[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 30783]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

  (Mr. REHBERG asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. REHBERG. This year, for Christmas, my wife, Jan, and I took out 
three loans for our three children, $40,000 each. Of course, since my 
youngest daughter isn't old enough to get a loan, we had to sign for 
it, but the bank assured us she'd have to pay it all the same. Then 
with the $120,000 in newfound credit, Jan and I went on a spending 
spree, leaving our children to repay $40,000 each. Great, huh?
  Of course this story isn't literally true. No parent would dream of 
saddling their children with $40,000 in debt. No parent would do that, 
but right now the estimated share of the national debt is $40,000 per 
American man, woman, and child; and that debt is just as real.
  That's why I've cosponsored a resolution to require any increase in 
the statutory debt limit be considered as a stand-alone bill and passed 
by a supermajority of Congress. If we're not going to cut up the 
government's credit card, then let's make it harder to get new cards 
when we max the old one out.

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