On the recordMarch 26, 2010
It is easier just to say the ``other'' Senator from Arizona, given who my colleague is. First of all, I want to say that my colleague, John McCain, has been a leader in this battle for fiscal responsibility for as long as I have been in the Senate. So as long as we are talking about the senior Senator from Arizona, let me get in that plug. But the Senator from Oklahoma, who just yielded the time to me, has been the leader in the fight here to ensure that we pay for the things on which we spend money. I would like to get back to that critical point because I heard both the Senator from Oklahoma and the Senator from Alabama, who is on the Senate floor, and was last night, make this very point. Let's be clear about what this debate is about and what it is not about. There are a lot of things the government must do. National defense is No. 1. We have to do it. Then we figure out what we have enough money for with regard to everything else. There are other very important obligations or responsibilities of the Federal Government. We finally get down the list of priorities of the things that it would sure be nice to do, if we could, because of various needs of the American people. But a lot of times this gets into conflict with what families can do to help each other, what communities can do, what churches and religious institutions can do. So it is not just a responsibility of government, let alone the United States Government in Washington.
