[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 159-160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IMPLEMENTING REAL GOVERNMENT REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Herrera Beutler). Under a previous order 
of the House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Madam Speaker, my remarks will be about 
saving money, but I can't help but take an opportunity to respond to 
the previous speaker, my good friend, the gentleman, the good doctor 
from the State of Washington.
  I would say to him, Madam Speaker, and to my colleagues, when we 
repeal ObamaCare, which we will do in this House next Wednesday, 
parents will once again be able to afford a health insurance policy on 
which to include their adult children. That is what we will be doing.
  As far as this $110 billion worth of savings we lose in repealing 
ObamaCare, Madam Speaker, we spent $1.1 trillion to save $110 billion. 
Hey, Madam Speaker, it is true that you can indeed go broke trying to 
save money.
  With that, Madam Speaker, let me get on to my 5-minute discussion.
  I rise today to encourage my colleagues to recall the conversations 
they had with their constituents during the recent campaign season. As 
we begin the 112th Congress, to remember that the American people spoke 
with a resounding voice, didn't they, on November 2. They told us to 
abide by the Constitution, to rein in spending, bring about economic 
stability, create jobs, and end the culture of crafting legislation in 
the dark of night, 2,400 pages on the health care bill, outside of the 
view of the public.
  In order to fulfill this mandate, we must fundamentally change the 
way we do business here in Washington. I have taken the first steps by 
introducing several legislative initiatives this week, and they are all 
centered around the pursuit of meaningful government reform.
  Madam Speaker, transparency is an integral part of this package and a 
necessary element for real government reform. For the first time, the 
Constitution, a document critical to understanding our parameters and 
responsibility, was read right here in the House today, on the House 
floor.
  I am proud to have introduced a bill as part of my initiative stating 
that any legislation brought to the floor must cite its constitutional 
authority. Many may find it surprising to know, Madam Speaker, that 
while votes taken on the floor of the House are available on the Net to 
view, or on the Web site, that is not necessarily the case in 
committee. Therefore, my package also contains a committee transparency 
bill. It would require committee votes to be posted online, on the 
committee Web site, within 48 hours, so the American people are kept 
better informed of what their Members are doing and how they are voting 
in committee.
  Madam Speaker, the rejection by the American people of the Democrats' 
reckless spending emphasizes the importance of fiscal responsibility, 
doesn't it? This is the reason I incorporated the Congressional Budget 
Accountability Act into my plan.
  Each year, my colleagues and I receive a fixed budget for all office 
expenses. We call that the MRA, or the Members' Representational 
Allowance. This bill would codify that our unused MRA funds must be 
returned to the Treasury for debt and deficit reduction.
  Along these lines, I have also included what is called the Fiscal 
Responsibility Act, which will preclude any Member of Congress from 
being eligible for a pay adjustment, a so-called

[[Page 160]]

COLA, if we have incurred a budget deficit in the previous fiscal year.
  We may not have a balanced budget amendment, Madam Speaker, but that 
doesn't mean we can't balance the budget, and I want to hold our feet 
to the fire. This is yet another way that we can do that.
  Also in the package, Madam Speaker, is a bill to prevent Federal 
employees from engaging in union activity on official time. It is 
amazing that this goes on, but we have estimated that in a 5-year 
period of time we could save the taxpayer over $600 million and $1.2 
billion in a 10-year period of time.
  Put simply, it is unacceptable that government employees paid with, 
yes, your tax dollars, are currently permitted to spend time during 
their workday performing union activities. I have already given you the 
savings.
  Equally unacceptable is that legislators in Washington commonly 
attach legislation that cannot pass on its own merits to unrelated 
must-pass bills. Let me give you an example, Military Construction-VA.
  A couple of years ago, we passed that out of committee with an almost 
100 percent bipartisan vote. The Democratic majority held that bill up 
for 100 days because they wanted to attach an unpopular bill, something 
like the Dream Act or Don't Ask, Don't Tell, some controversial bill, 
and put our veterans at jeopardy. They literally held them hostage. 
This bill, Madam Speaker, would say from now on, no attaching unpopular 
bills to good standalone bills, especially if they are for our veterans 
and the military.
  Madam Speaker, in conclusion, while these bills may seem like a small 
start compared to the big challenges we have ahead of us in this 
Congress, the 112th, it is a pathway to start changing business as 
usual in Washington and fulfill the promises we made on November 2 to 
the American people.

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