Marsha Blackburn: “I appreciate, as I said, the work that the committee has done, but I think it is imperative that we realize the burden…”

“I appreciate, as I said, the work that the committee has done, but I think it is imperative that we realize the burden that we are placing on future generations. Quite frankly, I think it is rather selfish of this body to force future generations--our children and grandchildren--to pay for the out- of-control spending of today. Have we done a good job? Yes. Could we do a superlative? Absolutely, we could. Cutting one penny out of a dollar is a wise step. I don't know of anybody that thinks we are underspent. I know a lot of people that think we are overspent and that we are overtaxed. What it is going to take in order to get our fiscal house in order and to secure this Nation for future generations is, yes, indeed, targeted cuts. It is going to take across-the-board cuts, and it is going to take everybody agreeing that we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. That is a component of our budget and appropriations process that the American people are demanding that we get under control. It is not necessarily a debate about worthiness. There are lots of good programs and essential programs. What it is, is a debate about stewardship, making certain that we are focusing and that we are doing the extra work that is necessary to get the spending under control. As I said, this is $51.4 billion in discretionary funding that is in this appropriations bill. It is below the President's request. The committee is to be commended for that.…”