John W. Olver: “The absolute platinum standard for fiscal irresponsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of her party and the…”

“The absolute platinum standard for fiscal irresponsibility lies squarely on the shoulders of her party and the Presidents of her party. The national debt for this country when President Carter left office in 1981 was less than $1 trillion. The national debt 12 years later, in the case of President Carter, that represents the debt that had been reached over 180 years of American history. Twelve years later, the national debt when the first President Bush left office was $4.3 trillion, more than four times as much, more than quadrupling the total national debt. That is the gold standard of fiscal irresponsibility. And then we had 8 years of President Clinton, and the national debt went up another $1.2 trillion, about a 25 percent increase in the national debt in the 8 years that he was President. But then, under the present President Bush and the Congress of his party in control during those years, the national debt has gone up $3.3 trillion more, a total of about two-thirds more, 67 or 68 percent more in debt. That is the platinum standard in debt increase and in fiscal irresponsibility.”