Jeff Flake

Mr. FLAKE

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my colleagues on the Republican Study Committee and the staff for putting together this budget. We believe it is a great budget. First and foremost, as has been outlined, when President Bush outlined his economic plan during the campaign, times were different. The surplus was a lot smaller, and the economy was a lot more robust. We were doing a lot better. Times are certainly different now. The times call for a larger tax cut, and also, as President Bush has said, we need to move more money out of Washington. I would say to my colleagues across the Capitol in the Senate who are considering campaign finance reform and looking for ways to get more money out of politics, the best way to do that is to get more money out of Washington, because the reason there is so much money in politics is because there is so much money in Washington. The Tax Code is too complex and too tough to deal with. I would simply ask that this budget be favorably considered, our alternative budget. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I would like to remind the gentleman from Maryland that this budget actually gives tax relief to anybody who pays income taxes. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an alternative budget on behalf of the Republican Study Committee. This is a budget based on the principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. My colleagues will address various parts of the amendment. Let me just offer a few highlights. Mr. Chairman, on tax relief, our amendment embodies the Toomey bill which provides approximately $2.2 trillion in tax relief over 10 years. It offers $93 billion in immediate tax relief in 2001, and it stipulates that any summer bump-up in surplus estimates would go to tax relief and debt reduction. We also would beef up funding of defense to $350 billion in 2002, which is $25 billion over the Committee on the Budget. We also would provide for debt reduction. This dedicates the Social Security and Medicare surplus to public debt reduction, ensuring that the maximum level of debt reduction is achieved within 10 years. Mr. Chairman, our amendment reins in spending. Over the past 3 years, we have had an average of 6 percent spending growth in discretionary spending. That is simply too high. If we are a party of limited government, we have to rein in spending. We would actually hold spending below the inflation rate. Ours would hold spending over 10 years at 2.9 percent. Mr. Chairman, about 35 years ago Ronald Reagan stood and said it was a time for choosing. I believe it was the greatest speech ever delivered. He said, Now is the time we choose whether we believe in our own capacity for self-government, or whether we ``confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.'' Mr. Chairman, I never thought I would be in that far-distant capital, but I am here; and I do not pretend that I have any great knowledge. I have only been here a few short months, and I have not had any epiphany about how to spend people's money better than they can spend it themselves. This budget, better than any budget being offered on the floor, honors those principles, limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FLAKE

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, it is not often that one gets to go to the House floor and actually vote on substantive legislation that will roll back regulation. It is equally a rare opportunity to stand and commend the Senate for doing the right thing before we get here. Today we get to do both. I appreciate this opportunity. I stand in strong support of this legislation. There is never a good time to saddle business with the costs that this will saddle them with. Today and this time is a particularly bad time given the soft economy.

Mr. FLAKE

Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in strong support of the bankruptcy reform legislation before us today. Many of the bankruptcy filings that do occur do originate from consumers who have been struck by sudden or unexpected financial hardship. No one wants to deny bankruptcy relief to those who truly deserve it. However, there are also consumers contributing to the upward trend in bankruptcy filing who could, with thoughtful planning and dedication, recommit themselves to repaying some of the debts they have incurred. These consumers, if permitted to simply walk away from their debts, will pass along their cost to others in the form of higher credit or tighter credit availability, increased tax burdens and higher prices for goods and services. Now, the average American household pays about $400 a year in hidden costs associated with consumer bankruptcy. The abusers of this system, it is important to note, are not simply low-income families. In fact, many of the bankruptcy filers actually earn more than $100,000 in the year they file for bankruptcy. While this legislation has been depicted as a one-size-fits-all approach, it is highly flexible.