Tom Graves

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, 46 days ago, I was sworn in right down here before the House, and since that time, constituents have asked, What has been the biggest surprise since your time being sworn in? And I will tell you what it is. I have seen it here today. I have seen it over the past several weeks, and that is the fear and the lack of trust in this leadership to allow their own Members to vote on amendments. It is clear that there is bipartisan opposition to this measure. In fact, 88 amendments were offered. Only nine were accepted. No Republicans from the gulf coast region had an accepted amendment, and only two Democrats from the region had amendments accepted. Only 14 percent of the Democrat amendments offered were accepted, meaning a large, large portion were not; and only 4 percent of Republican amendments were accepted to even be voted on here today. That means that over 50 million American voices did not get their representation right here today because the amendments of more than 80 Members of Congress were ignored by this Democrat majority. There has got to be a better way, and maybe in about 6 months we will find out.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I guess I rise at an appropriate time to follow the dialogue that we just heard. It amazes me, as I'm here now on my 44th day in the House of Representatives, and it seems like on each and every day I've heard the other side of the aisle do nothing but blame a previous administration for the failings of today. It is my hope that at some point they will begin taking responsibility for some of the policy actions. But what we're here to talk about tonight are positive solutions. We've heard a lot of blaming and name calling here over the past several weeks, and we're here tonight to talk about positive solutions to some of the difficult challenges. So to the colleagues that were just speaking, we're here to call your bluff. You said come call your bluff, well, here we are, and I've got some good gentlemen that are going to join me. But what I want to start out with today is we're going to talk about the kitchen table solutions. As you may have heard, we have had a program here where we've been actually going out and seeking solutions from the American people, not from our leadership, not from a political party, but from the American people; and it's called America Speaking Out. And there have been more than 12,000 specific ideas generated from the American people, more than 600,000 votes cast on these ideas as to what is most important. And so the top concerns from the kitchen table all across America: number one, jobs--and I think we've been saying, where are the jobs? Number two, spending. Why isn't the Federal Government balancing their checkbook? And then health care, ObamaCare itself. So that's what we are going to talk about tonight. As we move through this, I know we have some colleagues that are going to join me. My good colleague from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is going to be with us and also Mr. Thompson from Pennsylvania. But first we're going to talk about the number one issue facing America: jobs, jobs creation. We have a few quotes here. One--this is, I guess, just from last year, it says: ``Our stimulus plan will likely save''--``likely,'' key word--``save or create 3 to 4 million jobs. Ninety percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector and the remaining 10 percent in the public sector.'' But now the public sector has lost nearly 8 million jobs in the last 2 years; government has gained 656,000 jobs. So when our colleagues from the other side of the aisle stood here a minute ago and said jobs have been created, they were in fact true; but they were created in the public sector, not the private sector. And then it also says estimated unemployment without the stimulus would be 8.8 percent this year. Well, with all of the stimulus bailouts, buyouts, Cash for Clunkers, you ring it all up, unemployment in May was 9.7; far exceeded their expectations. So obviously the plans are not working. So what have been the job killers? Excessive taxation, insufficient liquidity, economic uncertainty, and red tape and government mandates. So over the last year we've seen nearly double-digit unemployment, the debt is continuing to grow, we've got a job-killing agenda, and according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, one in six small businesses are concerned about the uncertainty of the future. Fifteen million people out of jobs, out of work right now, unemployment at its highest rate in 25 years, and the private sector, again, has lost 8 million jobs. So we heard a minute ago, stimulus: that was creating all the jobs, that was going to take care of America. Well, I think about stimulus and health care and all that we saw last year, and it brought Americans to the National Capital last year. If you will remember, on September 12, Americans from all over this Nation rode on buses here, flew on airplanes to celebrate--was it to celebrate or to speak out against what has been done? And we all know the American people are not happy right now. So what is coming up next? 2011, 5 months away, under the leadership here in Congress, we will see taxes go up on each and every American. We heard ``middle class tax cuts'' just a few minutes ago. There aren't going to be any middle class tax cuts; in fact, every tax rate goes up for every American all across the country in so many different ways. Every individual tax bracket goes up. We have a marriage penalty, the Child Tax Credit will be cut in half. It doesn't sound like a tax cut to me; it's actually a tax increase. And then farmers, small business owners will see their tax rate go up to 55 percent in the States. And then of course capital gains and dividend taxes will rise as a result of the leadership here in Washington. So much to do, so much to do. The good thing is that we have positive solutions. That's what we are here to talk about tonight. I know my good friend, Mr. Thompson from Pennsylvania, is a good leader on job creation and is working hard in that area. I would love to have you join us, if you would like, to share with us some positive solutions here to get Americans back to work. And does that include public sector jobs or private sector jobs?

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Well, let's get to some simple facts, because you're right. America has been speaking out. The main thing they've been asking is: Where are the jobs? Just in the last year, we know there have been 2.5 million jobs lost here in the United States. So, you know, I guess a great admittance to that is the fact that the Democrats were pushing through the expansion or the extension of the unemployment benefits. If, in fact, their policies were to work or were working, there would be no need to extend unemployment benefits. The truth is they had to extend them because their policies aren't working. Let's get to some simple facts here real quick. I'm a finance major. You know, the problem is not that difficult. The challenges are certainly great, but the facts are simple. There is a commonsense equation here. We have total employers in the United States of about 24 million. The unemployment rate is 9.5 percent. We have about 14.6 million unemployed Americans right now. So there is a simple equation, which is, if one in three businesses hired just one employee over the next year, the unemployment rate would be 4.4 percent. That gets it to reasonable, sensible, easy-to-understand ideas. Here is the equation: If one in three businesses adds one new hire in the next 12 months, unemployment is down to 4.4 percent. So the question is: How do businesses get to this point where they hire that next person? Right now, they're not doing it, and there is a reason for that. It is called ``uncertainty.'' It is the uncertainty of what is about to happen to them next--and I think we know the tax increases that are coming and things like that. It's certainly scaring businesses. So what are some of the solutions? I guess the broader solution is getting government out of the way of job creation and fighting the efforts here, you know, that we've seen as they're pushing through the largest tax increase in the history of this country, and it is coming in 5 months. Yet today, here tonight, right before us, stood Members of the other party, saying, Oh, middle class tax cuts. That's not what is happening. In 5 months, we will have the largest tax increase in the history of this Nation. We need to return to spending levels that were from the 2008 levels and then roll back taxes. You know, we often hear them say, Oh, those big corporate tax breaks. Well, guess who hires Americans? Businesses. Wouldn't it be sensible to relieve them of some of the tax burdens here in the United States instead of increasing taxes like they're going to do? Then, of course, there's rolling back the regulatory burdens that we see. There is so much to do, so much to do. We heard them a few minutes ago say, Well, Republicans have voted against these job-creation packages. Well, I don't know that any of those packages have been successful, so it's probably a good thing that Republicans have voted against them. The fact is they have a majority that is far greater than the Republicans. They can push through anything they want to push through, and they have certainly been doing that against the will of the American people.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Yes, sir. Thank you for joining us.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. I think we'd be going backwards a little bit. You're right. I mean the fact is we need to empower the business community. We need to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. We need to equip them with lower burdens of regulation, and we need to lower tax rates. We do not need to be creating jobs as a government. Instead, we need the private sector to be creating jobs. It's a zero sum game. There are only so many employees in the United States, and if more of them are shifting to the public sector, it is only taking intellectual capital and wealth out of the private sector. I would love to turn it over to my good colleague from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey). Thank you for joining us on this late evening to talk about getting this country back on track.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Well, let's take a quick glance at where we are from a perspective financially, and then the positive solution of balancing the budget. Imagine that, balancing the budget, balancing the checkbook here at the Federal Government. Well, here's the truth of where we are. And we heard earlier when our friends from the other side were talking about how good it was since the new administration has taken over. Well, here's some facts. The facts don't lie. I mean, the truth is that the deficit under this current administration and leadership has just blossomed tremendously since they've taken charge. Now, we've heard a lot. In my 44 days, I've heard so much about President Bush, President Bush, the last 8 years, his administration. But you know what? I think they've had a little bit of amnesia, because they took the majority in 2006, swore in their Speaker in 2007, and look what happened. From that point forward, the deficit bloomed and unemployment increased. It all works together simultaneously, but yet they want to look back over the full decade and forget that, You know what? They're responsible. They were in a governing position, and yet they don't want to accept the responsibility of governing. So that leads us to where we are right now, at a point of lack of governing, because for the first time since 1974 no budget has been presented here. And the question is: Where's the budget? And right here you can read the quote. It says, Skipping a budget resolution this year would be unprecedented. And we've seen a lot of unprecedented things over the last several months, but this, in itself, is unprecedented. The House has never failed to pass an annual budget resolution since the current budget rules were put into place in 1974. And that's reported here back in April. But budgets are necessary, according to the leadership here. Steny Hoyer, our current majority leader, said, enacting a budget was the most basic responsibility of governing. That was the year they took over, the year they took over. And since then, look what's happened. And then, of course, from the House Budget Committee chairman, if you can't budget, you can't govern. Right there it is. Well, that leads us to today. I believe it's time to let the American people know that we have solutions to balance the budget and actually have a proposal in place, and that, I can tell the American people, hasn't got a hearing. I wonder why. I wonder why. H. Con. Res. 281, which I know many of the colleagues here have signed on to it--I'm not sure if one would want to speak to it in its specifics, but it provides tax relief, returns to 2008 spending levels, makes no changes to the Social Security laws as they currently are, provides spending increases equivalent to the inflation growth in Medicare and Medicaid, requires each committee in this House to find savings equal to 1 percent of the mandatory spending, repeals the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, repeals TARP, repeals ObamaCare, and then also provides medical liability reform, freedom to purchase health care across State lines, repeals Davis-Bacon, so many other things, great concepts there. And I'm sure you'd like to speak to some of those and the need, the importance of balancing the budget here in the United States Congress.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. You know what's so exciting about this America Speaking Out program is that we're getting ideas from Americans that are sitting around the kitchen table and they're talking about what would they do if they were in charge. What would they do if they were making these decisions. As they're watching the TV, and oftentimes in disgust seeing what comes out of Washington, D.C. The ideas that they have proposed and the thousands of connections that have been made. And I took that to my district and somewhat implemented a program much like that and developed an economic advisory council of business and community leaders from each and every county in my district to seek input from them to tear down that wall. Because for far too long Washington has not been listening. And so we just took that wall down and said, hey, we want your ideas so we can push them up and present them here to the full House as the ideas from Main Street itself, not from Capitol Hill. But we need the ideas from the hills of north Georgia, are where the ideas come from, and the hills from all over this great Nation. But you know, balancing the budget is a great start. Every American family has to balance their checkbook. But yet right now, here, leading by example, a terrible example is a Federal Government that is so far outside of its bounds with deficit spending and increasing its debt, it's unsustainable. So I guess the Republicans have a solution right here. House Concurrent Resolution 281 balances the budget, cuts taxes, and cuts spending, something that's unheard of here in Washington, D.C. When every State and local government all around this Nation's cutting spending right now, every family's cutting spending out of their personal budget, here on the Federal level we just keep spending, spending, spending. Mr. Thompson, you looked like you had something good to add to the conversation here.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Let's stop there for a second. You're talking about the marriage tax. Now, those are the people, the wealthy married people or is that all married people? That's everyone, right?

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. And now the individuals with children are the ones getting the penalty here, the ones who are the wealthy, or is it everyone who has children?

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. You are absolutely right. So you presented a solution. H.R. 3400 would be the Empowering Patients First Act. We have talked about deauthorizing the funding for this mess here, and you talk about surgically removing some items here. I mean, this is a mess.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. It is everyone. So the fact that they stood over here, what, 40 minutes ago and said, oh, these are tax cuts for the middle class, that's not the case. The largest tax increase in the history of this Nation will occur in 5 months. But we have a bill that we've introduced, and I am sure y'all have cosponsored it, I cosponsored it, to block that, to block that tax increase, and to allow the taxes to remain at the level they are today. And of course we would want to see them lowered. But it's not a tax cut. We're just saying, hey, keep it at the level it is. Don't raise them. Because that's what they are doing. They're raising taxes. Let me finish this balance the checkbook thing real quick, and we'll talk about confidence in a minute. So balance the checkbook. Republicans, we're saying let's cut spending. Let's stop this excessive spending that's going on here in Washington. We can do that by repealing the unused portions of the stimulus bill. They talk about how great it's been, the grand fanfare of the stimulus, when in fact a third of it hasn't even been spent, which means, again, it's not working. We need to end the bailouts. And then of course the big one, repeal ObamaCare, which is a nearly $600 billion tax increase on all Americans and businesses all over the United States.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Billion, right, that's nine zeroes.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. This is what Americans are saying right here. Americans did not go to AmericaSpeakingOut.com--and this is nonpartisan, it's confidential--Americans did not go to that Web site and say increase spending. They did not say increase the stimulus and do another one. They did not say continue the bailouts or keep ObamaCare. They actually said stop all this stuff. Stop it. That was America speaking out right here.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Thank you, Dr. Gingrey. You are absolutely right. Now, let me summarize. We've been talking about solutions here tonight. First one we were talking about was job creation. Certainty was mentioned by Mr. Thompson there. Uncertainty being the problem; certainty being the solution. So some certainty would be let's pass this legislation that blocks the largest tax increase in the history of our Nation. Let's get some of this regulation out of the way. Let's empower the small business owners and just embrace and ignite that entrepreneurial spirit. The solutions to job creation. The second component we were talking about is the spending and balancing the budget. It's time to cut spending. Let's say enough is enough here in Washington. All of America, all businesses, all State, all local governments are cutting spending, whereas here we are, we're raising spending. But we've even gone a step further, taken a bold step and said, we've got a plan to balance the budget here for the Federal Government. And now the third category, which I think really involved the American people last year, not in a positive way because they weren't engaged in the process, because it was a process that was behind closed doors, but it raised the awareness of the abuse of the process and the abuse of the rules and abuse of the system right here, and that was health care. As we've talked about America Speaking Out, repealing ObamaCare was one of the top items mentioned or indicated out of the--what did we say, nearly 12,000 respondents, 12,000 specific ideas and 600,000 votes cast for different ideas. We've got an interesting chart here, and this will be the debut I believe of it publicly to show the health care plan as passed, the health care plan as passed. It was approached or presented as a plan that was patient friendly, right? Isn't that what it's called, the Patient Protection Act? This is the ObamaCare health care plan in a schematic of what occurred out of the 2,000 pages of legislation. They're still today figuring out that portions of it were in there that they never expected or knew were in there, including new additional taxes. But let me point out as we discuss this, and I know, Doctor, you've probably got a lot of insight into it because we do have an alternative plan. We had one then, it was presented then, but it's still in committee right now. But let me point out to those watching. Here's the physician at this point. Here's the patient down here at this point, and all of this government is in between. How is that better for the American patient, for the young boy that's needing care? How is this better for that young single mom who's just trying to get care for her child? This is not better. This is a mess, a governmental nightmare right here, and this is as it's passed and has been signed into law, the Obama health care plan.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. You're right. This is the doctor. There's the patient. You would think the patient and doctor would be in the center, right? That should be the center of this diagram, but it is not. It is this newly empowered Secretary of the Health and Human Services that is in the center of which all of this spirals off of, and all of this is documented and all the code sections are outlined on here how it was created, and it indicates new mandates, new taxes, new programs, new processes. All of this is in this new health care plan that is going to be a mess for Americans right here. The great thing is, though, that as we stand before America tonight, we don't stand here without an alternative, without another idea. We come before America boldly with another alternative, and the first step, in my opinion, is we have to defund this mess. Let's just put the brakes on it. We don't need another, what, $600 billion in new taxes. We need to defund this, and we have introduced legislation that is H.R. 5882, which each of you are probably cosponsors of and I'm the sponsor of the legislation to just defund it altogether, and let's start over because the process was broken. The policy is flawed. Let's get a patient-centered, patient-driven health care plan in place of which we've got good alternatives. Would you like to share a little bit about the proposal that's out there, or do you have some ideas yourself?

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. You wonder why this component would be in a health care proposal. The IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, is part of a health care plan; although, I think we all know that the American people do not want to have to go through this maze in order to get their health care taken care of here in the United States. We have a couple of opportunities. One, H.R. 5882, for those whom are viewing this tonight, could encourage their Members to sign on to, and that would not allow any funds to be authorized or spent towards this here. Then there is the Repeal It proposal that repeals this altogether, and there are two of those out there. There is a letter or petition to have one voted on here on the floor, and that's H.R. 4972, by Mr. King. That's the Repeal It legislation. Then you have spoken about the alternative, the replacement. So you have defund it, repeal it, and then replace it with H.R. 3400, which is a free market, capitalistic solution to health care for Americans to allow them to be empowered, empowering them. Would you like to add some more to this? I know we are getting close here before we need to stop sharing the truth here.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Last August, the American people were pretty upset about that. They were fired up 1 year ago as the leadership of this Hall went out all across America and avoided town hall meetings because they could not defend this 2,000-page spaghetti plate here of mess, because the American people know that the government taking over their health care is not the best option. The best option is the patient, the individual that is being empowered.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, I want to thank you for joining me tonight, because here at this late hour here on the east coast, we are standing before the American people presenting alternatives, solutions to these challenging days. We started off by talking about the economy and jobs and job creation, and that's empowering the private sector, not empowering government, creating certainty in the marketplace as opposed to the uncertainty that is out there today by standing in the way of the largest tax increase in the history of this Nation, which is about to be unfolded here in the next 5 months. And then also the reduction of capital gains. The reduction of the corporate tax rate and just igniting that entrepreneurial spirit once again to allow that entrepreneur, the American business owner, to dream, and to dream big and to go work hard. Then next we talked about spending and spending cuts, balancing the budget. Very difficult items here on the Federal level, it would seem by the majority party. But, instead, we have proposed positive solutions to balance the budget like has never been seen before. Then lastly, the health care. And all of this comes as a result of America Speaking Out, the Web site in which 12,000 responses were given and over 600,000 votes were cast on different ideas and concepts. Listening to the American people about jobs and the economy, about spending, about balancing the budget and the health care proposal, which leads us to defunding it, repealing it and then replacing it with a patient center, patient-driven concept that provides affordability, portability, and accessibility to Americans. But this is not a time in which we stand and point fingers as we have heard over the past several weeks. My 44 days being here, the other side has pointed fingers back, back in time. But we are not here to do that. This is not about Republican and Democrat. This is about America right now and this is about getting our economy back on track. It's about creating the confidence once again in the marketplace and then providing true health care solutions. So I appreciate my colleagues in joining me tonight on this late hour. I know it means a lot to your constituents that you would do that and that you would be working at this late hour in the evening because you know how important it is. Mr. Speaker, I yield back.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who was a champion from my home State of Georgia. It has been 10 years this week since the passing of Senator Paul D. Coverdell, and I am proud to honor the life, the work, and the spirit of such an influential man today. Described by his colleagues as a ``soft-spoken workhorse,'' his strong passion for his country was shown throughout his distinguished public service in the United States Army, the Georgia State Senate, the United States Senate, and as Director of the Peace Corps. Senator Coverdell was a devoted hard worker who was a pioneer for the conservative movement in Georgia. Some might say he was a ``pillar of the community,'' but that is an understatement. He was the foundation upon which the pillars were built. As a key figure in the establishment of a strong Republican Party in Georgia, he was the first Republican since Reconstruction to be reelected to the United States Senate. He was notorious for his ability to work on both sides of the aisle. He saw ways through the bitter partisanship, and he was one who was well-liked and respected by all of his colleagues. Apart from being a brilliant man in his work, he was also a humble and kind man, characteristics that helped in the advancement of the cause that he fought for. As a testament to his humble and gentle nature, I will share with you a story about Senator Coverdell and a special friendship that he developed that would change his life. While vacationing in Maine in 1978, Senator Coverdell decided he would look up the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, George H. W. Bush. He simply found his address in a phone book. He went to his home. He knocked on his door and he introduced himself. He introduced himself to the man who would later become the President of the United States. The pair became the closest of friends over the next 14 years, and they helped each other in many different ways. When George H. W. Bush was elected President, Senator Coverdell sent him a letter that read, ``If I can help, I'd like to help.'' It was at this time that the 41st President then appointed Senator Coverdell as Director of the Peace Corps. Five years after his death, at the dedication of the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences at the University of Georgia, President Bush said of Paul Coverdell, ``In the Washington world of bitter partisanship, Paul was, indeed, a voice of reason, always reaching out, always putting the good of the country first, always finding solutions where others may try to find blame or an issue to use as a political weapon. He was successful in bringing together people across the political aisle. I've heard it said that, to the end, Paul Coverdell was the great unifier, and so he was.'' Senator Coverdell's legacy is particularly important to me as I am the first graduate of the Coverdell Leadership Institute to be elected to the United States Congress. Senator Coverdell founded the Coverdell Leadership Institute to support the Republican Party in Georgia through the building of the farm team through the Republican Party. At the time, Georgia was not far removed from being a single-party State. No Republican had served as Governor since Reconstruction. Senator Coverdell began working with current and future Republican leaders, training them in the practical aspects of politics and government service to ensure that, going forward, there would be a bipartisan presence among Georgia elected officials. Today, I am especially grateful to Senator Coverdell for starting this forward-looking program that continues to be relevant and impactful today, 10 years after the Senator's death. That is certainly a life to be proud of. From the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences at my alma mater, the University of Georgia, to the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps headquarters building here in Washington, D.C., to the Coverdell Leadership Institute, itself, and many other honors in between, Senator Coverdell's great legacy lives on. I ask that his life be remembered today.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Sure. I am from Georgia's Ninth Congressional District, which is north Georgia, north Georgia mountains, a beautiful part of the State.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Yes, Blue Ridge. The city of Blue Ridge is part of the district. And I live in the small town of Ranger, a little bitty town, a little farm community.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. To the Chattooga River.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Yes, that's not far away at all, you're right.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Well, let me ask you this.

Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Well, where does spending originate? We have branches of government, right? We have three of them.