Daniel Lungren

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, at this time I do not believe I have any other speakers. I reserve my time to close.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, contrary to my previous statement, I do have another speaker. At this time I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee, Dr. Roe.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in enthusiastic support of H. Res. 32. Madam Speaker, I am privileged and humbled to be able to close out this debate. I am not, as some who have come to the floor, a close personal friend of Gabby Giffords; but I have, as have others, been under her spell here. I have had the chance to talk with her on several occasions in an informal setting, and I might mention that on each of those occasions she reminded me that she used to be Republican. I don't know if that was her way of thinking that maybe we could have a rapport--you didn't really need that with her because of her openness and her smile, but it was interesting. She always did it with a smile, and she always did it with an invitation to engage with her that is the mark of her. We pray, all of us together, that she and those others grievously wounded will have a speedy and full recovery. We pray for those who have lost their lives. We pray for this institution, that we will take the correct lessons out of this tragedy. And when I use the word ``tragedy,'' it is a tragedy on the side of those who were attacked and the institution that was attacked. It is, however, the product of a criminal act, and we should understand that. Madam Speaker, it is always within our power to either take the proper lessons from a particular incident or to discard them, to think deeply about them or think of them superficially. I believe that the fact that we have dedicated this entire day to trying to find the right lessons out of that and to give proper respect to those who suffered in this tragedy is evidence of the fact that we will attempt to take the proper lessons out of this. One is, of course, that this is the people's House. If you read the Constitution, article I, it is clear that the House of Representatives is meant to be the closest to the people of any of the Federal institutions. We all, in a real sense, no matter where we come from, are institutionalists in that we love this institution--we fought in many ways to get here--but we honor one another by showing respect to one another and we honor our constituents as well. Speaker Boehner has said, ``An attack on one is an attack on all.'' That is true. Perhaps several hundred years ago the writer and the poet, John Donne, said it best. He said, ``No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And, therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.''

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Madam Speaker, pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Susan Peters, who on January 7, 2011, the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce honored as its 2011 Person of the Year. Susan Peters is currently serving her second term on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors representing the third district, which includes the community of Carmichael. Susan was first elected in 2004, re-elected in 2008, and chosen by her colleagues to be chair in 2009. Susan also serves on a number of boards including the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, which she chaired in 2009, the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, where she currently serves as vice chair, and the Sacramento Transportation Authority, where she served as chair in 2006. Her career started in banking, leading her to serve as treasurer of McCuen Properties beside her late husband, Peter McCuen. Susan also served as Board Chair of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, where she was a forceful voice for business and private enterprise in the region. At the chamber, she worked to locate Raley Field in West Sacramento and was the founding chair of the Chamber's ``Perspectives'' program, an annual conference hosting national and world leaders discussing topical subjects. In addition to her duties as a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Susan currently serves as Board Chair of the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation which restored the historic home of California's eighth governor. Susan has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the Sacramento region in both the private and public sectors. She is a true public servant who is always accessible to her constituents. It has been my pleasure to know Susan Peters and more importantly, to call her my friend. I am pleased to congratulate her on being named the Carmichael Chamber of Commerce's 2011 Person of the Year.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 22) reducing the amount authorized for salaries and expenses of Member, committee, and leadership offices in 2011 and 2012.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today is a momentous day. We are all here together as Members of a new Congress and, more importantly, at the cusp of a new era in America's political life. I find it humbling and most appropriate that while yesterday we were ceremonially sworn in in this historic House Chamber and appropriately voted on a transparency- enhancing rules package, today we began our proceedings with a reading of the United States Constitution. The Constitution not only establishes our polity and our framework of government, it enshrines as our fundamental law the proper role of government. Mr. Speaker, as we promised in our Pledge to America, today's reading was an affirmation of our commitment to return this government back to its proper role--a smaller, less costly, more accountable one. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us, introduced by my colleague from Oregon, is extremely important to today's affirmation. And it is no accident that this is our first piece of legislative business in this the 112th Congress. This legislation is significant because, along with our other activities here on the House floor this week, this bill committing ourselves to a more responsible and efficient stewardship of the taxpayers' dollars demonstrates, we hope, to the American people that we are listening. Mr. Speaker, the people's House should act first and lead by example. Everybody knows that across this country families and small businesses have cut their spending, are paying off their debt, and are striving to live within their means. We should do the same, and this legislation is a beginning. It will do that by having an immediate impact, and I would like to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) and his transition team for their hard work and their constructive ideas. Under this resolution, each leadership, committee and Member office in the 112th Congress will receive no more than 95 percent of its 111th Congress funding level. In fiscal year 2011, this will mean a savings of $1 million from leadership offices, a savings of $8.1 million from committee budgets, and a savings of $26.1 million from, collectively, the Members' office budgets. For those who may not know, the Members' office budgets are the specific amounts that are given to Members so that they can carry out their functions as Members of Congress. It includes the ability to communicate with their constituents, it includes paying for their staff, it includes paying for their transportation from their district to Washington, D.C. and back; it includes the rental on their district offices. In other words, it is the money that is utilized for Members to carry out their official activities. These are important jobs that Members are required to do if in fact we are to represent our people appropriately. Nonetheless, even though these are important things that we do, we should try to be even more efficient in the way that we do them. That is the purpose of this legislation before us. Mr. Speaker, these are substantial cuts in budgets, in budgets that frankly cannot continue indefinitely on an upward trajectory. We must all find ways to do more with less, to enhance our productivity, and to ferret out waste or inefficiencies wherever they may be. With that being said, this initial savings is only a down payment on future efforts. My colleagues and I on House Administration are dedicated to continuing savings and reductions in spending in other areas as well. Thus, for fiscal year 2012, we have committed to keeping this 5 percent reduction in place. We are also directing all House officers, such as the Clerk, the Sergeant at Arms and the Chief Administrative Officer, to find savings within their own organizations without sacrificing their services and the excellence they pride themselves on maintaining; in other words, to do what all Americans are attempting in their own lives, finding ways to do more with less. We look forward to hearing from these and other House offices in specificity as to what their cost-savings plans will be. As has been said by our Speaker, we have committed to cutting domestic spending and returning non-security discretionary spending to 2008 levels. If we could live on that level of spending a mere 2 years ago, surely we can find ways to do so again. Again, American families are doing it. American businesses are doing it. We must try as well. Mr. Speaker, listening to the American people and restoring the proper role of government means decreasing spending, ending our deficit mentality, and fostering job creation. These are the virtues that have made this country great and will sustain us in the future. I want to publicly thank my colleague from Oregon (Mr. Walden) and his transition team for the efforts that they have put into this legislation, and I would urge all of my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw).

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) who spent an enormous amount of time beginning immediately after the elections to bring us to this point.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. At this time, Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. At this time I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), a member of the transition team.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I would yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Scott).

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, at this time it gives me a great deal of pleasure to yield 1 minute to the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, at this time it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), a member of the transition team.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. At this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper), a member of the House Administration Committee.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield 3 minutes to another gentleman who served us well on the transition team, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger).

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is my privilege to yield 3 minutes a new member of our House Administration Committee but a veteran of this House, the gentleman from Georgia, Dr. Gingrey.

Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. If the gentleman is going to yield back the balance of his time after his statement, I will do the same on this side.