On the recordMarch 11, 2011
I want to thank my colleague and friend from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) for offering the bill to terminate the emergency mortgage relief program. The amendment I'm offering will ensure every penny of savings that come from terminating the emergency homeowner relief program will go back to the Treasury's general fund in order to reduce the debt of our country. We are in the midst of a spending-driven fiscal crisis. Today, every child born in the United States is responsible for more than $45,000 of the debt. If we don't stop spending and put our Nation back on a sustainable fiscal path, we will ensure that the futures of our children and grandchildren drown in a sea of red ink. The total debt of our Nation is on track to equal the entire size of our economy. The debt held by the public today is $10.43 trillion. That represents 69.4 percent of GDP. Per household, this is $89,007. The gross debt, according to the monthly Treasury statement through February, our gross debt is $14.194 trillion, which is 94.41 percent of GDP, or $121,128 per household. No nation in history has ever survived a debt burden the size towards which we are hurtling. As I travel across the 23rd District of Texas, over and over I hear of very, very real concerns my constituents have over our out-of-control Washington spending and our exploding deficits and debt. The facts are really frightening. There is over $14 trillion of debt on the backs of American families.
