James Davis: “this debate today should be about the highest priority of the Congress and the Nation and, that is, national security.…”

“this debate today should be about the highest priority of the Congress and the Nation and, that is, national security. Instead, what we have heard from the other side is they will do whatever it takes to pass this bill. One of the questions that deserves to be answered today is at what cost? What limits are there to us doing whatever it takes to pass this bill? Are there any limits in decency, in fairness, in what this country and this Congress is supposed to stand for? Nobody has attempted to rebut the fact that there is a special fix in this bill for 2 hospitals in the United States when hospitals all over the country are suffering, the people they are supposed to serve. No one has attempted to rebut the fact that we are rewriting a trade agreement with Caribbean nations that was balanced and strongly supported on a bipartisan basis. There are few facts we agree on today. These are some of the ones we do agree on. This should be about national security. It should not be about economic security and Social Security. Thank goodness on September 11 this country was strong economically to withstand the horrendous attack that occurred because we had balanced the budget and begun to pay down the debt. Nobody is rebutting the fact that what is happening today is we are going to raise the debt ceiling; the Federal Government is going to start borrowing money again.”