Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2009 No. 63 House of Representatives The House met at 10:30 a.m. and was agreement with my constituent in that roles are not seriously embraced. Of- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- I am pleased for Mrs. Obama, but I tentimes, they are cut adrift or cast pore (Mrs. CAPPS). don’t want her high marks to diminish aside; not true with Laura Bush. f the high marks Laura Bush recorded. We wish Mrs. Obama well as she com- Madam Speaker, there is no blue- mences her role as our First Lady, DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO print for successfully filling the office while at the same time I want us to fa- TEMPORE of First Lady. Members of Congress vorably recall the 8 years Laura Bush The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- have elections and constituents to pro- served as our First Lady. fore the House the following commu- vide constructive criticism along the nication from the Speaker: way. The First Lady has no such ben- f WASHINGTON, DC, efit, and as a result, she must master April 28, 2009. the art of on-the-job training with the BUDGET—OUR LONG-TERM I hereby appoint the Honorable LOIS CAPPS world’s microscope on her every move. ECONOMIC PLAN to act as Speaker pro tempore on this day. Mrs. Laura Bush perfected this art as NANCY PELOSI, well as any other First Lady in our his- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Speaker of the House of Representatives. tory. Not only is her list of accomplish- Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from f ments long and meaningful, but they California (Ms. RICHARDSON) for 5 min- were achieved with little fanfare dur- utes. MORNING-HOUR DEBATE ing a tumultuous period in our history. Ms. RICHARDSON. Madam Speaker, The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- She is responsible, Madam Speaker, we are working to pass this week in ant to the order of the House of Janu- for spearheading the effort to bring the both the Senate and the House a budg- ary 6, 2009, the Chair will now recog- National Book Festival to the National et resolution. It is a long-term eco- nize Members from lists submitted by Mall. She led the charge to bolster nomic plan that we are working to- the majority and minority leaders for Teach for America, which helped in- gether with the administration that morning-hour debate. crease the number of teachers being will mark President Obama’s 100th day The Chair will alternate recognition produced by this program every year. in service. between the parties, with each party All of these teachers will teach in im- The fallout from the failed policies limited to 30 minutes and each Mem- poverished urban and rural schools. over the last 8 years has made this job ber, other than the majority and mi- She helped stave an impending crisis in even tougher. Let’s talk about what nority leaders and the minority whip, our libraries, which were facing a 40 has happened over the last 8 years and limited to 5 minutes. percent rate of attrition. Furthermore, what exactly President Obama inher- f much of her time overseas was spent ited. sharing information on HIV/AIDS and A record time during the last 8 years, TRIBUTE TO FIRST LADY LAURA malaria awareness and the needs of President Bush—and the Republicans LANE WELCH BUSH women. with that—built on a deficit of $5.8 tril- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Madam Speaker, Mrs. Bush has lion. When President Obama came into Chair recognizes the gentleman from sought no praise or public attention. this office, a $5.8 trillion deficit; when North Carolina (Mr. COBLE) for 5 min- This is exactly why her accomplish- President Bush came in, he had a $5.6 utes. ments should be recognized—and per- trillion surplus when you looked at it Mr. COBLE. Madam Speaker, haps even memorialized to some extent over this time period. Michelle Obama is enjoying immense so that future First Ladies can learn The national debt doubled, and the popularity throughout America. She from her legacy. amount held by foreign countries of has been described as a ‘‘breath of fresh When Mrs. Bush was asked whether ownership in this country has more air’’ and the ‘‘First Lady we have been she would assume a role by a previous than tripled. The smallest rate of job waiting for.’’ First Lady, she replied that she would growth in three-quarters of a century. A Democrat constituent spoke to me define her role as First Lady for her- There have been flat wages. And more several days ago expressing approval of self. Americans are living in poverty with- the First Lady’s high marks, but she Mrs. Bush’s demeanor portrays her as out health care insurance. furthermore expressed concern that we quiet and unassuming. Oftentimes, But this isn’t anything new to the do not forget Mrs. Obama’s immediate Madam Speaker, people—male and fe- American people. We have experienced predecessor, Mrs. Laura Bush. I am in male—who maintain quiet, unassuming this. We have seen it firsthand. And the b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H4843 . VerDate Nov 24 2008 00:57 Jun 07, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD09\RECFILES\H28AP9.REC H28AP9 mmaher on PROD1PC76 with CONG-REC-ONLINE H4844 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 28, 2009 American people spoke back in Novem- greatest economy on Earth in favor of avoid making them in the future. ber with an election and said that they a relentless march towards socialism Looking to the past, we discover that wanted a new direction and change. designed to subvert the worth of the in- Henry Morganthau, FDR’s Treasury Our long-term economic plan takes dividual and encourage the intrusion of Secretary, gave this very important steps to reduce health care costs, one government into all aspects of our quote in May of 1939 during the Great of the largest contributors to the def- lives.’’ Depression. He said, ‘‘We have tried icit, and a growing burden on our busi- Madam Speaker, I will submit the en- spending money. We are spending more nesses’ ability to compete and families’ tire ‘‘Tax Tea Party Declaration’’ for than we have ever spent before and it prosperity. the RECORD. And also, I have a petition does not work. I have just one interest, Our long-term economic plan is signed by over 2,000 people in Ocala, and now if I am wrong, somebody else something that the American people Florida, demonstrating their commit- can have my job. I want to see this have been calling for, a true look at ment to ending this bad economic pol- country prosper. I want to see people transparency, looking at the impacts icy. get a job. I want to see people get of the cost of the war in both Iraq and Like those who attended rallies in enough to eat. We have never made in Afghanistan. Starke, Trenton, Gainesville, and Or- good on our promises. I say, after 8 We have to consider in this long-term ange Park, I have not and will not sup- years of this administration, we have budget looking at the targeted invest- port bailout after bailout as sound eco- just as much unemployment as when ments that must be made that will ul- nomic policy. It is unconscionable for we started, and enormous debt to timately end in savings; investments in this administration and this Congress boot.’’ health care, investments in energy, in- to continue committing good money This current economic policy of bail- vestments in education, and real con- after bad. out after bailout and colossal govern- crete proposals that will pay for these In October of 2008, the U.S. Govern- ment spending is just plain wrong, investments. ment committed an astounding $700 Madam Speaker, and the American This plan marks the beginning of a billion in public funds to failing pri- people know it. new era of honesty. I, as a Member, had vate financial institutions through the When, in the course of human events, it be- an opportunity to go before the Budget Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP. comes necessary for like-minded patriotic Committee and to share what my pri- However, just last week, the TARP citizens to rally as one against the powers orities were, as every Member of Con- Special Inspector General reported that threaten to alter, diminish and destroy this country we love, proper respect for the gress had an opportunity to do. This is that the total cost of TARP will cost opinions of our fellow citizens requires that a new era of honesty, budgeting accu- the American taxpayer between $2.4 we should clearly state the grievances that racy, and openly representing costs trillion and $2.9 trillion. impel us to gather at this Ocala tea party to like the war, as I previously men- It is evident that we can no longer protest peacefully, but passionately in the tioned. Previous Republican budgets allow government bureaucrats such as tradition of our forefathers whose Boston masked these costs to make the deficit Timothy Geithner and Henry Paulson Tea party resonated around the world.