Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008
Floor Speech
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 20, 2007)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the leadership's support in allowing me to bring this amendment forward. I also want to recognize former Congressman Joel Hefley. This has come to be known as the Hefley amendment. So I want to thank former Congressman Hefley for his leadership on fiscal responsibility issues in Congresses past.
There has been a lot of talk about money on this bill, Mr. Chairman, and this is the appropriate time, because it is appropriations time. Most of the programs that we have discussed are indeed worthy programs. But I think it is imperative that we always remember where this money comes from that we are appropriating, that we are spending.
The money isn't Washington's money. The money is the money of the hardworking American taxpayer, and we ought not ever lose sight of that. As such, we ought to bend over backwards to make certain we are being as responsible as possible in its expenditure.
The big picture on this bill is the Energy and Water appropriations. The big picture is that last year this government spent, Washington spent on these programs, $30.2 billion. That is with a ``B,'' Mr. Chairman. This year, the proposal is to spend $31.6 billion; $31.6 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent.
This amendment is very simple. It says simply that we ought to decrease that overall amount by 1 percent, in an effort to save one penny on the dollar, as families all across this Nation have to do when they are having some tight fiscal times.
It would be an increase of 3.3 percent over last year. I know there are those who would like it to be lower. I am one of those. But I think it is important that Congress ought to make a statement that we can indeed be fiscally responsible. This 3.3 percent increase, this amendment would provide for that, and would be a reduction of 1 percent over the amount in the bill.
Mr. Chairman, I wish to thank a number of Members who have offered similar pieces of legislation or amendments, Congresswoman Blackburn, Congressman Campbell, Congressman Jordan, Congressman Feeney, Congresswoman Musgrave and Congressman Hensarling, for their leadership on these issues.
I think this a commonsense issue. It is a matter that I believe ought to garner great support in this Congress and demonstrate to all that we indeed have an interest in fiscal responsibility. So I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my good friend the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the chief deputy whip of this conference.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the passion of my good friend from Ohio as he talks about cut after cut after cut, and I would just remind him that this amendment, this amendment, would reduce the overall bill by 1 percent which, Mr. Chairman, as you know, is a 3.3 percent increase over last year. So nobody is talking about cutting anything.
That might be the problem here in Washington. This would be a 1 percent reduction on the remarkable amount of increased money that the majority party has brought with this bill.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the Chair.
I appreciate again the comments of my good friend from Ohio, who previously talked about there being no tax increase in 2008, and he urged the American people to take a look at their tax bill.
He is right. There won't be, because of Washington shenanigans. Because what we do here is budget in a 5-year window, and in fact the largest tax increase in the history of our Nation will hit the American people, curiously, Mr. Chairman, after the next election.
But you can check the record. It is indeed there, and all the American people have to do is recognize that, and they will. And they will.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I think this has been a helpful debate. I want to recognize the efforts of Congressman Hefley in the past and urge my colleagues to support the former Hefley amendment of a 1-percent reduction in the increase, Mr. Chairman. As I remind our colleagues, the portion appropriated for this area of Federal spending last year was $30.2 billion. This year the request in this bill is for $31.6 billion. This amendment would simply reduce it by 1 percent. It would be a 3.3-percent increase. It would be a symbolic decrease, but it would be a recognition that Washington needs to get its fiscal house in order.
My good friends on the other side of the aisle talk about the importance of reducing spending. But yet we see a significant increase over, as the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Terry) just said, significantly over what we brought last year. Yes, it would be a symbolic decrease, but it would ever so slightly reduce that slope, that increasing slope of Federal spending. I think that is indeed what the American people desire.
Spending in this bill, as in other appropriations bills that are coming before us, will be allocating money, Mr. Chairman, that the Congress doesn't have. The Congress doesn't have it, and it continues to spend more than it takes in. I think it is imperative that we harken back and remember that wonderful Reagan admonition that Washington spends too much, it is not that it doesn't gain enough revenue. There is certainly enough revenue to provide for appropriate services.
And I will be the first to tell my colleagues that there are wonderful programs within this bill. The question is whether or not we are going to demonstrate to the American people that we have the fiscal responsibility, the reasonable standards in terms of what ought to be spent at the Federal level based upon what has been spent in the past and the incredible hardworking American taxpayers who send their money year after year after year. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense 1-percent reduction.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source