[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H7476]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PASS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO AVERT THE FISCAL CLIFF

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, the 112th Congress has been defined as 
the least productive Congress in recent memory. And now we run the risk 
of being the Congress whose action will cause real harm to our 
country's economic future. The American people have consistently said 
they want Republicans and Democrats to act like adults and work 
together on the challenges we face. And yet here we are again, facing a 
critical financial deadline with no agreement in place to avert the so-
called fiscal cliff and to protect seniors, middle class families, and 
business owners while we reduce our debt. There's just too much at 
stake right now for this Congress to keep playing the games of 
brinksmanship and partisan politics.
  Over the last 10 years, as I've met with Rhode Islanders from 
Woonsocket to Newport and everywhere in between, I've heard one clear 
message: now is the time for those of us who serve in this Chamber to 
get this hard work done on behalf of the men and women who sent us 
here. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to spend 
less time assigning blame to each other and instead pass a 
comprehensive plan that averts the fiscal cliff, cuts our debt, and 
protects middle class families, seniors, and small business owners.

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