mr. womack. >> as mr.maxwell stated under public assistance there is a specific set of numeric indicators. we don't use the term threshold, because they are not hard and fast, but generally speaking if you don't need the state numeric state numeric indicators or local government does not meet those dollar amounts it is very difficult to get public assistance for declaration. by the same token if you just meet those thresholds and there was not an overall have the impact to the states you may still not get the declaration. but the fact that there is a monetary amount tied to each county and tied to the state that gives us a better method of determining whether not we have a reasonable chance of getting a declaration. under individual assistance, dave and i have been involved in this for five years or more, talking about do we want standards based on the community's population, based on the community's income? do we want specific standards that says if you have this level of damage and a county county and of

mr. womack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for two minutes. mr. womack: thank you, madam chairwoman. and i want to thank the gentleman not only for yielding some time but also for his glowing remarks about the great community, one of the 10 most livable cities in all of america that i have the privilege of presiding over for about 12 years as mayor, a city that continues to enjoy tremendous economic development and influence in the state of arkansas. and let me just say this, using that as a context for my remarks, that i think the model that the community that i had the privilege of presiding over for 12 years is the model that washington needs. it's a model that balances its budget. when i inherited that city in 1999, as its mayor, it was not a balanced budget. government was in the way. the discriminant developer did not want to develop in that community because there were too many regulations, too many reasons why they could go elsewhere and have better margins. well, we changed all that and now this city is flourishing in a remarkable sort of

mr. womack. >> as transixteen, under public assistance there's a specific set of numeric indicators. we don't use of the term thresholds because they are not hard and fast. but generally speaking if you don't meet the state numeric indicators for local government does not meet those dollar amounts, then it's difficult to get a public assistance declaration. by the same token, if you just meet those thresholds, and it was not an overall heavy impact to the state, you still may not get the declaration. but the fact that there is a monetary amount that is tied to each county and tied to the state, it gives us a better method of determining whether or not we have a reasonable chance of getting a declaration. under individual assistance, dave and i have been involved in this for five years or more, talking about do we want standards based on the committee's population, based on the community's income, do we want specific standards that says if you have this level of damage to the county and the state has a level of damage, then you should reasonably expect to receive a declaration. or do

mr. womack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. womack: thank you, madam chairwoman. i thank the gentleman for yielding some time. on my way to the capitol this afternoon, i was accompanied by some young people from my district and we were having a conversation about the debate going on right now in washington. the debate about the debt ceiling. as i explained to these young people that the current debt of the united states of america, their share of that current debt is well into the mid $40,000 range, $46,000 or so of debt, and it's for this very reason that we are proposing what we are proposing because the only way to keep this debt on these innocent young people from soaring to greater and greater levels, an area that they can no longer afford, is to restrain, constrain government. and the only sure way to do that the only guaranteed enforcement mechanism that i know that can accomplish that very thing is a balanced budget amendment system of on behalf of these young people and on behalf of young people across america, let's qu

mr. womack: i have had the pleasure of representing arkansas' third strict and i can still hear the voices of those people who sent me here. they said, steve, you have to go to washington and you have to cut spending. you have to empower the private sector. you have to reduce the size of government. you have to get to washington and help put us back to work. those same conversations at home at the kitchen table, people discussing their personal budgets, saying to me that i have to live within my means, why doesn't washington? mr. speaker, to each of these comments, i say we have an answer. it's a trifecta, you will called cut, cap and balance. i realize i have been here a short time but i know full well how washington works and i know that this concept is foreign to the many people who have been here down through the years. if you look around and take an objective view, you know the only way to bring legitimate control to the irresponsible fiscal behavior of washington, d.c., the only way to restore the integrity of this chamber, to restore the confidence in the people we serve is to make

mr. womack: i have had the pleasure of representing arkansas' third district and i can still hear the voices of those people who sent me here. they said, steve, you have to go to washington and you have to cut spending. you have to empower the private sector. you have to reduce the size of government. you have to get to washington and help put us back to work. those same conversations at home at the kitchen table, people discussing their personal budgets, saying to me that i have to live within my means, why doesn't washington? mr. speaker, to each of these comments, i say we have an answer. it's a trifecta, if you will called cut, cap and balance. i realize i have been here a short time but i know full well how washington works and i know that this concept is foreign to the many people who have been here down through the years. if you look around and take an objective view, you know the only way to bring legitimate control to the irresponsible fiscal behavior of washington, d.c., the only way to restore the integrity of this chamber, to restore the confidence in the people we serve is to ma

mr. womack: as the largest b.b. gun manufacture, it has a history. the contribution to the shooting sports, the united states military and the character of young men and women nationwide is noteworthy. and who can forget ralphie, in "the christmas story" and the coveted red rider, the most famous b.b. gun ever produced. mr. speaker, 125 years in business is a milestone. it's a tribute to the vision, commitment and hard work to the employees of daisy. congratulations, daisy. i'm proud of you and our nation is proud of you. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor and recognize the rich history of cape verde as we mark their independence day. this week we honor the people of cape verde here and around the world who are celebrating 35 yea

mr. womack? >> usually i say womack but womack works too. >> womack, that's great.hank you. >> good afternoon, chairman pryor and ranking member paul and distinguished members of the committee, i've been a senior employee of the mississippi emergency management agency since 2002 and of my state's ability to respond to large scale events and the federal government's response capability. as you are aware, the state of mississippi was greatly impacted by tornadoes, severe storms and flooding that occurred in april and mississippi river flooding that occurred in may. mississippi received two federal disaster declarations and an emergency declaration for those events. nearly 11,500 households requested assistance from fema. more than 2,750 families received housing assistance grants and more than 300 homes were deemed destroyed by fema and individual assistance inspections. individual assistance grants for both disasters totaled more than $19 million. i will briefly summarize the response to these events and primarily my focus will be on how mississippi has and continues

mr. womack: but let me just be very clear, to kind of bring this back to the subject matter at hand. we are talking about taking funds that have been designated for a project in the future, near term or long term, but in the future, to satisfy an emerging issue that is in the present. future versus present. in my district of arkansas, the cresting of the illinois river has ripped apart roads, washed out bridges, flood have taken lives of constituents of mine. young people that will grow up without a mother or father. we have people living in tents. we have an urgent issue that is facing us today. the flooding has done damage across our entire state, leaving hundreds of arkansans without homes and crop losses estimated at over $500 million. it has even been asserted by the other side that it's just farmland. just farmland. well, let me say to the people who make that argument, don't make that argument with your mouthful. it has also caused about $100 million in damage to dams, parks, roads, and waterways under the control of u.s. army corps of engineers that left unrepaired will resul

mr. womack: i have had the pleasure of representing arkansas' third district and i can still hear the voices of those people who sent me here. they said, steve, you have to go to washington and you have to cut spending. you have to empower the private sector. you have to reduce the size of government. you have to get to washington and help put us back to work. those same conversations at home at the kitchen table, people discussing their personal budgets, saying to me that i have to live within my means, why doesn't washington? mr. speaker, to each of these comments, i say we have an answer. it's a trifecta, if you will called cut, cap and balance. i realize i have been here a short time but i know full well how washington works and i know that this concept is forei