Christopher Shays: “I am amazed at this debate. I think of how far we have come. As far as the press is concerned, there is no story here…”

“I am amazed at this debate. I think of how far we have come. As far as the press is concerned, there is no story here, because Republicans and Democrats are not fighting like little kids. When Republicans and Democrats get together and help save this country for future generations, no story here. Mr. Speaker, I think of this Chamber in 1989, when the gentleman from Ohio introduced an amendment to start to balance our budget, get our country's financial house in order. Each year he took on that effort. It is the culmination, since 1989, what we are seeing today with the work on a bipartisan basis, with the help of the gentleman from South Carolina and others. I just first want to congratulate him for what he has done over these many years, with such good nature and freshness. We are going to get our country's financial house in order and balance the Federal budget, and I think we are going to do it in less than 5 years with this agreement. We are going to save our trust funds for not just future generations, but for present generations, because Medicare is running out of money as we speak. Our plan will save it for the next 10 years. We are going to transform this caretaking society into a caring society. We are not just ending welfare and moving mothers into work, we are ending corporate welfare, we are ending welfare for farmers as well in this budget agreement.”