[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 1 (Thursday, January 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11-S13]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE 110TH CONGRESS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have heard my good friend, the 
majority leader, describe the first 10 bills of the majority in the new 
Congress. I would say for the information of all of our colleagues, the 
procedure in the Senate Republican conference is for the conference 
itself to designate our first 10 bills. We will be doing that at a 
meeting to occur in the next few weeks. We have essentially reserved 
the numbers S. 11 through S. 20 which will reflect our priorities for 
this Congress.
  Let me say at the outset, before giving my opening remarks, how much 
I value the friendship and relationship I have with the distinguished 
majority leader. I believe we had an excellent session this morning in 
the old Senate Chamber, and we look forward to getting off to a good 
start.
  Today is the 110th time in our Nation's history that we begin a new 
session of Congress. This is a day to renew our purpose, to set a 
sturdy course for the important work ahead, and to ask ourselves: What 
will future generations say of the 110th Congress? This is the first 
day of that Congress. What will they say of us on the last day?
  The Senate has a unique role in our Government. It always has. It is 
a place where the two great political parties must work together if a 
common goal is to be reached. It is the legislative embodiment of 
individual and minority rights, a place where the careful design, 
crafted by our Founding Fathers, pretty much operates today the way 
they planned it 220 years ago.
  We saw this 43 years ago with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the 
two parties forged a difficult alliance to reach a great goal. 
Segregated buses and lunch counters are difficult to fathom now, but 
their end only came about through the kind of cooperative resolution 
that has marked this body from the start.

  At its best, the Senate is a workshop where difficult challenges, 
such as civil rights, are faced squarely--and addressed--with good will 
and careful, principled agreement. At a time such as our own, when so 
many issues of consequence press upon us, it must be nothing less.
  Yet the challenges ahead will not be met if we do nothing to overcome 
the partisanship that has come to characterize this body over the past 
several years. A culture of partisanship over principle represents a 
grave threat to the Senate's best tradition as a place of constructive 
cooperation. It undermines the spirit and the purpose of this 
institution, and we must do something to reverse its course.
  The Senate can accomplish great things over the next 2 years, but 
this opportunity will surely slip from our grasp if we do not commit 
ourselves to a restoration of civility and common purpose. So as we 
open this session, I stake my party to a pledge: When faced with an 
urgent issue, we will act; when faced with a problem, we will seek 
solutions, not mere political advantage.
  The Framers thought a lot about the kind of people who would sit 
behind these desks on the floor and they set down some simple rules. 
Senators should be older than their House colleagues. They should serve 
longer terms, and proportional representation ensures that all States 
have an equal say, regardless of size. The Senate was also conceived to 
be a place of civil debate and good will.
  Mike Mansfield showed grace and humility in his efforts to expand 
civil rights. Working with Republicans to offset resistance in his own 
party, he guided passage of the great Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s 
and even let a Republican take the credit. In fact, today the name 
Everett Dirksen may actually be better known, but historians know 
better.
  Mansfield's collegial spirit didn't just surface when it served his 
purposes. Historians tell us his first appointment each day was 
breakfast with Senator George Aiken, a Republican from Vermont. The two 
men met when one of Aiken's aides spotted Mansfield alone, pushing a 
tray down the cafeteria line in the Capitol. She asked the new Senator 
if he wanted to join her and her boss for lunch, and he did. The two 
men remained close friends for 25 years. A small act of kindness set 
the tone.

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  Cooperation among parties is not so distant a memory that some of us 
can't recall Democrats and Republicans working together to pass 
President Reagan's tax cuts in the early 1980s. That common effort led 
to the greatest economic expansion of our history--the American 
miracle, they called it.
  We saw the spirit of cooperation again in the 1990s, when a 
Republican-led Senate worked with the Democrats, including President 
Clinton, to reform welfare. And we have seen it in recent years, though 
less frequently, on issues such as tort reform and the Medicare 
prescription drug benefit.
  We used to say that Senators were friends after 5 o'clock. We need 
more of that if we are going to restore this body to its high purpose. 
The Senate is not a club nor a clique. It is a group of men and women 
charged with the solemn duty to support and defend the Constitution 
against its enemies. George Mitchell once called the Senate a single 
body made up of 100 independent contractors. Yet he earned the respect 
of his colleagues by his willingness to listen, to work together, to 
take risks. He knew when to put self-interest aside. He knew the role 
of the Senate.
  The risks we face today are grave, and facing them will require 
greater unity and civility than we have been used to around here 
lately. But drawing on the examples of the past and conscious of this 
body's historic role, we can again rise out of our party trenches and 
work together for the good of all.
  This morning the Democrats and Republicans got together in the old 
Senate Chamber, an ornate, rather small room compared to this one, that 
always reminds me of the promise of this Nation in its early days. I 
would like to see, in this small act of bipartisanship, a sign of 
restoration to come.
  The work of restoration should start with the things that are easiest 
to do because a victory in small things now will lead to big victories 
later. The Senate has not approved a minimum wage increase in more than 
a decade, but we are willing to work together toward that end. We 
believe that an increase needs to help both the workers who earn it and 
the small businesses that pay it.
  It just makes sense to pair the increased wage with tax and 
regulatory relief, so the small businesses that create most of the new 
jobs in this country can remain competitive and employ even more 
people. We can get this done.
  The voters told us in November that they expect more from us. One 
concrete thing we can do to restore their trust is common sense 
lobbying reform. The first bill I will sponsor as the Republican 
leader, in cooperation with the majority leader, is aimed at precisely 
that. The voters want honest government. We can get this done too.
  Two issues. Two issues we can move on carefully but quickly. Let's 
get them done.
  After that, I challenge this body to be daring. The Senate has no 
claim on greatness unless its power is put to great ends. Divided 
government demands that we must work together. So let us do so not only 
for ends that are easily within our grasp, but for those worthy things 
that have just eluded us in the past.
  Social Security is an issue on which Americans demand action--yet 
many fear what action might mean.
  Our job is not to play into those fears but to erase them. To show 
voters that the greatest cause for fear is the system in its current, 
unsustainable form. Everyone in this Chamber knows the facts. So let's 
be honest brokers--and strengthen Social Security before this Congress 
ends.
  Today, the 110th Congress begins. But before it ends, the first great 
wave of babyboomers will retire. Over the next two decades, more than 
77 million people will leave the workforce even as fewer new workers 
join it. And by the time they all leave, there will be only two 
American workers supporting each retiree.
  This is clearly unsustainable. Unless we reform the system, we have a 
choice: Either our children work longer and harder or our parents live 
with less.
  The Senate cannot sit idly by as this demographic reality takes 
shape. Rather, we must do the hard work we were elected to do. We must 
make our money work harder for our parents and our children, and so we 
need to reform Social Security now.
  The Framers knew we would have to make tough decisions. That's why 
they didn't want Senators to be elected by popular vote. The system 
they devised had its own problems, so we changed it.
  But the principle was sound: the right decision is not always the 
easiest one. We have an obligation to address the important issues of 
the day, in a spirit of cooperation and courage, and with a goal of 
accomplishment for all Americans.
  Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be 
daring about immigration reform--and act on it soon. The voters demand 
it. We have a duty to deliver.
  Americans are generous, eager to welcome strangers and happy when 
they prosper. Yet we know that the blessings of liberty depend on 
respect for the law and a common national culture. We can ensure both 
even as we welcome those who come here looking for a better life.
  Laws that are generous need not be lax. And a country that is not 
secure at its borders is not secure in its laws. Border security and 
other law enforcement professionals must have the tools they need to 
keep our borders--and our laws--strong.
  America has not seen a domestic terrorist attack since we committed 
ourselves to the global war on terror. That is not an accident, some 
quirk of fate. Rather, it is due to the hard work of spotting and 
disrupting threats before they strike.
  The indisputable success of these efforts is the greatest argument we 
have to continue to support them--and to make sure those who secure the 
homeland are fully equipped to continue the outstanding work they have 
done.
  One of the principles that has guided our efforts in the war on 
terror is that terrorism must be fought at a distance or it will be 
fought in our streets.
  This policy has worked--and we must ensure that it continues to work 
by giving the men and women who carry out that mission every day all 
the tools they need.
  One of those tools is the terrorist surveillance program. If 
terrorists are calling the United States, we should know what they're 
talking about. This program has saved lives. And we would endanger 
others by ending it.
  Al-Qaida is not a threat to Republicans; it's not a threat to 
Democrats--it is a threat to America. And the Senate must work together 
as we prepare for the long struggle ahead.
  We must use all the tools we have: diplomacy, intelligence, economic 
and military might. The men and women of the Armed Forces have 
sacrificed much in battle. Their families have made great quiet 
sacrifices at home. We will honor both by pledging that the American 
Armed Forces will remain the best equipped, best trained, and best 
prepared in the world.
  And very soon, we will return to the issue of Iraq. It is my hope, 
and my challenge to this body, that the debate will be based on what's 
best for the future of our Nation and for Iraq--not what's best for the 
Republican party or the Democratic party.
  The Senate must be bold in preparing Americans for the struggle 
ahead. Our Nation's security depends on secure borders and a strong 
fighting force. It also depends on energy independence. So we must 
continue to work hard to decrease our reliance on foreign sources of 
energy.
  We laid a solid foundation during the last Congress, with passage of 
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and, just last month, with the enactment 
of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Both measures were passed 
with bipartisan support, and both will decrease our dangerous 
dependence on foreign oil and gas.
  There is more that we can do both to increase domestic supply and 
decrease our demand for foreign energy. The United States has an 
abundance of coal and remains a leader in nuclear technology. We should 
focus attention on using these natural resources safely, cleanly, and 
efficiently.
  We cannot go back on the gains we made in the last Congress. And I 
will work with my colleagues to continue this vital work.
  If the restoration of our purpose does not lead those of us in the 
Senate to be daring, then our prosperity should.
  Republicans presided over 4 years of economic growth; the biggest 
housing

[[Page S13]]

boom since World War II; and an unemployment rate that has stayed at or 
below 5 percent for more than 15 months. The current rate of 4.5 
percent is just remarkable.
  The crash of 2000 yielded to gains that have sent the Dow Jones 
Industrial average to an all-time high. We have created more than 7 
million jobs since August 2003. These gains are no accident. They are 
the result of the stimulative tax relief we passed. These policies 
clearly worked, and they should be kept in place.
  Republicans used the strong economic climate to cut the deficit. We 
cut it in half even more quickly than anyone thought we would. And 
working together, across the aisle, we must continue that trend and 
balance the budget within 5 years.
  Another focus of this Congress is the overwhelmingly popular and 
effective prescription drug relief for seniors. President Bush and the 
Republican Congress gave seniors the Medicare prescription drug care 
benefit they had waited on for decades. We cannot ``scrap'' this 
program, as some would like. And we will oppose any effort to do so.
  A spirit of cooperation will lead to a heightened respect for 
fairness--and ensure that the same number of judicial nominees that 
were confirmed in the final years of the last three administrations are 
confirmed in the last 2 years of this one.
  Americans want judges to uphold the original intent of the 
Constitution, not rewrite it. Judicial activism has divided the courts, 
the Congress, and the Nation for too long. If our work of restoration 
and a new civility is to take hold, we must recommit ourselves to the 
ideal of judicial restraint.
  Like the three Presidents before him, President Bush will spend his 
last 2 years in office with the opposition party in control of the 
Senate. Like them, he has a right to expect that his nominees will 
receive an up-or-down vote.
  The voters recently sent us a message. They told us to solve the 
problems that face this Nation. They expect us to win the wars we wage. 
And they expect us to be men and women of principle.
  The people of Kentucky gave me the great honor of my life when they 
first elected me to the Senate. And I have gone about my work here with 
them foremost in my mind.
  I have fought hard to advance and protect the values that matter most 
to the people of my State.
  It is because of another election that I stand here today. I am 
honored that my colleagues chose me to lead them at this important 
moment in our history. I take my duty seriously.
  I am filled today with a sense of purpose--for party, yes, but for 
this institution and for our Nation first, for their renewal.
  Elections are about ideas, and here are some I hold most dear.
  I believe the state exists to serve individuals and families, not the 
other way around.
  I believe everyone fortunate enough to call himself or herself an 
American should be able to pursue their dreams freely.
  I believe God has blessed this country richly, and that the proper 
response to the gift of freedom is to defend it.
  And I believe that the first duty of Government is the defense and 
protection of its citizens.
  So I am eager to work with my colleagues to find bold solutions to 
big problems. Yet on some things I will not yield.
  I will never agree to proposals that weaken the security of our 
citizens at home or the capabilities of our Armed Forces abroad.
  I will never agree to a tax increase on working families or small 
businesses. Our economy is strong because of the hard work and 
enterprise of Americans. We will not undermine that spirit by taxing 
it.
  I will never agree to retreat from our responsibility to confirm 
qualified judicial nominees.
  Bipartisanship, cooperation and accomplishment; yes. Civility; yes. 
But we will remain true to our principles.
  Henry Clay was a great Kentuckian. He spent the last 2 years of his 
life using the tools of the Senate to save his country. His devotion to 
the cause of national unity was so great that one rival called it ``a 
crowning grace'' to Clay's public life.
  Clay shows us that divided government need not be divisive. Indeed, 
it often leads to historic agreements that unity governments have 
little incentive to achieve.
  And so, working together, forgetting past grievances, forging new 
alliances, we can solve the difficult issues of the day. This is the 
purpose of the Senate and the privilege of its Members.
  If our steps are guided by this simple principle, then this 110th 
Congress will have met its responsibility on behalf of all Americans, 
and strengthened this institution for the unseen challenges that will 
always lie ahead.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.

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