Richard B. Nugent: “I would like to thank the chairman, Mr. Ryan, for allowing me to speak and allowing me to close. And I heard this is a…”

“I would like to thank the chairman, Mr. Ryan, for allowing me to speak and allowing me to close. And I heard this is a sideshow. I don't think the American people see it as that. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer a resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the passage of a fiscal year 2013 Federal budget is of national importance. You've heard it over and over again that this is the 1,000th day, 1,000 days, Mr. Speaker, since the Senate has not fulfilled its obligation. Think about all the things Americans have done and been able to accomplish in the last 1,000 days, and yet the Senate has failed to achieve this basic responsibility under the Budget Act of 1974. It's astonishing. I've had two sons graduate from college, two sons go to war and come home again. Another son got married in that time period. And in that time, the citizens of Florida's Fifth Congressional District sent me to Washington to do this job to work for the American people. That work undoubtedly includes passing a budget, as this House did on April 15 based on the leadership of Chairman Ryan. The Senate, on the other hand, hasn't produced a budget since 2009--I believe it's April of 2009--and didn't even bother to propose a budget this last year. The last time the Senate passed the budget, the CBO predicted that the deficit for 2011 would be $693 billion. In reality, it was twice, almost twice that, $1.3 trillion.…”