On the recordJuly 30, 2011
I think the American people just heard a new definition of compromise: Paying your bills is a compromise. The American family can't wake up one morning and say, Boy, it's a compromise to pay for what I've already incurred. It's a compromise to pay my mortgage. That's a new one for the American people. And it's part of a reckless pattern that we've seen emerging here. First our Republican colleagues walked out of the Biden talks. Twice they walked out of talks with the President of the United States. Then, when the Republican leader in the Senate put forward a proposal, they ridiculed it. Then, Thursday night, in this very House, they said ``no'' to the proposal by the Republican Speaker of this House until he amended--the same Speaker who said we need to have an adult moment. Here's the concluding paragraph of today's Wall Street Journal: Republicans are not looking like adults to whom we can entrust the government. The American people are looking for that adult moment. If you're not willing to compromise on critical things for the country, you are not fit to govern. And that is why Senator Reid put forward a compromise proposal. He doesn't like his own proposal. He would be the first to tell you that. But you know what it did? It met the criteria our Republican colleagues put forward--$2.4 trillion in cuts. And even if you take out the war savings, more guaranteed cuts, according to CBO, than the Boehner proposal the other night. It also incorporates McConnell's proposal.…
