[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 133 (Tuesday, October 1, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6057]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           AMERICA'S DEBT TAX

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Olson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, today President Obama and Senate Leader Reid 
got what they wanted--the Federal Government is shut down.
  House Republicans made four attempts to avoid a shutdown; all were 
denied a straight up-and-down vote in the United States Senate. And now 
they won't even agree to a conference committee to work out the 
differences between the two bodies, per the Constitution.
  Given this ``my way or the highway'' mentality, I want to briefly 
talk to the American people about what to expect in a bigger fiscal 
crisis, our impending default on the Federal Government's legal 
obligations by exceeding our debt limit. Without agreement between the 
President and Congress in a few weeks, America will default on its 
obligations for the first time in its history. And I fear that our 
President and congressional Democrats will play politics with our debt 
ceiling like they did with going with a government shutdown.
  And here are the words of a key player in this debate on increasing 
our debt ceiling. This was a speech in Congress on March 16, 2006:

       The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's 
     debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that 
     the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign 
     that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from 
     foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal 
     policies. Over the past 5 years, our Federal debt has 
     increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is 
     `trillion' with a `T.' That is money that we have borrowed 
     from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and 
     Japan, borrowed from the American taxpayers. And over the 
     next 5 years, between now and 2011, the President's budget 
     will increase the debt by another $3.5 trillion.
       And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing 
     expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden 
     domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical 
     investments in infrastructure.
       Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not 
     going to investment in America's priorities. Instead, 
     interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans--a 
     debt tax that Washington doesn't want to talk about. If 
     Washington was serious about honest tax relief in this 
     country, we would see an effort to reduce our national debt 
     by returning to responsible fiscal policies.
       Our debt also matters internationally. Now, there is 
     nothing wrong with borrowing from foreign countries. But we 
     must remember that the more we depend on foreign nations to 
     lend us money, the more our economic security is tied to the 
     whims of foreign leaders whose interests might not be aligned 
     with ours.

  And finally:

       Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and 
     internationally. Leadership means that `the buck stops here.' 
     Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices 
     today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. 
     America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. 
     America deserves better.
       I, therefore, intend to oppose the effort to increase 
     America's debt limit.

  Those words were the words of Senator Barack Obama. Senator Obama is 
now our President. Unfortunately, President Obama has forgotten his 
words as a Senator.
  In his first 4 years in office, he added more to our national debt 
than all the Presidents combined in the history of America. And now, 
instead of working with Congress to fix this debt crisis and the 
drivers of this debt--the entitlement programs, our President is 
demanding a naked increase in our debt ceiling.
  Mr. President, the government did not have to shut down today. Mr. 
President, America does not need to go into default. Work with us, 
please.

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