John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, it is approximately 2:10 p.m. on the east coast, and in less than 24 hours, the Speaker of the House has announced that she is going to drop on this House floor a $250 billion spending bill for the United States war against terror. It has always been the policy of this Nation that party labels end at the water's edge. Until today, it has always been the policy of this House that the Members of this House were given the privilege and opportunity of debating in committee and offering amendments. On legislation as important as funding a war for the survival of the American people and a war against barbarians from the Dark Ages, this House of Representatives has been shut out. It's appalling, it's embarrassing, it's outrageous, it's unacceptable for the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee to be the only two people in this institution allowed to see the bill. No one has seen the bill. All 300 million Americans have been shut out of this appropriations process to fund our soldiers. To ensure their protection and survival in the field, to ensure the survival of this Nation, this entire House of Representatives needs to be involved, and the country needs to know that this Speaker is running this House like the Supreme Soviet.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear. It is not we Members who are shut out, it is the constituents that we represent. On this Financial Services bill, those constituents that we represent have been shut out in committee and not offered an opportunity to offer an amendment. On the Appropriations Committee, the war funding bill, life or death for our troops, the most important question facing our Nation, our survival as a Nation and the war on terror, the 19 million Americans that we represent on the Republican side have been shut out of the process and denied an opportunity to offer amendments in debate on the survival of the Nation in the war on terror, on life and death of our soldiers in the field. I, for one, had an amendment to make the Iraqi Government pay more of their own share of this reconstruction and make sure that with oil at $120 a barrel, the Iraqi Government, sitting on the world's third- largest supply of oil, I have an amendment to require the Iraqi Government, that I was going to offer in committee, to make the Iraqi Government pay for the reconstruction of roads, utilities, schools, job training and economic development. Because we have a record debt and deficit in this country, that amendment is an important piece of the debate in the appropriations bill to pay for the war. This is not just any bill that the American people have been shut out of the debate on. It is the bill paying for the lives and safety of our troops in the field. I would, frankly, think that the Democrat leadership of this House would be embarrassed to deny the American people an opportunity to have their elected representatives participate in this debate. When we started this Congress, the Speaker promised the most ethical and open Congress in the history of the Nation. We don't see it in the process. Over and over again these bills come to the floor without an opportunity to debate them or offer amendments on the floor. Don't forget, it is not just the Republicans that are shut out, Mr. Speaker, but the Democrat members of the Appropriations Committee have been shut out, just like the members of the Financial Services Committee have been shut out. The American people have been shut out of this process, and the Democrat leadership ought to be embarrassed for bringing a bill to fund the war without giving us all an opportunity.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. Deborah Ann Harris, a teacher at St. Francis Episcopal Day School in Houston, Texas, for receiving a 2008 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Under a bill Congress passed in 1983, the President selects up to 108 teachers every year to recognize for their exemplary contributions. This Presidential Award is the highest honor a kindergarten through 12th grade math or science teacher can receive for outstanding teaching in the United States. Anne Chisholm, middle school principal at St. Francis Episcopal Day School, says of Mrs. Harris, ``Debbie has a true passion for life and teaching science, the world is her classroom. Debbie sees the goodness in people, and she believes that all children can be great and she exhibits this through her teaching.'' Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in tribute to Mrs. Deborah Ann Harris for inspiring the students at St. Francis Episcopal Day School, and to congratulate her for earning this prestigious award.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Chairman, I won't take the whole time. Just to tell you I just returned from a briefing at the Coast Guard with Admiral Allen. They brought this to my attention. One of these vehicles can carry up to a billion dollars worth of drugs. They can carry weapons of mass destruction. If the vessel sinks before the Coast Guard can get on it, they lose all the evidence. So this is a vitally important amendment to the Coast Guard to enforce our laws and protect this Nation. And I hope we will all support it.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, this Sunday was the 265th birthday of Thomas Jefferson, one of our Nation's greatest Founding Fathers, and someone who we, I think, as a Nation do not pay enough attention to. His birthday, unfortunately, went largely unnoticed. And I'm going to take this time on the floor today, Madam Speaker, to honor this great good man, recognize his genius and the application of his core principles as solutions to the core problems our Nation faces today, and in conclusion, to read his first Inaugural Address which was given in this Capitol on March 4, 1801 as a reminder of his genius and as a guideline to really lay out a path for the solutions that we really need as a Nation today. The financial hole the United States finds itself in today is absolutely unprecedented. The Comptroller of the United States, David Walker, who just left office a few weeks ago, audited the books of the United States and concluded that we, as a Nation, are in a $54 trillion hole, that every living American would have to write a check for $175,000 in order to pay off the existing obligations of the Federal Government. That includes the $11 trillion national debt to pay off the obligations of Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. All those existing obligations of all the Federal programs already on the books are so massive, with the retirement of the baby boomers, with the profligate Thelma-and-Louise spending of this Democrat Congress, existing financial obligations are so severe that we would, every one of us, have to write a check today for $175,000 just to pay off those existing obligations even if Congress didn't create a single new Federal program. It's an extraordinary number, one that is absolutely terrifying and that not enough Americans know about. If we, as a Nation, would just adhere to the principles of Jeffersonian republicanism, if we would remember Mr. Jefferson's vision, his genius, his adherence to the core principles of republicanism, with a small ``r'' as he called them, we, as a Nation, can dig our way out of that financial hole, we as a Nation can return to the prosperity and freedom that the Nation has always enjoyed, the level of freedom that our founders enjoyed. It's disturbing to me, as a Member of Congress, to see the ease with which programs like the funding for anyone in the world who has tuberculosis, AIDS or malaria, under a bill that this House passed last week, anyone in the world in a third world nation that has malaria, TB or AIDS is entitled, at U.S. taxpayer expense, to $1,200 a year worth of medication. Now, that bill passed at a time when we're in this $54 trillion hole, when we have an $11 trillion national debt, when every one of us owe $175,000 a piece. It's just unbelievable to me and utterly irresponsible, the continued expansion of the Federal Government, the continued creation of Federal programs like this by this Thelma-and-Louise Democrat Congress. To grow the Federal Government at a time of record debt and deficit is absolutely intolerable, and it just has to stop. Mr. Jefferson's birthday is an appropriate time to remember the core principles that not only really created the Nation, but would serve us well, as a Congress, today to help dig out of that financial hole, to make sure that we live within our means. Thomas Jefferson often said that if we, as a Nation, would only apply core Republican principles to any problem, the knot will always untie itself. He was absolutely right about that. Mr. Jefferson believed that we should trust the good hearts and the good judgment of individual Americans to make the right decision. Never entrust the solution to a problem to the Federal Government except as an absolute last resort. Washington, D.C. will usually foul it up. And Mr. Jefferson understood that. And it was not because there aren't good people here. The Nation's capital is full of wonderful, good people dedicated to representing their districts to the best of their ability and based on their core principles as they see them. We bring in, in District Seven, 25 young people, one junior from each of the high schools in my district, I have set up a program as a nonprofit 501(c)(3), the Bill Archer Student Intern Program, to bring one young person from each of the high schools in my district for a full week, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. so they can see firsthand that the Nation's capital is full of people who have good hearts, they're doing the best they can to represent their districts from their perspective. The young people in my district who participate in this program meet Members of Congress, they meet Members of the Senate, they meet administration officials, cabinet members, they meet judges on the Supreme Court, and they have an opportunity to see firsthand, Mr. Speaker, that the government is truly made up of good people doing the best they can. And it is just human nature that when decisions, as Mr. Jefferson said, are removed to Washington, D.C. where the people can't see them, can't not only see what's going on, but a real voice in what's going on, when those decisions are removed to Washington they become, by nature, less responsive, less effective in solving the problems of the American people. This government has grown so far beyond what the founders intended that I'm not sure Mr. Jefferson would recognize the Federal Government today. And I know he would be as alarmed as I am, as my colleague, my good friend, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, who will follow me, is with the continued growth of this government. As fiscally conservative as I am, Mr. Speaker, I've found in the time that I've been here I've become even more fiscally conservative as I see the record growth of this government, as I read David Walker's report. And I encourage everyone out there to take the time, Mr. Speaker, to go to gao.gov and look at the Fiscal Wake Up Tour and carefully look at what David Walker has audited and certified as the immense scope and size of the financial hole that the United States finds itself in; $54 trillion hole that gets $3 to $4 trillion deeper every year. Comptroller Walker says that the United States has about 5 to 10 years to get our financial house in order. That's an extremely important piece of information. We have, according to the Comptroller, 10 years tops, probably 5 years, to get our financial House in order, to begin to get control over these entitlement programs, to begin to get on a path to a balanced budget. We need a constitutional amendment, ultimately, Mr. Speaker, to get the budget of the United States balanced. We have it in Texas, it works beautifully. We also have a ``speed governor'' in Texas in our State constitution, it's something we need here at the Federal level, where the growth in government cannot exceed natural growth in the economy, that there is essentially a speed governor on spending that prevents the legislative body from spending more money than is brought in by natural growth in the economy, it works well in Texas, along with a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution, would do a lot to get us back on the path that Comptroller Walker points out that we must do within the next 5 to 10 years, or else. Comptroller Walker has certified that by 2020, 12 years--young people listening here today, Mr. Speaker, if you're 18 years old, by the year 2020, when you're 30 years old, Medicare is bankrupt. Social Security is on the brink of bankruptcy. Treasury bonds, the safest investment in the world, according to the Comptroller, according to Moody's and Standard and Poor's, who have already formally notified the Treasury that they're beginning the process of downgrading U.S. Treasury bonds, Treasury bonds by the year 2020 will be graded as junk bonds if we do not stop growing the government and stop spending money on anything but the bare essentials. In our personal lives, Mr. Speaker, if we have run up too much debt, if we have a second mortgage on the home, if our credit cards are tapped out, in our personal lives we would all know what to do, you would quit spending money on anything except the bare essentials to keep a roof over your family's head, to pay the bills, to put groceries on the table, other than that, you would just quit spending money. But the Federal Government has the ability not only to print money, but to issue more Treasury bonds. And the money that we spend here in Congress that is beyond our means is paid for by debt passed on to our kids. It's just intolerable. The Chinese, the foreign investors buy our Treasury bonds today and support this profligate spending, but it is not supportable, it cannot be sustained, and we simply must stop spending money that our kids cannot afford to pay. It's inexcusable, it's intolerable. And it's important, on the 265th birthday of Thomas Jefferson, to remember the core principles that Mr. Jefferson lived his life by, that he governed this Nation by as our third President, to remember the genius of this great, good man and try to apply those principles to these massive problems we have today; to, first of all, live within our means; to restrict not only the size and power and cost of the Federal Government, but to roll it back within the boundaries that the founders originally intended, the narrow scope of responsibility as laid out in the Constitution so beautifully by our founders. The whole idea of the Federal Government was that it would only have those powers expressly delegated to it in the Constitution, that, as the 10th Amendment says so well, that all power not specifically delegated to the Federal Government by the Constitution would be reserved to the States and the people. I came out of the State legislature in Texas. And the idea behind the State constitutions, I think my friend, Congressman Bartlett, served in the Maryland State legislature, the State constitutions give the State legislatures all power that State constitutions set aside for the legislatures. It's a broad grant of authority. The Federal Government is delegated responsibility in a very narrow way by the Federal Constitution. And over the years, with the terrible War Between the States, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Reconstruction Congress, The New Deal, the growth of the Federal Government with the rapid expansion of power under The New Deal, Congress passing laws in areas where they really don't have any business, as a result, the Federal Government has grown so far beyond anything that the founders envisioned that we today face, as David Walker has told us, a $54 trillion liability that equals $175,000 for every living American. This obligation, Mr. Speaker, is so massive that if we were to confiscate all the private property of the United States and sell it off at auction, David Walker estimates that would only pay for about 90 percent of this $54 trillion obligation. It's a terrifying number. And the number that we often see for the national debt of about $11 trillion working out to about $45,000 a person, that's not the real number, folks. The real number is you, Mr. Speaker, I, every living American has to write a check for $175,000 today to pay off that $54 trillion liability that we are now descending on a path like Argentina, the dollar becoming like the peso. We, as a Nation, our Treasury bills, the safest investment in the history of the world, becoming junk bonds. It's intolerable, it's inexcusable. And it's a result of profligate spending by this Congress over far too many years. It's why I, as the congressman from District Seven, voted against the farm bill. No Child Left Behind is a violation of the 10th Amendment, spending money we didn't have. I voted against this AIDS in Africa program. I voted against the Medicare Prescription Drug bill. I voted against, frankly, every single one of the major spending initiatives that have been proposed since I got here in 2001 in recognition that I just simply will do everything in my power not to pass on this massive debt and deficit to my daughter and to her kids. It is just inexcusable and unacceptable. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to honor Mr. Jefferson and to read into the Record his magnificent first Inaugural Address, his great advice for the Nation today, for this Congress, for the Nation, for the executive branch, for all of us to just take a moment and contemplate carefully the genius of Thomas Jefferson, the wisdom of his core philosophy of republicanism, with a small ``r,'' that was focused on the preservation of individual liberty and trusting individual Americans to control that which they could see with their own eye, as he often liked to say, shifting power away from Washington and back in the hands of locally elected officials and individual Americans. Mr. Jefferson also spent much of his time fighting the expansion of power of the judiciary. John Marshall, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at that time when he was President, and Mr. Jefferson locked horns repeatedly. And one of my favorite Jefferson quotes when it came to the judiciary was Mr. Jefferson often said that ``The judiciary advances on noiseless steps like gravity, never yielding what they have gained.'' And that is so true, Mr. Speaker. Not only has the Congress, passing laws we have no business passing that belong within the jurisdiction and control of State and local governments, not only has the Congress expanded the size, power, and cost to the Federal Government, but an aggressive judiciary has repeatedly expanded the scope of its power and responsibility. Also, after the election of 1800 when the Republicans and he, as the leader of the Republican Party, took over the executive branch and won a majority in the United States House and in the United States Senate, Mr. Jefferson said that the Federalists, those who wanted to concentrate all power in Washington, had ``retreated to the bunkers of the judiciary and turned their guns on the people of the United States.'' And in so many ways, those judges that Mr. Jefferson was so concerned about have over time gradually expanded the scope of their power where in, for example, the State of Missouri, Mr. Speaker, a Federal judge in Missouri actually ordered a tax increase to pay for public education. Unbelievable, that a judge would take it upon himself to tax the people of Missouri to pay for public education. He ordered the State of Missouri to issue $100 million in bonds, raised property taxes, raised taxes on the people of Missouri to pay for improvements that that Federal judge believed in his ivory tower, in his wisdom as Zeus up on Mount Olympus, that the people of the city of St. Louis needed to improve their schools. And this judge had the idea that here's how we're going to do it and you're going to pay taxes to pay for it. Time after time after time, when power is concentrated where the people can't see it, where they can't touch it, where it's in the hands of people that are unelected, unaccountable, and invisible to the public, bad decisions are made, Mr. Speaker. The Constitution suffers, this Nation suffers, and I think as a result of drifting too far from the core principles of Jeffersonian Republicanism, the Nation finds itself where it is today, in a $54 trillion hole where we are on a glide path to become like Argentina, where our treasury bills are junk, where our dollar is not valued, and we essentially could be within a decade on the brink of national bankruptcy. It's unacceptable. We can stop it just like a hurricane can be dealt with, Mr. Speaker. If we see the hurricane coming and know about it, we can deal with it. It's important to remember that the people of Britain won the Battle of Britain because Winston Churchill was honest with them and told them how dangerous the Nazis were, how severe the threat was to their freedom, that the British people could indeed lose their island and fall under Hitler's control. But the people of Britain had to be told the truth. And Winston Churchill told them the truth. And I think we, as elected officials, owe our constituents the truth about the size and scope of the $54 trillion liability that has been created over the last 60 years of Democrat and Republican Congresses. Passing that liability on to our children and grandchildren is outrageous, it's unacceptable, it's immoral, it's fundamentally wrong. And I hope we will, all of us, as Members of Congress, take guidance from the genius, the wisdom of Thomas Jefferson as he addressed the Nation in his first inaugural address on March 4, 1801, after coming through a bitter election where the House of Representatives had to make the final decision as to who was to be President. He, as leader of the Republican Party, was running against John Adams, the leader of the Federalist Party, the second President. They had become fast friends in Paris. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and Abigail Adams had become just inseparable friends during their time together in Paris, in Europe. They had become friends, of course, during the time of the writing of the Declaration of Independence. It was John Adams who put Thomas Jefferson on the committee and insisted that Mr. Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence and John Adams who continued to support and encourage Thomas Jefferson. They were fast personal friends. But in the election of 1800, they had a falling out because of their fundamental difference of opinion about the direction the Nation should go. Mr. Adams believed in a strong, powerful central government and the concentration of authority in Washington, D.C. Mr. Jefferson believed firmly in the preservation of our constitutional separation of powers and the preservation of the rights of the States and the people as the best and most responsible guardians of liberty. And that fundamental difference of opinion about where true power should lie led to their running against each other for President. Aaron Burr was running also. And in the election of 1800, the electoral college wound up being deadlocked. It was a tie between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, and the House of Representatives had to make the final decision. Each State being given one vote, there was a deadlock, and I think it was 37 ballots that had to be cast before Mr. Jefferson was finally selected as President. So they had come through a bitter election. The Nation had gone right to the brink of war with France. It was a bitter, bitter struggle over whether or not the Nation should go to war with France. John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts. And by signing the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Federalists, led by John Adams, had essentially made it illegal for anyone to speak out against the President, to speak out in a way that would hold out the President or the Congress to ridicule, violating, of course, obviously, the first amendment, freedom of speech. And that, of course, also deepened the separation between Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams. That election was especially bitter. So this inaugural address was given at a time of deep passionate differences between Federalists and Republicans. And that part of his speech, I think, is also very applicable today. Mr. Speaker, you and I are good friends. We, all of us, work together in this House as best we can to advance the needs of the Nation. There are personal friendships, certainly among, for example, the Texas delegation. One of my very best friends in Congress, my good friend Henry Cuellar, and my good friend Ciro Rodriguez, who represents the border counties, we were elected together in 1986 in the Texas legislature. We remain devoted friends, and all of us in the Texas delegation put Texas first. When it comes to the needs of our State, party labels don't matter. We're Texans first and do what we can to help the State of Texas. And I know that's true of other State delegations. It's especially true in Texas. And in the inaugural address that Mr. Jefferson gave in 1801, he was speaking of the need to bring the Nation together and to not let party labels or party fights get in the way of doing the right thing for the Nation. So part of what you will hear Mr. Jefferson say to the Nation, I think, is especially appropriate today, that we do all that we can to put those partisan distinctions aside. But as I read his inaugural address and as you hear his words, it's also important for the majority here to remember Mr. Jefferson's admonition that, although the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable and protect the rights of the minority. Because this majority, this Thelma and Louise Democrat majority in this Congress that's driving America right off a financial cliff, this Thelma and Louise Democrat majority doesn't often hold public hearings on bills. They drop bills out here on the floor without public hearings. There's no opportunity for amendment. There's very little opportunity for debate, just fundamentally destroying the whole purpose of this great deliberative body. And denying the minority our right to offer amendment, our right to be heard in this debate, is, as you will hear Mr. Jefferson say, oppression, a violation of the most fundamental principles of this great American Republic. We see it occur on a daily basis, and it's a tragic and terrible thing that the Thelma and Louise Democrat majority has imposed on this House, on this Nation, in denying the Republican minority our opportunity to offer amendments and be heard. So in that sense too, Mr. Jefferson's words have special meaning today. I have probably read about 60 percent of Mr. Jefferson's works. He is my hero. Mr. Jefferson is my role model in all that I do. In representing District Seven, I do my very best, Mr. Speaker, to apply core Jeffersonian principles, and on every issue I have found no matter what the problem is, no matter what the issue is, Mr. Jefferson was right. If you apply core Republican principles, the knot always unties itself. I have yet to encounter a problem that Jeffersonian Republican principles won't solve. So, Mr. Speaker, I want to now read into the Record Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural address on March 4, 1801, at the conclusion of which I will yield back the remainder of my hour and turn it over to my good friend and colleague Roscoe Bartlett, a fellow dedicated conservative who is committed to the core principles of our Constitution. Mr. Bartlett is someone I admire deeply, a fellow Jeffersonian. And before reading Mr. Jefferson's inaugural address, his greatest speech perhaps, I think, and in the opinion of scholars, they believe Mr. Jefferson's first inaugural address is his greatest, let me also point out, Mr. Speaker, something else important. This good man, at the end of his life, wrote on his tombstone three things. If you visit Monticello and visit Mr. Jefferson's grave, it says on his tombstone that he was the author of the American independence, the author of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, and the father of the University of Virginia. Mr. Jefferson listed those three things because in his mind those were his three greatest achievements. He wanted to list on his tombstone those things that he had done for the American people rather than those things that they had done for him. All the offices that he had held, the incredible array of honors that had been his throughout his life. In fact, Mr. Speaker, there was a wonderful letter that Mr. Jefferson wrote towards the end of his life in February of 1826. He died, of course, on July 4, 1826, 50 years to the minute after he presented the Declaration of Independence to the Continental Congress. Mr. Jefferson held on, although he was unconscious. He knew that he was close to the 4th. He actually breathed his last at about 1 p.m. on July 4, 1826, at almost the exact moment that 50 years earlier the committee, Mr. Adams, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Jefferson, had presented the Declaration to the Continental Congress. Mr. Jefferson had, about 4 months earlier, wrote a letter justifying lotteries, because he couldn't balance his checkbook and Monticello was going to have to be sold to pay off his creditors, which broke his heart. And someone had come up with the idea of having a lottery to help pay for the debts that he had incurred. And, of course, a lottery, being gambling, it really worried Mr. Jefferson. And he wrote a long justification for this lottery that would sell tickets to save Monticello. And I recommend it to people to take a look at because in this long justification, called Thoughts on Lotteries and it's dated, I think, February of 1826, Mr. Jefferson lays out all of the great accomplishments in his life. After going through all the good things that lotteries have done in the past, he says that for no other reason people buy a lottery ticket, they should perhaps remember his services to the Nation, and he lists all that he had done with his incredible life: Secretary of State, Minister to France, Vice President, President of the United States, the author of the Declaration of Independence, this incredible list of accomplishments in his life. And most revealingly, Mr. Speaker, Thomas Jefferson says at the end of it all, listing all of those accomplishments, Mr. Jefferson says, ``Of all these things that I have done with my life, the most important thing that I have ever done was to be a partisan Republican, to head the Republican party.'' Because Mr. Jefferson said ``it was the Republicans that I, as the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, and Albert Gallatin, as the leader of the Republicans in the House, that essentially saved the Republic, that held on to the core principles of the Constitution at the time under the Alien and Sedition Act when the Adams administration was furiously concentrating power in the hands of the Federal Government, that the Republicans in the Congress, the Republicans in the State legislature, and the phalanx of the State legislatures,'' as Mr. Jefferson said, ``it was the Republican party that truly saved the Republic,'' and that being partisan, being the leader of the Republican party, in Mr. Jefferson's mind, was his greatest accomplishment because it led to the election of 1800 and the salvation of the Nation. Mr. Jefferson always thought of the election of 1800 as the revolution of 1800, and by electing a Republican majority to the House in 1800, a Republican majority to the Senate, a Republican President, Republicans had been elected in State legislatures across the Nation, that Mr. Jefferson believed that that election was decisive and allowed the core principles of the Constitution to be salvaged and to be preserved for future generations. And with that in mind, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jefferson stood up in the old Senate Chamber, just across the Rotunda, there is a plaque that people can see today in the old Senate Chamber. Mr. Jefferson was known for giving speeches. And he had a very soft voice. He was a little hard to hear. Eloquent and magnificent writer that he was, he was a little hard to hear in public speeches. And he stood up in the Senate Chamber. There was a lot of strong emotion in the room, a lot of anger. John Adams did not even attend the inauguration. He was so angry. And as a quick side note, if you have not seen or not watched the magnificent HBO series on John Adams, you should. Having not subscribed to HBO before, we did subscribe for a couple of months just for the sole purpose of seeing that magnificent production of David McCullough's biography of John Adams that Tom Hanks is responsible for, and a great, good thing that Tom Hanks has done for the Nation in bringing David McCullough's book to the Nation. It is a magnificent series, and I recommend it to you. And you will see in there that John Adams was so upset by his defeat that he didn't even attend the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson. And Mr. Jefferson therefore stood up and gave this speech in a very, very tense atmosphere in the old Senate Chamber. There were a lot of angry people in the room. The Nation, frankly, at one point, when the 34 ballots were being cast in that deadlock, there was even discussion of the militia in Virginia going to the old armory there in Williamsburg and taking out weapons, a militia marching on Washington to ensure Mr. Jefferson's election because of this deadlock. So tensions were high. Partisan feelings were strong. Yet Mr. Jefferson stood up and gave his inaugural address, his greatest speech at a time when the Nation truly could have been split apart. New England even talked about leaving the Union. In that atmosphere, Mr. Jefferson stood up on March 4, 1801, and gave the following speech. ``Called upon to undertake the duties of the first executive office of our country, I avail myself of the presence of that portion of my fellow-citizens which is here assembled to express my grateful thanks for the favor with which they have pleased to look toward me, to declare a sincere consciousness that the task is above my talents, and that I approach it with those anxious and awful presentiments which the greatness of the charge and the weakness of my powers so justly inspire. ``A rising Nation, spread over a wide and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with the rich productions of their industry, engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right, advancing rapidly to destinies beyond the reach of mortal eye--when I contemplate these transcendent objects, and see the honor, the happiness, and the hopes of this beloved country committed to the issue and auspices of this day, I shrink from the contemplation, and humble myself before the magnitude of the undertaking. ``Utterly, indeed, should I despair did not the presence of many whom I see remind me that in the other high authorities provided by our Constitution I shall find resources of wisdom, of virtue and of zeal on which to rely under all difficulties. To you, then, gentlemen, who are charged with the sovereign functions of legislation, and to those associated with you, I look with encouragement for that guidance and support which may enable us to steer with safety the vessel in which we are all embarked amidst the conflicting elements of a troubled world. ``During the contest of opinion through which we have passed the animation of discussions and of exertions has sometimes worn an aspect which might impose on strangers unused to think freely and to speak and to write what they think, but this being now decided by the voice of the Nation, announced according to the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, arrange themselves under the will of the law, and unite in common efforts for the common good: ``All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will, to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate will be oppression. ``Let us, then, fellow-citizens, unite with one heart and one mind. Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and affection without which liberty and even life itself are but dreary things. And let us reflect that having banished from our land that religious intolerance under which mankind so long bled and suffered, we have yet gained little if we countenance a political intolerance as despotic, as wicked, and capable of as bitter and bloody persecutions. ``During the throes and convulsions of the ancient world, during the agonizing spasms of infuriated man, seeking through blood and slaughter his long-lost liberty, it was not wonderful that the agitation of the billows should reach even this distant and peaceful shore; that this should be felt and feared by some and less by others, and should divide opinions as to measures of safety. ``But every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its Republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. I know, indeed, that some honest men fear that a Republican government cannot be strong, that this government is not strong enough; but would the honest patriot in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. On the contrary, I believe this, the strongest government on Earth. I believe it is the only one where every man, at the call of the law, would fly to the standard of the law, and would meet invasions of the public order as his own personal concern. Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question. ``Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal and Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative government. Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one-quarter of the globe; too high-minded to endure the degradations of others; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them; enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude and the love of man; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter--with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citizens--a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. ``About to enter, fellow-citizens, on the exercise of duties which comprehend everything dear and valuable to you, it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our government, and consequently those which ought to shape its administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. ``Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; ``Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; ``The support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations of our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against anti-Republican tendencies; ``The preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; ``A jealous care of the right of election by the people--a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies were unprovided; ``Absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of Republics, from which there is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; ``A well-disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war till regulars may relieve them; ``The supremacy of the civil over the military authority; ``Economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burdened; ``The honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; ``Encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; ``The diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of public reason; ``Freedom of religion; ``Freedom of the press; ``And freedom of person under the proceedings of habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. ``These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road with alone leads to peace, liberty and safety. ``I repair, then, fellow-citizens, to the post you have assigned me. With experience enough in subordinate offices to have seen the difficulty of this the greatest of all, I have learnt to expect that it will rarely fall to the lot of imperfect man to retire from this station with the reputation and with the favor which bring him into it. ``Without pretensions to that high confidence you reposed in our first and greatest revolutionary character, whose preeminent services had entitled him to first place in his country's love and destined for him the fairest page in the volume of faithful history, I ask so much confidence only as may give firmness and effect to the legal administration of your affairs. ``I shall often go wrong through defect of judgment. When right, I shall often be thought wrong by those whose positions will not command a view of the whole ground. I ask your indulgence for my own errors, which will never be intentional, and your support against the errors of others, who may condemn what they would not if seen in all its parts. The approbation implied by your suffrage is a great consolation to me for the past, and my future solicitude will be to retain the good opinion of those who have bestowed it in advance, to conciliate that of others by doing them all the good in my power, and to be instrumental to the happiness and freedom of all. ``Relying, then, on the patronage of your good will, I advance with obedience to the work, ready to retire from it whenever you become sensible how much better choice it is in your power to make. And may that Infinite Power which rules the destiny of the universe lead our councils to what is best, and give them a favorable issue for your peace and prosperity.'' Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jefferson's first inaugural address holds so much wisdom for us today at the start of the 21st century, just as it did at the start of the 19th century, as surely his core principles are the touchstone by which I measure my work on behalf of the people of District 7. And in reading his magnificent speech today, I want to honor this great, good man, to celebrate his 265th birthday, to recognize Thomas Jefferson's genius, his contribution to this Nation, and to recommit myself in the service of the people of District 7 to the core principles of Jeffersonian Republicanism, through which I have absolutely no doubt we will dig ourselves out of this immense fiscal hole we find ourselves in and restore the hope that Mr. Jefferson had for the future. After all, this is the greatest country ever created in the history of the world, and I have no doubt that the future is limitless for us as Americans. I am proud to yield back the balance of my time and turn the floor over to my good friend, my colleague, someone I admire immensely, a fellow Jeffersonian, Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you, Madam Speaker. It's my privilege to rise today to honor my pastor and my good friend, Dr. Charles B. Simmons, our chaplain for the day. Dr. Simmons joins us from my hometown of Houston, Texas, and it is just a thrill to have him here today. Dr. Simmons baptized our daughter, Caroline. He has been our minister for many, many years at Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. He is joined here today by his wife, Carol; his son, Christopher; and Christopher's wife, Melissa. We are thrilled to have them here. Dr. Simmons and his wife, Carol, also have a son, Jeffrey, who is not here with us today. Dr. Simmons is serving in his 10th year as senior minister of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. He is recognized nationally as a dynamic minister, a dedicated pastor and respected leader among Methodists. He led the way at our church to reach out to the people of Louisiana who suffered as a result of the hurricane and helped rescue many, many lives and put many lives back on track after that devastating storm. Dr. Simmons is a native of Louisiana, a graduate of Centenary College, who earned his master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees from Emory University, and completed his further graduate study in Geneva, Switzerland, as a Methodist fellow. He has served in a variety of appointments, and his leadership has enriched the lives of our congregation and grown our church now to 7,000 members of Memorial Drive United Methodist Church. We are very proud to have him here. His leadership has been instrumental in developing The Connection Center, an off-campus site serving as an outpost for ministry with state-of-the-art facilities for senior adult and youth programs. We have also founded, under Dr. Simmons' leadership, a third site at the former Shepherd Drive United Methodist Church which is now in operation as well. Outside of our local congregation, Dr. Simmons also serves as chair of the Texas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, a member of the Large Church Initiative Team, and is active in both the administrations of Centenary College and Emory University. With deep appreciation for his leadership to Memorial Drive United Methodist Church, his devotion to its members and his beneficial efforts to the community at large, it is my privilege to welcome Dr. Simmons and his family to Washington. I am honored to have him here today as our guest chaplain.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. I want to thank Mr. McGovern for his thoughtful response and point out that over the last 60 years, the Republicans have been in control of the Congress for I think about 14 of that. We were in control about 12 years, and then I think there were 2 or maybe 4 years under Eisenhower that the Republicans were in control. So, Democrats have controlled the Congress for the overwhelming majority of the last 60 years. I got here in 2001. And I can tell you, Mr. McGovern, and you're a thoughtful, good man, I enjoy working with you, that I personally, on behalf of my constituents, have voted against every major spending initiative that the White House has pushed on us because I recognized this problem the comptroller has put out before us. I voted against the farm bill. I voted against the Medicare Prescription Drug bill. I voted against the No Child Left Behind Act. I voted against the AIDS in Africa bill the last time it came up because we cannot continue to spend money that our children cannot afford to pay. The money we spend today will be paid by our kids and our grandchildren. And that's the fundamental message here, Mr. McGovern. I would encourage everyone in this Congress, and I know you're a thoughtful guy, why don't we focus on providing clean drinking water. Let's convert existing foreign aid in Africa to clean drinking water, which I've lead the effort to provide $500 million. Focus on clean drinking water and research here in America.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Speaker, there is no more noble endeavor that we can engage in than to cure human diseases. All of us in Congress I think have an obligation to be sure that we are, for example, doubling the investment we make in the National Institutes of Health, in the National Science Foundation, in the research work that they're doing to identify and cure human diseases at the earlier stages. I represent the Texas Medical Center, and I'm proud to do so. Those institutions, the greatest in the world, the Andy Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor University of Texas Health Science Center is doing research today, particularly on nano research, where we have the potential, within the next 10 to 15 years, of being able to identify in a child before she's born genetic predisposition to certain diseases, for example, like Lou Gehrig's disease, or diabetes, or cystic fibrosis. These genetically-based diseases can be identified before a child is born using nanotechnology, reinjecting, for example, nano sponges with a protein fix back into the mother's amniotic fluid. The child would then take up those nano sponges. And we can cure diseases in children before they are born. We have the potential, if we will just invest in the National Institutes of Health and their competitive peer reviewed grant process, if we will just invest the money that's needed right here in America for the National Science Foundation, we have the ability to detect cancer when it's only a few hundred cells in the body using nanotechnology and gold nano shells that will attach to the cancer cells and destroy them before they turn into a tumor. We have not adequately invested in our own scientific and medical infrastructure in the United States, first and foremost, before you even begin to talk about curing disease globally. We have not secured our border. The southern border is essentially wide open and unprotected in areas other than Del Rio and Laredo. What are we doing to make sure that we've done all that we can do here at home first and foremost for our own folks? But then finally, and most importantly, and the reason I'm so spun up about this, is the fact that this Democrat Thelma and Louise Congress, Obama-Hillary-Pelosi Democrat Congress, is managing this economy of the United States like Thelma and Louise, driving right off the cliff. I urge you to go to gao.gov and look at the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour that David Walker has put up on the Web site. The Comptroller of the United States has notified us formally that we are spending money so irresponsibly, so rapidly that the Standard & Poor's and Moody's has already formally notified the Treasury that they are beginning the process of downgrading U.S. Treasury bonds. The Comptroller has told us that by the year 2020, in 12 years, young people who are 18, if you're listening, by the time you turn 30, Medicare is bankrupt, Treasury bills will be graded as junk. Let me repeat that, Treasury bills are on a path to be graded as junk bonds if we don't stop spending money and focus on the bare essentials. Every American already owes $175,000 a person. This bill creates a worldwide entitlement to anyone in the world that has AIDS or malaria or tuberculosis at U.S. taxpayer expense. It's unaffordable. It's unacceptable. It is utterly irresponsible at a time of record national debt, record deficits, record Federal spending that we need to reign in, otherwise America is going to become Argentina. The dollar is rapidly becoming the peso. It's time for this Thelma and Louise Democrat Congress to quit spending money on things that are not absolutely essential to this Nation's survival. Let us focus on protecting the United States of America and quit spending my daughter's money that she does not have and driving our kids and our grandchildren deeper into debt. It is irresponsible. It is, frankly, criminal, in my opinion, to drive up the national debt and the deficit to record levels. It is a noble, good thing to try to cure disease in Africa. Why don't we focus on clean drinking water, for example, if you really want to fix disease in Africa. Quit spending my children's money that they don't have. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, in our personal lives, when we have our credit cards topped out, when we have a second mortgage on the home, we quit spending money. We balance our own personal budget and we focus on the essentials. And this Congress needs to do the same thing. But, unfortunately, the Obama-Clinton-Pelosi Democratic leadership of the Congress is driving America's economy right over the cliff, like Thelma and Louise, spending money and raising taxes. The Comptroller of the United States has certified that we are in a $54 trillion hole; that in order to pay that off, every American would have to write a check for $175,000. This is outrageous. It is unsupportable. We need to adopt Frank Wolf's legislation with Mr. Cooper, making sure that Social Security is solvent, that we balance the Federal budget as rapidly as possible. Above all, this Congress has got to quit spending money on unnecessary things, focus on the bare essentials and quit raising taxes on the American people. Above all, let's not shift all of that liability that is now apparent on Wall Street, this $1 trillion writeoff that the banks are attempting to shift on to the United States Treasury. We cannot do it. We have got to quit spending money and balance the budget.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you, Mr. Ryan. Mr. Chairman, the American people face the greatest financial challenge we have ever encountered in the history of the Nation. The free people of Great Britain overcame the greatest challenge they ever faced in their history during the early days of the Second World War because Winston Churchill told them the truth. They won the Battle of Britain because they were told by their leaders the truth, and they could deal with the truth as Americans can deal with the truth, but we have got to be told the truth. Today at 5 o'clock, unfortunately, one of our great public servants retired, the Comptroller General of the United States. David Walker, when he left work today, has moved on to the private sector. David Walker is a great public servant who has told the truth, and I want to reiterate it here on this House floor, how urgently important it is for the majority that now that controls this House to step up and accept responsibility for dealing with this great financial challenge that David Walker has laid out for us that we in the old Republican majority lost the majority because we did not deal with it. That's why you saw conservatives like me and many of my colleagues here today vote against Medicare prescription drugs, vote against the farm bill, vote against all the expansions of the government that took place over the last 7 years because we saw this challenge. Mr. Chairman, I have a letter from David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, dated March 13, 2008, which I would enter into the Record. U.S. Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, March 13, 2008. Hon. John Culberson, House of Representatives. Dear Mr. Culberson: Per our conversation, this letter discusses our nation's deteriorating financial condition and the need for timely action to turn things around. Our real fiscal problem is not our current deficit and debt levels but where we are headed absent meaningful reforms. Given the retirement of the baby boomers and soaring health care costs, government outlays are set to rise dramatically. The federal government's liabilities and current unfunded commitments for future spending on Social Security and Medicare are now estimated at $53 trillion and are growing by $2 to $3 trillion a year. This effectively translates into an IOU of around $455,000 per American household. Clearly, our government has already made a range of promises that it is unlikely to be able to keep. Because the personal savings rate in this country is so low, we have been turning to overseas investors to finance our nation's debt. Foreign investors, particularly foreign governments, have greatly increased their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities, and some of these government lenders may, either today or over time, have political and economic interests that diverge from our own. The risk is that some of them may eventually use their U.S. financial holdings as leverage against us. If we continue as we have, policymakers will eventually have two options: slash government programs and services that the American people depend upon or raise taxes to levels that would seriously harm America's economic growth and competitiveness. In my view, we probably have at most a 5- to l0-year window of opportunity to act. Inaction comes with a steep price tag. Recent projections from Moody's and an analyst at Standard & Poor's suggest that, absent policy changes, our nation is heading toward ``junk bond'' status as early as 2020. By 2030, without reforms to entitlement programs and spending or tax policies, income tax rates would have to more than double to prevent a continued erosion of our financial position. Fortunately, by facing facts and making meaningful changes to the budgetary process, entitlement programs, other spending, and tax policies, we can avoid this fiscal train wreck and ensure that America's future is better than its past. Our fiscal clock is ticking, however, and the time for action is now. I appreciate the opportunity to express my thoughts on this important subject. Sincerely yours, David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States. David Walker wrote me a letter explaining in a one-pager the financial challenge facing America. David Walker points out that America's real financial challenge is not our current deficit and debt levels, but where we are headed without meaningful reform. Given the retirement of the baby boomers and soaring health care costs, David Walker has certified that the Federal Government's liabilities, the current financial obligations that all of us must pay, are so massive that we are now in a $53-trillion hole, America. That means every household needs to write a check today to pay this off. Every household would have to write a $455,000 check to pay off that financial obligation, $175,000 a head. Every American would have to write a check today for $175,000 to pay off this liability. It's unsupportable, it's inexcusable. We have got to deal with it because David Walker also points out that we have about 5 to 10 years to deal with it. Now that's critically important information. Everyone says this election is the most important in our lifetime. We can say that truly this year. We know we will need a conservative anchor in Congress here to restrain spending. We need to get these entitlement programs, Federal spending under control, which David Walker estimates is 5 to 10 years, a window of opportunity to act, or he points out that Moody's and Standard & Poor's have already warned the U.S. Treasury that by the year 2020, U.S. Treasury bonds will be rated as junk bonds. Let me reiterate that, folks. If we don't get our financial house in order, the Comptroller of the United States has already pointed out that Moody's and Standard & Poor's have already warned us that our Nation is heading toward junk bond status for Treasury bills. It's outrageous. It's unacceptable. We need to reject this budget. We need to stop spending money and stop raising taxes on Americans by rejecting this irresponsible Democrat budget.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and honor the dedicated public service of a long time friend and member of my staff, Bill Crow. Bill and his wife Jan have been two of my closest and most trusted advisers since I first ran for State representative back in 1986. While Jan served as my district director during my seven terms in the State legislature and my first two terms in Congress, Bill served as my chief of staff for 3 years and my special projects director for the last 2 years. Bill and Jan have always been much more than just members of my staff; they are part of my family. Having served as a legislator for over 20 years, I rely heavily on my own instincts to guide many of the most difficult decisions, but I have come to rely just as heavily on the sound advice and good judgment of Bill Crow. Although Bill readily admits, as does any good husband, that his best ideas actually come from Jan. Bill began his career as a geologist who dabbled in politics, but he is ending his career as a skilled political adviser with a degree in geology. My work schedule keeps me in Washington much more than I would like, but with Bill and Jan serving as my eyes and ears in Houston, I felt like I never missed a beat. Bill is locally renowned as an expert on transportation policy, having spearheaded my work on the Katy Freeway reconstruction and improving access to the Texas Medical Center. He also led the effort to promote and fund the groundbreaking collaborative research being done by the Alliance for Nanohealth, and he assembled a first-rate team of doctors and scientists to serve as my Science Advisory Board, which is vital to my work on the House Appropriations Committee. Any veteran legislator will tell you that the most valued members of their staff are not the ones who tell them they did a good job, but the ones who tell them how they can do a better job. Bill and Jan were those members of my staff, which is why I still seek them out after any public appearance or speech I have in Houston. Although retirement will allow them to spend more time with their family, I take solace knowing that Bill and Jan will stay active and engaged in local politics and that they will remain a permanent fixture in my family.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Thank you, Dr. Burgess. I want to thank my good friend, Al Green, my good friend and colleague, Michael Burgess, Senator Hutchison, who has been a leader in this effort, and the chairman of the Financial Services Committee as well in bringing this important legislation to the floor. Chairman Frank has been extraordinarily helpful. I won't be long, but I want to point out that Dr. Michael E. DeBakey is one of those singular geniuses whose name will truly be remembered in a thousand years when our work here today is long forgotten. What we do here we hope will impact the lives of our children and fellow Americans in ways that will improve their lives, and we all do our best every day to make that contribution, but Dr. Michael DeBakey has genuinely made contributions that will last for many, many generations and will continue to save lives for many generations. Dr. DeBakey is an inventive genius. He is not only a physician, he is an engineer, an innovator, a surgeon, an educator, and the impact that he has had on medicine truly cannot be overstated. Many of the medical procedures we rely on today would truly not be available were it not for his groundbreaking efforts. He is responsible for pioneering four different types of operations for the treatment of aneurysms in the heart, and the first physician to successfully perform bypass surgery. Dr. Michael DeBakey's contributions are too numerous to mention here. We have had the privilege of bringing the House bill to the floor here within the last couple of weeks, and are very pleased that Chairman Frank has brought Senator Hutchison's bill to the floor so that we can speed this important legislation to the President's desk. Dr. DeBakey is now 99 years old, still in good health, still consulting as a physician in medical cases. The man is truly a legend. And it is my singular privilege to be here today to join with my colleagues, Al Green, Dr. Burgess and Senator Hutchison, in recognizing and honoring this great, good man for his magnificent contributions to the improvement of the health of all humanity in awarding Dr. Michael DeBakey the Congressional Gold Medal.

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I'd like to ask the author of the amendment if she'd be willing to accept an amendment that we also ask the GAO to examine the effects on the taxpayers of the United States of all the perils created by this legislation and the financial risk this exposes the taxpayers too, because, again I think it's vitally important for this House to recognize that the potential liability this legislation exposes the taxpayer to, as Mr. Baker said earlier, there's about $19 trillion worth of insurable property around the coast of the United States. The flood insurance program's already $20 billion in debt, and the United States, according to the GAO, already faces potential liabilities, direct and indirect, not potential, direct and indirect liabilities of $50 trillion. That works out to $170,000 per person. Every household in the United States would have to buy $440,000 worth of T bills today just to pay for the explicit and implicit liabilities of the United States. And, finally, I would just remind the majority of something that my hero Thomas Jefferson said in his first inaugural address because of repeated attempts, this majority has shut out all amendments by the minority. Thomas Jefferson said that although the rule of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that rule to be rightful must be reasonable and must always protect the rights of the minority, which this majority has not done.

Mr. CULBERSON. It is on the bill.

Mr. CULBERSON. Please name one.

Mr. CULBERSON. I am glad we are considering this amendment to have FEMA give us a comprehensive report of the problems facing the flood insurance program. We already established that this legislation, in essence, is going to create a public-private partnership in which the insurance companies are going to collect the premium and the taxpayers are going to pay the bill. We have already established, as Mr. Baker pointed out earlier, that there is potentially $19 trillion worth of valuation of property out there along the coastlines that are, again, a risk that the taxpayers are assuming. The TRIA legislation, Terrorism Risk Insurance legislation that the liberal leadership of this House pushed through last week puts taxpayers potentially on the hook for $100 billion. I wanted, if I could, to just get an answer to my question in the time that I have got. Other than Social Security and Medicare and not counting the Mars program that the chairman mentioned, because there is no such program, can the chairman or anyone else on that side identify a single piece of legislation that has created a bigger potential risk to the taxpayers than this bill? This, I won't say boondoggle, but this piece of legislation creates potentially trillions of dollars worth of liability. Is there any piece of legislation you can identify other than Social Security or Medicare that creates potentially trillions of dollars worth of liability to the taxpayers?

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to ask the author of the amendment and the author of the legislation, if they are here, if they could identify, please, for the Record, other than Social Security and Medicare, can you all identify any piece of legislation that has ever exposed the American taxpayer to greater potential liability than this bill before the House today? Can you all identify a bigger boondoggle than this one? And you can have some of my time. I will yield. Can anyone on that side identify a bigger boondoggle than this that will expose the taxpayers to greater liability?

Mr. CULBERSON. Tax cuts pay for themselves by growth in the economy.

Mr. CULBERSON. Reclaiming my time. When people have more of their own money to spend, the economy grows because they invest and we are rewarding people for hard work and productive behavior. Other than Social Security and Medicare, which are noble, good programs that have helped this Nation, other than those two, has there ever been a piece of legislation exposing the American taxpayer to greater potential liability than this boondoggle that you are putting before the House today? And I gladly yield some of my time, Mr. Taylor. Can you identify a bigger boondoggle than this one?