Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

Floor Speech

Mrs. ELLMERS. Mr. Chairman, today we are debating amendments on a continuing resolution because the leadership of the 111th Congress failed to do one of their most basic jobs last year: Pass a budget to fund the Federal Government.

Left without a budget to work with and our financial house in shambles, it is clear that we are in a state of financial crisis. Our debt requires immediate action, and the CR is just the beginning.

I came to Congress because, like many other new Republican Members of the freshman class, I run a small business, sticking to my budget and trying to make plans for the future. All the while I was watching Washington politicians drive this country's economy into a ditch. I knew that something had to change.

My friends on the other side of the aisle are trying all the same worn-out tricks. But I am here to say to the American people, this is not about tricks or politics. This is about preserving the greatness of America.

No one in this Chamber finds joy in the tough decisions we have to make, but we can no longer ignore them. The American people have elected this Congress to be good stewards of their money.

Today is not a happy day. This is not a happy speech.

Government spending and burdensome regulations have driven the American people to anger and frustration with good reason. Sadly, our Nation stands on the edge of bankruptcy. Our love for future generations of Americans requires that we not ignore today's problem only to find them, years from now, in irreparable financial ruin.

Regardless of the program, today's deficit spending is tomorrow's tax increase. In my neighborhood, there have been three babies born recently. Each of those babies now owe $45,000 in Federal debt.

We are fighting for our very survival. At risk are the freedoms representative of a free market economy and free society; the freedom to choose, freedom of private industry to compete, freedom from burdensome taxation, and freedom from mandated government programs. Washington today is slowly smothering the personal liberty Americans so greatly esteem.

As the 112th Congress struggles to pass legislation that meets our Nation's current challenges, fundamental disagreement remains. Unfortunately for the American people, the debate is being framed by my colleagues on the other side as ``vicious cuts to vital programs by Republicans who simply don't care.'' Hear me now when I say this has never been farther from the truth.

Today we come to terms with the fact that we cannot spend money on everything we want, regardless of the good intentions. For years politicians have ignored these problems. Not this Congress. Not this Congresswoman. The people elected us to end the talks and take swift action, and we must.

As a small business owner, when finances get tight, we cut where necessary. Raising prices isn't always the option. As painful as it may be, you make tough decisions to cut waste, operations, production costs, and eventually jobs as a last resort. Why should the Federal Government be any different?

Today's debt crisis is a very real threat to our liberty. Liberty allows people to work hard and achieve what they want, be responsible for their own actions and be free. No one shackled by debt is free.

Today's budget crisis is dangerous and threatens our basic freedom. Free societies value every citizen equally, placing no preference one over another. I believe that no one should be entitled to another's hard-earned provisions, and that government should support its citizens, not burden them with insurmountable debt and obligations they cannot fulfill. Government spending is not the answer to our looming problem.

I know there will be those who argue that my rhetoric is too harsh and that the financial crisis is not as bad as it seems. This crisis is real; and without immediate action, America will continue spiraling toward financial disaster.

Today, I challenge my colleagues to let real leadership begin. No longer should we turn to China to finance that which we cannot afford. Let us have the courage to right our wrongs, the strength to see it through, and the vision to lead with the powers entrusted to us from the consent of the governed, rather than selfish ambition.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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