On the recordMarch 1, 2011
I rise to express my deep frustration with this extension. Here we go again, debating another continuing resolution. I am starting to feel like Bill Murray in ``Groundhog Day.'' In that movie, the main character wakes up every morning to relive the same day again and again. He never moves forward because he is stuck on Groundhog Day. Last year, Republicans in the House put the country on notice that we would try to reduce spending by $100 billion this year. The Senate knew, and the American people knew, and they gave us a substantial majority in the House. We worked responsibly and openly on a continuing resolution to meet that goal. In response, the Senate majority leader summarily dismissed our good-faith efforts and recessed the Senate for a week. Despite giving us an unprecedented 3 years of trillion-dollar deficits, the majority leader dismissed our efforts to reduce spending less than 2 percent from the total fiscal 2011 budget. In the interest of continuing our work on behalf of the American taxpayer and finding some common ground, Republicans are offering this 2-week extension, another continuing resolution made necessary only because the Democrat leadership refused to adopt a budget last year. It is like Groundhog Day all over again. During this short extension we propose to save $4 billion--too much for Senator Reid.
