Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate his kind words. I am honored to rise today in support of House Resolution 1612, which honors our United States Constitution on September 17 as Constitution Day.

You know, in the not-too-recent past, too few people in this country knew what was in this document. As the gentleman has previously said, it is about 4,400 words. That is all there is, 4,400 words. But I think over the last couple of years, more and more people are turning to it to find out exactly what is in here and how this place operates and how this country operates. And I think it is important. I have always been a student of history, and I think it is important to know where we came from in order to know where we are going. I think it is important that folks recognize September 17, that they should sit down and just start leafing through the Constitution.

I know this coming Friday, when we are all back in our districts again, I'm going to be back in my district talking at a school. From there, I'm going to go to a university in my district and talk about the Constitution and what it means to us. I think it's important that people know what it is because, again, as I said, people have got to understand how we are and why we are the way we are.

As the gentleman has said, this document has been in existence for 223 years from September 17. As just a little bit of background on how we got here, James Madison, when he was still in Virginia, really understood that the Articles of Confederation weren't working in this country. There was a dispute that was going on, and they wanted to really get something worked out with Maryland, so they kind of sat down and came up with an idea of having some kind of a get-together, a meeting, in Philadelphia.

The question really was at that time: Were they going to, A, just look at the Articles of Confederation and try to amend those, which is what a lot of the delegates who attended thought they were doing, or, as Madison thought, were they really going to sit down and bring forth a great new document that would get us past that trying time in our country's history and move us forward?

There was great debate, because as they assembled in 1787, in May of that year, and as the delegates were coming in from around the country from 13 States, in the debate, they were saying, Well, we should be doing this or we shouldn't be doing that because we're only supposed to be here for the Articles of Confederation; but folks really started sitting down and looking at the issue.

As they were looking at this, more and more people came to the conclusion which Madison had, and he had gone there prepared. It's amazing what he had done if you look at his background and what Madison was, but he went there. He had gone through the ancient charters, going back to Greece, to Rome, going across the world; and he looked at the best that was there at that time that they could examine. He brought those things with him, and then the debates began.

The great thing about it was there were debates, and there was open discussion, but the open discussion was only amongst the members because, during that time, they said, you know, We do not want this to get out, so they actually closed the doors and shut the windows. Now, you've got to remember that this was one of the hottest years that they had had on record for a summer in Philadelphia. They closed the windows. They posted a guard at the door, and they didn't want anybody to know what the discussions were. Everybody was under pretty much an oath of secrecy that they would not go out and discuss what was being said in there at that time. We would know it today as a complete press blackout.

Though some of the members got disgruntled, they went home. Some of them came back, but some of them just said, You know what? I'm fed up with this. We shouldn't be doing what we're doing, and they left. Yet the ones who stuck it out are the ones to whom we owe our being where we are today.

You start looking at this document and the people that presided over that Constitutional Convention--you know, George Washington being the presiding officer, and then there also was a deputy from Virginia. You look at some other individuals--Alexander Hamilton from New York, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, Governor Morris of Pennsylvania, of course James Madison, who we all know is the Father of our Constitution. These individuals made sure that they put forth a document that we would have and hold so dear to us today.

There were a lot of people at that time from around the world who were still looking at this fledgling country and asking, Can it really exist? Can it survive? But this little document, these 4,400 words, showed the world who we were as Americans and what we stood for.

Now, there was a lot of conflict, and there were a lot of things on which they could not come to a resolution during that time--slavery was one of them--but they hoped at some point in time that Americans would come to a resolution on that. As we saw this document progress during that time. On September 17, 1787, they finally came to a resolution, and they signed the document.

It's interesting because it's reported that, when Benjamin Franklin left Constitution Hall, a woman met him outside. She asked--and I'm paraphrasing--Mr. Franklin, what have you given us? He said to her in reply, A republic if you can keep it.

So, for these past 223 years in this country, it has been important that every generation read this document to understand who we are and why we want to preserve it. It is so important, in my opinion, that on September 17, this coming week, that we honor the Constitution with Constitution Day. I

would urge everyone to sit down, to pick up their little pocket Constitutions, to just read them, and to thank those individuals. In my opinion, the good Lord gave us such a small window of time, and He put so many great minds in one room to give this great document.

I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to stand before you today in support of House Resolution 1429. This resolution celebrates the symbol of the United States, and it supports the goals and ideals of Flag Day.

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14, which was the anniversary of the official adoption of the American flag by the Continental Congress in 1777. This was done by the first Flag Act, which stated, ``Resolved, that the flag of the United States be made of 13 stripes, alternating red and white, that the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.''

Since 1777, our flag's design has been altered three times under Executive orders, rearranging the design of the stars and the stripes each time a State was added.

To reiterate what the gentlewoman has stated, the first celebration of Flag Day is believed to have been introduced by Bernard Cigrand, a Wisconsin schoolteacher, who arranged for his students at Stony Hill School to celebrate June 14 as Flag Birthday in 1885.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first nationwide Flag Day in 1916. In 1947, President Harry Truman signed legislation requesting National Flag Day be observed annually.

Flag Day is an important holiday as our flag is the official symbol for our great Nation and its ideals. Our flag serves as a beacon of hope, courage, and freedom during times of crisis and triumph alike.

The flag honors the men and women of the Armed Forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending the United States, and it serves as a symbol to those families who have lost loved ones while defending our Nation.

Madam Speaker, it is with great honor that I ask for unanimous consent on H. Res. 1429 as we celebrate our Nation's flag.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentlelady for yielding. This is a very important issue that we are talking about: jobs, small businesses, and how we can get this country moving. I rise tonight to discuss a bill that I have sponsored, H.R. 1763, which is the Responsible Reinvestment Act of 2009. But before I do, I would just like to make a couple of comments, as the gentlelady just said, about the uniqueness of my district.

I have the number one manufacturing district in the State of Ohio. I also have the number one agricultural district in the State of Ohio. And about 2 years of this time, according to the National Manufacturers Association, I had the ninth largest number of manufacturing jobs in the United States House of Representatives. But because of the recession that we've seen happen across the country, I have dropped to about 20th, which is totally unacceptable because last summer we had unemployment rates raging across our district and across the State and the country. Two of my counties had over 18 percent unemployment. I had four others over 16 percent. So we have to do something in this country to get this country moving.

It's kind of interesting. We talk about having a district that's number one in manufacturing and also a district that's number one in agriculture. So how did that work? Well, I have so many of my farmers that work full time off the farm, but they work full time on the farm. So like my relatives who also live in my district, you know, they're working a lot more than 40-hour weeks, and they are making sure that the American economy keeps moving, they are making sure that Americans are fed, but they are also making sure that we don't have to rely on foreign countries for our food, like we have to do when it comes to oil, relying on foreign countries for our needs.

So we need jobs. We need jobs that are created by the private sector. We don't need any government jobs that are really just make-work jobs out there. Small businesses continue to bear the burden of this economic slowdown, and they need relief to be able to survive and continue to remain in business. Currently, small businesses employ over half the private sector workers in America. To assist small business owners, I introduced the Responsible Reinvestment Act. Specifically, this bill focuses on the following areas that I believe will not only help small businesses grow throughout the country but also help put our neighbors back to work.

The bill does the following: a 20 percent tax cut for small business is equal to 20 percent of the total income of the business. It permanently repeals the estate tax, or the death tax. You know, we have to do something in this Congress because if we do not act by the end of this session, the death tax will revert to where it was 10 years ago without any adjustment to inflation, and that will hit small businesses and farmers alike. So, again, this bill repeals the death tax; it increases the expensing for small businesses to $500,000; a full first- year expensing for farm and manufacturing equipment; and the full deductibility for the self-employment tax in relation to health premiums, which is extremely important for small businesses across this country.

The items in this bill will also be very beneficial to small business owners by freeing up capital for them to use to reinvest in their business. And through doing that, it will bring stability back to the communities in which they exist.

The future of our country depends on a proactive approach to creating viable solutions for small business owners to exceed and remain profitable. Small businesses are the lifeline and the heartbeat of our Nation's economy, as these are the companies that we rely on for products and services. As a Congress, we must absolutely stop passing legislation that contains massive spending and, instead, pass legislation like H.R. 1763 that will help small businesses rather than hurt them.

President Obama submitted his administration's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal with a record-breaking cost of $3.8 trillion. This budget proposal includes a $2 trillion tax increase over the next 10 years and projected record deficits. This proposal will double our Nation's debt in 5 years and triple it in 10 years from fiscal year 2008 levels.

The Congressional Budget Office has stated that under current spending levels, by 2020 American taxpayers will be paying $2 billion a day in interest on the national debt alone. And, again, let me reiterate that--$2 billion a day. I think we have to understand what this is going to do. It hasn't been all that long ago that we look back to the late seventies and early eighties when we had 21.5 percent interest rates in this country. And it wasn't very long ago I was talking with some small business owners in my district, and they said, Well, we even had problems getting a loan at over 26 percent interest.

Now, if the Federal Government is borrowing over $2 billion a day-- and you know, when you are talking about that, you are looking at the Federal deficit or, I should say, the debt going to $20.3 trillion by the year 2020, and now the U.S. Treasury is coming out and saying that that could be at least $26 trillion, that $2 billion a day is going to be much higher, and businesses out there are going to have to do one thing--compete against government to borrow. That means the interest rates are going to skyrocket again, and how are we going to get small businesses moving again in this country?

Absolutely. I yield to the lady.

I thank the lady for yielding back. Because again, you know, when you are looking at these staggering numbers--I'm sure Wyoming, like the State of Ohio, in our Constitution we have to balance our budget. I was a county commissioner for 6 years when I was first elected to public service. We went through the '91-'92 downturn at that time. And what did we have to do? Well, we had to cut back. We didn't just say we have to spend more. We had to cut.

I yield to the lady.

Well, what we had to do was when we did our budget for the year, there are certain things in Ohio that the commissioners are responsible for. You looked at things. You thought, we have to budget for things like bad weather because you have to have more overtime.

One of the things that we always hoped we never have happen was a capital murder case because we know how much that would cost. We had to sit down with all of the other elected officials and say, We have to make cuts across the board and scale back. If we didn't, we were going to be in trouble. Again, our Constitution says you shall balance your budget.

Again, this is a problem we are facing. Instead of saying we are going to increase certain budgets by 12 percent over the year before, we have to go back maybe a budget before that and say that is where we need to start the cuts. One of the things that is happening with small businesses across the country, or large businesses, when I go across my district and when I have the opportunity, I try to go to as many factories and businesses as I can. And when I am talking to these individuals, I like to find out what is happening to them.

But they like to ask this one question: We have cut way back to keep our doors open; what have you done in the Federal Government to help along these lines?

I think one of the interesting trips I was in was at a factory in my district. I went into the plant and they had to scale back. They had to unfortunately cut employees. But at the same time they were in there saying we had to reduce the number of hours people were working. So maybe it was not 40-plus hours, but it was a 32-hour work week. Then they said we have to make sure that management does their share. They were cut 10-20 percent in their salary. And management was cleaning the restrooms in the factory to try to help do anything to scale back on costs that they would pay someone else to do.

Again, I think we would have heard it if something like that would have happened. But at this stage of the game, the Federal Government has a trump card some people think, and that we control the printing presses for putting out money. The big problem is we watch dollars being put out, but at the same time the United States Treasury is out there at an auction, and at that auction you have the Federal Reserve buying it, and all of a sudden we are monetizing our debt. We are moving one IOU from one pocket to the other. We are not accomplishing anything. We are not cutting anything. And we watch expenses keep rolling up.

The American people understand that what we do at home when we sit around our kitchen tables and you get out the family budget and say these are the things that we are going to have to pay for. It is the question of wants and needs. There is a big difference between what I want and what I absolutely need. I think the Federal Government has got to go to what is needed, and we are going to have to start scaling back immediately.

I am sure you have students and constituents who come here. When I had a group of students here today on the Capitol steps, and I look at these kids, juniors or seniors in high school, I look at what their future is for the next 10 years, and I don't care if it is $20.3 trillion in debt or $26 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury, we are in trouble.

I thank the gentlelady. I think what you are looking at is from the small business owners. They understand right off the bat that something has to be done. They understand that they have had to make deep, deep cuts.

Until recently, I served on the Budget Committee, and you are still a member. Sitting through those hearings with the Congressional Budget Office director or the Office of Management and Budget director or Secretary Geithner or when we heard from Mr. Bernanke, we heard the same thing: we are on an unsustainable growth of spending in this country. It has got to be stopped. They don't offer a solution, but it is a very simple solution: you don't spend what you don't have.

I was one of 19 grandkids on my maternal side. I will never forget my grandmother, the good German farm woman she was, she had a simple saying, that he who goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing. She pretty much made sure that all 19 of us understood that. Again, you don't spend what you don't have because we cannot spend our way out of this mess. If we are going to be doing that, all we are doing right now, and have been doing, is mortgaging the future of the next generation of Americans.

You know, the question when you talk to parents out there and say are your kids going to be better off than you are, most parents don't believe it. They think that their kids are going to have a harder time of it than they have, and that is a bad sign for America's future.

Well, when you look at these budget projections, you have to have people working. When we are looking at an unemployment rate of 9.7 percent in this country and a little under 11 percent unemployment in the State of Ohio, and we all know what is going to happen later this summer when all of those people who were hired to be census takers, working for the census are going to be back on unemployment, these numbers are going to go right back up because it kind of is a false data time that we are in right now when we are looking at these numbers.

Of course we saw what happened when the unemployment numbers came out and only 41,000 jobs had been created in the private sector, what Wall Street thought of that. They are looking at things are not going well for this economy.

I know you heard these same statements that were projections from the Congressional Budget Office director when he was before the Budget Committee. We are looking at probably 2014 or 2015 before we get back to, and I don't care if you want to say normal employment or normal unemployment

in this country. The question is for areas that are hard hit like a lot of parts of Ohio and a lot of parts of the Midwest where manufacturing takes place, what are we going to do in our areas for the next 4 or 5 years with these high unemployment rates? Where are people going to go?

One of the things that we are talking about, those jobs, and it goes back years ago when I was a county commissioner. You wanted to make sure you had as broad a tax base as possible in your county or State or country. It is like a pyramid. You want as big a base on that as possible. But the thing we were worried about, what happens if? We were losing jobs and we had fewer and fewer people. All of a sudden that starts shifting that base, and pretty soon you have a very small tax base out there of individuals, and you have a lot of other people up on top. It doesn't work.

What we can't have in this country is killing the entrepreneurs. When you look at all of these different scenarios out there, the bills that have come before this Congress, and these are the same people that I talk to in my district. And again, when you are dealing with the largest manufacturing district in the State, 20th largest in the Nation, they are concerned. I hear all the time about the issues out there that will help bring them down, is about the best way to say it.

You know, we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. What are we doing about that here? When we talk about the health care costs, a lot of them are saying when they hit that certain magical number, when they get above it, they are asking why do I want to expand if I will be paying more. It won't work. Folks in business understand it. It gets to the point of economics 101 from your first year of college which is the law of diminishing returns. It is the more I work, the more I get taxed, and the less I have; why do it? People aren't going to do that. It is against human nature to do something like that.

We have to go across the board. If we are going to compete against our foreign competitors, and that is who is out there today. Because when we look at a lot of these regulations that are coming down on businesses, you look at the corporate tax rate and you look at what has happened here with health care, we have seen these numbers coming out today of what is going to happen on the health care side. They are saying you get to keep what you want; well, that is not going to happen for a lot of individuals.

When you look at the regulations, companies are saying we don't have to worry about that if we are someplace else. I have had companies that are located in a village or city, and when the EPA puts a mandate in for water or sewer, but the parent company is some place outside the State, and they are told if their rates go up to a certain amount and they are no longer profitable in their area, well that company is going to be moved. When you are looking at losing 300 jobs or 400 jobs or 600 jobs, that is totally unacceptable.

That happens all of the time, unfortunately. We have situations where we are competing. I know years ago when I was a county commissioner, we were competing against many other parts of the State of Ohio or maybe someplace in southern Michigan or eastern Indiana. In a short 20-year period, now we are competing with somebody 8,000, 12,000 miles away. If they are in a situation where they have lower labor cost, and if they have lower cost for their electricity or other fuel costs, and we are all for clean air and clean water, but if they are in certain areas where there is no concern for that, and we have heard under the cap-and-trade legislation, if we did everything that was asked for under this piece of legislation that passed out of the House, in 8 years there would be absolutely no difference in CO2 emissions. Why, because China and India would be making that amount up. But at the same time, we would have lost all of those jobs in this country. Those jobs would have moved someplace else.

I thank the lady for yielding.

This is the problem you run into. In my opinion, I truly believe that the United States has the greatest workforce in the world. We have the best trained workforce. We have the best educated workforce, but we just need to be put on an equal footing. And when companies understand that--you know, it's just like with that small entrepreneur.

If they toil day after day--I knew somebody that, to get their company started, they had a small bed that could roll up in their office. And his wife would come in and help work, and she slept on the couch. But, you know, they put hours and hours and hours into that business, first of all, to get it off the ground, to grow it, and then to make it successful.

But if you put the roadblocks in front of these people, you know, some folks aren't going to be as steadfast as they were, and they are going to say, You know what? It's just not worth it. Why kill myself? And I think that, again, it's the spirit of entrepreneurism in this country that makes this country work.

It's like when I talk to these kids on the Capitol steps. You know, why did a lot of our relatives ever get on--some people's relatives came on the Mayflower. Most of ours came on the Poorflower. And when people got off that boat, and my relatives came down by barge on the Ohio River, and they came up the canal system, and they cleared the land, and they started farming in Putnam County in Ohio. They had a desire. They wanted land. They wanted to grow that land. They wanted to make sure that they had something not only for themselves but for their kids. They wanted a future. And I think that's what we are losing track of in this body and in this Congress, that what's happened is that it's no longer about the future, but too many are thinking, ``It's about me.'' And the problem with ``me'' is we are not growing it. And we have to grow the ``we'' and the ``us'' to make this country successful.

Well, you have touched on something when you are talking about the death tax, the estate tax. And, you know, when you are talking about something going from having zero death tax this year, which won't ever happen because, you know, there will be a retroactive clause put in somewhere saying that they are never going to let people off the hook, and they are going to say anybody that passed away this year, somehow they will try to bring them back up, and I am sure the lawsuits will begin.

But you are right about a couple things right off the bat. You know, family businesses, family farms, I know it's difficult for some folks when you are only looking at a very small percentage of about less than 2 percent of Americans now that make their livelihoods from the farm. And when you go to your local county fairs and you go to look at these implements and the costs, and when you are talking about a $425,000 combine with one head, or you are looking at a couple hundred thousand dollars for a tractor, and you start adding all these pieces of machinery up. People say, well, if you have got a couple million dollars you are rich. Well, most farmers that I know are land rich and cash poor.

And what happens in a lot of cases or a small business, what do they have to do? Well, number one, okay, they have to start doing estate planning early on. And I am an attorney by trade. But when you start talking about that we have to tell the American people they have to expend millions and billions of dollars when it comes to estate planning or doing the taxes every year, we should simplify this. But, also, we shouldn't be taking what they have worked hard for. And when people are out there thinking, Is it going to be worth it in the end?

Because this will be--you know, if we get to a point in this country, people are going to say, You know what? If the government's going to take it in the end and I can't pass it on, what are they going to do? Either, A, I am not going to work that hard, or, B, I am just going to spend it. And if they spend it, what's going to be the result of that? They are going to say, Government, you take care of me now. I am not going to worry about my livelihood or I am not going to worry about down the road when it's time for me to retire. Just have the government take care of me. And that's not going to work.

So, you know, we have got to keep this entrepreneurship. We have got to make sure that people in this country have the ability and the thought that they can succeed. You know, a lot of people sometimes are jealous of people that come here as new immigrants to this country, but the thing that they know is they come to this country like a lot of our ancestors did. They want to make something of themselves. They want to make something of their future. They want to have something for their kids. But when you kill that entrepreneurial spirit, that's when the beginning of the end becomes.

And you know, it's kind of interesting. There used to be a saying years ago before the fall of the Soviet Union that the people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. And we never want to have that happen in this country, where people get to the thought that there is this hopelessness, that there is no reason to do it. We want to make sure that the people have the ability in this country to get ahead.

And I yield to the lady.

Thank you very much for yielding, and again, you go back to the Responsibility Investment Act again, you were talking about cutting taxes here and what we can do to really get things moving. Again, if you get rid of and make permanent the repeal of the death tax, well, what happens? People are going to say, now I can invest that money back into the business instead of going out saying, how am I going to try to soften the blow when the taxes finally come, you know, through buying insurance or, you know, going to multiple years of tax planning on how you're going to get this thing done?

And I'm sure everybody this year is going crazy with the thought that the death tax comes screaming back at the $1 million level at the end of this year, and you have a lot of folks with their A and their B trusts already funded where they're supposed to be, and they're going to say, now what am I supposed to do? So it's right back doing what? You know, it's not just the money that people invest, it is also the time. If you think how much time is invested by businesses to try to figure out how they have to cope with all these taxes and regulations out there, I think that that's one of the important things out there.

Again, in a piece of legislation that I have on the Responsibility Investment Act, again, repealing that death tax, we're talking about what we can do on the small business side. You know, if we're doing a 20 percent cut for small businesses and 20 percent tax cut for businesses, that's going to allow those businesses to take up to a 20 percent deduction equal to their income. And it's regardless of whether they're paying corporate or personal income tax.

So those are things we have to do to try to make sure that we get businesses back moving in this country again, and again, we just can't expect folks out there to say, you know what, I'm going to work like a dog 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for X number of years to try to get this off the ground and then have to watch it all be taken away from me.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding and a couple of your earlier points, you know, you were talking about pay here in Washington. I've got a bill that hasn't had any hearings, and what that bill says is that there are no COLAs anymore for Congress. If you think you deserve a pay raise, then you should introduce a piece of legislation saying that, and what this bill would do is say no more COLAs, period. We wouldn't have a 1-year freeze or a 2-year freeze; this bill would say no more COLAs.

Again, going back to what you said on that interest on that debt, and I mentioned a little bit earlier about going back to the early 1980s, with that 21.5 percent interest rate that people experienced. I was first starting to practice law that year, and I'll never forget, we had to do land contracts. And what a land contract, of course, is, say you want to buy my house, well, you couldn't go to the bank and get a loan because you couldn't borrow any money. So I would have to, as the owner of the home, would sell you the house. We would have a contract that you pay me the principal and interest over about a 3-year period of time, and hopefully, at the end of that 3 years, then you would find a bank that you could go out to and get a loan from.

We don't want to see this go back, like I said, to where we had 21.5 percent interest. We don't want to go back to have some businesses out there at over 26 percent. When the Federal Government is out there, as you said, you know, if they have to start raising the interest rates to make it more profitable or for either the country--of course, right now, we know $3.7 trillion of our debt is owned by foreign countries, and you know, we're only seeing that only grow, where they will control more of our public debt than anybody else.

So it's important that we get this under control because we cannot have interest rates that high into future. Businesses will stagnate. Businesses will not have the ability to go out and borrow money. And that's what we're going to be looking at. We'll be staring that in the face in a very short period of time, and what we need to make sure is that businesses can go down to that local bank on the corner, that people can go down to that bank on the corner and draw money and also loan money from that bank because, again, if we're in a situation that we were, you know, having learned that a lifetime ago already, not too many years, but back in a situation that we would be in where we were before, we can't compete.

And something else I guess we're kind of forgetting, when you look back on some of these statistics, maybe 10, 20, or 30 years ago, the United States was pretty much at the top of the heap. We could make some odd, dumb mistakes along the line, but we could correct them pretty quick because we controlled about everything. Not anymore. When you're looking where the Chinese want to be in the next 10 to 15 years and where other global competitors are, we're not going to be there. So that's why the United States and this Congress cannot misstep at any time, from now or into the future, because our future, not only for this generation but the generations to follow, are at stake.

I would just like to conclude on a statement that was made as you talk about Americans getting re-involved.

Again, when I speak to the students on our steps here at the United States Capitol, I can't think of a better place to tell kids what they have to do. But one of the interesting things, especially when I have seniors in high school and I say, how many of you are registered to vote, I remember one day we had about 100 students out there, and I probably had maybe 20 percent of the kids sheepishly start trying to raise their hands. They were going to put them down and I said, wait a minute, leave your hands up. I said, I want everyone to look at who has their hands up because they're going to be making the decisions for you. I said, if you want to participate in this great experiment, you have got to be registered, you have got to be involved.

It kind of goes back to what Benjamin Franklin said. It was reported when he left the Constitutional Convention--it was very contentious--a lot of people think it was just fine and dandy. They showed up in Philadelphia starting in May of 1787 and they wrote this great document. But it was hard-pressed, hard work, and they got it done. And when Franklin left, a woman asked him as he left, she said, Mr. Franklin, what have you given us? And he said, ``A republic if you can keep it.''

I yield back.

Madam Speaker, on Friday, May 28, 2010, I missed a series of votes on account of traveling back to Ohio to attend my daughter's high school graduation. If I had been present, I would have voted ``no'' on Rollcall No. 324, ``no'' on Rollcall No. 325, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 326, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 327, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 328, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 329, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 330, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 331, ``no'' on Rollcall No. 332, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 333, ``no'' on Rollcall No. 334, ``aye'' on Rollcall No. 335, and ``no'' on Rollcall No. 336.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to remember the five lives of five constituents from my district who were killed this past weekend as a severe thunderstorm which produced two tornados swept across my district, leaving a trail of absolute destruction and devastation.

Mary Walters and her 4-year-old son, Hayden, in addition to Ted Kranz, Kathy Hammitt, and Bailey Bowman, all died during the storm.

On Sunday I rode with the Fulton County sheriff, and on Monday I rode with the Lake Township, Wood County chief of police to get a firsthand view of the devastation left behind by these tornados. During these visits, I spoke with many residents who survived the storms and heard them relate their miracle tales of survival.

I also want to recognize the 2010 graduating class of Lake High School in Wood County for their steadfast will and character in the wake of this deadly storm. One of the tornadoes hit Lake High School, completely destroying the school. This happened only hours before the senior class of 110 students were scheduled to hold their commencement ceremony Sunday afternoon. And, sadly, the class valedictorian, Katie Kranz, lost her father during that storm.

The true character, compassion, and strength of the people of America come through in times like these, as the surrounding communities have stepped up to help in whatever way possible during the recovery effort. The local chapter of the Red Cross and other volunteer organizations were quickly on the ground to lend their support.

The local elected officials and administrators of Wood and Fulton Counties should also be commended for their organization and leadership during these trying times. Their quick response to help those in need has held the community together during this time.

I also want to commend other communities in the area, like the city of Northwood, who helped by letting the Lake Township Police use its communications headquarters after the Lake Township Police Department was destroyed, as well as the administration building.

The city of Oregon has lent three police cruisers to the township, as well as the Wood County sheriff lending two. Why? Because the Lake Township lost six of their cars during the storm.

Yesterday I sent a letter to President Obama requesting that Wood and Fulton Counties be declared Federal disaster areas as soon as possible. This will be important for the counties so that they may have access to as many resources as possible during the recovery efforts.

This afternoon, Governor Strickland is also asking for a declaration for Federal assistance, and I thank him for it.

Madam Speaker, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to pay a very special tribute to a brave group of individuals fro Ohio. The 1483rd Transportation Company is celebrating its return from service in the theater of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the broader conflict of America's Global War on Terror.

There is no question the Ohio National Guard is one of the fundamental military components of our country. Over its brief but active course of service to our great nation, the Ohio Army National Guard's 1483rd Transportation Company has demonstrated its commitment to the cause of freedom. These soldiers have contributed to the long history of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, dating back to 1942.

This Walbridge, Ohio-based Guard unit travelled over 325,000 miles, carrying with it almost 33,000 tons of equipment in support of America's efforts in Iraq. These soldiers conducted nearly 150 combat patrols, five vehicle recovery operations and a humanitarian mission where educational materials were shipped abroad. The 1483rd Transportation Company also moved over 400 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, nearly 150 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1 Abrams tanks, and also helped in the U.S. military drawdown initiative in Iraq.

The 1483rd Transportation Company is deserving of the greatest respect and our highest honor. These individuals have not only ably and faithfully served our great nation in the theater of war, but have selflessly supported humanitarian efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav. Surely, America's safety and wellbeing have been strengthened by its steadfast service.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying special tribute to the Ohio Army National Guard's 1483rd Transportation Company. America is well served by dedicated service men and women who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect our beloved nation. On behalf of the people of the Fifth Congressional District of Ohio, I am proud to recognize these citizen soldiers upon their return from serving America's interests in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to pay special tribute to a military hero from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. United States Army LTC Thomas P. Belkofer, 44, of Perrysburg, Ohio, lost his life in combat on May 18, 2010 as a result of wounds sustained in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer was assigned to the headquarters of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York. He is survived by his dear wife Margaret, and their daughters Alyssa and Ashley.

An individual dedicated to giving his all in everything, Thomas Belkofer was a determined athlete at his alma mater, Rossford High School, where he graduated in 1983. Thomas served in the Ohio Army National Guard, and in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, ROTC, in college. In 1992, Thomas received his Bachelor's Degree from Bowling Green State University in Architecture and Environmental Design. It was this same year he married his college sweetheart, Margaret Maness, and both were commissioned in the United States Army. Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer earned his Masters in Business Administration degree from Syracuse University during his active duty service.

A committed Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer served 18 years at various military assignments, including the bases in Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort George G. Meade in Maryland; The Pentagon; a 13-month deployment to Afghanistan; Vincenza, Italy; and Fort Drum, New York. During his first deployment in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer assisted with the establishment of a financial infrastructure for Afghan government employees, many of them soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer's life and accomplishments reflect his commitment to his country and the protection of its freedoms.

In addition to his various assignments that have taken Lieutenant Colonel Belkofer all over the world, he received many badges, medals, and ribbons. These include the Overseas Service Bar, Army Staff Identification Badge, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge, Combat Action Badge, Army Joint Meritorious Award, NATO Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Humanitarian Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (with

the Bronze Service Star), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Legion of Merit Medal.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and selfless service of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas P. Belkofer. We stand with his family and loved ones in mourning the loss of America's finest, and remain forever grateful for his sacrifice toward the peace and security of our nation.

Mr. Speaker, why does this country need a budget, and why does this House need a budget? It is very, very simple. We are looking at a $20 trillion debt in less than 10 years; $20 trillion. What is the yearly interest going to be on that in 10 years? Over potentially $1 trillion; $1 trillion in interest in one year that we are facing.

This year, Washington is going to spend a record $3.6 trillion, and at least $1.5 trillion to $1.6 trillion is going to be in the deficit. The CBO and OMB when they testified before the Budget Committee, their directors both said that the spending is unsustainable. Unsustainable. But what happens here? We don't produce a budget. How do you get this under control?

Our kids and their kids are going to be paying for it. It is tough to look these kids when they come to Washington in the face, when they are out here on the Capitol steps, look at them and ask where are they going to be in 10 years? It is not going to be what we did for them; it is what we have done to them.

When we look in the future, it is getting worse, because right now when you look at this little chart that came out from the Treasury, 47 percent of our debt today is foreign-owned.

This has got to stop.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding public servant from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. My District Director, Barbara Barker of Antwerp, Ohio will be retiring following Twenty-One years of service to Ohio's Fifth Congressional District Offices.

Barbara Barker began her service to Ohio's Fifth Congressional District as a Staff Assistant to the late Congressman Paul E. Gillmor. Barbara was soon promoted to serve in various capacities under Congressman Gillmor, being selected to serve as District Representative, Senior District Representative, and then lastly as District Director during her tenure. Following the vacancy left by the late Congressman Gillmor, Barbara's professionalism as a manager of congressional district operations made her a natural choice to assume the same role in my district offices. I have found Barbara to be a dedicated public servant, who has not only managed the day to day functions of my district offices, but has demonstrated that she made the well-being of the constituents of Ohio's Fifth Congressional District the hallmark of her career with the United States House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Barbara Barker for her role in my district offices. Our communities have undoubtedly benefited from her years of faithful service. We wish Barbara Barker all of the best upon her retirement as District Director of Ohio's Fifth Congressional District Offices.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak against the rule for H.R. 5019. I offered an amendment in full committee markup which would have prevented enactment of H.R. 5019 if there

was an impact on deficit neutrality. I withdrew that amendment in committee due to an exchange I had with the chairman, Mr. Waxman, where he told me we would continue to work on this amendment so we could pay for this bill before we brought it to the House floor. I do thank the chairman for meeting with me.

There has been no pay-for secured, unfortunately, and therefore I offered a similar amendment in the Rules Committee. The amendment was not accepted in the Rules Committee, and therefore we are not able to have open debate on the issue today on the House floor. It is frustrating that the majority has shut down the opportunity to have a debate on the cost of the legislation and the addition it would be to the Federal deficit.

Very simply, my amendment stated that the provision of this act, including the amendments made by the act, shall be suspended and shall not apply if there is a negative net effect on the national budget deficit of the United States. While this is an authorizing bill, I am concerned that the majority could not give any assurance that this bill will indeed be paid for. I'm very concerned about the $6.6 billion price tag of this legislation. At a time when there is a national deficit crisis, it is not appropriate to add $6.6 billion in spending to the deficit. As a Congress, we absolutely must stop this excessive spending.

President Obama submitted his administration's fiscal year 2010 budget proposal with a record-breaking cost of $3.8 trillion. This budget proposal includes a $2 trillion tax increase over the next 10 years and projected record deficits. This proposal will double our Nation's debt in 5 years and triple it in 10 years from the levels from fiscal year 2008. CBO has stated that under current spending levels, by 2020, American taxpayers will be paying $2 billion per day in interest on the national debt. It also estimates that the debt will be $20 trillion by that year. Our Nation's economic future requires that this Congress and the administration exercise serious fiscal restraint.

Also, we know there will be devastating effects on the economy due to the recently passed health care bill. The recent CMS analysis concluded that national health care expenditures will actually increase by $311 billion. This analysis also shows the recently passed health care bill increased health care costs to 21 percent of GDP by 2019. Finally, CBO released figures showing that the ``doc fix'' will cost $275.8 billion through 2020, and that is if rates are frozen at current levels. This is a 33 percent increase from the initial figure of $207 billion.

I'm against this rule and disappointed my amendment was not approved by the Rules Committee for consideration today on the floor.

I yield.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Chair, I rise today to speak against H.R. 5019. As I discussed earlier during the rule debate, I have very serious concerns about how we are paying for this legislation. In exchange for withdrawing my deficit neutrality at the full committee markup, Chairman Waxman said he would work with me in trying to find a way to pay for this piece of legislation. I do thank the chairman for meeting with me on this matter. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a pay-for during our negotiation.

Although this is an authorization legislation and not an appropriation, I feel that if this program is important enough to authorize, it should be important enough for us to find a way to pay for it. I am concerned that the majority could not give any assurance that this bill will indeed be paid for.

I offered an amendment yesterday regarding the Federal deficit that was not accepted in the Rules Committee, and therefore we are not able to have an open debate on this issue today on the House floor. It is frustrating that the majority has shut down the opportunity to have a debate on the cost of this legislation and the addition it will be to the Federal deficit.

The majority is claiming that this bill does not need to have a pay- for since, again, it is an authorizing bill. However, I believe that the issue of the budget deficit should at least be able to be debated.

While I support the incentives to help provide energy efficiency as well as programs to promote job growth, I am very concerned about the $6.6 billion price tag of this legislation. In addition, this is duplicative of an existing government program that has not been fully implemented.

Just a little bit ago, the gentleman from Florida stated--but I think it's really important to reiterate--that the Department of Energy recently issued a report concluding that as of February 2010, of the $4.7 billion DOE has awarded in grants to States under the stimulus weatherization programs, only $368 million--less than 10 percent--has been used by the States for weatherization programs and only 30,297 homes have actually been weatherized.

Of the 10 States receiving the most money under the $4.7 billion allocated for the weatherization program under the Recovery Act, only two had weatherized more than 2 percent of the homes covered by the program. The other eight States weatherized fewer than 400 homes each. Because the $4.7 billion weatherization program has been incredibly slow to implement, I have concerns about the effectiveness of the $6.6 billion in the Home Star Energy Retrofit program.

This simply is not the right time for a new program. Ohio currently has an unemployment rate of 11 percent, and my district has an average unemployment rate of 13.5 percent. Individuals in my district are asking, Where are the jobs? And these same individuals are asking how Congress can continue to spend more and more money on government programs rather than cut spending to ensure a better future for our children and grandchildren. They are very concerned about the debt and the deficit that this Congress is amassing. That is why I offered the amendment to the legislation regarding the national deficit and why I wanted to have a debate on this amendment on the House floor in regards to this legislation.

Unfortunately, I cannot support another government-run program that will do nothing to help the constituents of my district. I urge a ``no'' vote on the bill.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the motion to recommit for H.R. 5019. As I stated earlier during floor debate, I have very serious concerns that my amendment regarding deficit neutrality was not accepted through the rules process. The majority has not allowed the debate to occur regarding this budget deficit issue.

This MTR will ensure that this act is sunsetted if the legislation has a negative net effect on the Federal budget deficit. I feel that if this new program is important enough to authorize, it should be important enough for us to find a way to pay for it. I am concerned that the majority could not give any assurance that this bill will indeed be paid for without increasing the deficit.

While I support the incentives to help provide energy efficiency, I am very concerned about the $6.6 billion price tag of this legislation. At a time when we are in a national deficit crisis, it is not appropriate to add $6.6 billion in spending to the deficit. As a Congress, we absolutely must stop this excessive spending. President Obama submitted his administration's fiscal year 2011 budget proposal with a record-breaking cost of $3.8 trillion. This budget proposal includes a $2 trillion tax increase over the next 10 years, and projected record deficits. This proposal will double our Nation's debt in 5 years and triple it in 10 years from fiscal year 2008 levels. CBO has stated that under the current spending levels, by 2020, American taxpayers will be paying $2 billion per day in interest on the national debt. It also estimates that by 2020 the debt will be $20 trillion.

This simply is not the time for a new $6.6 billion government program. That is why I offered the amendment to the legislation regarding the national deficit and why I urge you to support the motion to recommit. It ensures fiscal responsibility and ensures taxpayer dollars will be spent wisely.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the MTR.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Bo Joost of Sherwood, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Bo's offer of appointment poises him to attend the United States Naval Academy this fall with the incoming midshipmen Class of 2014. Attending one of our Nation's military academies is an invaluable experience that offers a world-class education while placing demands on those who undertake one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of their lives.

Bo brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2014. While attending Fairview High School in Sherwood, Ohio, Bo attained a grade point average of 4.0 that placed him first in his graduating class. He was inducted into the National Honor Society where he served as vice president his senior year. Bo was also a member of the Varsity Club and Foreign Language Society.

Throughout high school, Bo participated in the football, baseball, and archery teams, having served as co-Captain of the varsity football team his senior year. Bo has been active and held numerous leadership positions in Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Students for Action in Education, served as a D.A.R.E. role model, and participated in Lutheran Youth Fellowship. Bo also volunteers for relay for life, central shares, and vacation bible school. I am confident that Bo will carry the lessons of his student leadership to the Naval Academy.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Bo Joost on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Our service academies offer the finest military training and education available. I am positive that Bo will excel during his career at the Naval Academy and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the Nation.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Grant Genzman of Perrysburg, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Grant's offer of appointment poises him to attend the United States Naval Academy this fall with the incoming midshipmen Class of 2014. Attending one of our Nation's military academies is an invaluable experience that offers a world-class education while placing demands on those who undertake one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of their lives.

Grant brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming class of midshipmen. While attending St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio, Grant attained an impressive grade point average that placed him first in his graduating class. Grant earned the AP Scholar Award, the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, the Claver Scholar Award and he was inducted into the National Honor Society.

Outside the classroom, Grant was a member of the football, wrestling, and tennis teams. Grant utilized his leadership skills by participating in St. John Jesuit's Integrity Committee, Ambassadors Core Team, Marine Science Club, and Student Council. I am confident that Grant will carry the lessons of his student leadership to the Naval Academy.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Grant Genzman on his acceptance of appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Our service academies offer the finest military training and education available. I am positive that Grant will excel during his career at the Naval Academy and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the Nation.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Joel Boose of Norwalk, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Joel's offer of appointment poises him to attend the United States Military Academy this fall with the incoming cadet Class of 2014. Attending one of our Nation's military academies is an invaluable experience that offers a world-class education while placing demands on those who undertake one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of their lives.

Joel brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2014. While attending St. Paul High School in Norwalk, Ohio, Joel attained a grade point average that placed him in the top ten percent of his graduating class. Joel was inducted into the National Honor Society, participated in the Teens Leadership Corps, and was active in the Student Council.

Throughout high school, Joel was a member of the football, track, and swimming teams. Joel utilized his leadership skills by being captain of the football team and vice-president of the Key Club. In addition, Joel was awarded an academic letter each year and was recognized as a McScholar Athlete. I am confident that Joel will carry the lessons of his student leadership to West Point.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Joel Boose on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Our service academies offer the finest military training and education available. I am positive that Joel will excel during his career at West Point and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the Nation.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to pay special tribute to an outstanding young man from Ohio's Fifth Congressional District. I am happy to announce that Michael Watrol of Rossford, Ohio has been offered an appointment to attend the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.

Michael's offer of appointment poises him to attend the United States Naval Academy this fall with the incoming midshipmen Class of 2014. Attending one of our Nation's military academies is an invaluable experience that offers a world-class education while placing demands on those who undertake one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of their lives.

Michael brings an enormous amount of leadership, service, and dedication to the incoming Class of 2014. While attending St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, Ohio, Michael attained an impressive grade point average. He received numerous academic awards.

Throughout high school, Michael was a member of the water polo, tennis, CYO basketball and Belmont Swim teams. He received his varsity letter in tennis. Michael has been active in Young Marines of Toledo, Junior State of America, Bethel Lutheran Church, and has volunteered for numerous organizations in the community. I am confident that Michael will carry the lessons of his student leadership to the Naval Academy.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Michael Watrol on the acceptance of his appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Our service academies offer the finest military training and education available. I am positive that Michael will excel during his career at the Naval Academy and I ask my colleagues to join me in extending their best wishes to him as he begins his service to the Nation.