[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 656-657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RETURNING TRUTH TO DEBATE

  Mr. REID. Madam President, in the 2 weeks we were away from 
Washington, all of us absorbed the numbing tragedy and horrific attack 
in Tucson, AZ. The Nation mourned the loss, thanked the heroes, and 
waited anxiously by a brave Congresswoman's hospital bedside. We 
continue to wish victims a full and speedy recovery and continue to 
keep their families in our thoughts.
  In the days since the Senate last convened, the Nation also resumed a 
debate over the words, the tone, and the metaphors we use in the 
Senate, as well as along the campaign trail, on the Internet, and over 
the airwaves. The national conversation about our national conversation 
is not new. It happens every year. Candidates promise it in every 
election. But since the shooting in Tucson, calls for more careful 
language have been multiplied and amplified.
  There is no evidence that partisan politics played any role in this 
monstrous attack. Even so, we should be more civil anyway. Being more 
mindful of the weight of our words always helps. We have much more to 
gain with civility and discretion.
  In this new year, I hope we will return to the respect that has 
always been a hallmark of the Senate. I hope my colleagues will join in 
renewing our commitment to productive debate. Some may be inspired by 
the town hall meetings of two Augusts ago, others by the heated 
election debates. Some may be motivated by the conversations started 
after Tucson, AZ, and many will seek more civility simply because it is 
the right thing to do. Whatever the reason, I hope the return to more 
responsible rhetoric is more than empty rhetoric. I intend to do my 
part.
  What I am talking about goes beyond inflammatory allegations or hate 
speech. It also means not questioning each other's motives or calling 
into question the patriotism of a colleague who has been elected to 
serve his State and his country.
  But it is even more than that. As we more carefully choose our words, 
we must also remember we do not have the luxury, as Senator Moynihan 
used to caution, to choose our own facts. If we are going to change the 
way we speak in the hope of changing the way we do business, we have to 
reintroduce truth into the public debate.
  This doesn't mean just rephrasing an attack line from ``job-killing'' 
to ``job-destroying,'' as House Republicans have done in response to 
the shooting. It means if there is no proof that a policy takes away 
jobs--if in fact the evidence shows the opposite--we shouldn't pretend 
any differently. The nonpartisan referee we rely on for this data--the 
Congressional Budget Office--found that when it comes to health care 
reform--which is what the Republicans are talking about in this case--
the claim is simply not true. Changing our rhetoric requires us to 
debate facts, not invent them.
  In the coming weeks, much of the discussion on the Senate floor will 
revolve around health care, the deficit, and debt limit--those three 
things. Each of these issues affects the No. 1 issue in America, jobs. 
Each issue is complex. If we are going to make the right decisions and 
point our economy back in the right direction, we have to start with a 
shared respect for the facts.
  First, let's look at health care. Independent fact checkers examined 
all the political rhetoric of the last year. Given the intensity of the 
legislative debates and the election season, there was a lot from which 
to choose. But one claim stood out above all--the habit of those 
opposed to health care to call it a ``government takeover.''

[[Page 657]]

  One of those nonpartisan experts, factcheck.org, called it plainly 
``false.'' Another, PolitiFact, a project of the St. Petersburg, FL 
Times, called it the ``Lie of the Year.'' So if we are going to have an 
honest debate about the health reform law we passed last year, retiring 
this scare tactic would be a good place to start.
  The deficit: Madam President, my friends on the other side are quick 
to associate the current President with the current deficit as if it 
happened overnight and under his watch. But here is a brief review of 
the facts.
  In the 1990s, we balanced the budget under the direction of President 
Clinton. At the beginning of the next century, America had a bigger 
surplus than ever in its history. Over the next decade, while our 
troops went into battle, the costs of two wars went off-budget. The 
richest took home giant tax breaks but nobody paid the bill. A massive 
prescription drug program wasn't paid for either.
  President Clinton left President Bush a record surplus. President 
Bush left President Obama a record deficit. Those unpaid-for wars, tax 
breaks, and programs are the reason we are in a hole today. What we do 
next is fair game for debate. But facts, as President John Adams said, 
are stubborn things.
  Finally, Madam President, the debt limit: We will soon debate the 
debt limit. Earlier this month, the Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy 
Geithner, sent us each a letter as to what would happen if we don't 
raise that ceiling. It would be the first time in the history of 
America that our country would default on our legal obligations. He 
didn't share his partisan opinion in that letter; he simply laid out 
the facts. This is what he wrote:

       Default would effectively impose a significant and long-
     lasting tax on all Americans and all American businesses and 
     could lead to the loss of millions of American jobs. Even a 
     short-term or limited default would have catastrophic 
     economic consequences that would last for decades.

  What are some of those consequences? Our troops and veterans would no 
longer get their paychecks. Our seniors would no longer get the Social 
Security and Medicare checks to which they are entitled. Student loans 
would simply stop. On a larger scale, the Secretary of the Treasury 
warned it would lead to a worse financial crisis than the one we are 
still recovering from.
  There soon will be lots of time to debate what we will do about the 
debt limit, but these are the facts we must first acknowledge and 
consider.
  Finally, the American people voted in November for a divided 
legislative branch of government, a Democratic Senate and Republican 
House. They didn't elect Houses led by competing political parties 
because they want us to compete; they did so because they want us to 
cooperate. We cannot cooperate without an honest debate and we cannot 
have an honest debate if we insist that fiction is fact.
  Mark Twain, a great Nevadan, once said:

       If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

  He was right. Here is one thing every Senator should remember and 
never forget: Although there are many different points of view in this 
body, we all share the same reality.
  I look forward to a productive Congress and we can do that by 
debating the facts.

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