[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S73-S74]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, last week President Hu Jintao of China 
came to Chicago after he was received in Washington. He was received in 
a gala manner in that great city and I happened to be there for the 
dinner. There were leaders of the community and business all there 
because China has become an important part of American life. It wasn't 
that long ago that China was stuck in the past. We can recall the 
Chinese in their green quilted identical clothes on their bicycles 
holding their ``Little Red Books'' of Chairman Mao's great quotations 
and basically being discounted and dismissed as not a major factor.
  In the world economy today, China is a major factor and that is why 
the remarks of the Republican minority leader need to be put in 
perspective. The real question the President will ask us tonight is, is 
America ready to compete in the 21st century? Do we have what it takes 
to regain the edge when it comes to manufacturing jobs and to be 
competitive? The challenge the President offers us is to do what is 
responsible when it comes to our budgeting but not to forget the 
investments necessary in our future. When I look at how the United 
States is likely to succeed, you have to start with education and 
training. We have to have an educated workforce, the best in the world. 
We have to reward innovation; provide the kind of research incentives 
at the Federal Government level that lead to the commercialization of 
products and ultimately manufacture and production that grows our 
economy.
  If we walk away from that, if we say that the United States can no 
longer

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afford to invest in America, we are walking away from what is essential 
for our competitive edge. When I hear the Republican leader stand and 
say we cannot afford these investments in America anymore, I wonder 
what his vision is when it comes to our competitive edge. I think it is 
important that we maintain that. The President is going to do that, I 
believe, in the context of responsible budgeting.
  For the record, we had a deficit commission proposed on a bipartisan 
basis last year by Senator Conrad and Senator Gregg, and it was a 
commission that came up for a vote on the floor of the Senate. Does the 
Senator from New Hampshire remember what happened? We failed to pass 
this deficit commission when seven Republican Senators, who were 
cosponsors, came down and voted against it.
  The President had no choice at that point but to start an executive 
commission, on which I was proud to serve, and that executive 
commission did not have the binding authority that the legislative 
commission did, which was defeated by the Republicans on the floor of 
the Senate. So, now, as they pose for holy pictures in deficit 
reduction, they want us to erase that memory of seven Republican 
Senators, cosponsors, who turned and reversed their position when it 
came to this deficit commission.
  I served on this commission. The one thing the commission reminded us 
of over and over is that when we hit the deficit brake, do not hit it 
too soon or we can skid off the road. We can be back into a deeper 
recession if we are not careful.
  There is good news--not as much as we would like, but there is good 
news. A CNN opinion research poll released this morning said the 
percentage of the American people who felt things are going well is up 
14 points since December. And the polling director said: We have not 
seen numbers like this since April of 2007. One likely reason for the 
change is the public's growing optimism about the economy. Why is it 
that this good news about the economy makes the Republicans feel so sad 
and gloomy? It is an indication we are moving in the right direction.
  When the Senator from Kentucky gets up and says: Government just 
creates debt, it does not create jobs, that was not the speech we heard 
when we extended the tax cuts. Exactly the opposite was said on the 
floor of the Senate. Republican Senators stood up and said: Give tax 
cuts to people, and they are going to be able to spend more money for 
goods and services and have more confidence in the future.
  That was a government decision--a government decision endorsed by the 
President and a strong bipartisan majority in the Senate and the House. 
The government can work in a positive way.
  Let me say one word about health care. I listened carefully as 
Republican after Republican came to the floor to decry the notion that 
there would be a government-administered health care plan. Now, it is 
not a government health insurance plan; it is private health insurance 
administered through the government and insurance exchanges to give 
everybody a chance to have health insurance. But those on the other 
side who stand up and decry government-administered health insurance 
plans are, in fact, insured under a government-administered health care 
plan called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
  So I would basically say this: We all know the Hippocratic Oath, and 
we all know the saying ``Physician, heal thyself.'' I would say to 
those Republican Senators calling for repeal of health care for the 
rest of America, first, Senators, repeal your own. Step away from the 
government-administered health care plan. If you find it so 
objectionable for the rest of America, then reject it when it comes to 
your own health insurance. Members of the Senate, Democrats and 
Republicans, I think without exception, are all members of the 
government-administered health care plan. If it is good enough for 
Members of the Senate, why is it not good enough for the rest of 
America? I think that is the basics.
  Let me close by saying this: When it comes to trade agreements, I 
believe we should have good ones, ones that are fair to American 
workers and businesses, ones that are enforced when there are unfair 
trade practices. But we have to be careful as well that we have a tax 
code that also rewards good conduct by American businesses.
  Our Tax Code currently subsidizes America corporations that want to 
ship production overseas. Why in the world would we spend a dollar in 
our tax money to reward a company that wants to remove a job from 
America? Over and over again, we have begged the Republicans to join us 
in a bipartisan effort to end this subsidy for shipping jobs overseas. 
That would be a good way to build the economy here in America, create 
good-paying jobs here at home, and invest in a country which has a 
bright future if we do not get caught up in the political rhetoric of 
the day.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona.

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