[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 27, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3170-H3176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ANNUAL BUDGET DEBATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, tonight we start an important debate 
that we have here each year in this Nation, and that is a debate over 
the annual budget. I know for a lot of people, Mr. Speaker, this is a 
debate about numbers, kind of a green-shade visor exercise, but 
frankly, it is a lot more than that. It has a lot to do with values. It 
has a lot to do with principles.

                              {time}  2145

  And it is a debate that the American people need to pay very close 
attention to. Clearly, we know the results of the last election: there 
is a new majority party. The Democrat majority has taken control, which 
they have not had in 12 years. They won the election fair and square. 
But, Mr. Speaker, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
  I have the pleasure and honor of serving on the House Budget 
Committee, and just this last week the Democrats voted out their budget 
that has the single largest tax increase in American history in it. 
Now, Mr. Speaker, the last time that the Democrats had control of the 
House, guess what they did, they passed the single largest tax increase 
in American history. Again, the more things change, the more they stay 
the same. The single largest tax increase in American history. Mr. 
Speaker, people have to know what this is going to mean to them.
  I have the honor and privilege of representing people in the Fifth 
District of Texas. It starts out in the city of Dallas, takes in the 
southeast Dallas County suburbs, and six really great east Texas 
counties full of small business people and agricultural producers. For 
the people in the State of Texas, for the people in the Fifth District 
of Texas, that is going to mean an additional tax burden for the 
average family of four of $2,700 a year. That is $2,700 a year, Mr. 
Speaker, that could have gone into funding the family budget that is 
instead going to go into funding the Federal budget. And every time, 
every time that we increase that Federal budget, we are taking money 
away from some valuable family budget.
  Now, we are always going to hear from our colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, the Democrats, that these vital investments are 
needed for housing programs and for nutritional programs and health 
care programs. And certainly we need a social safety net. But, Mr. 
Speaker, this isn't really a debate about how much we spend on these 
vital programs. The real question is, who is going to do the spending? 
Democrats believe government should do the spending. We believe that 
families should do the spending. And when it comes to my constituents 
in the State of Texas, they need that $2,700. They need that $2,700 to 
help send a child to college, to help finance higher education. They 
need that $2,700 to

[[Page H3171]]

make a down payment on their first home and help realize the great 
American Dream for their family. They need that $2,700 a year to help 
with long-term care for an elderly parent. I mean, these are the 
priorities of American families.
  Where do we believe that somehow we have all this perfect knowledge 
in Washington, D.C.? I mean, Mr. Speaker, how much is enough? The 
single largest tax increase in American history is now being proposed 
by the Democrats, and what is this going to do? What is this going to 
do to families all across America? Every family in America who is 
paying attention to this debate ought to go and look at their 
checkbook, and every night, every week they have to get around that 
kitchen table and they have to make priorities, something that Congress 
isn't particularly good at, and they have to decide how they are going 
to meet their bills.
  And yet here is the Democrat majority saying, well, we need an extra 
$2,700 a year from your family because we know better than you do about 
the health care you need and the education you need. You can't handle 
that yourself. We need to do it for you.
  That is just one difference, one difference that we have. Because in 
the Republican budget, we know the American people work hard for their 
money. We know they roll up their sleeves and work hard to put food on 
the table to feed their family, to put a roof over their family's head.
  There is no tax increase on the poor beleaguered taxpayer, no tax 
increase on American families, no tax increase on small businesses in 
the Republican budget. But what do you find in the Democrat budget? The 
single largest tax increase in American history.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, I have been joined by a number of my colleagues 
tonight who know a lot about what this Democrat budget would mean to 
their constituents and would mean to their people back home. I am very 
happy that we are joined by the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. 
Foxx), and I would like to yield to her to get her perspective on this 
single largest tax increase in American history.
  Ms. FOXX. I thank you, Congressman Hensarling. And I want to thank 
you for setting the stage for this discussion tonight. As you said, it 
is the beginning of many times when we need to be bringing this issue 
up. I also want to thank you for your leadership of the Republican 
Study Committee, our party group of conservatives that raises issues 
every day here on the floor and in committee meetings on the things 
that the American people believe in and that we fight for every day.
  Let me reiterate some of what you said and then add some points about 
North Carolina and raise some other issues that you have not yet gotten 
to.
  As you said, under the assumptions in this proposed budget, we will 
see the largest tax increase in our Nation's history. And I think we 
need to keep saying that over and over and over again. The Democrat 
budget increases taxes by $392.5 billion over 5 years, shattering their 
last record tax increase of $240 billion in 1993. In fact, they would 
raise taxes, increase taxes by $231 billion in 2012 alone. But the hits 
just keep coming; and as you pointed out, it is the same playbook that 
they used in 2003 all over again.
  It is more than just a reckless policy that endangers the strength of 
our economy; it is a cause for serious concern for the livelihood of 
the constituents of the Fifth District in North Carolina and, in fact, 
people all over North Carolina. We would see in North Carolina more 
than 3 million taxpayers whose bills would go up. And it wouldn't be 
just a little bump, either. The average tax increase for the 3.1 
million North Carolinians would be $2,671. That is a lot of money.
  This stark reality underscores the truth of my Democrat colleagues' 
approach to the Federal budget. They know that the more money they can 
get out of Americans' pockets, the more money they can spend to expand 
the Federal Government. That is not what we need. This approach is 
completely backwards. We should be looking first to put money back into 
taxpayers' pockets, not taking it out.

  Furthermore, this current budget proposal is a squandered opportunity 
to reform spiraling Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid costs and 
to give Americans the permanent tax relief they deserve. Instead, it 
allows widespread tax increase that hit middle-income families, low-
income earners, families with children, small businesses, and others.
  Some people would see more than a 100 percent increase in their 
taxes. For example, an elderly couple with $40,000 in income would see 
a tax increase of 156 percent in 2011, from $583 to $1,489. And a 
family of four with $60,000 in income would have a tax bill that would 
rise from $3,030 to $4,893 in 2011, an increase of more than $1,850, or 
61 percent.
  And these increases are no accident. The Democrats were warned. 
During budget markup I know that my colleagues introduced many 
amendments which were all rejected, and these would have prevented the 
tax increases. But they would not listen.
  But the budget proposal again isn't a real surprise. It is business 
as usual for the Democrats and proves that their promises to be 
fiscally responsible are just empty rhetoric. If this budget is 
approved, it will signal a return to the Democrats' beloved tax and 
spend model for government.
  If you take a look also at the more than $20 billion in pork that was 
added to last week's troop emergency funding bill, it becomes crystal 
clear where the Democrats stand on spending. And, worse, they prove 
they don't mind using our troops as bargaining chips.
  Democrats have willfully abandoned their pledge of fiscal 
responsibility. We have talked about it before. They are being very 
hypocritical in terms of what they promised and what they have done. 
They pledged to follow pay-as-you-go spending rules and spending 
restraint to curb the deficit. And then we get this budget which would 
give us again the largest tax increase in the history of this country 
and ignore the larger consequences for our economy.
  These tax increase are going to threaten to reverse the substantial 
deficit reduction that has occurred in the past several years. We have 
increased tax revenue from 16.5 percent of GDP in 2003 to 18.5 percent 
this year, exceeding the average percentage of the past 4 decades. This 
is a result of those tax cuts that we passed. Tax revenue grew by 14.6 
percent in 2005, 11.5 percent in 2006, and already 9.3 percent in the 
first 5 months of fiscal 2007. This revenue growth was the principle 
factor in reducing the budget deficit from $412.7 billion in 2004 to an 
estimated $214 billion this year, according to the Congressional Budget 
Office.
  Let me give just a couple more examples of again how people are 
directly going to be affected by this tax increase and to show the 
hypocrisy of the Democrats who say all the time that they are trying to 
help low-income and middle-income people. It will raise the 10 percent 
tax rate bracket to 15 percent. This will give a tax increase to 5 
million individuals and families who don't pay taxes now but would 
become subject to the individual income tax in 2011 if the Democrats 
are successful in raising the 10 percent tax bracket to 15 percent. It 
eliminates the marriage penalty relief that we have had; 23 million 
taxpayers would see their taxes increase on average by $466. It cuts 
the child tax credit in half; 31 million taxpayers would see their 
taxes increase on average by $859 in 2011.
  Every working American would be affected by the Democrats' tax hike. 
We have to bring this message to the American public and show them why 
the Republicans are fighting so hard against this budget that is going 
to be brought up by the Democrats.
  And, again, Congressman Hensarling, I applaud your efforts through 
the RSC and through the Budget Committee for helping us put together 
this Special Order and giving these facts about the largest single tax 
increase in American history being proposed by the Democrats.
  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentlewoman for her leadership in this 
body on issues that are important to taxpayers of America and taxpayers 
of North Carolina.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, we are very privileged tonight to have Republican 
members of the House Budget Committee and members of the Republican 
Study Committee, the conservative caucus within Congress, Congress' 
largest caucus, made up of people who want to further the conservative 
cause of

[[Page H3172]]

more freedom and more opportunity and limited government and 
accountable government, and people who understand that every time we 
inflate the Federal budget we are taking money away from the family 
budget.
  Again, this single largest tax increase in history that the Democrats 
are proposing may fuel their vision of Big Government, but it doesn't 
do much to help fuel the budgets of families throughout our Nation, 
including some families in the State of Nebraska.
  And I am very happy that we have been joined by one of the 
outstanding freshmen Members within our GOP ranks. At this time I would 
yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Hensarling). It is good to be here this evening as we discuss, I 
believe, an important aspect of our future.
  Later this week we will begin debating the majority party's budget 
resolution. It promises to balance the budget by 2012 without raising 
taxes and with significant increases in both discretionary and 
mandatory spending. Basic math tells me this is impossible.
  The majority party's budget assumes the expiration of all of the 2001 
and 2003 tax cuts by adding those revenues into the budget over time to 
bring it into balance. Chasing higher spending with higher taxes, Mr. 
Speaker, will fail to address the unsustainable growth of government 
and will undo everything our economy has accomplished.

                              {time}  2200

  Even as our Nation faced tremendous challenges over the past few 
years, the strategy of economic growth through tax relief has delivered 
significant deficit reductions, including job growth.
  If we are to raise taxes to balance the budget, entitlements would 
quickly drive us right back into the deficit, just at a higher level of 
taxing and spending.
  With the retirement of the massive baby-boom generation looming, this 
situation will grow more serious, not less so. Most importantly, 
however, from an agricultural point of view, the majority party's 
budget promises more than $110 billion in increased mandatory spending 
in selected issue areas. They address this by creating 10 so-called 
reserve funds for specific items like health care, education and the 
farm bill. Agriculture gets a $20 billion ``reserve'' fund to be 
released at the discretion of the Budget Committee chairman. Sounds 
like a good deal, well, until you read the details.
  This farm bill reserve fund can only be made available if the farm 
bill would not increase the deficit or decrease the surplus through 
2017. In other words, to get the $20 billion, it must be offset by 
spending cuts or tax increases. This is either a shell game to give the 
impression of increased funding with no substance, or it is part of a 
larger plan leading to tax hikes, and I believe it is a part of a 
larger plan that would lead to the largest tax increase in American 
history.
  It is interesting to note that in Nebraska this tax hike would cost 
the average Nebraskan, with over 656,000 taxpayers in Nebraska, an 
average of over $2,800 per taxpayer. My friends in Wyoming, almost 
$3,200 per taxpayer. My neighbors in Colorado over $3,000; Kansas, 
almost $2,900; South Dakota, almost $2,600 per taxpayer.
  What concerns me the most, Mr. Speaker, is that sitting through 
several long hearings in the Budget Committee because it is certainly 
an important topic, we heard from the experts, and I would say the 
experts of the experts, who gave us clear warnings that we must reform 
entitlements.
  The Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr. Bernanke, in the Budget Committee 
on February 28, 2007, said, ``Without early and meaningful action to 
address the rapid growth of entitlements, the U.S. economy could be 
seriously weakened, with future generations bearing much of the cost.''
  The Comptroller General, Mr. David Walker, also in a Budget Committee 
hearing, on January 23 stated, ``Health care is the number one fiscal 
challenge for the Federal and State governments. It is the number one 
competitiveness challenge for American business, and it is a growing 
challenge for American families. If there is one thing that can 
bankrupt America, it is health care. We need dramatic and fundamental 
reforms.''
  Mr. Walker went on to say on ``60 Minutes'' that the rising cost of 
government entitlements are a fiscal cancer that threatens catastrophic 
consequences for our country and could bankrupt America.
  Even the Democrat chairman of the Senate Budget Committee has 
acknowledged, ``It is always easier to defer, to kick the can down the 
road to avoid making choices.''
  Mr. Speaker, I rise with great concern about our future. I am 
concerned that when it comes to fiscal policies we have ignored the 
past, we haven't learned our lessons, and that we expect spending into 
prosperity, taxing into prosperity, and there is a law of diminishing 
returns. We know that is not a sustainable situation, and we have to 
practice fiscal responsibility because what concerns me the most is 
that the more we delay the decision, the tougher the decision becomes.
  I know as we look at this budget and the revenues it necessitates are 
not sustainable with those policies. I rise out of great concern and 
look forward to a good, hearty debate as we address these issues that 
are so important to middle-class America.
  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman for his contribution. I thank 
him for his leadership within the freshman class.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, people need to know that once a year we come 
together and as a Nation debate what the Federal budget ought to be. 
There are clearly those who think that the American people are 
undertaxed, and I suppose that is why the Democrats have proposed the 
largest single tax increase in American history.
  But talking to working mothers in the Fifth Congressional District of 
Texas, talking to small business people and talking to farmers and 
ranchers, they don't seem to think that they are undertaxed. They think 
that Washington spends too much. But, instead, the Democrat response is 
almost $400 billion of tax increase. Nationwide, that is about $2,400, 
$2,500 per family of four that is going to be taken out of the family 
budget and put into the Federal budget if they succeed in their largest 
single tax increase in American history.
  They are going to eliminate the marriage penalty relief. They are 
going to bring back the marriage penalty so people who fall in love and 
get married have to pay more taxes than if the two were single.
  They are going to cut the child tax credit in half. They are going to 
cut it in half as working families and working mothers all over America 
are struggling to meet the needs of their children and of child care.
  And for the working poor, this one is so hard to believe, but for the 
working poor in the 10 percent bracket, they are going to raise their 
taxes 50 percent. Fifty percent, Mr. Speaker, on the working poor and 
take them back to the 15 percent bracket.
  Where does it all end?
  I myself hail from the Lone Star State of Texas. We are what is known 
as a sales tax State. We do not have a State income tax. We are very 
blessed that we do not have one. Yet there has been this inequity in 
the Tax Code that allows taxpayers who come from a State income tax 
State to deduct their taxes, but for those of us from a sales tax 
State, we don't have that benefit.
  Well, the Republicans knew that was not equitable, and we passed tax 
relief so all Americans would enjoy tax relief, whether or not they are 
from a sales tax State or a State income tax State. Now under the 
Democrats' plan, under the single largest tax increase in America's 
history, they are going to bring back the penalty if you happen to hail 
from one of these sales tax States.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that we are joined tonight by another 
Member who comes from one of those sales tax States, one of the great 
leaders of the Republican Study Committee, one of the co-authors of the 
American Taxpayer Bill of Rights. At this time I yield to the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank you so much. I am really appreciative that 
you have mentioned sales tax deductibility. As the gentleman from Texas 
knows, that is something that I worked feverishly and diligently to 
have passed when I came to this body in 2003, restoring that 
deductibility of sales tax to our Federal income tax filing for

[[Page H3173]]

those of us who live in non-State income tax States.
  Now whether you are from Washington State or from Nevada or from 
Texas or from Florida or Tennessee, my home State, you have been able 
to enjoy a sizable deduction. Our colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle, the Democrats, are willing to do away with that as they go about 
passing the largest tax increase in American history, the single 
largest tax increase in American history. They are going to do it all 
in one bill and all with one fell swoop.
  You know, as I have listened to the debate on both sides of the aisle 
gathering around this budget, it has reminded me of something that we 
have talked about on this floor before, Mr. Speaker, and it is that the 
budget should reflect the priorities of the people of this great 
Nation, not the priorities of government.
  Mr. Speaker, what we have right before us is a classic liberal elite 
bureaucratic document. It is all about growing the bureaucracy. It is 
about power to Washington, D.C., and not power to the people in our 
districts. It is clear as day. I am really kind of glad that the 
Democrats have brought this budget forward. It defines so clearly the 
priorities of our parties.

                              {time}  2210

  Are you for the bureaucracy or are you for the people? Are you for 
tax relief or are you for tax increases? Are you for middle class, 
hardworking Americans or are you for the liberal elites? Are you for 
those liberal elites that want to tell you they are smarter than you 
and they ought to be telling you exactly how to spend your money or are 
you for the taxpayers that are right now sitting at home at their 
kitchen table trying to figure out how much they owe the IRS and they 
are looking at the end of the month coming up and they have more month 
left over than they have money left in that checking account and it is 
because they know the government never gets enough of the taxpayers' 
money?
  Mr. Speaker, my constituents know this Federal Government does not 
have a revenue problem. This Federal Government has a spending problem, 
and our colleagues across the aisle would be well-served to learn that 
lesson.
  Whether you go back to the New Deal or the Great Society, all these 
programs that have been put in place and have to be grown and have to 
be fed, government never gets enough of your money because of this.
  Now, in Tennessee, because of all the bookkeeping gimmicks of the 
Democrats, and they ran on one set of priorities but now they are 
governing like what they are, the liberal elites, and it is going to 
cost 2.1 million Tennesseans $2,600 per family. If they want to go vote 
to raise the taxes on the constituents in their district, have at it. 
Let them line up and vote to raise the taxes on the people that live in 
their districts. But the people in my district in Tennessee do not want 
to pay more in either State or Federal taxes. They want to see their 
taxes reduced. They want to see the size of government shrink, and they 
want to see better fiscal management and responsibility of the 
resources that the government has.
  I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I look forward to 
continuing this debate. I look forward to working hard to defeat the 
Democrats' tax increase which is the single largest tax increase in 
American history.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing to 
the floor very important aspects of this debate.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, I just do not know how anybody can justify this 
single largest tax increase in American history, almost $400 billion of 
taxes that are going to get imposed on American families. In Texas, it 
is going to be taking away $2,700 on average from every family of four. 
I mean, that is impacting real families in Texas. It is taking away 
from their family budget.
  Mr. Speaker, I recently contacted my constituents and I asked them if 
the Democrats are successful with their plan to put forth the single 
largest tax increase in American history, what is it going to mean to 
you?
  Well, I heard from Diana in Mesquite, and she said: Congressman, I 
wanted to let you know that I am a single mom that does not receive any 
type of child support, and an increase of this amount would break me. I 
would be at risk of losing my home with this type of increase. I am 
writing to ask your help to keep this from happening. This would be 
devastating to middle-income families and families in my situation.
  Again, Mr. Speaker, every time you plus-up, you increase the Federal 
budget, you are taking away from the family budget. You are taking away 
from Diana's budget in Mesquite, as she works to try to keep her home.
  I heard from Brian who came from Dallas, and I asked him, and he 
said: Congressman Hensarling, the loss of $2,700 would affect our 
ability to pay tuition and books for our daughter to go to college. 
While she is a junior this year, we are trying to save money for her 
education, and as the cost of education increases each year, the loss 
of these funds due to an increase in taxes will have a negative impact 
on our plans for her education.
  Again, what the Democrats are doing with their single largest tax 
increase in American history is they are getting the family budget. 
They are making it more difficult. They are making it more difficult 
for Brian to be able to send his daughter to college. There is no 
fairness in this. There is no compassion in this.
  I have heard from many other constituents and the Democrats have to 
realize once again how devastating this is to American families. It is 
not their money, Mr. Speaker. They did not earn it. It belongs to the 
American people. It is their money. They need to use it for their 
education program.
  I think it is again important to point out that if the Democrats are 
successful in their plan to engage in the single largest tax increase 
in American history, it is going to take away from American families 
their ability to send their children to college. It is going to take 
away from their ability to purchase their first homes. It is going to 
devastate the family budget so that Democrats can bulk up on the 
Federal budget. This is not fair, Mr. Speaker. This is not right.
  Another gentleman who has been a great leader within our conference 
and a great leader in the Budget Committee and somebody who represents 
the people of south Alabama very well in this institution, who knows 
about the devastating impact that this Democrat budget could have on 
family budgets, is the gentleman from Alabama, and I would be happy to 
yield to Mr. Bonner.
  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank the 
Speaker for allowing this Special Order to proceed.
  I thank Jeff for organizing this. This is important for the American 
people in Texas and California and Alabama and all over this great 
country to understand what the Democratic majority is doing this week 
by unveiling their budget, and a budget that we will have to vote on.
  As my friend from Texas will appreciate and certainly as the majority 
of my constituents back home in south Alabama know, I do not often come 
to the House floor every time there is an open microphone just to offer 
my view on whatever the topic of the day happens to be. Instead, I 
remember the words of my father who although I was only 13 when he 
passed away, he told my brother, Jim, my sister, Judy, and me that you 
learn a lot more from listening than you do from talking.
  So usually I prefer to sit in the back of the chamber, this building, 
this awesome chamber that we are so privileged to serve in, and listen 
to the give-and-take, the back-and-forth of the debates that have 
helped to define our time.
  Sadly, however, on this particular evening, I feel moved to come off 
that back bench so as to speak up and to voice my real concern and, 
quite frankly, my real disappointment that now that they are back in 
power after 12 years of being out, our friends on the other side of the 
aisle have chosen with their budget to revert back to their old 
familiar habits.

                              {time}  2220

  Because when all is said and done, that is what this budget will do. 
In a single sweep, in the snap of a finger, this Democratic budget will 
give to the American people the single largest tax increase in American 
history.
  If all of that sounds familiar to you, then perhaps there's a reason 
for that. You see, the last time the Democrats

[[Page H3174]]

were in control of Congress, they, too, gave the American people what 
was, at that time, the largest single tax increase in American history. 
Of course, that was back in 1993, when they had the help of President 
Bill Clinton to sign the bill into law. Fortunately, at least for the 
time being, President Bush has a veto pen that hopefully will keep 
these tax increases from becoming a reality.
  But one thing is for certain. It didn't take the Democrats long, just 
77 days from the time they took over the majority on January 4 of this 
year, to roll out their plan to raise taxes, yet once again on the 
backs of hard working Americans.
  Now, Mr. and Mrs. Middle-Class American Taxpayer, I know some of you 
may be sitting at home tonight working on your own taxes. In fact, I 
called a constituent of mine in Mobile just last night, and that is 
what he told me he was doing, working on his tax returns for 2006. 
After all, April 15 is just 19 days away. So this topic of raising 
taxes on America's families couldn't be more timely.
  Congressman Hensarling, I don't know about you, but I don't recall a 
single time in any of my years of being in Congress, either as an 
elected Member or in the 18 years that I worked for my predecessor, 
Congressman Sonny Callahan, I don't recall a single time where a 
constituent came up to me, not at a town meeting, not at a Rotary Club, 
Lion's Club, Kiwanis Club or the like, and somebody came up to me and 
said, Jo, old buddy, you know the Federal Government needs more money. 
Why don't you just take some of mine?
  Nor have I had anyone come up and say, Congressman, there is not an 
ounce of waste in the Federal Government. Washington, DC, is a lean, 
well-oiled machine. You all could use a little bit more of my money. 
Here, take whatever you need.
  Correct me if I am wrong, but I doubt the gentleman from the Fifth 
District of Texas has ever heard any of his constituents make the 
statement to him.
  Mr. HENSARLING. We should obviously inform our Democrat colleagues 
that last I looked, the IRS takes voluntary contributions. So if they 
don't believe their taxes are high enough, if they don't believe the 
taxes of their constituents are high enough, they can simply add a zero 
to that line on the 1040 and send in more. They somehow act that there 
is a revenue deficiency in Washington, DC.
  I don't know how much government spending is enough, but just looking 
over about the last 10 years, I see where the agricultural budget has 
increased 126 percent, the Federal transportation budget, 97 percent, 
the education budget, 75 percent, Medicare has increased 137 percent, 
all at the same time where the family budget has increased about 36 
percent. The Federal budget is outpacing the family budget by 3 to 1, 4 
to 1. That cannot continue.
  So, again, we come back to the basic question. Is Washington spending 
too much, or are the American people undertaxed? I think the gentleman 
from Alabama has hit the nail on the head.
  Mr. BONNER. I thank the gentleman, and I know that he has done the 
math for his constituents in the Dallas area of Texas. I have done the 
math for people of south Alabama as well; and, if enacted, what the 
budget will mean to the average Alabama household is not good news. In 
fact, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are approximately 
4.4 million people who are proud to call Alabama their home. If this 
tax increase is enacted, it will mean that the average tax-paying 
Alabama household will owe another $2,500, $2,500. Friends, that is a 
lot of money to most folks back in my district in Alabama and I think 
in every district in America.
  But if they have to write an additional check for $2,500 more to 
Uncle Sam, if this Democrat budget is enacted, then that likely means 
no braces for the kids. It means that you won't be able to set aside 
money this year for your children going off to college, and it 
certainly will mean there will be no family vacation.
  Sadly, the Democratic majority must think either the Federal 
Government can spend the American people's hard-earned tax dollars 
better than they can, or that the Federal Government simply shouldn't 
be asked to make a sacrifice when there are so many worthy programs yet 
to fund. Either way, the Democratic majority is making quite a 
statement this week, a statement that I hope the American people will 
listen closely to as this debate unfolds.
  You see, as my friend, Mr. Hensarling from Texas, knows all too well, 
as do my other Republican colleagues on the House Budget Committee, 
last week when the Democrats passed this budget out of committee, they 
had an opportunity some 32 different times, I have got the amendments 
in my hand, to accept some reasonable tax relief for the American 
people by putting into writing their commitment to not raise taxes.
  Now, in fairness, Jeb, you will recall many of our Democratic 
colleagues on the committee, they were quick to say, well, wait a 
minute, we don't want to raise taxes, well, not all of them, at least 
not now.
  But actions speak louder than words. Their actions, unfortunately, 
speak much louder than the lack of their words in that document. This 
is nothing short of the single largest tax increase on the American 
people. Quite frankly, it's a sad day for the American taxpayer.
  Time after time, House Republicans on the Budget Committee tried to 
amend this budget with commonsense amendments that are overwhelmingly 
supported by the majority of the American people, amendments such as 
the one that our colleague, Congressman Jon Porter of Nevada, offered 
to prevent a tax increase on middle-income families with children. That 
went down on a party line vote by the Democratic majority.
  The amendment by our friend, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart of 
Florida, who offered to prevent an increase of the onerous and, I 
think, the most unAmerican of all taxes, the death tax that, if the 
Democratic majority doesn't do anything, will go back to 55 percent in 
just 4 short years. That amendment also went down on a party line vote 
by the Democratic majority.
  Congressman Hensarling, you remember your amendment, you had many, 
but this one in particular, Jeb, to dedicate funding to protect 
America's veterans. Did it pass?
  Mr. HENSARLING. No, it went down again on a straight party line vote. 
It was a very simple amendment. Budgets are about priorities. At a time 
our Nation is fighting this war on terror, it was a very simple 
amendment. It said, you know what? Whatever figure we decide is the 
right figure for veterans' funding, and I know you can never give 
enough, but whatever it is, let's make sure we put a floor under it. 
Let's give it a firewall. Because too often what we find out in what we 
call the appropriations process up here, sometimes these funds get 
raided for other purposes, just like Congress has too many times raided 
the Social Security fund.
  So this was a simple amendment that said we are going to put a 
firewall around veterans' spending, and the number that we put in the 
budget is sacrosanct. Every single Democrat on the Budget Committee 
voted against that amendment. They voted against veterans. It was not a 
proud day for the institution.
  Mr. BONNER. Congressman Hensarling, I know there are others here 
tonight who want to speak out against this single largest tax increase 
of American history. I don't want to be accused of hogging microphone.
  But, instead, I would like to close for my part by asking the 
American taxpayer a very simple question. Time after time our Democrat 
colleagues have come to this floor over the past few months and said 
the American people voted for change on November 7. It was all about 
change. Well, if this Democratic budget passes and if our taxes go up, 
and they most certainly will, then that is about all the American 
people are going to have left after these tax increases go up, is a 
little change. Is that really the message you were sending on November 
7 of last year?
  Jeb, you have two beautiful children, Claire and Travis. Janee and I 
have two beautiful children back home in Mobile, Alabama. I hope they 
are all asleep right now, Lee and Robbins. This is really about the 
future of our children and grandchildren. There are a lot of good 
Democrats and a lot of good Republicans who have children and 
grandchildren who are concerned about them. This Democratic tax 
increase

[[Page H3175]]

and this Democratic budget is nothing about the children. 
Unfortunately, it's about the government.
  I thank the gentleman for this special order, and I appreciate his 
leadership on fiscal responsibility.

                              {time}  2230

  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman for his contribution this 
evening. I thank him for his leadership on the Budget Committee. And he 
has brought up a very important point, Mr. Speaker, that we have yet to 
talk about this evening, and that is, as the Democrats offer up their 
single largest tax increase in American history, that is like the 
appetizer. That is the appetizer.
  As the gentleman from Alabama talked about his family, and he has a 
wonderful family, and we all think about our children and our 
grandchildren, but do we really think enough about them? Because let me 
tell you, the single largest tax increase in history is just the start. 
The Comptroller General, the Chief Fiduciary Officer of the Federal 
Government has said that if we don't begin to reform entitlement 
spending, this spending explosion in Washington, unless, as a society, 
we find a better way, a smarter way to deliver health care and 
retirement security at a more reasonable cost, we are going to be on a 
path to double taxes, double taxes on our children and grandchildren in 
just one generation. And that is why I say, the single largest tax 
increase in American history, that is just the appetizer. The entree 
is, because the Democrats have no reforms, no reforms of entitlement 
spending in their budget whatsoever, which is the single largest fiscal 
challenge we face, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the 
Office of Management and Budget, the Federal Reserve Chairman, the 
Secretary of Treasury, anybody who is responsible for fiscal or 
monetary policy in America, the Democrat budget is silent on it. They 
are putting us on a path to double taxes on our children. And the 
Comptroller General, and I paraphrase, has said, we are on the verge of 
being the first generation in American history to leave the next 
generation with a lower standard of living.
  And as the father of a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, I will not stand 
idly by and let that happen. I will raise my voice about this single 
largest tax increase in American history.
  Mr. Speaker, we are joined by another great freshman member of the 
Republican Party who has been outspoken on these budget issues and 
somebody else who hasn't lost his ability to be outraged on how this 
will impact, the single largest tax increase in American history will 
impact the people in his district. And I am happy now to yield to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).
  Mr. JORDAN of Ohio. I thank the gentleman from Texas, and I thank him 
for his work with the Republican Study Committee. His leadership there 
is just so valuable.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just make a couple of points about this tax 
increase that has been talked about this last hour, this largest tax 
increase in the history of the United States of America, why it is such 
bad policy for our country. And I want to just focus, as I said, on two 
points.
  First of all, I think it's important to recognize how the competition 
is stiffer today. And what I mean by that is this changing dynamic that 
we see in the world market. There was a point maybe in the past where 
elected officials, where politicians could afford to make poor 
decisions, poor policy decisions and because America's economy was so 
far ahead of the rest of the world, we could succeed in spite of the 
bad policies that were enacted. But the facts today are such that it is 
important we get it right and we not put additional burdens on 
families, on taxpayers, and on our economy if we are going to compete 
in this world market.
  Just a couple of facts. Think about this: China has 1.4 billion 
people. The country of India has 800 million people. The United States 
of America, we just hit a population of 300 million last summer. So, 
again, two countries, over two million people that we are competing 
against. China's economy is growing at about 10 percent. India's is 
growing at about 7\1/2\ percent. If we are going to compete against 
those emerging countries who are moving towards middle class, if we are 
going to compete, we have got to have the right kind of policies in 
place. Tax increases are not the right kind of policies on our 
families, on our business owners, on our American economy. It is 
important we recognize that.
  I have related this story to the Chair of the Republican Study 
Committee before, but I think it captures just how important it is to 
understand the dynamic that we find ourselves in in this point in 
history.
  We have a constituent who has been very successful in manufacturing. 
And he wanted to, a few years ago, sit down with our United States 
Senator and talk about this dynamic that is taking place in the world 
market. And so we helped put together a meeting, and he sat down with 
our United States Senator around the conference table. He took one of 
the pieces, the piece that they make in their manufacturing plants and 
he had taped to that piece, he had two pennies taped to it. And he slid 
that piece across the table to our U.S. Senator and he said, Senator, 
those two pennies taped to that piece, those represent, those two 
pennies represent our labor costs in that piece. He said, competing 
with China. He said China and India aren't beating us on labor costs. 
What makes it tougher, he said, we are so efficient. Our systems, our 
processes are so good we feel like we can compete with anybody in the 
world. What makes it tough for us to compete is the stuff you 
politicians do, and he pointed right to our Senator. He said it is the 
tax increases, it is the regulation, it is the litigation, it is those 
sorts of things in our economy, in our policy that make it tough for us 
to compete.

  We have got to recognize that when we are competing in this world 
market today, it is important we get it right, because, again the 
competition is so stiff.
  And then of course the other reason that has been talked about very 
eloquently, I think, this evening, why it is bad policy to raise taxes. 
It is not just because it is bad for the economy. It is not just 
because we have all this focus when we are dealing with the budget 
where we talk about budgets and numbers and revenues and projections. 
It is bad because it is about people. It is about families. And when 
you think about what really makes our country strong, what has allowed 
the United States of America to be the most prosperous Nation in 
history, it is the fact that we have that key institution that has been 
so strong, that family institution. And really, I believe what makes 
America so great, it is this idea, and the chairman was just alluding 
to this, it is this idea that moms and dads are willing to sacrifice so 
that their kids can have life a little better than they did. And then 
that next generation, as they grow up, they do the same thing for their 
kids and their grandkids, and it continues. And it has been that cycle 
that has allowed America to prosper.
  If we are going to take an additional $2,500 per family away from 
them, away from their checkbook, away from their pocketbook, away from 
their goals, their dreams, the things they want to spend it on, we are 
making it tougher for that American Dream to continue. We are making it 
tougher on the families, that key institution in our culture. And that 
is why this budget, this $392 billion tax increase is wrong for our 
country when we think about competing in the world market, and it is 
wrong for families who make this country so great in the first place.
  And with that I would yield back to the chairman of the RSC and thank 
him for his work here this evening and for his continued work for 
families across this country.
  Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for joining us this 
evening, for this debate about the very important budget that will be 
introduced and debated on this floor tomorrow, Mr. Speaker.
  Another aspect of this debate that is important to note, and I am 
sure we will hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle, the 
Democrats, how tax relief over the last several years has somehow been 
a bad thing for America.
  I might note, Mr. Speaker, that as we have given small businesses and 
America's families tax relief, guess what we have? We have more tax 
revenue. And, in fact, Mr. Speaker, we have more tax revenue than we 
have ever had in the

[[Page H3176]]

history of America. We are awash in tax revenue. Why? Because if you 
let the American people keep more of what they earn, they will save, 
they will invest, they will work hard. They will expand the automobile 
transmission shop on one street corner. They will go out and start a 
barbecue stand on another street corner. It is called entrepreneurial 
vision. People go out and roll up their sleeves and work hard, and that 
is what they have done.
  And not only, Mr. Speaker, are we awash in tax revenue. In this case, 
tax relief has proven to be part of the deficit solution. We also have 
new jobs. Since we have had tax relief, we have created 7\1/2\ million 
new jobs in America. 7\1/2\ million new jobs. The greatest health care 
program, the greatest nutritional program, the greatest housing program 
in the history of America is the American free enterprise system and 
the jobs that it creates.
  But, Mr. Speaker, if the Democrats go through with their program to 
have the single largest tax increase in American history, you start 
taking the jobs away. And somehow they call it compassion when they 
hand you a government check and they take away your paycheck, because 
when they increase taxes on American families and they increase taxes 
on small businesses, they take away our jobs. They take away our 
careers. They take away our futures. There is nothing fair about that, 
Mr. Speaker. There is nothing compassionate about that.
  The Republican budget will ensure that hardworking American families 
are not burdened with further tax increases. The Republican budget will 
make sure that the next generation enjoys greater freedom and greater 
opportunity, and that vital programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social 
Security that are going broke, that we reform them and modernize them 
and that we can save them for the next generation.
  The Democrat budget is absolutely silent, absolutely silent on the 
number one fiscal challenge to the next generation.

                              {time}  2240

  They present a budget for the next election, Mr. Speaker. We are 
presenting a budget for the next generation.
  So I hope, Mr. Speaker, that the American people will follow this 
very important debate closely, because there are two different visions. 
One believes in the family budget; one believes in the Federal budget. 
One believes in American families keeping more of what they earn; the 
other believes in the single largest tax increase in American history. 
And it is not too late for us to vote for the family budget and against 
the single largest tax increase in American history.

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