[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H119-H120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PUTTING PEOPLE BEFORE POLITICS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, I know in just listening to some of the 
comments that I'm joined by I think all of my colleagues in welcoming 
Gabby Giffords back to this body for this evening's State of the Union 
Address, and certainly our thoughts and prayers are with her for a full 
and speedy recovery as she continues to make strides.
  Mr. Speaker, this past month, I've had the opportunity, as many of my 
colleagues have, to travel throughout our districts, and as the number 
one manufacturing district in our country, it's no surprise that people 
are frustrated and concerned about jobs and the economy.

                              {time}  1020

  I know that's common because when I talk to my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle and my colleagues over on this side of the 
aisle about the number one issue we face, they also say it's jobs and 
the economy. So whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or an 
independent, I think we can all come together and agree that we need to 
find the common ground to spur economic growth.
  It's time that we work together in a bipartisan way to pass 
legislation that empowers job creators and puts America back to work. I 
firmly believe that if we put people before politics and progress 
before partisanship and find common ground, we will move our country 
forward. If you have an idea that is going to move our country forward, 
I think that we ought to vote on it and move it forward immediately.
  Mr. Speaker, today marks the 1,000th day that the United States 
Senate has not passed a budget. As someone that ran a small business 
before coming to Washington, sitting around kitchen tables, Americans 
are wondering how they tighten their belt, how they balance their 
budget.
  But the point there is that they have a budget. Small businesses all 
across the land can't operate without a budget. Big businesses can't 
operate without a budget. American families generally can't operate 
without a budget. And yet we here in Washington have not had a budget 
in far, far, far too long. You could build the Empire State Building 
two and a half times in the time that it has taken the Senate to even 
pass their version of a budget. This is just plainly unacceptable for 
the American public.
  Put something forward. Let us know where we should be putting our 
priorities. And that, unfortunately, creates an enormous inefficiency. 
Can you imagine trying to figure out where you're supposed to spend 
your resources, what you're supposed to spend your money on in terms of 
trying to move your family forward without a budget?
  There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty, Mr. Speaker, out there 
and I hear it from people each and every day, uncertainty that 
Washington is creating. Excessive regulations, there's no question 
about that. We look at Dodd-Frank. In Dodd-Frank, frankly, we've got 
400 rules and regulations, over 200-some-odd that have yet to even be 
written. What it does is it paralyzes small businesses. People are 
sitting on their hands. They're not moving forward; they're not hiring 
people. This is something that we here in this body have an opportunity 
to change. We can provide that level of certainty, and I think that we 
must.

[[Page H120]]

  We're going to hear a lot about a do-nothing Congress, and frankly, I 
get frustrated when I hear about that. This body has passed over 30 
jobs bills and sent them across the courtyard to the other side of the 
Capitol where they sit on Harry Reid's doorstep. Now, these aren't 
partisan bills, Mr. Speaker; these are bills like Access to Capital for 
Job Creators that passed this body by over 400 votes. That's wildly 
bipartisan, something that we agree upon, my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle and my colleagues on this side of the aisle; and yet 
they're sitting on Harry Reid's doorstep, and they won't even come up 
for a vote. This is the frustration that I think the American public 
has.
  Washington needs to move forward. We need to address jobs and the 
economy. We need to address the out-of-control spending that has 
happened, yes, on both sides of the aisle. We need to figure out a way 
that Washington can tighten its belt so that we do not bury our 
children and grandchildren under a mountain of debt and jeopardize the 
very fabric of the American Dream.
  Mr. Speaker, I talk to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and 
I do sense that there is a frustration. There is a concern that we may 
be the first generation of Americans that leaves our country worse for 
our children and grandchildren than we received from our parents and 
grandparents. For me, this is absolutely unacceptable, which is why I 
think that we have to find that common ground--find the common ground 
and move our country forward.
  I certainly hope tonight we talk about a united America, we talk 
about a vision that unites us as opposed to one that divides us. This 
will be an opportunity. And I hope it's about jobs and the economy, the 
out-of-control spending, and making sure that hardworking American 
taxpayers are moving forward.
  This is our time. It's time we all come together to put America back 
to work.

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