Stephen Horn: “I rise to express my support for the A to Z spending cuts plan I urge my colleague to sign the discharge petition on…”

“I rise to express my support for the A to Z spending cuts plan I urge my colleague to sign the discharge petition on Accountability Day. May 4. The American people, and certainly the voters who sent many of us to Congress, do not expect us to maintain business as usual where fiscal matters are concerned. We continue to spend money that we do not have. We are paying well over $200 billion a year on interest on the national debt. That is more than the Federal Government spends each year on education, transportation infrastructure, fighting crime, and other pressing issues. The interest alone is twice what Lyndon Johnson spent in 1965 to launch the Great Society and to wage the Vietnam war. If more Americans realized how Congress spent money each year, their outrage would motivate this institution to cut spending and finally balance the budget. It is time for change. No more business as usual. The A to Z plan is simple. I have long advocated it. Hold a special session in the House devoted exclusively to cutting the budget, Give everyone the opportunity to put forward a budget cutting proposal. Debate the merits of each proposal, and vote it up or down. A majority of the Members in the House support this approach. The question is, do we have the will to carry it out? Let us show our constituents that we are serious about deficit reduction. Support the discharge petition to bring A to Z to the floor.”