Mr. Speaker, I now yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Jackson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson) for a unanimous consent request.

Mr. Speaker, I would simply point out that when S&P downgraded our debt, they were so well respected that the interest rates went down and the price of our bonds went up. So much for S&P. I now yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from…

I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this misguided attempt to amend our constitution. It is both bad economic policy and bad constitutional policy. Let's start with the basics. While balancing your…

The amendment is silent. All it says is ``this will happen.'' ``This must happen.'' When this must happen in our system of government, if it doesn't, or if someone thinks it's not going to, they go to court and they ask for a court order…

Mr. Speaker, I have to correct what the distinguished gentleman from Virginia said a moment ago when he said that this amendment would not affect Social Security because Social Security would be paid for by the trust fund. This amendment…

Just two comments. First of all, going back to what you were discussing a moment ago, the answer to your question is that under this amendment, 40 percent of either House could hold the entire country hostage against the other 60 percent…

I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 822, what the Brady Campaign correctly calls the ``Packing Heat on Your Street'' bill. America is in dire economic straits. Millions of people are out of work. Our growth rate is anemic. People are…

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Although the American people are concerned about restoring our economy and creating jobs, today we are returning to irrelevant issues that do nothing to promote economic growth and…