Mac Thornberry

Mr. THORNBERRY

Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Chairman, there are, of course, many important issues we could debate with regard to this budget, including whether we will continue to saddle our children with debt, and whether an increase in the amount of money in a program, both totally and per beneficiary, is still going to be called a cut in Washington, DC. Another important issue is the size of government, and how much government, both in taxing and spending, takes out of the economy. This is not just abstract political theory, but it is very practical about what really works to improve the lives of regular folks. It affects every person in this country. We can see now the administration sees an economic slowdown coming and is ready to point the finger of blame at somebody else. As Stephen Moore pointed out in his book ``government: America's Number One Growth Industry,'' the problem is very clear. He said: The reason that America finds itself on an economic downward spiral is that today, Washington, DC is taxing, spending, borrowing, mandating, decreeing, and regulating America to death. The private sector--businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, workers, and families--is slowly suffocating under the weight of a relentlessly expanding government. Mr. Chairman, the resolution reported out by the Committee on the Budget and the Neumann budget are the first things in a very long time in this House that begin to deal with each of those things that Moore identifies. It deals with the taxing, spending, borrowing, mandating, decreeing, the regulating that is consuming so much of our national wealth. If we look at the numbers, government at all levels consumes more than ever before. One study found about 42 percent of our national income is spent by government these days. Other facts about government are equally astonishing. Government at all levels spends about $24,000 for every household in America. With the $2.5 trillion that local, State, and Federal governments spend this year, you could buy all the farmland in the United States, plus all the assets of the Fortune 100 companies. There are more people working for the Government than are working for all the manufacturing industries combined. The danger, I think, Mr. Chairman, is that we are on the verge of becoming what Margaret Thatcher called a nanny State, where the government takes too much from us to do too much for us. Even President Kennedy in 1962, in his address before the Economics Club of New York, said ``The growth of the American economy in the 20th century demonstrates for all to see the power of freedom and the efficiency of free institutions.'' Yet those are the very things that have been under assault year after year as a result of the policies of this Government. I think that for the first time in a long time, we are beginning to take power and responsibility away from Government, and give more power and more responsibility back to individuals. That is what is absolutely essential, in my view. We must also reduce [[Page H5132]] the size of Government. The President is fond of pointing out how he is making drastic reductions in Federal employment, but if we look at the numbers and take out one department, the Department of Defense, we will find out that even President Clinton's target is some 40 percent more than the Federal work force at the time of President Kennedy. Mr. Chairman, I think it is absolutely necessary that we stop adding debt to our children. It is also necessary that while we are straightening out the national budget, we straighten out the family budget as well.

Mr. THORNBERRY

Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Chairman, one of the reasons I believe that the control of this body changed in the last election is that the American people were fed up with those who talk one way and then come to Washington and vote another. There are those who still try to come across as the protectors of senior citizens and 9 times out of 10 those are the same people who voted to impose new taxes on senior citizens in 1993. This bill starts to undo some of the damage that has been done to senior citizens in the past. In addition to repealing those new taxes, it goes further and says that senior citizens ought to be able to earn a living, or earn some money, and be productive citizens beyond age 65. The tax incentives for long-term care and also allowing life insurance to come out earlier are important benefits for senior citizens. I think when seniors look beyond the empty rhetoric and look at the concrete steps that will benefit them and benefit the things that they need to see happen in their later years, they will see this is real happen in their later years, they will see this is real concrete action that will make a big difference in their lives.

Mr. THORNBERRY

Mr. THORNBERRY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this measure. Mr. Chairman, after more than a year of visiting with folks in my district about where this country is headed, I can tell my colleagues that they are very concerned about what is happening to our military. We are asking our men and women to do more and more and giving them less and less to do it with. This bill does not solve all the problems, but it does make a good start, and there are three areas key to me: One, establish an inspection commission to evaluate our needs and the resources to meet those needs because the administration has lost total credibility in being able to make that assessment; second, it is important to keep U.S. troops under the command of U.S. commanders, and this drift toward relinquishing control of our security to multinational organizations has got to stop; third, we have got to protect our people from missile attack, and it does not matter whether its short-range or long-range missiles. It is the fundamental purpose of this body to protect our people, and, if we do not make every effort to meet that threat, then we have not met our responsibilities to our constituents.