[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2622]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RESTORING FISCAL SANITY

  (Mr. WALZ of Minnesota asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALZ of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, it is time we restore fiscal 
sanity to Washington. In 6 short years, Republican policies turned a 
$5.6 trillion surplus into a $3 trillion deficit. That is an $8 
trillion reversal of fortune.
  And last year, congressional Republicans never came to an agreement 
on the budget and refused to pass nine of the 11 must-pass 
appropriations bills before adjourning in December. This isn't how the 
appropriations process is supposed to work, and the American people 
know it.
  Democrats vow we are going to get things done and done on time. This 
year, Democrats brought much-needed reform to Congress by passing a 
rules package that require Democrats to pay-as-we-go. This isn't a new 
idea. From 1990 to 2002, Congresses and administrations of both parties 
abided by commonsense rules that stated you couldn't cut taxes and 
increase spending unless you paid for it. Pay-as-you-go was one of the 
main reasons Washington balanced the books in the 1990s.
  This week, since Republicans were unable to do their job last year, 
Democrats will bring a final bill to the floor that will fund key 
priorities. This bill will allow us to move forward with fiscal sanity.

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