[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11672-11673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THE PROMISE OF AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Woodall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOODALL. I'm conflicted as I come to the floor today, Mr. 
Speaker. I'd actually planned to talk about tax reforms this morning. 
The Ways and Means Committee for the first time in 10 years is holding 
a hearing on the Fair Tax next Tuesday, July 26. The Fair Tax is a 
proposal that abolishes the income tax system in this country that 
punishes people based on what they earn and creates a consumption tax 
that rewards people based on how much they save. And as we talk about 
poverty here this morning, as we talk about how to get folks back on 
their

[[Page 11673]]

feet, the problem in this country, Mr. Speaker, is not that we don't 
bring in enough revenue. It's that we spend too much money. There is a 
bias in our culture now towards consumption as opposed to thrift.
  Now, when did that happen? I wish I were a better student of history. 
I know that Ben Franklin shared with us that ``a penny saved is a penny 
earned.'' I know that our colleagues in the past said if we talk about 
a million here and a million there, pretty soon we're talking about 
real money.

                              {time}  1100

  My grandfather was a United Methodist minister in the South Georgia 
Conference. He was a Navy chaplain during World War II, and went down 
and worked the South Georgia circuit after the war. They'd get together 
and get all the little nubs of the candles that they would have during 
the year and melt them all together to put together those Christmas 
candles. I don't know if you all grew up with one of those Christmas 
candles in your home, but they couldn't afford to go out and buy a 
candle. They had to put together all the nubs and put in the wick 
themselves.
  My dad tells the story of a lot of cold winters and a lot of very hot 
summers. He tells the story of every time the Klan would threaten to 
come and burn a cross on the lawn, my grandfather would sit out there 
on the front porch in his rocking chair with a shotgun. If you can 
picture that: a United Methodist minister, a man of peace, sitting out 
there on the porch with his shotgun, but that's the way things were in 
that part of the world and in those days.
  And then he went on to become the superintendent of the United 
Methodist children's home in the South Georgia Conference. He died 
about a decade ago without two nickels to rub together, but it was the 
largest funeral I had ever seen in my life, because he touched people, 
he nurtured people, he reached out to those who didn't have anyone else 
to advocate on their behalf. His entire career he spent building people 
up. His entire career he spent reaching out to those who had no one and 
being their ``someone.''
  As this discussion goes on here this morning, I promise you there is 
not a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., there is not an agency funded by 
Federal dollars, that loves people like my grandfather loved people. 
There's not one. There is not one bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., and 
there is not one agency under Federal control that loves children the 
way my grandfather loved children.
  Folks, we have a choice each and every day that's going on in this 
debate that we're having over deficits, debts and defaults. Freedom and 
security. My big fear is not that there's going to be a default on 
United States debt. My big fear is that there's going to be a default 
on the promise of America. My big fear is that the government is doing 
so much, that we as people may think that we get to do so little, that 
government's not taking care of anyone. The government is taking from 
people who would have taken care of someone and is stealing that 
responsibility for nurturing our neighbors.
  It is not the government's job to feed the hungry in my community. 
It's my job. It's not the government's job to reach out to the least of 
these. It's my job. As we're talking about children here on the House 
floor today, as we're talking about the most vulnerable of these, I 
think back to Steny Hoyer's words in 1995, that when it comes to 
balanced budgets, when it comes to running up deficits, the person who 
gets hurt the worst when reckless government spending goes unchecked 
are the least of these, are the children. I agree with him a hundred 
percent.
  What are we teaching our children today? What are we teaching our 
children about our responsibility as individuals to take care of one 
another? Where is the proposal? I've been in Congress 7 months now. 
There has not been a single proposal to encourage individuals to take 
care of one another. Time and time again what there are, are proposals 
to take away the responsibility from individuals of taking care of one 
another and to transfer that responsibility to government.
  Now, I say that with passion. I know, Mr. Speaker, as you know, that 
everyone who brings those proposals to the floor brings it with a full 
heart. I do not question the motivations or the intentions of anyone 
who is reaching out to the least of these. I only question the results.
  Mr. Speaker, the longest and most expensive war in this country's 
history is not the war in Afghanistan. It is the war on poverty, and 
the government's results are poor. We need to put it back in the hands 
of individuals.

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