mr. chairman , again i want to commend the gentleman from north carolina ( mr. watt )  for offering this alternative budget .  i do commend him for his hard work and efforts on behalf of his constituents , which are my neighbors in north carolina .  i am very proud to have him as a neighbor .  i am very proud of his leadership and the stature he brings back home to north carolina .  with that , we do have a disagreement on policy .  his version of the budget increase taxes at a time when we are just now recovering from those tough days of the late 1990s and early 2000s when our economy was soft .  i think it is important that we keep cutting taxes for years to come so that we can keep this economic growth going .  and the best way to lift people up , the best way to give people an opportunity , to give them ownership , is by allowing them to keep more of their own money .  in the last few years we have seen numerous people falling off the tax rolls because of tax cuts .  we have seen strong job growth , new businesses being formed , greater homeownership in america .  across the board every group in america is increasing in homeownership .  and i think it is important that we continue those policies to keep growth going while restraining government spending , cutting deficits , and funding national defense and homeland security .  