[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 254-255]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THE DEBT CEILING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen testified before the House Armed 
Services Committee that America ``is maintaining nearly historic fiscal 
deficits and national debt. Indeed, I believe that our debt is the 
greatest threat to our national security. If we as a country do not 
address our fiscal imbalances in the near term, our national power will 
erode, and the costs to our ability to maintain and sustain influence 
could be great.''
  Admiral Mullen is right: debt caused sequestration. Debt and 
sequestration will slash our uniformed personnel to their lowest levels 
since before World War II; will reduce our Navy to the smallest number 
of operational vessels since World War I; and will cut our Air Force to 
the smallest number of operational aircraft in its history. In sum, 
debt is putting America's national security at risk.
  Last week, on January 17, the Comptroller General of the United 
States delivered to President Obama a Government Accountability Office 
report on America's financial health. I have reviewed many government 
audits and financial statements during my three decades in public 
office. I have never seen warnings as stark as those given by the GAO 
to President Obama. Some lowlights of the GAO report are striking and 
deserve emphasis.
  In fiscal year 2012, the Federal National Mortgage Association and 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Fannie Mae 
and Freddie Mac, reported about $85 billion in net valuation losses. 
The Federal Government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's 
liabilities exceeded its assets by about $34 billion. The Postal 
Service ``finished the year with a reported net loss of almost $16 
billion.'' The Federal Housing Administration reported that its 
liabilities exceeded its assets by about $15 billion.
  Mr. Speaker, America is on a path to insolvency and bankruptcy, an 
event that will debilitate our country. America has incurred four 
consecutive, unsustainable trillion-dollar deficits and is in the midst 
of a fifth consecutive trillion-dollar deficit. America's national debt 
exceeds $16 trillion. Interest on our debt is well in excess of $200 
billion per year. To put our debt service burden in perspective, that 
is more than four times what the Federal Government spends on all 
highway and transportation infrastructure projects in America each 
year. Unless Washington becomes financially responsible, future debt 
service will escalate and even more money will be spent on debt service 
rather than on programs that serve Americans.
  America's Comptroller General issued a stern warning to President 
Obama:

       The comprehensive, long-term fiscal projections show that, 
     absent policy changes,

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     the Federal Government continues to face an unsustainable 
     path. Over the long term, the structural imbalance between 
     spending and revenue will lead to the continued growth of 
     debt held by the public as a share of GDP. This means the 
     current structure of the Federal budget is unsustainable.

  America's current path and Federal budget are unsustainable. Absent 
changes, Federal Government insolvency and bankruptcy are certain to 
result and cause an economic disaster unrivaled in America's history. 
This week, the House of Representatives faces a vote to increase 
America's debt ceiling. Pending legislation raises the debt ceiling by 
roughly $300 to $400 billion. What protection from the risk of 
insolvency and bankruptcy does America get in return?
  Are there any spending cuts? No.
  Are there policies that spur economic growth and result in revenue 
increases? No.
  Does this proposal help fix in any way the trillion-dollar deficits 
that threaten America with financial ruin? No.
  Mr. Speaker, I can only speak for me. I will not vote to raise the 
debt ceiling unless significant efforts are made to fix the underlying 
problem of deficits and accumulated debt that force debt ceiling votes 
and risk America's future. I will not vote to raise the debt ceiling 
unless, first, Congress passes a substantive balanced-budget 
constitutional amendment that solves the debt problem for future 
generations or, second, we implement sizable spending cuts that help 
get our financial affairs in order.
  I take this stance full well knowing the adverse economic effects of 
a failure to raise the debt ceiling but also knowing, Mr. Speaker, that 
those effects pale in comparison to an insolvency and bankruptcy of the 
America I love.

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