Tina Smith: “But, as the Senator knows, the Congress during those years rolled these huge continuing resolutions in to the President…”

“But, as the Senator knows, the Congress during those years rolled these huge continuing resolutions in to the President with everything from Social Security to defense and every little program that could possibly hurt anybody in America all rolled into one, essentially saying, ``Well, Mr. President, if you veto this, then we will shut the Government down and stop the Social Security checks.'' So, as I say, I think the reason we are here today is because of the irresponsibility, essentially, of the Congress, not any President, over the years. As we debate today right now on the floor of the Senate, $9,600 a second the national debt increases. It increases $576,000 a minute, $34,560,000 an hour, and $829 million a day--almost a $1-billion-a-day increase as this debate continues.”