Putting Our Fiscal House in Order

Floor Speech

PUTTING OUR FISCAL HOUSE IN ORDER

Mr. WALBERG. Madam Speaker, a recent analysis by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy compared Michigan's per capita income to the national average and revealed the Great Lakes State reached its lowest level in 75 years. At the end of 2006, Michigan had the second highest unemployment rate in the Nation and since January of 2001, Michigan has lost over 205,000 jobs.

Certainly many of Michigan's problems have been caused by State policies, but the men and women of my district continue to stress to me they want Congress to put our fiscal house in order on a Federal level.

Right now, taxpayers in south central Michigan are making tough choices every day to ensure their family budgets are balanced. They do it by cutting spending and having fiscal discipline. It's time we make these same hard choices on a Federal level. Congress needs to pass a balanced budget bill without raising taxes. We need to make tax relief permanent for hardworking American families and reform unsustainable entitlements.

By putting our fiscal house in order, this Congress can go a long way in restoring the trust of the American people and build a better, brighter future for our country.

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