Blaine Luetkemeyer

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Kirksville High School wrestling team for winning the Class 2 A Missouri State Championship in February. Not only did the Kirksville High Tigers cap off an impressive season with a state championship, but they dominated in winning their conference and district titles. The city of Kirksville should take pride in their high school wrestling team, who won the school's third state sports championship. I ask that you join me in recognizing the Kirksville High Tigers for an outstanding season and a job well done!

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, the President's budget as recently unveiled spends too much, taxes too much, and borrows too much. We need to stop talking about reducing our deficit and actually go to work and do it. We cannot continue to put off the tough economic decisions that must be made. In the words of Missouri's Harry Truman, the buck stops here. It is just plain wrong to pass off more and more debt to our children and grandchildren. Folks back home in Missouri have made it clear to me if they have to balance their checkbooks, then so does Washington. Unfortunately, the President's budget doesn't do that. Instead, it continues to mortgage the future of our children and grandchildren. I support reducing our Nation's deficit, which is precisely why one of the first bills I filed and sponsored was a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. Now, let's be clear. Raising taxes is not the way to do that. Putting Washington's fiscal house in order is. I am urging all of us to remember the buck stops here, not with future generations.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, if you listen very closely, very closely, you can hear it. It's the sound of Tigers roaring from their den at the University of Missouri-Columbia, deep in the heart of the Ninth Congressional District. For those of you who haven't heard, the Fighting Tigers of Mizzou were unleashed upon their unsuspecting Big 12 prey and earned MU's first league championship in 16 years and first Big 12 Basketball Championship this past weekend. I want to congratulate Coach Anderson and the 2009 Missouri Tigers for a regular season to remember. I also want to recognize the best defense in the country for offering their opponents ``40 Minutes of Hell.'' But these Tigers are still hungry. And as the No. 3 seed in the West Regional, they are seeking new prey, beginning with Cornell this Friday. Mr. Speaker, I'm not a betting man, but something tells me that the Tigers will roar when they hit the floor, knocking down that national championship door. Go Tigers.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I would like to state for the record my position on the following votes I missed on March 16, 2009 due to the delay of my flight from Missouri. On Monday, March 16, 2009 I missed Rollcall votes 125, 126, and 127. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall votes 125, 126, and 127.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, families and small businesses all across our country are making sacrifices, yet our government continues to spend like a drunken sailor. And how does Washington propose paying for all this spending? With more tax increases on hardworking families and small businesses, the very businesses that are crucial generators of job creation and economic growth. The President's budget includes the largest tax increase in history, shouldering our families and small businesses with the cost of an ever- expanding government. Tax increases on small businesses will stifle job creation and economic growth at the very moment our country needs a strong and robust small-business sector to help us get back on solid ground. The President's cap-and-trade program will increase the cost of energy for all Americans and place a tax of about $3,000 per household in my district for this very program. Hardworking families and businesses all across my district and America are asking: What is going on in Washington? Does it have a clue how we work hard and how we earn our money and what we are doing with it? This out-of-control spending must stop.

Mr. LUETKEMEYER

Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Madam Speaker, I'm acutely aware that many folks in the Ninth Congressional District of Missouri are hurting. They're contacting me every day about the challenges they're facing. They're worried about keeping their jobs and providing for their families. But those same people are telling me that this so-called ``stimulus package'' is not the answer. I'm hearing from 49 percent of my people that are saying ``no'' to this massive spending bill. And the other 51 percent are saying ``heck no.'' It is time to cut up our Nation's taxpayer-funded credit card and get our fiscal house in order. The Republican alternative plan creates twice as many jobs at half the cost. There is a better plan. The people of the Ninth Congressional District of Missouri sent me here to make tough decisions on their behalf. They also sent me here to make good decisions. That is why I simply refuse to spend taxpayer money irresponsibly. And I refuse to saddle our citizens and families with more debt.