“The time has come to lead, not sit on the sidelines. The time has come for the President to act, not just to talk.”

Click here to watch the speech.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate regarding the budget and previewed President Obama’s spending speech. 

Transcript of his full remarks are below:

“Last week, America’s Government was brought to the brink of a shutdown, and the shutdown was avoided at the literal 11th hour just last Friday.

“That same day, the President called Speaker Boehner to try to advance the talks. According to Politico, the President told Speaker Boehner that ‘We are the two most consequential leaders in the United States Government.’

“The President was right. So why was only one of those two leaders actively trying to lead on the issue of the day?

“Speaker Boehner was trying to put together a deal that could serve the American people for weeks. But right up until the end, the President was missing in action.  Even Senator Manchin, a member of the President’s own party, said the President had ‘failed to lead this debate.’

“Now the President is finally saying he wants to talk about what steps our country need to take to get our fiscal house in order. Now, I really do hope the President is serious, but I have my doubts.  This is a line that we’ve heard from the President before.

“Back in February of 2009, the President called experts to the White House for what he called a ‘fiscal responsibility summit.’ In his opening remarks, the President said this, he said:

“Contrary to the prevailing wisdom in Washington these past few years,’ he said, ‘we cannot simply spend as we please, and defer the consequences to the next budget, the next Administration, or the next generation.’

“So that was February 2009. For the last two years of his administration, all the President did was add trillions of dollars that debt.

“Late last year, the President’s debt commission released their report on America’s fiscal situation and the findings were sobering. According to the report, they said, ‘The problem is real. The solution will be painful. There is no easy way out. Everything must be on the table.’ And they said, ‘Washington must lead.’

“The President ignored the report. America is done waiting for him to take this issue seriously.

“Last week, the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan put forward the first concrete plan to address our debt crisis. Now the President has suddenly decided that crisis needs to be addressed.

“The President has a national address scheduled for today, and maybe that will be the moment of truth. Well, I hope it will not be another one of the President’s recycled speeches. Empty words cannot fill America’s pockets.

“Last November, the American people told us they wanted the truth. They wanted to know their representatives could make tough decisions. That’s what we heard on Election Day. They wanted to make sure that there would be a future for their families and children.

“I think the American people deserve results. The President has paid them back with excuses, with delays, and with business as usual.

“Now, Republicans have been the leaders on trying to reduce the spending. The President’s party has only criticized, complained or, in the final moments, tried to take credit. They refuse to lead, and have refused to act.

“Now the President’s party wants us to raise the debt ceiling in what they call a clean bill. Well, that’s a fancy way of saying that they want us to borrow more money, with no strings attached. The President opposed doing the same thing back in 2006, when he was a Senator. This is what he said then – the President on the floor of the Senate said, “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit,” he said, “is a sign of leadership failure.”

“He went on to say that it was a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. He continued, ‘It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies.’

“If Senator Obama thought raising the debt ceiling at a $9 trillion level was a ‘sign of leadership failure,’ why then is President Obama asking us to raise it beyond the $14.3 trillion now?

“Facts are stubborn things. The numbers don’t lie. Every day, this Government borrows 4.1 billion dollars more. They did it yesterday, they’ll do it today and they’ll do it tomorrow.

“40 cents of every dollar Washington spends is borrowed money, much of it from China. Now every American child born today, and tomorrow, and the next day, owes over $45,000. Next year, Washington will spend 68 cents of every tax dollar on Social Security, on Medicare, on Medicaid or interest on the debt.

“If we as a nation continue on the President’s path, Washington will spend all of what it takes in on these items alone. Everything else, from Defense to Education, will be paid for on a budget of borrowed money. Well, where’s the money going to come from? A lot of it from other countries -countries who do not always have America’s best interests at heart.

“John F. Kennedy once said ‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.’

“Well, in a few years, that could change to ‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what your country must do for China.’

“So consider this: When John F. Kennedy was President, America only owed 4 percent of its debt to foreign countries. Today, we owe half of our debt to foreign countries.

“And debt isn’t just a disaster for our future. The amount of debt that we owe right now today is so high that it’s hurting our employment at home. Experts tell us our debt is costing us a million jobs. A million jobs, and the evidence is clear: our debt is disastrous in the present and for our future.

“Now, a debt like this makes it harder for American families to buy cars and homes, to pay tuition for their kids to go to college, and then it makes it harder to create jobs for those kids who will be graduating this year, and next year, and every year until we get the spending under control.

“The President’s party simply offers more of the same old failed policies that produced the problems in the first place. Some in the President’s party have suggested raising taxes to make up for the debt. And I expect the President to do that this very day in his speech.

“Well, the President’s speech today comes just a few months after he submitted his budget. Well, after seeing that budget, it’s hard to take the President seriously. And don’t take my word for it – one writer in the Washington Post said it already:

“President Obama’s budget was irresponsible, failing to take on entitlements and relying on rosy assumptions.’  The international magazine The Economist called the budget ‘dishonest.’

“America needs a President who shows real leadership and a concrete plan. That’s what the American people are expecting. I will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless some very specific steps are taken.

“It is time that we passed a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Many states have to balance their budgets. Families have to balance their budgets, live within their means. Washington needs to do the same.

“It’s also time for us to place actual, legal limits on what we do spend. A statutory limit on total government spending will force Washington to make the hard decisions each year to get us back on track. A hard cap on government spending will start us on the path toward fiscal balance and sustained growth.

“You know, Ronald Reagan used to talk about starving the beast.  That’s what we need. Since President Obama took office, the beast has only grown fatter.

“The President’s party likes to accuse their opponents of being anti-government. So why didn’t the President’s party bother to pass a budget or fund the government last year when they should’ve? And why are they driving our government further into debt – hurting America’s standing and our credit on the world stage?

“You know, the President’s party likes to pretend that they’re standing up for the little guy. Well, they should’ve listened when Ronald Reagan said ‘you can’t be for big government and big spending and big taxes and still be for the little guy.’ The President and his party are for big government, big spending, and big taxes, and they are not for the little guy.

“The fact is, the President and his party aren’t that interested in solutions. Instead of solutions, the President’s party has hidden behind nasty words. Words like ‘extreme’ and ‘draconian.’

“Well, many American families are living with the same budget that they had in 2008. And Republicans believe that government should do the same. So is spending no more than you did in 2008 ‘extreme?’ Or is it ‘extreme’ to support trillions more in wasteful Washington spending?

“Is tightening our belts like families do ‘draconian?’ Or is it ‘draconian’ to spend money that we don’t have, and force our children to pay it back?

“Some members of the President’s party have gone even further. One leader of the President’s party said that Republicans wanted to starve 6 million seniors. That’s a pretty disturbing claim. The problem is, the Washington Post said that she made it up.

“This same person called the Ryan plan a ‘path to poverty’ – a path to poverty, she said – for America’s seniors and children. Well, you know, the Ryan plan doesn’t affect anyone over the age 55. It saves Medicare for those who haven’t gotten there yet. And it stops the spending that puts every American on a path to permanent poverty.

“Meanwhile, the President says he doesn’t want to ‘point fingers,’ yet so far his White House responded to the Ryan plan by doing nothing but point fingers. They went back to their same old bag of tricks, and they tried to scare our seniors and families.

“The President also accused Congress of ‘playing games,’ yet his first budget was nothing but a giant game of ‘kick the can.’ And his address later today looks more likely to be just another campaign speech than a legitimate plan for the future.

“The time has come to lead, not sit on the sidelines. The time has come for the President to act, not just to talk.

“As a doctor and a Senator, I believe our economy is in need of critical care. Our budget is hemorrhaging.  There is not a quick or easy fix.  A band-aid will not help this patient.  Treatment cannot be delayed.  The time to act is now.”

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