Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I stand before you today as a self-made businessman with 30 years of experience. I have been fortunate to create thousands of jobs, meet payrolls, and balance budgets.

As the past chairman of the Florida Chamber, which represents 137,000 businesses across Florida, the number one issue 7 years ago when I was chairman and the number one issue today is affordable health care for small businesses.

They are the job creators. They create 70 percent of the jobs. The Business Roundtable says today that the average employee for their family of four is $10,000. This bill does nothing to bring down the costs. In fact, in the next 10 years it's going to go from $10,000 to $30,000.

I was with a pharmacist the other day, a private pharmacist. He employs about 20 to 30 people. We talked about various things. I didn't go there to talk to him about health care; but he brought out his health care bill, just got it, it went up another 22 percent. It went up 20 percent the year before.

I don't know who my friends on the other side are talking to, but most small businesses in Florida that I know, they are very, very concerned about health care and the escalation of the costs going forward. It's a job killer.

With a national unemployment rate at 9.5 and even higher in our State of Florida, this law is going in the wrong direction. We need to be working with small businesses on solutions to help them grow, succeed and provide health care at affordable cost.

They do create, as I mentioned before, 70 percent of the jobs. You can't get the job unless we can help small businesses obtain affordable health care.

Mr. Speaker, despite $14 trillion in debt, Congress continues to waste taxpayers' money.

The Senate is now debating the Senate bill, loaded with more than 6,000 earmarks, including research for maple syrup in Vermont. This barrel of pork totals $8.3 billion.

America's message last month was very clear--stop the reckless spending.

This continued borrowing and spending is putting our country on the road to bankruptcy. Forty-nine out of 50 States have to balance their budgets. Yet, in the last 50 years, we have only managed to balance the Federal budget five times. This has to change.

We need to pass a constitutional balanced budget amendment, and we need to pass it today.

Mr. Chairman, job creation is priority number one. Fourteen million Americans are striving every day to find a job. But what they fail to understand in Washington, to get a job, you've got to promote small business and free enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Seventy percent of all the jobs created in America are created by small business. In my State of Florida, 99 percent of all businesses registered in Tallahassee, our capital, are either small businesses or medium-sized businesses mainly, a couple of hundred employees or less.

To raise taxes in this environment, when many businesses right now are struggling, on the verge of trying to stay open--many of them can't get credit. If we raise the taxes on small businesses--and a lot of people don't realize, a lot of small businesses are subchapter S, LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietorships, so it's all pass-through income to them personally. But raising taxes on small business, they're saying it will affect 48 percent of the businesses if we don't pass this today.

People ask, Why is it that business doesn't have any confidence right now or the confidence they should?

They just don't believe what's happening in Washington. The administration and this Congress, in their mind, and they're right, is very antibusiness.

So if we want to create jobs, the last thing we should be doing is raising taxes on small businesses. If we want to help families and we want to get people back to work, we need to pass this bill and do what we can. No tax increases come January 1.

Mr. Speaker, our national debt is quickly approaching $14 trillion. Yesterday, Congress approved another trillion dollars, funding government next year, without making the necessary cuts.

This spending bill does nothing to reverse the out-of-control spending of the last 2 years. Instead, it continues this incredible growth of borrowing and spending that puts our country on the track to bankruptcy. In the past 50 years, we have only balanced the budget five times.

This has to change. During my first week, I introduced the constitutional balanced budget amendment that says simply we don't spend more than we take in.

We need to pass the constitutional budget amendment, and we need to pass it today.

Mr. Speaker, as our national debt climbs to $14 trillion, on its way to $20 trillion, I commend the President for taking on this new Debt Commission. But the bottom line is for the last 50 years, we've balanced the budget five times out of 50. If you look at 49 out of 50 Governors, they have to balance the budget. If I look at what happens in Florida, they had a $70 billion budget 4 years ago. They've got a $60 billion budget today. But they have to balance their budget. They've got to make the tough choices.

That's why my first week here I introduced a constitutional balanced budget amendment that says simply, we don't spend more than we take in. Small businesses, families, they've got to make the tough choices every day. We don't need to. Why? Because we have the capacity to borrow. That's got to change. Otherwise, we're going to bankrupt America.

We need a constitutional balanced budget amendment today.

Madam Speaker, I want to take this opportunity today to congratulate Reverend Fausto Stampiglia of St. Martha's Church in Sarasota, Florida, for receiving the Holy Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice award from the Roman Catholic Church for his outstanding service to the Church.

Translated, the award means for ``Church and Pope.'' It is the highest honor a priest can receive from the Pope.

Father Stampiglia was presented the award by Bishop Frank J. Dewane, on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, who noted his service and dedication to the people of St. Martha's Parish and to the Diocese of Venice.

Father Stampiglia was installed as pastor of St. Martha's in 1991 and is the head priest of St. Martha Catholic School. He celebrates masses in Vietnamese and the Tridentine Rite and has been a strong supporter of several charitable programs in the Sarasota area.

For the Diocese of Venice, he is currently Dean of the Northern Deanery, Director of the Permanent Diaconate Office and Board, and serves on the College of Consultors, Peer Review Committee and School Board, as well as an ex-officio member of the Presbyteral Council.

On behalf of the many individuals and families he has faithfully served within Florida's 13th District, I thank Father Stampiglia for his service to his church and community.

It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge he has rightfully received this prestigious award.

Madam Speaker, today, I want to congratulate the Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Charity Assembly 3089 of Sarasota, Florida, for receiving the Knights of Columbus ``To Be a Patriot'' Award for its service to our Nation's veterans.

The ``To Be a Patriot'' Award recognizes the three best international patriotic programs conducted by Fourth Degree assemblies. Assembly 3089 received the 2009-2010 award for its assistance at indigent funerals within the Sarasota National Cemetery.

The assembly was recognized for its efforts to ensure that every indigent buried at Sarasota National Cemetery has someone available at their funeral to accept the U.S. Flag. During the ceremony, an assembly member dressed in tuxedo with the social baldric voluntarily accepts the veteran's flag as a show of honor to those who selflessly served in our military.

On behalf of the people of Florida's 13th District, I thank Our Lady of Charity Assembly 3089 for helping to ensure that our veterans are laid to rest with the honor and dignity these heroes deserve.

It is with great pleasure that I acknowledge it has rightfully received this prestigious award.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about this tax debate, it needs to be less about politics and more about doing what's right for the American people. On January 1, everybody's taxes are going to go up $3.9 trillion overall. The lowest tax bracket goes from 15 percent to 25 percent. A family of four, $1,540.

Most importantly, everybody is talking about jobs and the economy. It's the number one issue in our area. We have 13 percent unemployment. They are looking at raising taxes on small business. They create 70 percent of the jobs. I know personally that it will have a huge impact, as someone who was an employer for 30 years and created thousands of jobs.

We are in the worst recession since the Depression. We don't need a tax increase today. We need to take the politics out of this and do everything that we can in the best interests of the American people. We need to extend all the tax cuts.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend I had an opportunity in my community, Sarasota, Florida, to talk to a couple hundred people, working families and small businesses. They've had to cut their expenses 20, 30 percent, but yet Congress is incapable of cutting its own expenses.

First 206 years, the history of our country, we accumulated a trillion dollars. The last 9 months we accumulated a trillion dollars. Last year was a trillion and a half dollar deficit. You would think after last year we would cut the expenses, no. But this year, another trillion and a half dollar deficit. Next year they're projecting another trillion and a half dollar deficit.

You can talk about Greece. We're the next Greece. We have to have a constitutional balanced budget amendment. It's a bill I introduced my first year here. It just says simply you can't spend more than you take in. We need a constitutional balanced budget amendment now.

Mr. Speaker, America is struggling under the weight of its debt and a failing economy. Worse, Washington isn't listening.

One of two new tools that we're trying to put forth, and I think they're great opportunities for the American people, is America Speaking Out. I will be doing a town hall this Saturday in my community in Sarasota to be able to pick up their ideas, identify the challenges, and with the ideas we gather, these ideas across the country, put forth an agenda for the American people this fall.

The other tool that I think is very effective is YouCut. These are two different sites. You go on and make your suggestions heard. Our debt today is at $13.6 trillion. We're expected to go to $20 trillion. We've got to find a way to balance the budget. We would like to get your ideas as it relates to this.

I encourage all Americans to go to these two sites. Anyone that's interested could visit my Web site, buchanan.house.gov. They're available there. We need to start listening to the American people. We need your ideas.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege today to introduce and thank Dr. John Cross, who gave the opening prayer. The Senior Pastor at South Biscayne Church in Florida, he represents a county that I'm in, my largest county, Sarasota County, in North Port, our largest city. He is joined by his lovely wife, Dawn, and their five children. As a matter of fact, they are celebrating their anniversary.

Dr. Cross is a very innovative, spiritual leader. I've seen him many times on Friday nights in his jeans and T-shirt working with the youth in our community. He's taken a church from 150 people to over 2,000. He has one of the largest churches in our community. He is serving his second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

I commend Dr. Cross for his longstanding service, and it is a pleasure to have him and his family today. God bless.

Madam Speaker, this week, I introduced the Oil Spill Prevention Act of 2010. This Deepwater spill is the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. My bill would prevent future disasters from happening.

Number one, we want to reform the Interior Department by separating revenues--a structural separation of revenues in leasing from inspections. In other words, we've got people that are doing the leases on the revenue side cutting deals on environmental exemptions.

Second, strengthen the oversight of inspections. Sixteen inspections were missed with BP. That's got to stop with BP and the industry. We need to reschedule and make sure every safety inspection is done.

Three, eliminate the liability caps on major oil spills. Today, it's at $75 million. That's a joke. This is going to be tens of billions of dollars to fix.

We need to act now. I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support my bill and we'll eliminate spills.

Madam Speaker, the national debt now exceeds $13 trillion. It took 206 years to get the first trillion dollars of national debt; the last trillion it took 6 months. If you took 13 trillion dollars and stacked them next to each other, you could go to Jupiter and back.

We talk about Greece and their challenges. We are the next Greece if we don't balance the budget and get serious about our national debt and our deficits. Last year, $1.4 trillion in deficit; this year, we are expected to exceed $1.5 trillion. We need to balance the budget now.

My first year, 3\1/2\ years ago, I introduced a balanced budget amendment that just says we don't spend more than we take in. We need to do that or we are going to be the next Greece.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to adopt an ironclad moratorium on all new drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico.

Recent reports are saying 17 new permits have been granted since the explosion in the gulf. It is also shocking to find out 19 environmental waivers have been issued since then. Over 6 million gallons have now poured into the gulf, and every day, it continues--250,000 gallons-plus a day.

The Washington Post reported today that the Minerals Management Service officials get paid a cash bonus when they close these deals with the big oil companies. They're not working for the American people. They've got a pay plan. They're working for the oil companies.

We need to halt all permits for oil, new and otherwise, until we cap this well.

Mr. Speaker, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico they claim is going to be the largest ecological disaster in the history of the country. Over 3 million barrels of oil have already leaked into the Gulf, 200,000 gallons a day. They say they might not have a fix for another 30 days.

Numerous experts have talked to me because I am concerned, I am from counties that have beautiful beaches, Sarasota, Manatee Counties, that this couldn't happen, they had the technology, it's not possible, but yet here we are today.

I can tell you that we need to focus all our resources, there is plenty of blame to go around, in stopping this now, not another 30 days. This will impact all of Florida, a lot of region.

I stand here to do everything I can with everybody else to make sure we plug the hole today. Also we need to continue to fight in Florida against drilling off our beaches.