Date: 2007-06-12
Speaker: DAVID DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Tennessee

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman. I would like to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for offering this amendment. Any time we can save $1.2 million. I think we ought to do it. We have Americans sitting across our great fruited plain tonight listening to this debate. Theyve just gotten up from their dinner tables. trying to make decisions on how they can balance their own budgets. When we first came to Congress. Im a new Member of Congress. I came out of the Tennessee Legislature. When we came here. we talked about open government and -transparency. and were going to be the most honest government in Congress ever. also talked about gas prices are going to be brought down rather than go up. Those are just some of the things that were promised. Well. American families are sitting around their dinner tables tonight trying to decide how theyre going to balance their own budget. and theyre looking to us here in the Congress to make sure that we dont put an extra burden on them by raising their taxes and raising these appropriation requests. I came to the Congress out of the Tennessee Legislature. as I said. and.I was known for open government and transparency. Thats one ofthe ways I was able to win my election. And thats exactly what people want in this Congress. They want a Congress that they can feel good about. that were going to be honest with them and were going to spend their tax dollars wisely. Ronald Reagan once said. we dont have a $1 trillion debt because we dont .tax enough. We have a $1 trillion debt because we spend too much. And anything we can do to help control those tax dollars and that spending is exactly what we need to do. We need that transparency and that accountability as we move forward. and we dont need secret slush funds. We dont need to come in after we pass bills. later on. and then drop in pieces of legislation called earmarks. That was another promise thit was made during the last elections. that those would be open and transparent. We dont need to drop those in later. where the American people dont have an understanding: They understand theyve got to make their house payments. They understand theyve got to fill uptheir vehicles and their cars with this gas that was going to have lower gasoline prices. They understand that. But they certainly need to understand. as well. what were voting on. We need to be open and accountable. Its interesting to me. just looking back at some of the things that were said by the Democrat leadership. Back on September 14 of 2006. the Speaker of this House said. this is -a place where we really need to throw up the shades and pull back the curtains. We have to have the fullest possible disclosure. It has to be on earmarks and appropriations and authorizations and on taxation. and it has to be across the board with no escape hatches. Well. I stand in support of this amendment. so we can make sure that we throw up the shades and make sure that were held accountable. Id like. again. to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for her leadership on this amendment. And with that. Id like to yield my time to the gentlelady from North Carolina.