Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, budgeting is one of the most fundamental duties of governing. Yet here we are, a month beyond the deadline for producing a Federal budget, and the Democrat-controlled House will not pass a budget for the next fiscal year. This will be the first time since 1974 that the House fails to pass a budget, and passing a budget is important.
The budget provides a fiscal blueprint for moving forward and addressing the deficits and debt. It provides the bigger picture in which fits all of the smaller things that Congress works on throughout the year.
American families and businesses budget all the time, making difficult choices necessary to remain solvent. So must government. Failing to consider a budget does not make the budget problems go away. It simply provides more proof that the current leadership in Congress has no plan for dealing with all this mounting debt and deficit--at least no plans that it wants the American people to know about.