Cut, Cap, and Balance
Floor Speech
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, today Members of the House of Representatives will have a chance to stand up and be counted. They will show with their votes whether they believe in freezing Washington's current spending habits in place and raising job-killing taxes or whether they believe, as I do, that the reckless spending and debt of the past 2 years has brought us to this point of crisis, and that something serious must be done to rein it in without damaging a fragile economy with job-killing taxes.
Frankly, it is that simple. Those who support cut, cap, and balance that the House takes up today will be voting for getting our fiscal house in order and against an unsustainable status quo. Those of us who have been calling for serious short- and long-term action to cut spending, rein in our debt, and preserve entitlements congratulate those who support it.
We look forward to voting on the same legislation here in the Senate soon. Before we do, it is important to remember how far we have come in this debate. A few months ago, the President's primary goal was to raise the debt limit without any spending cuts or long-term fiscal reforms at all--nothing but more debt. Now he is claiming not only to support cuts but a proposal he likes to call ``a big deal.'' Anyone who has looked at the figures knows it is not. But the larger point here is that the American people have already won this debate. No one, not even the President, can claim to support the status quo anymore, even when, in fact, he does.
But, of course, winning the debate is not nearly as important as achieving the reforms that are needed to convince the world we are actually serious about getting our fiscal house in order. That is why Republicans continue to hold out for significant reforms, and that is why we will continue to fight
for serious, long-term reforms this week.
Republicans have tried to persuade the President of the need for a serious 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 both balance and economic growth. So we have decided to bring our case to the American people. The President recently cited a poll that suggests Americans want to see balance in this debate. I would point him to another poll showing nearly two out of three Americans want a balanced budget. That is what Republicans are fighting for.
Today, Republicans in the House will vote on legislation that cuts government spending now, caps it in the future to the average of the last 40 years, and which will only allow for a raising of the debt limit if it is accompanied by a constitutional amendment to balance the Federal budget. Cut, cap, and balance is the kind of tough legislation Washington needs and that Americans want, and Republicans will spend the week trying to convince Democrats to join us in supporting it.
Every single Republican in the Senate supports a balanced budget amendment. All we need is 20 Democrats to join us in supporting this commonsense legislation. At least 23 of our friends on the other side have said or suggested they support the idea and told their constituents that they will ``lead'' on the issue. We think they should have an opportunity to follow through on their statements with an actual vote.
I will repeat what I said yesterday to my Democratic friends. If I were you, I would take a long look at the cut, cap, and balance legislation the House is taking up today and ask yourself the following question: Are you so committed to the status quo that you will vote ``no'' on a bill to balance the Federal budget?
I strongly urge my Democratic friends to join us in supporting the cut, cap, and balance plan. The American people sent us here to make tough choices. Agreeing to balance the budget should not be one of them. This should be an easy one. I urge my colleagues in the strongest possible terms to join us. It is time to balance the books.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
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