On the recordMay 17, 2012
I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, there is hypocrisy here, and there is also great faith in ignorance on the part of the public. We have in this defense budget, it's $8.3 billion above what was agreed to in the Budget Control Act last year, and now he says that's not enough. Under the Ryan budget, the entire discretionary expenditures in the United States will go down eventually to 3.5 percent of GDP from 12.5 percent. Since Governor Romney says defense should not go below 4 percent, that means minus one-half percent for everything else government does--less than zero for the post office, for transportation, for education, for the Weather Bureau, for NASA. For everything government does other than Social Security, Medicare and veterans and debt service--zero dollars. That's where this budget that the other side of the aisle is espousing and has voted for to a person leads us, to zero dollars for all government functions other than defense and veterans. The Acting CHAIR. All time having expired, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Rigell). The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
