[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4944-S4945]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            The Debt Ceiling

  Mr. President, we are less than 6 days away from the date the 
Department of the Treasury has signified would shut down the Federal 
Government and exhaust all borrowing authority.
  We all know we are at this point because we have a fundamental 
difference in the principles on how our government should be run. We 
all know we are at this point because the financial viability of our 
Nation is at stake.
  I believe this debt ceiling debate presents Congress with a critical 
opportunity to get our country back on a sustainable and prosperous 
path. We must send a message to the markets, to the American people, 
and to American businesses that we are going to get our fiscal house in 
order with spending cuts, caps on future spending, and permanent budget 
reform in the form of a balanced budget amendment.
  What we need now is a serious proposal to provide certainty and clear 
commitment to a reform measure that ensures spending cuts before the 
debt ceiling is raised. The Senate majority leader's and the House 
Speaker's plans have similarity, and I believe a common ground can be 
found in the two.
  First, neither of the plans proposes tax increases to achieve deficit 
reduction, and both plans aim for significant deficit savings in the 
amount of $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.
  Now, is that what we wanted? No. I would have had more cuts. We 
should be reaching for $4 trillion in cuts, not $1.2 trillion. But we 
have had plans put forward for $4 trillion, we have had plans put 
forward for more, and we could not get those through. We could not get 
one through the Senate. Furthermore, entitlements are not in the plans 
that are before us, and entitlement reform is essential for us to 
address. We can certainly put Social Security on the fiscally 
responsible path that will make it secure for 75 years with very minor 
changes and gradual changes if we do it now. This is an opportunity. 
Because we have only 6 days, we are not going to be able to do it in 
this vehicle.
  But there is a plan going forward that our leader, Senator McConnell, 
and Senator Reid, along with a bipartisan group of Senators, have put 
forward a plan. I think we need to look towards the long term and not 
let this opportunity pass to do something that will be enduring for the 
fiscal responsibility of our country.
  But we have 6 days, and now we have to do something as responsible as 
possible with the time we have left and keep open the option of doing 
what we should be doing for the long term before the end of this year. 
That is what Senator McConnell, Senator Reid, and many other Senators 
have put on the table. That is what we need to try to achieve.
  But we have made great strides. What Republicans said from the 
beginning is, they are not going to support tax increases of any kind 
in this economic climate. Businesses are not hiring. A 9.2-percent 
unemployment rate is unacceptable. Our businesses are afraid of the 
Obama health care plan and its costs. They are factoring that into 
their plans, and they are not hiring people because of the expense. Add 
more tax increases on top of that and our economy is going to be 
stagnant for a long time. So tax increases are off the table.
  But I do hope we can also make the cuts that will put us on a 
fiscally responsible plan so we will not have to address this debt 
ceiling ever again.
  So we have made a major achievement. Sometimes it seems as though 
when we have to come together to do something that is not ideal, we do 
not take acknowledgment of the fact that we are making one smaller step 
in the right direction. I think in order to avoid a fiscal calamity, we 
do need to make the strongest step we can make, which is cutting 
spending and doing it without increasing taxes.
  The idea that we could tax our way out of debt has been totally 
discounted. Neither of these plans includes tax hikes to offset the 
deficit reduction, and that is a strong endorsement. Both proposals 
also include budget enforcement of discretionary caps by requiring 
automatic across-the-board cuts if the caps are not met. That will put 
a Governor on future spending that will keep the promise we are making 
to cut spending.
  Both proposals establish a bipartisan committee to identify further 
deficit reduction that would include tax reform and fix the broken 
entitlement programs. I hope we will not throw that out the window. 
Having a commission--I know people roll their eyes and say: Oh, another 
commission. Really?

[[Page S4945]]

Well, if we have a finite end date and have the opportunity to make 
more real cuts, it is worth another chance. We do need to make 
entitlement reforms.
  If we can do tax reform that lowers the tax rate for everyone and 
brings in revenue by having more people hired off the unemployment 
rolls, that is a win. We raise revenue by putting more people back to 
work. That is the way you raise revenue, not by tax increases that put 
a lid on hiring.
  So I think we have some good things that can be put together. We need 
to make sure we go forward, as much as we can with a divided Congress, 
and try to make a step in the right direction. Then, hopefully before 
the end of the year, we will be able to take stronger steps that will 
have a more lasting impact.
  I, for one, think it is not even a possibility that we would allow 
the debt ceiling to be met and start the process then of watching the 
President decide who gets paid and who does not.
  I have a bill I have introduced with strong support that would make 
the priority paying the interest on our debt and paying our soldiers, 
our men and women who have boots on the ground in harm's way. If you 
are Active-Duty military, you should not waste 1 minute thinking about 
whether you are going to make your mortgage.
  I want to say that I commend USAA. USAA is the corporation that 
serves so many of our military personnel. They have put out their 
policy that in case the debt limit is reached, USAA has stated that for 
those military members, who are on active duty and have their paychecks 
directly deposited into their USAA account, they are going to provide a 
one-time, interest-free advance for their paycheck.
  They also know the stresses on those members of the armed services. 
USAA is doing a wonderful thing by putting the families of loved ones 
across the sea fighting for our security at ease.
  So I commend USAA. At the same time, I would like for my bill to be 
passed that assures that those military servicemembers who are not 
customers of USAA will also have the comfort of knowing their paychecks 
will be there on time. So I hope if all else fails in this body, we can 
pass the legislation that says we will pay our debts and we will pay 
our military and Social Security recipients will also be paid.
  But I do not think we ought to get that far at all. That is why I am 
urging our Members to work with our leaders. Do not throw stones at our 
leaders. They have a tough job corralling 100 pretty big egos, and we 
ought to be helping them get to the point where we are all comfortable 
that we are doing the right thing. Sometimes we cannot get 100 percent 
of what we want when there are 100 people who have their individual 
ideas as well.
  So I hope we will take this chance to do so much for our country that 
we have the opportunity to do. We may have to do it in smaller steps to 
reach that goal, but if we reach the goal, we will have secured the 
future for our children, and that is what we are here for.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.