[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1451-S1452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             National Debt

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today referring to a 
speech that Senator Biden gave on this Senate floor 39 years ago today. 
The scene was this: It developed over several months of that year 
before May 2, 1984.
  I had this idea which would be considered crazy today, that we need 
to get control of the budget by just freezing everything across the 
board. And I recruited Nancy Kassebaum, a Senator from Kansas, and 
Senator Biden to help in that effort.
  Senator Biden gave the longest speech that day on justifying it, and 
most of his comments at that time were trying to justify that you could 
actually freeze the defense budget, and also it included the freeze on 
the COLAs for Social Security.
  But Senator Biden spent most of his speech fighting off giants of the 
military industrial complex at that time, by the names of Senator 
Goldwater, Senator Towers, and Senator Stevens of Alaska. So that is 
the background of what I am talking about today.
  So on this day, 39 years ago, then-Senator Biden spoke on the Senate 
floor saying that he was ``outraged''--that is his words--that our 
national debt would soon be near $2 trillion. He urged fellow Senators 
to ``do something . . . before the debt limit increase comes up.'' The 
``something'' that he advocated for was a Federal spending freeze.
  Today, our national debt stands at $31.5 trillion compared to that $2 
trillion in 1984. But in a few years, public debt as a share of our 
economy is expected to exceed record levels set in the wake of World 
War II. However, instead of urging immediate action this year, 
President Biden wants to kick the can down the road. I think, today, we 
would all consider that to be irresponsible and unacceptable.

  In contrast, House Republicans are tackling our debt crisis head-on. 
Legislation the House passed last week would rein in excessive 
government spending, lift the debt ceiling, and impose meaningful 
fiscal controls moving forward. President Biden and Senate Democrats 
must get off the sidelines and negotiate. We can't continue to live 
high on the hog at the expense of future generations.
  To put our current national debt in perspective, a gross Federal debt 
of $31.5 trillion equates to $95,000 for each man, woman, and child 
living in the United States today. By comparison, the average cost of a 
4-year public college degree in 2023 is about $90,000. Both are more 
than we should be asking young people to bear. Looked at in terms of 
the American taxpayers, our government debt comes to a staggering 
$247,000 per tax filer, and I think the number of tax filers would be 
close to 160 million or just a few more. That is $52,000 more than the 
average home value in my State of Iowa.
  Our growing national debt is unsustainable. In its most recent budget 
outlook, the Congressional Budget Office estimates interest on the debt 
will be near $1 trillion in 2028--an amount exceeding what our Nation 
is expected to spend that year on national defense. Absent action, 
interest costs will continue to mount at an alarming rate. Looking well 
into the future, by 2044, interest will exceed $2.9 trillion, 
surpassing what we are projected to spend on Medicare. By 2050, 
interest will become our Nation's single largest expense, even 
surpassing Social Security.
  Interest costs of this size would have been unfathomable to my then-
Senate colleague Joe Biden. Remember how he said he was outraged that 
the national debt would reach $2 trillion? While Senator Biden was 
expressing outrage over a $2 trillion national debt, he was also 
lamenting the prospects of $219 billion in annual interest costs. Yet, 
today, President Biden barely bats an eyelash at interest projected to 
blow past $1 trillion, on a path to $3 trillion.
  At the same time our interest costs are set to soar, several major 
Federal programs are barreling toward insolvency. According to the 
trustees of Social Security and Medicare, in the report they introduced 
this spring, Social Security's primary trust fund will become insolvent 
in 2033, while Medicare's trust fund will go broke in 2031.
  Contrary to what some Democrats claim, doing nothing to address these 
programs is not an option. The Social Security and Medicare Board of 
Trustees, which consists solely of President Biden's administration 
officials, has made it clear that congressional inaction means 
automatic benefit cuts within the next 10 years. Yet President Biden 
has accused any Republican who mentions the words ``Social Security'' 
of wanting to gut the program, although nothing could be further from 
the truth.
  In 1984, Senator Joe Biden sang a much different tune. He understood 
that a dire fiscal situation required bold action from this Congress. 
The Federal spending freeze he advocated

[[Page S1452]]

for applied across the board. It would have frozen spending on Social 
Security, Medicare, defense, and much more.
  Nothing any Republican has proposed today comes close to the broad-
based spending cuts advocated by then-Senator Biden. What Republicans 
have put forward likely wouldn't go far enough for the 1984 Joe Biden. 
Today, our debt, our deficits, and our interest costs are all on a far 
bleaker path than they were in 1984. Yet President Biden refuses to 
entertain even modest spending cuts. That should be unacceptable and is 
unacceptable to most Americans.
  We can't continue to ignore our current fiscal trajectory. We must 
get our fiscal house in order. Failure to act puts children born today 
in a position that they will never be able to recover from financially. 
This Congress must come together to fix our broken budget system and 
return to regular order. As the ranking member of the Senate's Budget 
Committee, I stand ready to work with my colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle to put us on a more sustainable path.
  Unfortunately, the White House doesn't seem to want to address the 
issues we are facing. The President's budget request continues our 
Nation on a path to fiscal ruin. Under the administration's budget 
proposals, public debt as a share of our economy will set a new record 
in 2027.
  We owe it to the Nation's young people to leave them a country that 
is on solid financial ground. We cannot ask the generation of tomorrow 
to pay for the gluttony of today.
  Here are the words of then-Senator Biden in 1984: ``I, myself, am 
outraged . . . I hope that all those other Senators who share my 
outrage will also share my determination to do something'' about our 
unsustainable debt.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


          300-Year Anniversary of the Illinois National Guard

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, ``Always ready, always there.'' That is 
the motto of the Illinois National Guard. And for 300 years, in times 
of war and peace, it has lived up to that promise.
  As the Illinois National Guard celebrates its 300th anniversary, we 
thank our citizen soldiers for their service and their sacrifice.
  If you want to see the selfless character of the Illinois National 
Guard, just take a look around the Senate because you will spot my 
colleague Senator Tammy Duckworth, former Lt. Col. Tammy Duckworth of 
the Illinois Air National Guard.
  Senator Duckworth almost gave her life when the Black Hawk helicopter 
she was copiloting was hit by an RPG in Iraq. But it didn't diminish 
her will to serve our State and our Nation, and I am lucky to have her 
as my colleague.
  The Illinois National Guard traces its history of service to May 9, 
1723, when a local militia completed its first exercise in Kaskaskia, 
IL. Back then, Illinois was still a French territory. Since then, the 
citizen soldiers of the Illinois National Guard have protected our 
State and Nation at home and abroad.
  When the Mississippi River overflows its banks or when we are faced 
with other natural disasters, it is the Guard that we call. And its 
members have served with honor and distinction throughout its history.
  During the American Revolution, Illinois' militia members fought 
under the heroic command of Col. George Rogers Clark to oust the 
British from Illinois.
  Illinois' most famous member of the National Guard was a man named 
Abraham Lincoln, who served during the Black Hawk war in the 1830s.
  During the Mexican-American War, a young Army officer served as 
assistant quartermaster in the 21st Illinois Infantry Regiment. He went 
on to lead the Union forces to victory in the Civil War. His name was 
Ulysses S. Grant.
  Later, Illinois' 370th Infantry Regiment earned the distinction of 
being the only Army unit commanded mainly by African-American officers 
in World War I, and members of the Illinois Army National Guard served 
bravely in World War II, the Korean war, Vietnam war, Operation Desert 
Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
  More recently, Illinois National Guard members were activated during 
the COVID-19 pandemic as the world grappled with that virus; and after 
the U.S. Capitol was attacked on January 6, National Guard members were 
dispatched to help restore order.
  In the most challenging times, the Illinois National Guard continues 
to be ``Always ready, always there.'' I am confident they will be for 
many years to come.
  This month, their sacrifices are remembered throughout our State; and 
on behalf of a grateful State and Nation, I want to commend Maj. Gen. 
Rich Neely, the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, and 
all the men and women of the Illinois National Guard on the occasion of 
this momentous anniversary.