Tough Decisions to Solve Fiscal Problems

Floor Speech

Mr. KINZINGER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, let's think about something very quickly. What is the most basic job that we can do--in the House of Representatives or in the Senate of the United States--in government?

One of the most basic jobs we do is to pass a budget; to figure out where we are going to spend money and how we are going to spend money. Yet it has been 799 days today since the other Chamber has passed a budget out of the Senate. Since that day, we have added $3.2 trillion in debt to our country and we have spent $7.3 trillion.

Now we are finding ourselves bumping up against this debt ceiling, against the statutory limit of where we can spend and borrow money. We are on this record clip, this record pace to blow through this debt ceiling, and we are here.

In 2006, now-President Obama stood in front of the Senate and said that raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. Well, sounds like we are in that position today. Five years later, we are once again talking about an over $2 trillion increase in our Nation's ability to borrow money, which we are tacking on to the responsibility of our kids and our grandkids. Once again, we're back.

We have an extreme failure of leadership in this country that is of epic proportions. We know, we look at our budget, we see over a trillion-and-a-half dollars this year that we are spending that we haven't taken in, and yet we are continuing to haggle about whether we need to just raise taxes or have spending cuts.

We have a spending problem in this country; we don't have a revenue problem in this country. We have a problem with how much money we are spending.

I am a new Member of Congress. I came here and was sworn in in January, and within a couple of days the President of the United States asked us to increase the debt limit without any corresponding cuts or anything along those lines. I actually thought it was a joke. I mean, really, we are going to add another $2 trillion onto our debt and not even take seriously the fact that we are just piling on more and more interest.

I mean, we're spending more in interest right now than we do in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Think about that; two wars, and we are spending more in interest. And it is only going to increase every year.

I can tell you, the youth of America, the current generation that is in charge in America is all sitting around saying at some point the insanity has to end. You know, I travel around the 11th Congressional District in Illinois, which includes Joliet, places like Ottawa and Morris, Bloomington, Princeton, Peru. And you know what I hear from people? I don't hear them say, Congressman Kinzinger, boy, we sure have a revenue problem in this country; don't we? I hear them say, Congressman, we are spending too much money. We have a spending problem.

The President is asking us to increase the debt limit. We have to be willing to have at least as much as we are going to increase the debt limit or more in spending cuts for us to even consider it at this point. It has got to be done. And how best are we going to get out of debt? Yes, we have to have these spending cuts. And, yes, we have to get serious about our budget. But we have to get America back to work.

I think it was put well yesterday. Mr. President, where are the jobs? Where are the jobs? Mr. Speaker, I'm asking: Where are the jobs?

It is time that we get America back to work. We turn people then from tax recipients to taxpayers. And as much as I like to say ``where are the jobs?,'' let me ask another question: Where is the leadership?

We've got to make tough decisions. It's time that we stand up and say I'm tired of kicking the can down the road. I wasn't sent to Washington, D.C., to kick the can down the road. I was sent here to be a leader and to make tough decisions. And I can tell you, House Republicans are ready to be leaders and make tough decisions, but we have to have willing partners on the other side.

I know 2012 is just around the corner. I get it. I understand that. But 2011 is still now. America can't afford to forget that 2011 still exists and to just focus on the next election. We have to focus long term on the next generation. Let's get our budgets in gear. Let's have a real serious discussion. And for goodness sake, let's put politics aside and make sure that we are still the strongest country in the world.

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