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Floor Speech
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Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I would like to be recognized for maybe 5 minutes to speak on behalf of the nomination of former Governor Martin O'Malley. Senator Cardin and others have known Martin for a long time; I have as well.
I think I met him when he was 18. He was part of an Irish folk group that was performing not just around Maryland or around Baltimore but as far away as Delaware--great places where people would come for great music, Irish music, and maybe a drink or two. Martin, I think, was too young to get in as a customer, but he could come in, apparently, as a part of a troupe and provide entertainment.
I knew at that time he was a future Commissioner for Social Security--not really.
Seriously, what I did know was he does pretty good harmony. In the jobs he has had since then, he has demonstrated that again and again. He and I both served as Governors of respective States part of Delmarva. We were not Governors at the same time, but very close together. He provided great leadership for our neighboring State of Maryland as Governor for many years, and I was pleased to be not just his colleague but just a friend.
The day I was sworn into the House of Representatives a million years ago in 1983, we were told as freshmen at our orientation that Social Security was running out of money and if somebody didn't do something about it, eventually, there would be a haircut, benefits would be reduced. And, ultimately, if we didn't take some strong action, there would be a lot more than a haircut and we might even see those benefits go away.
With strong bipartisan leadership from our President Ronald Reagan and strong bipartisan leadership from the House Speaker with whom Senator Wyden and I served, Tip O'Neill, we worked together to enact to reform--a whole host of reforms, as you recall--that ended up saving the Social Security Trust Fund.
Today, the Social Security Administration programs are an important safety net that provide financial support for not just a couple of million people but tens of millions of people in this country--mostly people in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties, but also people who are disabled and not able to work, and in some cases, children lose a parent in a tough situation.
I have known Martin forever and respect him in his leadership, not only as a Governor but also as mayor of Baltimore and other State and local jurisdictions. I think they make him exceptionally well-suited to lead the administration in its efforts. As a Governor, you get to be involved with a lot of retirement issues, a lot of pension issues for not just the State employees in Delaware but with county and local folks, educators, all kinds of people. In the State of Delaware, you have to be conversant with health insurance benefits for people with wide ranges of ages and needs. When you are Governor, you are trained on the job. He has had excellent experience to help him prepare him for this responsibility.
The other thing I want to mention is it is an interesting lineup of organizations that have endorsed him and are supporting his nomination. Some we would expect, but others come as sort of a surprise. This is part of a large group. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is among them. Social Security Works is among them. The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is among them. But the list goes on and on and on.
So from one recovering Governor--that is me--to another--that is Martin--I want to thank Governor O'Malley for really extraordinary service to our country and for doing it in a way that doesn't rub people the wrong way--it doesn't create animosity--but in a way that really fosters harmony, the kind of harmony his singing group used to excel at all those years ago.
He will do a great job. He will make us proud. I know from my colleagues in Maryland and others who served with him as Governor and other capacities, we have already seen him in action, and we would be hard-pressed to do better than Martin O'Malley.
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