On the recordJuly 19, 2011
I just got off the phone with a constituent of mine, Tom Abbot, a small businessman who cares about his family, cares about his business, the people that he works with. He asked a very simple question: I have to live within my budget; why doesn't Washington? The plan that we have put forward would take over a 10-year period, capping the spending at 18 percent. As Americans, I think we need to ask the question: Have we had an 18 percent increase in our family budgets year over year? I think the answer is no. I'd like to quote for you some of the President's plan to deal with the economic challenges that we face. There is not one. The silence is deafening. My friends, the American people expect more. The American people deserve better. Washington does not have an income problem; it has a spending problem. And the time for us to speak on behalf of the American people is now. ____________________
