Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of House Joint Resolution 2 and sending a balanced budget amendment to the United States Senate and to the States. Congress has nobly, yet unexpectedly, tried seven times to stop the increasingly massive growth in our national debt. At the first attempt in 1985, with the Gramm-Rudman- Hollings Act, our national debt was $2 trillion, or $8,700 for every American. Today our national debt is $15 trillion, $48,500 for every American, higher than it has ever been in American history. Our current spending environment has failed to create jobs and is threatening our standard of living and our national security. While the Founding Fathers could not foresee a nation this stricken with debt, they did recognize the danger to our prosperity and instilled a constitutional process that gives us the flexibility to deal with this crisis. As Thomas Jefferson said: I place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. Congress has a rare opportunity to break the cycle of reckless spending that has taken us to this current fiscal breaking point and ensure the fiscal financial stability and prosperity for our children and our grandchildren. I urge adoption of the resolution. ____________________”