Rob Portman: “I rise as we are talking about the budget, and I want to talk a little bit about that today, being a member of the…”

“I rise as we are talking about the budget, and I want to talk a little bit about that today, being a member of the Budget Committee and someone very concerned about the fiscal direction of our country. I also want to talk about a trip I took to Israel. Over the last weekend, I was in Israel having meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu, members of the Knesset, the Minister of Intelligence, the Deputy Foreign Minister, and others, and part of what I want to talk about in the budget relates to that. This budget, by the way, is the first time in 6 years that we have had the ability for the House and Senate to come together and have a congressional budget. During that 6 years, by the way, I think there has been $8 trillion added to the national debt. During that 6 years, there has not been adequate oversight of the departments and agencies of government, partly because there hasn't been a budget. Without a budget, it is very difficult to go through the appropriations process, which means that not only has spending been high--more money being spent than coming in, in terms of revenue year after year to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars--but also we haven't had the ability to have the appropriate checks and balances, oversight of the various agencies we have in the appropriations process. So, after 6 years, it is about time.…”