Austin Scott: “I feel very privileged and honored to be here with my fellow Blue Dogs. Our debate is going out across the country…”

“I feel very privileged and honored to be here with my fellow Blue Dogs. Our debate is going out across the country thanks to C-SPAN, and I think it is very important that we understand that the American people have awakened. All of the polls show it. The American people are glued in to what is happening here in Washington, and right they should be. I want to start off by saying that so that individuals who are tuning in who would like to know just what are the Blue Dogs, more than anything else, we pride ourselves on being, first and foremost, good stewards of the taxpayers' dollars. We provide the sterling leadership in the Democratic Party for responsible fiscal responsibility. For 5 years, we in the Blue Dog Coalition have been begging and pleading that this Congress develop a plan to pay as you go. Mr. Speaker, 5 years ago when the Clinton administration left office, we had a surplus. Billions and billions and billions of dollars were left in surplus. Now 5 years later, under the Bush administration, we are trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars in debt. Make no mistake about it, our debt and our deficit is the number one problem and issue facing the survival and the future of our democracy. And we are concerned about this national debt.…”