Erik Paulsen: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I want to just speak for a few minutes in favor of the Republican budget…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I want to just speak for a few minutes in favor of the Republican budget resolution. This is a budget resolution that stands in stark contrast today compared to what the President has offered in his budget. It is a budget that balances. It is a budget that is responsible. It is a budget that is thoughtful. It addresses the spending side of the ledger to be more fiscally responsible, and it also includes, Mr. Chair, a roadmap for progrowth tax reform to create a healthier economy. Yes, we need to spend less, but our national debt and our budget imbalance have grown so big that we can't fix them alone by simply addressing spending. We have also got to grow our economy and put people back to work to bring in more revenue. We are suffering from a growth gap. Normally, the economy doubles every 20 years; but because of excessive Washington spending, budget deficits, high debt, these onerous regulations that come out of Washington, and higher taxes, the economy is now set to double every 30 years; so we have literally added 10 years onto our growth cycle. What does that mean? The growth gap means this, Mr. Chair: it means, for disposable income, since the end of the recession nearly 5 years ago, every man, woman, and child has been robbed of almost $3,200 every year. It means that a family of four has been robbed of about $13,000. That is an additional average of aftertax income and disposable income. That is real money to a family.…”