[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, it's a difficult time to talk because Ms. 
Schakowsky has said just about everything that I was planning to say. 
She said it extremely well and synopsized the issue.
  It basically comes down to fairness and justice for the American 
people. And the President, who has been burdened with problems caused 
by the Republican Congress and the Bush years, wars in Iraq, wars in 
Afghanistan not paid for, prescription drug bill not paid for, and Bush 
tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans which have caused most of the 
deficit and the problem with the debt ceiling, and now we're not 
calling on them to make some sacrifice and to pay for it.
  Most everybody in America knows about dieting. Most of us are a 
little overweight. Michelle Obama will tell you that any day. We need 
to watch our weight. But when you go to diet, you've got to reduce your 
calories and you've got to exercise some more. Spend some calories, 
reduce some calories. That's the way you diet. It's the same thing with 
the budget.
  If you had a problem at home with your budget, kind of having a 
problem, well, maybe you think, I won't take that vacation and go to 
Miami Beach and stay in that three-star hotel. I'll go to Fort Walton 
and stay in a two-star hotel. And maybe I'll get another job or work 
some more overtime. You increase your income, you decrease your 
spending, and you get it together.
  This Congress, though, has got the problem because of dealing with 
this, and the debt ceiling's independent of all of it. Many Members of 
Congress on the Republican side have pledged not to raise revenue. 
Well, you've got to do both. You've got to cut some things, and you cut 
some things that don't decrease your ability to increase jobs later on 
or increase jobs now, and you increase revenue at the same time. You 
have to do both.
  Some of the Republicans have pledged never to do revenue. Well, that 
means they've got one arm tied behind their backs--never increase 
revenue.
  You come to the table and you try to get a bargain. You negotiate in 
politics. You've got to have both hands at the table, one give and one 
take. Both sides have to come, open palms, friendship, no guns. Here we 
are.
  But they've got one hand tied behind their backs. That's the problem 
we've got. So we're not being able to negotiate because one side comes 
ill-equipped, unprepared, incapable.
  Last week we had a new Member here from California (Ms. Hahn), and 
the Speaker read to her and she repeated the oath of office: I pledge 
to support, I swear I will support, the United States against all 
enemies, foreign and domestic.
  We've got a domestic enemy right now, and it's the idea that we're 
not going to pay our debts: The full faith and credit of the United 
States goes by, interest rates go up, jobs go down, credit card rates 
go up, home mortgage rates go up, 401(k)s go down, stock market drops 
10 percent. Yet we're not doing it. We're considering a pledge to some 
third-party person that said, No new revenue, arm behind my back, 
instead of, I will support the United States against all enemies, 
foreign and domestic.
  So that's the problem we've got.
  I had a town hall last night on the telephone. My constituents can't 
understand why we have the problem. I tried to explain it to them. 
They're concerned about their Social Security checks coming or their 
veterans check coming. They could be cut off if we don't get this done 
and we don't have money to pay our debts.
  People living simply on Social Security are endangered, and yet 
millionaires and billionaires go on. Hedge fund guys, they earn 
billions of dollars--millions at least, billions for some--pay 15 
percent, something called carried interest on their income, 15 percent. 
But the average person out there is paying 25, 26, 34 at the most; 15 
percent for the richest guys in New York spending money outrageously 
and the ones that almost brought this economy down.
  Somebody asked me, Is this thing going to pass?
  I don't know. But I'll tell you this: In my life, and I hope nobody 
out here listening has had that situation, Mr. Speaker, I've had kidney 
stones. They're easier to pass than this.
  Mr. Speaker, I've got a pain in my side.

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