Charles W. Stenholm: “Mr. Chairman this is a very simple amendment to restore a little bit of accountability and honesty around here about our…”

“Mr. Chairman this is a very simple amendment to restore a little bit of accountability and honesty around here about our fiscal policies. My amendment would prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from dipping into retirement trust funds in order to circumvent the statutory debt limit. The effect of my amendment would be to force Congress to take responsibility for the increase in the national debt by approving an increase in the debt limit before adjourning in October instead of deferring action until a lame duck session. There would be no risk of default if Congress met its responsibility to approve an increase in the debt limit before we adjourn for the election. The Treasury Department has repeatedly warned Congress that we are approaching the debt limit and need to increase it above its current level of 7.384 trillion. Just 3 years ago, the administration stated that we would not need to raise the debt limit for 7 years and actually warned that we were in danger of paying off our debt too quickly. After 3 years of our current economic policies, projected surpluses have turned into record deficits; and we are being asked to increase the debt limit for the third time in 3 years to more than $8 trillion.”