Mike Conaway: “An oft-forgotten dictum in Washington is that to govern is to choose. It is to choose between the dizzying array of…”

“An oft-forgotten dictum in Washington is that to govern is to choose. It is to choose between the dizzying array of wants, wishes, and needs of the American people, while constrained by the Constitution, fiscal, and political realities of the day. Sadly, the leadership of the majority of this House have punted on choosing anything. They have ignored fiscal realities, our present condition, and the constitutional limits on our authority, and simply enacted whatever they could twist enough arms to pass. This majority has made promises it cannot keep with money it does not have. It has not made hard choices; it has not governed. No place is this more evident than in the Speaker's refusal to pass a budget this year, the most basic fiscal document our Nation has. The budget is the foundation of all the taxing and spending that the Federal Government does. It constrains the appropriators and sets the boundaries for the spending debate. In choosing not to pass a budget, the Speaker is failing in her responsibility to govern this House and our Nation. The American people, though, are not standing idly by. They are suggesting difficult choices for the Speaker through the YouCut program. To date, the American people have voiced support for over $60 billion in hard choices. Mr. Speaker, we are a Nation governed by the people; the people are not being heard. This Congress is not listening.”