[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14119-14120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           THE FUTURE LEADERSHIP OF CONGRESS AND THE COUNTRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Vermont (Mr. Welch) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, the American people are going to make a 
decision on November 6 about the future leadership of this Congress and 
this country, and they face, as they do every 4 years, two fundamental 
questions. The first: Who can be in charge of the cash register? Who 
will best manage the economy? The second: Who will be a firm hand in 
protecting America's foreign policy interests? If we look at the past 2 
years with this Republican-led Congress, which has accomplished nothing 
and, in fact, has done damage, the question on who is best in charge of 
the cash register is quite clear.
  The Ryan budget that was passed by this House and that stalled in the 
Senate would actually increase the debt. The whole point, supposedly, 
of the Republican agenda coming into Congress was to lower the debt. 
The budget they passed would increase it by $6 trillion. Why is that? 
Well, first of all, many of the proponents of this budget are the folks 
who voted for policies that actually exploded the debt: the war in Iraq 
on the credit card; nation-building in Afghanistan on the credit card; 
the prescription drug program unpaid for on the credit card. Those 
policies played a very big role in getting us into the debt that we 
have.
  Then the Ryan budget, which is supposedly the blueprint to reduce the

[[Page 14120]]

debt, increases it by $6 trillion in 10 years. Why? Because it 
increases those Bush tax cuts that were never paid for and would lower 
their Republican Presidential candidate's effective tax rate to 1 
percent. Secondly, it vastly increases Pentagon spending beyond what 
even the Pentagon is asking for. Even though it then imposes savage 
cuts on domestic discretionary spending--making it really difficult to 
do scientific research, to help our kids go to college--the net result 
is a $6 trillion increase in the debt.
  On foreign policy, no responsibility is so vested in one person--the 
President of the United States--when guiding American foreign policy. 
It needs a firm hand, a calm voice, a person who thinks before he 
speaks, who aims before he fires. The recent tragedy of losing our 
ambassador and three other brave civil servants from the State 
Department is an indication that the Republican Presidential candidate 
lacks the temperament to do that job.
  Why is it that in the first statement that he made after the loss of 
four American lives he descended into what essentially was tactical 
politics--arguing about the wording of a communique from the American 
Embassy in Egypt? Is it really the case that we in America cannot 
defend the right of free speech and promote religious tolerance?
  We need a President--and have a President--who is thoughtful, who is 
firm, who can act with conviction and clarity, and does it in a sober 
way that is going to defend and promote American political and foreign 
policy interests.

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