[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 68]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               NO BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Denham) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DENHAM. This month is the 35th consecutive month under this 
administration's economic policies where we're over 8 percent 
unemployment. If you look at an area like mine in California's central 
valley, we have been double that for that same time period.
  Sixteen to 20 percent unemployment is unacceptable. We need to be 
pushing policies that will change this, not only for the central valley 
but across the entire Nation.
  Now, I'm a small business owner, and I will tell you from my 
perspective, the trillion dollar stimulus package, the government 
takeover of health care, the Dodd-Frank bill, are all things that have 
created uncertainty in my business.
  But in the central valley, I'm also a farmer. And as a farmer, 
regulations like the dust act that creates uncertainties where we're 
not allowed to have dust in a farming scenario, I can't shake the 
almonds off my almond trees. I can't even grow almonds in the central 
valley. I can't put a plow into the ground because tilling the dirt 
will create dust. The regulations of uncertainty keep jobs from being 
created in the central valley.
  As well as water. Without water, we cannot grow the crops that we 
need to feed the rest of the Nation or the rest of the world. The water 
and the regulations that prohibit the water from getting to our farms 
create the uncertainty year in and year out.
  But looking long term, we need to have the policies that allow us to 
have off-stream storage that will have greater water storage, greater 
certainty so that we know we're going to have a consistent flow of 
water throughout California's central valley year in and year out.
  Once again, we would call on the President. It's fine to come to our 
great State and visit L.A. and San Francisco, even visit a coastline in 
San Diego, but California's central valley--the bread basket of the 
world--where we're creating greater agricultural commodities than many 
other regions not only in the United States but across the world, we 
would ask the President to come and understand the uniqueness of the 
central valley and some of the battles that we face.
  This also comes at a time where next week we're going to see the 
1,000th day since we've had a budget, the most fundamental 
responsibility of the Federal Government, of the President, of 
Congress, without a budget. This is going to be a President that fails 
to have a budget in his entire first term. A thousand days is coming 
quickly. And that same type of uncertainty, whether it's a business 
that is forced to have a budget every year or a family that is forced 
to have a budget, our Federal Government needs to have a budget as 
well.
  I think that we need to look at the bottom line of getting both 
Houses of Congress to work together. Whether it's job creation or 
actually having a budget, it's incumbent on both Houses to work 
together and find solutions.
  Now, I'm one Member that is providing a solution dealing with our 
Civilian Property Realignment Act, selling the things that we just 
don't need, utilizing properties like the post office right down the 
street here that costs us $6\1/2\ million every year to maintain yet 
sits vacant for well over a decade. We have many people who want to 
redevelop it; 150 jobs just in redeveloping that one site, another 150 
jobs ongoing once that site is redeveloped. Now, isn't that a 
bipartisan solution that not only solves a problem with bringing in 
revenue but also getting rid of the cost of something that just is not 
needed, a cost that we don't need to bear the expense of?
  At the same time, if you want new tax revenue, let's put it back on 
the tax rolls or find a bipartisan solution where we can come together, 
get Republicans and Democrats, the House and the Senate to agree on 
something that will create jobs, that will cut the cost of doing 
business and bring in new revenues.
  It is time that the Senate works with the House. We have 27 bills 
sitting over there that deal with job creation, all aspects, whether 
it's the credit and financial markets or making sure that we're cutting 
regulations to end some of the challenges that we're facing in the 
central valley, but we have to get both Houses to work together.
  We would call on the President. Visit California's central valley. 
Prepare a budget that can be passed by both Houses. This country is 
hurting right now, and we need real leadership that will bridge that 
gap.

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