Mr. Garamendi, I thank you not only for your yielding, but more importantly for the extraordinary time you have invested in educating all of the Members of this House on both sides of the aisle in what can truly be perceived I think as an…

Budgets are not simply about dollars and cents. They are about values and priorities. And the debate over spending has revealed Republican priorities, in my opinion, in the worst possible light. First, Republicans passed a spending plan…

This resolution says, contrary to the Constitution, if the Senate doesn't act, this bill becomes law. Nobody on your side surely believes that that can happen. Nobody believes that that joke that we are trying to play on the American…

If the gentleman will yield, I thank the gentleman for his observation and regret that he felt it was a mischaracterization because I thought it was accurate. Thank you very much.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. April fools, America. This is a joke, America. This is not real, America. As a matter of fact, Mr. Woodall of Georgia says it's not real. It's not going to pass the Senate. He made that very clear. The…

At the outset, let me associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman who just spoke on behalf of General Casey and thank General Casey, with him, for his service to the country. Madam Speaker, in 1998, as a Republican Congress was…

Last week, as I have been doing for a number of weeks, I have been speaking about our budget and the crisis that confronts us and the challenge that confronts us. Last week, former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough said this about the…

We're going to manufacture it in America. We're going to grow it in America, and we're going to sell it here and across the world. We can compete with anybody in the world, frankly, given the proper environment. And I have talked to…

I will say to you, we can wring our hands and say that the Senate's not doing its job. We're not in the Senate. We're here. Let us come to agreement. And we know the agreement is going to be someplace in between where you are and where we…

Reclaiming my time, 435 of us have tried to talk to the people in the other body. But I will tell you, under the Constitution of the United States, we have the responsibility of initiating bills. Read the Constitution. We sent H.R. 1 over…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am not sure whether I rise for or against this, very frankly, because I think this process is not the process that we ought to be pursuing. I think in that context I speak for the chairman and for the…

I thank the gentleman. I thank you for yielding again, but simply to say I thank you for your leadership. You have been one of the most faithful, effective, and articulate spokespersons for an agenda for middle and working class Americans.

I think we both agree that continuing to fund government on either a 2-week or 3-week cycle is not what we ought to be doing. Furthermore, a number of economists have indicated that if, in fact, we proceed to funding levels that reflect…

I think I did not receive an answer in terms of whether or not the gentleman is saying it's either $100 billion or nothing, and that there will be no counteroffer to the offer that is on the table, either from the President or, more…

I regret that the Senate, frankly, didn't get 60 votes for our offer. And he is correct that he got a few more votes for H.R. 1 than was gotten for the Senate majority leader's counteroffer. But the fact of the matter is this is really an…

As I understand it, the gentleman continues to take the position until we get to 100, there is no credible counteroffer. Two billion a week. The gentleman served with a very conservative Member, also a great Member of this Congress, a guy…

I understand that the gentleman is accurate, both alternatives were defeated in the United States Senate. The President put an offer on the table in his 2011 budget. We then, in December, froze spending at 2010 levels, which was $41…

numerous economists have indicated, including Mark Zandi, who was, of course, one of the principal advisers to John McCain when he ran for President, Chairman Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, Goldman Sachs, Moody's, and others…

I want to clarify so the public understands as well when they hear us, what we're talking about cutting from is 14 percent of the budget, the discretionary, non-defense, non-security, part of the budget. So let me focus on that. And when I…

Reclaiming my time, I did not say it was the largest cut that had ever been proposed in Congress. I said it is the largest cut from one year to the other, from the previous year's spending. And it is $13.6 billion, I believe. Seventeen…

I want to congratulate the gentleman from Washington State for focusing America on what the issues are before us. In recent weeks I have come to the floor to argue that the Republican spending plan does two extremely harmful things: It…

I think the gentleman probably agrees with that proposition. I know the chairman of the Budget Committee agrees with that proposition. I may not agree with the chairman of the Budget Committee on how he wants to get there, but I think we…

the administration did, of course, appoint a commission, Mr. Bowles and Senator Simpson, which did, in fact, look at the spectrum of spending and made some very substantive recommendations. The administration has commended those…

I thank the gentleman for explaining my proposition, but if I might clarify a little more, what the gentleman has said, the way you get to $100 billion is counting that $41 billion that you say is the status quo and adding $60 billion, or…

If that's the status quo, then I suggest to the gentleman he is not going to get to $100 billion, which he represented and his side represents they want to get to. We will see whether or not they are prepared to do that. But I will tell my…