[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 30, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9969-S9970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS IN THE ENROLLMENT OF H.R. 2918

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 191, which the clerk will 
report by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 191) directing the 
     Clerk of the House of Representatives to make technical 
     corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 2918.

  Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the concurrent 
resolution.
  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, one of the must-pass items in the 
continuing resolution regards the U.S. Postal Service.
  Under current law, each year the Postal Service is required to cover 
the health care costs of retirees and provide an actuarially determined 
rate for future costs of health care.
  These funds are required to be placed into a trust fund to be 
invested.
  Because of the recession as well as the increased reliance on the 
Internet for personal communications, the Postal Service is 
experiencing financial difficulties.
  Working with members of the authorizing committees of both Houses, 
the Committee crafted a short-term solution for this problem which 
would allow the Postal Service to reduce the amount it would otherwise 
be required to invest this year.
  The impact of the amendment is it allows the Postal Service to retain 
$4 billion to pay for its ongoing cost of operations.
  Let me be clear, this provision will not provide any additional 
taxpayer dollars to the Postal Service.
  It doesn't mean that current health benefits of our postal workers 
would be shortchanged.
  It does assume that when the recession ends and profitability returns 
to the Postal Service the funding they would need to invest in future 
health care costs would probably increase.
  Some might want to decry this amendment because it is scored by the 
congressional budget amendment as a net loss to the Treasury.
  It should be noted that the proposal will not require additional 
discretionary funds to be expended.
  The provision will, on the other hand, do a great deal to preserve 
the financial solvency of the Postal Service.
  This amendment should not be controversial.
  It does not add costs to the taxpayer.
  It was an item that was in keeping with the needs of the Postal 
Service; and, it was an item that has the support of the chairman of 
the authorizing subcommittee with jurisdiction over the matter.
  This needs to be done today and I would urge my colleagues to vote to 
waive any points of order that might be raised in relation to this 
matter.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, currently the Nation's unemployment rate is 
higher than it has been since 1983. In my home State of Michigan, the 
unemployment rate is 15.2 percent--5.5 percent higher than the Nation's 
unemployment rate of 9.7 percent. Translated into real people, this 
means that 14.9 million Americans are unemployed, of which, more than 
735,000 are living in my home State.
  Michigan provides a little more than 450,000 individuals with 
unemployment benefits. As of September 18, more than 26,000 
Michiganders have exhausted much needed unemployment benefits and by 
the end of this year, this number will rise to more than 100,000 folks. 
Since the beginning of this year, Michigan has been losing on average 
of 27,000 jobs per month. Our people need help.
  It is critical that we provide assistance to individuals who are 
straining to make ends meet by ensuring that their much needed 
unemployment insurance benefits do not run out. We need to provide 
support to those individuals who are struggling to find jobs so that 
they do not lose their homes and are able to put food on the table.
  We must extend unemployment insurance benefits and swiftly pass an 
unemployment insurance extension, so the President can sign this bill 
into law quickly.

[[Page S9970]]

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am disappointed that we are about to 
begin the 2010 fiscal year having enacted just one appropriations bill. 
I am even more disappointed that we passed a continuing resolution, 
airdropped into the Legislative Branch appropriations bill, that 
provides money to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I am 
pleased that the President has committed to withdrawing our troops from 
Iraq by the end of 2011, this redeployment schedule is too long and may 
undermine our ability to combat al-Qaida while straining our Armed 
Forces unnecessarily. In addition, while the President is right to 
focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan, I remain concerned that his strategy 
for those countries does not adequately address, and may even 
exacerbate, the threats to our national security we face in Pakistan.
  We need to keep the Federal Government operating and make sure our 
brave troops get all the equipment and supplies they need, but we 
should not be providing funds to continue those wars without, at a 
minimum, engaging in a serious debate about their effects on our 
national security.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the concurrent 
resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is considered made 
and laid upon the table.
  The concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 191) was agreed to.

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