The Federal Debt

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, we have had an ongoing debate on the floor about health care reform, its cost, whether it is going to add to the deficit. We had an exchange yesterday or the day before with Senator McConnell, the Republican leader. We talked a little bit about the debt America faces and how this debt came about.

Senator Kyl, my Republican counterpart, Republican whip from Arizona and a friend of mine, came to the floor and carried on this dialog and debate. When you consider the Senate Chamber is supposed to be about debate, it is all good that he would do that. But I do want to take exception to a couple of things my friend Senator Kyl said.

Let me say at the outset, between 1998 and 2000, under President Clinton, our Nation ran a fiscal surplus. It is hard for many people now, when they look at a multi-trillion-dollar deficit, to imagine just a few years back we did have a surplus. We actually reduced the Federal debt in those 2 years by $236 billion, our economy was doing well, creating jobs and businesses. That is what President George W. Bush inherited when he came to office.

Between 2001 and 2009, when President George W. Bush was in office, the economy grew. Normally you would think this period of economic growth would lead to an improved fiscal picture since tax receipts for government usually grow with the economy. Instead, under President Bush our Nation
ran deficits during his term of nearly $7 trillion. The cumulative Federal debt more than doubled under President George W. Bush, who inherited a surplus from President Clinton. It went up from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to $12.7 trillion in 2009.

At the end of the Bush administration, the economy faced the worst crisis since the Great Depression, the recession we are now encountering. That is what President Obama inherited when he was sworn in 9 months ago. Back in February, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that, assuming continuation of budget policies that were in effect in January of this year, the Federal budget deficit would average more than $1 trillion each year over the next 10 years and would climb higher in later years. That estimate was developed based completely on the budget policies that the current President inherited from the previous President. So to argue that the Nation's fiscal woes should be all laid at the doorstep of President Obama overlooks the obvious. Given the soaring debts and woeful economy he inherited, it certainly is not defensible.

America will run a fiscal deficit this year and it will be a large deficit, there is no question about it. In an economy such as this, where there is so little private sector demand, we have tried to create through stimulus packages, reinvestment, and recovery good jobs and economic activity that will revitalize our economy.

Why did President Bush have such record-breaking deficits during his tenure? I can tell you that he was the first President in the history of the United States to call for tax cuts in the midst of a war--in fact, in the midst of two wars. Giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in the Nation during a war is counterintuitive. A war is an added expense to a nation, over and above the ordinary costs of government, and to cut revenue sources by giving tax cuts to those in higher income categories drove us deeper and deeper into deficit.

In addition, President Bush during his term passed the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. I think it was a good program, although there were changes I certainly would have made before I would vote for it. But the fact is that the President did not pay for it. It was added to the deficit which the current President has inherited. It is little wonder then that the debt grew dramatically during President George Bush's time in office.

Having said all of this, we have to do something serious about this debt. I think we have to focus on putting this economy back on its feet, getting people back to work, making sure that businesses have credit, making certain that the money spent by our government is spent well, without waste. Those are certainly monumental tasks for us to face. But to say that this health care reform is going to add to the deficit is to overlook the obvious. President Obama has told Members of Congress: Don't send me a health care reform bill if it adds to the deficit. The Senate Finance Committee bill that passed this week did not add to the deficit. In fact, it reduced the deficit over a 10-year period of time. So we have taken President Obama's admonition seriously.

In a week or two, we will start the debate over the future of health care in this Nation with the understanding that whatever we do has to be paid for, that we cannot leave it as a debt to future generations. It is an awesome responsibility and challenge we face. It is one I think we are up to, that the American people would feel Congress had dropped the ball and had failed if we do not end up with health care reform. We have a lot of issues to work out among us. I hope Senator Snowe on the Republican side will be joined by other Senators who can in good faith join in trying to solve some of these awesome problems we face, problems we have inherited. It is a major responsibility and one we accept with the leadership of the President to help us find that solution.

I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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