mr. chairman , i thank the gentleman for yielding me this time .  i promise i will not talk about trade .  but i will talk about this budget .  i want to start by saying this budget is not all the details .  it is a blueprint .  the authorizing committees , the appropriating committees , will fill out those details .  but it is a blueprint that says something about who we are .  and the three pillars in this budget , i think , reflect the principles and the priorities of this house .  first , we believe that our country ought to be protected and strength is emphasized .  that is our national security and our homeland security .  second is to be sure we have a strong economy .  the tax relief has worked : 4.4 percent growth last year ; 3 million jobs added to our economy in the last 21 months alone .  the economy is strong and growing .  we need to be sure that continues and that is why tax increases are not part of this budget .  and , third , to be sure that we do as the gentleman from south carolina ( mr. spratt )  says appropriately , keep our spending under control , we take responsible steps to restrain spending both in domestic discretionary and in the entitlement area .  those are the three pillars .  by doing so , we reduce the deficit in half within 4 years .  i commend the chairman for coming up with this budget .  the process by which we got here also says something about who we are .  i want to commend the ranking member from south carolina ( mr. spratt )  for his civility .  i want to commend the members of the committee on the budget for the great debate that we had over the last month or so , i want to commend the members on the floor who have had a great debate here , and i want to commend , finally , the chairman of the committee on the budget .  the gentleman from iowa has conducted himself in the committee on the budget and here on the floor through an open , honest process where people have had the opportunity to say their peace .  he has done a great job in listening carefully to the concerns of so many of us in this conference and in the entire congress to be sure we come up with a document that does indeed reflect the priorities , i believe , of our house , the strength of our country , the growth of our economy , and getting spending under control .  i strongly urge my colleagues to support this budget which is , although just a blueprint , the appropriate statement of who we are and does indeed get us to the point where we are reducing our deficit , which is so important , but also funding the key priorities in our country .  i urge a `` yes '' vote on the resolution .  