[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 137 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5666-S5669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SURFACE AND AIR TRANSPORTATION PROGRAMS EXTENSION ACT OF 2011
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to H.R. 2887 under the
terms of the previous order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 2887) to provide an extension of surface and
air transportation programs, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the three votes
that will come soon be limited to 10 minutes each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Under the previous order, there will be 10 minutes of debate equally
divided between the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Paul, and the Senator
from Nevada, Mr. Reid, or their designees.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Amendments Nos. 621 and 622
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up en bloc
my amendments Nos. 621 and 622.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the clerk will report the
amendments by number.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
The Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Paul] proposes en bloc
amendments numbered 621 and 622.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the
amendments be dispensed with.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendments are as follows:
Amendment No. 621
(Purpose: To limit the amount authorized to be expended from the
Highway Trust Fund in any fiscal year to the amount anticipated to be
deposited into the Highway Trust Fund in that fiscal year)
On page 38, line 24, strike ``(d)'' and insert the
following:
(d) Limitation on Highway Trust Fund Expenditures.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the amount
authorized to be expended or transferred during a fiscal year
from the Highway Trust Fund, established under section 9503
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, may not exceed the
amount appropriated, transferred, or otherwise made available
to the Highway Trust Fund during such fiscal year, based on
estimates made by the Congressional Budget Office.
(e)
Amendment No. 622
(Purpose: To decrease the authorization of appropriations for the
Federal Aviation Administration to fiscal year 2008 levels)
At the end of title II, add the following:
SEC. 210. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FEDERAL
AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AT FISCAL YEAR 2008
LEVELS.
Notwithstanding the provisions of, or amendments made by,
this title, or any other provision of law, there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Federal Aviation
Administration for the period beginning on September 17,
2011, and ending on January 31, 2012, for all purposes (other
than for the Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under
section 9502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) amounts
not to exceed the amounts authorized to be appropriated to
the Administration for the period beginning on September 17,
2007, and ending on January 31, 2008, for such purposes.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, we are considering today the highway bill
and the
[[Page S5667]]
FAA bill. The highway bill is a trust fund. When we hear the words
``trust fund,'' we should have trust that money is only spent on
highways. Unfortunately, that money has been spent through the years on
other items. The same applies to the Social Security trust fund and
with the Medicare trust fund. It is all sent to the General Treasury,
and it is not protected.
What I am asking today through this amendment to the highway bill is
that we keep the trust fund separate and the trust fund spends only
money that comes in from the gas tax. If we continue to spend money
that is not coming in from the gas tax, this will be money borrowed
from China or simply printed, and there are ramifications to borrowing
$40,000 a second.
So my amendment to the highway bill would say we only spend what
comes in through taxes. I consider this to be responsible budgeting and
what we should be doing and likely what we were probably obligated
under the original trust agreement to do. So I urge passage of this
amendment which would limit the highway trust fund to that amount of
funds coming in through taxes.
My second amendment is to the FAA bill. This amendment says spending
in the FAA bill go to 2008 levels. Since 2008, spending in our
government has gone up 25 percent. We are mounting a deficit of $1.5
trillion. Our Nation's debt is $14 trillion. There are significant
ramifications to incurring so much debt.
The debt does have a face--it is the face of unemployment. Economists
have said our debt burden is leading to our losing 1 million jobs a
year; that 1 million people are out of work because of the debt we
carry. Economists have also said this debt burden, when it is paid for
through the printing of money, leads to higher prices in the stores.
Our gas prices have doubled not because gas is more precious but
because our dollar is less precious. Our dollar is less precious
because we are paying for a debt by inflating the currency.
What this amendment asks is that we go back to 2008 levels, which,
believe it or not, if we did this through the entire government, will
still not balance the budget. This is a modest proposal. It is the very
least we can do if we believe in a responsible budget and that we must
balance our budget.
The second amendment would take spending to 2008 levels, and I
encourage the Senate to pass these amendments.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, the majority leader has asked that Senator
Rockefeller have 2\1/2\ minutes of the time that remains on our side,
which shall be divided, and I will have the 2\1/2\ minutes to speak
about the highway amendment, which I would share that, if he wants to,
with Senator Inhofe. I ask unanimous consent that be the order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senator Reid has 5 minutes total under his
control.
Mrs. BOXER. That is what I said, 2\1/2\ minutes and 2\1/2\ minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. If I can clarify, I think the Senator from California
is saying the highway bill will get 2\1/2\ minutes, and we will agree
to split our time with the ranking members.
Mrs. BOXER. That is correct.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise in opposition--very strong
opposition--to the Paul amendment. The Senate voted on this earlier
this year and turned it down very emphatically. The Federal Aviation
Administration, FAA, is taken for granted by some. They just assume
there will always be money and everything can go on constantly. The
Senate has rejected this.
The FAA has raised very substantial concerns publicly--but more
importantly, from my point of view, to me privately--that at all levels
they will have to start compromising safety, although they will not
intend to, and eventually we will put FAA at risk.
It is a very bad and dangerous amendment--a mischievous amendment--
and it should be defeated.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues not to support
the Paul amendment on FAA. Although I understand what he is trying to
do, to bring it down, this is a clean extension that has been passed by
the House. The House has gone out for the weekend, and the FAA
authorization lapses tomorrow. We have had a shutdown of the FAA in the
last 6 weeks and it disrupts airport expansions, and it disrupts the
FAA itself.
We will work with Senator Paul to make sure we are doing everything
we can to cut the FAA budget, but this is a clean 2011 extension, with
no additions, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill without the
amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, if you can tell me when I have finished
with 1\1/2\ minutes, please.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes.
Mr. INHOFE. Point of inquiry, Mr. President. At some point I want 30
seconds, if we can figure out how to do that.
Mrs. BOXER. I will reserve the rest of the time for the Senator to
close. So tell me when I have used that 1\1/2\ minutes, and the Senator
will have 1 minute left.
Today, Mr. President, was a very rough day for us to get to this
moment. I thank everyone who came together to finally get this moving.
Let me tell you why we are at a critical moment. We clearly have to
keep the FAA going, and we are. I think we are going to win that
amendment. On transportation, Senator Paul has offered an amendment
that technically doesn't do anything, but it is his intent, as he said,
to cut the funding by one-third.
If that amendment were to pass, and if his intent was carried out, it
would mean we would lose 608,000 jobs right away--608,000 jobs right
away. We can't afford to do that.
The funding is in this bill. There is no need to cut this bill. It is
paid for, and we are ready to go. Republicans and Democrats on the
Environment and Public Works Committee are in agreement on a clean
extension.
I thank my ranking member. As everyone knows, we do not see eye to
eye on the environment, and that is an understatement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used her allotted time.
Mrs. BOXER. On infrastructure, we are together. We want a clean
extension. We fight for these jobs and these businesses.
I thank the Chair, and I yield the remainder of my time to the
ranking member.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. We have two amendments we are talking about now in a
short period of time. First, I will support the FAA amendment. I think
Senator Paul has a good idea.
I would only say this: I want my Republican conservatives to listen
carefully. This is totally different than any other bill because what
this is--there is adequate money right now in the highway trust fund to
carry out the existing spending until 2013. So I would only say that
money is dedicated for that purpose, and it is going to be spent for
that purpose. Anything that came from a source other than a gas tax was
merely paid back from money borrowed out of the trust fund. So from a
moral standpoint, this should be spent on infrastructure on the highway
bill--on the extension. Then we will be able to talk about something
more important, which is the bill coming up, and that will be the
permanent one.
So I think it is not going to make any difference. I will oppose it
on concept because that money is dedicated for a purpose and paid for
by people who believe we are going to improve our highways.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky has 2 minutes.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I am satisfied, and I would ask for the yeas
and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to Amendment No. 621.
The yeas and nays have been ordered.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) is
necessarily absent.
[[Page S5668]]
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Florida (Mr. Rubio).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 14, nays 84, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 136 Leg.]
YEAS--14
Burr
Chambliss
Coats
Coburn
Corker
Crapo
DeMint
Johnson (WI)
Kyl
Lee
McCain
Paul
Risch
Toomey
NAYS--84
Akaka
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Cornyn
Durbin
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Kirk
Klobuchar
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NOT VOTING--2
Kohl
Rubio
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 14, the nays are
84. Under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of
this amendment, the amendment is rejected.
Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made
and laid upon the table.
Vote on Amendment No. 622
Under the previous order, the question is on agreeing to amendment
No. 622, offered by the Senator from Kentucky, Mr. Paul.
Mr. INHOFE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to
be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl) and
the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu) are necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Florida (Mr. Rubio).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio)
would have voted ``yes.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of Colorado). Are there any other
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 36, nays 61, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 137 Leg.]
YEAS--36
Ayotte
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Chambliss
Coburn
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Enzi
Graham
Grassley
Hatch
Heller
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (WI)
Kirk
Kyl
Lee
McCain
McConnell
Moran
Paul
Portman
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Toomey
Vitter
Wicker
NAYS--61
Akaka
Alexander
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inouye
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Klobuchar
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NOT VOTING--3
Kohl
Landrieu
Rubio
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote the yeas are 36, the nays are 61.
Under the previous order requiring 60 votes, the amendment is rejected.
Under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made
and laid upon the table.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I will vote for passage of H.R. 2887, a
combined FAA and surface transportation extension bill.
This legislation averts a damaging shutdown of either program. If we
fail to extend these programs, it will mean layoffs and the loss of
significant revenue to fund airport and road programs.
The current FAA extension expires tomorrow and the current surface
transportation extension expires at the end of the month, along with
the authority to collect the Federal gas taxes that fund the Highway
Trust Fund. Passing this bill quickly and extending the FAA
reauthorization for 4 months and the surface transportation bill for 6
months allows Congress more time to work out the issues that are
holding up completing long-term reauthorizations.
Just as important, it keeps thousands of workers on the job,
supporting their families.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I want to explain my vote of the FAA
extension.
As I have said many times, I share House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica's frustration, and the
frustration of Republican leadership in both the House and the Senate,
that favors to organized labor have overshadowed the prospects for
long-term FAA reauthorization.
Last year the National Mediation Board changed the rules under which
employees of airlines and railroads are able to unionize. For decades
the standard has been that a majority of employees would have to agree
in an election to form a union. However, the new NMB rules changed that
standard so that all it takes to unionize is a majority of employees
voting. The NMB wants to permanently impose unionization with less than
majority support.
The House passed long-term FAA reauthorization bill includes language
I strongly support that eliminates this favor for big labor.
The enactment of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill is very
important and is something we need to accomplish. However, the NMB
issue needs to be resolved for long-term FAA reauthorization to occur.
I will work with my colleagues on a resolution, but they should be on
notice that avoiding the issue through 22 short-term extensions is no
longer an alternative. I hope my friends have a restful weekend, but
they shouldn't feel too relaxed even though we just extended the FAA
for 4 months. We need to get back to work on a long-term FAA
reauthorization bill right away.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Senators Sanders, Lautenberg, Conrad,
Gillibrand and I filed an amendment to provide an additional $2.5
billion to the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency Relief Fund,
which is woefully underfunded right now. In addition, our amendment
would waive the $100 million per State cap on emergency funding, which
has been done for previous disasters, and allow 100 percent Federal
reimbursement for disaster repair work occurring more than 180 days
after the disaster.
Nearly 3 weeks ago, Vermont bore the full brunt of then-Tropical
Storm Irene as it turned gentle mountain streams and valley rivers into
raging torrents of destruction. Whole towns were cut off from the
outside world. Homes, businesses, farms, water systems, and miles of
roads and bridges were swept away. And some Vermonters lost their lives
in these devastating floods.
Roads, bridges, and rail lines all over the State have been wiped
out. Flooding closed more than 300 town and State roads and damaged
more than 30 bridges in Vermont, stranding people in more than a dozen
towns for days. It is going to take years and years for my small State
to recover.
In the aftermath, it has been extremely difficult to move emergency
supplies and rebuilding materials around, as some of the washed-out
roads have gaping gullies in the middle that are 30 feet or more deep,
and some of the reopened roads and bridges are not yet recommended for
heavy traffic.
The consequences have been harsh. Residents are forced to make 30-
mile-plus detours to the nearest grocery store or doctor--on mountain
roads, some of them unpaved. Businesses are struggling to reopen and
find customers. Schools have been forced to remain closed until repairs
are made.
[[Page S5669]]
And tourists are worried about traveling to Vermont this fall to see
the foliage or this winter to do some skiing.
Our small State is stretched to the limit right now. Winter is fast
approaching, which means the end of the construction season is near. By
November it will be too cold to lay asphalt, and by December snow and
ice will cover the mountains, leaving many towns dangerously isolated.
We need to make more permanent repairs as soon as possible or future
rains and the fall's freeze-thaw cycle will further deteriorate our
roads and make them all but impassable this winter. With just weeks to
accomplish so much, we need the full and immediate support of FEMA, the
Department of Transportation, and many other Federal agencies.
Earlier natural disasters across the Nation have drawn down our
emergency fund accounts, jeopardizing the ability to respond in those
States, as well as the newly stricken States such as Vermont. FEMA has
less than $400 million in its disaster account for the rest of fiscal
year 2011, and the Federal Highway Administration's disaster account is
under $200 million. On top of that, the Federal highway account already
has over $1 billion in backlogged projects waiting for funding. Since
damage to Vermont's Federal-aid roads and bridges alone will exceed
half a billion dollars, it is unclear whether the $2.5 billion we
propose in this amendment will even cover all of the costs for declared
disasters including Irene. But it is a good start.
We must act quickly to replenish FEMA's disaster relief fund, Federal
highway's emergency road fund, and a variety of other disaster accounts
that are at dangerously low levels right now. Without additional
funding to these and other emergency accounts, Vermont and all of the
other 49 States with ongoing Federal disasters will not have the
resources they need to rebuild.
Thousands of American families and businesses have been devastated by
an unprecedented series of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires,
and other natural disasters this year. The people hurting out there are
desperate for a helping hand from their fellow Americans. Given the
breadth and depth of Irene's destruction, on top of the ongoing
disasters already declared in all 50 States, we must ensure that FEMA,
the Department of Transportation, and all of the other Federal agencies
involved in disaster-relief efforts have the resources they need to
help our citizens in their desperate time of need.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the third reading of the
bill.
The bill was ordered to a third reading and was read the third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the bill having been
read the third time, the question is, Shall the bill pass?
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Kohl), is
necessarily absent.
Mr. KYL. The following Senator is necessarily absent: The Senator
from Florida (Mr. Rubio).
Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Florida (Mr. Rubio)
would have voted ``yea.''
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 92, nays 6, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 138 Leg.]
YEAS--92
Akaka
Alexander
Ayotte
Barrasso
Baucus
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Boxer
Brown (MA)
Brown (OH)
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Durbin
Enzi
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Heller
Hoeven
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Kerry
Kirk
Klobuchar
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lugar
Manchin
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shaheen
Shelby
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--6
Coburn
DeMint
Johnson (WI)
Lee
Paul
Toomey
NOT VOTING--2
Kohl
Rubio
The bill (H.R. 2887) was passed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table.
The Senator from Wyoming.
____________________