[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8299-H8305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REVERSE THE CURSE
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Peters). Under the Speaker's announced
policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I and my colleagues are going to spend
the next hour raising to the attention of every American the large and
looming crisis that hangs over the heads of our fellow Americans, but
especially the next generation of Americans on account of our ever-
growing, massive, almost incalculable national debt at $31 trillion and
counting; with a projection of $16 trillion over the next decade. By
the way, half of that will be interest payments on the debt, without a
single dollar or dime going to something productive, to help a soldier
or a sailor or a senior with a safety net program. It will be servicing
the debt of this country.
I believe this is the long-term greatest threat to America. As
Admiral Mullen stated when asked by the defense community what the
greatest national security threat was, he replied: The national debt is
the greatest national security threat.
Why?
Because a debt crisis in any form will undermine our ability to
provide for the common defense and have a military and weapons systems
that will be sufficient for the ever-evolving and growing threats,
especially the great power threats like China.
It will undermine economic security and prosperity, and this land of
opportunity, this American promise for our children and grandchildren.
I don't believe there is a more important issue.
In his Farewell Address, George Washington, our first President and
one of the Founding Fathers, the Father of America, mentioned foreign
influence, factions that divide us and weaken the bonds of American
unity, and American oneness, but then he mentioned, `` . . . avoiding
likewise the accumulation of debt not only by shunning occasions of
expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the
debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned . . . `'
Translation: You may have to borrow money when you are in a world
war, but just like the last time we were over 100 percent debt-to-GDP,
our Nation was willing to make the cuts to expenses and bring down the
debt when we were in peacetime.
We are now at 128 percent over the size of debt relative to our
economy in World War II. We are carrying the largest debt in the
history of the United States, and we are not at war. The horizon and
the trajectory, not only over 10 years, but if you look at 30 years, it
is over $120 trillion in additional debt. It is mind-boggling. It is
unconscionable. And I think it is immoral to hand a country--in such
shambles fiscally and so bankrupt--to the next generation, and just
literally wipe out their future and the blessings of liberty and
opportunity that every generation of Americans have inherited to date.
George Washington says we should avoid these things. We should bend
the expense curve. We should bring down debt, and not ungenerously
throw that debt upon posterity, the burden, he says, `` . . . which we
ourselves ought to bear.''
I see that every day in Congress. Instead of us bearing the burden by
paying for the government that we believe the American people want--I
am not so sure they want this government, this ever-expanding
government--but when we are giving that government to them, we ought to
pay for it and not defer the taxes on the next generation.
That is not the American way. That has not been the American
tradition of our lawmakers. We are in a real bad spot and it is going
to take courage. It is going to take courage from everybody, regardless
of party, to find a way not only to start paying for things through
expense cuts, and in the case
[[Page H8300]]
of my Democrat colleagues, raising revenue.
We are way beyond just being able to offset and even grow the economy
and get out of this debt hole. We are going to have to take
extraordinary action. It is going to require extraordinary courage.
Quite frankly, I haven't seen that on either side.
{time} 1815
But I think we have a tremendous opportunity in the future as
Republicans look to take over in the House as the majority party and
then get to demonstrate to the American people leadership on this
issue.
We have seen $5 trillion in new spending over the last 2 years under
this administration--$5 trillion. And I hope and pray that my party
will live up to the confidence and trust that the American people will
put into us to steward this great Nation of ours and lead and take on
the great challenge of the 21st century, which is the national debt.
Mr. Speaker, I have more to say but my dear friends my colleagues are
here from all over the country to speak on this matter.
The first one is my dear friend from the First District of Kansas, a
man who is no stranger to public service. He served his great State as
Lieutenant Governor and is now serving in the United States Congress.
Mr. Speaker, he asked me to remind folks that he represents the great
State of Kansas, and his alma mater, Kansas State, which upset the
Oklahoma University Sooners. They beat them three out of the last four
times so that is pretty darn impressive. With that track record, please
lend him your ears, my fellow Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).
Mr. MANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my good friend from
West Texas, Red Raider, for yielding me time. I would say if K-State
can beat OU 3 of the last 4 years, certainly we can make massive
progress on this debt that we have racked up. Nothing is impossible.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the excessive government funding
at a time when inflation is skyrocketing, the supply chain is still
struggling to recover, and farmers are going out of business.
I look forward to the month of August every year because it gives me
an extended period of time back home to visit with folks in my district
and hear about their needs. This year, however, on August 12, Speaker
Pelosi called the House back into session to vote on a $700 billion
tax-and-spend plan chock full of Green New Deal priorities. This so-
called Inflation Reduction Act will do nothing to slow down inflation;
it will only make it worse.
The bill contains countless reckless spending provisions such as: $80
billion to hire 87,000 IRS agents, increasing audits on the middle
class and small businesses; spending more than $250 billion on Green
New Deal spending and a brand new $27 billion climate slush fund at the
EPA; $12 billion in new taxes on oil and gas producers, expanding the
senseless war on producers of fossil fuels; $128 billion spent to
expand Obamacare subsidies.
As if this weren't enough, President Biden announced a plan just a
few weeks ago to forgive student loans for up to $20,000 per borrower
without the approval of this Congress. Regardless of party, that is
appalling.
This plan is obviously just campaigning utilizing taxpayer dollars.
It is ill-timed, shortsighted, and irresponsible. In light of the
astronomically high inflation that our country is facing, the plan to
cancel student loans will cost taxpayers more than $300 billion,
transferring the debt burden of borrowers to low- and middle-class
taxpayers. The Biden plan unfairly punishes Americans who have already
paid their student loans or never attended college.
Government spending is set to expire tomorrow, September 30, and
Congress will consider a stop-gap spending bill tomorrow morning to
keep this government operating again. Included in the bill is $1
billion of spending to subsidize the home utility costs of low-income
Americans, when Biden's war on fossil fuels caused the utility costs to
skyrocket in the first place.
There are better ways to solve most problems than simply throwing
money at them, but that is all this administration seems to know how to
do.
Oddly enough, the one place where House Democrats and this
administration don't want to spend more money is on police. The brave
men and women who protect us all. It is truly unbelievable.
The picture here, overall, is one of wasteful spending, political
pandering that endangers Americans, carelessness, and shortsightedness.
This administration needs to wake up to the real problems facing
America and start offering practical solutions to pay down our debt
before it is too late.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kansas.
I think it is important to be honest with the American people even if
the truth hurts.
When I am asked who caused this disastrous level of debt, this deep
hole that we have dug for our children and grandchildren, I say that
while the Democrats have certainly done a whole lot of spending beyond
our ability to pay and beyond what I think is the appropriate scope and
scale of the Federal Government, which I think should be targeted and
limited and focused on its mission, provide a common defense, and
secure the liberties of us and our posterity, I am quick to remind them
that Republicans have their fair share of blame.
And while I am celebrating the thought, the opportunity for
Republicans to be in the majority and to fulfill this commitment to
America, which includes curbing wasteful spending and ensuring that
this government is accountable to we the people, let's be honest. I was
here in the 115th Congress as a freshman, and I saw the contributions
that my party contributed to this. I saw us blow past the spending caps
that we voted for to constrain spending. I witnessed us put aside pay-
for provisions to offset these programs that we think are so important
and necessary for taxpayers.
I even was part of the Budget Committee that in the second year
wasn't able to pass the budget out of the committee, let alone this
Chamber.
So when we talk about the Democrats failing for the last 2 years to
even pass a budget out of committee--which I am happy to say because it
is the truth, and it is quite shameful for any party to not have a
budget, let alone live by it, like every American--we, as Republicans,
have made our contributions to this. And we ought to own it. We ought
to feel the burn in our conscience until we actually unite as a party
and reach across the aisle where we can to address, what I would call,
a curse on the next generation of Americans.
Ben Franklin--God bless him--said, `` . . . when you run in debt; you
give to another person power over your liberty.'' He said the second
vice in public service is lying, the first is running up a debt.
I have got a good friend who I have come to respect tremendously, not
only for his service in the United States Congress but his service to
our country as a foreign service officer. He is wicked smart, and a
great patriot. Peter Meijer hails from the Third District of Michigan,
from the Great Lake State.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Meijer), to
make some comments on this important issue.
Mr. MEIJER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Arrington. I
wish I had a witty sports rejoinder from Michigan to Texas, but I
utterly lack that.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the deeply troubling state of
our Nation's finances. As Mr. Arrington has pointed out, at this
moment, the U.S. public debt stands at nearly $31 trillion or 122
percent of our Gross Domestic Product. Total debt service on this as of
August of this year was $677 billion, which is more than we spent on
national defense in the 2017 fiscal year.
To put it another way, this current administration, despite all of
this, does not seem worried. In fact, they are enacting policies that
will only grow and exacerbate this problem.
This administration, with the assistance of the Senate and House
counterparts, passed both the American Rescue Plan and the
oxymoronically named Inflation Reduction Act through reconciliation
with absolutely zero communication across the aisle.
[[Page H8301]]
Still, not satisfied with what they have been able to spend on a
strictly partisan basis in Congress, the administration has arrogated
to itself sweeping fiscal powers under a national emergency which it
continues to extend, not because the actual emergency persists, as the
President has mentioned that the pandemic is over, but because they
need the money. And that is what the administration has chosen to do.
Our question is: With these emergency powers, what is their goal?
It is engineering one of the largest upward transfers of wealth in
the Nation's history. It is spending $400 billion--that is almost 2
percent of GDP--to pay down the loans of those who attended college.
It is important to keep in mind in the United States, the median
household income of a college graduate is over $100,000, significantly
higher than the median income of the American taxpayer, and nearly
twice the median household income of a family in my district.
Why are they doing this? Have college graduates been
disproportionately affected by this pandemic?
No, quite the opposite.
College grads have done relatively well compared to the rest of the
country, many of whom could Zoom into work. They had the option of
working remotely. They were not laid off en masse.
The reason the Biden administration is choosing to do this is because
it is what the Democratic Party does. They use control of the ever-
growing State to tax their enemies and pay their friends.
President Biden, facing a historically unpopular moment, has a base
that is apathetic because he has failed to deliver the unrealizable
promises that he made.
So the answer? A 2 percent of GDP gift to drive them to the polls. It
is that simple.
After all this, there will still be losses, but once again, we will
achieve nothing. And once again, we will have a bill that we will foot
for decades to come.
We must put an end to this type of governing.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for
his heartfelt comments and his deep concern for our country and our
Nation's future under this gigantic weight of $30-plus trillion in debt
and this dark cloud and the clouds that gather.
Mr. Speaker, I have another dear friend and colleague who is very
passionate about this issue. Certainly a patriot, served his country,
served the Lone Star in the House and Senate, and decided he would
venture out here in Washington, D.C., to be another voice for the
freedom-loving, God-fearing people of Texas.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon), who I
am honored and proud to serve alongside of.
Mr. FALLON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from West Texas for
yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, time and again, my colleagues on the other side of the
aisle have put our country in a financial choke hold.
Mr. Speaker, they believe that the only solution to fix any of our
country's problems is to spend and to spend, and you know what, and
spend even more.
Well, I have to ask: Where has that got us?
I will tell you where. On a road to financial oblivion.
Our Federal debt is approaching $31 trillion; that is 31,000
billions. Our annual deficit was nearly $3 trillion in FY21, and I
expect a similar number at the end of FY22.
We are experiencing a 40-year high in inflation precisely because of
this runaway, reckless, and highly irresponsible government spending.
We are seeing higher prices that are disproportionately harming the
working poor and the middle class. And Americans are tired of spending
over half their hard-earned paychecks just to pay for the basic
necessities of life.
This body never has had a revenue problem. This body has a spending
problem. It is an important distinction. And why?
You know, a school district can't spend more than it takes in. A city
can't. A county can't. A State can't. But the Federal Government does
because they have a printing press down the street.
So what can be done? Because to be frank, when you talk to people at
home, they are starting to lose hope. Time is running out. And when you
become addicted to deficit spending and, essentially, are enjoying a
dollar's worth of goods and services and it is costing you 75 cents, it
is hard to wean yourself off of that.
In effect, what Washington has done for far too long is mortgage our
children's future for political expediency and benefit now, never
considering what will become of our future generations.
{time} 1830
So what is the answer?
Actually, it is pretty simple. We should only spend what we take in,
period, end of story, full stop.
Mr. Speaker, 27 years ago this very legislation, a balanced budget
amendment, passed out of this Chamber and exceeded the two-thirds
threshold, believe it or not. It only failed in the Senate by one vote,
and it would have then been sent to the States.
So we must tackle this issue, Mr. Speaker, here and now. It shouldn't
be partisan. This is math. This isn't a Democratic solution, and this
isn't a Republican solution. This is an American solution moving
forward.
We can't tackle it tomorrow, and we can't tackle it next year. We
can't kick the can down the road. We need to tackle it now, today, this
very second.
Mr. Speaker, $31 trillion is a staggering debt that will eventually,
and with absolute certainty, lead to American financial catastrophe.
But we can stop it. We just need to work together and inject fiscal
sanity into this debate. We owe it to our children, we owe it to our
country, and we owe it to our future.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Arrington for letting me share remarks.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't have said it better myself,
and I thank the gentleman from Texas.
We need to harness that passion, and we need to unify not only our
conference to lead by example but the entire United States Congress to
take this on.
We do have existential threats, like our adversary China. We have a
number of threats, and we have to address them responsibly and with
urgency. But I don't see a bigger, long-term threat that could just
knock the shine plum off the shining city on the hill than this boulder
that is rolling downhill, this snowball that is going to impact every
aspect from national security to our economy to domestic tranquility--
the whole shooting match, as we say in Texas--if we don't step up and
have the courage to lead and to deliver for our children.
Speaking of children, I have a friend and colleague on the Ways and
Means Committee who has raised a family and is expecting to have his
children inherit this American promise, this exceptional Nation, and
the future opportunities it affords our fellow countrymen. He ran a
business, a family-owned construction company. He has served at the
local and county level. He has served in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania's Senate, and I believe he was the leader of the senate's
budget and finance committee, so this guy knows what he is talking
about.
I imagine when he was leading the charge for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania in the senate they balanced their budgets, they paid their
debts, and they lived fiscally responsibly within their means because
that is what leaders do with other people's money.
I am proud to hand over the mike to Lloyd Smucker for his comments,
and I thank him for his service.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Smucker).
Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Arrington for leading this
discussion tonight and for his kind comments.
It is interesting, my friend talks about Pennsylvania's budget, and I
was proud to serve there and be part of the process.
I thought it was a difficult and a broken process there. We would
pass a budget weeks beyond the deadline or sometimes months. There
would be vigorous discussions with the Governor on what that budget
should look like, but at the end of the day, we did it. My friend is
exactly right. We passed a
[[Page H8302]]
budget where expected revenues matched the appropriations that we put
forward.
So it was a little unbelievable to come here and see that we haven't
done that in about, at least, 20 years here. We certainly haven't
balanced the budget in almost our lifetime here. And so as broken as I
thought the process was at the State level, at least at the end of the
process we had a product that balanced the budget.
So I want to just express my appreciation and thanks to Mr. Arrington
for leading this discussion. I share--as he knows, we have had
discussions about this--the deep concerns for the current state of our
Nation's finances. We talk about this. We serve on the Ways and Means
Committee together, and I think Ways and Means Committee members
understand the problems we are faced with if we don't address this.
I also serve on the Budget Committee, and there we talk about the
problems that we are faced with. But this has to extend beyond just
those two committees. It has to extend to our conference and also to
this entire body and entire system of government.
We need to be talking about how this impacts our constituents, how it
impacts people at home, and why they should care about this. Some
people maybe don't even understand that issues of Federal debt and
deficits even matter.
Sometimes I like to put it in simple terms. Think of our national
debt, say, like a balance on a credit card. We all do budgets in our
homes and in our businesses. But think about the national debt. We
can't even imagine the $30 trillion number which, by the way, is about
$245,000 per American. But let's just talk about it as a credit card.
Every one of us will have to shoulder this debt at some point, and we
are going to have to make sacrifices.
If you have credit card debt in your home, then you have to make
sacrifices to pay it down. The higher the balance, the higher the
minimum payment, meaning less money at the end of each month for things
that you would rather spend on than paying down and making that credit
card payment, like healthcare or saving for retirement, whatever it may
be.
If you don't pay down the balance--we haven't done that in a long
time here--it will affect your credit rating. You will become
uncreditworthy. That will result in higher interest rates, and you will
face more payments. It is a snowball effect. That credit rating will
plummet. Not only will you pay more, but then no one will trust you
with a new loan. As you know, Mr. Speaker, the longer you wait to pay
down that credit card debt, the more it grows and grows and grows.
We should all care that every dollar the government spends should be
spent responsibly. It is the taxpayers' money. The taxpayers earned it.
We should be responsible with their dollars. But we certainly haven't
seen the Biden administration doing that. Biden's government has
accrued $4.8 trillion in new debt since taking office. We now owe over
$30 trillion in debt. That is $245,000 per taxpayer. The American
Rescue Plan, the inflation act, the student loan forgiveness, and many
other misguided policies each drastically increase the role of
government in everyday American lives.
Biden's policies over the past year have incentivized people not to
work, rewarded those who have accrued college student loan debt on the
backs of those who have worked hard to pay off their own debt or
totally avoided debt and have weakened America's goal to be a symbol of
freedom in the world.
If we are going to defend the American Dream, then we must fix this
problem. We must fix actually the broken budget process here in
Congress as well, which the gentleman has talked about.
This week we are, once again, going to fund the government on a
massive, short-term, continuing resolution loaded with irresponsible
spending. Over the past 4 years of Speaker Pelosi's leadership in the
House, House Democrats didn't pass a budget resolution by regular order
except to push partisan reconciliation bills that have spent trillions
of dollars.
I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, as Republicans, we have made a
commitment to Americans, our Commitment to America. And certainly all
of us in this conference--certainly those of us in the Budget
Committee--will ensure that we do the work, we pass a budget on time
and through regular order, and we stick to it. Republicans will commit
to reducing our spending in order to preserve that American Dream that
we think is so important for future generations.
I thank Mr. Arrington for leading this, and I appreciate the
opportunity to be a part of it.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Lloyd Smucker is my brother. We came in together and
served our first term in the 115th Congress. I know he is committed to
this. I am proud and confident in his leadership on the Budget
Committee.
I just, again, share the sentiment of my colleagues and the sense of
urgency--the sense of urgency. This crisis, this debt-related crisis,
is very different from any other crisis we have experienced, in that,
for example, with the pandemic and COVID, and the government's response
to COVID which was sometimes the problem itself, but altogether, we
were able to borrow and print enough money to bail out of it. But when
the dominoes fall on a debt crisis, it doesn't matter how much China
will lend us. It doesn't matter how much the Federal Reserve prints.
They can print to their heart's desire. It won't fix it, and we will
weaken this country, its global dominance, its global leadership, and
the values that America represents to the entire world.
So I am grateful to Mr. Smucker.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to another colleague on the Committee on Ways
and Means and from the Keystone State, another proud citizen of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This guy has run a business. I think I
have heard him say, and I will paraphrase, if he ran his business like
the knuckleheads in Congress run this country, he would have been
bankrupt before he could ever make payroll, let alone make a living.
This is a man who is known for his Knute Rockne locker-room speeches
like they did there in Notre Dame. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, he can
fire you up, and he has a fire in his belly. I guarantee you, Mr.
Speaker, when we get the majority--and I don't want to be presumptuous,
I should say, God willing, if the people give us the majority--I know
that this man is going to be riding herd on our conference and the
entire Congress to do the right thing. He has four children and 10
grandchildren. That is what we call skin in the game.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly),
who is my dear friend.
Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from
Texas for yielding.
I think at some time in whatever it is one does in life, there is a
saying: It is rug-cutting time.
What does that mean?
It means to face the reality of what is in front of you right now.
Don't try to paper over it, don't try to dismiss it, and don't ever
think there is always going to be time sometime in the future to
address a crisis that you face today.
I brought with me a picture of an iceberg, and this is the way our
debt looks. You only see a very small portion above the surface, Mr.
Speaker. Most of the iceberg is below the surface.
We talk about kitchen table economics.
What do we mean by that?
Well, we tell people: Hey, do you know what? We had really good
revenues last year. It was $4.8 trillion.
People say: That sounds like a lot of money.
Yeah, but we went out, and we spent $6.1 trillion.
And they say: Oh, that doesn't sound like that much of a difference.
Kitchen table economics: You sit down with your wife. You look at
what your earnings are, and you say: Well, gee, honey, we had a pretty
good year. We made $48,000.
She looks and says: That is a lot of money.
And you say: Yeah, but we spent $61,000.
It is like: Oh, my God, we couldn't have possibly done that.
What allows you to borrow more money than you should have?
It is irresponsible lending, and it is irresponsible spending. When
the United States of America makes a conscious decision to enter into
overwhelming debt, then it will not only
[[Page H8303]]
rest on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, it will rest
on us.
We talk about spending and we talk about the size of our debt, and we
say: Do you know what? In the last year and a half, it has gone up $9
trillion.
So how much is that then?
Well, roughly about $31 trillion in the red.
But then we say: Yeah, but do you know what? That covers a certain
portion of our debt.
What it doesn't take into consideration is our unfunded liabilities.
When you add in the unfunded liabilities, it is a whopping 123 or $124
trillion in debt. It is unimaginable. And if you could imagine it, Mr.
Speaker, you would never be able to lay your head on a pillow at night
and say that things are pretty good.
{time} 1845
If we can't do this, we will just print more money. If you printed
more money in the private sector: irresponsible. That is called
counterfeiting. Why were we always so worried about counterfeiting?
Because the market would get flooded with paper that had no real value.
What in the living hell has happened to our citizens? More
importantly, what has happened to their leaders who they elected to
come here and act in their best interest?
We are at a titanic moment. Our country is steaming full speed ahead
at an iceberg that will sink us. We live in the most dangerous times
our country has ever seen.
Budgets are the key to being able to sleep soundly at night. Budgets
are the plan that you put together where you understand what your
potential earnings could be and, more importantly, what you want to
spend. Nobody in the private sector would ever develop a plan like the
government does.
I was told when I first got here: Do you know your problem, Kelly?
You think that a government should be run like a private business.
My answer to that was: No, no, no. What I know for a fact is that no
private business could be run the way a government is.
Why? When we pass these huge spending bills, whose pocket does it
come out of? Who pays every single penny of it? Who is looking at
balances that we can't possibly meet and irresponsibly still decides to
do that, oftentimes to gain the favor of our fellow citizens?
I hear constantly: Do you think we will get another check? Do you
think we will get more help? I don't need the money, but I will put it
in a bank account. Do you think we will get that?
I said: I hope to heck you don't because the money that you got from
the government went on your total tax bill.
You do not ever receive anything from the United States Government,
your State government, or your local government that comes without a
price tag attached to it, and that price tag is attached to your
wallet, and that wallet is suffering greatly under an unbelievable
burden.
We sleep through this. We doze off. We refuse to believe where it is
we are going.
When I say we are steaming full speed ahead, and we are going to have
a titanic moment, anybody that understands what happened on the Titanic
understands that the reason they had so many losses of life on the
Titanic is they didn't have enough lifeboats to put passengers on.
This government is bankrupting America. Somebody said: Do you know
what? I am worried about my grandchildren and even my children.
My answer to that is: Start worrying about yourself.
This is an imminent danger that lies right in front of us. Our
inability to face it, our delusional belief that somehow everything is
all right, and we are fuzzy, warm, and comfortable until the wolf comes
to the door--what happened here? What happened to the greatest Nation
the world has ever known with the most potential the world has ever
known? The government decided that a lot of the assets we have, we are
not going to use them. We are going to go to a foreign source for
energy. Why would you use domestic energy? Why would you use something
that is right beneath your feet?
I hear all the time: Well, we are going to work on all of the above.
I said: That is fine, but let's not forget everything that is below.
Let's understand what our assets are and understand that we are
drowning ourselves in debt.
I am accused sometimes of being too passionate, but I will tell you
what, I will be damned if I am going to sit at the Thanksgiving table
this year and look at those 10 grandchildren and my 4 children and say:
Do you know what? Your mother and I really love you, but we just don't
care about your future. We are cosigning your name to our debt.
Hopefully, we will be gone before you face that.
My friends, this is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat
issue. This is not a red issue. This is not a blue issue. This is a
red, white, and blue American issue.
I ask my colleagues on the other side: Please don't accuse us of not
wanting to work with you. For 2 years, we haven't been allowed to be at
the table. We haven't been allowed to be in the room. We have not been
allowed to be in the building. We were not even allowed to be in the
town.
This false narrative that we will not reach across the aisle to work
together, the one thing we will never do is to continue to damn our
children and grandchildren and the future of this country with a debt
that is so large, so over-encompassing, that there will no longer be a
United States of America.
Anybody who tells me it is okay to spend $61,000 a year because you
make $48,000, I would say you are a fool. We have been fools. Both
sides of the aisle have spent unbelievable amounts of money that you
can't justify other than the fact that every 2 years, there is an
election. We try to put features and benefits together that will add
value to who we are, knowing that it is a false narrative.
Our real challenge is not how much we spend. It is a matter that we
refuse to address the bankruptcy that we are facing and very soon.
The great State of Texas is always a place that we look for
leadership and talk about: How did Texas get to be Texas? Because of
strong citizens.
I say to all of our colleagues: I don't care if you sit on the right
side or the left side. Be on a side that is a responsible side.
If you can possibly say that what we are doing is fine and is in the
best interest of the future of this country, I would say you must be
working on some new math. You must be working out of some new program.
Nobody who has any sense, common sense, would look at what is going
on right now--please look at this iceberg. We are at a titanic moment.
Turning your head away, refusing to listen, refusing to be responsible
to our fellow citizens will cause this country to sink.
It is time to wake up, America. Forget about being woke. Wake up. We
are facing an incredible challenge and the demise of the greatest
Nation the world has ever known.
I think the biggest part about life as you are growing up, you always
tell your kids, don't ever bring shame on this family, and don't do
irresponsible things that hurt not only yourself but others. The oath
of office is one thing. There is another oath, and we answer to a much
higher power that someday we will face. We will be held accountable for
our irresponsible actions.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for holding this Special Order
hour tonight. I hope our fellow citizens understand what exactly is
happening.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to Mr. Kelly and proud to
call him a friend and colleague. I am going to shake his hand as he
leaves.
Listen, this is what it is going to require. It is going to require
that level of push and punch and clawing and scratching, yelling if
necessary, kicking a chair over in the Chamber, and saying the House is
on fire. It is going to burn down before our children ever taste the
sweetness of the blessed life in this country.
I believe we are going to do it. I believe in this country, and I
believe that the American people, especially over the last couple of
years of this spending frenzy, are waking up to this.
One of the sinister elements of a debt crisis is you don't feel the
pain until you feel the pain. But once you feel the pain, it is too
late. The world cannot afford to have America in any position besides
the pole position for the sake of stability, freedom, and the
fundamental rights of every human.
[[Page H8304]]
Nobody knows that freedom is nothing without security more than a
Navy fighter pilot who hails from the 25th District of California. He
is an Iraq war veteran and was a State assemblyman. He flipped a seat
that was Democrat for years, probably over 20 years, not because he was
a great Republican but because he is a great man, and he is a great
leader. He loves this country, and he just wants a safer, stronger,
freer Nation for his two boys.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garcia),
my friend.
Mr. GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from
Texas for hosting this very important hour.
I think what you have captured here in calling our Nation's debt a
curse is very important, very apropos. When you do the math with the
$31 trillion worth of debt, that equates to roughly $94,000 for every
man, woman, and child in the United States.
As a head of a household of four and the father of two young boys, 15
and 6 years old, I echo your sentiments that we cannot put this curse
on our children, our grandchildren.
Mr. Speaker, facts are cold, hard, stubborn things. In this world, it
doesn't matter what you hope for. It doesn't matter what you wish for.
It doesn't even matter what your intentions were, even if they were
well-meaning intentions. What matters are the results.
The results stemming from this tax-and-spend policy brought on by
this body, led by a very progressive majority with what I would submit
are very regressive results, have resulted in a cold, hard reality for
the average American family.
Today's reality for the average middle-income, lower-class family is
one defined by record-high inflation, mortgage rates that are
skyrocketing, retirement accounts that are down nearly 20 percent since
their high was established in early 2021, and record debt. These are
regressive economic indicators.
This reality is not just bad luck, Mr. Speaker, or the product of
anything or anyone else besides your agenda to overtax and overspend,
to overpromise and underdeliver.
Mr. Speaker, economics is simply physics with dollar signs. For every
action, there is a reaction. For every input, there is an output. There
are fundamental rules that don't bend to your desires, your hopes, or
your wishes. These are cold, hard facts and cold, hard rules, just like
physics.
With over $10 trillion now in obligations and liquidity injected into
the system by Congress in just the last 2 years, and a war on American
energy and a war on small business, the result is 40-year record
inflation. That is a reaction as a result of an action.
With record-high inflation, the Fed is now forced to raise rates some
400 basis points just in the last 6 months--again, action and reaction.
With Fed rates now going up so quickly, banks now have to likewise
increase their mortgage lending rates accordingly. Just 12 months ago,
a home buyer could get a 30-year loan for just 3 percent interest.
Today, that same loan is now close to 7 percent. It prices half of the
new buyers out of the market--again, action and reaction.
Because people are suffering on a daily basis and can't afford to
make ends meet, much less purchase homes, especially first-time home
buyers, the housing market and the stock market are now pulling back
significantly--action and reaction.
Mr. Speaker, the majority and White House policies over the last 2
years have tried to defy physics, and now gravity is taking over.
My constituents, especially in California, see $6 to $7 a gallon gas.
Even if they have an electric vehicle, they pay close to $1,000 a month
for their electricity bills. Groceries, school supplies, clothes,
everything is about 15 to 20 percent higher than it was just 2 years
ago.
They are actually afraid to look at their 401(k)'s or their
retirement accounts because they have lost so much. Californians are
getting especially crushed.
To pull out of this nosedive, we need to cut spending, like my
colleague from Texas has stated several times, and Congress needs to
balance its budget. We need to stop adding to the debt and stop adding
more risk to our children's economic futures.
We need to actually be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and be
responsible with it. We need to shrink Federal agencies and hold them
accountable to higher efficiencies.
We need to cut taxes so Americans can keep more of their money and so
small businesses can afford to hire and grow.
More importantly, Mr. Speaker, we need to listen to our constituents
and those in our communities who create jobs, instead of punishing them
for the majority's hopes and wishes that defy physics.
{time} 1900
The poorer families are the ones getting hammered the most because of
it. Congress can do and has done better--and we will again when we get
the majority back.
The United States can do and has done better, and we will again. The
best times and the greatest prosperity are ahead of us as a Nation, but
only as long as we as legislators respect the laws and fundamentals of
the economy.
Like I said, it is just physics with dollar signs, Mr. Speaker, and
to fight those physics is folly. To add to our debt is reckless. Our
debt now has become an existential threat to the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, Democrats have failed middle-class families with these
policies, but now a new majority will come in, elected by those hurt
the most, the middle class, the lower income families, and we will fix
this problem. Again, that is an action and reaction.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for hosting this and
educating Congress. I think most Americans realize the fundamental
physics of all of this, and we have to just teach our colleagues to
implement them and save our country from this very crushing debt.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, that was well said by my friend,
Representative Garcia. I thank him for his service to the country in
the Navy and in the United States Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I am inspired tonight. I am inspired by my colleagues
who are ready to fight by taking on the tough issues, making the tough
decisions, and exercising the courage that every leader in this country
has that ever did anything meaningful for this great Nation, and for
their posterity. We are ready for this.
I know one man has got a lot of fight in him; he is a warrior from
Wisconsin. He is a man that is no stranger to the budget, to the budget
process, and to the broken and dysfunctional dynamics and elements of
the budget process in this place.
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for Glenn Grothman from the great State of
Wisconsin representing the Sixth District.
Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Grothman).
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, there are so many things we can talk
about, so many challenges for the American people over the next few
months as they try to restore America to its place as the envy of the
world, a great country.
We could be talking about immigration and 150,000 people a month
crossing the border. We could talk about the divisive rhetoric from way
too many Democrats finding racism here, there, and everywhere, and
blaming all of America's problems on racism.
We could be talking about other problems. But tonight we are going to
be talking about the ridiculous amount of overspending, which is
debasing the value of the dollar and resulting in the inflation that is
hurting and harming American families so much, be it the cost of cars,
be it the cost of food, be it the cost of energy.
America must not forget where this inflation came from. It came from
the American Rescue Plan, one of the first bills passed under President
Biden. It was continued by the infrastructure bill, another over $1
trillion of spending. And, finally, the reduce inflation act, another
$700 billion. This is in addition to the large increases in the regular
budgets Congress always passes.
We have been out of control on the regular budgets, and now you hear
these three additional bills, which are causing the huge increases in
prices that you see at the gas pump, but even more at the grocery store
and at restaurants, and when you are looking to buy a house or rent.
[[Page H8305]]
Where did this come from? It is not a natural thing to happen.
It came because of out-of-control spending on all three of these
bills. And worse, in addition to the out-of-control spending leading to
the inflation, we have where the money went. We are spending more and
more money on programs conditioned upon not working very hard, programs
conditioned to take the benefit of not getting married.
So in addition to, I assume, intentional desire to debase the
currency, we continue down the path of moral decline as we encourage
money to be spent in the wrong place.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage the American people in the future, when you
decide how you want your country governed, when you go to your
Representative's office hours back home, when you call your
Congressman, ask them: Where do you stand on these big spending
programs? And now we have another one coming down the pike, another
$400 billion in student loan debt forgiveness.
Where is that money going to come from?
I will tell you where the money is going to come from. To a certain
extent it is going to be paid by future generations, but more
immediately it is going to be paid for by the American public again.
The $400 billion will result in higher gas prices, higher food prices,
higher automobile prices--that is where the money is going to come
from.
Wake up, America, these things are not free. The politicians who have
passed these programs in the past are responsible for the additional
amount of money we are spending.
There are a variety of things that we could look at. We worry so much
about this great America that was built by our ancestors, all the
people who died in the wars, that we may have this great, free country,
and we see it slipping away as we have out-of-control politicians--as
people frequently say happens in democracies--politicians buying votes
by spending more money on everybody under the sun. That is where this
inflation comes from.
Please, America, wake up. Like I said, we could talk about what is
going on at the border. We could talk about inflation. We could talk
about the attack on the police, and with the attacks on the police the
inevitable rise in crimes because the police are afraid to do what they
want.
Tonight, we talk about the out-of-control spending as way too many
Americans, including a lot of businesses, by the way, again and again
come to their Congressmen and ask for more free money. It wasn't free.
I hope the next time you go to the grocery store or the next time you
go to buy a new car and you see the huge sticker shock, you remember
the politicians who are bragging about all the new money they are
spending.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Wisconsin and I am
grateful for his courage. He speaks truth. He is not up here to win
friends and influence people; he is up here to make sure the outcomes
of our decisions are in the best interests of our country. And
certainly bending the curve on spending, reining in our debt, and
restoring fiscal responsibility is at the top of his list.
America is counting on him, and I am, too--as a senior Member of this
body when we get the majority--to remind every single Republican and
our colleagues on the other side of the aisle what is at stake. If we
don't, what is at stake? I thank Mr. Grothman.
Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 1\1/4\ minutes remaining.
Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, we timed it perfectly. I will just wind
down and then I will wind up the next speaker and dear friend and
fellow Texan.
James Madison, I think, summarized it in his statement: A public debt
is a public curse, and in a Republican form of government, the worst of
its kind.
That cloud hanging over the heads of our children, that snowball
coming down the mountain, that is the 21st century challenge. That is
the bankrupting of our children's future by spending our country into
oblivion.
It is our great challenge and we enter it with sober minds and with
prayerful hearts that God would give us the courage to take on the
forces in our own party and in this building and outside this building,
and anything that stands in our way until we reverse the curse, and we
can look into our children's eyes and we can tell them we have handed
them this country better than we found it, like every generation of
great leaders for this country.
Mr. Speaker, now I get to sit and listen to a great fighter for
freedom, my fellow Texan (Mr. Roy).
God bless America.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
September 29, 2022, on page H8305, in the second column, the
following appeared: God bless America. -------------
The online version has been corrected to read: God bless
America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. -------
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