Shelley Berkley: “Republican leadership still does not grasp the importance of reducing our Nation's deficits. Instead, they continue to…”

“Republican leadership still does not grasp the importance of reducing our Nation's deficits. Instead, they continue to focus on misplaced priorities. Our Nation faces record deficits, and we ought to tackle the real problems that deficits pose. Deficits put a strain on the economy. They threaten Social Security and force families to bear the burden of our Nation's debt. Over the next 6 years, Nevada families will pay on average more than $20,000 out of their own pockets to help cover the cost of the national debt. Instead of dealing with this, the Republican leaders have chosen this week to focus on legislation that would erode the separation of powers by removing Federal court jurisdictions to review challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act. It is incomprehensible to me that Republican leaders have deemed this the pressing issue when millions of Americans have no health insurance, we still have not passed a transportation bill, and our deficits are skyrocketing out of control. Let us focus on what is really important to American families, attack rising deficits with sensible approaches and let us let all of this extraneous nonsense go by the wayside where it belongs.”