Deborah Koff Ross: “The gentleman raised an excellent point, and I am writing a plan to put America on a path towards energy independence…”

“The gentleman raised an excellent point, and I am writing a plan to put America on a path towards energy independence, something Brazil will achieve this year. And the reason this is all so important, and it relates to the debt and the deficit, is as a Nation we are spending half a billion dollars a day paying interest on the debt we have already got. America's priorities, including investing in alternative and renewable fuels and bioenergies and clean coal technology and synthetic fuels, will never happen. So it is time to get our Nation's fiscal house in order. Mr. Speaker, we will be back on the floor next Tuesday night or at some Tuesday night in the future, whenever we see fit to come back as a Congress, to talk more about the Blue Dogs 12-point plan for meaningful budget reform, to restore common sense and fiscal discipline to our Nation's government. And until we see you again, Mr. Speaker, I will leave you with this thought: everyone in America's share of the national debt: $28,867. The debt tax, d-e-b-t. It is time, Mr. Speaker, we get our Nation's fiscal house in order and pay down this debt and have a balanced budget in this country once more.”