[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 116 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H5774-H5776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEBT CEILING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. West) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. WEST. Mr. Speaker, free markets, free enterprise, innovation, and
entrepreneurship are the foundation for economic growth and job
creation in America.
For the past 4 years, Democrats in Washington have enacted policies
that undermine these basic concepts which have historically placed
America at the forefront of the global marketplace. As a result, most
Americans know someone who has recently lost a job, and small
businesses and entrepreneurs lack the confidence needed to invest in
our economy. Not since the Great Depression has our Nation's
unemployment rate been this high for this long.
Enough is enough. More taxation, regulation, and litigation will not
create more jobs. Government takeovers of the economy have failed while
the size and scope of the Federal Government has exploded. Washington
has tied the hands of small business owners and job creators with
onerous regulations and backward fiscal policies that have stalled the
economy, slowed innovation, and destroyed jobs.
We need commonsense growth policies to give small businesses and
entrepreneurs renewed confidence in our economy and to remove
Washington as the roadblock to job creation.
America is at a crossroads, and House Republicans are committed to
taking every possible step to spur private sector job creation and get
our economy back on track so that Americans can do what they do best:
create, innovate, and lead.
Tonight, my colleague and I will convey the frustrations of small
business owners and those who have received the bad end of the stick of
horrible policies created by the Obama administration.
At this time, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona, my friend and
colleague, Mr. Schweikert.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. I thank the gentleman from Florida.
One of my reasons for asking you for a little bit of your time this
evening is one of these days I'm supposed to come here to the floor,
and we're putting together an actual presentation of the Medicare
actuary report to walk people through, both our citizens and our fellow
Members here, the reality of the numbers. But there was so much
rhetoric on the floor today, and even within the last couple of hours,
that it became one of those ``it was time to come back here to the
floor.''
These are some slides that we used about a week ago. And it was my
great frustration, because how do you manage your government? How do
you engage in this political process when we're operating under
mathematical folklore? We're living in a fantasy land when you see
Members walk up to that microphone, look the public in the eye through
that camera and say, If we would just get rid of those incentives to
buy corporate jets, if we would just tax Big Oil, if we would just tax
those millionaires and billionaires.
So one more time, we're going to actually walk through a little bit
of mathematical reality so we might be able to start having an
argument, a debate, a discussion that has some basis in fact instead of
basis in, I'm going to say whatever is necessary from this microphone
to get reelected. And it breaks my heart, but in my 7 months here, I
think that happens an awful darn lot.
A quick sample of where we are at today. That's a dollar bill. Do you
see this first part? That's 42 percent. So 42 pennies of every dollar
this Federal Government is spending today is borrowed. That's why this
debate that we're going through right now is so much more than just the
debt ceiling and how much more our borrowing capacity is. It is the
fact we're buried in debt and we are crashing, being crushed under that
weight.
If you go and read the S&P letters and the Moody's letters, it's so
much more than, Raise the debt ceiling or you might get downgraded. It
is, You are going to get downgraded unless.
There is a credible plan to demonstrate how you intend to bend this
debt curve. That's the real debate around here. That's what you are
seeing the Republicans passionately try to discuss with the American
people and with our brothers and sisters from the other side that this
was so much more than raising the debt ceiling. It was a discussion
about saving this Republic.
So if you have a Republic, this government borrows 42 pennies out of
every dollar we spend. How long do you think that's going to last?
So what sort of rhetorical things do we get to hear around here?
Well, let's actually, now, do a little analysis on a couple of them.
How many of you in the last 24 hours, both either in the gallery or
here on the floor with me or my good friend Mr. West, have heard
Members walk up to microphones, shake their hands and say, No more
subsidies for those corporate jets?
Okay. Maybe they're right. But let's actually do the math.
[[Page H5775]]
We borrow about $4.7 billion every single day. And that whole piece
of rhetoric, which I know has been tested through polling and focus
groups so it is all about politics and campaigning and not the truth to
the American people, is 15 seconds of that borrowing every day.
So one more time. We borrow $4.7 billion every single day, and the
rhetoric you hear about the depreciation on the corporate jets, we're
going to need to take that away, even if it were something sensible,
it's 15 seconds a day. So you nod your head and say, All right. What if
we got rid of it? Great. But it's 15 seconds a day.
So let's go on to the next bit of rhetoric we were hearing today.
Big Oil, we need to take away those subsidies, those incentives to go
out and find more oil. Well, let's do this. What if the math were we're
going to take away those subsidies from all oil, all fossil fuels, not
just Big Oil. Well, we borrow $4.7 billion a day. It's $2.44 billion a
year. Well, that equates to a good 2.2 minutes of borrowing a day.
So let's see. So far the two prime bits of rhetoric we heard here
today equal 15 seconds, 2.2 minutes of borrowing, and this is the type
of solution we keep getting from the left. And the reason we're getting
those types of solutions is because it's tested through polling. It's
easy for the public to understand, even though it's horribly untruthful
to the public that's actually trying to get their heads around the
scale of this problem.
So let's actually go on to one of the other ones we heard today.
How about those millionaires and those billionaires? You know, those
Bush tax extensions. All right. But let's first be honest. They're the
Bush tax extensions--they're actually the Bush-Obama tax extensions,
because remember President Obama did sign the extension in December.
If you were to take away those tax extensions for every American, not
just those millionaires and billionaires, what does it buy you?
Remember, once again, we're borrowing $4.7 billion a day. It would buy
you a good 28 minutes of borrowing.
So this rhetoric we hear from the President and around here, I know
it may politically be wonderful and it's politically easy to digest,
but mathematically, it just isn't the truth, and it doesn't lead you to
a solution.
Because think of this one more time. The depreciation on jets, the
incentives to find fossil fuels, ending the Bush-Obama tax cut
extensions, and assuming--which we did in our math--that every single
dime came in, that you didn't slow the economy down, you didn't raise
unemployment, we used a magical fantasy number that every dime came
back in and was applied straight to the deficit and to the debt, all
three of the rhetorical points we heard over and over and over today
add up to a half-hour of borrowing.
{time} 2000
I turn to my brothers and sisters on the left one more time--and this
is starting to become a habit here--what would you like to do with the
other 23.5 hours?
I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members not to refer to
occupants of the gallery.
Mr. WEST. Mr. Speaker, we must empower small business owners and
reduce regulatory burdens. Job creators are being bogged down by
burdensome regulation from Washington that prevents job creation and
hinders economic growth. These regulations are particularly damaging
for the real job creators in the country, our small business owners. We
must remove onerous Federal regulations that are redundant, harmful to
small businesses, and impede private-sector investment in job creation.
The Small Business Administration has reported that government
regulations are estimated to cost our economy over $1.75 trillion a
year. To make matters worse, in 2009, the administration considered
adding another 184 regulations that are estimated to cost the economy
in excess of $100 million each and are likely to cause more Americans
to lose jobs.
At this time, I yield to my friend and colleague from Colorado.
Mr. TIPTON. Thank you, Congressman West.
Tonight we're talking about small business in America, the number one
job creator in America. I'm a small businessman. I'm not a career
politician. It seems to me that once you come to this place and you're
surrounded by pillars of marble, vast expanses of grass, and glorious
monuments, that it seems to kind of cloud your vision from what's
really going on back at home. We're seeing businesses right now--they
aren't the megacorporations that are often talked about by our
colleagues; they are small businesses trying to provide jobs, trying to
be able to build a future.
I live in western Colorado. My district encompasses a good portion of
the entire State of Colorado, the eighth-largest congressional district
in the United States, 54,000 square miles. The number one employer
there, small business. Traveling through that district, I found it
remarkable. As I have stopped into those small businesses, visited with
the owners, sole proprietorships, Sub S corporations, LLCs, people just
trying to make a living, as I visited in those communities with county
commissioners, with city council members, one message comes through
loud and clear: Government is overregulating America. It is hurting our
ability to truly be able to get Americans back to work.
Congressman West just mentioned a very important figure. In this
country, we are paying $1.75 trillion a year in terms of regulatory
cost. That is impeding America's ability to be able to get back to
work. Now some of our friends always want to take that to the extreme,
saying that we want to eliminate all regulations. It's not the case.
When we go back to the beginning of the 20th century, when we were
starting to build cars in this country, in New York City, there were
two automobiles, two cars. They ran into each other. So stoplights are
not a bad idea. But the government has overreached. It is hurting small
business and our opportunity to truly be able to grow America.
Let me tell you a story about a constituent of mine. He started out
with nothing. He and his wife invested and they scraped together
dollars and worked hard. And over the course of the years, they've been
able to build a small car dealership in western Colorado. He called me
up the last few days, and he said, Washington simply doesn't get it.
They seem to believe that they need money more than we do here at home.
And that brings us back to a lot of the conversations which we have
been having over these last few days in terms of the debt and the
deficit in this country. We currently have a debt in this Nation of
$14.3 trillion. Come the end of September, we're going to be adding on
another $1.4 trillion on top of that national debt, a crushing burden
on the promise of America.
His granddaughter, she isn't old enough really to know how much she
owes. But her portion of that national debt is now well in excess of
$45,000. If our grandchildren are going to inherit the promise of
America, we have to restrain, we have to slow down, we have to reduce
the spending in Washington, D.C. We simply can't afford it. The numbers
are too high. Our colleagues will tell us that taxes are the answer.
They like to call it a balanced approach. We need more of your money
because Washington needs it more. They failed to point out that through
the bills that they have passed through this Chamber--Congressman West
and I, we weren't here. We didn't help create the problem, but we are
certainly here to try to help solve the problem.
They increased the debt on the backs of the American people when they
passed ObamaCare, the government-run health care. I'm concerned about
that because it is hurting jobs in America. That small businessman who
started that business from nothing and was able to grow that car
dealership is afraid to hire because he doesn't know what the costs are
going to be from the government-run health care. Well, we've got a
pretty good idea--at least the upfront costs. It's costing us better
than $1 trillion. Our senior citizens, indeed, are worried about that.
Through the actions of our counterparts, we saw that $562 billion was
cut out of Medicare to be able to fund that program. And starting in
January this coming year, the President will appoint his 15-member
commission to start rationing
[[Page H5776]]
health care for senior citizens. We're fighting to stop that.
Connectivity which we see in our economy. Between government
regulations, excessive taxation, and having too many people in
Washington who have never gotten dirt under their fingernails, they've
never met a payroll, they've never created a job, they've never worked
in the private sector. That's the disconnect between here and at home.
We have people right now that are gathering around their kitchen
tables. They are looking at the resources that they have coming in and
know that they can't spend more than they take in. Tomorrow morning
those small businesses are going to unlock the doors. They know that
they have to spend within the limitations of the income that they have.
Forty-nine of our States live under a balanced budget requirement,
just like the men and women who live in the communities of those
States. Isn't it about time, isn't it about time that Washington
applied the same principles that they expect out of every American,
every American family, to apply to Washington, D.C.? Some will say
``no.'' But that's a challenge--more importantly, that is the
opportunity that we truly face right now in this country. We have an
opportunity to change the course of American history for the better, to
embrace, once again, the values that truly made this country the
freest, the richest, and the greatest nation on the face of the Earth,
and that the Earth will truly ever see. American entrepreneurship,
American know-how, but we have to have the freedom, the resources, and
the opportunity to do that. The government is no longer the
steppingstone to success in this country but has, indeed, become a
stumbling block.
{time} 2010
This is our chance. This is our opportunity. We have many votes here,
had a vote today.
This is not the end of the debate, but it is the beginning of a
solution. If we embrace that opportunity, that special and unique thing
that it is to truly be an American, American exceptionalism, and allow
Americans to do what they do best, to innovate, to create and to build,
we will be able to get this country back on the right course, but it
will not come as long as we continue to build government, protect
programs, and forget about the people who sent us to Washington.
Let's stand up once again for the American people, for the small
business people who truly make America work and are the number one job
creators in our country.
Mr. WEST. I thank my colleague from Colorado.
Mr. Speaker, we know that not all regulations are bad, but so many of
them are obstacles to job creation. A recent study by the Heritage
Foundation found that an unprecedented 43 major regulations were
imposed in fiscal year 2010 with a total economic cost of $26.5
billion, the highest total since at least 1981.
The cost of regulations is a big obstacle for American job creators.
But when you think about regulations, here are examples of some of the
ones that can make you laugh.
The Department of Energy requires microwave makers to measure the
amount of energy their products use in the ``off'' position.
The Environmental Protection Agency wants stricter regulations on the
amount of dust on American farms.
The Department of the Interior wants to impose a fee on Christmas
tree sales to promote Christmas tree sales.
When you think about how government regulations destroy American
jobs, these are the statistics that will make you cry. According to a
Louisiana State University professor, the Department of the Interior's
de facto moratorium of exploration in the Gulf of Mexico could cost
36,137 jobs. In addition, more than 80,000 jobs could be lost due to
the EPA regulations targeting the cement industry; and, finally, EPA
greenhouse gas regulations could cost $1.4 million jobs.
The American people placed an upper limit on the damage that
Washington Democrats could inflict on the economy by firing House
Democrats in the last election.
In January, we began to implement the Pledge to America, which is
focused on providing an environment for economic growth and job
creation. We voted to repeal the government takeover of health care,
roll back costly Obama administration regulations, cut job-destroying
spending and change the culture of Washington, D.C., from one which
talks about how much more they can spend, to one which now talks about
how much we can cut in spending.
The United States Congress in 2009 passed the President's almost $800
billion stimulus package, which we now have convincing proof it did
nothing to reduce unemployment. Today the House of Representatives has
sent nine real-life job creating bills to the U.S. Senate, yet those
bills continue to sit, waiting to be voted on, similar to the Cut, Cap,
and Balance that we sent over that the Senate majority leader tabled.
I have introduced my own piece of legislation to do my part to try to
reduce unemployment, The Small Business Encouragement Act, H.R. 1663.
The President continues with an economic policy based on job-killing
overregulation, the specter of increased taxes and the implementation
of ObamaCare. How many more months are we going to see this stagnant
job growth? We are now at 29 months of unemployment in the United
States of America being at or above 9 percent.
The President has to realize his policies have failed. They have
failed the American people, and it is time to go in a different
direction. The solution lies in economic taxation and regulatory
policies which incentivize long-term private sector growth. We must
restore confidence, provide access to capital which will create
economic certainty. Now is not the time for more rhetoric on spending,
borrowing, and raising taxes. Our country is in a crisis, and time is
running out.
We must remember that it is those same mom and pop stores on Main
Street back in our respective districts that create the jobs for our
teenagers during these summer months. It is the local hair salon back
home that my wife and my two daughters visit often that would be
affected by the uncertainty that persists throughout this Nation.
Economic uncertainty created by our massive Federal debt, burdensome
regulatory environment on small businesses, and uncertain tax policy
for 2012 is slowing commerce; and we must turn the corner. Today's
somber GDP announcement in the last quarter of 1.3 percent growth and
the previous quarter, 0.5 percent growth, is further proof that
President Obama's administration's economic strategy is not working.
Unemployment still remains above 9 percent, at 9.2 percent
nationally; in the inner city and our black communities is at 16.2
percent; and, unfortunately, for our veterans, of which I am one, that
unemployment rate is 13 percent.
We just talked about our quarterly GDP growth. That is unacceptable
for the most powerful economy in the world. Providing certainty for
America's small businesses should be the number one priority for
Washington, considering they are the backbone of our Nation's workforce
and the engine of our economy.
In May, House Republicans put forth a plan for America's job
creators. That includes commonsense policies to remove uncertainty by
reducing regulatory burdens, lowering business tax rates to 25 percent,
spurring exports by quickly passing the pending free trade agreements,
and introducing a budget that gets our Nation's fiscal house in order.
The sooner we enact policies like these into law, the sooner our small
businesses will be able to lead us out of this economic downturn.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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