[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          WHERE'S THE BUDGET?

  (Mr. PETRI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, each and every year since passage of the 
Budget Reform Act of 1974, this House has managed to produce a budget 
resolution, a document necessary for responsible governing--each and 
every year except this one.
  What's the problem? In addition to outlining spending for the year 
ahead, budget resolutions include plans for multiple years, laying out 
anticipated spending and revenue and calculating anticipated deficits 
and surpluses. If the House were to pass a 2011 budget resolution, it 
would establish as official House policy that we will run enormous 
deficits for as far as the eye can see, but several Democrats here are 
reluctant to associate themselves with such an irresponsible document. 
Of course it's theoretically possible that the current House majority 
could propose a budget resolution mapping a path back to balanced 
budgets. But no. Substantial numbers of the Democrats here think we 
should be spending more, not less.
  With Members in the majority party pulling in opposite directions, 
the majority leadership appears to have given up on finding the votes 
necessary to pass an official budget whether big spending or 
responsible. This is a failure of mammoth proportions.

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