Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the urgent need to cut government spending and reduce government debt.

Last year, our President and our Congress failed to enact a budget. This fundamental failure of leadership has put our country on a path of skyrocketing debt, growing deficits, and unacceptably high unemployment.

This week, the President submitted to this new Congress a new budget proposal. Instead of recognizing the urgent need to reduce spending and reduce our debt, the President's budget proposal amounts to, yet again, failure of leadership. It is a budget predicated on unsustainable deficit spending and insurmountable debt that will be passed on to our children and to our grandchildren.

Our deficit is projected to reach an all-time high of $1.6 trillion, and our national debt is projected to equal the size of the entire U.S. economy, reaching over $15 trillion by September 30 of this year. And for 21 straight months, our national unemployment rate has been at 9 percent or higher, the country's longest jobless streak since the Great Depression.

The people of my district, Virginia's Fifth District, and the people of our Nation know this course is unsustainable and that it must stop. Enough is enough. It is time to chart a new course of fiscal discipline and restraint. It is time to act on the urgent message sent by the people in November that we must put an end to Washington's reckless spending.

No longer should the people of the Fifth District be stuck to foot the bill for a growing and intrusive Federal Government. No longer should families and businesses in central and southside Virginia be the ones making the tough choices to live within their means while the Federal Government borrows 40 cents on every dollar it spends.

By making tough choices and by reducing government spending, we are taking the first step in tackling our unsustainable debt and of preserving our economic strength for future generations. By reducing spending, we are restoring a sense of certainty and confidence to the marketplace that will create a better environment for job creation. By reducing spending, we are reducing the size and scope of the Federal Government and are empowering our true job creators to hire, innovate, and expand.

The decisions we face are not easy, but we have not been given an easy task. Now is the time to act and to act boldly if we are serious about leaving a better America for our children and our grandchildren.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

I rise today in support of House Resolution 72.

The greatest challenge facing this new 112th Congress is our responsibility to support policies that foster an environment of economic certainty and that will provide businesses in Virginia's Fifth District and across this Nation with the confidence necessary to hire and expand once again.

It was refreshing to spend last week meeting with constituents and businesses in the Fifth District. People and businesses continue to struggle, and it is clear that job creation remains the top priority for the people that I represent. As I have talked to these same job creators and constituents over the past years, it is equally clear that access to capital is the lifeblood of Main Street business. It is also clear that the overregulation represented in Dodd-Frank will make it increasingly difficult for capital to be available so that our small businesses can succeed and hire new employees.

My constituents believe that we must rein in the size and scope of the Federal Government by removing unnecessary regulations for our job creators. House Resolution 72 will begin this process in a deliberative and thoughtful manner as it directs our committees to review Federal regulations and assess their negative impacts on our economy.

As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I look forward to working with the chairman and my colleagues as we conduct a close review of the regulations that are hindering job creation and economic growth for the people of the Fifth District and our Nation.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on House Resolution 72.

Mr. Speaker, the repeal of the health care law and beginning the process of replacing it with market-oriented solutions that reduce health care costs are important steps in the right direction for the people of the Fifth District of Virginia and for our Nation as a whole.

Having heard from so many of my constituents on this issue, I believe that it is essential that we repeal the government takeover of health care that raises costs, increases taxes, imposes burdensome mandates on small businesses, and jeopardizes quality medical care for our people.

I rise today to share an example of the real-life implications that the new health care law has had on one doctor in the Fifth District of Virginia.

His story is not unique. No doubt there are many others in central and Southside Virginia, as well as across the Nation, who are dealing with similar, negative ramifications of this law. His story is an important one to tell. It's a story of the hardships this legislation has caused to the people who have dedicated their lives to serving others.

In 1999, this doctor took a huge risk when he decided to sell his home and move to Charlottesville to buy and operate an Urgent Care Center. The challenges he faced in starting up his own practice did not come without sacrifice. It was over a year before he took home his first paycheck. He and his wife lived on savings and retirement money and did not know if their business would make it until 2004, 5 years later. His sacrifice and hard work proved to be a model for success. Now he has over 40,000 charts and 30 employees, and he provides high quality care to more than 16,000 patients. The average charge per patient visit remains low, while the services rendered provide good quality care, proving that health care at the primary level does not have to come with an overly expensive pricetag.

However, this doctor has made it clear in no uncertain terms that the fear and uncertainty regarding the new health care law threatens both the present and future success of his practice. Due to the tax hikes, added regulations and bureaucracy, and overall government intrusion, the doctor is no longer sure he can afford to stay in business, which means over 16,000 patients in the area served by his practice may lose access to this reliable and affordable care.

What a crushing blow to the innovators that are seeking new ways to provide quality medical care to their fellow man. What a crushing blow to the entrepreneurial spirit for those who are seeking to succeed. And what a crushing blow to the very spirit upon which our Nation was founded. This is just one example of why it is critical and necessary to repeal the government takeover of health care.

To ensure that doctors in the Fifth District can keep their doors open and that the people of the Fifth District of Virginia can continue to afford quality health care, it is critical that we find replacement measures that seek to truly keep costs low while removing the government from the patient-doctor relationship.

We have a great deal of work ahead, Mr. Speaker, but I'm committed to continuing to find the health care solutions that are in the best interest of all central and Southside Virginians.

Section 4: ``The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.''