[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 21, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3939-S3940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  EDA

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, this afternoon we will have a cloture vote 
on reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration, a law we 
have depended on for more than 50 years.
  This is the fourth jobs bill Democrats have brought to the floor this 
year. I do hope Republicans will not allow it to be the fourth jobs 
bill to wither on the vine thanks to their obstructionist tactics. This 
is a good piece of legislation with decades of helping American 
businesses in economically distressed communities to innovate, grow, 
and to hire.
  In the last 5 years alone, the Economic Development Administration 
has created 314,000 jobs and successfully turned every $1 in Federal 
investment into $7 in private sector investment. It is good legislation 
that will create good jobs for Americans who need these jobs. 
Unfortunately, that is not enough to win bipartisan support among 
Republicans here in the District of Columbia who are more interested in

[[Page S3940]]

destroying Medicare than creating jobs.
  The Small Business innovation research bill is a good piece of 
legislation too. That also died in the Senate last month under a pile 
of unrelated amendments. The bills the Senate passed this year 
reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and reforming 
America's patent system were good legislation also. They would have 
created or saved about 480,000 jobs. It made it out of the Senate alive 
but now languishes in the Republican-controlled House. Will the 
Economic Development Authority suffer the same fate? I hope not.
  Here, 24 hours ago, I presented to the American people in the Senate 
a myriad of amendments that have been filed in regard to this 
legislation. A lot have been offered but more filed. I read about 40 of 
them dealing with different types of endangered species, the lesser 
sand dune reptile, I don't remember what it was, but all kinds of 
nonrelated amendments. Global warming. Post office reform. As I said, 
almost 100 amendments, and I read 35 or 40 of them here yesterday, 
having nothing to do with this legislation. Nothing.
  I hope we don't have another bill that is blocked, the fourth this 
year. If they do that, it would be clear they are more interested in 
this rightwing ideology than creating much-needed employment. Of the 
90-plus amendments, I repeat, only one of which my staff was able to 
find had any germaneness to the bill, and that is one the chairman of 
the committee, Senator Boxer, would agree to anyway because it was 
offered by Senator Inhofe.
  This is an important piece of legislation. This legislation will put 
hundreds of thousands of people to work. So today's vote is again about 
priorities. Americans have been very clear, job creation is their No.1 
priority, their No. 2 priority, and their No. 3 priority. Democrats 
share that priority. Republicans obviously don't.
  We will never stop bringing jobs bills to the floor, and we will 
never stop fighting the other side's obstructionism to try to get them 
passed. Again, Republicans have a different priority, it appears, and 
that is ending Medicare. And that is too bad. They have worked hard to 
block three bills that could have created and saved hundreds of 
thousands of jobs during tough economic times, but they pushed even 
harder for their ideological plan to kill Medicare as we know it.
  The Republican plan would put insurance company bureaucrats between 
seniors and their doctors. Every senior would pay $6,400 more for 
health care in the first year alone. It would force more than 7 million 
seniors to pay more for cancer screenings, wellness checks, and 
treatments beginning next year.
  Americans have been clear about this too, very clear. They have 
resoundingly rejected this ideological plan to hurt seniors. 
Republicans think it is a bad idea. Democrats think it is a bad idea. 
And, of course, the Independents think it is a bad idea. All polls show 
this.
  Unfortunately, I haven't heard a shred of evidence that my Republican 
friends here in Congress are getting the message on Medicare that the 
American people have gotten. Today they will have a chance to show the 
American people once again whether they have heard the message on jobs. 
I hope they have, because so much is at stake. And America is watching.

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