[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 62 (Thursday, May 18, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H2875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FISCAL DISCIPLINE

  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take Mr. Jones' 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from North 
Carolina is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to talk about fiscal 
discipline. This House proudly passed a conservative budget last night 
with not a single vote from the opposition party. We passed a good 
budget last night that brings our Nation in the right direction.
  Ronald Reagan correctly stated it, that we don't have deficits 
because people are taxed too little; we have deficits because big 
government spends too much. And our House budget that we passed last 
night, in essence, freezes non-defense discretionary spending, which is 
a strong thing to do, especially when we have government that is so out 
of control.
  We have stopped the excesses that have been put in place over 
previous generations. Beyond that, we have put in place $6.8 billion 
worth of entitlement reforms that are going to move our budget in the 
right direction.
  It also prevents tax increases which the opposition party wants to 
put in place. Tax increases on capital gains, on dividends, on income, 
all the income tax cuts President Bush put in place over the last 5 
years. Beyond that, it reforms AMT for another year, which is a good 
thing.

                              {time}  2230

  But beyond that it extends the tax reforms we put in place in 2001, 
2003, and President Bush is responsible for, again with no votes from 
the Democrats.
  Let us talk about what this version of tax simplification has done 
that this President has put in place. It has benefited every American 
who pays taxes. Now, Mr. Speaker, there are some on the other side of 
the aisle, some Democrats, who say that President Bush gave a sop to 
the wealthy. Well, Mr. Speaker, I am happy to say that if you pay taxes 
in this country, you received a tax cut because of President Bush and 
the Republican Congress. However, if you do not pay taxes, if you do 
not pay taxes, you did not receive a tax cut.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I know there may be people in America who hear that 
and say that is ridiculous. If you do not pay taxes, you cannot receive 
a tax cut. But, indeed, that is what the Democrats and the liberals in 
this body are fighting for is giving a tax cut to those people who do 
not even pay taxes. I know it is nutty sounding. That is liberal lunacy 
for you. But these tax cuts put in place over the last 5 years have 
created 5.2 million new jobs and 138,000 new jobs were created in April 
alone, indeed moving in the right direction. And the budget we passed 
actually reduces the deficit, cuts it in half by 2011. That is a very 
good thing over the next 5 years, cutting it in half.
  Beyond that, Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that I voted for the 
Republican Study Committee, the conservatives in the House, and our 
version of budget reform. It was called the Contract with America 
Renewed. And a dear friend of mine, a good friend of mine, Mike Pence 
of Indiana, helped craft this budget along with Jeb Hensarling of 
Texas, and I am very proud and honored to have voted with them and to 
be a cosponsor of this conservative budget alternative.
  And do you know what that budget did? Unfortunately, it had zero 
votes from the opposition on the other side of this body, but what it 
did was eliminate our budget deficit over the next 5 years and bring us 
to balance. That is what we need to have a debate on. How do we bring 
our budget back to balance? We on this side of the aisle want to cut 
excessive government spending, put some bureaucrats out of work, and 
let the American people keep more of what they earn. The Democrats' 
alternative is to raise your taxes. And I say that to every taxpaying 
American, Mr. Speaker.
  But let me tell you this Republican Congress is getting ahold of the 
fiscal excesses of the past here in Washington, DC. For 40 years, Mr. 
Speaker, for 40 years, Washington, DC was governed with the mindset of 
more government is good, and we as the Republican Congress have to get 
ahold of this out-of-control bureaucracy, out of this out-of-control 
government excesses and bring us back to balance. And that is what this 
Republican Congress is doing, and I am proud to be fighting alongside 
my conservative brethren, the men and women in this House that want 
fiscal sanity.




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