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I think it is appropriate to mention the only reason this really came to the forefront and has become an issue is because the Election Assistance Commission Chairman, DeForest Soaries, proposed a possibility of a policy for allowing the…
I oppose H.R. 2828, the California Water Bill because it preauthorizes wasteful projects. It forces federal taxpayers to pick up more than a $1.5 billion tab for a California-only project. It would not prevent taxpayers from getting stuck…
If it says that the $20 million is going to be withheld unless and until there is full cooperation by the United Nations and participating countries releasing available information on the Oil-for-Food program?
Well, Mr. Chairman, let me just say that this is cut from one of the largest expenditures in the United Nations appropriations, that is, to the contributions to international organizations. I think the American taxpayer in general is not…
Reclaiming my time, although I support the intention of the chairman of the Committee on Small Business, my concern would be where the money comes from. So, in the MEP program, it is already sacrificing, and this also takes funds out of…
I wore my Adam Smith tie this morning because today we are going to talk about some ways that might help us give discipline to ourselves on how much money we spend and how much overpromising we do. Two areas. One, I am from a farm in…
H. Con. Res. 409 resolves that Congress recognizes with humble gratitude the more than 16 million veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces during World War II and the Americans who supported the war effort on the home front…
It is a whole different 1-hour debate and discussion; but just, for example, one country, we have $100 billion deficit trade with China, and what does China do with that extra $100 billion? They probably invest it in our companies, or buy…
The debt is $7 trillion divided by about 290 million. It comes out to almost $25,000 for every man, woman and child in terms of their share of the debt.
How do we change? How do we develop the kind of discipline, intestinal fortitude to start slowing down this huge growth of government to the extent that we have decided we will simply borrow more and more money to take home to our…
And, Mr. Speaker, of course the lobbyists that come in, they would prefer that it be mandatory spending; so some of these programs, if they can write it in law that if they meet certain qualifications, they automatically get it and it does…
Right now interest is 14 percent of the budget. Defense is 20 percent of the budget. It is easy to at least assume there is a good possibility that the very low interest rates today could double. That would mean $440 billion a year, or 28…
This pie chart shows that currently the interest that we are paying on the debt, servicing the debt, the interest is $240 billion a year. This represents 14 percent of the budget. Yet interest rates are almost at record low levels, and so…
Members are pretending that our problems today are so important that it justifies taking the money that our kids and grandkids have not even earned yet. It is sort of like breaking into their piggy bank and saying I will try and pay you…
Our forefathers thought they were putting a little safeguard on it when they said if you ever increase the debt limit of this country, you have to vote in the House and the Senate, and it has to be signed by the President. They thought…
I hope Members are watching this just as a reminder of what we have done to try to not embarrass ourselves as we sort of secretly increase the debt.
Tom Savings, an actuary with both Medicare and Social Security, came to my office a couple of weeks ago. This is what he said where our promises exceed our ability to pay for it, unfunded liabilities: Medicare part A, $21 trillion…
Yes, we have had many conversations about Social Security including the stealing of the extra trust fund surplus that has been coming in. We have never been quite square with the American people.
Actually, ``may'' is the exact language of the amendment. So it is a decision of the Federal Prison System whether they do the sole source contracting for their own use. So it still leaves flexibility, but it allows the prison system to…
I would like to commend the Bush administration, and Robert Zelnick, our trade ambassador, for holding the line and not giving away things just for the sake of more world trade that eventually might have hurt our manufacturing business and…
Social Security. I am disappointed that there are only about 22 people that have ever sponsored legislation to help solve the Social Security problem, probably one of the greater challenges that we have faced in this country as far as…
Supplemental appropriation bills are too often used to fund expenses that can, on average, be predicted. They allow politicians to keep the annual appropriation budgets at a level that is less objectionable to fiscal conservatives. In…
Just a very important point, I think bovine spongiform encephalitis, BSE, has never been found in the United States. We have the most strict meat inspection in the world, and if we pass this resolution the danger is that we complicate the…
Let me just say that as a farmer, the value of farmland has increased dramatically. That means an average 500-acre farm in many of the Midwest areas is now worth more than the $3 million allowed in this substitute. That means that a farm…
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