On the recordDecember 14, 2010
I am so pleased to be here in this room with Democrats and Republicans, talking constructively with each other. It has been a long time since we have seen that. It is one of the things I heard day after day over the last 22 months as I had townhall meetings across the State of Colorado. I too wanted to read something from the words of the deficit and debt commission because I think it is important for people to understand, people who are watching this at home and people working in Washington, that this is not optional. They write: Large debt will put America at risk by exposing it to foreign creditors. They currently own more than half of our public debt and the interest we pay them reduces our own standard of living. The single largest foreign holder of our debt is China, a nation that may not share our country's aspirations and strategic interests. In a worst-case scenario, investors could lose confidence that our Nation is able or willing to repay its loans--possibly triggering a debt crisis that would force the government to implement the most stringent of austerity measures.
