[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 89 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H4896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   INCREASING DEBT AND OVERPROMISING

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I wore my Adam Smith tie this 
morning because today we are going to talk about some ways that might 
help us give discipline to ourselves on how much money we spend and how 
much overpromising we do.
  Two areas. One, I am from a farm in Michigan. That is where we 
usually try to reduce the mortgage so our kids have a little better 
chance. In this Chamber and in the Senate and the White House, what we 
have been doing for the last 20 years is increasing the debt. Every 
year for the last 20 years the debt subject to the debt limit has been 
going up. Plus, we have been overpromising in Medicare, Social 
Security. The unfunded liability is a huge burden on our children.
  So, hopefully, today we can join together to help give ourselves 
discipline on overspending by changing the law.

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