Heidi Alexander: “I congratulate the Senator from Texas for her remarks, for her leadership, for her willingness to be involved in and…”

“I congratulate the Senator from Texas for her remarks, for her leadership, for her willingness to be involved in and support a variety of ways for us to meet the two goals we have before us, one of which is to make a significant step to reduce our Federal debt, to stop Washington from spending money it doesn't have; second, to do so in a way that honors the financial obligations of the United States of America, the most creditworthy country in the world. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, which has passed the House and has 37 cosponsors in the Senate--I am proud to be one of them--I think is a superior piece of legislation. I hope when we vote on it, it gets a majority of votes in the Senate and becomes law. Before I speak about the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, I would like to speak for a moment about those two goals that are before us as we consider our debt, consider our financial obligations, and consider all of them up against what is said to be a point on August 2 where the debt ceiling needs to be increased. As I think about those two goals, reducing our debt, honoring our obligations, I think about a friend of mine in Tennessee who pays his bills out of a cigar box. This is how it works: A bill comes in to my friend and he puts the bill in a cigar box. Then another bill comes in and he puts that bill in a cigar box. Then the next week maybe some money will come in.…”