to get a job. host: thank you for your comments tonight. we are just about out of time on comments. you can continue if you like on twitter to add your thoughts on tonight's state of the union address or the republican response. we also have a facebook page set up to add to the commentary of others. we're continuing to aggregate the comments of people on twitter about the speech. you can find that on c-span.org on the state of the union paid. that is set for, it's. tomorrow on "washington journal," it will be about tonight's speech. your reactions to id and what -- into reactions from congress people who sought as well. next, the state of the union followed by the republican response.

>> mr. speaker, the>> mr. speakf [applause] >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states.

>> i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting in the president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so much. everybody, please have a seat.

>> mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, distinguished guests, and fellow americans -- tonight i want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th congress, as well as your new speaker, john boehner. [applause] and as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague -- and our friend -- gabby giffords. [applause]

it is no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. the debates have been contentious. we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. and that is a good thing. that is what a robust democracy demands. that is what helps set us apart as a nation. but there's a reason the tragedy in tucson gave us pause. amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where

we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -- something more consequential than party or political preference. we are part of the american family. we believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people -- that we share common hopes and a common creed -- that the dreams of a little girl in tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled. that, too, is what sets us apart as a nation. [applause] now, by itself, this simple recognition won't usher in a new era of cooperation. what comes of this moment is up

to us. what comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow. [applause] i believe we can. i believe we must. that's what the people who sent us here expect of us. with their votes, they have determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. new laws will only pass with support from democrats and republicans. we will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than

politics. at stake right now is not who wins the next election -- after all, we just had an election. at stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. it is whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. it is whether we sustain the leadership that has made america not just a place on a map, but a light to the world. we are poised for progress. two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. corporate profits are up. the economy is growing again. but we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. we measure progress by the success of our people. by the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs

offer. by the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. by the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children. that's the project the american people want us to work on. together. [applause] we did that in december. thanks to the tax cuts we passed, americans' paychecks are a little bigger today. every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. these steps, taken by democrats and republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year. but we have more work to do. the steps we've taken over the

last two years may have broken the back of this recession -- but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making. many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. you didn't always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. if you worked hard, chances are you would have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion. maybe you would even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company. that world has changed. and for many, the change has been painful. i've seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy main

streets. i've heard it in the frustrations of americans who've seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear -- proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game. they are right. the rules have changed. in a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there is an internet connection. meanwhile, nations like china and india realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. and so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. they're investing in research and new technologies.

just recently, china became home to the world's largest private solar research facility, and the world's fastest computer. so yes, the world has changed. the competition for jobs is real. but this shouldn't discourage us. it should challenge us. remember -- for all the hits we have taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, america still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. [applause] no workers are more productive than ours. no country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. we are home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to

study than any other place on earth. what is more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. that is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. it is why our students don't just memorize equations, but answer questions like "what do you think of that idea? what would you change about the world? what do you want to be when you grow up?" the future is ours to win. but to get there, we cannot just stand still. as robert kennedy told us, "the future is not a gift. it is an achievement." sustaining the american dream has never been about standing pat. it has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.

now it is our turn. we know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. we need to out-innovate, out- educate, and out-build the rest of the world. [applause] we have to make america the best place on earth to do business. we need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. that's how our people will prosper. that's how we will win the future. [applause] and tonight, i would like to talk about how we get there. the first step in winning the future is encouraging american

innovation. none of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. thirty years ago, we could not know that something called the internet would lead to an economic revolution. what we can do -- what america does better than anyone -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. we are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices, the nation of edison and the wright brothers, of google and facebook. in america, innovation does not just change our lives. it is how we make a living. [applause] our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. but because it is not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research,

throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. that is what planted the seeds for the internet. that is what helped make possible things like computer chips and gps. just think of all the good jobs -- from manufacturing to retail -- that have come from those breakthroughs. half a century ago, when the soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called sputnik we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. the science wasn't there yet. nasa did not even exist. but after investing in better research and education, we did not just surpass the soviets -- we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. this is our generation's sputnik moment. two years ago, i said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we have not seen since the height

of the space race. in a few weeks, i will be sending a budget to congress that helps us meet that goal. we'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology -- an [applause] investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people. already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. robert and gary allen are brothers who run a small michigan roofing company. after september 11, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the pentagon. but half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard. today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the

country. in robert's words, "we reinvented ourselves." that is what americans have done for over two hundred years -- reinvented ourselves. and to spur on more success stories like the allen brothers, we've begun to reinvent our energy policy. we are not just handing out money. we are issuing a challenge. we are telling america's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we will fund the apollo projects of our time. at the california institute of technology, they are developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. at oak ridge national laboratory, they are using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. with more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first

country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. [applause] we need to get behind this innovation. and to help pay for it, i am asking congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. [applause] i don't know if you've noticed, but they are doing just fine on their own. [laughter] so instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's. now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. so tonight, i challenge you to join me in setting a new goal -- by 2035, 80% of america's

electricity will come from clean energy sources. [applause] some folks want wind and solar. others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. to meet this goal, we will need them all -- and i urge democrats and republicans to work together to make it happen. [applause] maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to america's success. but if we want to win the future -- if we want innovation to produce jobs in america and not overseas -- then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. think about it. over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will

require education that goes beyond a high school degree. and yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. the quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. america has fallen to ninth in the proportion of young people with a college degree. and so the question is whether all of us -- as citizens, and as parents -- are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. that responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. it is family that first instills the love of learning in a child. only parents can make sure the tv is turned off and homework gets done. we need to teach our kids that it is not just the winner of the super bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair, that success

[applause] that success is not a function of fame or p.r., but of hard work and discipline. our schools share this responsibility. when a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. but too many schools do not meet this test. that is why instead of just pouring money into a system that is not working, we launched a competition called race to the top. to all fifty states, we said, "if you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we will show you the money."

race to the top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. for less than 1% of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. these standards were developed, not by washington, but by republican and democratic governors throughout the country. and race to the top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace no child left behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what is best for our kids. [applause] you see, we know what is possible for our children when reform is not just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals, school boards and communities. take a school like bruce

randolph in denver. three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in colorado, located on turf between two rival gangs. but last may, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. most will be the first in their family to go to college. and after the first year of the school's transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said "thank you, mrs. waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it." [applause] let's also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child's success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. in south korea, teachers are known as "nation builders." here in america, it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect.

[applause] we want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. [applause] and over the next ten years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. [applause] in fact, to every young person listening tonight who is contemplating their career choice -- if you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a

child -- become a teacher. your country needs you. [applause] of course, the education race does not end with a high school diploma. to compete, higher education must be within reach of every american. [applause] that is why we have ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. [applause] and this year, i ask congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit -- worth $10,000 for four years of college.

it's the right thing to do. because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today's fast- changing economy, we are also revitalizing america's community colleges. last month, i saw the promise of these schools at forsyth tech in north carolina. many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. one mother of two, a woman named kathy proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. and she told me she is earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. as kathy said, "i hope it tells them to never give up." as kathy said, "i hope it tells them to never give up." if we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every

child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they are born until the last job they take -- we will reach the goal i set two years ago. by the end of the decade, america will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. [applause] one last point about education. today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not american citizens. some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. they grew up as americans and pledge allegiance to our flag,

and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. but as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. it makes no sense. now, i strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. i am prepared to work with republicans and democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. [applause] i know that debate will be difficult and take time. but tonight, let's agree to make that effort. and let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who could be staffing

our research labs, starting new businesses, and further enriching this nation. [applause] the third step in winning the future is rebuilding america. to attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information -- from high-speed rail to high-speed internet. [applause] our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. south korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. countries in europe and russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. china is building faster trains and newer airports. meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation's infrastructure, they gave us a "d."

we have to do better. america is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. the jobs created by these projects did not just come from laying down tracks or pavement. they came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp. so over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. tonight, i am proposing that we redouble these efforts. [applause] we will put more americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. we will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what is best for the economy, not politicians.

within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of americans access to high-speed rail. [applause] this could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. for some trips, it will be faster than flying -- without the pat-down. [laughter] as we speak, routes in california and the midwest are already underway. within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all americans. this is not just about a faster internet or fewer dropped calls. it is about connecting every part of america to the digital age. it is about a rural community in iowa or alabama where

farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. it is about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device, a student who can take classes with a digital textbook, or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor. all these investments -- in innovation, education, and infrastructure -- will make america a better place to do business and create jobs. but to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success. for example, over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. but all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world.

it makes no sense, and it has to change. [applause] so tonight, i am asking democrats and republicans to simplify the system. get rid of the loopholes. level the playing field. and use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years -- without adding to our deficit. it can be done. [applause] to help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 -- because the more we export, the more jobs we create here at home. already, our exports are up.

recently, we signed agreements with india and china that will support more than 250,000 jobs here in the united states. and last month, we finalized a trade agreement with south korea that will support at least 70,000 american jobs. this agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor, democrats and republicans, and i ask this congress to pass it as soon as possible. [applause] before i took office, i made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that i would only sign deals that keep faith with american workers, and promote american jobs. that is what we did with korea, and that is what i intend to do as we pursue agreements with panama and colombia, and continue our asia pacific and global trade talks. [applause]

to reduce barriers to growth and investment, i have ordered a review of government regulations. when we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. [applause] but i will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the american people. [applause] that is what we have done in this country for more than a century. it is why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. it is why we have speed limits and child labor laws. it is why last year we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. and it is why we passed reform

that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients. [applause] now -- [applause] now i have heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about ournew health care law. [laughter] so let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. if you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, i am eager to work with you. we can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses. [applause]

[applause] had had what i am not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. [applause] i'm not willing to tell james howard, a brain cancer patient from texas, that his treatment might not be covered. i'm not willing to tell jim houser, a small business owner from oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. as we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on

their parents' coverage. [applause] so i say to this chamber tonight -- instead of refighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and move forward. [applause] now, the final step -- a critical step -- in winning the future is to make sure we are not buried under a mountain of debt. we are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. >> and in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs and put money in people's pockets. but now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to

confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. that is not sustainable. every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. they deserve a government that does the same. [applause] so tonight, i am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. this would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since dwight eisenhower was president. this freeze will require painful cuts.

already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. i have proposed cuts to things i care deeply about, like community action programs. the secretary of defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without. [applause] i recognize that some in this chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and i am willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. but let's make sure that we are not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. [applause] and let's make sure what we are cutting is really excess weight. cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its

engine. it may feel like you are flying high at first, but it will not take long before you will feel the impact. now, most of the cuts and savings i have proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget. to make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. it will not. [applause] the bipartisan fiscal commission i created last year made this crystal clear. i don't agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. and their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it -- in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.

[applause] this means further reducing health care costs, including programs like medicare and medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. the health insurance reform law we passed last year will slow these rising costs, which is part of the reason that nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. still, i am willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that republicans suggested last year -- medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits. [applause] to put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen social

security for future generations. [applause] and we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities, without slashing benefits for future generations, and without subjecting americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market. [applause] and if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans. [applause] before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.

it is not a matter of punishing their success. it is about promoting america's success. [applause] in fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all americans is to simplify the individual tax code. [applause] this will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and i am prepared to join them. [applause] so now is the time to act. now is the time for both sides and both houses of congress -- democrats and republicans -- to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. if we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to

win the future. let me take this one step further. we should not just give our people a government that is more affordable. we should give them a government that is more competent and efficient. we cannot win the future with a government of the past. [applause] we live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white tv. there are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. there are at least five different agencies that deal with housing policy. then there is my favorite example -- the interior department is in charge of salmon while they are in fresh water, but the commerce department handles them in when they are in saltwater. [laughter] and i hear it gets even more complicated once they are smoked.

[laughter] now we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. we're selling acres of federal office space that hasn't been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. but we need to think bigger. in the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive america. i will submit that proposal to congress for a vote and we will push to get it passed. [applause]

in the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of government. because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, i ask congress to do what the white house has already done -- put that information online. and because the american people deserve to know that special interests aren't larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in congress should know this -- if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, i will veto it. i will veto it. [applause]

a 21st century government that is open and competent. a government that lives within its means. an economy that's driven by new skills and ideas. our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. it will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs. just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. no single wall separates east and west. no one rival superpower is aligned against us. and so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. america's moral example must

always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice, and dignity. and because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that american leadership has been renewed and america's standing has been restored. look to iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high. [applause] american combat patrols have ended, violence is down, and a new government has been formed.

this year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of iraq. america's commitment has been kept. the iraq war is coming to an end. [applause] of course, as we speak, al qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. and as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that american muslims are a part of our american family. [applause]

we have also taken the fight to al qaeda and their allies abroad. in afghanistan, our troops have taken taliban strongholds and trained afghan security forces. our purpose is clear -- by preventing the taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the afghan people, we will deny al qaeda the safe haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11. thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer afghans are under the control of the insurgency. there will be tough fighting ahead, and the afghan government will need to deliver better governance. but we are strengthening the capacity of the afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. this year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an afghan lead. and this july, we will begin to

bring our troops home. [applause] in pakistan, al qaeda's leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. their safe havens are shrinking. and we have sent a message from the afghan border to the arabian peninsula to all parts of the globe -- we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you. [applause] american leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war.

because republicans and democrats approved the new start treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists. because of a diplomatic effort to insist that iran meet its obligations, the iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. and on the korean peninsula, we stand with our ally south korea, and insist that north korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons. [applause] this is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. with our european allies, we revitalized nato, and increased our cooperation on everything

from counter-terrorism to missile defense. we have reset our relationship with russia, strengthened asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like india. this march, i will travel to brazil, chile, and el salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the americas. around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility -- helping farmers grow more food, supporting doctors who care for the sick, and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity. recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power. it must be the purpose behind it. in south sudan, with our assistance, the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. thousands lined up before dawn.

[applause] people danced in the streets. one man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him. "this was a battlefield for most of my life," he said. "now we want to be free." [applause] we saw that same desire to be free in tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. and tonight, let us be clear -- the united states of america stands with the people of tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people. [applause]

we must never forget that the things we have struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. and we must always remember that the americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country. [applause] [applause]

tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. let us serve them as well as they have served us -- by giving them the equipment they need, by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned, and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation. our troops come from every corner of this country -- they are black, white, latino, asian, and native american. they are christian and hindu, jewish and muslim. and, yes, we know that some of them are gay. starting this year, no american will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. [applause]

and with that change, i call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the rotc. [applause] it is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. it is time to move forward as one nation. [applause] we should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. reforming our schools, changing the way we use energy, reducing our deficit -- none of this is easy. all of it will take time. and it will be harder because we will argue about everything. the cost. the details.

the letter of every law. of course, some countries don't have this problem. if the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad -- no matter how many homes are bulldozed. if they do not want a bad story in the newspaper, it does not get written. and yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, i know there is not a person here who would trade places with any other nation on earth. [applause]

we may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our constitution. we may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. we may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything is possible. no matter who you are. no matter where you come from. that dream is why i can stand here before you tonight. that dream is why a working class kid from scranton can stand behind me. [applause] that dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father's cincinnati bar can preside as speaker of the house in the greatest nation on earth.

[applause] that dream -- that american dream -- is what drove the allen brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. it is what drove those students at forsyth tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. and that dream is the story of a small business owner named brandon fisher. brandon started a company in berlin, pennsylvania that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. one day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a

chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them. but brandon thought his company could help. and so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as plan b. his employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. and brandon left for chile. along with others, he began drilling a 2,000 foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. 37 days later, plan b succeeded, and the miners were rescued. [applause] but because he did not want all of the attention, brandon was not there when the miners emerged. he had already gone home, back to work on his next project.

later, one of his employees said of the rescue, "we proved that center rock is a little company, but we do big things." [applause] we do big things. from the earliest days of our founding, america has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. that is how we win the future. we are a nation that says, "i might not have a lot of money, but i have this great idea for a new company. i might not come from a family of college graduates, but i will be the first to get my degree. i might not know those people in trouble, but i think i can help them, and i need to try. i am not sure how we will reach that better place beyond the horizon, but i know we will get there. i know we will."

we do big things. the idea of america endures. our destiny remains our choice. and tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong. thank you, god bless you, and may god bless the united states of america. [applause] [applause]

paul >> good evening. i am congressman paul ryan. i am chairman of the house budget committee. president obama's address the congressional chamber filled with many new faces. one face he did not see tonight was that of our friend and colleague congresswoman gabrielle giffords of arizona. we all miss her and her turf -- and her cheerful spirit. we are eager to have her return to the chamber. president obama spoke movingly at a memorial event for the people who died at that shooting in arizona.

we can insure them that the nation is praying for them. over time, grace will replace your grief. as she continues to make a encouraging progress, we need to keep her and others in our thoughts as we tend now to the work before us. tonight, the president focused lot of attention on our economy in general and on our deficit and debt in particular. he was right to do so. some of his words were reassuring. as chairman of the house budget committee, i want to work with the president to restrain federal spending. in one of our first acts in the new majority, house republicans voted to cut congress's own budget. just today, the house voted to reduce -- to restore the spending discipline that washington sorely needs. the reason is simple. a few years ago, reducing spending was important. today, it is imperative. here's why. we face a crushing burden of debt.

the debt will soon eclipse our entire economy and virtu catastrophic levels in the years ahead. when my three children who are now 6, 7, and eight years old and are raising their own children, the federal government will double in size and so will the taxes they pay. no economy can sustain such high levels of debt and taxation. the next generation will inherit a stagnant economy and a diminished country. frankly, it is one of my greatest concerns as a parent. i know many of you feel the same way. our debt is a product of many presidents and many congresses over many years. there is no doubt that the president came into office facing a severe fiscal and economic situation. unfortunately, instead of restoring the fundamentals of economic growth, he engaged in a spending spree. he not only failed to deliver on

creating jobs, but plunged us deeper into debt. the facts are clear. since going into office, president obama has increased spending by 25%. all of this new government spending was sold as investment. after two years, the unemployment rate remains above 9%. and government has had over $3 trillion to our debt. what we already know about the president's health care law is this. costs are going up. premiums are rising. millions of people will lose the coverage the currently have. job creation is being siphonest. unions from around the country are asking president obama for

waivers from the mandates. the president mentioned the need for regulatory reform to ease the burden on american businesses. we agree. we think that the health care law would be a great place to start. last week, house republicans voted for a full repeal of this law as we pledged to do. and we will work to replace it with fiscally responsible patient-centered reforms. health-care spending is driving the explosive growth in our debt. our debt is out of control. what was a physical challenge is now a fiscal crisis. we cannot deny it. instead, we must come as americans, confront it responsibly. and that is exactly what republicans pledged to do. americans are skeptical of both political parties. that skepticism is justified, especially when it comes to spending.

so hold all those accountable. in this very room, the house will produce, debate, and advance a budget. last year, in an unprecedented failure, congress chose not to pass or even propose a budget. the spending spree continued unchecked. we owe you a better choice and a different vision. our forthcoming budget is our obligation to you, to show you how we would do things differently, how we will cut spending to get the debt down, help create jobs and prosperity, and reform government programs. if we act soon and if we act responsibly, people in and near retirement will be protected. these budget debates are not just about the programs of government. they're also about the purpose of government. i would like to share with you the principles that guide us. they are anchored in the wisdom of the founders. in the spirit of the declaration of independence and in the words of the american constitution.

they have to do with the importance of limited government and the blessing of self-government. we believe government role as both vital and limited, to defend the nation from attack, to provide for the common defense, to secure our borders, to protect innocent life, to uphold our laws and constitutional lawyer -- rights, to ensure domestic tranquillity , and equal opportunity. and to provide a safety net to help provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. we believe that the government has an important role to provide the conditions that promote entrepreneurship, upward mobility, and individual responsibility. we believe, as our founders did, that the pursuit of happiness depends on individual liberty and individual liberty requires limited government. limited government also means effective government. when darrent takes on too many tasks, -- when government takes on too many tasks, it does not do any of them well.

trusting the government is at an all-time low now that the size of government is at an all-time high. the president and the democratic leadership have shown with their actions that they believe government needs to increase its size and reach, its price tag and its power, whether sold as stimulus or repackaged as investment. their actions show that they want it federal government that controls too much, taxes too much, and spends too much in order to do too much. and during the last two years, that is exactly what we have got and, along with record deficits and debts, to the point where the president is now urging congress to increase the debt limit. we believe the days of "business as usual" must come to an end. we hold to a couple of single convictions. and this borrowing is not a strategy. spending cuts have to come first. our nation is approaching a tipping point. we are at a moment where

government's growth, if left unchecked and unchallenged, america's best century will be considered our past century. this is the future in which we will transform our social safety net into a hammock which flows people into complacency. depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness, and what consumer choices has never worked and it will not work now. we need to chart a new course. speaking candidly, as one citizen to another, we still have time. but not much time. if we continue our current path, we know what our future will be. just take a look at what is happening to greece, ireland, the united kingdom, and other nations in europe. they did not act soon enough. in other governments have been forced to in force painful austerity measures, barge benefit cuts to seniors, and huge tax increases on everybody. their day of reckoning has

arrived. ours is around the corner. that is why we have to act now. some people will back away from this challenge. but i see this challenge as an opportunity to rebuild what lincoln called a central idea of the republic. we believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy and create millions of new jobs and opportunity for all people of every background to succeed and prosper. under this approach, a spirit of initiative, not political clout, determines who succeeds. millions of families have fallen on hard times, not because of our ideals as a free enterprise, but because our leaders failed to live up to those ideals, because of poor decisions made on washington and wall street, squandering our savings, broking -- breaking a trust and crippled our economy. today, a similar kind of irresponsibility friends not only are likely hold its -- our

livelihoods, but our way of life. we need to reclaim our limited system -- our system of limited government. it has done tmore to help the poor than any other system ever designed. that is the secret to it. limited government and free enterprise have helped to make america the greatest nation on earth. america is an exceptional nation. and all the chapters of human history, there has never been anything quite like america. the american story has been cherished, advance, and defended over the centuries. it now falls to this generation, to our children, aid nation that is more stronger, more vibrant, more decent, and better than the one we inherited. thank you and good night.

>> we're talking to different members of congress throughout the night to get their reaction to the speech. we are kicking off with someone who was a freshman member of congress, but who has already been twisted of the union. this is cedric richmond of louisiana. what was it like to be a member of congress listening to the president's speech? >> i can tell you, i heard a better speech last year when i was a guest of the majority whip and i was sitting in the first lady's box. this president is good at reminding you of the purchase -- the purpose of why we're here. it is more important that we put american people first. that is what american people told us on november 2. >> one of the things that the

president specifically called for, freeze on -- note year marks, no social security cuts, and trying to deal with illegal immigration. >> i think he is right about those. he also talked about reorganizing government. i continue, from being in new orleans, we have a bunch of duplication of service and a bunch of requirements that do not make sense anymore in this technology age. i am looking forward to that. i am looking forward to jumping in and see if we cannocan get rf those loopholes and make sure everybody's paying their fair share. i am on homeland security, small business, and the ranking member on the house committee on small business. >> congratulations.

>> i am assistant with. >> congratulations. welcome to congress. you brought a very special guest with you this evening. >> yes. i brought my mother with me. she is a big fan of the president. >> yes, i am. >> she is my number one fan. >> what did you think of the speech? were you on the floor or in the galley? >> i was in the gallery. it was an awesome experience. it was overwhelming. but i was very happy to be here. i thought the speech was wonderful. i like the cooperative tone of it. i think he has some great ideas. i think we will be ok. >> do you think you'll be spending a little bit of time in washington now? >> i hope so. >> it is nice to meet you. >> another democrat has joined us. he is of vermont. first of all, what are the

ribands everybody is wearing. bbonsat are the rigg everybody is wearing. >> they are to memorialize the people in tucson. it really gripped everybody, what happened in tucson. i think the president put that into context. we have enormous challenges in this country. we have to create jobs. we have to bring down the deficit. if you notice, there was less competition standing up and more listening on the part of the members. half let's hope that the flow for the future. >> you alluded to this, it was more subdued. >> it was. part of the reason is because

republicans and democrats were sprinkled throughout the chamber. in the past, there has been a bit of a competition, one side stands and cheers and the other adamantly sits and vice versa. this year, you had both sides standing up together care and sometimes they stood and sometimes they did not. but they focused on listening. but we all had in mind what happened in tucson. gabby giffords, one of the reasons she is one of the most popular members in congress is that she has this wonderful ability to be extremely direct and telling you whawhere youth - where she thinks you should go. but she did it with a smile and you could take into account. the president is inviting us to do that. the issues are tough. we have to create jobs in this country and we have to bring down the deficit. we should do them simultaneously. in fact, we must. the president emphasized infrastructure, investment,

clean energy products to create jobs. >> who were your seat mates? >> i sat next and two republicans. we were all together and had a good time. >> are the friends of yours in general? >> charlie is a friend i have known from my travels to afghanistan. steve came in a term ago. i have been getting to know him better. >> and did the clock? >> he did. i do not know -- did he clap? >> he did. >> we are located in statuary hall, which served as the house chamber. in 1935. you can see the scrum of media and members of congress here in statuary hall, all putting in

their two sons about the president's speech. about thetheir 2 cents president's speech. congresswoman, you were at the door to greet the president. what did you have to do to get that premium seats? >> this is a great happening. it is good for america to see this happening in the rock. this is the democratic process. when i sit in the aisle seat, i am representing mind constituents. they are very far away and it is important to let them know what we do here. it is important to have a moment with those secretaries. you emphasize some texas issues and some houston issues. the texas issued today, as much as it is for the nation, it is about jobs, nafta, particularly about education. we are suffering great budget

cuts in taxes. our legislature is in session tonight to discuss in budget cuts and legislation that impacts immigration. there are a lot of issues. >> the president brought up a freeze on domestic spending. would you support that? >> i think the details of what we all need. certainly, we are all committed to working toward a balanced budget if that is possible. but also to look at how we can help with the deficit. pead olson, a republican from texas, i think we can work together. i am certainly concerned about medicare, medicaid, social security. those will all be part of the road map. how do we get from a tizzy? i think the president laid out a very good -- from 82 z -- from a to z? i think the president laid out a

very good plan. >> and now from texas to georgia, david scott. congressman, serving what? the fifth term? >> yes. >> i thought it was great. it was just on time. it was what we needed. i was especially pleased the way he emphasized jobs and education. the greatest challenge we face right now is making sure that the united states stays strong in terms of it commit -- in terms of its commitment to the world, as far as our innovativeness of our workforce, the competitiveness of our work force, and he emphasized of those things. that is very important. only that we can we move with the boldness and the confidence to make sure we sustain our position of leadership in the world. jobs, education, competitiveness, in novation. >> you agree with the

president's call on a freeze on domestic spending? >> i do, but i think we have to look at each thing very, very strategically. but basically, generally, i am in agreement with that. but i also think we need to make sure we look at everything with a jaundiced eye. i am concerned that we do not interfere with the basic safety net operations of the american people, social security, medicare, medicaid. those of the things that sustain us. there are all kinds of areas that need to be cut. >> congressman scott, democrat of georgia. >> thank you. >> would continue here in statuary hall. we have been talking with several members. we will mix this all up tonight as we continue to talk with other people. this is judy chu, who is a sophomore and a half -- one-and- a-half terms, true? >> true. >> democrat of california.

>> correct. >> was this different from last year? >> yes. there was an emphasis on civility. i was kind of surprised by the tone and the response. it was very good. there was a feeling of moving together towards the future. >> who did use it with a? >> i sat with roscoe bartlett. >> republican of maryland. lexie's. >> is he a friend of yours from outside or somebody you are just getting to know? >> we got to know each other over a course of time, maybe the last year-and-a-half. we both liked to walk. >> how has that experienced -- how was that experience as opposed to sitting with the democratic caucus? >> it was actually great. he was so warm and friendly. we get to know each other even better. in fact, we sat together with former speaker nancy pelosi. >> what did the president say

that you disagreed with that? -- disagreed with? >> i wanted to know more about the cuts, the five-year spending freeze. i wanted to truly make sure that our most of vulnerable are not hurt. >> duty to, democrat, california, thank you for your time. judy -- judy chu, a democrat, california, thank you for your time. we have another freshman joining us, a freshman from the senate side. >> yes. >> you spent a lot of time on a house side. now you are a senator. what did you think? >> i sat with illinois senator dick durbin, my counterpart. and i thought it was very good. we sat as patriots, not as

partisans. >> you come from the state of the president and of the majority whip. >> and i have the president's senate seat. >> that is going to benefit you. >> it certainly does. but the job is looking forward rather than behind. my job is to fight for the people of illinois as defined by the most recent election. >> when did you stand up and applaud the president? >> these are the pros and these are the cons. to emphasize the positive, simplifying the tax code is good, protecting our border, a repealing part of health care, his only veto threat was against earmarks. any bill that has an earmarked in it. i took to heart opening universities to rotc after the end of don't ask/don't tell. >> were you surprised? >> i was and i was very happy about that.

on the negative side, i counted 12 spending proposals. i am wondering how we would do that. i think the issue of overhanging the whole speech is a $3 trillion deficit. i put in their request for the appropriations committee. -- i put in a request for the operations committee. >> senator mark kirk, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> we have a bunch of stanchions here in statuary hall. nice to me to, sir. >> sophomore. >> democrat of new york. >> yes. i loved the challenges he put before the station. invest in need jobs is the number one priority. there was a passionate resolve for global energy and

innovation. i thought the challenge was significant, to invest in research, r&d, and build jobs to our economy through the work force. i thought the challenge to celebrate signs fares as much as we celebrate super bowls is a great challenge. let's establish our priorities. let's invest in education, higher education, research money, and growing innovation economy. that is what my capital region of new york is in. we are the fastest-growing region for technology jobs in the country. this knowledge is that we have to resolve with passion the efforts to enter into the global race on innovation. there is a lesser rate in the 7% to 8% area in the eastern end and grows tired to the western

and where the older miltowns are located. we have a sector economy that has been good, but now we have our state governments across the country who are threatened with jobs because of the economy. >> there has been a lot of talk about bipartisanship. have you seen it? >> i think tonight, there was an effort to act bipartisanly. we made certain that we could put a block of it together, for republicans and four democrats. the sense of urgency here is critical. we understand and the president highlighted that the contest is not between democrats and republicans. the contest is america and competitor nations across this globe looking to land jobs and industry. and we do it by investing in our children, investing in their education, investing in basic research, and are indeed.

it provides for lucrative dividends when we have -- when we act in that matter. i like redoubling the prairies of this country so that -- i like rejuggling the priorities of this country. we can gain a competitive and robust state of affairs with clean energy. tonko of new york. from new york to missouri appeared good to see you, -- from new york to missouri. good to see you, congressman, carnahan.

>> i like hearing emphasis on science and innovation. sam lewis has had a great infrastructure for signs, signs of decay -- st. louis has had a great infrastructure for science and science education. iolite clear idea of bipartisan support, but also -- i like the idea bipartisan support, but also a jolt for innovation. we have a strong health care and research sector and transportation. i think a lot of the things the president said tonight will hit home for folks in missouri. >> it is good to see you. >> thank you. >> you can see here the scrum

happening in statuary hall this evening, following the president's address. senator, it is good to see you. >> it is good to be here. >> you have been around washington for a long time. you know this city pretty well. what did tonight feel like? >> it felt like a night filled with hope. there are certainly questions about how you get there. what does it look like? the president laid down some pretty strict rules for us to achieve the goals that he wants us to achieve. when you say we are limiting spending increases, of the telling your marks, these are important things. he talked about the value of education. we have to do a lot of work to get people there. i was a beneficiary of the gi bill. i served in the army and it say

it -- it changed my life. everything was free because of my military service. how do we do it now? i think it was a good speech. i think it was intended to be an inspirational speech. and it achieved some hope. i even saw a couple of republicans sitting next to democrats smile every now and then. >> who did use it with? >> i sat with burnie standards. [laughter] -- bernie sanders. [laughter] we do share a progressive agenda, he and i. >> again, you have been around washington a long time. who are some of your republican friends that you can work with? >> there are people who sit over there that i respect greatly. dick lugar is one of them. foreign affairs and nuclear proliferation, those kinds of

things. we worked together on transportation for a long time. there are other people there who i sit on committees with. for instance, i consider to be a andinhausen.n haujim in >> there have been reports in the last year about your health. >> it is terrific. i had the best year one could have. i am in perfect health. and i use the word loosely. despite the fact that i am the oldest member of the united states senate, for having that title, i am doing very well and i am looking for two years ahead of work.

>> thank you. we continue talking with members of congress. following the president's third state of the union address, which lasted a little bit over an hour, we are now joined by a freshman member from florida. daniel webster, that is a well- known name. >> my district is central florida, orange county. >> you beat alan grayson. >> i did. >> what did you think? >> i was awed by the crowd and by the electricity that was there. it was certainly a speech that i had not heard the other two times. i think there were some different tones, more consolatory, realizing that there is a republican house, a divided senate, and a democratic president. i think he wants to work with us. >> did you stand up during the

speech and applaud? >> i did. >> when? >> i stood up for the military, for mary kay, for the idea of getting rid of some of the regulations on business, for cutting spending further. there were quite a few things i stood up for. >> you have had a quite actively court two. >> yes. these head at the heart of some of things that were done in the last congress. i do not think they were quite as accepted as we might have on other issues. >> there's quite a debate today on the budget committee city royals for the budget committee. what is your view of that? >> the point is this. there has to be a starting place. somewhere, if we will cut -- the president talked about cuts and getting rid of waste and so have we.

we have established a starting point. that is the 2008 budget, rolling back the two dozen a budget for discretionary spending. -- rolling back to the 2008 budget for discretionary spending. somehow and some way, we have to turn off the spigot of spending. >> give us a brief biography of yourself. >> i served in the florida legislature from 1980 through 2008. i was in the florida house of representatives for 18 years. i was the first republican speaker in 122 years. i went to the senate and served the last three years there as the majority leader and then i was turned out again. then i ran for congress a few years later. >> then you probably know your new senator marco rubio. >> yes. i also know members of the congressional delegation and members of congress from days in the legislature where they also

worked in the legislature. >> new republican representative from florida. >> thank you. and now, joining us is another freshman representative from colorado. what did you think about the president's speech? >> it is an honor to be in there, my first state of the union. i thought there was a lot of positives. there was a tip of the hat to small business. i am a private sector person. this is what we need to get moving in this country to get people back to work. it was nice to be able to hear beyond just saying that we need to look to the private sector

and small business. there was talk about raising taxes once again on businesses that are llc's. the words did not always match. >> what committees have you been assigned to? >> ayalon natural resources and small business. >> talking a little -- i am on natural resources and small business. >> does that include grand junction? >> yes, sir. it goes from the wyoming border down the entire length and you talk to the new mexico border. we cross the rockies and go from pueblo, colorado. question was representing it before you? -- >> who was representing it

before you? >> john salazar. >> thank you. and now, from colorado back down to florida, a new republican, one of 87 new freshmen republicans. >> absolutely. how're you doing? >> congressman colonel alan >> . -- congressman colonel alan west. your first state of the union. >> it is certainly an honor. the president talked about the american dream. i am living it. >> he also talked about opening up rotc on college campuses. >> i think it is a sad thing. all of those college campuses should have been opened to rotc regardless. the fact that they are lifting don't ask/don't tell should not have been a condition to make sure that all the university students had access to serve their country if they wished to do so. >> you are serving on arms

services? >> yes. >> what will be your main issue? >> a couple of things. when we look at what is happening in iraq and especially in afghanistan, the rules of engagement, i want to make sure that we get away from nation- building and occupation-style warfare and get back to denying the enemy sanctuaries. i think we have to be careful about setting time lines out there that are in air- conditioned space. intentions to your addition the enemy, this is a very tough enemy we are against. >> i think guantanamo bay has served its purpose. i do not want to see these individuals on united states shores. that is why we have these prisons. one man was acquitted on 200

charges. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> we continue talking with members of congress following the president's state of the union speech here on c-span to. -the new house chamber is opened in 1835. you can see congress and the media still chatting, getting reactions. joining us is another freshman member, one of 87 new republicans. he is of oklahoma. tell us about your district. >> it is a great district, central oklahoma, oklahoma city, edmund, and all of that, oklahoma county, semeseminal coy and more -- seminol county

and more. >> did you take senator policy? >> yes. there was not a route he party support in oklahoma. they were passionate about ideas, but not individual candidates. this is a long journey for my wife. for both of us to be able to talk the whole way through, we started in 2008, talking whether we need to get involved in this process. we felt compelled to jump into the process and say that we have to the part of it. i have always been very passionate about the issues and ideas, but have never been in gates' like this until now. >> tell us -- been engaged like this until now. >> feliz about your experience in the chambers.

>> we have five oklahomans -- >> tell us about your experience in the chambers. >> we have five oklahomans. >> deed to stand up at any point and cheer for the president -- did you stand up at any point and cheer for the president? >> yes. he had ideas about tax reform. that is something that republicans have been talking about for a long time. i was able to stand up and cheer for that. obviously, for our soldiers and what is happening in the field. cheered for the educators. >> congressman, thank you for your time this evening. >> you bet. >> have you been assigned to committee? >> yes, i am a subcommittee chairman on oversight and reform. >> already? freshman year? >> yes. we have a lot to do. >> the budget committee sounds like it will be very active. >> yes. we have to look at the

president's budget in the coming day. once we have the cbo's course, we will take it on. there were additional budget cutting ideas from the president tonight. we did not get that. we basically have to keep the status quo. that is not really an option. we have $1.40 trillion of additional debt every single year now. it does not help us catch up at all. >> it helps to return to the 2008 model. >> it helps to go backwards. it is to% higher now than it was in 2008. -- it is 2% higher than what it was in 2008. we have to start working our way backwards and say that we have to spend less if we will start biting down the deficit a little bit. this proposal was $4 billion for the next 10 years, when it is

section $1.40 trillion every year in debt. >> thank you for your time. >> we get the opportunity to .alk with another freshman congressman, will come to washington. >> thank you -- congressman, welcome to washington. >> thank you. i am a new freshmen from michigan, replacing peter hoekstra. he ran for governor in michigan and was not able to win that primary. i served as his district director. i served in that capacity for six years. i was also a state legislator in michigan for six years. two years ago, i turned out. i am a small-business owner. i on a gravel company. i am firmly planted in the business world, but also in the public policy world.

i love your channel. i love c-span. i am always a faithful watcher of any of the state of view of the union addresses. it is very different being in the chamber. i think the seating arrangements, frankly, sort of cut down on the theatrics of what you normally see. i sat next to a democrat and republican on my other side and another democrat on the other side of him. i sat next to brad sherman from sherman oaks in california. and then it was donna edwards from maryland. and next to me was also jeff landrieu, a freshman from louisiana. it was a good experience. as we went through the speech, we compared notes. that was interesting. >> -- >> we were in baltimore. it was very positive. i think you see a lot of pent-

up "let's go get them closed out of this freshman class. it is setting the pace. the leadership has been wonderful to work with. they want to make sure that everyone is realistic on what expectations are. we are setting benchmarks of progress. we will not able to solve this whole thing in one fell swoop. it will be a long and continuous process. we have to live within our means. we have to make sure that we're not just expecting miracles as we're doing this. it will take little time to move around. hall. >> talking with us here in statuary hall.

others continue to talk following the state of the union address. we are right outside the house chamber. coming up next, another new member, a republican of florida. start by telling us about your district. >> along this congressional district in florida. we have 16 counties. two times times. we are in the pan hall -- we have the panhandle. we have eight coastal counties on the gulf of mexico. and 12 rural counties in total. it is a great place. >> had the seat prior to you. >> congressman alan boyd. he was a democrat. they had not elected and are -- and a republican -- they had not

elected a republican since 1882. i am a small business owner and my grandfather started our funeral home 16 years ago -- 60 years ago. i am in business with other members of my family. >> where did you get the idea to run for congress? >> last year, high that built the responsibilities with all the boards that i serve, and i got back involved in the business. i had started seeing the downturn in the economy and house small businesses around the country, including my own, were struggling. that is a formula that has always been successful. i was expressing pressure that should never be the case. i made the decision instead of complaining about it, i went out and got involved, and so now i'm

here. it's rather surreal. >> at what point did to disagree with the president was a margin -- with the president? i determine to do everything to make washington, d.c. a reflection of the people. i believe that for many administrations we have not been a reflection of the people. and washington in many ways is out of touch. i was disappointed in that the initiatives, what i heard tonight was not bold enough. and the hard-working men and women back in my district, they want something bold. they want something strong. they understand the crisis that we're facing, the debt, this economy is not as robust as it should be, because we are harming and hurting small business. that is 85% of our economy.

i think the initiative such as freezing spending for five years to produce a $400 billion pay down on the deficit, that is nice but it is a token on what we should really be doing. we have to make difficult decisions and go much higher than $400 billion in savings. >> thank you for spending a few moments with us here on c-span. some new members of congress calling the state of the union speech. now all longtime member of congress. >> not so long. proud to have been elected. >> that is a long time. >> it is an honor to be with you. >> you are a democrat in texas. of all to talk about your friend, gabby giffords. if i remember, i remember you

talking about her. wollastonite a little bit different than previously -- was tonight a little bit different than previous stated the union addresses? >> we want her to take her rightful place in the chamber. our prayers are still with her and all the other families. i always singled out the family of that 9-year-old baby that lost her life. i want never again any of thing of this nature that happen in this nation. >> at what point did you disagree with the president when he was talking about freezing domestic spending? for example, anything the president said? 100% with't agree

anyone. but it was a pity -- was a pretty good speech. he set the tone and tenor when he indicated it is about working together tonight and tomorrow. we need -- we have to come back tomorrow and deal with the serious business, the balanced budget, and now will require that we do more than sticking together. we have to work together. i am looking forward to working across the aisle to make a difference for the lives of the american people. >> you change from the majority to the minority. >> things are different. but i am still here for those who have been locked out and left out. i'm doing all that i can to make sure we have good health care for all americans, that we have a good education for all americans, and that we provide the best that we can propose who

are willing to go that distant places and put their lives on the line. america is great for many reasons and we can never overlook the fact that our soldiers, our men and women in uniform, are there to protect america. >> thank you. >> coming up next on c-span, the house debates cuts to the budget. that is followed by the president's state of the union speech and the republican response by congressman paul ryan. >> on tomorrow's "washington journal," reaction to the state of the union speech from members of congress. we will talk to chris van hollen, charles grassley, city of -- debbie wasserman schultz, and congressman frank guinta "washington journal" begins at

7:00 a.m.. didn't we just created new entitlements on top of the other ones that we have. we owe the country to protect. and republicans chose paul ryan to respond to the president's state of the union address. find out more about them in the more than 300 c-span appearances on line at the c-span video library. it is washington your way. >> the house passed a resolution today agreeing to reduce federal spending to 2008 levels. the bill specifically exempts and defense and homeland security. here's the debate on that resolution. we began with rules committee chairman david dreier. this is just over an hour. mr. dreier: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks

on the resolution that is before us. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dreier: madam speaker, one of the indelible and enduring images of 2010 was that of violent protesters on the streets of athens following the proposal of the government to impose austerity measures. we all remember very vividly that scene. coming to the brinks brink of collapse and nearly dragging the entire euro zone with it, the greek government had no choice, no choice but to scale back its profligate ways. thousands of public employees took to the streets in anger. now, madam speaker, i contrast that with the image of tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators across america coming out to express their influences stration with -- sfration with excessive

government spending. rather than demanding federal largess, these tax-taxed-enough demonstrators came together to petition their government for greater restraint and discipline. this might actually, madam speaker, have been a first in human history. it was a powerful illustration of the unique nature of american values. it was also a testament to just how badly fiscal discipline is needed. this issue is no longer just the per view of budget wonks and economists. the looming crisis of our national debt is a challenge that working americans recognize very clearly. while the magnitude of a $14 trillion debt is simply too massive to truly comprehend, those with a modicum of common common sense can appreciate the crushing whailt that will full

on future generation if we do not immediately change course, the damage could quickly become irreversible. today's resolution is a clear signal that we are making that change in course. house resolution 38 is the first step, madam speaker, the first step in what will be a long and admittedly very difficult process over the next two years as we pursue the goal of living within our means. . this resolution lays down a marker to return to pre-bailout, pre-binge spending, pre-stimulus levels. this resolution provides the framework under which we will finally dispense with the fiscal year 2011 budget which the previous congress unfortunately failed to do. nearly halfway through the fiscal year, we're nearly halfway through the fiscal year, now the imperative is to

responsibly finish the work that is really very, very urgent for us to approach and deal with at this moment. once we move beyond this task we will immediately pivot to fiscal year 2012. we will craft a budget, we will consider alternatives with a full debate and then this house will pass a budget. we will then proceed with consideration of appropriations bills. we will return to the traditional open process that always governed our appropriations bills prior to the last couple of years. this will ensure full accountability and true collaboration and restore the deliberative traditions and customs of this body. there will be very tough choices ahead. very tough choices need to be made. there will be -- there's no doubt that we will engage in heated debate and i suspect we will in just a few minutes right here. but we simply cannot afford to

put off the hard work any longer. madam speaker, today we take the first step. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. govern governor thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i -- mr. mcgovern: thank you, madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in very, very strong opposition to this resolution. as i said yesterday during the debate on the rules, there are numerous serious problems with this resolution. first, it's meaningless rhetoric. my friends on the other side of the aisle like to talk a lot about cutting government spending but the resolution before us doesn't cut a single dollar from the budget. not a single cent. the republican study committee recently proposed $2.5 trillion in budget cuts and their chairman, mr. jordan from ohio, said the following when he introduced this plan, and i quote, $100 billion is the number the american people heard last fall. it seems to me we should be able to find $100 billion, end quote.

yet even after pledging $100 billion cut in funding, the distinguished chairman of the rules committee couldn't come up with a number. we asked yesterday and instead produced what is likely the first budget resolution in history that doesn't contain any budget numbers. that might be because the republican majority can't seem to figure out what the numbers should be. we've heard all kinds of numbers. we've heard $30 billion, $50 billion, $100 billion and beyond. but i suspect, madam speaker, that's because the republican majority is discovering that it's a lot harder to walk the walk than it is to talk the talk. it is a lot easier to say things in a campaign than it is to do things in a legislative body. they're realizing that when you start trying to make those kinds of cuts, you start seriously affecting the american economy and the american people. we are told that the congressional budget office will produce some numbers tomorrow. i wonder why we couldn't wait until tomorrow to debate this

resolution? but the answer is obvious. the president of the united states will be here this evening for the state of the union address and the republican majority needs a new set of talking points. it's that kind of politics, where a message is more important than substance, that makes the american people cynical about washington. second, the resolution continues the dangerous precedent of giving one individual, the chairman of the budget committee, rather than the full membership of this house, the ability to set spending levels for the federal government. and, third, the resolution is vegas and unjustifies wording that only targets nonsecurity spending although everyone from secretary gates to speaker boehner has recognized that waste exists in the department of defense and at the department of homeland security and other security-related agencies. it says a great deal about the priorities of a new republican majority that they would treat wasteful contracts and redun can't dant weapons system -- redundant weapons systems as

sacred but would put food safety, f.b.i., a.t.f. and d.e.a. agents and other vital programs on the chopping block. now, of course, when we democrats have the audacity to talk about the need to protect those important programs, our republican friends grow indignant and head to the fainting couch. oh, no, they say, we would never cut those things. but, madam speaker, the numbers just don't add up. when you start saying the popular program, the popular program will be protected, you realize that it would take massive cuts in other parts of the budget. when we talk about exempting only security programs, it means that other programs will need to be cut by 30% below current levels. that means the department of justice has to cut 4,000 f.b.i. agents, 800 a.t.f. agents, 1,500 d.e.a. agents and 900 u.s. marshals. federal prisons have to cut 5,700 correctional officers and the federal government will lose the capacity to detain 26,000

people because of their immigration status. now of course the distinguished chairman of the rules committee said we're not going to cut the f.b.i., as we said yesterday, so i can only assume that means more a.t.f. agents and d.e.a. agents and u.s. marshals will be fired by the republicans. i can only assume that this means more than 26,000 people in this country illegally won't be in federal custody. that's the republican agenda? madam speaker, i think former secretary of state colin powell said it best this weekend and i quote, i'm very put off when people just say, let's go back and freeze to the level two years ago. don't tell me you're going to freeze to a level. that usually is a very inefficient way of doing it. tell me what you're going to cut. as i urge my colleagues to reject this misguided resolution, i ask my republican colleagues, what's the number and what are you going to cut? i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california.

mr. dreier: madam speaker, i yield myself 30 seconds to say to my good friend, again, that this is the beginning of a process. we have been saddled with situation where for the first time since the implementation of the 1974 budget impoundment act we have no budget. and so what is it we've elected to do? nearly halfway through the fiscal year we're faced with this challenge. we're now in a position where we are going to begin going through regular order to ensure that we have a budget which we didn't do last year and have an open, free-flowing debate on the amendments through the appropriations process. and i will say to my friend that defense issue issues are going to be a high priority -- that defense issues are going to be a high priority. with that, madam speaker, i'd like to yield three minutes to my very good friend and colleague, the distinguished chair of the committee on the budget from whom we're going to be hearing later this evening, the gentleman from jamesville, washington, d.c., mr. ryan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington, d.c. is recognized for three minutes. mr. ryan: i thank the chairman for yielding. madam speaker, i'm enjoying the rhetoric we're hearing today about one person, one committee,

one man dictating in all these things. as if it's an unprecedented action. well, this move is not unprecedented. the reason this is necessary is unprecedented. it is unpress debitted since the -- unprecedented since the 1974 budget act passed that congress didn't boggetter to pass or even propose a -- didn't bother to pass or even propose a budget. madam speaker, the reason we're here today is because the last majority last year didn't even bother trying. that means we have no budget in place. and with no budget in place there's no budget act to enforce. that means government is going and spending unchecked, no limits, no policemen on the beat, nothing. why are we giving this kind of power to the chairman of the budget committee, to put these numbers in? because we don't get the numbers from the congressional budget office until tomorrow. and we've said all along what we aim to do, bring the structuring levels down to pre-bailout, pre-stimulus levels.

and then for all the authorizing committees, it's put the c.b.o. baseline in place. it doesn't exist right now. it comes tomorrow. so what we're simply trying to do, madam speaker, is get some sense of limits back on spending. get some sense of a budget process back in place. we don't think we should have a system, a spending process, without restrainting, without limits, without any prioritization. that is exactly why we're doing this. business as usual has to come to an end, madam speaker. and we've got to put limits on spending and that is why we have a budget act, to police the spending process, to make sure that it conforms. but there is no budget act, there is no number to police because they didn't do a budget last year. that is exactly and precisely why this measure is necessary. so all the rhetoric aside, the days are over of unlimited spending, of no prioritization and the days of getting spending under control are just

beginning. this is a first step in a long process. this is a minimal, small down payment on a necessary process to go forward so that we can live our -- leave our kids with a better generation, so we can get this debt under control, so the spending spigot can close so, we can do right by our constituents and treat their dollars wisely. with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'm glad the chairman of the budget committee finally joined this debate. and i would say two things. one is that last year we passed a budget enforcement act with real numbers in it and we voted on it and it was significantly less than the number that the president had proposed, number one. number two, one of the things that we proposed in the rules committee was an amendment to allow members of the house, on both sides of the aisle, to be able to vote on the number. and that was rejected on party

line as somehow a radical idea. and then the chairman of the rules committee talks about this free-flowing debate we're having. we're having this debate today under a closed rule. and so there's no opportunity for amendment. and with that -- mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? mr. mcgovern: i yield to the gentleman. mr. dreier: i thank my friend for yielding. i'd like to point to my colleaguings, madam speaker, h.res. 38. it's a one-sentence measure, a one-sentence measure which says that our goal is to get to 2008 levels of spending or less. mr. mcgovern: i thank the gentleman. reclaiming my time. i appreciate the brevity of the bill but that doesn't mean the bill has a very negative impact. when we tried yesterday to protect the f.b.i. and enforcement agents from cuts, that was voted down. so we're very concerned. we don't know what the number is. and i think the people in this congress on both sides of the aisle, the american people, ought to know what we're talking about. where is it?

and where tho are those cuts going to come from when you keep on exempting programs? with that, madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank my colleague. here we are a day later, yesterday we asked our colleagues, what's the number going to be? what's going to be the spending ceiling for this congress and for the united states government? they didn't have it yesterday and we don't yet have it today. it's a budget resolution without a budget number. now, we've heard a lot of talk about what happened last year. what this budget resolution relates to is 2011. in fact, this body voted last year on a budget enforcement act, i have it right here in my hand, and it set budget ceiling, it had a real number. some people voted for it, some people voted against it, but this body did what it always does when it makes decisions of this magnitude, we took accountability for it. now you have a resolution that violates the pledge of

transparency, because it doesn't have a single number on it, and it violates the pledge of accountability because you're asking every other member of this body to contract out his or her vote to one person. now, i have great respect for the chairman of the budget committee and i too congratulate him on being selected to give the response to the state of the union address. this isn't about a particular individual, it's about all of us taking responsibility for a major decision and what this resolution does is contracts out that responsibility, it doesn't have a number, we don't know if it's going to be $100 billion, we don't know if it's going to be $40 billion, we don't know if it's going to be the number that the republican study conference wants, which the majority leader said good things about. we don't know. what we do know is this, that the bipartisan deficit and debt reduction commission told us two things. number one, we need to act now

to put this country on a fiscally sustainable path and we should do that by working together. they also said another thing, that deep immediate cuts beyond what had been put in place and recommended by the fiscal commission would hurt the economy when it's in a very fragile state and risk throwing more americans out of work. that would be a terrible mistake and yet our colleagues want us to make a decision to vote on this without telling us what the number is. so when we ask what the number was, they said, we're waiting for the congressional budget office. when will the congressional budget office have its numbers? tomorrow. 24 hours from now. then we can do the right thing, we can see what the cuts will be and we can make a decision as a body, taking responsibility for this decision. why is it we're not waiting 24 hours? it's pretty obvious. a little later today the president of the united states will be here to deliver the state of the union address and instead of being serious about this number, they want to

deliver a press release. that is what this is about without a number. otherwise we would wake wait 24 hours and our friends could tell white house that number would be. you're asking this body to buy a pig in a poke and the reason it is so serious is that -- if i could have an additional 30 seconds. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. mr. van hollen: i thank my friend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. van hollen: and my friend from massachusetts talked about this earlier, whether it's $100 billion or $80 billion or $20 billion, those all have consequences because on the other side of the aisle when we say, well, are you going to be cutting research to find cures and treatments for cancer or diabetes? no, we're not going to cut that. are you going to cut the f.b.i. agents involved in antiterrorism efforts? no, we would never want to cut that. . the magnitude and the negative impact will be determined by what, the number in this bill, a number we don't vote on that

you're giving the chairman of the budget committee the sole authority to pick out of a hat. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. plo mr. dreier: i yield myself 30 seconds to respond to my friend. unfortunately the gun by -- begun by generating the debate to the sky is falling mentality, we're going to be scutting n.i.h. funding, gutting f.b.i. agents. we're beginning the process of putting our fiscal house in order. both my terms used the term "press release." this will be a statement from the united states house of representatives that we are today, before the president at 9:00 this evening stands here in this chamber and delivers his state of the union message, that we are committed ourselves to reduce the level of spending. with that i'd be happy to yield four minutes at this point -- i will in just a moment. i will in just a moment but at this point i'd like to yield four minutes to my good friend and classmate, the distinguish new chair of the committee on

appropriations, the gentleman from somersot, connecticut, mr. rogers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlemanis recognized for four minutes. mr. rogers: thank you for our service to our country over the time we've served together, classmates of 1980, we were a part of the reagan crop. madam speaker, this is the first step in the effort to reduce screng to fiscal 08 levels or below and show the american people that we are serious about reducing the out-of-control government spending that's hampering our economic growth. now, the gentlemen on the other side of the aisle clains he doesn't see a number. he had a chance last year along with his colleagues in the majority then at that time, to pass a budget resolution with specific numbers in it and refused.

and has refused until they lost control of the house. the number will be coming in due course of time. the message from the american people is crystal clear in the last election, they want government to spend less, stop undue interference in american lives and businesses, and take action to create jobs and get our economy moving once again. to do this, we must dramatically cut the massive spending that has dominated discretionary budgets in the past years. in order to put our economy on the fast track to recovery, we have to shorten the reach of uncle sam, cut up his credit cards and allow american businesses the opportunity to grow and ploy people and make the economy grow. starting with a continuing resolution, the c.r., my

committee will begin to make the largest series of spending cuts in history, madam speaker. members and staff are working diligently on this as we speak. going line by line to find specific areas and programs to cut. we hope and expect this legislation will soon be brought to the floor in a fair, open, and transparent manner giving all members from both sides of the aisle the opportunity for amendments. let there be no mistake -- the cuts that are coming will not be easy to make. they will not represent low-hanging fruits. these cuts will go deep and wide and will hit virtually every agency and every congressional district in the country, including my own. every dollar that we cut will have a constituency, an industry, an association, individual citizens who will

disagree, and every dollar that we don't cut will also be put into question. but the fact remains that we are in a national fiscal crisis. we must get our budgets, both discretionary and mandatory, under control. to this end, my committee will put forward appropriations bills this year that will fulfill our pledge to cut spending to the pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels of 2008. and this will be the beginning, not the end, of the effort. i've issued instructions to all 12 of our subcommittees to conduct strenuous oversight, including investigations and hundreds of hearings to weed out duplicative, wasteful, and unnecessary spending and prior ties federal programs so that we can make the most out of every precious tax dollar.

madam speaker, it's clear that cutting spending will require toughness and resolve. this will not be easy. it will not be quick. and it won't be without pain. but the success of our economy and future prosperity depend on it. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i have great respect for the chairman of the appropriations committee and i appreciate the fact we're going to have to make tough choices, but he as well failed to tell was the number is. or what those tough choices are going to be. are we going to cut medical research? food safety? job training programs? lie liheap, what -- mr. dreier will the gentleman yield on that point? mr. mcgovern: members on both sides of the aisle deserve to know what the number is so we can figure out what the pain is going to be. for the life of me, i can't understand and i don't think the american people can understand why members of this house will

not be given an opportunity to vote on that number. we ought to have that right. i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from maryland. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. van hollen: we just heard there was no ceiling for 2011 in place. i'm going to make a copy and ask the pages to distribute this. this is the budget enforcement act for last year for fiscal year 2011 and there you have the budget ceilings. what you're proposing is a piece of paper that doesn't contain any of the numbers in it and i would just ask the chairman of the rules committee this -- during the hearing he said we're going to wait for could be,, c.b.o. tomorrow will have you a number for us? mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. van hollen: my time has expired. mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield to me to respond?

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i yield 10 seconds. mr. dreier: i thank the gentleman for yielding. clearly the budget that expired the end of the congress, we know that very well and look forward to numbers coming out from both your new committee, the budget committee and the appropriations committee. mr. mcgovern: 24 hours. will you have a number tomorrow? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: madam speaker, with that i'm very happy to yield one minute to my good friend from the harrison township of michigan, ms. miller. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized for one minute. ms. miller: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, this past election was certainly a historic pivot for our nation. the american people demanded both the president of the united states as well as the congress chart a new course. because they understand that the growth of federal spending that we have seen the last several years is completely unsustainable. they understand that this crushing burden, this debt we

are selfishly placing on our children and our grandchildren is limiting their opportunities and they also understand very clearly that this irresponsible, out-of-control federal spending is limiting our ability for job creation and for economic growth. today this resolution clearly speaks to the house republicans' pledge to america by demonstrating our commitment to reduce spending, to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels to a level of 2008. many would say this doesn't go far enough and that debate will continue this year as we debate the c.r., the budget resolution and the vote for raising the debt ceiling. today i would urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on this resolution and let the american people know that we heard them loud and clear in november. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i think what the american people are interested in is serious legislating and serious discussion about how to get this budget under control and not political posturing. at this point i yield two minutes to the gentleman from

new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: i thank the gentleman for yielding. all those who care for and think about the 15 million unemployed people in this country on sbothe sides of the aisle want the congress to work together to help small businesses and entrepreneurs create jobs for americans. but the new majority right out of the gate has ignored that obligation. the first week they ignored the deficit. and passed a set of rules that says they can pretend it doesn't exist when they want to do something. then they increased the deficit by repealing the health care bill, the congressional budget office says that adds $230 billion over 10 years to the deficit, more than a trillion dollars over 20 years. this week they are hiding the deficit. they brought to the floor a bill that once the american people --

wants the american people to guess what the numbers will be under which we'll live in the future. this is not the way to create jobs, either generally or specifically. here's one fact the members ought to take into consideration. last year the departments subject to a 25% spending cut under this bill made a million contracts with small businesses that gave $60 billion worth of work to caterers, electricians, other small businesses. what will happen to the jobs created by those small businesses if this 25% cut goes through? i say 25% cut advisedly because i do think we want to take one more attempt at finding out and i would yield to the chairman of the rules committee, will the spending bill that eventually gets here cut by 25% the 2006 levels or 22% the 2008 levels and i would yield to anyone on

the other side who can answer that question for us. what will the number be in the bill that eventually gets here? mr. dreier: i'm sorry, i was talking to mr. mulvaney. if the gentleman was yielding to me, i apologize and ask him to repeat the question. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: yield the gentleman an additional one minute. mr. andrews: thank you, madam speaker. to the gentleman, the question that i asked, will the bill that eventually has numbers in it have a 25% cut by going back to 2006 or 22% by going back to 2008? mr. dreier: if the gentleman will yield, i'm happy to answer my friend by saying the house will work its will. it's one of the things speaker boehner has made very clear -- mr. andrews: reclaiming mytime. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reclaims his time. mr. andrews: i would ask what the bill that the leadership brings to the floor will ask for, a 25% cut that goes back to

2006 or a 22% back to 2008? mr. dreier: i thank the gentleman for yielding. speaker boehner, who is the leader of this house both republicans and democrats alike and obviously the leader of republicans said this morning in a meeting as he said repeatedly the house is going to work its will. we'll do something that hasn't been done especially on the appropriations process in the last two years. we're going to have a gate to allow the majority of this institution to determine what those numbers are. i thank my friend for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield an additional 30 seconds. mr. andrews: that sounds awfully familiar. we were promised an open process on health care, it was a closed process on this bill, that sounds like a promise we've heard before that hasn't been honored thus far in this congress. i would urge a no vote. mr. dreier: i yield myself 30 seconds to say as we talk about an open process, my rules

committee colleagues know for the first time in four long years the rules committee reported out a modified open rule that will allow a free flowing debate tomorrow on this house floor. i should say, madam speaker, that h.res. 38 is literally one sentence which says that this institution is committed to getting our level of spending to 2008 levels or less, or less, madam speaker. i think it's important for to us note that and we have the chairman of the budget committee as i started to say in response to my intend, the appropriations committee chairman and we are determined to get a process. with that i'm happy to yield two minutes to my new you new friend from south carolina from indian hills, south carolina, mr. mulvaney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. mulvaney: thank you. i rise in favor of the resolution. i'm just happy to be able to have this debate this year. i can tell you, madam speaker, that we were campaigning last year during 2010 as freshmen, we never expected to have the

ability to come into this chamber this year and talk about the f.y. 2011 spending. we thought that that would be done long before we had gotten here. i thank my colleagues from across the way for failing to pass a budget last year so we have the opportunity to have this debate with this new congress. for me, and i know, madam speaker, for many of my colleagues, the key language in this resolution is 2008 levels or less. it's that "or less" that i think has a lot of the attention of the freshmen. in a world where discretionary spending is up 88% in the last two years, in a world where we borrowed $3 trillion in the last two fo two years, where we borrowed more money in one day, borrowed more money on june 30 of 2010 than we borrowed in all of 2006, in that world those two words "or less" are what speak to me an and so many members of the freshman class. i thank the rules committee and especially the chairman for making sure that language is in there and look forward to

exploring that when this bill comes to the floor. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlemanyields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i enjoyed the pretty much speaker. i would simply say what is the problem with telling us what the number is and what you're going to cut? the number is important because that does determine what you're going to cut. it determines what the allocations will be to the veterans' affairs appropriations committees. and they have real consequences and the notion that we're doing something bold by coming up with this arbitrary statement that 2008 or less levels are going to be to without any detail or numbers, without anything of anything, this is political posturing at its worst. with that i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from california, mrs. capps. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for two minutes. mrs. capps: i thank my colleague for yielding. madam speaker, i rise in strong opposition to this destructive resolution. the american people have charged us with creating jobs and

strengthening our economy. my colleagues in the majority appear more focused on getting in a good sound bite before tonight's state of the union. procedurally this resolution empowers a single person to decree the entire nation's budget for the rest of the year. no hearings, no markups, no votes. and this plan is nothing more than a gimmick that will destroy jobs. for example, referring -- reverting to 2008 budget levels will cut more than $17 million from the national health service corps. this program trains and employs health care providers, all while caring for millions of americans . moreover it will cut both nurse faculty loan programs and nurse training programs by nearly 70%. these cuts will decimate our health care work force now and long into the future. madam speaker, in 2008 over 27,000 qualified applicants to our nation's nursing schools were turned away because we didn't have enough faculty to

train them. countless others couldn't even afford to go. this budgetless resolution will do nothing more than exacerbate a real growing problem. members from both sides of the aisle know that we desperately need to increase our health care work force, not cut it. instead of cutting jobs we should be creating them. so i urge my colleagues to vote no on this budgetless resolution. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i yield myself to say to my friend from santa barbara that creating jobs and gelting our economy back on track is what this resolution is all about. we all know that on the sidelines, all across this country, and around the world, there is capital, there are resources that are waiting to be invested and once we get our economy, our fiscal house in order, the signal that that sends the job creators out there is a very important one. with that i'm happy to yield one minute to my friend from richmond, virginia, the distinguished majority leader, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker, and i thank the gentleman from california, the chairman of the rules committee. madam speaker, november 2 marked the culmination of a long, arduous and ultimately clarifying debate over the kind of role government should play in the economy. by overwhelming margin voters rejected an approach that spends money we don't have and concentrates too much control and power in washington. instead they voted for a better way. republicans are determined to deliver results by instilling a culture of opportunity, responsibility and success. madam speaker, our majority is dedicated to cut and growth. cut spending and job-destroying regulations, grow private sector jobs in the economy. today we have the opportunity to take a significant step toward repairing america's

deteriorating fiscal condition. this resolution directs the budget committee chairman to spending levels so we return nondefense discretionary spending to 2008 levels or below. if you think the government didn't spend enough money in 2008, then oppose this resolution. go on record for more spending, more borrowing and more debt. but, madam speaker, if you believe we are spending too much money, then i urge my colleagues to support this resolution. it represents a clean break with the past and an end to the unchecked growth of federal spending and government and it is worthy of our support. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i'm still waiting to hear the number and how much we're going to cut. i'm waiting to see this transparency and accountability. i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from washington, mr. dicks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is

recognized for two minutes. mr. dicks: the house remains committed -- committed to fiscal responsibility. we have two major concerns at this point that should be stated as we consider this resolution at the outset of the 112th congress. first, we must recognize that the highest priority at this point is to get our economy moving again, supporting initiatives that help create jobs and that continue to bring us out of the recession. our economy is still fragile and although unemployment is heading downward, it remains too high. in this regard i believe we must be concerned about a per sip tus and substantial drop in spending if it's going to result in increasing unemployment and increasing the deficit. it's going to have exactly the opposite effect of what is intended on the republican side. it would truly be counterproductive if we added to the ranks of the unemployed workers in america, reducing revenues coming into the treasury and requiring

additional expenditures for unemployment insurance. and welfare. and, second, the resolution we are considering today specifically exempts defense. the largest element of our federal budget. even though i have always supported a strong national defense, i cannot imagine why we would hold the pentagon harmless in the attempt to achieve greater fiscal accountability. even the republican majority leader this week agreed that defense spending should be on the table. and secretary gates himself has proposed a series of reasonable reductions that could be accomplished in his department's budget. in f.y. 2011 bill, the defense appropriations subcommittee which i had chaired with mr. young of florida, adopted last july, we included a reduction of $7 billion from the obama budget request and the senate appropriation committee had a similar number. i think we could even do more than that and i was glad to see that mr. boehner, mr. cantor and others have all said that

defense should be part of the solution. i think we could cut up to $13 billion out of the defense budget without doing any damage to the national security. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i yield myself 30 seconds to say to my very good friend from seattle that i'm in complete agreement with the notion of ensuring that we focus time, energy and effort on pearing back waste, fraud and abuse, especially within the pentagon. we all know that it's there and i'm glad that my friend from wofter raised that issue in his opening remarks. he somehow was arguing that we have left it sank sant -- sack row sant. we don't. as my friend knows, in his great position on the appropriations committee -- i'm happy to yield my friend 15 seconds, madam speaker. mr. dicks: i ought to say, we ought to do it now. this gives us a bargaining chip with the president and with the senate. we can make some reductions in

defense. mr. dreier: if i can reclaim my time, madam speaker, i would say to my friend, he knows very well, we've gone without a budget so far, we are going to go through the standard budget process and i yield myself an additional 15 seconds to say i'd like to see complete reform of the 1974 budget act. i want a joint, bicameral party to do that. with the structure we have today, we're going to proceed with the appropriations process so we'll be able to do exactly what my friend said. with that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, the bill makes defense spending sank sant and so it says nothing about going after fraud and waste and defense contracts. i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. stark. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. stark: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to oppose the budgetless resolution. it has no numbers, no specifics, it gives no serious plan to reduce the deficit. the republicans want to decrease

the deficit and they'll try to cut nondefense discretionary spending back to 2008 levels but they still would save $100 billion in discretionary spending if we put defense spending in the same level. i'm giving you a chance to put your money where your mouths are, introduce h.r. 413, it would reduce defense spending to 2008 levels. they can't be serious about getting our house in order if we are exempting 60% of discretionary spending cuts. so my legislation would save $182 billion over the next five years, that's $182 billion from planes the pentagon doesn't even want. we spend seven times what china does. how about just cutting back to only spending five or six times as much as china does? i urge support of h.r. 413. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you very much,

mr. speaker. great to see you on the chair there. don't look quite as good as your predecessor up there. with that, mr. speaker, i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. skelton: thank you, mr. speaker. -- mr. pascrell: thank you, mr. speaker. i come to the floor today as someone willing to work toward reforms that will create jobs, strengthen our middle class and pay down our debt. i'm in favor of comprehensive tax reform with lower rates, i'm in favor of removing regulations that hurt our competitiveness, i'm ready to make the hard cuts we need to pay down our deficit. i think we can all agree on those principles, we might have to change some of the policies. but we agree on the principles. but what we have here today

contains no policies, no ideas and very few principles. this is a budgetless resolution. it calls for a reduction in spending, pre-2008 levels, but provides no specifics. what family in america would sit down at the kitchen table, set up a budget without a bottom line? we could be here discussing mr. ryan's ideas to replace medicaid with vouchers, we could be here discussing the plan to cut public education, spending 50%, and could eliminate amtrak and public broadcasting. let's discuss those things. or we could be debating the plan majority leader cantor hailed which would result in the absence of 4,000 f.b.i. agents and 1,500 d.e.a. agents. we may disagree with those policies, but i'm here to work to solve problems. to say we will drop spending levels up to 30% but provide no

specifics is being less than genuine. colin powell recently said this, i'm very put off when people just say, let's go back and freeze to the level two years ago. tell me what you're going to cut and nobody there yet is being very, very candid about what they are going to cut to fix the problem. the public has been very clear, job creation should be our top priority. so far we've abandoned the principles of pay-as-you-go and added $230 billion to the deficit by repealing, you voted for it, health care. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman an additional 20 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 20 seconds. mr. pascrell: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. and before us is yet another piece of legislation being used as a political gimmick. instead of an honest conversation to seek out compromise with the purpose aiding the economy.

as a new member of the budget committee i am willing and eager to work hard to find comprehensive bipartisan solutions to strengthening our economy. please let me know when you're ready to sit down and talk and work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you very much, mr. speaker. may i inquire of my friend how many speakers he has remaining. mr. mcgovern: mr. hoyer and then myself at this moment. do you have other speakers? mr. dreier: i'm going to sit on the edge of my seat in anticipation of mr. hoyer's very thoughtful remarks. i look forward to it, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the minority whip, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding and mr. dreier's put additional pressure on me with his thoughtful remarks. let me say that there's nobody on this floor who doesn't believe that the deficit is a very, very substantial problem that confronts us.

and i would hope that there's nobody on the floor who believes it's going to be accomplished in a simple fashion, to bring this deficit under control. but i fear that there is too much simplistic, not simple, simplistic receipt wick with with reference to this -- rhetoric with reference to this budget. our friends on the republican side tell us they are now taking the deficit seriously. awful you heard my comments how clinton administration the budget was balanced budget amendment and under the reagan and bush one and bush two mngs it was not. if our republican friends mean it, if they were interested in the deficit as anything other than a political issue, they actually use their house majority to back up their words with action, then no one in my opinion would be happier than me

and our party, the democratic party. our deficit i think all of us should agree is too big for partisan politics. it cripples our children's opportunities, it makes it harder for them to pay for college education, buy a home, start a business. i want my republican friends to take the deficit seriously. i want my democratic friends to take the budget deficit seriously. to join president obama in making the hard choices it will take to get out of debt. but frankly, so far the opportunity to finally back up the words of fiscal discipline have been a record of disappointment. a rules package, i tell my friend, the chairman of the rules committee, the rules package provides for $5 trillion in additional deficit spending over the next 10 years. $5 trillion. a vote to repeal health care reform is another $230 billion of deficit, pledge to cut

spending by $100 billion which has taken them less than a month to break. today a one-page resolution with no numbers and no specifics. i think this resolution is unprecedented, certainly in the 30 years i've been here which gives the one person out of the 435 the opportunity and the authority to set a number that we will consider in this house. i don't think that's precedented, i don't think it's democratic, it's not transparent, it's not an open process. colin powell has already been quoted, we're still waiting for the answer of what is going to be cut. the time when getting out of debt, growing the economy and creating jobs our country's defining bipartisan challenges. we need hard choices, not more political theater. now, we passed a budget enforcement resolution which was criticized by the other side because we didn't pass a full budget. i think that's perhaps correct. mr. mcgovern: an additional

minute. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding an additional minute. but in that budget enforcement resolution we had a number and when you voted on the rule you knew the number you were voting on as a house of representatives. here you have no idea what you're voting on. you could be voting for 2008 numbers or anything less than that thunder resolution. mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? i'll yield my friend additional time. let me just say to my friend, mr. speaker, that this is the beginning of a process. this is a one sentence resolution that will allow this house to go on record making a strong commitment to reducing the level of spending. my friend was absolutely right in his opening remarks when he said that everyone wants to us reduce the deficit, and he's right. this may be unprecedented but we're in unprecedented times. i yield my friend an additional 15 seconds. i'll yield him 30 seconds, mr. speaker. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his generosity. for his generosity. let me say