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RECLAIMING OUR FISCAL FUTURE
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Ross). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, our country is facing a crisis of our own making. Republicans and Democrats alike have contributed to the rampant spending in Washington over the last several decades. But it is time for someone to stand up and say enough is enough.
I am here tonight with some of the greatest minds in Congress to talk about our floor-ready plan to tackle wasteful spending and restore fiscal responsibility to the Federal Government.
In December, Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks asked me to lead the Budget Task Force for the 117th Congress, and I gladly accepted. I put together a team of incredible fiscal conservatives to help repair our fiscal year 2022 budget.
I thank these intelligent, hardworking colleagues for rising to the occasion, working diligently to meet our ambitious goals, and putting together a fine product that will serve all Americans. They are Chairman Jim Banks, Roger Williams, Trent Kelly, Ralph Norman, Ron Estes, Michael Cloud, Ben Cline, Byron Donalds, and Bob Good. Thank you, gentlemen.
In addition to my task force members, I would like to thank a man who is integral to the work of the task force and is a huge reason for the success of this final budget, Richard Stern.
When I said yes to drafting the budget for fiscal year 2022, I committed to creating a thorough, floor-ready budget that reflects the conservative values that gave us the greatest economy in the history of the world before the pandemic. I believe, as do my colleagues, that the pro-growth policies of the Trump administration are proven tactics to grow the economy and give Americans more control of their own money.
Everyone in Washington seems to forget that we have no money of our own. Everything we appropriate in this Chamber, every dollar, comes from the American taxpayers. None of it belongs to us.
In the last year, we spent $7.6 trillion, largely due to an unprecedented global pandemic. The Biden administration has shown no sign of slowing down and is starting to alarm more than just conservatives. It is our responsibility to hold this administration accountable and prove to the American people that there is someone left on Capitol Hill who cares about our debts.
We need to return to federalism, where the Federal Government, the State, and the individual have their own distinct roles.
In order to combat aggressive spending, we need an aggressive plan. That brings us to this year's budget, aptly named ``Reclaiming Our Fiscal Future.''
President Trump's budget proposal to Congress would have balanced in 15 years. That was our starting point, and we knew we were capable of balancing in less than 10.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to say that our budget will balance in just 5 years. Many of you would ask how that is even possible. There are two parts to that answer. The first part is due to changes in inflation and interest costs following the COVID-19 pandemic. The second is due to pro-growth policies like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
When we give Americans more control of their own money, the result is market growth, wage growth, consumer confidence, and, yes, increased revenues for the Federal Government.
We are making provisions from the Tax Cuts and Job Cuts Act permanent, reducing the tax burden by $1.9 trillion, almost $16,000 per household.
We are shielding the middle class from capital gains taxes, eliminating the death taxes, and repealing market-distorting tax carve-
outs.
Our budget is the most pro-life budget ever introduced, with 17 pieces of pro-life legislation included. Our budget stands strong for the issues Americans care about, and we are crystal clear about how to pay for it.
We are securing our border and building the wall. We are protecting your Second Amendment rights. We are supporting our police officers and ensuring our communities remain safe for everyone.
Our budget includes over 30 specific deregulation bills ensuring liberty for American job creators and workers alike.
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We are putting Medicare and Social Security on a path to solvency without cutting immediate benefits. Whether you call them earmarks or community project funding, we are getting rid of it for good. We are reforming the budget process to be transparent and effective. To put it simply, we are fighting for Main Street America.
Tonight, you will hear from me and my colleagues who helped shape this budget, whether as a member of the task force or by contributing legislation that is included in our budget. These Members all have something very important in common, a deep respect for the American taxpayer.
It is our job to ensure that Americans' tax dollars are being spent wisely, that the government is making every effort to prevent waste and promote efficiency. It is pretty clear this hasn't been the case in Washington for a long time.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy), my dear friend from the 21st Congressional District.
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma and appreciate his work on this important matter, and my colleagues on the Republican Study Committee.
I am happy to be working on a task force to advance healthcare freedom, personalized healthcare, the ways that we believe we can get the American people to see the doctor of his or her choice without having to see an insurance bureaucrat or a government bureaucrat and be able to get access to care. And that is all germane, by the way, to this question of spending.
I think it is really important here, and I am going to talk in a minute about how good I believe it is that we have a 5-year balanced budget that the Republican Study Committee has put forward, and proving that it can, in fact, be done.
But let's talk for a minute about the irresponsible budgeting and spending of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
Most Americans hear these large numbers and they don't know how to put them in context. What our national debt is, over $28 trillion. But nobody knows what that means. It doesn't mean anything to the average person. We divide it and we say how much it is per person or family. We got numbers here, $226,000 per taxpayer, $85,000 per citizen. People still don't know what that means.
If you set out to count the roughly $28.2 trillion debt we have now, how long do you think that would take, Madam Speaker? 900,000 years if you counted one per second; one Mississippi. It would take you 900,000 years to count to $28.2 trillion. It is just absurd.
We are literally destroying the fiscal health of our country by the second. We are destroying it by the second. Our children and grandchildren are going to inherit this. But what is the real problem? We are killing our economy in the process. We are killing the American Dream in the process. We are killing small businesses in the process.
We just spent $6 trillion appropriated in the process of spending. $6 trillion in a year in the name of COVID, as my friend from Oklahoma and my other colleagues well know. $6 trillion. Some of that was worthwhile. I think there was some PPP money in there that helps small businesses that I was happy to support, but $6 trillion.
Would it interest the Madam Speaker to know that we spent $4.1 trillion for all of World War II, in current dollars? All of World War II, from the very beginning, from Pearl Harbor all the way to the second bomb in Japan, $4 trillion over 3\1/2\ years.
We just spent $6 trillion in a year, effectively shutting down our economy, scaring the heck out of our children, forcing them to wear masks, shoving them into the corners of the classroom, forcing people not to go to the doctor of their choice, all so that Anthony Fauci could find himself on the cover of another magazine, while perpetuating a whole lot of myths that scare the hell out of the American people. That is just what occurred over the last year.
And what is the impact of that? Well, last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that year over year consumer prices rose 5 percent in May. Has anybody gone to go buy a sheet of plywood? Two times, three times, four times. Anybody talking to the builders in your districts? How is their pipeline looking down the road?
Did anybody go talk to the small restaurants and businesses out there? They are devastated, unable to hire people. Why? Because we are paying people more not to work than to work. How many people do you talk to that are in your district that say, well, I have got a help wanted sign up, but I can't get anybody to work.
How is that going to bring back the economy and bring back jobs and bring back opportunity and bring back prosperity for the American people? And, oh, by the way, how is it ever going to allow us to have any fiscal responsibility as a nation? And that is what we are talking about here.
And we are talking about a plan that Republicans are putting forward. Meanwhile, our Democratic colleagues have not passed a budget. We just had a deeming statement, or whatever it is we adopted, for $1.5 trillion, it just slid in this week. $1.5 trillion. It is like Monopoly money. Nobody even understands what we are doing here.
And so we have got a budget that we put forward that balances in 5 years. Why don't we debate it? For all the C-SPAN viewers out there, look how many people are in the Chamber. About, what, 10 of us. Ten Members, election certificates, in here. Why don't we have a bill on the floor and why don't we debate it?
How many Americans would love to hear that the people's House has not had an amendment offered on the floor of this Chamber since May of 2016 in regular order, an open amendment? Congressman Roy offers an amendment to a bill. Not since May of 2016, 5 years. It is all done in committee and rules and some smoke room in the back up here, just drop down, and we all go up and we vote ``yes'' or ``no'', and then we go out and give speeches. That is no way to govern. The American people know how to balance their own budgets at home. Businesses know how to balance budgets. Yet, this irresponsible government doesn't.
Madam Speaker, I would implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to follow the great work of the Republic Study Committee, and look at the budget that we put forward that balances in 5 years, bring it to the floor of the House, and allow us to have an open debate. Go through the Budget Committee, go to the floor, and actually have a debate about the fiscal health and responsibility of this country so that our kids and grandkids can inherit the greatest country in the world, rather than $30 trillion in debt, and leaving us crippled and unable to carry forward for the good of our country.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I would yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), the 15th Congressional District.
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Republican Study Committee for hosting this important Special Order. Our Nation's taxpayers deserve to be respected when it comes to our Federal budget. Fiscal responsibility is vital for a stable, strong, and long-lasting economy.
Under the current administration and Democrat control in Congress, there are actual Federal efforts being conducted at the taxpayers' expense to redefine gender and demonize traditional American values. We must put a stop to this nonsense, especially on the taxpayers' dime.
I have always told my children; the government has no money except for what they extract from the American people. The Republican Study Committee released a counter budget to the extremely irresponsible and radical budget that the Biden administration has put forth. This budget would balance our Federal budget in 5 years, cut spending by $14.4 trillion over 10 years, incorporate 30-plus deregulatory legislative proposals, and reduces taxes by $1.9 trillion.
The RSC budget will also adopt my bill, the Safety and Opportunity for Girls Act, to protect spaces for women and girls in schools. The bill would prevent the Title IX provisions in President Biden's executive order--it would limit them to being biological and the genetic definition of sex.
I support the RSC budget proposal because it treats the government's money as its own and works to promote all the best parts in America.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), the co-chair of the Border Caucus from the 36th Congressional District.
Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Oklahoma for having this Special Order tonight.
Madam Speaker, my message tonight is simple. We are more than $28 trillion in debt and sinking fast. If we don't make drastic changes to the way we govern, we won't have a country left to govern.
In 2011, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, famously proclaimed that the national debt is the single greatest risk to our Nation.
When I was elected in 2014, 7 years ago, the national debt was $18 trillion. In just 7 years, Madam Speaker, we have increased the debt by more than $10 trillion. In fact, we have spent more in the last year than the annual economic production of every single country in the world, with the exception of our own, China, and India.
Shockingly, President Biden's only idea of how to deal with our rapidly increasing debt is to spend $6 trillion more. The President and my colleagues across the aisle throw the word trillion around like it is nothing. It is hard to contemplate the magnitude of a trillion, but think about this: one trillion seconds is around 32,000 years. Let that sink in.
The left's out of control spending and blatant disregard for our future must absolutely be stopped. Our failure to do so will undoubtedly lead us down the road to economic ruin, which is exactly why the Republican Study Committee's, the RSC's balanced budget is our best chance at reclaiming our fiscal future.
Madam Speaker, I am incredibly proud that one of my bills, the State and Local Pensions Accountability and Security Act, which prohibits the unelected bureaucrats at the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve from bailing out irresponsible State or local government pension systems was included in the RSC's final budget proposal.
So let's eliminate the deficit and let's balance the budget in the next 5 years, as this does. Let's cut spending by $14.4 trillion over the next decade, and reduce taxes by $1.9 trillion, and get our country back on the right track, and that is exactly what this budget proposal does.
To quote my colleague from Alabama, Congressman Mo Brooks, he says,
``Great nations weaken from within before they fall from without.'' Our future generations are counting on us to get this done.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).
Mr. DAVIDSON. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and the whole group of the Republican Study Committee for working on this budget proposal because, frankly, this is an incredible threat to our Nation's security. It is a threat to the U.S. dollar as our global reserve currency, and as the Fed continues to accommodate it, we are destroying the value of our dollar.
This is an essential duty of our body here in the House of Representatives, and so it is an incredible honor to have three of the bills that I have drafted be included in the proposal. One is the CBO Show Your Work Act. Frankly, the Congressional Budget Office is our accounting office.
Now, imagine if you worked at a firm and you were on the board, and you simply said, I want to see the books. And the accounting department said, no, we are not going to show it to you. They won't even show it to regular Members sometimes. They should show it to the whole public. They are doing the work on behalf of the public. It is not a trade secret. It is not proprietary. They model our economy, their scores have incredible consequences, and they need to show their work.
Another one is the Global Trade Accountability Act. President Trump rightly put a lot of attention on trade, and it is right that Congress would reclaim some of its authority. Because when Congress doesn't enact a law, it doesn't endure, it pivots from administration to administration. It pulls the authority back to Congress where it lies in the Constitution, and it puts the President on a shot clock. And, frankly, not the President so much as the people we initiate against; either come to the table and negotiate something within 90 days, or the authority goes away, and you have to change something. 90 more days. And, in general, until you agree, it is going to keep getting worse.
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Lastly, we have the fair representation amendment, and that would say that when we apportion congressional districts, we apportion them based on the number of U.S. citizens.
Frankly, rural America is being disenfranchised by counting noncitizens when we apportion Representatives. Ohio is losing yet another Representative.
That is not a partisan issue. It doesn't break on party lines. Frankly, Texas and California benefit by counting noncitizens, but it is hurting a lot of our country by counting them.
There are factors in terms of how we allocate dollars. Instead of dollars per citizen, we are allocating dollars per capita, and that sends more dollars to urban districts and fewer dollars to rural districts.
It is important work. I thank the committee, and I thank, particularly, Mr. Hern for his work leading it.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of America's fiscal future as it is envisioned in the RSC budget.
For the first time since I have been here in 5 years, we have managed to assemble a very reasonable path forward to fiscal stability for our country.
I have language in this bill reflective of the crisis at the border. My legislation, H.R. 2729, the Finish the Wall Act, is included in the language of the underlying bill.
On President Biden's first day in office, he halted the use of border security funds allocated by Congress, ended all ongoing construction of the border wall, and implemented very weak border policies that have had dire consequences for our Nation.
We have had over 1 million illegal crossings thus far this year. In history, it has never been this high. We have had surges here and there in 2014 and 2019, yes, under various administrations for various reasons. But we have never had 1.1 million illegal crossings into our country.
Our border has created layers of crisis, and we must deal with it. We must act. We must force action from our executive.
The debt that we face as a nation is crippling, and the generations yet unborn will not survive a $31 trillion debt that we are looking at right now. America will not continue to exist as we know it with that type of crippling debt. But we won't get there. We won't get to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren as a strong American nation if we allow the sovereignty of America to be destroyed in the course of one Presidential term.
Madam Speaker, we are trending over 2 million illegal crossings this year. We cannot allow this to happen. I urge my colleagues to take a reasonable look at the RSC budget.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Fourth Congressional District of Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).
Mr. FEENSTRA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss Sarah's Law, a bicameral bill I introduced along with Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa.
Our proposal was named in honor of Sarah Root, a 21-year-old girl who, after her graduation, that night, was killed by an illegal immigrant. The illegal immigrant was drunk and drag racing. He posted bond. ICE did not detain him, and he left the country, never to be seen from ever again.
The bill would require authorities to keep illegal immigrants in custody if they have been charged with a crime that resulted in death or serious bodily injury.
I am pleased that my proposal was included in the Republican Study Committee budget. After all, budgets reflect priorities, and given the crisis at our border, it is crucial that we implement tougher immigration policies that protect Iowans and protect Americans.
Border encounters have hit an all-time high in the last two decades, with over 180,000 encounters in the month of May. Last year, we had over 23,000. Yet, President Biden's bloated $6 trillion budget proposal does not include a single cent more for homeland security.
Unlike Vice President Harris, the administration's self-appointed border czar, I went to the border. I heard directly from law enforcement officers. We need to ensure they have the resources they need to do their jobs, and we need to start enacting stricter immigration and border security policies that address this crisis.
At the very least, we can all agree that neither American citizens nor illegal immigrants should ever be able to evade the law. Sarah's Law would ensure illegal immigrants cannot escape justice simply due to immigration policy loopholes.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Republican Study Committee's budget. It is a fantastic budget.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Oklahoma has 35 minutes remaining.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Fifth Congressional District of Virginia (Mr. Good). He is also a task force member who gave us a tremendous amount of input on our process, and I want to thank him for his work. It was a 5-month journey that we went through to arrive at this budget and a lot of sleepless nights. I really appreciate the gentleman's inputs and his thoughts.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Hern for his work as chairman of the Republican Study Committee Budget Task Force and for leading this effort. Also, I would like to thank RSC Chairman Jim Banks for his outstanding leadership overall of the RSC.
This team has done remarkable work to try to keep money where it belongs: in the wallets of hardworking American taxpayers.
The RSC budget proposal would balance the Federal budget within 5 years of implementation, and I am thrilled to say that it is the most pro-life RSC budget ever.
The RSC budget would cut Federal spending by $14.4 trillion over 10 years and cut taxes by $1.9 trillion. In fact, it reduces the burden on American taxpayers by nearly $16,000 per household.
Unlike Biden's budget buster, this budget prioritizes American families and hardworking taxpayers.
I am proud to have served as a member of the RSC Budget Task Force, and this budget is historic for two reasons. First, it unapologetically and unequivocally affirms the conservative values that we were elected to fight for. Second, it courageously addresses our unsustainable entitlement programs, preserves and protects our commitment to America's seniors and those nearing retirement, builds the framework for responsible fiscal management, and secures the future for younger generations of Americans.
The RSC budget contains many of the conservative principles that I have fought for since my first day in office nearly 6 months ago. From protecting people of faith from government intrusion to shielding small businesses from the heavy hand of government regulations to putting the needs of our students before teachers' unions, the RSC budget contains many pieces of legislation that I have personally introduced.
This includes my ALERT Act, which would require monthly updates from executive agencies about any rules they are working on, including the costs to taxpayers of those regulations.
My Article I Regulatory Budget Act would restore direct, accountable congressional control of the Federal regulatory system, as the Founders intended, and require a budget from the President for all regulatory costs, similar to the annual budget for other taxes and spending.
My Right to Earn a Living Act would prevent Congress from subsidizing costly lockdown policies like those handed down by State and local Democrat officials. As a free-market conservative, I know there is no better way to stimulate our economy than by opening it up and turning the American people loose. Congress cannot continue bailing out poorly run States whose economies have been devastated by these lockdown orders.
My Protecting Religion from Government Act seeks to preserve all Americans' First Amendment rights by allowing citizens to sue State or local governments that seek to prevent or regulate religious services. Government has no constitutional authority over religion.
My Students Before Unions Act would put children first and make COVID funding contingent upon the transparency of local teachers' unions.
My bill to repeal the Jim Crow-era Davis-Bacon Act, which requires the Federal Government to pay the prevailing wage, would end this inexcusable, long-held practice that drives up prices for taxpayer-
funded construction and eliminates opportunities for hardworking Americans.
Finally, my SHUSH Act would deregulate firearm suppressors at the Federal level and preempt State laws that regulate, tax, or prohibit the possession of suppressors. No constitutional right should be at risk of public opinion or subject to regulatory and tax burdens.
As a freshman, I am truly grateful and humbled to have so many of my bills included in the budget, second only to the number submitted by RSC Chairman Jim Banks.
At $28 trillion of debt that we have now, that equates to about
$85,000 per American citizen. Every time we recklessly and foolishly spend another $1 trillion, that is about $10,000 per household. This is unsustainable. The majority in this administration is, at best, economically and fiscally illiterate and incompetent, or, at worst, they are intentionally crushing our financial future and our very Republic.
Our work on this conservative budget shows that it is possible to do what the Democrats seem to find impossible: balance the budget through practical solutions that put American taxpayers first while preserving the values that have made this the greatest country in history.
Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Hern again for his leadership in crafting this budget that deserves a vote in the House Budget Committee and on this very floor so that the American people can see if their Representatives are serious about fighting inflation and restoring our fiscal sanity.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, Speaker Pelosi reminded us about 3 years ago when she infamously said: Show me your budget, and I will show you your values.
That phrase and that statement have been made so many times by leaders talking about budgets.
In America, individuals have budgets, counties have budgets, communities have budgets, cities have budgets, schools have budgets, businesses have budgets, and States have budgets. The United States of America has gone 3 years now without a budget from the Budget Committee that is run by my colleagues from the Democratic Party, the people in power.
We have a budget that we are asking to get on the floor, a budget that is built on the pro-growth policies that we saw 16 months ago yield the greatest economy in our lifetime, the lowest unemployment rate, the most people employed with all diversity, of all ethnicities, of all countries of origin, women, African Americans, and Hispanics. Everywhere, people have seen the greatest jobs they have ever seen. There were double-digit increases for the lowest earning wage earners among us.
We know these policies work. This budget builds upon them. The American people are demanding that we be accountable for the dollars they send us. What we are seeing now in the budget that was just put out by the President in a piecemeal fashion is a budget that sends jobs overseas and that destroys jobs in our energy-producing companies, some of the highest wage earners we have in this country. We see our defense budget being cut below the inflation rate.
As we speak about inflation, the President promised the American people that he wouldn't raise taxes on anybody making less than
$400,000 a year. Madam Speaker, I will tell you the greatest hidden tax in America is inflation, and what we are seeing right now is inflation rising at an annualized rate of 5, 6, and 7 percent that spans everybody in America on top of the proposed tax increases that the President is talking about.
He is proposing looking at changing the tax rates for our multinational companies, our companies that were starting to move jobs back to America. Now we are seeing a deal is being struck by Secretary Yellen to try to take the G7 to tax our companies to the point that we are going to see jobs leave our country and return back to where they moved their headquarters overseas, to lower tax nations.
To my colleagues out there, all we are asking for is to put a budget on the floor, our budget, to get your vote to be responsible to the American taxpayers so that we can see, once and for all, where everyone is on doing the right thing for the American taxpayers.
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For all of my colleagues that joined us tonight, what we have heard over the last hour was a clear vision for America, an outline of how conservatives intend to govern. It is sad that we have to call it a conservative budget. It is a budget for the American people. This is the future of our Nation. This is the hope of democracy.
Before I finally close, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Kansas
(Mr. Estes), my dear colleague, a member of the task force, to give his thoughts on what he saw and worked on, on our budget.
Mr. ESTES. Madam Speaker, I thank the Republican Study Committee for hosting this Special Order hour.
Today, our Nation's debt is more than $28 trillion. With a number that large, it is hard to really understand how much taxpayer money we are really talking about. Well, $28 trillion is $1 million 28 million times. Or another way to think about it is it is 28 with 12 zeros behind it.
Spending far beyond our means and watching the debt clock grow astronomically higher has real implications for the future of our country and for our citizens. While many out there would like to believe that we can go on spending without some sort of restraint and it doesn't have any consequences, common sense tells us that is not true.
Because of overspending, the debt held by Americans has already eclipsed the size of our economy and will top 200 percent of the GDP by 2051. Every American, adult and child, bears a burden of more than
$85,000.
The problem is so stark that our country spends about $800 million per day on interest payments alone. The net interest costs for taxpayers financing this debt will skyrocket from 1.4 percent of GDP, about $300 billion this year, to 8.6 percent of GDP. That would be more than 2\1/2\ times higher than what the U.S. currently spends on defense as a percent of our GDP.
Another way to look at this problem is through the lens of any family budget and take away some zeros.
Let's say in 2020 an individual made $34,000. That same person spent
$65,000, meaning they spent $31,000 they didn't have. And they also had a credit card with $280,000 already on it and growing. This would clearly be absurd and unsustainable, yet somehow that is how the Federal Government operates.
Madam Speaker, American families understand that we should tackle the spending problem first and live within our means. This has to be the focus of our body. It is our duty and our responsibility to those we represent.
We have got to tackle the out-of-control spending before it brings down this great Nation. We need to stop mortgaging our grandkids' future just to sustain and spend our lifestyle today.
Madam Speaker, we need to do the hard work now to address our spending, balance the budget, and fiscally secure our Nation for future generations. Our constituents deserve it.
Mr. HERN. Madam Speaker, the Biden administration has put themselves on the side of Big Government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy.
To paraphrase the great President Ronald Reagan, he said: You can't be for Big Government and still fight for the little guy.
Our budget is a clear outline for middle and working-class Americans that their government hasn't left them behind. We have a plan and it will benefit all Americans.
I am proud of the budget we put together this year, and I am ready to defend it in front of any committee and any Member of this House.
We have spent the last hour talking about conservative principles. Well, I want to make it clear that this budget is not just for conservatives. It is not just for Republicans. It is a budget for all Americans.
It doesn't matter if your children grow up to be Republicans or Democrats. They will be paying for our debts regardless, long after we are gone. That is why it is important to have leaders who are thinking about our grandchildren and great-grandchildren's future.
It is clear that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer would rather auction off that future in order to pay for an unpopular radical agenda.
The American people need to know that we are the captains of this ship and we will not let economic doomsday destroy America's future.
Fiscal responsibility does not have to be partisan, which is why I am calling on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help us bring this budget to the floor for a vote.
I thank everyone who supported this budget tonight and to everyone who helped us put it together.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 104
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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