Budget Control Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYBURN. I thank my friend for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, while the clock is ticking, the Republican majority is dickering and the American people are hurting. Our financial markets are on pace for their worst week in nearly a year. State governments are bracing for downgrades in their borrowing capacities, and the gap between those in our society who have a lot and those who have very little is growing.

The Republican majority continues their efforts to divert attention from the self-inflicted crisis with manufactured controversies, holding the American economy hostage to their reckless and dispassionate demands. As the clock ticks toward default and the pain it would bring to middle-income families and those who aspire to become middle income, my friends on the other side continue to play politics. Speaker Boehner does not even pretend that this is a serious attempt to solve the problem. He sold this bill to his conference by telling them that it wasn't bipartisan. And with divided government, a plan that isn't bipartisan is no plan at all. It's just a game.

The President and the Democrats in Congress as well as the American people have advocated a balanced approach to reduce the deficit by growing the economy and protecting the most vulnerable, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security beneficiaries. We have been willing to make tough, politically difficult compromises.

This bill on the floor today, just like the bill from last week, is yet another partisan time-waster. Our constituents are not interested in any of us voting to cut Medicare or cap Social Security or balancing the budget on the backs of Medicaid recipients. A 6-month extension is another waste of time.

We must resolve this matter now and ensure the full faith and credit of the United States. Let's defeat the Boehner bill.

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