Establishing the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I wish to join others of my colleagues in thanking and commending the majority leader, Senator Reid, for his tireless and relentless work in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. He has been a model for me as a new Member of the Senate in leading this body, along with many of my other Democratic colleagues in the leadership and some of our Republican colleagues as well.

Senator Johnny Isakson, of Georgia, who spoke to this Chamber yesterday morning, demonstrated his determination, as others on the other side of the aisle have done, to work together in reaching an agreement. As the majority leader said moments ago, the words of the day must be ``cooperation'' and ``compromise.'' Those are the words we are hearing from countless Americans, including my fellow citizens of Connecticut, day after day: We want you to get the job done, put aside the partisan differences. America is speaking with one voice, and Washington must listen.

I am new to Washington. I haven't been here for long. I have just marked my first 6 months in the Senate. But I understand more and more why my fellow Connecticut citizens and other Americans are so frustrated and often appalled by what goes on here. This situation is outrageous. We have an impending crisis--self-created--and devastating possible wounds--self-inflicted--and Washington has been deadlocked.

There is a glimmer of hope, a reason to be cautiously optimistic. The solution is in sight, but still work needs to be done. Washington needs to end the gridlock, the straitjacket that has been self-imposed, and take action to protect citizens from financial catastrophe. Our Nation is really at a crossroads. We need to rein in spending, cut the debt and deficits, make the tough choices necessary to get our fiscal house in order, and we need to do it now.

The fiscal news in the last few days--the anemic and fragile measures of recovery--shows more than ever why we need certainty now, certainty that ending this deadlock will produce. Uncertainty is the enemy--enemy for businesses that are deciding whether to hire, for banks wanting to loan money to those businesses, and for larger corporations sitting on mountains of cash waiting to invest and create jobs.

Jobs and our economy are the main reasons to make these tough choices literally today, to make these tough choices now. We have a historic moment, and we must seize it. We cannot keep kicking these decisions down the road. Families in Connecticut and across the country make these tough choices every day. They rightfully expect nothing less from us. Tough choices are necessary to help get our debt and our deficit under control.

I have heard as late as this morning, Sunday morning, from hundreds of Connecticut residents who are frustrated and appalled at what is going on here, what they see in Washington, DC.

Bernice, from Tolland, CT, cannot believe we don't have an agreement. She is worried she won't receive her Social Security check next month.

Jane, from West Hartford, is wondering why we are protecting sweetheart deals instead of ensuring Social Security is protected and strengthened.

Rod, from New Milford, just wants us to compromise and to get something done and end this nightmare.

I agree with them and hundreds of others from Connecticut and around the country who want to make sure that the troops in Afghanistan are paid, that their families are taken care of. I thank the citizens from Connecticut for calling or writing to me.

I agree that the immediate solution is not only to raise the debt ceiling but also to cut spending, as the Reid proposal makes clear, dollar for dollar to match that increase in that debt ceiling, without tax increases--none--without any cuts in Medicare or Medicare--none. Those basic principles in the Reid proposal are what should be embodied in what the outcome is of this debate.

The markets need a real solution, not a short-term fix, to demonstrate that we are dedicated to achieving real results in cutting spending.

Anne, from Hamden, CT, makes this point. She just called yesterday to say that a short-term plan would not provide the certainty the markets are desperately seeking. I agree that no short-term plan can provide that kind of certainty. It risks a credit rating downgrade and ensures we will be back here in another 6 months.

As much as we may criticize the rating agencies--and I have been one to criticize them most vehemently as an attorney general of Connecticut and now as a Member of this body--we must deal with that reality at this moment and take action down the road to address the need for reform. Credit ratings agencies' downgrades seem abstract and intangible, but they are hugely consequential. A downgrade in our credit rating would likely cause, in effect, an automatic tax increase in the form of higher interest rates for every American who has a mortgage, a car loan, student debt, or a credit card.

The American people deserve better. Coming together in a compromise is essential now. Majority Leader Reid has proposed a solution to meet all of the criteria House Republicans have demanded for weeks. It doesn't raise taxes or revenues, and it includes enough spending to meet the debt ceiling increase dollar for dollar, and it includes spending cuts that are the very same as our Republican colleagues, our friends across the aisle, have previously voted for and supported over these past weeks.

Most important, Senator Reid's plan makes tough spending cuts, but it doesn't balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and our most vulnerable. It protects vital programs and doesn't make cuts to benefits, to Medicare and Social Security. Again, as I have said repeatedly, I will oppose cuts in Medicare or Social Security.

Time and again, Democrats have shown we are willing to compromise to avert catastrophe and default. Unfortunately, at every turn Republicans in the House have blocked any chance for progress and continue to put us on a very dangerous path.

I am hopeful that the deadline will produce a compromise, that the talks will be productive. But today's filibuster of our efforts to prevent a default is indeed unprecedented. As my colleague, the distinguished Senator from Maryland, pointed out a few moments ago on the floor, since March of 1962, Congress has raised the debt limit 74 times--18 times under President Reagan. During George Bush's administration, Congress passed five stand-alone debt limit increases without a filibuster or delay. And until this point, debt limit increases were routine, usually passed by a simple 51-vote majority without the procedural hurdles my Republican colleagues are using today.

Hopefully, they will come to the table to work with us to find a compromise for the good of the country and for our economic recovery. I hope my Republican colleagues will join us in achieving that result for the sake of millions of Connecticut families, who are watching and listening, as are hundreds of millions of other Americans, and for the sake of our economy moving in the right direction. It is about jobs, jobs, jobs, the certainty our economy needs at this point in history, affordable interest rates, and moving our economy forward.

I yield the floor.

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