María Elvira Salazar: “I am proud today to be joined by my colleagues of the Blue Dog Coalition to speak about our Nation's problems. Mr. Ross…”

“I am proud today to be joined by my colleagues of the Blue Dog Coalition to speak about our Nation's problems. Mr. Ross brought up the U.S. national debt now being $8.8 trillion, knocking on the door of $9 trillion. I remember the very first day I came to Congress where the actual figure was $7.54 trillion. Not even 2 rac{1}{2} years ago, each American's share of the national debt was $26,000 at that time. What a shame. Over $3,000 more in 2 years. Well, I am proud to join my fellow Blue Dogs today to talk about accountability in government and the gross negligence for taxpayer dollars in Washington. The Blue Dogs have been fighting for greater accountability in Washington for over 10 years. We have argued for a return to a PAYGO system or a balanced budget. We offered a 12-step reform plan to cure our Nation's addiction to deficit spending. We have argued that all earmarks should require written justification from a Member of Congress before being considered. I am proud that our current leadership has taken into account what the Blue Dogs are saying. The Blue Dogs advocate accountability. Let's consider the facts. In 2004, the Federal Government spent $25 billion that it cannot account for. In that same year, only 6 of 63 Pentagon departments were able to produce a clean audit. For 2005, the GAO reports that 19 of the 24 Federal agencies can't produce a clean audit or fully explain how they spend taxpayer dollars.”