Balanced-Budget Amendment - July 29, 2011

Last week we passed cut, cap, and balance in the House, and we were united on that effort. It went to the Senate and Harry Reid got a vote to table it. Which basically meant that the American people would not hear the merits of the bill. It just was put aside. We’ve worked very hard to put together another plan, one that is truly bipartisan and has many elements of what we want. It’s not a 100 percent of what many of our very conservative colleagues want, but it is about 70-75 percent. And it has all the key points that we are looking for … All the key points that were in cut, cap, and balance. We are going to vote on a balance-budget amendment tomorrow. Those are some of the key elements that the American people need and want, and this is what we have to do in order to get this country moving ahead. We don’t want to come upon that August 2nd date without a plan to move forward. This is simply a bridge to put some certainty in the private sector again so that we can be creating jobs. That’s the key. The solution lies in the private sector, not with legislation here in politics. This is not about who’s the most conservative. This is about common sense. This is about doing the right thing for the American people. On our side in the House and in the Senate, I call on the Senate: Do the right thing. I call on the president: Do the right thing for the American people. We’ve got to put this debt crisis behind us and move forward. I’m a nurse, and my background is in surgical intensive care. Right now at this moment it’s just as if we’re in a code with a patient, and we’re trying to save that patient. America is in a code. It’s crisis time, and it ain’t pretty. And we’ve all got to come together. Many times in that situation there were people in the room that you may not have even liked, but you were all working together to save the patient. And in the end you were high fiving, hugging, crying, and laughing. That’s what the American people need to see. They need to see us save this. We’re determined to do so. Again, I call on my colleagues, who may not be there yet, but they’re moving forward on those votes. We’re going to get the vote at the end of the day, and we’re going to vote on a balanced-budget amendment tomorrow. Then we’re going to set this country on a path to recovery that we’ve all been waiting for. Thank you.

Speech from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCcVl_kBBTA&list=UUHlEm6WDK8UWn5STL_fZm_g.