[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 25, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H3761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PASS A BUDGET
(Mr. BOEHNER asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute.)
Mr. BOEHNER. Yesterday, President Obama asked for a new law to give
him specific authority to force Congress to vote on spending cuts. He
already has the ability to force Congress to consider spending cuts
immediately, and we've been asking him to do it for months. With our
national debt nearing some $13 trillion, Democrats are on the verge of
adding $140 billion more this week. Why can't we start cutting spending
now? And why don't we see a Democrat budget here on the floor?
President Obama and the Speaker continue to put off this important
work, missing a critical opportunity to stop out-of-control spending
that economists say is hurting our economy and slowing the creation of
new jobs in America.
The President's fiscal commission, that won't even report until
December, is a prime example of this lackluster, kick-the-can-down-the-
road approach. Americans want immediate, decisive action to end
Washington's out-of-control spending spree.
If President Obama is truly committed to fiscal responsibility, he
will use the authority that he has under current law to force the
Congress to vote immediately on his spending cuts. He should also call
on Democrats in Congress to pass a real budget that reins in out-of-
control Federal spending. The House has never failed to pass a budget
in the modern era. And every family knows that the budget is more
important, not less important, in times of a tough economy.
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