Reverse the Curse

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for yielding.

I think at some time in whatever it is one does in life, there is a saying: It is rug-cutting time.

What does that mean?

It means to face the reality of what is in front of you right now. Don't try to paper over it, don't try to dismiss it, and don't ever think there is always going to be time sometime in the future to address a crisis that you face today.

I brought with me a picture of an iceberg, and this is the way our debt looks. You only see a very small portion above the surface, Mr. Speaker. Most of the iceberg is below the surface.

We talk about kitchen table economics.

What do we mean by that?

Well, we tell people: Hey, do you know what? We had really good revenues last year. It was $4.8 trillion.

People say: That sounds like a lot of money.

Yeah, but we went out, and we spent $6.1 trillion.

And they say: Oh, that doesn't sound like that much of a difference.

Kitchen table economics: You sit down with your wife. You look at what your earnings are, and you say: Well, gee, honey, we had a pretty good year. We made $48,000.

She looks and says: That is a lot of money.

And you say: Yeah, but we spent $61,000.

It is like: Oh, my God, we couldn't have possibly done that.

What allows you to borrow more money than you should have?

It is irresponsible lending, and it is irresponsible spending. When the United States of America makes a conscious decision to enter into overwhelming debt, then it will not only rest on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, it will rest on us.

We talk about spending and we talk about the size of our debt, and we say: Do you know what? In the last year and a half, it has gone up $9 trillion.

So how much is that then?

Well, roughly about $31 trillion in the red.

But then we say: Yeah, but do you know what? That covers a certain portion of our debt.

What it doesn't take into consideration is our unfunded liabilities. When you add in the unfunded liabilities, it is a whopping 123 or $124 trillion in debt. It is unimaginable. And if you could imagine it, Mr. Speaker, you would never be able to lay your head on a pillow at night and say that things are pretty good.

If we can't do this, we will just print more money. If you printed more money in the private sector: irresponsible. That is called counterfeiting. Why were we always so worried about counterfeiting? Because the market would get flooded with paper that had no real value.

What in the living hell has happened to our citizens? More importantly, what has happened to their leaders who they elected to come here and act in their best interest?

We are at a titanic moment. Our country is steaming full speed ahead at an iceberg that will sink us. We live in the most dangerous times our country has ever seen.

Budgets are the key to being able to sleep soundly at night. Budgets are the plan that you put together where you understand what your potential earnings could be and, more importantly, what you want to spend. Nobody in the private sector would ever develop a plan like the government does.

I was told when I first got here: Do you know your problem, Kelly? You think that a government should be run like a private business.

My answer to that was: No, no, no. What I know for a fact is that no private business could be run the way a government is.

Why? When we pass these huge spending bills, whose pocket does it come out of? Who pays every single penny of it? Who is looking at balances that we can't possibly meet and irresponsibly still decides to do that, oftentimes to gain the favor of our fellow citizens?

I hear constantly: Do you think we will get another check? Do you think we will get more help? I don't need the money, but I will put it in a bank account. Do you think we will get that?

I said: I hope to heck you don't because the money that you got from the government went on your total tax bill.

You do not ever receive anything from the United States Government, your State government, or your local government that comes without a price tag attached to it, and that price tag is attached to your wallet, and that wallet is suffering greatly under an unbelievable burden.

We sleep through this. We doze off. We refuse to believe where it is we are going.

When I say we are steaming full speed ahead, and we are going to have a titanic moment, anybody that understands what happened on the Titanic understands that the reason they had so many losses of life on the Titanic is they didn't have enough lifeboats to put passengers on.

This government is bankrupting America. Somebody said: Do you know what? I am worried about my grandchildren and even my children.

My answer to that is: Start worrying about yourself.

This is an imminent danger that lies right in front of us. Our inability to face it, our delusional belief that somehow everything is all right, and we are fuzzy, warm, and comfortable until the wolf comes to the door--what happened here? What happened to the greatest Nation the world has ever known with the most potential the world has ever known? The government decided that a lot of the assets we have, we are not going to use them. We are going to go to a foreign source for energy. Why would you use domestic energy? Why would you use something that is right beneath your feet?

I hear all the time: Well, we are going to work on all of the above.

I said: That is fine, but let's not forget everything that is below. Let's understand what our assets are and understand that we are drowning ourselves in debt.

I am accused sometimes of being too passionate, but I will tell you what, I will be damned if I am going to sit at the Thanksgiving table this year and look at those 10 grandchildren and my 4 children and say: Do you know what? Your mother and I really love you, but we just don't care about your future. We are cosigning your name to our debt. Hopefully, we will be gone before you face that.

My friends, this is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat issue. This is not a red issue. This is not a blue issue. This is a red, white, and blue American issue.

I ask my colleagues on the other side: Please don't accuse us of not wanting to work with you. For 2 years, we haven't been allowed to be at the table. We haven't been allowed to be in the room. We have not been allowed to be in the building. We were not even allowed to be in the town.

This false narrative that we will not reach across the aisle to work together, the one thing we will never do is to continue to damn our children and grandchildren and the future of this country with a debt that is so large, so over-encompassing, that there will no longer be a United States of America.

Anybody who tells me it is okay to spend $61,000 a year because you make $48,000, I would say you are a fool. We have been fools. Both sides of the aisle have spent unbelievable amounts of money that you can't justify other than the fact that every 2 years, there is an election. We try to put features and benefits together that will add value to who we are, knowing that it is a false narrative.

Our real challenge is not how much we spend. It is a matter that we refuse to address the bankruptcy that we are facing and very soon.

The great State of Texas is always a place that we look for leadership and talk about: How did Texas get to be Texas? Because of strong citizens.

I say to all of our colleagues: I don't care if you sit on the right side or the left side. Be on a side that is a responsible side.

If you can possibly say that what we are doing is fine and is in the best interest of the future of this country, I would say you must be working on some new math. You must be working out of some new program.

Nobody who has any sense, common sense, would look at what is going on right now--please look at this iceberg. We are at a titanic moment. Turning your head away, refusing to listen, refusing to be responsible to our fellow citizens will cause this country to sink.

It is time to wake up, America. Forget about being woke. Wake up. We are facing an incredible challenge and the demise of the greatest Nation the world has ever known.

I think the biggest part about life as you are growing up, you always tell your kids, don't ever bring shame on this family, and don't do irresponsible things that hurt not only yourself but others. The oath of office is one thing. There is another oath, and we answer to a much higher power that someday we will face. We will be held accountable for our irresponsible actions.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for holding this Special Order hour tonight. I hope our fellow citizens understand what exactly is happening.

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