Sam Johnson

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 118 on passage of H.R. 668, the Criminal Alien Deportation Improvements Act, I was unable to be here due to travel constraints. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Chairman, as it stands now, current law defines overcrowding in prisons as a form of cruel and courts have been able to place stringent standards regarding prison conditions that take power away from the States. In my home State of Texas, our State comptroller conducted an audit of the State's prison system. He found that as a result of Federal court rulings, on any given day, 6,100 beds, 14 percent of total space available, is vacant. In addition, there is drastic overcrowding at the county level, early release of violent criminals, and taxpayer dollars being needlessly wasted. The State audit also found that the State of Texas alone can save $610 million over the next 5 years by changing these federally mandated requirements. The Federal Government has no right to tell States that a cell with two beds can only support one criminal. I believe that every State knows best how to operate their prisons. I ask Members to vote against this amendment and support the provision in the bill.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this January, as we work for and with America, we will vote to put responsibility, accountability, and respectability back in the Congress by finally passing a balanced budget amendment. Many on the Democrat side want us to specify budget cuts before they agree to it. I think they are just using this as an opportunity to invite their good friends, the special interests, to come in and save their favorite projects from elimination. As we have seen in the past 40 years, we can debate all day about how to balance the budget and never actually do it. We need to set the record straight. The balanced budget amendment is about discipline. We need a mechanism that forces the Congress to balance it every year. For 40 years we tried it the other way. All we got was more spending and more taxes. Now it is time for Congress to live like everyone else in America, on a budget.