A politician’s stock in trade is words.  It’s what we have to “sell”-speeches, bills, and resolutions.  And now, in this electronic age, posts and blogs.

In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says these words: “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”  Like a hose filling a bucket, it takes time for those things that fill a heart to overflow in words.  That has certainly been true in my case as, today, we bring to a close my fourth session as the Representative of House District 37.  It has taken me a while to find my footing in this hectic and complex environment, to become identified with an issue about which I speak frequently.

For me, that issue has become the federal deficit and our nearly $8 trillion national debt. I came to the issue because federal spending is virtually impossible to ignore as one becomes familiar with the state budget.  Totaling nearly $20 billion, the Colorado budget can be divided roughly in thirds: 1/3 federal money, 1/3 state taxes that go into the General Fund, and 1/3 fees (state park admissions, licensing fees, etc).

But despite the billions of federal dollars that the state routinely spends, it wasn’t until we were debating a bill last year that added $600 million to the federal deficit to expand the state’s Medicaid rolls that I really became engaged with the issue.  On several occasions, I went to the House well and denounced the bill as being fiscally irresponsible, adding to a national debt that our children will never be able to repay.  The bill was particularly obnoxious to me because it was being debated at about the same time as the “stimulus” bill was going through Congress.

My focus on the debt became even more intense this year as the federal deficit continued to spiral out of control and the contagion of debt spread to Greece-and beyond to Europe.  Time after time, I railed against legislation that, with little regard for the consequences, expended federal dollars and added to the national debt.  I then sponsored a resolution asking Congress to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

As the session drew to a close, several things convinced me that I have been successful in raising the profile of this important issue.  And that I have become recognized as having become its champion in the Colorado House.  On more than one occasion, Democrats have defended a bill by asserting that it doesn’t involve federal spending and so shouldn’t “offend Representative Swalm.”

Even more telling, in a back handed sort of way, was the end of session “Hummers” show that lampoons members of the legislature.   One of the skits, written by a Democrats, depicted me, famished and marooned on a desert island, rejecting a banana because it was a product of federal farm subsidies.  Whether in earnest or in jest, if Democrats are beginning to join Republicans in recognizing the gravity of the problem, it is an effort well worth making.

With this in mind, it was gratifying to see an article in this morning’s Denver Post. It described how the U.S. Senate approved an amendment from Sen. Michael Bennet D-Colo., requiring that the bailout money now being paid back to the federal government by banks and the auto industry be used to pay down the federal debt.  The amendment also prevents the government from using the repaid funds for purposes such as efforts to create jobs. Which, judging by our experience in Colorado, just creates more government jobs.

Taking a line that I could have used myself, Bennet said that the “amendment will ensure that paid-back bailout funds will be used to pay down the deficit, so our kids aren’t saddled with a debt Washington is unable to pay.”

To which I can only say to Senator Bennet, “What took you so long?”