John Spratt: “This budget resolution which we present today did not come easily. It comes from months of hard work, hearings, and…”

“This budget resolution which we present today did not come easily. It comes from months of hard work, hearings, and negotiations. The end product is a good budget, not perfect, I will admit. Not complete but worthy of support. Indeed, it requires our support if we do not want the process to fail again, as it did last year when no concurrent resolution was passed and only two of 11 appropriation bills were enacted. This budget moves us to balance over the next 5 years. Along the way, it posts smaller deficits than the President's budget. It adheres to the pay-as-you-go principle and contains no new mandatory spending that is not paid for, and it funds 'program integrity initiatives' to root out wasteful spending, fraud, and tax evasion. Within this framework, our budget does more for veterans' health care, more for children's health care, and more for education. Here in a nutshell are the basics of this budget: This budget comes to balance in 5 years and runs a surplus of $41 billion in the year 2012. Contrast that with the President's budget, which remains always in deficit.”