McConnell on Passage of Spending Reduction Bill

Statement

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement Thursday after the Senate passed and sent to the President a spending reduction bill for the current fiscal year:

"When the outline of the bill we just voted on was first announced, I noted that it presented us with an opportunity to make history rather than repeat it. And that's just what we've done with this vote. We've taken care of the business Democrats left unfinished last year; and we've taken a small but crucial step in getting Washington to live within its means without disrupting people's lives. And while no one would argue that these cuts come close to achieving balance in government spending, neither would anyone deny the dramatic shift they represent.

"Two years ago, President Obama and his allies in Congress were busy trying to convince people that borrowing a trillion dollars and blowing it on turtle tunnels and sidewalks to nowhere would keep unemployment from rising above eight percent. One year ago, the President signed into law the most expensive government program in history. Yet this week, we've seen the same President step up to a microphone and try to convince people that he holds the key to solving the jobs crisis that's accompanied policies he presided over, and that after spending two years running up our deficits and our debt to historic heights, he's the one with the plan to lower them.

"So we've had a sea change here in Washington. Now, everyone claims to see the crises we face-- even those who've done so much to create them, and who've tried for too long to ignore them.

"That's why this debate will soon move from a debate about billions in savings to a discussion about how we save trillions-- because the ground has shifted in the direction Americans want.

"The American people are counting on us to do something serious not only about a $14 trillion in debt, but the trillions of dollars in promises we've made that we know we won't be able to keep without serious reform. The President has asked us to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans--- and I hope many Democrats as well--will say, "Mr. President, as a condition for raising the debt ceiling, you'll need to agree to do something significant.' And by significant, I mean something the markets view as significant, the American people view as significant, and foreign countries view as significant.

"This is the debate we've been waiting for. I think we should welcome it-- and I think we should be encouraged by the fact that the ground has clearly shifted in the direction of responsibility, and that more and more people on both sides of the aisle agree that we need to change direction."

Source