On the recordFebruary 2, 2012
I yield myself such time as I may consume. I just want to begin by thanking the folks on the Budget Committee who made it possible to bring this bill to the floor tonight: Nicole Foltz, Jon Burks, Paul Restuccia, Jon Romito, and on my staff, Nick Myers. This is a team effort, and it was led by the gentleman from Texas, Louie Gohmert, who has been working on this issue year after year after year, but he could not find a Budget Committee chairman who was willing to prioritize process--and process matters. I've learned in my 1 year here as a Congressman, Mr. Speaker, that we spend a lot of time arguing about process. If we could find that common ground on process, we could get on to the substance. This is one of those issues. I'd like to associate myself with the comments of the gentleman from Maryland. He says the question is: How do we put together an accurate picture of the budget process for the American people? That is exactly the right question to ask. When I ask that question of my constituents back home, they say, Rob, cut out those phony numbers of automatic increases every year. We absolutely agree on the question, Mr. Speaker. It's how you answer the question that divides us. As the minority whip said earlier, this isn't a bill that deals with our priorities for spending. Our appropriators are going to do that. This isn't a bill that cuts one penny. This is a bill that changes the way we measure the pennies that get cut. I will say to you, Mr.…
