Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 3293, Departments Of Labor, Health And Human Services, And Education, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

Providing For Consideration Of H.R. 3293, Departments Of Labor, Health And Human Services, And Education, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I also appreciate the gentleman from Florida yielding me such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let's just go to the words that people have. Republicans cut taxes and employed people, 5.3 million new jobs. The Democrats put their spending plan on the floor and said we would have jobs and more jobs, and we don't. So regardless of what the gentleman talks about with all these big tax breaks, they worked. They employed people. People had jobs. And in the scheme of things, Mr. Speaker, that's good for all of us. So I will stand behind those tax cuts that employed this country, as opposed to unemployment, the highest unemployment in 26 years, by our friends, the Democrats.

Mr. Speaker, today I stand about this structured rule, and I stand in opposition. My friends on the other side of the aisle, for the first time in the history of the Republic, have shut down the appropriations process by placing an extremely restrictive rule on every single appropriations bill that has come to the floor this year.

Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin has set an arbitrary timeline to finish the fiscal year 2010 spending bills which has forced this Congress and the Democrat-run Rules Committee to limit every Republican's and Democrat's chance to offer an amendment on the floor. Hundreds of amendments have been offered by all of my colleagues, and they have been rejected in an unprecedented fashion. I ask, once again, Mr. Speaker, what is the majority afraid of? Why are we doing this for the first time in the history of this Republic? Why won't they allow for the open and honest debate that they called for just a few years ago?

In order to operate under the needlessly short debate that my friends on the other side of the aisle have forced Republicans to pursue, my colleagues and I offered 12 amendments to ensure that a thoughtful and constructive debate could take place. We helped manage ourselves before we came to the Rules Committee. Yet what happened? Only four were made in order, while the Democrats had seven of their offered amendments rolled right into the manager's amendment.

This Democrat Congress, in unprecedented fashion, continues to reject and silence the American public and to muzzle Members on the floor of the House of Representatives, not allowing their voices to be heard on the people's floor.

Mr. Speaker, today we are discussing the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010. It is my intent to focus on this huge increase in spending over last year's level and to discuss the majority party's destructive initiatives that continue to kill jobs and lead to record deficits; that is, kill jobs and record deficits under control of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat-held Senate, and President Barack Obama. This is their policy that we are debating on the floor today.

This underlying legislation is a 7 percent, or $10.6 billion, increase above the current year's spending levels, and that's excluding the $126 billion in stimulus funding that these programs have already received. Since 2007, funding for programs under Labor, Health and Human Services and Education have increased a whopping 93 percent. This bill does not represent a commitment, or any commitment, to fiscal sustainability. We simply cannot keep doing this. But, here we are again today. It will cost us jobs.

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to ask, where are the jobs? With this legislation, Congress only further slows down economic recovery and increases the financial burden being placed on our children and grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

The Obama administration promised Americans that unemployment would not go beyond 8 percent, that they would create and save millions of jobs if Congress simply passed the stimulus. Here we are, months later, with a record 9.5 percent unemployment rate, the highest in 26 years, and 2 million Americans have lost their job since the passage of this massive $1.2 trillion stimulus plan. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

Earlier this month, when discussing the stimulus, Vice President Biden said the Obama administration misread how bad the economy was. The Obama administration got it wrong when it came to $1.2 trillion of taxpayer spending by this Democrat Congress. The American people can no longer afford for this Democrat-controlled House, Senate, and White House to get it wrong. Where are the jobs?

Last month, my friends on the other side of the aisle passed a cap-and-trade bill that top White House economic advisers had suggested could actually cost up to $1.9 billion, raising prices on energy, goods and services for every American, an increase for every American back home, between $1,200 and $1,600 a year. Additionally, this legislation would kill up to 2 million manufacturing jobs. Mr. Speaker, we have to ask again, where are the jobs? Oh, we are beginning to find out

that they are in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Speaker, next week, this Democrat-controlled Congress wants to pass sweeping health care reform that effectively will kill employer-based insurance marketplaces and force 114 million Americans into a government-run program, a program where government bureaucrats will be choosing what doctor-and-patient relationships will be and what procedures will be covered by that doctor.

This $1.2 trillion package raises taxes on individuals and small businesses that do not participate in the government plan, and up to $818 billion will be the cost, which, according to a model developed by the President's own economic adviser team, will result in 4.7 million employees losing their job. Mr. Speaker, we ask, once again, where are the jobs?

This is economic insanity. The American people know that you shouldn't spend what you don't have. But that is exactly what Ms. Pelosi and this Democrat majority is doing. Mr. Speaker, we ask, once again, where are the jobs?

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Obama administration is on its way to doubling the national debt in 5 years. Mr. Speaker, we would ask, where are the jobs?

Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office released a Monthly Budget Review that states that the Federal budget deficit reached $1.1 trillion during the month of June. As of June 30, the national debt stood at $11.5 trillion. Mr. Speaker, we will ask again, where are the jobs?

Especially at a time of deep economic recession, Congress should be promoting progrowth policies that reduce spending, increase job growth, and give Americans confidence. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

The deficit has increased $1.7 trillion, or 1,000 percent, since the Democrats took control of this House of Representatives 3 years ago. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

It has gone from a $162 billion fiscal deficit to a projected $2 trillion this year. Mr. Speaker, we ask, where are the jobs?

In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue to point out to our friends on the other side of the aisle that we cannot tax, spend, and borrow our way out of this country's economic recession. Our Democrat colleagues need to get a handle on this out-of-control spending that, once again, they are bringing to the floor of the House of Representatives today to pursue an ever-growing American government size. Rising unemployment and record deficits cannot be remedied with massive increases in government spending. Mr. Speaker, where are the jobs?

Huge energy and health care bills will raise taxes and kill jobs. Mr. Speaker, the American public understands this. They know that the Republican Party has better ideas, and that's why we're on the floor of the House of Representatives today. I encourage a ``no'' vote but will, once again, ask the question, where are the jobs?

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are on the floor today asking the question, where are the jobs and what about the process of the ability to come and talk on this floor about issues and ideas, ideas that these Members have.

I was reminded again today in looking at Congress Daily dated Friday, July 24, and while it was talking about health care, it's really a philosophy, and they're quoting the House Rules Committee Chairman Louise Slaughter of New York. And I will quote what's in here: We can do anything up there in the Rules Committee. We can do anything.

What that really means is they can do whatever they want to do. Evidently Speaker Pelosi really does run the Rules Committee. We can do anything up there, even muzzle all of the Members of this floor.

Mr. Speaker, I will be asking for a ``no'' vote on the previous question so we can amend this horrible rule, the muzzle rule, and allow for an open rule. There is no question that the rule the majority brings forth today will only submit the dangerous precedent the majority set earlier this year. Every single appropriations bill. It will only damage bipartisanship and, really, the nature of this body.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can allow free and open debate on the appropriations bills and uphold the right of millions of Americans, or perhaps more than that, just the Members of Congress who come here and do this work every day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

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Mr. SESSIONS. I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question and a ``no'' vote on the rule.

Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress need to get this. Every single one of us can say ``no'' to the way this body is being run and just put us on a different course, a course that we have had for all these years. We recognize what open and honest and ethical government is. And today, we had Members of this body come to the floor and talk about openness, about ethics with the gentleman, Mr. Flake, and about the ability of this body to run as it has in its entire history.

We Republicans don't understand why this big change. We do understand why we are in a deep recession. We do understand President Obama has an economic problem because he has helped create that, and we do understand Obama economics are about destroying the free enterprise system of this country on behalf of government. What we don't get is why can't Members of Congress openly debate this issue.

Vote for it and have openness and ethics at the same time. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to vote ``no.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

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