On the recordSeptember 10, 2012
I appreciate the opportunity. Just like my colleagues, I've spent a little time in the real world. Some call it a recess; for many of us it was time to go back home. I admit in this job, I'll admit that I would much rather not be here and be at home. But what I heard at home is many of the same things that my colleagues are saying tonight: Washington, can you get your act together? In this Chamber, we passed many, many things that would hopefully improve the economy, but one thing that seems to be on the mind of my colleagues is pretty clear. Times have changed. I know some of my colleagues have been here a while, and they think that perhaps in the White House it's the same old, same old. But when we hit the $16 trillion mark for debt, that raised another red flag about what's going on in Washington. I am a Republican. My colleagues tonight here are Republicans as well. We're not going to say it's a Democrat problem; we're not going to say it's a Republican problem. At the end of the day it is a Washington problem: it's the fact that we can't get our act together here in Washington. We can vote in here to free up job creators. We can vote in here to roll back regulations. But at the end of the day, we have $16 trillion of debt. Like my colleagues, I have young children. I have four young kids.…
