[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15404]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REAL AND LASTING REFORMS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, as most Americans know by now, the next 
few weeks are critically important in the life of our Nation. Unless 
the President leads and Congress acts, the combination of automatic tax 
hikes and spending cuts will go into effect that could have a 
devastating effect on our national defense and on an already painfully 
slow economy.
  What is more, the Nation's finances are teetering on the edge, 
threatening even greater hardship for literally millions unless we 
bring Federal spending into balance. The question is, What are we going 
to do about all of this? How do we face up to the fiscal 
irresponsibility and can kicking that got us here and finally do what 
is right for the country?
  I do not think it is a secret that for our part the Republicans have 
shown a clear willingness to make tough choices in order to find a 
solution to the trillion-dollar deficits of the last 4 years. We have 
been open to revenue by closing loopholes, as long as it is tied to 
spending cuts and progrowth tax reform that broadens the base and 
lowers rates.
  This is the model laid out by the Bowles-Simpson Commission, and it 
is a model both parties should step forward and embrace. Without 
compromising our principles, we have put skin in the game and 
recognition of that while Democrats do not run this town, neither do 
we. We have been responsible even as we have remained firm on this 
point: No tax increases now for promised spending cuts that will not 
materialize later. The American people have seen that game before and 
they will not be fooled again.
  The only balanced approach is one that includes real and lasting 
reforms. So Republicans have stepped out of our comfort zone. We have 
been clear about what we will do and what we will not. Yet we remain at 
an impasse, leading us to ask why. Because a vocal minority on the hard 
left continues to argue to leaders of their party, from the President 
on down, that Democrats in Washington should do absolutely nothing 
about short-term or long-term spending problems.
  This is the ``Thelma and Louise'' crowd, the ones who dream about 
higher taxes and the bigger government it will pay for, regardless of 
the impact on jobs or the economy or America's standing in the world. 
These are the ones who recklessly ignore the fact that we cannot 
continue running trillion-dollar deficits every year and throw a 
tantrum if somebody suggests that maybe the taxpayers should not keep 
subsidizing every last program Washington ever dreamed up.
  Their reckless and ideological approach threatens our very future. 
Anyone who is serious about solving the problems we face should ignore 
all that, starting with the President. The election is over, but the 
economy and fiscal problems of the past several years have only gotten 
worse. It is time for the President to present a plan that rises above 
these reckless and radical voices on the hard left, that goes beyond 
the talking points of the campaign trail, and that has a realistic 
chance of passing the Congress. The time, in other words, for 
campaigning is over. It is time for the President to lead.
  A little over 1 week ago, I attended a meeting with the President 
down at the White House. It was positive and productive and afterward I 
was confident that all sides were eager to figure out a solution to the 
present challenges that respects our respective principles. But as I 
have said repeatedly, the only person in America who can make or break 
it is the President himself.
  He is the only one who can lead his party to do something they would 
not ordinarily do, to do what is actually needed now. That is why he is 
the one who has to present a plan for success. So we will continue to 
wait on the President and hope he has what it takes to bring people 
together and forge a compromise. If he does, we will get there. If he 
does not, we will not. It is that simple.

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