David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. I understand that chapter 11 is bankruptcy, but I am just saying that I have not advocated that.

Mr. DREIER. I have absolutely no idea how many speakers we have left, but at this juncture, four, five, something like that, I would guess. How many speakers does my friend have left?

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for his first floor speech since being elected our new Republican whip, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to my very good friend from Richmond, Mr. Cantor.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am happy to yield 30 seconds to our hardworking colleague from Tyler, Texas, Judge Gohmert.

Mr. DREIER. I believe we are doing that in fact by providing incentives to get people in the showroom.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by expressing my appreciation to my good friend from Rochester, the very distinguished and able Chair of the Committee on Rules, Ms. Slaughter, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and with that I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am in strong opposition to this rule and the underlying legislation. We have a very, very serious economic crisis in this country, as we all know. The crisis is demanding decisive action on the part of this Congress. The American people are expecting us to take action to try to mitigate the suffering that is there today. But we also have to be very smart about what it is that we do. Hundreds of thousands of workers have already lost their jobs or on the brink of losing their jobs. Hundreds of thousands of families have already lost their homes or are on the brink of losing their homes. We have a profound responsibility to make prudent decisions that will help to spur new economic growth, create new good jobs for American workers, and to strengthen the vitality of our economy. We need to restore that strengthened vitality that has been there and we know is going to come back, and it will come back quickly if we do the right thing. But rushing into an ill-conceived bailout of an industry that has not yet proven it has a viable plan to remain solvent and competitive with the help of the taxpayer dollars of hardworking Americans who are suffering today won't save a single job. It won't save a single job. And you can look across the spectrum of Democrats and Republicans alike who have made it very clear that they don't believe that there is a viable plan that has been put forward. I have to say, Mr. Speaker, that the proposed bailout that is before us has led many Americans to rightly question where will this end? How many bailouts are there going to be? We know that the American people are today suffering from what can only be described as bailout fatigue. How many billions of our taxpayer dollars will be spent? What guarantees do we have that the money will be spent wisely? Congress first took action to reverse the economic downturn in October. We considered a bill that was intended to thaw the frozen credit markets and to allow the wheels of our economy to begin turning again. I was deeply skeptical of that bill, Mr. Speaker, but I did support it reluctantly when key provisions that we fought for were added, provisions that banned golden parachutes and ensured scrutiny and accountability for the program. The reason for taking this action, as we all know, is very simple. Our economy cannot function if the credit markets don't function. This was not a matter of picking winners and losers. This was not a matter of caring more about workers in the financial services industry than workers in other industries. The fact of the matter was that our credit markets had frozen up, and this was paralyzing our economy across the board. Failing to deal with the financial industry would have left our entire economy crippled, including the very auto companies that are now asking for a bailout. A failed credit system means no one can get a car loan. The financial rescue that we did in October was, in fact, an auto industry rescue. What has been the impact of that bill? Mr. Speaker, we simply do not know yet. A $13 trillion economy doesn't exactly turn on a dime. And, as we all know, half of the money has been utilized so far. We also know, based on very important questions raised by the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, who is here, Mr. Frank, and Mr. Bachus and others, transparency in this whole process has been lacking. I am joined with several of my colleagues in the Republican leadership in demanding that the Treasury Department provide clear answers on how taxpayer dollars have been spent. We are fighting to ensure that there is accountability every step of the way. This will be an ongoing process well into next year, and we may not know the full impact of this bill for many months to come. It's quite possible that further responsible action to provide assistance will be necessary, but the bill before us today asks us to rush into a bailout for a single industry with billions more in taxpayer dollars on the line. It asks us to start picking and choosing winners in this very difficult economic time. Mr. Speaker, we all have car dealerships in our districts. We all have thousands of constituents whose jobs are directly or indirectly tied to the auto industry. We know the figure of one in 10 jobs is tied to the auto industry. But before we rush into a costly bailout, we have to consider a few things. First, we have to consider whether U.S. auto companies are prepared to transform themselves into an innovative and competitive industry. They made an attempt to answer this question in congressional testimony just last week, but they have a very long way to go. A nearly century-old industry doesn't transform itself overnight. We need a far more convincing plan from them on how they will do so in a matter of months. Second, we need to consider our economy at large. Playing favorites with one industry over another is a dangerous game that won't necessarily put us back on sound economic footing. None of us wants to see autoworkers losing their jobs, but neither do we want to see workers in other industries lose their jobs. Our first and only economic priority should be pursuing a pro-growth strategy that provides new opportunity throughout our entire economy. Finally, we have to consider the diverse and complicated landscape of the auto industry. The question of what is an American car used to be a very simple one. That's no longer the case. Mr. Speaker, which is more American? The Ford built in Mexico or the BMW built in South Carolina? What about the Chevy built with Japanese parts and assembled in Canada? How do we pick and choose winners in a diverse industry that involves foreign investment, American workers and a global supply chain? Is the Toyota plant worker in Kentucky less valuable to the U.S. economy than the Ford worker in Detroit? What about the auto parts supplier in Illinois that ships to Mitsubishi, Honda or Mazda, all of which create jobs right here in the United States of America? This is a very complicated matter, and we must very carefully consider the consequences of our picking and choosing the winners and the losers. We certainly can't resolve the issue effectively by simply throwing money at our problems. Instead, we should be considering better alternatives, like creating tax incentives for car purchases, by enabling Americans to give the auto industry a boost so we can relieve the tax burden on families and help all workers in the industry. Unfortunately, this rule, like so many of the rules that we have seen come forward in this Congress, completely shuts out the kind of real debate that we need. It's their way or the highway. Unfortunately, their way offers nothing but wasted billions and false promises. The American people want to know that we are working to restore our economy, but they demand that we act wisely, spend their tax dollars prudently and ensure accountability for every penny. This bill fails on all three of those counts. I urge my colleagues to reject this rule and the underlying legislation. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 2 minutes to my good friend from Wantage, New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to respond to my very good friend from Detroit on this issue. I will say, Mr. Speaker----

Mr. DREIER. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, may I inquire of my very good friend from Rochester one more time if she might consider yielding maybe an additional 5 minutes.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this time I am very happy to yield 2 minutes to my friend from Humble, Texas, Judge Poe.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I would like to inquire of the distinguished Chair of the Committee on Rules if she might consider yielding, she has 29 minutes remaining, maybe 5 or 10 minutes of her time to us. We have a number of speakers on our side.

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

Mr. DREIER. Maybe 10 minutes of time. We have a number of speakers who have come, and you know how it goes on the management of debate here.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, the current economic crisis that we are facing as a nation has spread throughout many sectors and many industries. The banking industry has been crippled, credit markets have frozen and manufacturing capacity is shrinking. The worst job loss numbers in 34 years were just released last Friday, and the losses were widespread throughout every major industry. But this crisis began with the housing industry, and it will not be fixed without addressing the root problem of excess supply that drives down prices. The lack of home buyers has caused the supply of unsold homes to increase rapidly. This not only causes blight in neighborhoods across the United States, but also places severe downward pressure on home values. Falling home prices are particularly detrimental to working American families, many of whom rely on their home as a financial investment to build long-term wealth. As home prices fall, homeowners are faced with the reality of declining equity in their homes and many are finding their mortgage debt to be greater than the value of their home. Declining values and increased foreclosures create a vicious cycle. As more homes enter foreclosure, home values continue to decline, leading to yet more defaults and further declines in value. All of the ripple effects that we've seen throughout the economy, in the credit markets and beyond, stem from this core problem. We also know that irresponsible actions on both Wall Street and Main Street contributed heavily to this current situation. We need a plan that addresses the core problems of the housing industry, providing an immediate stimulus to the economy, while rewarding responsible, working middle-class families who live within their means and make prudent financial decisions. Today I am introducing a bill that will help to accomplish just that. This legislation offers a new tax credit for 2009 and 2010 for every home purchase made with a down payment of at least 10 percent. A home buyer making a down payment of 10 percent will receive a $5000 tax credit. A home buyer making a down payment of 15 percent will receive a $10,000 tax credit. By linking the tax credit to down payments, this bill will encourage only responsible home ownership. And by incentivizing home buying, it addresses the oversupply of homes that is creating such strain on the broader U.S. economy. Unlike the credit enacted by Congress this summer, which was offered only to first-time homebuyers, this credit would be available to anyone who is able to meet the down payment criteria set forth in the bill. This ensures that all working families, not just first-time buyers, are able to take advantage of the new credit. Furthermore, this bill requires a significant down payment. We all know that irresponsible participants in our housing markets-- individuals, banks and government-sponsored enterprises--took advantage of the system and helped to create our current crisis in the first place. That's why this bill encourages home buying that is based on sound financial planning. I believe this plan will deliver quick relief by restoring our ailing housing industry. It enables responsible home buyers to jumpstart the industry, stop home prices from continuing to plummet and restore the communities that have been plagued by foreclosures. And because this new benefit will expire at the end of 2010, it will encourage quick action. Our challenges won't be solved overnight and there are no quick fixes. But we must take this expeditious and prudent step to put us back on the path to recovery.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my friend from Marietta, Georgia, Dr. Gingrey.

Mr. DREIER. Has the gentlewoman completed with her side?

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this time I am happy to yield 1 minute to my friend from Ohio, in his newly established home in Bainbridge, Ohio.

Mr. DREIER. I will continue to reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. DREIER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, at this time I'm happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Concord Township, Ohio who has been working very hard on this issue.