[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 4351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           A BALANCED BUDGET

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this week, the Senate will pass a 
balanced budget. It is an important moment for our country. I know a 
lot of Americans are excited to see it finally happen.
  Our friends across the aisle don't seem to be sharing in the 
enthusiasm, however. Instead, we seem to hear demands for more taxes, 
more regulations, more overspending--basically, more failed policies of 
the past.
  These are odd demands, but in the spirit of budget week, we figured: 
Why not give our friends what they are asking for? So last night we 
offered them a chance to support President Obama's budget. It drops tax 
after tax on the American people to the tune of almost $2 trillion. It 
piles on the regulations. It overspends by trillions and trillions, 
never balancing, ever--never balancing, ever.
  No wonder a DC newspaper implied it was a manifestation of the left's 
``dream version of Obama.''
  One would think our friends would have supported this dream budget 
overwhelmingly but, actually, hardly any were brave enough to do so. 
Apparently, the President's budget is just so unserious and 
embarrassing that only a single Member of his party could be seen 
supporting it in public.
  What a contrast to the balanced budget before us today. It balances 
without raising taxes. It acknowledges the obvious truth that 
Washington has a spending problem and takes responsible action to get 
spending under control.
  It also recognizes the undeniable fact that government programs 
cannot meet their mandate to the vulnerable if left unreformed, and it 
proposes improvements to programs such as Medicaid.
  This balanced budget aims to make government more efficient, more 
effective, and more accountable. It will go a long way toward getting 
our fiscal house in order.
  But that is not all this balanced budget is about. It is also about 
growing the economy. It is also about raising incomes. It is also about 
creating jobs. In short, it is about promoting an economy that works 
better for the middle class of today and that leaves a more prosperous 
future for the middle class of tomorrow.
  One way to do that is by embracing the energy revolution by lifting 
barriers to responsible energy development, just as this budget 
proposes. Another way is by replacing our outdated and ineffective Tax 
Code with one that is simple and effective. So this budget proposes to 
repeal unfair taxes, such as those in ObamaCare, and then sets the 
table for comprehensive tax reform instead.
  Ideas such as these are just common sense. No wonder the nonpartisan 
Congressional Budget Office says that our balanced budget would 
accelerate economic growth.
  The truth is middle-class Americans have seen a lot of unfairness out 
of Washington during the Obama years. The middle class has had to play 
by one set of rules and make tough choices while a big-spending Obama 
administration got to play by its own rules.
  It is time for that inequality to come to an end. It is time for 
Washington to make tough choices and balance its own budget just as the 
middle class has to.
  Now is the time for Washington to move beyond failed ideas of the 
past, as we saw in the White House's leftwing dream budget, and support 
a balanced budget instead--one that is focused on boosting the economy, 
creating jobs, and raising wages.
  That balanced budget is before us right now. I am calling on every 
Senator to support it, including our friends on the other side. We know 
they don't have a budget proposal of their own. We know they are too 
embarrassed to support the President's budget. So why not show their 
support for the middle class by voting for this balanced budget 
proposal.

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