[Page H3760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PASSING A CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

  (Mr. LANCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on leaders in Congress 
to put forth a congressional budget and allow a meaningful, open debate 
on the important fiscal issues facing the Nation.
  Producing a Federal budget blueprint is one of the most basic 
responsibilities of Congress. Yet, as of today, no such budget exists.
  The failure of presenting a budget to the American people is a 
failure of leadership by the Democratic majority to govern and a missed 
opportunity to put forth a budget blueprint that puts our Nation on the 
path to fiscal responsibility.
  Never before in the modern era has the House of Representatives 
failed to pass a budget; but never before has our Nation seen this type 
of unprecedented, runaway congressional spending, deficits, and debt.
  According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the 
Congress has never failed to consider a budget resolution since the 
current budget rules were passed in 1974. Yet for the first time in 36 
years, the Democratic majority has chosen irresponsibly to avoid the 
hard budgetary choices New Jersey families and small businesses must 
make every day.

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