mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. schilling, a member of the agriculture committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. schilling: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd also like to thank mr. goodlatte for giving me the time today. you know, we continue to hear a common thread, let's raise taxes on our job creators with no solution to our spending problem . i rise today as the people's house prepares to vote for an amendment to our constitution that would require congress and the president to balance the budget. i look forward to voting in favor of this amendment today. 15 years ago an amendment nearly identical to this one passed the house with strongbipartisan support. but failed by one single vote in the senate. since that time our debt has tripled. did you know that on wednesday our national debt surpassed $15 trillion? and it has been nearly 950 days since the senate has passed

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, it's my pleasure to yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, a member of the energy and commerce committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. scalise: i thank the gentleman from virginia for yielding time to me to speak about this important issue. really want to thank him for bringing this to the floor. because this is one of those rare bipartisan pieces of legislation that congress brings forward that is so critical to the future of our country. a balanced budget amendment is an idea that is long overdue. if you look where we are right now, some of the biggest challenges facing our country, come from the fact that washington continues to spend money it doesn't have. this nation just passed the $15 trillion threshold in debt. just in the last 2 1/2 years since president obama's been in office, another $5 trillion, mountains of debt, that have been added to the backs of our children and grandchil

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. altmire, who is a member of the transportation and infrastructure committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. altmire: i rise in strong support of the balanced budget amendment. 49 of the 50 states are required to balance their budgets and while i'm certain that state legislatures will agree it's always a difficult process, somehow, they annually meet their obligations while achieving balance. the federal government should be able to do it too. but states aren't the only place congress can look to for for examples -- for examples. every family and every business in america has to balance expenses and income. they have every right to expect the federal government to do the same. but unfortunately, congress has let them down time and again. but mr. speaker, the time has come to fix the problem. constitutional amendments to require a balanced budget

mr. goodlatte, for his leadership on the issue, and i urge its passage, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: i'll research. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from south carolina, mr. mulvaney, who is a a member of the house financial services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. mulvaney: the debate is it isn't 1985. i wish it were. imagine if we could accomplish this 15 years ago. we have only passed a budget four times in the last 50 years. that doesn't pass the laugh test. i heard from the honorable minority leader th this was not the right time to pass this amendment cause somehow this body was too partisan, too partisan to pass a bill to pass an amendment to the constitution thawill take partisanship out of the equation and force us to balance a budget. these are all extraordinarily weak argument, madam

mr. goodlatte: mr.er, at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, who is the chairman of the conservation, energy and forestry subcommittee, my subcommittee, on the house agriculture committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognize for two minutes. mr. thompson: i thank the gentleman from virginia. it's no secret, mr. speaker, washington has a spending addiction. congress has demonstrated, regardless of which party is in charge, the out-of-control spending just does not stop. each congress spending and budget reforms are enacted only to be revised or ignored by the next. this body has reliably circumvented any real budget process, even its own rules, in order to fulfill its spending addiction. routine abuses and budget gimmicks such as emergency designations are designed to skirt budget enforcementment roles and disguise the real level of spending. similar to rampant drug abuse in the 1980's that led to addiction and vio

mr. goodlatte. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. goodlatte: i thank you, mr. chairman. i want to make it clear. some inaccurate assertions have been made about the social security and the highway trust fund. the funds can be spent each year and any excess funds that need to be retained can be put into a rainy day fund, and so the social security trust fund or another type of fund like that is perfectly permissible under this provision. what is not permissible is continuing to run up debt year after year after year, and that is what endangers social security and medicare and important programs for our senior citizens and that's why this amendment is needed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. barrow, who is a member of the energy and commerce committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. barrow: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the chairman for yieldi

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, it's now my pleasure to yield two wints to the distinguished gentleman from illinois, who is the chief deputy whip and member of the ways and means committee, mr. roskam. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time -- two minutes. the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. roskam: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. there is a level of anxiety that we are sensing back at home as people are looking at washington, d.c., for solutions and there is various tails -- tales going on right now in terms of what the joint select committee will be able to produce. the fact of the matter is we don't know what the yield is going to be of that negotiation. that's still ongoing. and we'll be dealing with that next week. but we know what we can do right now, madam speaker. we can create a buoyancy and a sense of clarity and a sense of cohesiveness to seize upon a bipartisan moment. a moment that the country came close to in 1995, it c

mr. goodlatte, and thank you, mr. speaker, for the time that we can come to the floor and talk about this important issue. you know, i think it's an opportunity for us here in washington to do something that changes the direction of our fiscal condition in washington, d.c., and our federal government. as we all know, the economy has been very difficult for families across this country in so many different ways. and people have realized and have made tough decisions within their own budget, whether it's a family budget, whether it's a business budget, and realize that the economy and the difficulties that we face today are forcing decisions to be made that are sometimes difficult, are not sometimes the choices we like to make. but as the federal government continues to spend and spend money that we don't have, money that we're borrowing, 40 cents for every $1 that we spend is borrowed money, i believe that this is a time for us to let the people speak. let the american people speak on an issue that -- and a principle t

mr. goodlatte. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership on this issue. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 822, the national right to carry reciprocity act of 2011. this bipartisan bill has 245 co-sponsors and enhances american's right to self-defense by enabling millions of permit holders to exercise their right to self-defense while traveling outside their home states. the second amendment is in the united states constitution and we are all taking an oath in this body to uphold the united states constitution, including rights upped the second amendment. and the 10th amendment is certainly an important right as well, but it does not trump the right or the responsibility of this body to protect rights under the second amendment. 49 states have laws that permit their citizens to carry a concealed firearm in some fashion or another. unlike drivers licenses, however, conceal carry permits in one state are not always authorized to carry their firearms when trave

mr. goodlatte, who is the sponsor of this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for five minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the chairman for yielding. mr. speaker, this chart tells the story. we have had a number of opportunities over the years to pass balanced budget amendments to the united states of the constitution. it's not my idea. it's not a new idea. but as we've gone through time we've managed debt. now, as the chairman just noted, in the last 15 years the debt has tripled. but looking ahead, this chart, which shows the ratio of our debt to our gross domestic product and shows that by 2080 it will be nine times, nine times the total economic output of our economy. indicates that what some on the other side have said simply is not the case. congress has not made the tough decisions. we have overpromised the american people, and the fact of the matter is now we need to have something in the constitution that the american people expect and demand of us. and that is a balanced budget amendment.

mr. goodlatte. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership on this issue. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 822, the national right to carry reciprocity act of 2011. this bipartisan bill has 245 co-sponsors and enhances american's right to self-defense by enabling millions of permit holders to exercise their right to self-defense while traveling outside their home states. the second amendment is in the united states constitution and we are all taking an oath in this body to uphold the united states constitution, including rights upped the second amendment. and the 10th amendment is certainly an important right as well, but it does not trump the right or the responsibility of this body to protect rights under the second amendment. 49 states have laws that permit their citizens to carry a concealed firearm in some fashion or another. unlike drivers licenses, however, conceal carry permits in one state are not always authorized to carry their firearms when trave

mr. goodlatte i don't live was discussed at the meeting. and that there was a piece of evidence that would ensure that the company would lose the case because indeed the interception in question was only half of the company. that was information i was given spirit did not occur to you, did you ask? >> i don't believe so. i think it was known at the time that this was a voicemail interception that had already been prosecuted by the police and that the police had said there isn't anything more here. they shut their investigation and successfully prosecute the individuals concerned. >> i have a growly australian accent rattling around in my head at the moment that would take how much more is this person going to cost me question to you think your dad might've asked more questions than you asked for? >> i couldn't begin to speculate. >> and you didn't come it didn't occur to you to sort of ask whether glenn mulcaire -- >> no, it was specifically said to me that he was doing this on behalf of the "news of the world" with respect to this. and tha

mr. bob goodlatte. he's been a strong proponent for advancing a balanced budget amendment for numerous congresses for many years. and he has done a good thing with this bill. i appreciated his also including an amendment that i brought to committee that was passed in committee and is part of the joint resolution. but it's house joint resolution 1. it's a good bill. it's to provide for a balanced budget amendment. and in article section 1, it simply says, total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year unless 3/5 of the whole number of each house of congress shall povide by law for a specific excess of outlays of receipts -- outlays over receipts by roll call. you might think that would be sufficient, just to sato tall outlays cannot exceed total receipts. but those of us who have been around congress long enough know that's not good enough. unless you add, as mr. goodlatte does in section 8, total receipts shall include all receipts of the united states government,

mr. goodlatte i don't live was discussed at the meeting. and that there was a piece of evidence that would ensure that the company would lose the case because indeed the interception in question was only half of the company. that was information i was given spirit did not occur to you, did you ask? >> i don't believe so. i think it was known at the time that this was a voicemail interception that had already been prosecuted by the police and that the police had said there isn't anything more here. they shut their investigation and successfully prosecute the individualsconcerned. >> i have a growly australian accent rattling around in my head at the moment that would take how much more is this person going to cost me question to you think your dad might've asked more questions than you asked for? >> i couldn't begin to speculate. >> and you didn't come it didn't occur to you to sort of ask whether glenn mulcaire -- >> no, it was specifically said to me that he was doingthis on behalf of the "news of the world" with respect to this. and that

mr. goodlatte i don't live was discussed at the meeting. and that there was a piece of evidence that would ensure that the company would lose the case because indeed the interception in question was only half of the company. that was information i was given spirit did not occur to you, did you ask? >> i don't believe so. i think it was known at the time that this was a voicemail interception that had already been prosecuted by the police and that the police had said there isn't anything more here. they shut their investigation and successfully prosecute the individuals concerned. >> i have a growly australian accent rattling around in my head at the moment that would take how much more is this person going to cost me question to you think your dad might've asked more questions than you asked for? >> i couldn't begin to speculate. >> and you didn't come it didn't occur to you to sort of ask whether glenn mulcaire -- >> no, it was specifically said to me that he was doing this on behalf of the "news of the world" with respect to this. and tha

mr. goodlatte, the gentleman from virginia, for introducing the version of the balanced budget amendment we are considering today, and for his tireless work in support of the amendment. since the 1930's, dozens of proposals offered by both democrats and republicans have called for constitutional amendments to address federal budget deficits. we have the opportunity today to take the first step toward making a balanced budget a reality by passing this legislation. the american people have not given congress a blank check. let's demonstrate to the american people that congress can be fiscally responsible and get our economic house in order. borrowing 42 cents for every $1 the government spending and setting a new deficit record is not the road to prosperity. let's put our country first and pass this amendment. mr. speaker, i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. . mr. conyers: thank you, mr. speaker. ladies and gentlemen, this balanced budget constitutional amendment is one that sur