Jason Chaffetz

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I love that: foolish gimmicks, balancing our budget. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte). (Mr. GOODLATTE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, today is an historic today. We have an opportunity in this body to send a strong signal to the country that we're going to live within our means. At the heart of this discussion is a discussion about whether or not our country is going to live within its means. What we ask for at the heart of this proposal is that we balance our budget. It's something that families do. It's something that businesses do. A balanced budget amendment is something that 49 States across the country have. Unfortunately, in Congresses past, Presidents past, we have not lived within our means. I have heard the argument that says, Oh, we don't need a constitutional amendment; we just need to do our job. Madam Speaker, we find this Nation more than $14 trillion in debt. We're paying more than $600 million a day in interest on that debt. Now imagine, imagine the United States of America without that debt. We don't get anything for that $600 million. But it's an obligation. We need to live up to those obligations. What this bill says is very simple: We're going to cut. We're going to make an immediate cut to some spending, a paltry $111 billion in the first year. Number two, we're going to cap as a percentage of our gross domestic product the amount of money that we're going to spend going forward so that there are targets in place for future Congresses to consider and weigh and make the good decisions that need to be made. How are we going to prioritize things? And, number three, we are going to seek to have a balanced budget amendment come to the floor of the House, come to the Senate, and pass both bodies. If we can make that historic move and pass to the States a balanced budget amendment, then we will solve the underlying challenge that faces this country: We are spending too much money. I think everybody understands that. But the question is: Are we really going to do something about it? The question for the President, the question for this body moving forward, is: Do we have the fortitude to actually put before the States an amendment? That's all we ask. Can the States have a say in this? To my Senate colleagues, Madam Speaker, I would encourage them, they are to represent the States. What are they afraid of if they won't send a balanced budget amendment forward for their ratification? We have to change the way we do business in Washington, D.C. America gets it. America understands it. But this body, in its history, has not lived up to that call. The future of our Nation depends upon it. There is going to be all kinds of rhetoric about how we're cutting Medicare. It's not true. It simply says we're going to have to put ourselves on a glide path to get some fiscal sanity back here. Now, there is a timetable that is before us. We're going to run out of money. We're spending money we don't have. But there is a timetable before us. And so in just 2 weeks, we're going to come upon this deadline. This is a real plan that can solve the problem and something that should be widely embraced on both sides of the aisle. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I would ask the gentleman if he could give us a copy of that plan right now here during this debate, we would certainly appreciate it. The second thing is what we're talking about is a balanced budget. That's really what we're talking about. I now yield 1 minute to our leader, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. CHAFFETZ. For 2 years under Barack Obama, the Democrats had the House and Senate and the Presidency, you didn't do a thing to touch those so-called ``loopholes.'' To try to feign how exasperated you are at this point is somewhat disingenuous to somebody who sat here for 2 years with you having the House, the Senate, and the Presidency and doing nothing about it. What we're fighting for is more taxpayers, not more taxes. When the President said he was going to veto this bill, it provided a whole lot of clarity to a guy like me. Because if we can't find common ground on balancing the budget--how dare we offer that we want to balance the budget? That's all we ask for in this country, is put us on a trajectory to balance the budget. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price), the chairman of the House Policy Committee.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, the only thing Cut, Cap, and Balance is bad for is for Members of Congress because we are going to actually rein in spending. They're actually going to have to live within a balanced budget. I would also highlight rule XXI, section 5(b). I have heard a lot of rhetoric in the news and other places about how there is going to be such a higher standard. It should be noted that the passage of a tax rate increase, a bill or joint resolution, amendment, or conference report carrying a Federal income tax rate increase may not be considered as passed or agreed to unless so determined by a vote of not less than three-fifths of the Members voting. It was that same standard and threshold when Nancy Pelosi was the Speaker of the House as it is today, so we have had that higher standard for raising taxes. That is nothing new. At this time, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble), a freshman Member.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores), a member of the House Budget Committee.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I believe the gentleman said he would answer a question if we asked it on our time. The question I have for the gentleman is: Would you support any balanced budget amendment? Is there any balanced budget amendment that you would support? I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. It's just a ``yes'' or ``no.''

Mr. CHAFFETZ. It's a simple ``yes'' or ``no.''

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Reclaiming my time----

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Reclaiming my time, I will now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee, Diane Black, who is here as a freshman in the House of Representatives.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. We have 9 percent-plus unemployment, Madam Speaker. We've been north of that for a long time. And we're now also saddled with more than $14 trillion in debt. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford), who is on the Budget Committee.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, I can hear the chant on the other side with regard to the some 90 times the debt ceiling has been raised. That's the problem. I can hear the chant on the other side: One more time. One more time. One more time. That's why we're in this mess. It's that Congresses in the past have not heeded the call. They have not said, ``Enough is enough.'' Now, as our debt ceiling starts to reach a panic, we're going to get close to 100 percent of our gross domestic product. Enough is enough. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, all we ask for is a balanced budget amendment. All we ask for is for people to live within their means. If you listen to the Democrats and what they suggest, just go ahead and spend more. Go ahead and keep racking it up on the credit card. There are no consequences. There are consequences. I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Madam Speaker, at any time we would love to see the Democrats' plan. If you could actually slide it across the table to us, we would certainly appreciate it. I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp). (Mr. HUELSKAMP asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CHAFFETZ. It's always compelling, Mr. Speaker, when they have to use a poll to figure out how to do public policymaking. And to suggest that there would be no more mortgages is just fantasy. It's amazing what gets made up in this discussion instead of a serious discussion about balancing our books. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Mulvaney).

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Guinta).

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, the President submitted a budget, a budget that never balances. In fact, it doubles and triples the debt. It went to the United States Senate, and 97-0--97-0--not one Democrat voted in favor of that. Has the President submitted any sort of adjustment or amendment to that? No, he has not. The reality is this President has no plan. We have a plan. We can solve the underlying problem and take care of paying our bills on August 2. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), a member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. CHAFFETZ

Mr. CHAFFETZ. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I genuinely hope it does become the law. I think the American people deserve this Federal Government to live within the confines of a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. If the gentleman will yield, I don't take cash bets. But you know what? You also talked about bouncing; and the only thing that's going to bounce is the government's check.

Mr. CHAFFETZ. I'm sorry. I thought he yielded to me. I apologize.