Steny Hoyer: “From 1981 to 1992, we increased the debt of America by 437 percent. We did so doing good things the wrong way.…”

“From 1981 to 1992, we increased the debt of America by 437 percent. We did so doing good things the wrong way. Yesterday, we passed a $2.9 billion bill and the majority demanded offsets before it passed. Today, we add $26 billion to the deficit, with offsets unknown. We should have, my friends, the discipline to pass a budget prior to adding $26 billion in spending before the caps. My colleagues, we have come a long way in balancing the budget. Let us not fail now. Let us show the discipline to say, yes, we want these things; yes, we want to invest in the infrastructure of America; but let us determine how we are going to pay for it before we do it. That 437 percent increase in the debt was because we did not answer that question first.”