Update from Senator Bob Corker
January 5, 2013

Time For Specifics on Entitlement Reform

In a letter on Sunday, December 30, Senator Corker asked President Obama to lay out specifics regarding the “over $1 trillion in additional spending cuts” the president alluded to in his interview with David Gregory of NBC’s Meet the Press over the weekend.

"In your interview with David Gregory that was broadcast on Meet the Press this morning, you stated that you ‘offered over $1 trillion in additional spending cuts’ in order to reach a major fiscal reform agreement with Congress and avert the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, you have been silent on the specifics. As you know, Congress must reduce notional concepts to actual legislative text. Members of Congress and the American people cannot judge the merit and long-term fiscal implications of these spending cuts unless you provide concrete detail,” wrote Corker in his letter to President Obama. “As we move forward wrestling with the nation’s fiscal crises, especially the debt ceiling, it would help us to have a concrete plan and legislative language from you.”

Complete text of the letter is available online here.

Senator Corker also appeared on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, December 30, where he made a similar challenge to the president.



On Tuesday, after voting in favor of fiscal cliff legislation to rescue 99 percent of the American people from a tax rate increase, Senator Corker said “it’s time to move on to the spending reductions that will be part of the debt ceiling package.”

"I am disappointed we could not address our country’s fiscal issues all at once, but unfortunately, the president made it clear that he was only willing to do this in two steps and leveraged the country and the economy to force revenues to be dealt with first. Now that we’ve addressed the revenue part of the equation, it’s time to move on to the spending reductions that will be part of the debt ceiling package. Passing fundamental entitlement reform is the most important action we can take in ensuring our country’s solvency and now we must have the courage to finish the job and make the tough choices necessary to get these problems behind us once and for all,” said Corker.

Wednesday, Senator Corker again expressed disappointment in the failure of a fiscal cliff agreement to reduce spending in an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, saying the first quarter of the 113th Congress needs to be about one thing: entitlement reform, encouraging passage of his dollar-for-dollar legislation that would reduce the growth of spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security by nearly $1 trillion in order to improve the programs’solvency.



On Thursday, Senator Corker discussed his vote on the fiscal cliff and pending filibuster reform with Chuck Todd of MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown where he continued pushing the Obama administration for specifics.

"This was not a bill anyone really liked. And at the end of the day, Chuck, you can always run from these votes… [O]n a big vote like this, I consider them to be defining moments [and] always have to look at myself as the deciding vote. Would we better off as a country with this policy in place or the policy that it’s replacing? And I think if you look at it that way, there’s no question that it was the right vote. But it was a terrible bill… [N]ow we have to move down the road to this next phase… I have laid out a very detailed plan… I have a $1 trillion entitlement reform package for a $1 trillion debt ceiling increase, and it is very, very specific… [T]his is all about one thing… And that is us having the courage to lay our cards out on the table, in public, and save this country… And yes, people are going to be upset. But this is what people do. This is what generations before us did to keep this nation great.”



Last month, Corker offered legislation to raise the debt ceiling by roughly $1 trillion in exchange for roughly $1 trillion in reforms to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. (Click HERE for a summary of the Dollar for Dollar Act and HERE for the bill text.)

Sworn In for Second Term


Photo courtesy of The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Senator Corker, who was elected overwhelmingly to a second term in November, was sworn in Thursday as the 113th Congress convened in Washington. Corker joined fellow senators in the Senate Chamber to take the oath, administered by Vice President Joe Biden. Following the official swearing in, senators participated in a reenactment with their families in the Old Senate Chamber. Corker’s wife, Elizabeth, watched from the Senate gallery as Corker was sworn in and joined him for the reenactment.

"I am grateful for the tremendous privilege Tennesseans have given me once again to represent them in the U.S. Senate and to weigh in on the big issues facing our country. We face historic challenges that require both parties to work together, the most significant of which is dealing with our fiscal issues by reforming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid so they are solvent for the long haul. I am more energized than ever and remain committed to offering meaningful solutions for these and other important issues,” Corker said.