[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 22 (Thursday, February 9, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S400-S413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOVING AHEAD FOR PROGRESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1813, which the
clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 311,
S. 1813, a bill to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and
highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
Mrs. BOXER. Well, Mr. President, this is a big day for those of us
who believe strongly that we need to focus on job creation, a better
business climate, a bill that will, in fact, not only protect jobs but
create new jobs. That is the bill we are hoping will get the go-ahead
at 2 o'clock, what we call MAP-21, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the
21st Century Act, S. 1813.
This has been--if I could use an analogy that fits--a long road to
get to this point so we can, in fact, make sure we have an adequate
road system, an adequate highway system, an adequate transit system,
and that we make sure, as a world leader, our infrastructure--our
bridges, our roads--keep up with the demands put upon them. There are
many demands put upon them because we are a great nation with commerce
and heavy-duty vehicles on our roadways and railroads that cross over
roadways that create potential problems, and, certainly, we have a
robust transit system that needs to keep up with the times.
Last night, I received a letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
and I was very pleased to see it because they support the bill Senator
Inhofe and I, on a bipartisan basis, were able to get through our
committee on a unanimous vote.
It is a rare moment in history, frankly, when the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and labor unions all come together, with everyone on the same
page, to say: Let's move forward with a bill. In these days of
controversy and debate--and, Lord knows, I am immersed in many of
them--this is one where we have been able to carve out a very important
consensus, not only in the Environment and Public Works Committee but
in the Banking Committee--where Senators Johnson and Shelby work
together--to get a piece of this bill done.
In the Finance Committee--where Senators there are led by Senator
Baucus--they were able to hammer out a tough and important agreement to
fund this bill because it has some shortfalls due to the fact that the
highway trust fund has been going down because cars are getting better
fuel economy--and that is a good thing--but the bad, unintended problem
is the trust fund now has fewer dollars, so we run short of what we
need to keep our bridges and highways and transit systems going.
So what a moment it was to see not only our committee but the Banking
Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Commerce Committee, with a
couple of exceptions on a couple of provisions--they did their job as
well, and we are trying to work with them to resolve whatever matters
remain in that portion of the bill.
But I want to quote from the letter from the Chamber of Commerce that
I received last night. I want to share a couple lines with everyone. I
am quoting:
The Chamber strongly supports this important legislation.
Investment in transportation has proven to grow jobs, and the
need for Congress to act on transportation infrastructure is
clear.
Another quote:
Passing transportation reauthorization legislation is a
specific action Congress and the Administration can take
right now to support job growth and economic productivity
without adding to the deficit.
Those two quotes I think show we have done our job well.
This is a bill that is paid for. This is a bill that, because of the
way it was written, is a reform bill, which I will go into. But it also
protects the jobs we currently have, which is 1.8 million jobs in the
transportation area, and also, because of the way we have boosted a
program called TIFIA--which I will talk about, which is a highly
leveraged program--we have the capacity to add over a million new jobs.
Mostly these jobs are in the private sector. That is where they are,
and that is what we are focused on in this legislation.
I mentioned Senator Inhofe before, my ranking member on the
Environment and Public Works Committee. I expect him to be in the
Chamber shortly. I cannot tell you of the trusted partnership we were
able to develop with him that went not only for his relationship with
me in working on this bill, but the staff-to-staff relationships which
have blossomed into friendships and trust. I think what we have shown
is that each of us can be a tough but fair partner. Our staffs
understand where we are coming from. But we have a bigger goal in front
of us than our differences; that is, our agreement that it is our
responsibility to fix our aging roads and highways and bridges--our
infrastructure--to put people back to work, to boost our economy, and,
as Senator Inhofe has talked about very often, with examples that are
in many ways heart breaking, we have problems with safety in our
Nation. We have bridges that are crumbling. We have seen them with our
own eyes. We cannot turn away from this because we may have
disagreements on lots of other things.
It has been a long but a very worthwhile journey to get to this stage
because the payoff here, if this bill eventually becomes law, is, as I
said, protecting 1.8 million jobs and creating up to another million
jobs.
Again, I want to mention the Commerce Committee. I did not thank
Senators Rockefeller and Hutchison for their work on this as well. So
we have four committees that are involved in writing this bill. Each
committee has voted out their bills. If all goes right today, and we
get a resounding go-ahead, I hope we begin with amendments on the EPW
portion, and then move to add the different other bills to this bill,
until we have added all four--all the committees together--and then I
hope we will have a resounding vote and get to a conference committee.
We have major differences with the other body, but I think we can work
them out for the good of the people and the thousand organizations that
back us in this bill, in this effort.
I also have to thank Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader. He
brought this bill to the floor. He exerted the right kind of pressure
on all of our committees. He encouraged us. He understands clearly
that, as we try to get out of this recession--and we have seen
beneficial results from our actions in a number of areas--this is going
to mean a big boost for jobs.
I want to also say that within my committee we have what we call the
big four: it is the chairman and the ranking member--myself and Senator
Inhofe--and then it is the chairman of the Highway Subcommittee and the
ranking member there; and that is Senator Baucus and Senator Vitter. So
I honestly think if you look at the big four, and you look at our
philosophies, and you look at where we are from and the differences we
bring to the table, we cover the whole Senate in terms of
[[Page S401]]
the range of ideologies but are tied together by a belief that this is
something that needs to get done. And Senators Baucus and Vitter were
with Senator Inhofe and me every step of the way, for which we are very
grateful.
I mentioned, I alluded to a thousand organizations that have been
involved on the outside pushing us to get this done. My hat is off to
them. They make up a broad coalition. I have spoken frequently with
them to give them an update on how we are doing, and I have to tell you
they truly represent America. Over the course of this debate, if I have
the time--and in many ways I hope I do not have the time because I hope
we can get this done and not spend a whole lot of time on it because I
think the committees have done such a good job, but if we have excess
time on the floor, I intend to read as many of those organizations into
the Record as I possibly can because that coalition is remarkable in
its reach.
They were led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is an unprecedented
coalition. They came together regardless of ideology and differences.
Every time I look at this list, I am reminded that essentially it is
America. It is America: business, labor groups, State organizations,
city organizations, and organizations from all 50 States.
We received a letter from these thousand organizations recently, and
I am going to quote some of what they said. They said:
There are few federal efforts that rival the potential of
critical transportation infrastructure investments for
sustaining and creating jobs and economic activity. . . .
They wrote:
In 2011, political leaders--Republican and Democrat, House,
Senate and the Administration--stated a multi-year surface
transportation bill is important for job creation and
economic recovery. We urge you to follow words with action:
And this is what they asked us:
Make Transportation Job #1 and move legislation immediately
in the House and Senate to invest in the roads, bridges,
[and] transit systems that are the backbone of [our] economy,
its businesses large and small, and communities of all sizes.
Again, it is important to note, our surface transportation bill
creates or saves millions of jobs, benefiting millions of American
families across the country. What a great signal it will send, as we
struggle to get out of the slowdown and we begin to see the light at
the end of the tunnel. This will be a very large light because there
are very few other things we can do here that have the reach of a
transportation bill.
Let's talk about the construction industry. According to the most
recent unemployment figures, there are 1.5 million construction workers
out of work, with the industry facing an unemployment rate of 17.7
percent. Construction workers are out of work.
I show you a chart I have in the Chamber. The national unemployment
rate is 8.3 percent. We want to see that come down. But look at that
construction industry unemployment rate: 17.7 percent. These are real
people with pride in what they do. And we know the housing industry has
had a horrible time. It has stalled out, and it is in a horrible
trough.
So if we can take those construction workers and offer them an
opportunity to build the roads, the bridges, the highways, the transit
systems, it will put them to work and we will get that 17.7-percent
rate down.
I do not know if we have a picture of that stadium. This is a picture
of the Super Bowl stadium. From what I understand, it seats about
100,000. That is what we see here. If we had 15, 15 of these pictures,
15 Super Bowl stadiums' worth of people, that is how many people are
unemployed in construction.
I use this not only because I watch the Super Bowl, although my
Niners did not get in and it was upsetting, but because this is a
picture, a visual. Imagine every one of those people unemployed times
15. It is a visual. I think it is important that we keep in mind we are
talking about real people who have lost real jobs because of this
recession and especially the housing downturn.
This is a chance to put them to work. There is an urgent need to get
this legislation through the conference committee and onto the
President's desk because the current transportation authorization
extension expires on March 31. I wish to say to colleagues who may be
watching or staff who may be watching: You may have a lot of amendments
in your mind, in your heart, and everybody has a right, and I support
your right. But please think very hard before you start bringing down
amendments that will slow us up. Those thousand organizations know we
need to keep our eye on the ball, and these organizations are in all
our States. They represent millions and millions and millions of
American families. So let's not add extraneous matters, please. Let's
not have frivolous amendments, killer amendments. We all can offer
these. I have several I could offer in a heartbeat. But this is not the
place to have our ideological disputes. This is a bill that is a jobs
bill. This is a bill that is good for our businesses. This is a bill
that will save 1.8 million jobs and create up to 1 million more at a
time when we must have that kind of wind at our back.
There is another reason. Not only does the highway bill expire in
March, but we also know the trust fund is running out of money for
projects already in the pipeline. So we have to find a reliable and
stable source of funding. Senator Baucus and his Finance Committee have
come up with a way to responsibly fill this shortfall. I cannot thank
them enough, the Democrats and Republicans on that committee. Thank
you. Because what you have done is to have come up with some very good
ways to pay for the shortfall, and those ways do no harm.
We must push forward for another reason which I alluded to before.
America's aging infrastructure is crumbling. Let me just tell America
this: Some 70,000 of our Nation's bridge are structurally deficient--
70,000 of our Nation's bridges are structurally deficient, 50 percent
of our roads are not up to standard.
If you are in your home and you have little kids and someone who is
an expert comes up to you, an engineer, and says your house could
easily crumble, we all know what you would do. You would get out of
there, fix it, and then move the family back in. This is no different.
If somebody tells you your house is crumbling, you have to fix it. If
somebody says to us, our Nation's bridges are structurally deficient
and over 50 percent of our roads are not up to standard, we have to
act.
My dear friend and colleague who is going to manage this bill with me
has arrived. I will tell him, I am about 5 minutes away from finishing
my opening statement and yielding to him. But he is more eloquent than
anyone I have ever heard on two issues; one, what is the role of
government. He makes the point, which I am not going to take away from
him, as to how infrastructure fits into that.
He also is eloquent on the point of safety. Because he has seen with
his own eyes what happens if we do not get our infrastructure sound and
safe. We have a deteriorating part of our infrastructure, and it needs
to be fixed.
We cannot be an economic leader if we cannot move people and goods.
We cannot thrive as a nation if our people are trapped in traffic and
our businesses are trying to move goods and they are trapped in
traffic. We lose 4.8 billion hours from work and we pay the price for
that in loss of productive time and in dirty air.
As to our bill that was passed out of the Environment and Public
Works Committee, I wish to say to my ranking member who was not here
and his staff was not here at the time that I started, I praised him to
the sky--and staff--because regardless of our differences on many
issues, we have been able to put this country first in this bill.
I am so grateful for the spirit of cooperation we have brought to our
work, which was captured in the Banking Committee where Senators
Johnson and Shelby got together, and in the Finance Committee where
many Republicans joined our Democratic friends to figure out a way to
fund this responsibly, and in the Commerce Committee where we have one
or two little hiccups, but I do believe we are going to resolve them. I
am proud we were out there first showing we could do this.
People said all over the Senate: If Boxer and Inhofe can do this,
anything is possible.
MAP-21 is a reform bill, and I am proud about that. It consolidates
90 programs into less than 30. It focuses
[[Page S402]]
on key national goals. It gives greater flexibility to the States to
invest in their top priorities. It eliminates earmarks. It establishes
performance measures to improve accountability. It accelerates project
delivery, and it provides resources for a new national freight program.
This bill is responsible. It continues the current level of funding
plus inflation which, as I said, protects 1.8 million jobs. The TIFIA
Program, which Senator Inhofe and I agreed to increase, which stands
for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, is also
embraced by Chairman Mica over on the House side.
So Republicans and Democrats agree that by making more funds
available through TIFIA, we can mobilize up to $30 billion more from
the $1 billion we have placed in that fund and create up to 1 million
jobs.
I wish to thank the mayor of Los Angeles and the Chamber there and
the workers there who brought the idea of leveraging to my attention. I
wish to say that Tom Donahue, of the U.S. Chamber, president there,
Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL and many business and labor
groups throughout our Nation supported this TIFIA Program to stretch
taxpayer dollars in a safe way.
Again, they have done that in the House bill as well, which is very
good for us.
I am proud of this bill and the reforms in it. I am proud of working
relationships we have established across party lines in our committee.
I could say, very honestly, there are a lot of things this bill does
not have that I am sorry about, that I wanted to see in there. I am not
going to detail those. But I know Senator Inhofe feels the same way.
But there were certain things that were lines in the sand for each of
us, and it was a give and take that resulted in this compromise which
is a good bill--a good solid bill.
We put those controversial issues aside for the good of the Nation. I
will close with this. Ever since Dwight Eisenhower started us on a path
to build the Interstate Highway System, transportation has been a
bipartisan effort. I asked my staff to research some of the comments
made by President Eisenhower in 1963 when he established the Federal
Interstate Highway System.
Actually, he wrote his autobiography in 1963. He established the
System in 1956.
This is what he said:
More than any single action by the government since the end
of the war, this one would change the face of America with
straightaways, cloverleaf turns, bridges, and elongated
parkways. Its impact on the American economy--the jobs it
would produce in manufacturing and construction, the rural
areas it would open up--was beyond calculation.
It is very important to note how bipartisan this is. Ronald Reagan in
1982, ``More efficient roads mean lower transportation costs.''
He said:
Lately driving is not as much fun as it used to be. Time
and wear have taken their toll on America's roads and
highways.
He said it well. So we have Democratic Presidents, Republican
Presidents, Democratic Senators, Republican Senators all working in a
bipartisan way. Votes on these bills have been overwhelming, 79 to 8;
372 in the House to 47--all of our President's signing these
laws. Historically, major surface transportation legislation has
received overwhelming bipartisan support.
In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Equity Act, ISTEA,
with a Senate Democratic majority, passed by a vote of 79 to 8. The
House, with a Democratic majority, passed it by a vote of 372 to 47.
President George H.W. Bush signed it into law. At the December 18,
1991, signing ceremony, President Bush said:
ISTEA is ``the most important transportation bill since
President Eisenhower started the Interstate System 35 years
ago . . . this bill also means investment in America's
economic future, for an efficient transportation system is
absolutely essential for a productive and efficient
economy.''
In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, TEA-21,
with a Senate Republican majority, passed by a vote of 88 to 5. The
House with a Republican majority, passed it by a vote of 297 to 86.
President Bill Clinton signed it into law.
In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, SAFETEA-LU, passed the Senate, with a
Republican majority, by a vote of 91 to 4. The House, with a Republican
majority, passed it by a vote of 412 to 8. President George W. Bush
signed it into law.
Elected officials are not the only people who recognize the
importance of maintaining our transportation systems. The American
public also supports rebuilding the Nation through infrastructure
investment.
According to a poll released last October by CNN, 72 percent of
Americans--and 54 percent of Republicans--support ``increasing federal
spending to build and repair roads, bridges and schools.''
Roads and bridges are neither Democratic nor Republican, and all
elected officials need to leave partisanship on this issue at the door.
Bipartisanship is the only way to get the job done, and Senator
Inhofe's and my partnership in this effort is proof positive that it
can be done.
Senator Inhofe and I do not agree on many issues, but we found common
ground on this one. We agree that we must invest in our aging
transportation systems, we must boost the economy, we must put people
back to work, and we must pay for it in a way that is not divisive or
partisan. Neither Senator Inhofe nor I got our wish list in this bill,
but we do have a bill that both of us can support. At the end of the
day, that is what matters.
The American people deserve to have their elected officials work
together to solve our pressing problems, and that is what we did. The
bill before us is thoroughly bipartisan, and therefore nobody will
think it is perfect, but it is a very strong commitment to our
transportation systems and to the health of our businesses, workers,
and communities that depend on it.
I say today is a good day. I have tried to thank everyone I can think
of who had anything to do with it. It is my privilege now to yield the
floor and look forward to the comments of my ranking member.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I am not sure, I say to my good friend
Senator Boxer, she is going to be too excited about some of the things
because what I wish to do is establish what is unique about this bill.
There is a committee in the Senate. It is not like any committee in
the House. In the House, they have two separate committees. It is
called Environment and Public Works. So it is two almost unrelated
committees. Our committee has more jurisdiction than any other
committee in the Senate, but it handles things that are totally
different.
I will sound a little partisan right now, but I am very concerned
about President Obama and what he has done to this country in terms of
the deficit. A lot of people do not realize that the budgets actually
come from the President--not the Democrats, not the Republicans, not
the House and the Senate. Those budgets have had deficits of around
$4\1/2\ trillion. I have been very upset about that.
I am upset about what the President is doing with the military right
now. If we have to go through the sequestration as is planned, we are
going to lose about $1 trillion in defense spending over the next 10
years. The third area is in energy. We have the opportunity to be
totally energy self-supporting just by developing our own resources,
but the problem is a political problem. The fourth area is over
regulation.
I say this because my good friend, the chairman of the Environment
and Public Works Committee, would disagree with me in all those areas
because we do not agree. I look at the regulations and the fact that,
in my opinion, they are driving our manufacturing base overseas. I see
the crown jewel of all regulations is cap and trade. They tried their
best to do it. They had the McCain-Lieberman bill in 2003 and again in
2005. We had the Boxer bill--several Boxer bills that Senator Boxer was
involved in--certainly Waxman-Markey.
We defeated them all, and now what the President is trying to do is
do through regulation what he could not do through legislation. I only
say that because I am in agreement with the chairman of the committee,
Senator Boxer, on most of what she just said
[[Page S403]]
because of the significance of this. I am going to repeat what I said
yesterday, I guess it was, or the day before. When rankings come out,
historically since I have been in the House and the Senate--I came to
the Senate in 1994--I am always ranked among the most conservative
Members.
My good friend Senator Boxer is ranked among the most liberal
Members--progressive, liberal. But what I appreciate about her is that
she is a sincere liberal.
She understands that. In her feelings, she believes government should
be involved in more things than I do. I hasten to say this again, that
while I have been historically considered the most conservative Member,
I am a big spender in two areas. One area is national defense--I am
very concerned about what is happening in national defense--the other
area is infrastructure.
Way back when I was in the House and on the Transportation
Infrastructure Committee, at that time we worked very hard for a robust
bill, for reauthorizing the transportation system. We were successful.
That was back in the good-old days, I say to Senator Boxer, when we
always had surpluses in the highway trust fund.
The highway trust fund probably goes down as the most popular tax in
history because people know, since 1953, it has been a trust fund where
people pay their 18 or so cents per gallon, and it goes to maintaining
those roads they are driving on. So it is directly related to the
gasoline purchased.
Then some things happened. First of all, I can remember when we had
surpluses. So everybody who had their own deal wanted to get in on
surpluses, and they started expanding the highway trust fund
expenditures beyond just maintaining and building roads. That was one
of the problems. Then along came a lot of the changes. When they talk
about electric cars, whether one is for them or against them, and
mandating gas mileage, that reduces the proceeds dramatically. In the
beginning, I think they probably should have had the highway trust fund
geared to a percentage instead of cents.
Now fast-forward to recent times and we have a deteriorating system.
I was proud of the Environment and Public Works Committee I have been
talking about. In 2006, prior to the last election, I was chairman
because the Republicans were in the majority. At that time, we did the
2005 highway reauthorization bill, and it was $286.4 billion--a very
robust bill. Yet we could pretty much document that we didn't do
anything new in that bill. We just maintained what we had. It expired
in 2009. Since then, we have been operating on extensions.
This is significant. Before I get on to operating on an extension, I
will mention what we are talking about, Senator Boxer and I. Our
Environment and Public Works Committee has the jurisdiction over the
highway title of the bill. Some things are controversial. Not many. I
don't know of anything controversial in the highway title. The Commerce
Committee with Senator Rockefeller as chairman and Senator Hutchison as
ranking member, the Finance Committee with Senators Baucus and Hatch,
and the Banking Committee--that is Tim Johnson and Richard Shelby from
Alabama--have done their work now.
Ours is the highway title. In my State of Oklahoma, because of the
condition of the bridges and highways--the last time I looked, I think
Missouri and Oklahoma tied at dead last in the condition of our
bridges--we had a young lady--and I have told this story many times;
this is most compelling. This young lady--a mother of three small
children in Oklahoma City--drove under one of our bridges and a chunk
of concrete dropped off and killed them. These are serious matters. So
bridges have dropped, just as one did in Minnesota and down in south
Texas.
We have had so many times when crumbling infrastructure has given
way. I remember when they considered Oklahoma--since we became a State
in 1907, we are one of the newer States--people didn't think we had
infrastructure problems. They thought that was just confined to
California, New York, and the older parts of the country. That is not
true anymore because in many of those older parts the infrastructure
has been rebuilt while some of the newer States have been ignored. That
is why in Oklahoma it is critical.
People say they don't want earmarks. Senator Boxer said: We don't
have earmarks.
I would like to discuss that because I am a strong believer as
opposed to the people who don't want us to do what we are supposed to
be doing when we were sworn to uphold the Constitution, article I,
section 9--we should be the ones, the House and Senate, to do the
appropriating and the authorization. By saying we are not going to do
it and defining earmarks as appropriations and authorization, I can see
why Democrats lined up to do away with earmarks in a recent vote
because that turns it over to President Obama, and he was very
supportive of that.
Some Republicans are going to talk about that again. This is not
something that is a problem with this bill. In this bill, we have
things that come from the needs of our States. We have a secretary of
transportation in Oklahoma who has been before our committee numerous
times because that secretary of transportation has been in that job for
many years now. Before that, he was director of transportation for, I
think, 30 years. There is nobody who is more knowledgeable on that
issue.
So we checked--and I do--with the department of transportation in
Oklahoma on their prioritizing of projects. We have a system--and I
wish all States had this system. We have transportation districts and
chairmen of the districts. They can use the same criteria throughout
Oklahoma, and they determine what should be fixed and where the money
should be spent. So it is not a political decision, a decision where we
are doing what most people consider to be earmarks and trying to help
our friends. That is not what we do in Oklahoma. This system, frankly,
works very well.
So now we go back to the extensions. Here is the problem with
extensions. Our 2005 bill expired in 2009. We have now gone through
eight extensions. The problem we have with extensions is that we cannot
do anything creative. We cannot change, reform the system. We just have
to take the money that is available and try to use it as best we can.
But we cannot not reform a system that needs to be reformed.
I have said some things that were not all that complimentary about my
partner--in this case, Senator Boxer. We have served together for years
in trying to overcome these obstacles. On the highway title of the
transportation bill that we are going to be voting on, we have done a
good job. When I think about the reforms--and I compliment Senator
Boxer. She has been in a real tough position with some of the more
liberal members of her party and in some of the things to which she has
agreed. We sat down and worked out the differences in a lot of these
problems.
State flexibility, we have that in this bill, which we have never had
before. I have always been a believer that we are the guys who are in
the best position to determine the needs of the States.
I have often said I have served on the State level of government; I
have been mayor of a major city. I believe the closer you get to the
people, the more responsible government is. I believe that to be true.
That is what we have done. We have done that in the flexibility that we
have given the States in our program.
Senator Boxer mentioned that we cut down the number of programs by
two-thirds. We are down to one-third in the number of programs we had
before. That is major reform.
NEPA: We have done streamlining, which is something we have tried to
do for a long time. Let me mention the one area of reform that I want
everybody to listen to because this is significant. We have had a
friendly disagreement, Senator Boxer and I, on transportation
enhancement. These are things we could argue do not affect
transportation directly. I have always believed these things we spend
money on that comes from the highway trust fund should go into
transportation projects. But they have not. Two percent of the highway
funding is required to go to enhancements. That equates to 10 percent
of the surface transportation money.
So we can use 10 percent or 2 percent, depending on which one we are
applying it to. If we take 2 percent of the total funding, that is a
lot of money. Enhancements are things people criticize us for. I think
that criticism is just.
How did we handle this situation and get a highway bill in the
highway title
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portion? We sat down and worked out something right here on the floor
of the Senate and said there has to be an answer. In Oklahoma, we don't
even want enhancements. How can we handle this? We worked out an
agreement that a State, at its own decision level, is able to use this
2 percent of the total highway funding that would go to enhancements in
any way they want to do it, and primarily in taking care of some of the
unfunded mandates, the requirements there, where the government is
saying to people in Oklahoma that this is what they have to do--some
endangered species stuff and those things, they can use it this way.
In my State, we cannot have any of the 2 percent going to
enhancements. Other States feel differently. This is not one size fits
all.
So we have the opportunity that they can do what they want. These are
reforms. We never had reforms like those before. I am proud we are able
to do it. I compliment the chairman of the committee for being willing
to do this, for taking the time to talk to her colleagues and say: All
right, the choice is not do we want a perfect bill for Democrats or do
I want one for Republicans. I think we have a pretty near perfect bill
for Republicans on the highway title. I am very proud of what we have
come up with. Nonetheless, it has been heavy lifting. I applaud the
chairman of the committee.
I want to go back to this extension. If we were to continue to
operate on extensions, the amount of money we would be spending on
highways would reduce by about 34 percent, about one-third. If we talk
to Gary Ridley in Oklahoma as to what that would do in terms of our
program that we already have online, we would have to default on some
contracts. We would have to be in a situation where we are not able to
do the things that are in our 5-year plan in Oklahoma. We think things
out in Oklahoma. We go over the State and make determinations. It is
done outside of the political system by people charged with different
transportation districts. I can tell you now that it will be--it is a
life-threatening issue. If we are dropping down by 34 percent, it will
be a serious problem.
I suggest to every Member of the Senate, before they make final
decisions on the bill, call their director of highways in their States
and talk to them. Talk to your State legislators, Democrats and
Republicans, conservatives and liberals alike. This is the one area
where they will agree. In Oklahoma, they are in agreement. They want to
have a highway bill. They look to constituents and say this is life
threatening and we have to do a better job. This is a partnership
thing. We are going to have more flexibility for State programs,
streamlining, and are not going to be encumbered by mandatory
enhancements. I don't know of one member of the Oklahoma House or
Senate who doesn't want this.
What is wrong with doing what the people at home want? I used to work
as mayor of the second largest city in Oklahoma. My phone rings off the
hook about programs that need to be completed in our highway system in
Oklahoma. I sometimes look at people who demagog the issue and talk
about: Oh, no, we don't want to spend all this. There is one area where
conservatives and liberals alike should be spending--two areas--
national defense and infrastructure.
I remember when Congresswoman Bachmann was talking around the country
about the spending during the earmark argument. They got back to
Minnesota and talked about the needs for transportation. She said, ``I
am not talking about transportation.''
That is the point we need to get across. Of course, I throw in
national defense, but that is not in this discussion. Transportation
infrastructure is something we have to do. In Oklahoma, we are going to
do our part, do everything we can to get with the bill. It is not going
to change anything except for the fact that it is going to be able to
handle that.
Oh, I didn't see--but I am managing the time.
By the way, I want to comment, Mr. President----
Mrs. BOXER. Wait a minute, the Senator is not managing.
Mr. INHOFE. Maybe I am not.
Mrs. BOXER. Well, we are both managing the time.
Mr. INHOFE. We are both doing it. All right.
What I am saying is that shouldn't really be a Democrat-Republican
management here because there are a lot of Democrats who agree with me
and a lot of Republicans who agree with Senator Boxer. But we do have
the junior Senator from Kentucky here who wants to be heard.
Mrs. BOXER. Well, I do have some remarks I would like to make.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Chair.
I think Senator Inhofe and I will have to talk about how we are going
to yield back and forth, but at this point I had not finished my
remarks and I wanted to respond to his.
We are here as partners on this bill. We are not partners on a lot of
things. And I didn't say, when I opened my remarks, where we are not
partners, but my friend did, so I am going to respond to his opening
comments in which for some reason he wanted to open by saying that the
one place we differ--and he is right on this--is that he blames
President Obama for the deficit. Now, I want to put this on the record:
I do not. Let me tell you why. When Bill Clinton was the President of
these United States, he turned over a booming surplus of $236 billion
to George W. Bush, and it didn't take him but the blink of an eye to
turn those surpluses as far as the eye could see into raging deficits,
and he left President Obama a $1.4 trillion deficit, for which my
colleagues on the other side blame President Obama. Not only did George
W. Bush leave him this kind of deficit, but he left him the worst
recession since the Great Depression, a total collapse of Wall Street,
bleeding jobs--800,000 a month. Yet we have turned it around. The
President has shown magnificent leadership--saved Detroit.
My friend further said that another place we disagree--and he is
right--is that President Obama is driving manufacturing overseas. No.
The Tax Code, which the Republicans support, which rewards companies
for moving overseas, is very much responsible for that.
So that proves the point. We get mad at each other. He is annoyed now
that I am saying these things, and I was annoyed at him for saying what
he said. But the great news today is that we are here to pass a bill.
My friend said I had a problem with liberal Members in my own party.
I have to say there was concern, for sure. He is right. But once I
explained to them that the ranking member and I have to work together,
they were terrific about it. And I think some of my colleague's
Republican friends said the same. They said: OK, we have to make this
happen. So I congratulate all Members on both sides of the aisle who
put aside these really tough differences we have, and you just saw a
little bit of it.
I am not going to get into the climate change area because my friend
believes it is the greatest hoax and I believe it is a scientific fact.
We could go on and on with these arguments. It would be interesting.
It would be like ``Crossfire.'' Do you remember that show where two
people got up there and argued? Yes, we could do that in every way. But
in this bill we have decided to fight for what we believe in but at the
end of the day get a bill we believe is fair.
Did my friend want me to yield?
Mr. INHOFE. No. I just wanted to say that this should be very visible
to everyone. How could you and I agree and feel so strongly about
infrastructure in America when we have such diverse opinions
philosophically? My case rests.
Mrs. BOXER. You made the point. I was happy when you made the point
because it gave me a chance to argue with you, and we both enjoy that,
and we will continue. Our friendship is deep. We each know when we talk
to each other that it is from the heart. But when it comes to this
particular issue, we both agree we have to get a bill done. So much is
dependent upon it.
I just received a letter from the Americans for Transportation
Mobility. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
Record the letter to which I am referring.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Washington, DC, February 8, 2012.
To the Members of the United States Senate: The Americans
for Transportation
[[Page S405]]
Mobility (ATM) Coalition is a nationwide group representing
business, labor, highway and public transportation interests
that advocate for improved and increased investment in the
nation's aging and overburdened transportation system. The
ATM strongly supports the motion to proceed to S. 1813,
``Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century'' (MAP-21),
and urges the Senate to pass a multi-year reauthorization of
highway, public transportation and safety programs that both
includes reforms to the federal programs and maintains, at
minimum, FY 2011 investment levels adjusted for inflation
before the expiration of the six-month extension of current
law on March 31, 2012.
At a time of continuing economic stagnation in the
construction sector, slow U.S. economic growth, and
increasing competitive pressures, multi-year highway and
transit reform and investment legislation is critical for
boosting productivity, U.S. economic competitiveness and
supporting jobs. A study released last week by the Associated
Equipment Distributors found that over two years, one dollar
spent on infrastructure construction produces roughly double
($1.92) the initial spending in direct and indirect economic
output. The long-term impact is also significant, with a
dollar in aggregate public infrastructure spending generating
$3.21 in economic output (GDP) over a 20-year period.
We commend the Senate committees that helped craft S. 1813,
a bi-partisan bill for stabilizing federal transportation
funding mechanisms for the near-term and avoiding draconian
cuts amounting to one-third of total federal investment in
highway, transit and safety programs. Cuts of this magnitude
would accelerate the deteriorating performance of the
nation's surface transportation network, greatly undermine
U.S. economic growth and competitiveness, and result in the
real loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs across the
country. This bill includes important policy reforms that
would improve the delivery of transportation improvements by
consolidating programs, reducing red tape, and leveraging
private sector resources.
The ATM Coalition will strongly oppose any amendments to
reduce the funding levels established in this legislation,
and remains committed to working with Congress to find
reliable revenue streams sufficient to support the long-term
growth and the fiscal sustainability of the Highway Trust
Fund.
Without the certainty of a multi-year bill, current
problems become harder to solve as highway and transit
conditions worsen and land, labor, and materials get more
expensive. Absent passage of a multi-year reauthorization,
there would be continued uncertainty and erratic funding for
critical infrastructure investments and the public and
private sectors would continue to respond by delaying
projects, withdrawing investment, and laying off employees.
We encourage you to support the motion to proceed to S.
1813. The ATM Coalition stands ready to bring together
business, labor, highways and transit stakeholders to provide
Congress the public support to pass an adequately funded
multi-year surface transportation bill by March 31, 2012.
Sincerely,
Americans for Transportation Mobility.
Mrs. BOXER. I want to tell you who signed this letter. And my friend
may not have seen it. The American Public Transportation Association,
the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, the
Associated Equipment Distributors, the Association of Equipment
Manufacturers, the Associated General Contractors, the American Society
of Civil Engineers, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the
Laborers' International Union of North America, the National Asphalt
Pavement Association, the National Stone, Sand, and Gravel Association,
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, and the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Now, I have to say----
Mr. INHOFE. Will the Senator yield for a question.
Mrs. BOXER. Yes, but let me make one statement. This list I have just
read represents America--Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
Yes, I yield.
Mr. INHOFE. Even though we haven't ironed out how to handle time, we
have a Senator who wanted to speak 20 minutes ago, and if we could, I
would love to get back into the dialog.
Mrs. BOXER. I am finishing this, and then I will yield the floor and
am happy to have him speak. I felt this was opening time for the
chairman and the ranking member to lay down their case, and I am not
about to let an attack on the President of the United States of America
go unanswered. I am not going to do it. So if we are going to go down
that road, we are going to have a give-and-take. If we are going down
the road I hope we will go down, it is about getting this bill done.
So let me talk about this letter, and then I will yield the floor.
And I say to my ranking member, we will decide how to divide the time,
and we should. That is fine with me.
They say in this letter:
We commend the Senate committees that helped craft S. 1813,
a bi-partisan bill for stabilizing federal transportation
funding mechanisms for the near-term and avoiding draconian
cuts amounting to one-third of total federal investment in
highway, transit and safety programs.
They are talking about the fact that the highway trust fund is a
third of where it should be. That is why we are so happy that the
Finance Committee, on a bipartisan vote, is replacing these funds.
The letter goes on to talk about what would happen if we didn't do
this bill.
Cuts of this magnitude would accelerate the deteriorating
performance of the nation's surface transportation network,
greatly undermine U.S. economic growth and competitiveness,
and result in the real loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs
across the country. This bill includes important policy
reforms that would improve the delivery of transportation
improvements by consolidating programs, reducing red tape,
and leveraging private sector resources.
Additionally, this great coalition, which is comprised of the chamber
of commerce, the unions, and business, says:
The ATM coalition will strongly oppose any amendments to
reduce the funding levels established in this legislation,
and remains committed to working with Congress to find
reliable revenue streams sufficient to support the long-term
growth and the fiscal sustainability of the Highway Trust
Fund.
This next quote from their letter is so important:
Without the certainty of a multi-year bill, current
problems become harder to solve as highway and transit
conditions worsen and land, labor, and materials get more
expensive. Absent passage of a multi-year reauthorization,
there will be continued uncertainty and erratic funding for
critical infrastructure investments and the public and the
private sectors would continue to respond by delaying
projects, withdrawing investment, and laying off employees.
We encourage you to support the motion to proceed to S.
1813.
Of course, Mr. President, that is the motion we will be voting on
today at 2 p.m.
They continue:
The ATM Coalition stands ready to bring together business,
labor, highways and transit stakeholders to provide Congress
the public support to pass an adequately funded multi-year
surface transportation bill by March 31, 2012.
On the issue of the enhancements, we already had a vote on
enhancements before, and we turned back proposals to do away with
enhancements. So what we did in this bill is we said to the States:
Guess what, you have much more flexibility.
I have to tell you--and I won't do it now, but perhaps Senator Paul
is going to speak about these enhancements--we know for sure that these
enhancements--and I think that is the wrong name because they are
really safety projects--have saved lives because they fund things such
as pedestrian paths and safe passageways for kids to get to school. So
while my colleague and I may differ, I strongly believe Congress stands
behind--I should say the Senate stands behind continuing to fund these
safety projects, and we have given the States far more flexibility. So
I hope we will defeat any amendment to remove the ability of our States
to determine which of those safety projects they want because we have
the facts behind us--13 percent of traffic fatalities involve
pedestrians and bicyclists. I feel we give our States the opportunity,
and if Oklahoma doesn't have any of these problems because it is a much
more rural State than California, I am happy with that. But we have to
understand that these are safety projects, and I hope we will defeat
any amendment that tries to reduce the ability of the States to fund
these projects.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the junior
Senator from Kentucky be recognized for up to 7 minutes. He has been
trying to get on for quite some time. I think that is agreeable with
everyone.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
The Senator from Kentucky.
Foreign Aid to Egypt
Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, I wish to commend the Senator from Oklahoma
on being a leader in trying to repair and restore our infrastructure. I
think
[[Page S406]]
the Senator from Oklahoma has shown that this is a bipartisan issue.
I rise today not only to support the bipartisan nature of rebuilding
our infrastructure but also to address an urgent concern regarding what
is happening in Egypt. I rise to introduce an amendment to suspend
foreign aid to Egypt until they release our American citizens.
The situation in Egypt over the past year has been tumultuous, and
their people and government stand at a moment where they will choose
their future. Will they stand for freedom? Will they choose to stand
with the United States? The choice is entirely theirs, of course, but
their recent actions are troubling and should give us reason to
reconsider our significant aid to the Government of Egypt.
What bothers critics of our foreign policy is the disconnect between
hope and reality. Well-intentioned people vote to give aid to countries
in hopes they will promote freedom, democracy, and the interests of the
United States abroad. Too often, though, it does none of those things.
Instead, it enriches dictators and emboldens governments that act
against our interests.
Right now American citizens who work for prodemocracy organizations
in Egypt are being held hostage. There really is no other way to put
it. These innocent American citizens are not being allowed to leave
Egypt and are facing trial by a military government.
This situation has been allowed to escalate by the Obama
administration over the past several months, as authorities in Egypt
have accelerated a cynical war against these prodemocracy forces--these
individuals who are American citizens--in an attempt to gain support
from radicals who are convinced that NGOs represent a Western plot to
undermine Egypt. These extremists seek to impose their own agenda in
Egypt and are determined to prevent Egypt's democratic process as much
as possible.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt--the ones
responsible for the transition--has demonstrated that they are not only
willing but are in the process of using American citizens as scapegoats
for the continual upheaval in Egypt. Their actions do not illustrate a
significant democratic transition. In fact, they are encouraging and
provoking distrust among the Egyptian people by making false
allegations about the nature of these American citizens.
In the aftermath of the Arab revolution and the toppling of the
authoritarian Mubarak government, Egypt finds itself in critical need
of support in order to build a functioning democratic system. Yet, in
late December, Egyptian authorities abruptly raided the offices of
several nongovernmental organizations working toward democratic
development, seizing their computers and documents. This past weekend
Egyptian prosecutors filed criminal charges against these innocent
American citizens. This must not be allowed to stand.
The American people should be concerned. We are subsidizing behavior,
through U.S. taxpayer foreign aid to Egypt, that is leading to and
allowing for the unjust detainment of American citizens in Egypt. Egypt
is one of the largest recipients of foreign aid, totaling over $70
billion over the last half century. Egypt's ruling military has itself
received $1.3 billion in foreign aid every year since 1987, and they
have the gall to hold American citizens hostage. This must end.
Not everyone in this body agrees on foreign policy or on the role of
U.S. foreign assistance. But the reckless actions of Egyptian
authorities in this matter should bring us together to form one
undeniable conclusion: American foreign assistance dollars should never
be provided to any country that bullies our citizens, recklessly seeks
to arrest them on imaginary charges or denies them access to their most
basic rights.
Egypt must immediately stop the detainment and prosecution of these
American citizens. If they fail to do so, then we have the moral
obligation to immediately end their foreign aid. The time for action is
now.
I will offer an amendment to suspend Egypt's foreign aid until our
American citizens are released. It is our duty as our people's
representatives to ensure no more American taxpayer dollars will flow
to Egypt until they rescind the charges against innocent Americans and
allow them to peacefully leave the country. The American people are
behind this, and I advise the Senate to consider that we should no
longer send foreign aid to a country that is illegally detaining our
citizens.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hagan). The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, with the Senator from Kentucky still on
the floor, I appreciate what he has said, and I am glad he has shown
support for the Leahy amendment which passed in the last foreign aid
bill.
There was a lot of pushback from a number of people, the
administration and on the Senator's side of the aisle, initially, when
I wrote into the law that said it would suspend any money--$1.3
billion--for the military, unless there was a certification that they
were upholding the moves necessary toward democracy.
As a result, all the money the Senator is concerned about is being
held back because of the Leahy amendment--which is joined in by Senator
Graham, whom I see coming onto the floor--when we did the Foreign
Operations bill.
I appreciate the words of the Senator from Kentucky. I can assure
him, with the Leahy amendment, none of the foreign aid is going to
Egypt as they conduct their operations the way they are.
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2011
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record
letters in support of the reauthorization of the bipartisan Violence
Against Women Reauthorization Act report.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
Against Women,
February 9, 2012.
Dear Representative: We, the undersigned organizations,
represent millions of victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault and stalking, and the professionals
who serve them, throughout the United States and territories.
On behalf of the victims we represent, we ask that you
support the Violence Against Women Act's (VAWA)
reauthorization.
VAWA's programs support state, tribal and local efforts to
address the pervasive and insidious crimes of domestic
violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. These
programs have made great progress towards keeping victims
safe and holding perpetrators accountable. This critical
legislation must be reauthorized to ensure a continued
response to these crimes.
Since its original passage in 1994, VAWA has dramatically
enhanced our nation's response to violence against women.
More victims report domestic violence to the police and the
rate of non-fatal intimate partner violence against women has
decreased by 53%. The sexual assault services program in VAWA
helps rape crisis centers keep their doors open to provide
the frontline response to victims of rape. VAWA provides for
a coordinated community approach, improving collaboration
between law enforcement and victim services providers to
better meet the needs of victims. These comprehensive and
cost-effective programs not only save lives, they also save
money. In fact, VAWA saved nearly $12.6 billion in net
averted social costs in just its first six years.
VAWA has unquestionably improved the national response to
these terrible crimes. We urge you to support VAWA's
reauthorization to build upon its successes and continue to
enhance our nation's ability to hold perpetrators accountable
and keep victims and their children safe from future harm.
We look forward to working with you throughout the
reauthorization process. If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact Juley Fulcher with Break the Cycle at
[email protected], Rob Valente with the National
Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges at
[email protected], or Terri Poore with the National
Alliance to End Sexual Violence at [email protected].
Sincerely,
9to5, National Association of Working Women; A CALL TO MEN;
AAUW; Alianza-National Latino Alliance to End Domestic
Violence; Alternatives to Family Violence; American
Association of University Women; American Civil Liberties
Union; American College of Nurse-Midwives; American Indian
Housing Organization (AICHO); American Probation and Parole
Association; American Psychiatric Association; Americans
Overseas Domestic Crisis Center; ASHA for Women; Asian &
Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence; ASISTA
Immigration Assistance; Association of Jewish Family and
Children's Agencies; Association of Prosecuting Attorneys;
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals; Black
Women's Health Imperative; Break the Cycle.
[[Page S407]]
Casa de Esperanza; Church of the Brethren; Coalition of
Labor Union Women; Daughters of Penelope; Deaf Abused Women's
Network; Disciples Justice Action Network; Disciples Women of
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Domestic Violence
Report; Feminist Majority/Feminist Majority Foundation;
Futures Without Violence (formerly the Family Violence
Prevention Fund); General Federation of Women's Clubs;
Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc.;
Indian Law Resource Center; Institute on Domestic Violence in
the African-American Community; International Association of
Forensic Nurses; Japanese American Citizens League; Jewish
Council for Public Affairs; Jewish Women International;
Joyful Heart Foundation; Korean American Women In Need (KAN-
WIN); Legal Momentum.
MANA--A National Latina Organization; Men Can Stop Rape;
Men's Resources International; Mennonite Central Committee
US; Methodist Federation for Social Action; National Alliance
of Women Veterans, Inc; National Alliance to End Sexual
Violence; National American Indian Court Judges Association;
National Association of Counties; National Association of
VOCA Assistance Administrators; National Center for Victims
of Crime; National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence;
National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life; National
Coalition Against Domestic Violence; National Coalition of
Anti-Violence Programs; National Congress of American Indians
Violence Against Women Task Force; National Council of
Churches of Christ in the USA; National Council of Jewish
Women; National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges;
National Council of Negro Women; National Council of Women's
Organizations; National Council on Independent Living.
National Dating Abuse Hotline; National Domestic Violence
Hotline; National Domestic Violence Registry; National
Housing Law Project; National Institute of Crime Prevention;
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health; National
Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty; National Legal Aid
and Defender Association; National Network to End Domestic
Violence; National Organization for Women; National
Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault;
National Resource Center on Domestic Violence; National
Resource Sharing Project; National Women's Political Caucus;
NETWORK--A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Nursing
Network on Violence Against Women International; Planned
Parenthood Federation of America; Praxis International; Range
Women's Advocates; Rape Abuse and Incest National Network;
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; Security on
Campus Inc.; Service Women's Action Network; Sexuality
Information and Education Council of the United States;
Sisters in Sync; The Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation;
Tribal Law and Policy Institute; Union for Reform Judaism;
United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church (General
Board of Church and Society); Veteran Feminists of America;
Voices of Men; Witness Justice; Women of Color Network;
Women's Information Network; Women's Law Project.
____
National Association of
Attorneys General,
Washington, DC, January 11, 2012.
Dear Members of Congress: Since its passage in 1994, the
Violence Against Women Act (``VAWA'') has shined a bright
light on domestic violence, bringing the issue out of the
shadows and into the forefront of our efforts to protect
women and families. VAWA transformed the response to domestic
violence at the local, state and federal level. Its successes
have been dramatic, with the annual incidence of domestic
violence falling by more than 50 percent.
Even though the advancements made since in 1994 have been
significant, a tremendous amount of work remains and we
believe it is critical that the Congress reauthorize VAWA.
Every day in this country, abusive husbands or partners kill
three women, and for every victim killed, there are nine more
who narrowly escape that fate. We see this realized in our
home states every day. Earlier this year in Delaware, three
children--ages 12, 2\1/2\ and 1\1/2\--watched their mother be
beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend on a sidewalk. In Maine
last summer, an abusive husband subject to a protective order
murdered his wife and two young children before taking his
own life.
Reauthorizing VAWA will send a clear message that this
country does not tolerate violence against women and show
Congress' commitment to reducing domestic violence,
protecting women from sexual assault and securing justice for
victims.
VAWA reauthorization will continue critical support for
victim services and target three key areas where data shows
we must focus our efforts in order to have the greatest
impact:
Domestic violence, dating violence, and sexual assault are
most prevalent among young women aged 16-24, with studies
showing that youth attitudes are still largely tolerant of
violence, and that women abused in adolescence are more
likely to be abused again as adults. VAWA reauthorization
will help us break that cycle by consolidating and
strengthening programs aimed at both prevention and
intervention, with a particular emphasis on more effectively
engaging men and local community-based resources in the
process.
A woman who has been sexually assaulted can be subjected to
further distress when the healthcare, law enforcement, and
legal response to her attack is not coordinated and
productive. Whether it is a first responder without adequate
training, a rape kit that goes unprocessed for lack of
funding, or a phone call between a crisis counselor and a
prosecutor that never takes place, sexual assault victims
deserve better. We must develop and implement best practices,
training, and communication tools across disciplines in order
to effectively prosecute and punish perpetrators, as well as
help victims heal and rebuild their lives.
There is a growing consensus among practitioners and
researchers that domestic violence homicides are predictable
and, therefore, often preventable. We can save the lives of
untold numbers of potential homicide victims with better
training for advocates, law enforcement, and others who
interact with victims to recognize the warning signs and
react meaningfully.
The fight to protect women from violence is one that never
ends. It is not a year-to-year issue, which is why we think
it is critical that Congress reauthorize the Violence Against
Women Act. We know a great deal more about domestic violence,
dating violence, sexual assault and stalking than we did 17
years ago. Reauthorizing VAWA will allow us to build on those
lessons and continue to make progress and save lives.
VAWA was last reauthorized in 2006 and time is of the
essence for reauthorization of this important law. We urge
Congress to take on this critical mission and reauthorize
VAWA.
____
National Sheriffs' Association,
Alexandria, VA, February 1, 2012.
Hon. Patrick Leahy,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Mike Crapo,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Leahy and Senator Crapo: On behalf of the
National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) and 3,079 elected
sheriffs nationwide, I am writing to express our support for
the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA).
NSA and the nation's sheriffs recognizes the extreme
seriousness that the crimes of domestic violence, sexual
assault, dating violence, stalking, and sex trafficking have
on law enforcement, victims, and communities across the
nation. Originally established in 1994, VAWA works to
increase officer and victim safety, while striving to prevent
future abuse, by providing resources to law enforcement
agencies to enhance their core programs and policies, as well
as to reaffirm the commitment to reform systems, that affect
victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating
violence, stalking, and sex trafficking.
The reauthorization of VAWA would continue to enable law
enforcement agencies across the country to adequately address
domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking,
and sex trafficking crimes by expanding funding for programs
that recognize the concerns and needs of victims.
Furthermore, VAWA supports the key collaboration between the
victims' services community; health care community; and law
enforcement to ensure that all victims are receiving the
critical treatment and services necessary after a crime has
occurred.
However, we do have one point of concern regarding the VAWA
reauthorization involving PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act)
standards as they apply to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS). NSA strongly believes that sexual violence
and abuse have no place in our correctional facilities. As
such, NSA has been working closely with the Department of
Justice (DOJ) on PREA to ensure that the final standards take
into consideration the vast differences between jails, which
sheriffs largely operate, versus prisons; thus enabling for
the efficient and effective implementation in jails
nationwide.
Title X of the VAWA reauthorization would require DHS to
establish and implement PREA standards for DHS detention
facilities. As you may be aware, many sheriffs contract with
DHS to house criminal aliens in their jails. As sheriffs will
need to comply with PREA standards when finally established
by the DOJ, NSA would ask that you, and the Senate Judiciary
Committee, ensure that the VAWA reauthorization language
clarifies that DHS PREA standards need to be consistent with
DOJ PREA standards. This would ensure that there are not
differing standards for jails based on the federal, state, or
local detainees held, as well as help with the swift and
successful implementation of final PREA standards.
While the law enforcement community, and society as a
whole, has made great strides in combating such crimes as
domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, sex trafficking,
and dating violence since the original enactment of VAWA,
there is still more work that still needs to be done. The
reauthorization of VAWA will enable the continued partnership
among sheriffs and victims' advocates and service providers
to protect victims and prevent future victimization
throughout the United States.
Senator Leahy and Senator Crapo, the National Sheriffs'
Association thanks you for
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your leadership on this important issue in the 112th
Congress.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Paul H. Fitzgerald,
President.
____
Federal Law Enforcement
Officers Association,
Washington, DC, January 31, 2012.
Hon. Patrick Leahy,
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hon. Charles Grassley,
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee.
Dear Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley: On behalf
of the 26,000 members of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers
Association (FLEOA), I am writing to express our full support
for Senator Leahy's proposed reauthorization of the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA). FLEOA has supported the essential
purpose of this legislation since it was first passed in
1994. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, one in four women will experience domestic
violence in their lifetime. In our proud Land of the Free and
Home of the Brave, this is unacceptable.
FLEOA fully supports the substitute amendment to S. 1925.
The amendment properly calls for the U Visa cap to be raised
to allow for the recapture of 5,000 unused U Visas. Current
law authorizes an annual issuance of only 10,000 U Visas.
Unfortunately, dangerous criminals remain undaunted by this
cap and it only serves to discourage non-citizen battered
women from cooperating with law enforcement.
The absolute priority for all law enforcement officers is
the pursuit and capture of violent criminals. By limiting the
number of U Visas law enforcement can request, Congress is
effectively amputating the long arm of the law. Law
enforcement officers and prosecutors don't hand out U Visas
like cotton candy. U Visas are an essential tool carefully
used by law enforcement and tempered with great scrutiny.
Again, our unwavering priority is to do everything within our
means to protect women who are victimized by violent
criminals.
I respectfully ask that both parties rally behind this
important legislation, and that we unite in recognition of
the need to protect all battered women from dangerous
criminals.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Adler,
National President.
Mr. LEAHY. For almost 18 years, the Violence Against Women Act has
been the centerpiece of the Federal Government's commitment to combat
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
Senator Crapo and I introduced this bill, a moderate bill, which has
now gone through the Senate Judiciary Committee and should be voted up
or voted down. It saves money, but it also commits to those programs
needed by our States.
At some point, if it is delayed much longer, I am going to come to
the floor and recount some of the horrific crime scenes I went to of
violence, sexual violence, domestic violence, the things that are being
combated now, things that happened when we did not have the Violence
Against Women Act.
Last Thursday, the Judiciary Committee approved the bipartisan
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act. For almost 18 years, the
Violence Against Women Act, VAWA, has been the centerpiece of the
Federal government's commitment to combat domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking.
It has been extraordinarily effective, and the annual incidence of
domestic violence has fallen by more than 50 percent since the landmark
law was first passed.
As a prosecutor in Vermont, I saw firsthand the destruction caused by
domestic and sexual violence. Those were the days before VAWA, when too
often people dismissed these serious crimes with a joke, and there were
few, if any, services for victims.
We must not go back to those days. This law saves lives, and it must
be reauthorized.
Senator Crapo and I introduced a moderate bill that incorporates
input from survivors of domestic and sexual violence all around the
country and the tireless professionals who serve them every day.
This legislation builds on the progress that has been made in
reducing violence against women, and it makes vital improvements to
respond to remaining, unmet needs.
Unfortunately, partisan politics threaten to stop this critical
legislation from moving forward. We have seen this same pattern too
often.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the Second
Chance Act, both laws originally championed by Republican Senators and
supported by Republican Presidents, are now suddenly unacceptable.
This obstruction must stop. These programs are too important. They
save lives. They make our communities safer.
Nowhere is that more true than for the Violence Against Women Act.
Certainly, helping survivors of domestic and sexual violence should be
above politics.
The last two times VAWA was reauthorized, it was unanimously approved
by the Senate. Now, this law, which has done more to stop domestic and
sexual violence than any other legislation ever passed, faces
Republican opposition. That is not right.
To those who suggest that this legislation creates too many new
programs, I say that is simply not true. In fact, the bill reduces the
scale of VAWA.
It consolidates 13 existing programs and reduces authorization levels
by nearly 20 percent while providing for only one small additional
program.
The improvements in this bill are important but modest when compared
to previous reauthorizations, which created many new grant programs and
raised authorization levels almost across the board.
I have heard some say that our bill protects too many victims. I find
that disheartening. One thing I know from my time as a prosecutor, and
I would hope it is something we can all agree on, is that every victim
counts.
All victims deserve protection. That is a message we have heard loud
and clear from our States and something I hope is common ground.
More than 200 national organizations and 500 State and local
organizations have expressed their support for this bill.
Many of them have written strong letters urging swift passage of this
legislation including the National Task Force to End Sexual and
Domestic Violence, the National Association of Attorneys General, the
National District Attorneys' Association, the National Sheriffs'
Association, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
This legislation has the support of five Republican Senators.
I thank Senators Crapo, Kirk, Murkowski, Brown, and Collins for their
willingness to step forward and support the reauthorization of this
landmark legislation.
This is the Violence Against Women Act. It should not be a partisan
matter.
I hope that all Senators will support this bill and that we can move
quickly to reauthorize this critical legislation.
It is a law that has saved countless lives, and it is an example of
what we can accomplish when we work together.
Air National Guard and Reserves
Madam President, I am glad to see the senior Senator from South
Carolina. For the first 50 or 60 years I was in the Senate--or it felt
like that--it was a different senior Senator. But I am delighted to see
the senior Senator from South Carolina, Mr. Graham, who is joining me
to address a matter of great importance to the Nation at a crucial
moment in our history.
The U.S. Air Force last week offered a preliminary look into its
budget for fiscal year 2013. While the President will formally submit
his budget proposals on Monday, last week's briefing and information
papers offered enough detail for the Senate to begin considering the
overall strategic direction of the Air Force Future Years Defense
Program. In Pentagon jargon, that is usually called FYDP.
I have to say I am deeply disappointed and very worried as I look at
the first glance at that proposal.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
Mr. GRAHAM. Madam President, I appreciate the opportunity to engage
in this colloquy.
As cochairman of the Guard Caucus, which obviously has the Air
National Guard Component, Senator Leahy has been a real pleasure to
work with.
The bottom line is, this effort to downsize the Air Force falls
incredibly heavy on the Air National Guard. There will be 3,000 Active-
Duty members lost regarding the plan he just mentioned, 5,000 coming
from the Air National Guard. The airframes to be eliminated in the
plans Senator Leahy just mentioned fall disproportionately on the Air
National Guard. In just a moment, we are going to talk about the bang
for your buck in terms of the Reserve component called the Air National
Guard, and we are going to challenge the Congress and the Department
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of Defense to reconsider this because, quite frankly, it makes no
military or fiscal sense.
Mr. LEAHY. As an example of the approach to the budget cuts, one of
the A-10 units slated for cutting, the 127th Wing from Michigan, just
returned from fighting bravely in Afghanistan and as a welcome home:
Great job. Sorry, we are going to disband you.
The approach to budget cuts the Air Force has decided to take is
simply wrong. We have to have budget cuts. We know that. But there is a
wide variety of reasons why this makes not the sense it should. I draw
the Senate's attention to a study produced by the Pentagon last year
that was signed by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs that demonstrated
what we already knew: Even when mobilized, Reserve component units are
far less expensive than their peer units in the Active component.
It has always been a foregone conclusion that the Air National Guard
costs are far less than Active component costs when they are on base or
in garrison. Personnel are not drawing the salaries their peer units
are and so on. But the Pentagon report showed something more
interesting. It showed the Guard and Reserve save taxpayers dollars
even when mobilized. The Reserve component units are estimated to be
about one-third as expensive as similar Active component units, and
they can deploy nearly half as often. That adds up to lot of savings in
dollars and cents, but it also reflects a very major component of our
security, because in the wars we fought in the last decade, we could
not have done it without these Guard and Reserve units.
Mr. GRAHAM. The Senator is absolutely right. When we look at the
utilization of the Guard and Reserve since 9/11, it has been at World
War II levels. When we go into the combat theater, we can't tell the
difference between Guard, Reserve or Active-Duty member, which is a
testament to all three.
But when we look at what the Air Force is doing--and I think it is
proper to consider the other services--the Marine Corps is making no
reduction to their Reserves. The Army is making very small cuts in the
Guard and Reserves and substantial cuts to the Active Forces. The Army
and Marine Corps plans support the new strategic concept of
reversibility; that is, the part of the Department of Defense strategic
guidance. We cannot be sure what contingencies might arise, and we
cannot afford to make cuts that will leave us incapable of responding
when necessary.
Secretary Flournoy, during her last speech to the Defense for Policy,
stated that ``the Guard and the Reserves will play an extremely
important role'' in the reversibility concept because they give the
military built-in adaptability and resourcefulness. This reversibility
concept is what we are doing to reduce the defense infrastructure. If
it were ever reversed or had to be reversed because of some
contingency, we want to make sure that is possible. The Guard and
Reserve is the most capable force to maintain and, in terms of the
concept of reversibility, is our best bang for the buck.
So the Air Force is taking a different approach than the Army, Navy,
and Marine Corps to their Reserve component, particularly their Air
National Guard. I think Senator Leahy and I are going to make sure that
decision is examined in-depth.
Mr. LEAHY. I agree with my colleague on that, and that is why the
bipartisan Guard Caucus will have some very strong statements.
We look at what the former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, GEN Ron
Fogelman, said before these plans were announced. He argued for a
larger Reserve component and a smaller Active-Duty Force. He did a
guest column in DefenseNews. He said, among other things:
The big question is, how does the department reduce its
budget and continue to provide a modern, balanced and ready
defense when more than half of the budget is committed to
personnel costs?
The answer to that question is right before us: We should
return to our historic roots as a militia nation. So, what
does that mean, exactly? Simply put, it means we should
return to the constitutional construct for our military and
the days when we maintained a smaller standing military and a
robust militia.
To do that, leaders must put old parochial norms aside and
be willing to actually shift forces and capabilities to the
National Guard and Reserve.
He said ``put old parochial norms aside.'' He goes on to say:
This would enable significant personnel reductions in the
active components. It would also result in a larger reserve
component. Most important, it would preserve capability and
equipment that has cost the American taxpayer trillions of
dollars, nest it in our mostly part-time Guard and Reserve,
and have it available should it be needed.
This concept worked well for our country for the better
part of two centuries. Unfortunately, several generations of
leaders have come and gone, and most of today's leadership
fails to recognize the true potential of the militia model.
We need our collective senior military and civilian leaders
to recognize there is a way back to a smaller active military
and a larger militia posture. The fiscal environment and
emerging threats demand it.
Those aren't my words. Those are the words of a former Air Force
Chief of Staff.
Mr. GRAHAM. Senator Leahy is right. When we look at our Constitution
itself, it talks about a militia. When we look at the history of the
country, it is the citizen soldier who got this whole concept called
America started.
We do need a standing Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. But
when we are looking at the budget problems we face and the fiscal
concerns we have as a nation and we want to restructure the military, I
will be talking in just a minute about why we should be looking for a
greater role from the Guard and Reserve just from economics. But when
it comes to military capability, I think we have the best of both
worlds now: a very efficient, quite frankly, cheaper force to maintain
with very similar, if not like, capabilities. We don't want to let that
concept be eroded by a plan that I think doesn't appreciate the role of
the militia and doesn't appreciate the cost-benefit analysis from a
robust Reserve component.
Mr. LEAHY. In fact, Senator Graham and I introduced a successful
amendment in last year's Defense authorization bill that required the
Pentagon and the GAO perform studies that should produce more
conclusive analysis of the relative cost of similar units in the Active
components and the Reserve components. We are also aware of at least
two other third-party studies currently underway to address the
questions. I think we are going to have three or four such studies that
will conclusively answer the questions. Senator Graham and I--and I
think most of our colleagues in the Senate--consider these proposed Air
Force cuts to be dangerously premature. Once we cut the Reserve
components, once we send an aircraft to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan
Air Force Base and these airmen and pilots go out to civilian life, we
don't get them back. In fact, that is precisely why the Army and Marine
Corps have taken a different approach of preserving their Reserve
component force structure: They can mobilize Active component troops
they place in the Reserve component. But once we cut that, they are
gone forever. They are gone forever.
Mr. GRAHAM. What I am about to provide to the body, I think we need
to absorb and be aware of.
This study that Senator Leahy is talking about, an analysis of the
effectiveness and cost, is an ongoing endeavor. I would like to know
more about what the study yields before we make what I think are pretty
Draconian cuts in the Air National Guard.
But this is what we know before the study. This information is
already in: According to an Air Guard briefing, the Air National Guard,
operating under today's deployment constraints, is still 53 percent of
the cost of an equivalent Active-Duty major command. The Air National
Guard costs $2.25 billion less annually than a similarly sized Active
Air Force command. That is $6.2 million a day in savings.
After 20 years of service, our average enlisted airman costs nearly
$80,000 a year in total compensation. On the other hand, an identical
Air National Guard enlisted airman costs about $10,000 a year, about an
85-percent savings.
Over a 20-year career, an Air National Guard airman will save the
country about $1 million compared to an active-duty airman. At 22
years, an active-duty pilot will cost about $150,000 in compensation.
On the other hand, an Air National Guard pilot at 22
[[Page S410]]
years costs the taxpayers about $30,000 in total compensation. Over a
26-year career, an Air National Guard pilot will save the country
nearly $2 million compared to an active-duty pilot.
Active-duty pilots retire on average with 22 years of service. Air
National Guard pilots retire with an average of 26 years of experience,
giving the country a greater level of experience and ability for those
final 4 years, at a much lower cost. These cost figures do not even
account for other life cycle and infrastructure savings that a Reserve
component-first model would yield.
These are stunning numbers without the study to fully be
accomplished. We are going to do our best, I say to Senator Leahy, to
tell the story of capability and cost.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, clearly this approach, if we keep the
Guard and Reserve, saves our country precious resources at a time we
need to tighten our belts. There are a couple of things we agree on.
Everybody in the Senate agrees that our military has to be kept strong
and vigilant to threats from our enemies. But the source of our
military strength has been and always will be our economic might. If we
are to protect ourselves militarily while also marshaling our economic
power, moving to the kind of constitutional defense model my colleague
has discussed should be our first choice.
I think these Air Force proposals are ill-advised and premature at
the very least. I think they are flat-out wrong, as has already been
said here on the floor. When any of us who have visited the areas,
especially in the last few years, where our military guard and our
Reserves are deployed, you cannot tell the difference between their
duties or the risks they put themselves in--between the active-duty and
Guard and Reserve components. The National Guard has been given a much
greater role in our overall national defense--more missions, greater
responsibility, heavier burdens. They perform these missions superbly,
with great skill and effectiveness. They have defended our interests,
and many have lost their lives doing it, but they carried out the same
missions as everybody else.
The Senate National Guard Caucus worked closely with all concerned to
accommodate and facilitate these changes. But now we are going to take
an active role in informing the Senate as these are being made. We are
not going to sit by while any of the military services decimate their
Reserve components. We will work together, Senator Graham and I, with
the Senate Armed Services Committee on which he serves with
distinction, and the Senate Appropriations Committee on which we are
both privileged to serve, but also the entire membership of the Senate,
to produce a thoughtful, well-conceived strategy for military manpower
that makes use of a cost-effective and accessible, fully operational,
trained, and ready Reserve component.
Mr. GRAHAM. I look forward to working with Senator Leahy and others
to bring about what he indicated to make it a reality. The bottom line
of this whole discussion is that the Cold War is over. We are very
proud of our standing military, our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine
Corps, Coast Guard--they do a terrific job, the standing military. The
militia component has been the heart and soul of this country since its
founding and in a post-Cold War war on terrorism environment where you
have to call on resources that the Guard and Reserve have that are
unique--like civil affairs. When you are going into Afghanistan and
Iraq, it is one thing to clear the village; you have to hold the
village. You have to hold it. Agricultural specialists come from the
Guard and Reserve, people from Vermont and South Carolina who have
skills in their day job, who can do more in the war effort than
dropping a bomb.
As we look at the threats we face, I think we need to understand the
Reserve component is more valuable than ever. We are not defending the
Fulda Gap against a massive Soviet Union tank invasion. We have to be
nimble, we have to deploy quickly. The Reserve component, particularly
the Air National Guard, has a great return on investment and, like any
other part of the military, can be reformed. But this proposal doesn't
reform it; it in many ways neuters the Air National Guard and at a time
when that makes no sense. We will continue this endeavor, and I look
forward to working with Senator Leahy and others to create a rational
approach to the Reserve and Guard.
Mr. LEAHY. I thank my friend from South Carolina. We will from time
to time report to the Senate on this issue. It is extremely important.
It comes down to the bottom line: Have the best defense at the least
cost to the taxpayer. That is what we are both aiming for.
I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Unanimous Consent Agreement--Executive Nomination
Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that today,
February 9, at 1:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session to
consider Calendar No. 407; that there be 30 minutes divided in the
usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time the Senate
proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on Calendar No.
407; the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the
table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be
in order; and that any statements related to this matter be printed in
the Record; that President Obama be immediately notified of the
Senate's action; and the Senate proceed then to legislative session and
the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 1813, under the
previous order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I ask permission to speak as in morning business for
about 12 or 13 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Operation Fast and Furious
Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, for over a year now I have been
investigating Fast and Furious. That is an operation coming out of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
This has been a very complicated investigation. It has been made even
more difficult because of the Justice Department's lack of candor and
transparency. Basically, the Justice Department is stonewalling,
interfering with Congress's constitutional responsibility of oversight.
For example, the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General
recently disclosed that it has received 80,000 pages of documents from
the Department and over 100,000 e-mails.
Think of what the Inspector General gets from the Department: 80,000
pages and 100,000 e-mails. How much do you think they have given the
Congress of the United States, which has the constitutional
responsibility of oversight? It is only 6,000 pages that we have
received.
Similarly, the inspector general has been allowed to conduct 70
witness interviews. How many has the Justice Department allowed the
Congress, in our responsibility of oversight, to interview? Only 9
witnesses.
Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House
Committee On Oversight and Government Reform. The Justice Department
did a document dump to Congress the Friday night before the hearing.
That has become a very bad habit of the Department of Justice. In fact,
without giving us any advance notice that it was coming, they actually
put a CD under the door of our office, after business hours. What did
they do for the press? They gave the same documents to the press 2
hours before they ever gave them to us. Yes, they managed to find time
to leak the documents to the press during regular business hours. This
is the kind of cooperation we get from the Justice Department in our
constitutional responsibility of oversight.
What I am telling my colleagues here is that we have a terrible lack
of cooperation from the Justice Department. The Justice Department is
not only thumbing its nose at the Senate, they are doing it to the
entire Congress of the United States, when we know there are 80,000
pages of documents and they only give us 6,000 pages; when
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there are 100,000 e-mails and we get a handful of e-mails. Why would
they be so mysterious by putting a disk under our door on a Friday
night and giving it to the press 2 hours before? What sort of attitude
is that of our Justice Department toward the cooperation you ought to
have with our filling our constitutional role of oversight? So I guess
I would say there is hardly any cooperation whatsoever from the Justice
Department.
Even though we get a dribble here and a dribble there, even though we
get a CD under the door, instead of very openly face to face receiving
documents, what we got last Friday did reveal further facts about a
previously unknown proposal to allow these guns to cross the border.
We have long known that in March of 2011, Deputy Attorney General
James Cole had a conference call with all Southwest border U.S. agents.
In a follow-up e-mail after the call, Mr. Cole wrote:
As I said on the call, to avoid any potential confusion, I
want to reiterate the Department's policy: We should not
design or conduct undercover operations which include guns
crossing the border. If we have knowledge that guns are about
to cross the border, we must take immediate action to stop
the firearms from crossing the border, even if that
prematurely terminates or otherwise jeopardizes an
investigation.
Attorney General Holder himself told us in a hearing in May that Mr.
Cole was simply reiterating an existing Justice policy in his e-mails,
not communicating new policy. So imagine my surprise when I discovered
in the document slid under my door late last Friday that while in
Mexico Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer proposed letting guns
cross the border. Mr. Breuer's proposal came at exactly the same time
the Department was preparing to send its letter to me denying that the
ATF ever does the very thing he was proposing.
In a February 4, 2011 e-mail, the Justice Department attache in
Mexico City wrote to a number of officials at the Justice Department:
AAG Breuer proposed allowing straw purchasers to cross into
Mexico so [the Secretariat of Public Safety] can attest and
[the Attorney General of Mexico] can prosecute and convict.
Such coordinated operations between the US and Mexico may
send a strong message to arms traffickers.
We have people here in Washington saying the program doesn't exist at
the same time we have people talking down in Mexico City of what we are
trying to accomplish by the illegal sale of guns.
That e-mail I quoted, the recipient of it included Mr. Breuer's
deputy, Jason Weinstein, who was helping to write the Justice
Department letter to me that they would later withdraw for its
inaccuracies. In other words, they wrote a letter to me on February 4
of last year that in October they admitted they misled us. Mr.
Weinstein was sending updates about the draft letter to Mr. Breuer in
Mexico at the very same time so he cannot say he didn't know about it.
Yet, during his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Breuer
downplayed his involvement in reviewing the draft letter. It is
outrageous to me that the head of the Justice Department's Criminal
Division proposed exactly what his Department was denying to me was
actually happening.
The Justice Department's letter to me clearly said:
ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been
purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to
Mexico.
They said that at the very same time Mr. Breuer was advocating that a
Justice Department operation allow weapons to be transported into
Mexico. Further, what Mr. Breuer advocated directly contradicted what
the Justice Department said its policy was.
Is it possible they can have it both ways? No, you cannot have it
both ways. If they didn't have a policy against such operations, and if
the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, perhaps it is
not a surprise that an operation like Fast and Furious sprang up. After
all, as that same Justice Department attache wrote of a meeting a few
days after his first e-mail:
I raised the issue that there is an inherent risk in
allowing weapons to pass from the US to Mexico; the
possibility of the [Government of Mexico] not seizing the
weapons; and the weapons being used to commit a crime in
Mexico.
Well, the light bulb went on. If you are selling 2,000 guns illegally
and they don't interdict them, well, yes, they end up murdering
hundreds of people in Mexico and at least one person in the United
States.
If the Justice Department did have a policy against such operations,
this is a record of Mr. Breuer proposing to violate it. That is not
just my conclusion, that is the Attorney General's conclusion as well.
At last week's hearing in the House of Representatives, the Attorney
General was asked to explain the contradiction between his deputy's
anti-gunwalking policy and the evidence of Mr. Breuer's proposed
operation to let guns cross the border. He could not answer that
question, but the Attorney General answered:
Well, clearly what was proposed in, I guess, February by
Lanny Breuer was in contravention of the policy that I had
the Deputy Attorney General make clear to everybody at Main
Justice and to the field . . .
Perhaps this disconnect between Justice Department policy and Lanny
Breuer's proposal explains Mr. Breuer's previous inaction to stop
gunwalking. When he found out about gunwalking in Operation Wide
Receiver in April of 2010, he failed to do anything to stop it or to
hold anyone accountable. He simply had his deputy inform ATF
leadership.
Regardless, Mr. Breuer's contravention of Justice Department policy
is yet another reason why it is long past time for Mr. Breuer to leave
the Department of Justice.
Mr. Breuer misled Congress about whether he was aware of the
Department's false letter to me. To this day he is still the highest
ranking official in any administration that we know was aware of
gunwalking in any Federal program, yet he took no action to stop
gunwalking. He failed to alert the Attorney General or the inspector
general.
Mr. Breuer has failed the Justice Department, and he has failed the
American people. This failure raises some important questions. When did
Attorney General Holder determine that Mr. Breuer was proposing
allowing straw purchasers to reach Mexico with traffic weapons? What
has he done about it? Will Mr. Breuer be held accountable for hatching
a plan to directly violate the Attorney General's anti-gunwalking
policy? The Attorney General clearly testified that the proposal was in
contravention of that policy. How does the Justice Department know
other senior criminal division officials were not proposing operations
similar to Fast and Furious? These are just a subset of some of the
major questions remaining in our investigation of Fast and Furious.
It has now been 1 year since the Department sent me its false letter.
How did the Justice Department move from its position of dismissing the
complaints of whistleblowers to acknowledging that now those
whistleblower complaints are true? What officials were internally
dismissive of whistleblower complaints and who believes that they could
have merit and should be taken seriously? To what extent did Justice
Department officials seek to retaliate against whistleblowers? Exactly
how and when did the Justice Department officials begin to learn the
truth of what happened?
Former ATF Director Ken Melson has testified how and when he learned
that guns had walked in Fast and Furious. What about Attorney General
Holder? When and how did he learn guns had walked? What about Assistant
Attorney General Lanny Breuer? A year after Operation Fast and Furious
concluded, who will be held accountable? Why didn't top Justice
officials see the clear connection between Fast and Furious and
previously flawed operations that they have admitted they knew about?
How has the Justice Department assessed the mistakes and culpability of
these officials?
Finally, it is time for the Justice Department to stop stonewalling
and start providing answers. It is time for Holder to share with
Congress the other 74,000 pages of documents they have turned over to
the inspector general. It is time for Holder to give us access to the
dozens of other people the inspector general has been allowed to
interview.
In short, it is time for Holder to come clean with the American
people.
[[Page S412]]
The sooner he does it, and the Department does it, the sooner we can
get to the bottom of what happened.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
A Second Opinion
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I come to the floor today, as I do
week after week, as a physician who practiced medicine in Casper, WY,
taking care of families in the community and across the State for about
a quarter of a century. I come as a doctor providing a second opinion
about the health care law. Since this health care law was signed by the
President almost 2 years ago, the public has been overwhelmingly
opposed to it. The Democrats in Congress drafted this health care law.
They did so quickly and behind closed doors. In spite of the
President's promise that the discussions would be held on C-SPAN, no
one saw what was happening.
Now the bill is law and, as Nancy Pelosi said, first you have to pass
it before you get to find out what is in it. We have, as Americans,
witnessed week after week the unintended consequences of the rush of
the Democrats to score what they thought would be a political victory.
So I continue to come to the floor with a second opinion because week
after week there is another new finding of this monstrous law, and it
is why week after week this health care law remains incredibly
unpopular. The list of victims of this law continues to grow longer
each week. Small business owners, families, people who get their
coverage through their employers, and patients all across the country
have already been impacted by this health care law.
But on January 20, the third anniversary of the President's
inauguration, the President's health care law found a very new target,
and that target amazingly is religious liberty. Now this administration
is mandating that religious institutions provide services that
undermine the beliefs of religious institutions across the country. In
my opinion, and in the opinion of many across this Nation, this ruling
tramples one of the amendments of the Constitution. I would say it is
an easy amendment to find since it is the first one. It is the one
which protects the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of
expression. Reading from the Constitution, Amendment No. 1, Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
If you take a look back at our Nation's history, the right to freedom
of religion is one of the main reasons that many people came to America
in the first place, and it is one of the reasons people have fought and
have died for our Nation.
So what is someone to do? Well, Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl
has expressed the dilemma many institutions face, and he did it in a
letter last week. The archbishop in Washington said the mandate will
allow a Catholic school only one of three options: No. 1, to violate
its beliefs by providing coverage for medications and procedures that
Catholics believe are immoral; No. 2, to cease providing insurance
coverage for all of its employees and then face ongoing and ultimately
ruinous fines; or, No. 3, attempt to qualify for the exemptions by
hiring and serving only Catholics, exclude everyone else.
Many Americans understand all three of those options are
indefensible. Americans from across the political spectrum are speaking
out against President Obama's big government power grab. One of my
Democratic colleagues, Senator Joe Manchin, called this mandate un-
American. Another, Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania,
objected to forcing Catholic institutions to violate their religious
beliefs. Then we have former Representative Kathy Dahlkemper, a
Democrat from Pennsylvania, who voted for the health care law in the
House of Representatives, who said she would never have voted for the
final version of the health care law ``if I expected the Obama
administration to force Catholic hospitals and Catholic colleges and
universities to pay for contraception.''
Even liberal commentators such as E.J. Dionne and Mark Shields have
criticized the administration for being unwilling to offer a broader
conscience exemption to religious-affiliated institutions.
Now that the President's liberal allies are even opposed to this
unprecedented power grab, the White House is trying to clean up the
mess. It has signaled that it is willing to compromise on its decision.
Instead of a mild compromise, the regulation--and the entire health
care law--needs to be fully repealed. As the Wall Street Journal
editorial board points out:
In any case HHS would revive this coercion whenever it is
politically convenient sometime in Mr. Obama's second term.
Religious liberty won't be protected from the entitlement
state until Obamacare is repealed.
I think all Americans should be afraid of the course this White House
is on with this regulation. This debate isn't about women's health; it
is about power. Washington should not have the power to force religious
people and religious institutions to take actions that contradict their
beliefs.
What we are going to continue to see as the health care law and the
mandates and the regulations continue to come out is a government and
an administration that continue to expand the government reach in terms
of its size, in terms of its scope, and in terms of its grab for power.
The health care law was supposed to be about people and health care--
the care they need from the doctor they want at a cost they can afford.
Instead we have a lot of IRS agents but no new doctors and nurses. I go
to townhall meetings and ask: How many of you under this health care
law who are hoping to get the care you need from a doctor you want at a
price you can afford--how many of you believe the cost of your health
care, because of this health care law, will increase, the costs to you
will go up? All the hands went up. That is what the people believe when
they hear more and more about this health care law.
Then I say: How many of you believe the quality and availability of
your care will go down? Again, the hands went up.
These are the American people knowing everything they do about the
health care law, which is very complicated and has not given them what
they asked for: the care they need, from a doctor they want, at a cost
they can afford. What they find and believe is that they are going to
be actually paying more and getting less. That is not what the American
people have been promised. It is not what they want. It is not what
they expected. But it is what they are finding out they have received
now that the law has passed.
So this clearly explains why Republicans in the Senate and in the
House continue to be committed to repealing the President's health care
law.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate for
up to 15 minutes as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
Mrs. BOXER. Reserving the right to object, if I could ask my friend
through the Chair, would it be possible for me to have 2 minutes prior
to his statement, and then following my remarks the floor will be the
Senator's.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Sure.
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I wish to take 2 minutes to respond to
Senator Barrasso, who offered a second opinion. I hope my colleague
will also talk about that.
I have to say it is stunning to see the assault on women's health
that is taking place from the Republican Party day after day after day.
First, they tried to stop women from getting breast screenings. Then
they tried to stop us from getting cervical cancer screenings. Now they
are going after our ability to get birth control.
I have to say this: We know that for a full 15 percent of women,
birth control is pure medicine. They suffer from debilitating monthly
pain, endometriosis. We have stories of women who couldn't afford birth
control pills and a cyst got out of hand resulting in the loss of an
ovary. We know that birth control is used for a very serious skin
condition. So if they want to stand here and say that women don't have
a right to our medicine, that is their right but don't put it into the
frame of religious freedom.
We know President Obama said he was going to do what 28 States have
[[Page S413]]
done; that is, to make sure women who work in this country have the
ability to get access to birth control pills through their insurance.
That is as simple as it gets. Twenty-eight States do it. I never heard
a word out of them--never. And eight of those States had no exception
when President Obama made an exception for 335,000 churches.
So let's not stand here and talk about the overreach of the Federal
Government and the rest of it. The fact is our States have been doing
this for years. More than 50 percent of women in this Nation have the
ability to get contraception. It is about health. It is the Institute
of Medicine that said it is critical. It will cut down on tens of
thousands of abortions when families plan their families.
So as long as our colleagues on the other side want to make women a
political football in this country, there are many of us here, women
and men alike, who are going to stand sentry and say: You can't do this
to the women of this Nation.
This is the 21st century, and we are arguing about birth control
instead of how to get out of this economic malaise when we are finally
seeing light at the end of the tunnel? Oh, no. I am hoping we go to a
highway bill this afternoon, but we have to now have this diversion
about an issue that was resolved, frankly, in the 1950s and in the
1960s.
So I thank my colleague for this opportunity. Senator Barrasso has a
right to a second opinion, but I think his opinion is off the mark.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Madam President, I appreciate the comments of the
Senator from California. She is on the floor today with Senator
Inhofe--unlikely peas in a pod, one pretty liberal, one pretty
conservative, very different views--to talk about job creation,
infrastructure, building highways and bridges and public transit, and
job creation. As so often is the case, people on the other side want to
change the subject.
In my State, the elections 1\1/2\, 2 years ago were all about lost
jobs, about lost manufacturing jobs that, frankly, accelerated during
the Bush years, and we finally turned that manufacturing job loss
around. We have seen 20 straight months of job increases in
manufacturing.
But the legislature in Columbus, my State capital, and the Governor,
what are they doing? They are not fighting for job creation. They are
going after workers' rights and women's rights--the heartbeat bill,
pretty extreme--instead of focusing on job creation.
That is what I came to discuss on the Senate floor today too--not
specifically on this bill but another infrastructure bill, which I will
get to in a moment.
The comment I heard from Senator Barrasso, only from the end of his
discussion, was that he wants to repeal the health care law. How do
they tell a 23-year-old who now is on her mother's insurance, who is
without a job and doesn't have insurance, that she is going to lose her
insurance she has through her mother's insurance? How are they going to
explain it to the family who has a child with a preexisting condition
who now can get insurance when the insurance company denied it before?
How are they going to explain it to the Medicare retiree, the 72-year-
old woman on Medicare who now has no copay, no deductible, free
screenings for osteoporosis, or the man who gets prostate screenings--
how are they going to explain that? They want to repeal that.
How are they going to explain the fact that they want to repeal
stopping one of the most insidious insurance company practices, which
is that if people get too sick and they are too expensive, insurance
companies just cut them off? They want to repeal that prohibition. I
guess it is because they want to do the insurance companies' bidding
over and over. That is a big part of their game.
It just breaks my heart when I see the progress we have made for the
millions of Americans who now will have health insurance. I know the
Senator and my colleagues, everybody in this body has good health
insurance. People in this body are generally pretty affluent. They have
good government insurance. But they don't want millions of men and
women in our country--people who have lost jobs, people who are working
without insurance--they don't want them to have insurance, all for some
political gain of repealing ObamaCare. It is too bad.
Madam President, now I wish to focus on job creation. I wish to make
some remarks on legislation I introduced today that is not directly
Senator Boxer's and Senator Inhofe's highway bill, but it is about
water and sewer systems and infrastructure.
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