Rob Woodall

Mr. WOODALL

Mr. WOODALL. Seventy-four times. I appreciate the chairman for correcting me. Seventy-four times that America's ATM card has been stuck in, no funds to withdraw, and yet cash has been dispensed. And not once, I'm told by my friend from New York, not once have we ever tied any spending decisions to increasing America's credit line. That's outrageous. That's outrageous. But today we do. Today we do. Today we say the buck stops with the 112th Congress. The buck stops with us.

Mr. WOODALL. I would be happy to yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. WOODALL. I very much thank the chairman for yielding. That's right, 7 months--7 months. I'm one of the new guys on Capitol Hill, and I ran for Congress to do exactly what we're doing down here today. There are going to be a lot of folks down here with accusations and recriminations. I just want you to know I'm going to be the guy down here with a smile on my face because today is why I came to Congress. Seventy-three times, I'm told by folks who have been here longer than I, this Congress has taken a withdrawal out of America's ATM.

Mr. WOODALL. That almost takes the smile off my face. Can you believe that? Seventy-five times this Congress, the people's House, the most responsive body we have in Federal Government, has reached in with that ATM card and taken that money out, with absolutely no funds on deposit. Again, the buck stops today. Now, in fairness, Mr. Speaker, this bill does not do everything I wanted it to do. I wanted more. And each and every time we've had an opportunity--we had an opportunity in H.R. 1, that continuing resolution we passed. A great process, a great debate, great conclusion. This does not go as far as the House budget--the budget that we passed that day. Mr. Speaker, you remember we considered absolutely every budget that any Member of Congress brought to the floor of this House. We decided on one. This doesn't do as much as that did. But you know what this does do? This says we're not going to increase the credit line by a penny unless we're cutting a penny too, because the problem in this town, I have learned, Mr. Speaker, in 7 months, is not that we don't spend enough. It's not. And that's a legitimate disagreement I have found that we have. But it is not that we don't spend enough. The problem is that we spend too much. Mr. Speaker, do I wish that we were doing more in this bill today? Yes, I do. But I smile with pride because we could have been yet another Congress, Congress No. 76, where we just kick the can down the road and accept no responsibility at all. We don't do that, Mr. Speaker. The buck stops here. I'm in strong support of this rule.

Mr. WOODALL. I would be happy to yield to the chairman.

Mr. WOODALL

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to come to the floor today. I'm still a little bit winded. I was over in the Ways and Means Committee room where we were talking about exactly these issues. I'm embarrassed that my fitness is in such a state that running up the stairs winds me. But that's what happens when you don't focus on something, when you don't put in the time it takes to stay fit; things degrade. And that's exactly what's happened with our economy, Mr. Speaker. It's absolutely true that folks are out of work, and it's absolutely true that the best form of unemployment relief is a paycheck. It's not an unemployment check. It's a paycheck. But why are these jobs going overseas? And this is the real debate that happens up here absolutely every day because people just believe different things about how it is that we put Americans back to work. Every single person who comes to this House floor wants Americans to go back to work, wants America's economy to be the pride of the world once again. But I will tell you the reason we lose jobs overseas is not because we're taxing businesses too little; it's because we're taxing businesses too much. We have the single highest corporate tax rate in the world in America. Why does Sony want to locate their next plant here? Why does Rico want to locate their next plant here? Why does Whirlpool want to keep their plants here? We punish business in this country through our Tax Code like no other country in the world. Now, is there a regulatory component to that too that we need to solve to make America attractive for business? There absolutely is. Is there a health care component of that if those costs rise? Absolutely there is. Is there a payroll tax cost in that we need to address, the largest tax 80 percent of Americans pay? Absolutely there is. There is only one proposal in the House that does it, and the Ways and Means Committee right now across the street right here behind you, Mr. Speaker, in the Ways and Means Committee room, is holding a hearing on H.R. 25, the FairTax. The FairTax eliminates these income taxes and moves America to a consumption tax model. America is the only country in the OECD nations, those economically developed nations, that does not have a consumption tax. The FairTax shifts us in that direction. And what it does for the first time, the only bill in Congress that does it, it eliminates every single bit of corporate welfare in the United States Tax Code. Oil companies, gone. Solar companies, gone. Foreign companies, gone. Every single tax break in the Code is abolished, Mr. Speaker, because we know the free market works best when the market is free. And we know that businesses don't pay taxes. Consumers pay taxes. There is not a penny that we charge Walmart that they don't roll right into their costs and pass it along to us. You see it. You see it absolutely every day. If we raise gas taxes, gas prices are going to go up. If we lower gas taxes, gas prices go down. The market sorts those things out. Have you ever been to a Coke machine, Mr. Speaker? I'm from Atlanta; so I'll talk to you about Coke machines. But usually they're going to sit beside a Pepsi machine. Have you ever seen that Coke costs $1 and the Pepsi right beside it cost $2? No. Do you ever see the Coke sell for $1.50 and the Pepsi beside it try to sell for $5? No. And that's not just because Coke's a wonderful product. It's because the consumer rules in America and price matters. You can't charge whatever you want; you can only charge what the consumer will pay. And when taxes go up, consumers have to pay more. The FairTax, Mr. Speaker, will bring those jobs back to America like no other proposal in this Congress. It eliminates those corporate income taxes, and it eliminates payroll taxes. Have you thought about your payroll tax recently? It is 15.3 percent of every paycheck that you get. Now, the wealthy don't pay payroll taxes because they're making their money in interest or dividends or capital gains, these things that payroll taxes don't come out of. Those of us who work for paychecks, we pay payroll taxes. And at 15.3 percent, the payroll tax is the largest tax that 80 percent of Americans pay. The largest tax that 80 percent of American families pay, and we don't spend any time on the floor discussing that. We argue about income tax all the time. Half of America doesn't even pay income taxes anymore. Payroll taxes are the taxes that American people pay, 15.5 percent; and it comes out of your paycheck before you even get to see your paycheck. Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who helped during World War II establish the withholding system--the government needed money in a hurry. It was wartime. That's when we began sucking money out of your paycheck before you ever see your paycheck. Milton Friedman said the worst decision of his life was not working to do away with the withholding system once World War II ended because you need to know how much money you are paying. You need what it costs you to run this United States Government. We talk about trillions. Have you thought about $1 trillion, Mr. Speaker? One trillion dollars, the cost of the President's health care plan, for example. If you started a business on the day Jesus Christ was born and you were so bad at your small business, Mr. Speaker, that you lost $1 million a day, every day, 7 days a week from the day Jesus was born through today, you would have to continue losing money for another 700 years to lose your first trillion dollars. We throw that number around like it is nothing. It is something. We need jobs back in this country. The FairTax will do it. I encourage folks to pay attention to what's happening in the Ways and Means Committee today on H.R. 25.

Mr. WOODALL

Mr. WOODALL. I'm conflicted as I come to the floor today, Mr. Speaker. I'd actually planned to talk about tax reforms this morning. The Ways and Means Committee for the first time in 10 years is holding a hearing on the Fair Tax next Tuesday, July 26. The Fair Tax is a proposal that abolishes the income tax system in this country that punishes people based on what they earn and creates a consumption tax that rewards people based on how much they save. And as we talk about poverty here this morning, as we talk about how to get folks back on their feet, the problem in this country, Mr. Speaker, is not that we don't bring in enough revenue. It's that we spend too much money. There is a bias in our culture now towards consumption as opposed to thrift. Now, when did that happen? I wish I were a better student of history. I know that Ben Franklin shared with us that ``a penny saved is a penny earned.'' I know that our colleagues in the past said if we talk about a million here and a million there, pretty soon we're talking about real money. My grandfather was a United Methodist minister in the South Georgia Conference. He was a Navy chaplain during World War II, and went down and worked the South Georgia circuit after the war. They'd get together and get all the little nubs of the candles that they would have during the year and melt them all together to put together those Christmas candles. I don't know if you all grew up with one of those Christmas candles in your home, but they couldn't afford to go out and buy a candle. They had to put together all the nubs and put in the wick themselves. My dad tells the story of a lot of cold winters and a lot of very hot summers. He tells the story of every time the Klan would threaten to come and burn a cross on the lawn, my grandfather would sit out there on the front porch in his rocking chair with a shotgun. If you can picture that: a United Methodist minister, a man of peace, sitting out there on the porch with his shotgun, but that's the way things were in that part of the world and in those days. And then he went on to become the superintendent of the United Methodist children's home in the South Georgia Conference. He died about a decade ago without two nickels to rub together, but it was the largest funeral I had ever seen in my life, because he touched people, he nurtured people, he reached out to those who didn't have anyone else to advocate on their behalf. His entire career he spent building people up. His entire career he spent reaching out to those who had no one and being their ``someone.'' As this discussion goes on here this morning, I promise you there is not a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., there is not an agency funded by Federal dollars, that loves people like my grandfather loved people. There's not one. There is not one bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., and there is not one agency under Federal control that loves children the way my grandfather loved children. Folks, we have a choice each and every day that's going on in this debate that we're having over deficits, debts and defaults. Freedom and security. My big fear is not that there's going to be a default on United States debt. My big fear is that there's going to be a default on the promise of America. My big fear is that the government is doing so much, that we as people may think that we get to do so little, that government's not taking care of anyone. The government is taking from people who would have taken care of someone and is stealing that responsibility for nurturing our neighbors. It is not the government's job to feed the hungry in my community. It's my job. It's not the government's job to reach out to the least of these. It's my job. As we're talking about children here on the House floor today, as we're talking about the most vulnerable of these, I think back to Steny Hoyer's words in 1995, that when it comes to balanced budgets, when it comes to running up deficits, the person who gets hurt the worst when reckless government spending goes unchecked are the least of these, are the children. I agree with him a hundred percent. What are we teaching our children today? What are we teaching our children about our responsibility as individuals to take care of one another? Where is the proposal? I've been in Congress 7 months now. There has not been a single proposal to encourage individuals to take care of one another. Time and time again what there are, are proposals to take away the responsibility from individuals of taking care of one another and to transfer that responsibility to government. Now, I say that with passion. I know, Mr. Speaker, as you know, that everyone who brings those proposals to the floor brings it with a full heart. I do not question the motivations or the intentions of anyone who is reaching out to the least of these. I only question the results. Mr. Speaker, the longest and most expensive war in this country's history is not the war in Afghanistan. It is the war on poverty, and the government's results are poor. We need to put it back in the hands of individuals.

Mr. WOODALL

Mr. WOODALL. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. For the purpose of debate only, I would like to yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I'm confused about whether time is running out or about whether we're moving too quickly here today, but to clarify that, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my friend from the Rules Committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Nugent).

Mr. WOODALL. I don't, though I do have the bill's sponsor here to answer any questions you all might have.

Mr. WOODALL. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOODALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it was 224 years ago that the Constitutional Convention was wrapping up that summer in 1787. Ben Franklin walked out of the front door and a woman asked him, ``What did you create?'' And he famously responded, ``A republic, if you can keep it.'' That's what the debate is about here today, Mr. Speaker--our Republic, and can we keep it? Mr. Speaker, the last time we debated a balanced budget amendment was back in 1995, 16 years ago. At that time, now-Minority Leader Steny Hoyer said this: ``This country confronts a critical threat caused by the continuation of large annual deficits. I am absolutely convinced that the long-term consequences of refusing to come to grips with the necessity to balance our budget will be catastrophic. And those who will pay the highest price for our fiscal responsibility, should we fail, will be those least able to protect themselves and the children of today and the generations of tomorrow.'' Mr. Speaker, this debate is about those who are least able to protect themselves, and this is about the vision that we have chosen for ourselves as Americans. Mr. Speaker, 223 years ago, in a letter written in November, Thomas Jefferson said this: I wish it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution. I would be willing to depend on that alone for the reduction of the administration of our government to the genuine principles of its Constitution. I mean an additional article taking from government the power of borrowing. Our Founding Fathers, 223 years ago--folks talk about a bill being rushed to the floor. This is a debate that has been going on since the founding of our Nation, since the founding of our Nation. We had this discussion in 1995. We had this discussion in 1994. Every Congress for the 10 years between 1985 and 1995, we discussed a balanced budget amendment. Apparently, there was no need to discuss it any longer, and look where we are. I was down in Chinatown the other day, Mr. Speaker, where, conveniently enough, our United States debt auctions were held, right downtown in Chinatown. We sold $36 billion of debt in Chinatown the day I was down there at 0.0005 percent interest. But hear this--I will close as I opened, Mr. Speaker--from our friends at S&P: ``We view an inability to timely agree and credibly implement medium-term fiscal consolidation policy as inconsistent with a AAA sovereign rating.'' Mr. Speaker, this isn't about raising the debt limit; this is about preserving the Republic. Go ahead and raise the debt limit; Moody's says that's not enough. Go ahead and raise the debt limit; S&P says that's not going to get you anywhere. Inconsistent with a AAA rating is the borrowing and spending that this Congress has brought to the House. Now, we talked about rushing a bill to the House floor, Mr. Speaker. I'll say this, and some of my Democratic colleagues have said it, and I associate myself with their comments: This reflects the priorities of this House. What we're working on today is exactly what we were working on when we worked on H.R. 1 in February, one of the most open and brilliant moments in this House's history in terms of debate. Well, the priorities we are setting today are the same priorities we were setting when we had that very open budget debate earlier this year in April where we brought every budget to the House and said: What can we agree on as a House? And you know what we agreed, Mr. Speaker? We agreed on the priorities that are set forth in Cut, Cap, and Balance. Now, there has been a lot of talk about who is willing to compromise. Mr. Speaker, I can't find a single colleague on this side of the aisle who is enthusiastic about raising the debt limit, not one. But folks are willing to do it if we can preserve the Republic for our children and grandchildren, which we can do with cut, cap, and balance. Mr. Speaker, there's all of this talk in Washington about default on the national debt. That is a serious conversation, a serious conversation. I want to talk about defaulting on the promises of our Founders. I want to talk about defaulting on our Republic. One wish Thomas Jefferson had, one wish: If it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution, it would be an additional article taking from government the power of borrowing. I understand, Mr. Speaker, that there's a lot of reluctance to do that. There are lots of great things that folks have, priorities that they would like to spend on. This isn't about those spending priorities. We'll still have that conversation. H.R. 1 was about those priorities. Our budget discussion was about our priorities. Today, it is about the future of our Republic. You need read no further, Mr. Speaker, than the credit rating agencies telling us that August 2 is not the date we have to fear. Today is the day that we have to fear because, if we fail to pass this bill, our Republic stands in peril. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for this rule. I am grateful to the Budget Committee for bringing forward this resolution, and I ask for a unanimous vote of support as this resolution comes to the floor. The text of the material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows: An Amendment to H. Res. 355 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts (1) Strike ``the previous question'' and all that follows and insert the following: The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) four hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget; (2) the amendment printed in section 2, if offered by the Minority Leader or her designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, and shall be separately debatable for 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent; and (3) one motion to recommit with or without instructions. (2) At the end of the resolution, add the following: Sec. 2. The amendment referred to in the first section of this resolution is as follows: At the end of the bill, insert the following:

Mr. WOODALL. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. WOODALL. I have the sponsor of the legislation right here to answer that very question.

Mr. WOODALL. I thank the gentleman for yielding. The answer is there's absolutely nothing different from this amendment than any other amendment to the Constitution that relies on the judiciary to interpret it.

Mr. WOODALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOODALL. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a mentor of mine, the gentleman from the great State of Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. WOODALL. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a colleague who is a great leader on this issue, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. WOODALL. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 355 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 355 provides a closed rule for consideration of H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011. The rule provides for 4 hours of general debate on the underlying bill and grants the minority party a motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, we are at a seminal moment in our Nation's history. When I turn on the television, when I read the newspapers, I get a lot of advice. Folks say act: act to raise the debt ceiling, act to cut spending, act to balance the budget. Mr. Speaker, today we are here to do all of those things--cut, cap, balance, and with it increase the debt ceiling in order to allow this country to continue its good line of credit. But, Mr. Speaker, that line of credit is not something we can take for granted. Too often, I hear folks come to the floor and say, Just raise the debt ceiling. As you know, Mr. Speaker, we've had that vote. We brought a clean debt limit vote to the floor. I would say for the sake of all the young people we're blessed to have here in the gallery with us today, Mr. Speaker, we voted ``no.'' We defeated that clean debt ceiling to say, no, we cannot simply extend America's line of credit. We must take action to bend that curve of debt. Now that was this House acting, Mr. Speaker. Last week, America's credit rating agencies joined in that debate. I read to you from Moody's last week: ``While the debt ceiling has been raised numerous times in the past and the issue has sometimes been contentious, bond interest and principal payments have always been paid on time. If the debt limit is raised again and default is avoided, a AAA rating would likely be confirmed.'' That's what we hear all too often, Mr. Speaker. What we don't hear is this second sentence: ``However, the outlook assigned at that time would very likely be changed to negative unless a substantial and credible agreement is achieved on a budget that includes long-term deficit reduction. To retain a stable outlook, such an agreement should include a deficit trajectory that leads to stabilization and then decline in the ratio of the Federal Government debt to GDP.'' Mr. Speaker, that may be a lot of bond analyst speak, but what that means in simple terms is, if we do nothing as a Nation, our credit rating will be downgraded, and if we simply raise the debt limit and do nothing to get a handle on our debt, our credit rating will also be downgraded. That's Moody's, Mr. Speaker. S&P writes the same thing last week: ``We view an inability to timely agree and credibly implement medium- term fiscal consolidation policy as inconsistent with a AAA solvent rating, given the expected government debt trajectory noted above.'' Mr. Speaker, that's what we're talking about today. Just cutting doesn't get it done. We've got some debt limit issues that we've got to deal with. Just capping doesn't get it done. We've still got some debt limit issues that we've got to deal with. Just balancing doesn't get it done. We've still got debt limit issues that we have to deal with. But, Mr. Speaker, just raising the debt limit doesn't get it done either. It requires cutting, it requires capping, it requires balancing, and it requires raising the debt limit. We have brought that resolution to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, while so many other folks in this town are content to talk, to pontificate, to share their wisdom with absolutely any television camera who will listen, this House moves forward legislation that describes line by line by line, in painful detail, what we will do to restore America's fiscal house. I'm proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation. I'm proud to be a member of the Rules Committee that has reported this rule to the floor today. I rise in strong support of this rule, Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WOODALL. That is not correct. The responsibility lies here, as my colleague knows. But as is true with every word in the Constitution, it relies on the judiciary to interpret it.

Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, at this time, it gives me great pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Boustany.