Jeb Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to St. Patrick's School in Dallas, Texas, on the occasion of their 40th anniversary. Education is one of the most important issues facing the future of our great nation. If America is to continue to be the leader of the modern world, we must offer a solid educational foundation for our citizens. To succeed in school and life, every student needs a basic set of skills. They need to listen attentively, speak persuasively, read with understanding, and write with command. Over the past 40 years, St. Patrick's School has maintained a commitment to educational excellence, striving to provide a stimulating, well-rounded Catholic education by teaching their students to embrace the message of the gospel, pursue knowledge and make a difference in the world. On March 17, 1963, Bishop Thomas K. Gorman issued a decree to establish St. Patrick's Parish north of White Rock Lake. Construction on the school began soon after and when it opened in September of 1964, the school was staffed by three Sisters of Notre Dame of the Dallas province and lay teachers for 326 students. Since then, the school has grown, expanding its buildings and facilities to help accommodate and educate more than 500 students. Accredited by the Texas Catholic Conference of the Texas Private School Accreditation Commission, St. Patrick's School is an institution dedicated to offering students the tools they need to become genuine leaders in the community. As the Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District of Texas, I am very proud to represent St. Patrick's Parish. I would like to offer my congratulations to their administrators, alumni, students, and parents on this momentous occasion and best wishes for their continued success.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for his great leadership in ensuring that we did have tax relief for American families and small businesses which has ignited this great economic recovery that we are seeing from one shore to the other. Indeed, there is great news and, indeed, there is still more work to be done. We have to make sure that those in Congress who want to take the tax relief away, raise taxes on the American people yet again, that that policy does not come about in the Halls of the United States House of Representatives. We are joined tonight by a gentleman from the Committee on Ways and Means who was instrumental in ensuring that we pass the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 and will be a key leader in ensuring this tax relief is not rolled back. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley).

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I need not state that last week was a very, very trying, yet very moving week for many Americans because we said goodbye to one of the greatest Presidents I believe in the history of America, and certainly one of the greatest that I have known in my life time, President Reagan. And I think many Americans recall so much about the President, about how he loved freedom and how optimistic he was. There is a phrase that many people associated with President Reagan when he ran for reelection in 1984, and that phrase was, It is morning again in America. Well, America has faced a significant economic challenge over the last several years, and that is we have faced a recession. Many people have been hurt by this recession and jobs were lost and businesses were padlocked. But I have to tell you, we have come out of the darkness. We are coming into the light. When we look the at our national economy, again it is morning in America. One of the proudest days I have had as a Member of United States Congress was the day that I signed my name, co-authored President Bush's economic growth program. Now, that was a program that was all about tax relief, tax relief for American families, tax relief for small businesses, because we know that when you let families and businesses, the American people keep more of what they earn, they will roll up their sleeves. They will work hard. They will create new businesses. They will go out and open an automobile transmission shop on one street corner. They will open a barbecue stand on another corner. They will expand a mobile home business two blocks away. Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we see in America today. Now, many in this body want to debate who is to blame for the recession. Well, I can tell you there have been many, many recessions in the history of America. And I wish there was something we could do in this body to outlaw recessions but we cannot. But we do know that besides the obvious and huge loss of human life on 9/11, what a blow it was to our economy, in the trillions of dollars; not no to mention the stock market, the high tech bubble being burst, the corporate scandals. There are a whole lot of reasons. And we could play a blame game here between the Republicans and the Democrats, but I do not think that is what the American people sent us to Washington to do. They sent us here to work together and solve problems. Mr. Speaker, in working with the President we have been able to solve a lot of these problems. If you look at where our economy is today, it is just a fantastic recovery that is under way. We are enjoying right now the highest economic growth that we have enjoyed in 20 years. In over 20 years we are seeing the highest economic growth that we have ever seen. And jobs, over a million and a half jobs have now been created over the last 9 months, in a blistering pace in the last several months, all due to President Bush's economic growth program. Homeownership, the great American dream of homeownership, homeownership is at an all-time high. More Americans own their own homes than ever in the history of the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the explosive job growth that we have had in our economy, a million and a half jobs in just the last 9 months, people all over America being able to go back to work because of the President's economic growth program. The stock market is up 20, 25 percent off of its lows, which is so important for so many people that have 401(k) plans that they have to plan for their retirement, and there is so much other good news. We have other Members that are here to discuss that and how it relates to their congressional districts. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), to discuss this further.

Mr. HENSARLING. I thank my colleague from Florida for his wonderful comments and helping remind us that again there are two very different visions for economic growth in America. In one vision again is tax relief for small businesses, the job-creating engine in America. Another is tax increases on business, tax increases on families. It is often said that one is entitled to their own opinions but one is not entitled to their own facts. Let me review again what has happened in the last 9 months. We have added almost 1.5 million new jobs in the last 9 months. And look at this. Look at the blistering pace in just the last 3 months of job creation in this economy due to tax relief. Look at this. The greatest economic growth in almost 20 years under this program, under President Bush's tax relief program, the greatest economic growth in almost 20 years. Look what is happening to the unemployment rate. It is going down. Job creation is going up. Unemployment is going down. Incomes are up. Family incomes are up. These are not just jobs. We are seeing good jobs, good job growth in the American economy. Again that foundation of the American dream, homeownership, is at an all-time high. Now, Mr. Speaker, the question is where do we go from here, because there is work to be done. We do not want to rest until every American who wants a job has a job. We want to make sure that we have more tax relief, that Americans can go out and create more businesses and expand more jobs, so that every American can realize his American dream, that he can invest in his housing program, in his nutritional program, in his education program. But our friends from the other side of the aisle, they want to raise taxes on the American people. Mr. Speaker, we cannot tax our way into prosperity. That is a battle being fought in the House now. And another battle we are trying to fight, we want to reduce the litigation in America. Too often we do not love our neighbor, we sue our neighbor in America. There is something fundamentally wrong when it is easier to sue a doctor than it is to see a doctor. There is something fundamentally wrong when one can sue McDonald's for millions of dollars because they spill hot coffee on oneself. Excess litigation hurts job growth. That is another difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. And how about too much regulation? I know as a small businessman the huge regulatory burden on our economy. It is almost $8,000 per American family. How many mortgage payments is that for the average American family? How many semesters of college is that? Instead, we are paying more in regulation costs. We want to bring down that regulatory cost. The Democrats want to increase that regulatory cost. Litigation sends jobs overseas. Regulation sends jobs overseas. And taxation sends jobs overseas. We need to thank President Bush for his principled leadership in all the job growth that he has created in the economy.

Mr. HENSARLING. I thank the gentleman for his comments. I especially thank him for reminding all of us that the government had nothing to do with this. It was the American people who went out and created these jobs. Not unlike my colleague from Indiana, I was a small businessman before I was elected to Congress. Government does not create jobs. Men and women who go out and risk capital and roll up their sleeves and work hard, they are the ones who create jobs in America. But for them to do it, government has got to get out of the way. Too many taxes destroy jobs. Too many regulations destroy jobs. Too much litigation destroys jobs. Fortunately due to President Bush's economic growth plan, due to this Republican majority in Congress, we took a huge step in providing this tax relief that has provided almost 1.5 million jobs in 9 months. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz- Balart), another great leader we have had on economic growth issues in the United States Congress, a gentleman who is the cofounder of the Washington Waste Watchers.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) for his comments and thank him for his leadership in ensuring that we had tax relief for American families and small businesses to help this wonderful surge of employment that we have had in the United States. Again, as we can see from this chart, over the last 9 months almost a million and a half new jobs have been created, and in the last several months at a blistering pace. New jobs for Americans, and these are not just dry statistics that are appearing on some board, but I have the honor and privilege of representing the Fifth Congressional District of Texas which starts in the eastern part of the city of Dallas and takes in several of the suburbs of Dallas County and includes many rural areas in east Texas; and I have seen some great news in that area all due to President Bush's economic growth program. I was in Jacksonville, Texas, not too long ago in Cherokee County, Texas. I went to visit a plant called Jacksonville Industries. They are an aluminum and zinc die cast business. They were having trouble in some respects in competing in their marketplace. But once President Bush brought his economic growth package forward and once we passed it in the House of Representatives, all of a sudden they were able to afford a new piece of equipment that previously they could not afford. Now I could not tell you the name of this piece of equipment, I could not tell you what it does, but it is big and makes a lot of noise, and it makes them more competitive in a very competitive marketplace. Prior to being able to acquire this machine, they were on the verge of perhaps having to let two of their workers go because they could not be competitive without having the new plant, the new equipment. Because of the equipment they were able to buy due to President Bush's tax relief program, instead of potentially laying off two workers, they hired three new workers. That is five people who could have been on unemployment, five people who could have been on welfare. Instead, thanks to our President and thanks to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, those are five people with a real job, five people who are putting a roof over their own head, putting food on the table, helping educate their children, and realizing their own version of the American dream. That is how important tax relief is in America to get this surge of economic growth, this surge of jobs that we see being created. I see it all over the Fifth Congressional District of Texas. I see it in the city of Garland where all of a sudden a new CiCi's Pizza franchise opened up just a couple of months ago. They created 30 new jobs in 2 months. In Mesquite, another superb of Dallas, a wonderful community, Coleman Homes, a home builder who came to Mesquite in 2002, has almost doubled their number of employees in just 2 years building homes. Because as we said earlier, Mr. Speaker, we are enjoying the highest rate of homeownership that we have ever enjoyed in the history of the United States of America, thanks again to President Bush's economic growth program and a Republican majority in this House that would pass it. In Dallas where I live in the Lakewood neighborhood, because of the economic growth, a new bank opened. They put in $600,000 to renovate an old building that went to builders and carpenters and refinishers, and in just 3 months they have added 12 full-time jobs to help serve all the demand as businesses grow and need the capital that the bank can provide. The stories go on and on and on. Mr. Speaker, I know that tax relief works. I see it in the Fifth Congressional District of Texas. We see it all over America, and it is not just the evidence we have today. It is the history. As we mourn the passing of one of the great Presidents of the United States, President Reagan, we have to remember tax relief worked again in his administration. We cut marginal tax rates, and we had an explosion of economic activity, and we had more tax revenue come into the government as well. Mr. Speaker, there is other good news around this Nation. There is lots of good news, and that does not mean our work is done. We have much work to be done. We will not stop until every American who wants a job has a job. But another great leader that we have had in making sure that we have pro-growth economic policies for our Nation, to make sure that we create jobs in every corner of America is a great colleague of mine and cochairman of the Washington Waste Watchers, which has been on the vanguard of fighting waste, fraud and abuse in America. At this time I would like to yield to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola).

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for making time to come down this evening to the floor to discuss the wonderful news that we have had as we talk about the 1-year anniversary of the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003, and obviously there is so much good news to be had in Texas and Arizona and all the other States around the Nation, but there is still work to be done. At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Capito), one of the great pro-growth leaders in the Congress, somebody who has made a real difference for West Virginia.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments and how enlightening they were to enlighten us about what is going on in the State of West Virginia and how under the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003, how jobs are being created, how exports are up, how real income for families is on the rise so that families can go out and afford to spend more money on their education programs, their housing programs, their nutritional programs. Although there is much work to be done, all this great progress was made possible by an act that at its core was all about tax relief, tax relief for small businesses, tax relief for American families, and Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, in the House of Representatives, that means that tax relief comes through our Committee on the Ways and Means. One of the great leaders of that committee, one of the pro- growth leaders in the United States Congress, is here to share his thoughts with us, and I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, this week millions of Americans and people around the globe mourn the loss of one of our Nation's greatest heroes, Ronald Reagan. From the time that he took the oath of office until he left the White House, few American Presidents ever enjoyed the popularity, support and love that Ronald Reagan engendered. He developed a special bond with the American people, and one can see from the tremendous outpouring of sympathy and support across our great Nation that that special bond still endures today. More than any other person, President Reagan is responsible for winning the Cold War. He engaged his Communist adversaries in the battle of ideas and achieved victory by winning the war for the hearts and minds of people. In his heart he knew these people. He knew the Bulgarian student who was never allowed to read Thomas Jefferson. He knew the East German mother who wanted a better life for her children. He knew the Polish factory worker who longed to be free of Soviet subjugation. One 65-year-old Czech who lived under the Soviet regime said, ``For us, Reagan was important because we knew he was really anti-Communist, emotionally anti-Communist. For us, he was a symbol of the United States' genuine determination to bring communism to an end.'' A Romanian man who was recently interviewed struggled to find the words to describe President Reagan's legacy, and then he simply said, ``It is due to him that we are free.'' Thanks to Ronald Reagan's determined leadership, untold millions were liberated from Communist tyranny and from the palpable fear of nuclear annihilation. America was fortunate to have Ronald Reagan. At a time when our country needed a hero, Ronald Reagan was able to rekindle the American spirit. He inspired us with his powerful words and unwavering optimism. He had a steadfast belief in the goodness of America. No amount of pessimism, strife or tragedy could discourage that thinking or blur his vision of America as a ``shining city on a hill.'' I was one of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people that had the privilege to shake the hand of the former President, look him in the eyes and thank him for all he did for America. Frankly, next to my marriage and the birth of my children, it was one of the most profound moments in my life. An earlier generation was inspired to public service by Barry Goldwater. Many in my generation were inspired to serve by Ronald Reagan. A woman in Santa Monica recently stated, ``When I think of him, I think of America. What is that saying, American, like Mom and apple pie. He should be in that, too, because he represented what this country is all about.'' President Reagan was what this country is all about. He believed in the American dream. He believed in the power of free men and free markets. He championed less government, lower taxes and lifting regulation. He believed in our country's ability to produce boundless possibilities and limitless opportunity. His policies ushered in a new age of entrepreneurship and innovation, and led to one of the greatest economic expansions in our Nation's history. We believed in President Reagan because he believed in us. He always saw the best in us, and he never stopped believing in the decency and ingenuity of the American people. He believed deeply in the strength of democracy and never lost hope of America realizing its ``rendezvous with destiny.'' Our Nation will deeply miss Ronald Reagan. Undoubtedly future generations of Americans will remember him among the pantheon of America's great leaders, among the names of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, but there will never be another President Reagan. Let us remember his words the way he wished to be remembered: ``Whatever else history may say about me when I am gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way.'' Mr. Speaker, today should serve more than just a memorial, it should serve as a reminder. As President Reagan also said, ``There is much work before us. Not easy tasks perhaps, but I would remind you, they are not impossible, because after all, we are Americans,'' and perhaps none more so than Ronald Reagan.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, throughout our history, when our country called, millions of American men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice so that our Nation could enjoy peace and prosperity. From Bunker Hill to Baghdad, many of America's best and brightest have paid the price of our freedom with their lives, leaving behind their friends, their families and their futures. Recently, the Fifth Congressional District of Texas lost one of our best. Lance Corporal James A. Casper of Coolidge, Texas, was a twenty- year-old Marine assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Division, who lost his life near Al Asad, Iraq, while serving his country in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Lance Corporal Casper served this country well, as did the other brave men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq, helping to fight our enemies far away in order to prevent them from attacking us again here at home. Undoubtedly, it is through their sacrifice that future generations of Americans and others will enjoy freedom from terror. As our families and friends gather together this Memorial Day to enjoy barbeques and baseball games, let us not forget the solemn purpose for this national day of remembrance. Freedom is not free--it comes at an incredible cost. Today, let us show our deep appreciation for those who fought for our freedom and let us honor those, like Lance Corporal Casper, who died defending it. Let us commend their courage, their patriotism, their service and their sacrifice. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, ``We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.''

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today as a member of the Washington Waste Watchers, a Republican working group dedicated to rooting out rampant waste, fraud, abuse and duplication in the Federal bureaucracy. Despite the major economic recovery that is under way, despite more new jobs and historic rates of homeownership, Democrats keep demanding that we take tax relief away from American families. Take away the tax relief that is responsible for the unparalleled growth in our economy, the tax relief that is creating jobs, the very same tax relief that has actually added revenues to our Federal Treasury. That is right, the Treasury Department reports that revenues are up due to tax relief- generated economic growth. When it comes to the Federal deficit, Mr. Speaker, our fiscal challenges lie on the spending side, not on the taxing side; and that is where we must focus our attention. And by any measure, spending is out of control in Washington. For only the fourth time in the history of our Nation, the Federal Government is now spending over $20,000 per family. This is up from just $16,000 just 5 years ago. This represents the largest expansion of the government in 50 years. Since I have been alive, the Federal budget has grown seven times faster than the family budget. Clearly we have a spending problem, not a taxing problem. Now is not the time to raise taxes on American families, as so many Democrats seek to do; but it is time to take the trash out in Washington, the waste, the fraud, the abuse, the duplication. Let me give you just a few typical examples we found recently in just one government department, the Department of Agriculture. The Office of Rural Rental Housing made $4.4 million in rental subsidy overpayments in just one State simply because they could not verify the income of the recipients. Can you imagine going to a bank or an automobile dealer and having them just hand out a loan without verifying your income? Do they not typically ask for a pay stub or a tax return? It is only common sense in the rest of America, but apparently not with many Federal bureaucrats. And Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this? $4.4 million of the people's hard-earned money squandered. That is enough money to fully armor 142 Humvees in Iraq. Because the Rural Utility Service will not allow water and waste projects to be funded by both government grants and private loan sources, American taxpayers paid for more than $85 million of unnecessary grants over a 4-year period. This same agency made loans totaling about $100 million to projects that could have been financed with private credit. Instead, taxpayers, American families, were forced to finance them. This policy does not make any sense, yet Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this? That $85 million in unnecessary grants could have been used to purchase over 53,000 Kevlar vests for our troops in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, almost everyone believes that we should help provide adequate nutrition for the neediest Americans; but because a food stamp program State agency in the Midwest did not provide oversight over its field offices, and because they had not performed a management review in over 7 years, almost $2 million in Federal funding was improperly spent on administration of the food stamp program in the year 2000. That money could have bought 720,000 gallons of milk for food stamp recipients in Indiana. Mr. Speaker, can you imagine starting up a small business and not reviewing your finances for over 7 years? My guess is the business would go bankrupt. Yet Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for more of this? Mr. Speaker, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The list goes on and on and on, and so does the waste, the fraud, the abuse and duplication. It has been going on for decades. Republicans are working hard to root out the waste of American tax dollars, but too often our Democrat colleagues keep fighting us every step of the way. Last year, the Committee on the Budget approved a budget asking for authorizing committees to identify just 1 percent, just 1 percent, of waste and fraud and abuse within their budgets. But again the Democrats fought us every step of the way. One of their leaders reviled our efforts, ridiculed it, and said it was ``a senseless and irresponsible exercise.'' Mr. Speaker, the American people disagree. With the Nation at war and with a large Federal budget deficit, there is no better time than now to root out this senseless waste, fraud and abuse, because when it comes to Federal programs, it is not how much money Washington spends that counts; it is how Washington spends it.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, the success of American companies is usually measured by market share, the strength of the balance sheet and the quality of goods and services that they produce. But many times, we can also look to the quality of a company's employees to find the true secret to their success. Nucor Steel-Texas, which is located in Jewett, Texas, in the Fifth Congressional District, is a major economic driver in Leon County and the state of Texas. For almost 24 years, Lynda Minter has served Nucor Steel-Texas and will soon retire as Controller. Lynda's colleagues have told me that Nucor Steel-Texas' success is inseparable from her legacy of careful financial management and her superb relations with employees, Nucor leadership and with state and local community leaders. Lynda has been characterized by her co-workers as a pillar of the mill's success, and those who know her best have testified that her kind manner, deep understanding of Nucor's business and fair dealing have been instrumental in Nucor Steel-Texas' continued growth and achievement. Her colleagues tell me that Lynda has offered Nucor Steel- Texas a steady hand, a keen intellect and a long-term devotion to service for over two decades. I want to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions of Lynda Minter, and I want to wish Lynda all the best as she embarks on this new phase of her life.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, as a former small businessman, I rise today in support of Republican efforts this week to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses, the job engine of this country. I know firsthand that the Federal regulatory burden strangles small business in America and keeps American-owned businesses from creating more jobs. In the year 2000, the estimated total regulatory burden in America was a job-crushing $843 billion. Along with high rates of taxation, which Democrats want to raise even further, nothing stifles job creation in America like the heavy hand of bureaucratic regulation. Small businesses that employ fewer than 20 employees pay almost $7,000 a year in regulatory costs per employee. Instead of using these funds to create new jobs, pay higher salaries or fund new or expanded health care benefits, small business owners are forced to pay to comply with too many inflexible and Draconian Federal regulations. Democrats are working hard to make bureaucrats more powerful. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are working hard to make American companies more competitive.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise again as part of the Washington Waste Watchers, a Republican working group dedicated to rooting out the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government. Despite a major economic recovery underway, rising employment, new jobs and historic rates of home ownership, Democrats keep demanding that we take away the tax relief, take away the tax relief that is responsible for this unparalleled growth in our economy, the tax relief that is bringing down the unemployment. The tax relief, if it were a line item in the budget, amounts to 1 percent, 1 percent of the $28.3 trillion 10-year spending plan approved last year. In other words, 99 percent of our fiscal challenges are on the spending side. And, Mr. Speaker, that is where we need to focus our attention, and by any measure, spending is out of control in Washington. For only the fourth time in the history of our Nation, the Federal Government is now spending $20,000 per household. Mr. Speaker, it is up from just $16,000 just 5 years ago, representing the largest expansion of the Federal Government in 50 years. We have a spending problem, not a taxing problem, and now is not the time to raise taxes again on American families and small businesses, as Democrats seek to do. Instead, it is time to take the trash out in Washington. Let me give my colleagues just a few examples of typical waste, fraud, and abuse in government that we found just this week. The Interior Department's Inspector General discovered that the Bureau of Indian Affairs accepted inflated school enrollment estimates that resulted in the construction of schools that were larger than required. The Bureau spent $37 million for unneeded school space and has future plans to spend an additional $74 million for even more excess school space. This wasteful use of our tax dollars occurred because the Bureau had not developed or implemented simple policies to count students. And yet Democrats want to raise our taxes to pay for even more of this? One hundred and eleven million dollars of the American people's hard-earned money down the drain. That is enough money to outfit 3,700 Humvees in Iraq with armor plating. Additionally, the Department of Transportation's Inspector General stated that if the Department simply imposed better oversight on projects from start to finish and aggressively fought gas-tax evasion, the Department could save billions of dollars. In fact, if the efficiency with which the Federal Government and the States invested $700 billion in highway projects was improved by only 1 percent, an additional $7 billion would be available, and that could fund 8 out of the 15 active major highway projects today. This is especially relevant because the House voted recently to approve a $284 billion highway bill that will force Congress to either increase the deficit or raise gas taxes to pay for it. Next, Mr. Speaker, just this week the GAO announced that the government paid $169,000 in fees to unaccredited schools for bogus graduate degrees for Federal employees. I mean, that is a blatant violation of Federal law. The General Accounting Office said this amount was actually an understatement and that it is impossible to verify the true cost of this fraud because the Federal agencies do not have systems to verify academic degrees and because they do not accurately account for these expenses. In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services, when asked by the General Accounting Office to verify expenses on degrees, said they could not produce them because they maintain such large volumes of information in five different accounting systems. One hundred sixty-nine thousand dollars on bogus degrees. That is enough money to protect over 100 of our American soldiers in Iraq with Kevlar vests. Mr. Speaker, the list goes on and on and on; so does the waste, the fraud, the abuse and the duplication, and this has been going on for decades. The problem is, we now have over 10,000 Federal programs spread across 5- to 600 agencies with little accountability to anyone, and when you just scratch the surface a little bit, what you discover is that so many of these programs routinely waste 5, 10, even 20, 25 percent of their taxpayer-funded budgets, and have for decades. Republicans are working hard to root out this senseless waste of American tax dollars, but too many of our Democrat colleagues keep fighting us every step of the way. Last year, our Committee on the Budget approved a budget asking for authorizing committees to identify 1 percent of waste, fraud and abuse, just 1 percent. Yet the Democrat leaders ridiculed and reviled our efforts. One Democrat leader termed it ``a senseless and irresponsible exercise.'' Mr. Speaker, I am sure that most Americans disagree. With the Nation at war and with a large budget deficit, there is no better time to root out this waste, fraud and abuse than now, because when it comes to Federal programs it is not how much money Washington spends that counts, it is how Washington spends the money.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my 5 minute Special Order at this time.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise again this week as part of the Washington Waste Watchers, a Republican working group dedicated to rooting out the rampant waste, fraud and abuse that permeates every corner of the Federal bureaucracy. I hope that soon the House of Representatives will be able to vote on a conference report for the fiscal year 2005 budget. Now, we have historically a large deficit in this Nation; and at this time, many of my Democrat colleagues suggest that it is time to yet again raise taxes on American families. Just last week, many voted against marriage penalty tax relief, the very same marriage penalty that would raise taxes on 30 million married couples by $369 next year. Many Democrats keep demanding that we roll back the tax relief that is responsible for the unparalleled growth in our economy, the tax relief that is creating jobs; and the tax relief, if we look at the budget, amounts to 1 percent of the $28.3 trillion, trillion with a T, 10-year spending plan that we approved last year. So if they are truly concerned about the budget deficit, perhaps they should focus on 99 percent of the challenge, and that is, the spending side of the equation, much of which, Mr. Speaker, unfortunately proves to be waste, fraud and abuse. We must all realize that the deficit is the symptom. It is spending that is the disease. It is only the fourth time in the history of our Nation the Federal Government is now spending over $20,000 per household. This figure is up from just 5 years ago of $16,000 per household, representing the largest increase in the Federal Government in 50 years. We have a spending problem in Washington, not a taxing problem; and I, for one, say it is not time to raise taxes on the American family as many Democrats seek to do, but it is time to get serious about rooting out the waste, the fraud, the abuse. In other words, it is time to take out the trash in Washington. Let me give a few examples of waste in just one government agency. The Interior Department's Inspector General revealed that the Department now manages approximately 31,000 separate Web sites, presenting between 3 and 5 million pages of information with maintenance costs approaching $220 million a year. Now, AOL-Time Warner, who I believe is the largest Internet service provider in the world, manages in contrast about 50 sites, but the Interior Department manages 31,000 different Web sites. In an agency that employs 70,000, that means the Department of Interior has almost one Web site for every two employees. Yet Democrats want to raise our taxes that would pay for more of this? The Inspector General also reported at the Interior Department that we awarded $44 million in Federal contracts to the CEO of a tribal Indian corporation who stole and laundered a half million dollars in Federal funds. The Guam Waterworks Authority, which receives Federal grants, incurred outrageous overtime costs of $8.6 million over a 3-year period, failed to collect delinquent accounts totaling $12.6 million, and failed to charge customers for a half million cost of water line extensions, all of this while using money from the Federal taxpayer. Yet Democrats want to raise taxes that will pay for more of this? In another example, the National Park Service spent $800,000 on an outhouse, and it does not even work. The only thing it flushes is more of the American worker's hard-earned money down the drain. The list goes on and on and on. Mr. Speaker, these are just a few examples of waste in just one Federal agency. The problem is we have over 10,000 Federal programs spread across 600 different agencies with little accountability to anyone. Republicans are trying to work to root out this waste of the American tax dollars. This should be a bipartisan issue, but many of our Democrat colleagues continue to fight us. Last year our Committee on the Budget passed out a budget asking for authorizing committees to identify just 1 percent waste, fraud and abuse; just 1 percent. Yet Democrat leaders ridiculed the effort. One termed it a senseless and irresponsible exercise. Mr. Speaker, I believe most Americans would disagree with that statement. In fact, I believe most would say saving taxpayer money and rooting out waste is common sense and the responsible thing to do with their money. The truth is there are many ways we can save money in Washington without cutting any needed services and without raising taxes on our hard-working American families because when it comes to Federal programs, it is not how much money that Washington spends that counts, it is how Washington spends the money.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to congratulate the Lady Cards basketball team from Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, for winning the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Basketball National Championship. The top ranked Lady Cards capped off a perfect 36-0 season with a 77- 66 victory over Gulf Coast, Florida, in the title game of the NJCAA Women's Championship. The Lady Cards' victory is Trinity Valley Community College's fifth national title in women's basketball and the college's second undefeated season. The Lady Cards have an unbelievable 66-1 record over the last two seasons and currently hold a 78-game regular season winning streak. I would like to recognize team members Jennifer Harris, LeKeisha Carter, Chanae Early, Daiane Packer, Alona Obaze, La'Courtney Ratliff, Vanessa Silva, Vanessa Clementino, Yolanda Jones, Ashley Streetman, and Jennifer Jones. I would also like to recognize the head coach of the Lady Cards basketball team, Michael Landers, who was named the 2004 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. Coach Landers has amassed an impressive 352-24 record over his career and 126-8 record in his four years at Trinity Valley Community College. Congratulations to Coach Landers and the Lady Cards on their remarkable undefeated season in 2004 and their tremendous National Championship victory.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, today this body has one very important decision to make. Do we really want to raise taxes on married couples by bringing back the unfair marriage penalty to our Tax Code? Do we really want to tax the institution that represents the greatest social welfare program in the history of our Nation; in other words, the American family? Do we really want to start rolling back the tax relief that was responsible for making the U.S. the fastest growing economy in the world last year, the tax relief that has helped bring about the highest rate of home ownership in the history of our Nation, the tax relief that has helped create over three-quarters of a million new jobs and the tax relief that has actually brought in more tax revenue to our U.S. Treasury? That is right, tax relief by promoting economic growth has brought more tax revenue into the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Speaker, the answer should be a resounding no. If we choose to revive the marriage penalty, 30 million married couples will face an average tax increase of $369 next year. The same number of couples will see a tax increase of more than $700, starting in 2011. I mean, that is a rental payment or two for an apartment, a home computer for a son or a daughter. It is weeks of child care. At a time when tax relief is fueling our economic recovery, now is not the time to raise taxes on families or reinstitute unjust penalties on married couples who are working hard to realize the American dream. I urge all of my colleagues to defeat the marriage penalty, defeat this substitute and support H.R. 4181.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, as the U.S. Congressman representing White Rock Lake in Dallas, I would like to recognize the invaluable contribution made by the young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to the development of White Rock Lake. With the dedication of the new CCC statue at White Rock Lake Park, we honor the lasting contribution of the approximately 3,000 young men who, over the course of seven years, spent six months to two years learning a trade and performing a valuable public service. These young men labored diligently, making a host of improvements to White Rock Lake, including deepening and widening the lake, constructing, clearing underbrush, and building bridle paths, trails, picnic grounds, barbecue pits, shelter houses, thousands of feet of retaining walls and planting hundreds of pecan trees. One of their major accomplishments was the creation of the park at Flag Pole Hill, which we still enjoy today. Today, I recognize the ``boys in green'' from the CCC Camp at White Rock Lake and thank them for their hard work as we dedicate a new statue in Sunset Bay to honor the outstanding contribution they made in helping build our community.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, recently there has been a great deal of discussion, angst and some protectionist legislation concerning the so- called outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries. In fact, companies choosing to purchase services abroad have been termed ``Benedict Arnold'' companies by some. But despite all the inflammatory language and distorted facts, the truth is that outsourcing is only one side of a two-way street known as free trade. Almost one-third of our economy is dependent upon that two- way street. Thus, we should examine the little-noticed other side of the street called insourcing. Data from the Commerce Department shows that during 2003, the U.S. posted a $53 billion surplus, surplus, in trade and private services with the rest of the world. We outsourced $77 billion in services overseas, but foreigners turned around and insourced $130 billion of services from the U.S. In other words, foreigners demand more of our services than we demand of theirs. Unfortunately, Americans are presently hearing only one side of the outsourcing story. They only hear about the jobs that are going out of the U.S. They do not hear anything about the jobs coming into the U.S. According to the Treasury Department, insourcing accounted for 6.4 million jobs nationwide in the most recent survey; and these insource jobs paid 16\1/2\ percent more than the average domestic job. Even though many foreign workers work for less, jobs are insourced into the U.S. because our workers tend to be better educated. They tend to have better skills. They tend to be more productive. We can compete internationally. If you want to get a better idea of the kind of insourcing coming to America, let us just take a look at the automobile industry. Honda is hiring 2,000 new Americans in Alabama to build SUVs, and Nissan will add more than 2,000 jobs by expanding their plants in Tennessee and Mississippi. Toyota will add 2,700 jobs in my home State of Texas in the next 2 years. In fact, Mr. Speaker, foreign corporations now employ almost half a million workers in my home State. Nearly one in 10 jobs in the U.S. is directly linked to the export of U.S. goods and services. Now, protectionist anti-outsourcing legislation unfortunately threatens each and every one of these jobs. If we do not permit the outsourcing of jobs overseas, other nations will not permit the insourcing of jobs into the U.S. It is free trade that creates more job opportunities for the unemployed, increases their wages and improves the standard of living for American workers. Free trade also delivers a greater choice of goods and services to our consumers at lower prices. That means American families get better products using less of their paycheck. Competition has always helped the consumer. It does not matter if that competition comes from Canada or Kentucky. Over the past few years, prices have dropped for a wide array of goods and services that face foreign competition. For example, TVs cost 10 percent less; computers cost 25 percent less. Yet we pay a lot more for services that do not receive foreign competition, goods and services, for example, college tuition, prescription drug goods, and cable TV service. Those who care about creating jobs and reducing unemployment here at home should stop fighting free trade and its outsourcing component and start fighting the root cause of job flight overseas, mainly too many taxes, too many regulations, and too many frivolous lawsuits. The Small Business Administration found in the year 2000 that Americans spent $843 billion complying with Federal regulations. Too many mind-numbing regulations send jobs offshore. Mr. Speaker, the cost of litigation now accounts for one-third of the price of the aluminum ladder. It doubles the price of a football helmet, and it adds $500 to the sticker of a new car. Too much litigation sends jobs offshore. The United States has a higher corporate tax burden than any industrialized nation with the exception of Japan. This even includes several of the former Soviet bloc countries. Too much taxation sends jobs offshore. Mr. Speaker, beyond the obvious economic benefit of free trade, fundamentally we must recognize that nations do not trade with nations; people trade with people. Every American citizen and every American company should have the right to determine the origin of the goods and services they want to purchase. With the exception of national security considerations, it should not be the role of the Federal Government to tell consumers or companies where they buy their goods. Besides our financial well-being, it is our fundamental economic liberty that is at stake.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, budgets are about values. They are about priorities. This is a budget that indeed values less government and more freedom. It prioritizes the family budget over the Federal budget. We have had a lot of talk about the deficit, and the deficit is a very serious problem in our Nation. But the deficit again, Mr. Chairman, is a symptom. Spending is the disease in our society. By any measure, it is spending which is out of control. When we are spending over $20,000 per American household for the first time since World War II and for only the fourth time in our Nation's history, spending is out of control. We hear about all of these massive cuts. But, Mr. Chairman, I do not see them. Since 1995, Medicare spending is up 54.6 percent. Medicaid spending is up 89 percent; Labor-HHS-Education appropriations since 1998 are up 71.6 percent; Interior appropriations in the same time period are up 42.1 percent. And the list goes on, always outstripping the rate of inflation. But, unfortunately, the same is not true with the family budget. Since I have been on the face of the planet, the Federal budget has grown seven times faster than the family budget. I believe this is an unsustainable and unconscionable growth rate. It is time for us to finally protect the family budget from the Federal budget. By adopting the Republican Study Committee alternative, we take the first step towards doing that. We have had a lot of debate about tax relief as well, and we certainly have a philosophical debate with our friends on the other side of the aisle. But, Mr. Chairman, once again, we have cut tax rates; and guess what, we have more tax revenues because we have given tax relief to small businesses, we have given tax relief to families. They have gone out, they have rolled up their sleeves, they have created new businesses, they have expanded their businesses. This should not be news. The same was true during the Reagan administration. We cut rates, and we had more tax revenue. The same was true in the Kennedy administration. It is the thing to do when you are facing a recession, put money in the pockets of the people. Our friends on the other side of the aisle speak about spending priorities. I, too, want to spend more money on housing. I want to spend more money on nutrition. I want to spend more money on health care. I am just not indifferent as to who does the spending. Democrats want the government to do the spending. We want families to do the spending. And we know the difference. The family is who needs to be protected in this budget process, Mr. Chairman. Once again there is only one budget here, one budget that will actually reduce the size of government, and that is the Republican Study Committee alternative. And so, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, if budgets are indeed about values and priorities, this is a budget that values less government and more freedom. It is a budget which prioritizes the family budget over the Federal budget. I encourage my colleagues to adopt it. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.