[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 17, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3476-H3477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, while I was running for Congress 
last year, I noticed that Democrats everywhere were campaigning on the 
notion that they were fiscally responsible and would make wise 
decisions for our country based on what we could afford.
  Frankly, as the former mayor of Johnson City, Tennessee, who has 
grown accustomed to balanced budgets and living within our means, this 
sounded pretty good. It made me excited to come to Washington and get 
our financial house in order.
  My excitement, however, was short lived when I realized how 
thoughtlessly we would spend a billion dollars. First we approved the 
second $350 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which is what 
people back home and I call a bailout of our banking institutions. Then 
we approved $787 billion for what was called economic stimulus, but 
what was in reality a laundry list of spending items the Democrats 
hadn't been able to get funded the past few years and won't produce 
sustainable economic growth.
  Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, we went out and passed 
a fiscal year 2009 omnibus spending bill that included $410 billion and 
an 8 percent increase for our Federal agencies. I am going to pause for 
a second and let that sink in, an 8 percent increase at a time of 
record deficits where local county, city and State governments are 
cutting and balancing budgets.
  I think the American people are so skeptical of what's happening in 
Washington because what they see people in

[[Page H3477]]

Washington do is disconnected completely from reality. The reality is 
in Johnson City, Tennessee, they are asking their agencies to fund a 5 
percent cut over last year's budget.
  All over America, families and State and local governments are 
tightening their belts and making do with what they have. Only in 
Washington do we respond to a huge drop in tax receipts by spending 
even more money.
  Now the administration has proposed a $3.9 trillion budget, which 
will be 27 percent of gross domestic product of this country. This will 
create the largest Federal Government since World War II.
  This budget is especially troubling because it's coupled with tax 
increases, and our job creators have to pay for it. The math of these 
policies seems to be more government spending, plus higher taxes, 
equals more jobs and economic growth.
  If this equation seems questionable to you, I'm right there with you. 
This budget spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.
  I think the American people are beginning to question everything they 
hear being done in the name of economic stimulus and recovery. They 
heard ``fiscally responsible'' during the campaign and assumed that 
meant we would be looking for savings from ineffective programs and 
keep income in families pockets where it's most needed. They are 
getting just the opposite.
  My House Republican colleagues prefer a simpler strategy that has 
proven effective time and time again. First you want to leave the money 
in the hands of the families to decide how to spend their own money. We 
proposed lowering the lowest two tax brackets from 15 to 10 percent and 
10 to 5 percent respectively.
  We would like to create tax incentives for small businesses, the 
engines of our economy, to create these jobs. We believe it's important 
to eliminate taxes on unemployment insurance, which will help those who 
have lost their jobs stay afloat until they find a new job.
  And I believe we should invest in our transportation, water, 
education, and infrastructure. As a fiscal conservative, I generally 
don't like deficit spending unless future generations will get to enjoy 
the benefit of the spending.
  By leaving a lasting infrastructure in place, our children will be 
able to enjoy the benefits, even if they are asked to pay for some of 
the costs. While I am hopeful we can consider these commonsense 
solutions, the fact is Republicans are in the minority. We don't have 
the ability to stop these harmful policies from going forward, only 
President Obama, and Democrats and Congress can.
  I urge the American people to ask President Obama and his Democratic 
colleagues to fulfill their campaign promises of fiscal responsibility 
and stop these tax increases and wasteful spending, and help restore 
our economy, which is still the strongest in the world.

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