[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 51 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2340-S2342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2011

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will read a statement that was issued by 
Speaker Boehner and myself a few minutes ago. This is the statement:

       We have agreed to an historic amount of cuts for the 
     remainder of this fiscal year, as well as a short-term bridge 
     that will give us time to avoid a shutdown while we get that 
     agreement through both houses and to the President. We will 
     cut $78.5 billion below the President's 2011 budget proposal, 
     and we have reached an agreement on the policy riders. In the 
     meantime, we will pass a short-term resolution to keep the 
     government running through Thursday. That short-term bridge 
     will cut the first $2 billion of the total savings.

  I, first of all, express my appreciation to the Speaker and his 
office. It has been a grueling process. We did not do it at this late 
hour for drama. We did it because it has been very hard to arrive at 
this point.
  I also express my appreciation to my counterpart, Senator McConnell. 
We have talked during this process on a number of occasions. We have, 
as we say here, on many occasions it has turned out to be we have a 
terrific relationship. We do our best to protect each caucus. We have 
our battles here. But he is a pleasure to work with. I admire and 
appreciate his work for the people of Kentucky and the country.
  This has been a long process. It has not been an easy process. Both 
sides have had to make tough choices, but tough choices are what this 
job is all

[[Page S2341]]

about. I think it is important to note, as we said in this statement, 
that this is historic, what we have done--$78.5 billion below the 2011 
budget we have been working off of. We worked on many riders. What we 
have done has been difficult but important for the country. We all 
agree there are many cuts that have to take place in the future. We 
understand that. We must get this country's fiscal house in order. But 
if the American people have to make tough choices--and they are doing 
it every day--so should their leaders. That is our responsibility--all 
100 of us and 435 Members of the House.
  The Speaker and I reached an agreement that I have read that will cut 
spending and keep the country running. We have agreed to a historic 
level of cuts for the remainder of this fiscal year, as well as a 
short-term bridge that will give us time to avoid a shutdown while we 
get this agreement through both Houses and to the President.
  I repeat, we will cut $78.5 billion, and we have reached an 
agreement--I repeat for the second time--on the policy riders. I do 
that because that has not been easy. In the meantime, we will pass a 
short-term resolution to keep the government running through this 
coming Friday. That short-term bridge will cut the first $2 billion of 
the total savings we have already talked to, the $78.5 billion.
  Mr. President, with the permission of the Republican leader, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of Calendar No. 28, H.R. 1363; that a Reid-McConnell 
substitute amendment, a 7-day continuing resolution, which is at the 
desk, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the 
Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended; that the 
motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with 
all the above occurring with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank my friend, the majority leader, 
and Speaker Boehner for their outstanding work during this difficult 
negotiation. We had an opportunity tonight to decide whether we wanted 
to repeat history or make history. Had we chosen to repeat history, we 
would have allowed a government shutdown. Instead, we decided to make 
history by implementing in the middle of this fiscal year, as the 
majority leader indicated, substantial reductions in spending. These 
reductions are in the billions. Once we get through this process, by 
the end of next week we will move on to a much larger discussion about 
how we save trillions by enacting, hopefully, on a bipartisan basis, a 
budget that genuinely begins to get on top of this problem. The 
problem, as we all know, is $14 trillion in debt and over $53 trillion 
in unfunded liabilities.

  The President has asked us to raise the debt ceiling, and Senate 
Republicans and House Republicans--and I hope many Democrats as well--
are going to say: Mr. President, in order to raise the debt ceiling, we 
need to do something significant about the debt. My definition of 
significant is that the markets view it as significant, the American 
people view it as significant, and foreign countries view it as 
significant.
  So for tonight, again, I congratulate the majority leader and the 
Speaker. This is an important first step but just the beginning of what 
we need to do to get our fiscal house in order.
  Mr. REID. The Republican leader is right. We have a lot of work to 
do.
  The one thing I want to mention is how much I appreciate the support 
of the American people. Of course, they knew we needed to get this 
done, but also the business community of our country.
  I had a conversation earlier today with Tom Donohue, the President of 
the Chamber of Commerce. It was so important to his organization that 
we complete this. The Business Roundtable and organizations all over 
America understand how important this is.
  I want to mention one more person--I know the night is late--who is 
always an unsung hero, but really a hero among heroes, and that is the 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Dan Inouye, who is here 
behind me tonight. He has been, with his tireless staff, working so 
hard. I applaud his person, Charlie Houy, who has a fantastic knowledge 
of what goes on in this country as it relates to money. He came to the 
Senate in 1983. He has been here all these years working in the 
Appropriations Committee.
  I am not going to go through all the staff, but it is important to 
mention my chief of staff, David Krone, who has worked so very hard. I 
want to mention one other American. I never met him until we started 
this--and what we have been through--and I hope I don't get him in 
trouble--and that is John Boehner's chief of staff, Barry Jackson. He 
is a real professional. It has been very difficult to work through all 
this stuff, but I admire his professionalism. Of course, the White 
House staff has been indispensable.
  Mr. President, I would hope we could have the consent agreement 
approved at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the majority leader's 
request?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 291) was agreed to, as follows:

                (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)

       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:
       Section 1. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public 
     Law 111-242) is further amended--
       (1) by striking the date specified in section 106(3) and 
     inserting ``April 15, 2011'';
       (2) by adding after section 294, as added by the Additional 
     Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011 (section 1 of 
     Public Law 112-6), the following new sections:
       ``Sec. 295. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Office of the 
     Secretary--Transportation Planning, Research, and 
     Development' at a rate for operations of $9,800,000.
       ``Sec. 296. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Federal Aviation 
     Administration--Facilities and Equipment' at a rate for 
     operations of $2,927,500,000.
       ``Sec. 297. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Federal Aviation 
     Administration--Research, Engineering, and Development' at a 
     rate for operations of $187,000,000.
     ``Sec. 298. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are provided 
     for `Department of Transportation--Federal Railroad 
     Administration--Capital Assistance for High Speed Rail 
     Corridors and Intercity Passenger Rail Service' at a rate for 
     operations of $1,000,000,000.
       ``Sec. 299. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Federal Railroad 
     Administration--Railroad Research and Development' at a rate 
     for operations of $35,100,000.
       ``Sec. 300. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Federal Transit 
     Administration--Capital Investment Grants' at a rate for 
     operations of $1,720,000,000.
       ``Sec. 301. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Transportation--Federal Transit 
     Administration--Research and University Research Centers' at 
     a rate for operations of $64,200,000.
       ``Sec. 302. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are 
     provided for `Department of Housing and Urban Development--
     Public and Indian Housing--Public Housing Operating Fund' at 
     a rate for operations of $4,626,000,000.
       ``Sec. 303. Notwithstanding sections 101 and 226, amounts 
     are provided for `Department of Housing and Urban 
     Development--Community Planning and Development--Community 
     Development Fund' at a rate for operations of $4,230,068,480, 
     of which $0 shall be for grants for the Economic Development 
     Initiative (EDI), $0 shall be for neighborhood initiatives, 
     and $0 shall be for grants specified in the last proviso of 
     the last paragraph under such heading in title II of division 
     A of Public Law 111-117: Provided, That the second and third 
     paragraphs under such heading in title II of division A of 
     Public Law 111-117 shall not apply to funds appropriated by 
     this Act.''.
       This Act may be cited as the ``Further Additional 
     Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011''.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment of the 
amendment and third reading of the bill.
  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill, as amended, was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill, as amended, pass?
  The bill (H.R. 1363), as amended, was passed.
  Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I voted against this short-term continuing 
resolution for the same reason I voted against the last one and the one 
before that--because it does not set us on a

[[Page S2342]]

path to fixing the spending and debt problems our country is facing. As 
I have said before, there is not much of a difference between a $1.5 
trillion deficit and a $1.6 trillion deficit--both will lead us to a 
debt crisis from which we may not recover.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________