Jason Smith

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the gentlewoman from Illinois that actions speak louder than words, and that the Democrats did not help the folks in 2017, since the gentlewoman tried to point out the hypocrisy. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

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

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), one of the leading doctors of the Republican Conference and a great member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Wenstrup).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just want to remind the gentleman from New Jersey that the folks in southeast Missouri, a family of four who makes less than $55,000 a year, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act had zero in tax liability because of what the Republicans passed. I don't think a family of four, who makes $55,000 or less, is considered the wealthy. But apparently maybe someone from New Jersey might think someone who makes $55,000 for a family of four is wealthy. It is surely not in southeast Missouri. I also would like to point out that the gentleman from New Jersey did not help support in waiving this provision back in 2017. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Kelly), who is the newest member of the Budget Committee.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the body that the reason we are here today is because of the reckless behavior. All of these cuts on Medicare are because House Democrats forced through a nearly $2 trillion spending bill. The reason we have the paygo statutory provision is because President Obama signed it into law and House Democrats passed it. So the cuts are the result today of all the policies that Democrats have been doing since 2010. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this week, the President has been traveling across the country telling Americans how appreciative they should be that Washington Democrats are spending, or have spent, $1.9 trillion in borrowed dollars, money they are using to bail out States run by the President's political buddies and to reward devastating lockdowns that have destroyed hundreds of thousands of small businesses and kept kids out of schools; billions on policies that will reduce private-sector employment in this country; billions on foreign aid. And out of all the money, less than 9 percent goes towards healthcare spending to crush the virus and to put vaccinations in people's arms. The massive debt-inducing spending package also threatens billions in cuts to seniors on Medicare, including $36 billion starting next year. My guess is that the President is probably not going to be bragging to seniors he meets on the road that the bill he signed into law is cutting billions of dollars from their Medicare, just as I am sure he won't bother to mention that the economic recovery he wants to take credit for is already underway; that the economy is steadily projected to reach the level of real GDP growth we saw prior to the pandemic by the middle of this year; that we are on track this year, in fact, to have the largest economic growth in more than 15 years, all without one dime used from the nearly $2 trillion bailout package that the Democrats passed in the last week. In other words, just as President Biden has desperately tried to take credit for the incredible, truly historic work President Trump did to ensure that we have vaccines going into the arms to save lives, he is trying to take credit for an economic recovery put in place by the policies signed into law by President Trump. Don't listen to the words. Watch his actions. In fact, it was under President Trump's leadership that Operation Warp Speed delivered multiple vaccines in record time with planning to get those shots in the arms of the American people. Meanwhile, the Biden administration has spent an inordinate amount of time running afoul of fact checkers with their shameless rhetoric meant to dismiss the incredible work done by the previous administration. Nevertheless, we are here today because Democrats want to fix one of the many problems caused by President Biden and the House Democrats in the $1.9 trillion bailout: Those cuts to Medicare. And they want to do so by erasing almost $2 trillion in spending from the Nation's books; pretending $2 trillion in spending is not going to happen. That, of course, serves two purposes for our Democrat colleagues. First, it avoids the immediate cuts, which they caused and they chose to happen. Second, it gives them a clean slate on which they are reportedly already planning to add trillions more in spending in the months to come. Given all of this, I would ask my colleagues to move forward with a much better approach, one that stops their Medicare cuts and does so in a more responsible way. Let's work together to protect seniors and to cut waste from their bailout bill that the American people clearly don't want, such as stopping billions in benefits and payments to prisoners and illegal immigrants--billions in payments to prisoners and illegal immigrants; stopping funds they recklessly jammed into the bailout for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; stopping special handouts to Federal employees; rescinding billions in bailouts that go to State governments that do not need it, and reward their continued lockdowns. Mr. Speaker, put people before politics. Put people before politics. Put seniors ahead of the Democrats' special interests and their political class. This is the responsible way to address the Medicare cuts caused by my Democrat colleagues. It is a far better approach than to simply pretend $1.9 trillion in spending is not happening. It is a far more honest approach given the fact that the President is traveling the country bragging about the same nearly $2 trillion in spending. Mr. Speaker, $1.9 trillion, such a big number, is hard to put in proper perspective. But this year, when the American people pay their Federal income taxes, every single penny--every single penny of their hard-earned money the IRS collects will total less than the cost of this $1.9 trillion bailout to their friends, donors, and political allies. Let's do the responsible thing: Protect seniors by rolling back some of the most wasteful and wrong policies embedded in the Democrat's bailout bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues and I have introduced an alternative, a more responsible approach that protects our seniors and rolls back some of the most wasteful and absurd parts of the Democratic bailout bill. I would encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to put America's seniors ahead of their special interest allies. Join us in finding a solution that protects and respects America's seniors and the working class. We will offer such a solution as a motion to recommit. If adopted, it will instruct the Budget Committee to consider an amendment to make the sensible cuts in waste offered in H.R. 1999, the Protect Seniors and Cut Waste Act. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church of Park Hills, Missouri on the occasion of their 75th anniversary. The church was founded in 1946 when a group of about 50 believers gathered to worship at the old Buckley Store building. Roughly three months later Fellowship Church voted to purchase the property at 601 Buckley Street, where the sanctuary stands today. The purchase was made on August 12, 1946, and ground was broken just 14 days later. In the heart of the mining community, a group of lead miners on strike, volunteered their manpower and resources to build the sanctuary. Only eight months later, the first service was held in the new church on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1949. It has been the mission of Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church to help people find their greatest joy in Jesus by helping them to ``Know God, Grow in Truth, Connect in Community, and Serve Others.'' It is my great pleasure to honor Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church of Park Hills, Missouri on their 75th anniversary today, before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

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

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from California, and I will remind him that his State has 27 percent of the homeless population in the United States. But under this bill, the CBO projects that precisely zero dollars of the $5 billion will be spent this year. Wrong plan at the wrong time for so many wrong reasons. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I would like to say that, under President Trump, we had the lowest poverty rate since 1959 in 2019. The lowest poverty rate since 1959 came under President Trump. Thank you to President Trump. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Feenstra).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from New York, and I would like to remind her that, in her home State, she has 16 percent--16 percent--of the country's homeless population in the United States; but under this bailout, the CBO projects that precisely zero dollars--zero dollars--of the $5 billion that is in this bill will go to help the homeless population this coming year. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the leader of the working class party.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from New York, and I will remind him that, with passage of this bill, his State's 3 million seniors could see a cut to Medicare of $27 billion over the next 10 years. I would also like to remind Mr. Jeffries that the CBO says that, without any additional stimulus, our economy later on in this year will be the highest GDP growth that we have seen in 15 years. So that help of extra government spending is not necessary to bail out your friends and allies who are in the Governor's mansion in New York or California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, there is this popular phrase that our Speaker is known for that we must pass the bill before we know what is in it. Well, the other side also said that you must poll the bill before the American people know what is in it. After they figure out what is in this bill, they won't like it. We have looked at this bill. We have read it. Less than 9 percent of all funding of this bill goes for healthcare spending to crush the virus and to put vaccinations in the arms of Americans. More than 20 percent of this bill goes to policies that harm jobs and reduce employment, and $36 billion will be cut from Medicare just next year alone because of this bill. Over $360 billion will be cut from seniors in 10 years because of this bill. Mr. Speaker, when the facts are polled, the American people will know that this is a progressive wish list forced down by the Democratic Party. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

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

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

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Guest).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from Texas, and I will remind her that, while this legislation provides her State government with another $40 billion, it fails to include any language to ensure that the 5 million K-12 students in her State are back in open schools anytime soon, does nothing to open schools. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).