On the recordJuly 28, 2011
As a freshman Member of this distinguished body, I am completely disappointed in our failure to work together. Our constituents sent us here to solve America's problems, not create more problems for them. The constituents of the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama sent me here to make sure that I better their lives, not create fear and instability. The entire world is watching us, and what are we showing them? We're showing them that we're completely detached from reality. We're showing them that we don't care about what their families, local governments, States, and businesses are facing. America's debts are serious. We all know that. We have to put our fiscal house in order. No one is disputing that. It's how we go about it. No matter how we got here, we have bills to pay and we must pay our bills. That's what we, as Americans, do. We pay our bills. The Republican bill that's before us does not do that. What it does is it holds hostage America's promise, the promise that we made to students and to seniors for Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid. It's unfair. I ask my colleagues in this House to vote against the bill on the floor.
