[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 4027-4028]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRATULATING SENATOR COATS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, not often in life does someone get a 
second opportunity to make a good first impression. The Senator from 
Indiana has had a chance to make two maiden speeches in the Senate. I 
confess I was not there for the first one, but I am pleased to have 
been here for the second, and I want to commend him for his 
extraordinary speech, particularly his emphasis on the importance of 
the President of the United States leading on the issue of entitlement 
reform.
  We all know that under the Constitution only the President's 
signature can

[[Page 4028]]

make a law. I think what the Senator from Indiana has pointed out, and 
many others have pointed out, is that on the issue of entitlement 
reform--the over $50 trillion of unfunded liabilities we have lying out 
there ahead of us; promises we have made we cannot keep--this cannot be 
done without Presidential leadership and a Presidential signature. I 
thank the Senator from Indiana for reminding us all of that. We all 
still hope the President will step up and help us meet this enormous 
challenge. I commend the Senator from Indiana for a wonderful first 
impression.

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