[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 175 (Tuesday, November 13, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14240-S14241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           FINDING SOLUTIONS

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, now, this year, the Senate has voted on 
Iraq over 20 times. We have voted on Iraq in the middle of the night. 
We have voted on Iraq on a Saturday. We have voted on cloture, points 
of order, motions to waive, and other permutations of the majority's 
desire to appease moveon.org and other radical constituencies regarding 
the war in Iraq.
  Although Iraq is important, we have ignored other important business. 
Just last week, we just sent our first appropriations bills to the 
President, 38 days into the new fiscal year. We just voted on the 
Attorney General nominee, 45 days after it was sent to the Senate. We 
have yet to address next year's veterans health care funding needs, 2 
days after Veterans Day.
  The uncomfortable fact for those who would have us consider nothing 
not urged by the radical left is we stayed the course in Iraq, followed 
the plan for the surge as developed by the Pentagon, and we are now 
seeing the results there--but none here. Every day the situation 
improves some in Iraq. Every day there are more new stories showing 
that the country is moving somewhat out of its depths.
  Allow me to read some of the news reports.

[[Page S14241]]

  USA Today, November 13:

       The number of roadside bombs found in Iraq declined 
     dramatically in August and September.

  Here is the New York Times, November 8:

       American forces have routed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the 
     Iraqi militant network, from every neighborhood of Baghdad, a 
     top American general said today, allowing American troops 
     involved in the ``surge'' to depart as planned.

  Here is a quote from the Washington Post of November 8:

       The drop in violence caused by the U.S. troop increase In 
     Iraq has prompted refugees to begin returning to their homes, 
     American and Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

  This is from the Associated Press, November 8:

       Dramatic progress seen in Baghdad neighborhood.

  And back to USA Today, from November 7:

       With security improving In Iraq, commanders are now 
     considering how to reduce the U.S. presence without losing 
     hard-fought security gains.

  So we are seeing progress in our task in Iraq. But the business we 
set aside here in the Senate on other important issues is left alone.
  Every day our gas prices rise because we have not made meaningful 
efforts to improve our Nation's energy independence. Every day we grow 
closer to the looming entitlement spending crisis. Every day we draw 
closer to the expiration of the tax cuts that did so much to buoy our 
economy in the face of 9/11 and the Internet bubble crash of earlier 
this decade and even now help us ride through the oil and housing 
shocks to our economy. Every day we see greater lawlessness on our 
borders and confront a greater illegal immigration problem because we 
have not passed significant border security funding.
  The Senate is sometimes referred to as the world's greatest 
deliberative body. But that compliment is not supposed to summarize the 
sole responsibility of this institution. We are not just here to 
deliberate and ruminate and ponder; we are also supposed to act. 
Meaningless vote after vote on ultimately pointless proposals is good 
politics, perhaps, but not good government. It is not suitable for the 
Senate to spend weeks and weeks ignoring the people's business so that 
we can score political points and mouth the key shibboleths on the war 
on terror or by appeasing special interest groups.
  SCHIP expired on September 30. It is imperative that Congress 
reauthorize the current program to ensure children of lower income 
families still receive health coverage. Yet we make due with a short-
term reauthorization so that political points can be scored at the 
expense of sound policy and practical government.
  The farm bill expired on September 30, and we are here trying to 
squeeze in the work required to reauthorize it in the weeks before 
Thanksgiving, when we still have all but two appropriations bills to 
pass.
  It is obviously too late to fix things this session. I know we will 
be here to the point where we are shopping for holiday presents at the 
Senate Gift Shop rather than back home. But I hope the American people 
are taking notice of what little we have accomplished this year and 
demand better next year. We must stop mining the Nation's problems for 
partisan sound bites and try to find solutions.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Thank you, Mr. President.
  (The remarks of Mr. Barrasso pertaining to the introduction of S. 
2334 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 
15 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. VITTER. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

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