[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 155 (Wednesday, December 1, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8311-S8312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE ECONOMY
Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I wasn't planning to actually come to the
floor this morning, but as we prepare for the day, sometimes we watch
those who make comments and reflect on what was talked about yesterday
and what we discussed and what we see on the floor. I have this new
attitude that as I see people put information on the floor that has to
have a balance to it, I am going to come out and give that balance when
I can. The biggest one is on the economy.
I sat here yesterday and heard some folks on the other side
complaining that it took us a week to deal with the food safety law,
and they wondered why. Well, it is because the other side continues to
require filibusters for 30 hours. I know the Presiding Officer has been
working aggressively on this to try to figure out a way to get things
on this floor more quickly so we can have a debate. But what shocked me
is, they complained that it took a week when, in fact, their delay
tactics caused the week delay. So they wonder why. They create the
problem and then they complain about the problem.
The bigger issue is on the economy. The Presiding Officer and I came
here 2 years ago. We came and were sworn in, in this Chamber, in
January of 2009. This economy was collapsing. It was a disaster. It did
not matter if you were from Alaska or New Mexico; wherever you went,
you heard the stories about the problems with the economy and where we
were headed. It was incumbent upon us to do as many things as possible
to assist the economy to grow, to figure out the pathway. Not all ideas
we laid on the table that passed were perfect, but they were multiple
and multifaceted, to figure out what to do. The converse is, the other
side just kept saying no, no, no. They weren't interested in doing
anything to move this economy forward. We were in a crisis moment.
When we think about issues and we look back--and always at the time
we are making decisions and we are hoping for the best and we are
trying everything possible--it is helpful to remind ourselves where we
were. It didn't matter, again, as I said, if you were from Alaska or
New Mexico, the economic condition of this country and this world was
at risk. So we made some moves that were controversial, and today many
of us don't like to talk about them because the pollsters will tell us:
That is bad news; don't talk about it. The public hates it. Maybe it is
the TARP or the bailout or the stimulus. Figure out the list.
Every day I read Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC. I look
at all the business publications online and in print. What I like to
see is not what politicians are saying about how the economy is going
but what other people are saying--the people who actually work every
single day to try to build this economy. I can speak to this. Meaning
no disrespect--I know the Presiding Officer is an attorney. I mean no
disrespect to the attorneys who are here. We have lots of them in the
Senate.
I am from the private sector. My first business license was at the
age of 14. My wife owns four retail stores. We are businesspeople. We
understand what it takes to go to the bank and try to scratch a loan
from them to build a business, expand a business. We understand when a
banker says no, so we have to go raise capital from other folks to try
to make our dreams come true.
There are a lot of people who come to this floor on the other side
who talk a lot about business who have never been in it, who have never
had to make a payroll. They have worked their way through another means
of income. So it is frustrating to me when I hear people who have never
been in it come out on this floor and talk about the business world.
Let me give some data points. I will probably do this more often than
I should over the next several months because the American people have
heard the story from the other side over and over.
I was no big fan of the auto bailout--a lot of us weren't--but 10
days ago, a little blip in the news: GM had the largest initial public
offering in stock market history. The first day they estimated that
about $17 billion would be subscribed to it. Then it was $20 billion.
The latest news is $23 billion. The American people put their money on
the table and bet on GM: $23 billion. Unbelievable. Actually, what
truly shocked me was when I grabbed--and I get it every day, I read it,
and I think there are incredible news stories. It is not a liberal
newspaper--the Wall Street Journal. It has very conservative views on a
lot of things. But their headline: ``GM Stock Sale in High Gear.
Government-backed carmakers on pace to score one of the largest U.S.
IPOs ever.''
The government owned 61 percent then. With this IPO, it is now down
to about 26 percent. It clearly shows, even though it was controversial
and still is controversial, even though no one wants to talk about it,
that investment to save an American company in order for it to sustain
American jobs in this country is succeeding. It is not because I am
saying it. It is not because the Presiding Officer might say it or the
other side now wants to take some credit, which is amazing--I love some
of the quotes I read.
When this first was kicked around, they called it socialism, the
world was collapsing, the sky was falling. Now you read the quotes from
some of the folks on the other side and they say: Well, with our help,
we made it a better deal. They didn't vote for anything to make it a
better deal. That is just a fact. The fact is, we took the risk to make
an American company survive. That is what we did on this side of the
aisle. Today, that company is more profitable than ever before.
When you look at the data, the private sector is successful and the
American people are investing in that company. That is the true test of
the work we did--even though it was controversial--what the outcome
was.
As I sit here in the last couple of days, I am going to read a couple
more data points. Again, it is not me saying this or writing these
issues; it is the private sector that is identifying where we are going
in this economy. Later this week, we will get a report--on Friday. I
heard today in some of the comments that we should let the private
sector do as much as it can. I 100 percent agree. I come from the
private sector. Many on the other side talk about it, but they have
never been there. The private sector added 93,000 jobs last month.
When you look at another one, the number I like to look at is
consumer confidence. When consumers are more confident about the
economy, they will spend more money, drive our economy, and invest in
their country.
Interestingly, ``Consumer, Manufacturing Reports Beat Forecasts.''
That came out yesterday. Again, it is another indicator that the
economy is moving in the right direction. It is still rough and
fragile, and the policies are controversial, yes, but we took the risk
and bet on the American people. That is what the Democrats did. We said
that we believe in America, our ingenuity, innovation, and the capacity
to pull us out of this recession. We are going to help them with some
tools. They are making it happen.
I can tell you this from my wife being in the retail business. Black
Friday--the Friday after Thanksgiving--is what retailers focus on when
moving into the fourth quarter. Is it going to be successful? If you
look at all the reports compared to a year ago, retailers have strong
momentum coming out of Black Friday. Everyone did very well. That is
another good indication.
As a matter of fact, one encouraging sign--and this is out of another
business document. CNBC did this. It comes from the NPD Group, figuring
out where consumers are after Black Friday and other shopping days.
Shoppers are starting to buy items for themselves. In addition to gifts
for others, about 35 percent of shoppers told NPD on Black Friday that
they also made purchases for themselves. If shoppers are starting to
splurge on themselves, that is an important development. It can push
the holiday season past the forecasts.
I am not making this up. This is what is happening because, again,
this side of the aisle said: We are going to bet on the American
people. We are going to bet that the work we did in early 2009, trying
everything possible
[[Page S8312]]
to jump-start this economy, is going to have a payoff down the road
because we are going to focus on the private sector, helping them get
the tools they need, just as we did before the August break in passing
the small business incentive program and tax incentives and loan
capacity. We only received two votes from the other side for that. So
be it. We go the road alone. The net result for the last 2 years is
that--I have been here for 2 years, and the occupant of the chair has
been on the other side for a decade or so. But we came here to get work
done. It may be controversial at times. Leadership is not easy. It is
not just saying we are going to do that because everybody loves it.
Sometimes the tough decisions are the ones the public has the hardest
time with in the worst situations--the recession. We made some
decisions--again not perfect--but the results are slowly and surely
coming true.
The economy is moving in the right direction. Every time I hear from
the other side that the private sector needs to do more--absolutely. As
a matter of fact, the largest companies have more cash in their bank
accounts today than they have had in decades because they have done
well in the last few years in preparing for the new growth that is
occurring right now in our economy.
I didn't plan to come down here. I was getting prepared for a
Commerce Committee hearing. The occupant of the chair and I are both on
that committee. Anybody who suggests we are not focused on this economy
or on job creation or figuring out how to make sure the middle-class
taxpayers of this country get a fair shake and make sure they have a
tax break coming forward and continuing forward--those who say we are
not focused on that are mistaken. I learned this when I was a mayor: We
can do more than one thing at a time.
The reason I came down to talk is that nobody was talking. It is a
dead zone. That is what happens. When they come down here and say: Gee,
I wish we would be working on this or that--well, quit filibustering
and doing the 30-hour delays and get on with the work. We are
multitasking. The American people have asked us to work on jobs, the
economy, taxes, and the budget. We are 100 people, and we can do this.
Anybody who sits around and thinks we are not focused on the economy--
as someone who lived in the private sector, comes from it, who deals
with small businesspeople every single day, I understand exactly what
they are feeling. So those who have never experienced that should
experience it once and understand that every day is an opportunity.
I am going to continue to come down here and talk about the positive
news, the opportunities that are occurring from the work we have done
in the last 2 years. The other side may complain or argue over was it
right or wrong. The proof will be in the pudding in the fact that other
people--not politicians jawboning about it--in the private sector are
telling us. We have had some good news over the last several months.
The last point I will leave on is another bit of good news. It was
small business again. They do an indicator and try to determine the
confidence level of a small businessperson. That is important because
the small business community is the largest driver of new employment
now and in the future. So you want to make sure their confidence level
is high. Well, in the last 5 months, it has increased every single
month. I believe it is because of actions we have done here to give
them faith that we believe in them, in the American people, and we
believe the ability to move this economy forward is ahead of us, and we
are doing it today.
Again, I will continue to come down here with data points and
articles--not out of liberal magazines or publications. I heard earlier
today about some liberal agenda. I don't know what that is about. I
know what the American agenda is. I know what Alaska's agenda is. That
is what I am here to do. If we just get off of these partisan kinds of
activities and focus on what is right, we can get a lot done around
this place. So I will continue to come down here and talk about the
positive aspects of what is going on in the economy. Believe in the
future and have an attitude of being positive about what we can do, and
it is amazing what this country and this economy can do.
Mr. President, I appreciate the time I have had to discuss this
issue. I warned my staff as I left--I said: Turn on the TV. I didn't
tell them why I was coming here. They will ask me when I get back what
I was doing. I will come down and talk about the positive aspects of
this economy and will no longer listen to the other side naysay with
negative attitudes. We have an economy that is improving--fragile but
improving in the right direction because we on this side bet on the
American people. I believe we bet right.
I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin.) Without objection, it is so
ordered.
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