[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5700-S5701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts:
  S. 3551. A bill to provide a fully offset extension of emergency 
unemployment insurance assistance, enhanced Medicaid FMAP 
reimbursements, and summer employment for youth, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. President, I rise to speak about 
legislation that I have introduced today in the Senate. The name of the 
bill is the Fiscally Responsible Relief for Our States Act of 2010.
  As you know, over the past week, the Senate has vigorously debated 
three different versions of the extenders bill, and we will be debating 
a version of it again today. Even though it is true each of these 
packages contained extensions of programs important to all of our 
constituents, especially in these tough economic times--such as 
emergency unemployment benefits, which I know we are trying to work on 
again today; increased FMAP reimbursements; and funding for summer jobs 
for the youth throughout America--it is also true that each of these 
packages contained billions of dollars of tax increases for businesses, 
and each added billions to our record $13 trillion and rising national 
debt which our kids and grandkids and great-grandchildren will have a 
difficult time paying back, and they will have the responsibility to 
pay it back.
  A lot of what I am proposing today in this bill, and other bills that 
we will probably be discussing, is whether we should use our bank 
account or we should put it on our credit card. That is all we are 
talking about. We are not talking about the viability of these 
proposals. Of course we want to help with summer jobs. Of course we 
want to help people who are hurting with unemployment insurance. Of 
course we want to provide FMAP and Medicaid reimbursements to help our 
struggling States. But do we use our checking account or do we use the 
credit card? I am in favor of using the checking account by using 
unallocated stimulus dollars, by finding other monies that are in the 
so-called slush funds that haven't been used in years or are still 
available or cutting across the board in various entities to come up 
with the money we need to fund these programs.
  As I said, no one is disputing the value of these very important 
programs, especially in my home State of

[[Page S5701]]

Massachusetts, but throughout the country as well. Our economy has 
shown signs of slowly recovering, but people out of work certainly need 
some help to search for new employment and, as I said, States need help 
in providing funding for some of the most vulnerable in our population. 
But we also have to make tough choices, and we have to live within our 
means.
  It is clear the American people want their elected Representatives in 
Congress to start paying for the initiatives and start exercising the 
type of fiscal responsibility as each and every citizen in 
Massachusetts and in America is already doing. They are looking to us 
for guidance to show a better way. They are challenging us to do it 
better, to look outside the box and pay for things with the checking 
account, not the credit card; to not continue to add to the debt, 
continuously adding to the debt.
  As evidenced by what the Banking Committee chairman did--and he is 
sitting in the Chamber of the Senate--they thought about it a little 
better. They found a way to pay for the financial reform bill. They did 
better. They thought outside the box. Why can't we do the same?
  Today I introduce the Fiscally Responsible Relief for Our States Act 
of 2010. It provides for an extension of emergency unemployment 
benefits through November 30, 2010. It also includes extension of 
enhanced FMAP reimbursements for States. But also, as has been 
previously discussed, it includes the gradual drawdown of the enhanced 
funding because we need to send a clear message to the State 
governments that they must get their own fiscal houses in order and 
they cannot always come to the Federal Government with a can saying: 
Please help us. So we need to ensure that we do the necessary reforms 
to ensure their future budgetary viability is real and so is that of 
the Federal Government.
  Last, this proposal I am making provides important summer jobs--
obviously summer is just starting--for the youth in our cities and 
towns.
  The cost of extending these programs is fully paid for through the 
rescission of unobligated Federal funds including stimulus funding as 
well as cuts in other areas. In fact, my legislation reduces the 
deficit, all of this accomplished without raising taxes on businesses 
at a time they cannot afford it, or when our economy is just about to 
recover, putting more and more burdens on businesses and individuals in 
the middle of a 2-year recession. Some of these pay-fors are even 
provisions the majority party has supported in previous bills.
  My legislation is an attempt to compromise, listening to the concerns 
of so many Americans who have called for us to extend these programs 
but also taking into consideration not burdening future generations. 
Some of them are sitting right here. It will allow us to provide for 
the needs of our citizens without putting more debt on the credit card. 
Once again, it is the checking account versus the credit card. 
Commending Senator Dodd for what they did with the bill we are going to 
be discussing next week, that is a perfect example of thinking outside 
the box and finding a way to pay for a lot of these things we are 
trying to do. If we use these commonsense steps, we can get our fiscal 
house in order, and we will continue to put our country on the path to 
recovery.
  Madam President, I have great respect for you and everyone in this 
Chamber. I have been in Washington a little over 5 months now. I have 
been following you and others--it seems that everybody is following my 
voting record. It speaks for itself in that I worked to work across 
party lines to solve problems. But the thing that is a problem is, it 
needs to be a two-way street. Bipartisanship is not just from the new 
Senator from Massachusetts. It needs to be with the majority party 
looking outside the box, as Senator Dodd and his team did, to find a 
realistic solution to pay for a lot of these things the people are 
requesting, that they expect. But they also expect us to use fiscal 
sanity and fiscal responsibility to do our very best, to get the job 
done. It is not only good for Massachusetts, it is good for this 
Nation.
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