Weekly remarks: Mitch McConnell on jobs, tax cuts, debt; Obama wants start to START treaty vote

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Weekly remarks by Sen. Mitch McConnell, as provided by Republican Party leadership 

Good Morning. I’m Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky.

As Americans across the country prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this coming week, we’re reminded of the many blessings we enjoy as a nation.

We’re grateful for the sacrifices of the brave men and women in our armed forces who will not be home with their families next week, and who make these blessings possible. 

And we’re also conscious this Thanksgiving of the many Americans who are struggling with serious hardships, including the many millions of Americans who are struggling to find work.

At the moment, about 15 million of our fellow citizens are looking for jobs and can’t find one. The unemployment rate has remained stubbornly close to ten percent for a year and a half. We are experiencing what can only....

...be described as a jobs crisis, a sustained period of chronic unemployment; and two years of policies that have vastly increased the size and scope of government and added trillions to the debt and have done little to alleviate this problem.

Take the stimulus, for example.

Here was a bill that was supposed to create millions of jobs and keep unemployment from rising above 8%. Yet, since Democrats passed it nearly two years ago, more than 3 million people have lost jobs and the economy barely has a pulse. The American people delivered a clear verdict on this and other failed experiments in the government-as-economic-stimulator on Election Day. But Democratic leaders in Washington continue to act as if nothing has changed, including their priorities.

The top priority of most Americans is to create jobs and get the economy moving. And the single best thing we could do in Washington to achieve that goal is to prevent a tax hike that’s about to hit every taxpayer and hundreds of thousands of small businesses at the stroke of Midnight on December 31st.

And that’s what I proposed a bill in September that would take care of this giant tax hike and prevent it from going into effect. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders have shown little interest in the idea.

After adding trillions to the debt on big-government policies most Americans didn’t ask for and which we couldn’t afford, Democratic leaders say they need more money, which they intend to take from small business, even though small businesses create the majority of new jobs.

Americans don’t think we should be raising taxes on anybody, especially in the middle of a recession.

But instead of giving Americans what they want, Democratic leaders plan to use the last few days that lawmakers expect to spend in Washington this year focusing on everything except preventing this tax hike, which will cost us even more jobs: immigration, a repeal of the ‘don't ask, don't tell,’ a reorganization of the FDA, more environmental regulations.

Democrats put off all these things until after the election, along with the most basic task of funding the government. By focusing on them now, and not on legislation to promote job creation and reduce spending, they’re showing where their priorities lie.

This should be an easy one. The bill that job creators and out-of-work Americans need us to pass is the one that ensures taxes won’t go up — one that says Americans and small-business owners won’t get hit with more bad news at the end of the year.

It's time Congress got its priorities straight. It's time Congress focused on job creation — and that means preventing tax hikes. It's time to set aside the political votes and government spending that the administration and Democratic leaders have put above all other priorities for two years.

Time is running out. But it’s not too late for both parties to work together and prevent this massive tax hike from going into effect. It’s not too late to focus on the priorities of the American people. And Republicans in Congress are eager to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to do so.

Americans spoke loudly and clearly on Election Day. We owe it to them to show we heard them — to work together to get this done. Thanks for listening.    ####

Weekly remarks by President Obama, as provided by the White House

Today, I’d like to speak with you about an issue that is fundamental to America’s national security: the need for the Senate to approve the New START Treaty this year.

This treaty is rooted in a practice that dates back to Ronald Reagan. The idea is simple -- as the two nations with over 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia have a responsibility to work together to reduce our arsenals. And to ensure that our national security is protected, the United States has an interest in tracking Russia’s nuclear arsenal through a verification effort that puts U.S. inspectors on the ground. As President Reagan said when he signed a nuclear arms treaty with the Soviet Union in 1987, “Trust, but verify.”

That is precisely what the New START Treaty does. After nearly a full year of negotiations, we completed an agreement earlier this year that cuts by a third the number of long-range nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles that the United States and Russia can deploy, while ensuring that America retains a strong nuclear deterrent and can put inspectors back on the ground in Russia.

The Treaty also helped us reset our relations with Russia, which led to concrete benefits. For instance, Russia has been indispensable to our efforts to enforce strong sanctions on Iran, to secure loose nuclear material from terrorists, and to equip our troops in Afghanistan.

All of this will be put to risk if the Senate does not pass the New START Treaty.

Without ratification this year, the United States will have no inspectors on the ground, and no ability to verify Russian nuclear activities. So those who would block this treaty are breaking President Reagan’s rule –- they want to trust, but not verify.

Without ratification, we put at risk the coalition that we have built to put pressure on Iran and the transit route through Russia that we use to equip our troops in Afghanistan. And without ratification, we risk undoing decades of American leadership on nuclear security and decades of bipartisanship on this issue. Our security and our position in the world are at stake.

Indeed, since the Reagan years, every president has pursued a negotiated, verified arms reduction treaty. And every time that these treaties have been reviewed by the Senate, they have passed with over 85 votes. Bipartisan support for New START could not be stronger. It has been endorsed by Republicans from the Reagan administration and both Bush administrations –- including Colin Powell, George Shultz, Jim Baker and Henry Kissinger. And it was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a strong bipartisan vote of 14-4.

Over the last several months, several questions have been asked about New START, and we have answered every single one. Some have asked whether it will limit our missile defense -- it will not. Some, including Senator Jon Kyl, have asked that we modernize our nuclear infrastructure for the 21st century -- we are doing so, and plan to invest at least $85 billion in that effort over the next ten years, a significant increase from the Bush administration.

Finally, some make no argument against the treaty. They just ask for more time. But remember this: It has already been 11 months since we’ve had inspectors in Russia, and every day that goes by without ratification is a day that we lose confidence in our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons. If the Senate doesn’t act this year -- after six months, 18 hearings, and nearly a thousand questions answered -- it would have to start over from scratch in January.

The choice is clear: A failure to ratify New START would be a dangerous gamble with America’s national security, setting back our understanding of Russia’s nuclear weapons, as well as our leadership in the world. That is not what the American people sent us to Washington to do.

There is enough gridlock, enough bickering. If there is one issue that should unite us -- as Republicans and Democrats -- it should be our national security.

Some things are bigger than politics. As Republican Dick Lugar said the other day, “Every Senator has an obligation in the national security interest to take a stand, to do his or her duty.”

Senator Lugar is right. And if the Senate passes this treaty, it will not be an achievement for Democrats or Republicans -- it will be a win for America. Thanks.     ####

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Photos: Manuel Balce Cene / Associated Press; Jonathan Ernst / Reuters (McConnell); Dominique Faget / AFP /Getty Images (Hillary Clinton and Obama at NATO meeting in Lisbon, 11/19/10).

Comments

[Bonny Becker]

I applaud Senator McConnell speaking up for the START Treaty. Finally, one Republican speaking up for what's right rather than for simple political gain.

But I despair when I see McConnell defending the horribly failed idea that tax cuts create jobs, especially tax cuts for the wealthy. I can't see how any man with intellectual integrity could continue to make that claim after the failure of the Bush tax cuts to do just that. Why would we run that failed experiment again?

I also see no intellectual integrity in trumpeting the idea of cutting the deficit, yet not accepting the need to bring taxes back up to at least pre-Bush levels. Where is the honest, tough, responsible leadership we need?

If I, a moderate Democrat, can accept that we will have to cut programs; all well-meaning Republicans should admit that this alone won't do it and accept responsibility in restoring reasonable taxes.

[Fandango]

Mitch McConnell is a disengenuous liar! He and his RICH Repub & Dem buddies want that Bush tax cut to stay because it benefits him and them. These are all multimillionaires and the cuts would affect them because they would have to pay their fair share of taxes, which they don't right now! They ARE SO NOT CONCERNED WITH THOSE MAKING $250K AND UNDER. THAT IS JUST A PLOY TO KEEP THEM FROM PAYING THE HIGHER, FAIRER TAX IF THE BILL EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT. This bastard is leading the pack in not voting for the unemployment extension for millions of Americans, who because of Republican actions over the past 10 years, are out of jobs and benefits. He is going home to a nice stuffed turkey for the holidays and in essence, is telling the rest of us to stuff it!

[ustserv]

To Fandango:

It is obvious you do not understand what is written below:

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100 and If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.)

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." so drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected...They would still drink for free...But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'...They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33...But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer..So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before...And the first four continued to drink for free...But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, PhD.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

[Bill Ewing]

Mitch McConnell cares more about the Republican Party than he does about our country. He has stated that he is going to focus on keeping Obama from a second term. Mr. McConnell
help create the mess that Obama is trying to solve. Mr. Mc Connell was there during the Bush tax cuts and help create our deficit. He is the once that does not deserve to come back to Washington after his term expires. Bill Ewing, Retired California School Administrator now living in Destin, Florida. Democrat, of course