[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10976-10978]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        BUDGET CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, from the very first days of the new 
administration, Senate Republicans have pledged to work closely with 
our new President and his Cabinet to find solutions to the Nation's 
many foreign and domestic challenges.
  On the foreign policy front, we felt strongly about the need to work 
with the new administration on a unified agenda that protects the 
American people and furthers our interests abroad. So far, we have had 
two major points of convergence.
  On the enormously important question of our strategies in both 
Afghanistan and Iraq, Republicans support the President's decision to 
follow, in both cases, the best advice of his military commanders on 
the ground.

[[Page 10977]]

  We may part ways on a number of other foreign policy issues, some of 
which I outlined in greater detail earlier this week, but when it comes 
to the question of Iraq and Afghanistan, the President's strategy is 
one that most everyone can support.
  Here at home, there have admittedly been fewer opportunities for 
agreement.
  An ongoing recession and the continuing reverberations of a financial 
shock that began in the housing industry led both parties to come up 
with their own respective plans to jumpstart the economy in the short 
term and strengthen its foundations in the long term.
  The administration's plan revolved around a trillion dollar stimulus 
that was neither timely, targeted, nor temporary--as well as a decision 
to press forward on several major, controversial legislative proposals. 
If the President's budget is fully implemented, it would double the 
national debt in just 5 years and nearly triple it in 10.
  Republicans had a different approach. We worked closely with 
Democrats last fall to pass a financial rescue plan aimed at 
stabilizing the overall economy. But we refused to support a second 
round of funds when the administration couldn't assure us it would only 
be used to address the crisis at hand.
  When it came to an economic stimulus, Republicans pointed out the 
glaring weaknesses in the Democrat plan and we offered a plan of our 
own that would have cost half as much and gone straight to the root of 
the problem, which is housing.
  We also suggested that instead of spending billions on wasteful 
projects, we loan State and local governments money. This would have 
encouraged the careful use of taxpayer dollars since State and local 
governments would have known they would have to pay the money back when 
the economy improved.
  We also refused to support bailouts for the auto industry, since we 
don't think the Government should be picking winners and losers. We 
said bailouts would only delay necessary reforms for long-term success. 
Our position was recently vindicated when the automakers came back for 
even more money, forcing the administration to talk seriously about 
bankruptcy as a means of achieving the necessary restructuring.
  When it comes to protecting taxpayers and to a mounting debt that our 
children will inherit, the new administration has been remarkably 
carefree. Most of this debt is being financed by China and countries in 
the Middle East, which of course increases the economic leverage these 
countries have over the United States.
  Americans are worried about this and they should be. In a time of 
economic hardship, we should not be borrowing money we will not be able 
to pay back.
  The current administration seems to disagree. In just 1 week in 
February, the administration's acts cost the American taxpayers more 
than $1 trillion, or more than the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and the 
relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina combined.
  Federal support for a single company in the financial sector now 
amounts to almost $175 billion over the past year alone. That is more 
than what we will spend this year on the deployment costs of our Armed 
Forces fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  So far this year the most far-reaching legislation we have considered 
is the budget. In the middle of a recession, the same Democrats who 
were outraged over a $455 billion deficit last year came to us this 
year with a budget that would lead to trillion-dollar deficits and 
which saddles Americans with more debt than all the debt we had 
accumulated from George Washington to the present day, combined.
  Hundreds of thousands of American workers are losing their jobs every 
month. They are concerned that all this spending and debt will not just 
slow the economic recovery but make it harder to keep or find jobs. 
These Americans may like the President, but they do not understand how 
a giant expansion of Government will help create or preserve jobs.
  They do not think the administration has done enough to explain how 
borrowing money to create those programs will make America stronger, 
more secure, and more economically sound.
  Americans are also increasingly concerned about the administration's 
approach to a number of foreign policy issues that are related to our 
efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the most troubling of these 
decisions relates to the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo 
Bay. Shortly after taking office, the new Attorney General was tasked 
with closing Guantanamo by next January.
  Yet 3 months later, the administration still has not provided the 
American people with any further details about what will happen to 
these inmates once the January deadline arrives. The American people do 
not want terrorists back on the battlefield, and they certainly do not 
want them released into their neighborhoods, as some in the 
administration have shockingly proposed, according to news accounts.
  The administration has not been clear about its reason for closing 
Guantanamo before it has a plan for these detainees. But its reason 
cannot be that the facility is poorly run, since Attorney General 
Holder has said himself that the facilities there are good ones. It 
cannot be that the administration has a better alternative. If it did, 
we would have heard about it by now. The American people do not want 
trained terrorists released into their neighborhoods. They want 
answers. Unfortunately, the administration has only offered silence.
  In the face of tremendous challenges at home and abroad, the new 
administration offered a burst of activity and a veritable explosion of 
debt. Meanwhile, Republicans have proposed responsible solutions that 
are meant to empower the American people and improve the quality of 
their daily lives.
  On this front, Republicans will continue to offer sensible ideas on 
health care that address the concerns Americans have about the high 
cost of doctors visits, about finding good health coverage, and about 
keeping the coverage they have.
  The lesson of the failed health care proposal of the Clinton era is 
not that Americans do not want reform, it is that any reform should 
reflect the needs of all Americans, not just a select few in 
Washington. Americans do not want a health care solution that puts 
bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions, delays appointments or 
diminishes the quality of health care they already receive.
  Health care is an area where Americans expect the President and 
Congress to work together. The divide-and-conquer approach did not work 
in 1993, it will not work in 2009.
  Energy is another area where Republicans have offered and will 
continue to offer commonsense solutions. Last year, even before gas 
prices hit the roof, we proposed a sensible approach of finding more 
and using less. Republicans are also proposing a dramatic expansion of 
nuclear power. This would match the high demand for energy in the 
world's largest economy with a growing public desire for cleaner, more 
efficient energy sources.
  Health care and energy are just two of the areas where Republicans 
will continue to offer better ideas in the coming months. We hope our 
friends on the other side are more supportive of these ideas than they 
have been of our proposals on the economy.
  On this point, it is interesting to know that just a few weeks ago, 
Democrats showed strong support on the Senate floor for Republican 
proposals to protect small businesses and middle-class taxpayers, as 
well as a proposal to keep the Nation's debt at a level we can manage. 
They also expressed strong support for a Republican proposal that 
climate change legislation not lead to higher gas and electricity 
bills.
  Yet these Republican proposals which drew such broadspread support on 
the Senate floor just a few weeks ago were, for some reason, taken out 
of the final product that came out of the closed conference.

[[Page 10978]]

  Democrats cannot have it both ways. Americans are suffering. They are 
losing homes, and they are losing jobs. Republicans have offered, and 
will continue to offer, proposals that put the concern of these 
ordinary Americans first: Democrats' overspending, taxes, and debt.
  Massive spending and debt is not the answer to a recession. A one-
party solution with no checks and balances is not the answer for health 
care. Opposing clean, nuclear power and expanded use of other domestic 
energy sources is not an answer for our energy needs.
  Voting for tax relief before voting against it is not the way to show 
the American people you have their best economic interests in mind. 
Republicans have not been hesitant to offer our strong public support 
for the new administration, and, again, I commend the President on his 
approach to Afghanistan and Iraq. But we have not been hesitant to 
state our differences clearly.
  That has been the story of the first 100 days for Senate Republicans 
and will continue to be the story for Senate Republicans: Principled 
support, principled opposition, and pragmatic, creative solutions to 
meet the challenges of the day.

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