Gilbert Gutknecht: “back home we say a deal is a deal and a bargain is a bargain. A farmer back in Minnesota described our deficit dilemma…”

“back home we say a deal is a deal and a bargain is a bargain. A farmer back in Minnesota described our deficit dilemma best when he said the problem is not that we are not sending enough money into Washington; the problem is that Washington spends it faster than we can send it in. In other words, "It is spending, stupid." When I came to Washington, the Congressional Budget Office was predicting $200 billion deficits for as far as the eye could see, well into the next millennium. Well, since I came to Washington, we have eliminated over 300 programs, reformed welfare and dramatically cut the growth of spending here in Washington. As a result, the Federal budget is balanced today. Last August we set tough spending caps. Now the President wants to renege. This is what the President is recommending. The blue line represents what we agreed to spend in our spending caps. Now the President wants to exceed those by $69 billion. Mr. Speaker, a deal is a deal. Keep faith with the caps. Let us pay down some of the debt, and slow down the Washington spending machine.”