Marshall Sanford: “my parents raised me to tell the truth. They taught me that hiding behind misleading words was the same as telling a…”

“my parents raised me to tell the truth. They taught me that hiding behind misleading words was the same as telling a lie, and as our Nation is threatened by the debt as it spirals out of control, and as I look at my two small boys, I realize that they, and maybe even their children, will have to pay for our refusing to meet our responsibilities. The question before us though is what do we do about it? One of the things we can do today is pass this rules change. As my colleagues know, for years we heard about budget cuts, yet spending keeps growing bigger, Why is that? Well, in the past, Mr. Speaker, the way Congress worked was that, if we had $150 billion of proposed new increases and made it $50, we called that a savings of $100. My colleagues and I know that's an addition of $50. That is the equivalent of my going down to the corner bait and tackle shop in Murrells Inlet, SC, looking at a rod on sale for $50 that is normally priced at $150, and saying, ``OK, I'll buy it.'' I walk home, walk into the house and say, ``Jenny, I just saved the family a hundred dollars.'' She says, ``What are you doing with a new fishing rod?'' I hold it up an say, ``It was priced at $150, and I bought it for $50. I saved the family a hundred dollars.'' She says, ``Absolutely not. You just spent $50.'' Mr. Speaker, passing this action is what the American public wants.…”