First President Obama and the liberal leadership in Congress injected themselves into the auto industry. Now, they are proposing to enter the school construction business. The federal government must stop over reaching.

Today I went on the House floor and spoke out against H.R. 2187 - 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act. This bill expands the reach of the federal government, burdens local school agencies with green mandates and cost $32.9 billion over five years at a time of record deficits.

To view my remarks, please click on the screen below.

In a little less than five months, President Obama and the liberal leadership in Congress have spent more than $1.6 trillion. Their policies have created the highest spending levels since World War II and exploded our national debt to $11 trillion. Today President Obama’s director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated his projections and is now anticipating a $1.8 trillion deficit for 2009, up from $1.2 trillion earlier this year. The CBO director also noted that the U.S. government is now borrowing 50 cents for every dollar it spends.

I voted against these wasteful spending programs, just as I did under the Bush administration, because common sense tells us that you don’t pay for borrowed money with borrowed money. We are a nation in debt and cannot continue writing checks when our bank account is overdrawn. American families do not budget this way and neither should the federal government.

As a fiscal conservative, I strenuously opposed these epic and unprecedented spending increases. The best way to stimulate the economy is to cut taxes and spending drastically. It is time to start trusting and empowering individual Americans instead of the federal government. It is time to let Americans keep more of what they earn and for the government to spend less. I believe that by taking these steps, our economy will experience the growth and prosperity that have defined America for generations.

Yesterday, Congressman Culberson introduced H. Con. Res. 117 which commemorates the 40th Anniversary of humanity’s first landing on the Moon, celebrates the success of the United States human space flight program, and recognizes the accomplishments of NASA’s human space flight centers.

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress and said, “I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

At that moment, a new space age was born. Just eight years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) achieved Kennedy’s goal when Apollo 11 departed Earth on July 16, 1969. The mission of Apollo 11 – with a crew consisting of Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. – was to perform a manned lunar landing and return safely to Earth.

Millions of Americans watched on July 20, 1969, as the Lunar Module “Eagle” landed on the surface of the Moon, and Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the Moon and remarked, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” The experiments conducted on the moon’s surface by Armstrong and Aldrin provided scientists around the world with new information about Earth’s nearest neighbor. The lunar landing also inspired a new generation of Americans to enter the fields of science and engineering, setting the stage for future NASA successes.

It is timely to honor the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing while NASA continues human spaceflight today with the Constellation Program. NASA facilities helping to carry out this program include Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Flight Center, and Stennis Space Center. NASA’s greatest asset continues to be its people – the thousands of individuals across the country in both government and industry who conceive, design, build, operate, and manage an ambitious program of space exploration on behalf of our great Nation.

H.R. 1728 - Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act – I supported this bill because it prohibits many of the mortgage lending practices that marked the subprime lending boom. This bill seeks to curb abusive and predatory lending by requiring the licensing and registration of all mortgage lenders and by requiring that lenders establish that borrowers have a “reasonable ability” make payments both during any discount introductory period and after their rates rise to market levels. This bill includes language requiring refinanced loans to have a "net tangible benefit" for borrowers, and it applies legal liability to others who assume ownership of a mortgage, typically known as assignees. CBO estimates that H.R. 1728, as reported from the Financial Services Committee, would authorize appropriations of $419 million over the FY2009-FY2014 period. The bill would also increase mandatory spending by $13 million over five years. Lastly, the bill would increase revenues by $13 million over five years. YES – The bill passed 300-114.

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100 days into his presidency, President Obama and the liberal Congress have spent more than $1.6 trillion. Their policies have created the highest spending levels since World War II and exploded our national debt to $11 trillion. This is just the first 100 days, we still have 1,362 left in President Obama’s first term.

To mark the president’s first 100 days in office, House Democrats rushed through a partisan budget that reflects President Obama’s priorities. I voted against this budget because it raises taxes, contains record deficits for the foreseeable future, and raises the national debt by $2 trillion this year alone. We are a nation in debt and cannot continue writing checks when our bank account is overdrawn. American families do not budget this way and neither should the federal government.

The fact is we could not afford the first 100 days of President Obama’s reckless spending and we certainly can’t afford more of the same. I believe it is time to start letting Americans keep more of what they earn and for the government to spend less. By taking these steps, our economy will experience the growth and prosperity that have defined America for generations.

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I am deeply concerned about the threat of spreading swine flu infections in Texas and across the United States. The Department of Homeland Security and Center for Disease Control are monitoring the situation closely and providing the American public with constant updates. We must continue these efforts while enforcing current laws. For more information on swine flu, please click here or here.

H.R. 1913 - Hate Crimes Legislation - I voted against this bill because to me, all violent crimes are, in effect, hate crimes. This legislation amends the federal criminal code to punish those who commit crimes based on the victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. While I agree that crimes engendered by racism and bigotry are detestable, I remain opposed to hate crimes legislation. As a practicing attorney, I simply cannot support any effort that would classify crimes against one class of individuals as more important or more egregious than those against another class.

Congressman Culberson discusses the Texas Tea Parties and excessive government spending with Chris Matthews on Hardball. Please click on the screen below to watch.

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