Marsha Blackburn

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. That is so very true, and I thank the gentlewoman for noting that, for setting the record straight. As the gentlewoman was talking about some of her experiences, meeting a taxi driver who was from Iraq and how he stopped to say thank you, I was reading some things from my news clips. Here is an article out of the Nashville Tennessean, today's paper, November 3, and an opinion column written by Jonathan Gurwitz who is a columnist for the San Antonio Express News. He is recounting a conversation and a visit with a Dr. Najmaldin Karim who is Kurdish and the headline is ``Why this war? Ask someone who is Kurdish.'' I was so touched by your examples that, Mr. Speaker, I wanted to share a quote in this. I think it is so relevant to the discussion that we are having tonight. And I am quoting this Dr. Karim: ``The suggestion that Saddam Hussein's dictatorship was a `stable' form of government is outrageous to Iraqis, not on the ideological fringe, especially the Kurds. The war in Iraq didn't begin in 2003. For the previous 35 years Kurds, Shiites and anyone else who threatened the oligarchy fought against the suppression of their very existence.'' Mr. Speaker, you know, this morning I spoke on the floor about what we are doing right to win the war on terror and the progress that we are making in the battle in Iraq. And it seemed that the minute I started talking there was some conversation across the aisle. And one of my colleagues from the left got upset, and then sure enough a Democrat Member follows me to the well during 1-minutes to speak against the positive changes that are going on in Iraq. You see, I think that the left in this country has to undermine this war and undermine the resolve of the American people in order to try to win elections next November. They have got to make you and me and every single one of us forget the bigger picture in this war on terror. They want us focused on the casualties and on the setbacks. And, yes, we take one step forward, we take two steps back. It is going to be a long war, but we are making progress. They do not want us to ask what sort of damage will result from withdrawing from Iraq. They do not want us to ask whether we would be better off with a free Iraq. They simply want to point out all the negatives and demand withdrawal in order to declare America's defeat, and then they believe they will win elections. Unfortunately, the national media, one would believe for all intents and purposes, is the public relations wing of the left on this subject. Day after day the major newspapers editorialize in both their articles and on the op-ed pages against our efforts in Iraq. They give extensive coverage to casualties and claim they do it to honor those lost. But they do not cover the things these men and women did to change this world. They do not cover the moments of pure courage, pure courage and strength that these men and women and their colleagues committed and performed to fix a great wrong in this world. They only cover their deaths, and that is a tragedy, Mr. Speaker, because it was not in their deaths that they became heroes. It was in the day-to-day work on behalf of this country that they became heroes. They gave their lives for something they believed in. They were heroes long before the tragedy of their death. We remember those lost not because they died but because they lived and how they lived in putting others before themselves. Mr. Speaker, I cannot say that I do not stop and wonder if these losses would be for naught; but when I am doubting and if I am unsure, I talk with some of those who have served in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and I talk to their families and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we can win this because they know that we can win it. And, Mr. Speaker, they are living it; they are seeing it firsthand every single day. When I visit Fort Campbell in my district or spend time with our National Guard and Reserves, I see the spirit of America and I see the commitment and the drive to succeed. They settle any doubts. They restore my confidence. They should be our inspiration in this battle. So tonight, despite watching Democrats come to the floor and beat the drums of retreat in the war on terror, I want to recognize those men and women in uniform who we see in the progress, in the change in that region of the world. Let me just read a list of some of the accomplishments so that America, those watching and those listening and our constituents, will understand the great deeds of these men and women, our heroes who are in uniform. As of October 24, 2005, a total of 206,500 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped with the assistance of the U.S. military. On election day in October, as our colleague from Texas previously mentioned, 78 percent of voters backed the charter Constitution, 78 percent of those that went to the polls voted for freedom, voted for democracy. And as our colleague from Texas mentioned, 63 percent of Iraqis, 15\1/2\ million voters, cast their ballot. They took their life in their hands to cast that ballots. The Iraqi Constitution guarantees the rights of all its citizens and enshrines the rule of law. A new parliament will be voted on in December and will form a 4-year term to government to take office by December 31, 2005. Who would have thought that that was possible? Iraqis appear to be spending more money, signs that consumer confidence is improving. As the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake) mentioned, things are turning green in Iraq. You see the fields that they have planted. My first visit there, I said Iraqi is a khaki-colored country. It was covered with dust. Over 15,650 houses have recently been connected to the Baghdad water distribution system by USAID. In all, nearly 100 kilometers of mainline pipe have been installed in the Baghdad area. Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on. We know America is once again engaged in a great struggle that will in no uncertain terms decide what kind of world our children are going to inherit. I want our men and women in Iraq to know we believe in them. We believe in what they are doing, and we know that this is going to improve the national security for generations to come. It is going to help preserve freedom. Our military's cause in Iraq is a noble one, despite what some in this body would have you believe. In closing, I would like to give you a quote, a part from Ronald Reagan's speech on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. He said this to the World War II veterans who were gathered with him at Normandy: ``You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it is the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of our country were behind you.'' Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues across the aisle will join us in letting every man and woman in uniform and every family know this country is behind them. I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake).

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake) for doing such a wonderful job in hosting this. I thank our chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), for the excellent job that he does in providing leadership for the House Committee on Armed Services. I think we also thank the family of Corporal Starr for their sacrifice, and we hope that they know we join them in their sorrow.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, night after night we watch the left come to the floor and beat the drums of retreat on the war on terrorism. They want us out of Iraq, they want us out of the Middle East, and they want us to end our aggressive war on terrorism. I have to admit in my heart I would like to see the troops home, but my intellect tells me we cannot afford to leave our children a world in which Middle Eastern terrorists have free reign. I want our troops to know that they have a grateful Nation behind them, regardless of what they may hear from some in this body. I want our Tennessee National Guardsmen, our Fort Campbell families and, as we approach Veterans' Day, all of our Nation's patriotic veterans to know we appreciate their service and their commitment. As of October 4, 2005, a total of 206,500 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped. That is progress, and the American people can be confident that progress is being made. So do not believe the ranting of the left when they tell you all is lost, that hope is pointless and that we are losing. We are not.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I think this is something that is so very important because what it says is every individual has the right to go in there and have that ability to make decisions, establish that relationship with that physician; and if they take responsibility and if they take ownership, then here is a great way that they can do it. In addition, we are going to see the flexibility that many of the governors have said we need, flexibility in order to be certain that health care remains viable and accessible for all of our citizens.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his words of wisdom and for the commitment that he brings to protecting the Federal budget, just as he does the family budget. I appreciate the diligence as he goes about this, whether it is Operation Offset or Washington Waste Watchers. He has certainly worked very, very hard on this. I was talking about his good work in my district one day in one of the town halls and talked about how he felt like we should watch the Federal budget like the family budget and some of the information that he brought to us. One of my constituents raised his hand; and he said, ``Mrs. Blackburn, I tell you, I really appreciate that. You know, sometimes I think the Federal Government does get out of hand. It does need to be reined in.'' He said, ``They need to take a lesson from some of us.'' He said, ``Sometimes, you know, I have too much month left over at the end of my money. And when that happens, we have to just sit down and work things a little bit differently.'' Well, Mr. Speaker, I think that that is the kind of wisdom we need to put on the table here in Washington. Maybe we have too much year left over at the end of our money, which means it is time for us to prioritize and to focus and to do things a little bit differently. We know that government does not have a revenue problem. Government has a spending problem. And we also know that the government is never going to get enough of the taxpayers' money. They are never, ever, ever going to get enough of the taxpayers' money. Never happen. Because there is always going to be one more program, one more activity, one more department, one more need, one more something that they feel like needs that money. Now one of the things that we have done here is to talk about the Deficit Reduction Act, and that is a piece of legislation that is going to come before this body soon. The majority here in the House has worked diligently on the Deficit Reduction Act. Many of our colleagues across the aisle are fighting us tongue, tooth and toenail. Every time we turn around they are just fighting us every step of the way on this. Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you, I think there is a reason for this. With over 40 years of Democrat control of this body, they have really built a monument to themselves; and that monument is a huge enormous bureaucracy. What it comes down to is that they would rather support bureaucrats in buildings and trust them to make decisions for the average American family and for taxpayers than to trust individuals and families to make those decisions. Their focus is putting the attention on preserving that bureaucracy and growing that bureaucracy. As the gentleman from Texas has said, fiscal responsibility is what our work focuses on: How do we rein this government in? How do we slow the growth? How do we begin to work toward reducing spending, reducing the deficit and being certain that this Nation remains a free and productive Nation for our children and our grandchildren? That has brought us to working out the budget, the Deficit Reduction Act, that we are bringing forward this year. My colleague from Texas mentioned a few things about waste, fraud and abuse; and we have put some attention on that this year here in the House. I want to highlight a couple of things. When we hear our colleagues from across the aisle say, well, there is nowhere to cut. We cannot find any savings. We cannot reduce these programs. My goodness, what would they do if we slowed their growth and did not let them have more money this year than they had last year? Well, I just want to highlight a few things that when we talk about we have reduced the deficit by $50 billion, an additional, additional $50 billion this year, I want to highlight a few things where we have found waste, fraud and abuse. We have only done a drop in the bucket, and we have had to fight every step of the way to get this, but just listen to some of these things that we highlight that we know are there. From 2003, the Federal Government cannot account for $24 and a half billion that it spent. We think that accountability is important. A White House review of just a sample of the Federal budget identified $90 billion spent on programs deemed ineffective, marginally adequate or operating under a flawed purpose or design, $90 billion. Well, already if we could get support for going after these dollars we would be well over $100 billion. Housing and Urban Development, $3.3 billion in overpayments in 2001, which accounted for over 10 percent of the Department's total budget. Now many of us have supported across-the-board cuts, Mr. Speaker; and I was joined by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) in filing bills that would call for either a 1 or 2 or 5 percent across-the-board reduction in spending. Most folks would look at their budget and say, you know, I can find 1, 2, or 5 percent by just getting in here and cleaning up some of my operations. Well, HUD had overpayments that accounted for over 10 percent of their budget. If they just cleaned up their books and cut out the overpayments, there would be 10 percent right there. Duplication. The gentleman from Texas mentioned duplication of programs, and there is a lot of that here. We know that when you have a big Federal program you have a bureaucracy, you have bureaucrats in these great big shiny buildings all around Washington, D.C., and all around our country that run the programs. We have on the books 342 different economic development programs, 130 programs serving the disabled, 130 programs serving at-risk youth, 90 early childhood development programs, 75 programs funding international education, cultural, and training exchange activities. Mr. Speaker, we are simply saying, let us put the money in the programs where it is going to do good in local communities. Let us get rid of the bureaucracy. Let us streamline some of this. Let us get rid of redundancies and duplications and be certain that the money is going for what it is intended: helping individuals in the communities. Washington spends $60 billion on corporate welfare every year versus $43 billion on homeland security. Priorities. They are important. Farm subsidies go to several Members of Congress and celebrity hobby farmers such as David Rockefeller, Ted Turner, Scottie Pippin, and former Enron CEO Ken Lay. Something to look at. Medicare programs that pay eight times as much for the cost of drugs as other Federal agencies are paying for medical supplies. This needs to be dealt with. Food stamp overpayments that are costing taxpayers $600 million annually, many of those payments going to individuals who are not in the country legally. School lunch program abuse has been estimated by the GAO to be at $120 million annually. Mr. Speaker, these are all examples of waste, fraud, and abuse that have been documented by the OMB, the CBO, and the GAO, agencies of the Federal Government. These are agencies that work with Congress to say go back and take a second look and look at how this money is being spent. Exercise your oversight. And that is what we are doing as we move forward on fiscal responsibility and accountability and as we bring forward the Deficit Reduction Act. I thank the gentleman from Texas for allowing me to join him tonight. I thank him for his diligence and his leadership on this effort, the leadership that he gives to the Republican Study Committee and that he gives here to the entire body of the House. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back to the gentleman.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. To the gentleman's point as he is talking about the budget and what we would do with making some adjustments within that budget, Medicaid is an issue that we addressed in the Energy and Commerce Committee last week and looked at some forms and some redesigning and revitalization of Medicaid, being certain that we preserve access to health care for Americans. In this process, we looked at the annual expected growth rate of Medicaid, which is 7.3 percent per year. And by looking at pharmaceuticals, making adjustments there, rooting out some waste and fraud and some abuse, closing some loopholes, addressing some inefficiencies, we were able to slow the growth from 7.3 percent to 7 percent growth per year. But, in liberal lingo, the gentleman from Texas knows that that is described by our colleagues across the aisle as a cut, when all we have really done is to say, let us get the fiscal house in order and be certain that we are using the technologies and availing ourselves of the efficiencies available.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the gentleman to go back to one point on Medicaid. I think it is so important, and many of our constituents and many members of this House, I think, would be interested in it. I would love for him to talk one more time briefly about the health opportunity accounts, because this is something that will give individuals ownership over the decisions that they make and have to make in their health care choices.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, the other day the President spoke out in support of across-the-board spending cuts as an option for reducing Federal spending. I want to applaud the President for joining us on this issue. On October 20, I wrote a letter of thanks to the President, thanking him for supporting across-the-board spending reductions. In September, along with two of my colleagues, I introduced H.R. 3903, H.R. 3904, and H.R. 3906, 1, 2, and 5 percent across-the-board reduction bills for nondefense, non-Homeland Security discretionary spending. We have 18 members signed as co-sponsors, and I hope to continue building support for the reductions. Every Member in this body should be able to support at least a 1 percent reduction. This House leadership has actively pushed to rein in spending, and I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting these bills. House of Representatives, Washington, DC, October 20, 2005. Hon. George W. Bush, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear President Bush: Thank you for promising to work with Congress to offset costs for Gulf Coast reconstruction with spending cuts. I know that you and I are committed to act in a fiscally responsible way in paying for the reconstruction efforts. In your speech on October 4th from the Rose Garden, you stated that you want Congress to pay for as much of the hurricane relief as possible by cutting spending and that you will work with Congress to identify offsets to free up money for the reconstruction efforts. You also called on Congress to make real cuts in non-security spending. Mr. President, I have introduced three bills that are significant first steps towards meeting your goals. The bills would enact across-the-board 1%, 2%, and 5% reductions in non-defense and non-homeland security discretionary spending. I believe that by working together on these proposals we can show the American people that you and I are dedicated to exercising spending restraint to prevent more federal debt passing on to future generations. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to working with you during the coming months. Sincerely, Marsha Blackburn, Member of Congress.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding to me and inviting me to participate this evening as we do talk about our rights and private property rights and what makes America great. As we begin this discussion, Mr. Speaker, I want to touch on something that a couple of our previous speakers, our colleagues across the aisle, had brought up, because we talk so much about what makes America so unique and so wonderful, and private property is one of those. I know the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) and so many of our colleagues have joined me in working with some of the individuals in Iraq as they have fought to establish their freedom and to seek to have the opportunity to own private property. And I found it so interesting listening to some of my colleagues as they were talking about how Iraq was a quagmire and things were not going right. And I thought, my goodness, you think about the thoughtfulness that our Founding Fathers put into establishing this Constitution and the years and years and the hard work that went into this as they came together as a body, as they met, as they came about developing that Constitution, as they worked to list out a Bill of Rights and things that they thought would be so important. It did not happen overnight. It did not happen within a year, and it did not happen within 2 years. I could not help but think we have just witnessed a big vote in Iraq, very successful. Over 65 percent of the people in that great nation came out and voted on a Constitution. We are watching a nation walk very consistently and very slowly. Some days they take a few steps forward. Some days they take a step or two back; but they have to keep plugging along, working toward the time when they will enjoy the freedoms and the fruit and the benefits of a free society. And one of those definitely is private property. Many of my constituents, as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) said, they know that that fifth amendment is important. They have worked hard to be able to stake out their little corner of the world. As some of them have said to me, We know something is wrong. It is not happening right in Washington when they see decisions like the Kelo decision. The people have a very fine-tuned sense of right and wrong, and they know it is wrong when the Supreme Court paves the way for the government to come in and seize private property in order to build malls and other commercial-venture structures. They know there is just not something right about that. I rarely use the term un-American; but, Mr. Speaker, if there is anything that strikes me and my constituents as contrary to our values, it is this Kelo decision and there is just something about it that strikes it being un-American. It was a stunning display of judicial activism as the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) has pointed out. The Supreme Court stepped all over our property rights. And in Tennessee we watched this with a little bit of added interest because not only did we think in terms of those tangible property rights, but we think about those intellectual property rights that are so very important to our creative community, to our writers, to our television producers, to our film producers, looking at protecting both the tangible and the intellectual property rights. Our rights as Americans, our economy are based on very strong principles of private property ownership, private property protection, and the ability to work hard and to benefit by exercising those rights. It is such a fundamental right that it is hard to imagine our courts infringing upon it, but that is what they have done. I certainly hope, and I know my colleagues that are gathered here tonight join me in having hope, that American property owners at home will know that they have an ally in this fight and they have an advocate in this discussion, and it is the majority here in this House of Representatives. It is this Republican majority. And I hope that the 69 percent of American homeowners who were watching this debate and watching our work on this legislation this week will know that we stand with them in maintaining that home ownership. We are just as concerned with this eminent domain issue as the American people are and we are going to work to strengthen the laws to protect private property, both real and intangible. This week we are taking up the Private Property Rights Protection Act. We might not be able to overturn the Supreme Court's Kelo decision, that is not within our jurisdiction; but we can make sure that not one single penny of taxpayer money, not one single penny of Federal funds is used to support the forced taking of your private property by local and State governments. This bill will ensure that any State or locality abusing their eminent domain power by using economic development as a rationale for a taking will not be trusted with Federal economic development funds that could contribute to similarly abusive land grabs. And we are going to provide access to State and Federal courts for those who believe this bill has violated, has been violated in the seizure of their property. All of us want economic development for our community. We also want our citizens to be secure in the knowledge that their property is just that, that it is their property. We do not want them to fear that that fundamental right has been infringed upon and their property taken for development. I hope all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join with us in supporting this much-needed legislation.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, on November 9, 2005, Ross Arnold will be honored for his role as a community leader. For more than six decades Mr. Arnold has contributed to our community as a civic and business leader, and we're all better for his work. Mr. Arnold's distinguished career began with his service in the United States Navy. The youngest man who had ever earned the rank of Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, after his military career in 1946 he joined Nashville Tent and Awning and was the company's president by the time he retired in 1987. A longtime member of the Lions Club, Mr. Arnold served as a mentor to others by sharing his life experiences. Mr. Arnold always gave back more than he took from his country and his community. Congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Arnold. I am certain his family; his wife of more than sixty years Dorothy, their children, Allison, Melissa and Wayland and their 10 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren are tremendously proud of this much deserved recognition and thanks from our community.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday next.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate being recognized. I have got a couple of things I wanted to talk about this afternoon as we wind up what has been a very busy week here in Washington. We have had our plate full, and have worked aggressively on issues that are of importance to the American people, and certainly are of importance to my constituents in Tennessee. But over the past week and during this time as we have been plugging away working on the budget for this Nation, working on how we reform government, we have watched a group of Democrats from across the aisle come down here during the evenings, and every evening they talk about everything that they believe the Republican majority is doing that is wrong. They talk about everything that they think is wrong with America, they talk about everything they think is wrong with our employers, and they talk about everything they think is wrong with American families and with the values that we hold dear. You know, I do not think they think we are doing a thing right. I do not think they think there is much right with America. And if you turn to C-SPAN any given evening, and you see a bunch of people down here complaining, that is them, because they are tuned up, and they are going to it every evening with the negativity and what is wrong, what is wrong. The left in this Congress does not want to see spending cuts, and they certainly do not want to see tax relief. They are not interested in reducing the size of the Federal Government. They want to grow it. And when they talk about wanting to grow it and add more to it, guess what? They are talking about using American taxpayer money. It is going to take the money out of your pocket to pay for their want list. And what I cannot help but notice day after day when listening to the left in this body criticize everybody and everything and complain about everything is the tremendous level of self- indignation. It is the sort of self-righteous indignation that you typically see coming from some of the TV talk show pundits, but lately it seems to be a hallmark of the Democratic House talking points that they are outraged about spending. Their solution is to propose more and more spending, but they are going to tell you they are outraged with the spending. They are going to tell you they are outraged with the deficit. They are going to tell you they are outraged with the debt. But more and more spending, more and more spending, that is what they want. They are outraged that government failed in the Katrina response. Yet they want to make that inefficient and ineffective bureaucracy bigger and more powerful. At the same time as they are making it bigger and more powerful, guess what, they want to make it more centralized. They are outraged, absolutely outraged that we have high gas prices, yet they oppose domestic exploration for oil. They oppose refinery construction. They oppose refinery expansion. And this is not something new. This is something that they have been opposing for years. My goodness, some of them even worked with former President Clinton. They are outraged about gas prices, but you know what, I guess they are not outraged that former President Clinton vetoed drilling in ANWR. Now, you know you cannot have it both ways. They are outraged that Social Security is going to run short of funding, but they do not want to reform it, and they do not want to address that; but they are going to be outraged about it. They are outraged that this war on terror is not over, yet they take every opportunity they can possibly take. They come down here and any time that they can find the time they want to talk about withdrawing from Iraq and appeasing the very world leaders who let the Middle East get away with terrorism for decades before we took a firm stance. But they are going to tell you they are outraged that this war is not over. They have known it is going to be a long war. We have all known that. Mr. Speaker, I guess they think they have got the market cornered on outrage. Maybe they do. Maybe they do. I mean, it seems that there is nobody around that does outrage better than the Democrats. As my mother used to say when people would get upset, she would look at them and say, Just rave on, rave on. You can talk all day long. That talking is not going to accomplish one thing. Actions will accomplish things. But, Mr. Speaker, in order to get from outrage to action it takes something to fill in that void and that is called ideas, and ideas is something they just do not have. Now, maybe the outrage makes for great TV ratings on reality shows; but you know what, this is not a TV show. What this is is real life. It is the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a governmental body that works to construct the laws that you and I and my family and your family, everyone lives under; that free enterprise functions under; that we work under each and every day. But you know, we do not hear ideas coming from the other side when they come down here and claim that we are not doing anything right and that everything is wrong. They are not laying out an alternative agenda because they cannot agree on one. They want to make the government agencies we have got bigger. They want a bigger, more centralized government. They want more Federal control. They want more Federal mandates on local government, and they want your money to come and pay for this. I hope that my constituents in Tennessee understand this and are listening to this because Federal mandates are something that they are tired of, and I hope that they are listening. I hope the American people realize they want a bigger government. They want to grow it. They want more Federal control on our State and local governments. They want more Federal mandates on local governments, and they want the money out of your pocket to come and pay for it. They want to make the taxes we have got on the books higher. They want higher taxes. They want higher rates, higher fees, more taxes and in more areas of your life. They are the elitist of government, and they think that they know better than you know. They want to give the government that too often tramples on your rights more power. That is a game plan. Centralized power for them and less individual freedom for you and for me, for your family. That is their vision. For 10 years the Republicans have been in the majority here in the House. We have done a lot of good things. We have balanced budgets. We have faced debt which has been brought on by recession and war. We have pushed hard to get an out-of-control Washington bureaucracy under control and to get it reduced. We have enacted major, major tax reform and tax relief for working families. We have put 98 programs up for elimination this year. We have taken a hard-line approach to terrorism. We have gone after the ridiculous regulations, overly burdensome regulations that strangle small business, that keep entrepreneurs from taking an idea that they have and growing that idea and bringing it to fruition, getting capital for that idea, getting that idea into a commodity that goes to market. Those are the regulations that we are addressing and rolling back so that we are freeing up free enterprise. We have worked to prevent the sort of universal health care plans the left proposes that would destroy the quality of care in this Nation. What do my constituents want to see in health care? Access, access to health care. Physicians in communities, physicians who are able to open their doors and practice. That is what they want to see. Not a one- size-fits-all plan that is directed by some bureaucrat sitting in a building in Washington, D.C. They want a physician in their community. That is what we are working for. Freeing up health care, access to health care. Mr. Speaker, you will hear a lot of complaints from the left about tax relief. Well, you know, they just absolutely despise tax relief. My constituents seem to appreciate marriage relief, marriage tax relief, child tax credits, sales tax deductibility, lower income tax rates. Goodness, a lot of my constituents even tell me if 10 percent is good enough for God, it ought to be good enough for the government. Let us get that rate down even further, even further. They know better how to spend their money than the Federal Government, and they would like to be keeping it. You know, one of my colleagues earlier today mentioned something I want to talk about for just a second. Today, despite the war, despite natural disasters, we have seen that in the third quarter of 2005 that our GDP grew at 3.8 percent. And I hope my colleagues are listening and hear this. This year, this quarter, despite a war, despite natural disasters our economy has grown 3.8 percent. Now, for everybody at home that is a booming economy. That is tremendous growth, and we believe debt reduction requires a booming economy and spending reductions. You grow the economy and you cut back on your spending. You cannot cut the debt without both elements. You have to work it from both sides of the table. Make the tax reductions that are going to allow that economy, the free enterprise sector, to grow; and at the same time when you are looking at the public sector, start reducing what government is spending. It is an amazing thing. You reduce what you are spending, you increase those revenues, your deficit is reduced and your debt is reduced. Hard as they try, the Democrats in this body cannot make the case with a straight face that raising taxes, which is their platform, raising taxes, raising those taxes on American families, that raising those taxes will increase economic growth. It just does not happen. 3.8 percent growth. Mr. Speaker, I will have to remind my colleagues also that equals jobs, it equals jobs growth. We have seen over 3 million new jobs in 2 years. We are seeing more. It equals increased small business manufacturing output, small business manufacturing output increases rights here on American soil. It equals a more productive free enterprise. Well, let me get back to our 10 years of majority here in the House. Last night I watched the left attack those 10 years of work; and as I said, in my opinion we have done a lot of good things in those 10 years and we have suffered some setbacks, and in my opinion we are not done. We have got a lot of good work left that we can do. We are going to continue taking the shackles off free enterprise and freeing it up. We are going to continue getting government off the backs and out of the pockets of hard-working American families, getting government off the backs and out of the pockets of small business owners all across this great land. We are going to continue working, restoring individual liberty and freedom and hopes and dreams. What you see is a work in progress because there is always room to improve, but our agenda is the right agenda. Yes, we want to see across-the-board spending reductions; the left does not. We want to see major immigration reform that gets this illegal immigration crisis under control. We want to see border security addressed immediately this year. The left does not. We want to see a very aggressive global war on terrorism that treats terrorists like the murderers that they are. Many on the left do not join us in that desire. We want to see a tax reform and relief that takes this nightmare of a Tax Code that we have volumes and volumes and volumes and simplifies it so that it is simpler, it is flatter, and it is fairer. The left does not. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of talk about independent commissions around here lately. Well, a lot of the folks in my district are not real happy when they hear talk of independent commissions. They feel like that is our job. They have got people on the left just clamoring for a Katrina Commission. Well, now, I do not know about you, but who needs a commission to tell us that government failed? It seems pretty obvious to me. The city of New Orleans government, the Louisiana government, the Federal Government all failed. Period. I do not need a commission to tell me that. I would hope that the Democrats do not need an expensive government commission to tell them that either. What I do know and what I believe the left does not know is that failure can be laid right at the doorstep of this massive wasteful bureaucracy that you and I and every American taxpayer is paying for day after day after day. Bigger is not always better. Bigger is not always more responsive. One of the things we learn is that smaller local governments are generally the ones that are on the frontline, that are more responsive to the needs of communities. That is where the rubber meets the road. We are paying a lot for this bureaucracy, and we are getting very little in return on our money. What we get is a slow process. We get the runaround. We get less accountability. The left in this country had control of this House for 40 years prior to the Republican majority, and in that time they created an enormous, huge bureaucracy. Over the past 10 years, we have been trying to reform and reshape that government, to make it more responsive to the American people. As I said, it takes time because they fight us every single step of the way. Every time we try to reduce something, to reform something, to cut back, to pare down, they fight us. Clearly we have not succeeded enough or the Katrina response would have been better, but I beg to differ when the left criticizes Republicans for this big, ineffective government. If we had our way, if they would join us, we would be looking at companies like FedEx, one of our good Tennessee companies, for ways to reform government for the 21st century. We would be looking at other constituent companies in Tennessee, people like Tractor's Supply Company, efficient small businesses that work well. The Democrats are more concerned about the jobs, about the jobs big government creates than the jobs small business creates, and they are more concerned about those big government jobs than they are about the effectiveness of government. How dare we ask a Federal agency to pare down? How dare we ask them to reduce their payroll? How dare we ask them to become more effective or more efficient? I want everyone at home to know that it is Republicans who want a government that is leaner, that is smarter, that is more responsive. We want to reform government. We want change. I think there is a philosophical difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. They think government, big government, big buildings, big programs is the hallmark of a great Nation. We Republicans think that great individuals, individuals with freedom and power and hope and opportunity, that is the core and the center of a great Nation. We want to drag a bureaucracy that is based on 19th-century government into the modern age, drag them kicking and screaming if necessary, because we do not believe big government equals effective government. There are some core functions our Federal Government should be capable of handling. Defense and disaster response are clearly at the top of the list, and we should not let an outdated system and an overgrown civil service deliver poor service slowly. In closing, I know that many on the left are going out and slamming our across-the-board spending reductions. They are slamming our budget control ideas. They do not think government has room to cut. Mr. Speaker, in the 3 years I have been in this Congress, I have sat through oversight hearing after oversight hearing where government agencies have the absolute audacity to tell us that they cannot account for millions of our tax dollars, millions upon billions of dollars, and in the same breath they ask for more funding. Enough. I want to see reform. I hope this body wants to see reform. I want to see spending reductions, and I want a government that will actually perform its core functions. Many on the left have been standing in the way of reform. They want to protect the bureaucracy that was built over 40 years of their control. I think it is their monument, and, yes, they will stand here and they will rail against every reform we have ever offered because it is their crowning achievement. It is the monument to themselves and their policies. But I think it is time for the American people to know that this party and this leadership is focused on the American family. We are focused on families who are strong and productive and free, families who are free, Mr. Speaker, free to dream big dreams, free to have great adventures, to live out those hopes and dreams.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 3 p.m. on Monday next, and further, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, 2005, for morning hour debate.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, Tennesseans have long been known for giving back more to their community than they take. Jeannette Cantrell Rudy exemplifies our State's proud tradition of contributing to the betterment of both community and country. This year as Jeanette celebrates her 78th birthday, we should take a moment to recognize her good works and thank her for enriching our lives. In 1985, Jeanette helped create and fund the Dan Rudy Cancer Center at Saint Thomas Hospital in honor of her husband. With her sisters' help, she honored her parents by founding the Felix A. and Edna L. Cantrell Endowment Fund. The fund has given nurses the opportunity to continue their education at Saint Thomas Hospital. As a former nurse, Jeanette knows just how important nurses are to our quality of life. It's clear that Jeanette's work has had a tremendous impact on the lives of people across our State. Her life is a testament to the power each of us have to help others. The list of Jeanette's achievements and interests is a long one. She's a sportswoman, a member of several boards including those serving the Nashville Zoo and Cumberland University. She's even written a book, A Bend in the Cumberland, chronicling the history of her longtime home community in the Pennington Bend area. It's impossible to capture the many friendships and contributions Jeanette has been responsible for over the years, but we owe her a debt of gratitude for choosing to live in and serve our community. All our best to Jeannette and her family on her 78th birthday.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to come before the body and also to talk with the American people a little bit this evening about what we as a House majority are doing. You know, I have been sitting here for the last few minutes listening to my colleagues talk about their plan and talk about what they were doing. And one of my colleagues was talking about we want this, we want that. I was beginning to think I was listening to one of my children name the Christmas list, got the we-wants. And I will remind the American people that the we-wants are going to take a lot of your money. And I did not hear one single word mentioned about fiscal responsibility and spending less. And I would encourage my colleagues to come and work with us, really to work with us on this issue, because we would appreciate having them choose to propose some spending cuts. They have been going through this process of trying to come up with a slogan for 2006. And it has been interesting to watch them talk about this slogan. I think they are going with something like We Can Do Better, Together We Can Do Better, or something of that nature. There again, we are not hearing anything about controlling spending and reining in government. I did a cable news show last week with a Member of the Democratic Party. He said, well, you know, they had not been invited to join in working on submitting spending reductions. Mr. Speaker, if they are waiting for an invitation, I hope they consider this the invitation. It is in that spirit that I wanted to come down to the floor tonight and talk a little bit about the Republican security agenda and invite the Democrats to join us, because we are living in uncertain times. We are facing significant challenges, and the Republican majority has a clear plan on how we move forward on this. We are focused on our national security, our economic security, our moral security, our retirement security. And we are going to talk a lot. We have been working already, the 108th, 109th Congress, and putting quite a bit of time and energy into continued tax relief, lowering energy costs, working toward affordable health care, and talking about preserving access to health care for all Americans. You know, I am just going to have to correct one of things that one of my colleagues said. They were talking about Medicaid spending and how we were going to cut Medicaid spending. And I was kind of scratching my head. We have been sitting in the Committee on Energy and Commerce since 3 o'clock on Tuesday afternoon now working on many of these issues. And all we are talking about doing is slowing the rate of growth of Medicaid from 7.3 percent a year to 7 percent a year. I think a lot of my constituents in Tennessee have, they have kind of wised up to a lot of this Washington talk, and they know that any time you talk about reining in growth, any time you talk about bureaucrats and having to learn to live with less so that families in houses in communities can keep their money, that you are going to hear talk of a cut. You are going to hear talk of a cut. My people know and understand that. They also were saying a little bit about energy over there. I have got to make a comment there, too, and they were talking about how glorious the `90s were. We probably would not be talking so much about energy right now if President Clinton had not vetoed drilling in ANWR in 1995. He had the opportunity to do something bold and visionary, and he chose not to. Democrats chose not to. And I think we need to remember that as we talk about energy costs. When we talk about economic policies and the economic expansion, I think that my young colleague over there might do well to realize Ronald Reagan and his economic policies led to that economic expansion, and we fondly remember that President. As I said, we are talking about the security agenda. We are focused tonight on the economic security agenda and some of the things that we have been able to accomplish. As I said, spending reductions, we are working on across-the-board cuts, tax relief and tax reform, it has been a big, big part of that. The death tax repeal, marriage penalty relief, reducing marginal rates, all of those things; the child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, our colleagues want to talk all of the time and just say, oh, corporations are not paying their fair share. We need to tax corporations more. And that is all Republicans talk about in tax reform and tax relief. And they are just so wrong. They are just so wrong on that because thousands of families in my district appreciate having sales tax deductibility. They appreciate having the child tax credit. They appreciate having marriage penalty relief. And so many who have, they are trying to save family farms and small business that they have started, they want to make the death tax repeal permanent. We are going to continue talking about these as we move forward, and we are going to be continuing to work on these spending issues, because when government is taxing too much and spending too much, you stifle economic activity, and that does affect economic security of this Nation. Republicans are not willing to let government stifle economic activities. Jobs growth and jobs creation is something that needs to be happening. We have seen 3 million new jobs created. That has happened because of the correct economic steps. It has happened because of a push to reform government. We have 98 programs that are targeted for potential elimination, a good first step there. Our leadership is to be commended by taking these steps, and this is going to yield $4.3 billion in savings, the budget that we passed. And I will remind my colleagues across the aisle did not get a single Democratic vote on this budget. It reduced $35 billion in savings; $35 billion dollars in that fiscal year 2006 budget, and now we are working to expand that. Not a single Democrat wanted to vote for that, but they wanted to spend more. And when they spend more, that is more money coming out of our taxpayers' pockets. And, Mr. Speaker, our majority believes that we can do better, and I would certainly hope that our colleagues across the aisle will start to work with us on these spending reductions. We have got a great group of Members who are sick of having the liberals in this body tell us that there is no room to cut, and not a single Democrat has agreed to support even a 1 percent reduction. And they do not believe there is 1 percent of waste, fraud and abuse in government. In fact, they have opposed our effort to get to that $35 billion in savings. And I think that the people in my district know that you can find 1 percent of waste, fraud and abuse; and they are encouraging us to move forward and go maybe even more, find even greater savings. I have said many times that I think that government needs to be streamlined, and that it could stop behaving and spending like the overgrown, unproductive behemoth that it has become over 40 years of Democrat control with growing program after program after program, and it could start functioning a lot more like some of our Tennessee companies, maybe FedEx or Comdata or the Tractor Supply Company or any of the hundreds and thousands of small businesses and small business manufacturers that are located across our wonderful Seventh Congressional District. We have got agencies that spend without results and then do not want to tell us how they spend. We have got program after program that was created during the Great Society, and those programs put very little stock in achieving results. The Republicans in this House are working to reshape that, and we are going to continue putting our focus on spending reduction, reducing a little bit more and a little bit more every single year. And we hope that our Democrat colleagues across the aisle are going to join us and assist us with this. I am pleased to note also, Mr. Speaker, I will have to note this even though the Democrats do not want to join us with across-the-board spending and reducing even 1 percent out of spending, I am pleased to note that today the President expressed support for taking a look at across-the-board cuts. I was joined by two of my colleagues, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), in filing three bills, a 1 percent, a 2 percent, and a 5 percent across-the-board cuts. And also I will have to note that in our work to reduce what the Federal Government spends, Citizens Against Government Waste has sent a letter encouraging Members of Congress to support our across-the-board cuts because they know that as we work toward fiscal responsibility, as we work to achieve and continue economic security in this Nation, a big important part of this is looking at what the Federal Government spends. Mr. Speaker, I am joined by some of my colleagues tonight. And at this time I would like to recognize one of our colleagues from Texas who is our vice chairman of the Republican Study Committee and has been a leader in looking at the fiscal responsibility of this body and of the Federal Government. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) has taken a lead on this. He helped with our freshman class as waste, fraud and abuse became our class project. He came forward and helped found the Washington Waste Watchers so that we could begin to get inside these programs to target and look at specifically what was going on in these Federal programs, where the Federal Government spends its money, how it achieves its results. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) has worked on this issue for 3 years. And at this time I would like to yield to him for his comment about spending control and budget control and operations offset, having the Federal Government be accountable to the constituents.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I mentioned that we were working on finding some appropriate levels of spending reduction in our Committee on Energy and Commerce, and I have been called back to this committee. So at this point I am going to briefly yield the time to the Chair, who will yield it to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) to control our hour of time.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to say thank you to our leadership, to Speaker Hastert, to Mr. Blunt, to Ms. Pryce, to commend them for working through fiscal responsibility, budget control, for making it a priority and for standing firm as we move forward to reconciliation on the budget for this next fiscal year. I also want to commend our committee chairmen who are working hard to find the savings that are necessary to reduce what the Federal Government spends. They are holding markups, hearings, working through this process; and they are focused. Our membership is focused. The committee chairmen are to be commended for that work, and through this process the winners are going to be the American people. We are doing what they want, reining in government spending, being better stewards of their tax dollars. We have got a long way to go in the process. They are the winners. We are cutting back and terminating over 98 programs. These are first steps to economic stability and fiscal responsibility.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, while the Democrats are working to develop a message for the upcoming year, Republicans have more than a message. We have an agenda: the security agenda. We know that Americans have strong views on how this country ought to run, and this Republican majority represents those views. We believe in focusing on four areas: retirement security, homeland security, economic security, and moral security. We are aggressively fighting terrorism both here at home and abroad to strengthen our national and homeland security. We continue to work to be certain that our seniors are taken care of and provided for in their retirement years. We are working to keep taxes low, regulation light, and shrink the growth of government to be certain that our economic security is not threatened. Madam Speaker, we want to preserve the right of every American to worship as we choose, defend the sanctity of marriage, and we are fighting to advance the culture of life in order to guard our Nation's moral security. Madam Speaker, Republicans are focused on these security issues. We know this is an agenda where the American people join us in the actions they would like to see.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California so much for yielding. The gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) has done a wonderful job in leading in this war on terror and leading in securing this homeland and homeland security, which is right at the top of concerns of the American people. He is a true leader, and this House is fortunate to have him as chairman of the Committee on Armed Services. This country is fortunate to have his leadership on this issue. Madam Speaker, over the last few weeks, I have noticed a change in the rhetoric, a troubling trend in the rhetoric. We have heard some of it here tonight, and it really saddens me when those that are opposed to an aggressive war on terror speak as they speak. Increasingly we are seeing those that oppose the war downplay the importance of the war, or they are trying to minimize the seriousness of the sacrifice that our military is making. I find that very sad. I do not know what the intent of those comments are. I dare not even venture to think what the intent of those comments might be that we are hearing from the far left in this country, and I certainly hope that they will reconsider those comments, but unfortunately, the message those on the left are sending is that we do not favor an aggressive war on terrorism and that we are not winning. Madam Speaker, they could not be further from the truth, and I want to say thank you to all of these military families, especially the families whose family members the chairman is going to read those citations tonight, thank them for that sacrifice, thank these moms and dads who are here. They really are on the frontline in homeland security, these moms that are tending to children, the dads that are tending to children, while their spouse is deployed. Right here in this country, they are on the frontline. They are making a tremendous sacrifice, and we appreciate that. My hope is that some of these families are watching tonight and will hear this, and I want to thank every man and woman who is in uniform, and I want them to know this. We are grateful and so thankful for their courage and their commitment. We believe that what we are doing in Afghanistan and Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and around the world, we believe in it. We believe in this mission, and we do not believe that the work in Iraq is in vain. I would say this to them: Do not let anyone from the left or the right make you think otherwise. We believe in you. We know it is tough. We all know it is tough. Do we mourn each and every time we lose an American servicemember? Absolutely. It breaks our heart. Are there days when we think the sun will not shine on our mission? Absolutely. But Madam Speaker, we fight through those moments of doubt because we do not want our kids and our grandchildren to ever face another September 11. We do not want our kids to pay the price for inaction, and that is the price they would be called on to pay. I could stand here and I could read through a list, all of my colleagues could join me in reading through a list, of achievements in Afghanistan and Iraq and not even begin to mention the other Middle Eastern countries, but I am not going to do that. It would take a long time. I could talk about how we are dismantling al Qaeda, piece by piece, every single day. I could talk about the fundamental change we are trying to bring to a region that has spawned terrorism for decades before we responded, but I know my colleagues are going to speak to that. So I simply want to thank our troops and thank our families. I want to thank the men and women who are serving at Fort Campbell, the 101st Airborne, which is currently deploying. I want to welcome home from Iraq Tennessee's own 278th Regimental Combat Team of the National Guard. They are returning to their families and loved ones this week, and we welcome them. To the families whose loved ones will not be coming home, you are in our thoughts and our prayers. Your suffering is one we cannot fully comprehend, but your sacrifice is never going to be forgotten. We thank you, we appreciate you, and we pray God will bless you.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding to me. I want to go back to the chart that he has so appropriately shown, and look what happens here. In Tennessee, we have a State that is very much like the State of Texas. In Tennessee, we are a small-business, entrepreneurial-oriented state. Small business is our major employer. The largest growing sector of our small business sector is women-owned small businesses. Women are beginning to take the reins, and we have more women creating businesses than any other part of the sector. That is where we are seeing our job growth. What the chart shows to us is this: On those small businesses, when you lower those tax rates and you give them the opportunity to invest in their business, invest in their communities, invest in those great ideas that make American free enterprise what it is, which is what everybody in the world wants, look what happens. Faith, hope and opportunity come into play. Elbow grease, sweat equity, hard work, it goes to work, and people realize a big part of the American dream, which is owning their own business, and we know that. We realize that. You lower those rates, you allow people to get in there with lower taxes and less regulation and have their shot at creating the American dream. And look what happens. Your revenues will grow. Many times, Madam Speaker, and I know the gentleman from Texas has heard this, people have said, well, look, the economy has grown, revenues are up, and guess what? The deficit is lower than expected. It is amazing how free enterprise works. It is amazing how lower taxes work. It is good for this economy, it is good for the American people, because there is more money in their pocket, there is more money to invest in their businesses, and their families have more money to spend on children, on education, on the things that truly are the desires of their heart.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his excellent work on this issue. It is a pleasure for me to stand here tonight before this body and before the American people and associate myself with his good work and with his remarks. Madam Speaker, he was talking about looking at where we are now and going forward. I want to step back for just a moment, if I may. I am going to pick up on a phrase that our colleague from across the aisle had used when he was talking about policies, and he said those chickens are coming home to roost. Well, Madam Speaker, I will have to tell the Members chickens do come home to roost, and the Democrats spent 40 years building program after program after program after program, just layering them up and creating a government that is very expensive. And he is right, after 40 years chickens do come home to roost. I know that is not the point that he was making there. He was trying to say that in a year or 2 years or 3 years they would come home to roost. But the point is the Democrats controlled this Chamber. They controlled the other Chamber. They had control of the White House, and they kept growing and growing and growing and growing government. And the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) is so right in showing this chart that shows what will happen and what the tax burden will be if we do not take the steps that are necessary to cut back on the spending, and how right he is in the remarks that he has made. History should be our guide, because 40 years of growing government has left us with many programs that have outlived their usefulness. We have got 234 different economic development programs in the Federal Government. For goodness sakes, would we not be better off with doing some streamlining? Another comment that was made from across the aisle, as our colleagues were talking, someone mentioned something about impeding tax cuts, doing some things that would impede tax cuts. Well, I hope that the American people hear this because they may want to impede tax cuts. They may want to take more money out of working families' pockets, and what we are doing is trying to put that focus back on having working families keep more of their hard-earned money. And the way we do it is not to take more money out of their pockets. The way we do it is to go in and say government does not have a revenue problem; government has a spending problem. Now, how do we address this? Step number one, let us look at where we are spending this money and decide, are we getting the appropriate outcome for the money that we are spending. Those are the steps that this majority is working to take in this House. We fully believe that bureaucrats need to be accountable to the taxpayers of this great Nation. And for some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are sadly misinformed on this issue, we would love to sit down and visit with them and be certain that they understand this issue. Tax reductions mean money in American families' pockets. It means control for individuals, and that is something that is very important. We are going to spend a lot of time, as the gentleman from Texas was saying, this week talking about what the steps are going to be that we are going to take to provide tax relief, to provide the right foundation for reducing what the Federal Government spends, to be certain that the Federal Government is prioritizing that budget. The gentleman from Texas has a great chart, tax relief versus the 5- year Federal budget; and he is right on target with this.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, Americans are writing us, sending us e- mails, calling us, stopping us at the grocery store and at the high school football game on Friday night, and they are telling us that they want to see us reduce government spending. They support us on the $35 billion in reductions already part of the 2006 budget plan, and they support our effort to begin eliminating 98 programs that have shown little, if any, results. They appreciate the Speaker of this House making fiscal responsibility a part of his economic agenda, putting that at the heart of our economic security of this Nation. But our constituents do not appreciate that not one Democrat in this House, not one, has stood up to support our effort to get that 2006 budget savings from $35 billion to $50 billion. Americans do not appreciate that the Democrats are refusing to call for across-the-board cuts. They will not even support a 1 percent reduction, not even 1 percent, Mr. Speaker. If the liberals in this House had their way, we would be spending billions of dollars more every year. I hope the American people will reach out and let them know that they would like to see Federal spending reduced.