Floor Statements

Mr. President, I come here on December 10, Human Rights Day. I want to briefly discuss human rights because, I would just say, while we have made great advances around the world in the cause of human rights, there are still a lot of roads to travel. Today is a good opportunity to take note of some of the struggles and challenges around the world with regard to human rights.

The first issue I want to talk about with regard to human rights is modern-day slavery. When people think about slavery they think about the historic nature of slavery in this country or around the world. It is hard to imagine that today, in the 21st century, that there are slaves in the world. It is even harder to believe there are slaves in the United States, but the fact is there are. It has been well documented that human trafficking around the world numbers in the millions.

Of course, sex trafficking is a big part of that, a grotesque part of that, and we are all aware that it is a very serious problem. So too is forced labor-type slavery, which we find around the world and even in the United States. In fact, there is no major city in the United States that does not have an element of human trafficking and human slavery within its confines. I think it is important to understand that exists, it is real, and it is happening.

To that extent, remember there are things we are trying to do in this legislative body, in the Senate, in Washington, to deal with this issue. One of the issues we are going to have a chance to deal with soon, I hope, is reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which was sponsored last year by Senator Brown and Senator Leahy. Hopefully, we can finish that before the end of this year, but if we cannot, I hope early in the next Congress we will address it.

As you know, there are also reports that the State Department does rank countries around the world on the efforts they are making to deal with human trafficking, and they actually rank them in three tiers, the third being the worst, those nations not doing enough. I hope we look at how we reform the process of giving some of these countries waivers. There are countries that are perpetually on the list of the worst possible places with regard to government policy toward human trafficking. Yet they are getting waivers from the implications and the consequences of being a tier 3 country. There are countries getting that waiver every single year.

I hope we will examine the process legislatively, of how we grant those waivers, so we can have more information as to exactly why it is our government is granting waivers to other governments and other nations that are not making any advances whatsoever on human slavery and trafficking.

Another aspect we should take some time to look at is some transparency from the business community, particularly large international companies that do business around the world. We should look for ways to encourage and incentivize companies to report voluntarily on their supply chains to ensure the products we use in the United States are not the product of human slavery, modern slavery around the world. We can do that as well.

Obviously, we do not want to put any more onerous costs on our businesses, and we will be careful how we approach it, but I think it is important that we know the products sold in the United States are not directly or indirectly benefiting from slavery around the world. That is something I hope we will remember; that human trafficking and human slavery is real, it exists all around the world, and exists in our own country. I hope we will continue making strides dealing with this issue.

One last point on that is a few months ago several of my colleagues and I sent a letter to the Village Voice, which is a newspaper in the United States, which actively--and unfortunately--advertises in its back pages, including in a site called backpage.com. It advertises the services of people being held against their will in those circumstances. It is outrageous to believe a major American publication continues to advertise the services of young girls and young boys, some of whom are minors, and is doing so shamelessly. I hope they will heed our call to stop that from happening. It is a massive source of revenue for that company. It is outrageous, it is disgusting, it is grotesque, and I hope more of our colleagues will join us in writing a new letter to them in continuing to call attention to this because it is simply unacceptable.

Secondly, I want to turn to the issue of religious freedom, which is another human rights cause around the world. Sadly there is not enough advancement being made in that regard. We are seeing a step backward with regard to religious liberty and religious freedom around the world.

In April of this year the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom released its latest report with some very grim news. I want to go through some of it, but it is important to understand we are not talking about the countries, we are talking about the governments. There are some governments that are aiding and abetting the persecution of unprotected religious minorities. I want to highlight some of those countries and governments. The list is long, but these are a few I wanted to point to today that are truly unacceptable.

Let's start with the People's Republic of China, which is not exactly a beacon of hope for those who are looking for religious liberty. Of course we all know the situation in Tibet, which is not just a religious issue, it is a cultural issue. We see the self-immolation of folks who are willing to burn alive because of the effort of that government to wipe out their identity. What they are going through is intolerable.

It goes much deeper than that. Proselytizing Christians and the orthodox, ``nonpatriotic'' Catholic Church, face significant oppression. The Chinese Government actually authorizes who the leadership of the Catholic Church can be. It is truly unique that in all the world there is a government that will tell them who their bishops are and who will run their church. If they worship outside of that setting, they are persecuted.

There are others, of course, such as the Tibetan Buddhists whom I mentioned before. Here is a report that talks about that. It is not just the religious believers who are facing persecution in China. This is from the report:

The Chinese government also continues to harass, detain,

intimidate, disbar, and forcibly disappear attorneys who

defend vulnerable religious groups.

Again, we need to understand that we are not talking about the people of China; we are talking about the government of China which is aiding, abetting, and allowing this religious persecution to go on. We hope with the change in leadership in China that has taken place there will be a change in attitude.

The truth is that China has much to offer the world. We hope for a peaceful, prosperous rise for the people of China. We look forward to working together with them to make the world a better place. But China cannot assume that role as long as there is no respect for religious liberties as far as these practices that are happening in that country with the direction of its government.

Of course Egypt has been in the headlines lately. I think it has been well documented that violence particularly against orthodox Christians has been high. This is from the report:

In 2011, violent sectarian attacks, targeting primarily

Coptic Orthodox Christians, have resulted in nearly 100

deaths, surpassing the death toll of the previous 10 years

combined.

I think the Arab spring has a lot of promise, but I think it also brings with it some warning flags. One of those warning flags is the persecution of religious minorities in places such as Egypt. So as Egypt works its way forward--and we know it has problems it is facing in its own society with regard to what kind of government and powers it needs and should have--we should keep an eye on how the new constitution, the new laws, and the new government treat religious minorities, particularly Coptic Orthodox Christians who suffered the death of 100 of their members.

Iran does not have a sterling record on human rights. Its treatment of religious minorities is particularly egregious. The violations of religious freedoms in Iran include prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused. All religious minorities in Iran are at risk, but even the recognized non-Muslim religious minorities that are supposedly protected under their so-called Constitution, including Jews, Armenian, and Assyrian Christians, face increasing discrimination, arrests, and imprisonment, according to the report. So too are dissenting Muslims. They are basically Muslims who are not following the Shia line. They are being intimidated, harassed, and detained. That is the record of Iran, which has a terrible human rights record, but in particular with the issues of religious liberty.

Saudi Arabia bans any non-Muslim worship. Even private religious activities are suppressed if they are discovered. I think it is important to point that out as well.

Closer to home is the island of Cuba, which is a place, of course, because of my heritage which is close and near to our heart so we keep a close eye on what is happening there as well.

The report finds:

Serious religious freedom violations continue in Cuba . . .

Violations by the Cuban government include: detention,

sporadic arrests, and harassment of clergy and religious

leaders, as well as interference in church affairs. The Cuban

government also controls and monitors religious belief and

practices through surveillance and legal restrictions.

In Russia the report finds:

The government increasingly used its anti-extremist law

against peaceful religious groups and individuals,

particularly Jehovah's Witnesses and Muslim readers of the

works of Turkish theologian Said Nursi.

Russia is a country that is beginning to backslide on religious liberty as well.

Finally, here in this hemisphere, just as in Cuba, Venezuela. The report finds that violations of religious liberty include:

The government's failure to investigate and hold

accountable perpetrators of attacks on religious leaders and

houses of worship, and virulent rhetoric president

Hugo Chavez, government officials, state media, and pro-

Chavez media directed at the Venezuelan Jewish and

Christian communities.

I think sometimes we take for granted the religious liberties we have in this country, and we should never do so. The fact is we may have some cultural divisions in America when it comes to religion, and that is not tolerable either. But one of the great things we have had in this country since its inception is the belief in religious liberty and religious freedom enshrined in our governing Constitution. It is something that is the exception rather than the rule around the world. I think our example should inspire the world in that regard, but I think we should always use our voice, our power, and our example to lead the way around the

world on this Human Rights Day on the issue of religious liberty.

Last but not least, the cause for women around the world is something that bears watching as well. Some of these issues are interrelated. When I talk about human trafficking and human slavery, a disproportionate number of those held in bondage around the world are young women and young girls.

On the issue of human rights with regard to women, there are a couple of parts of the world that are very troubling. Afghanistan comes to mind because just today we got the report that a senior advocate for women in Afghanistan was shot down by unknown gunmen on Monday. It is the latest assassination against women's rights activists in the country. Najia Seddiqi was headed to her office in the eastern Laghman province when she was shot and killed. She was the head of the Women's Affairs Department for the Laghman province. Her predecessor in that post was killed just 4 months ago. The Taliban, which many hold responsible for the attack, has not yet had a comment, but it comes just a week after a teenage girl who was volunteering at an anti-polio drive was fatally shot northeast of Kabul. The Taliban has targeted senior female officials in the past for working in the U.S.-backed Afghan Government. That is just one issue of a coordinated attack to go after women who dare to participate in the political life of the country. It goes beyond that.

There is this very troubling law in Afghanistan which the government claims to have tried to clear up. It is called running away. Basically some judges have interpreted running away as a crime. It has been used against young girls and women who run away from home because it is a home where they are being abused or a home where they are being forced to marry somebody.

There are some sad stories I want to share. A 17-year-old leapt from her roof to the streets of Kabul in an effort to avoid marriage ordained by her grandfather when she was only 9 years old. The judge who heard the case mentioned that Farima ruined her life. The judge stated in a court that the court is a place where a woman can plead for divorce or custody of her children only if and when she has five male witnesses and a husband or a fiance who condones the separation.

This is the 21st century we are talking about. We are not reading something from history. This is happening right now. Of course we all know the story of the brave little girl in Pakistan who was shot. We hear these cases every single day. It goes on and on. I could be here for 3 hours highlighting abuses against women, against religious liberty, the abuses of human trafficking and human slavery around the world. I think what is important today on December 10, Human Rights Day, is to take a moment and understand that the cause of human rights is not a partisan cause; it is not even a nationalist cause. It is a human cause that requires each and every one of us to raise our voice and to call attention to any time and any place where human rights are violated.

I want to congratulate the leading role this government has played in calling attention to those abuses around the world and in being honest with ourselves when these things are happening here at home. Of course, like anything else, we have to first set the example before we can lead, and that is why I think it is so important that on the issue of human trafficking and modern-day slavery that the United States have cutting-edge legislation which deals with an emerging problem that keeps changing and so the laws have to adapt to it. I hope we will take the first step in doing that by authorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act as soon as possible.

I suggest the absence a quorum.

Mr. President, my late grandfather was one of the most influential people in my life. Until his death when I was 13, ``Papa'' was a mentor who spent countless hours on our front porch with me discussing history, politics and baseball. As a Cuban immigrant, he knew how special America is, and it is one lesson from him that I will never forget.

Papa was also my hero for the way he lived his life. Stricken by polio as a boy, he would be disabled for the rest of his life. He would often walk miles to work at a cigar factory to provide for his family. Because of his disability, walking was difficult for him and he would often return home at night with his clothes dirty from repeatedly falling to the ground. But he kept getting up, and lived a life that I admire and will never forget. Because of him, I knew from a very early age the inherent dignity and beauty evident in every disabled human being on earth, whether they were born with their disability or developed it in the course of their lives.

The landmark Americans With Disabilities Act, enshrined into law many fundamental rights to help disabled people live life. As Americans, it should make us all proud because it is one reason the United States has set the gold standard in the world for disability rights. It has demonstrated to everyone else one more dimension of our exceptional people, ensuring that our disabled brothers and sisters have better opportunities to rise above their physical limitations to stake their claim on the American Dream.

As the Senate considers the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today, it is important to note that a failure to approve it would in no way diminish what we have accomplished in America on disability rights, just as its passage would not improve the laws affecting Americans with disabilities. Furthermore, nothing on this treaty compels other nations to raise their standards or in any way improve the care they afford to persons with disabilities. Therefore, I stand in opposition of its ratification today.

The treaty's supporters have argued that its passage will elevate disability rights abroad, to the benefit of disabled people not fortunate enough to live under laws like ours and also to disabled Americans when they travel. However, the United States already promotes disabled rights and better laws abroad through the State Department and our foreign embassies. The Americans With Disabilities Act, and subsequent improvements to it, should be the law upon which other countries base their own laws protecting their disabled people and aiming to make their lives better.

I believe America's example should lead the way on achieving stronger universal disability rights than the United Nations, the governing body entrusted to oversee this treaty's implementation. The American example of millions of disabled Americans living their dreams is a stronger force to compel other countries to do the same than a United Nations body populated by such chronic human rights abusers as China and Russia, nations that fail to respect the fundamental rights of everyone, much less their disabled.

When this treaty was originally negotiated, a bipartisan consensus existed that this treaty would not address abortion. This is an appropriate position when you consider that, too often, unborn children in the United States and across the world are aborted because their disabilities have been detected while in the womb. When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee debated this issue in July, I offered an amendment to make clear this Convention does not create, endorse or promote abortion rights as reproductive health. I made clear its intent was not to change U.S. domestic laws on this matter. All my proposed change did was state very clearly that, at the end of the day, this Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is about protecting persons with disabilities, regardless of their stage in life. Because this important change was not adopted and for all the reasons I have outlined here, I cannot support Senate ratification of this treaty.

Mr. President, in every region of the world, the United States should search for ways to use foreign aid and humanitarian assistance to strengthen our influence, the effectiveness of our leadership, and the service of our national interests and ideals. When done effectively, in partnership with the private sector, with faith-based organizations, and our allies, foreign aid is a cost- effective way not only to export our values and our example but to advance our security and economic goals.

Foreign aid is a foreign policy tool used by the United States to work with other countries. In the case of Libya, Egypt, and Pakistan, each receives significant amounts of foreign aid from the U.S. taxpayers, and U.S. citizens expect these countries to meet the conditions we set upon this aid. In the wake of the uprisings across the Muslim world and the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, it is imperative that the United States receive the full cooperation of the host nations in investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the attacks on our diplomatic missions and the deaths of four brave Americans.

Senator Rand Paul's legislation would affect aid for these countries by effectively eliminating it. The American people deserve to be outraged following these attacks. However, the situations in these three countries are very different.

In Egypt, the government has the security capabilities to protect our Embassy and failed to do so. It was unacceptable that their President didn't immediately condemn the attacks and instead focused on a YouTube video.

In Libya, there was a terrorist attack on our consulate which resulted in the death of four Americans, including the Ambassador. The Libyan people rejected Islamists in their recent election, but their pro-Western Libyan Government does not have the security capabilities of the Egyptians. So far, the Libyans are trying to do the right thing by working with the United States to investigate these attacks and strengthen their own security capabilities. In fact, just yesterday thousands of Libyans fed up with terrorism took matters into their own hands by seizing control of the headquarters of several militias and demanding they be disarmed. Cutting off aid to Libya, which is trying to help us, is not the answer as it would weaken their ability to help us and undermine their efforts to defeat the terrorists in their country. It would also represent America's stunning rejection of what is clearly the Libyan people's will to reject extremists and terrorists trying to lead Libya back to darkness.

With Pakistan, I believe we should condition some if not all of the aid on the release of Dr. Afridi. He has been arrested on false charges. The time has finally come for Pakistan to decide if they are going to be a truthful ally of the United States.

Senator Paul's legislation lumps in three different countries with three very different situations, and I could not support such a measure as drafted. Prior to the vote on this matter, I urged Senator Paul to consider, at a minimum, restructuring his amendment to recognize that there are considerable differences between Libya, Egypt, and Pakistan. Since no changes were ultimately made, I opposed this measure.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I come to the floor of the Senate to talk briefly about an amendment on which we may or may not get a vote. It is an amendment by my colleague, Senator Paul. It really is directly related to the issues that have happened around the world in the last week and a half. We certainly watched in horror as our Ambassador, a fantastic and honorable American, along with three of his colleagues in the American consulate in Benghazi, was murdered last week. So I wanted to talk briefly about that because it really is an important moment in our foreign policy in the region.

Let me begin by expressing our deep condolences for that loss. All the members of the families of those folks who have died over there, our hearts are with them, our prayers are with them. We thank them for their brave service to our country and to the cause of freedom.

We have the right to be angry. The American people are angry and rightfully so. For years we have been investing our taxpayer dollars in aid to that region, and yet we turn on the television and we see these protests

against us. On one hand, every single year we send billions of dollars and hundreds of millions of dollars to help people in the region. We help them to stand and fight for themselves, to get rid of dictators. Then we turn on the television and we see people attacking our embassies or burning images of our President and burning our flag and chanting anti-American slogans. So the American people are both confused and angry. How can this be happening? But I think it is important for us that while we have the right to be angry, we should still remain smart in our foreign policy.

What I would like to talk about today is what it means to have a smart foreign policy, a pro-American foreign policy in that region of the world given these factors we are facing.

The amendment on which Senator Paul is asking for a vote would condition foreign aid to three particular countries. Let me begin my conversation by saying that this is a complicated issue, and not all these countries are the same. Let me contrast two of them, for example.

Let's talk about Egypt for a moment. Now, of course, the Egyptian people got rid of a dictator. They had an election. It was a very close election that was won by the current President, Mursi, who comes from the Muslim Brotherhood. But Egypt has a well-organized security apparatus, a well-organized and well-funded security apparatus. Egypt has the capability to conduct counterterrorism in Egypt. Egypt has the capability, they have the people and the resources to protect our Embassy in Egypt. They have no excuse for not doing that, if they fail to do that, because they are able to do it.

What was really troubling to me about Egypt, however, was that President Mursi, rather than immediately condemning the attack against the United States and the murder of our Ambassador, his first reaction was to condemn a YouTube video. That is what we are talking about here--a YouTube video. Anybody can make a YouTube video.

Now, there is a belief, by the way, in the Muslim world that because in their countries, if you produce a YouTube video or any movie, for that matter, your government had to approve it--they think, well then in America, your government must have approved it as well. But that is not true, and their leaders know better. The leaders of these countries know better. Some of these leaders in the Egyptian Government were educated in this country. They know full well that anyone can make a YouTube video. But instead of standing and explaining that to their people, they go along with this stuff. They say one thing in Arabic to their people and another thing to the rest of the world in English.

There is a long pattern of double-playing behavior that we should not stand for and should not tolerate. It is, in my mind, unacceptable that a full 2 days went by before the Egyptian Government clearly condemned the attack on Benghazi and clearly condemned these actions against America.

Contrast that with Libya for a moment. Libya had an election as well where two-thirds of the Libyan people rejected the Islamists and they elected pro-Western, pro-modern, pro-progress leaders to their government. But, unlike Egypt, Libya does not have the ability to protect our consulate as well. They did not inherit from Qadhafi a well-organized security apparatus. In fact, it was one of the reasons why I argued for a more forceful American engagement in Libya. I did not want the conflict to last that long. That protracted and long conflict in Libya--what it did is it created more time and more space for these independent militias--these are literally independent gangs who got their hands on weapons and fought in this revolution against Qadhafi, but now the central government cannot get these groups to give up their arms because to do so would be to give up their power. That is why having this go on for as long as it did is a terrible idea. The fact is, though, the Libyans do not even have control over large portions of the country. There are entire areas of Libya that the government does not control.

There is an increasing body of evidence that shows that what happened in Benghazi was not an anti-American protest, it was not as a result of a YouTube video; it was an orchestrated anti-American terrorist attack by terrorists--not by Libya, not by Libyans, by terrorists.

In addition to evidence that this was a terrorist attack, not a Libyan anti-American uprising, look at the reaction in Libya since the attack. I wish the media in the United States would give more coverage to the Libyans in the streets protesting the terrorists, holding up signs apologizing.

Our Ambassador in Benghazi was loved by the Libyan people, especially the people of Benghazi, who credited him for saving their lives when Muammar Qadhafi's troops were on the outskirts of the city about to massacre them. I wish more attention were paid to that. I wish more attention were paid to the ceremonies that are happening today in Tripoli honoring--our Under Secretary William Burns is there honoring the service of Ambassador Stevens. The demonstrations in Benghazi are going to occur tomorrow honoring him as well.

I am not saying everyone in Libya is pro-American. I am saying we have a government in Libya that is trying to do the right thing. There is open source reporting in the press today. Fifty American FBI agents are there now investigating this. Those are the actions of a cooperative government. They are trying to help us, but they just do not have the resources to do it well. Cutting off aid to them does not make sense to me.

On the one hand, we are demanding that they protect our embassies. They are saying: We want to, but we do not have the resources to do it. On the other hand, we are threatening to take away their resources.

So not all these countries are the same.

There are a lot of misconceptions floating around out there. I have heard some people say: You know what, maybe we were better off with dictators in the Middle East because they could maintain order. Let me tell you, that is a false choice. Here is why. These dictators were no friends of America.

Let me give you an example of Egypt, where people now say: Well, this stuff did not happen when Mubarak was there. No, it happened but in a different way. Let me tell you about the deal Mubarak and other dictatorial leaders in the region cut with extremists. Here is the deal they cut with extremists: As long as you do not do anything against us, you can do anything you want anywhere in the world. Conduct all the terrorism you want. Attack Americans. Blow up a train in Spain. Do whatever you want, just do not do it here. Do it in your country. If you do it in our country, we will cut your head off. If you do it somewhere else, that is not our business.

That is the deal these dictators cut with extremists.

It was not a coincidence that there were Egyptians involved in the 9/ 11 plot. These were not Egyptians who came from poor families; they came from prominent and distinguished families in Egypt, which leads me to the second point. These dictators allow anti-Americanism, because-- imagine if you lived in a dictatorial country--you are not allowed to protest the government. You are not allowed to protest your leaders. There are only two things you are allowed to protest--America and Israel. So that is what everybody does. It is almost a relief valve for frustration. Then they have a state-controlled media that feeds into anti-Americanism. Do you know that there were media outlets in Egypt under Mubarak and even now that tell the people in Egypt that in America denying the Holocaust is a crime? Denying the Holocaust is dumb, it is outrageous, but it is not a crime in America. Yet they spread these lies, these anti-American lies through the region. Of course there are people in the region who hate us because our so-called dictatorial friends and allies have allowed anti-Americanism to grow and be fostered because it has helped them hold on to the power.

So these dictators are not good for the region, not good for America. And the choice should not be between dictators and democracy. The second fallacy is, well, we will just have an election and everything will be better. That is not true either. Democracies can elect people who do not like us too. So this is not an easy issue to confront, but disengaging from the region is not the solution.

Now, I do not have a magic solution. I have only been here in the Senate for about a year and a half, so these are issues I am engaging in for the first time over the last year, but here are my opinions given what I have learned in the first 2 years I have been here, some points I would like to make.

The first is that we should expect more. We should expect more from leaders in the region. We should expect Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood and others to stand up to people and say: Look, we understand you are upset about this video, but you do not have the right to burn down an embassy. By the way, in America the government does not control these videos. Anyone can make a YouTube video. They are a free society.

No. 2, we should expect them to say the same things in Arabic as they are saying in English. Do not express condolences and outrage in English on the attack against America but in Arabic completely ignore it and only talk about the YouTube video.

We should expect more from them. They want a true partnership. They want American and Western aid. They want tourists to return. They want economic interchange between our two countries. We should expect more from them.

Here is the second point. This stuff is not happening because of a video, because people are upset. You know what, let me explain something to you. For radical Islam, our entire culture is offensive. They are not just offended about a YouTube video. They are offended that women serve in the Senate. They are offended that women drive. They are offended that little girls get to go to school. In some of these countries, converting to Christianity is punishable by death. So our whole culture is offensive to them, not just a YouTube video.

Here is the third point we have to accept. This is a critical moment not just for America, this is a critical moment for the Muslim world, where they have to decide what kind of future they want for themselves. Is this the future they want, a future isolated from the world, a future isolated from the promises of the 21st century, or do they want a different future? I know there are millions of people in the Muslim world who do not want this future, but they are afraid to speak up. They are intimidated from speaking up because of these radical forces that need to be defeated.

This brings me to my last point. We need to be very clear. We will support those who want a better future, like we should have supported the Green Revolution in Iran when brave young Iranians took to the streets to protest a fraudulent election, and instead of taking their side, the President disengaged and said nothing. We will support those who want a new future and a better future for their region. We are not asking them to abandon their religion or their beliefs, but they have to respect ours. We are not asking them to walk away from the Koran, but they have to respect our beliefs and tolerate our beliefs as well. We will support those who are willing to do that. We want to work with them. It benefits no one to have violence and destruction in the region. But we also have to accept the hard cold fact that there are people, there are radical Islamists in that part of the world with whom you can never and will never be able to reason. They are never going to change their minds. They are never going to come around. They are never going to one day all of a sudden change their behavior because we engaged them more, because we give more speeches at their universities. They are radical Islamists, violent people. It is a very clear choice: Either they win or we win. And the sooner we accept that, the better off we are going to be.

So we have to accept that on the one hand there are millions of people in that region who want a new and better future. We will side with them. We will support their aspirations. We will work with their hopes for civilian leadership and peace and economic prosperity. But for those who are radical Islamists, whose view is they want to conquer and bring under their control everyone who is not who they are, we have to defeat them. I wish it weren't the case, but it is. And the sooner we accept that, the clearer our policies are going to be.

So this is not just a critical moment for America in our foreign policy; this is a critical moment for them as well, for they are going to have to decide. If Egypt truly wants a better future for their people, one where their economy is growing and prosperous and young people can fulfill their aspirations, they are going to have to unequivocally reject this type of stuff or they will be trapped in the 18th century forever.

In Libya, they are trying to cooperate with us. They are allowing us to move forward. We should work with them and strengthen them, not abandon them.

And I didn't mention Pakistan, but that is important too. Let me just say that I think it is outrageous that doctor is being held there. I believe every charge against him is trumped up, and I think we should demand--I think it is right to condition some, if not all, of our foreign aid and cooperation with Pakistan on his status and on his release. So I hope Senator Paul and those who support his amendment will consider, at a minimum, restructuring that amendment to recognize there is a difference between Libya and Egypt and that we should take different approaches in that regard; that we have a right to be outraged; that we have a right to be angry, but we should never abandon being smart.

I yield the floor.

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.

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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. President, today I recognize Michael Hoffman, an intern in my Miami, FL office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida.

Michael is a graduate of Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fl. He received his Bachelor's Degree in political science and international relations from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

Michael is a Veteran of the U.S. Navy. He served 3 years in Japan in a F18 squadron and deployed on the USS Kitty Hawk. He then spent 1 year in Afghanistan as an individual Augmentee and as a Combat Master Driver for U.S. Forces. Michael was awarded two Navy and Marines Corps achievement medals and a Joint Service Commendation Medal as well as numerous other campaign medals. Also, in 2006, Michael was honored as Specific Fleet Filler of the Year.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Michael for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Randall Judt, 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.

Randall is a graduate of Stetson University in Deland, FL, where he majored in political science. He recently graduated from George Mason University with his master's degree in international commerce and policy. 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 Randall for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Arren Delatorre, 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.

Arren is a graduate of Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, FL. Currently she is a sophomore at the University of Florida majoring in advertising. 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 Arren for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

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.