funerals of Hoosiers who did not shrink from 9-11 but grew into heroes whose names will forever be engraved in the heart of a

grateful nation. To our police, fire and public safety personnel who ran in when others ran out, who braved the flames, who followed the leads and who took such actions as were necessary to bring us a decade free of another terrorist event on American soil belongs the credit for this day. This anniversary belongs to the fallen, their families and to all those whose diligence and tenacity brought safety to our families and justice to our enemies.

A common enemy forged common ground and a new generation of American heroes. Today, we rightly pause to remember those who fell on 9-11 and every day since in the War on Terror. But we also pause to celebrate those Americans who, by their service and sacrifice, have made this day of tragedy into a triumph of freedom.-

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the House during rollcall vote 692. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' -

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, this is a challenging time in the life of our country. Our economy is struggling; millions are out of work; and now, with a more than $14 trillion national debt, America is on the verge of having its debts exceed our statutory borrowing limit.

Now, I recognize that if you owe debts, pay debts. Congress has an obligation to defend the full faith and credit of the United States. But this Congress also has an obligation to keep faith with this and future generations of Americans by restoring fiscal responsibility and discipline to our National Treasury.

The bipartisan Budget Control Act that we will consider today will make it possible for the Nation's bills to be paid with no new taxes, dollar-for-dollar cuts in spending for every increase in the debt ceiling, and it will give the American people a fighting chance to consider a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Now, let me be clear. The Budget Control Act is not so much a good deal as it is a good start. I really believe this bipartisan compromise is a modest but meaningful step in the direction of fiscal discipline and reform, and I welcome it.

Now, while this bill doesn't go nearly far enough, it does move us in the right direction. You know, leadership means knowing when to say yes and knowing when to say no. I believe the time has come to get something done so this Congress can move our national government back in the direction of fiscal responsibility and reform, and begin to advance policies that will put Americans back to work.

Last thought. There is a lot of credit taking on a day like today, a lot of bipartisanship, back patting, as we say. But let me say from my heart, this day, where we see the ship of state turning ever so slightly toward that lode star of fiscal responsibility, this day does not belong so much to any one political leader, to any one political party, or to any one branch of government. This day belongs to the American people who have stood, who have clamored, who have come to town halls and who have demanded this government live within its means and said: Enough is enough. This is your day.

As America watches and the world watches from afar, Washington, D.C., debates a debt ceiling increase and debates various proposals for confronting it in a manner that is consistent with our commitment to this generation and the next.

For the past 10 years, I've been fighting runaway Federal spending, deficits, debt, and takeovers here in Washington, D.C., by both political parties. Now I recognize if you owe debts, pay debts. This Congress has an obligation to defend the full faith and credit of the United States of America and find a way to pay our bills. But this Congress also has an obligation to keep faith with this and future generations by restoring fiscal responsibility and discipline to our national Treasury.

I have come to the conclusion over the last decade that Washington, D.C., is not only broke; it's broken. As a colleague of mine said earlier this week, the American people don't just want a deal, they want a solution. And I rise to say that I believe a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States is that solution.

I told my colleagues earlier this week I did not want to vote for any increase in the debt ceiling unless this Congress did everything in its power to send a balanced budget amendment to the Senate and to the States. Earlier today, we learned that Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor had made a decision for this Friday to bring two separate balanced budget amendments to the floor, and I heartily support their decision.

The first balanced budget amendment will include spending limitations and require a supermajority on tax increases, and I support those measures. But the second balanced budget amendment hasn't seen action here on the House floor for 15 years. Fifteen years ago, what is commonly referred to as the ``historic'' or the ``clean'' balanced budget amendment received overwhelming and bipartisan support, some 300 votes on the floor of the House of Representatives and almost passed the Senate.

I believe that by bringing that historic balanced budget amendment to the floor of this Congress this week we are doing all we can to send the balanced budget amendment to the Senate and to the States. And with that, I inform my colleagues today that I will support the Boehner plan, I will support the Budget Control Act, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in doing the same.

Now, the Budget Control Act has much to recommend it. It has no tax increases, and we have confirmed from the CBO dollar-for-dollar spending cuts to match any increase in the debt ceiling. And there are mechanisms for additional cuts and additional reforms. But the Budget Control Act also includes a requirement that the Senate vote between October and November of this year on a balanced budget amendment. Again, let me say, a balanced

budget amendment to the Constitution has not been considered in the Congress for 15 years, despite overwhelming public support across this country.

Now, I'm for the version of the balanced budget amendment with various limits, but I believe it's vitally important that Republican leadership has chosen to bring the bipartisan version to the floor, to play it straight and give us a fighting chance to get those two-thirds votes necessary to amend the Constitution.

So I rise to announce my support for the Budget Control Act. I rise to express gratitude to Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor, who listened to colleagues like myself who thought we could improve the circumstances of this vote by accelerating and improving our choices for a balanced budget amendment. And, frankly, I also rise to commend all of my colleagues who have held out for a better deal. I want to say from my heart, this is better.

History is often made in unexpected ways and at unexpected times. I believe, with the consideration of the Budget Control Act on the floor today, we have an opportunity to make progress toward restoring fiscal discipline to Washington, D.C.; but I believe with consideration of the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States tomorrow, we have an opportunity to make history.

So I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Budget Control Act on the floor today. But I also urge all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats alike, to join us as we make a good faith effort to send a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States to the Senate and to the States. Let us put into the national charter that this national government, for this generation and the next, must again live within our means.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor to rise in support of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which is a negotiated compromise between the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the Republican and Democratic leadership of the United States Senate.

Let me say that again: the Budget Control Act that we will bring to the floor today is a compromise. At a time when people across America long for a Washington, D.C., that is able to reach across the aisle, lower the volume, solve the problem, this legislation comes to the floor. And I'm proud to support it.

The truth is it is a difficult time for people across my beloved Indiana and all across this country. Our economy is struggling. Unemployment is at 8.3 percent in Indiana, 9.3 percent nationally. And I believe that runaway Federal spending by both political parties is a cause and a barrier to our economic recovery today. We simply must put our fiscal house in order.

Now, I know the administration wanted us simply to raise the debt ceiling without conditions, but that was rejected I think almost unanimously in the United States Senate, and we rejected it as well in this body.

What needs to be done today is we need to recognize that if you owe debts, pay debts. We have to raise the Nation's debt ceiling so that we have the money to pay the Nation's bills. But we also owe a debt to this generation of Americans struggling in this economy and to the next generation of Americans that we can only repay through fiscal discipline and reform, and the Budget Control Act does that.

The Budget Control Act does two things that I believe are worth highlighting.

Number one, it ensures in this first installment that there will be a dollar in budget cuts for every dollar in increase in borrowing authority by the United States. That's crucial.

Secondly, the agreement around the Budget Control Act also ensures that there will be a vote in this body now tomorrow and a vote in the United States Senate this fall on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

There are other aspects of this bill that are meritorious--hard- spending caps, more enforceable than spending caps of the past; the creation of a bipartisan commission to negotiate spending discipline and reforms for the next installment of a debt ceiling increase.

But for my part, making sure that any increase in the debt ceiling is matched dollar for dollar with spending cuts in this bill and for the first time in 15 years bringing a bipartisan version of the balanced budget amendment to this floor of the House and soon to the floor of the Senate are worthy of note. And they should endorse this approach.

This is a very serious time, Mr. Speaker. I welcome the Budget Control Act as evidence that Congress can still compromise. We can still come together across the aisle. We can find a way to pay the Nation's bills and do so in a way that reflects our commitment to fiscal discipline and reform.

Mr. Speaker, this is a difficult time in the life of the people of this country. Families are hurting. Our economy is struggling. The economic policies of this administration have failed to turn around this Great Recession, as it has come to be known. And I believe that runaway Federal spending, deficits, and debt are a barrier to our economic recovery, a barrier to putting Americans back to work.

We have to change the fiscal direction of this government for this generation, for jobs for Americans today, and for future generations who are facing a mountain range of debt--a $14 trillion national debt; $1.65 trillion deficit this year alone.

As most of my colleagues know, I've fought against runaway spending on a bipartisan basis. I opposed Big Government plans when they were offered by Republican Presidents and in Republican Congresses, and I fought with equal vigor against the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, and the takeovers of the recent Democratic Congress and this administration.

But now we come to another debt ceiling vote, and as the late Russell Kirk wrote, ``Politics is the art of the possible.'' The American people are looking in and they know, if you owe debts, pay debts. We have to find a way to pay the Nation's bills. But the American people also know we have to find a way to set our Nation on a course of living within our means once again.

Now, I am still studying Speaker Boehner's proposal, but there is much that recommends it. I have long said that there should be no increase in the debt ceiling without real and meaningful spending cuts and reforms in the short term and in the long term.

In many respects, the deal negotiated with Senate leaders by Speaker Boehner meets that standard. There are no tax increases in the bill. After adjustments to the bill today, there will for certain, according to CBO, be dollar-for-dollar cuts for any increase in the debt ceiling. Also, there are spending caps, a commission, and the possibility of long-term entitlement reform. All of this commends the Boehner plan as an important first step toward fiscal discipline and reform.

There is also a call at some point to vote for a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and it's my belief in the importance of that last element that brings me to the floor today. I rise to urge all of my colleagues to keep an open mind on the Boehner plan, but also to keep an open mind about bringing a balanced budget amendment to the floor that could enjoy broad bipartisan support.

Look, Washington, D.C., is not only broke; it's broken. The American people have seen both political parties run up deficits and debt, both political parties live outside the means of the American people, and they know in their heart of hearts that something is missing. I believe that's a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Now, I've authored the spending limit amendment to the Constitution. I support the stout version of a balanced budget amendment that Republicans marked up and referenced in the Cut, Cap, and Balance bill, a spending limit cap, a supermajority on tax increases. But I don't think it takes any great insight to know that that bill will likely not get the 290 votes that we need to send it to the Senate and send it to the States.

So in addition to voting on that bill, with spending constraints and others, I believe the time has come to bring the historic balanced budget amendment back to the floor of the Congress. I believe there should be no increase in the debt ceiling unless this Congress does everything in its power to send a balanced budget amendment to the Senate and to the States for ratification. And I believe we have that moment.

I've talked to some of the most prominent Members of the Democrat minority in this Congress today, and they've expressed support for this amendment. The American people overwhelmingly support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

So I urge my colleagues to keep an open mind, keep an open mind to the Boehner plan. I'm continuing to study it and seeing if we can embrace it as an important first step on fiscal discipline and reform, finding a way to pay the Nation's bills, but change our fiscal direction. But I also encourage my colleagues to consider at some point in the near future, let us bring to this floor a balanced budget amendment that could enjoy broad bipartisan support, to know that we cannot only make progress for fiscal discipline and reform, but we can make history by restoring to the national charter or placing in the national charter those restraints on spending that this Nation's Capitol, under both parties, desperately needs.

Madam Speaker, I was absent from the House floor during rollcall votes 615 and 622-629. Had I been present I would have voted ``no'' on 615, ``aye'' on 622, ``aye'' on 623, ``aye'' on 624, ``aye'' on 625, ``aye'' on 626, ``no'' on 627, ``no'' on 628, and ``yea'' on 629.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent from the House floor during rollcall votes 601 and 602. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on both rollcall votes.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor and urge strong support of my colleagues for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, H.R. 2560.

I really believe if you owe debts, pay debts. We must find a way to honor the full faith and credit of the United States of America. But even more important than that, we must find a way to restore the faith and confidence of the American people and the world community in the fiscal integrity of the United States of America. That is our dual challenge.

After years of runaway Federal spending by both political parties, after failed economic policies by this administration, we find ourselves at a place of unprecedented fiscal crisis--more than a $14 trillion national debt, $1.65 trillion deficits. We now borrow more than 40 cents of every dollar that we spend here in Washington, D.C.

The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act applies commonsense principles and fiscal discipline to the challenges of spending restraint today, but it also introduces a new element--and that is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Yes, we cut spending by $111 billion next year, about $5.8 trillion over 10. Yes, we cap Federal spending to back under 20 percent of GDP. But I think the time has come to make any increase in the debt ceiling contingent on sending a balanced budget amendment to the States. And here's why.

Washington, D.C., is not only broke, it's broken. Let me say again. After more than a decade here seeing my party in power in Congress and in the White House, seeing another party in power in Congress and the White House, I am convinced that Washington, D.C., is not only broke, it's broken.

And the American people know in their heart of hearts there is something missing in the equation. It's in the guardrails in the Constitution of the United States of America. It is the guardrails that say it must be the objective of the Congress and of this and of future administrations to live within our means.

Thirty-one States have a balanced budget requirement in their constitution. Indiana has a prohibition on incurring debt. Forty-nine States require a balanced budget.

The time has come to cut, the time has come to cap spending, but the time has come to make any increase in the debt ceiling contingent on sending a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to the States for ratification. And this we must do.

Will the gentleman yield?

It would be my expectation that we would not yield the jurisdiction of constitutionality exclusively to the judiciary. Throughout American history, it has mostly settled there, but we contain it as well. But ultimately it would put the American people in charge----

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and congratulate Tim Solso for his successful and influential career as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cummins Inc., located in my hometown of Columbus, Indiana. After forty years of dedicated service, he is set to retire from Cummins on December 31st of this year.

During his career at Cummins, Tim Solso lived the American dream and proved that hard work pays off. He first joined Cummins in 1971 after receiving a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from DePauw University. His first position with Cummins was as an assistant to the Vice President of Personnel, and during his career Tim worked in several of Cummins' international locations--including Huddersfield, England, and Sao Paolo, Brazil. In 2000 he was named Chairman and CEO.

Under Tim's extraordinary leadership as CEO, Cummins experienced record profits of more than $1 billion, and the company's shareholders enjoyed an astonishing return of 1,300 percent. International business at Cummins grew 20 percent from 2000 to 2010, and they have truly established themselves as a global leader in their industry.

Tim has also received many personal accolades for his achievements with Cummins including: named a top five finalist to Marketwatch's CEO of the Decade in 2010; named one of Barron's list of the thirty Most Respected CEOs for 2010 and 2011; selected as the national Six Sigma CEO of the year; received the Anti-Defamation League's Man of Achievement Award; named the International Executive of the Year by the Academy of International Business; and received the American Business Award for Best Chairman.

While I am confident that Cummins will continue to grow under new leadership, there is no doubt that Tim's legacy will continue to have a lasting impact on Cummins and on the Columbus community. I wish him the very best in his retirement and in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, America is facing a fiscal crisis of unprecedented proportions--a $14 trillion national debt, another $1.6 trillion deficit, and now a debt ceiling crisis looms.

As negotiations go forward, Members of Congress have a choice to make. We can take a stand or we can take a pass. I say it's time to take a stand. And the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011 is that stand.

As the White House and liberals here on Capitol Hill continue to argue over the details of some kind of an obscure, complicated deal over raising the debt ceiling, in the coming days House Republicans will bring legislation to the floor that will give the American people a choice. And it will be a choice built on fiscal responsibility and reform.

The legislation that will come to the floor will cut spending now, it will cap spending in the law, and it will make any increase in the debt ceiling contingent on sending a balanced budget amendment to the States.

I urge my colleagues to support the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011, and I urge my fellow Americans to let your voice be heard in the coming days. We can cut spending now, we can cap spending in the law, and we can send a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution to the States for ratification. But the American people must engage.

A minority in Congress plus the American people equals a majority. Help us as we achieve this needed reform and restore fiscal sanity to our national government.