Tom Tancredo: “I rise today to praise the work of the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle)…”

“I rise today to praise the work of the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), and the Republican members of that Committee on the Budget. As we all know, this year has been very challenging as the results of the attacks of September 11 and the downturn in our economy. There is one thing that seems to frighten the members of the Democratic minority here more than anything else. There are a couple of words that absolutely petrify them, apparently; it is called 'balanced budget.' They do not know what it is, they had never had one during the time they were in charge of this body, but we are presenting them with one today. It is a scary thing for them, unfortunately. It is important to note that if we accepted all of the 17 amendments offered in the Committee on the Budget this year by members of the minority, we would increase spending over the next 5 years by $205 billion and require $175 billion in additional taxes. That is the old way of doing business. There is a better way. It is called a balanced budget. It is called defending America, and that is what this budget does.”