{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://adriansmith.house.gov/opportunity-reform", "An Opportunity for Reform", "2013-10-12", "2013", "2013-10", "Republican", "House", "NE", "Adrian Smith", "S001172", "adriansmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As the government shutdown continues, Nebraskans and all Americans are rightfully frustrated \u2013 I am too.\u00a0 President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid must agree to negotiate on reopening the government and addressing the debt ceiling.\u00a0 Just as Republicans should not expect to get everything we want, it is unreasonable for Senate Democrats and the White House to refuse to work with the elected majority in the House of Representatives.\u00a0\nMany would like to end the current showdown by passing a continuation of last year\u2019s budget with no reforms, and a long-term increase in the debt ceiling.\u00a0 This solution would temporarily end the short term pain and uncertainty, but would not address the underlying problem: we borrow and spend more money than we can afford.\u00a0\nOur national debt is quickly approaching $17 trillion, which amounts to more than $50,000 per citizen.\u00a0 This year the deficit is expected to drop to about $700 billion.\u00a0 While this decrease is an improvement from the more than $1 trillion deficits of recent years, it is still unacceptably high and unsustainable.\u00a0 Without reforms, we face the very real possibility of a debt crisis similar to what nations like Greece and Spain are experiencing today.\nFailing to address the debt ceiling would be risky, and could result in a default.\u00a0 I agree we have an obligation to pay our bills and we should not risk the full faith and credit of the United States.\u00a0 However, it also defies the purpose of the debt limit to simply raise the borrowing authority without doing anything to address the drivers of our deficit and debt.\nPresidents and Congresses of both parties have negotiated agreements to raise the debt limit for decades.\u00a0 In 2011, the debt ceiling was increased in exchange for corresponding discretionary spending cuts over ten years.\u00a0 Earlier this year, the House and Senate agreed to a debt limit increase in exchange for \u201cNo Budget, No Pay\u201d legislation, which forced the Senate to pass a budget for the first time in four years.\u00a0\nThese agreements did not solve the underlying drivers of long term spending, but they were steps in the right direction.\u00a0 Faced again with a looming debt limit deadline, we should again take advantage of the moment to pass needed reforms.\u00a0 We should make every effort to reach the best deal possible for the American people \u2013 even if this requires a short-term extension to provide more time for negotiations.\nThere is plenty of blame to go around for both the government shutdown and our budget problems.\u00a0 Regardless of how we got here, we are now faced with an opportunity to make changes in the best interest of our nation and for future generations. \u00a0I hope we will not let this opportunity pass.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://adriansmith.house.gov/opportunity-reform"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9842091239988804, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}