Bill Pascrell

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Bishop Joseph Wilson Parks, for his contributions to the State of New Jersey and to our nation. On February 15, 2012, Bishop Parks passed away at the age of eighty-one. As a spiritual leader, mentor, and community servant, Bishop Parks dedicated himself to bettering the lives of others. Bishop Parks was born on January 7, 1931 in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He was one of six children of Ernest R. Parks and Lura V. (Barber) Parks. Although he began high school in Wilkesboro, NC, Bishop Parks ultimately received his high school diploma from Harren High School in New York City. In 1945, Bishop Parks joined the Mt. Olive Fire Baptized Holiness Church in Harlem, New York. At the young age of seventeen, Bishop Parks became one of the first Junior Deacons at Mt. Olive and would later go on to serve as a Senior Deacon for ten years. Bishop Parks was a member of Mt. Olive Fire Baptized for twenty years. On November 27, 1951, Bishop Parks was drafted into the United States Army. For eight years, he proudly served his country during the Korean War and would ultimately receive an Honorable Discharge. After returning home, Bishop Parks went on to work in the printing industry for thirty-eight years. During his time in the printing industry, he was a proud and active member of the Local 1--Amalgamated Lithographers of America. On January 30, 1954, Bishop Parks married the love of his life Anna B. Harmon Parks. Bishop Parks went on to graduate from Manhattan Bible Institute in New York City, receiving his Bachelor's degree and Master's degree in 1968. He also received an Honorary Doctorate from Fuller Normal Industrial Institute in Greenville, South Carolina. In 1965, Bishop Parks was ordained as a reverend and appointed pastor of St. Peter F.B.H. Church in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1973, Bishop Parks and his family moved to Paterson, New Jersey, where he continued to serve his church. Upon moving to Paterson, Bishop Parks became an active community advocate throughout Paterson. Bishop Parks was a member of the Paterson Pastors' Workshop, St. Joseph's Hospital Pastoral Care Team and instituted numerous ministries that benefited the community. On November 24, 1994, Reverend Parks was ordained as a Bishop of Sounds of Praise Pentecostal Ministries, under the auspices of the Bishop Chandler David Owens, Chairman of the Church of God in Christ. For those lucky enough to have known Bishop Parks personally, they knew that his family and faith meant everything to him. I know that he will be missed by his children, family, friends, and congregants, but most of all by his wife Anna B. Harmon Parks. On February 25, 2012 the memorial service and funeral for Bishop Parks took place in our hometown of Paterson, New Jersey. I was humbled to have the honor to speak at Bishop Parks' memorial service. Having known Bishop Parks throughout my career in public service, I can confidently say that his life was a life well-lived. The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the achievements of truly selfless individuals like Bishop Joseph Wilson Parks. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Bishop Park's family and friends, all those whose lives he touched, and me, in recognizing Bishop Joseph Wilson Parks.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H. Res. 562, which will instruct the House Historian to collect oral histories from Members of Congress involved in the marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama as well as the wider civil rights movement. This effort will preserve for generations to come the experiences of all those who had to fight to bring the realities of our nation in line with our ideals of freedom and equality. I am glad that we can all come together in a bipartisan fashion to support this important initiative. During the historic marches from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and my colleague Representative John Lewis, many brave protesters were brutally beaten and tear-gassed by authorities for non-violently standing up for their rights. The images of these events embodied the viciousness of racism and segregation, and raised awareness and support for the civil rights movement across the nation. This momentum resulted in increasing desegregation and the passage of the Voting Rights Act by Congress in 1965, which reaffirmed the rights of all Americans to participate in our democratic political process, regardless of race or identity. Starting in 1998, Members of Congress, led once again by Congressman Lewis, have been participating in an annual march from Selma to Montgomery to commemorate these events and to underscore the immense positive impact that the participants in those marches had on the history of our nation. Please join me in supporting this legislation and in recognizing my friend Representative Lewis for his invaluable contributions to the civil rights movement. It is my hope that the histories to be compiled by this project will inspire the leaders of the future, who are following the example set by Representative Lewis and other civil leaders. They are truly striving to make our country a more perfect reflection of the vision of our founders.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sister Joan Kathleen for her continued contributions towards the advancement of the intellectually and developmentally disabled. As an educator, mentor, and member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Oak Ridge, New Jersey, Sister Joan has dedicated her life to bettering the lives of others. Sister Joan is one of three children and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from St. Hubert's High School, Sister Joan went on to receive her Bachelor's degree at Chestnut Hill College. She then taught for several years at local Philadelphia elementary schools. After being encouraged by those in her community, Sister Joan went on to obtain a Master's degree in special education from Marywood University. Soon after she received her Master's degree, Sister Joan began to minister to those with special needs at St. Patrick School in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and at Our Lady of Confidence School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1989, Sister Joan joined the staff of the Department for Persons with Disabilities. Upon her arrival, Sister Joan was critical in establishing the ``People Need Friends'' program, which remains popular to this day. Sister Joan also coordinates the ``Catholic Adult Religious Education'' program, which provides religious instruction to the residents of the Department for Persons with Disabilities. Not stopping there, Sister Joan also provides emotional and spiritual support to the family members and friends of the residents of the Department for Persons with Disabilities. She also provides pastoral care to the residents that are too sick to leave the Department for Persons with Disabilities nursing facilities. Recently, she has had the privilege of organizing the Catholic Charities New Jersey Annual Conference and was a member of the Committee for Evangelization under Bishop Serratelli. For those lucky enough to know Sister Joan personally, they know that family means everything to her. Her weekends are often filled with trips to Philadelphia and the surrounding areas to celebrate birthdays, graduations, and to spend time her sisters and their families. In her free time, Sister Joan enjoys reading, crossword puzzles, traveling, and Scrabble. The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing compares to recognizing and commemorating the achievements of truly selfless individuals like Sister Joan Kathleen. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, Sister Joan's family and friends, all those whose lives she has touched, and me in recognizing Sister Joan Kathleen.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, on February 27, 2012, I missed the one rollcall vote of the day. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 73, on the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 347-- Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that today, I am witnessing a glimmer of hope that bi-partisanship based around enacting job creating legislation and helping the middle class is possible. This is something that has been sorely missed throughout the 112th Congress. The actions we take today will put over $90 billion into the economy. In the Garden State, this means $100 million into the construction industry, over $285 million into manufacturing and the creation of almost 1,500 retail jobs. More importantly, this means families in Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties will receive between $1,000 and almost $1,500 directly in their pockets over the course of the next year. While people say this isn't a lot of real money, I will tell you, every dollar matters when people are in need and every dollar matters to help continue our economic recovery. Over the last couple of months, we've seen signs that our recovery is accelerating, including 23 month of private sector job growth, 247,000 new jobs in January added, with the highest increase in manufacturing jobs since the late 1990s. This week, initial jobless claims dropped yesterday to their lowest level since March 2008, recent economic surveys showed strong gains in new orders, and the Dow Jones is at its highest level since May 2008. However, despite this good news, now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. The President has proposed a whole list of job creating ideas contained within the American Jobs Act that will kick this recovery into high gear, including a $5 billion fund to hire and retain police and firefighters, and a bold plan to invest in American infrastructure, that stands in stark contrast to the politicized and broken bill we are debating in the House. As we pass this legislation, we mustn't stand here and simply savor this hard fought victory for the middle class, we should use it as the foundation to further economic growth and create more jobs.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of Mr. Bishop's amendment, of the Bishop/Crowley/Rangel/Pascrell/Pingree Amendment (#43) to strike sections of this bill that would open parts of the Atlantic coast, including the shores of my home state of New Jersey, to offshore drilling. Setting aside the precedent we are setting here by funding a transportation authorization with revenues from energy development instead of user fees, House Republicans have clearly failed to learn the lesson from the catastrophic economic and environmental consequences of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. For one, this bill fails to introduce any comprehensive new safety standards, such as the commonsense steps recommended by the President's bipartisan Oil Spill Commission in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill. In light of that, I am especially concerned that this bill could result in new drilling in the Atlantic Ocean, including off of the shore of my home state of New Jersey. The people of New Jersey strongly oppose opening our shores to offshore drilling. A whopping 63% of New Jersey residents oppose oil and gas drilling off the coast of our state according to a 2010 Monmouth University poll, and through this legislation, the Tea Party wants to force the people of New Jersey to hand over our beaches to the oil companies. New Jerseyans oppose offshore drilling because they understand the potentially devastating effects it could have on our economy in the event of a spill. The tourism and fishing industries support hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity across the state and region. In fact, tourism is New Jersey's second largest industry, supporting jobs for over 500,000 people and generating over $50 billion in economic activity for the state each and every year. The people who make their livings in this industry depend on the responsible stewardship of our waters and coasts for their livelihoods. Risky new drilling could put these jobs in jeopardy, potentially destroying more jobs than it would create. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment, which is fully paid for, and reject opening the northeast to new offshore drilling. Instead, we should be supporting and encouraging alternative energy development off our shores, as I have tried to do by introducing H.R. 3238, the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act. New Jersey is primed to be a leader in the offshore wind industry, and this bill will create jobs and increase renewable domestic energy production in the Garden State. Instead, by continuing to invest in further digging and drilling for oil rather than searching for new sources of energy, as the bill in front of us proposes we do, we will only end up digging ourselves a deeper hole.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I missed the one rollcall vote for the day. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 49, on Approving the Journal.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. I would agree with much of what the gentleman is saying, and we need a bipartisan solution.

Mr. PASCRELL. May I respond?

Mr. PASCRELL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PASCRELL. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, thankfully we're in a leap year, because we have 2 weeks to the day to come to an agreement to extend the payroll tax cut, the doc fix, and the important unemployment benefits. We can't let taxes go up for the American people by $100 billion. Let's get this clear what this costs. Yet the majority is willing to bail out certain banks, to protect billionaires from having their taxes go up by one dime, and the majority has to be dragged kicking and screaming to provide the middle class a little help. The gentleman from New York was absolutely correct to compare what the Reagan administration faced--and I thought they did a good job in responding to the problem--to this almost catastrophe off the cliff, which is a stretch beyond one's imagination. It doesn't stand up to logic. So far this year, the economic indicators have shown some improvements, not what you would like, not what I would like, not what the gentleman from Long Island would like. Well, we're going in the right direction. I'm sorry if some folks on the other side don't like that, but that's what's happening. We've had 23 months of private sector job growth and increases not since the mid-nineties in manufacturing. When the President raised his hand in January of 2009, we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Now the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, which is nowhere either side wants it to be. However, the failure to pass a payroll tax cut would put the brakes on our economic growth by reducing our gross domestic product by $28 billion off the bat. The recovery is still fragile. The States, including my home State of New Jersey, have an above average unemployment rate. Unfortunately, the failure to pass an extension would also hurt New Jersey more than almost every other State. First, folks living in Bergen County, they lose $1,400. Now, that may not seem like a lot if you're paying a tax rate of 13.9 percent--hint, hint--but it is a significant amount of money directly in the pockets of the middle class families in northern New Jersey. Nationwide, the failure to pass an extension would reduce employment by $350,000. We all agree, Mr. Speaker, that this payroll tax cut is a good thing, but we disagree profoundly as to how we're going to pay for this. I know it's tough for you to come to the well to find places to pay for it since you didn't pay for anything.

Mr. PASCRELL. In New Jersey, this means the construction industry would lose over $100 billion in sales; manufacturing would lose $285 million in sales; and real estate professionals would lose $159 million in sales. Overall, there would be a reduction of over 11,000 jobs. This is totally unacceptable. The answer to job creation and economic growth is in front of our faces. Help the middle class grow with tax relief and smart investments now. Put it in context.

Mr. PASCRELL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PASCRELL. We were all in on this for good or for bad, and we could level the same criticisms about bailing out the auto industry. Some banks took advantage of it and played it straight; some did not.

Mr. PASCRELL. The problem is, you've failed to mention that how you paid for this is what really caused the disagreement, whether it was August or even December. Even December, go back to December when we had another opportunity, and we did not rise to that occasion. If you are not willing to at least come together and compromise on how you pay for these things--I know it's a difficult thing, and I respect the integrity of your words and yourself when I say this through the Speaker. I say this wholeheartedly and full-heartedly. If we can't agree on how we're going to pay for the payroll tax cut because if you look at what you've suggested--you're suggesting that we go deeper into the general budget and cut things that are near and dear to not only yourself--

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Chair, with regard to the title of this legislation, the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act, maybe they should have stopped there, Madam Chair, because the rest of the bill is not transparency at all. We still want to deal in the mist, we still want to believe that if we don't pay our bills and if we don't pay the bills that we have, the Federal Government, that everything is going to be all right. The bond rating agencies don't think so, nor does anyone else. So when you put the country in jeopardy of not paying its own bills, here is who you hurt: you hurt the middle class, you hurt the working poor, and you hurt the poor. This bill is nothing more than a backdoor method to politicize and eliminate important Federal investments. They've been trying to do that, Madam Chair, for 4 years. It hurts the middle class, hurts the working folks, and it hurts the economy. The use of the fair value accounting is the ax that these extreme methods will take to spending on our education, our small businesses, and the next generation of clean technology. This bill that we are discussing right now requires that certain programs that make loans, whether they be student loans, Small Business Administration loans, or Department of Energy loans for clean energy projects, be scored to cost more than the government actually spends. And you don't even deny it. In short, fair value accounting doesn't call a nickel a nickel, it calls it 10 cents. Artificially inflating spending levels in loan payments, in loan programs, puts the squeeze on important Federal programs that families rely on, particularly in difficult times. You can laugh all you want, Madam Chair, but this is the truth. Families are being squeezed out there. And I know that you know--you know--Madam Chair, that this is important to the daily living of folks that you represent and I represent. And I'm not getting personal. I'm saying that we, as representatives, have got to represent the people in our district whether they're hurting or not. And I understand that we've had many bills on the floor of this House in the past 3 years to squeeze the economy. And what has it resulted in? You squeezed the States, you squeezed the municipalities--

Mr. PASCRELL. You squeezed them so they lay off police officers, they lay off teachers, and they lay off firefighters, and you're telling America, Madam Chair, don't worry about it, this will all be over, this is simply that we all have to have shared pain. Yeah, sure, shared. This bill will jeopardize our economic recovery by putting the brakes on the housing market. It would bring us closer to another debt ceiling debate. Madam Chair, I think that's where we want to head, some of us: let's have another debate over the debt ceiling, let's have another debate as to whether we should pay our bills so we can shut down the place. For you to preside over and get folks to believe that if you shut the government down, maybe that wouldn't be so bad either, not paying our debts wouldn't be so bad, I don't know what planet we're living on. This country needs pro-growth economic policies. We need to take action, and the action we should take is to vote down this transparency act.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Victor Cruz and the New York Giants on their thrilling victory in Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night, in which they defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 21 to 17. As a fan, I am excited that the Giants have once again brought a Super Bowl championship and the Vince Lombardi Trophy back home to New Jersey. After last winning a championship in 2008, this is the second Giants Super Bowl victory in the past five seasons, for an impressive all-time total of four Super Bowl wins amongst their eight National Football League championships. Leading the charge for the Giants was the pride of my hometown of Paterson, New Jersey, wide receiver Victor Cruz. Paterson, located just a few miles from the Giant's home field, is home to thousands of proud Giants fans. Victor Cruz was born in Paterson, attending Paterson Public School #21 and Paterson Catholic High School before playing football at the University of Massachusetts, where he remains fourth in all time receptions. He fought his way off the streets of Paterson, finding a path to a college education. Starting as an unknown just two years ago, Victor gained the attention of Giants scouts and now competes on the highest level. Victor serves as a true inspiration to the people of Paterson, who gave him an enthusiastic send-off when he revisited School #21 before the team departed for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. On Sunday night, Victor Cruz scored the first touchdown of the contest on a reception from the game's Most Valuable Player, Giants quarterback Eli Manning. With this touchdown, Victor had the opportunity to showcase his signature ``Silk City Salsa'' touchdown dance, a fan favorite. This move shows Victor's continued connection with his home town, since it is named for the city of Paterson, which was once the center of a thriving domestic textile industry. Since being signed by the Giants, Victor already holds the franchise record for single season receiving yards after going undrafted in 2010. He has also tied the NFL record for longest touchdown reception of 99 yards. Now, he can add a Super Bowl title to the long list of accomplishments he has already attained in just two years of playing professional football. Victor Cruz's story so far proves that anyone can achieve greatness with hard work and perseverance. I hope that Victor enjoys a long career with continued successes. The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet I am especially honored today to recognize and commemorate the achievements of the New York Giants and Paterson's hometown hero, Victor Cruz. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join our colleagues, the citizens of New Jersey, and me in recognizing the Giants for their victory in Super Bowl XLVI, and in wishing continued success to Victor Cruz, Eli Manning, Coach Tom Coughlin, owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, and the rest of the team. I am sure that former Giants owner and my fellow Fordham University alumnus, Wellington Mara, who passed away in 2005 after 80 years with the team, was also watching from above with a smile on Super Bowl Sunday. Let's Go Giants!

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I missed the two rollcall votes today. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall vote No. 34, on H. Res. 537--Rule providing for consideration of H.R. 1734-- Civilian Property Realignment Act. Additionally, had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall vote No. 35, on H.R. 1162--To provide the Quileute Indian Tribe Tsunami and Flood Protection, and for other purposes.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the Record that on February 2, 2012, I missed the last seven rollcall votes of the day. Had I been present I would have voted: ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 24, on the Peters Amendment; ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 25, on the Connolly Amendment; ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 26, on the Fudge Amendment; ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 27, on the Jackson Lee Amendment; ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 28, on the Cicilline Amendment; ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 29, on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 3582; ``nay'' on rollcall vote No. 30, on H.R. 3582, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2011.

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Chair, while I am pleased that this Congress is looking at reforming the budget process, I do not believe this legislation is the solution. The biggest problem with the budget is that, while the game may not be perfect, the players are the reason it is not working. Even Jim Nussle, former Republican Chairman of the House Budget Committee and Director of the Office of Management and Budget for President G.W. Bush, testified that, ``It may not be that the budget process is broken. It may not be, in other words, that the tools are broken, but it may be the fact that the tools are not being used.'' It is no surprise that since Day One of this Tea Party Congress, the majority has pushed forward with an array of anti-worker, anti- environment, anti-oversight, and anti-growth agenda, that serves the politics of their caucus rather than the citizens of this great Nation. The Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2011 encompasses this perfectly. As a Member of the Committee on Ways and Means, I'm very familiar with the ``Dynamic Scoring'' song and dance. Dynamic Scoring seeks to skirt the fundamentals of Economics 101: less revenue means less money and higher deficits. Instead, under this bill and its dynamic scoring, we will assume tax cuts produce fantasy levels of economic growth and pay for themselves. The proof is in the pudding. We don't have to look far to see what happened with Bush tax cuts. They led to an explosion of our national debt, and as a new CBO report points out, we could decrease the deficit by almost half if we let the Bush tax cut expire. We should not enshrine this dishonest, Enron style accounting into law when we have such clear evidence that it is inaccurate. If our goal is to reform the budget process so we can enact sound fiscal policy, then this legislation must be rejected.

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Madam Chair, I'm tired of hearing the President is a failure. I'm tired. You can smirk all you want. There's no perfection on this floor. There's no perfection down the street. You didn't give these speeches in 2008 when we were losing 500, 600, 700,000 jobs a month. Not one of you came to the floor. Shame on you. Now what we want to do, we want to turn our backs on those 10 million Americans currently who need long-term care. We have no alternative. We all agree that there needs to be change in the present system that has yet to work. We have to find a way to make long-term care both accessible and affordable. These problems will not simply disappear. They're not going to go away. This bill certainly does not fix these problems. The bill does not even provide an alternative. All it does is attack the progress made in the Affordable Care Act. You've tried to wean it down. You've tried to bevel it. You've tried to covet. You tried to take all the money away that's going into it in order to have a system in this country that was not sustainable in the first place. Sixty-two percent of small businesses over the last 5 years went under because they couldn't pay their health care bills, and you stand there with no alternative whatsoever. Whatever happened to the ``replace'' part of the ``repeal and replace?'' Remember that? That nonsense we heard last year? Without the CLASS Act or an alternative, people who struggle the most with daily tasks due to illness will be the ones to suffer. You know that. You know there are millions of people out there suffering, yet we have not come up with an alternative plan. Yet you condemn this, yet you accuse everybody of failing, but you don't have a plan yourself. Where is your heart for the middle class? Have you no heart? Announcement by the Acting Chair

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, in just a few hours, the President of the United States will be on the floor to present his ideas as to how we can grow our economy and put the American people back to work. I hope the majority keeps an open mind and rejects the extreme ideology and political timidness that has driven the 112th Congress of the United States. Need I remind my friend from New York State, need I remind him that the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, as we move into this next decade, are the biggest cause and the biggest proportion of the deficit facing this Congress. And you are not going to--you are not going to nickel and dime us to solve the problem of the deficit on the backs of the middle class and the working poor. It doesn't work. You can't figure it out. While the economic indicators are showing pretty good improvements, the unemployment rate in my home State of New Jersey is still 9.1 percent, above the national average of 8.5. Because of games played by the extreme wing of the Republican Party, the payroll tax cut that President Obama and the Democratic Congress support is at risk of expiring again. Now, I can't say any clearer than this: $1,000 may not be a lot for millionaires like Mitt Romney paying a 13.9 percent tax rate, but it is a significant amount of money directly in the pockets of middle class families in north Jersey. You don't have to look far to see where we are still hurting. Just last month, Mr. Speaker, the construction industry unemployment rate jumped another 3 percent to 16 percent. Passing the payroll tax cut will help grow the economy and get the American people back to work. Isn't that what we want?

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I want to state for the Record that on January 23, 2012, I missed the two rollcall votes of the day. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 5, on H.R. 3117--Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2011. Additionally, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 6, on H.R. 1141--Rota Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act. personal explanation

Mr. PASCRELL

Mr. PASCRELL. I thank the gentleman from Michigan. Listening to this debate, you're not hearing the same thing you heard 7 months ago I'm told. But when you look away, then you say: Gee, didn't I hear this before. Maybe that is true on both sides. Bruce Bartlett, who was a former adviser to President Reagan and a Treasury official in George Bush's administration, wrote about the five myths of not paying the debt or not increasing the debt. One of them I think bears witness today of what I have heard, the myth that it is worth risking default on the debt to prevent a tax increase given the weak economy. This is a Republican saying this. I'm just repeating the words. He says while Republicans' concerns about higher taxes are not unreasonable--and they are not--most economists believe that any fiscal contraction at this time would be dangerous. In fact, they note that a large cut in spending in 1937 brought in another sharp recession. It's very easy to say that the President is the reason why we had the plague and the tremendous deficit, but if the private sector wasn't spending money, then we would have had 5 million more people out of work. The government has a responsibility when folks can't do for themselves what we expect. That undermines the recovery of the country, and that's what happened in the Great Depression. Republicans respond that tax increases are especially harmful to growth; however, they made the same argument in 1982 when President Reagan requested the largest peacetime tax increase in American history, and again in 1993 when President Bill Clinton asked for a large tax boost for deficit reduction. In both cases, conservative economists' predictions of economic disaster were completely wrong and strong economic growth followed. I wasn't here in '93. Many of you were here in '93. You remember what the dire consequences of the Clinton plan were and what happened. We had the greatest boom in 50 years. Just like the economists who told us we were heading toward nirvana since 2001; and I don't want any part of nirvana if that's it, and none of us do. We're not talking here about helping the middle class; that's for sure. We've got bailouts for them, for the other side. We know what the results are. All of us know that. It's not a partisan issue, really. So you're trying to say that you want to protect people's taxes, and we want to say we've got to pay our debts. Well, we're really not 180 degrees apart. I think we need to do both. And if we don't sit down together, we're not going to do both.