Ayotte: ‘Live free or die’ means no big government

Freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) delivered a resounding endorsement of small government principles during her maiden speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, citing the New Hampshire motto "live free or die."

“We believe strongly that government should not and cannot get in the way of each of us reaching our full potential,” said Ayotte. “That’s what 'live free or die' means.”

Ayotte won the seat of retiring Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) last year with the support of prominent conservatives such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour and Rick Santorum. Ayotte, 42, is the youngest woman in the Senate.

Ayotte had harsh words for Congress as she endorsed a balanced budget amendment. 

“Hollow words paying lip service to fiscal responsibility have been used by too many in Congress for far too long,” Ayotte said in endorsing a constitutional amendment that would force the government to balance its budget every year. “Our founding fathers could not have anticipated how unwilling members of Congress would be to actually pass a balanced budget and make fiscally responsible decisions.”

Ayotte said she is determined to dig the government out of its debt.

"The debt that we owe is so much more than numbers — this is about us — who we are as Americans — and what kind of country we want to leave behind," Ayotte said.