Mike Pence: “This is a difficult time in the life of the people of this country. Families are hurting. Our economy is struggling. The…”

“This is a difficult time in the life of the people of this country. Families are hurting. Our economy is struggling. The economic policies of this administration have failed to turn around this Great Recession, as it has come to be known. And I believe that runaway Federal spending, deficits, and debt are a barrier to our economic recovery, a barrier to putting Americans back to work. We have to change the fiscal direction of this government for this generation, for jobs for Americans today, and for future generations who are facing a mountain range of debt--a $14 trillion national debt; $1.65 trillion deficit this year alone. As most of my colleagues know, I've fought against runaway spending on a bipartisan basis. I opposed Big Government plans when they were offered by Republican Presidents and in Republican Congresses, and I fought with equal vigor against the borrowing, the spending, the bailouts, and the takeovers of the recent Democratic Congress and this administration. But now we come to another debt ceiling vote, and as the late Russell Kirk wrote, ``Politics is the art of the possible.'' The American people are looking in and they know, if you owe debts, pay debts. We have to find a way to pay the Nation's bills. But the American people also know we have to find a way to set our Nation on a course of living within our means once again. Now, I am still studying Speaker Boehner's proposal, but there is much that recommends it.…”