President Obama's Budget and Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in his State of the Union Address, President Obama promised to deliver a budget filled with ``ideas that are practical, not partisan.'' I know many Americans were glad to hear him say that. The American people elected a right-of-center Congress focused on jobs and reform, so it makes sense that a President would want to send commonsense ideas that could pass the Congress that the people actually elected last November.

He could have proposed a budget that was balanced. He could have challenged us with serious, innovative reforms aimed at getting spending under control or effective ideas to create jobs and opportunity. There are so many positive things he could have done instead of phoning in another tired tax-and-spend manifesto. We basically see the same thing every year. It focuses on growing the bureaucracy instead of opportunity. It does not balance ever. Because it isn't designed to pass Congress, of course it doesn't pass Congress.

The budget is just one symptom of a wider disconnect. Rhetorically, at least, we hear the White House echo Republican calls for policies aimed at helping the middle class, but then we see the White House push more of the same stale, top-down policies favored by political bosses over on the left. As Americans who have lost health plans or who are seeing health costs skyrocket could tell you, the left's priorities often hurt the very people they purport to help.

This is the wrong approach. We need fresh ideas. Republicans want the President to join us in fighting for the middle class, so we think he should take opportunities such as the budget to actually rally Members of both parties behind serious ideas that can actually pass. We think the country could really benefit from his positive leadership.

His next test will come soon as the new Congress works to develop the kind of budget the American people deserve. We are going to focus on growing the economy from the ground up, with more future-oriented reform, more jobs, more opportunity. We are going to pursue ideas that make government leaner, more efficient, and more effective. We are going to honor the hard-working men and women who count on us to spend their dollars wisely, not offload Washington's problems onto them with higher taxes. That is what the American people expect. It is the kind of practical agenda you pursue if you are serious about helping the middle class. It is what I hope the President will now encourage Members of both parties to work toward.

The truth is, there is a lot we can achieve with constructive, bipartisan cooperation. The bill we will vote on tomorrow is a great example of that. Members in both parties agree it is time to pursue positive reform for veterans who are hurting. The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act aims to reduce the tragedy that befalls too many of our heroes and the heartbreak that befalls too many of their families. We lose thousands of veterans every year to suicide. Now is the time for practical, bipartisan action to do something about it.

The legislation we will vote on tomorrow will provide more of the suicide prevention and mental health support our veterans deserve. It will help veterans transition from Active-Duty service. It will take steps to improve the effectiveness of programs to help heroes in need.

This bill has already passed the House unanimously. I hope we can achieve a similar result in the Senate and send this bipartisan legislation to the White House for signature.

Before I finish, I would like to thank both the senior Senator from Georgia, Mr. Isakson, and the senior Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, for their tireless work on this bill. These Senators care deeply about the men and women who give everything--literally everything--to protect us. Veterans are lucky to have such strong champions on their side.

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