[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 15, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1352-H1353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     PENN STATE STUDENTS COMMITTED TO ADDRESSING THE NATIONAL DEBT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to laud the 
efforts of a student organization at Penn State University, located in 
the Pennsylvania Fifth Congressional District.
  These students are participating, Mr. Speaker, in a nationwide 
competition called Up to Us. The goal is raising awareness of the 
national debt and the impact it will have on the leaders of tomorrow 
and generations to come, especially in terms of their future economic 
opportunities. The winning team will be recognized later this year and 
will receive $10,000.
  The national debt isn't something you often hear much about from men 
and women in their late teens and early twenties, which is why I was so 
impressed by this.
  These are signatures of more than 1,500 students seeking to raise 
awareness among the men and women who represent them in such places as 
the United States House of Representatives and the Senate.
  I was happy to share some of the work we have done over the past few 
years in lowering the debt and pledge to continue that effort.
  Spending has been reduced to historic levels under the Republican-led 
Congress. These fiscally responsible reductions are greater than those 
achieved under President Reagan and greater than those under former 
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
  This has been a challenge, given that before Republicans took charge 
of the House, total spending to gross domestic production had 
skyrocketed from 21 to 24 percent. Discretionary spending alone went 
from 7 percent to 10 percent. We were drowning in debt.
  One of the first measures in restoring financial common sense 
advanced by Republicans was the Budget Control Act that decreased 
government spending by more than $2 trillion over 10 years. By flexing 
the power of the purse, the Republican-led House reduced spending from 
9.1 to 6.5 percent of gross domestic product.
  The second significant and successful debt reduction measure came in 
the form of the Ryan-Murray deal. This extended the Budget Control Act 
savings an additional 2 years.
  Newly hired Federal employees are now required to contribute more to 
pension plans, and taxpayers contribute less. The spending reductions 
that were impacting mandatory spending for the first time resulted in 
faster and greater debt reduction.
  The very first meaningful entitlement reform that provided even 
greater debt reduction came from the Republican-led Medicare reform 
legislation that has been enacted, known as the doc fix.
  Now, while this legislation provided a permanent patch of the 
Medicare outpatient payment system, securing access to care, health 
care for America's older adults, the reforms are estimated to save $2.9 
trillion over 10 years in Medicare's unfunded liabilities. This 
leadership reduced the debt and supported the Medicare program's 
sustainability.
  While the Republican-led Congress has taken action on debt reduction, 
much work remains. Raising awareness of the threats that debt creates 
for fiscal health, individual opportunity, upward mobility, and 
national security is a critical step.
  I want to say thank you to the students at Penn State University who 
are involved in leading the Up to Us

[[Page H1353]]

project for their work in this effort. I wish them the best of luck as 
they continue to work to bring attention to this very important issue.
  I look forward to working with them as we continue to work at 
eliminating the debt that threatens their future and the future of our 
Nation.

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