On the recordApril 8, 2011
I rise again today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of the Capitol to move beyond the unnecessary and distracting partisan bickering and come together to fund our government through the remainder of the current fiscal year, including our military, our early-childhood programs, and our essential health services for our seniors and children. Six months into the 2011 fiscal year and less than 12 hours before a government shutdown would close off many of the important services to millions of Americans, Congress has yet to fulfill its most basic responsibility and pass a budget. I know the people of North Carolina or any State did not send us to Washington to point fingers or blame other people for the challenges our country faces. They sent us here to work with our colleagues on commonsense solutions. During my time as budget cochair in the North Carolina State Senate, I learned two things: First, it is never easy to craft a budget, there are always tough choices to make; and second, our fiscal challenges can only be met if Republicans and Democrats have that commitment to work together. Despite the impression the American people may have based on what they have seen in recent weeks, I know we can work this out. We have to work together because after we come to an agreement on this year's budget, we must buckle down and chart out a comprehensive bipartisan path to rein in our nearly $14 trillion national debt.…
