Republican Study Committee Budget

Floor Speech

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Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Banks for yielding, for the Special Order here this evening, for his leadership in crafting this very important budget, and for this discussion we are having on it tonight.

Madam Speaker, obviously, we have been waiting on a budget to vote on in the United States Congress and have yet to see a budget. Then I think we learned that there may not be a budget in the United States Congress this year.

That is very hard to understand because we are spending $4 trillion to $4.2 trillion. Two-thirds of that $4.2 trillion is mandatory spending, which is basically on automatic pilot, and it is skyrocketing. The biggest increases in our deficit are created by this mandatory spending.

On the discretionary side, it is about a third of what we spend totally. As far as discretionary spending goes, we have had some modest increases.

For the first part of the time that I was in Congress, we basically had budget caps, and, actually, discretionary spending was held to the same level the entire time.

I think it is sad that we are financing our standard of living in my generation on the backs of my children and their children and their children and their children.

So what do we do about it?

I am very proud to talk about what Jim Banks and his leadership and what the Republican Study Committee have done in presenting here this evening. This budget exemplifies fiscal sanity and preserves American freedom.

As most of you know, I spent my career in the running of small businesses, starting out in the construction industry, then participating in the banking industry and electronic medical records and real estate development. I did this in conjunction with my wife, Robin, as my partner.

Many times, we would sit down at the kitchen table, just like every other American family, and we would map out a budget. I knew that spending more than my means was simply out of the question.

Well, folks, why can't we do that here in Washington? We need more fiscal common sense here in Washington, and the RSC fiscal year 2020 budget does just that.

Picture this: $12.6 trillion in total deficit reduction over 10 years, balancing the budget in just 6 years by 2025. On that fact alone, I would hope that every Member of this body would offer their support.

This budget also fosters a rewarding environment for economic growth and job creation.

We have heard it over and over again from those who deal in investments and deal with the economy and the growth of the economy that the biggest wind at our face is this budget deficit. It is a headwind. It is going to be a headwind against the growth of this economy if we don't get serious about a budget.

This budget will give us that opportunity for economic growth and job creation.

Right now, we have the best economy in the world: 263,000 jobs were created last month, and over 7 million jobs are available throughout this Nation, far exceeding the number of jobseekers.

I was so glad to work with my colleagues here in Congress the last 2 years and with the President in making this happen. But the American people made it happen. All we did was provide an opportunity. We reformed regulations and we passed a tax reform bill that gave the economy a boost.

Frankly, in dealing with the budget deficit and going forward, our only hope in this is to grow our economy. We must have GDP growth.

In a telephone townhall with constituents from Georgia's 12th District last night, 73 percent of participants reported that our economy is headed in the right direction. When I ran for Congress in 2014, 70 percent of the people in my district said that the economy was going in the wrong direction, and we have flipped it.

However, a soaring economy also creates challenges. As we face increasing workforce needs, this budget prioritizes moving Americans off the sidelines and back into the workforce, rewarding work and promoting innovation.

Madam Speaker, I am the grandfather of 13 beautiful grandchildren, and the last thing I want to do is leave an insurmountable debt behind for our future generations. I strongly encourage all of my colleagues to get onboard with the RSC budget to restore a sense of fiscal responsibility to Washington. Our future depends on it.

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