John Fleming

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak also about H.R. 1106, the so-called mortgage cram-down bill which, I am afraid, is being crammed down the throats of the American citizens. There are families in this country seriously hurting in these tough economic times. They're looking for ways to keep their homes from going into foreclosure. I would support a targeted measure to help those who didn't overreach when they purchased a home, but this broad stroke cram-down bill we have been given allows the court system to modify home mortgages, including reducing the loan principal. This would leave responsible homeowners to pick up the tab for the mistakes of others. Also, it would further encourage folks to file bankruptcy, rather than working out their financial problems. Giving the judges the power to arbitrarily change the terms of a mortgage is not the direction we need to go in this country. Home buyers will be forced to pay higher interest rates and downpayments if lenders face the risk that a judge could change mortgage terms in the future. It was the meddling in the mortgage industry by Congress that helped start this economic mess in the first place. Why should we continue meddling? Continued efforts by Congress to reward unwise financial decisions will keep the dream of affordable home ownership unattainable for many responsible citizens for years to come.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, last night we heard the President in this very Chamber make the call for Congress to rise above the politics and to work together for the benefit of the American people, even though this side of the aisle has been shut out of virtually all related legislation. The President called for fiscal responsibility, and I couldn't agree more. But I am perplexed that he would make this call sandwiched between the biggest wasteful bills that the liberals in Congress have ever submitted. We need to stop the runaway spending to fund programs that don't immediately put this country back on track for economic stability and which create even more deficits in years to come. It is very foolish to spend heavily on an unprecedented number of earmarks, only to attempt to balance the budget on the backs of small businesses and those who work and save. Governor Jindal pointed out in his response how effective less government, less spending, and real government reform can be in my home State of Louisiana. I say that instead of increasing dependence on government to run our daily lives, I strongly suggest that we let the entrepreneurial spirit and the work ethic of Americans with real leadership from Congress create the pathway out of our economic problems.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago this body spent over $1 trillion of taxpayer dollars on programs that will grow the size of government, but won't stimulate the economy to help us get out of this financial crisis. Consumer confidence remains low, and fear of the future remains, as evidenced by the lowest Dow since 1997. Last week I held two town hall meetings in my district in Northwest Louisiana. In both meetings, the feelings were the same. People are scared and they are angry. They are looking for solutions. Instead we give them wasteful spending and social programs funded with one-time money. Now we hear of a plan to finance this with taxes on the back of small businesses and on the taxpayers themselves. To help this economy, we must allow business to expedite depreciation schedules, eliminate capital gains taxes and reduce payroll deductions and dedicate dollars to infrastructure projects, including I-49 in Louisiana. As we move to consider the half trillion dollar omnibus, I urge my colleagues to act fiscally responsible and in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the stimulus bill that was just passed this afternoon, a bill of wasteful spending, a bill that does not directly deal with the economic crisis. Tax cuts for individuals and families have been sacrificed and businesses will not be given the help they need. But the good news is we're going to buy new cars for government employees, doorbells in Mississippi, and mice protection in San Francisco. The bill also includes a very scary marker for universal health care, foreshadowing the policy of letting the government decide whether people are too old or too sick to receive treatment. Americans need a bill that directly affects families and small businesses now. But it won't come. Even liberal economists predict that the unemployment rate will remain around 8 percent over the next couple of years, and that is a near 25-year high. The nonpartisan CBO is predicting that this plan will hurt the economy. The majority of Americans do not agree with this plan. They deserve better and we can do better. Mr. Speaker, I pray that God will help America after Congress has passed such an expensive, expansionary and socialist legislation today.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. From my neck of the woods, north Louisiana, we have quite a number of engineers. And right now I'm very concerned about engineers because of our current economic situation. President Obama just mentioned that his stimulus bill is better than no bill at all. However, I have to point out that we Republicans have submitted H.R. 470, which is a far better version and far more stimulative. We talk in increments of billions and trillions of dollars, $1 billion here, $100 million there. But I want to put a real face on the stimulus bill. A few days ago, we were contacted by Michael Moss, a constituent. He is a small business owner in Shreveport, Louisiana. Michael is 51. He owns a financial services business that has been operating in our community for over 30 years. Michael called and asked, where is the bailout for his small business? Everybody else is getting a bailout. He employs six hardworking Louisianans. And they work themselves to death. Also he employs elderly parents who rely on him or his business for their income. Michael doesn't own a jet plane. Yet he gets no bailout. He owns a used Ford Explorer instead. He doesn't own a home. He merely rents one. But he is still working his small business. He discussed the stimulus package. And what he is saying is, look, the small businesses are creating the jobs and need the help. Small businesses create jobs so families have stable incomes in order to go out and spend. He suggests, and I agree with him, that we need to expedite depreciation schedules, eliminate capital gains tax and eliminate payroll deductions immediately. Remember that we make plans based on what we expect our tax situation to be, especially my fellow business owners. We know that the tax returns are going to be there, and we go ahead and plan to spend the money.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Madam Speaker, I am very concerned today about teen violence. There is a lot we need to do about teen violence. But in dealing with the stimulus bill, I see that we are spending our money every place but teen violence. The stimulus bill passed by the House last week and now pending in the Senate is nothing more than a Trojan horse. It has all of the labels that make it sound effective, but when we look into the details, we see a myriad of new social programs and entitlements, busting our budget for many years to come. Economists uniformly insist that a stimulus package must be quick and create jobs. The version that just passed does neither. They have shown us that cutting tax rates for individuals and small businesses is the best way to accomplish this. Madam Speaker, I support the Republican alternative that would immediately boost our economy by cutting taxes for those who actually pay them. This plan would create 6 million jobs over the next 2 years. That is twice the jobs at half the cost. This plan saves future generations from a crushing debt burden, and shows that Congress can act in a fiscally responsible way. I realize that the stimulus package is currently in the Senate, but if it comes back, I really think that we need to make a very complete reconstruction of the stimulus bill. I ask that we make this Trojan horse a dead horse, and that we pass commonsense legislation to get this economy back on a sound footing.

Mr. FLEMING

Mr. FLEMING. Mr. Speaker, I stand today in agreement with the gentlewoman from North Carolina, the gentleman from Texas, and the gentleman from South Carolina. As this body considers whether to burden future generations of Americans with more debt in the name of improving the economy, it is imperative that we look at the facts. The proposed legislation will create or save 3 million jobs. At $825 billion, the economic stimulus bill, in its current form, will spend $275,000 per job. Additionally, deficit spending will not expand the economy. If that were true, then the current $1.2 trillion deficit, the largest in history, would already be rescuing the economy. We wouldn't need another $825 billion. Trade groups state that every $1 billion in highway ``stimulus'' can create 35,000 new construction jobs. But Congress must borrow that $1 billion out of the private sector, costing the private sector the same number of jobs. Any type of effective stimulus cannot create jobs for some while costing jobs for others. Ladies and gentlemen, we do not need to continue down the path of wasteful spending. If we are going to steady the U.S. economy, we must stimulate American enterprise while returning to the practice of making fiscally responsible decisions on behalf of the American people.