That's right. You know, that kind of thinking has never been good for families. It has never been good for businesses, and it certainly is not good for America. We see where that has left us. Your charts point out that we are on the path…

Well, Mr. Speaker, and to my distinguished colleague from Missouri, thank you so very much for the opportunity to be here. You're exactly right, and you've pointed it out so well. We have a disease here in Washington, and that disease is…

No, I was not. I built a grassroots effort to try to address that problem. We were successful in getting a bill introduced into the Ohio State Legislature to put those sales tax programs in place, but it never made it through the system.

Because what happened was when people got a tax break on things that they had to have, they would channel those savings into buying things that they wanted to have and that they had been saving up for with their families. And other States…

Thanks. You hit the nail on the head. We are punishing the job creators. I mentioned in Ohio, only three States have lost more jobs since that stimulus bill went into effect. Now, I don't know the exact number today, but in November…

Well, what it was, it eliminated sales tax on certain items like back-to-school items, things that people had to have to get their kids back in school, to put them in college and those kinds of things--clothing, school supplies, computers…

Well, you've made so many points there. I'm a businessman. After my military career, I founded two small businesses. Before I came to Congress, I was the chief information officer for a business, a global manufacturing company; and I sat…

Absolutely. Absolutely. And here is what puzzles me: I don't understand why more don't realize that when you let families and businesses keep more of their hard-earned money, that builds economic confidence. That builds buying power. They…

Well, I often ask my constituents, what is our number one job? What is the President's number one job? Is it to keep us safe, or is it to keep us free? And of course you get a number of different hands being raised. In my opinion, based on…

I will just sum up with this, because I think you have hit the nail on the head. We can cure this disease. It's called stopping the out-of-control spending. And at every opportunity, we should seek ways to allow American families and…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today we're debating the repeal of economically damaging legislation that punishes job creators and does nothing to control rising health care costs. We can't afford the $1.2 trillion price…

Today the House of Representatives is debating whether to take a giant step backward by repealing the Affordable Care Act. If we are not going to debate how to improve the health care bill, we should be working to strengthen our economy. A…

The for-profit health care system is the problem. Eight hundred billion dollars every year is spent on corporate profits, stock options, executive salaries, advertising, marketing, and the cost of paperwork. In the for-profit system that…

Before all of the pomp and circumstance of tonight's State dinner honoring Chinese President Hu Jintao, a closed- door meeting took place between President Obama, the Chinese President, and the power brokers from some of the largest global…

I was going out to dinner the other night, and as I was walking in, one of the young folks who was working there walked up to me and said, Sir, can you tell the new leaders in Congress about my story? The story was that he is a 25-year-old…

Everyone knows that insurance companies make money not providing health care. After all, they are in the insurance business; they are not charities. But with as many as 29 million Americans suffering from preexisting conditions, insurance…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart I stand today to support this resolution and to encourage Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her family and all victims of the Arizona shooting. I am in prayer for…

We are one as we pay tribute to Congresswoman Giffords and all the other victims of violence in Tucson. Our gathering reflects the truth of America's first motto, which is above this Chamber, E Pluribus Unum--Out of Many, We Are One. It is…