Debt Ceiling

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, my colleague said it so very well. The inflation bomb is exploding, and people in Tennessee are incredibly concerned about that. I hear about this every single day from Tennesseans.

They are also concerned about the fact that it seems that the Democratic majority has been unable to push forward a budget that would be bipartisan, that would have appropriate spending, and that would prioritize the needs and the concerns of the American people.

Until just a few hours ago, we didn't have any insight into an infrastructure bill that would be bipartisan, and I applaud those who have worked so diligently to reach a bipartisan agreement. But the American people have started to lose a lot of their trust and a lot of their patience with Washington, DC, and I think we can say ``rightfully so'' because they are watching the cost of government go up. They are watching the hesitancy to move forward on their concerns, and they are speaking out to us. I had a Tennessean this week ask me why Washington was wasting so much time, because time is money, and they want to see things done.

We know we need to see what these bills are going to look like. We are hearing that the majority wants to bring forward this tax-and-spend spree of legislation that would be trillions of dollars, and we know that what would end up happening is this would be something that--I call it lie, cheat, steal. You don't say exactly what you are going to use the money for. You don't say exactly where the money is going to come from within the budget. Eventually, all of it comes out of the taxpayers' pocket. And you are stealing hopes and dreams from future generations who are going to--they are going to have to pay the bill for this. It is our children and our grandchildren and future generations that are going to have to find a way to pay for all of this.

That is why I brought this chart back to the floor. I have used it recently here on this floor to remind us of Ronald Reagan's words:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.

Very true words. And what a good reminder to us because as we give government more control over our lives, as we give them more control in the Federal budget, as the government takes more money out of the pocket of hard-working taxpayers, what do we see? We see less freedom.

There is such concern that the Democratic majority has refused to come forward and say how they want to spend these trillions of dollars. I think part of that is because there is not a way to pay for it, and they don't plan to pay for it. Instead, they are going to send that bill to future generations.

This is dangerous. We are upside down on this national debt when you look at how that debt clock is ticking. But we have to choose to spend taxpayer money where it matters, and it still matters. It matters to Tennesseans what their tax dollars are spent for, and it matters how they are spent. Another thing that matters to them is what we are spending it for and the driving of inflation across this country.

If my Democratic colleagues continue to dig this hole, future generations will be in so deep that it will be very difficult for them to compete on the global stage. They will be vulnerable to the deathtraps our adversaries in Beijing set for nations that have made the same mistakes that the Democratic majority wants us to make: spending more money than you have to spend for programs that you cannot afford.

I would argue that existing in a state of dependence and vulnerability created by our own government is the opposite of freedom. It is the opposite of freedom. Is that really what we want for our children and grandchildren, to leave them with so much Federal debt that they are covered in debt; that most of their paycheck is going to go to the Federal Government to pay for programs that have long outlived their usefulness? I think not.

That is why it is so important that we look at what is happening right now, as there are these conversations about budgets and as there are these conversations about the tax-and-spend spree that my colleagues across the aisle would seek to propose.

I would also offer that that type of spending is not governing. What it is, is a power grab. What it is, is taking care of your friends and not those who elected you to serve. The American people can see what is coming at them from a mile away, and they are expressing their concerns about DC's out-of-control tax-and-spending spree.

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