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

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. I appreciate the time.

Mr. Speaker, I think that the reputation of this United States House of Representatives and Congress is at a low ebb because of the fact that we haven't acted prior to this date, the fact that the reputation of the United States of America is on the line, and we're being talked about at the same level as the economies of Spain and Greece and Ireland and Portugal. This should never have happened. I'm embarrassed as I see the greatest power on Earth and the country that's been the greatest country on Earth through my entire life possibly diminish because of the actions of the other side and not getting this debt ceiling resolved.

The ratings of the United States will go down. That will cause interest rates to go up, and it will cause us to lose jobs. And to extend this for just 6 months--which is what is happening--means the same Kabuki theater will take place again in 6 months. The American public doesn't want to see it. Moody's doesn't want to see it. Standard and Poor's doesn't want to see it. The markets don't want to see it. The world doesn't want to see it. When I was in Europe with the Bundestag in Germany, they almost laughed at us, and they said, You are like Greece and Ireland and Portugal. And that should not happen. It should not have happened in this country and while we're in charge.

So I would ask this United States Congress, Mr. Speaker, to have a 2-year extension, enough money to lift this ceiling to where this President won't have to deal with it again and the next President can deal with it. And if it is, as I hope, President Obama, the Republicans won't have to work to see that he is not reelected because he will be term-limited, so they can work at ease. And if it's a Republican, they can even have more ease. But let's be fair and let's extend this for 2 years.

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