[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5116]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          OUR FISCAL PROBLEMS

  (Mr. LANKFORD asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the debt we are dealing 
with as a Nation. It is time to stop ignoring the debt problem that we 
have in America.
  The budget we released this morning is focused on solving our fiscal 
problems, not scoring political points. Key elements: fiscal 
responsibility; understanding this is not our money; it's owned by the 
American people; finding common ground with the President's debt 
commission and bipartisan CBO proposals. We have some areas where we've 
agreed, and those areas are included.
  Shocking as it may seem, conservatives have also included some 
practical solutions to solve our long-term systemic issues with 
entitlements and welfare. Our focus was to protect programs that are 
working, encourage work for every person who's able to work, and set a 
course for future economic stability.
  It's also focused on cutting spending. Raising taxes on Americans to 
fund more government would be like a family running up a huge credit 
card bill and then going to their boss at work to tell them they need a 
raise to pay off their credit card. Their boss would most likely 
respond, You don't need a raise. You'll just spend more. You need to 
get your family on a budget and you need to cut your spending to what's 
absolutely necessary. That's what we must do.
  Some in Congress have already called this proposal extreme. Well, I'd 
have to tell you, I agree. I think this budget is extreme--extremely 
responsible, extremely forward-thinking, and extremely overdue.

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