On the recordJanuary 18, 2012
Well, finally, Mr. Speaker, we have some bipartisan agreement. My colleague from Louisiana called this vote a sham. My colleague from South Carolina called this a fig leaf to disguise excess Republican spending. I think we have agreement on those basic concepts. Whether you call this a sham or a fig leaf, this bill, this process that the Republicans have put before us doesn't do a thing to solve the deficit, doesn't do a thing to rein in the national debt. It only perpetuates this Congress' addiction to spending, Mr. Speaker. By somehow pretending to say that we're doing something by making a fuss over whether we're going to make good on the full faith and credit of what we've already spent, rather than just not spend it in the first place, Mr. Speaker, we're misleading the American public into thinking that this Congress is tackling the national debt and the deficit, when all we're doing, as my friend from Louisiana said, is simply a sham. I reserve the balance of my time.
