[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5689-H5692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IT'S A SPENDING PROBLEM, NOT A REVENUE PROBLEM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my good friend
from Virginia.
Remembering the Fallen of the Chinook Helicopter Crash
Mr. RIGELL. I thank my friend for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute, to honor, and to remember and
celebrate the lives of American heroes. We're approaching a most
sobering anniversary, August 6. This is the day 1 year ago when a
Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, taking with it the lives of
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so many, including five soldiers, three airmen, and 24 SEALs. It marks
the most serious and heaviest loss of life for our SEAL community in
their illustrious service to our country. Families across our Nation
are hurting and will hurt not only on the anniversary but just as they
remember their loved one.
So it is with great humility and just deep appreciation to the
families of the fallen, our Gold Star families, to pause for a moment
to rise and to honor their loved one.
Our colleague from Iowa, Steve King, entered into the Congressional
Record a poem that was written specifically for this occasion. And I
appreciate my colleague yielding just for the few minutes it will take
to read the poem.
{time} 1800
It is with a grateful heart that I read this poem, and I thank my
colleague, Mr. King, for entering it into the Congressional Record.
This is written from the vantage point of the following:
We Stood!
We!
WE STOOD!
WE STOOD, so you can sleep!
While, out across our Nation our Mothers now so weep!
WE FOUGHT, so you can live!
All in such blessed peace--that which our most selfless
sacrifice so gives!
As all in such pain and heartache our families must now so
live!
WE STOOD, so you could sleep!
Upon that Bed of Freedom so very sweet!
As to all of you, our promises WE Did So Keep!
As it was all for you, our bodies Now So Sleep!
So Sleep, all in such cold dark quiet graves so very deep!
WE GAVE!
All of Our Most Precious Lives!
While, all of our Brothers In Arms did so weep . . . and not
ask why!
As WE so raised our hands so way up high!
And so swore to pledge our most precious lives!
To Make A Stand!
To Make A Difference With It All!
As WE so gave That Last Full Measure While Standing Tall!
As WE died and bled!
To so keep all of our most solemn vows of honor, said!
As why out across our Nation Our FAMILIES Now So Weep!
All But For The Greater Good, WE so gave all we could!
AS WE STOOD!
As WE pray now to our Lord their fine souls to so keep!
For THEY So Stood For What Was Right!
All with their most brilliant souls so burning bright!
As THEY died, all for that Old Red White and Blue this sight!
As into that face of evil, THEY so marched off casting their
most heroic lights!
To so go forth, all in such a most brilliant force to fight!
For THEY'D, MUCH RATHER HAVE DIED FOR SOMETHING!
THAN TO HAVE LIVED FOR NOTHING AT ALL!
FOR STRENGTH IN HONOR!
Was but THEIR most sacred battle cry . . . call!
Because, moments . . . are all that WE so have!
To Make A Difference!
To Hear That Call!
To Change The World!
To go off so boldly with flags unfurled!
Troops mount up, as Heaven calls!
Move on! Move out!
As there are 30 more new Angels, In The Army of Our Lord . .
.
To fight that battle, who shall not pause!
To so watch over us all!
And then there comes a gentle rain, their tears will wash
down upon us so to remain!
To ease our pain, so we won't have to cry anymore!
As forever in our hearts YOUR most sacred names,
WE will carry ALL!
Because, YOU died so WE can sleep!
Upon, That Bed of Freedom . . . YOUR Gift of Peace!
As now WE LAY YOUR FINE BODIES down to rest, to sleep!
BECAUSE YOU STOOD!
Amen!
Mr. Speaker, this very special poem is entered into the Congressional
Record, and it was written by Albert Carey Caswell. I have the
privilege of representing a wonderful district, Mr. Speaker, home of a
lot of heroes. These are good men, and you'd never know how they serve
and what they do. We are deeply grateful for their service and for all
servicemembers across this great land.
We stand with the families of the fallen, our Gold Star families, and
we ask God to give them a special measure of comfort and peace on this
anniversary.
I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding to me.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate you being with us this
afternoon and giving me the opportunity to come down here and talk
about where we have been this week on Capitol Hill trying to find a
pathway forward.
Now, as with every decision we make, Mr. Speaker, as you know, you
and I have been here for 18 months with a voting card in hand, trying
to make those decisions for our constituents back home, trying to bring
their voice to be heard on Capitol Hill, and we're facing one of those
choices right here today.
Which lane will we choose, Mr. Speaker?
We proposed, passed today here in the House in a bipartisan way a
proposal that will create 1 million new jobs. Now, I'm going to go on
and bring out some other studies and where those jobs are coming from.
But one of the folks we're going to hear from that's going to confirm
the job-creation opportunities that exist in this proposal is going to
be President Barack Obama because he will have stood about 10 feet
behind me in a State of the Union address just 18 short months ago and
advocated in favor of this job-creation proposal.
I don't know what has changed in 18 months, Mr. Speaker, but what we
saw here on the floor of the House today is our Democratic colleagues
advocating for a different choice. A choice that Ernst & Young in an
independent analysis of legislative proposals said will destroy 710,000
jobs. It will lose the opportunity to employ 710,000 Americans. As we
are hearing what is unquestionably the worst recession in my lifetime,
and when presented with a choice between creating a million new jobs or
losing 710,000 others, we are faced with a choice.
The House made the right choice today, Mr. Speaker. The House chose
to create 1 million new jobs. But just in the last 7 days, the Senate
made the wrong choice. The Senate chose a path that study after study
after study shows us results in failure. Why is that, Mr. Speaker? Why
is that?
What I have here, Mr. Speaker, is a chart you'll remember from our
budget debate. I'm just so proud, I serve on the Budget Committee here
in the House, Mr. Speaker. And, you know, we've brought two budgets to
the floor. In the short 18 months that I've served here in Congress,
we've brought two budgets to the floor that made tough decisions. Tough
decisions.
When you're running $1.4 trillion deficits, Mr. Speaker, and when
you're trying to create jobs for a Nation that's hurting, when you're
trying to prevent job-killing tax hikes from being imposed on American
job creators, there're no easy decisions. They're tough decisions, and
they have consequences.
But this is what I learned in our budget debate. What I have here is
a chart that shows tax revenue from 1947, just after World War II, all
of the way out to 2077, about 130 years of tax revenue. And what we'll
see, Mr. Speaker, is tax revenue that's actually come in represented by
this green line, and then the tax revenue that's projected to come in.
You'll see that's a flat line. It's taxes as a percent of GDP, and what
we see is whether we operated America with some of the highest tax
rates in history, and we've had 90 percent income tax rates in this
country--90 percent income tax rates--or whether we operate America
with the lowest income tax rates in this Nation's history, we bring in
about the same amount of money either way.
I know that's not intuitive. I could bring up chart after chart after
chart that shows how it's true. I can show what happened in the Kennedy
years when he cut those top marginal rates and more revenue came in. We
can look at what happened in the Reagan years when we cut those top
marginal rates and more revenue came in. And we can look at what
happened in the Bush years when we cut those marginal rates and more
revenue came in, over and over and over again.
But rather than dwell on those charts, Mr. Speaker, I just want you
to see that over time, revenue is relatively constant. Americans are
willing to give the Federal Government about 18 percent of the size of
the economy. And if the government asks for
[[Page H5691]]
more than that, Americans change their behavior so they don't have to
give it.
But the red line, Mr. Speaker, represents spending in this country,
spending going back to just after World War II, going out to where we
are here today and a projection forward based on current law. Based on
current law, Mr. Speaker. Folks look at this chart and they see this
giant red line, government spending as a percent of GDP as it threatens
to consume all of American GDP, and they think: Golly, what in the
world. Who are the crazy people proposing that we do that? Who are
they?
{time} 1810
Mr. Speaker, that's what happens if we do nothing. If we fail to
proactively offer a solution, if we fail to confront the challenges
that are facing this country with respect to spending, if we do not
act, this is what we get. No President need sign a law to create this
dangerous circumstance; the laws have already been signed.
The question is: What are we going to do about it, Mr. Speaker? We
don't have a taxation problem in this country in terms of needing to
tax Americans more; we have a spending problem in this country in terms
of the Federal Government needing to spend less.
And just to put that in sharp relief, Mr. Speaker, I've reflected
here in this green the path to prosperity. This is debt as a share of
the economy. This is America's debt as a share of the economy.
You remember when we had all hands on deck in World War II, when we
were literally fighting for the future of the world, debt crested 100
percent of GDP. We borrowed an amount equal to the entire size of the
United States economy. Well, we're right back there today, Mr. Speaker,
we will be over the next decade. And if we do nothing again, that
spending will create a debt pattern that will completely consume not
just all of the revenue, it will consume all of the wealth of this
country.
If we took everything from everybody, Mr. Speaker, if we confiscated
every stock and every bond, if we confiscated every small business and
every large business, if we took everybody's bank account and took
everything out from under their mattress, if we sold everyone's car,
everyone's home, we still wouldn't have enough money to pay for the
promises that previous Congresses have made to America.
It's a spending problem; it's not a revenue problem. But this green
line, Mr. Speaker, represents the budget that you and I and our
colleagues on the other side of the aisle came together to pass. It's
not about blaming folks. Did all of this red line come from previous
Congresses before I got here? You better believe it. But it's not about
finding out who was to blame in those previous 5 years, 10 years, 15
years, 20 years; it's about finding out who's going to offer the
solution to get us out of this mess. And you know who it is, Mr.
Speaker? It's this freshman class that you and I have the great fortune
of being a part of. It's the conservatives who have served in this
Congess, calling out in the wilderness time and time again, the senior
leaders of this conference, and this Congress who are going to come
together and provide solutions.
This green line represents not just a proposal that one man wrote,
not just an idea that maybe 10 or 15 people agree on. This green line,
this solution represents the budget that passed this United States
House of Representatives in a bipartisan fashion.
Don't let folks tell you it's hopeless, Mr. Speaker. Is it dire? Yes,
it is. But we have proffered solutions, we have debated solutions, and
we have passed, on the floor of this House, solutions. The problem is
not that taxes are too low in this country; the problem is that
spending is too high in this country, and we have offered solutions to
that. That's been the debate on the floor of the House this week.
Before I get into the debate that we've actually had this week, Mr.
Speaker, I've brought a chart of who benefits from tax loopholes. Who
benefits from tax loopholes? We talk a lot about tax loopholes.
I'm a cosponsor of the Fair Tax, Mr. Speaker. I'm a big believer in
the Fair Tax, the fundamental tax reform proposal. It has more sponsors
than any other fundamental tax proposal in the House or in the Senate.
It's H.R. 25 here in the House. It proposes that we turn our tax system
on its head, to stop punishing people for what they've earned and begin
to tax people based on what they spend.
If you're going out and you're buying a brand new Mercedes, I don't
care what kind of job you have, you can afford to pay the tax. If
you're driving a used Ford Festiva, I don't care how much money you
earn, you're plowing that money back into the economy instead of taking
it out.
This is what we see. Who benefits from tax loopholes? The bottom 20
percent, Mr. Speaker, get next to nothing from tax loopholes. The
bottom 40 percent, Mr. Speaker, you see, get nothing from tax
loopholes. The bottom 60 percent, the bottom 80 percent get next to
nothing in terms of tax loopholes. The top 20 percent, Mr. Speaker,
that finally starts to show up on the chart. But it's the top 1 percent
of all income earners who benefit the most from all the tax loopholes.
In this case, it's just over $250,000 each.
Now, why is that? I'm not picking on our top 1 percent. The top 1
percent pays about 40 percent of all the income taxes in this country.
The top 1 percent pays 40 percent of all the income taxes. The bottom
50 percent pays zero. If the bottom 50 percent is paying zero, that
means the top 50 percent has to pick up the whole tab. We pay more on
the top 1 percent. So it only makes sense that if you have a
complicated Tax Code that allows for lots of loopholes, exemptions,
deductions, and carve-outs, those loopholes, exemptions, deductions,
and carve-outs are going to benefit the people who are paying all the
tax--top 1 percent paying all the tax, and so top 1 percent benefiting
from all the loopholes.
Why am I talking about those folks in the top 1 percent? Because I'm
not picking on them. I admire them. I just want to make that clear. I
admire them. I'm not one of them, but I aspire to be. I hope I come up
with that next great idea like Bill Gates, like Steve Jobs. I hope that
I do something that makes a difference for America. I hope that I'm one
of those folks who owns a business back home that provides jobs for
families, jobs for my neighbors, income that supports people's
families. I want to be one of those guys. I don't demonize the 1
percent. I admire folks who have gone from nothing but the power of
their ideas and the sweat of their brow and created something. Golly,
that's what America is to me. That's what it is.
But there are some in this Congress, there are some down at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Speaker, who are intent on demonizing that 1
percent. And what they have now today, this week on the floor of the
House, has been a proposal to raise taxes on all of those job creators
there in that category. Fully 50 percent of all of the income generated
by small businesses is what my colleagues in the Senate, my colleagues
here on the Democratic side of the House have proposed to raise taxes
on. Those 50 percent of small business owners who are providing all the
jobs, that's where my colleagues believe a major tax increase should be
levied.
Mr. Speaker, we have put forth a proposal--I'm just so proud--that
says, rather than raising taxes on job creators, killing jobs--I showed
my choice of two futures--why not introduce fundamental tax reform that
eliminates those deductions and loopholes, those carve-outs and
exemptions that all of America knows are in the Tax Code, that all of
America would like to see eliminated. And if we know that eliminating
those has the greatest impact on the highest of our income earners, why
do we need a class warfare that's going on down here on the floor of
the House?
I say to my colleagues who want to demonize the top 1 percent, join
me in eliminating deductions and carve-outs and loopholes and
exemptions and you will raise taxes on that community, because those
are the folks who benefit because those are the folks who pay the
taxes.
There's a better way. Mr. Speaker, that's not just some hardcore
freshman Republican who is the sponsor of a fundamental tax reform bill
talking.
{time} 1820
The President of the United States, this President of the United
States, stood not 10 feet behind me at this podium at that microphone
right behind
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me, and he said these words in January of 2011:
Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the Tax
Code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those
with accountants and lawyers to work the system can end up
paying no taxes at all, but the rest are hit with one of the
highest corporate tax rates in the world.
President Obama said that, and he followed it with this:
It makes no sense, and it has to change.
Hitting job creators in America with the highest tax rate in the
world ``makes no sense, and it has to change.''
This was January of 2011, 1 month after December, 2010, when the
President signed the tax package for 2 years that the House passed
today. I ask the Speaker, where is the contention today? This is the
same proposal that was passed 2 years ago when the President
acknowledged the challenges facing our job creators and said ``it has
to change.''
We have a bigger plan for fundamental reform that changes the debate
in Washington forever, but right now, we are about the business of
stopping the largest tax increase in American history from destroying
jobs in this country beginning in January of next year. The President
acknowledges it and said it had to change.
Right here behind me in January, 2011, he says this:
So tonight, I'm asking Democrats and Republicans to
simplify the system, get rid of the loopholes, level the
playing field, and use the savings to lower the corporate tax
rate for the first time in 25 years without adding to our
deficit. It can be done.
It can be done, says President Obama--and he's right. Our Ways and
Means Committee has held more hearings on fundamental tax reform than
any other Ways and Means Committee in my lifetime. We are talking about
those fundamental reforms that the President has asked to talk about.
And this week, this week, Mr. Speaker, we passed a framework that gives
expedited procedures.
We all know how things get slowed down in Washington, D.C. We all
know how easy it is for somebody to latch on to something and stop it
from passing because they want to stand in the way of progress. We
passed expedited procedures to do exactly what the President has asked
us to do. This is not Republican politics. This is not partisan
politics. This is folks coming together to try to save what is a
fragile economy today. Is it the strongest economy in the world? You'd
better believe it. Is tomorrow going to be brighter than today in
America? You'd better believe it. But not by holding our tongues, not
by sitting on our hands, and not by fighting amongst ourselves about
who gets the credit.
Mr. Speaker, I don't care. I've got a fundamental tax reform bill
that I believe solves this problem. You can call it anything you want
to. Call it the Democratic plan to save America. It doesn't matter to
me. We don't care who gets the credit. We care about solving the
problem. And that's what our President charged us to do.
He goes on, January, 2011, 10 feet behind me:
We measure progress by the success of our people, by the
jobs they can find and the quality of those jobs, by the
prospects of a small businessowner who dreams of turning a
good idea into a thriving enterprise.
My colleagues here are trying to raise taxes on 50 percent of all the
income those small businessowners make. The job creators in this
country are faced with the largest tax increase in American history.
Our President has asked us not to do that. He goes on to say this:
By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to
our children, that's the project the American people want us
to get to work on together.
And we did. We passed our plan for fundamental tax reform together in
a bipartisan way this week.
Talking about the agreement that the President passed and signed in
December of 2010, the very same agreement that we're trying to pass
today, he said this:
We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed,
Americans' paychecks are bigger, and these steps taken by
Republicans and Democrats will grow the economy and add to
more than 1 million private sector jobs this year.
Did you remember my saying the President was going to back up, that
this proposal was going to create 1 million private sector jobs? He
said it in January, add to more than 1 million private sector jobs
created last year.
I'll close with this, Mr. Speaker. That was 10 feet behind me January
2011. Ten feet behind me January 20, 2012, the President said this:
We have a huge opportunity at this moment to bring
manufacturing back to America, but we have to seize it. We
have to seize it.
I bolded this so everybody could see it, Mr. Speaker. We should start
with our Tax Code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs
and profits overseas, meanwhile companies that choose to stay in
America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It
makes no sense. Everyone knows it. So let's change it.
Mr. Speaker, that's the bill the House passed this week. The bill the
Senate passed this week continues to punish those small businessowners
and continues to reward those companies that do their businesses
overseas.
Don't let an election year get in the way of doing what's right. The
President called for it, the Ways and Means Committee delivered it, the
House has passed it, and we can do it. I call on my colleagues on the
other side of the aisle to believe as I believe, that tomorrow can be
better than today.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________