[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 92 (Friday, July 14, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S7565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THIS WEEK IN THE SENATE
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we made real progress this week in passing
a very important bill, the Homeland Security appropriations bill, under
the leadership of Chairman Judd Gregg, who did a superb job on a very
important bill which adds billions of dollars to issues we spend a lot
of time talking about and debating but that puts real money, real
resources where they are needed: over $14 billion for issues
surrounding tightening our borders, increasing the number of border
security agents by 1,000, increasing the number of detention beds by
over 1,000, and well over $14 billion for border security and
immigration issues. It is a very important bill.
Over the course of this month I also intend to address other issues
surrounding securing our homeland, issues such as the Department of
Defense authorization and our military construction bills, all of which
focus on getting money down to where it is needed, protecting our
homeland, supporting our troops here and overseas.
Also, it was an interesting week in that we had very positive
economic developments announced with not just the 5.4 million jobs that
have been created over the last 30 months or so, not just the low
unemployment--4.6 percent, which is lower than the average of the
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s, but the fact that the deficit is coming
down much faster than anyone had anticipated. That is in large part--in
most part--because of the progrowth President-Bush-led policies of less
taxation which promotes that strong economic growth. Revenues are
coming into the Federal Government with lower tax rates, and the
revenues are coming in much faster than anticipated because of those
policies. And those increased revenues coming in, by definition, lower
that deficit. The deficit is projected this year to be 30 percent lower
than what we thought it was going to be just in February, earlier this
year.
The important thing to recognize, as we have this great, what we call
``macro'' or large global prosperity, in the sense of our global or
American economy here, with 5.6 percent growth in GDP last quarter, the
fastest it has been in years and years--at the same time we have the
squeeze that is on our average person, average taxpayer out there
today. That is due in part to the high gasoline prices that we are
going to see go up again--in part because of the international turmoil
in the Middle East, the fact we are 60 percent dependent on the Middle
East. Our response on this floor should be and will be to address
issues surrounding lowering that dependence on foreign sources of oil.
I hope we can do that in the next several weeks.
We had a very positive bipartisan announcement about opening
exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. It is bipartisan, so I am very
hopeful about that.
Health care is another one of those issues that squeezes people so
much because health care prices continue to go up two to three times
faster than wages. When that is the case, you get squeezed as an
individual. So in spite of the great macro numbers around the United
States of America, the individual feels squeezed with gasoline prices
and health care. So small business health plans are something we should
come back to, something we need to come back to and address. Most
people today work for what we call small businesses. These small
business health reform plans allow small businesses and the individuals
to have lower health care costs. They slow that growth of health care
costs over time and hit at one of the major reasons they feel the
pinch.
I mentioned energy. A lot of that focuses on the area called 181, in
the Gulf of Mexico. And I mentioned health care costs with the focus on
the small business health plans. We have the support of 56 Senators on
the floor, and I need 60 Senators to actually pass that bill. So I hope
a few more of our Senators will recognize, from a small business
perspective, from the perspective of the individual employee, how
important it is to allow small businesses to group together, to have
the purchasing power to get those lower costs, to get those lower
charges just like the big companies can get--the clout, the muscle you
can get by grouping small business together.
It is common sense. The American people scratch their heads and say:
Why can't you pass it? We have majority support.
We don't have 60 people yet supporting it. We need to work on that,
and I think we have to do it sometime this year.
Let me just comment and then I am going to take a short break and I
will come back to the floor to make a final comment on stem cells. On
Monday we will begin the debate on the three bills--one, a fetal
farming bill, a second bill that looks at alternative ways of
developing pluripotent cells or embryo-like cells--very exciting
research--and a third, the House bill which increases Federal support
for embryonic stem cells that are derived from embryos that are
otherwise going to be discarded. Those are the exact words in that
bill.
We will have very good debate. It will be on Monday and Tuesday of
next week. We will have those votes starting at 3:45 on Tuesday. Each
of those votes will have 60 votes for passage. People ask why. We all
agree to that because we can spend weeks and weeks on the floor of the
Senate and with all the filibuster and cloture and the like, that is
what you end up with, is you have to have a 60-vote threshold. That is
why we have agreed with that.
Mr. President, I will close and will come back and within 10 minutes
or so speak on stem cells for about 4 or 5 minutes, and at that time we
will formally close.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be dispensed with.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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