Budget Negotiations

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me echo the initial remarks of the majority leader with regard to the decision, which in this particular instance I think we would agree is a mutual decision, that we need to stay in every day until we resolve this crisis confronting our country. So I concur with what the majority leader has said. We will stay in every day, Monday through Sunday, and get this problem fixed for our country.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, if I could interrupt my friend and through the Chair say this: I would hope the Republican leader noted the tone and content of my statement where I did not lump all Republicans in one big bundle.

Pardon the interruption.

Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my friend, the majority leader.

This is a pivotal week for America. Two years of reckless spending and debt have brought us to the point of crisis, and this week Americans will see how their elected representatives decide to resolve it.

On the one side are those who believe that failing to rein in spending now would be calamitous, and that a government which borrows 42 cents for every dollar it spends needs to sober up. Washington needs strong medicine to heal its spending addiction now, not a false promise to do it later.

On the other side are those who want to pretend the status quo is acceptable, that everything will be fine if we freeze current spending habits in place, raise job-killing taxes on small businesses, and do nothing about the long-term fiscal imbalance that imperils our economy.

Republicans have tried to persuade the President of the need for a course correction, but weeks of negotiations have shown that his commitment to big government is simply too great to lead to the kind of long-term reforms we need to put us on a path to balance and economic growth.

So we have decided to bring our case to the American people. That is why this week Republicans in the House and in the Senate will push for legislation that would cut government spending now, cap it in the future, and which only raises the debt limit if it is accompanied by a constitutional amendment to balance the Federal budget.

The cut, cap, and balance plan is the kind of strong medicine Washington needs and the American people want, and Republicans in both Houses of Congress will be pushing it aggressively this week.

I heard one of my Democratic colleagues say yesterday that the votes simply do not exist to pass any bill in the Senate that balances the budget. My question is, Why in the world not? If you cannot vote for a bill that says you will live within your means, then you have given up and you agree that the unsustainable path is the only one we have, and that is really completely unacceptable.

Every single Republican in the Senate supports a balanced budget amendment. All we need is for 20 Democrats to join us. By my count, at least 23 of them have led their constituents to believe they would actually fight for it.

So my message to Senate Democrats this week is this: I would suggest you think long and hard about whether you will vote for the cut, cap, and balance legislation the House is taking up tomorrow. Not only is this legislation just the kind of thing Washington needs right now, it may be the only option we have if you want to see the debt limit raised at all.

The White House has called for a balanced approach in this debate. Well, a bill that actually balances our books is coming to the Senate floor this very week. I strongly urge my Democratic friends to join us in supporting it. Some have said they think this bill goes too far. With all due respect, I think most Americans believe Congress and the White House have gone too far in creating the fiscal mess we are in right now.

It is time for real action. It is time to show the American people where we stand. It is time to balance our books.

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