The Debt

Floor Speech

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, when word spread that American forces found and killed Osama bin Laden, Americans gathered at Ground Zero, in New York's Times Square and in front of the White House to celebrate the news. For more than a decade bin Laden had been on the FBI's top ten most wanted list, and the announcement that our military conducted the successful operation in Pakistan filled us with national pride.

After nearly 3,000 Americans died in the September 11 attacks, bin Laden, the plot's mastermind, was named public enemy No. 1. The years following that tragic day, he eluded capture. Justice finally caught up with him, as a result of years of hard work and dedication from the brave men and women in our military and intelligence community. The death of Osama bin Laden allows us to close this chapter of the global war on terror, but it does not mean the end of the threat from al-Qaida or other like-minded organizations. We must remain vigilant, both at home and abroad, in the fight against terrorism.

The fact is, terrorism is not the only major threat to our sovereignty. There is one that lurks much closer to home, born and bred right here in this town. I am speaking about Washington's addiction to spending.

In testimony before Congress, Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said the greatest threat to our sovereignty is not Iran; not al-Qaida; not radical Islam--it is our national debt. Most people don't think of spending in terms of a threat to our sovereignty; and those who do are rarely so blunt. But Admiral Mullen is right. We simply cannot continue to operate at this pace.

This year alone, the Federal Government will spend $3.7 trillion while only collecting $2.2 trillion. Does this sound like responsible budgeting to anyone? The average American family does not have this luxury. If you or I tried to run our household this way, the bank would eventually cut us off. It is time we apply that lesson to Washington. It is time we cut off the government.

This is long overdue. Our national debt stands at a jaw-dropping $14.3 trillion. Foreign holdings account for almost half of these obligations, and much of that is owed to countries that are not always friendly to us. This is the very reason Admiral Mullen sounded the alarm on how big of a security threat our debt has become. Being indebted to countries with ideals, value systems and agendas that are often at odds with ours puts us in a very precarious position.

For example, China owns $1.2 trillion of our debt. The Chinese Government contends that it won't use this liability for political advantage, but the government also claims there are no human rights violations in that country. Clearly, the Chinese Government's word is not a promise we should bank on.

Along with the Chinese, a portion of the list of foreign creditors reads like a ``who's who'' of dictatorial regimes. Iran, Venezuela, Libya make up the rouges gallery of nations that owns some of our debt. These dictatorships, along with other oil exporting nations such as Saudi Arabia--whose role in spreading radical Islam is well documented--come in at No. 4 on the list of foreign creditors. We are currently engaged in an operation with our NATO allies against Qadhafi's regime, yet rely on it in part, no matter how small, to keep our government operational.

This is the problem with our reckless spending. We cannot put ourselves at the mercy of foreign governments. It is irresponsible and dangerous. We must act now to get our spending under control and pay down our debt.

We cannot run a country on a Visa card; nor can we keep kicking the can down the road for future generations to address. Our debt is a national security problem, and this one our brave men and women in uniform cannot save us from. It is up to us to make the tough decisions to get our economic house in order and the time is now to act.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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