[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5203-5204]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   ENSURING PAY FOR OUR MILITARY ACT

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I wish to speak about the urgent 
fiscal crisis that is facing our Nation. We know the Congress right now 
is in negotiation for a resolution that will take us until the end of 
the fiscal year, and it is in an atmosphere in which so many people are 
worried about our overwhelming debt and the deficit that would be in 
the budget that was submitted by the President. We now are trying to 
cut that budget responsibly.
  The United States is averaging $4 billion a day in debt. A $1.6 
trillion deficit is projected by the end of this year. That is just the 
deficit. That is adding to the debt. Federal spending in 2010 was 23.8 
percent of gross domestic product. The CBO, the Congressional Budget 
Office, predicts it will be 24.7 percent of GDP in 2011.
  As a nation, we must remain competitive by reducing Federal spending 
and spurring economic growth in the private sector. It is jobs in the 
private sector that will take our economy out of the doldrums where it 
is now.
  For the sake of the American people, I hope we can come together to 
stop the reckless Federal spending. Continuing the spending, the 
borrowing, and the taxing in Washington will halt job creation and 
triple the debt by the end of this decade. That is what is predicted.
  We must make bold cuts where we can by carefully also prioritizing 
investment in areas of strategic national importance. What we need now 
is for the President, the Senate majority leader, and the House Speaker 
to sit in a room and not come out until a deal is made that has the 
votes to pass.
  I do not want a government shutdown. The consequence of a government 
shutdown will be enormous, and so many people who are talking about 
that as an option, as if it is not a big deal, just do not realize how 
many lives it will touch and how hard it is going to make life for so 
many people--people who have depended on benefits, such as veterans.
  We do not know what will happen in a government shutdown. We do not 
know what will happen to our military because that is not clear. That 
is what I want to talk about today.
  A government shutdown will put people in peril in many areas, but now 
we have a situation in which our military, our Active-Duty military--
almost 90,000 are in Afghanistan, 47,000 in Iraq--is put in a position 
today of now also wondering if their spouses at home with children are 
going to get their paychecks. If we have a government shutdown that 
will affect their ability to pay their mortgages.
  Madam President, let me ask, are there time limits in place?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is an order to recognize

[[Page 5204]]

Senator Ayotte for her first speech at 10:40 a.m.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Madam President.
  Let me just say that I have introduced legislation. I have 
cosponsors--Casey, Inhofe, Snowe, Murkowski, Collins, Ayotte, and 
Hoeven. It is the Ensuring Pay for our Military Act of 2011. It is very 
simple. It just ensures that in the event of a Federal Government 
shutdown--which I do not want to happen and do not support--our 
military will be paid. It also will allow anyone who is serving our 
military--civilian defense employees or contractors who do the food 
services--to also be able to go to work and not have to worry about 
what is going to be happening back home, especially for those who are 
serving in harsh conditions overseas.
  I so hope we will be able to pass this bill. I do not want 1 more 
minute of stress on our military. The bill is very simple, and it is 
very short and very clear: Our military personnel and their support 
will not be affected by a government shutdown.
  I hope I can have more colleagues signing up. We have introduced this 
bill, S. 724, and I hope we can get a vote on this bill in very short 
order so this is off the table.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New Hampshire.

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