On the recordAugust 1, 2011
I appreciate the minute. My constituents are saying get the job done. Vote for the rule and vote for the bill. The President said about a year ago, I want to say it was the State of the Union Address, the debt today is unsustainable. He's right. And for the first time, we are coupling an increase in the debt ceiling with real reductions in spending. No, this is not reducing the rate of growth in spending. This is actually reducing spending. In fact, at the end of the day, when we look at fiscal year 2012 versus fiscal year 2011, we are going to be spending less money in 2012 than we did in the 2011. Nobody--nobody--is coming to our offices and saying cut our spending. But, in fact, the American public is saying, Federal Government, cut your spending. That's what this bill will do. It's going to reduce spending. Yes, it's going to increase the ceiling on the debt, but it's coupled with real reforms that I think the American public want, and that's why it's going to have some bipartisan support when we deal with this issue a little bit later on this afternoon. So I commend the leadership on both sides of the aisle. Let's get the job done. Let's get it over with so we can get to the business of running the rest of the government and the country.
