Jim Banks

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is simple. It reduces spending in this division by 14 percent, the amount that is needed to avoid busting the budget caps and preventing sequestration. With these spending packages, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are making it clear that they have no interest in reducing our national debt. If they did, they would not be proposing bills that would bust the budget caps by nearly $90 billion, which they are fully aware would trigger sequestration and lead to devastating and severe cuts to our national defense. In this division alone, they are proposing to spend $37.2 billion, which is $1.73 billion above the previous year's enacted amount and $7.2 billion over the President's 2020 request. This does not even include the $2.2 billion in additional funding that is not subject to the caps. Again, my amendment would bring spending in this division to the level needed to avoid sequestration through a 14 percent across-the- board cut. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, frankly, the arguments from my colleagues who oppose this amendment simply don't add up. By busting the budget caps, the nondefense programs that they are so passionately defending would face $55 billion in automatic cuts. So it seems my colleagues are willing to allow reductions in nondefense spending if they can also force reckless defense cuts that endanger national security. While that may be acceptable to those on the other side of the aisle, it is not acceptable to me. My amendment will bring spending in this division to the level needed to avoid sequestration and to protect our national security. Mr. Chairman, when I ran for this position, I promised my constituents that I would do my part to rein in Washington's spending addiction and safeguard the strength of the American military. Mr. Chair, I am proud that this amendment accomplishes both of those goals. I strongly urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, it is long past time that we get serious about putting our fiscal house in order. This division costs nearly $74 billion, which is an increase of nearly $10 billion from the fiscal year 2019 enacted level. My amendment is simple. It cuts spending in this division by 14 percent, while exempting amounts made available to the Department of Defense. This reduction would bring the nondefense spending in this division down to the level required to avoid busting the budget caps and avert triggering a sequestration, which harms our national defense. Unfortunately, the spending package that we have before us continues to propel us down the path of reckless spending that brought us to having a national debt of $22 trillion. With these minibus packages, my friends on the other side of the aisle are proposing to bust the budget caps by nearly $90 billion when all is said and done. This will force dangerous cuts to our national defense through sequestration, and that is wholly unacceptable to me and my constituents in northeast Indiana. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, what the other side is proposing is both reckless and irresponsible. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to bust the budget caps to fulfill liberal spending priorities and, in the process, put our national security at risk. In Indiana, Hoosiers understand that you cannot spend more than you take in, and it is long past time for Washington to adopt that Hoosier common sense. Again, my amendment is simple. It reduces spending in this division by 14 percent. It protects our defense priorities and brings us closer to avoiding the devastating harm to national security that would result from sequestration. Mr. Chairman, I am not going to give up. I am going to keep coming back to this microphone over and over and over again to propose 14 percent across-the-board spending cuts to each of these divisions. It is what my constituents in northeast Indiana expect me to do, and it is what is going to motivate me to keep coming back, to try to restore some fiscal sanity to this body. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of former Indiana politician and community leader, Gene Snowden. Snowden was a lifelong public servant in Indiana state and local politics, having served in the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana State Senate in a legislative career that spanned nearly 20 years. He served as an Indiana City Councilman for Huntington and as Mayor of Huntington, Indiana. In his political career, he lost just one election. Snowden was an active member of his community, involved heavily in his church and civic organizations like the Police Athletic League, the Salvation Army, the Huntington County Historical Society, the Boy Scouts, United Way, Christian Literature for Africa, and others. While there's not enough words to fully encapsulate all of Gene Snowden's accomplishments, his life is proof positive of the timeless legacy each one of us can forge, for ourselves and generations to come. I offer my deepest condolences to his wife, four daughters, six grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren whom he leaves behind.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the most recent pattern of malicious behavior coming from Iran. Recently, Speaker Pelosi said that President Trump: ``. . . inflames the U.S.-Iran issue.'' Respectfully, I couldn't disagree more. The Iranians are the ones inflaming the relationship by attacking commercial vessels, designating U.S. troops in the Middle East as terrorists, challenging the freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, and intending to surpass uranium stockpile limits in just days. Mr. Speaker, we cannot turn a blind eye to the hostile actions of Iran. The President is right to end the failed Obama-era strategy of appeasement toward Iran, and to call for our allies to stand up to this regime's threatening behavior. I stand with the President and urge my colleagues to do the same, to protect Americans' security and economic interest in the region.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chairwoman, in total, the Energy and Water Development division cost the American taxpayers $46.4 billion. That is a 4 percent increase above the fiscal year 2019-enacted level. Specifically, the division includes $23.3 billion for nondefense activities, which is an increase of $1.1 billion above the fiscal year 2019-enacted level. My amendment would apply a 14 percent reduction across the board to the nondefense activities included in this division. Without it, we are on track toward sequestration, which would have devastating effects on our national security. This amendment is necessary because we are at a $22 trillion national debt. That is trillion, with a T. Even before my friends across the aisle offered this reckless spending package, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that we were on track to spend $1 trillion on interest payments in 2029. That means one-fifth of the entire budget would go to paying off previous years of irresponsible spending. Madam Chairwoman, we simply cannot continue down this path. We must balance our books before writing new checks for this fiscal year. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chairwoman, I was proud this year to lead the Republican Study Committee's effort in creating and drafting our own budget as part of the Budget and Spending Task Force. I gathered together with several of my colleagues, coming from different States and different views, and we worked tirelessly for months to produce a budget that would cut wasteful government spending by $12.6 trillion over a 6-year time period. This is not just the only budget offered in this body that balances. It is the only budget that has been offered at all. The fact that my friends on the other side of the aisle refuse to even offer a budget shows a stunning lack of leadership. This is my third amendment to cut across the board 14 percent in each of the divisions of these minibuses. My amendment reflects the values of the RSC budget and is a necessary first step toward eventually achieving a balanced budget. Madam Chair, I will continue to come back to this floor and offer this amendment time and time again because I refuse to condemn my daughters to a less prosperous America than the one that every Member of this Chamber has been blessed to know. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chair, my amendment would apply a 14 percent reduction in the amounts made available for this division. However, it is important to note that this amendment would not apply to amounts made available for the Department of Defense and would have no effect on foreign military financing. As my colleague highlights, there are worthy programs in this division to help us build and maintain strong relationships around the world, but we cannot continue to be a dependable friend to those in need if we do not put our own fiscal house in order first. As I mentioned previously, Washington is addicted to spending. Our national debt today stands at over $22 trillion. We are set here to add trillions of dollars more in debt every year for the foreseeable future if we continue down this path of spending without any fiscal discipline. We need to act now to prevent a debt crisis that consumes our children and our grandchildren. Unfortunately, it appears that this is not a priority for my friends across the aisle. America needs leadership to solve this problem. That is why I am here today again proposing that we start by making commonsense reductions to discretionary spending, like the one that I am proposing today to this division of H.R. 2740. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chair, the contrast here couldn't be any clearer. We have so many young people who are watching us in the gallery today. At home, I have three daughters who are aged 9, 7, and 6. If we don't do something about a $22 trillion national debt today, they are going to be holding the bag for the lack of leadership in this Congress that they are seeing firsthand with the spend, spend, spend mindset of politicians in Washington, D.C. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle want to continue spending outside of our government's means. What I hear from families back home in northeast Indiana is if they can live within a budget and if they can live within their means, why can't Washington, D.C., do the same? Hoosiers are used to a State government with a balanced budget every year, that passes balanced budget after balanced budget and lives within its means at our State house, as well. Yet, they see exactly the opposite time and time again in Washington. They see deficits on the rise. They see the national debt grow at astronomical rates, to over $22 trillion today. That is why I am here again today, the second day in a row, offering an amendment to cut across the board 14 percent without affecting defense spending or foreign military financing to address our national security concerns. Why am I here doing this for the second day in a row? It is because the Democratic majority has failed the most fundamental leadership test of all. The majority promised if they got the majority in the last election, they would pass a budget. They have failed to do that. By failing to do that, we are here today proposing cuts to discretionary spending to the tune of 14 percent. Now, you might ask yourself, why 14 percent? That seems like an abnormal number to start with. Fourteen percent across the board is what it is going to take to balance the budget. I have chaired the Republican Study Committee's spending and budget task force over the past several months. With a group of many of my colleagues, we worked tirelessly every week to propose a budget of our own. Right now, it is the only budget in this Congress that has been proposed. It cuts spending to the tune of trillions of dollars, and it balances in 6 years. To get to that balanced budget, it is an across-the-board 14 percent reduction in nondefense and discretionary spending. Mr. Chair, I am going to be back. I am going to come back time and time again, proposing this same amendment for across-the-board cuts of 14 percent because my daughters' generation and the young people who are watching us in the gallery today are depending on it. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Madam Chair, under this division, we are looking at spending $189.9 billion for fiscal year 2020. That is an increase of $11.8 billion over the 2019-enacted levels and $47.9 billion above the President's request. With $22 trillion in debt and trillion-dollar deficits for as far as the eye can see, it is long past time for Congress to start making the difficult decisions necessary to balance the budget. If we do not confront this problem, we will condemn future generations to higher taxes and a lower standard of living. As a father of three daughters, this is simply unacceptable to me. Madam Chair, my amendment reduces the funds made available for each amount in division A of H.R. 2740 by 14 percent. This would reduce total appropriations of this division down to Budget Control Act levels. As chairman of the Republican Study Committee Task Force on Budget and Spending, I am proud to have worked with eight of my colleagues on the only serious effort in this Congress to confront our debt crisis. The result was a budget that cut $12.6 trillion in spending and balanced in 6 years. An important part of the RSC budget was bringing nondefense discretionary spending down to commonsense levels. My amendment before the House today would help make those reductions a reality. Adoption of this amendment would show that we are acknowledging our spending addiction and are taking the necessary first steps to address it. Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment and rein in spending of taxpayer dollars. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chair, the Democrat majority promised the American people before the last election that they would produce a budget, and the Democrat majority has failed the very basic first step of leadership in failing to do so. Without putting a budget on the floor of this House of Representatives and showing the American people the priorities of the Democrat majority, we can only assume that the Democrat majority has no interest in balancing the budget. That being the case, my amendment is a very basic first step toward doing just that. My daughters are 9, 7, and 6 years old, and they are the ones who will be holding the bag for the lack of leadership in this Congress, who refuses to address the issue that is staring us in the face, a $22 trillion national debt. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Chair, Hoosiers sent me to Washington, D.C., to do something about just this. The spend, spend, spend mantra of Members of Congress for many decades in the past has got to come to an end now. That is why this amendment, a commonsense amendment to cut spending in this appropriations package by 14 percent, is a necessary step forward to balancing the budget. That is why I am here. I am committed to being tireless in my pursuit of a balanced budget. Madam Chair, as I have said already, we have a $22 trillion national debt. This division spends $189.9 billion, which is an increase of $11.8 billion over the 2019-enacted levels and $47.9 billion more than the President's request. If Congress does not confront this problem head on and exercise fiscal discipline, we are robbing our children's children of their future. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BANKS

Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, called our national debt ``the single biggest threat to national security.'' Since then, we have added more than $7 trillion more in red ink. Our national debt today stands at $22 trillion, and it is only getting worse. The Congressional Budget Office is projecting trillion-dollar deficits in perpetuity. These deficits will leave future generations like my daughter's generation saddled with higher taxes, stagnant growth, and a lower standard of living. This is simply unacceptable. Thankfully, pro-growth policies implemented by President Trump and congressional Republicans have led to a booming economy with 3.2 percent GDP growth and unemployment below 4 percent. Our strong economy provides Congress a unique opportunity to tackle this problem, but bold leadership is required to do so. Unfortunately, it is clear that there will be no such leadership from the Democrats. The Democrats have failed to perform the most basic function of government, which is passing a budget. In fact, they have not even bothered to bring a budget to the floor for a vote. Why, you might ask? Because the radical left is now in control of the Democratic agenda and demanding trillions of dollars in additional spending for programs like the Green New Deal, which aims to eliminate everything from air travel to requiring every single building in the United States to be rebuilt or upgraded, banning farting cows, and will cost upwards of $92 trillion to implement; or, another budget-busting initiative like Medicare-for-all, which would increase government spending by $32 trillion over the next decade. Think about that for a moment. The Democrats look at $22 trillion in debt, trillion-dollar deficits, and think that we aren't spending enough already of our taxpayer dollars. Thankfully, the Republican Study Committee is here to do something about it, and we have taken the challenge head-on. As chairman of the Republican Study Committee's Budget and Spending Task Force, I am very proud to have worked with a task force of eight of my colleagues, as well as the rest of our 141-member strong Republican Study Committee, to produce the ``Preserving American Freedom'' budget resolution. This budget reduces government debt by cutting $12.6 trillion in wasteful spending over the next 10 years. It ensures permanent solvency for Medicare and Social Security so that these programs will exist for the seniors who rely on them today, as well as for future generations. It repeals ObamaCare and gives unprecedented control to the States to design healthcare programs that fit the unique needs of their citizens. It reforms welfare to move more people into employment with a sense of purpose and self-reliance. Finally, it matches President Trump's commitment to national security by fully funding the border wall and making the necessary investments in our military to ensure the safety of the American people from foreign threats. The ``Preserving American Freedom'' budget is the only serious proposal from Congress to address Washington's addiction to spending and a bloated and growing national debt. I am very proud to have led the RSC's effort to tackle this generational challenge and ensure a brighter future for all Americans. Madam Speaker, tonight, we are going to hear from some of my colleagues about this very important budget proposal and what we can do to address fiscal responsibility so desperately needed in Washington, D.C. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud).

Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell), my good friend and fellow classmate of the last congressional class, a great conservative leader in the Congress.

Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, what I hear from Hoosiers all over my district is that they sent their Representatives here to bring back fiscal sanity, to balance our budget. That is what hardworking Hoosier families do every day. It is what they have come to find in their State legislature in my great home State of Indiana as well. Indiana has a balanced budget amendment. We have legislators who go to the State house and pass fiscally responsible budgets every 2 years. It was a pleasure of mine for 6 years to serve with the next speaker, somebody who is a true American hero and one of the great conservative leaders of this freshman class in the new Congress. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Baird).