[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 92 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ELECTED TO LEAD

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, let me say that at this moment we are on 
Thursday of this workweek with the possibility and likelihood of a 
cloture vote tomorrow morning in the Senate. If one looks at the 
business of the Senate this week, it is a good thing we are not being 
paid for piecework because we have done so little.
  We had an initial motion to go to this climate security bill, which 
is an important piece of legislation. That was considered early in the 
week, and then a second measure, which was very brief, on adopting a 
budget--an important document but one that had already been debated at 
length many times in this Chamber. We burned 30 hours off the clock in 
what was requested for a general debate. That, of course, took place, 
and it was a good debate: a bipartisan effort to explain an important 
bill involving global warming and carbon pollution which is changing 
the world we live in.
  Then a request was made yesterday by the Republican leader that this 
bill, the Climate Security Act, be read in its entirety into the 
Record. So for 8 hours, our staff had to stand and read every word of 
this bill into the Record. This bill--the substitute--had been 
available for days and the concepts behind it for weeks. There was no 
element of surprise, no necessity for this reading, other than to burn 
off an entire day in the Senate where little or nothing was 
accomplished. Now we face virtually the same thing again.
  Although 89 percent of the people in America say that global warming 
is an important issue that should be addressed by the Senate, this week 
there have been repeated efforts to make sure we never reach that 
point. Those who oppose this bill should stand and vote accordingly. 
Those who have amendments should bring them forward. We are still 
waiting for a list of amendments to the global warming bill from the 
Republican side. We have given them a list of our amendments, including 
a bipartisan amendment offered by Senator Lugar, who just spoke on the 
floor, and Senator Biden. We have tried to engage the minority in a 
debate on this critically important bill, but instead, they have 
engaged in delay tactics, including 8 hours wasted in the Senate 
yesterday reading this bill in its entirety.

  We finally adjourned at about 12:15 a.m. this morning to return 
today. I guess it is the intention of the Republicans to stop us from 
considering the global warming issue, but that will not stop the 
dangers being created by global warming in the United States and around 
the world. If we are truly elected to lead, I cannot understand why the 
Republican minority will not engage us in a meaningful and honest 
debate about this bill. That is why we are here. We should be voting on 
amendments, testing different theories and policies to see what the 
majority feels in the Senate, but instead, we are caught up in this 
exercise: 8 hours of reading this bill--a tremendous waste of time and 
energy that the Senate should have put to more productive purposes.
  I yield the floor.

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