[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H3454-H3461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE OFFICIAL TRUTH SQUAD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Castor). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 18, 2007, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, thank you so very much.
  Before I begin, I do want to just say that our hearts, our thoughts, 
and our prayers are with all at Virginia Tech and in Blacksburg, 
Virginia, today. As you know, Madam Speaker, an unspeakable horror 
visited their campus, and it is absolutely impossible for any of us to 
know what those who were directly connected to it are going through. We 
were so incredibly heartened by their convocation today as we watched 
it, and we noted that Hokie spirit is effervescent and incredibly 
supportive. We are all with the Hokie Nation today. We wish them the 
best and know that they are comforted by each other and by God's 
amazing grace.
  Madam Speaker, it is a great privilege for me to come to the floor 
again this evening. I want to thank the leadership for the opportunity 
to share some comments and to discuss an issue that our friends just 
finished talking about a little bit.
  This is a remarkable day every year. Madam Speaker, as you know, 
today is once again the day when Americans reach deep into their 
pockets and they pay Uncle Sam. Many Americans may be filling out their 
tax forms right now, or they have just finished slogging through the 
maze of the Tax Code jargon and crunching numbers and filling out form 
after form after form. And today, Americans all across this Nation will 
once again trust Washington with their money, because today is tax

[[Page H3455]]

day. It is usually April 15; by a couple different factors it became 
April 17 this year. But nonetheless, Madam Speaker, it is tax day.
  And I would suggest, Madam Speaker, that Americans are fed up with 
the status quo of today, and I and many of my colleagues believe that 
Americans deserve a different tomorrow. They deserve a tomorrow where 
they won't be taxed from the day they are born until the day that they 
die and at every single point in between.
  Americans deserve a tomorrow where saving and investing are virtues, 
not vices. Americans deserve a tomorrow where taxation brings efficient 
and responsible representation, and they deserve a tomorrow where, when 
the American people do their part, they understand that paying their 
fair share is enough. And they deserve a tomorrow where the government 
respects their hard work and appreciates their sacrifice. Only then, 
Madam Speaker, will tomorrow be any different than today.
  We are going to talk and discuss this evening the issue of taxes, the 
tax structure that we have in our Nation that supports so many, many 
things. We are going to talk about its fairness or lack of fairness. We 
are going to talk about the amount of money that is received and 
whether or not there are any options.
  We are going to talk about positive solutions. And as we do so, we 
like, when we come to the floor, to talk about facts. I want to talk 
about facts. And I will remind my colleagues of one of our favorite 
quotes. One of my favorite quotes comes from Senator Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan who said that ``Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but 
they are not entitled to their own facts.'' And so it is, Madam 
Speaker, that as we come and talk about facts as they relate to taxes, 
it is important that we use correct figures, that we use accurate 
figures.
  One of the figures that I ran across when looking at the tax issue 
and realizing how large our government has grown and how many taxes the 
Washington government takes, in 2005 the Federal Government took in 
about $2.4 trillion. That is an awful lot of money, Madam Speaker, and 
it is sometimes hard to kind of get your arms around what that actually 
means. Well, in a relatively short period of time, less than 50 years, 
what that means, based upon accounting for inflation and accounting for 
growth, is that that amount of money is larger than the entire U.S. 
economy was in 1959. So in less than one person's lifetime we have 
grown the amount of tax revenue, and this is in constant dollars, real 
dollars, we have grown the amount of tax revenue larger than our entire 
government was and the economy was in 1959. So it is truly remarkable.
  And what that brings about, Madam Speaker, is that we ought to be, as 
representatives of the people, asking questions. Is that appropriate? 
Is that an appropriate policy for our Nation? Should we be modifying 
things? Should we be changing things? Should we be potentially more 
fair to the American people? What should we be doing?
  And so we will be joined tonight by a number of colleagues. One of my 
good friends and fellow colleagues from Georgia is Congressman Phil 
Gingrey. Congressman Gingrey is a fellow physician, represents a 
district right outside of the city of Atlanta. I served with him in the 
State senate, and it is a privilege to serve with him here in the 
United States Congress. He is one of the true fiscal conservatives, an 
individual who understands and appreciates the importance of tax 
revenue, yes, but also the importance of fairness on the part of our 
Federal Government.
  So I am pleased to welcome my good friend from Georgia, Congressman 
Gingrey.
  Mr. GINGREY. Congressman Price, I thank you so much for letting me 
join with you and the Truth Squad in talking about the real truth in 
regard to what burdens are on the American people, particularly on this 
day, tax day, April 17. And it reminds me that there is another date 
coming up pretty soon, and I think that is on April 22, and that is 
called tax freedom day. And that day gets later and later in the 
calendar year each and every year. That is how long a person has to 
work to pay their tax burden, not only to the Federal Government but to 
local and State and the entire tax burden. Almost a third of the year, 
Madam Speaker, people have to work to pay the tax burden.
  So we in the Republican Party feel very strongly that we need to cut 
taxes, simplify taxes, lower taxes. And we can do that, and we have 
done that. We did it in 2001, we did it in 2003. And while we heard 
from our friends on the other side of the aisle in the previous hour, 
the so-called Blue Dog Coalition, in regard to the costs to the revenue 
stream of the tax cuts, saying that we only cut taxes for people making 
more than $400,000 a year, when in fact, Madam Speaker, everybody who 
pays taxes got a tax cut under the tax cut provisions that this 
President and the former majority, the Republican Party, enacted for 
the American people.
  And while, when you crunch the numbers, that was estimated to cost 
$1.3 trillion, or $130 billion each and every year over a 10-year 
period of time, because supposedly you would be taking in less revenue, 
in fact it stimulated the economy; and over a 2\1/2\ year period of 
time, the amount of revenue that came into the Federal Government 
actually increased by $250 billion.
  So our good friends, the Blue Dogs, play a little bit loose with the 
truth in regard to their calculus. And really it is not calculus, Madam 
Speaker, it is simple math. The gentlemen that spoke, the four or five 
of them in the previous hours, our friends, the Blue Dogs, they would 
make great red dogs. They come from States that the so-called Blue Dog 
Democrats are traditionally conservative, they are fiscally 
conservative. They are conservative on social issues.
  And we had the gentleman from Arkansas, we had a Member from 
Tennessee, we had a Member from Indiana, we had a Member from Ohio. It 
doesn't surprise me that they would be sounding like Republicans, 
because many of them represent Republican-leaning, typically 
traditional districts. And when we earn back our majority, Madam 
Speaker, I think that the Blue Dogs that we are hearing from, the five 
by tonight, there are a total of 43, many of them would make great red 
dogs; and I look forward to the day that they join us.
  But, Madam Speaker, in the meantime, I think that I need to talk to 
them about their math a little bit. They spent some time talking about 
the debt and the fact that all of this money that we have had to 
borrow, this $8.8 trillion worth of debt, comes from foreign countries. 
The gentleman from Arkansas listed, I think, the top nine. And they 
want to imply that all of the debt is money that we have had to borrow 
from rogue nations, if you will. But they are not rogue nations.

                              {time}  2130

  But the point I want to make, Madam Speaker, is that only about 25 
percent of that debt is held by any foreign nation, whether we are 
talking about Germany or France or Spain or Portugal or, yes, China or 
India. Seventy-five percent of that debt is held by my mom and my dad 
and our Blue Dog grandparents and corporate America and the United 
States citizens. Americans borrow or lend that money to the United 
States Government because they have faith in the full credit of this 
great country. So this implication that only rogue nations are willing 
to borrow money or lend money to this country is totally ludicrous.
  And if the gentleman from Georgia, my good friend and colleague, Dr. 
Price, will indulge me for a few minutes, I want to also point out 
another very, very misleading figure. They take that debt, that $8.8 
trillion worth of debt that has accumulated over a number of years.
  Don't forget, Madam Speaker, and my good friends on the other side of 
the aisle, they controlled this place for 40 years. And that $8.8 
trillion worth of debt didn't just occur overnight.
  But they take 300 million people, man, woman and child, the 
population of this great country, and they divide it into $8.8 
trillion, and they come up with $27,000 worth of debt for every man, 
woman and child in this country.
  Well, Madam Speaker, what is the gross domestic product, the wealth 
of this country? I think 2006, maybe would be the last figure that I 
have, it was about $13 trillion. So you divide that same number into 
the gross domestic product, you could say that the share of the wealth 
of this country of every man, woman and child is $44,000.

[[Page H3456]]

  So, like I say, they are playing a little loose with the numbers, and 
they go on and talk about this budget resolution that they have got and 
how they are going to balance the budget and have no deficit over a 5-
year period of time and actually have a little bit of money in the bank 
in 2012.
  How do they do that, Madam Speaker? They do it by letting the tax 
cuts of the Republican majority and our President expire. The decrease 
in the marginal rate for every person that is paying taxes, the 
increase, the doubling of the child tax credit, the elimination, and 
once again, reinserting the marriage tax penalty, and that is total, 
when you add up every one of those tax cuts that we enacted that they 
intend to let expire in 2010 and 2011, it is a total, I think, and my 
colleague from Georgia and my other colleagues that are here tonight 
will agree, almost $400 billion. And I think that is the largest tax 
increase on the people of this country in the history of this country.
  So here, again, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for bringing out 
the truth once again, as he does so well in the Truth Squad's 
discussions. And I thank him for letting me weigh in a little bit 
tonight. And with that I will yield back to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my good friend and colleague from 
Georgia for your comments, for your perspective, and for the truth and 
the facts that you bring to the table, and you mentioned a number of 
them. I would just like to highlight two of them because they are 
incredibly important, Madam Speaker, for the American people to 
appreciate. The first is that Tax Freedom Day. We talk about tax day, 
but Tax Freedom Day has yet to arrive. Depending on what State you are 
in, I think the earliest State, Tax Freedom Day is April 22, which is 
next week. But what that means, Madam Speaker, is that every single 
American who has been working since the first of the year, on average, 
every single one, is continuing to work from January 1 until now, 
through at least April 22 to pay the taxes that they owe. They haven't 
even started to work for themselves or their family. Madam Speaker, 
that is a tax system that is broken and flawed.
  The other fact that you brought out, my good friend from Georgia, 
Congressman Gingrey brought out, was that the proposal that was passed 
on this floor just a little over two weeks ago by our friends on the 
other side of the aisle, many of whom call themselves Blue Dogs. We are 
checking to make certain, Madam Speaker. We think they are probably lap 
dogs because of the bills that they have been supporting. And one of 
them was this budget that was passed that will result in a $400 billion 
tax increase for the American people, the largest tax increase in the 
history of the Nation. That is a fact.
  I want to mention a couple of other facts and then call on a couple 
of other good friends who have joined me this evening. Oftentimes, 
Madam Speaker, you hear people say, well, the wealthy in this Nation 
don't pay any taxes, or they get a remarkable tax benefit, that they 
are given favored treatment. You hear that oftentimes by our friends on 
the other side.
  This chart, Madam Speaker, really points out the truth. These are 
actual numbers and actual facts. And that is that the top 1 percent of 
wage earners in this Nation, the top 1 percent, pay 36.9 percent of the 
taxes. That is, the top 1 percent pay 36.9 percent of the taxes. If you 
take the top 10 percent of wage earners in this Nation, the taxes that 
they pay, the total revenue that they pay in terms of taxes for this 
Nation, 68.2 percent. And the top half, the top 50 percent pay 96.7 
percent of the tax revenue that comes into this Nation. Madam Speaker, 
that is a fact. It is important to appreciate that because our good 
friends on the other side of the aisle so often want to play class 
warfare. They want to pit one side against the other. And what this 
shows very, very clearly is that individuals all across this Nation are 
paying their fair share and then some.
  I have been joined by many good friends who will comment about 
various aspects of our tax system and tax policy, as well as the budget 
that has been proposed. And right now I would like to ask a good friend 
from Texas to join me, and look forward to his comments, Congressman 
Kevin Brady from Texas, who has a wonderful business background and 
appreciates the importance of appropriate government policy and making 
certain that we allow all Americans, all Americans, the greatest 
opportunity in this wonderful Nation. Congressman Brady, thanks so much 
for joining us.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Well, thank you. And I appreciate joining the two 
gentlemen from Georgia who continue to look out every day for the 
family's pocket books, rather than Washington's pocket books, which I 
fear is too deep. And the point I always try to make, I am in my 11th 
year in Congress, serve on the Ways and Means Committee, have worked on 
all of President Bush's tax relief. And I am convinced that Washington 
has all the money it needs. It just doesn't have all the money it 
wants. And there is a big difference between the two.
  And tonight, as you and I talk, millions of Americans are scrambling 
at the last minute to file their taxes, rummaging through cabinets and 
drawers and bank statements, anxious to try to comply with the 
complicated Tax Code. And they are willing to pay their fair share. But 
our code is so complex that they worry.
  Paying taxes is bad enough. But the time wasted in figuring them is 
almost worse. You shouldn't need an accountant to do your taxes, and 
you shouldn't live in fear of just making an honest mistake. For our 
sanity's sake, and I think for our children's sake, we really need to 
sunset this awful Tax Code and replace it with something far more 
simple, like a flat tax or my preference, a retail sales tax. And I 
love the retail sales tax because, can you imagine, can you imagine 
never having to fill out a tax return again in your lifetime? Never. 
Can you imagine the IRS being completely, totally out of your life 
forever?
  And as we talk about how complex this code is, let's not forget we 
need to keep our taxes low. Tax Freedom Day for Texas families is this 
Thursday. And that is the first day since New Year's that Texans will 
start working for themselves and not for the government. For the rest 
of the country, on average, you have still got two more weeks, April 
30. In fact, most families in America will get to the fifth month of 
the year. Can you imagine? The fifth month of the year before they stop 
working for the government and start working for their dreams, for 
their families, for what they want to accomplish in life. And I think 
most of us would feel better if we felt that Washington wasn't wasting 
so much of our hard-earned money.
  My families are worried that the new Democrat budget allows President 
Bush's tax relief to expire, which would increase taxes on families in 
Texas $2,700 a year; $2,700 more for each, a typical Texas family.
  I talked over the April work period with Kirk and Sandy Noyes of the 
Woodlands; visited with Marty and Ty Drake in their home in Livingston; 
Buck and Ava Anderson of Cleveland in their living room; sat down in 
the kitchen with Ed and Connie Heiman of Magnolia; Elmer and Pauline 
Hensley of Lumberton; Pat and Ashley Canfield of Huntsville. We talked 
about what that $2,700 would mean to their families, and they talked 
about the medical bills for their young children because co-pays and 
deductibles add up so quickly. They talked about car insurance, how 
expensive that is. Marty Drake is a police officer. He said, You know, 
I will work overtime, all of my high school football games, use all 
that money just to pay that extra bill.
  One woman, who is it? Connie Heiman in Magnolia, she works at a 
doctor's office just so she can pay the health care. And she said, We 
don't have any extra money. And her husband runs the flooring store in 
Magnolia. He said, I can't work longer. I work 6\1/2\ days a week as it 
is.
  And my belief is that we are, despite what Washington thinks, we are 
an overtaxed Nation. And all you need to do is look at your own day to 
understand it. We wake up in the morning, get in the shower, we pay a 
water tax. We grab a cup of coffee, pay a sales tax. Drive down to 
work, pay a fuel tax. At work we pay, not just payroll tax but income 
tax as well. Get home at night, flip on the switch, walk in the door, 
turn on the lights, pay the electricity tax, pick up the phone, pay a 
telephone tax, turn on the TV, pay cable tax, kiss

[[Page H3457]]

our wife goodnight, pay a marriage penalty tax and we do that every day 
of our life. And when we die, we pay a death tax. We are an overtaxed 
Nation.
  And in my belief, we need to continue, not just for our economy, but 
for our families, we need to continue President Bush's tax relief 
because our families can't take this extra hit. The marriage penalty 
will come back to life. That is wrong. In fact, Ways and Means, and I 
will finish with this, because we have other Members who need to visit 
as well. But we did the tax relief not for grins and giggles, but for 
two important reasons. One was fairness. The marriage penalty is 
unfair. The death tax is unfair. The State and local sales tax 
structure, it was unfair for other States to have an advantage. And 
another reason is to spur this economy. After 9/11, we took three big 
hits: 9/11, the recession and the wonderful Enrons and WorldComs of the 
world. Our economy took huge hits. We targeted tax relief, and we have 
had 40 straight months of job growth, created 7.5 million new jobs. We 
are going to risk that? We are going to risk this strong economy 
raising taxes on families and small businesses? It doesn't make sense. 
My belief is Washington needs to tighten its belt before we ask our 
families and small businesses to tighten theirs.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentleman from Texas for his 
wonderful summary of the remarkable taxes that each and every one of us 
are exposed to on a daily basis, everything we do. And that is why I 
say that the American people deserve more than that. They deserve a 
government that is more fair than that, especially in the area of 
taxation. The $2,700 for each individual in Texas is about what they 
would pay, if the policies of the other side go through, about what 
they would pay in the State of Georgia as well. And the folks have a 
lot of ability to figure out what they ought to do with that money and 
a greater priority that they ought to do with that money, as opposed to 
what the government ought to do with that money. So as most people 
understand and appreciate, they know how to spend their money better 
than the Federal Government.
  And somebody mentioned earlier today that the Federal Government, 
whenever they do anything on behalf of the American people, it costs 
three times as much as it would in the private sector. So that even 
gets to the point more about what the facts of the situation are and 
why they belie what we are doing, why they would draw anyone to the 
appropriate conclusion that we are taxed too much as a Nation.
  I have got a few other folks who have joined me, and I appreciate it 
so much. And I am joined by my good friend from North Carolina, 
Congressman McHenry, who also is an individual who has served in the 
State legislature and knows well the importance of fiscal 
responsibility and the importance of making certain that we don't 
overtax our Americans all across this Nation. I welcome you. I look 
forward to your comments.
  Mr. McHENRY. I thank my good friend from Georgia, Dr. Price. Thank 
you for your leadership and for being here on the floor and being so 
active. Your constituents should be proud of you. And I thank them for 
electing you.
  Madam Speaker, here on Tax Day, in 2007, I hearken back to the words 
that Ronald Reagan said. He said, our Federal Tax Code is, in short, 
utterly impossible, utterly unjust, and completely counterproductive. 
It reeks with injustice and is fundamentally un-American and has earned 
a rebellion, and it is time we rebelled.

                              {time}  2145

  That is a quote from Ronald Reagan in 1983.
  Well, I think it is high time we rebel. Today is one day in every 
American's life where they realize how complex and how horrible our 
Federal Tax Code is. The Tax Code stands at an astonishing 16,485 pages 
in length, and there are 1,638 different tax forms on the IRS's Web 
site. That is outstandingly horrible for the American people.
  In 2006, the average taxpayer spent 37.8 hours crunching numbers to 
complete even the most basic tax form, Form 1040. That is nearly an 
entire work week spent in filing taxes. Even worse, small businesses 
spend about 80 hours in preparing their tax returns. That is a 2-week 
vacation for the average working American family.
  And, in total, the American people in a recent poll think the Tax 
Code is obscene. Eighty percent think the Tax Code is too complicated 
while only 3 percent believe the Tax Code is just fine the way it is. I 
concur with that 80 percent, Madam Speaker.
  Although just empowered a few months, the new Democratic majority in 
the House with our new Speaker, they have proposed the largest tax 
increase in American history. The largest tax increase in American 
history. They propose a $2,066,675,000,000 tax increase. What does that 
mean for the average American? Well, the average American, a family of 
four making $50,000 a year, will see a tax hike of roughly $2,092 this 
year. What is worse is that my constituents back home in North Carolina 
will see an average tax increase of $2,671 per year. That is money they 
could be spending on education. That is money they could be spending on 
their kids. That is money they could be spending in their community. 
Instead, the Democrats want that money to come here to fund the bloated 
bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.
  Now, you understand the Republicans have cut taxes over the last 
decade, and that is very positive. Actually, as the Republican majority 
for 12 years, we proposed a tax cut every year. Every single year we 
proposed that. Now, Democrat President Bill Clinton didn't support it, 
but once we got George Bush in office in 2001, he proposed a massive 
tax cut.
  What has that done? Well, the Democrats say that it is not enough 
money coming into government. Well, they are wrong. They are absolutely 
wrong. The Democrats are wrong when they say government doesn't have 
enough money.
  Just this last year, government income amounted to over $2.4 
trillion. Now, let's put this in historical context. That is the 
largest income to any government in the history of the planet. Now, 
let's think this thing through. $2.4 trillion, is that enough to fund 
our Federal bureaucracy? According to the Democrats, the answer is 
``no.'' They want more. They want the American people to give more to 
the Federal Government.
  Let's put that $2.4 trillion in context. Well, there are only two 
countries on Earth that have economies larger than our Federal 
Government. Aside from ours, Germany and Japan are the only countries 
on Earth that have economies larger than our Federal income. Now, the 
scary part is that Germany only barely beats the Federal Government 
with its roughly similar size economy.
  There is a lot of talk about how the Chinese economy is booming and 
it is on the rise. Well, it is true and it is a big threat to our jobs 
here in the United States, and it is a big economic concern for us as a 
nation. But the Chinese economy, though booming, is only $1.9 trillion, 
and that means it is a half trillion dollars smaller than our Federal 
income. The total gross domestic product of China is smaller than the 
income to our Federal Government.
  So, Madam Speaker, if we look at a recent poll by Pew Research, 
people were asked what they thought was the best way to reduce the 
Federal deficit, and in that poll the result was pretty simple. Only 9 
percent said that tax increases were the best way. A combined 69 
percent said they would rather see government reduce spending. Now, not 
only do I agree with the 80 percent of the American people that say the 
Tax Code is too complex, that it is obscene; I also agree with that 69 
percent that say the way to reduce government is to reduce spending. 
That is pretty simple. It is common sense to the American people.
  Madam Speaker, I urge this Democrat majority to rethink their tax 
increase strategy, because it is going to raise taxes on every American 
who pays taxes. And, furthermore, those that are in the low income of 
our economy are actually going to see their taxes increase as well 
because they are going to roll back all the Bush tax cuts over the last 
7 years. I think that is the wrong thing for the American people. It is 
the wrong thing for my constituents of western North Carolina. And I 
think that that is something that is going to harm our economy, the 
strength of our growing economy. So I

[[Page H3458]]

think the Democrats should rethink their tax increase strategy and do 
what is right for the American people. Reform the Tax Code. Cut taxes 
at the very least, but reform the Tax Code so we can actually inject 
more capital into the marketplace and allow people to keep more of what 
they earn because it is good for their families and good for our 
economy, and I think it is generally good for America.
  With that, I thank you, Congressman Price, for hosting this important 
hour, especially on such an important day to the American people when 
they have to go file those tax returns. We know how frustrated they get 
because we have to file those same tax returns, and it is important 
that we remind our constituents that we are subject to the same laws 
that they are, and that is a very good thing and a great motivation for 
tax reform.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from North 
Carolina and I appreciate his perspective. And I think he said a couple 
of important things. One was that he pointed out that the average 
American spends almost 40 hours preparing his or her taxes. That is one 
whole week's worth of work. That is 2 percent of the productive time of 
each and every American spent just on the unproductive activity of 
preparing their tax returns. If that doesn't scream for reform, Madam 
Speaker, I am not sure what does.
  I am pleased to be joined by another good friend, a new Member of 
Congress, a freshman Member from Tennessee, Congressman David Davis, 
who I know has run a business and understands the importance of the 
economy's being vibrant, of the appropriate level of taxes not just for 
businesses but for individuals.
  And I appreciate your joining us tonight and look forward to your 
comments.
  Mr. DAVID DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
from Georgia for yielding.
  Congressman Price, you do such a great job. Thank you for your 
leadership. Thank you for your willingness to spread the truth.
  I welcome the opportunity to speak to Americans on tax day. I know 
some of us, as we draw near to midnight here, a lot of people still 
working on those forms, trying to get them down to the post office. It 
reminds me of what Ronald Reagan said back in the early 1980s. Ronald 
Reagan said, ``We don't have a trillion dollar debt because we haven't 
taxed enough. We have a trillion dollar debt because we spend too 
much.'' That seems like commonsense to me, and I think the people that 
are listening to us tonight understand that. They understand they have 
to sit around the kitchen table and decide how much money is coming in 
and how much money goes out.
  Small business owners have to do the same thing. They sit around 
sometimes at a little break room table and decide, am I going to hire 
that next person or am I going to have to lay somebody off? Am I going 
to be able to afford another machine to be more productive so I can 
grow the business and be good for the economy? We understand that as 
Americans.
  Today, tax day, families across America are feeling the cost of the 
Federal Government. I know we feel it. I know the American people are 
feeling it. It is one of the reasons I decided to run for Congress. I 
did own a small business, and I have actually owned a couple. I grew up 
in a small community in a little county called Unicoi County in East 
Tennessee, up in the mountains near North Carolina. And I worked my way 
through college. I actually worked two jobs, went to school full time, 
and was fortunate enough from that to start some businesses. And I sold 
one of those businesses.
  And one of the reasons I decided to run for Congress was because the 
government took too much of my money. And I really looked at it as 
being my money because I earned it. My wife and I started the business. 
We took the risk. We put our home up. If that business hadn't 
succeeded, the bank could have come and taken our home. And when I sold 
the business, I should have been able to keep the proceeds and take 
care of my two children. It shouldn't have gone to the government. And 
I decided that I needed to get involved.
  According to the Congressional Research Service, President Bush's 
program of comprehensive tax relief was well timed to respond to a weak 
economy. Do you remember back in the early 2000s we had just been hit 
by terrorist extremists, and we had natural disasters. So those tax 
relief packages that he put in place have actually worked. Tax relief 
enacted in 2001 granted immediate tax rebates, reduced marginal tax 
rates, and lowered the marriage tax penalty. The tax relief of 2003 
accelerated much of the 2001 growth which would ultimately strengthen 
our economy.
  We are residing and living in a strong economy. The Republican tax 
cut relief has seen nearly 4 straight years, 21 straight quarters, of 
economic growth, while adding 7.5 million new jobs. Seven point five 
million new jobs, that excites me. And we were able to do that because 
people are allowed to keep their money at home.
  You see, government really doesn't create jobs. Government takes 
money. But if you leave that money back in local communities, that 
money is put to work and it does good things.
  The Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the tax cuts of 2003 
have helped boost the Federal revenues by 68 percent. Commonsense 
again. If you allow people to keep their tax dollars at home, the 
economy grows. And this should be understood by both sides of the 
aisle. This actually works for Democrats and Republicans. It worked for 
President Kennedy, it worked for President Reagan, and it has worked 
for President Bush. This is bipartisan. We all ought to understand that 
keeping taxes low, keeping spending low, the economy will grow and the 
coffers of government will grow. I think that is a good thing.
  We should all work to make the successful tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 
permanent. If they are not made permanent, which I am convinced that 
this new ``hold on to your wallet Congress'' has in mind, we are going 
to have a problem in our economy. For example, 84 million women will 
see their taxes increased by $1,970. Now, we all say here for the low 
and middle income, but if you are a woman, with this new tax increase 
of $400 billion, your average tax is going to go up $1,970.
  We are going to see 48 million married couples' taxes increased by 
$2,726. It seems inherently unfair to me. Forty-two million families 
will see their taxes go up by $2,084. And I thought we were here for 
the low and middle income. These are the people that are paying taxes.
  Twenty-six million small business owners will see a devastating tax 
increase of $3,637. The small business owner that runs the little store 
down the street or creates five jobs on the corner, who probably 
employs some of your friends in your local community, they are going to 
see their taxes go up over $3,600. And where are they going to get that 
$3,600 to send up to Washington? They are going to get it from you, the 
American people. They are going to either increase the cost of goods 
and we are going to see inflation, or they are going to decide they 
can't hire that last employee or maybe they have to let that last 
employee go.
  Five million low-income individuals and couples will no longer be 
exempt from Federal income taxes.

                              {time}  2200

  This is going to hurt the very people that we say we are trying to 
help.
  Again, we should work in a bipartisan manner, Republicans and 
Democrats, to make sure that the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are made 
permanent. I am very concerned if we don't do that, that we are going 
to see our economic growth go into a slide, and we are going to have a 
problem that we are going to have to deal with.
  Just two weeks ago, Washington Democrats passed a fiscal blueprint 
that raises taxes on Americans in one fell swoop. As part of this ill-
gotten budget, taxpayers in Tennessee, my home State, will not be 
allowed to deduct their sales tax from their Federal income tax, which 
is only fair because we don't have an income tax. It makes us equal 
with all the other States. Taxes on small businesses in east Tennessee 
will go up. The child tax credit will decrease from $1,000 to $500. The 
marriage penalty is coming back. Residents of the First District of 
Tennessee's average expense in taxes is going up over $2,000. The 
definition of a

[[Page H3459]]

small business will decrease from $400,000 to $200,000. Dividends will 
no longer be taxed at the personal gains rate, thereby increasing 
double taxation of dividends by as much as 62 percent. People all 
across America voted for change, but they are not getting the change 
they voted for.
  We have a choice between bigger economy or bigger government, and the 
majority party has made it their choice to have a bigger government. 
And if anyone tells you that Americans aren't paying their fair share 
for a civilized society, they must remember that Americans pay more in 
their taxes than they do for housing, clothing and heating combined. 
And also remember that Americans this year will have to work until the 
last week of April in order to pay their taxes. That is over 114 days 
just to cover their tax bills. So on tax day, today, when we feel it 
the most, everyone needs to remember, we need to hold the line on 
spending, reduce earmarks, and pass line item veto, and crack down on 
worthless pork barrel spending and be good stewards of the taxpayers' 
money. And again I remind you, Ronald Reagan said, ``We don't have a 
trillion dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a 
trillion dollar debt because we spend too much.''
  And with that, I yield back.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank my friend from Tennessee for his 
eloquent comments and for really bringing perspective to the issue.
  It really befuddles me as to how our friends on the other side of the 
aisle can say that they need to raise taxes to raise revenue, because 
if you look at this chart, Madam Speaker, what you appreciate is that 
as revenues were going down in the early part of this decade, what the 
solution was, as it is always a solution, is to lower taxes and you 
allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money. You put more 
money back in the pockets of American people and what happens? The 
economy flourishes, and lo and behold we have a record $2.4 trillion of 
revenue to the Federal Government because of decreased taxes.
  I am so proud to be joined by my good friends tonight to talk about 
this issue. And we are pleased to welcome once again Congresswoman 
Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, an individual who also knows and 
appreciates the importance of fiscal responsibility and the importance 
that allowing individuals to keep more of their hard-earned money means 
to their own freedom and their own liberty. I welcome you and look 
forward to your comments this evening.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Georgia.
  Madam Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to be on the floor 
tonight and talk a little bit about what the hold-on-to-your-wallet 
Congress is doing to Americans as we come to this tax day. You know, we 
circle April 15 on the calendar every year. I tell you, everybody knows 
that. They look forward to that day with dread. And I have said so many 
times I think the only thing good that happens that day is my nephew, 
Chip Wedgeworth, has a birthday every year on April 15. So that is the 
highlight of our April 15.
  I think the reason that Americans look at April 15 with that sense of 
dread is because they know, our constituents know, that we are 
overtaxed. They know that the government is overspent. It is plain and 
simple to them. They know that the government does not have a revenue 
problem, they've got a spending problem. And they never take the time 
to go through the disciplines that are necessary to reduce what the 
Federal Government spends. Those are things that American men and women 
who are working know. They know that government is overspent; they know 
that they are overtaxed. They know that the government doesn't have a 
revenue problem, that it has a spending problem. And Americans do mark 
this date on the calendar. They resent what it stands for.
  I thank the gentleman from Georgia for what he is doing on this 
issue.
  Madam Speaker, it is so nice to be on this floor and be joined by my 
colleagues who are real people, who live real lives, as the gentleman 
from Tennessee was talking about his business; people that understand 
what it takes to start a business, to run a business, to maintain a 
business. They are not part of the liberal elite. They are part of real 
people, this wonderful American middle class that makes this Nation 
run.
  You know, I think another thing that kind of gets to people as they 
are sitting there trying to get those taxes in the mail tonight and 
figure these forms out, these thousands upon thousands upon thousands 
of pages of the tax form, you know, I had one of my constituents in a 
town hall meeting say he couldn't read the Tax Code, it was bigger than 
the King James version of the Bible and he has never been able to get 
through the Bible, and so he definitely couldn't get through the Tax 
Code. That is how big and unwieldy this thing has become.
  But they look at this and they know that what we've got is a 
bureaucracy that is out of control. It is unresponsive; it is out of 
control. And the liberal elites who have created this bureaucracy think 
they are smarter than everybody else. They think that they know what 
should be happening for and to the rest of the country. And you know, I 
am right in there with them, don't like that very much.
  I think that our constituents all know, too, that just as we are 
talking about, they know that they are overtaxed and government is 
overspent. They know that government is never going to get enough of 
their money.
  And my colleague from Tennessee mentioned sales tax deductibility. 
Madam Speaker, I think it is just really so very sad that this Congress 
chose to let those tax deductions expire, which in effect will enact 
the largest tax increase in history on the American people, all to put 
more into the coffers of a government so that the liberal elites get 
their hands on it and they spend it. There again, the people know that 
they are overtaxed and they know government is overspent.
  As we talk about what is before us today, I think that it is 
important. I was looking at one of the gentleman's posters that he has 
down there about mandatory spending growth. Isn't it amazing that we 
see this mandatory spending growth? The budget that our colleagues 
across the aisle, the Democrats, have chosen to pass makes our tax 
reductions temporary, makes tax relief for all of our families 
temporary, and makes spending permanent.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I would gladly yield.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I brought along a number of charts. And we are 
not getting to a lot of them, but some of them we will.
  This chart is an important one because this shows the mandatory 
spending growth, something I like to coin actually ``automatic spending 
growth'' because it is not mandatory. The Federal Government has 
determined that that is where we are going to spend money. And it 
automatically increases. These are the automatic programs, which are 
basically Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; and unless they see 
reforms, what we will have seen from 1995 to 2017 is an increase from 
48.7 percent to 62.2 percent of our economy.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield?
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I would be happy to yield.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I think what we see here is so important, and what 
you've just said speaks to the issue. Because a budget should reflect 
not the priorities of the government, but the priorities of the people. 
And what we have seen in the budget that our friends across the aisle 
brought that eliminated the tax reductions, that increased the taxes, 
that adds to that, knowing that people are overtaxed, knowing that 
government is overspent, is the fact that all of these automatic 
increases, mandatory spending growth, not addressing entitlement 
reforms that are needed, but allowing that to be put on autopilot, and 
increase and increase and making that spending permanent while you make 
the tax reductions temporary.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Will the gentlelady yield?
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I will yield.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. This chart really points that out, ``Ignoring 
Entitlement Reform,'' which is exactly what occurred 2\1/2\ weeks ago 
when our friends passed our budget.
  When the Republicans were in charge, with the Balanced Budget Act

[[Page H3460]]

we passed in 1987 we saved nearly $130 billion. With the Deficit 
Reduction Act just a few short years ago in 2005, about $40 billion. 
With the budget that was adopted 2\1/2\ weeks ago, none, zero. No 
entitlement reform. No automatic spending reform. And consequently, 
what you know and what I know is that we are on track to spend that 
62.2 percent in a few very short years.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentleman is exactly right. That is why we have 
to look at that budget document on this tax day and say, they laid the 
marker down. They showed us what their priorities are. Their priorities 
are a bigger government and higher taxes on the American people.
  I would invite all of them to join us, join us in reducing taxes. 
Join us in making these tax reductions permanent. Join us in making 
sales tax deductibility permanent. Join us in being certain that 
middle-class Americans get first right of refusal on their paycheck, 
that it is not the Federal Government that gets first right of refusal 
on that paycheck. Before those deductions are taken out, let's be 
certain that the American people have the opportunity to sit down at 
that kitchen table and decide how they are going to spend those hard-
earned dollars, because it is their work.
  You know, American families, individuals in my district in Tennessee, 
we talked a lot about taxes as we went through this district work 
period. I had one of my constituents stand up in one of our meetings 
and he said, Marsha, I've got sweat equity in my paycheck; I've got a 
lot of sweat equity in my paycheck when I get it. And it just galls me 
every time I see a little bit more of that paycheck going to 
Washington, D.C. for programs that don't work. He talked about the 
spinach farmers and the fisheries and the peanut storage people and 
Katrina relief and all these things that were the waste; and the 
additions and the add-ons and the pork barrel spending that got put 
into the bill that would have funded our military.
  On this tax day, as people are going to the mailboxes tonight, they 
know that they are not undertaxed, they are overtaxed. They know that 
government is not underspent, it is overspent. And they know that the 
Democrats laid down a marker. They made a choice when they did this 
budget. That budget choice was, do you want to stand with the American 
families and let them have first right of refusal on that paycheck, or 
do you want to give first right of refusal to the bureaucrats and the 
liberal elites in Washington, D.C.? And they made their choice.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentlewoman for her perspective and 
for her passion for appropriate policies here out of Washington on 
behalf of the American people.
  And you've heard a lot about what our friends on the other side of 
the aisle have proposed. And it is important to the look at the 
numbers, Madam Speaker, the numbers on what has been proposed by our 
good friends on the other side of the aisle when the clock strikes 
midnight on December 21, 2010.
  They have proposed and they have enacted a budget that will result in 
increasing the ordinary income rates from 35 percent to 39.6 percent; 
increasing capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent; increasing 
dividends from 15 percent to 39.6 percent; increasing estate taxes from 
zero percent to 55 percent; decreasing the child tax credit from $1,000 
to $500; and, amazingly, increasing the lowest tax bracket from 10 
percent to 15 percent. A remarkable $400 billion in new taxes, a 
remarkable display of, frankly, lack of appreciation and lack of 
respect for the American worker.
  Now what is the solution? A lot of things can be done. What we would 
propose and have proposed is something that respects American values 
and I believe results in increasing American vision, and that is a 
taxpayer bill of rights, a Federal taxpayer bill of rights. Many folks 
will recognize the sound of that because there are some States around 
this Nation that have indeed enacted a taxpayer bill of rights. The 
problem at the State level, however, is that all they can address is 
State revenue, State money.

                              {time}  2215

  But, Madam Speaker, because of the actions of our friends on the 
other side of the aisle and because they want to dig deeper, we believe 
strongly that a taxpayer bill of rights is appropriate for the Federal 
Government. We believe that taxpayers have a right to a Federal 
Government that does not grow beyond their ability to pay for it. That 
means that the Federal Government ought not grow more than the 
population grows or more than the cost of living increases, and that 
can be put into law and that is what part of the taxpayer bill of 
rights does.
  We also believe that Americans have a right to receive back every 
single dollar that they entrust to the American people for their 
retirement. That is the Social Security issue, Madam Speaker. Right now 
the Federal Government, right now Washington spends money that the 
American people send to Washington to cover for their Social Security 
compensation, and what does Washington do, oftentimes it spends it on 
other programs. That is not right and it is not fair. I hear about it 
when I am back home, and I suspect you do as well.
  We believe taxpayers have a right to a balanced budget without 
raising taxes. You can balance the budget in one of two ways. You can 
raise taxes to try to increase revenue, which doesn't actually work, 
but you can have it work on paper. You can increase taxes and say, 
well, we will balance the budget that way, which is what our friends on 
the other side of the aisle have done. They say we will increase taxes 
$400 billion, and that is the way we will balance the budget.
  Madam Speaker, there is another way you can balance the budget, and 
that is by decreasing spending, and that is what we would propose 
through a taxpayer bill of rights.
  Fourth, we would propose fundamental and fair tax reform. My good 
friend from Texas mentioned earlier the proposal for a flat tax. That 
is one way to do it. I support the fair tax, the national retail sales 
tax, something that would do away with the IRS, do away with that 
organization that so many Americans dread and results in so much pain 
and heartache on the part of the American people.
  Finally, a taxpayer bill of rights that would require a supermajority 
for any increase in taxes for our Nation, something that was in effect 
until the very first day of this Congress when this new majority said, 
``no,'' we ought not have a supermajority to increase taxes, we ought 
to let a simple majority do it which results in a huge opportunity for 
an increase in taxation and has resulted in, by this new majority, 
policies which will significantly increase taxes.
  So, Madam Speaker, what we have done tonight is outlined the problem, 
outlined the history, talked about what kinds of solutions can be 
proposed and what we would propose in the way of an appropriate Federal 
taxpayer bill of rights.
  I would like to close with a quote from Thomas Jefferson who had a 
perspective on taxation. He said: ``To take from one because it is 
thought his own industry has acquired too much, in order to spare 
others who have not exercised equal industry and skill is to violate 
arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to 
everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by 
it.'' That was Thomas Jefferson, Madam Speaker.
  Madam Speaker, each and every one of us is remarkably privileged to 
serve in this House of Representatives. It is an honor to represent my 
constituents, as I know each Member feels it is an honor to represent 
theirs. We live in a wondrous and glorious nation, the longest 
surviving democracy in the history of the world, a nation that has 
resulted in, because of its actions, more freedom and more prosperity 
for more individuals than any nation in the history of mankind.
  It is commonsense and responsibility on behalf of the Members who 
represent all of the constituents across this Nation that have resulted 
in those policies. I, as I know my colleagues who have been here this 
evening, look forward to working with Members on both sides of the 
aisle to bring about that accountability and responsibility, and to 
bring about the kind of credit and honor to our constituents that they 
so richly deserve by their labor.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward to making certain that we hold each 
other accountable to establish the

[[Page H3461]]

kinds of policies that are appropriate and the kinds of policies that 
will result in the greatest amount of prosperity and freedom for future 
generations of Americans.

                          ____________________