On the recordJanuary 18, 2012
I thank my colleague from New York. You know, we prepare our remarks to come down here and speak, but as I listen to my colleagues across the aisle, I just have to comment on a couple of things here today. First and foremost, this is not a Democratic or a Republican issue. The debt that this Nation faces is not partisan. It's an American issue. We need to join together and figure out a path forward. And to hear my colleagues across the aisle demagogue our Republican budget--well, I challenge the Senate to put forth a budget, and let's put a spending plan in place. This debate about the debt ceiling is critical to this country because we can't get the Senate to the table to debate a budget, so we've got to somehow get their comments out and get to the American people how very important it is to stop the spending. The United States of America doesn't have a taxing problem; we have a spending problem. And until and unless we get our spending under control, we cannot move forward as a Nation. It isn't about taxing the American people anymore. They are taxed enough. We need a fairer and a flatter income tax. We need to revise our Tax Code. But, most importantly, we need to stop the spending. This past week, our President came out, Madam Speaker, and he talked to us about consolidating Departments within the Federal Government, about decreasing government, making it more efficient, and yet he comes to us and he asks us to increase the debt ceiling.…
