[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1077-S1078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           BUDGETING AND JOBS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, we have worked for weeks now in moving 
forward on this funding measure for the country. What Democrats have 
said for weeks now is that we are committed to working with all sides 
to find a middle ground that helps us move forward and move toward a 
fiscally responsible budget for the rest of the year.
  Yesterday the House acted and soon the Senate will act as well. Our 
priorities are twofold: One, keeping the country running so essential 
services do not get interrupted--and certainly they should not be 
interrupted--at a time we can least afford it.
  We have 2 more weeks to do this. We have heard today in the news that 
John McCain's economic adviser said if the Republicans continue going 
on the route they have talked about, it will eliminate 700,000 jobs in 
this struggling economy. Goldman Sachs issued a study yesterday 
indicating it would hurt the gross national product by up to 2 percent, 
and that is devastating.
  So our priorities are twofold: One, keeping the country running so 
essential services do not get interrupted at a time we can least afford 
it; and, two, equally as important, we need to lay the groundwork with 
a budget that invests in what works and cuts what doesn't. We have to 
begin to bring down the deficit without forfeiting our future.
  This has not been an easy process. But we need to set aside partisan 
motivations and remember we work for the American people, not our 
political parties. I am pleased the Republicans have agreed with the 
President's suggested cuts and dropped all those riders--provisions 
meant only to send messages, only to create unnecessary hurdles, and 
kill progress.
  We are going to keep working toward a solution. This time around, it 
may not include everything Democrats want or everything Republicans 
want. But we need to have a compromise which will be part of an ongoing 
conversation. Just like our overarching priority when we budget--that 
we must live within our means--this next step recognizes that we must 
do the best with what we have.
  Today we will also work toward finishing the patent reform bill. It 
is called the America Invests Act, a jobs bill. It is a priority. We 
have to finish

[[Page S1078]]

this matter. This matter, this patent legislation, is important in 
returning America's economy to a position of strength.
  As we speak, there are 750,000 patent applications that are stuck in 
the Patent Office because they do not have enough people to do the 
work. It is true to Democrats' agenda from day one: creating jobs and 
ensuring America can compete in the 21st century's global economy.
  Now, Madam President, I see my friend from Oklahoma on the Senate 
floor. A couple of things he has done in recent days have been 
extremely important: first of all, the money that is collected in the 
Patent Office should be used in the Patent Office. I also think it is 
important people recognize we have an entity around here called the 
General Accounting Office, which is the watchdog of Congress. It is an 
important entity. It is available to both Democrats and Republicans.
  My friend from Oklahoma wrote a letter, as he has a right to do, 
about a couple different areas finding where there was duplication of 
services. They studied this and came back with what I think are some 
matters to which we need to direct our attention.
  Duplication in different entities around here has become untoward. So 
I commend and applaud my friend from Oklahoma in helping us go down 
this path that I think is going to be extremely important for us to 
work our way out of the problems we have.
  I know we have a lot of work to do, and it is important we do that 
work. We are going to get this spending matter out of the way today. 
Then we will have, as I have indicated, a little over 2 weeks to work 
something out on a long-term basis. The President has said he would 
like a longer period of time. We could not work that out with our 
friends on the Republican side. I hope, I hope they do not need a 
government shutdown--and I am not referring to my friends in the Senate 
but the House. I hope they do not need a government shutdown to do what 
is necessary for this country. I think we should avoid that shutdown, 
and we can avoid that shutdown and still recognize that there are costs 
that need to be cut from government spending. It cannot all come from 
our domestic discretionary side of the ledger. There are Pentagon 
moneys that can be saved. There are other programs that have been 
untouchable in past years that we need to look at for a long-term 
solution to the country's problems.

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