On the recordJuly 19, 2011
And my colleagues, as we go home to our districts, I am certain that no constituents have said they wake up in the morning wondering about what we're going to do with the debt ceiling. In my district, most wonder how they're going to get a job, how they're going to take care of their families. So many Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. They didn't commit any wrongdoing. They lost their savings. Many are homeless. They've lost their self-esteem. They've lost their health benefits, and they're looking toward this Congress to kind of put America on the right track--to restore the middle class that made us such a great and successful Nation. Instead of talking about jobs, we find ourselves holding the President hostage by saying, unlike other Presidents, we're not going to increase the debt ceiling. This is a technical way of saying that we owe $14.3 trillion to people whom we borrowed from for unnecessary wars, for tax cuts that shouldn't have been there, and for a variety of things that unemployed people throughout the United States are just not responsible for. Instead of talking about jobs, they will tell you we have to cut spending.…
