[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5672-5673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          CUT FEDERAL SPENDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Walberg) for 3 minutes.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I have listened to a textbook case, I 
believe, of self-induced amnesia this morning from my liberal 
colleagues. But the American people spoke in November, and I heard the 
mandate: Cut Federal spending so that more resources can be left in the 
hands of American families and small businesses so that they can save 
and invest in order to grow jobs.
  I responded to their mandate by voting for billions in cuts. 
Unfortunately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refused to 
receive the message, but the message is still true.
  Let's put the budget issue into a little perspective. It actually is 
quite simple. They didn't pass the budget when they had control, and 
now we have to clean up the mess. My liberal Democrat friends want to 
shut down government in order to maintain their overspending status 
quo, even at the expense of not sending paychecks to our courageous 
troops and their families at home.
  On the other hand, I and my Republican colleagues want to keep the 
government open, pay our troops, and respond to the people's demands 
for cuts in spending and a return to the blessings of freedom.
  Our Republican leadership has worked and negotiated with the other 
side in order to keep the government open, while cutting deficit 
spending, but it has been to no avail. The Democrats won't give up less 
than one-half of 1 percent spending in order to keep the government 
running on a trimmed-

[[Page 5673]]

down budget and pay our troops. The argument has come down to the size 
and scope of the spending. And President Obama, Senate Majority Leader 
Harry Reid, and the Senate Democrats, like a stubborn mule, refuse to 
move in the direction of their masters, the Constitution and the 
American people who are telling us to cut spending.
  It's time for them to start listening to the American people. It 
can't be just about the next election; it must be about the next 
generation.

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