Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Mayor William ``Billy Joe'' J. Cook of Camden, Arkansas who died Friday, December 16, 2005 at the age of 80.

A Navy veteran, Mayor Cook attended Arkansas Teachers College in Conway where he obtained a dual degree in business and mathematics. Working for ten years as a salesman for Burroughs Business Machines in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and El Dorado, Mayor Cook decided to go into business with his father as a distributor of Texaco products in Camden.

No stranger to public service and remembered for his utmost integrity, Mayor Cook served on the Camden City Council for 7 years and as mayor of Camden for 2 years. In his free time, Mayor Cook enjoyed spending time outdoors tending to his garden and raising Tennessee Walking horses.

My heartfelt condolences go out to Mayor Cook's wife, Helen Lynch Cook; his daughter, Cindy Cook Tittle; and his sister, Weegie Watts. While Mayor Cook may no longer be with us, his legacy and his spirit will always live on in all the lives he touched.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the legacy of Dr. Carl Edward Hyman. Born on June 29, 1924 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Dr. Hyman passed away on December 31, 2005 and I would like to recognize his life and achievements.

After graduating from Merrill High School in Pine Bluff, Dr. Hyman then attended Frisk University and Meharry Medical College in Tennessee. He then became a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hubbard Hospital in Nashville and completed post graduate studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1959, Dr. Hyman was appointed Chief Resident of Provident Hospital in Chicago.

For almost half a century, Dr. Hyman was in a private Obstetrician/ Gynecology practice in Pine Bluff, where he became the first residency trained African-American specialist in the State of Arkansas. Over the course of his lifetime, Dr. Hyman earned a reputation as a generous and selfless community leader in Jefferson County. Among numerous accomplishments, he was a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the first African-American to serve on the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission, a lifetime member of NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and a member of the Trustee Ministry at Kings Highway Missionary Baptist Church. Perhaps most notably, Dr. Hyman was appointed by Governor Bill Clinton to become the first African-American appointee to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, a board which he served for 28 years.

Dr. Hyman led an exemplary life both professionally and in unwavering service to his community and his state. While Dr. Hyman may no longer be with us, his spirit and legacy will live on forever in the lives he touched. My deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Dr. Edith Hyman; his son, Dr. Carl Alta Hyman; and his extended family of brothers, sisters, nephews and grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, it is with honor and great pride that I recognize and congratulate the Nashville Scrappers of Southwest Arkansas, whose outstanding teamwork and dedication on the football field earned the team the Class AAA State Title at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on December 13, 2005. The Nashville Scrappers embody the spirit of teamwork, determination, and dedication that defines a champion.

As a parent, I understand the important lifetime lessons that teamwork teaches our students in pursuit of a lifetime of success. I have long been an advocate of sports and extracurricular activities as they complement academic excellence and inspire leadership, character, and perseverance as our students face the challenges of the 21st century.

It is a tremendous honor to once again congratulate the Nashville High School football program on winning the Class AAA State Football Title. I applaud the Nashville Scrappers for their season of dedication. This victory is the result of hard work among the players, student body, coaching staff, Nashville High School faculty, and the community. I salute the coaches, parents, and players who stayed the course and rose to the occasion in becoming state champions.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this evening as a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 37 fiscally conservative Democrats that are concerned about our Nation and its future due to the rising cost of our debt, our deficit. We believe it is time to restore some common sense in fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives as a voice for the people of Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District.

It is one thing for all of us to have the title U.S. Representative, but it is another thing to be one, and I believe it is important that we go back to our respective districts; I go home every weekend to places like Hot Springs and Texarkana and Pine Bluff and El Dorado and Mena and Hope and Arkandelphia, and throughout the 29 counties and 150 towns that I so proudly represent, and listen to the people. And then I do my best to bring their voice back here to the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

The people are telling me that it is time that our Nation get its fiscal house in order and stop this reckless spending that has resulted in the largest deficit ever in our Nation's history for a fifth year in a row and has resulted in a debt that totals $8.137 trillion. That is $8 trillion, 137 billion and some change.

In fact, for every man, woman, and child in this country, if we all had to get our checkbooks out tonight and retire this debt, everybody, including the children, the babies being born today, would have to write a check for some $27,000.

You hear a lot of talk these days about this being a Democratic idea or this being a Republican idea. And, Mr. Speaker, I am here to tell you that I believe the people in this country like me are sick and tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on at our Nation's Capital.

It should not matter if it is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. In fact, the American people are concerned not about petty partisan politics, but they are concerned about paying for the high cost of their children's college education, the skyrocketing cost of health care and how to pay for prescription drugs. They are concerned about their retirement security, about privatizing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, skyrocketing natural gas and energy prices, the war in Iraq and thousands of Katrina victims who nearly 4 months after the devastating hurricane still today remain homeless.

Let me tell you about my America. My congressional district back home in Arkansas ranks 415 out of 435 among congressional districts throughout the country in average income per household. Half the children in Arkansas are on Medicaid. Eight out of ten seniors in nursing homes are on Medicaid. One in five people in my home State of Arkansas are on Medicaid. Yet, around 1 o'clock in the morning on November 18, Congress nearly passed the so-called Deficit Reduction Act that would directly and adversely impact the poor, the disabled, the elderly. This bill mandates nearly $50 billion in spending cuts, including $11.4 billion in cuts to Medicaid, the only health insurance plan for the poor, the disabled, the elderly; $14.3 billion in cuts to Federal student aid programs; over $3 billion in cuts to our farm families; and over $700 million in cuts to food stamps. Then the Republican leadership turns around and passes $56 billion worth of tax cuts, $50 billion in spending cuts, $56 billion in tax cuts. Only in Washington do you add $6 billion to the Nation's debt and call it the Deficit Reduction Act.

Mr. Speaker, I will never stop fighting for the conservative smalltown values that I was raised on and still believe in, and I cannot help but reflect on one of the memory verses that I learned growing up at Midway United Methodist Church just outside Prescott, Arkansas. It is from Matthew 25:40, and it goes like this: I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

Mr. Speaker, the idea of cutting programs that would negatively impact the poorest among us does not resonate with the principles on which this country was founded. These budget cuts are indicative of misguided priorities and do not reflect the values I learned growing up in places like Emmet, Prescott and Hope, Arkansas.

As members of the Blue Dog Coalition, we believe we have the answer to this massive debt, this ongoing deficit, and we believe we can get it under control without harming and cutting programs for the poorest among us. It is called the Blue Dog 12-Point Plan. It is 12 simple points, quite frankly, that, if implemented, would truly restore some fiscal discipline and common sense to our Nation's government. This evening, Mr. Speaker, we plan to spend the remaining part of this hour going over these 12 points. So many people criticize what is going on, but they do not offer up a solution, and what we are trying to do as members of the Blue Dog Coalition is offer up an alternative, offer up a solution to this massive debt and deficit, this budget problem our Nation has today.

With me to help do that I am real proud to have John Tanner, one of the founding members of the Blue Dog Coalition from the State of Tennessee; Dennis Cardoza, one of the co-chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition from California; and Allen Boyd from Florida, one of the founding members, long-time members, former chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition. So we come to you this evening from all across America, from Arkansas and Tennessee and California and Florida, to offer up what we believe are commonsense ideas to truly try to get this Nation's fiscal house back in order. As 37 members of Congress, we have come together, and we have written this 12-point reform, and we are encouraging Democrats and Republicans to join us as we try to get this Nation back on track.

And the reason this is so important and why this should matter to everybody across our land, $8.137 trillion in debt. That is very important for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is our Nation today. The first $500 million we collect every day in taxes from taxpayers does not go to better roads, better education, better health care. It simply goes to pay interest, to pay interest on the national debt.

It is not getting any better. In fact, our Nation is borrowing another $907 million every 24 hours. As Members of the Blue Dog Coalition, we want to fix this, and we can do it with our 12-point plan.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlemen from Florida (Mr. Boyd).

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd), and I would encourage the gentleman to stay with us for the remainder of this hour. You helped write these 12 points. You have got a lot of expertise on ways that our Nation can once again return to a balanced budget.

And I hope you will be able to stay with us as we go through the 12 points. It is hard to believe now that from 1998 through 2001 this Nation had a balanced budget, because for the fifth year in a row, we have got the largest budget deficit ever, ever in our Nation's history. Again, our debt is $8.137 trillion.

And that is why, as Members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, we are here to address this issue that is critical to our Nation, to our children, to our grandchildren, and certainly to their future.

At this time, I am pleased to yield to the gentleman from California, the cochair of the Blue Dog Coalition, Mr. Cardoza.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California for his comments.

Can the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza) verify this for me now? We talked about the cuts to Medicaid, $11.4 billion; the cuts to Federal student aid, $14.3 billion; $3 billion in cuts to our farm families, commodities, conservation, many other agriculture programs; $700 million in cuts to food stamps.

But you are saying there are also cuts to orphans and foster care?

How much were these cuts?

Now, these $50 billion in cuts, including the $600 million in cuts to orphans and foster care, went to help pay for a $56 billion tax cut, which mostly benefited those earning over $400,000 a year, 50 percent of which went to those earning over $1 million a year; is this correct?

I just wanted to confirm that with you.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I am certainly supportive of tax cuts, targeted tax cuts that help working families. But when we are borrowing money from foreigners, when we are borrowing money to fund a tax cut, that is nothing more than a tax increase on our children and grandchildren because they have got to pay that money back. And no one understands this issue any better than one of the founders of the Blue Dog Coalition, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner).

I will yield to the gentleman from Tennessee, and following the gentleman's remarks, we will go through these 12 points one by one until we run out of time this evening.

And for folks who happen to be seeing this this evening, do not be confused. This is not recorded. This is live. Congress is meeting on a Saturday night here in our Nation's Capital. And we are here on the floor to try to hold this government responsible and accountable and restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's Government because this debt is out of control.

And with that, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Tennessee for having founded the Blue Dog Coalition.

In the rest of this Special Order, we plan to go through, beginning right now, all 12 points of the Blue Dog plan. And as the gentleman from Tennessee mentioned, he talked about the problems with the professional politicians and a lot of the issues we face. And those of us who wrote these 12 points, I know I am a small business owner back home in Prescott; Mr. Tanner from Tennessee is a small businessman; Mr. Cardoza from California is a small business owner; and Mr. Boyd was a small business owner, a veteran and a farmer.

Number one, and it is kind of like David Letterman's top 10. This is the top 12, and I do not know if it is going to be as good as Letterman's top 10 or not, but it is very important.

Point number one to the 12-point reform plan is: Require a balanced budget. And I think we all get that one. I mean, I was in the State senate for 10 years. Forty-nine States, including my home State of Arkansas, must live within its means. They constitutionally require a balanced budget. I know at the Ross home in Prescott, Arkansas, we sit around the kitchen table and we have to have a balanced budget. At the small town family pharmacy my wife and I own, we have to have a balanced budget. It should not be asking too much to ask this Congress and this government to also tighten its belt and learn to live within its means. And that is what we mean when we talk about requiring a balanced budget.

The second point that I think is very important also, do not let Congress buy on credit. Now, back when Congress had a balanced budget in the Clinton administration from 1998 to 2001, they had a thing in the House called PAYGO rules, pay-as-you-go basically is what it meant, meaning if you are going to cut taxes, you got to cut spending, and if you are going to fund a new program, you got to cut another program. You have got to make it fit within your budget, like most of us do in our families at home and with our businesses and certainly like 49 States in this country are required to do. That, I believe, is something we must do in this House Chamber, is restore the pay-as-you- go rules.

The third point, I will yield to the gentleman from Florida. Anytime you all want to jump in on any of these points, please feel free to do so.

Number one, require a balanced budget; number two, do not let Congress buy on credit; number three, put a lid on spending.

Number four is something that I know I have heard the gentleman from Tennessee talk about quite often, and that is require agencies to put their fiscal houses in order. Require agencies to put their fiscal houses in order. By that we are talking about the fact that some of our Federal agencies, they have a problem keeping books. And with that, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee.

Number four, require agencies to put their fiscal houses in order. Again, 16 of 23 major Federal agencies cannot issue a simple audit of their books. The Federal Government cannot account for $24.5 billion it spent in 2003. The Blue Dogs propose a solution, to put a budget freeze for any Federal agency that cannot properly balance its books.

You are talking about waste. You are talking about a government agency that cannot get it together. If the gentleman will pause with me for just a second here, I want to point out something.

You know, all of us all across America, our hearts went out for the people when the hurricanes hit in places like Louisiana and Mississippi and I know the gentleman from Florida has experienced this in the past as well.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has purchased over 20,000 manufactured homes, they are 14 feet wide, 60 foot long. You can see some of them right here.

For some reason, they are not getting them, FEMA is not getting these homes to the people who need them, the people who lost their home and everything that they owned. In fact, I was with Congressman Gene Taylor from Mississippi earlier tonight, and my heart goes out to him and his family. He has done all he knows how to do to help his constituents while also trying to rebuild his life. He even lost his own home in that horrible tragedy in August with Hurricane Katrina. But he was telling me tonight, I believe he is like living with his brother or something, but he was telling me there are people still living in tents, people living in small campers, people that do not have homes, people living in hotel rooms.

Yet FEMA has now moved 5,000 brand new unoccupied manufactured homes to an old Army World War II airport at Hope, Arkansas. They just showed up one day and told the mayor they wanted to give him $25,000 a month for the next two years to use it as a ``staging area,'' and then they have since delivered somewhere close to 5,000 homes. FEMA has told the mayor they may have as many as 12,000 homes. Yet these homes are not getting to the people. These are not even at the Hope airport.

They are running these homes down the interstate at well above the speed limit, I know, because they passed me before, with a sign they usually put right here on the back, a banner, that says ``urgent FEMA delivery.'' I guess urgent for what? To get to a cow pasture in Hope, Arkansas, 450 miles from where they are needed?

If one shingle blows off in transit, they will not accept it at the FEMA designated staging area they opened down at Hope. So they have come back to Prescott, which is where I now live, a town of about 3,500 people, and they are renting this cow pasture. They did no site preparation. When we have a good rain these things are going to sink to the axle.

We have over 200 of them in Prescott. They filled up the pasture in Prescott now. There is a story from the Arkadelphia Siftings Herald on December 16, that was yesterday, they have now got 200 of them stacked up at truck stops in Gurdon, and I suspect that the folks in Arkadelphia in the next day or two are going to start seeing them there.

So my point, Madam Speaker, is this: To the acting director of FEMA, why cannot we get some 5,000 homes that FEMA has purchased, why cannot we get them moved from Hope and Prescott, Arkansas, 450 miles south to where they need them, where people tonight are going to bed in camper trailers and in tents? This is a good example of what we are talking about when we talk about wasteful spending and agencies that cannot get their act together.

At this time for point number five I recognize the gentleman from California, Mr. Cardoza.

Where I come from, most people think we ought to have a vote if we are spending a dollar. We cannot even get the leadership here to give us a vote when we spend $50 million. It is time for that to change.

I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

I thank the gentleman from Florida for sharing the issue of the debt limit with us. He is right, and that is why it is one of the 12 points. We should have a vote any time we are going to raise the debt limit. I mean, the debt limit today is currently at $8.184 trillion, so it will not be long before we raise it again. This number right here is increasing to the tune of about $41 million an hour. In other words, in the time we have been speaking here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives this evening, the national debt has increased by about $41 million because of this year's deficit. So it will not be long before we will be raising the debt limit here in the Congress. And unless we are able to get them to start allowing us to have a vote on it, they will just put it in some other bill and try to hide it from the public. We believe that is wrong, and we want to put a stop to that.

Number eight, justify spending for pet projects. I think that pretty much speaks for itself. We always from time to time pick up the paper and read about some outrageous project that is being funded with Federal funds. There are a lot of good projects that are funded across this Nation, but we are saying that you should have to justify a project. You should not get a project because of who you are. You ought to have to justify a project for your district.

If we are going to spend the tax money, the people need a voice in it and we need to make sure that money is going to benefit them to create jobs, economic opportunities; and that is what we are trying to do here, and that is why we say justify spending for pet projects.

Number nine, ensure that Congress reads the bills it is voting on. That seems quite silly, but the reality is that many times they will bring bills to the floor of the House that are thousands of pages, thousands of pages thick and give us less than a day or less than an hour, in fact, at times, to actually read the bill we are voting on.

Our point is this, what we are proposing is a minimum of 3 days to have the final text of legislation made available before a vote. We cannot require Members of Congress to read a bill before they vote on it; but I can promise you this, if you give us less than an hour, if the leadership gives us less than an hour to read a 3,000-page bill, no one is going to be able to read that.

We have about 5 minutes left in the Special Order, as we come to the floor of our Nation's Capitol here, the floor of the United States House of Representatives, to discuss this overwhelming debt that is saddling our country and jeopardizing its future.

Mr. Tanner, if you would, number 10, require honest cost estimates for every bill that Congress votes on. The Medicare bill, there are a lot of bills that are good examples. The Congress, the people of this country need to know how their money is being spent. They need an honest cost estimate for every bill they vote on.

Number 11, make sure that new bills fit the budget. Basically, we are proposing the Budget Committee strengthen its oversight role in preparing budget-compliant statements for every bill that is reported out of committee.

Does anyone want to add anything on number 11?

Finally, number 12, Mr. Cardoza, if you want to share that with us.

We are out of time this evening. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza), the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) for coming to the floor of the United States House of Representatives with me this evening to discuss our Nation's debt and deficit and the Blue Dog Coalition's 12-point plan to restore some integrity, some common sense, and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

Mr. Speaker, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed the gulf coast as a category 4 storm. Due to the massive damage caused by one of the most costly natural disasters in our Nation's history, thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi residents whose homes were destroyed were forced to relocate to areas such as my home State of Arkansas. Many are still there today.

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, commonly referred to as FEMA, purchased at least 20,000 brand- new manufactured homes; and thousands of these homes, nearly 4 months later, have not reached those who need them, citizens of this country who lost their homes and everything that they owned on August 29, 2005.

Instead, these homes are being stored by FEMA in five different so- called staging areas, including staging areas in my congressional district near my hometown at the Hope Municipal Airport in Hope, Arkansas, at Red River Army Depot and Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant near Texarkana, all of these staging areas some 450 miles from where the eye of the storm hit the gulf coast.

Due to the inability of FEMA to provide displaced families with manufactured homes in a timely manner, staging areas are overflowing. For instance, at Hope Airport, the inactive runways and tarmacs are overloaded with manufactured homes, forcing the excess homes to be placed in the surrounding fields and pastures. These pastures and fields were not effectively prepared by FEMA for staging or storage, if you will. When the winter rains hit the inadequately prepared sites, many of the trailers carrying the manufactured homes will sink. This will result in even more unnecessary delays and additional work for a system that is badly flawed.

I have written a letter to the acting FEMA director, David Paulson, requesting that he immediately review the apparently ineffective process of distributing the FEMA-purchased manufactured homes to the Hurricane Katrina evacuees who so desperately need them.

As I drive throughout Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District, and in my very hometown of Prescott, Arkansas, I see these manufactured homes sitting empty; and I am appalled at the waste of taxpayer money and the lack of a timely response on behalf of FEMA and the Federal Government for those who desperately need housing for their families, with many residents literally still living in tents on the gulf coast nearly 4 months after the detrimental hurricane hit our gulf coast.

As winter approaches and deadlines for all displaced residents from Louisiana and Mississippi living in hotel rooms to be moved into temporary housing quickly approaching, this process must be streamlined. It is unacceptable for American citizens who lost their homes and everything they owned in the hurricane to still be sleeping in tents when FEMA has thousands of brand-new empty manufactured homes for occupancy.

Take a look here, Mr. Speaker. This is not in Hope, Arkansas. In fact, this is in my hometown of Prescott, Arkansas, some 16 miles away.

Here is what is going on. They deliver the homes to this staging area in Hope, Arkansas, 450 miles from the gulf coast. And as they deliver them down the interstate, they have got a banner on the back that says, Urgent, FEMA delivery. Urgent for what? To deliver it to a cow pasture?

And a shingle blows off in transit. If one shingle is missing, they will not accept it at the FEMA staging area in Hope, Arkansas. So they turn around, drive back to my home town of Prescott, and they are leasing, literally leasing cow pastures, as you can see here, to store these homes until they can be repaired, while at the same time we have got families, we have got families, as Christmas approaches, as the holidays approach, sleeping in tents in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Dennis Ramsey, the Mayor of Hope, Arkansas, was quoted in the Texarkana Gazette, December 15, saying FEMA estimated that 12,000 mobile homes would be staged at the Hope site while FEMA leases the land at $25,000 a month for the next 2 years.

The Associated Press said a FEMA spokesman said last week that 5,840 mobile homes and 80 travel trailers are at Hope and the Texarkana sites along with more than 4,400 mobile homes and 4,200 travel trailers at the other staging areas.

Mr. Speaker, I am asking this body, I am asking the acting director of FEMA: Please come to my home town, get these mobile homes and get them moved 450 miles down the road to the families who are living in tents and who so desperately need them in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to recognize Arkansas's 2005-2006 Teacher of the Year, Marsha Petty of Texarkana, Arkansas.

A cum laude graduate from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Marsha has been teaching for 29 years and is an 11th grade chemistry teacher at Arkansas High School in Texarkana. There are few jobs more important, more rewarding, and more difficult than that of a teacher.

I have always held a public school education in the highest regard. As parents, educators, and public officials, we have an obligation, a moral duty, to ensure that students, from pre-school to high school and beyond receive the highest quality education possible. By properly educating our students and providing them with the tools they need in order to become successful adults, they will thrive in today's fast- paced and technological world.

The most important component to our children's education is our teachers. Today more than ever, our educators face new obstacles and challenges. As the son of public school educators, I have a deep respect and gratitude for all educators and their personal commitment to our children.

America is deeply indebted to top-notch educators, such as Marsha Petty, for their continued excellence in the classroom and commitment to our students. Today's teachers shape the very foundation of America's future. It is an honor to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Marsha as the 2005-2006 Arkansas Teacher of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, for the next 60 minutes, me, along with other Members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, will come to the floor of the United States House of Representatives to talk about the debt, the deficit, the budget, the cuts in spending as well as tax cuts that will be proposed on the floor of this House this week.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by explaining what the Blue Dog Coalition is all about. It is a group of 37 conservative moderate Democrats. Democrats that are concerned about this country's future, because of today's reckless spending, 37 conservative to moderate Democrats that are concerned about what today's reckless spending means for tomorrow's generation, our children and our grandchildren and their future.

For those who come to our Nation's Capitol, as you walk the halls of the House office buildings, the Cannon House Office Building, the Longworth House Office Building, the Rayburn House Office Building, it is easy to identify an office that houses one of the 37 conservative Democrats that belong to the Blue Dog Coalition, because by the door to each of our offices you will find a sign like this right here, the Blue Dog Coalition reminding every taxpayer in this land of the national debt. Today, the U.S. national debt is $8.121 trillion and some change. And if you break that down to every man, woman and child, including those who are born today, every citizen of this country would have to pull out their checkbook and write a check to the tune of $27,000 and some change to pay off this national debt.

There are those in this administration and within this Republican Congress that say debts do not matter. We all know that is not true. We all know that the larger the debt, the more demand there will be for money and the higher interest rates will go. We are already starting to see it happen. We all know during the last 4\1/2\ years that one of the things that kept us out of a recession, just barely, was low interest rates that allowed people to refinance their homes and have some extra cash to buy things and encouraged people to become and be able to afford to become first-time homeowners; and it allowed others to either add on to their house or to sell their house and buy a new one. Those low interest rates are rapidly disappearing as we see interest rates continuing to go up and up and up.

It is hard to believe now, but from 1998 through 2001, this Nation had a balanced budget. This Nation did not deficit spend from 1998 through 2001. And now this President, this administration, this Republican Congress has given us, American citizens, the largest budget deficit ever, ever in our Nation's history. For what? For a fifth year in a row.

Put it another way. The total national debt from 1789 to the year 2000 was $5.67 trillion. But by 2010, the total national debt will have increased to $10.88 trillion. Tonight, it stands at $8.121 trillion. That is $8.121 trillion and some change. This is a doubling of the 211- year debt in just 10 years, in just the past decade. Interest payments on this debt are one of the fastest growing parts of the Federal budget, and the debt tax, I did not say death tax, the debt tax, a phrase coined by the Blue Dog Coalition, is one tax that cannot be repealed.

And let me tell you what I mean by that. Every day in this land, our Nation is spending a half a billion dollars. That is right. $500 million every single day simply paying interest on the national debt. How much is that? We could build 100 brand new elementary schools every single day in America just with the interest we are paying on the national debt. It is what we call the debt tax, D-E-B-T, and it is one tax that cannot go away. It is one tax that will prevent us from being able to meet the priorities of this Nation when it comes to education and health care and the economy and so many other important areas until we get our fiscal house in order and pay down this debt and stop this deficit spending.

Deficits do matter. Deficits reduce economic growth. They burden our children and grandchildren with liabilities. They increase our reliance on foreign lenders who now own 40 percent of our debt. That is right. Foreign lenders now own 40 percent of our debt.

Let me put it another way. This President, this administration, this Republican Congress, in the last 4\1/2\ years has borrowed more money to run the United States of America than the previous 42 presidents of the United States combined.

Now, let us think about that. This President, this Republican Congress has borrowed more money from foreign governments, foreign lenders and foreign central banks to operate our government than the previous 42 presidents combined.

Congressman John Tanner, a founder of the Blue Dog Coalition from Tennessee, said it best when he said if China decides to invade Taiwan, we, the United States will have to go borrow even more money from China to defend Taiwan. What has happened to this country? What has happened to the fiscal responsibility that leaders of this country should share? It is a duty and an obligation that we keep, or at this point, put back, restore fiscal discipline to our Nation's government, and that is what the Blue Dog Coalition is all about.

The United States is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign lenders. Foreign lenders currently hold a total of $2 trillion of our public debt. You see here, we owe $8.121 trillion. That is how much money, more money we have spent than we have taken in as a government. That is how much money we have borrowed. In fact, we are borrowing to the tune of about $907 million a day, we are sending about $188 million every day to Iraq, $33 million every day to Afghanistan. And the list goes on and on. Two trillion of our public debt has come from foreign lenders or 45 percent of our total debt.

Some people may wonder where the other 6 trillion is coming from. The majority of it is coming from money that the politicians in Washington are borrowing from the Social Security trust fund with no provision on how or whether that money ever gets paid back.

Now, when I go to my banker to get a loan, he wants to know how I am going to pay it back, when I am going to pay it back and where the money is going to come from to pay him back. And yet, our government continues to borrow money from Social Security with no idea on how or when that money is going to be paid back or where it is going to come from to be paid back. No wonder this Republican leadership and this Republican Congress refused, refused to give me a vote or to give me a hearing on my bill that basically told the politicians in Washington to keep their hands off of the Social Security trust fund.

I mentioned that we were going to have a number of Blue Dogs join us this evening. 37 Members in the Blue Dog Coalition. We are conservative to moderate Democrats and we come from all across this Nation. And at this time, it gives me great honor to be able to introduce a real leader in the Blue Dog Coalition, someone that understands fiscal responsibility, someone that came from a state legislature where he helped balance a state budget, and that is the gentleman from Georgia, David Scott.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott), a fellow member of the 37-member strong fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, for joining me here on the floor this evening, as we will do every Tuesday night, to talk about the Nation's debt and deficit and what it means not only for today's generation but for our children and grandchildren and for future generations.

And, again, Mr. Speaker, I remind the Members that outside the office of every Blue Dog Member of Congress, every fiscally conservative Democrat in the Congress, there are 37 of us. We are 37 strong. And as one walks the Halls of Congress, it is easy to spot a Blue Dog Member because beside their front door next to that welcome mat is a poster that will demonstrate and remind the taxpayers of this Nation of a number that unfortunately changes and goes up every day.

Today, the U.S. national debt, when we went to work this morning, was $8.121 trillion-and-some-change. Again, for every man, woman, and child that is a citizen of this country, for us to get this Nation out of debt tonight, they would have to write a check for $27,000. Our Nation is spending a half billion dollars every single day in this country simply paying interest on the national debt. Give me 3 days' interest on the national debt, and I can finish I-49 through the western side of Arkansas. Give me 4 days' interest on the national debt, and I can finish I-69 across southeast Arkansas. These are priorities that will continue to go unmet until we get our Nation's fiscal house in order. And that is why we are here, to try to bring about some accountability within our government.

We are not here to point fingers or to criticize this Republican Congress for the fact that they have given us the largest budget deficit for the last 4\1/2\ years ever in our Nation's history. Again, we had a balanced budget from 1998 through 2001. This Republican administration, this Republican Congress has given us the largest budget deficit ever in our Nation's history for 5 years in a row. As Blue Dog Democrats, we are sick and tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on in our Nation's capital. It should not matter if it is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. It ought to be about is it a common-sense idea and does it make sense for those who send us here to be their voice and to represent them.

So this discussion, this debate here on the House floor is not about pointing fingers. It is about accountability. It is about accountability to the American citizens. It is about accountability to the taxpayers. And this Congress is not being accountable when it has driven up the largest deficit ever in our Nation's history for the 5th year in a row and given us the largest debt ever in our Nation's history.

I am pleased to yield to not only a fellow member of the Blue Dog Coalition but a real leader in the Blue Dog Coalition, one of the co- chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition, and that is the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza).

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California makes an excellent point. In Arkansas I was in the State senate there for 10 years. It has grown since then. I have been here 5 years now. But the Arkansas State budget is somewhere around $5 billion a year, is what the Arkansas State government budget is. That means that just the amount of money we are spending as a Nation on interest on the national debt in 10 days equals the budget for the State of Arkansas for a year; and I think it really drives on the point of how much a half billion dollars is. Our Nation, again, is borrowing $500 million every 24 hours simply to service the debt, simply to pay interest on the debt; and that is $500 million that cannot go for better schools, better education, better health care, increasing teacher pay. These programs are going unmet, and they will continue to go unmet until we get our fiscal house in order.

As I was mentioning earlier, as Blue Dogs we are tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on in our Nation's capital, and we are not here to condemn the Republican leadership, the majority, this Republican administration for failing the American people by giving us the largest deficit ever in our Nation's history without also offering up the solution. And as Blue Dog members, the Blue Dog Coalition has a 12-point plan for budget reform, 12 points. We will be discussing some of them tonight. We will be discussing them every Tuesday night. Twelve points that we believe have to be implemented by this Congress before we can have meaningful and truthful budget reform.

So we are not here as conservative Democrats to simply say Republicans are bad. We are here to offer up two things: we are here to demand accountability, to put our fiscal house back in order, restore some common sense to our Nation's government; and we are also here to offer a plan. We have a plan of action, and we are calling on this Republican Congress and this Republican President to embrace our 12 points for budget reform. Let us come together and let us fix this problem for the American people before this number, this $8.121 trillion debt, gets any bigger.

I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza).

Well, it is the most fascinating thing for me. Ever since I was a small child growing up in Emmett and Hope and Prescott, Arkansas, my dad was a public school educator and a principal and a superintendent. And, well, that is a profession kind of like preachers and coaches; we moved around some, but we never got too far from home.

You know, growing up as a small child in rural south Arkansas, I always heard it was the Democrats who spent the money. And yet it was a Democrat named Bill Clinton who gave us the first balanced budget for the first time in 40 years. Of all things, a Democrat from Hope, Arkansas, my home town, where I graduated high school in 1979.

And so I think it is important that the American people recognize that this Republican-led Congress, you know it is the first time in 50 years they have controlled everything, the White House, the House, the Senate. And what are they giving us? They are

giving us the largest budget deficit ever in our Nation's history for 4\1/2\ years.

It is time to restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government and stop this reckless spending. Again, today, the U.S. National debt is $8.121 trillion.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) makes an excellent point, that is, that this is not about politics. It is not about who is a Democrat or who is a Republican. It is about accountability. It is about a group of us that want to restore accountability to our Nation's government and want to restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

And, quite frankly, this debate is about priorities. It is about values. On November 18, at 1 o'clock in the morning, this Congress passed, on a 217 to 215 vote, barely passed, something that they deceptively titled the Deficit Reduction Act. It cut spending $50 billion to prepare for another $70 billion in tax cuts.

Only in Washington can you increase the national debt $20 billion and call it a Deficit Reduction Act. Do not take my word for it; it is H.R. 4241. Look it up.

So this budget reconciliation package, this so-called Deficit Reduction Act, it cut Medicaid, the health insurance plan for the poor, the disabled, the elderly. Half the children in Arkansas are on Medicaid. Eight out of every 10 seniors in the nursing homes are on Medicaid. One out of every five people in my home State are on Medicaid. You know, that is my America.

People count on Medicaid. A lot of people think, oh, that is for poor people that are on welfare; it will never affect me. Well, let me tell you something. If you got a quarter of a million dollars in the bank the day you retire, and where I come from most people do not, and if you go in the nursing home the day you retire, not 5, 10 or 20 years later, in less than 8 years, folks, you are on Medicaid. And yet this Congress voted to cut Medicaid $11.4 billion on November 18.

$14.3 billion in Federal student aid programs. Our future generation. The largest cut to the Federal student aid program ever. $3.7 billion in cuts to farm programs, including cuts to commodity programs, conservation programs, renewable energy programs, and rural development and nearly $700 million in cuts to food stamps.

For what? There are some in this Chamber who wanted you to believe that it was to help pay for the war in Iraq. Not so. There was some in this Chamber who wanted you to believe it was to help offset the cost of the hurricanes, Katrina, Rita, Wilma. Not so. It was to help offset $70 billion in tax cuts that mostly benefit those who earn over $400,000 a year.

Only in Washington. Only in Washington can you call something the Deficit Reduction Act that increases the national debt by $20 billion, $50 billion in cuts to the poor, the disabled and the elderly, to pay for another $70 billion in tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year.

You want to talk about values; you want to talk about morals. Growing up at Midway United Methodist Church just outside of Hope, Arkansas, and listening to the preachers every Sunday, and listening to my parents, great role models for me as public school educators, I can tell you that that does not represent my morals, and it certainly does not represent my values, the kind of conservative small-town values that I was raised on and still believe in.

Mr. Speaker, with that I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper), another one of the co-chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition, a real leader in this Congress, someone who has been around for quite some time, a real leader in the Blue Dog Coalition, a co-chairman of the 37- Member-strong fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper) and would invite him to stick around as we continue this debate about restoring fiscal responsibility to our Nation's government. I think it is important to note not only that we have an $8.121 trillion debt this evening, not only important to note that we are spending $500 million of American citizens' tax money every day simply paying interest on the national debt, or the fact that we are borrowing about $907 million a day.

I think it is also important to contrast and make the American people aware that these $50 billion in cuts came from Medicaid, came from student loans, came from farm programs, came from food stamps to fund tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year.

In fact, this week, this week, we are going to vote on legislation that would provide the majority of tax relief to the most fortunate. That is on the heels of November 18 at 1 a.m. when we voted, they voted, the Republican leadership voted, on a 217-to-215 vote, that I might add not one Democrat voted for, to cut Medicaid and student loans and farm programs and food stamps. They voted to do those cuts to do what? To pay this week for a tax cut, $70 billion in tax cuts.

The reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends, something most of the folks in my district do not have to worry about, they wish they did, the reduced tax rates on capital gains and dividends will cost over $20 billion, or 36 percent, of the bill's total, nearly 50 percent. I talk about how these tax cuts will benefit those earning over $400,000 a year.

Nearly 50 percent of the benefit of these rate reductions will be received by those with annual incomes of over $1 million. We are not talking about people who have $1 million in the bank. We are talking about annual incomes of over $1 million. That is where 50 percent of the $70 billion will go; and the majority, the rest of it will go to those earning $400,000 a year.

Look, as Members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, we are conservative Democrats. A lot of us support tax cuts when we can afford them. I was a Democrat that voted for tax cuts. It was before 9/ 11. It was before Iraq. It was before Afghanistan. We really had a surplus. We really were giving people some of their money back.

Since then, I have opposed these tax cuts for a simple reason. I will give them this. It might make for good politics, but it makes for bad fiscal policy and it is the wrong way to treat our children and our grandchildren because now with every tax cut, that mostly benefits those earning over $400,000 a year, how are we paying for it? Not by cutting spending. That is one of the 12 points in the Blue Dog plan. If you are going to cut taxes, cut spending. That is what we do at the Ross home in Prescott, Arkansas, around the kitchen table. If we want to buy something, we have got to make sure we have got the money in the checkbook to pay for it. If we want something really bad that costs more than we can handle that month, we have to cut something else. As a State Senator for 10 years, Arkansas like 49 States in this Nation, I had to help balance the budget. And we did it. There is no reason why this Nation cannot have a balanced budget.

We are not against tax cuts. We are against borrowing the money from China and Japan and the Caribbean banking center and OPEC nations to pay for tax cuts. Yet this week another $70 billion will be borrowed, mostly from foreign lenders, foreign central banks, foreign investors, to pay for tax cuts to the tune of $70 billion that mostly benefits those earning over $400,000 a year, at a time when we have a record debt of $8.121 trillion that continues to increase every hour.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

And, I might add, you know a thing or two about that.

We discussed $11.4 billion in cuts to health care for the poor, the disabled, the elderly. Eight out of 10 seniors in nursing homes in Arkansas, my home State. $14.3 billion in cuts to student loans, at a time when I know how many parents feel now, because I have got a child that will soon be going off to college. My wife and I are very blessed. We are very fortunate that we will be okay. We both went to college, we got a good education, we work hard and we will make sure our children get an education. But we are thinking about it and we are concerned about it. I now understand how so many parents across this country lay in bed at night and can't sleep worried about the cost of their child's education, at a time when $14.3 billion has been cut from Federal student loans. $3.7 billion from our farm families at a time of record diesel prices and we just went through a drought. $700 million in cuts to food stamps. It is like this Republican Congress thinks that people are going to wake up tomorrow and not be poor or sick anymore. My wife and I own a small town family pharmacy. I see a lot of people come through our doors that are sick. Never once have I met one that loved being sick. We meet a lot of poor people that come through the doors of our pharmacy in my hometown of Prescott, Arkansas, 3,400 people, where everybody knows everyone.

We know a lot of poor people. We see them come through our door. Never once has someone said, I'm proud to be poor. Yet these cuts make it appear as though people in this country are going to wake up tomorrow and not be poor or sick anymore. And now you are telling me on top of these, there is cuts in that bill, the Deficit Reduction Act, that actually adds $20 billion in new debt that cuts our orphans in foster care?

This week's tax cuts. $70 billion this week, mostly to benefit those earning over $400,000 a year, half of it to benefit those earning in income over $1 million a year.

Scrooge-onomics.

With that, I will recognize the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cooper).

$2 trillion of our debt today is being held by foreign lenders, foreign governments, foreign central banks. Compare this to only $23 billion in foreign holdings in 1993. The top 10, it is kind of like David Letterman later tonight and his top 10 list. The United States of America, we owe Japan $687.3 billion. We borrow money from them to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy people here in this Nation. China, we owe them $252.2 billion. I know I have got that southern drawl and so I want to make sure everybody understands that I say billion, not million. $252.2 billion. United Kingdom, $182.4 billion. Caribbean banking centers. I had never heard of such. Caribbean banking centers, $102.9 billion. Korea, $61.7 billion. OPEC, and we wonder why gasoline is so high, we have borrowed $54.6 billion from OPEC. Taiwan, $71.8 billion. They are counting on us to defend them if China invades them and we are borrowing money from Taiwan. The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner), a founder of the Blue Dogs, again he put it best when he said, if China decides to invade Taiwan, we'll have to borrow even more money from China to defend Taiwan. Germany, $63.5 billion. Switzerland, $37.5 billion. And Hong Kong, $48.1 billion.

Again, this President, this administration, this Republican Congress, has borrowed more money from foreign lenders in the past 4\1/2\ years than the previous 42 Presidents combined. It is time for accountability. It is time to restore fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

I hope the gentleman from Georgia agrees.

I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia. This is exactly why the 37-member-strong fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition will take to the floor every Tuesday night to discuss with the Members the debt, the deficit, and to hold this administration and this Republican Congress accountable and also offer up our 12 point reform plan for curing our Nation's addiction to deficit spending.

Point number one, require a balanced budget. We will be talking more about that and the other 11 points next Tuesday night as members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, a group of 37 conservative to moderate Democrats, take to the floor to hold this administration and this Congress accountable for these record deficits and to offer up a solution, including requiring a balanced budget.

The Blue Dog Coalition, the poster here, today the U.S. national debt, this morning, when we started this hour, it was $8.121 trillion. In the past 60 minutes, while we have been standing here discussing the crisis at hand in America, the national debt has risen another $41 million. Another $41 million in debt has accumulated in this Nation since we began this discussion here on the floor of the U.S. House 60 minutes ago. That is eight more elementary schools that cannot be built tonight in America simply because that money is going to pay interest on the national debt.

This discussion will continue with my colleague and other members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition next Tuesday night, and I want to thank you for coming and joining me in this debate about accountability and common sense and fiscal responsibility.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of James Branyan, a pillar of the Camden, Arkansas community for nearly a half century. Mr. Branyan died on November 3, 2005 at the age of 72 in Camden.

James Branyan was born in Glendale, Arkansas on January 15, 1933. A 1950 Glendale High School graduate, Mr. Branyan played basketball for Henderson State University. Following graduation, he moved to Camden in 1956 to manage the Black and White Store. Throughout his impressive career, Mr. Branyan went on to own the Credit Shop, the Downtown Antique Mall, the Starr Fashion Shop, Banks Jewelry, A & H Ready to Wear, Stephens Department Store, Packard's Office Supply, Data Service Center Computer Service, KJWH Radio Station, Robertson Feed Store, Walker and Associates Advertising and Public Relations, and the Good Times Travel Agency.

Mr. Branyan had a deep love for the place he called home; he truly believed Camden was ``paradise.'' Mr. Branyan's commitment went far beyond the business community; he was passionate about giving back through community service. Mr. Branyan served as President of the PTA, President of the Ouachita County Red Cross, Chairman of the United Fund Drive, Chairman of the Camden Water Commission, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, and this is simply the tip of Mr. Branyan's exhaustive list of involvement which kept him involved in every aspect of the Camden community.

Perhaps Mr. Branyan will be most remembered for his decade of service to the Arkansas Highway Commission from 1973-1983, a prestigious commission which he chaired from 1981-1983.

In 1962, Mr. Branyan was named Camden's Young Man of the Year, an award bestowed upon young men for their dedication to community service, and today that award is named in his honor. In 1971, he was named Camden's Man of the Year and in 1991 Arkansas's Retail Merchant of the Year. Mr. Branyan was also an active member of Maul Road Church of Christ, where he served as an elder, Bible school teacher and song leader.

Mr. Branyan was a tremendous businessman and led a life dedicated to the betterment of his ``paradise.'' Camden has lost a true friend and economic ambassador. I am honored to have known him and counted him as a friend. Mr. Branyan will be deeply missed, but his spirit and legacy will live on for generations to come throughout the Camden community. My heartfelt condolences go out to his wife, Shirley; their daughters, Cherel Chilton and Rhonda Stuart; and their grandchildren, Lance and James.

Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order.

Mr. Speaker, does the speaker not have to address you and not a group or an individual?

Mr. Speaker, this evening we are here to consider a bill known as the Deficit Reduction Act. And only here in a Republican-led Congress could something be called a deficit reduction act that adds $20 billion in new debt to this Nation's budget. Not only does it add $20 billion in new debt, but it also has nothing to do with paying for disaster relief. It is about cutting programs that matter to our children, our working families and our seniors to the tune of $50 billion. It is about approving $70 billion in new tax cuts. I was not real good in math back in high school, but I think anybody can figure that one out. $50 billion in cuts, $70 billion in new tax cuts equals $20 billion in new debt. And what is being cut? Student aid, $14.3 billion. As the father of a 17-year-old that is approaching college, like so many parents across this country, I am concerned about being able to pay for my child's college education. Parents all over this country tonight are concerned that the Republican leadership are proposing $14 billion in cuts for their children's college education. Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor, the disabled, the elderly being cut by $11.4 billion.

Mr. Speaker, let me tell you about my America. In Arkansas, half the children are on Medicaid. In Arkansas, 8 out of every 10 seniors in nursing homes are on Medicaid. In Arkansas, one out of every five people are on Medicaid, and this Republican-led Congress, tonight, plans to cut Medicaid $11.4 billion. And if that is not enough, they are going to cut agriculture programs $3 billion. My farm families back home in East Arkansas cannot afford these kind of cuts as they simply try to do what they do best, and that is provide a safe and reliable source of food and fiber for America's families.

You know, as this debate unfolded tonight, as I was sitting here, I could not help but think about Matthew, chapter 25, verse 40. ``I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'' That is what I learned growing up in a little country church just outside of Hope, Arkansas, Midway United Methodist Church.

Eight trillion dollars is the Nation's debt under this Republican-led Congress, the largest deficit ever in our Nation's history for a fifth year in a row. In fact, this Republican President and this Republican Congress has borrowed more money from foreign investors and foreign banks in less than 5 years than the previous 42 presidents combined. It is hard now to believe that we had a balanced budget from 1998 to 2001. Contrast that to today, when we are borrowing $907 million a day, sending $188 million a day to Iraq, $33 million a day to Afghanistan. This plan does not reflect America's values. This plan does not reflect my values. Vote no on this and vote yes to the Blue Dog 12-point plan which none of these Members are cosponsoring.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to visit with the Members of this body about the national debt. I am one of 37 members of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, 37 Members of Congress from all over these United States who share a common concern, and that is the amount of our national debt and the amount of our national deficit as it continues to rise each day.

As visitors walk the Halls of the House office buildings, they will occasionally spot one of these posters, which clearly marks that it is a Blue Dog member. What we are trying to do with the American people, as members of the Blue Dog Coalition, is point out that the U.S. national debt today is $8.053 trillion and some change.

If we were to divide the national debt today by the 292 million people that live in America, including the children born today, everyone in America would have to write a check for $27,000 to pay off this national debt. This is a tragedy. And it is time we restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

There are some within the Republican leadership that are trying to make us think that that is what they are trying to do, and what I mean by that is this week, we are going to be voting on what they call a budget reconciliation package. The Republican leadership is going to talk about how it is $53.9 billion in reduced spending. That sounds good. What they do not tell us is what programs are going to be cut. They will try to convince us that these cuts are happening to pay for the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They will try to convince us that these cuts are being made to pay for the war in Iraq. Not so. These cuts are being proposed by the Republican leadership in this Congress to help offset $70 billion in new tax cuts, new tax cuts that are being proposed in the aftermath of the most costly natural disaster in our Nation's history and, yes, at a time when America is at war, tax cuts that benefit those earning over $400,000 a year.

How are they going to pay for that? By cutting Federal student loans $14 billion; by cutting Medicaid, the only health insurance plan for the poor, the disabled, and the elderly, by $11.9 billion; by reducing child support enforcement, $5 billion; by cutting our farm families, $3.7 billion.

Mr. Speaker, it is time we restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. And we can do it and we can do it in a humane way, and we can do it in a way that reflects our values, which reminds me of Matthew, chapter 25, verse 40: ``I tell you the truth. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.''

Do we really want to cut Medicaid, health insurance for the poor, the disabled, the elderly; student loans for our children; farm programs including school lunch programs and food stamps to pay for tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year? I can tell the Members that does not reflect the kind of values I learned growing up at Midway United Methodist Church just outside of Prescott, Arkansas.

So tonight we want to visit with the Members of this body and talk about why this budget reconciliation bill is bad. We want to address this. And here to do it with me are some of my colleagues in the Blue Dog Coalition. Not only will people find us tonight being critical of cutting programs for the most vulnerable people in America, but they will also find us offering up a solution, an alternative, what we refer to as our 12-point budget plan. And I am pleased to have a number of Blue Dogs join me tonight, including the co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, Dennis Cardoza; Stephanie Herseth of South Dakota; David Scott of Georgia; and Ben Chandler of Kentucky.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Chandler).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his words this evening. He reminds me, growing up at the Midway Methodist Church just outside of Prescott, I heard many a sermon about being a good steward. When I came to Congress, it did not take me long to reflect back on not only the values I learned growing up, being the son of public school educators, but also I started thinking back to those sermons I heard growing up about being a good steward. I think it is important.

As Members of Congress, I think we have a duty and a responsibility and an obligation to be a good steward of the public's money. I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for joining us this evening.

I mentioned that the Blue Dog Coalition has a 12-point plan for curing our Nation's deficit spending. Throughout the evening, we are going to bring some of them up. Let me point out that number one is to require a balanced budget.

At the Ross household in Prescott, Arkansas, we have to have a balanced budget in our family. The family pharmacy my wife and I own, we have to have a balanced budget. For 10 years I was serving in the State Senate in Arkansas, one of 49 States that requires a balanced budget. Blue Dog Coalition members believe that we, as a Nation, should have a balanced budget, and that is one of our 12 points requiring a balanced budget.

At this time I would like to yield to the co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza).

Out of these $50 billion in cuts, and Mr. Chandler from Kentucky hit the nail on the head when he pointed out that they are talking about cutting spending $50 billion, but they are really increasing spending. That is true because they are proposing $70 billion in tax cuts, $50 billion in cuts in spending which leaves $20 billion not paid for but which will have to be borrowed from foreign banks and foreign governments to fund this tax cut to those earning over $400,000 a year.

Out of the $50 billion in cuts, nearly $8 billion of the $14.3 billion in student loan cuts fall directly on students and parents. I am beginning to really understand this because I have a daughter who is 17 and a son who is 13, both getting ready before too long to go off to college.

Like every other parent in America, I spend a lot of time these days thinking I wish I had started saving sooner, and I wish I had saved enough to be able to provide for them the way I want to, and I will find a way to do it. We all do as parents, but at a time when parents are struggling to meet the needs of college tuition, the Republican leadership is proposing $14.3 billion in cuts to student loans. The CBO, not some Democrat or Republican organization, the Congressional Budget Office, has estimated that under the Republican bill there are nearly $8 billion in new charges to students and families that will raise the cost of student loans. The cost to the average student borrower will be increased by $5,800.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for being a part of this this evening.

The 12 points to reform this out-of-control Republican leadership that continues to increase our debt and our deficit, point number 2 that the Blue Dogs are offering up to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government: Do not let Congress buy on credit.

Under President Clinton, we had the first balanced budget in 40 years. It was largely due to the fact that this House at the time had what is called pay-as-you-go rules in effect, which means if you want to increase spending somewhere or pay for a new program, you have to cut spending somewhere else. It makes sense. That is called pay-as-you- go or PAYGO rules. The Republican leadership has ended the PAYGO rule in this Chamber. Point number 2 of the Blue Dog Coalition: Do not let Congress buy on credit. Restore the pay-as-you-go budgeting concept to the rules of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, it gives me real pleasure to introduce a leader in this Congress and a real leader in the Blue Dog Coalition, an outstanding Member, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his insight and wisdom that he has shared with us this evening on this issue, this so-called Republican budget reconciliation bill that they say will be brought

up for a vote either some time late Friday night or perhaps early Saturday morning. We know all about that, you know, on the Medicare drug bill, for example, they waited until 3 a.m. They wanted to make sure seniors were fast asleep. And then they held a 15-minute vote open for 3 hours, until they finally got those final two votes they needed to pass it.

I challenge the Republican leadership to give us a vote on this in the middle of the day on Friday, when the sun is still up, and let the American people see how democracy should work in this country.

I talked about the Blue Dog Coalition having 12 points for budget reform to really get a handle on this debt, to stop deficit spending and to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. Number one was, require a balanced budget.

Number two was, do not let Congress buy on credit. Restore PAYGO, pay-as-you-go rules, to the floor of the United States House, meaning, if you want to spend money on one program, you have got to cut spending on another program.

Number three is, put a lid on spending. Ever since I was a small child growing up, I have heard it was the Democrats that spent the money. And yet, you know it is a Democratic President, President Clinton, that gave us the first balanced budget in this country in 40 years, from 1998 through 2001. Then what happened? For the first time in 50 years, the Republicans now control the White House, the House and the Senate, and from 2001 to 2003, total government spending soared by 16 percent. The Blue Dogs propose putting a lid on spending. The Blue Dogs propose holding the line on discretionary spending for the next three fiscal years at 2.1 percent. That is point number three to our 12 point plan for budget reform.

With us this evening from the State of Tennessee is one of the founders of the Blue Dog Coalition, former cochair of the organization and a real leader, a founding father for the Blue Dog Coalition, John Tanner from Tennessee. And just to expand on what Mr. Scott from Georgia said, I mean, look, like so many people in this country, many of us in the Blue Dog Coalition, we are sick and tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on in our Nation's Capital. We are not standing here tonight to beat up the Republicans. We are here tonight to try and hold them accountable for this spending and offer up a solution on how we can restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. Like so many people across this country, I am sick and tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on at our Nation's Capitol. It should not be about whether it is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. It ought to be about is a commonsense idea and does it make sense for the people that send us here to be their voice and their representative. That is what the Blue Dog Coalition is all about, as Mr. Scott indicated. That is why we have earned the respect of so many across this Nation and here on Capitol Hill.

At this time, I would like to turn this over to one of the founding fathers of the Blue Dog Coalition, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner).

We were glad to have you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Tennessee, one of the Founding Fathers of the Blue Dog Coalition, for sharing with us this evening his thoughts on this issue. He is so right: Our Nation, just on this debt, our Nation is spending nearly a half a billion dollars a day. Our Nation is spending nearly a half a billion dollars every 24 hours, simply paying interest on the national debt. Our Nation is spending nearly a half a billion dollars, that is with a B, nearly a half a billion dollars a day simply paying interest on the national debt.

A half a billion dollars, how much is that? We could build 100 brand- new elementary schools every single day in America simply with the interest we are paying on the national debt. I have Interstate 49 and Interstate 69 and Interstate 530 under construction in my congressional district. Give me about a week's worth of interest on the national debt and I could finish all three of them. So projects and priorities in this country will continue to go unmet as long as we have this $8.53 trillion debt hanging over our heads that is growing every day. That is the debt.

The other part of this the gentleman from Tennessee was talking about is the deficit. Our Nation is borrowing $907 million every single day. We are sending $188 million every day to Iraq and $33 million every day to Afghanistan. At a time when America is at war, the Republican leaders in this Congress are proposing an additional $70 billion in tax cuts. Never in the history of this Nation has America cut taxes when it is at war. And not only are we at war, but we are also coming off the most costly natural disaster in our Nation's history; and they are proposing $50 billion in cuts.

Mr. Tanner talked about how this is an American issue, and he is right. It is also an issue that as a father concerns me. Cutting student loans at a time when so many of us have children getting ready to go off to college; cutting Medicaid, health insurance for the poorest among us so we can pay for tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year, these are not the kinds of values I was taught growing up at the Midway United Methodist Church just outside Prescott, Arkansas.

Mr. Tanner mentioned how we have so much money that is being borrowed to run our government from foreigners. We owe Japan $714.9 billion; China, $191.1 billion; the United Kingdom, $152.5 billion; the Caribbean Banking Center, $76.2 billion; Korea, $69.3 billion; OPEC nations, and we wonder by gasoline is so high, OPEC nations, we have borrowed as a Nation $66.6 billion from them. The list goes on and on. In fact, we have borrowed, this administration has borrowed more money from foreign governments and foreign banks in less than 5 years than the previous 42 Presidents combined. It is time to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government.

Also joining us this evening is a relatively new Member of Congress, a new member to the Blue Dog Coalition in her second term, someone who has really made her mark here in Washington as a fiscal conservative, someone who speaks with a lot of credibility on this issue, and that is the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth).

I want to thank the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Ms. Herseth) for her comments this evening, and I can assure you I join you in opposing cuts to student aid programs. I join you in opposing cuts to Medicaid, health insurance for the poor, for the disabled and the elderly. I join you in opposing cuts to child support enforcement, and I join you in opposing $3.4 billion cuts to agricultural programs, including $844 million to food stamps, the elimination of school lunches and breakfast benefits for 40,000 children, $1 billion in cuts to farm commodity programs, and, yes, $1 billion in cuts to rural development conservation and energy programs.

The gentlewoman from South Dakota is a real leader on the House Agriculture Committee. I want to thank her for standing up and fighting those cuts in that committee.

I promised you we would go over the 12 points to the Blue Dog budget reform. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) is still here with me, and we are going to try to get through these before we run out of time.

Quickly, number four, require agencies, these are our solutions, how we fix the problem, restore common sense, fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. Require agencies to put their fiscal year houses in order. According to the Government Accounting Office, not some political party group, according to the Government Accounting Office, 16 of 23 major Federal agencies cannot issue a simple audit of their books. Worse, the Federal Government cannot account for $24.5 billion it spent in 2003. The Blue Dog proposal is simple, put a budget freeze for any Federal agency that cannot properly balance its books.

Number five, make Congress tell taxpayers how much they are spending.

Number six, set aside a rainy day fund.

Number seven, do not hide votes to raise the debt limit. If the gentleman would continue with a list, I think you have number 8 through 12 of the Blue Dog plan for a meaningful budget reform.

Mr. Speaker, members of the Blue Dog Coalition have come tonight, not only to point out our Nation's debt and deficit, but to offer a solution with our 12-point plan. We look forward to other opportunity in the future to further discuss our 12-point plan for meaningful budget reform.

Madam Speaker, for the first time in about 50 years, the Republicans control the White House, the House, and the Senate. So let us look at the real state of the union and what they have given us:

$8 trillion in debt. In fact, this Nation is borrowing $907 million a day, $188 million a day going to Iraq, $33 million a day going to Afghanistan. In fact, this President and this Republican Congress have borrowed more money from foreigners in the past 5 years than the previous 42 Presidents combined. And all this before the hurricane season. Now they are proposing in tomorrow's budget reconciliation cutting Medicaid $12 billion, cutting food stamps and farm programs $3.7 billion, cutting student loans $14.3 billion. And for what? To pay for another $70 billion in tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year.

Madam Speaker, these are not my priorities. These are not America's priorities. These are not the kinds of conservative, small-town values that I was raised on and still believe in.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a close personal friend of mine, Perry Campbell, the most prominent figure in the hospitality business in Hope, Arkansas for more than 50 years. He passed away on October 10, 2005 at a Texarkana hospital at the age of 77.

Perry led a life committed to public service. He was the namesake, a founding member, and eventually the mayor of Perrytown. He was founding member of Providence Memorial Baptist Church in Perrytown, a member of the Board of Directors of Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce and its 1994 Citizen of the Year, one of the founders of Hempstead County Ambulance Service and Perrytown Volunteer Fire Department. He also served on the Life Word Board and the Clinton Birthplace Foundation Board.

A successful entrepreneur, Perry began his business career as the proprietor of a single truck stop and eventually became the owner of Western Sizzlin' Restaurant, Dos Locos Gringos Restaurant, Best Western Motel and a Holiday Inn Express in Hope. Perry understood more than most the importance of changing with the times and his adaptability placed him in a league of his own. Western Sizzlin' Restaurant recently celebrated its 20th anniversary on Perry's 77th birthday, a day declared `Perry Campbell Day!' by the City of Hope.

Some of my earliest and fondest memories growing up just outside of Hope are going to Perry's truck stop for dinner on Saturday nights with my parents. It was a genuine weekend treat. Back then, and up until a few months before Perry's death, part of the dining experience was seeing Perry at Western Sizzlin' as he would always make it a point to visit your table to ensure you were pleased with your meal. Perry understood the importance of the personal touch in the restaurant business.

For many people, Perry was the embodiment of the hospitality industry. Perhaps his most shining moment was when Perry was inducted into the Arkansas Hospitality Association Hall of Fame in 1996, after serving on the Arkansas Lodging Association Board and as its President from 1993-1994. He also received the Golden Key Award in 1995.

Perry was an exceptionally driven man with an entrepreneurial spirit second to none. He had an extraordinarily generous spirit, but never desired public recognition for his many contributions to the community. My heartfelt condolences go out to Perry's family, business associates, and the many people who join me in counting him as a friend. I have lost a true friend and will miss him, but his legacy will live on in Perrytown, Hope, and Arkansas for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Judge Paul X. Williams, Jr. Judge Williams passed away after a tragic struggle with cancer on October 3, 2005 in Booneville, Arkansas at the age of 67.

After graduating from the University of Arkansas Law School, Judge Williams moved to Booneville and carried on the legacy of his father, dedicating his life to the law. Shortly after moving to Booneville, he was appointed Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for South Logan County. In 1975, he was elected to his first of two terms as the Prosecuting Attorney for the 15th Judicial District.

In 1979, Judge Williams was named the City Attorney of Booneville and continued to serve in this capacity until 1990, when he was elected to the District Bench, a post he served until his death.

Judge Williams was a member of the First Baptist Church in Booneville, and well known throughout the community as a man deeply dedicated to his family, an avid golfer, and a terrific chef.

My condolences go out to his wife, Dottie; their daughters Jane, Charlotte and Natalie; his mother Elizabeth; his two sisters, two brothers and his grandson, Rane. Judge Williams will be deeply missed in Logan County and throughout Arkansas.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from South Carolina for taking this Special Order this evening; and as whip of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, I rise this evening to share in the dialogue and to talk about the financial condition of our Nation's government. The Blue Dog Coalition aims to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to the way we operate our government.

Madam Speaker, our Nation today is $7.990 trillion, nearly $8 trillion, in debt. Put that another way, our Nation today is spending $160 billion a year simply paying interest on the national debt. That is about $500 million a day. In fact, it is $13 billion per month, it is $444 million per day, it is $18 million an hour, it is $308,000 a minute. Or put another way, our Nation is spending $5,100 every second simply paying interest on the national debt. In fact, if every person in America wrote a check to pay off the national debt, the amount each person would owe, including the children born today, would be $26,000.

It is hard to believe now that we had a balanced budget from 1998 to 2001, because now this administration, this Republican Congress, has given us the largest budget deficit ever in our Nation's history for a fifth year in a row. In 2001, the deficit was $128 billion; in 2002, it was $157 billion; in 2003, $377 billion; 2004, $412 billion; and in 2005, it went to $427 billion.

That does not include the money that is borrowed from Social Security. No wonder this Republican Congress would not give me a hearing or a vote on my bill that basically said that politicians in Washington should keep their hands off the Social Security Trust Fund. In fact, if it were not for the money being borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund, the deficit would have been $567 billion last year.

Many American citizens, I know the citizens in Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District, are asking me where all this money is coming from that we are borrowing. We have borrowed $700 billion from Japan, $250 billion from China, and $76.2 billion from the Caribbean Banking Center. I had never heard of such. In fact, 45 percent of our deficit is being funded by foreign investors.

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we are faced with the very important question of how are we going to pay for the rebuilding efforts. I find it interesting that these questions are not asked when we talk about paying for the war in Iraq. Just a few short months ago, $82 billion was passed in emergency supplemental appropriations. In fact, we spend $188 million every day in Iraq and $33 million every day in Afghanistan.

In a time of war, in the aftermath of our Nation's most costly natural disaster in our history, the Republican majority in Congress and this administration are still proposing another $106 billion in new tax cuts. That is wrong. It is morally wrong. There is a lot of talk these days about values. I can tell you that those are not the kinds of values that I was raised on and still believe in.

This Republican-controlled Congress claims these additional budget cuts are to pay for Katrina. Over $62.3 billion has been allocated for hurricane relief efforts. However, budget reconciliation is not applicable to emergency supplemental funding. We recently passed $82 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for Iraq. Where was the talk of reconciling the budget then? It is clear these budget cuts are not aimed at offsetting the cost of the devastating hurricanes, but rather at partially offsetting $106 billion in new tax cuts.

The Republican-controlled Congress is proposing to slash programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, student loans and other programs that would directly and adversely impact the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. And those cuts, Madam Speaker, are wrong. It is about priorities. And this Republican Congress believes it is more important to fund tax cuts for those earning over $400,000 a year than to fund programs that benefit the poor, the disabled, and the elderly.

I would like to wrap up my remarks by sharing with you a paragraph from a letter that I received just today from the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. It is signed by a number of organizations. Some of them you will recognize, like the National Baptist Convention USA, the National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, the Presbyterian Church, and the United Methodist Church. If I may read from that letter as my closing:

``The role of government is to protect its people and work for the common good. This is not the time for the budget reconciliation process to create greater hardships for those who are already experiencing greater suffering. To do so is not only unjust; it is a sin. It violates all the fundamental Christian principles of loving thy neighbor, caring for the poor, and showing mercy. As religious leaders, this violation is unacceptable to us.''

And to the gentleman from South Carolina, I would say that this violation is unacceptable to me as well.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Chicago for yielding me this time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3853, legislation which would designate the postal facility in Parkdale, Arkansas, which is located in Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District, the ``Willie Vaughn Post Office.'' This bill has the unanimous support of the Parkdale City Council and its mayor, and I would like to personally thank them for their help with this: Mayor Glenda Wells, and to the City Council, Louis Mitchell, Mark Hawkins, Paula Files, and Evora Parker.

Willie Vaughn, known to friends and family as ``Uncle Dude,'' spent most of his life giving back to this small town located near the Ashley and Chicot County line in southeast Arkansas, just a few miles north of Louisiana. Mr. Vaughn is an active member of his local church, helping not only to build the church but also serving in many leadership positions over the years.

I can think of no person more deserving of this prestigious honor than Willie Vaughn. Mr. Vaughn embodies the definition of ``giving back to your community.'' At 101 years of age, Mr. Vaughn has spent a lifetime, or one might say over a century, working to improve Parkdale through dedication to the CME Church, as a civil rights leader working to remove racial barriers, lending an ear to friends and family throughout the community, throughout southeast Arkansas, and, yes, throughout America. He did so as a school bus driver, as a farmer, as a devoted husband and father. It is evident that Mr. Vaughn's commitment and dedication to his church, to civil justice, and to community service has made a lasting impact on the Parkdale community and its people.

Willie Vaughn has served as a role model to many young people who grew up in this small town of 377 people, people like the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who now resides in Chicago but grew up in Parkdale, people like the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), who have gone on to do great things all across America because of the way their lives were shaped and influenced by Mr. Willie Vaughn.

The Willie Vaughn Post Office will stand for decades and generations to come as a testament to Mr. Vaughn's life and the influence, the impact he has made on so many people from all across this great country that spent a little bit of time growing up in that southeast Arkansas community that we call the town of Parkdale.