[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, this week the House and Senate will 
consider a bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year 
that reduces spending by $38.5 billion.
  Considering that the position of Harry Reid at the beginning of the 
year was that we shouldn't cut a single dime, we have moved the 
conversation in the right direction.
  Senator Schumer called Republican cuts ``extreme,'' but even the full 
$61 billion that the House pushed for would have only made a small dent 
in our huge deficit.
  The real extreme position is to do nothing. If we do nothing, 
interest payments and entitlement spending will consume the entire 
budget. If we do nothing, we will lose the capability to defend our 
Nation. If we do nothing, our roads and rails will crumble.
  This week Republicans will present an alternative to the do-nothing 
strategy. For that, we will certainly be labeled ``extreme.'' We have a 
great Nation; but as long as we are beholden to our creditors, foreign 
and domestic, we risk losing prosperity and freedom.
  We shouldn't wait any longer to get our budget in order. We can begin 
this week, but we shouldn't stop until we have passed long-term 
solutions.

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