[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3927]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1010
                      A CALL FOR A BALANCED BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Montana (Mr. Daines) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I arrived here in Washington, D.C., to serve 
the people of Montana and my country with a bit of a different resume 
than many folks have here in Washington. You see, I've spent the past 
28 years in the private sector working to grow businesses, having to 
balance a budget and create good jobs.
  I loved my job in the private sector. But when I looked at Washington 
and the path our economy and our country was on, I knew that things 
needed to change. So I ran for Congress because the challenges facing 
our Nation were far too great to just sit back on the sidelines.
  As Montana's small businesses know, you can't spend more than you 
take in. Year after year of Federal deficits with no end in sight 
doesn't lead to prosperity, doesn't lead to growth--it leads to 
financial ruin.
  I'm also the father of four great kids--two in college and two in 
high school. They know that as a family, we have to plan ahead for the 
future. We need to create a budget and then live within our means. 
These are the same principles that my parents passed down to me. These 
are the values that Montana families live by each and every day.
  Those values are exemplified in Montana's own State legislature, 
where the only constitutionally required duty is passing a balanced 
budget. In fact, when our legislature in Montana adjourns in just a 
little over a month, they will have given Montana a balanced budget, 
just like they did last year and the year before and the year before 
that. It seems simple: live within your means and spend no more than 
you take in. But it's not so easy here in Washington.
  Right now we're presented with two very different visions for our 
country, two visions that will lead to two very different outcomes for 
this country. One vision calls for more taxes taken out of the pockets 
of hardworking American families and more government spending, which 
adds to the trillions of dollars in debt that will be handed down to 
the next generation.
  Our friends on the other side of the aisle talk about a balanced 
approach, but they refuse to even balance their own budget.
  Our vision calls for a stop to Washington's failed policies and 
reckless spending. It says American families and small businesses 
understand you can't spend more than you take in, that you need to 
balance your budget. It's time for Washington to do the same.
  This vision seeks to protect the things that we value most, to keep 
the promises that we've made to our seniors and to our veterans--I'm 
the son of a U.S. Marine--while at the same time allowing us to leave a 
better future to our kids and our grandkids. That's the vision I want 
to work toward, and that's why I'm proud to support the House Budget 
Committee's proposals which we will be voting on later this week.
  This isn't about passing a budget for one year just one time. This is 
about creating lasting solutions that help grow our economy and put our 
country back on track. That's what this budget will do.

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