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We have been dealt a very weak hand by the financial market meltdown, bailouts, and recession. We can't act like it's a strong one.

The cold harsh reality is that we have to balance the budget.

We still have a major problem in debt with America that we have to find efficiencies in government to get us back to a balanced budget.

If the financial system collapses, it's really, really hard to put it back together again.

We have major fiscal problems on our hand.

Our priority must be to build a path towards balancing the budget, and we cannot tolerate growing deficits.

We cannot win the future, expand the economy and spur job creation if we are saddled with increasingly growing deficits. That is why the president's budget is a comprehensive and responsible plan that will put us on a path toward fiscal sustainability in the next few years - a down payment toward tackling our challenges in the long term.

What I wanted to do was see if we couldn't balance the budget.

Well, first of all, let's go right to it. We're going to balance the budget. We should live within our own means, and we should read the bills and work with the American people.

We've got to take some drastic steps in this country. We can't keep spending and spending.