NAN A. S. HAYWORTH: “I have one comment in particular about blackmail. The record will show in our discussions with the White House, the new…”

“I have one comment in particular about blackmail. The record will show in our discussions with the White House, the new majority has moved some $400 billion in the direction of the White House, and the White House has responded with only incremental efforts to reach some sort of consensus. Therein lies the rub here, because, again, in the wake of the rhetoric, I would simply make this statement: The only thing extreme on this floor is the extreme good sense the new majority is showing in trying to put our fiscal house in order. As my friend who chairs the committee so vital to international relations understands, it is fiscal responsibility, not only in our own financial markets, but internationally, that builds and expands the full faith and credit of the United States. And after almost a half century of runaway deficit spending, now trying to put our house in order should be paramount. So let the record reflect that this new majority has moved in the direction of trying to reach some sort of consensus. But as everyone in any business knows, a bad deal is not the answer. No deal may be better than a bad deal.”