[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 20 (Thursday, February 7, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S762-S773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOVERY REBATES AND ECONOMIC STIMULUS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ACT OF 
                                  2008

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
now resume consideration of H.R. 5140 and that the pending motion and 
all amendments be withdrawn; that the amendment, which is at the desk, 
be the only amendment in order; that there be 20 minutes of debate with 
respect to the amendment, with the time equally divided and controlled 
between the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding 
back of that time, the Senate proceed to vote on the amendment; that 
upon disposition of the amendment, the bill, as amended, if amended, be 
read a third time, and without further intervening action or debate, 
the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, let me mention, it is a bipartisan 
amendment--Reid-Baucus-Grassley-McConnell-Stevens.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 
5140, which the clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 5140) to provide economic stimulus through 
     recovery rebates to individuals, incentives for business 
     investment, and an increase in conforming and FHA loan 
     limits.


                           Amendment No. 4010

       (Purpose: To revise the eligibility criteria for the 2008 
     recovery rebates for individuals.)

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for himself, Mr. 
     McConnell, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. Stevens, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 4010.

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask that the vote occur at a time to be 
determined. We will decide what time the vote will occur because there 
are people who are not ready to vote right now. They are wandering 
around town.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The minority leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that in 
addition to myself, Senator Reid, Senator Baucus, and Senator Grassley, 
Senator Stevens be added as an original sponsor of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Democratic leader.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, a key provision in the Senate Finance 
Committee package was an extension of unemployment benefits. This is 
one of the most effective ways to stimulate the company. These benefits 
can be distributed quickly, and they are likely to be spent.
  This is not a matter of ideology; it is matter of economics. And a 
broad range of economists agrees with this. Even Alan Greenspan, hardly 
a liberal Democrat, has testified in favor of expanding unemployment 
benefits during periods of economic slowdown. Expanding unemployment 
benefits works, and this is a matter of basic compassion.
  The long-term unemployed are among those Americans with the most 
pressing needs. Unfortunately, there are well over a million Americans 
who are expected to exhaust their regular unemployment benefits between 
January and June of this year. They need our help. If we extend the 
same assistance to them that we have to the long-term unemployed in the 
past, our entire economy will benefit.
  So I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the previous 
unanimous consent agreement, the unemployment insurance provision of 
the Senate Finance Committee package be added as an amendment to the 
bill currently before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I simply 
note that when unemployment exceeds a certain level, there is reason to 
extend it, but this Nation's unemployment now is under 5 percent which 
is deemed to be full employment. There is no trigger attached to this 
proposal.
  In a State such as New Hampshire where unemployment is at 3.6 
percent, an extension might have an opposite effect. Rather than 
stimulating the economy, it might undermine the ability to create more 
productivity. So I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, the State of Nevada is 5 percent, as is 
Michigan and a number of other States. It would not apply to every 
State but some States. I am disappointed my friend objected to the 
request, but I understand.
  The stimulus package I introduced earlier this week included a $1 
billion increase for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or 
LIHEAP. I commend my colleagues, my friend Jack Reed, Bernie Sanders, 
Susan Collins, and a number of others, for their strong advocacy for 
LIHEAP and for the broad support that they have helped build for the 
program. They know LIHEAP is critical for many Americans who otherwise 
will be forced to choose between heating their homes, putting food on 
the table, or buying medicine or gas for their car. These are people 
who will spend any additional assistance and help stimulate the 
economy.

  So I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the previous 
unanimous consent agreement, the LIHEAP provision in the previously 
withdrawn first-degree amendment be added as an amendment to the bill 
currently before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I note 
that I strongly supported LIHEAP and have supported it on numerous 
occasions and continue to support its expansion. I happen to believe it 
should be paid for. I don't think we should pass on to our children and 
our grandchildren the cost of the oil bills today. We should expand 
LIHEAP, but as part of expanding LIHEAP, we should offset that with an 
offsetting savings somewhere else. So at this time I have to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I am on my best behavior today, so I am 
not going to dwell on the fact that the war has cost us about $800 
billion, all borrowed money. But I understand the objection to this 
LIHEAP amendment.

[[Page S763]]

  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, if the Senator will yield, I also am on 
my best behavior today, I can assure the majority leader. I have other 
unanimous consent requests I wish to make, but I am reserving my 
energy.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, the Senate Finance Committee package 
contained tax incentives to encourage the development of alternative 
and renewable sources of energy, as well as investments in energy 
efficiency.
  Senator Cantwell has been a champion of these provisions. There is 
not enough I can say to commend her for her good work. It is 
outstanding.
  These tax incentives make sense from the standpoint of our economy 
and our Nation. They would create jobs for Americans and, in the 
process, they would reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy.
  I have seen the importance of developing alternative renewable 
sources of energy in Nevada. The geothermal industry has taken off in 
my State, providing hundreds of jobs for Nevadans and increasing 
Nevada's energy independence.
  So I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the previous 
unanimous consent agreement, the energy tax provisions in the Senate 
Finance Committee package be added as an amendment to the bill 
currently before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I am very 
sympathetic to the work of the Senator from Washington. She does 
exceptional work. As a practical matter, I am always interested in 
areas where we can develop energy and alternative energy, but that is 
not part of a stimulus package.
  These tax credits would essentially not kick in for literally years, 
in many instances, and are not going to do a great deal of stimulating 
and should not be added to the package. So on behalf of the leadership, 
I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, the Finance Committee, rightfully so, by 
an overwhelming bipartisan vote, agreed to include a provision in this 
legislation that is designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosures by 
allowing them to refinance. The President of the United States proposed 
this in his State of the Union Address, and this proposal has been 
championed by my friend, the distinguished junior Senator from 
Massachusetts, Mr. Kerry. It also would add $10 million in bonds that 
States could use to help address the serious housing crisis facing our 
country. They can sell homes that are in foreclosure or refinance 
loans.
  I commend Senator Kerry for getting this proposal added in the 
Finance Committee. It makes tremendous sense. I suggest it would be the 
right thing to do. The President supports it--or said he did in the 
Finance Committee--and I hope we can get agreement on it.
  I therefore ask, Madam President, that, notwithstanding the previous 
unanimous consent agreement, the mortgage revenue bond provision in the 
Finance Committee package be added as an amendment to the bill 
currently before the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, reserving the right to object, I think 
this proposal makes a great deal of sense, but in the name of the 
Speaker of the House, I would have to object. So I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I don't know if there is an economist who 
disagrees--there could be; I don't know who it would be--that the best 
way to stimulate the economy is to get money into the hands of those 
who will spend it immediately and the people who need it the most. That 
is why, according to more than one economic study, the absolutely best 
way to stimulate the economy is to increase food stamp benefits. 
According to that study, for every $1 allocated to food stamps, 
economic activity is increased by $1.84. That is the best thing we 
could do. It is the best bang for the buck.
  I therefore ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the previous 
unanimous consent agreement, the underlying bill be modified by adding 
a provision that would appropriate $5 billion to increase nutritional 
assistance for the rest of the calendar year.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. GREGG. Again, this package was worked out between the House 
Republican leadership, the House Democratic leadership, and the 
administration, and basically the purpose here is to move the package 
quickly. That was not part of the package. Therefore, on behalf of the 
leadership, I would have to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, it is my understanding that there is now 
20 minutes allocated, 10 minutes for me and 10 minutes for Senator 
McConnell; is that correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, 2 weeks ago, the majority of Senate 
Republicans was quick to endorse the House stimulus bill with no 
revisions, even though they knew it was inadequate and that the Senate 
had an obligation to improve the bill and to deliver a timely, 
temporary, and targeted bill by Presidents Day weekend. We have done 
that. Senate Democrats, and with the help of a number of Republicans in 
the Senate, joined to move forward. It is our responsibility to pass 
the strongest bill we can, and we have done that.
  If we had listened to the advice of the House, we would have 21\1/2\ 
million seniors with nothing out of this package. If we had listened to 
the advice of the House, 250,000 disabled veterans and their widows 
would have been left behind. We have been able to make the House bill 
better, and I am pleased with that result.
  There is much more to do, and that is why we focused today, as we did 
for a few minutes, on what is not being done. But I think we all have 
to acknowledge that the House bill has been improved significantly. We 
have gotten the President to agree the House bill was not perfect. I 
have said before that I wish there had been another vote. There wasn't, 
and I accept that. But I think we have to look at the good work that 
has been done.
  I can't leave this floor without expressing my appreciation to the 
Finance Committee, led by Senator Baucus and Senator Grassley. They 
have been champions of the American people. The American people have 
witnessed the last couple of weeks a lot of disagreements here on the 
Senate floor. We have had two difficult issues, the Senate stimulus 
package and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. We are basically 
about ready to finish the stimulus package, but we will be back and do 
more to help stimulate the economy.
  Today, though, I think we should feel good about what we have done. 
Fifty-nine of us believe the country needs an economic stimulus, and we 
voted that way yesterday. Everybody in the Senate, I believe--and I am 
confident, with rare exception, that it is true--we cannot have an 
economic stimulus package and leave behind senior citizens and our 
wounded veterans, and we haven't done that. We have picked them up. I 
am confident we will do better.
  I extend my appreciation to the distinguished Republican leader. It 
has been difficult to work through all this. And while it didn't work 
through the way I wanted it, it worked through a lot better than if we 
had accepted the House bill. I feel better today. The American people 
are going to be better off as a result of the work done in the Finance 
Committee by Senators Baucus, Grassley, and the entire Finance 
Committee.
  Madam President, I reserve my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, let me say to my good friend, the 
majority leader, we are on the verge here of an important bipartisan 
accomplishment. The American people looked with incredulity to a press 
conference a couple of weeks ago among the Speaker of the House, the 
House Republican leader, and the Secretary of the Treasury indicating 
they had reached an agreement for a stimulus package that would be 
timely, targeted and, as the Speaker said, temporary. We have now, 
after going through the legislative process here in the Senate, been 
able to reach an important bipartisan agreement that will be supported 
by the majority leader, myself, Senator Baucus,

[[Page S764]]

Senator Grassley, and Senator Stevens, who was the principal cosponsor 
of an amendment I had indicated a couple of days ago we would offer.
  This is the Senate at its finest, recognizing that this was an 
opportunity to demonstrate to the public that we could come together, 
do something important for the country, and do it quickly. The 
legislative process is frequently time consuming, complicated, 
laborious, and slow, and I think we have demonstrated today, or will 
demonstrate shortly, when we cast this vote, that we were able to put 
aside our differences, not only here in the Senate but with our 
colleagues in the House, as well, and the administration, to make an 
important statement that we are concerned about the slowing of our 
economy and we want to do something significant about it very quickly. 
So I think this is a fine day, a great day for the Senate, and 
something we can all feel good about.
  I again commend the majority leader for his spirit in working this 
out, and congratulate the Senate and both parties for what I think will 
be perceived by the American people as a significant accomplishment for 
our country.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I want the record to be clear that I 
fully support swift enactment of an economic stimulus measure. Having 
spent the past weeks and months traveling across America, I have heard 
first-hand of the difficulties facing so many hardworking families. I 
am pleased that the majority and the minority have finally reached an 
agreement to allow us to improve the underlying bill to address the 
needs of seniors and disabled veterans, and to close a loophole in the 
bill concerning the distribution of rebates. Now, we will be able to 
pass this measure today.
  The bill pending before the Senate--a compromise product between the 
House and the President--is not perfect. Certainly we can all agree on 
the important yet limited improvements I mentioned such as ensuring our 
senior citizens and disabled veterans are not left out of this stimulus 
package. While perhaps none of us will be fully satisfied with the 
final measure, we simply cannot afford to include every member's wish 
list in this package. I believe the measure we will send to the 
President is one that almost all of us can and will support.
  Beyond the short-term economic fix being debated, we must also 
consider the best long-term economic approach and to take action 
accordingly. In my judgement, there is no question that Congress must 
reign in wasteful porkbarrel spending. We need to make permanent the 
2001 and 2003 tax cuts at our soonest opportunity and avoid a crippling 
tax increase for millions of Americans. We should eliminate the AMT, 
the poster child for the notion of unintended consequences, which 
threatens to affect millions of middle class families. These are steps 
we should take now to end the uncertainty facing American families and 
businesses.
  America has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. 
Cutting corporate taxes will spur economic growth immediately and over 
the long run. We need to allow first year expensing of technology and 
equipment investment for businesses, which would further simplify our 
code and provide incentives for capital expenditure. We must also work 
to reform and make permanent the research and development tax credit so 
that our businesses can do what they do best--create jobs and expand 
innovation--without the continued uncertainty of the whims of Congress. 
These are important and necessary steps toward reforming our tax code 
to make it simpler, flatter, and fairer for all Americans.
  Clearly, we have much ahead of us to do and the American public is 
counting on us to fulfill the jobs that they sent us here to do. I, for 
one, have heard the voters. They want us to work together to stimulate 
and strengthen our economy and promote our Nation's long-term economic 
growth. Let's finally pass the economic stimulus plan and send it to 
the President. After all, time is of the essence if this effort is to 
be successful. The American public is waiting.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, I will support the bipartisan stimulus 
package today. It is better than doing nothing at all but not as good 
as we might have made it.
  I commend the Finance Committee chair and ranking member, as well as 
our majority leader, Senator Reid, for their untiring efforts to make 
improvements to the House-passed stimulus package. In the last few 
weeks, there has been a broad consensus that a properly crafted fiscal 
stimulus package could help ease the economic downturn we are 
experiencing. The measure passed by the House was a step in the right 
direction, and the amendment we will adopt today will improve on the 
House bill. Notably, the bipartisan amendment will ensure that 20 
million lower income seniors who rely primarily on Social Security will 
be included in the tax rebate program, and it will do the same for a 
quarter of a million wounded veterans with lower incomes.
  I regret that a particularly effective and desperately needed 
provision from the Finance Committee proposal was dropped from this 
agreement; namely, an extension of unemployment insurance benefits for 
the long-term unemployed. Not only was that provision the right thing 
to do to cushion the impact of this economic downturn on those who have 
been out of work for half a year or more, but we know from past 
experience that such a provision was one of the most effective ways to 
stimulate the economy. Another provision we should have included in 
this package, expansion of food stamps benefits, also shares those 
attributes. I very much hope that soon Congress will act on those two 
ideas.
  Finally, I was disappointed that little or no effort was made to 
ensure the cost of this stimulus package would not add to our already 
mountainous public debt that will be borne by our children and 
grandchildren. Make no mistake; there is no free lunch here. Even 
though no offsetting savings were included in this package to defray 
its cost, the bill will be paid--if not by this generation, then 
certainly by coming generations. Our children and grandchildren will 
pay for our stimulus package.
  Congress owes those future generations some consideration. We should 
return to the fiscally responsible budgeting of the 1990s, when we 
actually balanced the Federal books and began to pay down the Federal 
debt. We need not do so in a way that hurts the present economy, but 
paying for this stimulus package over the next 5 years or so would not 
undermine current economic growth, and Congress should consider such an 
approach.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, for too long the Federal Government has 
stood idle as Michigan's unemployment rate has soared, 3 million 
manufacturing jobs have been lost, and working families have felt the 
squeeze of the rising costs of energy, health care and food. I am glad 
that we are moving today on these short-term measures to stimulate our 
lagging economy--heaven knows we can't afford not to. But there is more 
we must do to fight for American jobs, and I am disappointed that the 
Republican Leadership blocked our attempt to significantly improve this 
package. I look forward to addressing the shortcomings of this bill 
with additional legislation in the near future.
  At a minimum, we need to pass the provisions that were in the 
amendment offered yesterday that was based on the work done by the 
Senate Finance Committee. Unfortunately, that amendment with bipartisan 
support fell only 1 vote shy of the 60 it needed to overcome the 
Republican filibuster. I am hopeful that under new circumstances we can 
get those provisions done.
  The Finance Committee amendment would have made this a much better 
package for stimulating the economy. Extending unemployment insurance, 
raising the cap on mortgage revenue bonds to help keep people in their 
homes, and funding the LIHEAP program to help people heat their homes 
are all timely provisions that offer temporary assistance that 
precisely targets the people who need this help the most. Putting money 
into their hands is the most effective way to kick-start our economy in 
the shortest time possible.
  There are a number of reasons it is important that we ultimately 
approve the extension of much-needed unemployment insurance, which most 
economists agree is one of the most effective ways to stimulate the 
economy, dollar for dollar. Workers who receive these unemployment 
benefits--which could

[[Page S765]]

reach them in as few as 2 weeks from enactment of the stimulus--are 
likely to spend them quickly, making this one of the fastest ways to 
infuse money into our economy in the shortterm. In my own State of 
Michigan, about 145,000 residents have exhausted their unemployment 
benefits and can't find jobs. Between now and June, 72,000 more people 
will face the same difficult situation. Extending unemployment 
insurance during times of recession is nothing new. In the past 30 
years, the Congress has acted three times to establish temporary 
extended unemployment benefits, each time during a recession. Studies 
indicate that extending unemployment insurance during tough times 
provides the best return of economic benefits compared to other 
stimulus options, and this money can be distributed within weeks. 
Extending unemployment insurance is essential to provide much-needed 
support to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to reenter 
the job market.
  To achieve success, the second economic stimulus package now being 
formulated must also help families stand up against the intensifying 
wave of housing foreclosures. More than 89,000 Michigan home loans are 
currently in foreclosure and over 40,000 subprime loans have scheduled 
rate increases this year. Across the Nation, too many families are at 
risk of losing their homes, with devastating consequences. Beyond the 
personal impact, rampant foreclosures can decimate communities. Home 
ownership is a central tenet of the American dream, but with the number 
of home foreclosures increasing at an alarming rate, that dream is 
slipping away from Americans across the country.
  I am pleased that the bill we will pass today will increase the loan 
limits for the Federal Housing Administration, Freddie Mac and Fannie 
Mae. These are modest moves in the midst of a full-blown crisis, but it 
is better than nothing.
  I am hopeful that soon we can also pass the measure included in the 
Finance Committee amendment that would have raised the volume cap on 
State-issued tax-exempt mortgage-revenue bonds by $10 billion. The 
proceeds from these bonds would allow State and local agencies to 
provide additional mortgage refinancing options to homeowners so that 
they could keep their homes. It is critical that we help prevent the 
further deepening of the foreclosure crisis, keep families in their 
homes, and protect neighborhoods from the blight which results from 
large numbers of vacant houses.
  On a positive note, I am glad that we have adopted the Senate's 
improvements to what we are calling a ``tax rebate'' program. This bill 
will give a tax credit to be sent out as quickly as possible to provide 
fast cash for many struggling families, thereby ameliorating their 
hardship at the same time as giving a boost to spending. Today's bill 
is a package of inclusion, one that recognizes the importance of giving 
our Nation's aging citizens and disabled veterans their share of 
stimulus support. These tax rebates will give $600 to individual 
taxpayers with at least $3,000 of qualifying income, or $1,200 for 
married couples filing jointly, and an additional $300 for each 
qualifying child. A prudent stimulus package should not neglect the 
elderly and disabled veterans, and the tax rebate program we have 
adopted includes social security and disabled veterans' benefits as 
qualifying income for the purpose of determining eligibility for the 
rebate, thereby putting money directly into the hands of some of our 
nation's neediest some 20 million seniors and 250,000 veterans. Not 
only will this help these folks attend to their families' most basic 
needs, but it will further stimulate the economy for the betterment of 
the whole Nation.
  I am also pleased this package includes tax provisions to stimulate 
small businesses, which are the heart of America's economic strength. 
It allows small businesses to double the amount they can expense, 
meaning immediately write off, their taxes for certain capital 
investments made in 2008 from $125,000 to $250,000. It also provides 
immediate tax relief for all businesses to invest in new machinery and 
equipment by speeding up depreciation provisions, so that firms can 
write off an additional 50 percent depreciation in the first year.
  However, given the importance of small businesses' contribution to 
the economy and to job creation, much more needs to be done to help 
small businesses find access to credit in this slowing economy. For 
instance, as a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I have 
joined some of my colleagues in calling for a temporary reduction of 
fees on small business loans to help reverse the recent decline in SBA 
guaranteed lending to small businesses. I think a temporary reduction 
in the fees charged to borrowers will put more money in the pockets of 
small businesses by lowering their monthly loan payments. Equally 
important is reducing the fees SBA charges lenders because we need to 
take steps to make lending to small businesses more profitable and thus 
more appealing so that banks will continue to be willing to make these 
important loans.
  We should also make a one-time enhancement of $10 million to the SBA 
microloan program's revolving fund to increase credit availability for 
very small business concerns, especially those who face additional 
barriers to economic opportunity. The SBA's microloan program provides 
funding for small-scale business loans, which banks are typically 
reluctant to service.
  When the economy is slowing, the Federal Government should be doing 
all it can to keep America's small businesses viable so that they can 
continue to be the economic engine of our economy that they have been 
in the past. I hope some of these ideas will be included in the longer 
term stimulus package.
  I am also disappointed that this stimulus package does not include 
the 1-year extension of the production tax credit for renewable energy, 
which was included in the Senate Finance package. Current law provides 
a 1.8 cent per kilowatt tax credit for electricity produced from 
renewable sources including wind, solar, and biomass, but this 
provision will expire at the end of 2008. An effort was made to extend 
it for 2 years in the energy bill last year, but that effort also 
failed. This tax credit is critical to many developers of renewable 
energy projects--without an extension, many projects will be put on 
hold because they will be less financially viable. With the tax credit, 
these projects can go forward, and provide both investment in the 
economy and creation of new jobs.
  Failure to approve yesterday's amendment also means that the stimulus 
package will not include an additional $1 billion for the LIHEAP 
program, which provides energy assistance to many low-income families. 
This program has been seriously underfunded for the current fiscal 
year, and this additional infusion of LIHEAP funding would have put 
money quickly and directly into the hands of individuals who need it. 
LIHEAP funds would be spent quickly and immediately, thus stimulating 
the economy and providing a vital safety net to families and seniors so 
they do not need to choose between eating and paying their energy bill. 
In addition to being targeted to those most in need, LIHEAP funding 
would provide benefits to the economy. Studies have shown that every 
LIHEAP dollar distributed generates up to five $5 of economic activity. 
By helping to offset home heating costs, these low-income households 
will be able to spend money on other vital essentials that will in turn 
help to stimulate the economy.
  Beyond needing to ultimately pass the provisions in the Finance 
Committee package, it is also important that we take up legislation in 
the near future to target Federal spending on infrastructure, advanced 
technology and redevelopment projects that will create jobs. Our long-
term economic growth requires investments by the Federal Government to 
create jobs and help our businesses grow and compete. Infrastructure 
and advanced technology should be our top priorities. Businesses that 
are successful are more inclined to hire new workers and expand. In 
Michigan, we know that success for many of our industries requires good 
roads, safe bridges, and harbors that are dredged to promote dependable 
shipping. Immediate Federal spending on infrastructure and dredging 
projects can put people to work and lay the foundation for future 
economic growth.
  Investments in advanced technology can have similar long-term 
benefits.

[[Page S766]]

For example, developing the next-generation advanced batteries for 
hybrid cars could lead to enormous growth of our auto industry. I have 
proposed public-private partnerships for research and development of a 
host of technologies that offer much potential for job creation.
  No State is struggling more than Michigan in this tough economy, and, 
unfortunately, evidence is growing by the day to indicate that families 
and workers all across the Nation are facing tougher economic 
challenges. I will support this short-term stimulus package as a start, 
but I will also continue to push for further, stronger efforts to 
address the problems on a broader level.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that any votes 
regarding H.R. 5140--and there will be either one or two votes, 
whatever is determined--we could get by with one vote, but there may be 
someone who wants two votes, and if that is in fact the case, we will 
have two--that we not start voting until 4:10 this afternoon. I ask 
unanimous consent that be the case.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I also ask unanimous consent that the time 
between now and then be divided between the majority and the minority, 
and I would ask the chairman how much time he needs out of the half 
hour.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Six or seven minutes.
  Mr. REID. With 5 minutes to Senator Durbin, 5 minutes to Senator 
Murray, 3 minutes to Senator Boxer, and 4 minutes to Senator Salazar.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. Leader, I don't know, but we might want to have 
time.
  Mr. REID. You have it. I gave it to you.
  Mr. McCONNELL. The time is divided.
  Mr. REID. And that Senator Schumer have 5 minutes. Does that add up 
to more than my half hour?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). We are calculating it.
  Mr. REID. I don't think it does, but if it does, let's trim it a 
little bit.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, parliamentary inquiry: How much time 
is on this side?
  Mr. REID. A half hour.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. A half hour.
  The majority leader has allocated 29 minutes.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that be the case.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I think in the spirit of bipartisanship 
today, we will alternate back and forth, Democrat and Republican. The 
first will be Senator Baucus.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana is recognized.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, this is a big one. The victory before us 
is a victory for 20 million seniors who came of age during the Great 
Depression and World War II. They have been called the Greatest 
Generation. They fought for their country. They gave a lifetime of 
labor. They gave a lifetime of service. They paid a lifetime of taxes. 
They contribute to our economy today. And now they will get stimulus 
checks, too, like other Americans. Today is another victory for the 
Greatest Generation.
  Today's agreement is a victory for a quarter million disabled 
veterans. No one can question their sacrifice. No one can question 
their contribution. They have fought for America. Today is a victory 
for disabled veterans.
  Today's agreement is a victory for the rule of law. That is because 
the agreement ensures that the stimulus checks will go to Americans. It 
guards against sending checks to people who have violated our Nation's 
immigration laws.
  Today's agreement is a victory for the Founding Fathers, who created 
the Senate and who created the Finance Committee. There were those who 
said we should take what the House of Representatives told us to take. 
There were those who said we should take what the White House told us 
to take. But our Founding Fathers created a legislature with two 
Chambers. The Founding Fathers created a government with checks and 
balances. Today is a victory for those of us who want the Congress to 
work as the Founding Fathers intended it.
  Today's agreement is a victory for open government. The elements of 
this agreement came out of the open process of the Senate Finance 
Committee. Americans need not settle for the products of back-room 
deals. Legislation gets better when people meet in the open and debate 
it in the open this way. That is what we did in the Senate Finance 
Committee, and today's agreement is a victory for open government.
  Today's agreement is a victory for moderates. Today's agreement is a 
victory for men and women of good will, such as Chuck Grassley, Blanche 
Lincoln, and Olympia Snowe. Today's agreement is a victory for people 
who are willing to reach across the aisle and work with other people of 
good will, even if they belong to another political party.
  Today's agreement is a victory for people of courage, who were 
willing to buck their party's leadership, to buck the administration, 
for a better America. Today's agreement is a victory for people willing 
to stand up for what they think is right. Senator Grassley and I will 
remember who stood with us.
  Today's agreement is a victory for a better, more effective economic 
stimulus. Economists agree that consumer spending, fueled by tax 
rebates, can boost America's economy. Americans over age 65 spend 92 
percent of their incomes in any given year. They will spend their 
rebate checks quickly, and that will boost the economy quickly.
  Most of all, today's agreement is a victory for the American people. 
Today's agreement will speed rebate checks to the overwhelming majority 
of Americans, giving them needed tax relief. Today is a victory for the 
American people.
  I thank my colleagues who have supported this package. I thank my 
colleagues for their help in crafting it along the way, and I urge the 
Senate to adopt it right away.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Lincoln be 
added as a cosponsor to the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Finally, Madam President, I say again how proud I am to 
work with my colleague from Iowa, Senator Grassley. He, more than any 
other Senator I can think of, always does what is right for his home 
State of Iowa and for the country. I know of no Senator with greater 
courage than the Senator from Iowa, and I say to everyone, anyone 
listening, that we are here today in large part because this is a 
bipartisan agreement. We stood together. We did not want to buckle 
down, we did not want to cave in to the House and the White House, 
because we wanted something a little better--something a little bit 
better--and we stood together, worked hard on this Finance Committee 
package, with our hearings and amendments we adopted, and we did it 
very quickly. So we are going to finally have an agreement by both 
bodies and by the White House, and I am quite certain very quickly, so 
Americans can get those rebate checks they expected and they deserve to 
receive.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa is recognized.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. First, Madam President, following on where Senator 
Baucus left off, I thank him for his remarks, and I would be glad to 
associate myself with them and put his words in my mouth so that I 
would say the same thing about him. It is a pleasure to work with him 
but, more importantly, a pleasure to have this opportunity to say that 
a product we have worked on, that was an expression of 59 Members of 
the Senate, is finally going to go to the President of the United 
States.
  So I say that about Senator Baucus personally, but I also say, for 
those people who are listening, and who think that nothing in this city 
ever gets done in a bipartisan way, we are proving to the rest of the 
Nation that everything in Washington is not partisan and we eventually 
get things worked out in a bipartisan way. I will add to that: Nothing 
gets done in the Senate unless it is bipartisan.
  I would add a second point, and that second point is that a week 
before the House of Representatives passed their product, the House of 
Representatives, Republican and Democratic leaders, reached an 
agreement with the White House of a so-called perfect package that was 
going to stimulate the economy. They wanted to get it to the

[[Page S767]]

President immediately, and it was something that the Senate ought to go 
along with, without question. Then in a speech a week ago, I spoke here 
about the functions of the Senate--to distill and cool and observe and 
put in a laboratory the legislation that comes from the other body--and 
that it wasn't the function of the Senate to rubberstamp the House of 
Representatives.
  I mean, we are not, I guess you would say, like the Senate of France, 
as an example, or the House of Lords of London, we are the United 
States Senate representing our constituents and are not a rubberstamp 
body.
  And the Constitution was written with the Senate to give greater 
deliberation to legislation than what the House of Representatives 
does. This action right now is a perfect example of what we are set up 
to do as the Senate, and that perfect piece of legislation that we were 
told was so perfect, after it went through the process of 21 members of 
the Senate Finance Committee looking at it, came to the conclusion 
there were about three things wrong with it: 20 million seniors 
citizens left out. If you want to stimulate the economy, including low-
income seniors as consumers in America who need to spend money as one 
of the chief stimulants; and then the House of Representatives did not 
honor the disabled veterans of America the way they should have--I 
should say the low-income disabled veterans of America the way they 
should. And then the second one was the possibility, very real 
possibility, of people who are here illegally maybe being able to 
qualify for a rebate check. So all of those are shortcomings in that 
perfect piece of legislation worked out between the White House and the 
Democratic leadership of the House of Representatives.
  As intelligent as those people are, and they are intelligent, it was 
not so perfect. So the Senate did its work. Here we are. I am pleased 
we are prepared to finish the job on the economic stimulus package this 
very day--in fact, within a few minutes.
  One week ago today, I spoke at length about the improvement the 
Finance Committee made in the House bill. The key improvements were on 
the structure of the rebate. The Finance Committee members added 20 
million low-income seniors, and several hundred thousand disabled 
veterans are now about to be able to participate in the rebate checks.
  Illegal immigrants will not benefit from the rebate checks, and they 
should not. I know that is a no-brainer, but it is something you have 
to make certain is in law because it will happen.
  All these changes are a result of the work, under the leadership of 
Senator Baucus, of 21 members coming together to do what needed to be 
done to correct the House bill. Now, this took a while. But my leaders 
saw the light of the Finance Committee improvements.
  My understanding is the House and the White House agree with us as 
well. Through the process, we will approve a truly bipartisan, 
bicameral bill. The American people will witness, in this process, a 
deliberative body, deliberating as we should but doing it in an 
expeditious way.
  The best bill would be the full Finance Committee bill. That bill 
would have provided more business tax relief, more incentive for 
investment with probably longer--the certainty of the creation of more 
jobs. And, of course, we had an energy investment package in it.
  Well, those will come up another time. My colleagues who favor those 
issues are not going to be left out in the cold. The House and the 
White House did not want these provisions in this bill. So in the 
interests of compromise, those provisions are dropped but not dropped 
out of sight.
  I wish to thank our leaders for accepting, after some reluctance, the 
Finance Committee changes. We have a better product because the 
chairman and the committee process has worked. The committee members 
made this a better deal, and I thank Chairman Baucus for his 
leadership.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent when we come back to this 
side, Senator Alexander would have 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BOXER. Reserving the right to object, I will not object, If we 
are doing it this way, I would ask unanimous consent to follow Senator 
Alexander.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator 
Snowe be added as an original cosponsor to the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I be added 
as an original cosponsor of the amendment as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Madam President, this is a fine moment for the Senate 
because it is a group of Senators coming together and saying we need to 
jump-start the economy, we cannot delay, we need to move forward very 
quickly.
  Because of the action this Chamber will take later today, we will see 
100 million Americans receive tax rebate checks in the mail that then 
will help us jump-start the economy. But as Senator Baucus and Senator 
Grassley have pointed out, we have taken a package from the House and 
have significantly improved it, significantly improved it in two major 
ways.
  First, the 21 million seniors who receive Social Security who were 
left out of the House package will now be receiving those tax rebates 
in the mail. So it is important to note this is a very important step 
in us standing up for the elders of America, for whom we have so much 
respect.
  The second major improvement in this legislation is we also have 
honored our disabled veterans, 250,000 disabled veterans, who were left 
out of the House package, out of the package negotiated by the White 
House. We have included those in this legislation.
  So in that way, this legislation represents a very significant 
improvement upon the package that came over from the House. Let me also 
say this is a business-friendly package because the product of the 
Finance Committee will put money in the pockets of small businessmen 
and women, as well as large businesses so they can invest in equipment, 
so they can create jobs and they can help start getting our economy 
from going further into the ditch and back on solid track.
  Having said that, I also think it is incumbent upon all of us to 
understand this is a short-term fix and that there are longer term 
economic and fiscal problems that face this country that need to be 
grappled with. It would be my hope, as one Senator, in the days ahead, 
we move forward and embrace a phase two of economic recovery for this 
Nation.

  I believe No. 1 on that agenda of this recovery program should be a 
focus on housing legislation that will help us address the major issues 
that are being faced across the country, including so poignantly in the 
State of California, where my good friend, Senator Boxer, was 
describing to us what is happening with the foreclosure rate, which is 
going to be six times higher than it was last year.
  In my State of Colorado, 1 in 375,000 homes is in foreclosure. In my 
State of Colorado, there is a significant decline in real estate 
values. Across the country it is projected that everyone's home is 
going to decline on average by 14 percent.
  So housing, I hope, is immediately on our agenda; that we move from 
there and get a good farm bill passed for our food and fuel security 
for our country; and, thirdly, that we embrace the Finance Committee 
package on energy legislation that will help us get to that new 
frontier of a clean energy economy for the 21st century.
  So while I applaud this package and support it 100 percent, our work 
has just begun. This is simply a first step.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, there is one message we hear 
consistently from the people we represent in this country. It is: They 
would like for us to change the way we do business in Washington, DC. 
They would like for us to come and focus our attention on big problems 
that affect everyday Americans--whether it is helping each American 
have health care insurance, whether it is keeping our jobs from going 
overseas, whether it is the $3 price of gasoline--and work together in 
a principled way to solve it.
  They do not mind our having big debates on big issues, about big 
principles

[[Page S768]]

such as liberty versus security or terrorism. What they do not like is 
the ``playpen'' politics, when we bring out the charts and hire the 
campaign strategists and degenerate into what ought to be in a 
kindergarten or in a political campaign.
  I am pleased to say this is a good way to begin the year the way that 
this has worked out, because the President and the House of 
Representatives deserve great credit for agreeing quickly on a timely, 
targeted proposal to help our economy be stimulated and move along.
  They made it temporary, so it was not anymore of an infringement on 
the budget, and they sent it to us. I am very proud of the Senate. But 
I do not think it is such a bad idea, every now and then, to concede 
that even President Bush and the House of Representatives are not wrong 
all the time. They actually sent us an excellent package and gave us a 
good start. What we have done is essentially accept the House package 
that Speaker Pelosi, Mr. Boehner, and the President negotiated, and we 
have improved on it in a couple ways involving seniors and disabled 
veterans.
  All of us agreed about that, almost all of us. The Republican leader 
suggested we do that a couple days ago. So I think there is plenty of 
credit to go around. I would start by giving it to the President and 
the House of Representatives. Of course we should thank the Finance 
Committee for the work it did, the Republican leader for his 
suggestion, with Senator Stevens, that we add the disabled veterans and 
seniors, which he made a couple days ago. And we should feel good that, 
by the end of this week, as Senator McConnell said earlier this week, 
we will have sent to the House and hopefully to the President a piece 
of legislation that will help taxpayers keep more of their own money, 
help small businesses keep more of their own money, and in doing that, 
help create jobs and help create additional spending that will 
stimulate our economy.
  We had a disagreement, in actually a very good way. The Finance 
Committee recommendations included a number of proposals that many of 
us felt amounted to an excuse to spend, rather than economic stimulus. 
We voted on that yesterday, and we took most of those off. But that 
does not mean the Finance Committee was wrong to make the suggestion; 
it meant we did not agree with them. So we put those things aside for 
now. We will debate them later, and we will go forward with this bill.
  A number of us on this side of the aisle, the Republican side, have 
some things we would like to add to any bill that has to do with 
economic stimulus. And Senator Hutchinson of Texas and Senator Vitter 
of Louisiana and Senator Isakson today talked about a number of those 
such as including long-term lower tax rates whether it is marginal 
rates or dividends or capital gains.
  Those include Senator Isakson's proposal to give a tax credit to 
those who would buy foreclosed homes, $5,000 for 3 years so we can get 
the consumer back into the housing market. It would include the 
proposals, as Senators Hutchinson and Ensign and others have made in 
the America Competes Act, which we passed together, Democrats and 
Republicans. Now we need to implement it so we can give more incentives 
to outstanding teachers, help low-income students take more advanced 
placement courses, bring in more talented people from other countries 
who get graduate degrees in science and technology, and allow them to 
have a green card and stay here and create jobs in the United States 
instead of going overseas.
  We have some work to do on controlling runaway litigation. All of 
that has to do with job creation in America. We could have said: Yes, 
we would like to have that on this. But we agree, we will set that 
aside for now. But those are the long-term objections we have. We look 
forward to the debate on those issues and those steps.
  I wish to congratulate the majority leader and the Republican leader, 
the Finance Committee, and the others who worked hard on this. I wish 
to thank the House and the President for sending us a good piece of 
legislation. I would ask my colleagues to consider this: We may want to 
send the House something sometime we hope they pass. So why not give 
them some credit for sending us something that substantially we agree 
with, and with a couple of improvements, we believe is better for the 
people of this country.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I had asked for 3 minutes. I ask 
unanimous consent for 4 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, yesterday we were all very saddened when 
we failed to get the Senate Finance Committee stimulus package passed. 
We lost by one vote because Republicans filibustered, and they forced 
us to get 60. We got 59 votes for that package, but it was not good 
enough. So now today our Republican friends happily are joining us on 
two elements of that package, and we are adding it to the House 
proposal.
  I am pleased that 20 million senior citizens will get a check as part 
of the stimulus package, our stimulus package, the Senate's. I thank 
the senior citizens and their organizations for calling all Senators 
and telling them it is outrageous to leave out the seniors. I am beyond 
pleased as well that 250,000 disabled veterans will get a check as part 
of the Senate's stimulus package. I thank the veterans and their 
organizations for calling Senators constantly in their offices to say: 
Make us part of the package. To have left them out would have been 
outrageous on its face, just as it was outrageous that when the 
President suggested his package, he wanted to leave out more than 30 
million Americans who didn't file tax returns, just paid payroll taxes, 
and acted as if those working Americans don't deserve to have a check. 
I thank Speaker Pelosi for fixing that problem. That was a huge 
problem. She did fix that problem, and now we fixed some more problems.
  Democrats want to do more. We were stopped again today from doing 
more. Let me go into that because I stood here on the floor as the 
Republicans objected to request after request after request to add the 
rest of the Senate Finance package to the stimulus bill.
  Senator Reid said: We need to have low-income energy assistance. We 
know the cost of heating is high, and we know people are suffering 
under the burden of paying it. No, that was objected to. That was 
objected to. Then we said, there are some States that have very high 
unemployment rates, and we see a high unemployment rate beginning to 
hit many States. We want to extend unemployment insurance to the long-
term unemployed. Those are the people who would go right out and spend 
those checks at the corner store, which is just what we wanted to do. 
No, our Republican friends said, no. Then we asked unanimous consent to 
help the homebuilders get a tax break. They are struggling under the 
horrendous situation we find ourselves in today in the housing market. 
No, there was objection from our Republican friends. Then we asked, 
through Senator Reid, for green energy tax breaks so the folks who are 
out there who are trying to build this economy and get us off foreign 
oil can get those tax breaks. Republicans said no. Then we were asking 
if they would allow us to put in here a program President Bush himself 
endorses--housing revenue bonds to help with the housing crisis. The 
Republicans said no.
  We are all very happy that seniors and the disabled veterans are 
going to have a smile on their face tonight, but we are far from done. 
We Democrats are going to fight.
  I come from a State that has 25 percent of the defaults. When I go to 
towns in my State, we have five roundtable discussions about the 
terrible situation that our mayors are facing, that our States are 
facing, that our counties are facing. We need to do more, and we 
Democrats are not going to give up. This is phase 1.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee is recognized.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I yield myself 2 minutes to say to my 
distinguished friend from California, who is chairman of one committee 
on which I serve: I am a little puzzled about why, when we come to a 
good conclusion and we stand up and compliment the Democratic members 
and the majority leader for a good job and adopt the provision, when we 
compliment the recommendations of

[[Page S769]]

Speaker Pelosi, a great friend of the Senator from California and 
someone I admire greatly for her work on this stimulus package, why she 
feels it necessary to stand up and begin to make a political speech 
about Republicans saying no. Republicans have said yes. Democrats have 
said yes. We are saying it to the country.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield for an answer since he mentioned 
me?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Yes, I am glad to yield.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I speak the truth. I speak the truth. I 
stood next to Senator Reid, and he made requests on all those issues I 
outlined--LIHEAP, extended unemployment benefits, tax breaks for solar, 
et cetera--and the Republican side objected. I speak the truth. I am 
happy we have joined together on two aspects of the proposal, but the 
truth is, there is more to the story. We have more work to do. The fact 
that I mentioned this is to sort of spur you on, to say: Come to the 
table with us again, and let's do more. That is the reason I said what 
I said.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Well, if I may say, the Senator is certainly entitled 
to say whatever she wishes to say, but if she wants to bring it up, we 
will begin with the fact that the Speaker of the House and the 
Republican leader and almost 400 Members of the House sent us this 
bill. It was not the intention of the Speaker of the House, I assume, 
to throw grandma from the train by sending us an economic stimulus 
package. It was her intention to send us a targeted, timely proposal 
that would be temporary and that the American people could look at and 
say: The Congress has come to a good result in a bipartisan way. They 
have many opinions, but they decided what to do. And they will discuss 
the other issues on down the road.

  I would like to give the Speaker of the House credit for that, not 
criticize her for leaving out seniors, not criticize her for leaving 
out disabled veterans, not criticize our friends on the other side of 
the aisle on the Finance Committee for leaving out widows of disabled 
veterans, which would have happened in their first draft. I see no 
benefit to that. It is much better to do what my friend, the late Alex 
Haley, used to say: Find the good and praise it. I think there is a 
good deal to praise here.
  I am certainly not objecting to the Senator's right to say whatever 
she wishes. She is eloquent, she is effective, and she works in her 
committee in a very good way. I would just like to see the tone of the 
debate on this Senate floor change so that it is possible from time to 
time, when we do accomplish something together, that we recognize we 
have different opinions but we can give credit to other people. When we 
do, we often succeed. I think the majority leader and the Republican 
leader, the Finance Committee, the Speaker of the House, the President, 
and the Republican leader in the House deserve a pat on the back for 
this. There are many other issues to discuss down the road. I can think 
of some things I would criticize the Democratic majority for spending 
on, but I see no need to do that. There is nothing constructive to be 
gained by it, and we will defer that for another time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, like all of our colleagues, I have gone 
home, I have listened to my constituents who are deeply concerned about 
the state of the economy today. We are concerned about the housing 
crisis, about the rising cost of fuel and gas, about the rising cost of 
health care. The economic crisis that is facing many people today was 
reflected in the economic numbers we have seen coming in over the last 
quarter. We came back here a month ago united to make sure we did what 
everyone agreed to--a temporary, targeted package to get money back 
into the economy quickly. Today, we are about to do that.
  But I have to say--and I heard my colleague from California say it--
the Speaker of the House did a good job in the limited amount of time 
with the agreement she had to do to get a package here. The Senate, in 
doing its job of looking at it carefully and asking, What do we need to 
do to improve this to make sure it works, was highly commendable.
  The package we voted on last night had a number of very important 
provisions: extension of unemployment insurance; LIHEAP for millions of 
families who are very concerned about being able to heat their homes; 
the energy package that my colleague, Senator Cantwell, worked hard to 
put in to stimulate jobs and bring jobs in critical regions of the 
Nation and deal with the energy crisis as well. We are all disappointed 
on this side that but for one vote those would be part of this package 
which would then go back to the House and, we would hope, be signed by 
the President. But because we were stymied by one vote, we are here 
today saying: What can we do?
  We are delighted that our Republican colleagues have come with us to 
say we can do better, and we added money to make sure millions of 
seniors as well as thousands of disabled veterans would be part of this 
economic stimulus, families that are really struggling today.
  We did agree with the Republicans, and I commend our leader, Senator 
Harry Reid, as well as Max Baucus, the minority leader, as well as 
Senator Grassley, who have worked hard over the morning hours to come 
to this. But I would say to the Senator from Tennessee, we can express 
our disappointment that but for one vote, we feel we could have had a 
better package. But we are pragmatic on this side. We believe we need 
to move forward. We know we cannot face days and days of delay. We know 
we need to get this done, and we have come together with Democrats and 
Republicans to move a package that I believe is in the best interest of 
the country at this time.
  This is not the end of this debate. This is our answer to get quickly 
a short economic stimulus. But we are committed on this side--and with 
a number of Republican Senators who joined us last night in that vote--
to continue to work to do a long-term economic stimulus.
  This crisis started with a housing issue that became the face of this 
crisis as millions of homeowners were losing their homes across the 
country and facing foreclosure. We are committed to continue to move 
forward to address that housing crisis in a smart, pragmatic way to 
make sure we can do everything to help those families and to get this 
economy back on its feet. We are committed to work with our colleagues 
from Michigan and California and other States that are facing high 
unemployment to get extended unemployment insurance benefits for those 
families that are now facing a very real crisis in their homes and with 
their ability to put food on the table. We are committed to continue to 
try to get that one last vote for an energy package that will mean our 
jobs will be brought here to the United States to create new 
alternative energy that will help not only job creation but our energy 
crisis as well.
  I commend all of us for coming together and, in a few short minutes, 
voting to pass quick, temporary relief that is well needed but also a 
commitment from all of us to continue to work to make sure we address 
the long-term economic stimulus as well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is recognized.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I join my colleagues in saying this is 
a very fine day for the American people. It is a good day. I thank 
everybody who came together on this issue, particularly Senator Reid 
and Senator Baucus, who were steadfast leaders as we began to put 
together a stimulus package. I also thank my colleagues in the House, 
led by Speaker Pelosi.
  We do have a serious economic crisis. Most economists would say we 
are headed to recession. It is unfortunate; that recession could have 
been avoided because the housing crisis is at the bull's-eye of that 
recession. Unfortunately, this administration, with ideological 
handcuffs around its wrists, was unable to intervene. So the crisis 
spread. Housing prices declined, and then consumers stopped buying. We 
had a very weak Christmas season. Housing prices declined. Foreclosures 
increased. And there is a credit freeze, so many who wish to build and 
create commercial projects, factories, businesses that wish to borrow 
can't get the lending they need. As a result, we stand here at the 
precipice of a fairly severe economic downturn. We must do everything 
we can to make sure the severe effects of that downturn are mitigated. 
Today's package does that.

[[Page S770]]

  Early on, we enunciated on our side three goals--that a stimulus 
package be timely, targeted, and temporary.
  The package today meets all three of those goals. Leader Reid 
promised that we would get a package to the President's desk on 
February 15, that we would not let squabbles, dilatory effects get in 
the way. The package is on track to be signed by February 15 so that 
checks can be sent out to the American people as quickly as possible, 
and they, because they are--most of them--hard pressed, will spend 
those checks and get the economy revved up.
  We added to the package. The House gave us a very good start. Make no 
mistake about it, the Senate package is based on the House's basic 
structure. But we fought hard to include 21 million senior citizens and 
250,000 disabled veterans. They are now included in the package, and it 
is a better package than the one that passed the House.
  The package in the House was good. The package that is passing the 
Senate is better. It could have been better still. It could have been 
best. But our colleagues on the other side of the aisle--again, in 
those ideological handcuffs--said: We cannot spend money. Tax cuts are 
OK, spending is not. Well, I know that is part of the old-time, hard-
right philosophy. It is outdated now, but it is there.
  Economists tell us, for instance, that spending on unemployment 
insurance is the quickest way to get the money into the economy. The 
checks will flow, hopefully, in the spring, but they cannot flow more 
quickly because the IRS needs to gear up its computers, and they are 
busy with tax returns and tax refunds. If we were to extend 
unemployment insurance, we would mainstream money into the economy much 
more quickly. Unemployment insurance gives the biggest bang for the 
buck: $1.74 for every $1 spent. Tax breaks are good, but they give 
about $1.19.
  So if one were not ideological, did not care if the money went to the 
rich, the middle class, or the poor but just said, ``Let's get the 
economy going,'' unemployment insurance and nutrition assistance would 
be included in the package. But the ideological predispositions of the 
other side, not listening to economists--Martin Feldstein testified 
before our Finance Committee, a conservative economist who worked for 
Republican Presidents, and said unemployment insurance makes sense. 
They refused to do it. We made a valiant attempt. We tried. We were 
blocked by the other side by one vote.
  We tried to bring in LIHEAP funds. Those of us from Northern States 
know how hard it is to heat your home with the price of oil and gas 
through the roof. They said no.
  Housing, as I said, is at the bull's-eye of this crisis. We tried to 
bring in mortgage revenue bonds, which the President himself supported. 
But those on the other side said no.
  So good, better, best. The House package: good; the Senate package: 
better. It could have been best, except our colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle decided to block it.
  Let me say two other things in conclusion.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 additional minutes, 
not to come out of Democratic time, just 2 minutes added on.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, if you want to delay the vote and add 
2 minutes to the Republican time, that would be fine.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, two other points quickly.
  We will come back. There are structural problems in this economy that 
rebate checks will not solve. There are problems with housing, and we 
are putting together a good housing package that will include not only 
mortgage revenue bonds but assistance for loan supervisors, loan 
counselors, who will help people restructure, and it will encourage 
Fannie and Freddie to get money so mortgages can be refinanced. There 
are the conforming loan limits, which should pass in this package. That 
will help our housing area.
  We also will put together a package that deals with infrastructure--a 
time-honored way of getting the economy moving. Hopefully, there will 
be some local assistance to help States with their increased Medicaid 
burden and energy assistance--not just LIHEAP but also the kinds of 
things the Senator from Washington State, Ms. Cantwell, has pioneered: 
tax breaks for green energy to create jobs and keep jobs here.
  We will put together a package that will do all of that. We expect 
there will be resistance from the other side. The only thing that will 
probably stop that is if the economy hurdles south even further.
  The second thing I want to say is this: Some asked me outside: Well, 
did you do this for politics? Absolutely not. We tried to craft--and I 
know it because I am on the Finance Committee and worked closely with 
Senator Baucus--we tried to craft the package that would give the 
economy bang for the buck. But if today Members on the other side of 
the aisle are squirming because they voted no, that is what democracy 
is all about. There were real choices here--real choices. Some said 
yes; some said no. We each should be held accountable by our 
constituents for that. That is what democracy is all about. So while it 
was substance--totally substance; I can tell you that, having been 
there--that motivated our package, the political chips will fall where 
they may.
  This is a great day for the American people, a day to try to improve 
our economy. I am proud of what we have done and will work hard to make 
it better.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, in response to the comments of the 
Senator from New York, I simply would say that it is reassuring to see 
the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee come to 
the floor and hear him say: Let the political chips fall where they 
may, while denying he had any political motives in his comments.
  I tried to begin the remarks here, after the majority leader made an 
excellent talk and the Republican leader made an excellent talk, by 
complimenting Speaker Pelosi, by complimenting Mr. Boehner, by 
complimenting the President, by saying Senator Baucus and Senator Chuck 
Grassley deserve a lot of credit for bringing to our attention some 
things that needed to been done. Then, by complimenting Senator Stevens 
and Senator McConnell--who a few days ago offered an amendment to add 
seniors and disabled veterans and to fix a problem that apparently 
needed fixing by leaving out widows of disabled veterans. They offered 
that, and we all agreed that was a good result.
  I guess the Senate floor is always appropriate for whatever any 
individual Senator may wish to say. But sometimes I wish it were more 
about substance and less about politics.
  This is an opportunity when we can talk more about substance. We have 
our principled differences of opinion on where we go from here, but we 
have agreed on the temporary. As the Senator from New York said: Good 
from the House; better from the Senate. I agree with that. Now, when we 
get to ``best'' we will have a different kind of debate.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, will my colleague yield?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I will be glad to complete my remarks 
and turn the floor over to the Senator in just a moment.
  But when we get to the question about ``best,'' I assume we are going 
to be arguing from principles, and we are going to say: To make this 
economy better for the long term, we need to limit runaway lawsuits. 
And he may say we do not. I do not mean that will make him politically 
squirm. I assume he actually believes that.
  We may say we want to continue tax cuts, and he may want to raise 
taxes. Should he say that, I do not intend to try to make him 
politically squirm. I assume he just believes that.
  Perhaps we can agree that we ought to implement the America COMPETES 
law which we worked together to pass last year. Perhaps we can agree 
that we ought to increase the number of HB-2 visas so talented foreign 
people can come do research and work and then stay here and create jobs 
here instead of creating them overseas in India.
  When it comes to an energy package, I may say more nuclear power, and

[[Page S771]]

someone on the other side may say less. But I do not say that to make 
them squirm politically.
  So I like the fact that we can come here and compete. I like his 
characterization, if I may say so, of ``good,'' ``better,'' ``best'' 
because I think if we have an economic stimulus package, the right kind 
of competition is to say they have an even better one, and then we will 
have to go to work and come up with an even better one than that. But I 
reject the notion that what has been done here is to cause Republican 
Senators to squirm. We feel pretty good about avoiding turning this 
bill into an excuse to spend more money. But we respect the fact that 
those on the other side have a genuine belief that spending more money 
is the way they would prefer to go over the long term.
  So I guess I am expressing a little bit of disappointment in the tone 
of the debate here at the end. That is all I am expressing. But I 
thought I ought to express it instead of letting this go on and on in 
the same tone.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Just so everyone knows, the Republican side 
has 11 minutes 17 seconds remaining; the Democratic side has 8 minute 6 
seconds.
  The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 1 minute 
from the majority's time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. STABENOW. Thank you very much.
  Madam President, certainly we come here today supportive of what has 
been done to this point, congratulating the House for beginning this 
process, on which we can build. But I think it is very important we 
make it clear what has happened.
  We had the majority of the Senate that supported something that would 
have gone further, something that would have been better, in my 
judgment, and it was stopped by a filibuster and our inability to get 
one vote--one Republican vote--to join with us to stop the filibuster. 
So what does that mean? It means millions of unemployed middle-class 
Americans are left out. Unemployment benefits--one of the top two areas 
that economists have agreed upon to stimulate the economy--were left 
out because of one vote from our Republican colleagues. We just needed 
one more vote to include that.
  Jobs from alternative energy production--we literally have businesses 
saying they will bring jobs back from overseas to this country--we lost 
that by one vote. Those jobs will stay away. Plants, we are told, will 
not improve and may, in fact, close certain projects because of the 
lack of one Republican vote. Help for homebuilders and homeowners--at 
the heart of this crisis--help for other employers struggling to invest 
and keep Americans employed, we lost this by one vote. That is what is 
so unfortunate here today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Ms. STABENOW. Thank you, Madam President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, how much time is remaining on our side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Six minutes 17 seconds.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, under the agreement, I have 5 minutes. I 
will just take 4 minutes, and if the Chair will notify me when I have 
used that time so the Senator from Arkansas can have her 2 minutes-
plus.
  It is interesting here that the American economy is suffering from 
some ailment that leads us to believe it is headed to recession. So how 
are we going to treat this ailment, this fever? Well, we are trying to 
come up with some medicine in a hurry before it gets worse.
  The Federal Reserve lowered the interest rates, and then we 
understood we could do our part in Congress on a bipartisan basis: 
Let's try to do something now before something worse happens. We know 
how bad it is: all of the people who are unemployed, the stock market 
in trouble, housing in shambles across America, the housing industry 
flat on its back. So we tried to come up with something quick, 
temporary, and targeted to get this economy back on its feet.
  I give credit to both the House Republicans and Democrats for 
reaching agreement and sending us a bill. Then we sat down in the 
Senate and said: Can we improve it? Is there a way to put a little more 
medicine in this package so it will work?
  Senator Max Baucus and Senator Chuck Grassley--Democrat and 
Republican--on a bipartisan basis came up with a really good package. 
We tried to pass that last night. We missed it by one vote. We needed 
one more Republican vote. We had all the Democrats and eight 
Republicans. We needed one more. We could not get it done. So today we 
decided we had to take the best parts of it that we could on a 
bipartisan basis and pass it. I am glad we are going to do that.
  As I go around this country, people say the same thing over and over: 
Will you stop squabbling on Capitol Hill and get down to work? Will you 
try to work together? Today, we will. What the Senate Finance Committee 
did was improve the House bill and give us a chance to help this ailing 
economy get back on its feet.
  What if this is not enough medicine? What if it is the wrong 
medicine? I think we are going to go back to some of the things that 
were rejected last night.
  Unemployment insurance--boy, read the list. Madam President, 1.2 
million Americans are going to see their unemployment insurance 
benefits end this month. We want to extend their protection. There are 
some who came to the floor on the other side who argued against that. 
Oh, they say if somebody is unemployed, you have to punish them, you 
have to pressure them to go back to work. Ever try to live on an 
unemployment check? I have run into people who do it, and it is not a 
rosy life. I think people are looking for jobs and finding them very 
difficult to locate.
  I think we are going to return, and many of the things rejected last 
night by the Republican side will be part of the second dose of 
medicine for this economy. This economy needs to get well. We need to 
give the right medicine in the right amounts for it to happen. This is 
a good start. With one more Republican vote last night, I think we 
could have given that full spectrum of medicine to put this economy on 
the right track.
  If our efforts fail now with this stimulus package, we need to come 
back and put back into the law the things that were defeated last night 
by the Republicans, and more. We need an economic recovery package for 
America. I am sick and tired of sending billions of dollars to Iraq to 
rebuild hospitals and schools and highways and not do the same thing in 
America.

  We have to focus on putting Americans to work with good-paying jobs, 
with decent benefits, so they will be spending again and this economy 
starts chugging forward again. For too long, we have ignored working 
families, and any economic recovery plan has to focus on those working 
families first. That is why I hope we pass this soon, monitor it 
carefully, and if we do more, let us respond as quickly as we can.
  I reserve the remainder of my time for the Senator from Arkansas.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas is recognized.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, I say to those who have discussed this 
before me that we received a package, the Pelosi-Bush package that 
started in the House, and it was done very quickly. They bypassed their 
committees and they bypassed the consideration of the Senate until we 
got the package. So what we tried to do was to do our very best to 
improve upon that package in ways that we felt would not only stimulate 
the economy but do justice to the American people.
  To the conversation that happened before me from the Senator from 
Tennessee and the Senator from New York, I don't think what we are 
talking about here is whether we are going to take up whatever we can 
do; we owe it to the American people to do our very best, to do the 
very best we can to stimulate the economy and make sure we are 
including every American in a part of that stimulus package.
  I think that is what we tried to do in the Senate Finance Committee 
under the tremendous and thoughtful leadership of Chairman Baucus and 
Senator Grassley. We came up with a plan that, yes, not only looked at 
what we could do with those rebate checks and making sure we equitably 
distributed

[[Page S772]]

those dollars--not only to those included in the Pelosi-Bush plan, but 
also to include seniors. The chairman and ranking member found a way to 
include seniors, qualifying their Social Security income for the rebate 
income threshold, but they also looked at the crisis epicenter: the 
home mortgage issue. They looked at the unemployed who are getting 
ready to fall off the rolls and who are working families trying to take 
care of their kids and their aging parents. They looked at new job 
creation, the renewable energy sources. What an incredible way for us 
to begin to reinvigorate the economy, to make a quick hit on jobs that 
were already in existence that were probably going to leave if we 
didn't do something about it.
  I joined my colleague Senator Snowe, and I was very proud to join 
Senator Snowe, as I regularly am, to offer an amendment to add 
veterans' disability income as well. We wanted to add veterans' 
disability income to make sure our disabled veterans would also get a 
rebate check, because I know, looking out there, they need it as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Webb). The Senator's time has expired.
  Who yields time?
  Mr. ALEXANDER. How much time remains on the Republican side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 11 minutes.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, how much time remains on the Democratic 
side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. No time remains on the Democratic side.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I am glad to yield 1 minute of our time 
to the Senator from Arkansas if she wishes to finish her remarks.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, if the Senator would be so gracious, that 
would be very much appreciated on our side, so that the Senator could 
finish her remarks. We thank the Senator from Tennessee for that.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Of course. Is 2 minutes enough?
  Mrs. LINCOLN. That is unbelievably gracious from my neighbor in 
Tennessee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas is recognized for 2 
minutes.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, as always, my neighbor from Tennessee is 
gracious and a gentleman.
  Here in Washington, we often get into the business of debating 
specific policies and we lose sight of what it is all about. Before we 
finish this debate, I want to remind people what it is about.
  There is a gentleman named James Free who lives in West Memphis, 
right across the border from the Senator from Tennessee. He served in 
the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1977. His service led him around the world 
two or three times, he said. But James' disability makes it hard for 
him to work and to get by day to day. He gets $314 in a disability 
check that he receives from the VA each month, which is his primary 
source of income. Now, because of the modifications we have made here 
in the Senate, James and other folks like him will qualify for the 
rebate. How could any of us argue that James Free, who has served our 
Nation very courageously and proudly, should not be included in this 
package today, that he would not appreciate the opportunity to receive 
a stimulus check, and that he would not put it back, right back, into 
the economy.
  This is a good package. We had hoped we would do our very best, but 
it is a good package, and we want to make sure that as we take this 
step to stimulate the economy in this great Nation, we will prepare 
ourselves for the next piece of recovery we can offer, a recovery piece 
that will be more long term, more substantial in making sure that we 
deal with job creation and some of the other crises that exist. It is 
going to be good for our economy now. It is going to be good for our 
working families and good for seniors, good for our veterans, and due 
to some additions I think from the other side, also good for the widows 
of veterans. I appreciate the fact we are moving forward on behalf of 
the American people.
  I want to say thanks to my colleague from Tennessee for yielding time 
so I could finish my comments.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee is recognized.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I believe all the Democratic time is 
used and most of ours is used and the vote is scheduled for 4:10, if I 
am not mistaken.
  Let's start from the beginning, once again. The first order of 
business when Congress convened and the President made his State of the 
Union Address was to say to the American people: We see that the 
economy is slowing down, and we want to do whatever we can from 
Washington. Even though we realize this is a huge economy--15 trillion 
or so dollars a year--we want to see if there is something we can do 
quickly that will stimulate the economy.
  The President, the Democratic Speaker of the House, and the 
Republican leader of the House, with the agreement of the majority and 
minority leader of the Senate, took the first stab at it. In very short 
order, they reported, and the House passed with only 35 or so 
dissenting votes, provisions that would give about $150 billion--two-
thirds of it straight to individual taxpayers, middle and low income, 
so they could keep more of their own money, spend it, and stimulate the 
economy; and about a third of it to small businesses in America so they 
could keep more of their own money and create new jobs. That package 
was sent to us. The Senate Finance Committee worked hard on that and 
came up with some additional recommendations. One of those 
recommendations was to add seniors. Another was to add disabled 
veterans. That recommendation was an idea that Senator Stevens of 
Alaska and Senator McConnell of Kentucky thought was a good idea, and 
in their own amendment offered that on the floor.
  We then had a vote yesterday which represented a philosophical 
difference of opinion. Most on the other side wanted to spend another 
$40 billion. Most on this side thought that was an excuse to spend, so 
we resolved that, as the Senate always does: Unless you can get 60 
votes or a consensus, we can't go ahead. So the ones who wanted to 
spend more didn't win for now, and we kept the package at about the 
same spending level that it was, adding, as virtually all wanted to do, 
seniors and disabled veterans and their widows. So in a very short 
order, we have a result.
  I wish to end my remarks as we come toward the vote about where I 
started earlier, which is that this is a conclusion that deserves--and 
I hope will earn--the respect of the people of the United States. It 
was fashioned in the House, and the Senate has largely respected the 
work they have done. We believe we have improved it. We are sending it 
back. We are doing this with a provision that is timely and targeted in 
a temporary way, and then we will move on, both sides will, to offer 
our long-term solutions for how we can continue to make this economy 
stronger.
  There will be differences of opinion. There may be more spending 
there and there may be more tax cuts here. There may be more 
reservation of runaway lawsuits here and less there. But we can have 
those arguments. They will be principled arguments. Hopefully, it will 
show that the Senate and the House, when they set their minds to it, 
can work with the President on big issues and get results.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I believe all time has expired on this 
side.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, unless there are other Republican 
Senators who wish to speak, we yield back our time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 4010.
  The clerk will call the roll.

[[Page S773]]

  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), 
the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson), and the Senator from Illinois 
(Mr. Obama), are necessarily absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) would vote ``yea''.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 91, nays 6, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 9 Leg.]

                                YEAS--91

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--6

     Allard
     Coburn
     Corker
     Craig
     Gregg
     Hagel

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Clinton
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
  The amendment (No. 4010) was agreed to.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. DODD. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is on 
the engrossment of the amendment and third reading of the bill.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), 
the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Nelson), and the Senator from Illinois 
(Mr. Obama) are necessarily absent.
  I further announced that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Nebraska (Mr. Nelson) would vote ``yea.''
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 16, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 10 Leg.]

                                YEAS--81

     Akaka
     Alexander
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Boxer
     Brown
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burr
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Conrad
     Cornyn
     Dodd
     Dole
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inouye
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Lugar
     Martinez
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Salazar
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stabenow
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Tester
     Thune
     Vitter
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--16

     Allard
     Barrasso
     Coburn
     Corker
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Murkowski
     Sessions
     Shelby

                             NOT VOTING--3

     Clinton
     Nelson (NE)
     Obama
  The bill (H.R. 5140), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to 
lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                   Modification to Amendment No. 4010

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding 
the passage of H.R. 5140, the Reid-McConnell amendment No. 4010 be 
modified with the technical change at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The modification is as follows:

     tion. Such term shall not include a TIN issued by the 
     Internal Revenue Service.''.
       (b) Administrative Amendments.--
       (1) Definition of deficiency.--Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``and 
     53(e)'' and inserting ``53(e), and 6428''.
       (2) Mathematical or clerical error authority.--Section 
     6213(g)(2)(L) of such Code is amended by striking ``or 32'' 
     and inserting ``32, or 6428''.
       (c) Treatment of Possessions.--
       (1) Payments to possession.--
       (A) Mirror code possession.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall make a payment to each possession of the United States 
     with a mirror code tax system in an amount equal to the loss 
     to that possession by reason of the amendments made by this 
     section. Such amount shall be determined by the Secretary of 
     the Treasury based on information provided by the government 
     of the respective possession.
       (B) Other possessions.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     make a payment to each possession of the United States which 
     does not

                          ____________________