Floor Statements

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 25: Page 30, line 11, after the dollar amount

insert ``(reduced by $22,796,000)''.

Page 161, line 12, after the dollar amount insert

``(increased by $22,796,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 26: Page 30, line 18, after the dollar amount

insert ``(reduced by $21,714,000)''.

Page 161, line 12, after the dollar amount insert

``(increased by $21,714,000)''.

Mr. Speaker, this administration has failed to lead, they have failed to budget, and now they have failed to produce any viable solution for saving Medicare. In fact, their solution is to let it go broke.

In 13 short years, Medicare's Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will run completely out of money. Bankrupting this

program will leave many of our Nation's seniors high and dry and our future generations without a health care program to depend upon.

And guess what? The Obama administration doesn't care. Instead of making Medicare reform a top priority, the administration has passed the task off to a panel of unqualified bureaucrats--like it was busy work that they couldn't be bothered with.

Mr. Speaker, Medicare is going broke. That's a reality this administration has to face. The program is already driving up the larger-than-life debt, and it will only get worse from here. I urge the administration to at least present us with one option for fixing Medicare's present money problem. And if they can't, the House GOP doctors have plenty of suggestions of where to begin.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would eliminate one of the 20 different conservation programs USDA currently operates, the water rehabilitation program. The chairman of the subcommittee, my good friend from Georgia, has stated during debate on funding for agriculture programs that he hopes to see a reduction in the number of Federal programs included in this bill.

I understand that some of my colleagues have a vested interest in this program, but when we have a program that is funding projects in only a handful of States, we must take a long, hard look at our priorities.

Mr. Chairman, even the President did not request funding for this program. It cannot be understated that we are facing unprecedented fiscal challenges in our Nation. We just simply have to stop spending money that we don't have, and we have to start creating jobs out in the private sector. My amendment, by cutting this program, will help to stop the bleeding economically that we're having. The consequences of failing to reduce spending and the deficit jeopardize the current and future stability of our Nation.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

I rise to offer my amendment, which would reduce the budget for the Rural Housing Assistance Grants Program by over $20 million. My amendment would drop the allocation for this program from $32 million to just around $12 million. This is a modest request, particularly considering the President initially asked for a funding level of just $12 million, and we would simply be dropping the levels back down to what the administration, itself, requested.

It is absolutely critical that this Congress cut spending wherever possible; and if the President could do without that extra $20 million, so can we. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, this Nation has almost a $14.5 trillion debt. Forty cents of every dollar the Federal Government spends, we're borrowing. We've just got to stop the outrageous spending that's going on here in Washington. And both parties have been guilty over the years.

This amendment would simply cut 10 percent out of a program--10 percent. Some people say, well, it's just a small amount of money. But as I was doing a town hall meeting back, during last week, in Georgia, in Hoschton, Georgia, one lady got up and said, $1 million makes a lot of difference. It is a lot of money.

This does cut a great deal of money out of this program. But, Mr. Chairman, we just have to stop spending money that we don't have. It's just absolutely critical. The economy depends upon it. Creating jobs in the private sector depends upon it. The future of our Nation depends upon it.

We're in an economic emergency, Mr. Chairman, and if we don't stop spending money that we don't have, we're going to have an economic collapse of this Nation.

I'm a physician. I've worked in emergency rooms. I've seen a doctor open up a man's chest and do open-heart massage in the emergency room trying to keep a patient alive.

It's time for open-heart massage of our economy. We've got to stop spending money that we don't have. We've got to put this country back on the right financial course and start creating jobs out in the private sector. And my amendment will be just one small step towards that.

So, Mr. Chairman, I hope that my colleagues will support this amendment so that we can put this country back on the right course, so that we can create jobs in the private sector and can have a strong economy again.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

In answer to your question, I want to do both. I think every dollar that the Federal Government spends needs to be looked at, and we're spending money that we don't have, even in DOD. I think we would cut a lot of funding there, particularly with the wasteful spending that the Department of Defense does that we all recognize.

So I want to do it all. The thing is, if we continue down this road that we're on economically, everybody's going to be poor. Nobody's going to have money for any groceries. Nobody's going to be able to get any health care. We're just going to be in a financial quagmire as a nation. And so it's absolutely critical, in my opinion, that we do emergent procedures to try to get this country back on the right course economically.

So, to answer to your question that you asked me very graciously, I answer, yes, we need to do all of the above, and I am eager to do both.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I yield to my good friend, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, Virginia Foxx.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment which would cut $175 million in FY 2012 by eliminating the Foreign Agricultural Service. This is a corporate welfare program that essentially gives handouts to private businesses that don't need taxpayer dollars in order to grow their profits. It is essential that we make significant cuts to our budget this year and focus on reducing our deficit and tackle our debt. This is an unnecessary program and a waste of money that we could use to reduce this fiscal burden.

I understand the position that my dear friend from Georgia is in. It is true that the Ryan budget is the only budget to pass either House. I supported the Ryan budget, and I supported the Republican Study Committee budget, which would have reduced even more money from this bill.

Regardless of how one voted on a particular budget, we all have an obligation to move the debate in a direction that calls for more serious spending cuts. It is critical for the economic future of our Nation. It is critical for our children and our grandchildren. It is critical in creating new jobs and having a stronger economy here in America.

So I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I had an amendment following this one that would have totally eliminated funding for this program and, thus, would have presented a problem to the House. So I am going to withdraw my amendment since Dr. Gosar has introduced his.

It is absolutely critical that we stop spending money we simply do not have. Frankly, I don't like transferring money from account to account, because I think the only transfer that we should do is the transfer into the debt reduction program so that we can reduce the Federal debt. It is absolutely critical for the economic future of this Nation.

Since I am going to withdraw my amendment following this, I wanted to get up and speak about this particular amendment and just say that I really appreciate what my good friend from California (Mr. Farr) was saying about poor people. I am a medical doctor, and I deal with problems of nutrition for my patients. I appreciate what Dr. Foxx did with her amendment about eliminating this breastfeeding program.

But you see, we are constrained by the Constitution--or should be-- and Congress has gotten way, way away from the original intent of the Constitution. We cannot try to feed everybody in the world. We cannot continue to try to be a nanny state for everybody, even in this country. In the private sector, if we mobilized them, there would be plenty of dollars to take care of the needs of American citizens as well as those of the people around the world by leaving dollars in the hands of the private sector--in people's hands, in churches, in synagogues, in mosques, and in different areas--with the Salvation Army, et cetera.

So I think we need to as a Congress start being fiscally responsible, but we have been fiscally irresponsible for many years during Democrat as well as Republican administrations, as well as under Democrat- and Republican-controlled Congresses. We just have to stop spending money.

I appreciate Mr. Farr, and I yield to the gentleman from California.

Reclaiming my time, I appreciate your comments.

But, you see, when I was sworn into the Marine Corps and when I was sworn into Congress--now three times--I swore to uphold the Constitution. I believe in this document as our Founding Fathers meant it, which means very limited government. In fact, we are destroying the very thing that has made this country so great, so powerful, so rich as a Nation, which is constitutionally limited government, the free enterprise system, private property rights, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and morality.

It is absolutely critical, if we are going to have a bright, shining star of liberty over the heads of America, that we rebuild those foundational principles. That's what I'm fighting for and will continue to do.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Again, as I spoke on the previous amendment, we just don't have the money. It's very altruistic of my friends on both sides to want to feed people all over the world. I very much would like to be able to do so, but we can't feed our people here at home. We've got a high jobless rate. We just have to simply stop spending money that we don't have. And this would just zero out the balance of the funds if my friend from Arizona's amendment is indeed passed into this bill.

Mr. Chairman, as we look at where we're going as a Nation, we've got to be focusing on jobs and the economy. We have to leave dollars in the hands of businesses, particularly small businesses. Leave the dollars in the hands of individuals so that they can take care of their own needs and their own communities instead of building a bigger and bigger Federal program to try to take care of everybody's needs all over the world.

We just simply do not have the money. And it just has to stop. And it's time to stop right now. We're headed toward an economic cliff in this Nation. And it may be very soon where we're going to be off that cliff, where everybody in this country except for the extremely wealthy are going to be forced into just tremendous poverty.

We have a potential of having riots in the streets and bloodletting in this country because of the great debt and spending that's going on. We're destroying jobs. We're destroying our economy. And it just must stop. The sooner, the better. My amendment would simply zero out the rest of the funds in this program. I think it's critical for us just to stop spending money.

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USDA State Department ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Programmed food aid, 2010 Voting practices in the UN, 2010 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010--received food aid Votes only (%) Overall (%) Important (%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Algeria......................................................... 30.4 81.7 16.7

Angola.......................................................... 30.6 81.9 33.3 Burkina Faso.................................................... 32.3 82.7 25.0 Burundi......................................................... 25.0 79.3 77.8 Cameroon........................................................ 44.7 88.9 60.0 Central African Rep............................................. 37.7 84.1 66.7 Chad............................................................ 0.0 66.7 0.0 Congo, Democratic Rep. of....................................... 46.2 87.2 75.0 Congo, Republic of.............................................. 37.9 84.3 42.9 Djibouti........................................................ 33.8 82.8 40.0 Ethiopia........................................................ 32.8 83.2 44.4 Gambia.......................................................... 31.3 82.0 40.0 Guinea-Bissau................................................... 31.3 82.2 40.0 Kenya........................................................... 31.7 83.0 57.1 Liberia......................................................... 35.9 83.9 54.5 Madagascar...................................................... 32.3 82.5 44.4 Malawi.......................................................... 35.3 83.2 50.0 Mali............................................................ 30.8 82.4 30.0 Mauritania...................................................... 32.4 82.4 30.0 Mozambique...................................................... 27.9 81.1 33.3 Niger........................................................... 32.8 83.1 33.3 Rwanda.......................................................... 50.0 86.9 57.1 Senegal......................................................... 31.8 82.7 33.3 Sierra Leone.................................................... 38.6 83.6 55.6 Somalia......................................................... 28.8 80.7 27.3 Sudan........................................................... 31.4 81.8 30.8 Tanzania........................................................ n/a n/a n/a Uganda.......................................................... 8.6 76.3 60.0 Zambia.......................................................... 33.3 82.9 44.4 Zimbabwe........................................................ 30.4 81.3 30.8 Afghanistan..................................................... 34.3 82.4 46.2 Bangladesh...................................................... 32.9 82.2 77.8 Cambodia........................................................ 30.9 81.9 25.0 India........................................................... 25.4 82.6 14.3 Laos............................................................ 27.4 81.6 22.2 Nepal........................................................... 35.8 83.5 33.3 Pakistan........................................................ 21.3 81.2 22.2 Philippines..................................................... 31.3 82.7 33.3 Sri Lanka....................................................... 31.9 82.1 25.0 Tajikistan...................................................... 30.0 82.1 30.0 Yemen........................................................... 33.3 82.6 40.0 Colombia........................................................ 36.1 84.7 50.0 Dominican Republic.............................................. 36.4 83.4 36.4 Ecuador......................................................... 32.4 82.4 30.0 Guatemala....................................................... 37.9 84.2 62.5 Haiti........................................................... 31.8 82.6 30.0 Honduras........................................................ 63.4 83.6 60.0 Nicaragua....................................................... 30.4 81.7 15.2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

Mr. Dicks, I resent the fact that you accuse me of wanting to do harm, because I do not----

No, sir. Actually, it will do good.

The thing is, we come to the crux of the problem here in that some people in this body believe that the Federal Government ought to take care of everybody in the world, and I would love to be able to do that. There's no end of good things that can be done all over this world. But for you to accuse me of wanting to do harm to people, I resent that.

Sir, I have the time.

I do resent the fact that you accuse me of wanting to do harm. Mr. Chairman, I'm not sure if this comes to a point of order of taking down the gentleman's words, but I bring forth a point of order.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to bring a point of order about the gentleman's accusations that I want to do harm. I believe this meets the criteria of taking down his words, and I would like a ruling from the Chair regarding that.

Mr. Chairman, I withdraw my point of order.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment which would zero out the McGovern-Dole program and save taxpayers $180 million in the coming fiscal year. We simply cannot continue to dole out money that we simply don't have, particularly when we're experiencing such a huge economic crisis and economic emergency here at home.

It's important to make serious cuts wherever and whenever we can, and this funding is not tied to a specific national security interest. So we can afford to do without it. I think we should do without it, but I'm offering my amendment, and I hope it passes.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment, which would reduce the fleet of passenger vehicles that the USDA is able to purchase by half. Cutting the size of their fleet from 461 to 231 is a simple way to save our taxpayers some of their hard-earned money.

Mr. Chairman, I know many of my amendments cut programs that are near and dear to my colleagues' and their districts' hearts. We have heard clearly from our friends on both sides regarding that. But together, my amendments cut over $2 billion, and we accrue more than twice that amount of debt every single day.

It's time to make the hard choices for the greater good of our economy. We have to cut wherever we can, and cutting about 230 vehicles out of the USDA's fleet is another way to save taxpayers money.

I encourage people to vote for my amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

No, sir, I do not.

I do, indeed.

By 230 vehicles, yes, sir.

Well, maybe they could ride share. That would be a good way to save taxpayer dollars also.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I was listening to the previous speaker's arguments, and I'm glad to hear that he's concerned about the U.S. Navy's energy supplies, and I was going to ask him, if he had been kind enough to yield to me, whether he was in favor of us starting to develop our own energy resources here in the United States.

We've got a tremendous amount of energy that our Creator has given us here in this country off the northern coast of Alaska, in the Western United States, in the gulf coast, and certainly, I would like to see the oil prices drop. The best way to get those oil prices to come down to a reasonable level is for us to start developing our own energy resources here in this country. Certainly, our oil and natural gas resources need to be developed, clean coal energy, alternative sources of energy, nuclear energy, all these other things.

And I just hear all this pontification from my colleagues on the other side about the CFTC and the oil speculators. The best way to make the oil speculators lose money, which they would do when they increase the prices of oil by speculating on future prices, is by producing more oil here in this country. We've got a tremendous amount of uncertainty with all the things that are going on in the Middle East today, and that causes speculators to think the price of oil is going up.

Now, I'm not one who's here arguing for the speculators by any means. I believe in the marketplace. I believe that the marketplace, unencumbered by government regulations and taxes, is the best way to control quality, quantity, and cost of all goods and services, including oil. And the best way to do that is to lower the cost of oil here in this country, natural gas and all of our energy supplies for the U.S. Navy as well as for the Federal Government and for everybody, to lower the cost of gasoline at the pump. It's best to develop our own natural resources, our God-given resources that are plentiful in this country.

But I have seen in, now, three Congresses that I have been here my Democrat colleagues block every effort that we have made to develop our own resources. I never will forget in 2008, while we were coming during the August break and talking about the Republicans' all-of-the-above energy policy, that a Democratic staffer said that the Democrat Party's energy policy was drive a small car and wait for the wind. That's not an energy policy.

We need to develop the God-given resources that we have here in this country, to lower the cost of gas at the pumps, to lower the cost of heating oil, particularly for our elderly citizens and poorest people across this Nation that this winter are going to be suffering, suffering tremendously economically because of the high cost of oil.

It's not the speculators and the CFTC that's going to do that. Drilling for oil and natural gas and developing our own natural resources here in this country is going to be the solution. And I just encourage my Democratic colleagues to join with me and others here on our side, let's develop these resources, not just talk about the CFTC, not just talk about more regulations on the marketplace, because the more regulation we put on the marketplace, the higher the cost goes. So let's get the regulatory burden off of the energy sector so that we can start developing our own God-given resources here in this country.

So, if the gentleman had been kind enough to yield, I would have asked him and congratulate him on being concerned about our U.S. Navy and how much extra they're paying for oil, for all the energy sources that our military has to spend. We've got to stop this outrageous spending that the Federal Government's been doing, and the way to do that is lower the cost of energy here and that will help everybody.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

This amendment simply reduces by 10 percent the account for Agriculture Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments.

My friend from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and I have partnered to bring this commonsense amendment before the House, and I would like to thank him and his staff for all their hard work.

Mr. Chairman, we are in an economic and fiscal emergency. The Federal Government spends too much money. It is irresponsible and immoral to keep spending beyond our means. Not only do we need to reduce our deficit, but we need to begin to make an impact on eliminating the huge debt that has been accumulating over the last few years.

I greatly appreciate the effort and the difficult decisions the Appropriations Committee must make. That said, we must continue to make meaningful cuts to show the American people and the President that we are serious about controlling spending and serious about the future of our Nation.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment. Let's show the American people that we are serious about controlling spending and stopping the outrageous spending that has been going on here in Washington under Democrat as well as Republican leadership. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment that would reduce the budget for the USDA's Economic Research Service by $7 million. We don't know what's going to happen with the previous amendment, but whether it passes or fails, this would cut another $7 million. It's just a modest 10 percent that would help end some of the duplicative research the USDA is currently conducting.

For example, the USDA has four separate services that conduct research, as Mr. Chaffetz has already spoken about here on the floor. All four of these entities have numerous overlapping issues, and it would be more fiscally responsible to simply consolidate them, and I wish we had done so.

The American people have demanded that we cut the outrageous spending that's going on here in Washington, and we must cut the spending in every corner of the budget possible. They deserve our very best efforts in being good stewards of their tax dollars. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise to offer my amendment, which is simply a 10 percent cut in the Agricultural Marketing Service at the USDA.

This year, the Agricultural Marketing Service will be allocated $77.5 million for, as they state in their own Web site, ``administering programs that facilitate the efficient, fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops.''

Madam Chair, since I've been a Member of Congress, I have stated that the marketplace, unencumbered, is the best way to control quality, quantity, and cost of all goods and services. So we need to get the encumbrances of the Federal Government off the marketplace, and this will just take 10 percent. Our Nation's crops are no exception to this rule.

Madam Chair, I think the USDA is not giving American farmers enough credit. Our farmers are intelligent, resourceful men and women who know the best ways to market their products here and abroad. Madam Chair, when I was farming, I could market my products very well. I used to farm--I wish I could get back to it, actually. Allow these farmers to market their products without the government interference and use these funds to reduce spending.

It's absolutely critical, Madam Chair, that we reduce the outrageous spending that Congresses, both Republican and Democrat, have put in place. As Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said, the greatest threat to our security is this huge debt. We absolutely have to cut spending, and this simple amendment would cut 10 percent out of this program and put it in the deficit reduction package that is part of this bill.

So I encourage my colleagues to support this simple amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 12: Page 48, line 11, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $175,000,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $175,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 4: Page 8, line 15, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced by $7,000,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $7,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 5: Page 49, line 23, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced by $104,019,800)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $104,019,800)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 6: Page 50, line 18, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $180,000,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $180,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 7: Page 56, line 18, insert ``231'' in place

of ``461''.

Page 56, line 19, insert ``231'' in place of ``456''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 8: Page 5, line 5, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $20,900,000)''.

Page 5, line 6, after the first dollar amount, insert

``(reduced by $20,900,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $20,900,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 9: Page 17, line 25, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $7,750,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $7,750,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 10: Page 27, line 23, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $15,000,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $15,000,000)''.

Offered By: Mr. Broun of Georgia

Amendment No. 11: Page 33, line 12, after the first dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $20,480,000)''.

Page 80, line 2, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $20,480,000)''.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is the greatest Nation ever in the history of mankind--a Nation that many countries look to as a leader, a leader in strength, in security, in success. But, Mr. Speaker, we cannot lead from behind. We are behind on repaying our debts in a major way, all the while creating even more debt.

Rather than focusing on raising the debt ceiling, Mr. Speaker, we should be putting all of our energy into reducing the debt. These overdue bills are bad for job creation and bad for our economy. As Admiral Mullen recently said: Our debt is the most dangerous threat to our national security. I could not agree more.

If Congress continues to spend money as it has in the past, we will only become more reliant upon foreign countries to buy up our debt, making our economy secondary to theirs. It is dangerous. It is irresponsible. It is unforgivable.

Mr. Speaker, this administration has taken our already weakened economy and turned it completely upside down, while allowing for the largest budget deficit in the history of the United States. The great cost of the stimulus bill, multiple government bailouts, and ObamaCare have pushed our country over the edge. I beg of my colleagues to not let this great Nation hit rock bottom before we make tackling the debt our first and foremost priority. Jobs, our economy, and our future depend upon it.