[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5131-5132]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         PAUL RYAN BUDGET PLAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, today the chairman of the House 
Budget Committee, Congressman Paul Ryan, is releasing a serious and 
detailed plan for getting our Nation's fiscal house in order. 
Congressman Ryan's plan would put us on a path to reducing the national 
debt, it would strengthen the social safety net so we can keep the 
promises made to the Nation's seniors, it proposes a way for Washington 
to start living within its means, and it will repeal last year's health 
care law which will raise health care costs, lead to fewer jobs, and 
which Americans have rejected. Congressman Ryan is presenting a plan, 
in other words, to address our most pressing problems head-on at a 
moment when the President and other Democratic leaders simply refuse to 
do so themselves. He is doing what his constituents have sent him here 
to do.
  Anybody can say our Nation's problems need to be addressed, but 
history will show that Chairman Ryan is one of those who actually 
stepped up to do it. He should be applauded for that by people of good 
will on both sides. Unfortunately, we already know how many Democrats 
intend to respond to this plan. We have heard their spin already. In 
the absence of any solutions of their own to a looming entitlement 
fiasco and the testimony of countless experts on the fiscal perils we 
face, Democrats intend to use Congressman Ryan's plan against anyone 
who supports it--despite the facts. They will try to scare the public 
by claiming it says things that it does not. They will squander the 
golden opportunity we have right now to tackle the biggest problems we 
face in a bipartisan way, the way our predecessors did when the two 
parties shared power in Washington, all in the name of having an edge 
in the next election. Frankly, it is shameful.
  Americans elect their President and Senators and Congressmen to lead. 
They don't expect us to agree on everything, but they expect us to work 
together when a problem becomes so pressing that cooperation across 
party lines is required. Now is such a moment. The debt is at crisis 
levels, posing a threat not just to businesses and families planning 
for the future but to our national security.
  Since the President has taken office, nearly 3 million Americans have 
lost their jobs. As a result of the ongoing housing crisis, millions of 
homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgages. The only 
industry that seems to be growing is government, and the only city that 
seems to be isolated from problems most Americans face right now is 
Washington--all at taxpayers' expense.
  The budget debate in which we have been engaged in the past several 
weeks is the direct result of the fact that Democrats in Congress 
failed to pass

[[Page 5132]]

one of their own for the current fiscal year. Republicans had to step 
in and do it for them. Now, 6 months into the current fiscal year, the 
President and current Members of Congress still have yet to produce a 
plan of their own. House Republicans have produced multiple plans, 
including one they will offer today which funds our troops through the 
end of the year, keeps the government running, and gets us one step 
closer to the level of spending cuts that even the senior Senator from 
New York has described as reasonable. Unfortunately, Democrats would 
rather take potshots at these proposals from the side lines, hoping 
they become unpopular with the public so they can benefit politically. 
They have completely and totally abdicated their responsibility.
  I would like to applaud Congressman Ryan not only for the energy and 
creativity and seriousness which he has brought to these issues but 
also for his courage in doing so at a time when Democrats in Washington 
would rather sit on their hands. By stepping forward, he has forced a 
much needed debate about the many crises of the moment. It is my hope 
that our friends on the other side recognize this effort for what it 
is--a serious, good-will effort to do something good and necessary for 
the future of our Nation--and that for the good of the Nation, they 
will join this effort at some point before it is too late.

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