Peter Roskam: “Mr. Marchant has gotten people's attention this afternoon. I am really surprised at how lively and engaged our friends…”

“Mr. Marchant has gotten people's attention this afternoon. I am really surprised at how lively and engaged our friends are on the other side of the aisle. So, it begs the question: What is so provocative about this bill? What is so provocative and incendiary? Apparently, having the administration come with a plan, as it relates to the debt, is a provocation. I don't think our friends on the other side of the aisle have to take the bait. In fact, the ranking member said it came out with only Republican votes. If I were a Democrat, I wouldn't admit that it only came out with Republican votes. I would be trying to claim credit for this. Why? Because I come from the State of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, let me tell you what happens when you avoid problems. The State of Illinois has avoided problems year after year after year. My home State now has a $100 billion unfunded pension liability. That is a fact. Illinois has a crisis. What Mr. Marchant is proposing is very simple and very clear. If this is provocative, I don't know how to deal with it. It requires the administration to lay out a proposal to reduce the debt in the short term: 1 to 2 years. The criticism of the administration's current budget is that it never balances. Ever. Think about that. Hello. Never. There is never a balance. So, what he is saying is they have got to come in and show how they are going to deal with this.…”