[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 11, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H3279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. 
Kirkpatrick) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK of Arizona. Madam Speaker, over the past months, we 
have witnessed firsthand the potential consequences of allowing the 
national debt to continue growing out of control. Greece borrowed 
heavily during the last decade during the boom and the bubble and found 
itself at risk of default when global credit dried up. Now the country 
is facing financial disaster.
  The crisis should serve as a warning to Washington. This country's 
debt is now $12.9 trillion and is approaching unsustainable levels. We 
must address the fiscal imbalance here before it's too late. Washington 
must start by making major changes to the budget--changes that go 
beyond freezing spending and instead look to make significant budget 
cuts. That means we have to crack down on the consequence-free spending 
culture in Congress. Washington needs to put a priority on eliminating 
waste and finding cost-effective ways to achieve this country's goals.
  Budget cuts are not always easy or popular, but business as usual in 
Washington is not working. Greece's rapid spiral shows that it is past 
time that we start to take serious steps--both big and small--to 
address our fiscal health.

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