[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRESS MUST BALANCE THE BUDGET

  (Mr. CULBERSON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CULBERSON. Madam Speaker, in our personal lives, when we have our 
credit cards topped out, when we have a second mortgage on the home, we 
quit spending money. We balance our own personal budget and we focus on 
the essentials. And this Congress needs to do the same thing. But, 
unfortunately, the Obama-Clinton-Pelosi Democratic leadership of the 
Congress is driving America's economy right over the cliff, like Thelma 
and Louise, spending money and raising taxes.
  The Comptroller of the United States has certified that we are in a 
$54 trillion hole; that in order to pay that off, every American would 
have to write a check for $175,000. This is outrageous. It is 
unsupportable.
  We need to adopt Frank Wolf's legislation with Mr. Cooper, making 
sure that Social Security is solvent, that we balance the Federal 
budget as rapidly as possible. Above all, this Congress has got to quit 
spending money on unnecessary things, focus on the bare essentials and 
quit raising taxes on the American people. Above all, let's not shift 
all of that liability that is now apparent on Wall Street, this $1 
trillion writeoff that the banks are attempting to shift on to the 
United States Treasury. We cannot do it. We have got to quit spending 
money and balance the budget.

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