[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         LIFT THE DEBT CEILING

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this morning we join together 
to express our commitment to one Nation. Unfortunately, we are in a 
collapse and a crisis because we are, as my good friend from Michigan 
said, drawn and strangled by those in the Tea Party who believe that 
America belongs to only one group.
  Well, I stand here today to say that we must not take the Tea Party's 
words that say ``do not surrender.'' That is a selfish position. You do 
not play surrender games when you work on behalf of the American 
people. You wonder why the economy is slow? Because it is strangled by 
inertia and lack of action in raising the debt ceiling. Let's join 
together in a bipartisan way to lift the debt ceiling. If not, the 
President has constitutional authority to lift the debt ceiling and get 
Members to move forward and on helping this country protect the 
401(k)s, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid of the American 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, we are one Nation, not the Tea Party nation. We should 
represent the people of the United States in creating jobs, we can move 
the economy, and we can show the world that America is run by adults 
and we stand for the American people.
  I believe I stand for one Nation and to represent all of the people.

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