[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5204-5205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FACING ENORMOUS CHALLENGES

  Ms. AYOTTE. Madam President, with humility and a deep sense of 
reverence for this body, I rise today to address my colleagues in the 
Senate. Serving in this historic Chamber is truly an honor. On this 
floor, men and women of strong character gather together to continue 
the unfinished work of building a more perfect union.
  It is an even greater privilege to stand here representing the people 
of New Hampshire. A place of distinct beauty that places a premium on 
self-governance and informed public discourse, New Hampshire reflects 
the very best of our Nation.
  As America faces enormous challenges, I am reminded of the words of 
wisdom from one of New Hampshire's revered statesmen, GEN John Stark. 
After fighting bravely and heroically in the Revolutionary War, General 
Stark gave New Hampshire its treasured State motto: ``Live Free or 
Die.'' This famous quote perfectly captures the spirit and character of 
the people of the Granite State. Fiercely independent and strongly 
protective of our personal freedoms, we place a high premium on self-
reliance, personal initiative, and individual liberty. We believe 
strongly that government cannot and should not be allowed to get in the 
way of each of us reaching our full potential. That is what ``live free 
or die'' means. Yet, as I stand here today and as I have heard from so 
many of my fellow Granite Staters, we are at a time when our government 
has grown so large and we have become so indebted that the size of our 
debt threatens the full potential and future of the greatest people and 
country on Earth.
  ADM Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said 
that America's debt is the greatest national security threat we face. 
That debt now stands at a historic level of over $14 trillion, about 
half of which is held by other countries. The single biggest foreign 
holder of our debt is China, a country which does not share our values. 
We are borrowing $4 billion a day, or 40 cents of every single dollar, 
to fund our ever-expanding government.
  In the month of February alone, we ran a record monthly deficit of 
$223 billion. That $223 billion shortfall--accumulated in just 1 
month--puts into perspective the current spending debate we are having 
in Congress. House Republicans came up with a plan to cut $61 billion 
for the rest of this fiscal year, which is an important start. But 
those cuts only cover a little more than a quarter of the deficit we 
accumulated in just 1 month.
  Yet all I hear from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is 
that $61 billion in cuts is extreme. In my view, the only thing that is 
extreme is failing to confront the endless flood of red ink that 
threatens our economic strength and threatens our national security.
  The debt we owe is so much more than just numbers. This is about us--
who we are as Americans--and what kind of country we want to leave 
behind for our children. My husband Joe and I are the proud parents of 
two children--Kate, who is 6 years old, and Jacob, who is 3 years old. 
I am determined to keep alive the American dream for my children and 
for all of our children and for future generations in this country. But 
our addiction to spending in Washington threatens that dream. I, for 
one, will not sit by while our children become beholden to China.
  Hollow words paying lip service to fiscal responsibility have been 
used by too many in Congress for far too long. New Hampshire families 
sit around their kitchen tables and find ways to make their family 
budget work. With limited resources, they make hard choices to 
distinguish between wants and needs. It is time for our Federal 
Government to do the same.
  That is why the first step we should take is to pass a balanced 
budget amendment to the Constitution. Almost every State in the Nation 
is required to balance its budget, and our Federal Government should be 
no different. Last week, I was proud to join with all 46 of my 
Republican colleagues in supporting such an amendment that caps 
spending, requires the budget to balance, and makes it more difficult 
to raise taxes. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to 
join us in passing this important measure and to put this vote to the 
States for ratification.
  I appreciate that amending the Constitution is no light matter, but 
our Founding Fathers could not have anticipated how unwilling Members 
of Congress would be to actually pass a balanced budget and to make 
fiscally responsible decisions. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of 
the threat posed by debt. It was Thomas Jefferson who wrote:

       To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers 
     load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election 
     between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.

  In 1997, the Senate came close to getting its arms around the debt 
when a balanced budget amendment failed to pass this Chamber by just 
one vote. At that time, our national debt was a little over $5 
trillion. It has nearly tripled since then. Imagine how much stronger 
our Nation would be today had the Senate approved a balanced budget 
amendment back then and the States adopted it.
  A constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget is a key first 
step, but getting spending under control will take a multipronged 
approach. That is why we must also move quickly to pass serious 
statutory limits on spending.
  One of my honorable predecessors from New Hampshire, Warren Rudman, 
helped author the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to require sequestration of 
funds if Congress failed to act to cut spending within deficit targets. 
Unfortunately, Congress circumvented the law's provisions by finding 
loopholes. While that effort may not have ultimately succeeded, we 
should take the lessons learned from that experience. We need statutory 
spending caps with teeth that Congress cannot easily undermine.
  While I realize that this week we are working to pass funding for the 
rest of fiscal year 2011, Congress must do something this year that it 
failed to do last year: Pass a budget. Back home in New Hampshire, 
people--especially small business owners--are astounded to learn that 
our Federal Government is operating right now outside the confines of a 
strict budget. Frankly, it is shameful the last Congress did not 
approve a budget for fiscal year 2011. Their failure to act is why we 
are in the difficult place we find ourselves today. Here we are, trying 
to fund government through a series of patchwork, short-term funding 
bills.
  We need a fiscally responsible budget that cuts Federal spending and 
puts us on a path to eliminating our debt altogether. State governments 
operate within a budget, families operate within a budget, small 
businesses operate

[[Page 5205]]

within a budget, and the Senate should not be working on any other 
legislation until we resolve funding for the rest of this fiscal year 
and pass a responsible budget for 2012.
  We have to begin by reviewing every program in our government and 
eliminating the waste, fraud, and duplication we all know is there. We 
know there is so much more we can do to streamline our Federal 
Government. A GAO report released in March identified hundreds of 
redundant programs costing us billions of dollars.
  Finally, it is clear we cannot address our country's fiscal crisis 
while continuing to focus on only 12 percent of spending. That is 
certainly an important start--and there is plenty to cut--but in order 
to truly get our fiscal house in order, we must look at the entire 
budget. We must repair our entitlement programs--Medicaid, Medicare, 
and Social Security.
  Entitlement reform should be an issue that brings us all together--
Republicans, Democrats, Independents--to ensure we keep our promises to 
those who are relying on those programs, while making sure future 
generations don't pay for our failure to address the fiscal reality of 
these programs right now. This is certainly an issue that requires 
Presidential leadership, and I join others in my party in inviting the 
President to work across party lines to address this urgent priority. 
The American people deserve a substantive, responsible debate on how we 
can preserve these programs in a fiscally sustainable way. We simply 
cannot continue to put off making the difficult decisions today and 
passing them on to the next generation.
  With our trillion dollar-plus deficits and rapidly accelerating debt, 
we are again closing in on our debt ceiling. Having to repeatedly 
increase the debt limit represents a broad failure of leadership by 
politicians from both parties. As a new Member of the Senate, I refuse 
to perpetuate that cycle. We cannot let this moment pass us by, and I 
cannot in good conscience raise our debt ceiling without Congress 
passing real and meaningful reforms to reduce spending. That plan 
should include a balanced budget amendment, statutory spending caps, 
spending cuts, and entitlement reform.
  We can no longer afford the status quo or business as usual in 
Washington. The days of spending as though there is no tomorrow to 
bring home the bacon must end. The fiscal crisis that threatens our 
Union threatens all of us. We will have to make sacrifices. There will 
be times when we have to put aside our parochial interests and 
appreciate that the only way we will be able to cut spending is for all 
of us to take shared responsibility and to make shared sacrifices for 
the great country we love.
  Make no mistake, out-of-control spending jeopardizes our Nation's 
economic strength and costs us jobs. One thing is for sure: We cannot 
spend our way to prosperity. We need look no further than the stimulus 
package to prove that stubborn fact.
  The reality is that government doesn't create jobs. Small businesses 
and entrepreneurs create jobs. What we can do in the Senate is to help 
create the right tax and regulatory conditions to allow our businesses 
to thrive and grow.
  Despite the circumstances we face, we are blessed to live in the 
greatest country in the world. There has never been a challenge we have 
not faced and met and overcome and been better for.
  When I think of what it will take to address the challenges before 
us, I am reminded of my 95-year-old grandfather, John Sullivan, who is 
a World War II veteran and what his generation went through and what he 
did. My grandfather landed on the beaches of Normandy, and he is part 
of what is known as the ``greatest generation'' of our country.
  Every generation is called upon anew to preserve our country. In my 
view, this generation's greatest challenge is having the courage and 
the will to take on and fix our fiscal crisis and get our fiscal house 
in order once and for all. This is our time to show we have the 
fortitude and the courage to do what is right to preserve the greatest 
Nation on Earth.
  I know we can do this, and it is truly humbling to have the 
opportunity to serve in this body at a time when I know leadership and 
courage will make all the difference. On behalf of the people of New 
Hampshire, I stand ready to fight for our great country and to work 
with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address our fiscal 
crisis. I remain confident that America's best days still lie ahead of 
us.
  Thank you very much, Madam President. I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I wish to congratulate our new 
colleague on her initial speech related to the twin problems we have in 
this country of spending and debt, as well as to say to her that it is 
pretty clear to all of us that she is a worthy successor to our good 
friend Judd Gregg whose seat she now occupies and who was also a leader 
in this body--some would argue the leader in this body--on the 
questions of our Nation's fiscal crisis and how to get it in order. So 
on behalf of all of our colleagues, I congratulate Senator Ayotte.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I also wish to congratulate my 
colleague from New Hampshire. It is an extraordinary privilege to serve 
in this Chamber and it is a long tradition of the Chamber to utilize 
one's first speech or maiden speech as an opportunity to address 
something that is close to one's heart. I extend a warm welcome to her 
and to her voice, her intellect, and her passion on issues that we 
must, on both sides of the aisle, work to resolve in order to build a 
better America and put America back on track.
  I thank the Chair.

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