Burgess Owens: “Thank you, Mr. Clyburn. When I heard that this bill was coming forward, I had an opportunity to reflect on the fact that…”

“Thank you, Mr. Clyburn. When I heard that this bill was coming forward, I had an opportunity to reflect on the fact that I have been having conversations with my constituents, and in each case I have posed to them how we are proceeding here in Congress and asked them if in fact they could accept a small across-the-board percentage decrease for FY 11. Invariably, each and every one said yes. I have been on record for many months as suggesting that we can solve this problem, walk away from the ideology that is dividing us and simply reduce spending by 2 percent, which I think, if one does the math, gets us to the position that our friends on the other side of the aisle would like us to adopt. It is clear to me after practicing law for more than 30 years, part of which was as a JAG officer in the United States Air Force, that clearly this is an unconstitutional piece of legislation and is nothing more than spinning in the wind. I had the opportunity the other day when I saw the makeup of this bill to write to the Speaker, Mr. Boehner, along with 27 other cosigners, and ask that S. 388 be separated from this legislation. This legislation is not moving forward, and if in fact we do see a government shutdown, we in Congress should share the pain. We have that responsibility, that obligation, and we must lead by example.”