[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 118 (Sunday, July 31, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5147-S5148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE DEBT CEILING

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as the clock ticks down to August 2, I want 
to remind everyone within the sound of my voice what is at stake. At 
this very moment, millions of seniors across this great country worry 
that their next Social Security check might not come to them on 
Wednesday. Middle-class families wonder whether their retirement 
accounts will be wiped out by an economic collapse brought about by 
default on this Nation's debt. Active military personnel, including 
many who are risking their lives for our great Nation, worry whether 
they will receive their paychecks.
  The Associated Press reported that ADM Mike Mullen, Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited with troops serving in Afghanistan 
yesterday. The soldiers Admiral Mullen talked with were not asking 
about military strategy or how our troop drawdown in Afghanistan would 
affect them. No, they asked whether they would be paid if Republicans 
forced the U.S. Government to stop paying its bills. In a region that 
has been rocked by violence and plagued by suicide bombers this month, 
they wondered how they would take care of their families if their 
checks stopped coming next month.
  Let me read a little bit of that United Press story that came out 
yesterday:

       A half a world away from Capitol Hill deadlock, the economy 
     and debt crisis are weighing heavily on U.S. troops in 
     Afghanistan. And the top question on their minds Saturday 
     even as bombing rocked the city around them, was one the top 
     U.S. military officer couldn't answer. Will we get paid?

  Admiral Mullen went on to say: I don't know the answer to that 
question.
  But either way to those soldiers he said: All of you must continue to 
work every day.
  This is unacceptable. A country as rich and powerful as ours, men and 
women with bombs going off around them should not worry whether this 
country will leave them high and dry. This afternoon I ask those who 
have said they will never compromise on any terms to think about who 
their stubbornness will hurt: seniors, soldiers, and others.
  I have spoken to the Vice President this morning--in fact, a couple 
of times. He is hopeful--of course, we have to be hopeful--that we are 
close to an agreement with Republican leaders. The framework of this 
agreement is based on new ideas and some old ideas. After speaking to 
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell this morning, we are cautiously 
optimistic.
  There are a number of issues yet to be resolved, and we must 
understand that. There is no agreement that has been made. We are 
optimistic that one

[[Page S5148]]

can be reached, but we are not there yet. Optimism in the days past has 
been stomped on at various times. These major issues still to be 
resolved in these ongoing discussions is something we have to resolve 
in the next few hours if they are going to be resolved. Each of them 
must be resolved before we have a final agreement. And as we know, one 
problem can stop the whole agreement from going forward. But we want to 
get something done as quickly as possible. I believe all sides are 
aware of this urgency. It is unfortunate that the House of 
Representatives wasted all last week on legislation they knew would 
never pass the Senate and, in fact, barely passed the House. It passed 
the House with only Republican votes, not a single Democratic vote.
  Democrats have said all along that we would never agree to a short-
term arrangement that would put our economy at risk and force Congress 
into another debt ceiling showdown in a few weeks. We have to move on. 
The House measure put off the debt ceiling for 5 months--August, 
September, October, November, and December--5 months. We would be back 
in this same debate in a matter of weeks. We cannot allow that to 
happen. So any agreement has to have a long-term approach. The long-
term approach we have forged here in the Senate is absolutely 
necessary. We must give the financial markets the confidence this 
country will not shirk its obligations now or in the future.
  I know the compromise being discussed at the White House adopts the 
Senate's long-term approach, which will give the economy the certainty 
it needs, take us past January 2013. That has to be done. That will be 
done if an agreement is reached. It is also crucial that the agreement 
being crafted set us on the path to fiscal restraint. There are still 
elements to be resolved. We are watching them very closely.
  The settlement must include thoughtful constraints on spending, we 
know that. The 12-member commission I conceived to recommend additional 
deficit reduction measures this year will be a key to that effort. I 
say to my friend the Republican leader, I appreciate his wrapping his 
arms around this and being such a cheerleader for this idea. It is a 
good idea. It is an idea that Congress itself will solve the problem. 
It would be a joint committee that would move forward. There would be a 
trigger that if they did not resolve this, then something else would 
happen. Based on past experiences, I think there would be tremendous 
incentive not to let that certain thing happen when the trigger kicked 
in. So Senator McConnell and I agreed the commission owns the 
responsibility to set this country on the path to fiscal 
accountability. The joint committee--there are no constraints--can look 
at any program we have in government--any program. It has the ability 
to look at everything. That is what needs to be done. The commission 
will assure we undertake that responsibility.
  When I thought of this idea about the commission, I knew it was 
important that it achieve real results. It will be essential to choose 
Members with open minds willing to consider every option, even when the 
options are tough pills to swallow for both parties. So cooperation is 
the only way forward. Compromise is the only way forward. This is what 
Andrew Carnegie said about the virtue of compromise:

       I shall argue that strong men . . .--

  And since the Senate has changed so dramatically--and strong women--
that is me. I stuck that in.

       I shall argue that strong men . . . know when to compromise 
     and that all principles can be compromised to serve a greater 
     principle.

  Andrew Carnegie. But perhaps President Abraham Lincoln said it best 
when he said this: ``Determine that the thing can and shall be done, 
and that we shall find the way.''
  That is where we are today. We must determine that the thing can and 
shall be done, and then we need to find that way. That is President 
Abraham Lincoln.

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