[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9063-9065]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          THE AMERICAN CENTURY

  Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, I have the honor of representing the people 
of the great State of Florida here in the Senate, and today I speak for 
the first time on this floor on their behalf.
  The Senate is a long ways away from where I come from, both literally 
and figuratively. I come from a hard-working and humble family, one 
that was neither wealthy nor connected. Yet I have always considered 
myself to be a child of privilege because growing up I was blessed with 
two very important things: I was raised by a strong and stable family, 
and I was blessed to be born here in the United States of America.
  America began from a very powerful truth--that our rights as 
individuals do not come from our government, they come from our God. 
Government's job is to protect those rights. And here, this Republic, 
has done that better than any government in the history of the world.
  Now, America is not perfect. It took a bloody civil war to free over 
4 million African Americans who lived in slavery. It took another 100 
years before they achieved full equality under the law. But since its 
earliest days, America has inspired people from all over the world, 
inspired them with the hope that one day their own countries would be 
one like this one.
  Many others decided they could not wait, and so they came here from 
everywhere to pursue their dreams and to work to leave their children 
better off than themselves. The result was the American miracle--a 
miracle where a 16-year-old boy from Sweden, with no English in his 
vocabulary and $5 in his pocket, saved enough money to open a 
shoestore. Today, that store, Nordstrom's, is a multibillion-dollar 
global retail giant; a miracle that led to a young couple with no money 
and no business experience opening a toy company out of the garage of 
their home. Today, that company, Mattel, is one of the world's largest 
toy manufacturers; a miracle where the French-born son of Iranian 
parents created a Web site called AuctionWeb in the living room of his 
home. Today, that company, known as eBay, stands as a testament to the 
familiar phrase ``only in America.''

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  These are just three examples of Americans whose extraordinary 
success began with nothing more than an idea. But it is important to 
remember that the American dream was never just about how much money 
you made; it is also about something that typifies my home State of 
Florida: the desire of every parent to leave their children with a 
better life. It is a dream lived by countless people whose stories will 
never be told, people--Americans--who never made $1 million. They never 
owned a yacht or a plane or a second home. Yet they too live the 
American dream because through their hard work and sacrifice, they were 
able to open doors for their children that had been closed for them.
  It is the story of the people who clean our offices here in this 
building, who work hard so that one day their children can go to 
college. It is the story of the men and women who serve our meals in 
this building, who work hard so that one day their children can 
accomplish their own dreams.
  It is the story of a bartender and a maid in Florida. Today, their 
son serves here in the Senate and stands as a proud witness of the 
greatness of this land.
  Becoming a world power was never America's plan, but that is exactly 
what the American economic miracle made her. Most great powers have 
used their strength to conquer, but America is different. For us, our 
power always has come with a sense that those to whom much is given, 
much is expected; a sense that with the blessings God bestowed upon 
this land came the responsibility to make the world a better place. And 
in the 20th century, that is precisely and exactly what America did. 
America led in two world wars so that others could be free. America led 
in the Cold War to stop the spread of and ultimately defeat communism. 
While our military and foreign policy contributions helped save the 
world, it was our economic and cultural innovations that helped 
transform it.
  The fruits of the American miracle can be found in the daily lives of 
people everywhere. Anywhere in the world, someone uses a mobile phone, 
e-mail, the Internet, or GPS; they are enjoying the benefits of the 
American miracle. Anywhere in the world where a bone marrow, lung, or 
heart transplant saves a life, they are touched by the value of the 
American miracle. On one night in July of 1969, the world witnessed the 
American miracle firsthand, for on that night an American walked on the 
surface of the Moon, and it was clear to the world that these Americans 
could do anything.
  Now, clearly America's rise was not free of adversity. We faced a 
civil rights struggle that saw Governors defy Presidents; that saw 
police dogs attack innocent, peaceful protestors; that saw little 
children murdered in churches by bombs. We faced two oil crises. 
America faced Watergate. America faced American hostages in Iran.
  I grew up in the 1980s, a time when it was morning in America. Yet 
even then we faced the war on drugs. We lost soldiers in Beirut and 
astronauts on the Challenger. We faced a devastating oilspill in Alaska 
and a terrifying new disease called AIDS. Through challenges and 
triumphs, the 20th century was the American century--a century where 
America's political, economic, and cultural exceptionalism made the 
world a more prosperous and peaceful place.
  But now we find ourselves in a new century, and there is this growing 
sense that for America, things will never be the same, that maybe this 
century will belong to someone else. Indeed, we do now stand at a 
turning point in our history, one where there are only two ways forward 
for us: We will either bring on another American century or we are 
doomed to witness America's decline.
  Another American century is fully within our reach because there is 
nothing wrong with our people. The American people haven't forgotten 
how to start a business. The American people haven't run out of good 
ideas. We Americans are as great as we have ever been. But our 
government is broken, and it is keeping us from doing what we have done 
better than any people in the history of the world--create jobs and 
prosperity.
  If we here in Washington could just find agreement on a plan to get 
control of our debt, if we could just make our Tax Code simpler and 
more predictable, if we could just get the government to ease up on 
some of these onerous regulations, the American people will take care 
of the rest.
  If this government will do its part, this generation of Americans 
will do theirs. They will give us a prosperous, upwardly mobile 
economy, one where our children will invent, build, and sell things to 
a world where more people than ever can afford to buy them. If we give 
America a government that can live within its means, the American 
economy will give us a government of considerable means, a government 
that can afford to pay for things government should be doing because it 
does not waste money on the things government should not be doing.
  If we can deliver on a few simple but important things, we have the 
chance to do something that is difficult to imagine is even possible--
an America whose future will be greater than her past. Sadly, that is 
not where we are headed. We have made no progress on the issues of our 
time because, frankly, we have too many people in both parties who have 
decided that the next election is more important than the next 
generation. And our lack of progress on these issues has led to 
something even more troubling--a growing fear that maybe these problems 
are too big for us to solve, too big for even America.
  Well, there is no reason to be afraid. Our story, the story of 
America, is not the story of a nation that never faced problems. It is 
the story of a nation that faced its challenges and solved them. Our 
story, the story of the American people, is not the story of a people 
who always got it right; it is the story of a people who in the end got 
it right.
  We should never forget who we Americans are. Every single one of us 
is the descendant of a go-getter, of dreamers and of believers, of men 
and women who took risks and made sacrifices because they wanted their 
children to live better off than themselves. So whether they came here 
on the Mayflower, on a slave ship, or on an airplane from Havana, we 
are all descendants of the men and women who built the Nation that 
saved the world.
  We are still the great American people, and the only thing standing 
in the way of our solving our problems is our willingness to do so. And 
whether we do so is of great consequence not just to us but to the 
whole world. I know some now say that because times are very tough at 
home, we can no longer afford to worry about what happens abroad, that 
maybe America needs to mind its own business. Well, whether we like it 
or not, there is virtually no aspect of our daily lives that is not 
directly impacted by what happens in the world around us. We can choose 
to ignore global problems, but global problems will not ignore us.
  One of my favorite speeches is one that talks about our role in the 
world. It was the speech President Kennedy was set to give had he lived 
just 1 more day, and it closes with these words:

       We in this country, in this generation, are--by destiny 
     rather than by choice--the watchmen on the walls of world 
     freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our 
     power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength 
     with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our 
     time and for all time the ancient vision of ``peace on Earth, 
     good will toward men.'' That must always be our goal, and the 
     righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. 
     For as was written long ago, ``except the Lord keep the city, 
     the watchman waketh but in vain.''

  Almost a half century later, America is still the only watchman on 
the wall of world freedom, and there is still no one to take our place.
  What will the world look like if America declines? Well, today people 
all over the world are forced to accept a familiar lie, that the price 
of security is their liberty. If America declines, who will serve as 
living proof that liberty, security, and prosperity can all exist 
together?
  Today, radical Islam abuses and oppresses women, has no tolerance for

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other faiths, and it seeks to impose its will on the whole world. If 
America declines, who will stand up to them and defeat them?
  Today, children are used as soldiers and trafficked as slaves. 
Dissidents are routinely imprisoned without trial, and they are 
subjected to torture and forced into confessions and labor. If America 
declines, what nation on Earth will take these causes as their own?
  What will the world look like if America declines? Who is going to 
create the innovations of the 21st century? Who will stretch the limits 
of human potential and explore the new frontiers? And if America 
declines, who will do all these things and ask for nothing in return, 
motivated solely by the desire to make the world a better place?
  The answer is, no one will. There is still no nation or institution 
on this planet that is willing or able to do what America has done.
  Ronald Reagan famously described America as a shining city on a hill. 
Now, some say that we can no longer afford the price we must pay to 
keep America's light shining. Others like to say there are new shining 
cities that will soon replace us. I say they are both wrong.
  Yes, the price we are going to pay to keep America's light shining is 
high. But the price we will pay if America's light stops shining is 
even higher.
  Yes, there are new nations emerging with prosperity and influence. 
That is what we always wanted. America never wanted to be the only 
shining city on the hill. We wanted our example to inspire the people 
of the Earth to build one of their own. You see, these nations, these 
new emerging nations, these new shining cities, we hope they will join 
us. But they can never replace us because their light is but a 
reflection of our own.
  It is the light of an American century that now spreads throughout 
the Earth, a world that still needs America, a world that still needs 
our light, a world that needs a new American century. I pray that, with 
God's help, that will be our legacy to our children and to the world.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican Leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of all of our colleagues, I 
commend our new Senator from Florida for his remarkable speech. No one 
is a better example of the American dream than he is, and no one 
expresses American exceptionalism better than Senator Rubio. I 
congratulate him on behalf of all of our colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I join with my Republican counterpart in 
congratulating my friend from Florida for his fine speech. But I wish, 
in his remarks, he would have once in a while mentioned where he spent 
a lot of his youth: Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from Florida.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I congratulate my colleague 
from Florida, and I want him to know that it is a great pleasure for me 
to serve with him. It has been a tradition in Florida that the two 
Senators get along. This has been a great tradition that goes back to 
when Bob Graham and Connie Mack were the two Senators. It continued 
with Mel Martinez and me, and now I have the privilege of continuing 
that kind of relationship with Senator Rubio.
  The maiden speech is a big deal for a Senator, and it is always a 
memory that is forever etched in my mind.
  I was in one of those desks over there as a very junior member, and I 
will never forget in the course of my speech--and it was mostly an 
empty Chamber--that I mentioned that it was my maiden speech. In a few 
minutes, all of a sudden those side doors flung open and in strode 
Senator Robert Byrd. So here I am giving my maiden speech and Senator 
Byrd is sitting in his seat. As I finished, he said: Would the Senator 
yield?
  I said: Of course, I yield to the Senior Senator from West Virginia.
  Senator Byrd, off the top of his head, gave an oration about the 
history of maiden speeches in the Senate. Now, of course, that is 
indelibly etched in my memory. Surely, the Senator's maiden speech 
today will be indelibly etched in his, and I congratulate him.
  I thank him for his personal friendship. I thank him also for the 
privilege of the professional relationship that we have.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, very briefly, I have come to know Senator 
Rubio. We have early morning seminars, and we have come to know one 
another a little better. I hope that continues. But at this point, I 
especially thank him for that speech because it was clearly a speech 
with a lot of personal reflection on one's own life and on the life of 
America. What he said will endure. There are things in there that we 
all should remember about this Nation and about our responsibility as 
Senators.
  I thank the Senator for that fine speech, and I am glad that I was 
here to be a witness to it.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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