[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15952-S15953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last night, when everybody was rushing 
around in the well during the last vote and wishing each other a Merry 
Christmas, I was reminded of something Senator Lott said yesterday 
morning. He told us not to forget that we all have normal lives and 
families to get home to and the same basic concerns in life as 
everybody else; and that if we forget that, then this body is in 
serious trouble.
  It is in that spirit that I would like to wrap up the year in pretty 
much the same way I tried to open it, by urging a little more 
cooperation and civility. About a year ago now, I called on my 
colleagues from both sides of the aisle to take advantage of the rare 
opportunity divided government gave us to tackle big issues on a 
bipartisan basis. Beyond that, I said Republicans had a few basic 
priorities: keeping Americans safe and secure, protecting their basic 
freedoms, protecting their wallets, and spending their money wisely. I 
said we would not hesitate to ensure these priorities by shaping worthy 
legislation or by blocking legislation that would undermine them.
  Looking back on the year, I think we have been pretty successful at 
it.
  Early on, Democrats presented us with a minimum wage bill that 
undermined small businesses, and it did not pass. When they agreed to 
include a tax break, it sailed through by a vote of 94-3. We shaped 
that one.
  A little later, Democrats gave us an energy conservation bill that 
would have led to higher taxes, and it did not pass. When they agreed 
to remove the tax hikes 6 months later, it passed easily, 86-13. We 
shaped that one.
  Then they offered to extend a ban on the AMT middle-class tax hike 
for 1 more year, but to cover the cost by imposing a new tax on the 
same 23 million Americans who are about to be

[[Page S15953]]

whacked by it. The AMT was never meant to hit middle-class families, so 
a new tax to pay for the mistake was plainly unfair. When Democrats 
finally took it out, the AMT fix passed the Senate 88-5. We shaped that 
one.
  Again and again, we have insisted the minority be heard and, in the 
end, we were. We have shaped a lot of legislation this year to ensure 
that Republican priorities were addressed. We are proud of it.
  We have also stopped a lot of things that we thought would undermine 
our security.
  The most prominent example, of course, is Iraq. After last night, 
Senate Democrats had held 34 votes this year related to the war in 
Iraq. And on every one that either attempted to substitute our judgment 
for the judgment of our commanders or cut off funds for our men and 
women in the field, we prevailed.
  So we have shaped a lot of things we thought were worthy, things like 
the AMT fix and the energy conservation bill. And we have proudly 
blocked some things that we thought were just bad ideas altogether, 
like pulling our troops out of Iraq before the Petraeus Plan had time 
to take hold.
  But our intention from the start was always, if possible, to avoid 
confrontation as an end unto itself. The history books are filled with 
examples of the things Congress achieved when opposite parties 
controlled the White House and the Congress. That was always our first 
option.
  Unfortunately, our friends seemed intent on forcing votes all year, 
whether they be on Iraq or any number of domestic issues, that never 
had a chance of either passing the Senate or of becoming law. The 
practical effect, of course, is that very little would get accomplished 
in the end.
  But it didn't have to be that way. On the bills I have mentioned, 
Democrats had a choice: they could have presented us first with the 
version they knew we could cooperate on. Or, as we saw all too often, 
they could present us with a partisan bill that could only serve them 
as a talking point. When they chose the former, we racked up some 
serious accomplishments together.
  Over the last week, we have seen this kind of cooperation work on the 
energy conservation bill and on the AMT.
  I have actually enjoyed working with the distinguished majority 
leader all year. I won't be the first person to remark that he has a 
tough job. But he has shown a lot of patience this year, and he has put 
up with a lot. So I want to thank him for his collegiality and his 
friendship.
  I also want to thank him once again for speaking to the students at 
the McConnell Center in Louisville in October. It meant a lot to the 
students, and it meant a lot to me. A lot of people seem surprised when 
I tell them the last two Senators I have had speak at the center are 
Senator Kennedy and Senator Reid.
  All of us were put here by voters with vastly different backgrounds 
who hold vastly different views. And the fact that we can work together 
and pass legislation that covers every one of them is really the glory 
of this institution and this country. But we will never be able to do 
that if we are not gentlemanly and respectful. Trent had it right. We 
can't lose sight of the important things.
  In that spirit, I thank all of our colleagues and staffs on both 
sides of the aisle, Republicans and Democrats, for all the sacrifices 
they have made this year and for all the grief they took from their 
constituents, their wives, their husbands, and their kids for living 
the kind of life we all live in this fishbowl. I know a lot of them are 
on their way home at the moment. I am glad they are. I must say I am 
not far behind. But I do want to wish them all a very warm, happy, and 
Merry Christmas with their families.
  I might say to my good friend the majority leader and to all of our 
colleagues, we are looking forward to a month off and then looking 
forward to getting back together at the end of January to see what we 
can accomplish next year for the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a statement I will give later in the 
day about what we have done this year. But I want to take this 
opportunity to reciprocate with the kind words the distinguished 
Republican leader said on my behalf.
  Without in any way taking away from the opportunities we have, 
Senator McConnell and I, as being Democratic and Republican leaders of 
the Senate, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, these are 
wonderful opportunities, honors neither one of us would ever imagine we 
would have. I have been in government a long time, as has my friend the 
Republican leader. We both recognize that we have to set an example for 
the rest of the body in patience, in cordiality, and being gentlemen 
and friends to each other. I think we have done that.
  We have gone through some difficult times, criticized not each other 
personally but as to what has taken place there has been criticism. 
That will continue, and there is nothing wrong with that. I would like 
to say my criticism is constructive in nature, and I hope that is how I 
take any criticism that I get from the other side.
  We have a lot to do next year. Next year will actually be more 
difficult than this year because we will be in the midst of a 
Presidential election. For me, though, I will have three Democratic 
Senators back working full time. That will be very pleasant. We will 
not have to try to arrange the schedule for all four of them.
  Scheduling is hard because the Senate has changed over the years, 
even since I have been here. Schedules are now a lot determined by 
airplane schedules, not Senate schedules. But on the one hand, when 
Senators are forced to think about having to be here and not do their 
fundraising over a weekend, or going back to their States, we tend to 
get a lot done. We have had to, on occasion--several occasions this 
year--say we are going to have to be in on the weekend, but with the 
exception of one weekend, or maybe two weekends, we were able to get 
the same amount of work done had we stayed here all weekend.
  So, again, I say to my friend, the Senator from Kentucky, the 
Republican leader, we have a lot to look forward to next year. We are 
going to see a new President to replace President Bush. We hope that 
will create, in the last year of President Bush's term, more cordiality 
between the two of us.
  I have a meeting later today with the President's Chief of Staff. I 
hope that will bear fruit. One of the things we have to work on is to 
try to not have to be in session during the entire next month. We have 
Senators lined up to cover that. I hope we can work something out with 
the White House so that is not necessary because there is a significant 
number of Democratic nominations and a large number of Republican 
nominations we would like to clear. Hopefully, we can do that later 
today.
  So I will be back later, but I do want to express my appreciation for 
the kind words and thoughts of my friend, the Senator from Kentucky.

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