Mike Pence: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor and urge strong support of my colleagues for the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor and urge strong support of my colleagues for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, H.R. 2560. I really believe if you owe debts, pay debts. We must find a way to honor the full faith and credit of the United States of America. But even more important than that, we must find a way to restore the faith and confidence of the American people and the world community in the fiscal integrity of the United States of America. That is our dual challenge. After years of runaway Federal spending by both political parties, after failed economic policies by this administration, we find ourselves at a place of unprecedented fiscal crisis--more than a $14 trillion national debt, $1.65 trillion deficits. We now borrow more than 40 cents of every dollar that we spend here in Washington, D.C. The Cut, Cap, and Balance Act applies commonsense principles and fiscal discipline to the challenges of spending restraint today, but it also introduces a new element--and that is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Yes, we cut spending by $111 billion next year, about $5.8 trillion over 10. Yes, we cap Federal spending to back under 20 percent of GDP. But I think the time has come to make any increase in the debt ceiling contingent on sending a balanced budget amendment to the States. And here's why. Washington, D.C., is not only broke, it's broken. Let me say again.…”