On the recordNovember 18, 2011
I will yield to the gentleman from Maryland in just a minute. This chart show that, in 2004, we had a $400 billion deficit. It was the highest deficit in American history, and it was part of the reason we lost our majority later on. Then in 2007, as the deficit stepped down each of the interceding years, the gentleman from Maryland became the majority leader, and the gentlewoman from California became the Speaker of the House--and look at what has happened to our deficits ever since. The Congress writes budgets; the Congress doesn't balance budgets. Both parties are to blame. There have been six balanced budgets in the last 50 years. In 37 of those years, Democrats only balanced it twice. This is a bipartisan balanced budget amendment that the gentleman voted for once before. He should join us today and set the future on a different track. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
