[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 147 (Wednesday, October 16, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H6615]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TIME FOR SOLUTIONS

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, $17 trillion is our national debt. $800 
billion is how much we spend more than we take in. We pay $280 billion 
a year just on interest payments on the money that we borrow. Those are 
the real numbers, and that is why House Republicans have spent much of 
these past 2 weeks talking about debt, deficits, and Federal spending.
  House Republicans know what is driving America's debt. It is our 
reckless spending by legislators here in Washington. The American 
people know this, too. A recent Bloomberg poll found that 61 percent of 
Americans think it is right to include spending cuts with a debt limit 
increase.
  This is not just a Republican problem. Vice President Joe Biden, 
while serving in the Senate, protested against adding to America's debt 
without ``taking positive steps to slow its growth.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is what this debate has been about, and we will 
continue to work hard to make that happen.

                          ____________________