Deborah Koff Ross: “again, on a Tuesday evening, I come here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the…”

“again, on a Tuesday evening, I come here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the 37-member strong fiscally conservative Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. We are a group of 37 Democrats that are fiscally conservative, that want to restore some common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. We are a group of 37 that are sick and tired of all of the partisan bickering that goes on in this Chamber and in our Nation's capital. Mr. Speaker, it should not be about whether it is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. It ought to be about is it a common sense idea, and does it make sense for the people who send us here to be their voice at our Nation's capital. Mr. Speaker, I contend that this Republican leadership, this Republican administration, is not leading us down the correct path. Our country is not on the right track when it comes to our Nation's finances, when it comes to being good stewards of the American people's tax money. As you can see here on the Blue Dog Coalition poster, today the United States's national debt is $8,419,336,525,769. For every man, woman and child, including the children born today, every United States citizen's share of the national debt is a staggering $28,129. And the sad reality is that during this hour, during this Blue Dog Special Order, during the next 60 minutes, this number, the U.S. national debt, will go up by approximately $41,666,000.…”