Heidi Alexander: “I am here tonight in the spirit of my late friend, the author of Roots, Alex Haley, who lived and died by these words…”

“I am here tonight in the spirit of my late friend, the author of Roots, Alex Haley, who lived and died by these words: ``Find the good and praise it.'' I am here to praise Senator Warner, Senator Chambliss, and the bipartisan group of Senators who have focused their attention on this urgent crisis that our country faces, the national debt. This is the way the Senate is supposed to work: to see an urgent need, develop a bipartisan consensus to get to work on it, come up with a strategy to deal with it, and get a result--not just make speeches but get a result. We have heard the evidence. We have had the good example set by five Members of our body--two Democrats, three Republicans--who took a courageous step in their action on the fiscal commission earlier this month. The Senate should follow that example. I am encouraged by what I hear from the bipartisan group of Senators addressing our debt issue.”