National Debt

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLINE. Mr. Speaker, I am here once again to sound the alarm bell about our country's addiction to spending the hard-earned tax dollars of its citizens and future generations.

It is with great regret that I report, as many are already aware, that our country's national debt has topped $1 trillion for fiscal year 2019.

Now, we know that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will blame President Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for this shortfall; but, in fact, the corporations they attempt to hold responsible have paid $8 billion more in the 11 months of this fiscal year than they did in 2018, according to issuesinsights.com.

No, the increase in the deficit over the past year is due to rampant spending, stemming from right here in this Chamber. Wasteful spending increases have been seen across the board; and, to add insult to injury, the interest owed on this money is now up more than 14 percent.

This is an issue that can go on no more. I promised my constituents when I came to Washington that I would convey their concern about our runaway national debt. It is time for all lawmakers to understand that we cannot afford to use tax dollars as a piggy bank for pet projects. Spending like what we have seen is a threat to our national security and a disservice to the American people.

Since I started speaking 50 seconds ago, our national debt has risen nearly $2 million. Therefore, we cannot simply encourage leadership in Congress to commit to restoring regular order in the appropriations process, but we must demand that we address this fiscal crisis before it is too late.

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