[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              TIME TO GET TO WORK FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Mrs. MILLER of Michigan asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we began a very 
important new chapter in the history of this great Nation as we began 
the 112th Congress. I was so proud to join so many of our new Members 
in taking the oath of office. The enthusiasm and the commitment that 
was shown by our new colleagues, as well as those of us who were 
honored enough to be reelected, to take on the great challenges facing 
our Nation, I think, will be remembered as a historic pivot for our 
country.
  The Constitution, which we will soon read here on the floor of the 
House, states that one of the primary purposes of the Federal 
Government is to ``preserve the blessings of liberty for ourselves and 
our posterity.'' For far too long, the Federal Government has been 
mortgaging those blessings for our prosperity by burying them under a 
mountain of debt. And that must end.
  We have a responsibility, Mr. Speaker, to make the tough decisions to 
cut spending, to eliminate the Federal deficit and begin to pay down 
the immense debt that threatens the opportunities that will be 
available for our children and our grandchildren. Our work will be 
difficult but it must be done. Let us all face up to these challenges 
and get to work.

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