Adam Putnam

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this, and I appreciate the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), our great chairman of the Committee on the Budget, and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), the ranking member, for their hard work on this budget. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the principle-based budget that we will take up this afternoon after we have passed this rule, the principle that you do not tax people at the same rate as a portion of the economy in peacetime as we did in 1944; the principle that taxpayers deserve to have hard-earned relief delivered back to them in the form of tax cuts; that marriage and death should not be taxable events; the principle that we will not burden our children and grandchildren; that we will not burden young workers and young families with trillions of dollars in debt; and that we will do everything we can to pay off all of the redeemable debt to the tune of $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years; the principle that we will make our soldiers and sailors strong again to give them the training and support and respect that they deserve, and that this Congress will stand behind them and give them the deserved funding that they have earned; that veterans who have paid so much, who have given so much, who have sacrificed so much, will receive the benefits that they have earned, and deserve, to the tune of $7 billion in increases over the next decade; that senior citizens who have worked hard all of their life and paid into Social Security and Medicare deserve to be safe and secure and independent and to be cared for and have the government keep its promise and Congress keep its promise by locking those surpluses away, and making sure that those programs are relevant to today by providing the prescription drug benefit. Mr. Speaker, we take care of our children to the tune of an 11\1/2\ percent increase. Now, much has been made about this. But back home in central Florida, an 11\1/2\ percent increase, a double-digit increase in tens of thousands of dollars is still real money.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, in 2002, the 4-H movement celebrates its centennial as one of America's premier youth development organizations. Reflecting its historic vision, Congress is commemorating this event that has brought together our nation's youth, youth leaders, and communities for over a century and created youth development strategies for the future. No other youth organization spans the nation like the 4-H movement, traveling the most remote roads of rural America and the most diverse streets of our large cities. 4-H is uniquely poised to bring together youth through collaboration, engagement, and a commitment to civic responsibility to build a nation of strong communities. 4-H is in every county in every state, in every U.S. territory and the District of Columbia and 3,067 countries around the world. The 4-H mission is to create supportive environments for diverse youth and adults to reach their fullest potential. The 100 year-old program has molded itself to meet the needs of our citizens by focusing on developing rural, suburban and urban youth and teaching youth utilizing the research and knowledge base of our state's land grant institutions. 4-H has broadened its program areas to encompass not only agriculture and animal science, but also public speaking, computers, wildlife, forestry and many other topics of interest to today's youth. Through ``learning by doing'' experiences, young people in the 4-H program are educated through hands-on instruction about the world around them with the guidance of over 600,000 volunteer leaders and cooperative extension service faculty who invest time, talent, and trust in our youth. The 4-H program enables young people to grow up and become participating citizens and defenders of democracy through outstanding and exemplary programs such as the 4-H legislatures and the citizenship project. The 4-H program serves 6.8 million youth across America through 4-H clubs, special interest groups, camping and school enrichment educational programs. 4-H young people devote thousands of hours in service to their communities annually through programs such as ``4-H'ers Helping the Hungry'' and other service activities that benefit the people of our nation. In the coming century, 4-H is posed to provide a national curriculum for youth development professionals reflecting tools and strategies that yield the most successful outcomes. By its call to excellence epitomized in its motto ``to make the best better,'' 4-H is inspiring today's young people to strive for their dreams and not settle for anything less than their best effort. Congress recognizes these accomplishments through this resolution celebrating the centennial anniversary of 4-H programs for America's youth.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 83, the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2002.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to address this issue. Mr. Chairman, one of the things I am reminded of as a freshman in this body is how diverse our land really is and how diverse the viewpoints are that come to Congress and stakeout their positions. The Progressive Caucus has laid out an interesting blueprint for the future of this country. It has gutted defense allocations. It says to those young soldiers and sailors who are out there keeping the peace, defending the freedoms that we take for granted each and every day, it says to them that you are not our highest priority; that national defense is not our highest priority. Mr. Chairman, I would submit that if that is progress, then I would rather stay put. I submit that that is regressive. We are going in the wrong direction. Progress would be to look those soldiers and sailors in the eye and say we are behind you 100 percent. America supports the efforts and the dedication and the commitment that you display each and every day and the Congress will back up your sacrifice in a very meaningful and real way. The Progressive Caucus budget does not address principle-based tax relief, the principle that it is wrong to tax people after they have died. It is wrong to treat people differently in the Tax Code because they choose to get married. It does not address those bedrock foundation principles that government should not be involved in allocating how people run their lives based on the Tax Code. When it comes to education, it does not address the situation with individuals with disabilities, a very important issue that we have set aside, a tremendous trust fund in the Committee on the Budget presentation of the budget to address those needs. It adds Federal mandates to those local school teachers, the local principals and counselors from California to Florida, from Maine to Texas who are trying day in and day out to treat the young people with respect, who inculcate in them the lessons of life instead of freeing them up to do what they do best. It adds another Federal mandate. Mr. Chairman, I would submit that the Federal Department of DOE has never graduated a single student. They have never had the first parent- teacher conference, and for that reason, Mr. Chairman, I would urge this body to reject the regressive caucus position on the budget.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle) and the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) for their hard work in putting together this document. I hope to take a little different perspective this evening on this budget, a little bit of a generational perspective. We have a historic opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime window through our economic prosperity, the surplus opportunities to keep our commitment to seniors, to invest in national priorities and, most importantly, to ensure that future generations do not inherit the type of debt that this generation inherited. If we observe this chart, we see the rapid trend in the reduction of debt. Babies not even born yet will be born into a world between now and 2007 with massive amounts of debt. This budget, this budget, Madam Chairman, pays down the debt as rapidly as is financially possible, without raiding the safety deposit boxes of America and taking Johnny's and Suzie's U.S. savings bonds that have been given to them or won in the paper editorial contest. Without doing those things, we pay down the debt as fast as is humanly possible. We keep our commitment to the soldiers and sailors, most of them in their late teens and early twenties, who are charged with the responsibility of giving us the freedom that we all take so for granted each night when we lay down in bed. It keeps our commitment to them by investing in quality-of-life issues and higher pay raises, and it responsibly anticipates a review that will evaluate their needs and allocate resources in the most responsible and appropriate way. We invest in the future. We invest in education. We make sure that future generations have access to the best teachers, the best classrooms, the best opportunities that this great country can provide. Madam Chairman, we keep our promise to seniors. Make no mistake about it, those who are on Social Security and Medicare today and those who will be in the near future, their program is intact. Their program will be intact. I would urge them not to fall for the Mediscare tactics that sometimes afflict debates such as this. But for future generations, we have an obligation, a moral obligation, to fulfill our commitment to providing that safety net, but also ensuring that that program is there. Study after study has shown that without major reform, those programs will not be there for future generations without some responsible, courageous leadership from this body. Finally, Madam Chairman, after reducing the debt as fast as possible, after investing in education and health care, after investing in defense, there is still money left over. Instead of spending more and more and more that got us into the debt situation we are in today, we return it to the taxpayers. In this time of precarious economic instability, we give taxpayers, American citizens, the opportunity to have back a portion of their money to invest in college education, to pay down their own personal debt, to pay down their mortgage, to spend it on other things as they see fit. That is the beauty of this budget.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 327, the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act. In my State of Florida, 98.9 percent of the businesses are small businesses, and 84 percent of the jobs in Florida come from firms having 25 or fewer employees. Small business ownership is the great gateway to the middle class for many minorities in my State. In Florida, there are over 40,000 small businesses owned by African Americans and over 118,000 Hispanic-owned small businesses. In my home county there are about 9,300 business establishments, 86 percent of which the employment comes from firms employing fewer than 20. Small business is truly the lifeblood of our economy. Bureaucracy and its attendant costs, however, have invaded nearly every aspect of our economic life. Nowhere does the growing burden of Federal regulation fall more heavily than on small business. Among the early victories of the Reagan years was the passage of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980. The Paperwork Reduction Act targeted several classes of the public for relief, especially the small business community. Unfortunately, since that time, the burden of Federal regulation has once again reared its ugly head. Mr. Chairman, that means that 86 percent of the employment is burdened by this hidden tax of $2,000 per employee. Mr. Chairman, I urge the passage of H.R. 327.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to three members of Detachment 1, First Battalion, 171st Aviation Unit, Florida Army National Guard: Chief Warrant Officer John Duce; Chief Warrant Officer Eric Larson; Staff Sergeant Robert Ward, Jr. and to 18 members of the Virginia Air National Guard's 203rd Red Horse Flight who were lost in a tragic airplane crash on Saturday, March 3. The 171st Aviation is based at the Florida Air National Guard base at Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport in my district, and Staff Sergeant Ward and his family are constituents of mine. I am sure I speak for all in this Chamber when I say that we join these 21 families in grieving for the loss of their loved ones. As members of the National Guard, Chief Warrant Officer Duce, Chief Warrant Officer Larson and Staff Sergeant Ward were citizen-soldiers and part of a great American military tradition that began at Lexington and Concord and continues to be a central part of our Armed Forces. They were not deployed on a distant shore. They were not facing a foreign foe. But they were still defending our freedoms, our families and our homes. We must never forget what risks our defenders assume each and every day. For their service to our country, we honor the sacrifice of Chief Warrant Officer John Duce, Chief Warrant Officer Eric Larson, Staff Sergeant Robert Ward, Jr., and the 18 members of the 203rd Red Horse Flight who were lost last Saturday, and we offer such comfort as we may to their families. May God bless them and may God bless the great Nation they served.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained when the vote was called for rollcall No. 16. I strongly support the resolution honoring the brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice on February 25, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 14 I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''