[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4475-4476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the floor of this 
Chamber for the first time as a Senator. I am honored to have this 
opportunity to be a voice for Arkansans who want to change the 
direction our country is headed so that we still have a great nation to 
leave behind for future generations, just as the greatest generation 
did for us.
  I am eager to carry out the traditions of this body and I am honored 
to serve alongside my distinguished colleagues. The traditions set 
forth and established in this Chamber have long been admired and often 
imitated in governments around the world. The work done here sets an 
example of how people of different backgrounds and expertise can come 
together for the betterment of this country. We need to provide results 
by balancing the budget, cutting the deficit, creating jobs and putting 
our differences aside to work for the best interests of our country. I 
am up for the task assigned by the American people.
  We are a nation of great thinkers and innovators and I am confident 
the ideas proposed and debated here will put us on the continued path 
to success. There is no question that we have faced difficult times in 
our Nation's history. We have been tried and tested before. We have 
weathered the storms and have always emerged as a better, stronger 
country.
  The debates and issues we face today are just as challenging as those 
faced by the men and women who served in this body before us. As the 
first Republican elected to this Arkansas Senate seat since 
reconstruction, it is evident that Arkansans and all Americans are 
anxious for new results with new leaders to move our country into the 
future.
  When I look back at the Senators who have served the great State of 
Arkansas, I am inspired by their service, dedication and commitment.
  Growing up in Fort Smith, in Sebastian County, we were taught at an 
early age about William Sebastian. At 36, he was the youngest Senator 
in the 30th U.S. Congress after leading an already distinguished career 
as a cotton farmer, judge and State legislator.
  Hattie Caraway broke the glass ceiling, becoming the first woman to 
serve in the U.S. Senate. She recognized the important role of 
agriculture to the State and requested a seat on the Agriculture 
Committee. There is no doubt agriculture is still critical to the State 
today. My predecessor, Senator Blanche Lincoln, was the first woman to 
chair the Agriculture Committee and I am pleased to have a seat on that 
same committee and be part of the debates and discussions as we 
formulate future agriculture policies.
  Throughout history, our State has been represented in this body by a 
diverse group of men and women who have put Arkansas and America first 
and I am honored to follow in their footsteps.
  Each of these individuals had their generation's crises to address. 
We have our own as well.
  The American people are worried. And rightfully so. Some of them have 
to check the morning news to see if they still have a job. Still many 
other able-bodied, ready-to-work Americans have not received a paycheck 
for months, some for years now.
  Between November and December of last year, unemployment rates 
increased in 72 of the 75 counties in my home State of Arkansas.
  And these are not small hits to our communities. A plywood plant in 
Fordyce, a town of 5,000 closed its doors, displacing almost 350 
workers. That is more than 14 percent of the town's population.
  It is not any easier in the State's larger cities either. In Fort 
Smith, Arkansas's second largest city, a leading appliance manufacturer 
laid off 850 employees last year.
  Even our Nation's largest retailer, and Arkansas's largest employer, 
is not immune to this crisis. The economic downturn forced Wal-Mart to 
cut hundreds of jobs in its corporate office in Bentonville.
  Like much of the rest of our Nation, Arkansas's job creators are 
nervous. It is hard for a small business owner to invest in their 
business and create jobs if they are concerned about the negative 
impact actions in Washington will have on their bottom line.
  Given the right tools and circumstances, small business owners can 
and will create good paying jobs for the people of Arkansas and all 
Americans. We need to create policies that empower the private sector. 
That means fostering an environment that promotes economic certainty 
and encourages growth and innovation.
  We can see results of the combined efforts of city, county, State and 
Federal leaders with Mitsubishi's decision to build a wind-turbine 
manufacturing plant in Fort Smith. The region's business leaders spent 
more than a year competing with more than 60 other U.S. cities to 
attract Mitsubishi, resulting in as many as 400 new good-paying jobs in 
the Fort Smith community.
  This is how we stimulate the economy.
  Unfortunately, instead of taking that approach to creating a 
business-friendly environment in our communities, Washington's agenda 
over the past few years has created a climate of uncertainty.
  From past experience, I know this hampers the private sector's 
ability to create jobs.
  Before entering public service, I practiced optometry at a clinic my 
brother-in-law and I started in Rogers, AR. Over the course of 24 
years, our little clinic grew from 5 employees to 85 employees and is 
now a leading provider of eye care in northwest Arkansas. We were able 
to grow over the years because we could plot our course with some 
degree of certainty. While no one can see the future, we could, with a 
fair degree of confidence, understand what our tax burden would be, 
what our energy costs would be and what our health care costs would be.
  What we are hearing today from small business owners and investors is

[[Page 4476]]

the exact opposite. They are afraid to invest any capital, because they 
don't know what their taxes will be; afraid to hire another employee 
because they are nervous about what that does to their health care 
costs; and afraid to expand until they know how big their energy bill 
is going to be.
  Compound that uncertainty with the excessive spending, and you have a 
recipe for a disaster. While Americans tighten their belts, they watch 
in disbelief as Washington throws taxpayer money around with reckless 
abandonment.
  The extent of this problem is documented in a recent report by the 
Government Accountability Office. The report highlights wasteful 
spending by revealing a number of duplicative programs within the 
Federal Government which come with a price tag estimated to be in the 
billions.
  There is simply no room for wasteful spending, especially when much 
of that money is not ours. Forty cents of every dollar we spend is 
borrowed, much of which is owed to countries that are not always 
friendly to us, countries like Saudi Arabia and China, the latter of 
which now owns more than $1 trillion of our debt.
  In testimony before Congress, ADM Mike Mullen said the greatest 
threat to our sovereignty is not Iran; not al-Qaida; not radical Islam, 
it is our national debt. He is right. We simply cannot continue to 
operate at this pace.
  We cannot continue to add billions to our already staggering national 
debt. This year alone, the Federal Government will spend $3.7 trillion 
while only collecting $2.2 trillion. It does not take an advanced math 
degree to understand that 3 is greater than 2.
  The average American family doesn't have the luxury to spend beyond 
its means. Their government should not, and does not, either. We must 
as a nation quit spending money we do not have.
  The only way we will get a handle on this situation is to reform the 
manner in which we budget and allocate Federal dollars. It is time we 
put mechanisms in place to stop the government from spending beyond its 
means.
  This is why one of the first bills I signed my name onto after taking 
the oath of office was Senator Richard Shelby's balanced budget 
amendment. Senator Shelby has been a champion on this front for a 
number of years, introducing this bill every session of Congress since 
1987. Imagine what the country would look like if it had passed when he 
first proposed it. Now, more than ever, it is an idea that's time has 
come and I look forward to working with the Senator from Alabama to get 
some sort of spending cap like a balanced budget amendment passed.
  This is a catalyst for change. It holds us to spending limits and 
forces changes in the manner in which taxpayer money is allocated.
  We are at a crossroads in our country. We cannot keep kicking the can 
down the road. The ``tax, borrow, spend'' philosophy is not creating 
jobs; it is only creating more debt for our children and grandchildren.
  We owe it to the generations of Americans who have made sacrifices in 
order for our country to prosper and that means working together to 
solve our problems.
  No matter what political views we hold, at the end of the day we are 
all Americans who are committed to seeing our country succeed.
  As a child, I learned that commitment from my dad who retired as a 
master sergeant in the Air Force. He followed in the steps of his dad 
who served in the Armed Forces during World War I and World War II.
  We have a great ability through the power of this office that allows 
us to help Americans with issues they are facing. For our veterans who 
return home, a Senate office can be a huge resource. That is what 
helped my mom's dad when he returned home at the end of WWI. After 
surviving being gassed as the war wound down, his lungs did not 
function properly and he reached out to Senator Davis to help him with 
his disability.
  Today, as our servicemembers return from tours in Afghanistan and 
Iraq, we have the same responsibilities to the men and women who fight 
for our freedoms and interests of our country.
  No matter what major legislative crisis we are facing, we have a 
responsibility to these brave men and women. And the debates that take 
place in this body are no doubt of great importance, but so is each 
constituent who is having trouble with a Federal agency. In some cases, 
we are their last resort to overcome a major obstacle in their lives 
and each and every case that comes before us must be given our 
undivided attention.
  When I was first elected to Congress as a Member of the House in 
2001, former Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt, who represented the 
Third District of Arkansas for 26 years, gave me some excellent advice. 
He said: ``John, always remember, now that the election is over, there 
are no more Republicans, no more Democrats, only the people of Arkansas 
and you need to take care of them.'' That is the key to good governing 
and good public service. Nobody embodied that more than John Paul. He 
was and is a dedicated public servant and has been a wonderful mentor 
during my time on Capitol Hill.
  I think Arkansas's new congressional delegation is going to make John 
Paul proud. Certainly our senior Senator Mark Pryor has embodied John 
Paul's mantra of taking care of the people of Arkansas. I have enjoyed 
working with Senator Pryor while serving the third district of Arkansas 
and appreciate his leadership. I believe our delegation, working 
together, will be able to make a difference for the people of Arkansas 
and for our Nation.
  The Senators who served Arkansas before Senator Pryor and myself and 
those who have sat at these very desks understood their desk never 
belonged to them personally. It has always belonged to the American 
people. My name, carved in the desk, will always remind me that I am 
here to serve them. I am humbled and honored that the people of 
Arkansas have selected me to work from this desk for the next 6 years, 
and I will never forget why. I am here to be their voice, address their 
needs, and help tackle the great challenges we face as a nation. I look 
forward to working with each and every one of my colleagues to 
accomplish our mutual goals to keep our country on the path of 
prosperity.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I congratulate our colleague from 
Arkansas on his first speech and remark at how fortunate the people of 
Arkansas are to have him here representing them. I was particularly 
interested in the history lesson he taught us about various individuals 
who served the State of Arkansas both in the seat he now holds and 
other positions of responsibility. Again, on behalf of all Senators, I 
congratulate the junior Senator from Arkansas for his initial speech.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Cardin pertaining to the introduction of S. 657 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. CARDIN. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KYL. 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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