S6490 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 20, 2012 

Now, I do not have a magic solution. 

I have only been here in the Senate for 

about a year and a half, so these are 

issues I am engaging in for the first 

time over the last year, but here are 

my opinions given what I have learned 

in the first 2 years I have been here, 

some points I would like to make. 

The first is that we should expect 

more. We should expect more from 

leaders in the region. We should expect 

Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood and 

others to stand up to people and say: 

Look, we understand you are upset 

about this video, but you do not have 

the right to burn down an embassy. By 

the way, in America the government 

does not control these videos. Anyone 

can make a YouTube video. They are a 

free society. 

No. 2, we should expect them to say 

the same things in Arabic as they are 

saying in English. Do not express condolences and outrage in English on the 

attack against America but in Arabic 

completely ignore it and only talk 

about the YouTube video. 

We should expect more from them. 

They want a true partnership. They 

want American and Western aid. They 

want tourists to return. They want 

economic interchange between our two 

countries. We should expect more from 

them. 

Here is the second point. This stuff is 

not happening because of a video, because people are upset. You know 

what, let me explain something to you. 

For radical Islam, our entire culture is 

offensive. They are not just offended 

about a YouTube video. They are offended that women serve in the Senate. 

They are offended that women drive. 

They are offended that little girls get 

to go to school. In some of these countries, converting to Christianity is 

punishable by death. So our whole culture is offensive to them, not just a 

YouTube video. 

Here is the third point we have to accept. This is a critical moment not just 

for America, this is a critical moment 

for the Muslim world, where they have 

to decide what kind of future they 

want for themselves. Is this the future 

they want, a future isolated from the 

world, a future isolated from the promises of the 21st century, or do they 

want a different future? I know there 

are millions of people in the Muslim 

world who do not want this future, but 

they are afraid to speak up. They are 

intimidated from speaking up because 

of these radical forces that need to be 

defeated. 

This brings me to my last point. We 

need to be very clear. We will support 

those who want a better future, like we 

should have supported the Green Revolution in Iran when brave young Iranians took to the streets to protest a 

fraudulent election, and instead of taking their side, the President disengaged 

and said nothing. We will support those 

who want a new future and a better future for their region. We are not asking 

them to abandon their religion or their 

beliefs, but they have to respect ours. 

We are not asking them to walk away 

from the Koran, but they have to respect our beliefs and tolerate our beliefs as well. We will support those who 

are willing to do that. We want to work 

with them. It benefits no one to have 

violence and destruction in the region. 

But we also have to accept the hard 

cold fact that there are people, there 

are radical Islamists in that part of the 

world with whom you can never and 

will never be able to reason. They are 

never going to change their minds. 

They are never going to come around. 

They are never going to one day all of 

a sudden change their behavior because 

we engaged them more, because we 

give more speeches at their universities. They are radical Islamists, violent people. It is a very clear choice: 

Either they win or we win. And the 

sooner we accept that, the better off we 

are going to be. 

So we have to accept that on the one 

hand there are millions of people in 

that region who want a new and better 

future. We will side with them. We will 

support their aspirations. We will work 

with their hopes for civilian leadership 

and peace and economic prosperity. 

But for those who are radical Islamists, 

whose view is they want to conquer and 

bring under their control everyone who 

is not who they are, we have to defeat 

them. I wish it weren’t the case, but it 

is. And the sooner we accept that, the 

clearer our policies are going to be. 

So this is not just a critical moment 

for America in our foreign policy; this 

is a critical moment for them as well, 

for they are going to have to decide. If 

Egypt truly wants a better future for 

their people, one where their economy 

is growing and prosperous and young 

people can fulfill their aspirations, 

they are going to have to unequivocally reject this type of stuff or they 

will be trapped in the 18th century forever. 

In Libya, they are trying to cooperate with us. They are allowing us to 

move forward. We should work with 

them and strengthen them, not abandon them. 

And I didn’t mention Pakistan, but 

that is important too. Let me just say 

that I think it is outrageous that doctor is being held there. I believe every 

charge against him is trumped up, and 

I think we should demand—I think it is 

right to condition some, if not all, of 

our foreign aid and cooperation with 

Pakistan on his status and on his release. So I hope Senator PAUL and 

those who support his amendment will 

consider, at a minimum, restructuring 

that amendment to recognize there is a 

difference between Libya and Egypt 

and that we should take different approaches in that regard; that we have a 

right to be outraged; that we have a 

right to be angry, but we should never 

abandon being smart. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina. 

Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent to speak for up to 

15 minutes as in morning business. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES 

CORPORAL DARRION TERRELL HICKS, PETTY OFFICER SECOND CLASS SEAN E. BRAZAS, LANCE

CORPORAL CHRISTOPHER PHOENIX JACOB LEVY

Mrs. HAGAN. Mr. President, 11 years 

have now passed since the attacks of 

September 11, that horrific day that 

forever changed the world. Although 

we have killed Osama bin Laden, the 

fight against the al-Qaida militants is 

not over. Al-Qaida remains a threat to 

America, and the brave men and 

women of our Armed Forces are still 

fighting every day to protect our way 

of life. 

Mr. President, I want us to honor and 

think about these men and women. 

There are over 77,000 U.S. servicemembers deployed in Afghanistan right now 

who remain in harm’s way. These men 

and women willingly joined the military during a time of war. They want 

nothing more than to serve our country. They fight for our way of life so we 

don’t have to and so that our children 

and grandchildren will not have to. 

I am going to highlight three servicemen from North Carolina who have 

made the ultimate sacrifice. I have personally spoken with their families, and 

I want to share their great love of 

country with you because it is so important that all Americans understand 

our military and their families who 

sacrifice so much for all of us. 

From my home State of North Carolina alone there are more than 6,000 of 

our finest sons and daughters, brothers 

and sisters, moms and dads deployed in 

Afghanistan. They are the men and 

women of the II Marine Expeditionary 

Force, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine 

Aircraft Wing, and 2nd Marine Logistics Group from Camp Lejeune and 

Cherry Point. They are the men and 

women of the 82nd Airborne Division 

from Fort Bragg. They are the men and 

women from the National Guard and 

Reserve Units from North Carolina. 

And they are the thousands of other 

soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines 

deployed to foreign lands to stand 

watch over the world and keep us safe. 

Sometimes I feel as if the war is 

hardly an issue in the news, in daily 

life, anywhere, except for those who 

are personally affected by it. Our focus 

is too often drawn to the news of the 

elections, of the economy, of politics, 

of celebrities, of scandals, of the rich 

and famous, and of the simply bizarre. 

We do not hear enough about the brave 

souls who have lost their lives while 

trying to make the world safer for the 

rest of us, who willingly joined the 

military during a time of war, who 

want to serve our country. 

We all need to pay respect, to honor, 

and to remember the very men and 

women whose commitment, dedication, 

and courage are what make our country safe and to respect and remember 

the families they left behind. 

As we scale down our presence in Afghanistan and bring our service men 


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September 20, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6491 

and women home, we must remember 

every day this war is still going on, and 

it is occurring at a tremendous cost—a 

cost that is disproportionately paid by 

the brave men and women who are 

fighting for the rights and privileges 

we enjoy. 

These men and women traded their 

youth, and they have spent years away 

from family and friends. They voluntarily put their lives on the line for 

their friends, for their loved ones, their 

country, and for people they have 

never met—for me and for you. These 

men and women are the almost 50,000 

wounded in action since the start of 

this war. They are the 336 U.S. servicemembers who have died just this past 

year. They are the 54 coalition forces 

who died in the month of August alone. 

They are strangers to most of us, but 

they are the most important person in 

the world to someone. They are selfless 

defenders of our freedom, many of 

whom have made the ultimate sacrifice, and many of whom are from my 

home State of North Carolina. 

They are people such as CPL Darrion 

Terrell Hicks, U.S. Army, from Raleigh, NC, who died July 19, 2012, just 2 

months ago. Darrion was a 2009 graduate of Broughton High School, where 

he was a standout student who was 

loved and respected by all. 

Darrion always wanted to be a soldier. It was a goal he set early on and 

something that everyone remembers 

about him. It was a goal he pursued 

with diligence and honor. He was a 

model Junior ROTC student who was 

voted Mr. Junior ROTC by his peers. 

Darrion is remembered as the kind of 

young man a teacher wishes all of their 

students were like. He was a boy you 

wanted your children to be friends 

with. He became the kind of man we 

should all be so thankful to have in 

this world. 

When I was speaking with his mom 

Tracy, she shared with me that he was 

the kind of boy who never gave her a 

problem, ever. 

Corporal Hicks achieved his goal of 

becoming a soldier when he enlisted in 

the Army after graduating from high 

school. He loved the Army, and it 

seemed he had found his place in life. 

He loved his family, and he kept in 

close contact with his mother. Whenever he spoke with his mom, she would 

always tell him: ‘‘Always pray. Be safe. 

I love you.’’ To which he would respond: ‘‘I am going to be fine. I love 

you, too.’’ 

This year, Darrion was serving with 

the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade as a sapper. Sappers are 

responsible for clearing the way for 

others, making the way safe for those 

who follow. This is what Corporal 

Hicks was doing when he was killed by 

an enemy IED. He was only 21 years 

old. 

As one of his teachers at Broughton 

said: 

When we talk about Darrion, we are not 

talking about a teacher making an impact 

on a student. We’re talking about a student 

who made an impact on the teacher. 

Corporal Hicks made an impact on 

everyone he touched, and I think we all 

have something to learn from him and 

the life he chose to lead. 

There are people such as PO2 Sean E. 

Brazas, U.S. Navy, from Greensboro, 

NC, where I have lived for the last 30 

years. Sean died on May 30, 2012. Sean 

was your all-American boy next door. 

He grew up playing soccer in the same 

traveling soccer league in which my 

son played, and Sean was on the swim 

team. 

Sean graduated from Western Guilford High School, and he could have 

done anything, but he wanted to do 

something important with his life. 

Sean Brazas joined the Navy after 

graduation and became a dog handler. 

He was stationed at Naval Base Kitsap 

in Washington State, where he met the 

love of his life, Allie, who was also in 

the Navy. When Sean met Allie, being 

the southern gentleman he was, he held 

the door open for her at the post office 

when they first met. Putting others 

first was just how he lived his life. 

Sean Brazas loved being a dog handler and loved being in the Navy. His 

wife is now a 23-year-old widow with a 

young daughter Addison, whom Sean 

nicknamed Short-stack. They were the 

center of his world. His life as a sailor, 

devoted husband, and loving dad was 

rich and full and tragically short. 

Petty Officer Brazas had only been in 

Afghanistan a short time when he died 

on May 30 while helping a fellow servicemember get into a helicopter when 

their unit was ambushed. That seems 

to define Sean—a man who selflessly 

did what he could to help others. 

Sean Brazas served his country 

proudly because he appreciated the 

rights and privileges that Americans 

are fortunate to enjoy. He wanted to 

make sure his daughter never had to 

worry about anyone telling her what 

books she could read or where she 

could go to school or what she could 

become. He wanted his mom, dad, wife, 

and daughter to be safe. 

He died a hero and now rests at Arlington with his grandfather and 

friends who have left the world far too 

soon. He died a man his dad Ed looked 

up to. Ed told me he hopes to be half 

the man his son was. 

There are people such as LCpl Christopher Phoenix Jacob Levy, U.S. Marine Corps, from Ramseur, NC, who 

died September 10, 2011. 

On 9/11, Jacob had just turned 11 

years old. He had gotten a bloody nose 

at school, and his mom Amanda was 

called to bring him a change of clothes. 

She shared with me she was driving to 

his school when she heard on the radio 

of the first plane hitting the World 

Trade Center. When Amanda explained 

what had happened to Jacob that 

night, she said Jacob then said he 

would be in the military. He was only 

11 years old at the time. 

Jacob joined the Junior ROTC at 

Eastern Randolph High School where 

he was a standout runner and wrestler. 

He was also a proud active member of 

the Lumbee Tribe. That is why he has 

the name Phoenix, from his Indian heritage. It stands for immortality and renewal. 

In 2009, Jacob fulfilled the goal he set 

in 2001. He enlisted in the Marine Corps 

and graduated from boot camp. He 

planned on being a marine for 20 years, 

retiring, and then returning to his 

hometown to give back to the JROTC 

in his community. It is clear from an 

early age Jacob was driven to be a part 

of something more than himself, to do 

his part for the greater good. That was 

just how he lived his life. 

Lance Corporal Levy deployed to Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion, 8th 

Marines and returned home from his 

first tour on Mother’s Day of 2011. However, Jacob told his mom his job was 

not yet done; that he needed to return 

to his brothers in arms in Afghanistan. 

He then volunteered to deploy again in 

the fall of 2011, this time with the 1st 

Battalion, 6th Marines out of Camp 

Lejeune. It was during this deployment 

he was mortally wounded by a single 

enemy shot. He was only 21 years old. 

A couple of weeks before he died, 

Jacob spoke with his mother for the 

last time. He told her not to worry 

about him. He asked for underwear and 

beef jerky. He asked her to tell everyone he loved them. Jacob left his mom, 

dad, stepdad and two brothers. 

Jacob’s Indian name Phoenix, for immortality and renewal, has proven a 

worthy namesake for him. Although 

his life was tragically short, he lives on 

in the lives he touched. He inspired a 

scholarship at his high school that will 

go to help others, and he was an organ 

donor. He helped save seven other people he had never met. He gave the loved 

ones of those seven strangers more 

time with their parent, spouse, child, 

or sibling. 

His death resulted in an outpouring 

of love and support for the Levy family 

from the Marines of both the 3rd, 8th, 

and 1–6. As Jacob’s mother told me: ‘‘I 

may have lost one son, but I gained 30 

others.’’ To this day, those young men 

who served with Lance Corporal Levy 

continue to remember and look after 

her. 

These are the people who are paying 

both your share and my share of the 

cost of freedom. These servicemembers 

gave their lives for us and for our country. We must not forget them: Darrion 

Hicks, Sean Brazas, and Jacob Levy. 

We must not forget their families. 

We must not forget the men and 

women still deployed in harm’s way. 

They come from our small towns, our 

big cities, and our rural areas. They 

are our neighbors, they are our fellow 

Americans, they are our heroes, and 

they are my fellow North Carolinians. 

To these men and women, to their families, we owe an eternal debt of gratitude. May God bless them, and may 

God bless America. 

Mr. President, I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE). The Senator from West 

Virginia. 


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S6492 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 20, 2012 

Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, something unusual is happening in Congress. Democrats and Republicans are 

agreeing on something; we appear 

headed toward same goal. 

The problem is, what we are agreeing 

on is more business as usual in Washington. They want to pass yet another 

continuing resolution instead of a real 

budget solution. I can almost hear the 

people back home and all over this 

country saying, There they go again. 

I can argue this both ways. A continuing resolution will let the government limp along again for another 6 

months. That way, we can go home 

now and come back after election to fix 

the budget. 

I haven’t had anybody in West Virginia tell me that we should hurry 

home to campaign. I have had plenty of 

them tell me that we need to stay here 

and do the job they hired us to do. And 

that means fixing the budget, because 

our debt is piling up every day and it is 

choking our economy. 

These continuing resolutions are supposed to be temporary, but it looks to 

me as though they have become a permanent way of doing business here in 

Congress. And let me tell you, it is a 

bad way of doing business. It ignores 

the dire circumstances of a record $16 

trillion of national debt that will increase close to $1 trillion a year if we 

don’t balance our annual budget, and 

do it soon. It makes me think of the 

goofy kid on the cover of Mad Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman, ‘‘What? Me 

worry?’’ 

I came to the Senate not quite 2 

years ago, and in the time I have been 

here there have been 12 of these continuing resolutions. There were three 

in December of 2010. In 2011 there were 

two in March, two in April, two in September, one in November, and three in 

December. Now we are being asked to 

pass another CR to keep things going a 

little bit longer, for 6 more months, so 

we can all go home—that is the problem—so we can all go home and worry 

about our elections, and we are going 

to worry about this country’s growing 

debt later. We have got to get home 

first. 

Well, a baker’s dozen is one too many 

for me. Enough is enough. I can’t vote 

for this measure to simply kick the can 

any farther down the road. It can’t go 

on. The people of West Virginia didn’t 

send me here or send the Presiding Officer from the great State of North 

Carolina to do that. They sent us here 

to help fix our budget problems with 

bipartisan commonsense solutions. 

That is the way we did it in West Virginia when I was Governor. We didn’t 

pull these kinds of stunts on West Virginians. We stayed on the job until the 

work was done. We wouldn’t leave. We 

stayed and worked. If it was all 

through the night, we would stay. If it 

was an extra day or an extra week, we 

would stay and get our work done. We 

came together to make decisions on 

what was best for our State, not best 

for us individually. It is time we do the 

same here in Washington. 

We have to stop putting off what we 

need to do to get our fiscal house in 

order. It is time to cancel the flights 

home, it is time to roll up our sleeves 

and get down to the people’s business, 

because we have reached a dangerous 

point in our history—a point in which 

our debt is threatening not just our 

economic standing in the world but 

also our national security. 

I know everybody expects that we 

will come back after elections in a 

lameduck session, and we are going to 

rush to fix all of our fiscal problems at 

the last minute. But if Congress’s past 

performance is any indication of what 

to expect after the election, I wouldn’t 

expect too much. That is a shame. A 

lameduck session of Congress is cutting it pretty close, because we have 

gotten ourselves into a real bind. 

The so-called fiscal cliff is real. We 

are looking at over $5 trillion of economic swing by the end of this year, 

December 31, coming up to January 1. 

One part of that is sequestration. I 

think we all remember the sequestration. That was a penalty we put on ourselves if the supercommittee did not do 

their job. Well, the supercommittee 

wasn’t that super. It didn’t work out 

the way we all thought it would. It 

means that what we have to do is take 

painful cuts. Because we said if we 

make the penalty strong enough and 

great enough, we will definitely come 

to the table and fix the financial problems. But we didn’t do it. That was a 

year ago. We could have been working 

and fixing all that between, but here 

we come down to last minute and we 

are asking for 6 more months. 

These are the kinds of meat axe 

spending cuts—and I will talk about 

that. I never did put budgets together 

that were across-the-board cuts. If you 

had to cut, you looked at it. Government can do two things with your 

money: It can spend your money or it 

can invest your money. We have done a 

poor job of investing. We have done a 

great job of spending the money. That 

has got to reverse and change. We can’t 

just say, Well, across-the-board cuts. 

We have to look and find out and put 

forth priorities based on our values. 

And you shouldn’t cut where investments should be made, but overall 

there will be a reduction. That can 

happen. 

Some of our congressional leaders 

who put together the sequestering in 

order to force us are now acting as 

though, We really didn’t mean it. It 

really wasn’t sincere about we should 

do this. We knew we couldn’t do it, but 

it sounded good back then because we 

really thought we would do so. Can you 

think what would happen to the confidence of the people in this country if 

we don’t do what we said we were going 

to do? It is not a smart way to run this 

country. 

Then they talk about cutting the defense budget. Oh, that can’t be done. 

That can’t be done. We want to make 

sure we have the strongest and toughest. And every one of us here supports 

our military to the hilt. Every man 

and woman in uniform should have the 

best equipment, the best training, and 

the best support this country can give 

them. But when you look at the ballooning costs of what has happened to 

our Department of Defense, most of the 

money spent on contracting, most of 

the increases on contracting—people 

doing the same job making three and 

four and five times more than a man or 

woman in uniform? That is not right. 

And they are telling me, We can’t cut 

it? Oh, no. If we do that, you are not 

strong for America. 

Well, I have said this: The automatic 

cuts go into effect January 2, as we 

know. Our national security budget is 

still over $600 million in 2013. That is 

more than we had in 2006, at the height 

of the Iraq war. In fact, even after the 

automatic cuts, the United States will 

still account for 40 percent of all military spending in the world. Forty percent of all the military spending is by 

our country. I promise you, we are 

going to make sure that America keeps 

the strongest defense in the world. 

I have been in this body for 2 years. 

One of the most sobering moments I 

have ever had, I am sitting on the 

Armed Services Committee learning, 

as the Presiding Officer and everyone 

else, about the dangers we face around 

the world and the threats to the United 

States of America. The question was 

asked to then-Chairman ADM Mike 

Mullen, What is the greatest threat 

America faces? I am thinking I am 

going to hear about all the different 

North Africa problems we have, Iraq, 

Afghanistan, Iran, and on and on. He 

didn’t hesitate, he didn’t waiver. He 

said, ‘‘The debt of this Nation is the 

greatest threat we face as America.’’ 

He wasn’t worried about our military 

might. He wasn’t worried about a terrorist attack. He was worried about us 

coming apart from within. 

That was perhaps my most sobering 

moment since coming to the Senate. 

And when you have the highest ranking officer of the world’s most powerful 

military that history has ever recorded, I think you should take that 

seriously. I did. That alone should give 

everyone in Congress a sense of urgency and doing something about our 

out-of-whack spending. And it truly is 

out of whack. 

If anybody is betting that we can fix 

our finances in a lameduck session of 

Congress, I will remind them that some 

people made the same bet on the supercommittee last year. That didn’t work 

out too well. 

In fact, we are about to leave town 

with a lot of unfinished work. We are 

not just unsure about our finances, and 

it is not just about finances. The 112th 

Congress—and I am ashamed to say 

this—is one of the least productive 

Congresses in the history of this country in terms of passing new laws. The 

Congress we are in right now, the 112th, 

passed only 173 public laws as of last 

month. As you recall, in our history 

books, President Harry Truman—who 


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September 20, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6493 

dubbed the 80th Congress as the donothing Congress—passed 906 bills. I 

don’t even know if he would have a definition of what we have done. 

So a do-nothing Congress is something I am not proud of. It is clear to 

me that betting on Congress getting religion after the election is also a risky 

gamble—a gamble with America’s future, a gamble with the next generation. We tried that with the supercommittee, but it failed. That is the reason 

we are here today facing the fiscal 

cliff. The sunsetting of the Bush tax 

cuts, the tax extenders, the end of 

emergency unemployment benefits, sequestration, those are all meat axe 

cuts, and we know that. 

The Congressional Budget Office says 

the fiscal cliff could cut the GDP by 4 

percentage points next year and send 

the economy back right into a recession. Look at the time we have wasted. 

The supercommittee fell apart almost 1 

year ago, and yet here we are. Instead 

of voting on a real and permanent solution to our financial problems, we are 

getting ready to vote on yet another 

temporary measure that will allow us 

to leave before we have addressed a single one of these most critical issues. 

What has happened since the supercommittee shut down with no agreement? One thing that has happened is 

our long-term national debt has topped 

$16 trillion a couple weeks ago. That is 

a figure that is almost impossible to 

wrap your mind around. But I think 

you can wrap your mind around this: 

Each one of us who lives in this great 

country is now in debt $50,700, every 

man, woman, and child. 

Sixteen trillion dollars is roughly the 

same as our country’s entire economic 

output for the first time in 40 years. 

The last time our debt was 100 percent 

of GDP was right after World War II. 

We were fighting to save our Nation, to 

save a society, to save a way of life. 

This has been self-inflicted, and we 

can’t keep going on this way. 

We have reached what the National 

Commission on Fiscal Responsibility 

and Reform called the moment of 

truth. The report it prepared for the 

President almost 2 years ago—in fact, 

that was the title of its report, The 

Moment of Truth. And while the commission faced the moment of truth 

with a comprehensive bipartisan plan 

for reducing our debt, Congress has yet 

to do so. Now is the time. We know how 

to fix things. Congress has done it before. 

In the early 1990s, our economy was 

faltering because deficits and debt were 

freezing capital. But Congress sent a 

signal to the market that it was capable of being fiscally responsible. And it 

was. The result was the longest economic expansion in history: the creation of over 22 million jobs and unprecedented wealth in America, with 

every income bracket rising—every income bracket, not just the chosen few. 

The budget framework put together 

by Congress and the White House led to 

the first balanced budget in generations and put our country on track to 

be debt free this year, in 2012. If we had 

stayed the course, we would be debt 

free as a United States of America 

right now. Let me repeat that. This 

year we would have been debt free. 

But we got totally off track with tax 

cuts, two wars, and expansion of the 

prescription drug benefits for Medicare 

recipients—none of which was paid for. 

All great ideas, but none was paid for. 

And the 10-year $5.6 trillion surplus 

forecast in 2001 has become a debt of 

more than $16 trillion. That is a $22 

trillion swing in less than a decade. It 

is unbelievable. It is mind boggling. 

But we can get back on track if we 

follow a simple formula, roughly the 

same one the Bowles-Simpson debt 

commission recommended. We have to 

curtail spending, we have to have a fair 

revenue stream, and we have got to 

look at cutting the fat; and, to do that, 

an overhaul of our tax system so it is 

not only more equitable for everyone 

but also encourages the kind of entrepreneurship that makes our country 

the bedrock of the global economy. 

In America, we need a tax system 

where everybody pays their fair share, 

and where American businesses are free 

to do what they do best: outproduce, 

and outinnovate competitors all 

around the world. To keep a bright future, we have to reform our entitlement programs so we can preserve the 

benefits. There is serious trouble ahead 

if we don’t act. 

Think about this. In 2016, Social Security disability is basically insolvent; 

2024, Medicare insolvent; 2033, Social 

Security will only be able to deliver 75 

cents on the dollar, a 25-percent discount. 

The American people are hungry for 

plain talk on our debt. That is why a 

few weeks ago in Charleston, WV, we 

hosted Senator Alan Simpson and 

White House Chief of Staff under Bill 

Clinton Erskine Bowles. They packed 

the house, and they spoke the truth. 

What they were saying is, give the 

American people the facts, show them 

the options the way we did at our fiscal 

summit, and they will do their part to 

get our country back on the right 

track. They always have. That is what 

makes this country so great. 

So don’t sell the United States of 

America short. Don’t sell the American 

people short because this is an election 

year. They can tell when you are dealing straight with them or when you are 

playing politics. Right now, there is no 

more time to play politics. 

In fact, I got a letter yesterday from 

James of Clarksburg, WV, talking 

about the summit. Here is what he 

said. 

It is time for responsible Members of the 

Senate like you to take to the floor and tell 

your fellow Senators, ‘‘It is past time for us 

to take responsible action to address the fiscal crisis which is our responsibility to the 

people who sent us here—because it is just 

that. There is no excuse for delaying action 

until after the election. 

No excuse to delay it just because of 

an election. 

James got it exactly right; there is 

no time to waste. I am not naive. I understand some of the choices we face 

are going to be hard for some of us to 

make. I know Republicans don’t want 

to talk about new revenue, and I know 

Democrats don’t want to talk about 

entitlement reform. But we need to 

start thinking more about the next 

generation than of ourselves, or the 

next generation than the next news 

cycle or the next flight out of Washington. 

Millions of Americans are struggling 

in this tough economy, working overtime to pay their bills, find a job, and 

find a way forward for their families. 

They are looking to us for the leadership they need. They are looking to us 

for solutions. They are looking to us to 

come together and do what is best for 

the country in a balanced and practical 

way. They are simply looking to us to 

do our job, and I intend to do that to 

the best of my ability. 

Winston Churchill once said: You can 

always count on Americans to do the 

right thing—after they have tried everything else. 

I think we have tried everything else, 

including kicking the can down the 

road 12 times before. Now it is time for 

us to do the right thing. This temporary step is the wrong thing at the 

wrong time. We have work left to do, 

and we need to stay and do it. The people of America expect us to do better, 

to stand up for them, to put politics 

aside. The people of West Virginia can 

be assured that I will always stand, and 

I will continue to try to do the best 

that I possibly can for them and for the 

people of this great country. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. 

HAGAN). The Senator from Rhode Island. 

f 

HONORING RUSSELL TRAIN 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, this week the conservation community mourns the passing of a great 

American leader, a passionate individual, and an inspiration and friend to 

many, Russell Errol Train. 

President Nixon first named Russell 

Train as Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior and then as 

the first Chairman of the new White 

House Council on Environmental Quality from 1970 to 1973. Russ Train then 

became the Administrator of the EPA, 

serving there from 1973 to 1977. He was 

at the forefront of the legislation that 

became the bedrock of our country’s 

environmental policy: the Clean Air 

Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the 

Endangered Species Act, the Toxic 

Substances Control Act—laws that 

keep the American public safe and that 

protect our American natural resources. 

His desire to protect wildlife and 

habitat predated these years of public 

service. He founded the Wildlife Conservation Foundation in 1959 and then 

the African Wildlife Foundation. When 


tjames on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with SENATE