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Energy And Water Development And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

Date: June 20, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Budget and Spending Energy


ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 20, 2007)

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Mr. McHENRY. I thank my colleague from Ohio for offering this amendment.

We're debating now on a 3.5 percent across-the-board cut to an appropriations bill. It's an amazing thing in Congress; with one vote, we can slash $1.3 billion out of an appropriations bill.

What we're debating here is not simply a small cut. We're debating on whether or not the American taxpayers can depend on the Bush tax cuts from 2001 and 2003. We're trying to determine what kind of economic growth we'll have as a Nation, based on how much the government spends in taxes.

This is more than a debate about spending. This is a debate about the size and scope of government.

Well, let's put the facts on the table. The American Government costs $2.7 trillion a year. That is the largest government on Earth. And further perspective here: It's the largest government in the history of mankind.

Now, to put this further into perspective, there are only two economies outside of the United States that are equal to the size of our Federal spending. That's Germany and Japan. And what is amazing about this, what is absolutely amazing about this, is that we have a Federal Government that's larger than most economies on Earth. In fact, our Federal Government spends more than the whole of China's economy.

Now, that's simply amazing. I think it shows that, while we're debating on extending the Bush tax cuts, the American people understand that we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem here in the United States.

This Congress is addicted to spending. In fact, in just a week's time, they appropriated $100 billion. Now, that's fast work even for Washington, DC.

The American people, Mr. Chairman, understand that we need to tighten our belt. A 3.5 percent across-the-board cut is a good start. That'll save $1.3 billion of the American taxpayers' hard-earned money.

I commend my colleague for offering this amendment, and I urge its adoption.

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