Jason Smith

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, we have seen a circus here for the last 7 hours. We saw history: The longest vote held in this body in modern history, a motion to adjourn, just so some backroom agreement could be made. This point of order, the whole purpose of it, is to make sure that this budget bill that is before us--before there is a vote--that we know the true cost of this agreement from the Congressional Budget Office. That is what the rules are. We know that there are more than 150 different programs being created in this legislation, and we know that there are a lot of many--numerous different possibilities of unfunded mandates that would go to the States, that would go to individuals. And before there is a vote on this bill, a vote on this rule, we need to make sure that there is a Congressional Budget Office score. We do not need to violate the House rules and Federal statute by forcing through this piece of legislation without knowing exactly the cost. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter that was sent to the Speaker of the House from five different Democrats of this body, following our lead, what we just said here, that there should not be a vote on this bill until the Congressional Budget Office does a score. Congress of the United States, Washington, DC, November 2, 2021. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Madam Speaker: As we work to put the COVID-19 crisis behind us and build back better than ever before, we applaud your focus on infrastructure and on measures that help children and working families across America. We continue to ask that you please schedule a floor vote on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework as soon as possible, and we are pleased by the progress we are making on the Build Back Better (BBB) Act. As we enter the home stretch of these negotiations, we ask that you please provide additional information so that we may make more informed decisions that better serve our constituents. First, we applaud the commitment from both you and the President that the BBB Act will be fully paid for. In order to ensure the final bill is indeed fiscally responsible, we must first have the proper CBO/JCT scoring information before any floor consideration. Therefore, we cannot lend our support to advancing the BBB Act until we have had a chance to review these scores which provide the true cost of the legislation. Moreover, the U.S. Senate cannot even consider the BBB Act under reconciliation rules until it has received an official CBO score. Secondly, we appreciate your public statements committing to properly pre-conferencing the BBB Act with the U.S. Senate. We continue to urge you to only bring a bill to the floor for which we have a strong level of confidence that the provisions in the bill will be ruled in order by the Senate Parliamentarian and earn passage in the U.S. Senate. Finally, consistent with House rules and considering the magnitude and complexity of the BBB Act, we ask that the final text of the bill be posted at least 72 hours before its consideration so that we--and, more importantly our constituents--have time to review the bill before any vote. While we understand the needs of the nation are great, we believe our job as legislators is to provide the due diligence required to properly serve our constituents. It is better to get this done right than to needlessly rush its consideration only for our constituents to discover the negative impacts of our unintended consequences. Sincerely, Ed Case. Josh Gottheimer. Kurt Schrader. Jared Golden. Stephanie Murphy.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order against consideration of the resolution because the resolution waives all points of order against consideration of H.R. 5376. The resolution is therefore in violation of section 426 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 prohibiting the consideration of a rule waiving the application of section 425 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. Madam Speaker, this resolution about the fiscal state of the Nation is an important step in the right direction. Now more than ever, Congress needs to take an honest look at government spending and the role it is playing in this inflation crisis. All across America, families are struggling. Consumer prices rose 5.4 percent in September year over year. Inflation is on pace to hit the highest level in 40 years, and the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed that inflation has eroded the purchasing power of families. Is it any wonder now that only 35 percent of Americans say that the economy is good? I will note that is just a bit smaller than the 37 percent of Americans who believe that President Joe Biden is competent as President. Make no mistake, the high prices Americans are paying at the grocery store and at the gas pump are a direct result of the Democrats' reckless spending agenda. So it is a little laughable that my Democrat colleagues would bring up this resolution now when for the last 9 months they have rammed through trillions in new spending and debt. As we speak, they are trying to pass the largest tax-and-spending bill in the history--in the history--of our country without even a score from the Congressional Budget Office. Here is a tip: Be honest with the American people about the price tag of your agenda and the higher prices that will be inflicted. Then a hearing on the state of our Nation's fiscal health will be much more successful.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for pointing out the truth. I am glad that I decided to wear my boots today because it is getting deep in the swamp up here today, listening to the garbage on the other side of the aisle. Let's put it this way: The Democrats have already pushed through $2 trillion of reckless, wasteful spending at the expense of working-class Americans, and now they are wanting to push through another $4.3 trillion reckless spending bill that will reward their political friends, their wealthy donors, and their allies, at the expense of working-class Americans. Let me tell you, the Budget Committee chairman said we should increase the debt limit a gazillion dollars--a gazillion. We have folks on the other side of the aisle just in the last 30 minutes that have said we should not have a debt limit. This is the Democratic Party. They do not believe there should be limit in debt. They have said this on the floor. But that is not what the American people want. If you want to raise the debt $480 billion until December, guess what? Listen to the White House. Just last week, the White House said there is $480 billion of unobligated funds from your Biden bailout bill from March. Use that. But, no, you want to continue to take more money from working-class Americans by putting in debt their kids and grandkids. Of course, on the other side of the aisle, they will tell you: Oh, we will never pay back the debt. That is what comes from the other side of the aisle. Folks, we have so many crises right now: a border crisis, an Afghanistan crisis, an inflation crisis, an energy crisis, all as a result of Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer. And now they are trying to increase the debt $480 billion more that will fuel those crises. The American people have had enough.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I truly hope that my Democrat colleagues don't believe the garbage that they have been spouting, but I would say that they probably do. Unfortunately, for months Democrats have been pursuing a radical partisan agenda that contains the most expensive piece of legislation in the history of Congress, all while ignoring our Nation's debt. Now they are scrambling. First they claimed it was Republicans' responsibility to cosign a loan for their reckless spending bill, even though they control the White House, the House, and the Senate. Then they tried adding a debt ceiling increase to a bill to keep the government open, knowing it would fall on its face in the United States Senate. Then they argued there wasn't enough time to raise the debt limit on their own, even though they have time and they have tools to do it. In fact, last weekend the House Budget Republicans gave Democrats a chance to address the debt limit by demanding their budget in a markup be revised. They refused. Then we offered to postpone the markup for just 48 hours to allow them to address the debt limit in reconciliation. Since you love to do everything else in reconciliation, why not to raise the people's debt? You are spending it. It is time for you to get a loan for it. Folks, we are in a crisis right now. My counterpart on the House Budget Committee made the statement: We should raise the debt a gazillion dollars. This is what we are dealing with, folks. The America people are fed up. They want fiscal accountability. We need a reasonable body in this House.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, Republicans and Democrats agree we need to invest in infrastructure, but today when our Nation is running historically high deficits, when Democrats want to add trillions of dollars to our debt, and inflation is nearly at the highest it has been in 40 years, we need to ensure these investments are paid for. When it comes to this bill, the math simply does not add up. We are told that this bill has $589 billion in offsets. In reality, the CBO score shows just $180 billion in offsets, a $400 billion shortfall. This bill does not pay for itself, not even close. The fact is, for House Democrats, this bill was never about infrastructure. The Speaker has had weeks to vote on it. Instead, she has turned a bipartisan negotiation into a hostage negotiation. In exchange for fixing our roads, bridges, highways, and dams, House Democrats are demanding Congress pass the most expensive piece of legislation in history along with the largest tax increase in history. Unlike the infrastructure bill, which has a CBO score, less than 1 percent of their $4.3 trillion spending-and-tax plan is scored by CBO. Republicans will not be bullied into paying a ransom to fix our infrastructure.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding. For months, Democrats have been pursuing a radical partisan agenda that will pile on trillions to our debt, and we are here today where they are asking Republicans to basically help them get a loan. They are pushing the most expensive piece of legislation in the history of the United States with the largest tax increase in the history of the United States. And yet Democrats are demanding we hold the door open so that they can ram through this partisan reckless agenda. The debt limit is a chance for Congress to address government spending, something we have done since 1985. Sadly, today, the Democrats are playing chicken with a government shutdown by tying the debt ceiling to a CR so they can enact their multi-trillion-dollar partisan tax and spending plan, which currently clocks in at $4.3 trillion, no matter the harm it will do, no matter how it will fuel more inflation that is crippling family budgets. Budget Republicans sent a letter to Congressional leaders back in July outlining over half a dozen approaches Congress has taken in the past to address government spending with a debt limit increase. But they have ignored all of our suggestions, because the fact of the matter is my colleagues have one goal in mind, an agenda of more spending, more debt, and more taxes on working-class Americans. Democrats control the White House, they control the Senate, and they control the House. If they want to spend trillions of Americans' tax dollars, they can stand alone and ask for that loan. But Republicans will not cosign a loan for the Democrats' reckless agenda that harms working families, fuels more record inflation, and rewards their political allies and donors.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, my colleague, Mr. Yarmuth of Kentucky, and I would like to recognize the career of Bob Weinhagen, a senior counsel at the House Office of Legislative Counsel, upon his retirement and thank him for his distinguished service to the U.S. House Committee on the Budget and Congress. Bob is retiring after 50 years of dedicated service to the U.S. House of Representatives. Bob was hired as the fourteenth attorney to serve in the Office of the Legislative Counsel in July 1970. During his career, Bob drafted various banking laws, ethics reforms, and the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. Bob worked closely with the House Committee on the Budget for most of his career, assisting Committee members and staff in fulfilling our responsibilities under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Bob played an invaluable role in drafting budget resolutions from 1981 through 2021 and all budget reconciliation bills since 1981. He also drafted countless budget laws, including the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, the Budget Control Act of 2011, and the Bipartisan Budget Acts of 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2019. We greatly appreciate Bob's dedication and exceptional service over the past 50 years to the House Committee on the Budget and Congress. Bob exemplifies the Office of the Legislative Counsel's high standard of professionalism, expertise, and nonpartisanship. We wish him all the best in his retirement and future endeavors.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding. The last 24 hours, we need to just step back and look at it. And I need to remind my colleagues and remind the folks across the aisle that what we just witnessed is a circus; and also remind them that this is the people's House. This is not Pelosi's palace, this is the people's House. Madam Speaker, the middle of July, we were supposed to mark up a budget in the House Budget Committee, but the Democrats did not have the votes. Madam Speaker, before the August recess, we were suppose to pass the House budget. The Democrats did not have the votes. Yesterday--up until about 1 a.m. this morning, in fact--we were going to pass the House budget, but the Democrats did not have the votes. So now they have a scheme before us, a scheme that they are putting Bernie's budget with the transportation bill, which is not even going to be voted on today, not even going to be voted on this week, not even going to be voted on this month, along with a voting rights bill, because they can't pass Bernie's budget. You know why they can't pass Bernie's budget? Because the American people are fed up with the Democrats' reckless spending. Right now, we are facing the Biden inflation crisis. We are facing the Biden border crisis. We are facing the Biden energy crisis. And we are facing the Biden Afghanistan crisis. Yet, they bring forth a budget resolution that only makes those crises worse, $68 trillion in new spending, the most spending in the history of this country; $17 trillion of debt, the largest increase of debt, in fact, more debt than the entire economies of every country in the world, except for the United States. Bernie Sanders may have lost the Presidential primary, but his policies have won. Bernie Sanders controls this Chamber, along with the liberal squad. But the American people are watching, and they are fed up. And they are letting the American people know whenever this Chamber changes and we actually bring order back to the House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Leadington Free Will Baptist Church of Leadington. Missouri, organized 100 years ago, under an old oak tree. It was in December of 1921 that J.L. Yancy and T.J. Mann organized the church. In 1923, church members voted to buy a little house in front of Woodlawn Cemetery where they worshiped until the present sanctuary was built in 1965. From a founding congregation of 11, the church has grown to 89 members today. Ruby Lawson is the oldest of the current worshipers who has attended the church all her life. Wayne Patton is Associate Pastor. Every Sunday, they gather at 9:45 a.m. for Sunday School and 10:45 a.m. for worship. Though the church's records from 1929 until 1946 have been lost. it is clear this house or worship has stood the test of time. It marks its centennial of service standing tall as a monument to its members' enduring faith and commitment to their community. I am proud to represent this dedicated body of believers as they mark the 100th anniversary or Leadington Free Will Baptist Church on August 22, 2021, and to recognize them today before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding. Madam Speaker, we are debating a spending bill under a budget that doesn't exist. Six months into Joe Biden's Presidency and a Democrat- controlled Congress, we have still not passed a budget for fiscal year 2022. In fact, Democrats have been in the majority for over 1,000 days and they have yet to put a real budget on the floor of the House of Representatives. In this bill before us today, the Democrats want to give Washington bureaucrats an average increase of 21 percent. Their plan will fuel a massive growth in red tape that will harm small businesses. It will hurt working Americans and families, and it gives Washington more control over their lives and livelihoods. But notice what they have left out. What they have left out is, where is the money to protect our homeland? Where is the money for our men and women in uniform? Perhaps our colleagues have not brought these bills to the floor because they are ashamed to face the American people and explain why they want to flatline spending for our men and women in uniform. Or how, during the largest and worst immigration crisis of the southern border in years, they refuse to put in one additional dollar to secure our border. I suppose this shouldn't surprise us. Democrats have been very, very clear about their objectives. While we are debating a raise for bureaucrats, the Senate is figuring out how to abuse the budget process to spend at least $3.5 trillion more on their socialist agenda: amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants; subsidies for wealthy environmentalists; forcing States to expand Medicaid; and tax increases for working Americans while giving tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. This is the first year in the last decade without a spending cap agreement and look what is happening. Without missing a beat, the Democrats are opening the floodgates to reckless spending. While they argue over how many trillions to spend, we are just days away from reaching our debt limit. Democrats have ignored runaway government spending this year and look what is happening: Americans are paying more at the pump and in the checkout lines than they have in years. The debate around our Nation's debt limit provides Congress with the opportunity to seriously address runaway government spending and rising inflation.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. But as we are here today, Democrats would rather bypass their budget process and talk about their liberal wish list.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, where are your party's priorities in defunding the police, defunding our military? Put this legislation on the floor. Don't try to put it in one sentence, one sentence in a rule. We are 3\1/2\ months from a government shutdown, 3\1/2\ months. Let's pass a budget, a budget that was supposed to be passed by April 15, according to the law. April 15. Let's prevent this government shutdown. But yet, Madam Speaker, your side is trying to hide $1.5 trillion.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I will just plead to the House Democrats, I will plead to you, Madam Speaker, please be transparent with the American people. We don't want a government shutdown. But the fact that you won't even bring forth a budget to be debated, your President's budget, you will not bring it to the House floor because you don't want the American people to see exactly how you are trying to destroy the working class, to raise taxes on the low-income and the working class, to put 87,000 tax auditors to go after the working class. The people see it. They see right through it. And history will definitely, definitely not read well for the House Democrats.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, this is complete madness that the Democrats are trying to push through a deeming resolution to spend $1.5 trillion, and they have yet to even bring it up in the debate. They want the American people to believe that what we are about to vote on on this floor right now is a bill that is in Financial Services or a bill that is in Foreign Affairs. But yet they are trying to pass a resolution to bypass the budget process to spend $1.5 trillion. The Democrats have been in power for almost 900 days, and they have yet to put a real budget on the floor of the House of Representatives, even though the Budget Control Act of 1974 clearly states the process. What is it? What are you trying to hide? Why don't you want debate over $1.5 trillion of spending? Why are you hiding it from the American people? Why are you being so dishonest? $1.5 trillion is a lot of money. Your President submitted a budget just 2 weeks ago, the latest budget in the history of the United States. Are you not wanting to debate it? Are you not wanting to discuss it? Because the Speaker said the budget is a statement of your values. Show us your values. You don't want the American people to see your values because in the President's budget, the largest amount of spending in the history of this country, $69 trillion, you are putting $80 billion to hire 87,000 IRS auditors to go after the American people. The largest tax increases in the history of the United States. $55 trillion. Tax increases on low income, middle income, all incomes. It is the big lie. But you know what? Across-the-board average increases on everything by at least a 16-percent increase except for things that deal with security: Our men and women in uniform, flatlining our national defense. Not one additional dollar could be found for border security when we are facing the Biden border crisis right now. More people have illegally crossed the southern border since January 20 than the entire population of Kansas City, Missouri, and you all can't find one additional dollar? It is because you are divided within your party. You all are fighting to defund the police. You are fighting to defund our men and women in the Army, the National Guard, the Navy, the Air Force. Where are your priorities?

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Arcadia Valley Tigers who are the 2020 Missouri Class 2 Girls Cross Country Team Champions. The 2020 Tiger Cross Country team is the first in the history of Arcadia Valley to win the state championship title. In addition to the state title the Tigers were district champions with six girls being named all district including the Individual district champion, Erica Standefer. Coach Don Barzowski praised his team for their hard work and dedication. Indeed, that dedication to excellence paid off on the track. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Coach Barzowski and Assistant Coach Paul Royer, and their championship athletes Erica Standefer, Trinity Russell, Ella Weber, Mary Tevis, Alyssa Glanzer, Avery Jones, Emma Dettmer and Natalie Stricklin. It is my great privilege to recognize the Arcadia Valley Tigers as the Class 2 Missouri State Championship Girls Cross Country Team today before the United States House of Representatives

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the South Iron Panthers of Annapolis who are the 2021 Missouri Class 1 Boys Basketball Champions. The Panthers achieved a 25-4 record for their season and in the game for the top prize they beat Mound City 69-50. That gave South Iron their first state championship since 1965. Coach Dusty Dinkins praised his team for their hard work and passion to play their best. Indeed, that dedication to excellence paid off on the court. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Coach Dinkins, Assistant Coaches Delbert Jackson, Jason McMurry and Jared Middleton, and their championship players Jermarco Burse, Jr., Jermarquis Burse, Drenin Dinkins, Kolton Dinkins, Jacob Leverett, Luke Lunyou, Champ McMurry, DJ Prater, Gabe Ruble, and Brock Wakefield. It is my great privilege to recognize the South Iron High School Panthers as the Class I Missouri State Championship Boys Basketball team today before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the legislation before us today is clearly a wiser course of action than that which my House Democrat colleagues pursued just a few weeks ago. As a reminder, despite House Republicans specifically raising the concern over the risk House Democrats were taking with the healthcare of America's seniors, our Democrat colleagues first dismissed the fact that their recently enacted $1.9 trillion bailout bill would lead to billions in cuts to Medicare. Then, after passing their bill, and after the President signed into law a plan that would lead to $36 billion in cuts to Medicare, Democrats suddenly felt compelled to acknowledge that fact. Unfortunately, when they chose to act, Democrats chose a course of action that completely failed. I say chose that course of action because they could have protected America's seniors and offset the impact to the budget by adopting the Protect Seniors and Cut Waste Act put forward by House Republicans, which would: Stop benefits and payments to prisoners and illegal immigrants; stop funds from the bailout bail for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities; stop special handouts for Federal employees; and rescind billions in bailouts that go to State governments. Our Democrat colleagues were unwilling to accept such a commonsense approach. They wanted to simply pretend $1.9 trillion in spending is not happening and erase the evidence. Thankfully, the Senate, in a bipartisan vote of 90-2, agreed to the bill that is before us today--legislation that postpones the Budget Control Act's reduction in Medicare spending that is otherwise set to begin this month. It offsets and achieves those savings by extending future funding restraints an additional year. It avoids a cut to Medicare that is smaller than that which is set to occur because of the Biden bailout bill, but it also does not simply shove under the rug the cost of the debt-inducing actions taken by Washington Democrats thus far. They will have to deal with those actions and their spending. In the meantime, we can and should act on the legislation before us to do what is prudent and possible to protect America's seniors. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I will just say that Republicans don't cut Medicare. In fact, the Biden bailout bill that was passed cut $36 billion a year in Medicare. Yet, the Senate Democrats have not done anything in regard to those Medicare cuts to seniors in the Biden bailout bill. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Ellington High School Lady Whippets who made school history March 12, 2021 when they became the Missouri Class 2 State Basketball Champions. It's the school's first ever state basketball championship and it came in the Whippets' 63-56 come-from-behind win over the Wellington- Napoleon Tigers. From the very beginning of the season, Coach David Burrows told his team he believed they could have a great year. They ended their season with a 23-5 record. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Coach Burrows, Assistant Coach Paula King and team members: Millie Barnett, Briley Bouma, Hiley Brewer, Holly Burrows, Megan Copeland, Laura Gore, Gretchen Hackworth, Abbi Harper, Kaylee King, Sadie Lloyd, Shemaine Lovell, Ellarae Morton, Lyndy Nash, and Dylan Price. It is my great privilege to recognize the Ellington High School Whippets as the 2021 Class 2 Missouri State Championship Basketball team today before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, let's put the healthcare of our seniors ahead of prisoners, illegal immigrants, and the political class. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.