[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 30, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S377-S378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. COATS. Madam President, breaking news. Just a short time ago the 
Bureau of Economic Analysis issued its report for the fourth quarter of 
2012 in terms of our economy. I am sorry to say that the report said we 
have contracted--not gained, but our economy contracted--during this 
fourth quarter, 0.1 percent at an annual rate last fall.
  Here we are, about 3\1/2\ years from a deep recession, and in normal 
recessions recovery occurs at a significant rate. That is what gets 
people back to work. That is what gets our economy moving again. This 
is the growth we need to address our fiscal situation. Yet after nearly 
3\1/2\ years of stumbling along and bumping along in the most tepid 
recovery since before World War II, we now learn that despite some of 
the optimism that has been projected lately that things are getting 
better, things are growing, and unemployment is going to start coming 
down, we get this distressing report that in the fourth quarter, the 
quarter where we all go out and buy Christmas presents and spend money 
at the end of the year, that fourth quarter contracted; it did not 
grow.
  The average rate of growth following recessions is about 4 percent 
growth per year. Sometimes it has been 6, 7, and even 8 percent. The 
average rate we have had as a Nation following the previous recession 
has been around a 2-percent level or even a little less. So, this is 
not good news for the American people. This is not good news for all 
those hoping to get back to work. This is not good news for those 
hoping to raise money to pay for their mortgage or try to keep their 
house or provide for their children's education going forward. This is 
not good news for the American people. I think it says a lot about our 
failure here in Congress to do what most people understand we need to 
do and that is to get our fiscal house in order.
  There is a cloud of uncertainty settled over the American economy 
over the last 3\1/2\ years that is destroying the hopes and dreams of 
young people and middle-aged people and those nearing retirement. They 
are worried about their savings, their ability to pay their bills, and 
their ability to maintain meaningful employment.
  If we are going to get our fiscal house in order, we need to do some 
fundamental things. One, we need to summon the will to address this 
problem--this challenge--and define it as the No. 1 challenge facing 
the Congress and have the political will to do something about it. 
Doing something about it means we start with having a budget. It has 
been 1,372 days since the Senate passed a budget. That is nearly 4 
years. This is completely irresponsible. To deny the American people 
the transparency of how we are spending taxpayers' dollars and how we 
are addressing this fiscal situation we are in which drives us into 
more debt and more deficit is totally irresponsible. As I said, it 
starts with passing a budget.
  Every Hoosier family and every business in Indiana knows they cannot 
be successful and financially sound without creating a budget on which 
to operate. Restaurants and coffee shops have budgets, Little League 
Baseball organizations have budgets, and our communities, States must 
have a budget in terms of how much we are able to spend.
  The reason a budget is so important is it forces us to determine how 
we spend the revenue we have in a sensible way without having to go and 
continue to borrow and drive ourselves more deeply into debt. There are 
a lot of things we would like to do. Everyone has their priorities, 
their interests, such as, education, medical research, more funding for 
social programs, more defense funding, funding for transportation 
needs, paving roads, and repairing bridges. It goes on and on. We all 
have those priorities. These are things we would like to do, but we 
have not faced the fact that we cannot do everything we would like to 
do. We have to do the essential things and prioritize our spending at a 
time when we don't have the revenue to do everything we would like.
  It is no different than a family with financial difficulties sitting 
down and saying: Our annual trip to Disney World cannot happen this 
year. Dad's paycheck is not bringing in the kind of money it used to. 
Maybe they are not in the financial position to be able to do what they 
would like to do, therefore, they have to make some changes and 
adjustments. Maybe instead of Disney World, they decide to go to Brown 
County State Park, which, by the way, is a great place for family 
vacations. Priority decisions are the kind of decisions families have 
to make when they don't have the revenue to do everything they would 
like to do.
  We also have a legal duty--and personally I think a moral duty--to 
present to the American people a budget plan indicating how we are 
going to spend their taxpayer dollars. Section 301(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 states--and this is the law of the 
land--``On or before April 15 of each year, the Congress shall complete 
action on a concurrent resolution on the budget for the fiscal year 
beginning on October 1 of such year.''
  When we passed that law, we didn't say Congress may pass a budget or 
that Congress has the ability to avoid having a budget. The word 
``shall'' means we shall have a budget. Yet the failure to bring forth 
a budget under the leadership of this Senate for 1,372 days--nearly 4 
years--has created even more dysfunction in an already dysfunctional 
Senate. It has helped lead to a broken appropriations process.
  Last year, we did not pass a single appropriations bill through the 
Senate, which left us with what we call continuing resolutions. 
Continuing resolutions essentially fund the Federal Government on 
autopilot at previous levels without the type of scrutiny and oversight 
that would be administered through the regular appropriations process. 
This is no way to govern a country. We are not fulfilling our duty to 
the people we represent and, most important, it hinders any attempt at 
real spending reform.
  The Republican-led House has passed a budget annually and fulfilled 
their duty. We have failed in fulfilling our duty. They have presented 
their priorities to the public. They have described how they will rein 
in spending, save programs from collapse, and reform the tax system. 
They are being heavily criticized because they have a budget out there 
which tells the American people what they are going to do, and some of 
it is painful because we don't have the money to do everything we would 
like to do.
  People like to be able to come home and promise them everything they 
ask for. We don't have that luxury. Perhaps we never did, but we did it 
anyway. No longer do we have the luxury of being able to even think 
that. So all the criticism goes to the House because they want to cut 
this or they want to modify that or the priority decision is for one 
thing over another thing. In the mean time, the majority and the 
administration just sit back and say: We are not going to put out any 
numbers; therefore, you cannot criticize us. We will just go along 
criticizing the other team.
  I know Paul Ryan is again working with Speaker Boehner on a 10-year 
budget plan to put our country on a path to a balanced budget. They 
will be heavily criticized for that, but they are stepping up to their 
legal responsibilities and stepping up to the moral responsibilities we 
have to do the job we were elected to do. I mean, that is why we were 
sent here. The Senate is going to have to get the will to make these 
tough choices, which we have been avoiding for years, or the market is 
going to force us to act. The more we prolong the challenges we face 
and the

[[Page S378]]

longer we wait to act, the harder it is going to be.
  If we don't put a Senate budget plan together, if we don't lay out 
our priorities and create a long-term economic plan to reform our 
spending habits, we are going to face a debt-induced catastrophe that 
will make the economic downturn we experienced a few years ago look 
like child's play. The fact is our failure to seriously grapple with 
our runaway deficit spending is already having huge detrimental effects 
on our economy, and I just mentioned one of those. Sooner or later this 
body needs to stand and get this done and it starts with a budget.
  The President has made it clear over the past few years that when he 
proposed his budgets, he is not serious about leading the discussions 
on the fiscal challenges facing us. He didn't mention it in his 
inauguration address, and he has publicly stated we don't have a 
spending problem. How he comes to that conclusion defies credulity.
  Interestingly enough, by law, the administration is forced to produce 
a budget which has been brought before this body. It is interesting 
that the lack of seriousness of this is indicated by the fact that not 
even one Member of his own party voted for the President's budget.
  I am just about ready to finish. I ask unanimous consent for 3 more 
minutes to finish.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. COATS. Madam President, thank you. Not one Democratic Senator 
voted for the President's budget in the last few years. His own party 
didn't support his budget. It is hard for us to take the President's 
budget seriously, and that is why the Senate--under the leadership of 
Democrats--needs to put forward a serious budget, one we can debate, 
amend, talk about, share with the American people, get their opinion as 
to whether this is an important priority program or one we can use as 
the basis to make tough choices and explain why we made those choices. 
After all, that is why we are here.
  So why am I here? I am urging my colleagues in the majority to act. 
Let's do our jobs. Let's perform our legal responsibility and duty. One 
of the most basic duties in Congress is to create a budget so we can 
begin to get our fiscal books in order. It is our generation's duty 
also to repair our Nation's financing and ensure we are not leaving 
behind this dangerous debt burden on future generations. This is the 
time to act. This serious debt threatens our national security and the 
future of our country, and this is the challenge both sides of the 
aisle need to face.
  Strengthening our country and putting us back on a sustainable path 
will not be easy. It will require some sacrifices, but these are the 
responsibilities we have to address. We need to be honest with the 
American people. We must take the first step and it starts with a 
budget.
  With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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