Kevin Brady

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, Chairman Camp's amendment simply seeks the truth. It seeks the truth about what the IRS knew, what they targeted, what they offered up--more importantly, simply to make available those on the staff who dealt with, supposedly, the loss of these emails. The fact of the matter is no government should ever try to silence the voices of Americans who simply disagree with it. Chairman Camp's investigation seeks the truth, to hold those accountable who violated the law, and to make sure this never happens again to any American, Republican, Democrat, any partisan stripe or independent thought. We deserve the truth. This amendment gets to the truth, and it should be accepted by Republicans and Democrats.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Tiberi and Chairman Camp for bringing this very important jobs bill to the floor. The truth is, America's economy is really hurting. This is the slowest recovery, most disappointing recovery in half a century. We are missing about 5 million jobs from our economy. We have a lot of small businesses struggling. The average family of four in America is missing over $1,000 a month from their paycheck, their budget because of this disappointing recovery. So what is missing? Well, it is not government spending. That is above where it was in 2008. It is not family spending. That is above what it was. What we are missing is business investment. When businesses along Main Street buy new buildings, new equipment, and new software to make themselves more competitive, that is when jobs occur. And that is what is missing out of the economy. What this bill does is make it more affordable for our local businesses to immediately write off, deduct from their taxes a portion of what they buy in equipment and software and technology. That makes it more affordable, it allows them to do more of it, and that creates jobs along Main Street. And that is what this bill is all about, creating not government jobs, not temporary jobs, not stimulus jobs. This is about creating jobs along Main Street by letting our local businesses invest. It has always been a bipartisan bill. This is an area that Republicans and Democrats agree on. Unfortunately, it is an election year. We are going to hear all of the arguments against it. But the truth is, our local businesses are struggling. They need this tax relief. And our economy needs the jobs because we are not going to get back to a balanced budget until we have more people working and more jobs created and more revenue coming in the door. I commend our leadership for bringing this very important business bill, jobs bill, to the floor. And I urge Republicans and Democrats to come together to support it.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I was touring a hospital in the Rio Grande Valley the other day, and we were going through the critical care unit, with young babies 25, 26 weeks old who in past years would, frankly, have never survived. But today, because of medical breakthroughs, they will not only not have a lifetime of chronic diseases and disabilities, but they will live a full life because the medical breakthroughs and innovations developed here in America are giving them a life, frankly, their parents never hoped for. I see our veterans coming back from war, some of them with such terrible injuries, who not only are having their lives restored but, through these remarkable prosthetics, are living full lives that, again, wouldn't have been possible in recent years, even, because we are doing innovation here in America. Each day, we read of another U.S. company being courted to move those medical breakthroughs and that research overseas to other countries, to China, to Europe, to others. We are seeing America lose our edge in innovation, even though everyone knows--Republicans and Democrats--that the country that innovates the most will lead the world in economic growth, period. We know it. And I look at statements such as this. And I will read this. It is a direct quote: I believe it is critical that our tax system provide strong incentives to help our manufacturing base. One of the most important tax incentives for the manufacturing sector is the research and development tax credit. Manufacturers do about 70 percent of the private sector R&D conducted in the United States. I have long been a strong and persistent voice for making the R&D credit a permanent part of our Tax Code and strengthening it so that all companies have a strong incentive to do R&D here in the United States. That wasn't me; that wasn't Chairman Camp. That was our distinguished ranking member, Sandy Levin. He is not alone. Democrats and Republicans together long have sought a permanent R&D tax credit to make America competitive again. Make no mistake. Today, you have heard people say this really isn't about supporting innovation, technology, biosciences and medical breakthroughs; today, it is about fiscal responsibility and pay-fors; yesterday, it was some other bills we wanted. The truth is that we can't afford these excuses, and that is what they are. Today, it is a clear choice between those who will stand for medical innovation in America, technology innovation in America, and energy innovation and manufacturing innovation that will create good-paying jobs and good-paying wages for Americans. I ask our Democrat colleagues to set aside the politics. We know it is an election year. Set that aside. Stay consistent with the values that you have said over and over again that the research and development tax credit needs to be made permanent, and let's send a bill to the Senate so that they, too--we can discover and learn whether they are willing to stand with their past, longtime statements that the R&D tax credit should be permanent.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, making it permanent will lead to a 10 percent increase in new research here in America. The fact is American companies are going to invest in research. The question is, are they going to do it in America or are they going to do it overseas? We can't allow foreign countries to take this research, the jobs that go with technology. It is time to come together--Republicans and Democrats--to make this law permanent.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for bringing this important bill, the American Research and Competitiveness Act, to the House floor. This is a bipartisan bill. I am glad not only to be the lead sponsor, but to be working with my friend, a Democrat, John Larson from Connecticut, on this important bill. We follow in the footsteps of two other bipartisan leaders, Chairman Dave Camp and Ranking Member Sandy Levin, who carried this bill together in a bipartisan way with strong support from Republicans and Democrats. In the day and age where we look at our smart phone or our tablet and we see sort of the impact of technology on our lives, many of us have family members and parents for whom medical breakthroughs have saved lives, lengthened lives, given back quality of life. We see people who are disabled through technology now able to live full lives and work full lives because America is innovative. This is about jobs, but it is about people as well. America used to lead the world in research incentives, but today we have fallen to 27th. China, Russia, and other global competitors are quickly surpassing us in their share of the economy devoted to research. If we don't permanently commit to encouraging new innovation in technology, in manufacturing, in energy, in medical breakthroughs, over time we will lose our place as the largest economy in the world. We need to make permanent this key tax incentive that encourages American companies to increase their investments in America in research and development of new product breakthroughs. When we do that, when we make this temporary provision--temporary for 34 years by the way--when we make it permanent we will create over 300,000 new American jobs and raise workers' wages by almost $10 billion. What this bill does is it simplifies this provision so that small- and medium-size businesses can also take advantage of this credit.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor General Cecil Neely, an American hero, dedicated public servant, and a friend. After getting his first taste of public service as President of the Madisonville High School Honor Society, Cecil first took those leadership skills to Sam Houston State University and then into the U.S. Army. Rising from Private to Brigadier General is no small feat. It takes a soldier's soldier to climb that ladder. General Neely spent nearly three decades serving his country above and beyond the call of duty. Not only was he honored with our nation's highest peacetime award, the Distinguished Service Medal, he received the Bronze Star for valor in Vietnam, as well as the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Parachutists' Badge, and numerous other U.S. and foreign awards. It is no wonder this former member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is also a member of the Infantry ``Hall of Fame'' at the United States Army Infantry School. General Neely returned to Sam Houston State University to earn his Master's degree in history. And after his retirement from the military he dove into another form of public service as County Judge of Madison County. Resolving redistricting issues and cutting property taxes while improving medical services, it took Judge Neely's work to establish a District Attorney's office and a ``one-stop'' center to bring county and state services together. General Neely prepared Madison County--and the Brazos Valley--for the 21st century. As a chairman of the Brazos Valley Council of Governments from 2001-2002, and member from 1994-2006, Cecil Neely has led by example at every step. Of course, he couldn't have done it all without the great support system he has in his wife, Lynn and their children, Susan, Russell, and Michael. Our communities and our entire nation have been blessed by his service. Brigadier General Cecil Neely, thank you and job well done, sir.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove Congressman David Price of North Carolina as a cosponsor from H.R. 2429. His name was inadvertently added.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. The deficit tripled under your leadership.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Good afternoon. The biggest challenge facing America today is a Federal Government that simply won't live within its means. Now, spending cuts can get us back halfway to a balanced budget. But if we want to finish the job, we need to grow our economy so we can not only balance this budget, but begin paying down this dangerous $17 trillion national debt. Under the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978, the Joint Economic Committee, which I chair, provides analysis and recommendations about the goals and policies set forth in the Economic Report of the President to assist the House of Representatives in its consideration of this budget resolution. During the next few moments, the members of the Joint Economic Committee will answer three questions: Why has the Obama recovery been so weak and disappointing, when compared with past recoveries? How would a gradual reduction of Federal spending relative to the size of our economy, as envisioned in the budget resolution, help hardworking Americans by accelerating economic growth, accelerating job creation, and increasing real wages? And finally, how would the reforms envisioned in the Republican budget help Congress to make better tax and spending decisions in the future? To call the current recovery a disappointment to the American people, well, it is an understatement. The current recovery ranks either dead last or near the bottom on virtually every economic measure when compared to other recoveries of the past half a century. The economy's poor performance has left the United States with an enormous growth gap. Real gross domestic product, our economy, our output, has grown at slightly more than half the average of other recoveries. Not surprisingly, given the recovery's anemic rate of economic growth, private sector payroll employment, that is, jobs along Main Street, have also increased by only more than half the average of other recoveries. If you look at the paychecks, what people have in their budget at home after taxes, well, for middle class Americans, for middle class people, their wages have only increased by one-third of the average of other recoveries, and less than half of the next-worst recovery. So the middle class is struggling. But Wall Street, it is roaring. The S&P 500 Total Return Index, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled. This, Mr. Chairman, is the recovery that left Main Street and middle class families behind. The Joint Economic Committee has compared this recovery to the average of other recoveries over the last 50 years and has identified this dangerous growth gap. And what is missing from the economy because of this disappointing recovery? Our economy should be $1.3 trillion larger today, over $1 trillion larger today, if this had just been an average economic recovery, rather than dead last. And had the number of jobs along Main Street grown at the average rate of others, we would have 5.7 million more Americans working today than what they are under this disappointing recovery. Last month, we reached a milestone. The number of jobs along Main Street finally matched its peak from when the recession began. This milestone would be good news, except that it comes about 4 years late. So after all these years, now 6 years, we are just back to breaking even on the number of jobs along Main Street. If you look at the economy, proportionately, there are fewer adults working today than when the recession ended. We have actually gone backwards as an economy since the recovery supposedly began. So no matter how you try to slice and dice the numbers, there is no hiding the fact that a smaller percentage of Americans are working today than when the recession ended. Turning from jobs to income that hardworking families receive, this recovery, regrettably, is even more disappointing. Since the recession ended, real personal income per person has barely edged up. I think it is 3.8 percent, barely noticeable. That is less than half what it should be in an average recovery. But what does it mean to an average family? What it means is that the average person in America is missing over $3,000 a year from their paycheck. And an average family of four in America today is missing $1,086 a month from their family budget. Imagine that. Imagine, for every family in America having an extra $1,000 a month to pay utilities, to save for college, for which costs are exploding, to pay for the new health care costs under the Affordable Care Act, to invest maybe in that new washer, dryer, repair that car. $1,000 a month is missing from the average family because of the slow growth policies of the White House and, regrettably, congressional Democrats. That is why middle class families are being left behind. That is why we can no longer stay the course in America. Families like this are missing too much money for Washington to continue to do the same old things that leave them behind. I could fill this entire hour with different statistics that make the same point, but by every measure the recovery is so disappointing. The question is, why? What is different about it? Well, some blame the housing bubble, its collapse and the financial panic, for the persistent weakness in our labor markets. Recoveries following the collapse of a debt-financed asset price bubble like this are typically slower than our recovery. We know that. While the collapse of the housing bubble undoubtedly has had some lingering effects, it is not the main factor, let alone the only factor for this disappointing recovery. What is unique about this recovery is the combination of the slow growth economic policies that President Obama has pursued. For example, looking back from 1982 to 2000, Federal spending declined as a percentage of the economy and the private sector boomed, creating more than 37 million jobs. Under President Obama, the opposite happened. Federal spending exploded to a post-World War II high of 24 percent of the economy, and we lost jobs. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan, they reduced the aftertax cost for new business investment. The Joint Economic Committee has shown that there is a strong correlation between when businesses invest in building equipment and software and the creation of real jobs along Main Street. In contrast, President Obama increased taxes on successful small businesses, on capital gains, and dividends, and slowed this recovery. Looking back, Presidents Clinton and Reagan took a balanced approach toward environmental, health, and safety regulations. By contrast, the Obama administration has launched a regulatory tsunami; red tape at the highest levels the last 3 years, historically high, and that slowed job creation along Main Street. Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton opened new markets for American sales through international trade agreements. Aside from completing the agreements left unfinished by President Bush, and despite having a first-rate trade team in place, opening new markets, tearing down the ``America Need Not Apply'' sign, allowing our companies' workers to compete on a level playing field, that is now stalled under this White House. Presidents Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton didn't burden a weak economy with costly new entitlement programs. By contrast, President Obama rammed the Affordable Care Act through Congress on party-line votes. The controversial Affordable Care Act is heightening uncertainty, boosting taxes by more than $1 trillion, undermining key industries like medical devices and small businesses, and causing millions of Americans, including families in my community, to lose access to doctors and to health insurance plans that they liked. Now they are paying more for a plan they didn't ask for, and are forced to do it or pay a tax. Notice that these past approaches to taxes and regulations, international trade were taken by both Republican and Democrat Presidents, approaches that both parties have recognized as good for our economy. Yet President Obama's actions remain remarkably out of sync with those sound policies. He continues to stay the course, while millions of Americans, they can't find full-time work. Millions more have just given up looking for work. Fewer and fewer people are in the workforce. It is not the elderly who are retiring, it is younger people, college graduates who spent all that time and all that money, and now they are working behind a cash register. You have got middle class Americans, again, missing over $1,000 from their monthly budget that could be helping them meet their needs because of the President's economic policies. What we do know, and what is incorporated in the Republican budget, is an economic policy mix that would do the opposite. It would ignite a boom in our economy through simple and well-known policy, the sound dollar that protects families against inflation and losing their purchasing power. Gradual decline of Federal spending as a percentage of the economy, that is a key one. Tax reform that lowers the aftertax cost for business investment, grows our economy; balanced regulation and opening new markets around the world for American companies and workers--that is the best way to strengthen our economy, create millions of new jobs, and get America back on the right track again. The budget resolution proposed by Republicans in the House says no more slow growth. No more stay the course. We will not settle for a second-rate economy. Our families deserve better. They deserve $1,000 more a month, and this is the path to get us there. With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen), a key member of the Joint Economic Committee, a businessman who knows that more than half of Americans today believe we are still in a recession, that they have given up and feel like this country is surrendering, and he knows the impact.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes. Mr. Chairman, we hear all the votes and the claims from our Democrat friends about how great the economy is going and what great leadership they have shown from the White House to get people back to work. They claim millions and millions and millions of jobs, but Americans don't feel that way and for good reason. Let's put all this job surge in perspective. Now, here is the average economy recoveries--because America does face tough times from time to time. We normally bounce back pretty strongly, but not this time and not under this President. If you look at job creation in the last 4 years, this is the average of the other recoveries. This is the Reagan average. That was real economic growth, and as you can tell, only twice in the last 4 years or more has the Obama recovery even met average. Only 2 months out of more than 4 years has this recovery even been merely average, and it has never reached the real strong growth of the Reagan recovery because unemployment, by the way, reached higher points in this recession. So, clearly, by underperforming, by being so disappointing, what this chart really shows is the millions of Americans--middle class Americans--who have been left behind by this disappointing recovery. You look at this and you wonder: Well, so what does this mean to the economy? In the next chart, I will show you what is missing. People back home and people all across America are saying that you have got to get this economy going, it is just hurting us so badly; but because, again, this President and our Democratic friends choose to slow the growth of America, we are now missing, gosh, almost $4 trillion--$3.7 trillion, to be exact, is missing from our economy. That should be in our Main Street businesses. It ought to be in our small businesses. It ought to be driving our economy, instead of trailing China. Instead of being lectured by the rest of the world, America should have a strong economy by now. This is a disappointing recovery. The Republican budget actually starts to restrain spending and has tax reform to grow the economy. While you have heard some claim that trillions of dollars of cuts will devastate the Federal safety net, the truth is that the Republican budget over the next 10 years grows by about 3 percent a year. That is because America's population is growing as well. Only in Washington is growth and spending a cut. What it does is it cuts the waste, fraud, and abuse in this big, flat, bloated government, and it makes smart investments, though, in defense, in Medicare, and in infrastructure. Our Democrat friends are crying today for more emergency unemployment benefits, but those benefits are for when the unemployment rate is going up and getting higher, but, today, in all 50 States, that rate is going down and going lower. What we should be focusing on is getting people back to work, not a check, but a good-paying job. Instead, the White House has obstinately blocked the Keystone XL pipeline and those thousands of jobs. They have obsessively pushed the Affordable Care Act on our small businesses who are cutting hours, cutting workers, cutting wages, and hurting the economy--and then all the new regulation. The Republican budget preserves Medicare and Medicaid, and for Medicaid, which is our health care for the poor, the budget grows for them, but it does an important thing. It gives back to the States the ability to tailor health care for their States to meet their patients in their communities and in their regions. That is the way it ought to be done. The Democrats hollow out our defense, hollow out our intelligence system, and ignore our veterans. The Republican budget restores our military strength to the presequester levels. We focus on our veterans in America. They deserve no less. The Republican budget saves Medicare both for those who are in or near retirement, but, more importantly, for those who wonder if Medicare will be there for them. It offers options for younger workers, including just staying in traditional Medicare or tailoring a plan that is right for them and their families. The Democrats ignore the challenges facing America. They ignore this disappointing recovery. They say: just stay the course, the country is doing fine. But the country isn't doing fine. Our families, they aren't doing fine at all, and they are missing $1,000 a month from their paychecks because this White House and this Democrat Senate continue to stay the course. Let's change the course for America. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. May I inquire as to the time remaining?

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes. Amid all the predictions of doom and gloom, the truth is the Republican budget grows by 3 percent a year over the next decade. It doesn't shrink; it grows. The population grows, and so that makes sense. It does cut wasteful spending, and there is a lot of wasteful spending to cut. More importantly, it grows the economy and tackles the biggest challenge America has, which is a broken Tax Code. This resolution begins to rein in the IRS. This budget begins to save Social Security and Medicare for families and younger generations so they can count on them, and it makes sure that we don't hollow out our defense. This is the only budget that balances. More importantly, it is the only budget that says that is not enough. It begins to pay down the national debt, and it says our goal in America will be to have a debt-free America. Think about that. After all these years of dangerous deficits, America could be debt free, economically the strongest in the world, and financially the strongest in the world. But today, if we don't change course, look what happens. Today, a baby born in Woodlands, Texas, their share of the debt is almost $50,000. A new baby owes Uncle Sam a Lexus. If we don't change our ways, by the time that child is 13, that child will owe Uncle Sam a second Lexus. By the time that child is 22, finishing college and beginning to start their life and live their dreams, they will owe Uncle Sam another Lexus. Now, the good news is young people don't actually buy luxury sedans for the Federal Government, but they pay the price in a very different way. All that debt slows the economy, so there will be fewer jobs for them to compete for; and all of that debt means higher taxes and higher interest rates, so there will be fewer jobs to compete for, and they will have less money in their paycheck as a result. Our Democrat friends say: that is fine, let's stay the course; let's not change anything; the economy is great; our deficits are fantastic, and our country is going the right direction. But that is not the truth in America today. We need to spend less as a government in a smart way. We need to grow the economy in a strong way. We can't ignore the challenges facing us. We have to save Medicare and Social Security. This is the budget that grows America's future and doesn't shrink it. This is the budget that America needs. We can't afford to stay the course. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute. I might point out that President Bush did not leave this country with a deficit; Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues left this Nation with a deficit. And it continued to grow. The first year of their governance, the deficit doubled. The second year, it tripled. Then it went to a trillion dollars, trillion dollars, and trillion dollars. And only under a Republican House have we started to cut the growth in the deficit today. The truth is, on immigration reform, Democrats held the Presidency, the House and the Senate, and they did nothing. When it comes to reducing the deficit, they held the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they did nothing. When it comes time to grow the economy and give the middle class a fighting chance, they held the House and the Senate and the Presidency and did nothing. Let's not stay the course, because that has got us going the wrong direction. We need to change it. The Republican budget does that. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. You know, I know the facts hurt. I know they hurt, Mr. Whip. The deficit doubled the first year under Speaker Pelosi and your leadership.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. I know the facts hurt. I know these deficits hurt real people. And I know the Democrats now want to revise history: they didn't create the deficits; they didn't create this slow economic recovery; everything is going great. But it is not. You created record deficits. You took what was turning into lower and lower deficits and a trend toward a balanced budget and you exploded it, and our American families are hurting today. Millions more can't find a job. Young people with college degrees are working behind a cash register. The deficits are frightening and scaring America. It came under Democrat leadership and it has continued under this Democrat Presidency. I know the facts hurt, but those are the facts. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The President doesn't allocate funding. He doesn't spend one dime Congress doesn't give him. A Republican Congress balanced the budget for President Clinton. And under President Bush, a Democrat Congress doubled and tripled and then went to trillion-dollar deficits. This Congress, your legislative branch, you passed a nearly trillion-dollar stimulus without one Republican vote. You passed trillions of dollars with the Affordable Care Act that has continued to destroy the economy and drive deficits even higher. That is the truth. Those are the facts. I know they hurt, but we are not revising history today. We are talking about changing the course of this country away from deficits, away from this second-rate economy toward a country that actually can grow, and grow stronger. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Whip, I am your huckleberry. I will be glad to have the debate with you in a Special Order or anywhere else. The fact is this country is struggling. Your leadership has failed us as a Democrat governance in this White House. It is time to change course.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).

Mr. BRADY of Texas. I would inquire of the gentlelady if you would like to make your concluding remarks, or have you done so?

Mr. BRADY of Texas. I will close out as well, and I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, if you like the direction the country is going, I guess there is no reason to change. If we want young people who don't believe they will ever earn as much or have a standard of living as their parents do, let's just stay the course. If we want a Nation with a second-rate economy where millions of people have given up looking for work, where the average family is missing over $1,000 every month from their paycheck, let's just stay the course. If we want a Nation that continues that debt and debt and debt and debt--we are now becoming financially weaker each year rather than financially stronger--well then let's stay the course. If you want a Medicare and Social Security that a lot of younger people have given up hope will be there for them and many seniors are worried won't last for them either, well then let's just stay the course. And if we want a President who will hollow out our defense and our intelligence, who will continue to waste money the taxpayers have earned, then let's just stay that course. Or we can take a different direction for this Nation. We can impose smart spending cuts that actually get us back toward a balanced budget. We can grow the economy through tax reform and balanced regulation that actually gets Main Street pumping again, gives people hope again. We believe there is a brighter future for America, but first it starts with living within our means, it begins with growing this economy, and it concludes with increasing the wages of women and men and fathers and sons and young people and women and minorities who now today have given up hope. The Republican budget is about opportunity. It is about not giving up on America, it is about not settling for a second-rate economy in a financially strapped Nation that can no longer compete against China, Brazil, Europe, and our other competitors around the world. It really is about changing the direction of this Nation in a way that gives power to people, that gives power to Main Street, gives power to middle class families rather than taking it all for Washington. We know the path we are on isn't working. We can no longer stay the course. It is time to change so the Republican budget spends less, grows the economy, solves the biggest challenges in America, and gives us hope that America can continue to be the strongest economy in the world through the next 100 years. That is the goal America should be setting, that is the direction the Republican budget puts in place. It uses two smart, I think, revolutionary ideas: dynamic scoring, so we know the real-life effect of this budget and our growth; it focuses on controllable spending as a percentage of the economy, that is the right way to measure how we are doing as a Nation; and it uses a number of innovative approaches, again, to grow the economy, to shrink the deficit, and what I like most of all, it doesn't merely balance the budget, it puts us on a path to a debt-free America. That is something that can give us hope, that can give us opportunity, that is the direction that we ought to go. With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a man who has put God and others above himself. The Reverend Randall Trego has been a blessing to The Woodlands through his ministry. As chaplain at St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital for the past 11 years, Rev. Trego has helped families heal. Since the hospital's opening in 2003, patients, staff, and families have all relied on Rev. Trego for loving, spiritual guidance. Rev. Trego began his service at St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital with four volunteers as part of his pastoral care team. Today those same individuals have been joined by 19 other spiritual caregivers. St. Luke's volunteer chaplains come from all faiths and are available to all patients, employees, doctors, nurses, and visitors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2004, Rev. Trego, began what has become known as the ``feelie heart'' ministry. Inspired by another's story, the Reverend encouraged his team to make small fabric hearts to give to those who needed encouragement. With love, the team initially made 50 hearts to give away. To date, nearly 30,000 hearts have been hand made by volunteers, organizations and even the families of prior patients. The hearts have become so important to patients that those having surgery have their feelie heart pinned to the underside of their gurney for reassurance. This week Rev. Trego is retiring, but not before performing his last Blessing of the Hands ceremony on Tuesday, March 25. Annually, the Reverend has offered this ceremonial washing, drying, and anointing of hands in service to others. Over 2,000 individuals have participated in these ceremonies that serve as a reminder of God's healing power and compassion. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this special day. It can't be overstated what a tremendously important part of the fabric of St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital that Rev. Trego has become. He truly embodies St. Luke's motto of ``Faithful, Loving Care.'' As the St. Luke's family honors him this week and receive their Blessings from him, they reflect on how they have been blessed by this man's faith, compassion, and dedication. Bless you, Rev. Trego. Your retirement is well earned.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), a gentleman who is one of the newest members of the Ways and Means Committee. He is a businessman, but he is a real fighter for Pennsylvania's seniors and doctors.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining?

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), one of our key members of the Ways and Means Committee, who has brought the concerns of New York doctors to our attention.