but i'll have a budget that will put that forward and put forward the simpson/bowles budget for us to detate and i assume pass if we had that same bleak picture imprinted on the people's minds, but that didn't happen. he came forward with another stimulus budget, just as he did this year. so in 1997, when i first came to washington, our national debt was five and four-tenths trillion dollars. today it's $15 trillion. and without immediate action, that number will continue to increase to a level that's even more unsustainable. we're spending more today than ever before, and we're seeing trillion-dollar-a-year increases in the debt with no end in sight. what will happen if we don't act and cut spending? we won't be able to afford the military we need. people won't security checks. roads won't be fixed. all our money will go towards paying interest on debt. people shouldn't doubt this is real. there were riots in the streets in greece when their government was forced to face the realities of debt, and their debt was less than ours. i have news for you, our debt per person is more than greece's