Mr. Chairman, there are two issues before us today, and on one of them, I do not think you will find a hint of dissent.  We are at war, and we stand united in our support for the President, the war on terrorism, and the men and women of our armed forces who are fighting valiantly to preserve freedom and democracy.  As a proud member of the Armed Services Committee, I have been a passionate advocate for providing whatever support our military needs to win this war, and the funding in this bill is critical to meeting that goal.  We should have an up or down vote on this important issue, and we will.

But there is another issue at hand this afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and that is the Republicans’ attempt to raise the debt limit.  It is this issue that makes today a defining moment for this Congress and this country.  Decades from now, history will judge us by how we handle the fiscal situation that confronts us right now, and my heart is heavy because I have seen the response of the majority, and it is a travesty.  We should have an up or down vote on this important issue too, but we will not.

A year ago, the Administration claimed there would be no need to increase the statutory ceiling on public debt until 2008 if Congress adopted the Republican budget.  Last week, Treasury Secretary O’Neill wrote to Congress supporting the very same Administration’s recent request to raise the debt limit by three-quarters of a trillion dollars in order to avoid default on interest payments due by July.  These startling developments clearly highlight how irresponsible the fiscal policy of the Administration and the leadership of this House has been.  

Last year, I joined many of my Democratic colleagues in cautioning that the Administration’s budget simply did not add up.  Sadly, our warnings were ignored, and we were instead continually reassured that we could afford an enormous tax cut, ensure the solvency of Social Security and Medicare, pay down the national debt, fund our domestic priorities and still have a large reserve fund for unanticipated emergencies.  As is now clear to us all, that budget was based on unrealistic surplus projections that never materialized and a misguided tax cut that lavished the vast majority of its benefits on the wealthiest Americans.  

Not surprisingly, we now face deficits and an ever-increasing national debt that stretch far beyond the temporary economic downturn or the costs of the war on terrorism.  In fact, the Administration acknowledged even in the weeks prior to September 11th the necessity of raising the debt limit much sooner than expected.  

Each of us was elected by a majority of the people in our districts to come to our nation’s capital to vote and speak the will of the people.  Yet the Republican leadership, in a tactic that is becoming all too familiar in this chamber, has denied us an up-or-down vote on an issue that is critical to every one of our constituents.

Let me be perfectly clear on one very important point:  any funds that become available from a debt limit increase come directly from the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds.  There is simply no other money available.  And as we pull out the national credit card and say “Charge it!” one more time, we are saddling future generations with massive debt and endangering the future fiscal stability of this nation.  In addition to placing current and future generations of retirees at risk, increasing the debt will also increase interest rates, effectively raising taxes on American families, who will not be able to take advantage of lower rates on mortgages, auto loans, or credit card payments.  

Mr. Chairman, when the American people are already paying $1 billion in interest-only payments on the debt every day, we have a problem.  When a debt ceiling of $5.95 trillion is no longer high enough, we have a problem.  When the interest payments on our debt are on a fast track to become our single largest annual expenditure, we have a problem.  And when the leadership of this body responds by raising the debt limit with a backdoor parliamentary instead of an honest vote, we have a problem.  That problem is a fiscal policy that has not worked, and a Republican majority that is willing to dip into Social Security and Medicare to make up for a shortfall created by the $1.8 trillion tax cut they pushed through the House last year.  

This country will not survive economically if we do not get our fiscal house in order.  The crisis is upon us, and the time to respond is now.  Are we going to continue to mortgage our children’s future, or are we going to face this challenge with courage and integrity and put America back on the right track?

When I was elected to Congress, I promised my constituents that I would protect Social Security and Medicare.  And I was not alone, as my Republican colleagues and the Administration made the same commitment to safeguard these critical Trust Funds.  It is time to leave behind these secretive, shameful partisan ploys and honor our commitments.  We can do this by working together to craft a bipartisan plan that will responsibly address the debt limit issue while protecting Social Security and Medicare and ensuring that the burden of today’s fiscal policies are not placed on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren.  

Most importantly, we have an obligation to do this in the full light or day and with an honest, clean up or down vote.  As President Woodrow Wilson once said, “Wherever any business affecting the public is conducted, wherever any plans affecting the public are laid, over that place a voice must speak with the divine prerogative of the people’s will the words ‘let there be light.’”  Mr. Chairman, there is no light on our work here today.  Members of this House, and the people we represent, deserve better. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.