Providing for Consideration of S. 627, Budget Control Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a very distinguished former Rules Committee member, my very good friend, the gentleman from Oklahoma, Tom Cole.

Mr. COLE. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise to support the rule and the underlying legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this is the second time that this Congress has chosen--this House--has chosen to raise the debt ceiling in a responsible and historic way, that is, not only allowing the ceiling to go up, but coupling it with real reductions in long-term spending that we all know need to occur. So far, the President and the other body have both failed to act. The Senate, just for the record, hasn't even passed a budget in 2 years, hasn't moved a piece of legislation in this crisis. Frankly, it has done nothing.

The President is now a born-again deficit hawk. It's a false conversion. Let's just look at the record. He appointed a deficit reduction commission and then refused to adopt any of its recommendations. He sent this body and the other body a budget that was so flawed, it failed 97-0 in a Democratic Senate. He asked for a clean vote on the debt ceiling in this body. He was given that vote, and he got fewer than a hundred of my friends on the other side to vote with him. He's talked about a plan, but never presented a plan in public. Frankly, the President in this crisis has failed to lead.

But we have not failed to act.

I'm proud of our Speaker, I'm proud of our Congress, and I know I'm going to be proud of the House at the end of the day because this House is going to do the right thing for the American people. We'll see if the Senate and the President will follow suit.

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