Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Chairman, I am certain it comes as no surprise to anyone in this body that, as we go through this appropriations season, I come back to the floor working to make another cut to get our spending levels down. The bill we have before us, the T-HUD approps, is a $55.3 billion bill. That is discretionary funding.

Now, credit should go to the subcommittee chairmen and to those who have worked on this to get the spending levels down because this is $9.7 billion below the President's request. That is really quite remarkable. And my amendment, which is another 1 percent reduction--a penny out of a dollar--would save our taxpayers $598 million and would reduce the 2006 outlays by $369 million.

Now, Mr. Chairman, when you look at budget authority and you look at the outlays, those are significant numbers. They are significant also, Mr. Chairman, when you look at the debt. We are $18.3 trillion in debt; and, quite frankly, I think that that is too much debt for us to ask our children and grandchildren to handle.

I think it is imperative that we, as stewards of the taxpayers' money, put these issues on the table and say, ``Yes, there are great things we would like to do,'' ``Yes, there are projects that would be wonderful,'' but we have to be responsible to the taxpayers.

This is not Federal money. It doesn't just grow on trees. What we have to realize is that it all comes from taxpayers. They are overtaxed. They feel the Federal Government is overspent, and they want to see the spending brought under control. I agree with them. That is why I bring this amendment forward.

Mr. Chairman, I think, also, we have to look at the fact that our economic security, our fiscal security, and our national security are all closely linked. Because of that, Admiral Mullen said that the greatest threat to our Nation's security is our Nation's debt. We have to get serious about reducing this debt.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, let me tell you why this is the right approach. Our States, who can't go print money in order to balance their budget, utilize across-the-board cuts. Look at Tennessee, Massachusetts, Washington State, New Jersey, and Colorado. They all employ this. Here is why, if you want to engage State employees and Federal employees, and bring the agencies into the process, you say: Okay. We have set your budget levels, we have appropriated your money, now we are coming to you. You are a part of the team, and we need you to engage in how we best save taxpayer money.

This is why it works in the States. When I was in the State senate in Tennessee, if we didn't balance the budget, we didn't go home. It is time for the Federal Government to dig deep and engage these employees. You can talk with rank-and-file Federal employees. I have done it many times. They say we know how we can save money, but they are not incentivized to do so. Let's challenge them. Let's engage them. Let's have them bring forward their best ideas.

A penny on a dollar? Absolutely. We are doing this for the children. We are doing this for future generations. We are doing this for our Nation's fiscal health, and we are doing it to preserve our sovereignty to get these debt levels down.

It is time for us to do that. It is responsible budgeting. It is time for everybody to be a part of the team, putting this Nation back on the road to fiscal health, to a balanced budget, and being respectful of the taxpayer and a good steward of the taxpayers' money.

Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source