Mr. Chairman. Ranking Member, Mr. Spratt. I want to thank you for the opportunity to share with my colleagues on the Committee what I have learned from the citizens of Northeast Florida about their budget priorities.

I feel very fortunate to be representing them here in Congress during a time of unprecedented budget surpluses. The coffers are full, and that gives the American people an opportunity to do many things that could not be high priorities in the past. But, we in Congress have a responsibility to remember that the coffers are full because of the hard work of the American people, and that the coffers are full of the people's money. The priorities for which we may use this money must be the priorities of the people, and not our own.

There are four ways that we must use this historic opportunity:

One, we must protect the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.

Two, we must continue to retire the public debt.

Three, we must wisely invest some of the surplus in important spending priorities, such as our military and education.

And, four, above all else, we must return some of the surplus to the taxpayers who created it.

The latest CBO report indicates a surplus of $5.6 trillion over the next ten years. Approximately half of that, $2.5 trillion, is Social Security surplus, and should be dedicated to saving that program for retirees today and for years to come. Nearly $400 billion is Medicare surplus, which, similarly, should be set aside for that program. To that end, I support a lockbox strategy, such as that pursued in the last Congress, applying to both the Medicare and Social Security surpluses.

The remaining $2.7 trillion is more than enough to accommodate our other goals. We can continue toward retirement of our debt on a reasonable timeline. And, we can invest in the military, education, and other important social programs.

But, like every American family that sits down to balance the checkbook on payday, we must learn to live within our means. The American people have priorities they need to meet in their own homes - college tuition to pay, mortgages to meet, and other bills to take care of. With what's left they might go on vacation or put a pool in their backyard or, perhaps, set some aside for harder times. They build a list of priorities and allocate their money accordingly.

The American taxpayers have created the current surplus by their hard work, but they haven't given us a blank check to spend on any and every project that crosses our desks. We should prioritize our spending needs and desires and meet them as our budget allows. By doing so, we can give the American people a healthy tax cut.

A healthy tax cut takes into account the fact that the surplus belongs to them in the first place. It's like change for an overpayment, and just as it should be no hardship for a store clerk to give you change for your purchase in a store, it should be no hardship for Congress to cut the taxpayer's tax burden, especially in this time of unprecedented surplus.

A healthy tax cut means across-the-board tax cuts, cutting every taxpayers' taxes. Under the current system, a single mom making just $25,000 a year pays a higher marginal tax rate than someone making more than $250,000 a year. That's just not fair.

A healthy tax cut means eliminating the estate tax. Under the current structure, 70 percent of small businesses don't survive to the second generation. Still more - 87 percent -- don't survive to the third. Small family business is the backbone of our economy and the lifeblood of nearly every small community in America. We should help them keep the family shingles hanging.

And, a healthy tax cut means reducing the marriage penalty. Everyone thinks of the marriage penalty as discouraging young couples in love from getting married, but last year, I met a widow and widower, both in their sixties, that had made a conscious decision not to marry because they were very aware of the effect it would have on their limited retirement incomes. It's just commonsense to let these people marry without concern about how their wallets would be impacted.

President George W. Bush has proposed a tax cut plan that does all these things. Under his sound proposal, the average family of four would get $1600 back. That may not sound like a lot to Congress, which deals in the millions and billions every day; but to the average American family $1600 can go a long way.

As you may know, I had the honor of serving in the Florida legislature before coming to Congress. We had to deal with the same issue of prioritizing budget needs. When I presided as State Senate President, we were able to meet the needs of Florida citizens - building 10,000 new prison beds during a prison overcrowding crisis, directing more money into classrooms - without succumbing to the largest proposed tax increase. We did this by taking a lesson from Florida families and living within our means.

I believe we can do that here this year, and meet their needs while putting something back in their wallets. I look forward to working with you both and with all my new colleagues to build such a sound budget for the American people.

Again, on behalf of the people of the Fourth District of Florida, I thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.

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