George LeMieux is delivering his first speech on the Senate floor, imploring Congress to reduce the federal deficit before spending more money to revamp the nation's health care system.
"Our government’s spending is out of control," he said. "And it is simply unsustainable…..We ought to be cutting taxes, not raising them. We ought to be spending within our means, not creating more debt. We ought to be fighting with the same vigor to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse as some fight to create new entitlement programs we cannot afford."
He offered a tip of the hat to the man who appointed him to the seat: Gov. Charlie Crist, saying that Crist and the Florida Legislature "have cut spending by more than $7 billon – or almost 10 percent – to balance the budget."
"The cuts did not come without sacrifice," he said. "Florida made the tough choices it must, because lawmakers had the foresight in 1838 to adopt language requiring our state to have a balanced budget. It works for Florida, for 41 other states, and it can work for our nation."
Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker who preceded LeMieux, said he knew his fellow senators were "anxious" to hear the new guy.
LeMieux noted that the late Sen. Ted Kennedy said in his first speech that "a freshman Senator should be seen, not heard; should learn, not teach.'
"But like Senator Kennedy, who asked for the dispensation of his colleagues to speak to the great cause of civil rights being debated at the time," LeMieux said, "I too seek the consideration of my colleagues to stand and rise at such a critical time in our nation’s history."
Text of prepared remarks follows the jump.
"Mr. President, it is an honor for me to stand here on the floor of the United States Senate, on behalf of my state of Florida, and before this nation to give my maiden speech.
"First, let me thank my wife Meike for her support. No one succeeds in life alone, and that is certainly true for me. She is the strength of our growing family of 5, soon to be 6, and I would not be here without her love and support.
"It is humbling to think of those who have come before me and spoke before this body on the great issues of their day. I will not seek to match their skill in poetry or prose, but I will work to honor them with clear and straightforward speech, passion to find solutions to the challenges that face us, and resolve to follow words with deeds.
"It is the tradition of this chamber, as Senator Ted Kennedy stated in his maiden speech nearly a half a century ago, that 'a freshman Senator should be seen, not heard; should learn, not teach.'
"But like Senator Kennedy, who asked for the dispensation of his colleagues to speak to the great cause of civil rights debated at the time, I too seek the consideration of my colleagues to rise and speak at such a critical time in our nation’s history.
"During my first week here, the senior Senator from Ohio, Senator Voinovich told me that while my time in the Senate may be short, just 16 months; these 16 months might be the most important in modern history. My brief experience here has confirmed the wisdom of his insight.
"The issue that commands the attention of this Congress, Mr. President, is the health of our people, and proposals that address the problem of those who cannot afford, or simply do not have health insurance.
"We seek solutions to the rising costs of medical procedures and hospital stays; and we are in search of ways to ensure every American has access to affordable and quality health care.
"These are noble goals. Floridians and Americans are struggling with the high cost of healthcare. Premiums for family health coverage have risen 131 percent over the past decade. Working families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Between the demands of taxes and insurance, families have less and less to save and spend on their own priorities.
"Health care costs are also burdensome on our seniors, who while covered by Medicare, often buy additional insurance to supplement their needs. Rising costs for seniors living on fixed incomes prove more than difficult. Still more troubling are those that have no insurance at all, some 4 million Floridians, and 45 million Americans. For many of the uninsured, a serious illness or accident may be all that separates them from bankruptcy.
"So I believe the problem of healthcare must be addressed. No American should be denied access to quality health care. No American should be rendered destitute by illness. No American family should have to live paycheck-to-paycheck because they can’t find a more affordable health care plan. The problem is great, and it is one worthy of our full attention.
"But before we can address health care and the cost of reform, we need to consider the broader state of affairs we, as Americans, find ourselves in today. We need to draw back the curtain, widen the lens. No issue, even one as important as health care, stands alone.
"We have responsibilities in other equally important areas like national defense, education, and the economy. And balanced equally with all of our priorities must be our ability to afford them. Our nation’s spending problem is not a topic that many like to discuss. It is, after all, more desirable to speak of new programs and grand ideas for the future. However, that very future is at stake if we do not address the problem now.
"Our national debt grows at an alarming rate of nearly 4 billion dollars a day. When I took office just five weeks ago, our national debt was $11.7 trillion. Now, it’s almost $12 trillion. During the time it will take for me to give this address, we will add $50 million more to our debt.
"Since the debate began on health care in March to the time it likely concludes at the end of this year, we will have amassed an additional trillion dollars in debt, an amount possibly more than the moderate estimates of the cost of the healthcare program we are debating! And instead of spending less to stem the tide, we learned on Friday that in the fiscal year we just completed, Congress amassed a record-setting $1.4 trillion budget deficit – a larger single-year deficit than the deficits of the last four years combined!
"Mr./Madam President, our government’s spending is out of control. And it is simply unsustainable. Why does it matter? What is the consequence of accumulating trillions of dollars in debt? What does it mean for us, our children, and our grandchildren? The consequences are a government hamstrung by its obligations, and a people taxed beyond their ability to prosper.
"Last year our nation spent $253 billion on the interest payments for our debts alone – the third highest expenditure in the budget. That’s nearly $700 million in taxpayer dollars spent on interest payments every day; that money could have been spent on worthwhile programs, or better still, returned to the people. After all, it is their money.
"In ten years, the White House projects our national debt will be a staggering 23 trillion dollars, entirely surpassing the total value of goods and services produced in the United States in a single year. Now I haven’t been in Washington for long, so I admit, it is difficult to fully comprehend the idea of a billion dollars, let alone a trillion. I think that is true for most Americans. So it is worth a moment to understand the enormity of these figures.
"If you were to lay down a million single dollar bills, it would cover 2 football fields. A billion dollars would cover 3.7 square miles, about the size of Key West. And a trillion dollars laying edge to edge on the ground is enough to carpet the entire state of Rhode Island twice. Still more staggering, from the time our government began in 1789, it took 167 years for the Federal government to spend its first trillion dollars. This year alone, the government is spending $3 trillion.
"The numbers are mind-boggling. Increasing debt, increasing costs of entitlement spending, and increasing interest payments mean we are on a path which is unsustainable. The American people know this. And they are showing their frustration with Congress’ out of control spending.
"We need to learn from the families of America. Families in Florida and across America deal with their own budgets every day. They sit down around the kitchen table and look at their bills, and how much they make. And they struggle to make ends meet.
"But the federal government is like a family with credit card debt. Every month the debt grows and the interest compounds. Every month the family spends more and more just to make the minimum payment, and yet the balance due continues to grow.
"In order to get out of debt, the family has to do the right thing. It has to cut spending or increase income by Mom or Dad getting another job. If the family does it right they pay off their debt, and save a little, build a nest egg and recover.
"If they do not, they reach a point where the debt grows out of control, they reach a moment in time where they are too far gone. The Federal government has reached that moment in time. In the past twenty-seven years we have gone from $1 trillion to $12 trillion in debt. Without reform, we will be at more than $24 trillion – more than doubling our debt – in just 10 years.
"Mr./Madam President, the point of no return is upon us. And we must recognize this simple truth: We cannot afford the government we have, let alone the government that the majority in this Congress wants.
"We ought to be cutting taxes, not raising them. We ought to be spending within our means, not creating more debt. We ought to be fighting with the same vigor to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse as some fight to create new entitlement programs we cannot afford.
"It has also become clear that our policies of limitless spending threaten to devalue the dollar. Recent reports suggest a rush by U.S. investors to pull their money from domestic investments and instead seek opportunity in emerging markets. Investors find markets like China and Brazil to be more attractive because those nations use their financial reserves to weather the economic crisis.
"There is also talk in the international community that perhaps the U.S. dollar is no longer the best benchmark as the world’s reserve currency. According to the International Monetary Fund, the dollar is held at its lowest point on record in reserve currency in central banks around the world.
"Our unsustainable spending and debt, and our inability to make the difficult decisions necessary to change course is decreasing confidence in our nation abroad – and it will result in a lower quality of life for all Americans. So, what is the answer? The answer is we have to stop. We have to stop financing today’s programs on the backs of future generations.
"Common sense tells us we need to balance the budget just like families back home. The federal government has not done that since 2001. There is no reason why it cannot happen again. There is no reason why we cannot return to the Framers’ ideal of limited government, if we have the will to make it so.
"As the father of three young sons with another baby on the way, one of my greatest fears is that one day one of my children will come to me when they are grown and tell me they are moving to another country, to Ireland, Chile, or some other country because that country holds a greater opportunity, greater promise for them than America. Even now, as many as 200,000 skilled American workers could leave for places like China and India in the next five years. America has always been the land of opportunity - a beacon for those who seek a better life. That light cannot be darkened. Let us not stand witness to the decline of our great nation. Let us not sit idly by so the work and sacrifice of those who came before us is squandered. Let us not miss out on this moment in time to shoulder the burden of leadership to do what we must for our children, their children, and the American dream. Their future is bound to the decisions we make today.
"I come from a state where a balanced budget is a constitutional requirement – where lawmakers are required by law to spend within the state’s means. It’s not always easy. In fact, it is often a painstaking process, requiring leadership and tough choices, with Republicans and Democrats sitting down together to make responsible decisions.
"In the past 3 years, Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature have cut spending by more than $7 billon – or almost 10 percent – to balance the budget, but the cuts did not come without sacrifice. Florida made the tough choices it must, because lawmakers had the foresight in 1838 to adopt language requiring our state to have a balanced budget. It works for Florida, for 41 other states, and it can work for our nation.
"The Federal government should be held to the same standard. This Congress must balance its budget. There is no reason Congress cannot do what American families and a majority of states do every day. There is also no reason why the President should not have the same power as 43 governors have to strike wasteful spending with a line item veto.
"These issues are not partisan. Both sides, Democrats and Republicans alike, should chart a course to a balanced budget to reduce the national debt and restore the American dream for future generations.
"We were promised a deficit neutral health care bill. President Obama said to a joint session of Congress, he 'will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future.'
"I am encouraged by the President’s words, but I am also concerned. Cutting half a trillion dollars from Medicare is not budget neutral. Shifting costs to the states for increases in Medicaid is not responsible. And taxing medical and life savings devices – which will increase, not decrease the cost of health care, is not reform! The fact is, we don’t know where the money is coming from to pay for the proposed health care reform. And in light of our desperate financial situation, we cannot budget on faith alone.
"Just last week, I participated in a hearing to discuss runaway premiums in a program designed to help federal workers afford the costs of long-term care. They were given two options: a fixed plan that ensured premiums would not rise in the future; and a variable plan that included no guarantees of fixed premiums. Those who opted for the plan with “fixed” premiums are now seeing six years after they enrolled that the government is raising their premiums by as much as 25 percent. The government made a mistake; they got
it wrong. Now those federal employees will have to pay to fix it – some 6,000 in Florida. If the Federal government can’t get it right with a program serving 250,000 Americans, how will the government get it right for 45 million?
"I stand with colleagues on this side of the aisle, ready to create access to health care without sacrificing quality. But it has to make financial sense. We stand ready to address the issue of portability – allowing people to keep their health insurance whether they change jobs or move across state lines. We stand ready to offer ideas to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses, which can join exchanges to
offer lower premiums for their employees. We stand ready to address the high incidence of doctors practicing defensive medicine – which drives up costs. And finally, we stand ready to focus on stopping the estimated 60 billion in Medicare waste, fraud and abuse, and using those funds to care for our people.
"Current proposals do nothing to address these problems. We want to work in a bipartisan fashion to craft a bipartisan bill. Spend less and save more, on health care and everything else.
"The reality is that our nation is hungry for a new course – a new direction that takes greater care of the people’s money. Some may call this thinking naïve, but I call it hopeful. Since our nation was founded, there has been one constant our people have carried forth. I consider it the American creed. And the creed is this: Each generation has the obligation to provide a better future for its children than the generation before. We cannot fulfill this promise on our current course. And that truth is so evident, even our children understand it.
"I want to close with the words of one of my constituents – 12 year old Joshua Mailho of Niceville, Florida. Joshua is concerned about these very issues. He is concerned with his share of the national debt, and how he is going to pay for it. He wrote to me in September and this is what he said. He wrote: 'Here is an example of how long me, a 12 year old, would have to pay off my share of the national debt. If I worked at Home Depot, and I get paid $10 per hour… it would take me almost 8 years of full-time work [to reach $161,000]… my share of the national debt. “This debt will affect all of the kids in America… so please find a way to fix your own mistakes, before the children of today have to pay for your mistakes tomorrow.'
"Mr./Madam President, I yield the floor."
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