On the recordFebruary 4, 2010
In this time of record debt, high unemployment, and uncertain economic conditions, a focus on fiscal responsibility is critical--real fiscal responsibility, not words like ``commonsense'' but applying it in a real policy. For months, President Obama and the majority have talked about the importance of this responsibility, responsibility by tripling Federal spending and then saying we're going to have a freeze. The President has suggested a spending freeze, and we've heard a lot about bending the cost curve with health care reform. But, Madam Speaker, I think we all know that actions speak louder than words. The fine print in this so-called PAYGO bill is a $2 trillion increase in the national debt. Just read the bill and you see the truth. It's very different from the rhetoric that we hear. Instead of being true to their word, the majority has increased spending by an unprecedented 66 percent over the last year and pushed the deficit to $1.4 trillion in 2009, an 800 percent increase over the last administration. Instead of listening to the American people's pleas that Congress focus on the economy and jobs, they spent the last year pushing an unpopular, ineffective, and wildly expensive government takeover of health care. Instead of taking action on steps that would halt unsustainable spending in Washington, majority leaders are about to vote to increase our debt limit by $1.9 trillion, the largest one-time increase of the debt in the history of the United States of America.
