Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, 3\1/2\ years ago, our Nation was viciously attacked when an Islamic extremist opened fire on our troops at Fort Hood. We lost 14 innocent Americans that day, 12 military servicemembers, one civilian, and an unborn child.

Since the attack, the Ford Hood community has seen and felt an outpouring of support from across the State of Texas and the Nation, but not from the Federal Government. Currently, the troops killed and wounded in this horrible attack are denied the treatment, benefits, and honors granted to soldiers who are attacked overseas in a declared combat zone. The Pentagon deems this attack ``workplace violence'' rather than ``combat violence.''

This is shameful, and Americans should be outraged by the administration's refusal to acknowledge this wrong. Our troops were attacked on U.S. soil in a blatant terrorist attack, and we owe it to these patriots and all who wear the uniform to provide for them. They willingly and admirably put their lives on the line every day to protect our freedom.

I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 705, the Fort Hood Victims and Families Benefits Protection Act, and start providing the needed assistance for the victims and families of this terrible tragedy. Our troops deserve better.

May God bless all who serve.

Mr. Speaker, every business, every family, and every person in America eventually has to balance a budget. I am a small business owner; I still own a business. I have owned and operated my business for 41 years, and I balance my budget every month--and in many cases every day. The government should be no different.

Now, until we balance our budget, we don't know the true fiscal condition of our country, or our company, or our family. Just like a business that is overleveraged or a family that has overborrowed, deficit spending can obscure the real picture; but eventually the truth comes out. Once the numbers line up, you get an exact view of your fiscal condition. We've gone far too long without knowing our country's financial condition.

In the last 4 years, we've had trillion-dollar deficits. In 2011, our Nation's credit rating was downgraded. This year, our publicly held debt is on track to exceed 76 percent of GDP in 2013. Yet we still spend more money that we don't have, pushing the country towards a debt-driven financial crisis. If the Federal Government didn't have the ability to print money, we'd have a negative net worth, and we'd be in a weak financial position.

A budget is a blueprint. A budget is a roadmap; it's a plan. Our Nation's budget doesn't need to have balance as its end goal; it needs to be our starting point. It's the only way to guarantee that the public debt will not outgrow the economy, which would certainly crowd out private investment, raise interest rates, and increase inflation.

Now, I'm proud to stand in support of the Path to Prosperity. It's a responsible, balanced budget that is right for America. This budget balances, cuts wasteful spending, and fixes our broken Tax Code--all without raising taxes.

I applaud Chairman Ryan and my colleagues on the House Budget Committee for their tremendous work in presenting the American people with what they want--a budget that works. With this plan, we will apply the same principles that families and businesses use every day.

I predict our country's best financial days will surely be ahead of us, because unlike our Democratic friends, we balance. It means jobs, it means prosperity, and it means opportunity. Small business and the people of America are begging for this budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am a proud supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. I am appalled by the President's attempts to erode our constitutional freedoms and impress his will by executive order. Our Founding Fathers would not have imagined that the right they listed second in the Bill of Rights, the right to bear arms, would be systematically attacked.

My opposition to what the President has proposed is based on the fact that his plan is not only unconstitutional, it is not effective. The Federal Government has tried a ban on these weapons before, and it did not work.

The National Institute of Justice states that ``there has been no discernible reduction in the lethality and injuriousness of gun violence'' due to the 1994 assault weapons ban. Gun control laws do not make our communities safer. They do not take firearms from criminals but, rather, from law-abiding citizens.

Second, the phrase ``assault weapons ban'' is a term of art. These are semiautomatic guns that essentially shoot the same kind of bullets as small-game hunting rifles. Simply put, these are hunting rifles made to look like a military gun. Banning it for cosmetic reasons doesn't make sense and won't save any more lives.

Third, banning large capacity magazines will do little to stop criminals. Any gun that uses a magazine can use a magazine of any size. That's true of rifles and handguns. So-called ``assault weapons'' are not any different.

In the end, if the President wants to begin a national dialogue about stopping violence, he shouldn't start by taking away our rights as citizens. I am willing to work with the President and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a real solution to the challenges we face, but that solution will have to look at all the issues involved. But perhaps the most important part of the solution is restoring a culture of life in this country again.

May God bless America.

Madam Speaker, President Obama's sequester is bad for America. There's no getting around it. Good programs are going to be cut, good people are going to be furloughed; and bad leadership from President Obama is to blame. In the last four years, almost every important budget deadline has been met with impasse and little has been done to enact a responsible budget.

Systematic failure to perform the basic responsibilities of governing has led us to the catastrophic sequestration we see today.

President Obama came up with this idea for the sequester as a temporary solution for another fiscal crisis in 2011. As we've been saying for months, House Republicans are the only ones who have taken action to balance the budget. Last Congress, the House passed two bills, the Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act and the Spending Reduction Act. However, in recent remarks at the White House, President Obama attempted to blame House Republicans--who control only one-half of one-third of the government--for the looming cuts.

If there's going to be a solution, President Obama is going to have to work with his own political party in the Senate and negotiate with the House. Yet all the President has done so far is call for higher taxes again. He got his higher taxes--$600 billion from higher earners, with no corresponding spending cuts--at the end of 2012. It seems he will not stop until every single American has to hand over more of their hard-earned money to the Federal Government--which, I might add, has a bad track record of spending it.

There is no denying that the government spends too much, but these blind cuts are irresponsible and will have a disastrous effect on our military. Yesterday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff testified at a hearing that our national security will be put at risk if they are forced to make deep reductions in spending for manpower, training, and equipment modernization programs.

This is no longer a debate between Congress and the White House to gain the upper hand. This is real, this is serious, and this is the time to take action. In fact, I sent a letter to the President this week urging him to act now to prevent the harmful fallout that the sequester will cause. I pray that he reads it.

While Friday does mark the sequester deadline, we have until March 27 to do the right thing on behalf of our men and women in uniform, as well as the hundreds of thousands of employees expected to be drastically impacted by the sequester.

If the President continues his unwillingness to stop campaigning and start helping the American people who elected him to lead, then at the very least we need to allow the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs to operate under a budget rather than a continuing resolution. This would give them greater flexibility and put them in the best possible position to absorb these across-the-board cuts. By letting the DOD and VA operate under a budget, these agencies can prevent permanent damage from the arbitrary sequester cuts.

Madam Speaker, I represent Texas' 25th Congressional District, which includes a large portion of Fort Hood--one of the largest military installations in the world. The United States Army estimates $291 million in cuts for Fort Hood, including nearly 600 civilian jobs and nearly 30,000 jobs statewide.

This is preventable. And quite frankly, it's totally unacceptable. We shouldn't have to move a third bill in the House before the Senate finally acts. It's time for President Obama to drop the politics and campaign speeches and do something. Putting our public safety, national security and economy at risk by letting the sequester pass without preventative action is reckless and destructive. Our troops, our businesses, and our families deserve better. Americans expect our President to lead.

Congress of the United States,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, February 25, 2013.

Hon. Barack H. Obama,

The White House,

Washington, DC.

Dear President Obama: I am writing to express my outrage

over the proposed cuts to the Department of Defense as part

of the sequestration phase of the Budget Control Act of 2011.

As commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, your inaction to

prevent these cuts from happening to our military and their

families is unconscionable.

In the 112th Congress, the House of Representatives passed

two bills, H.R. 5652, the Sequester Replacement

Reconciliation Act of 2012 and H.R. 6684, the Spending

Reduction Act of 2012 which would have canceled the sequester

of approximately $98 billion in discretionary defense,

discretionary non-defense, and mandatory defense FY2013

spending. Neither bill was even considered by the U.S.

Senate. The House of Representatives shouldn't have to move a

third bill before you or the Senate finally acts.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta recently stated, ``If

sequester happens, it is going to badly damage the readiness

of the United States of America. We have the most powerful

military force on the face of the earth right now. It is

important in terms of providing stability and peace in the

world. If sequester goes into effect, and we have to do the

kind of cuts that will go right at readiness, right at

maintenance, right at training, we are going to weaken the

United States. And make it much more difficult for us to

respond to the crises in the world.''

Gen. Martin Dempsey went further in recent testimony before

the Senate Armed Services Committee and stated that

sequestration would put our military on a path where the

``force is so degraded and so unready'' that it would be

``immoral to use the force.''

Mr. President, I represent the 25th Congressional District

of Texas which includes a large portion of Fort Hood--one of

the largest military installations in the world. The United

States Army estimates $291 million in cuts for Fort Hood

including nearly 600 civilian jobs, and nearly 30 thousand

jobs statewide. This is preventable! Let's cut the nonsense--

drop the politics, drop the campaign speeches, and do

something.

We shouldn't put our national security, public safety, and

the economy at risk by letting the sequester pass without

preventative action. Our troops, our businesses, and our

families deserve better. Mr. President, Americans expect you

to lead.

Sincerely,

Roger Williams,

Member of Congress.

I rise to salute the mighty Stephenville Yellow Jackets for winning their fifth State championship in football.

Texas football has been written about in TV shows, movies, and books, but Hollywood's version isn't nearly as exciting as the real thing. During the 2012 high school football season, Stephenville lost only one game as it prepared to enter the playoffs. In the championship game, quarterback Tyler Jones threw for five touchdowns and 422 yards and rushed for another 126.

What makes this team so remarkable is not only that it won, but that it was worthy of winning. These are good kids who do credit to their school and their town. Stephenville, Texas, is the cowboy capital of the world. The 17,000 Texans who live there are patriotic, passionate people who take care of business and take care of their neighbors; and, like their high school team, they are winners at everything they do.

I am proud to represent Stephenville, Texas, in the United States Congress, and I am proud to salute the Yellow Jackets on their fifth State title. I look forward to congratulating them next year on another championship.

I'm honored to stand here today and say a few words about one of my personal heroes and friends, and one of America's greatest patriots, Sam Johnson. This month is cause for celebration as it marks 40 years since nearly 600 American POWs, including Congressman Johnson, stepped foot on American soil after enduring years of captivity during the Vietnam war.

Many of us couldn't endure for one day what Sam Johnson endured for 7 years, much less endure it with unbreakable strength, unending faith in God, and constant hope that this incredible man has.

His captors knew him as a die hard, one of the few POWs who refused to give in and cooperate with their anti-American propaganda. His fellow American prisoners knew him as a leader, one whose spirit could not be broken, whether he was in leg stocks or solitary confinement, for 4 years. And his family knew him as their hero, a man who loved serving his country and was willing to sacrifice his life in defense of freedom.

I'm honored to know him as a friend. Throughout his 29-year career in the Air Force, he earned many distinguished decorations, awards, and merits. But for those who have had the pleasure of sitting at the dinner table with Sam, you know those years were also filled with laughter and antics. After all, he did fly with the legendary Thunderbirds before the FAA existed.

Men like Sam Johnson are what have made our military great--and our country--the greatest force on Earth. He has built a remarkable legacy with his lifelong service to America, to the great State of Texas and, most importantly, to his family and loved ones.

Colonel Johnson, thank you for your service to our country and for your example to us all. And I'd like to remind people, America doesn't give because it's rich; America is rich because it gives. And it's given us Sam Johnson, and for that we're very grateful.

Luke 6:38 says:

A good measure be given to you, pressed down, shaken

together, put into your lap; for the measure you give will be

the measure you get back.

Sam, you gave it all to us, and you deserve every great thing that happens to you. So may God bless you, and may God bless our troops.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here in support of H.R. 273, a commonsense bill to overturn President Obama's recent executive order that authorizes a .5 percent pay raise for Federal workers.

With the looming threat of sequestration just weeks away, Federal agencies should be focused on how to do more with less, like every other business does in America and every other family does in America. But the President's order would cost taxpayers more than $10 billion over 10 years.

Here are the facts: in the last decade, the average Federal civilian salary has increased by 62 percent. When you factor in benefits and total compensation packages for Federal employees, it tops $126,000, compared to less than $63,000 in the private sector. I haven't heard the other side say anything about that.

I'm a business owner. I have been in business for 41 years. I still own a business, and I hope to stay in business. When I pay pay raises to my employees, it's because of their loyalty and

hard work, not simply because they're on payroll.

My constituents in the 25th District of Texas are fed up with a government that spends, borrows, and grows too much. Let's protect hard-earned taxpayer dollars and pass this commonsense solution, H.R. 273.

Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 444, the Require a PLAN Act. I am a small business owner, and I have submitted a budget to my bank for 41 straight years. It is astounding that the President has shirked his responsibility to submit a budget on time for 4 of the last 5 years.

Our Nation has trillion-dollar deficits. They are threatening the economic future of this great country, yet the President and his Democratic Party leaders in the Senate have made it a habit to ignore their budgetary obligations. Under President Obama, the national debt has increased faster than under any U.S. President in history. Now is not the time to sit back and continue racking up debt that our children and our grandchildren will have to shoulder, not to mention small businesses.

The American people deserve better leadership. They have made it abundantly clear that Congress should balance the Federal budget just like families and business owners do across the country, and they do it every single day. That's why I support the House bill requiring the President to submit a balanced budget and to get Washington's spending under control, so I urge my colleagues on both sides to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

I remember that Ronald Reagan's birthday is today. May God bless our country.

Mr. Speaker, today I join my colleagues in the United States Congress in honoring the life and legacy of Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle.

Every warrior has a story . . . Chris Kyle had a legend. Throughout our history, America's military has been served by many but shaped by only a few. From Washington to Petraeus, from Porter to Nimitz, a few great individuals have changed the way we fight wars and the way we view warriors. Now we can add the name of Chris Kyle to that elite list.

For ten years, this Texas native served his country as a member of Seal Team 3. Along the way, he set the standard for all snipers. Though his innate humility prevented him from talking about the number, Navy records confirm that Chief Kyle successfully took out 160 enemy combatants--the highest number in American military history.

He did it over the course of many years--he served four tours in Iraq during his career. And he did it in difficult circumstances and over long distances--he once perched himself on top of a baby's crib for hours in a house . . . and another time he gunned down an enemy combatant from 1.2 miles away.

No matter the challenge, Chris Kyle always met it No matter the odds, he always overcame them.

Chief Kyle's incredible courage as a warrior was matched only by his extraordinary grace as a man.

This was a man of faith who believed God had a plan for him.

This was a man of family of who knew being a husband and a father were his important tasks.

And this was an American who thought that his country was worth fighting for and even dying for.

Chief Kyle didn't like to talk about the number of enemies he killed; instead, he would say, I'd like to be known ``for the people I saved.'' And so he is.

He saved so many, more than we will ever know. And he never stopped trying to save people, all the way to the last seconds of his life.

Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle has left us; but his legacy remains. The people of Texas are rightfully proud of this native son; and the people of America rightfully mourn this national hero.

The U.S. Navy Seals have a motto: ``the only easy day was yesterday.'' No one personified this more than Chief Kyle. Each day was a new challenge; and each time, it was met with courage and conviction, with devotion and dedication.

Chief Kyle's mission is completed; his tour has ended. Now, the work of carrying on his legacy remains for all of us.

May we always try to live up to the standard of courage set by this great and gallant man . . . and may we never forget his service and sacrifice.

May God bless Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle and his family.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate your leadership and what you're doing.

My name is Roger Williams. I have been a small business owner for 41 years. I represent Congressional District 25 in Texas, a great district. I have been meeting payrolls and creating jobs for 41 years and have been fighting government regulations for that period of time. I must tell you that, at a time when our national debt is over $16 trillion--more than $52,000 for each American--we must restore fiscal sanity in Washington. We do this by cutting spending, shrinking the deficit, and balancing the budget. As a businessman, when you're not selling your product, you don't raise taxes and you don't raise prices. You cut spending. That's where the money is. That's where the cash flow is, and that's what we've got to get to.

Our Nation's economic future is at stake. The Federal Government currently borrows more than 40 cents of every dollar it spends. I think we all agree it's time to get our fiscal house in order. Across this great Nation, the families have stretched their hard-earned dollars in order to make it through this struggling economy. The Federal Government must do the same and must do it now. We are facing a crisis because Washington just simply spends too much and wastes too much.

As I said, families all across this country are not looking to spend more money. They're looking to cut expenses and to meet the problems we all face today. The American people, I believe, do not support raising the debt. I ran on lower taxes, less government, to cut the spending. That's what my district wants. We don't need to raise the debt ceiling without cutting spending at the same time. That's what it's about. We need to create a net worth in America. I'm looking forward to the debate. We need to bring business principles back to Washington, D.C. May God bless America.