Senate Proceeding on Sep 17th, 2009 :: 4:31:50 to 4:42:00
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4:31:45 to 4:32:07( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: quorum call: a senator: mad the presiding officer: the senator from south mr. demint: i ask the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. demint: tha eu, madam president. i would act madam president. i would actually like to speak a few minutes on an amendment of mine that wi be on the floor on the transportation bill in a few minutes. it's an andment that would cut

4:31:50 to 4:42:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jim DeMint

4:32:08 to 4:32:29( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: funding t in pennsylvania. and i'd we're targeting this p cut. as all of us know, all over america for the last several months millions of americans have come out to the tea parties and town halls expressing concern and

4:32:30 to 4:32:52( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: level of spending and borrowing and debt that we're incurring here in congress. the concern about all the new taxes we're talking about, the takeover of everything from general motors to insurance companies. people are concerned. i think for a lot of good reasons. the question now, particularly after the hundreds of thousands

4:32:53 to 4:33:16( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: of people gathered in front of the all over the country expressing many of those same concerns: is anybody listening? is anyone here listening? it reminds weeks ago when my two and a half-year-old grandso was spending the night with my wife and i. he was sleeping in another room,

4:33:17 to 4:33:37( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: and we have these intercoms that everyone knows about. he knows about the intercom and how it works. so when he got up in the morning as usual, about 6:30 or something, he said, "i'm up. is anybody home?" and he kept home? is anybody home?" and i knew that he was going to keep saying it until i got up

4:33:38 to 4:33:59( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: and went in and got him up. and i think that's the question americans are asking us here in congress: is anybody home? a lot of people last weekend when i was here just said speaking for us. someone's got to speak for and these were not mobsters. they were not the right wing.

4:34:00 to 4:34:23( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: i mean, they were americans, moms and dads with kids in strollers and grandpas and grandmas here from all country, of all political parties, who know enough to say that we can't keep spending and borrowing. and the more we spend, the more waste and fraud there

4:34:24 to 4:34:44( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: all of us here seem to especially at campaign time, we need to cut out the waste and the fraud. folks, no matter what we bring up here to cut, even if we pick the most egregious waste that the general accounting office comes up with every year and says these are the most wasteful and inefficient programs. we can put them on the floor of

4:34:45 to 4:35:05( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: the senate for a can't cut them. so where do we begin when all we seem to do week after week, month after month, year after year, when all of us come in from all around the country and every problem we see, we have a new government program or an earmark or something that is supposed to fix it? everything adds to the deficit.

4:35:06 to 4:35:26( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: we never make those tough decisions about cutting something. my amendment actually cuts something, and it was not my invention. i've learned about it over countless televisio documentaries on the john murtha, congressman john murtha airport in johnstown,

4:35:27 to 4:35:47( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: pennsylvania, a small airport that over the last 20 yearsas received $200 million in taxpayer funds. this is an airport that only has three flights of a total of 20 passengers a day. all of those three flights come to washington, and they're

4:35:48 to 4:36:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: always mostly empty. and the people who buy tickets spend about the same thing per ticket as the taxpayer tickets. earlr in the year, after we passed the stimulus package, another $800,000 went to this airport to pave an alternate

4:36:10 to 4:36:31( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: runway that's seldom used. after i brought up this amendment to discontinue funding -- and i want clear, this is transportation bill. it only discontinues funding for one year. it's not permanent. if doesn't discontinue any military. so the national guard and others

4:36:32 to 4:36:54( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: continue to use it, the defense department can spend whatever they want on this aport. it's just that the department of transportation cannot spend any mo money to subsidize air traffic from thi it also does nothing to cut any safety funds for air traffic control. it's just a that says enough's enough.

4:36:55 to 4:37:15( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: this airport has received an inordinate a. money. it has equipment it doesn't even use. millions for radar equipment that's not even staffed. again, three flights a day, only to washington, d.c., with less than an average of 20 a day. most of the time there are more airport security people in this

4:37:16 to 4:37:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: airport than there are passengers. so this is not some partisa attack. in fact, if you'll bridge to nowhere, which was a republican project, was exposed by republicans. and it helped america see an example of wte and abuse here in washington.

4:37:37 to 4:37:59( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: that's what this amendment is about. it's not an attack or it's just an example been brought to light by countless media sources all over the country of us wasting money not just one after year after year. and if

4:38:00 to 4:38:20( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: pass, another $1.5 million of subsidies will go to this one airport because their congressman likes to fly back and forth from many sphrerpbs to driven hour or two to get to an airport. and folks in johnstown could drive an hour to pittsburgh airporif the tickets were too

4:38:21 to 4:38:42( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: expens this is not a particular attack on a congressman or state or community. what it is is a beginning. it's a demonstration that here in the senate, we get the message. we're listening. we're actually home. for those millions of americans

4:38:43 to 4:39:03( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: who say enough's enough. we can't keep spending and borrowing and creating debt. every dollar we spend here about half of it is borrowed. we're actually begging countries like china to lend money so we can pay some of the d due.

4:39:04 to 4:39:25( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: yet we keep cating cash for clunkers and fannie travel, a created a couple weeks ago. now we're passing a spending bill that is was last year, in a time of down economics, americans out of jobs that much.

4:39:26 to 4:39:48( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: all we're doing with this amendment is just saying we can make a tough decision. we can begin the process of starting to cut waste and fraud here. folks, the reason so many people are going to vote against this amendment, there's a code here that i'll support your spending

4:39:49 to 4:40:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: for your state if you'll support mine. and i won't mess wi spending in your state if you won't mess with mine. we've been doing so we've been adding earmarks and projects in all of our states, supporting each other in a budget, and the spending gets bigger and bigger and bigger. and no one has the courage to

4:40:10 to 4:40:31( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: say, no, we've got to stop. a few of us did on the bridge to nowhere. and thanks to millions of americans saying, you're right, we were able to stop that one project. but we're there's no tomorrow. i'm just asking my colleagues to agree.

4:40:32 to 4:40:52( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: we can cut one thing, that's obviously wasteful and unfair. it's not fair to ask taxpayers all over the country to subsidize half of eve that's bought in a little airport in johnstown, pennsylvania. they're not helping all the other americans around the country or all the other small airports. certainly small aviation

4:40:53 to 4:41:13( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: airports have funds, but nothing to this degree. we're not interfering with the general aviation function of this airport at all, or any military use. we're just going t stop for one year subsidizing the tickets, and hopefully helping america to focus on part of our problem here.

4:41:14 to 4:41:37( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: part of correcting a proem is admitting you have one. i don't think we've done it yet in this senate. my hopis that in this vote, that a majority of the senators will step up and say we do have a problem, and this is one amendment where we c we're begning to turn around. i'd encourage all my colleagues to vote for this amendment. cut funding for one year, or at

4:41:38 to 4:42:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jim DeMint: least cut these subsidize and demonstrate to america some i thank you, madam president.