Floor Debate: Opposition to raising the debt ceiling without repayment plan

Madam Speaker – I rise today to oppose this $2.5 trillion debt limit increase which this Congress is voting on without any discussion of how this debate will ever be repaid.

Over the past year, Congress’ record levels of spending has sparked record-breaking inflation. Just last week, our nation hit its highest inflation rate in 40 years with current annual inflation for the twelve months ending in November at 6.8%. As a consequence, real average hourly earnings decreased by half a percent in November. Surging costs for food, energy, housing, and other items have left the average American family reeling. In my California district, the average price of a tank of gasoline has increased over $20 since January, while the price of natural gas is up more than 25 percent.

Congress is not only spending at a level that is well beyond our self-imposed limits, but also beyond what our economy can safely handle, and Madam Speaker, instead of reducing our spending and finding places to save as any American family would, this institution is working to push through another multi-trillion-dollar social spending package that would drive our debt and our inflation further into crisis.

Madam Speaker, this unconscionable spending is the epitome of irresponsible governance. We must take measures to end this reckless spending and put our financial house in order. To that end I have introduced two bills that the House might better spend its time considering in the coming weeks instead of continuing debate on the reckless social spending bill.

My Constitutional Amendment to balance the budget would amend the U.S. Constitution to ensure total federal spending for a fiscal year does not exceed the total amount of federal revenue. It includes off-ramps that encourage bipartisanship in times of crisis and would end the seemingly-endless cycle of budget deficits.

Likewise, my Finding Federal Savings Committee Resolution would help to cut back on government waste by creating a bipartisan committee in this body to identify underperforming and nonessential federal programs and recommend their elimination or modification. Neither of these ideas are partisan, nor are they radical. They simply take steps to solve a problem that this body has continued to kick down the road for future generations to repay.

Madam Speaker, this Congress must do better. I call on my colleagues to reverse course, to stop this reckless spending, and to vote no on raising the debt ceiling without a plan to repay our debt. I yield back.