Our National Debt

Floor Speech

(Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, our national debt, as we all know, is approaching $14 trillion, with a capital "T." It's clear that we can no longer afford to continue the partisan bickering and short-term thinking that too long has consumed our Nation's capital. While kicking this can down the road may have been in vogue at one time, it can no longer be afforded by our Nation.

The staggering debt was not created in a day, and we can't dig ourselves out of this hole overnight, but we must stop digging. In order to tackle our debt, we must cut spending, agree to a stable source of revenue, and hold these commitments over the long term on a bipartisan basis. Partisan rhetoric will not get the job done. The Congress now has to deal with the reality of this budget mess.

The longer-term continuing resolution the House passed 2 weeks ago, though, won't grow our economy and it won't create jobs in the San Joaquin Valley. And, in fact, two reports by respected economists have indicated that it will provide careless cuts and mean hundreds of thousands of jobs lost throughout the Nation.

We can cut spending and we can grow our economy, but it will require shared sacrifice across the Nation by Democrats and Republicans coming together. Our Nation's fiscal health depends on it.

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