[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 173 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)] [House] [Pages H7570-H7571] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR CERTAINTY The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes. Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, and I know we've talked a lot and have heard from my colleagues about Sandy, and I certainly want to talk about that. I want to talk about last night we were able to avoid the fiscal cliff. The American public, at least the constituents that I talk to on a regular basis, are looking for certainty. They're looking for us to find common ground. They're looking for us to be able to move the country forward. I'm a small business owner, Mr. Speaker. I meet a budget and a payroll. I employ 100 people. For me, that's 100 families. It's a role and responsibility that I take very seriously. And while I do believe that the Federal Government should play as little a role as possible in the lives of Americans, they do need to play a role. They need to be able to provide those things that Americans cannot provide for themselves, whether that be infrastructure, whether that be a common defense, justice. These are some of the things that I think we do share a lot of common ground with. [[Page H7571]] Now, Mr. Speaker, I spent some time in Long Island, New York, recently and also in New Jersey. The devastation that Sandy has caused that region is nothing short of remarkable. And while I do believe that we have a spending problem that has been going on, frankly, in this House, on both sides of the aisle for a long time, there are those times when we need to come together as an American people and say we have Americans out there that cannot provide for themselves, that have been devastated, that need a helping hand. And do I think that they will repay that? I do. We have an opportunity, Mr. Speaker, to come together as Americans, Republicans and Democrats together, to try to help provide need. My colleague, Joe Crowley, was just up here talking about devastation that happened on the beaches. Michael Grimm, and I'm sure most of the New York and New Jersey delegations which will follow up here, and those from Connecticut, will talk about devastation that was happening in their communities. I do believe that we have a role to play, and I do believe that action needs to happen and happen quickly. Now, there are many on my side of the aisle that believe that we shouldn't be spending a nickel more than we have to. And while I agree that we need to tighten spending, and that this body needs to treat spending and those dollars as if they were their own, we can't needlessly ask taxpayers to provide more resources only to have them squandered. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, these dollars will not be squandered. I believe that they are desperately needed. At a time when many Americans have lost hope, there is that opportunity for us to stand united together to provide that hope for the American public. It may be New York and New Jersey and Connecticut and Pennsylvania today, but it may be a different part of the country tomorrow. Now, as we look forward, Mr. Speaker, as the 112th Congress comes to a close, we have a heck of a lot more work to be done as a country. {time} 1030 I, for one, hope that we can talk about reining in the out-of-control spending. But then, again, it's not going to happen with one party or the other. It's going to have to be about bipartisanship. And I do hope that we can bring pieces of legislation on this floor, like Simpson- Bowles, in that framework, that talk about revenue increases, whether that be through reforming the Tax Code and talking about where we can rein in spending, how we can reform things to make sure we have a social safety net, which is so vital. And I do believe that we need to have that social safety net. We need to strengthen that social safety net so that it's there for future generations. I also think, Mr. Speaker, as we look at health care, we have to start thinking outside of the box. And certainly, I have enjoyed working with Rob Andrews on the American Center for the Cures, an idea that we need to be looking at how do we solve and cure some of these diseases that we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on treating each and every year, whether it be diabetes, Alzheimer's, or Parkinson's. If we came up with a cure for these types of diseases, think about where we'd be then, and where we can put those additional resources into the very vital areas that our government needs to fund. So I am optimistic, Mr. Speaker, that our best days are ahead. But I also know that people are fed up with the idea of this partisanship. And I fear that we're going further partisan; that we're anchoring to the extremes as opposed to coming to the center. My hope is that this body can focus more on what we agree on as opposed to what we disagree on. That's what the American public's looking for. That's what I hope this Congress can accomplish in the 113th, and beyond. I want to take this last moment to thank so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their friendship, for their support, and I certainly look forward to continuing the friendship in future years. ____________________