mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of this rule . 
i would like to congratulate the gentleman from florida ( mr. putnam ) xz4003280 who is doing a superb job , along with our colleague from dallas , the gentleman from texas ( mr. sessions ) xz4003670 . 
as members of the committee on rules , they are also serving in the very important capacity on the committee on the budget where they have played a key role in fashioning this work product that we are going to see . 
let me speak about the rule itself . 
i am happy to see the gentlewoman from new york ( ms. slaughter ) xz4003780 , the distinguished ranking minority member from rochester , new york . 
i am happy this rule has been able to report out every single substitute that was submitted to the committee on rules calling for an opportunity to be considered here in the house . 
i am also happy we have been able to include an additional amendment which is unusual in that as members know from the perspective of both sides of the aisle , when democrats were in the majority here , republicans in the majority , we have traditionally only made substitutes in order . 
but out of deference to the distinguished ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations , we have chosen to make in order an amendment offered by the gentleman from wisconsin ( mr. obey ) xz4003000 . 
i believe this rule is extraordinarily fair , extraordinarily balanced and will provide an opportunity for a wide range of public policy discussions to take place as we move ahead with consideration . 
let me say when it comes to the budget itself , i think we have a clear choice . 
the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. spratt ) xz4003860 came before us and discussed the questions that relate to the budget proposal that have been assembled by the members of the committee under the very able leadership of the gentleman from iowa ( mr. nussle ) xz4002980 . 
i know the gentlewoman from new york ( ms. slaughter ) xz4003780 , as we proceeded with questions in the committee on rules , talked about the gentlewoman 's concern over things like tax cuts . 
i will say it is very important as we proceed with this budget for us to recognize what it is that tax cuts have brought about . 
i know in the eyes of many people it is counterintuitive in a sense that if we reduce tax rates , we can somehow increase the flow of revenues to the federal treasury and reduce the size of the federal deficit . 
i know it is counterintuitive because there are many who unfortunately are stuck with this notion that the way to deal with the deficit problem , the way to increase revenues to the treasury is to dramatically increase taxes . 
one of the points that i think is important for us to make , and i mentioned this yesterday in the committee on rules , the director of the office of management and budget , joshua bolton , has on more than a few occasions reminded me , and i am sure he has said this to other groups , that if we did not have the tragic attack on september 11 against our nation , september 11 , 2001 , if we did not have the horrendous cost of the war in iraq with which we have had to contend , we would still have a federal deficit . 
we often hear during this debate that we saw under president clinton a dramatic improvement in the budget and a surplus created . 
it was during the leadership provided by a republican congress that we got to that point , but the issue that needs to be brought to the forefront was that it was the economic slowdown , not the attack of september 11 , not the war in iraq , as painful as that has been , that led to the deficit itself . 
it is the economic slowdown that began the last two quarters of the year 2000 . 
the recession , the slowdown that we saw in early 2001 , of course exacerbated as is regularly said by the attacks of september 11 , by the corporate scandals we have seen , and the other challenges we have had to contend , but that economic slowdown is what led to the deficit itself . 
so the single most important thing that we can do is to ensure that we expand our economy . 
that is the best way to deal with the deficit . 
that is not to say we should not be reining in federal spending . 
i believe at my core as a republican that the reach of the federal government impinges on individual initiative and responsibility , two very , very important things that need to be encouraged . 
if we can couple focusing on economic growth with responsibly reining in federal spending , it is very clear that is the most effective way to deal with the deficit . 
so what have we seen ? 
when we had the debates in 2001 and then in 2002 and 2003 and 2004 on the issue of tax cuts , we constantly heard the argument from our very distinguished friends on the other side of the aisle that the bush tax cut would ruin the country . 
it would dramatically increase the deficit itself . 
i am very happy to report , as i know most of my colleagues know , based on the projections we had for the last fiscal year , because of the economic growth that we saw , because of the unanticipated revenues that came into the federal treasury , because of the tax reduction that brought about that economic growth , we have seen the deficit itself actually reduced by $ 109 billion over what had been projected . 
that reduction in the anticipated level of the federal deficit demonstrates that reducing rates is , in fact , the best way for us to deal with this . 
that is just a philosophical difference that we have between the two political parties . 
mr. speaker , i happen to believe a democrat , john f. kennedy , was absolutely right when he argued this in the early part of the 1960s . 
it was successful . 
we saw dramatic economic growth as president kennedy brought about a dramatic reduction on capital gains in the early 1960s . 
we have empirical evidence . 
it happened during the 1980s when we saw a doubling of the flow of revenues to the federal treasury following the implementation of the economic recovery tax act of 1981 . 
mr. speaker , i think it is important for us to recognize that this package is one which is deserving of bipartisan support . 
it is a responsible budget which will rein in the kind of profligate federal spending that we have seen in the past and which we know is very easy to engage in , regardless of political party . 
under republican leadership , we are reining in that growth in federal spending and at the same time we are focused on very important priorities . 
last night in a speech the president gave to an event we had , he talked about the importance of an ownership society , how homeownership is at an all-time high . 
it is approaching 70 percent . 
minority homeownership is at an all-time high . 
one of the things we want to do , we want to make sure that younger workers have an opportunity to have confidence in the social security system . 
we have all been forced to pay into the social security system . 
anyone who has been around since 1937 when it was implemented has been forced to pay into that system . 
we need to make sure that it is solvent . 
we know in 13 very short years more will be going out of social security than is coming into social security through the fica taxes . 
we also know while people talk about the so-called $ 2 trillion hole , the other night the treasury secretary told me if nothing is done on social security , that borrowing level will be even greater than the $ 2 trillion that those who are critical of the president 's proposal argue is out there on the horizon . 
i think if members look at these very important issues and then focus on what is our number one priority , the national security of the united states , this budget is one which should enjoy broad support across the board from democrats and republicans alike . 
i urge support of this rule which allows alternative proposals , those that i have just discussed , to be considered . 
i think the rule itself is one which is modeled after the rules that our friends when they were in the majority put together for consideration of the budget . 
i look forward to strong support for the rule , and i hope at the end of the day there is strong bipartisan support for the budget resolution . 
