"Our government has borrowed more money over the past four years than it borrowed during the country's first 200 years. We fought the Civil War and two World Wars during that time and still didn't manage to run up this large of a debt. We simply cannot continue at this rate. Not only are we spending more money on interest payments than nearly every other government program, we are mortgaging away the future of our children and grandchildren. This is another clear example of how this government has its priorities completely wrong. The more money we borrow from foreign countries like China and Japan, the less control we have over our own national and economic security."

"I have faith in this country and in the people who work hard to make sure we succeed. But continued deficits only place high hurdles in front of future generations. There isn't a family in this country who does not understand, that when you spend more money than you take in, you eventually go broke. If we do not make responsible decisions now, we will have nothing left to ensure that others have the same opportunity we had to succeed. Instead of borrowing $1 billion a day, it is time we found ways to trim government spending and enact the same fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go legislation that pulled America out of the last round of record deficits in the 1990's."

Congressman Berry is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition which is a group of moderate Democrats in Congress working to enact a balanced budget. The Blue Dogs sent a letter to the President in September demanding an immediate Budget Summit but has still received no response.