[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 24, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H128-H129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SENATE MUST PASS A BUDGET

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, it was April 29, 2009, 1,000 days ago, when 
the Democrat-controlled Senate last passed a budget. Back then, 
Solyndra was not a household name. General Motors was not yet bankrupt. 
Billy Mays was still selling OxyClean, and my good friend, Tebow from 
Gainesville--no one knew about Tebowtime.
  Since then, the Federal Government has added $4.1 trillion to the 
national debt. Our fiscal situation is in shambles. Entitlement 
spending is growing while defense spending is being cut, and the 
policies of a bigger and bigger government and higher taxes have not 
been successful.
  When the Senate last passed a budget, CBO predicted that the deficit 
for 2011 would be $693 billion. Today, it's $1.3 trillion. A budget is 
the first and

[[Page H129]]

most basic step that must be taken towards reining in historically high 
levels of spending and massive government growth.
  It is time for the Senate to do their job.

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