On the recordJuly 18, 2011
if I could interrupt my friend and through the Chair say this: I would hope the Republican leader noted the tone and content of my statement where I did not lump all Republicans in one big bundle. Pardon the interruption. Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my friend, the majority leader. This is a pivotal week for America. Two years of reckless spending and debt have brought us to the point of crisis, and this week Americans will see how their elected representatives decide to resolve it. On the one side are those who believe that failing to rein in spending now would be calamitous, and that a government which borrows 42 cents for every dollar it spends needs to sober up. Washington needs strong medicine to heal its spending addiction now, not a false promise to do it later. On the other side are those who want to pretend the status quo is acceptable, that everything will be fine if we freeze current spending habits in place, raise job-killing taxes on small businesses, and do nothing about the long-term fiscal imbalance that imperils our economy. Republicans have tried to persuade the President of the need for a course correction, but weeks of negotiations have shown that his commitment to big government is simply too great to lead to the kind of long-term reforms we need to put us on a path to balance and economic growth. So we have decided to bring our case to the American people.…





