[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5585-5587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        CREATING A NEW BEGINNING

  Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I rise today to address for the first time 
this august body, the United States Senate--the greatest governing body 
ever conceived. Out of respect, I have waited until we passed the 100-
day mark to deliver this speech, but I rise today because I believe our 
Republic is in grave danger. We need to create a new beginning by 
dealing with the very real crisis of leadership we face today. It is 
why I ran for the Senate in the first place--because we need a new 
perspective in Washington. Like many Americans, I am outraged by 
Washington's dysfunction, its fiscal irresponsibility, its lack of 
leadership in foreign policy, its intrusiveness and overreach, and its 
negative impact on hard-working Americans.
  Before being elected to the Senate, I had never been involved in 
politics. Simply put, I am a political outsider committed to changing 
the direction of our country. I grew up in a small military town in 
Middle Georgia, working on our family's farms. My mom and dad were 
public school teachers, and I grew up modestly, as did most people 
there. I worked my way through college and was blessed with a business 
career that took me from the factory floor to become a Fortune 500 CEO.
  My story is not unique. It is the American story. Only in America is 
this possible, thanks to hard work and self-reliance. It is called the 
American dream, and it is our job to make sure it lasts. Many people 
today believe that this dream no longer exists, that we need big 
government to provide us with

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more and more financial security. I disagree totally. I believe our 
best days lie ahead. But we have to act boldly if we are to save this 
dream and our very way of life.
  As an outsider to the political process, I am humbled by the 
privilege to serve my country as a U.S. Senator. I am sobered by the 
immense responsibility of representing the people of Georgia, and I am 
encouraged by the opportunity we have to solve this crisis of 
leadership and create a new beginning.
  As one of the Original Thirteen Colonies, Georgia has long been 
blessed with outstanding statesmen in the U.S. Senate. The first 
Senator to serve in this seat in the first U.S. Congress in 1789 was 
Senator William Few. He also signed the U.S. Constitution. As fate 
would have it, Sarah Few Collins, a member of the team that helped me 
become Georgia's 37th U.S. Senator in this seat, is a direct descendant 
of Senator Few. I think that is pretty special. This desk I use on the 
Senate floor is also very meaningful to me. It has served such 
distinguished leaders from Georgia such as Saxby Chambliss, Zell 
Miller, Sam Nunn, Herman Talmadge, and the venerable Richard B. 
Russell, Jr.
  I rise to speak about three issues creating this national crisis of 
leadership we experience today: the abuse of Executive power, the 
significant deterioration of American foreign policy, and our out-of-
control debt.
  First, ``What we are witnessing today is one of the greatest 
challenges to our constitutional system in the history of this 
country''--not my words but the words of George Washington University 
constitutional law professor Dr. Jonathan Turley, who incidentally 
voted twice for President Obama. Unbridled use of Executive orders and 
regulatory mandates has basically allowed this President to run the 
country without Congress for the past 6 years. According to Professor 
Turley, this sets dangerous precedents for future courts and future 
Presidents.
  To create a new beginning, we must first get back to our founding 
principles articulated in our Constitution that created this miracle 
called America in the first place: economic opportunity, fiscal 
responsibility, limited government, and individual liberty. When 
government grows larger, individual liberty declines. I even believe 
that our Founders were committed to the concept of citizen 
legislators--people would come to Congress, do their work, and go home. 
I don't believe they could perceive of the potential rise of career 
politicians we experience today.
  We also face a global security crisis that is getting worse by the 
day. This administration has created a situation where our allies don't 
trust us and our enemies don't fear us. Leading from behind has failed 
us as a foreign policy.
  Right now, we face the threat of nuclear proliferation starting with 
Iran. As President Obama has conceded, this deal being negotiated would 
leave Iran with a breakout time ``almost down to zero'' in 10 to 15 
years. As Prime Minister Netanyahu reminded us when he spoke before 
Congress, a nuclear Iran is not just a threat to Middle East security, 
it is not only a threat to U.S. security, it is indeed a threat to 
global security.
  A nuclear Iran whose leaders are committed to the death of Israel and 
America would spark an unprecedented wave of nuclear proliferation in 
the Middle East. Under no circumstances can we allow Iran to become a 
nuclear weapons State--not now, not in 10 years, not ever.
  After battling terrorism for the past 14 years and fighting two major 
wars, with thousands of American lives lost and billions spent, we 
still face terrorist threats from jihadist Islamic groups who openly 
vow to do us harm. We face a tough choice, however: Deal with them over 
there or wait and deal with the consequences here at home.
  We are also witnessing the return of great power rivalries. Last 
year, Russia actually seized territory of a sovereign state and 
continues their aggression today in the Ukraine. China is also growing 
more aggressive, doubling its military spending and flexing its muscle 
in the region.
  New asymmetric threats, combined with traditional symmetric 
challenges, create unprecedented demand on our military at the very 
time this administration has reduced military spending to the point 
that we are about to have the smallest Army since World War II, the 
smallest Navy since World War I, and the smallest Air Force ever. This 
is simply unacceptable.
  To address this global security crisis and create a new beginning, we 
must have a consistent and strong foreign policy. However, to have a 
strong foreign policy, we must have a strong defense.
  Providing for the national defense is one of only 6 reasons outlined 
in the Constitution why 13 Colonies formed our Union in the first 
place. To have a strong defense, though, we have to have a strong 
economy, as we proved during the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
  Our own fiscal irresponsibility jeopardizes our very ability to fund 
a strong military. ADM Michael Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, once said that the greatest threat to our national 
security is our own Federal debt. This debt crisis threatens our 
ability to defend our country, stand for freedom, and maintain our very 
way of life. It is a primary reason why we need to create a new 
beginning.
  This debt crisis affects each of us every day. While the economy 
lurches along, we see working middle-class Americans struggling. Many 
people are having difficulty finding jobs, and those with jobs are 
lucky to have a job. Their wages remain stagnant, making it harder and 
harder to get from payday to payday. Many families can't afford to buy 
a home or plan for the future. Moms and dads fear they can't send their 
kids to college or prepare them for a good job. Many college graduates 
today have sizable student loans and still can't find meaningful 
employment. A comfortable retirement is only a dream for many.
  Back home in Georgia, people share my outrage with Washington's 
fiscal irresponsibility. From what I have seen so far up here, there is 
not enough great sense of urgency in tackling this skyrocketing debt 
crisis. There are no innocent parties up here, either. Both sides have 
pushed us to the brink, contributing to this unsustainable level of 
debt we face today. In the last 6 years alone, the Federal Government 
has spent $21.5 trillion, but it borrowed $8 trillion, so that today we 
have a Federal debt of more than $18 trillion. We simply cannot afford 
everything we are doing as a Federal Government. We are already 
overtaxed and overregulated.
  The progressive policies of the past 100 years and particularly the 
egregious policies of this current administration have failed the very 
people they were intended to help--the working middle class. Instead, 
Washington has created a spiraling situation that will only take us 
deeper into debt.
  What is worse, we have over $100 trillion in future unfunded 
liabilities related to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Federal 
pensions, and the interest on the Federal debt. While developing a 
long-term solution to this debt crisis, we also need to protect today's 
seniors and save our safety net programs so they will be there for 
people who really need them the most, when they need them. Shockingly, 
Social Security and Medicare trust funds will be totally insolvent in 
just a few short years, and worse, this administration has no plan to 
deal with that.
  Unfortunately, we are already past the tipping point in this fiscal 
catastrophe. If interest rates today were at their 5.5 percent 30-year 
average, we would already be paying almost $1 trillion in interest. 
That is twice what we spend on our military, and it is totally 
unmanageable.
  People back home expect Washington to work. This fiscal 
irresponsibility drives people back in Georgia absolutely crazy. 
Doubling down on bigger government, more Federal programs, and more 
government spending is not the answer, as has been proven repeatedly 
over the last 100 years. We have to break the gridlock in Washington to 
solve this problem. One side wants to increase taxes; the other side 
wants spending cuts. The result is that we

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have had gridlock in Washington for a generation.
  The real solution, of course, is to grow our economy. Just 1 
percentage point of incremental GDP growth would generate over $3 
trillion of Federal tax revenues in the next decade alone. Combine that 
with the elimination of truly duplicative programs, and we can develop 
a long-term plan to solve this debt crisis, as well as get Americans 
back to work in meaningful, well-paying jobs.
  To create a new beginning, my focus in this body will be to add to 
the debate about how to grow our economy, rein in our outrageous 
spending, and solve this debt crisis.
  To grow our economy, three priorities should be addressed right away. 
First, we need to totally reinvent how we fund our Federal Government. 
Many States, such as Georgia, have a balanced budget law, and so should 
Washington. American families can't spend more than they take in, and 
neither should their government.
  Our archaic tax system is choking growth, holding back innovation, 
and discouraging investment. Eventually, I believe, we should 
transition from an income tax to a simple consumption tax, such as the 
fair tax, that would level the playing field with the rest of the 
world.
  While that debate will take some time, there are things we can do 
right now to stimulate our economy. We need to reduce our corporate tax 
rate and eliminate entirely our repatriation tax to be more competitive 
with other countries. At the same time, we need to eliminate corporate 
welfare and make our tax system fairer and simpler for every American.
  We also have to rein in our out-of-control regulators. This President 
has created the fourth branch of government--the regulators--which 
today makes more rules that affect our lives and our jobs than does 
Congress.
  Finally, we need to unlock our full energy potential to get this 
economy moving. We need to develop our domestic natural resources. 
Isn't it time we finally develop a long-term energy policy that 
unleashes this potential while protecting our environment?
  Doing these things now will also allow us to fund our infrastructure 
needs, improve our education process, become more competitive with the 
rest of the world, create well-paying, 21st-century jobs, and ignite 
the next economic boom for our kids and grandkids.
  I have used the word ``crisis'' carefully and thoughtfully today. The 
first step toward making the tough choices required to change our 
direction comes from a true realization that we indeed have a crisis. 
Americans respond better than anyone in history to a true crisis, but 
we are not always the quickest to recognize we have one.
  To create a truly new beginning, it is time for this eminent body, 
the U.S. Senate, to rise above partisan politics and do the right 
thing. It starts with leadership. It starts with making hard choices. 
It starts with telling the American people the unvarnished truth. It 
starts with no longer kicking the can down the road. It starts with 
having the courage to actually solve these problems independent of how 
it might affect our reelection chances.
  My motivation is very simple. I do not want to be a member of the 
first generation in American history that has to tell its kids that we 
are leaving them a country that is worse off than our parents left us.
  Ronald Reagan once said:

       Freedom is never more than one generation away from 
     extinction. We didn't pass it along to our children in the 
     bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on 
     for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset 
     years telling our children and our children's children what 
     it was once like in the United States when men were free.

  Let us fight to find common ground to create a new beginning for our 
country, for people back home who are struggling, and for the future of 
our children and our children's children.
  As I close, I am reminded of a seldom-quoted closing sentence of the 
Declaration of Independence:

       And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm 
     reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually 
     pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred 
     honor.

  Our Founders got it right. They would remind us of that commitment 
and encourage us today to put our differences aside, to work together 
to solve these sometimes overwhelming problems.
  Together, we can put our differences aside. Together, we can do the 
right thing. Together, we can create a new beginning.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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