[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 133 (Friday, September 9, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          INVESTING IN AMERICA

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I also wish to take one final moment, and 
I will be very brief. I want to echo something my colleague from 
Tennessee said. It is something the Presiding Officer has been very 
active with over the last few months. We all heard the President last 
night. Some of us may agree or disagree with all the actions the 
President laid out. I think there are things we can do as a government 
targeted to help spur economic growth and job creation that needs to be 
our top priority.
  I do think we have to recognize there is not a single silver bullet, 
that the major tools the government uses during a period of economic 
turmoil we have actually already used. The central government can lower 
interest rates. The government can use federal stimulus. We have used 
both of those. There can be certain additional things we can do around 
the edges, but one of the most important things we can do to get this 
economy restarted is generate confidence, confidence amongst the 
American consumers and the American people that we in Washington are 
not going to mess things up any worse, confidence amongst our business 
community, particularly larger businesses that are sitting on $2.5 
trillion, and they are in a financially better position today than they 
were back in 2008 when we first experienced the beginnings of the 
financial crisis, to get that money off the sidelines and reinvest it 
in America.
  One of the most important things we can do--and the President touched 
upon it last night, but there has been a group of bipartisan Senators 
that has been working on this for a long period of time--is to 
recognize that unless we get our long-term debt problems under control, 
then I don't think we will see the resurgence of confidence this 
economy and this country needs.
  I look forward to working with the President and Members of both 
parties and targeting investments. I hope, as well, with the Presiding 
Officer, with my friend from Tennessee, with my friend, the Senator 
from Georgia, and others, that we can work with this so-called new 
supercommittee to urge them to be bold, and that if they will be bold 
and we put in place over a 10-year frame a long-term deficit reduction 
plan, I hope we reduce the deficit by at least $4 trillion, 
encompassing what we have already done. That plan phased in over a 
decade will do as much to generate job creation in the short term as 
any other action. I look forward to that work ahead.
  I look forward to reflecting back with all my fellow Americans upon 
both the sacrifice and tragedy, but also the amazing resilience of the 
American people in the last decade, and I compliment Mr. Smith and so 
many federal employees for the work they do.

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