[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 260]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SENATE MUST PASS A BUDGET

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, it was April 29, 2009, 1,000 days ago, when 
the Democrat-controlled Senate last passed a budget. Back then, 
Solyndra was not a household name. General Motors was not yet bankrupt. 
Billy Mays was still selling OxyClean, and my good friend, Tebow from 
Gainesville--no one knew about Tebowtime.
  Since then, the Federal Government has added $4.1 trillion to the 
national debt. Our fiscal situation is in shambles. Entitlement 
spending is growing while defense spending is being cut, and the 
policies of a bigger and bigger government and higher taxes have not 
been successful.
  When the Senate last passed a budget, CBO predicted that the deficit 
for 2011 would be $693 billion. Today, it's $1.3 trillion. A budget is 
the first and most basic step that must be taken towards reining in 
historically high levels of spending and massive government growth.
  It is time for the Senate to do their job.

                          ____________________