[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                           HON. PAUL A. GOSAR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 11, 2014

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize passage this week 
of three important pieces of legislation: H.R. 2431, the National 
Integrated Drought Information System Reauthorization Act of 2013; S. 
25, the vehicle which included the military retiree COLA fix and SGR 
bill; and H.R. 3448, the Small Cap Liquidity Reform Act. Additionally, 
I would like to make clear that I would have opposed S. 540, the Debt 
Limit Extension. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote on final passage 
of these important bills because of much needed hip replacement 
surgery. I guess I'm finally being paid back for playing rugby all 
through college and dental school.
  H.R. 2431, National Integrated Drought Information System 
Reauthorization Act of 2013, is important legislation that will provide 
critical benefits for ranchers, waters users and local communities 
allowing them to better prepare and respond to extreme drought 
conditions that are continuing to plague the West as well as rural 
communities.
  S. 25 reverses the cost of living adjustment (COLA) cuts for working-
age military retirees that was found in the Bipartisan Budget Act. I 
voted against the flawed Bipartisan Budget Act because it increased 
spending levels by $45 billion in one year and $63 billion over the 
course of two years. To pay for those increases, the Bipartisan Budget 
Act erased various, if not all, spending cuts from the Budget Control 
Act which passed back in 2011. Additionally, the Bipartisan Budget Act 
reduced the annual retirement COLA for working age military retirees by 
one full percentage point. I found this provision to be completely 
unacceptable and don't believe we should be balancing our budget on the 
backs of our veterans. As S. 25 repeals this provision that penalizes 
our military retirees and includes a payfor, I would have supported 
this legislation.
  H.R. 3448, the Small Cap Liquidity Reform Act of 2013 is important 
legislation that establishes an optional liquidity pilot program which 
will benefit the securities of small emerging growth companies.
  Finally, I want to reiterate that I would have opposed S. 540, the 
Debt Limit Extension. Back in 2011, we reached an understanding that if 
we're going to raise the debt ceiling and not jeopardize the nation's 
credit, then we need to attach reforms to each debt ceiling increase so 
that we reduce the need to constantly raise the debt ceiling and we 
start living within our means. This increase violates those principles. 
Although some like to call this a ``clean'' debt ceiling increase, 
there is nothing clean about borrowing another trillion dollars; this 
is as messy as it gets and the term ``clean'' is propaganda as far as 
I'm concerned. The bottom line is that our nation has a spending 
addiction--it's past the point of a problem--when we must continually 
raise the debt ceiling to accommodate our dangerous spending habits. At 
what point does it stop? How is it possible that we couldn't include a 
single reform in this legislation? I don't want our country to default 
but I wouldn't have voted to give the President a blank check. The 
federal government will collect an estimated $3 trillion in taxes from 
October 1, 2013 until September 30, 2014. We do have the ability to 
live within our means and it's time we make the hard decisions 
necessary to make that happen.
  Had I been present for these votes, I would have voted in support of 
these three important bills with a ``yea'' vote on rollcall Numbers 55, 
60 and 62. I would have opposed increasing the debt ceiling and voted 
``nay'' on rollcall Numbers 61.

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