tsai3904
03-10-2011, 02:35 PM
http://paul.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=331807
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Sen. Rand Paul today joined seven of his colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid, voicing strong disapproval of Reid’s tactics to limit debate on spending proposals. The Senators announced they will object to the consideration of any upcoming legislation that neglects to address a reduction in the size of government, spending, and our massive debt.
“The Senate Democrats have failed to address the current debt crisis. With less than a week before the temporary spending bill expires, they intend to bring up other pieces of legislation instead of providing ample time for debate and amendments on the bill,” Sen. Paul said. “Unless they directly address the current crisis, we have notified Senate Democrat leadership that we will object to the consideration of any legislation brought before the Senate.”
Below is the letter, which Sen. Paul co-signed with Republican Senators Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Ensign(Nev.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), David Vitter (La.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Pat Toomey (Pa.).
March 10, 2011
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
S-221 Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 25015
Dear Leader Reid:
Yesterday, the Senate voted on two proposals to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. This debate gave only a limited (three hours) opportunity to debate what many Americans believe is the issue of our time – cutting government spending and dramatically reducing our national debt. Additionally, no member of the Senate was permitted to offer amendments under the structured process, which in our opinion prevents a full, open, and robust debate.
With our national debt poised to reach its $14.3 trillion limit in the very near future, taxpayers expect Congress to work together to reduce wasteful and unnecessary spending and be more vigilant about how we spend public funds. The American people want Congress to deal with the tough issues of cutting spending, and almost every member of the Senate has agreed that we must address our fiscal situation immediately.
While there are certainly many issues that warrant the Senate’s consideration, we feel that the Senate must not debate and consider bills at this time that do not affirmatively cut spending, directly address structural budget reforms, reduce government’s role in the economy so businesses can create jobs, or directly address this current financial crisis.
The American people resoundingly rejected the way the Senate waited until Christmas Eve as a mechanism to force hurried debate on President Obama’s massive health care legislation. Voting to proceed to another legislative measure effectively runs away from the central issues of spending and debt and repeats that flawed process.
We, therefore, are notifying you of our intention to object to the consideration of any legislation that fails to directly address this crisis in a meaningful way. Our objections would be withheld if the Senate agrees to dedicate significant floor time to debate this issue well in advance of the federal government reaching our statutorily mandated debt limit.
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Sen. Rand Paul today joined seven of his colleagues in sending a letter to Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid, voicing strong disapproval of Reid’s tactics to limit debate on spending proposals. The Senators announced they will object to the consideration of any upcoming legislation that neglects to address a reduction in the size of government, spending, and our massive debt.
“The Senate Democrats have failed to address the current debt crisis. With less than a week before the temporary spending bill expires, they intend to bring up other pieces of legislation instead of providing ample time for debate and amendments on the bill,” Sen. Paul said. “Unless they directly address the current crisis, we have notified Senate Democrat leadership that we will object to the consideration of any legislation brought before the Senate.”
Below is the letter, which Sen. Paul co-signed with Republican Senators Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Ensign(Nev.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), David Vitter (La.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Pat Toomey (Pa.).
March 10, 2011
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
S-221 Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 25015
Dear Leader Reid:
Yesterday, the Senate voted on two proposals to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. This debate gave only a limited (three hours) opportunity to debate what many Americans believe is the issue of our time – cutting government spending and dramatically reducing our national debt. Additionally, no member of the Senate was permitted to offer amendments under the structured process, which in our opinion prevents a full, open, and robust debate.
With our national debt poised to reach its $14.3 trillion limit in the very near future, taxpayers expect Congress to work together to reduce wasteful and unnecessary spending and be more vigilant about how we spend public funds. The American people want Congress to deal with the tough issues of cutting spending, and almost every member of the Senate has agreed that we must address our fiscal situation immediately.
While there are certainly many issues that warrant the Senate’s consideration, we feel that the Senate must not debate and consider bills at this time that do not affirmatively cut spending, directly address structural budget reforms, reduce government’s role in the economy so businesses can create jobs, or directly address this current financial crisis.
The American people resoundingly rejected the way the Senate waited until Christmas Eve as a mechanism to force hurried debate on President Obama’s massive health care legislation. Voting to proceed to another legislative measure effectively runs away from the central issues of spending and debt and repeats that flawed process.
We, therefore, are notifying you of our intention to object to the consideration of any legislation that fails to directly address this crisis in a meaningful way. Our objections would be withheld if the Senate agrees to dedicate significant floor time to debate this issue well in advance of the federal government reaching our statutorily mandated debt limit.