Mike Pence: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor to rise in support of the Budget Control Act of…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor to rise in support of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which is a negotiated compromise between the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the Republican and Democratic leadership of the United States Senate. Let me say that again: the Budget Control Act that we will bring to the floor today is a compromise. At a time when people across America long for a Washington, D.C., that is able to reach across the aisle, lower the volume, solve the problem, this legislation comes to the floor. And I'm proud to support it. The truth is it is a difficult time for people across my beloved Indiana and all across this country. Our economy is struggling. Unemployment is at 8.3 percent in Indiana, 9.3 percent nationally. And I believe that runaway Federal spending by both political parties is a cause and a barrier to our economic recovery today. We simply must put our fiscal house in order. Now, I know the administration wanted us simply to raise the debt ceiling without conditions, but that was rejected I think almost unanimously in the United States Senate, and we rejected it as well in this body. What needs to be done today is we need to recognize that if you owe debts, pay debts. We have to raise the Nation's debt ceiling so that we have the money to pay the Nation's bills.…”