[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 9777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE DIRECTION OF OUR COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Boozman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOOZMAN. As part of my commitment to the people of Arkansas' 
Third District, I hold mobile offices in all 12 counties so that I can 
hear their concerns and help them when I can. As part of that, I relay 
their troubles here.
  For many of the people I saw in Fayetteville on Friday, their 
attendance at the mobile office was a first. Like so many other people 
that I hear from through phone calls, e-mails, they are scared with the 
direction of our country.
  They've seen Democrats pass a massive stimulus bill that was full of 
pet projects but short on job creation, job protection, and protections 
for pension plans. They've seen President Obama tout an omnibus bill 
that increases government spending, but what they're looking for is how 
Washington is tightening its belt, just like so many of them are.
  Last week, President Obama said, ``It's with a budget that leads to 
broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one 
where we save and invest.'' Unfortunately, President Obama isn't living 
up to those words with his budget proposal that spends too much, taxes 
too much, and borrows too much.
  My constituents are upset--and they have every reason to be. ``No 
more Federal deficit spending, please. I beg you to stop the financial 
bleeding.'' This is from Leslie in Harrison. She e-mailed me last week, 
``We cannot afford to continue spending for programs we don't need. 
What we need are legislators with the veracity and tenacity to stand up 
and cut the spending programs and pay off the national debt.''
  Leslie, I hear you. I too have serious doubts. One reason is the 
proposed Federal budget would enact the largest tax increase in the 
history of the United States.
  I also hear Rebecca from Wesley, who wrote, ``I'm 63 years old and 
have worked very hard. I pay my bills and do not want to pay the bills 
of others. I'm so furious with what is going on in Washington. No to 
all tax increases, no to any laws that will increase utility rates, no 
to government-run health care. I have no confidence that the government 
can run anything.''
  We need to work to regain the confidence of the hardworking Americans 
like Leslie and Rebecca that they had in the past in our government, 
but no longer. This requires us to vote against budget proposals that 
include cap-and-trade and that hurt small businesses and discourage 
charitable giving.
  We need a road to recovery that includes curbing wasteful spending, 
focusing on job creation and debt control. We need to do what is best 
for our country, and I'm committed to looking for alternative solutions 
and fighting for a capitalistic democracy.

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