[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 22 (Monday, February 22, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S604-S613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HEALTH CARE AND THE JOBS BILL
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, first, I want to welcome everybody
back. I don't think there is any snow in the forecast, so hopefully we
can get some work done around here. Having spent the past week in
Kentucky, I can assure you that my constituents are concerned, first
and foremost, about jobs and the economy. And another thing they are
concerned about is lawmakers in Washington making matters worse.
Americans are worried about the growing national debt. That is why
Republicans hope to offer amendments to the jobs bill that we will be
voting on today that would lower it. Those ideas should be considered.
Millions of Americans want to get back to work. That is why
Republicans will offer ideas that will make it easier for businesses to
hire new workers. Those ideas should be considered too.
Small business owners want greater certainty about the future. That
is why Republicans will propose ideas that will keep their taxes from
going up and make it easier for them to invest in their businesses.
Those and other ideas from both sides of the aisle should be
considered.
Later this week, we will have the health care summit at the White
House. Americans want the administration to scrap its massive
government scheme in favor of an incremental approach to health care
reform. Unfortunately, the White House still seems unwilling to do the
one thing Americans want most. It is still clinging to a massive bill
that Americans have overwhelmingly rejected again and again for months.
The tragedy of this approach is that the longer Washington sticks
with its failed approach to health care, the longer Americans will have
to wait for the real, step-by-step reforms that will actually lower
costs and lead to a better system. That is the kind of real reform
Americans have wanted all along. That is what they have been asking for
and that is what Republicans in Congress will continue to fight for.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kaufman). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask consent to speak as in morning
business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
Mr. CASEY. I thank the Chair.
(The remarks of Mr. Casey pertaining to the submission of S. Res. 418
are located in today's Record under ``Submission of Concurrent and
Senate Resolutions.'')
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, 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. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, we all went home over this recess--most of
us did--and we heard very clear messages. At least I can tell you I
did. The messages are: Address the problems that face us and reach out
a hand across the aisle and do it together. Pretty simple.
Today we have a chance to do that. Today we have a very clear chance
to do that and to lift the spirits of the American people. The bill we
will be voting on--actually we are voting to take it up, in essence; we
need 60 votes to do that, unfortunately, because there is a filibuster
again on this--is a very simple, straightforward jobs bill.
It has four parts. Two relate to tax breaks for business for doing
good things. One is buying new equipment and getting a break on the
expensing. The other is hiring people who have been unemployed for 60
days or more. The other two pieces involve the extension of the highway
trust fund and the Build America Bond program, and that relates to
building our infrastructure. In the case of the highway trust fund, of
course, it does fund transportation of all kinds: transit systems as
well as highways, bridges, roads. Very important.
Build America Bonds is a way to help the States issue bonds that they
have voter approval to do, and helps them with the interest rate. In
California, that program--Build America Bonds--resulted in billions of
dollars of bonding to build roads and schools and all kinds of
important necessities for my people back home.
So we have four things before us in one package: two tax breaks very
important to businesses and two very important infrastructure measures.
I want to have printed in the Record--and I ask unanimous consent to
do so--a very important letter sent to us by the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American Road and
Transportation Builders Association, the Associated General Contractors
of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Laborers International
Union, and the International Union of Operating Engineers.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, The American Road and
Transportation Builders Association, The Associated
General Contractors of America, The U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, The Laborers International Union,
International Union of Operating Engineers.
Hon. Richard Durbin,
Majority Whip,
Hon. Barbara Boxer,
Chairman, The Environment and Public Works Committee,
Hon. Max Baucus,
Chairman, Finance Committee,
Hon. James Inhofe,
Ranking Member, Environment and Public Works Committee.
Dear Senators: We are writing on behalf of the undersigned
organizations to express our strong support for prompt Senate
passage of an extension of the highway and transit programs
in the SAFETEA-LU legislation and inclusion of a transfer of
General Funds into the Highway Trust Fund in an amount
sufficient to support the appropriated FY10 funding levels
consistent with at least a nine month period and should the
Senate decide a one year extension period.
Passage of legislation that includes an extension and the
funds transfer will provide much needed certainty and
stability within the states, local transportation authorities
and transit agencies to make long-term capital commitments
and plan for a full season of work. All 50 states continue
their highway construction season through September and into
October, at least 45 states continue highway work into
November and one-third of the states are still working in
December. Without an extension that also stabilizes the
Highway Trust Fund, the transportation construction industry
will continue to decline and much needed transportation
investments cannot be made.
We continue to support Congressional efforts to enact a
well-funded, long-term surface transportation bill. That work
can go on in Congress while the program continues to fund
needed transportation assets. Swift passage of a multiyear
bill will have an impact in the out years but shoring up the
trust fund now will allow the maximum job creation during the
2010 construction season. We face a shortfall in the trust
fund at this time that makes an extension and funds transfer
essential to creating much needed jobs in the construction
industry this year and to continuing to improve this nation's
transportation infrastructure. The nation needs these
investments now and we urge the Senate to act to move this
critical legislation.
It is critically important given the urgency of the
investment and jobs issues that these provisions be included
in the Senate jobs bill to be introduced next week.
Mrs. BOXER. I have to say I have worked with these organizations over
the break to talk to them about what will happen if we vote this
measure down and we do not continue our funding through the highway
trust fund. They are very clear, and I am going to give you the
information they told me about job losses that will happen if we do not
act today.
As I read this list, I hope, Mr. President, you realize these
organizations are Republican organizations, Democratic organizations,
bipartisan organizations. They have Independents, Republicans, and
Democrats. The Chamber of Commerce, we all know they
[[Page S605]]
tend to go with the Republican side most of the time. They want a
``yes'' vote. The general contractors, they generally go--generally
go--with the Republicans. They want a ``yes'' vote. Then you look at
the unions, the workers, they generally go with the Democrats. They
want a ``yes'' vote.
And why? Because they are fearing if we do not act, we are going to
hurt business and we are going to hurt the working people of this
country. They say:
Passage of [this] legislation . . . will provide much
needed certainty and stability within the States, local
transportation authorities and transit agencies to make long-
term capital commitments and plan for a full season of work.
. . . Without an extension that . . . stabilizes the Highway
Trust Fund--
Which, by the way, this does--
the transportation construction industry will continue to
decline and much needed transportation investments cannot be
made.
I want to repeat that. This is not a quote from a Senator, Republican
or Democratic or Independent. This is a quote from the Republicans and
the Democrats and the Independents who are represented by the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the American
Road and Transportation Builders Association, the Associated General
Contractors of America, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Laborers
International Union, and the International Union of Operating
Engineers. They are telling us this is critical. They say: ``The Nation
needs these investments now.'' They put the word ``now'' in bold
letters. Not tomorrow, not next week but now.
We urge the Senate to act to move this critical legislation. It is
critically important, given the urgency of the investment in jobs
issues that these provisions be included in the Senate jobs bill and
they are.
Today, we have a chance to have a fresh start by voting for cloture--
in other words, ending a filibuster--on this package of four bills, two
tax breaks for businesses and two very important investments in our
infrastructure.
I wish to give the numbers that were given to us by the American
Association of State Highway Officials.
We have asked the State highway officials in our States--and I see
Senator Casey here; in his State--we have asked them all to give us an
idea of the jobs we would lose if we do not make that $20 billion
transfer into the highway trust fund that is included in the Reid jobs
bill. In Arizona, it is estimated we would see 6,800 jobs lost; in
California, 31,000; in Florida, 17,000--I am rounding these off--in
Illinois, 11,000; Iowa, 4,000; Maine, 1,400; Massachusetts, 5,300;
Michigan, 9,300; Missouri, 7,800; Nevada, 2,590, to be exact; Ohio,
12,000 jobs--let me repeat, 12,000 jobs would be lost in Ohio--in South
Carolina, 5,000; Texas, 29,000-plus jobs would be lost if we don't get
moving on this bill; in Utah, 2,600; and in Wisconsin, 6,500.
I just picked these States out for purposes of explanation.
If we fail to pass an extension, period, we would lose 1 million jobs
in this great Nation.
So there are two scenarios. One is if we fail to extend the program,
this is what will happen. The States will lose jobs immediately. If we
don't authorize this program, we will lose 1 million jobs. Without the
transfer, this highway trust fund will not have any funds by the
summer. Some people say June. Some people say August. I ask my
colleagues who may be watching this debate: Please consider what it
will be like when you have your contractors come and tell you they have
had to stop a project in midstream--a highway, a bike path, a freeway,
fixing a bridge that is perhaps in danger of collapsing.
So I will tell my colleagues I don't think we have a choice.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the estimated
job loss if there is no extension whatsoever of the highway trust fund.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated job
loss under no
State CR or
extension
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona................................................. 15,558
California.............................................. 70,111
Florida................................................. 39,244
Illinois................................................ 25,831
Iowa.................................................... 8,794
Maine................................................... 3,219
Massachusetts........................................... 12,121
Michigan................................................ 21,294
Missouri................................................ 17,921
Nevada.................................................. 5,903
Ohio.................................................... 26,934
South Carolina.......................................... 12,683
Texas................................................... 66,434
Utah.................................................... 5,964
Wisconsin............................................... 14,894
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, this is a pretty straightforward vote for
us today. In essence, everything in this jobs bill is bipartisan.
Everything in it is bipartisan. I can tell my colleagues right now that
my Republican colleagues tell me they want to reauthorize this highway
trust fund through the end of the year. They want to make sure the
trust fund has the dollars it needs. Well, then, what is the reason why
one might not vote to end the filibuster?
Some say we didn't get everything we wanted in this bill. Well,
neither did I. There are many things I would like to see in a jobs
bill, believe me. I didn't get them in this bill because Senator Reid
said we have to go slowly. We are going to have these smaller packages.
They are more understandable. I think he has a point. But each of us
could write our own jobs bill. Senator McConnell could write his. I
could write mine. The fact is, what Senator Reid has done is to take
four provisions that are bipartisan in nature and put them in this jobs
package.
Frankly, I don't know how anyone could face their constituents in a
time of unemployment that we are seeing now. Even though we have
certainly gone from bleeding--600,000 jobs a month, 700,000 jobs a
month--to very few in comparison, we have a long way to go. Building
the infrastructure of this Nation is done by the private sector. We
hear the Republicans on the other side say: Well, we want this to be
built by the private sector. That is how this program works.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record at this time a
notice that went out from the Missouri Department of Transportation, if
I may.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Missouri Department
of Transportation,
Jefferson City, MO, February 19, 2010.
Special Notice to Contractors: Bid Opening
All bidders--PLEASE TAKE NOTE!--Unless the federal
government takes the necessary steps to ensure the
availability of federal funds for the remaining fiscal year
prior to 12:00 p.m. on February 25, 2010, the scheduled
February 26, 2010 bid opening will be Postponed/Withdrawn
until further notice.
If necessary, the final Notice to Postpone/Withdraw the
scheduled February 26, 2010 bid opening will be posted at
12:00 p.m. on February 25, 2010.
As many of you are aware, the Surface Transportation Act,
titled SAFETEA-LU, which provides $42 billion per year
nationally in federal funding for highway and bridge projects
to cities, counties and states, expired on September 30,
2009. The U.S. Congress provided for an extension of SAFETEA-
LU, but funded it at $30 billion per year. MoDOT, like other
State Departments of Transportation, developed its highway
program with the assumption that Congress would fully fund
the federal program at, or above, the SAFETEA-LU level. This
action by Congress has not happened.
Congress has until February 28, 2010 to correct the
shortfall in transportation funding. If Congress takes no
action by February 28 to correct the federal funding
shortfall, MoDOT and other State DOTs will have to make
adjustments to their existing highway programs. The impact to
MoDOT, cities and counties will be a reduction of $250
million in federal funds for the remainder of this fiscal
year. This lack of action directly affects the scheduled-
highway bid openings at MoDOT through the May 21, 2010 bid
opening. Because the February 26, 2010 bid opening is prior
to the February 28 deadline for Congress to address the
federal funding shortfall, MoDOT believes it is prudent to
postpone or withdraw the February 26, 2010 bid opening until
Congress has acted on the federal level for highway and
bridge funding.
If you have any questions related to MoDOT's bid opening
schedules, please feel free to contact Dave Nichols, director
of program delivery, at 573-751-4586 or email at:
[email protected].
Link to the projects scheduled in the February 26, 2010 bid
opening: http://www.modot.org/eBidLettingPublicWeb/
viewStream.do?documentType=general_ info&key=1198.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish my colleagues to hear this because
it is very shocking, and it could happen in Delaware, California,
Pennsylvania, any of our States. It is a special notice to contractors,
dated February 19:
[[Page S606]]
All bidders take note. Unless the Federal Government takes
the necessary steps to ensure the availability of Federal
funds for the remaining fiscal year prior to 12 p.m. on
February 25, the scheduled February 26 bid opening will be
postponed or withdrawn until further notice.
This is real. This is real. I know this is a political season. I know
firsthand it is a political season. But there comes a time when we have
to put politics aside for 5 minutes--I would say 15 minutes--when we
vote, put it aside for 15 minutes and let's not have a circumstance
where we hear from the Missouri Department of Transportation that they
are about to shut down their bidding process.
I also ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a letter
from the American Highway Users Alliance.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
American Highway
Users Alliance,
Washington, DC, February 3, 2010.
Hon. Harry Reid,
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Mitch McConnell,
Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Richard J. Durbin,
Majority Whip, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Jon Kyl,
Minority Whip, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Senate Leaders: On behalf of our 270 motoring clubs,
non-profit associations and businesses with an interest in
safe and efficient highways, the American Highway Users
Alliance asks for your support for the highway bill extension
and Highway Trust Fund restoration in the initial ``jobs
bill'' pending in the Senate.
Our members represent millions of motorists, RVers,
motorcyclists, as well as hundreds of truck and bus
companies. It is critical to us that the Highway Trust Fund
remains solvent, that the expired highway bill is extended
through the current fiscal year, and that rescissions that
took effect on September 30, 2009 are repealed.
Compared to last year, the Federal Highway Administration
is distributing about $1 billion less per month to the States
in budget authority for highways. This cut is devastating all
50 state highway programs and will create serious impacts on
the safety and efficiency of our Nation's commerce corridors.
If the initial job bill is enacted with an extension of the
highway bill and a restoration of funds to the Highway Trust
Fund, FY10 contract authority will be restored to pre-
rescission FY09 levels and the highway program will remain
solvent through the summer construction season.
We also take this opportunity to urge your support for
additional highway funding in future jobs bills to be
considered this year. The House has proposed that $27.5
billion be appropriated for highways in their bill. We
strongly support this funding level and ask that the Senate
concur with the House on this provision. The use of jobs bill
funding for highways will not only add immediate construction
jobs, but will also create and support hundreds of thousands
of supply chain and induced jobs in every part of our
country.
Thank you for your leadership on highway issues. Please do
not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Gregory M. Cohen,
President and CEO.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is signed by their CEO and President.
They are asking us to support this bill. Here is what he says:
Our members represent millions of motorists, RVers,
motorcyclists, as well as hundreds of truck and bus
companies. It is critical that the Highway Trust Fund remain
solvent, that the expired bill be extended through the
current fiscal year, and that the rescissions that took
affect in September be repealed.
They get it. These are our constituents who drive on the highways and
the freeways, and they are begging us to act and set aside our
political games for 15 minutes and vote cloture. By the way, I am
hopeful we can; I am.
I also have a letter to the Members of the Senate:
The current lack of funding certainty in the Federal
highway market is having a devastating effect on the
transportation construction industry. Our industry is in dire
economic shape. We urge the Senate to act promptly on passing
the Reid amendment.
Let me tell my colleagues who signed this letter. The President and
CEO of American Concrete Pavement Association, the President of the
National Asphalt Pavement Association, the President of the National
Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the President and CEO of Portland
Cement, the President and CEO of the National Stone, Sand, and Gravel
Association.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have this letter printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
February 19, 2010.
To the Members of the United States Senate: As the
principal suppliers of materials used to manufacture our
nation's roads, highways and bridges, we call on the U.S.
Senate to promptly enact the Reid amendment that extends the
surface transportation programs and provides $19.5 billion
for the Highway Trust Fund.
The current lack of funding certainty in the federal
highway market is having a devastating effect on the
transportation construction industry. Since SAFETEA-LU
expired on September 30, 2009, the program has been extended
151 days under which state highway funds have been reduced by
30 percent. As a result, state transportation departments and
contractors cannot plan for a full season of work just as the
transportation construction industry is suffering its worst
construction cycle since the Great Depression.
Our industry is in dire economic shape. Production of
asphalt and concrete pavements experienced double digit
declines in 2009. Nearly one in four construction workers are
unemployed, and more job losses will occur in 2010 due to a
lack of contract awards by state transportation departments
across the country. While the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) staved off a catastrophic decline in
highway construction, uncertainty about longterm federal
investment in state and local highway programs, combined with
a lingering recession and associated state budget problems,
poses a significant threat to the future of transportation
builders and suppliers.
We urge the Senate to act promptly on passing the Reid
amendment. This legislation provides for a full year
extension of the Federal Highway Program and funding to shore
up the Highway Trust Fund.
Sincerely,
Gerald F. Voigt,
President and CEO, American Concrete Pavement Association.
Mike Acott,
President, National Asphalt Pavement Association.
Robert A. Garbini,
President, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.
Jennifer Joy Wilson,
President and CEO, National Stone, Sand and Gravel
Association.
Brian McCarthy,
President & CEO, Portland Cement Association.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, these letters are stark in their message
to us. If we don't listen to this incredible group of people who are
writing us these letters--these are Republicans, they are Democrats,
they are Independents, they are Americans. They are saying: Set aside
your differences and fund the highway trust fund. This vote will send a
shiver through the spine of our entire business community and our
working people if we don't get 60 votes today.
So we have an opportunity today to send the clearest of messages that
we are ready to come together around a simple premise; that is, the
transportation infrastructure of this Nation is not a political
whipping boy. There is no time to play politics here--no time. We have
one State already saying: Beware. We are putting off our contracting.
What more do we need to see than that? This is just the beginning of
what is going to happen. We know the Build America Bonds program, which
will allow State and local governments to borrow at lower costs, is
going to put people to work. Our treasurer, California treasurer Bill
Lockyer, said Build America Bonds have enabled the State--our State--to
sell more than $19 billion in general obligation funds to meet voter-
approved mandates for more than 7,000 vital infrastructure projects, in
turn creating or sustaining more than 100,000 solid, middle-class,
private sector jobs and businesses, large and small, in California.
The Build America Bond program is something our local people want,
whether they are in California or anywhere else in the Nation. This
program can cover bonds for school construction, clean energy, and all
the rest. It will allow us to put people to work, and the decisions
will not be made here but in our cities, our counties, and our States.
Clearly, the two infrastructure pieces in the Reid bill are essential
in both
[[Page S607]]
saving jobs and creating new jobs. Investments in infrastructure are a
crucial component of job creation in our Nation. As we work our way out
of this recession, the last thing we want to do is create uncertainty
about our transportation funding. Too many people are counting on it.
I wish to mention, as the chair of the Environment and Public Works
Committee, that what we are doing today will give us the time we need
to pass a larger authorization, and I am working on that authorization
with Republicans and Democrats on our committee. I wish to commend, in
particular, Senator Voinovich for reaching out to me in an
extraordinary way. He is reaching out his hand and he says: Let's get
started. I say to him, through my remarks on the Senate floor:
Absolutely. We are going to start working. That bill is going to be
transformational. It is going to, I think, be another boon to our
economy.
There is one thing I can say after spending so much time back home. I
have not heard one of my constituents in my State--and I traveled to
every part of my State and I met with Democrats, Republicans,
Independents, business, labor, nurses, firefighters, everybody--not one
disagrees with this point; that is, a great nation must have a great
infrastructure. Our infrastructure must be updated. That means our
roads, our bridges, our highways, our transit systems, our sewer
systems, our water systems. We have water systems with arsenic in them.
We have water systems that are not healthful for our families. No great
nation can be a great nation if our people are not at the top of their
game. You can't be at the top of your game if your child is getting ill
because they are drinking tainted water. These are the things we have
to do, and they are done in the private sector. On the transportation
side, there is a separate fund for that highway trust fund, separate
funds that go into that user fee, and that is how we fund our highways
and transit systems. It is a very sound idea.
Again, I say to all colleagues: If we turn our back today on this
very straightforward proposal that extends the highway trust fund and
gives it the funding it needs to spend at the authorized levels, we are
going to see more State departments of transportation, such as this one
in Missouri:
Special Notice: Unless the Federal Government takes the
necessary steps to ensure the availability of Federal funds
for the remaining fiscal year, then the bid opening will be
postponed or withdrawn until further notice.
That is not a threat; it is real.
I yield the floor.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I oppose invoking cloture on the
motion to concur with the House amendment to the Senate amendment to HR
2847, also known as Senator Reid's Hiring Incentives to Restore
Employment Act.
Only 2 weeks after President Obama stood in the House of
Representatives to deliver his State of the Union address calling for a
bipartisan solution to creating job growth, the majority leader has
pulled the rug from underneath both Democrats and Republicans. Senators
Baucus, Grassley, and others, including myself, had been spearheading
an effort to put forth a bipartisan jobs bill. However, the majority
leader inexplicably decided to gut our work product.
Let me be clear, there is no doubt in my mind and in the mind of many
of my colleagues that passing a jobs bill is crucial. We have seen our
unemployment rate remain stagnant at around 10 percent since last
September. The American people sent us here to do a job, and it is way
past time we did it.
That is why I worked with Senator Schumer to come up with a payroll
tax holiday for those companies that hired more employees. Under this
incentive, the sooner a company hired an unemployed worker the more tax
incentive the company would receive.
Regrettably, because of the majority leader's decision, it looks as
though President Obama's hope for a bipartisan solution to job creation
only lasted 2 weeks. What a shame.
The original package, negotiated by Senate Finance Committee Chairman
Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, included an array of tax provisions
aimed at providing the private sector with the ability to hire more
employees and invest in more equipment.
The extension of these expired tax provisions only support proven
growth of companies that are slowly beginning to see the light at the
end of the tunnel.
The President set the tone at the beginning of the year by calling on
Congress to put forth a bipartisan solution to creating jobs in this
country. In response, both Democrats and Republicans brought innovative
ideas to the table. Then, in a sudden change of events, many Republican
ideas have been excluded from the jobs bill the majority leader has
brought to the floor.
And again, the majority leader has maneuvered this legislation to
prevent any amendments from being offered by our side. If this is not
an arrogance of power, then I do not know what is. I only hope the
majority leader heeds to President Obama's plea for a bipartisan
solution.
I think it would be a grave injustice to the American people to pass
this bill in this way. How is the minority supposed to have faith that
the minority will not be excluded from debate of future legislation,
such as health care and energy legislation? It is easy to label the
Republicans as the party of no when you completely exclude them from
the legislative process. No is the only option that remains.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Senate is about to engage in a
cloture vote on the Senate Democratic leadership's third stimulus bill.
What I find surprising is that what we are about to vote on
indisputably and absolutely belongs to the majority leader. That is to
say we are not going to vote on a bipartisan package that I put
together with Finance Committee Chairman Baucus. I was under the
impression that the Senate Democratic leadership was genuine in its
desire to work on a bipartisan basis, but clearly I was mistaken.
Although the Senate Democratic leader was highly involved in the
development of a bipartisan bill, he arbitrarily decided to replace it
with a bill he hopes to jam through the Senate.
As much as I was surprised by the Senate Democratic leader's
disregard for bipartisanship, I am even more surprised by the
explanations given by him and his cohorts.
Perhaps the most significant change between the bipartisan package
Chairman Baucus and I helped put together and the package we will be
voting to move to is that a package of expired tax provisions has been
removed. Normally referred to as extenders, these generally very
popular and certainly bipartisan provisions have been extended several
times over the past few years.
What is surprising is that hyperpartisan members of the majority have
suddenly decided that the tax extenders are partisan pork for
Republicans. A representative sample comes from one report, which
describes the bipartisan bill as ``an extension of soon-to-expire tax
breaks that are highly beneficial to major corporations, known as tax
extenders, as well as other corporate giveaways that had been designed
to win GOP support.'' Just today the Washington Post includes this
attribution to the Senate Democratic Leadership. From the Post:
``We're pretty close,'' {the majority leader} said Friday
during a television appearance in Nevada, adding that he
thought ``fat cats'' would have benefitted too much from the
larger Baucus-Grassley bill.
The portrait being painted by certain members of the majority, echoed
without critical examination in some press reports, is wildly
inaccurate. For one thing, the tax extenders include provisions such as
the deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses and also the
deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school
teachers. If you are going to school or if you are a grade school
teacher, the Senate Democratic leadership thinks you are a fat cat so
you are on your own. If your house was destroyed in a recent natural
disaster and you still need any of the temporary disaster relief
provisions contained in the extenders package, too bad, because helping
you would amount to a corporate giveaway in the eyes of some.
The tax extenders have been routinely passed repeatedly because they
are bipartisan and very popular. Democrats have consistently voted in
favor of extending these tax provisions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a very strong statement upon
House passage of tax extenders in December of 2009, saying this was,
``good
[[Page S608]]
for businesses, good for homeowners, and good for our communities.''
December of 2009 was not very long ago. In 2006, the then-Democratic
leader released a blistering statement: ``After Bush Republicans in the
Senate blocked passage of critical tax extenders, . . . American
families and businesses are paying the price because this Do Nothing
Republican Congress refuses to extend important tax breaks.'' I ask
unanimous consent that both of these statements be printed in the
Record in their entirety.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Pelosi: Tax Extenders Act Creates New Jobs, Growth, Innovation, and
Opportunity for Every American
Washington, DC--Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following
statement today after the House passed the Tax Extenders Act
of 2009, which will help to create jobs and cut taxes for
American middle-class families. The House passed the bill by
a vote of 241 to 181.
``Today, Congress took another positive step forward in our
drive to create more jobs, strengthen our economy, and lay
the foundation for long-term prosperity. By passing the Tax
Extenders Act, we are placing our working families at the
center of our economic recovery.
``This legislation is good for businesses, good for
homeowners, and good for our communities. The bill extends
research and development tax credits for American companies,
encouraging them to invest in innovation and clean energy,
and create the high-tech jobs of the 21st century. It
provides property tax relief to 30 million families, ensures
our men and women called to serve overseas do not face a pay
cut here at home, and offers some security for millions of
parents, teachers, and consumers by extending deductions for
college tuition, classroom expenses, and state and local
sales taxes.
``Maintaining our commitment to fiscal discipline, this
legislation will not add to the deficit. The costs of this
proposal are fully paid for because we put an end to the
preferential tax treatment for hedge fund managers and
investment bankers and crack down on offshore tax havens.
``This bill is a down payment on new jobs, growth,
innovation, and opportunity for every American.''
____
Reid: Republicans Should Stop Blocking Tax Extenders
Washington, DC--Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid today
issued the following statement after Bush Republicans in the
Senate blocked passage of critical tax extenders.
``American families and businesses are paying the price
because this Do Nothing Republican Congress refuses to extend
important tax breaks. Families who just recently took their
sons and daughters to college now wonder whether the tuition
deduction that Republicans allowed to expire last year will
get reinstated. Teachers, forced to reach into their own
pockets to provide supplies for their students, now wonder
why Republicans refuse to extend the modest tax break they
get for doing so. Instead of holding such important tax
provisions hostage to ill-fated estate tax giveaways to
multi-millionaires, Republicans should join Democrats to pass
these measures today. Middle-class Americans deserve a new
direction, where they will not be forced to endure a tax
increase because of Republican inaction and obstruction.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Recent bipartisan votes in the Senate on extending
expiring tax provisions have come in the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008; the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006,
which passed the Senate by unanimous consent; and the Working Families
Tax Relief Act of 2004, which originally passed the Senate by voice
vote although the conference report received 92 votes in favor and a
whopping 3 against. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research
Service, extension of several of these provisions go back even further,
including the Tax Relief Extension Act of 1999, which again passed the
Senate by unanimous consent but lost one vote on the conference report.
Blinded and dazed by the power of their now not-so-super majority,
certain Democrats have in the last few weeks turned against the
extenders. One Democrat said:
Our side isn't sure that the Republicans are real
interested in developing good policy and to move forward
together. Instead, they are more inclined to play rope-a-dope
again. My own view is, let's test them.
Another member of this large 59-vote majority exclaimed:
It looks more like a tax bill than a jobs bill to me. What
the Democratic Caucus is going to put on the floor is
something that's more focused on job creation than on tax
breaks.
The only explanation for this behavior is that certain Senators have
decided that it serves a deeply partisan goal to slander what have been
for several years bipartisan and popular tax provisions benefitting
many different people.
Today's Washington Post article I quoted from earlier includes a
statement from a Senate Democratic leadership aide saying:
No decisions have been made, but anyone expecting us
immediately to go back to a bill that includes tax extenders
will be sorely disappointed.
Having put their heads into the sand, this chamber's Democratic
leaders seem intent on keeping them there. I appeal to all of you to
vote against the Democratic Leadership's effort today to jam the
Senate. A vote for the Senate Democratic Leadership's cloture motion is
a vote to foreclose an opportunity to improve the bill. It also is a
vote to forbid any corrections to mistakes in the bill. And there is a
significant mistake in the Senate Democratic Leadership's bill. The
bill as currently written would allow employers of illegal workers to
benefit from the payroll tax holiday. We should correct that mistake
with an amendment.
The Senate Democratic Leadership's posture prohibits this correction.
Either the Democratic leaders are playing partisan politics with tax
extenders, or they don't understand the worth of the provisions to the
economy, including job retention and creation. The biodiesel industry
alone says 23,000 jobs are at risk due to the biodiesel tax credit
being allowed to expire. Those workers are not fat cats.
And in case anyone thinks biodiesel is something only Iowans worry
about, these green jobs are in 44 of the 50 states. There are 24
facilities in Texas. There are 15 facilities in Iowa. There are 6
facilities in Illinois and 6 in Missouri. There are 4 facilities in
Washington. Ohio has 11 facilities. There are 5 facilities in Indiana.
There are 3 facilities each in Mississippi and South Carolina. There
are 7 facilities in Pennsylvania and 4 in Arkansas. New Jersey has 2
facilities.
There is one facility in North Dakota. Only 6 of the 50 States do not
have some biodiesel production. They are Alaska, Delaware, Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming. The other 44 States have some
biodiesel presence. I have an article from the Erie, PA, newspaper,
describing the struggles of a local biodiesel plant.
So we need to turn away from talk of fat cats. We need to get back to
work on the bipartisan package that was in the works until the Senate
Democratic Leadership's dramatic change in direction. Many people who
are not fat cats or a part of large corporations are counting on these
provisions being extended, and they are counting on their elected
representatives to work together, as we were doing, to get the job
done.
I ask unanimous consent the article be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Erie-Based Biodiesel Company Presses for Return of Tax Credit
Hero BX suffers without biodiesel incentive
(By Jim Martin)
A major financial incentive to purchase biodiesel fuel
disappeared Jan. 1, and companies such as Erie-based Hero BX
are feeling the pain.
Hero, which can make up to 45 million gallons a year and
ranks as Pennsylvania's largest biodiesel company, ran full
steam for most of 2009.
But now, the loss of a $1-a-gallon tax credit for buyers
who blend biodiesel with petroleum-based fuels has softened
demand dramatically, said Mike Noble, Hero BX president.
The plant has operated only about 10 days since that credit
expired at the end of 2009, he said.
``We are running today and tomorrow. Then we will be done
for a few days,'' he said Friday. ``It comes and goes, but
there is not a lot of demand.''
He's hoping the problem is temporary. So far this year,
however, efforts to reintroduce the tax credit, which makes
blodiesel prices more competitive, have fallen flat.
An extension of the credit was included in a draft of an
$85 billion Senate jobs bill.
However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat from
Nevada, announced he would trim the tax credit, along with
other provisions, to a more modest $15 billion.
Now, Reid and other Democrats in the Senate are under
pressure to restore the tax credit, not only from Republican
senators, but from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who has
called the credit, ``an important credit and support
mechanism'' for renewable fuels.
[[Page S609]]
There seems to be general agreement in Washington that the
credit will eventually be extended. The question that remains
is, ``When?''
The timing matters a great deal to Hero BX, where Noble
said biofuel production supports 40 jobs directly and another
40 or so office jobs indirectly.
So far, none of those employees have been laid off, despite
a dramatically reduced production schedule.
``Once we get them trained, it's a very technical job. I
really don't want to lay them off,'' Noble said, citing the
time and expense of training new employees.
Noble said Hero BX has received support from U.S. Sens.
Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, both Pennsylvania Democrats.
``Senator Casey thinks we must quickly restore the
biodiesel tax credit to preserve jobs in Erie and promote
energy independence,'' Stephanie Zarecky, his press
secretary, said in a statement. ``Senate leadership has
announced their intention to bring an extension to the floor.
Senator Casey hopes that it will come to the floor soon and
receive bipartisan support.''
Kate Kelly, press secretary for Specter, said her boss has
been a champion for the industry as a co-sponsor of the
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2009,
which would have extended the tax credit through 2014.
She said in a statement that ``Senator Specter's office has
been working closely with stakeholders on the matter and is
looking for an appropriate legislative vehicle through which
to reinstate the tax credit so that companies like Hero BX
can get back on their feet.''
Both Hero BX and Erie-based American Biodiesel Energy Inc.
can look forward to May 1, when a new state mandate takes
effect that will require a 2 percent blend of biodiesel in
all diesel sold for over-the-road use in Pennsylvania.
Noble said that mandate will be good for business but hopes
he doesn't have to wait that long to see some relief.
``The longer it takes, the further we go in debt and the
harder it will be to get out of the hole,'' he said.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, what is the order before the Senate at this
time?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time until 5:30 p.m. is under the majority
leader's control.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, if we are going to get the American economy
back on track, we have to get the American people back to work. We know
our serious troubles were not created in 1 day and we know they will
not be solved overnight. But we have to begin. We have to take that
first step. That is what the bill before us represents: a strong first
step in the right direction.
This is a jobs plan that will cut businesses' taxes as an incentive
to hire unemployed workers. It is a plan that includes tax breaks for
keeping those workers on the payroll and even more help for small
businesses to write off their investments. In fact, this legislation
will allow small businesses to write off up to $250,000 for equipment
and materials they purchased. That is a good deal. They do not have to
depreciate it.
It will extend the highway trust fund and expand Build America Bonds.
I just finished a meeting a few minutes ago with 11 Governors. This is
one of the best programs with which they have ever dealt. We have no
more money. It creates jobs immediately. It is oversubscribed. It is a
wonderful program that will build roads, will build other projects,
bridges. The highway trust fund, for example, will save 1 million jobs;
in Nevada, thousands of jobs.
I have a letter, if people think this is not a serious issue we are
dealing with--and I do this because it is the only one I have--from the
Missouri Department of Transportation:
All bidders--PLEASE TAKE NOTE!--Unless the federal
government takes the necessary steps to ensure the
availability of federal funds for the remaining fiscal year
prior to 12:00 p.m. on February 25, 2010, the scheduled
February 26, 2010 bid opening will be Postponed/Withdrawn
until further notice.
That is how it is. Missouri is not alone.
With this bill, we will create the right conditions for the private
sector to start hiring again, and we are doing so in the right places.
These moneys, even though they come from Congress, the taxpayers'
dollars go to create private jobs. These highways are not built by a
bunch of Federal employees; they are built by private contractors. For
every $1 billion we invest in infrastructure, we create 47,500 high-
paying jobs and other jobs that spin off from them.
With this first bill, we will create the right conditions for the
private sector to start hiring again. I think we are doing it in the
right places. When we help small businesses thrive, we will create jobs
that will let more entrepreneurs innovate and invent. When we invest in
improving our roads and bridges, we will create jobs so workers can
support their families but also create infrastructure to support our
growing Nation.
This bill is as good for the employees as it is for the employers.
This bill is good for the employers who will do the hiring. This is
such a good deal. If a person is out of work for 30 days, a business
can hire them. If they hire them for up to 30 hours a week, they do not
have to pay their withholding tax, and at the end of the year they get
a $1,000 tax credit.
On my trip home, businesses on the verge of hiring people said: This
is going to allow us to hire people. We can afford to do this. This is
as good for the employers doing the hiring as it is for the employees
who will be getting hired.
One thing about this bill. Everybody should hear this. It is fully
paid for, no deficit spending, which means we are not adding a single
dime to the deficit, not a penny. We are doing this the responsible
way, holding ourselves to the same budgeting standards we teach our
children: You can only spend the money you have.
Each of these components--what are they? The Build America Bonds
provision I talked about; extending the highway bill for a year; the
provision Senator Hatch and Senator Schumer came up with that I talked
about that allows an employer to hire somebody who has been off work
for up to 60 days; and the final provision that allows them to write
off $250,000 in purchases--is a good deal. That is what is in this
bill.
We are doing this bill in a way that is responsible. You should not
spend money you do not have, and that is what we are doing here. Each
of these components--the tax breaks, the support to help small
businesses grow and hire more workers, the new construction projects,
and the fiscally responsible way we are doing it--is a nonpartisan
idea. Republicans have supported every part of this bill in the past--
every part of this bill--and Democrats have also done the same. There
is simply no reason it should not receive overwhelming support from
both sides of the aisle. But so far, I am sorry to say, this has not
happened. I am disappointed that this has been the case.
As the Presiding Officer knows, we had to file cloture some 70 times
last year--70 times. That is remarkably bad. Let's change that. I have
spoken some with some of my Republican colleagues this past week and
said: Let's don't do that anymore. Let's work together.
Who can complain about this bill? I have told the Republican leader
and I have told anyone who will listen that we are going to move very
quickly to a bill that will take about a day--travel promotion--after
this. In every State in the Union, No. 1, No. 2, sometimes No. 3, but
mostly No. 1 and No. 2, the economic driver is tourism. We are the only
modern Nation that does not advertise itself. Watch TV and see the
advertisements coming from Australia, New Zealand, South American
countries, the Caribbean islands, and European countries. We should do
the same. The Travel Promotion Act will save $\1/2\ billion, and it
also pays for itself. There is no deficit spending.
As we finish that bill--it should be toward the end of the week--we
are going to move into the tax extenders, unemployment, COBRA, issues
such as those. I have explained that to the Republican leader.
Rather than figuring out how we can up the other politically, let's
figure how to put Americans back to work. I am sorry to say my friends
on the other side of the aisle are looking for ways not to vote for
this bill. The business community supports this legislation. It is
jobs. Rather than rally around a plan we know will create jobs, I have
heard excuse after tired excuse. But the American people want us to
work together. They are not buying these excuses.
Why wouldn't we do this bill? We can create jobs starting in just a
few days. If someone could explain to me what is wrong with this bill,
I would be happy to listen to them. What is wrong with this
legislation? Some have questioned the size of the bill. Only in
Washington
[[Page S610]]
is a $15 billion investment to create and save more than 1 million jobs
not enough. I was stunned to hear on the radio this morning--when I
received my press briefing, I was told that the unions and the left--
whoever that is--oppose our bill because it is not big enough. Now try
that one on, Mr. President. Only in Washington is a $15 billion
investment to create and save more than 1 million jobs not enough.
The answer is not to do nothing. It is to do something to create jobs
and then create more jobs and then create more jobs after that. That is
why this is not the only jobs bill we are going to be dealing with or
the last jobs bill we will bring to the floor. We have a jobs agenda,
not a jobs bill. We are not going to stop until every American who
wants a job can get one.
Some Senators--one Senator in particular, but there are others; this
Senator does not stand alone--think that money that was spent on TARP
should be returned for the deficit. Other Senators said: I think the
money that has not been spent from the stimulus should be returned to
employees. These are all good ideas, and amendments are going to be
able to be offered when we get to our package later this week. That is
the way it should be.
We want every person in America who needs a job to get a job, but we
cannot do it alone. My friends on the other side of the aisle share
this responsibility. When I had 60 votes, all the responsibility was
mine. It is no longer that way. We are down to 59, and 1 of my Senators
is sick today. I did speak with Senator Lautenberg last night. He is
doing fine. He is such a strong man. He said he will be back in a week
or two. He is doing just fine.
If Republicans support this bill, as they have all the elements of it
in the past, and they join us to pass it, we are going to do many more
bills just like this to create jobs. However, if my friends on the
other side of the aisle want to put partisanship ahead of people--
people who are out of work--if they once again try to distract from the
issue at hand, they will only confirm their reputation as the party of
no. They will only confirm the American people's fear that Republicans
refuse to do anything to help them.
So to my Republican colleagues, I say as seriously and fervently as I
can: Work with us. Show us you are serious about legislating. Show our
constituents you are serious about leading. Show the skeptics that you
know that putting people back to work is far more important than
putting points up on the political scoreboard. Most important, I ask my
Republican colleagues to show those Americans who deserve a job they
can go to every morning, a job they can get up and go to, that we are
willing to do our job tonight.
It is remarkable we have to hold a procedural vote on a bill that
will create jobs. It will be regrettable if the minority prevents us
from moving forward, from taking that first step, from giving millions
of unemployed Americans the hope that tomorrow will be better than
yesterday.
Think what it is for someone to get up in the morning and have no
place to go to work. I have met with some people, while I was home,
dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand. Why? Men do not
have jobs. Women do not have jobs, either, but women are not abusive,
most of the time. Men, when they are out of work, tend to become
abusive. Our domestic crisis shelters in Nevada are jammed. That is the
way it is all over the country. Jobs bring dignity, and that is what
this legislation is all about.
I hope we can pass this legislation and move on during this work
period and work together in doing some good things for this country.
We have a couple minutes until 5:30 p.m. It is my understanding the
vote is to occur at that time. Since there is no one on the floor, I
ask unanimous consent that the vote start early, and we will not cut it
off early.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Cloture Motion
Under the previous order, pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays
before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will
report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to
concur with an amendment to the House amendment to the Senate
amendment to H.R. 2847, an act making appropriations for the
Departments of Commerce, and Justice and Science, and Related
Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and
for other purposes.
Harry Reid, Patrick J. Leahy, Barbara Boxer, Charles E.
Schumer, Mark R. Warner, Tom Harkin, Kay R. Hagan,
Daniel K. Inouye, Bill Nelson, Al Franken, Max Baucus,
John D. Rockefeller IV, Robert Menendez, Amy Klobuchar,
Daniel K. Akaka, Frank R. Lautenberg, Byron L. Dorgan,
Richard Durbin.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that the debate on the
motion to concur with an amendment to the House amendment to the Senate
amendment to H.R. 2847, an act making appropriations for the
Departments of Commerce, and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes,
shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr.
Lautenberg) is necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Utah (Mr. Bennett), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Brownback), the
Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Wyoming (Mr.
Enzi), the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Sessions), the Senator from
Georgia (Mr. Isakson), and the Senator from Utah (Mr. Hatch).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Georgia (Mr.
Isakson) would have voted ``nay,'' and the Senator from Utah (Mr.
Hatch), would have voted ``nay.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 62, nays 30, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 23 Leg.]
YEAS--62
Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burris
Byrd
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feingold
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--30
Alexander
Barrasso
Bunning
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hutchison
Inhofe
Johanns
Kyl
LeMieux
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Nelson (NE)
Risch
Roberts
Shelby
Thune
Vitter
Wicker
NOT VOTING--8
Bennett
Brownback
Burr
Enzi
Hatch
Isakson
Lautenberg
Sessions
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Shaheen.) On this vote, the yeas are 62,
the nays are 30. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn
having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
Cloture having been invoked on the motion to concur with an
amendment, the motion to refer falls.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I hope this is the beginning of a new day
in the Senate. Whether this new day was created by the new Senator from
Massachusetts or some other reason, I am very happy that we were able
to get this vote. But there are some winners--not any individual
Senator, not Democrats or Republicans; the winners are small business
people throughout this country.
On my trip home this past 10 days, people are excited about the fact
they may be able to write off $250,000 for things they badly need--not
depreciate it, just write it off. The other three
[[Page S611]]
provisions are wonderful. To extend the highway bill for a year is
going to save thousands of jobs in Nevada and 1 million jobs throughout
the country. So the small business communities throughout this country
are winners, and also workers. This is going to create jobs.
I had a long conversation today with the Republican leader, and I
told him what the plans are in the Senate. He listened very closely,
and we had a very good conversation. We are going to move, for a day or
two after we complete this, to travel promotion, another bipartisan
bill. It will save $\1/2\ billion. It will create thousands and
thousands of jobs. All around the world countries advertise their
tourism, but we do not. In this great country of ours, we do not see
anything on TV. All we see is money being spent by other countries
having us go to their countries. We want to do the same in their
countries. That is what this is all about. Every State in the Union,
all 50, the No. 1, 2, and in a few instances the third economic driving
factor is tourism. This will help tourism.
As soon as we finish that, toward the end of this week, what we will
do is move to the Finance Committee matters that they worked on before,
and they worked very hard. I am glad we have made progress in that
regard. I told Senator McConnell that will be open to amendment. I will
try to work out with him so many amendments on each side. If we cannot
do that, we will not do that. I hope we can do that. But if we cannot,
we will move forward on the tax extenders, the expiring provisions, and
a few other things.
It is really a new day. I look forward to this work period being one
where we can all go home and say: You know, ladies and gentlemen from
Nevada and New Hampshire and Illinois and New Jersey and New York and
Arkansas, we are working together. We are really getting things done
together. That is what legislation should be about. Legislation is the
art of compromise. It is building consensus and working together.
Basically that is what this piece of legislation is all about. This
is not the jobs bill that we just completed. At least cloture has been
invoked, and we will vote on that in another day or so. It is part of
an agenda. We are going to have, later this month, another jobs bill. I
have spoken to a number of Republican Senators. They have specific
provisions they want in this bill. It will deal with small business.
During the last 10 years, 96 percent of all jobs in America were
created by small businesses. I am very happy we were able to do this.
I express my appreciation to Senator Boxer, chairman of the Public
Works Committee. She has worked so hard. I love her committee. I was
chairman on two separate occasions. It is a committee I have fond
memories of serving on. Every time I see the enthusiasm of Barbara
Boxer, I know why the State of California cares so much about her.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, before the majority leader leaves the
floor, I want to say to him that today jobs triumphed over politics.
That is a great day around here. Jobs triumphed over politics. I want
to say to Senator Reid, this idea you have to keep these bills very
straightforward and very easy to understand, this bill, four parts to
it, two parts dealt with infrastructure, two parts dealt with tax
breaks that were related to making capital investments and hiring
unemployed workers, is very simple for people to understand. I have to
say to my Democratic colleagues, 57 of whom voted for this, thank you.
And to the five Republicans who joined us, thank you so much. It means
so much to the working families of this country, to the business
community.
I want to say a special word to Senator Lautenberg if he is watching.
I know how strongly he supports transportation. He is kind of Mr.
Transportation in New Jersey. We all wish him well. We know he would
have been here if there was any way for him to be here. I will not say
any more than I said before. I want to thank specific people out there
around the country whom I talked to on several conference calls over
this break. They were always there. Night and day we talked. I
explained to them how close this vote would be. They explained to me
that they understood what the stakes were, a million jobs at stake in
relation to the highway trust fund, thousands more at stake in relation
to the Build America bonds. This is a good day.
I thank the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials; the American Road and Transportation Builders Association;
the Associated General Contractors of America; the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce; the Laborers International Union; the International Union of
Operating Engineers; the American Highway Users Alliance; Faster,
Better, Safer Americans for Transportation Mobility; the AAA, which
wrote to us. I want to say to all of them, they made this vote work
because they knew what was happening on the ground.
In closing, I have one more thank you. This is a strange thing to say
but I want to thank the Missouri Department of Transportation for
telling the truth. Listen to what they wrote:
All bidders--PLEASE TAKE NOTE!--Unless the federal
government takes the necessary steps to ensure the
availability of federal funds for the remaining fiscal year,
bid openings will be postponed or withdrawn until further
notice.
In other words, the Department of Transportation in Missouri, being
the first State to be hit with this mess--by the way, followed closely
by North Dakota, they are very close to this place, all of our States
are--they came forward and told the truth that we had to act today. I
hope the House will act with us, and we will get this resolved. In
March we will start on the new bill. It is a good day.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. DORGAN. Let me thank the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, and
certainly Senator Reid and others. This vote was very important. The
question for the Senate and the Congress is when 25, 26 million people
wake up in this country and go looking for a job and can't find it--the
numbers I know are 16 to 17 million people, but the real number of
people who are unemployed in America is much higher than that. There
are many who have given up hope. At a time when that many Americans are
looking for work and can't find it, they need some hope. This Senate
has a choice of doing nothing or doing something. There are too many in
this Senate who have always been satisfied to do nothing. Tonight,
finally, in a piece of legislation that will put people to work, we
know, for example, that the private sector hires people, small and
medium-size businesses. But we also know that when you spend money for
highways, highway contractors are going to put people on payrolls
immediately, because those programs and those projects are already
engineered, already designed, ready to go. The money doesn't exist for
them. When the money is made available, people will be hired
immediately.
The same is true with respect to the wage tax credits in this piece
of legislation. I held a hearing in the policy committee. We had three
small to medium-size businesses there, all of which are profitable, all
wonderful businesses, all ready to expand. But none of them could
because none of them could find capital or they had no access to
capital from their banks. Money was not available. These are successful
businesses, profitable businesses, businesses wanting to and ready to
expand, wanting to hire more people and can't do it.
The fact is, this legislation is another step in the direction of
saying to small to medium-size businesses, when you are ready to begin
hiring again, here is an additional incentive to hire that next worker.
Slowly but surely we have to find a way to give people confidence, give
the American people confidence that this economy is improving, that
there will be a job, there will be opportunity and hope in the future.
We don't so much spend our days with people who are out of work. Most
people serving in the Senate have a pretty wonderful opportunity. They
put on a suit in the morning. We are the kind of people, we shower in
the morning, put on a suit, are dressed up all day, come here. Our jobs
are not being shipped overseas. In most cases, people in this Chamber
have not been so much subject to the deep recession. But a lot of
people have. Five-and-a-half million people who used to work in
manufacturing making things have lost their jobs in recent years. The
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question for most of those people who are looking for some hope from
their leaders is: Will somebody do something, or is the government
going to be content to do nothing?
The action this evening by which these four pieces of legislation,
which include some incentives for small and medium-size businesses,
some bonding authority that will increase economic activity, the
extension of the highway program that will put people back to work,
expensing for small businesses--these are all things that are going to
actually put people on payrolls. It is not a case where we will hire
somebody as a government worker. It is a case of incentivizing highway
contractors to hire people to help build roads and bridges and repair
roads and bridges. It is a case of incentivizing small to medium-size
businesses to say: If you need that extra little incentive to hire that
next person, here it is.
Finally, and even more important than the incentive, is the signal
this sends, the signal that maybe at least, at long last, we will begin
to see some progress, some cooperation, circumstances in which
Republicans and Democrats vote together in sufficient numbers that
things can get passed and get done. With as deep a recession as we are
in, the deepest since the Great Depression, there is an urgency. It
ought to be treated as an urgent situation. This vote this evening may
well put us on the road to understanding how urgent it is and how
important it is that we take action rather than delay.
I thank the leader and so many others. Senator Durbin and I worked on
a jobs package. These four provisions are in that package. There are
other pieces we can implement in the future that will also be
substantially important in getting people back to work, putting America
back to work. I know the Senator from Ohio will speak next. I know he
hopes that perhaps we will not just put people back to work but perhaps
will make products that say ``made in America'' once again. Wouldn't
that be a wonderful thing.
One additional point. I spoke earlier describing the metaphor of
filling the bathtub. We are trying to get the faucet going with
incentives to put people to work. At the same time you have to plug the
drain a little bit. We have a drain of jobs going out of this country.
The President, in the State of the Union, said: Let's get rid of that
unbelievable tax break that we provide people for moving jobs overseas.
I have been in the Senate working on that for a long time. It is
unbelievable that we say to somebody: Close up your factory, fire your
workers, move the jobs overseas, and you get a big fat tax break. We
need to plug the drain, in addition to opening the faucet to try to get
additional jobs and work on that in addition to the progress we have
made this evening that will give some hope to the American people who
want to go to work and need a good job.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I thank Senator Dorgan, who has
led with Senator Durbin on all kinds of job creation efforts,
understanding that although the private sector creates these jobs, it
is a partnership with the private and public sector and State and local
and Federal governments. He had it right. We need to follow his
suggestions and those of Senator Durbin as we move forward, including
what was on the floor earlier this evening.
There are in my State some 640,000 unemployed people, in a State of
about 11 million. There are hundreds of thousands more who are
underemployed. There are tens of thousands of small businesses across
Ohio. There are hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who help ensure that
roads and bridges and transit systems serve the best interests of
residents and businesses.
The bill we voted on today would help those Ohioans. These Ohioans
didn't bring about our Nation's economic crisis. It wasn't people who
work every day in Zaynesville and Lima or Findley who brought this on,
but they are paying the price for it every day. Too many people are
losing health insurance.
I was just on public television with the senior Senator from New
Hampshire. I pointed out that 390 Ohioans every day lose their health
insurance. This economy has squeezed more and more people, people who
have jobs, let alone the anxiety of people who have jobs and are afraid
that they will lose those jobs. Small businesses in my State have
everything it takes to thrive, but they are undermined by this perilous
economic climate. Construction workers, manufacturing workers, small
businesses, other hard-working Ohioans who keep our State going are
losing jobs, not because they are not good employees, not because they
don't show up, not because they aren't working hard, but because the
dollars aren't there to pay them because employers are laying them off,
whether in the private or public sector. Unemployed workers are
remaining that way not because they don't have the drive or the skills
to succeed.
Majority Leader Reid has introduced a bill based on proposals from
Democrats and Republicans alike that would give tax breaks to small
businesses and ensure dollars continue to flow into the highway trust
fund. It is a bill designed to cut businesses a break. It is a bill
designed to sustain our roads and bridges and transit systems to
prevent massive job loss among the millions of Americans who work to
ensure the safety and the effectiveness of our transportation
infrastructure. If they are working, if people are working
construction, if our bus drivers in the cities who are getting
particularly the elderly and low-income people to their doctors'
appointments or to their workplace, if they are working, if the bus
drivers and the transit workers and the construction workers and the
highway builders, if they are working, then there is more money in the
economy and more people are working.
It is a bill, unfortunately, most Republicans in this Chamber, for
whatever reason--they always have a reason to be obstructive literally
100 times in this session, more than 100 times--it is a bill that most
of my Republican colleagues are determined to kill. I thank Senator
Voinovich, the senior Republican in my State, for his support. I thank
the other four or five Republicans who voted at least to let us debate
this bill, something in the past they haven't even been willing to do
on other legislation.
So at least we have made progress that way. But if the press is
right, the Republican leadership and their lobbying friends gathered
together. They have been working 24/7 to convince the public that a
bill solely focused on small businesses and middle-class jobs is a bad
bill. You may have seen news reports that 100 lobbyists sat down with
Republicans and figured out a strategy to try to kill this jobs bill.
It is the same story, it is the same movie we watched last year on
health care. It is the same story again that we have seen, that they
are doing whatever it takes to kill this legislation. Fortunately for
the American people, fortunately for these hundreds of thousands of
Ohioans who are unemployed or underemployed, they did not get away with
it today, that enough Republicans broke with their leadership and
supported efforts to move forward on jobs legislation.
Earlier today, I met with 200 to 300 Ohioans to unveil a report on
how to get our State's economy back on track. This was a group of
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and it was a group that had
everyone from the mayor of Mansfield and the mayor of Marietta, to
small businesses, to large companies, a couple of executives, American
Electric Power Company, to a whole host of citizen activists who want
to do whatever it takes. They want to fight for made-in-America
legislation that Senator Dorgan mentioned. They want a manufacturing
industrial policy in this country. We are the only country in the
developed world that does not have a real plan on how to do
manufacturing, on how to build an industrial economy, on how we begin
to lead the world not just in the technology, which we have done in
solar and wind turbines and biomass and fuel cells--we lead in
technology; we do not lead in industrial development and making those
products. We developed the wind turbine technology in Sandusky, OH,
about 30 miles from where I live, but most of the wind turbines, the
components--a lot of components are made in Ohio, but most of the wind
turbines are manufactured and assembled overseas. It is the same on
solar technology, the same on biomass, the same on fuel cells. Our
scientists, our engineers, our professors,
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and our researchers develop a lot of this technology, but we are not
making it in Ohio and New Hampshire and States around the country.
So today, as I said, all couple hundred, 250, 300 Ohioans--Democrats,
Independents, Republicans--gathered to figure out how to do this, to
move our State forward. As I said, there were a lot of Republicans. But
Republicans in Washington look at the world differently. Many of them
are trying to demonize a bill that provides tax breaks, that saves
jobs. They need to take a step back, the Republicans in this body who I
believe are very out of step with Republicans and everybody else in
States such as mine. They need to take a step back and remember for
whom they work.
Opposition for opposition's sake is not working for the American
people. On the Senate floor, we need to work together to save small
businesses, to help these small businesses get credit, to help these
small businesses work with local communities to provide jobs. That is
what they want to do. We can do this if we work together.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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