Marco Rubio

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I wish to express support for women across America who are battling ovarian cancer and their families and friends who stand with them in their fight. It is estimated 22,280 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year. Of these women, 15,500 of them will lose the battle against this disease--1,040 of the women who will lose the battle this year live in Florida. To put those numbers in perspective, this year, across America, 3 percent of new cancer diagnoses in women will be ovarian cancer, but ovarian cancer will account for 6 percent of female cancer deaths this year. September marks National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which is why I chose now to bring attention to this disease. Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer in women and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths because ovarian cancer is a unique cancer--there are no screening tests or early detection tests available. However, if ovarian cancer is treated before it has spread past the ovary, the 5- year survival rate is 93 percent. Sadly, only 15 percent of ovarian cancer diagnoses happen in this early stage, making the overall 5-year survival a mere 46 percent. Until a screening test is developed, the best we can do to protect our wives, daughters, sisters, nieces, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends is to bring awareness to the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of ovarian cancer. I urge my colleagues to help educate women about the potential warning signs to help with early diagnosis, which is the best method to save lives.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Clay McAdam Davis, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Clay is a senior at the University of Virginia majoring in American studies and minoring in sociology. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Clay for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Meg Casscells- Hamby, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Meg is a graduate of Trinity Preparatory High School in Winter Park, FL. Currently, she is a sophomore at Harvard University interested in psychology. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Meg for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Charles Carlton Davis III, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Chad is a graduate of Jesuit High School in Tampa, FL. Currently he is a junior at the University of Florida majoring in political science and minoring in history and religion. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Charles for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Bryan Almeida, a spring press intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Bryan is a graduate of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, FL. Currently, he is a sophomore at The George Washington University majoring in political communications. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Bryan for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Pat Bateman, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Pat is a graduate of the University of Sydney, where he double- majored in law and government and international relations. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Pat for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Luke Killam, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Luke is a graduate of Northview High School in Century, FL. Currently he is a senior at the University of Florida majoring in civil engineering. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Luke for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize James Williams, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. James is a graduate of Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami, FL. Currently, he is a senior at Catholic University of America majoring in politics and minoring in philosophy and theology. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to James for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Nicholas Scher, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Nick is a graduate of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, FL. Currently he is a senior at Florida State University majoring in political science and english with a concentration in literature. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Nick for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Shawn Rogers, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Shawn is a graduate of Durant High School in Plant City, FL. Currently, he is a junior at the United States Military Academy majoring in American politics and minoring in terrorism studies. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Shawn for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Joanna Rodriguez, a press intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Joanna is a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Coral Gables, FL. Currently, she is a junior at The George Washington University majoring in political communications. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Joanna for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Sarah Potter, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Sarah is a junior at the George Washington University majoring in political science and anthropology. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Sarah for all the fine work she has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Steve Nelson, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Steve is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, where he majored in Middle Eastern area studies. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Steve for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Carlos Morales, a spring law extern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Carlos is a graduate of Kings High School in Tampa, FL and the University of Florida, where he majored in history. Currently, he is in his third year at the George Washington University Law School. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his externship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Carlos for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Brooke McBath, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Brooke is a graduate of the University of Miami, where she majored in English and minored in psychology. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Brooke for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. RUBIO. Madam President, it is always good to see the gallery full, people in town visiting this process, this week in the Senate. We have actually had a pretty interesting week. We have had a chance to talk about the economy and taxes, something I wish we had spent more time talking about in the months since I got elected last year to the Senate. In a few moments, later this afternoon we will have a vote on a bill that has been called a tax cut bill. The problem with it--and I want people watching here who are maybe not fully familiar with the process, a process I am still learning, to understand--what is going to happen is Republicans had a bunch of ideas we wanted included. We probably were not going to win those votes. We are not the majority. But we wanted those ideas to be discussed, and instead we have been told that cannot happen, that the majority is going to pick which of our ideas they want to listen to and the others will be put aside. The problem with that is the people of Florida sent me here and, just like there are 99 other people who serve here, they have a right to have their voice heard. Unfortunately some of the ideas we have offered will not get a vote, and therefore we will not be able to move forward on that bill as a result. One of the only things the minority party can do in this process here in the Senate to ensure our voices are heard is ensure we are not going to allow legislation to move forward unless the rights of the minority are respected because, after all, we represent Americans as well who have different ideas than the majority and have a right to have their voices heard. I hope we get back to a point where the Senate works the way it was designed to work--the Senate I ran to be a part of, not the Senate we are part of here today. I do think what has been good about this week is we have had a chance to talk about the economy. I know people at home are hearing a lot about the economy, about jobs and about the debt, so I am trying to make some sense of it for folks calling our office. One of the best ways to do that is come here on the floor of the Senate and be able to speak about these issues, not just to the people sitting here today but to the folks who are going to watch back at home or later on on YouTube or wherever this video might be available to them. What I want to talk a little bit about today is the debt and what that means. What it basically means is the Government of the United States borrows money to pay for our costs because we spend more money than we take in. The Federal Government, your government, spends more money every year than it takes in in taxes and other fees. The only way it can get the money to pay for these things is they have to borrow it by selling something called bonds. They sell this debt that we have to pay back over the years. That is how we fund our Government. Unfortunately, almost a third is funded in that way. What has happened over the years is because we have spent consistently more than we have taken in--that is called the deficit. Every year when you spend more than what you take in, the annual amount you owe is called the deficit, but it starts building up something called the national debt. Today we owe about just over $15 trillion of money that we are going to have to pay back. Let me correct that--that you are going to have to pay back through your taxes now and in the future. In fact, your great- grandchildren are going to have to pay it back. That is the national debt. The problem with the national debt is it has become an enormous part of our national economy. It has grown to a very dangerous level as a percentage of our overall economy. What is the way to solve it? The only way to solve it is growth. The only way to solve this problem is to grow our economy. If our economy grows, then the debt becomes smaller as a percentage of our overall economy. Think of it almost as a pie. If the pie gets bigger, the slice gets smaller if you keep it constant. It is the same thing with the debt. If we can keep the debt constant and we can grow the economy, then our debt becomes less problematic. That is the solution to this problem. As a point of emphasis, let me tell you, let's suppose we wanted to get back to what our debt was in 2007. We want our debt to be what it was in 2007. In order to do that, we would have to come up with over $1 trillion this year to get us back to what our debt was as a percentage back in 2007. It basically means we would have to come up with that permanently. The functional reality is that to do that we would either have to double everybody's taxes or we would have to cut close to a third of our budget right now. The point is, we cannot tax our way out, cut our way out of this issue. Definitely there have to be cuts. But we cannot cut our way out of this and we certainly cannot tax our way out of it. If you double the tax rates in this country, which is what you would have to do to get us back to 2007, No. 1, you would trigger a massive recession. I mean the economy would stop. But, No. 2, it would be impossible to collect it. It is unrealistic. I am citing those numbers to give an example of why we cannot raise taxes. We cannot tax our way out of this problem and we cannot simply cut our way out of it either. The only solution is growth, dynamic growth--not slow growth, big growth. That is the only solution because if the economy grows, more jobs are created. If more jobs are created, you have more taxpayers. If someone is unemployed right now, they are not paying income tax. Now they get a job or get a raise at their job. Even if the rates stay the same, they are paying more taxes. Now the government has more money to pay down the debt--if it doesn't grow the government. And that has been the problem over the last few years. Our revenue has grown. The amount of money coming into the government has actually gone up. But the spending has gone up even more and that is why the deficit grows and why the debt grows. That is how growth would solve this problem. If the economy grows, more people have jobs and they get raises at their jobs. That means people get more money which leads to more growth because they spend that money and invest that money, but it also means they are generating more, but for government, and now the government has more to pay down the debt and they have to borrow less. So that is the solution. Growth is the solution, growing the economy. How do we grow the economy faster? The economy grows because of the private sector, that is how. Real growth comes from businesses, it comes from private sector growth, from small businesses and from big businesses, from dry cleaners, from gas stations, from convenience stores, from the guy who cuts your yard and your lawn--that is growth, private sector growth. Here is the truth. If you look at the statistics, it is undeniable. The bigger the government the smaller the private sector--because there is only so much money in the world. And the only place government gets its money is either it has to tax or borrow it from the private sector. That is--unless it is going to print more money which has a whole other set of problems we will talk about 1 day--the only way your government can get more money to grow, if it takes it from you, from the private sector. It either has to tax you or it has to borrow the money from you. Either way, it is money that the government has to take out of the private world to grow the government. Here is what happens when you take money out of the private world. That money is no longer available to save, because if you save it you are putting it in a bank and the bank can now use that money to give you a mortgage. Or that is money you no longer have to spend, which means businesses have fewer customers and the customers they do have are spending less money. Let me tell you the functional application of that. If you are a waiter or waitress at a restaurant and people are not spending as much because they do not have the money, they are spending it in taxes, this means they are going to restaurants less, which means you are going to make less money in both tips and wages. It may even mean your hours get cut. Millions of Americans know this reality. This is not a theory, this is a reality. If people have less money to spend, they cannot spend it at the place where you work, and if they do not have the money to spend at the place where you work, you will make less money, you will work less hours, and you may even lose your job. The other thing the private sector can do with this money is invest it, and that is when you get growth in the economy. When a business or business man or woman makes some money and they take the money and decide, you know what I am going to do this with money? I am going to use it to grow my business or I am going to use it to start a new business. The problem is, if government takes some of this money from them, they can't do that. That is why the bigger the government, the smaller the private sector, and the smaller the private sector, the smaller the growth, which is our only solution. That is not a theory, that is a reality. Statistics prove that the bigger the government, the higher the unemployment rate. I should have brought the chart I have that shows that every time government size and spending go up, the unemployment rate goes up. Why? For the reasons I just explained. That money the government used to grow came out of the private sector. That is money businesses now don't have to invest or spend. Let me talk about another place where it hurts. The higher the government, the worse the stock market does. Why is that? I will explain why. People buy stock on the hope that they can make a profit on that stock in the future. The problem is that the more the government spends, the higher the taxes will have to be in the future to pay for that. So if people think taxes in the future are going to be higher and therefore their chances for making money on stock are going to be less, they are not going to buy stock. Here is the problem. When people buy shares of stock, what they are basically doing is investing money in companies. They are investing money in companies so that the company can grow and make more money, and then the company pays back a profit. But if people are no longer willing to invest money in companies, those companies cannot grow. If those companies cannot grow, that is where people become unemployed, that is where people's hours get cut, and that is where new jobs are not created. It is also why kids who are graduating from college can't find a job. The money has to come from somewhere, and the bigger the government, the less that is available in the private sector to grow. These are facts. Now, what are the arguments around here? Well, the Bush tax cuts are the existing Tax Code. The Bush tax cuts led to this debt. Well, George Bush cut taxes, and as result the government didn't generate enough money, and that is why we have this debt. That is false. Our government has grown impressively over the last decade. The problem is that the amount of money we spent has grown even faster. Listen, it doesn't matter if you get a raise. If you get a raise but your spending grows by even more, you are not going to notice the difference. If you get a $10,000 raise but you buy something that costs $20,000 more than what you are spending now, you are going to owe more money. That is what we have done here in Washington--certainly before I got here. By the way, both parties are to blame. Unfortunately, this is a bipartisan debt, and what has happened is that even though the government has generated more money, it has spent even more. So it is not the Bush tax cuts. That is just not true. The fact is we have a spending problem. Let me explain what is so dangerous about this spending problem. The Federal Government has grown fast in the past. We have had periods like this before. Let me tell you when they were: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. During those four periods, government spending grew really fast. But here is the difference: When the war was over, the war was over. The war happened, we won World War II, and things went back to normal. The difference now is that this is not because of a war, this is because we have grown the government. This is permanent. That is the difference between the spike in spending and the other spending in the past. This spike in spending is permanent. That means it is here to stay unless we change. There is no going back to normal. We have a serious problem, and I have explained why the debt hurts everyone at home. If you are unemployed, if you are underemployed, if you are working twice as hard and making half as much, the debt is part of the problem because the government has taken money out of the private sector. It is money that used to go to you and is now going to the government now and in the future. So the debt is part of the reason why the economy is not growing and why jobs are not being created. At the end of the day, we cannot tax and simply cut our way out of this. Let me be clear. There are places to save money. I promise, the Federal Government wastes money. We should find that, and we should eliminate it. It is never a good idea to waste money. But we can't just cut our way out, and we certainly can't tax our way out of this debt problem. We have to grow our way out of this debt problem. We have to grow our economy out of it, not our government out of it. The only way to grow our economy is for the private sector to grow, but the evidence is clear that the bigger the government, the smaller the private sector. So therein lies the answer. When we talk about holding constant and lowering the size of government, it is not some ideological talking point. This is not some conservative-versus-liberal talking point. This is evidence-based. This a fact, and the statistics are clear that the bigger the government, the higher the unemployment rate. The bigger the government, the worse the stock market performs. The bigger the government, the less money there is available to create jobs in the private sector, start new businesses, or grow existing businesses. That is why we have to shrink the size of our government. The sooner we do it, the better we are going to be, and that is what I hope we will work on here in a bipartisan fashion. Both parties helped to create this situation, and now I hope both parties will help to work to solve it. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Cassie Zabalo, an intern in my Doral, FL office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Cassie is a senior at the Florida International University in Miami, FL majoring in political science with hopes of attending law school. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Cassie for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Jazmin Hernandez, an intern in my Doral, FL office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Jazmin is a sophomore at the Florida International University in Miami. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Jazmin for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Cristina Hackley, a summer press intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Cristina is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in international history. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Cristina for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Rachel Grocock, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Rachel is a graduate of Winter Park High School in Winter Park, FL. Currently she is a junior at Georgetown University majoring in international politics with a concentration in international security. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Rachel for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Mary Catherine Gilligan, a spring intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Mary Catherine attends The George Washington University where she is majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in conflict resolution. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mary Catherine for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Hunter Gaylor, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Hunter is a graduate of Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, FL. He is a senior at Harvard University majoring in government. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Hunter for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Lauren Fields, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Lauren is a graduate of the Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami, FL. Currently, she is a junior at Johns Hopkins University majoring in international studies with a concentration in foreign relations. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Lauren for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. RUBIO

Mr. RUBIO. Mr. President, today I recognize Billy Donovan, a summer intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida. Billy is a graduate of Saint Francis High School in Gainesville, FL. Currently he is a junior at the University of Florida majoring in political science. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Billy for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.