[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H878-H879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     STIMULATING THE NATIONAL DEBT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
  I want to thank my colleagues for the great information that they 
have shared today and how they have laid out the issue that we're 
dealing with, but I want to add some more to that.
  Yesterday, the Treasury Department announced that it will need to 
borrow $493 billion in the first 3 months of 2009, the highest amount 
ever borrowed in the first quarter. This is on top of the record debt 
racked up in the last

[[Page H879]]

quarter of 2008--$569 billion. It is important to emphasize here that 
the only money the Federal Government has is that which it takes from 
taxpaying citizens or borrows from foreign countries. We have never in 
the history of our Nation taken on this much debt this quickly. For 
those keeping track at home, that's $1.062 trillion in 6 months. Did I 
mention that this is more than $1 trillion in new debt in a mere 6 
months does not include the so-called ``stimulus'' plan, which now 
costs $900 billion? Folks, the Federal Government is broke. Every 
single dollar of new spending is added to our national debt. And how do 
we pay back this debt? That's easy. New taxes. Higher taxes.
  In the meantime, we keep hearing how this borrow-and-spend stimulus 
plan is going to quickly create jobs. How does upgrading the Department 
of Agriculture's computers create jobs quickly? Or $650 million for DTV 
coupons, or a billion for Census follow-up in 2010 or $7 billion for a 
GSA fund that is already running a surplus?
  Well, this kind of spending doesn't create jobs. It creates debt. It 
has no business in legislation billed as ``job creating.'' Some of this 
spending may actually have merit, but it belongs in the budget process, 
not tacked onto a must-pass bill because it couldn't stand a chance in 
the actual budget.
  This kind of back-room deal-making and wasteful spending is just the 
kind of Washington business-as-usual that Americans are tired of. If we 
are going to have an economic recovery package, let's do it right.
  Despite our colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying we do 
not have a plan, Republicans have proposed a package of tax relief and 
unemployment assistance that will create twice the jobs at half the 
cost. Let me repeat that. The Republican proposal creates twice the 
jobs at half the cost. And the GOP plan addresses the underlying cause 
of our economic distress in the U.S. housing market.
  I want to thank my colleague from Virginia, Eric Cantor, for helping 
to spearhead this plan and for setting up a helpful Web site that 
discusses the Republican economic recovery plan at 
republicanwhip.house.gov. This plan will help small businesses start 
hiring and will get the housing market moving again. And it 
acknowledges that every dollar the government borrows today must be 
paid back by our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren 
tomorrow.

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