On the recordMarch 9, 2011
I rise today to speak about H.R. 1, the House bill we just voted down and which I will continue to oppose until major changes are made. With apologies to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman, I would like to talk about Willy Sutton for a second. While we should not normally take fiscal lessons from criminals, Willy Sutton had it right. He said he robbed banks because 'that's where the money is.' Of course, he didn't target places with only petty cash. What is the point of robbing a school or a homeless shelter? There is no money there. But that is exactly what H.R. 1 seeks to do. Instead of tackling our deficits by going after the bank, it is targeting our most vulnerable. Domestic nonsecurity discretionary spending makes up only 12 percent of our budget. We cannot balance the budget with only 12 percent of the budget on the table. We need to be looking at the big picture. We need to be focusing on the bank, where the money is.
