01/31/2012
https://congress.gov...
"The interest on that debt is the fastest-growing component of the Federal budget."
"The United States now staggers under $19 trillion of debt, nearly half of it run up in the last 8 years."
"Our government's good credit is vital to everything that we do here. And there are two ways to wreck that credit: by borrowing too much; or by failing to pay it back on time and in full."
"And just a few years ago, then-Senator Barack Obama vigorously opposed an increase in the debt limit sought by the Bush Administration."