But it is not a question of them not being allowed to be spent. It is a question of them being spent in the same way that it has been spent since the existence of the trust fund in 1956.

this amendment takes into account the problem of the accumulated interest that is now in the highway trust fund in the amount of $19 billion. Again, the question is, should Congress, in past general fund appropriations for highway…

1\1/2\ minutes is not very long. Let me tell you my version of why this is not a good bill. Mr. Chairman, everybody is for using the gas tax receipts that go into the trust fund for the purpose of highway construction. I am for that. Let…

I would just like to briefly carry on the discussion of how much power has been transferred from Congress to the President. Article I, section 9 of the Constitution says that Congress shall control the purse strings. Article 1 of section…

Mr. Speaker, what this bill does is increases the debt of the United States by $600 billion. At 5-percent interest, that is another $30 billion a year that taxpayers will have to pay. I think it is unconscionable to continue to increase…

Day after tomorrow, on Thursday, this Congress is expected to pass its 78th increase in the debt ceiling of this country. Seventy-seven times, so far, we have increased the debt ceiling since the 1940's. We are now at $4.9 trillion of…

the vote on repeal of assault weapons is not an easy vote. The reason is there are strong philosophical and practical arguments on both sides. On the one hand, we have the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution which protects the…

I think we should sort of start with positive news, and the good news is that the President gave us a budget that balances in 7 years. Mr. Speaker, I was trying to remember what was happening just 2 years ago, what the Democrats, what the…

I also have been reading the President's budget that he gave us yesterday. I am very upset. If we look at what the President does, for example, on tax increases, he increases taxes $232 billion more than the Republican proposal. Then look…

Mr. Speaker, we need some good common sense on how Congress regains control over spending, and I brought this chart this morning to sort of portray what the almost crisis is as Congress, over the last 30 or 40 years, has lost control of…

They say, ``Look, you've got to do better than this.'' Is it not sad that we cannot get some of the liberals, the President of the United States, to say, Yes, we are going to do the right for the future and we are going to stop playing…

So what we have said is such things as a child born today is going to have to pay $187,000 in their lifetime just to pay their share of the interest on the national debt.

Now, the little young tots in that family of four are going to be obligated to account for that money later on in their lives. No. 1, it is immoral. No. 2, balancing the budget is going to strengthen the economy.

Just to pay their share of the interest. It is time everybody, that is, however you want to put it, you are a young man relatively, I would say to the gentleman from Connecticut [Mr. Shays], but everybody had better start looking at what…

Let me show you where that is on this little pie chart. That is the little red section on this pie chart that represents the 12 appropriation bills other than the defense appropriation bills. This is where Congress has control. If we do…

The blue part represents these welfare entitlement programs. A majority of Congress cannot reduce these programs and change spending without the consent of the President, and the President has now vetoed changes in the Food Stamp Program…

If we say that all of the other taxpayers of the United States should contribute to help solve this problem, then it seems reasonable that all of the needs that are going to be considered for environmental cleanup be considered with the…

I am for a free market. If you are for a free market for dairy farmers and dairy products, then you vote against the Solomon amendment. The producers organizations across the country from coast to coast have now endorsed the committee…

a challenge is facing this country, and I think there is excellent news for our future, for families, for wages that give families a decent living, if we make some simple changes down here in Washington. Washington cannot do everything…

Is that not amazing? And I am going to give an example for some folks down in Hillsdale County, where the homes are a little less. If you had a $50,000 home and you ended up having--you had a mortgage that lasted over 30 years, it would…

As I talked to my colleagues, there is an impression that farmers are rich and therefore do not need any help. I think it would be good if I just covered how some of the farmers in my district live. Most of the farmers average 320 acres, a…

this morning the headlines on the Congress Daily, the little newspaper that goes out on the Hill every day, says Senator Domenici recommends that the increase in the debt ceiling be used as leverage to make sure we get on a glidepath to a…

I just sort of handed out this sheet to both sides as a reminder to us that we have not given clean debt ceiling increases. So it seems like tonight, with this clean increase in borrowing authority for the Federal Government to make sure…

the Secretary of Treasury has repeatedly warned of the impending collapse of our financial system if Republicans did not give up on their quest for a balanced budget and simply increase the debt limit. His lack of credibility is now…

I think we should mention that the President has now vetoed two debt limit increases. There is not a Member on this floor that has ever voted for a clean debt limit increase. I pause, because is it not sad that they are doing so much…