Paul Broun

Mr. BROUN of Georgia

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. I rise to offer my amendment, which would reduce the budget for the Rural Housing Assistance Grants Program by over $20 million. My amendment would drop the allocation for this program from $32 million to just around $12 million. This is a modest request, particularly considering the President initially asked for a funding level of just $12 million, and we would simply be dropping the levels back down to what the administration, itself, requested. It is absolutely critical that this Congress cut spending wherever possible; and if the President could do without that extra $20 million, so can we. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Again, as I spoke on the previous amendment, we just don't have the money. It's very altruistic of my friends on both sides to want to feed people all over the world. I very much would like to be able to do so, but we can't feed our people here at home. We've got a high jobless rate. We just have to simply stop spending money that we don't have. And this would just zero out the balance of the funds if my friend from Arizona's amendment is indeed passed into this bill. Mr. Chairman, as we look at where we're going as a Nation, we've got to be focusing on jobs and the economy. We have to leave dollars in the hands of businesses, particularly small businesses. Leave the dollars in the hands of individuals so that they can take care of their own needs and their own communities instead of building a bigger and bigger Federal program to try to take care of everybody's needs all over the world. We just simply do not have the money. And it just has to stop. And it's time to stop right now. We're headed toward an economic cliff in this Nation. And it may be very soon where we're going to be off that cliff, where everybody in this country except for the extremely wealthy are going to be forced into just tremendous poverty. We have a potential of having riots in the streets and bloodletting in this country because of the great debt and spending that's going on. We're destroying jobs. We're destroying our economy. And it just must stop. The sooner, the better. My amendment would simply zero out the rest of the funds in this program. I think it's critical for us just to stop spending money. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USDA State Department ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Programmed food aid, 2010 Voting practices in the UN, 2010 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2010--received food aid Votes only (%) Overall (%) Important (%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Algeria......................................................... 30.4 81.7 16.7 Angola.......................................................... 30.6 81.9 33.3 Burkina Faso.................................................... 32.3 82.7 25.0 Burundi......................................................... 25.0 79.3 77.8 Cameroon........................................................ 44.7 88.9 60.0 Central African Rep............................................. 37.7 84.1 66.7 Chad............................................................ 0.0 66.7 0.0 Congo, Democratic Rep. of....................................... 46.2 87.2 75.0 Congo, Republic of.............................................. 37.9 84.3 42.9 Djibouti........................................................ 33.8 82.8 40.0 Ethiopia........................................................ 32.8 83.2 44.4 Gambia.......................................................... 31.3 82.0 40.0 Guinea-Bissau................................................... 31.3 82.2 40.0 Kenya........................................................... 31.7 83.0 57.1 Liberia......................................................... 35.9 83.9 54.5 Madagascar...................................................... 32.3 82.5 44.4 Malawi.......................................................... 35.3 83.2 50.0 Mali............................................................ 30.8 82.4 30.0 Mauritania...................................................... 32.4 82.4 30.0 Mozambique...................................................... 27.9 81.1 33.3 Niger........................................................... 32.8 83.1 33.3 Rwanda.......................................................... 50.0 86.9 57.1 Senegal......................................................... 31.8 82.7 33.3 Sierra Leone.................................................... 38.6 83.6 55.6 Somalia......................................................... 28.8 80.7 27.3 Sudan........................................................... 31.4 81.8 30.8 Tanzania........................................................ n/a n/a n/a Uganda.......................................................... 8.6 76.3 60.0 Zambia.......................................................... 33.3 82.9 44.4 Zimbabwe........................................................ 30.4 81.3 30.8 Afghanistan..................................................... 34.3 82.4 46.2 Bangladesh...................................................... 32.9 82.2 77.8 Cambodia........................................................ 30.9 81.9 25.0 India........................................................... 25.4 82.6 14.3 Laos............................................................ 27.4 81.6 22.2 Nepal........................................................... 35.8 83.5 33.3 Pakistan........................................................ 21.3 81.2 22.2 Philippines..................................................... 31.3 82.7 33.3 Sri Lanka....................................................... 31.9 82.1 25.0 Tajikistan...................................................... 30.0 82.1 30.0 Yemen........................................................... 33.3 82.6 40.0 Colombia........................................................ 36.1 84.7 50.0 Dominican Republic.............................................. 36.4 83.4 36.4 Ecuador......................................................... 32.4 82.4 30.0 Guatemala....................................................... 37.9 84.2 62.5 Haiti........................................................... 31.8 82.6 30.0 Honduras........................................................ 63.4 83.6 60.0 Nicaragua....................................................... 30.4 81.7 15.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Sir, I have the time. I do resent the fact that you accuse me of wanting to do harm. Mr. Chairman, I'm not sure if this comes to a point of order of taking down the gentleman's words, but I bring forth a point of order.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I had an amendment following this one that would have totally eliminated funding for this program and, thus, would have presented a problem to the House. So I am going to withdraw my amendment since Dr. Gosar has introduced his. It is absolutely critical that we stop spending money we simply do not have. Frankly, I don't like transferring money from account to account, because I think the only transfer that we should do is the transfer into the debt reduction program so that we can reduce the Federal debt. It is absolutely critical for the economic future of this Nation. Since I am going to withdraw my amendment following this, I wanted to get up and speak about this particular amendment and just say that I really appreciate what my good friend from California (Mr. Farr) was saying about poor people. I am a medical doctor, and I deal with problems of nutrition for my patients. I appreciate what Dr. Foxx did with her amendment about eliminating this breastfeeding program. But you see, we are constrained by the Constitution--or should be-- and Congress has gotten way, way away from the original intent of the Constitution. We cannot try to feed everybody in the world. We cannot continue to try to be a nanny state for everybody, even in this country. In the private sector, if we mobilized them, there would be plenty of dollars to take care of the needs of American citizens as well as those of the people around the world by leaving dollars in the hands of the private sector--in people's hands, in churches, in synagogues, in mosques, and in different areas--with the Salvation Army, et cetera. So I think we need to as a Congress start being fiscally responsible, but we have been fiscally irresponsible for many years during Democrat as well as Republican administrations, as well as under Democrat- and Republican-controlled Congresses. We just have to stop spending money.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chair, I rise to offer my amendment, which is simply a 10 percent cut in the Agricultural Marketing Service at the USDA. This year, the Agricultural Marketing Service will be allocated $77.5 million for, as they state in their own Web site, ``administering programs that facilitate the efficient, fair marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber, and specialty crops.'' Madam Chair, since I've been a Member of Congress, I have stated that the marketplace, unencumbered, is the best way to control quality, quantity, and cost of all goods and services. So we need to get the encumbrances of the Federal Government off the marketplace, and this will just take 10 percent. Our Nation's crops are no exception to this rule. Madam Chair, I think the USDA is not giving American farmers enough credit. Our farmers are intelligent, resourceful men and women who know the best ways to market their products here and abroad. Madam Chair, when I was farming, I could market my products very well. I used to farm--I wish I could get back to it, actually. Allow these farmers to market their products without the government interference and use these funds to reduce spending. It's absolutely critical, Madam Chair, that we reduce the outrageous spending that Congresses, both Republican and Democrat, have put in place. As Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said, the greatest threat to our security is this huge debt. We absolutely have to cut spending, and this simple amendment would cut 10 percent out of this program and put it in the deficit reduction package that is part of this bill. So I encourage my colleagues to support this simple amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I was listening to the previous speaker's arguments, and I'm glad to hear that he's concerned about the U.S. Navy's energy supplies, and I was going to ask him, if he had been kind enough to yield to me, whether he was in favor of us starting to develop our own energy resources here in the United States. We've got a tremendous amount of energy that our Creator has given us here in this country off the northern coast of Alaska, in the Western United States, in the gulf coast, and certainly, I would like to see the oil prices drop. The best way to get those oil prices to come down to a reasonable level is for us to start developing our own energy resources here in this country. Certainly, our oil and natural gas resources need to be developed, clean coal energy, alternative sources of energy, nuclear energy, all these other things. And I just hear all this pontification from my colleagues on the other side about the CFTC and the oil speculators. The best way to make the oil speculators lose money, which they would do when they increase the prices of oil by speculating on future prices, is by producing more oil here in this country. We've got a tremendous amount of uncertainty with all the things that are going on in the Middle East today, and that causes speculators to think the price of oil is going up. Now, I'm not one who's here arguing for the speculators by any means. I believe in the marketplace. I believe that the marketplace, unencumbered by government regulations and taxes, is the best way to control quality, quantity, and cost of all goods and services, including oil. And the best way to do that is to lower the cost of oil here in this country, natural gas and all of our energy supplies for the U.S. Navy as well as for the Federal Government and for everybody, to lower the cost of gasoline at the pump. It's best to develop our own natural resources, our God-given resources that are plentiful in this country. But I have seen in, now, three Congresses that I have been here my Democrat colleagues block every effort that we have made to develop our own resources. I never will forget in 2008, while we were coming during the August break and talking about the Republicans' all-of-the-above energy policy, that a Democratic staffer said that the Democrat Party's energy policy was drive a small car and wait for the wind. That's not an energy policy. We need to develop the God-given resources that we have here in this country, to lower the cost of gas at the pumps, to lower the cost of heating oil, particularly for our elderly citizens and poorest people across this Nation that this winter are going to be suffering, suffering tremendously economically because of the high cost of oil. It's not the speculators and the CFTC that's going to do that. Drilling for oil and natural gas and developing our own natural resources here in this country is going to be the solution. And I just encourage my Democratic colleagues to join with me and others here on our side, let's develop these resources, not just talk about the CFTC, not just talk about more regulations on the marketplace, because the more regulation we put on the marketplace, the higher the cost goes. So let's get the regulatory burden off of the energy sector so that we can start developing our own God-given resources here in this country. So, if the gentleman had been kind enough to yield, I would have asked him and congratulate him on being concerned about our U.S. Navy and how much extra they're paying for oil, for all the energy sources that our military has to spend. We've got to stop this outrageous spending that the Federal Government's been doing, and the way to do that is lower the cost of energy here and that will help everybody. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. This amendment simply reduces by 10 percent the account for Agriculture Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments. My friend from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and I have partnered to bring this commonsense amendment before the House, and I would like to thank him and his staff for all their hard work. Mr. Chairman, we are in an economic and fiscal emergency. The Federal Government spends too much money. It is irresponsible and immoral to keep spending beyond our means. Not only do we need to reduce our deficit, but we need to begin to make an impact on eliminating the huge debt that has been accumulating over the last few years. I greatly appreciate the effort and the difficult decisions the Appropriations Committee must make. That said, we must continue to make meaningful cuts to show the American people and the President that we are serious about controlling spending and serious about the future of our Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment. Let's show the American people that we are serious about controlling spending and stopping the outrageous spending that has been going on here in Washington under Democrat as well as Republican leadership. I encourage a ``yes'' vote on this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chairman, I rise to offer my amendment that would reduce the budget for the USDA's Economic Research Service by $7 million. We don't know what's going to happen with the previous amendment, but whether it passes or fails, this would cut another $7 million. It's just a modest 10 percent that would help end some of the duplicative research the USDA is currently conducting. For example, the USDA has four separate services that conduct research, as Mr. Chaffetz has already spoken about here on the floor. All four of these entities have numerous overlapping issues, and it would be more fiscally responsible to simply consolidate them, and I wish we had done so. The American people have demanded that we cut the outrageous spending that's going on here in Washington, and we must cut the spending in every corner of the budget possible. They deserve our very best efforts in being good stewards of their tax dollars. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the United States is the greatest Nation ever in the history of mankind--a Nation that many countries look to as a leader, a leader in strength, in security, in success. But, Mr. Speaker, we cannot lead from behind. We are behind on repaying our debts in a major way, all the while creating even more debt. Rather than focusing on raising the debt ceiling, Mr. Speaker, we should be putting all of our energy into reducing the debt. These overdue bills are bad for job creation and bad for our economy. As Admiral Mullen recently said: Our debt is the most dangerous threat to our national security. I could not agree more. If Congress continues to spend money as it has in the past, we will only become more reliant upon foreign countries to buy up our debt, making our economy secondary to theirs. It is dangerous. It is irresponsible. It is unforgivable. Mr. Speaker, this administration has taken our already weakened economy and turned it completely upside down, while allowing for the largest budget deficit in the history of the United States. The great cost of the stimulus bill, multiple government bailouts, and ObamaCare have pushed our country over the edge. I beg of my colleagues to not let this great Nation hit rock bottom before we make tackling the debt our first and foremost priority. Jobs, our economy, and our future depend upon it.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer my amendment to H.R. 2017. My amendment simply cuts $600,000 from the Office of the Under Secretary in the Department of Homeland Security and places those funds in the deficit reduction account. During this economic emergency, we must find cuts wherever we can, especially when a Department is not being a good steward of the funding that Congress provides it. If you look at this bill, the Secretary is being allocated nearly $127 million, of which $6 million goes to the Office of Legislative Affairs. I think the American people would agree with me that $6 million is a lot of money for political appointees who refuse to do their job and participate in the oversight process. On several occasions this year, Mr. Chairman, the Department has either refused to sit on the same panel as other witnesses or has outright refused to appear before various House committees and subcommittees. In fact, as chairman of the House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, I held a hearing on behavioral science and security with the goal of understanding how science informed the development of TSA's SPOT program. The Department refused my request for a witness from TSA for their own program, and I'm not the only chairman who has received such shabby and unacceptable treatment. This pattern of arrogance makes fulfilling our oversight responsibilities of the executive branch very difficult, if not impossible. In the end, it's the American people, Mr. Chairman, who lose if its government cannot perform its most basic constitutional responsibilities. If the Department is not going to meet its obligations of appearing before Congress when requested, it is prudent to apply the funds rescinded in this, my amendment, to more constructive uses such as reducing our deficit. If 10 percent is good enough for the Lord, I think the Office of Legislative Affairs can part with 10 percent of their funding to aid in our efforts of reducing the burden of debt on our children and grandchildren. I can think of no higher priority than reducing the deficit and creating jobs in America. I would urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment today. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BROUN of Georgia

Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is long past time that we stop rewarding irresponsibility. If we continue to give the Democrat administration everything that they ask for, they will never learn fiscal discipline or how to control their outrageous spending. Taxpayers do not want to write the administration yet another blank check out of their own checkbooks, only to see it bounce and further worsen our economy, along with job creation. Americans have said loudly and clearly that they want serious spending cuts, and I will not support raising the debt ceiling unless this liberal administration begins to practice some self-control.