On the recordJuly 13, 2011
I rise today to report to the Senate on the completion of my North Carolina Budget Listening Tour. While people in this town were mired in political gamesmanship that seems to be pushing parties further apart, I wanted to hear directly from community leaders and business leaders in North Carolina about how they think we should be approaching the responsibility we have to reduce our deficit and our debt. I held listening sessions all over the State--from Raleigh to Greensboro and Charlotte to Wilmington--and I heard from North Carolinians of every kind: small business owners, health care workers, veterans, entrepreneurs, and more. The message I heard could not have been more different from the partisan bickering in Washington that is dominating the airwaves. In Washington, we see negotiators walking away from the table, refusing any and all compromise, putting politics ahead of what is best for the American people. In North Carolina, people were coming to the table and putting party aside for commonsense solutions to meet our shared budget obligations. To me, the message was crystal clear: Washington needs to take a lesson from North Carolina. It is far past time to put partisanship aside and do what is right for the American people. At the Charlotte listening session, I heard from the executive director of a health care nonprofit responsible for caring for the elderly.…
