Ted Poe: “Many, many years ago the second American Revolution took place when Washington, D.C., was invaded by the British in the…”

“Many, many years ago the second American Revolution took place when Washington, D.C., was invaded by the British in the War of 1812. Many forget that the Capitol, the White House, and Washington, D.C., were burned to the ground by the British. And after the War of 1812 was over with, America found itself in a situation that's not unfamiliar with us today. America was out of money. So what did people decide to do here in this body of Congress about how to get more money into the Federal Treasury? They thought of a unique approach that maybe we ought to think of and do today. Right now we talk about raising taxes, cutting spending, and we need more revenue. Maybe we ought to think outside of the box when it comes to revenue instead of more government taking from the people and giving it to its special groups. Let's do what they did at the end of the War of 1812. The Federal Government decided that it would sell some of the land to Americans--what a novel thought--and let Americans own America. They could produce that land, and then they could pay more taxes. And that's what they did at the end of the War of 1812. We talk about the land in America. Who is the biggest landowner in this country? Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam owns 27 percent of the land mass in the United States. This poster here shows the land area in red, including Alaska, that is owned by the Federal Government, Uncle Sam. Twenty-seven percent of the land!…”