Tom Coburn: “I do agree with the position of the gentleman from California [Mr. Rohrabacher] and will be supporting his position on…”

“I do agree with the position of the gentleman from California [Mr. Rohrabacher] and will be supporting his position on the House floor. I wanted to take a minute to address those in our country who are interested in our budget. If in fact they do not believe that a balanced budget is important, then they should not pay attention to anything that I am about to say. But if in fact they think we ought to live within our means, then I think consideration of some of the information that I am about to relate to them they will find interesting. In 1972, our entire budget was $241 billion. This year we will spend $17 billion more than that on interest on the national debt alone. So what we are really faced with in our country is a threat. The threat is not very popular to talk about. The threat is not easy to focus on. But, nevertheless, the threat is great, and the threat is this: If the people who work and vote in this body fail to recognize the importance of not balancing the budget, what in fact they have done is ruined the future for our children and our grandchildren. To the seniors who would be listening who suffered through the Great Depression, who were the valiant men and women who allowed us to win World War II, they are the ones who hold this debate in their hands, the fate of a balanced budget.”