[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 136 (Friday, October 4, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7172-S7181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MORNING BUSINESS
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will be
in a period of morning business for debate only until 2 p.m., with
Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The President pro tempore is recognized.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, several people have spoken. I was touched
so much by the Chaplain's prayer and by the words of the leader about
our Capitol Police. The leader, in his young days as a student, served
as one of the Capitol Police.
Because I am President pro tempore, I do have a security detail. But
long before I had that, I made it a point to go--every time I would see
a police officer on this campus, I would say: You keep us all safe.
Keep yourself safe. We worry about you.
I am wearing this pin applauding them today. I think we have to know,
tourists who come here, Members, staff--everybody is kept safe by these
brave men and women. I asked those who are assigned to me to join me in
my office for a silent prayer yesterday for the safety and the recovery
of the officer injured, but also for the safety of all of those police
officers.
They rush in. They rush in when there is trouble. They do not say:
Oh, gosh, I am not getting paid. Or, gee whiz, I am supposed to go off
duty in a minute. They rush in, no questions asked. They are
extraordinarily well trained, one of the best trained police
departments anywhere in the country. I think we owe them a debt of
gratitude.
We have also heard a lot over the last few days here on this floor
about the costly impacts of this needless government shutdown. It is
needless. Of course, the solution to repoening the government is an
easy one: the Senate has passed a resolution which would reopen the
government while we work on a meaningful compromise to address our
budget and our national debt. Because of a small radical group of tea
party activists in the House of Representatives, they will not even
vote on it.
The House of Representatives has decided on a different approach. The
irony of their parochial, bit-by-bit funding proposal is not lost on
the hundreds of Vermonters who were given furlough notices on Tuesday,
or the veterans in Vermont and across the country who fear the long-
term impacts of a government shutdown.
They are holding the government hostage, and with it the millions of
Americans impacted by this shutdown. They wish to pick and choose
little popular things and say: Here, we are for that. They don't want
to stand and vote yes or no on actual appropriations, because if they
do that they have to take a position. It is easier to vote maybe. If
they vote maybe, they can go home and say: Oh, we are for medical
research. We are for the veterans.
No, they are not. They voted to shut it down. We had a Member of the
House of Representatives on television posturing to a group of veterans
saying isn't it terrible the administration is closing off the
veterans' memorial. One of the veterans caught them and said: No, it is
not the administration that is closing it, it is you. It is you people,
the small group of the House of Representatives that has closed it
down.
Why don't they bring the Senate-passed resolution to the House floor
for a vote? This vote would end the shutdown. Instead, a handful of
extreme ideologues in the House are deciding--
[[Page S7173]]
arbitrarily--who is worth supporting in this crisis, and when. Bring it
to a vote. Have all 435 Members stand and vote, yes, we will open the
veterans programs, the medical research, and everything or, no, we will
not. They have to be on record yes or no.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony yesterday--the
distinguished Presiding Officer is a member of that committee, the
distinguished deputy majority leader is. We heard from the Director of
National Intelligence about the danger to our country from the threat
that increases every day because of all the people who had to be
furloughed. Every day the shutdown continues, our readiness and
preparedness declines.
That was evident on Tuesday when the Department of Defense released
guidance to the National Guard that it would need to issue massive
furloughs, even though the National Guard is essential in this country.
That included 450 technicians of the Vermont National Guard and an
additional 100 Vermont Guardsmen who were recalled from Active orders--
their weekend drills, cancelled. This is where 3,000 members of the
Vermont Guard come together for joint training, so it results in a
decrease in that readiness. This also impacts our national security
just the type of scenario that Director Clapper mentioned.
Some of the 450 military technicians in Vermont who received furlough
notices on Tuesday are at home without pay, after forfeiting 20 percent
of their pay for six weeks this summer because of sequestration.
I know many of them personally. Some are neighbors of mine in
Vermont. These are real people. I have heard from some of them. They
have called and emailed my office. They are asking why their service to
the country and their local communities, which is so essential to our
military readiness and to our ability to respond to crises like natural
disasters, can be so readily dismissed. I could not agree more with
them. They are not getting paid every week as are the Members of the
House of Representatives--the tea party group--who are holding them
hostage.
I believe the number of furloughs in the National Guard was a
misinterpretation by the Department of Defense. This week, the House
and Senate adopted legislation to ensure that members of our Nation's
military receive their pay, despite the government shutdown. I am the
cochair of the National Guard Caucus. I supported this effort in part
because the legislation specifically mentioned the Guard and reserves.
Today, I have joined Senator Manchin and others in a letter asking the
Secretary of Defense to reconsider the Department's interpretation.
The government shutdown also affects our veterans. There are nearly
50,000 veterans who call Vermont home. This shutdown is not how we
thank our veterans and military members for their service. This is not
how we show them our support.
I have received phone calls and emails from Vermonters about the
impact of the government shutdown on services for veterans, but my
distinguished colleague from Vermont, who is the chairman of the
Veterans' Committee, has also heard from these people. These are real
people. They showed up in support of this country when they were asked.
Now they say: Why aren't you supporting us?
Veterans across the country know that while their benefits payments
will continue in the near-term, furloughs within the Veterans
Administration are unfair to our veterans who, after their service,
were promised our support. Our veterans and military members, including
those of our National Guard, should never question our commitment to
their well-being, especially after all they have sacrificed to ensure
ours. They now have a real question: what is our commitment to them? We
didn't question their commitment to the country when they served, but
now where is our commitment to them?
We are not going to solve this problem by adopting a piecemeal
approach, meant to win headlines and promote the blame game. That is no
way to run a government. The Senate already passed a bill, a clean
continuing resolution, to keep our government running, and to fulfill
our commitments. It's time to stop picking winners and losers. If we
are serious about caring for our servicemembers and veterans, we need
to get serious about moving beyond this shutdown.
The distinguished chair of the Budget Committee is on the floor. She
got a budget through this committee. I remember passing the last vote--
I think it was 5:30 on a Saturday morning after we had gone all day
long. Then, when we wanted to go to conference to actually work out the
differences with the House, oh, no, then they might actually have to
vote on something. It is blocked by a Senator working with the tea
party in the House, saying: Oh, no, we can't go to conference.
The same people are giving speeches saying: Why can't we have a
budget? We passed a budget. Oh, no, now we might actually have to vote
on something. We might have to vote yes or no instead of maybe. We are
elected to vote yes or no, not maybe. Have the courage to do that.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The assistant majority leader is recognized.
Mr. DURBIN. I wish to thank the President pro tempore, as well as the
majority leader for their comments this morning. I am wearing a button,
as many of my colleagues are, that says thank you to the Capitol
Police.
The one I am wearing is not one that was issued today but one I asked
to be commissioned after 9/11 because I thought about the extraordinary
courage these men and women showed that day when an imminent attack on
this building was well known. Yet they did everything in their power to
protect all of us who work here and those who were visiting. I give a
special thank you to them.
Yesterday was a tragic day. A young woman--it is still unclear what
motivated her--was involved in an incident at the White House, backing
into a police vehicle and then trying to escape, followed by a Secret
Service officer. She drove toward the Capitol Building and, sadly, her
life was taken.
It is understandable. We live in an era where this campus, the U.S.
Capitol grounds are carefully guarded for obvious reasons. It is a
clear, visible target to those who hate the United States. Someone in a
car is a threat. We know that because car bombs are so common in some
parts of the world and we are wary of vehicles that may be used to harm
innocent visitors or people who work in the U.S. Capitol Building.
It will be some time before we sort out all the details of what led
to this incident yesterday, but there is something we know very
clearly; that is, that the men and women in the Capitol Police stepped
forward to defend this Capitol Building and all those who work and
visit here. They did this risking their own lives.
This morning's Washington Post has a few paragraphs on this which
bear repeating for the record:
What seems beyond doubt is that Secret Service personnel,
Capitol Police and probably many others rushed toward, not
away from, danger--as they are trained to do and as Americans
expect them to do. Inside Congress, aides took cover, traded
anxious text messages and then went on with their work.
Like hundreds of thousands of other federal employees,
these are men and women whose contributions have been
demeaned by the federal shutdown, who are being asked to work
without, at least for the moment, being paid--and who are
doing their jobs with considerably more dignity than the
House of Representatives has mustered.
``We all owe the Capitol Police a debt of gratitude for
their work every day; no finer examples of professionalism &
bravery,'' tweeted House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
That's true. But Mr. Boehner owes them, and the rest of the
federal workforce, more than a 140-character message of
thanks. He owes them a paycheck; he owes them a budget; he
owes them an apology.
How many times have we listened on the floor of the Senate as those
from the other side of the aisle criticize federal workers, try in some
way to demean the contribution they make to this great Nation, trying
to find some way to lay them off, if not fire them, or to restrict
their pay over and over; they are trampled on; they are political
casualties time and again on the floor of the Senate.
Yet each and every one of us, every Member of Congress in the Senate
and the House, our staffs and our families and those who visit are safe
because of these men and women, these Federal workers. It is about time
we realize when we shut down the government, it is the ultimate
disrespect to these men and women who simply want to do their job to
make this a safer and better nation.
[[Page S7174]]
It was very visible on the grounds right off the Capitol Building
itself yesterday afternoon. While many of us were told to stay in our
offices, don't move, for at least half an hour, these men and women
risked their lives during a government shutdown when they aren't
receiving a paycheck. It was very visible--and should have been visible
to everyone--the irony of this situation that we shut down the
government and yet ask them to risk their lives without promise of a
paycheck.
I wish to mention one other thing that happened yesterday that may
not have been noticed, where the impact of government shutdown is not
quite as visible. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Wendy Sherman, Under Secretary of State, testified about the
fear of Iran developing a nuclear bomb and sanctions imposed by the
United States and the civilized world to persuade them not to develop a
nuclear bomb.
She went on to say: The government shutdown that has furloughed 72
percent of the civilian intelligence employees in our government is not
making this a safer country or giving us the eyes and ears around the
world we need to make sure Iran does not develop a nuclear bomb, a
nuclear weapon.
She added: Within the Department of the Treasury, 90 percent, 9 out
of 10, of the people working in the agency which has the responsibility
of specifically watching that the sanctions in Iran are enforced have
been furloughed--90 percent of them.
It isn't only a matter of the visibility of Capitol Police risking
their lives, despite this demeaning government shutdown, it is also
that less visible, such as 72 percent of our intelligence workers
charged with keeping America safe, avoiding another 9/11, have been
sent home. Ninety percent of those who are watching carefully so Iran
does not develop a nuclear weapon were sent home because of this
government shutdown.
This is the third embarrassing, shameful day of this government
shutdown. People say how could it possibly end? It could end very
simply. Speaker John Boehner has on his desk in the House of
Representatives a continuing resolution which is a spending bill which
will reopen the government for at least 6 weeks. He should call that
for a vote today. He will receive bipartisan support. He shouldn't fear
that. He should celebrate it, bipartisan support to reopen this
government.
Then I hope he will accept the invitation of Senator Reid and others
to meet with Senator Murray, the chairman of the Budget Committee, sit
down, plan the spending, plan the savings, and plan the important
policy decisions--which we have for 6 months tried to bring to this
floor--in a conference committee. Let's do it and do it today. Today
should be the end of the government shutdown.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the editorial
from today's Washington Post and an article from The Daily Beast on
Iran.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Washington Post, Oct. 3, 2013]
Essential Workers: Those Dedicated to Serving the Public Deserve More
Than a Brief Message of Thanks
The order went out to Capitol Hill personnel Thursday
afternoon in capital letters: SHELTER IN PLACE. It was a
terrifying moment for a community already on edge. The scare
ended with less carnage than we have come to fear in such
moments--but not before we were reminded again of the
dedication of those who work for the government. Maybe that
reminder will bring some politicians to their senses.
As we write this, investigators are trying to sort out the
series of events that apparently began when a woman tried to
drive her car through a security barrier near the White House
and ended with shots fired near the U.S. Capitol. What the
woman, who was killed, intended, whether police responded
appropriately, what lessons may be drawn about the efficacy
of security barriers: All of that remains to be examined.
What seems beyond doubt is that Secret Service personnel,
Capitol Police and probably many others rushed toward, not
away from, danger--as they are trained to do and as Americans
expect them to do. Inside Congress, aides took cover, traded
anxious text messages and then went on with their work.
Like hundreds of thousands of other federal employees,
these are men and women whose contributions have been
demeaned by the federal shutdown, who are being asked to work
without, at least for the moment, being paid--and who are
doing their jobs with considerably more dignity than the
House of Representatives has mustered.
``We all owe the Capitol Police a debt of gratitude for
their work every day; no finer examples of professionalism &
bravery,'' tweeted House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
That's true. But Mr. Boehner owes them, and the rest of the
federal workforce, more than a 140-character message of
thanks. He owes them a paycheck; he owes them a budget; he
owes them an apology.
Beyond the shooting Thursday, Washington was full of the
usual posturing, speculating, rumor-trading and jockeying for
public relations advantage. Maybe the shutdown would be
wrapped into the default. Maybe the Obamacare demands would
be subsumed into ``grand bargain''demands. Maybe this, maybe
that.
Meanwhile, there are mothers who depend on federal
assistance for nutrition for their children. There are motel
owners and workers on Skyline Drive whose livelihood is
threatened because the national parks are closed in what
should be their peak season. There are dedicated scientists
and food inspectors and intelligence analysts who have been
told by Mr. Boehner that he and his fellow Republicans do not
consider their work all that essential to the nation.
Those scientists and inspectors and analysts are not the
nonessential ones.
____
[From the Daily Beast, Oct. 2, 2013]
Government Shutdown Empties Offices Enforcing Sanctions on Iran
(By Josh Rogin)
The shutdown has forced the Treasury Department to furlough
most of the employees enforcing sanctions on Iran, just as
the U.S. is beginning new negotiations. Josh Rogin and Eli
Lake report on the potential fallout.
With the government shut down, most U.S. officials
enforcing sanctions on Iran are not at work, potentially
undermining pressure on Tehran as U.S.-Iran negotiations
recommence, according to administration officials, lawmakers,
and experts.
The Treasury Department has furloughed approximately 90
percent of the employees in its Office of Terrorist Financing
and Intelligence (TFI), which is responsible for the
monitoring of illicit activities and enforcement of sanctions
related to several countries, including Iran, Syria, and
North Korea, Treasury officials told The Daily Beast. The
drastic scaling down of personnel working on those activities
comes just as the Obama administration is engaging in its
first set of diplomatic negotiations with the new Iranian
government, led by President Hassan Rouhani (/articles/2013/
09/26/what-hassan-rouhani-really-said-about-the-
holocaust.html).
A subsection of TFI, the Office of Foreign Asset Control
(OFAC), which implements the U.S. government's financial
sanctions, has been forced to furlough nearly all its staff
due to the lapse in congressional funding, said a Treasury
Department spokesman.
``As a result, OFAC is unable to sustain its core functions
of: issuing new sanctions designations against those enabling
the governments of Iran and Syria as well as terrorist
organizations, WMD proliferators, narcotics cartels, and
transnational organized crime groups; investigating and
penalizing sanctions violations; issuing licenses to
authorize humanitarian and other important activities that
might otherwise be barred by sanctions; and issuing new
sanctions prohibitions and guidance,'' the spokesman said.
``This massively reduced staffing not only impairs OFAC's
ability to execute its mission, it also undermines TFI's
broader efforts to combat money laundering and illicit
finance, protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system,
and disrupt the financial underpinnings of our adversaries.''
Two other subsections of TFI, the Office of Intelligence
and Analysis (OIA) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network (FinCEN), also are working with a skeleton crew.
According to FinCEN's shutdown plan (PDF (http://
www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Documents/
FinCEN%20Shutdown%20Plan_ revised%20FY%202014_
Web%20Version.pdf), 30 of 345 employees were kept on after
appropriations ran out Oct. 1.
Administration officials often tout the various rounds of
sanctions (/articles/2013/09/23/lawmakers-set-a-high-bar-for-
iran-to-escape-sanctions.html) passed by Congress and signed
by President Obama as crucial to pressuring the Iranian
regime to strike a deal to bring its clandestine nuclear
program into accordance with international standards of
transparency and convince the world it is not developing a
nuclear weapon.
``If the lights are not on, then the Iranians will engage
in massive sanctions busting to try to replenish their
dwindling foreign exchange reserves.''
``Because of the extraordinary sanctions that we have been
able to put in place over the last several years, the
Iranians are now prepared, it appears, to negotiate,'' Obama
said Monday (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/
09/30/remarks-president-obama-and-prime-minister-netanyahu-
israel-after-bilate) after meeting with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. ``But we
enter into these negotiations very clear-eyed. They will not
be easy. And anything that we do will require the highest
standards of verification in order for us to provide the sort
of sanctions relief that I think they are looking for.''
Pressures must be kept in place and even strengthened as
new negotiations with the Iranians begin, Netanyahu
responded. But the furloughs are making it more difficult to
[[Page S7175]]
enforce the sanctions during the budget stalemate.
FinCEN processes tips from banks about suspicious activity
and possible money laundering, and shares the data with law
enforcement. The network and OFAC are two of the most potent
tools the U.S. government has used to pressure Iran.
``Given the fact that the vast majority of FinCEN employees
have been furloughed, important pieces of financial
intelligence will not be sifted through and analyzed by the
agency charged with this task,'' said Avi Jorisch, a former
policy adviser for the Treasury Department's TFI office. The
government is shut down, Jorisch said, but ``money launderers
are certainly not taking vacation.''
Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies, said Iran could capitalize on the
lack of monitoring and sanctions enforcement to replenish its
coffers and advance its nuclear program while no one is
looking.
``If the lights are not on, then the Iranians will engage
in massive sanctions busting to try to replenish their
dwindling foreign exchange reserves,'' he said. ``If you
don't have the resources to investigate, identify, and
designate the tens of billions of dollars of Iranian regime
assets, then you've extended the economic runway of the
Iranian regime and increased the likelihood that they could
reach nuclear breakout sooner rather than later.''
In Congress, top Democrats blame House Republicans for
failing to pass a continuing resolution to keep the
government running.
``Today, we learn that the Republican shutdown is hurting
the Treasury's efforts to implement sanctions against Iran to
prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon,'' Rep. Jerrold
Nadler (D-NY) told The Daily Beast. ``This insanity has to
stop. We must not allow a few extreme members of the
Republican Party to threaten our national security any
longer. Speaker Boehner should put a clean bill on the floor
and allow an up or down vote on reopening the government
today. Any further delay clearly threatens our national
security.''
Top Republicans involved with Iran sanctions said the
administration is to blame for not keeping the Treasury
employees at their jobs.
``Enforcing sanctions and stopping illicit financial
transactions are core national security missions,'' Sen. Mark
Kirk (R-IL) told The Daily Beast. ``The administration should
not be putting our national security at risk to score
political points. All sides need to find common ground and do
what's right for the American people.''
Treasury officials say they are implementing the shutdown
guidelines given to them by the Office of Management and
Budget and doing the best they can with limited resources.
``The House Republicans' decision to shut down the
government has real consequences, and it goes to our ability
to execute our mission, which is integral to protecting our
country and advancing our interests,'' a Treasury Department
official said. ``We are still enforcing our sanctions, we are
still capable of taking action if necessary, but it's a hell
of a lot harder and we can't be nearly as nimble and
comprehensive as we could be if Congress would pass a clean
CR.''
Meanwhile, the State Department, which has somehow managed
to avoid any significant staff reductions due to the shutdown
(/articles/2013/09/30/how-the-government-shutdown-hurts-
national-security.html), is beginning a new round of
negotiations with Iran in conjunction with its partners in
the P5+1, set to take place later this month in Geneva
(http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130930/eu-plays-
down-deadline-iran-talks-0).
State Department officials told The Daily Beast on
Wednesday that the shutdown won't affect those plans.
``Dealing with Iran's nuclear program is an absolute top
priority for the State Department, and Undersecretary Wendy
Sherman and the State Department team are working hard every
day on this issue preparing for the next round of talks in
Geneva with Iran and our international partners,'' said Marie
Harf, deputy State Department spokeswoman.
Mr. DURBIN. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I join with our majority leader who
spoke just a moment ago, the majority whip who just spoke so
eloquently, as well as our President pro tempore who just spoke, to
thank our Capitol Police, Secret Service officers, and all those who
responded so courageously yesterday to the situation in the Nation's
Capital. We depend on them to be there to do their jobs for all of us.
We need to be there to do our jobs as well today.
I thank all of them for doing their jobs, and I plead with our
colleagues to do our jobs.
I am so disappointed that we find ourselves again in the morning
waking up where the government is shut down, where families and
communities across our Nation are feeling the impact today and worried
about what the impact will be tomorrow.
I spoke to some small businessmen only a few days ago in my office
from the construction industry. The impact on their contracts, lack of
contracts or uncertainty about their contracts is affecting their
ability--and they are now worried they are going to have to lay off
some of their employees because they can't sign contracts when they are
so uncertain whether our government is going to be paying our bills in
the future.
I met with some Head Start moms a few days ago. I spoke with a young
woman who told me this passionate story about being homeless and on the
street with a brandnew baby because of an abusive spouse. The Head
Start folks in her community found her, found her a shelter, placed her
in some education courses about how to be a mom. In 2 years, she is now
on her own, working, and back in school because of a government service
that was there for her. She didn't plead to me; she pleaded for those
other moms or dads who are out there who now face uncertainty and may
not have that help in the future.
I have talked to veterans, as the President pro tempore knows, the
former chair of the Veterans' Committee, about having worked so hard to
make sure our veterans get the services they need as they come home.
They are not here pleading for themselves, although they are very
worried about whether, as this goes on, they will get the services they
need. They are pleading, as veterans always do, so selfless in their
service to our Nation, for us to get the government moving again so our
country is back on track, this country that they have so proudly fought
for and that people are now hurting.
Today, of course, we are hearing news of a storm, a tropical storm
that is approaching our Nation as well.
Families across the South are paying attention to that and they are
worried about what a government shutdown or impact might be to them as
they face that news on their television and radios this morning. Of
course FEMA will be there. They have told us they will be able to call
back their furloughed workers. They are prepared to respond to this, as
our great Nation always must. But we have to be very concerned about
what happens in the future if this government remains shut down--
whether there will be reimbursements in a timely fashion, whether
cleanup will be able to move forward, and whether there will be an
ability to pay for that.
Thousands of members of the National Guard, who have been furloughed,
as this approaches us, will need to be called back to get ready for
that emergency. Of course, if there is any significant damage--and we
all pray there is not, but if there is--cleanup and recovery will
likely be impacted because of furloughs at the SBA and at the
Department of Transportation. All of our government agencies and
government employees who are normally there to respond in a disaster
are today not at work, not getting ready, not possibly there in the
future, if this shutdown continues.
So I hope for the best for these communities as this storm is
threatening. I know our Federal workers will do everything they can to
protect these families. We owe it to these communities that are
impacted by this storm and to communities across the country to get our
government back up and running as quickly as we can, which can happen
very fast.
And by the way, Madam President, I will be here later today to talk
about the impacts on my State. The impacts of this shutdown are real,
and as it continues, so is the uncertainty it produces. Our ability to
respond as a Nation to any kind of disaster is a concern for every
family.
But I am here today to say it doesn't have to be this way. The answer
to this is so simple. As the majority whip just said, there is a bill
in the House of Representatives right now, this minute, that is sitting
there, and Speaker Boehner can simply bring it up for a vote. We know
it has the votes to pass. It will say this government will continue to
run until November 15, and it will give us the opportunity to then
negotiate and to deal with the broader issues that we all know we need
to deal with in terms of our budget. But we cannot hold our communities
and the future of this country hostage while we negotiate those bills.
So it is so easy. The Speaker can take up this bill, put people back
to
[[Page S7176]]
work--our government employees, who need to respond to any kind of
emergency. Our National Guard will be back at work. Our veterans will
not have to worry about payments coming for them, and this will be the
country for our fellow countrymen as we always have been--all that,
simply by Speaker Boehner bringing up a bill that would quickly pass.
It would then go to the President, and then this would be over.
I know there has been a lot of talk the past few days about a grand
bargain. No one on this floor has worked harder than I have to get us
to a budget compromise so we have a path in the future to deal not only
with our debt and deficit but also with our deficit in terms of
transportation and education and our deficit in terms of our
investments that we need to make as a country to be strong in the
future. We all know what the sides are on that. We all know we need to
come to the table and solve that--that is, the differences we as
leaders of this Nation need to address.
I have worked extremely hard on that, and it is time for us to do
that. As everyone on this floor knows, we were told by our Republican
counterparts and told and told and told the Senate needs to pass a
budget. I became budget chair at the beginning of this year. We did our
job. Our committee passed a budget. We brought it to the floor. We
lived through 5 days of amendments. We brought up every amendment
possible and voted on over 100 of them and then we passed that budget.
That was the time, 6 months ago, when we should have then said, the
House has passed a budget, the Senate has passed a budget, let's go to
conference and figure out those differences so we don't end up in this
crisis today.
That is the expectation people have of a democracy. Unfortunately, we
were told time and again: No, we are not going to allow you to go to
conference. So here we are in a crisis. Well, let's address this crisis
first. First, let's put people back to work. Let's get our country and
our economy moving quickly again, and then allow us to go to conference
to deal with those issues that are so critical to this Nation in terms
of our fiscal responsibilities and the investments and priorities we
need to make as a Nation.
So my plea today is to the Speaker to take up the bill, to allow the
country to work again, and then for us to take up our responsibility to
find solutions to the disagreements we truly do have as a Nation. I
urge my colleagues to urge the Speaker to allow the country to get back
to work, and then let's get to the table and let's solve this.
I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Ms. AYOTTE. Madam President, I want to first thank the Capitol Police
for their bravery and for the important work they do in protecting all
of us in the Capitol. Yesterday really showed how important they are.
So I want to thank them for everything they did yesterday to make sure
people were protected.
This is day 4 of the government shutdown--a shutdown that did not
need to happen. I had hoped when I came to the floor a couple of days
ago, and when I heard congressional leaders were meeting with the
President, at his request, that they would emerge from that meeting
with a plan to end this impasse and get the government open again, to
come to an agreement as to how we can responsibly fund the government
and address the challenges we face as a Nation. But coming out of that
meeting, what we got, of course, was a President who said he will not
negotiate.
From the beginning, I have said this strategy was an ill-conceived
strategy by some Members of my own party who thought that defunding
ObamaCare--therefore, shutting down the government--would, No. 1, stop
the exchanges from opening. But we knew that was not going to happen.
In fact, it has already happened, even though we shut down the
government. It was ill conceived because, again, we knew that with the
President and the Senate Democrats in charge, they were not going to
defund their signature piece of legislation.
As much as I support repealing that piece of legislation--because I
have seen the impact already in my own State of New Hampshire, in terms
of premiums and in terms of less choice for individuals, and I do
believe there is a better way to address health care in this country--
where we find ourselves right now is unacceptable for America. It is
unacceptable as leaders elected by the people of this country. We owe
it to our constituents to resolve this now. Both sides need to get
together and we need to resolve this.
I would say to my Republican colleagues in the House and to some in
this Chamber, it is time for a reality check. Defunding ObamaCare did
not work as a strategy, so let's find common ground and work together,
yes, to address the very legitimate concerns we have with this health
care bill, but also to get this government funded. I would say to my
Democratic colleagues here in the Senate and to the President, come to
the table and negotiate. Let's work this out on behalf of the American
people. I will say it again: I think where we are is the result of an
ill-conceived strategy by many in my party, leading to an immature
response that says we will not negotiate and talk and try to work this
out on behalf of the American people.
We all know the American people are the ones suffering the most from
this shutdown. I have heard it from our guardsmen in New Hampshire who
have been forced to go to the unemployment office, Federal employees
who wonder whether they will be able to pay their mortgages, furloughed
civilian workers in New Hampshire at one of our proudest military
installations in this country, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and small
business owners who can't get the help they need from the Small
Business Administration. They deserve better than this.
I hope, as we head into this weekend, the President, the leaders of
the House, the leaders of the Senate will get together, and that we
will get behind them on behalf of the American people, to get this
government open, to resolve our differences, to find common ground and
do the people's business.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. RUBIO. First, let me also start, Madam President, by thanking the
men and women of the Capitol Police and the District of Columbia and
the Secret Service. It reminds us they are the thin blue line standing
between us and danger. This is a moment to extend our thanks to all law
enforcement and first responders around the country who, on a daily
basis, are on that thin blue line as well. So we are all grateful for
what you do for us and how you keep us safe.
I wanted to talk, of course, about this week. It has been an
interesting week, to say the least, beyond the events of yesterday.
When we turn on the cable news, it features these countdown clocks
leading up to the government slowdown. Now, in the aftermath of it, we
see the countdown about how many days we have been into this thing.
Look, there is no doubt this impasse we are at is a problem for the
country. This is not the best way to run the most important government
in the most important country in the world.
There are people around here who all they do is focus on politics.
For them, every day is election day. They are focused on who is
winning, who is going to get the blame, and who is this going to help
in the next election. I suppose that has a place in politics and in the
governing process. But let me answer the question: Who will get the
blame? We all are. Every single one of us in the House, the Senate, and
in the entire Federal Government will get the blame.
And let me tell you why. Because there are people who woke up this
morning who didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe they were up late
helping their kids with their homework. They got up, guzzled a bunch of
coffee and forced themselves to work. They didn't want to work. They
were tired. But they had to. And they are going to work today, and they
are going to get home and go through all that again. And they are
wondering: Why can't you guys do that? Why can't you do your job? I
think that is a very valid frustration that people have with this
process and with those of us here today.
I am not happy about some of the things we have seen this week or
over
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the last couple of weeks. I think it is very unfortunate--some of the
rhetoric that has been used around here, both in this Chamber and in
the public domain. But each day that goes by, what I am more and more
worried about may not be what everybody else, or at least too many
people here, are worried about. See, I think it is wrong that those of
us who stand on principle, who believe, for example, ObamaCare is going
to badly damage our economy--I think it is wrong we have a Congressman
from my home State who compares us to the Taliban. We have a
spokesperson for the White House who says we are like people with bombs
strapped to our chests. I think that is wrong.
I think it is wrong too by the way, that the President has used the
megaphone of the Presidency not to bring Americans together but to
deepen these divisions. Mr. President, you are not the chairman of the
Democratic party. You are the President of the United States. Act like
the President of the United States. Rise above that stuff. Your job is
to bring this Nation together. I know people are going to say things
about you that you don't like. It comes with the territory. You have to
rise above it. And I hope he will.
But those are not the things that concern me the most. What I am most
worried about is that this country faces a very serious crisis, and we
are running out of time to fix it. There is no doubt this government
slowdown is not good, but it is not the crisis I am referring to. This
issue about hitting the debt limit is a problem, but that is not the
most serious crisis we face either. The single most important crisis we
face in this country is that for millions of Americans the promise of
the American dream is literally slipping through their fingers. With
all the focus around here on whatever the crisis of the day may be, I
fear we are simply not spending enough time focusing on that reality.
It reminds me of a story I know. A few years ago, a friend of mine in
Florida was on a twin-engine airplane flying from one part of the State
to another. At some point during that flight, a fire broke out in the
cockpit. That fire was a problem. But the bigger problem was that both
of the pilots started to put out the fire, and no one was flying the
plane. Within a few seconds, the plane began to plunge, and it lost
hundreds of feet of altitude. Luckily, they figured it out quickly and
were able to correct it. But they were so focused on the fire in the
cockpit, they weren't flying the plane. Luckily, they realized in time
if they didn't start flying that plane that fire was going to be pretty
insignificant for them in just a few seconds.
So we have a government slowdown, and this government slowdown is a
problem, yes. We have the upcoming debt limit issue, and that is a
problem, yes. But the fire in our cockpit and the one we need to
address is the erosion of the American dream.
If we think the slowdown of government is problematic, that is a vote
away from being solved. All we have to do is take a vote in either
Chamber and we can solve that problem. But the slowdown in government
is going to be a big problem when this government no longer has enough
money to pay its bills, and if we keep doing what we are doing now,
that is going to happen.
We think this debt limit situation is a problem? That is one vote
away from being solved. When it is going to be a real problem is when
no one wants to buy our debt anymore because they don't think we can
pay them back.
We think all this division and dysfunction in Washington is bad for
our economy? Yes. But what is worse is a tax code that kills jobs,
regulations that on a daily basis are killing jobs, and a national debt
that is killing jobs. By the way, one of the greatest destroyers of
jobs in America today is ObamaCare, and that is why we are so
passionate about it.
The American dream--which people throw around so loosely as a term--
is basically the notion that no matter where you start out in life, no
matter how many obstacles you have to overcome, you have the God-given
right, through hard work and perseverance, to achieve a better life and
leave your children better off than yourself. But it is being eroded on
a daily basis, and not nearly enough attention is being paid to that. I
don't see any countdown clocks on cable television about the American
dream.
The most dangerous thing happening in Washington today is that
everyone is so busy fighting about the problems before us today that
there doesn't seem to be enough focus on the crisis we are headed to
pretty soon; that we are on the verge of losing the American dream. I
say that because, to one extent or another, we are all guilty of
misplacing that focus.
So my speech here today as much as anything else is a reminder to me
of why I wanted to serve here. The reason I wanted to serve here is
because I know--I don't think; I know--that America is special. I know
this partially because I was raised by and around people who know what
life is like in places other than America. In places other than
America, you can only go as far as your parents went. You are trapped.
Whatever your family did is the only thing you are allowed to do by
those societies.
But we have been different, and I have seen it with my own eyes. Both
in my neighborhood and in my family, I have seen people who came here
with little education and no connections and through hard work and
perseverance achieve a better life, achieve a meaningful life, and
leave their kids better off than themselves. I also see how every
single day there are millions of people out there now trying to achieve
the same thing, and they are finding it harder and harder to do that.
We are on the verge of losing that. If we lose that, every day that is
eroded, so too is the exceptionalism of this country. People love to
use that term, an ``exceptional nation,'' and I believe it is
exceptional, but it is exceptional primarily because of the American
dream.
Many countries in the world have powerful militaries. Every country
in the world has rich people and big companies. What makes us different
is that here, if you are willing to work hard, if you have a really
good idea, you can be rewarded for it with a better life. That is
eroding. If we lose that, we lose what makes us special and different,
and no one seems to be fighting enough about that.
The only reason all these other issues matter is because they relate
to the American dream. The reason the debt really matters is because it
undermines the American dream. The reason our Tax Code, which is
broken, matters is because it undermines the American dream. The reason
I am so passionate about ObamaCare is because for millions of people it
is undermining the ability to achieve the American dream.
The reason I ran for office is because as a country we are headed in
the wrong direction because we are losing the American dream. We still
have time to fix this, but we don't have all century. We don't even
have all decade. We have to begin to take these issues seriously or we
will be known as the first generation of Americans who lost the
American dream and left our children worse off than ourselves.
We still have time to refocus ourselves. With all this noise about
politics and who gets the blame and who is responsible for what, I hope
we can use these challenges before us as a catalyst to begin to focus
on these issues and why they matter. They matter because they are
hurting people, and they are hurting people who are trying to achieve a
better life. If we do that, if we focus on that and if we solve the
problems before us with an eye toward that, then I think we will have
the real opportunity to do what every generation of Americans before us
has done: to leave our children better off than ourselves and to leave
for them what our parents left for us--the single greatest Nation in
the history of the world.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I come to the floor again today to
talk about the effects of this government shutdown that are being
experienced in New Hampshire. As I begin, let me start where a number
of my colleagues have this morning, and that is by thanking the Capitol
Police and the Metropolitan Police for the great job they did
yesterday, and particularly the Capitol Police, who are willing to put
their lives on the line, as we say frequently, every day to protect us,
but in this case where they are doing that and they are not getting
paid, that is certainly a tribute to the commitment
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and the dedication they have to this Congress and to this government.
I hope that as Members of the Senate and as Members of Congress, we
will take inspiration from that dedication and recommit to trying to
end this government shutdown and end the negative impacts it is having
on people across this country. We are just 4 days into the shutdown--
this is day No. 4--but every day we see more and more of the effects it
is having across the country and in my home State of New Hampshire.
My colleague Senator Ayotte was on the floor earlier talking about
some of the frustrations people are experiencing as a result of the
shutdown. As I said earlier this week, hundreds of Air National Guard
civilian employees have already been furloughed. We have Portsmouth
Naval Shipyard workers who are facing furlough. We have new SBA loan
originations that have come to a halt, so businesses aren't able to get
the capital they need. So many other important services and so many
other people are being affected.
I really wanted to talk today a little more in-depth about the effect
of the shutdown on one of New Hampshire's national treasures, the White
Mountain National Forest.
This time of year the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountains
really starts to see bumper-to-bumper traffic. You might not expect
traffic jams in a remote location like that in the middle of the
mountains, but when tourists come in to see the beautiful fall foliage
in New Hampshire, it really is a boon to New Hampshire's economy, and
they are everywhere.
New Hampshire's director of travel and tourism, Lori Harnois,
estimates that about 7.8 million people will come to New Hampshire
between September and the end of November, which is 2 percent higher
than last year. According to Lori, more than spending time, these
visitors will spend over $1 billion, which is about 3 percent more than
was spent last year. That is why this season is so critical for the
small businesses in New Hampshire that depend on the tourism industry.
This is really about the economics of New Hampshire and the ability of
so many of our small businesses and their owners and employees to
survive throughout the year. Local stores, restaurants, and attractions
rely on this season to meet their bottom lines.
Many tourists coming to New Hampshire visit our Federal forest lands
in the White Mountain National Forest. Those lands are administered by
the U.S. Forest Service. The White Mountain National Forest stretches
over 800,000 acres in New Hampshire and Maine, and it is one of the
most visited outdoor recreation sites in all of United States, with
nearly 6 million visitors a year. More visitors than go to Yellowstone
or Yosemite Parks come and visit the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
For everyone who has been there or visited one of the many landmarks in
the forest, it is no surprise because its natural beauty has kept
visitors coming back for centuries. Given its proximity to cities such
as Boston and Montreal, it is a great place to bring families. Nearly
60 million people in the United States alone live within 1 day's drive
of the White Mountain National Forest.
Unfortunately, this year, during the busiest few weeks of the year,
tourists are going to be shut out of important services because of this
unnecessary government shutdown. Restrooms for families in bumper-to-
bumper traffic will be closed along the highways and trails in the
national forest. Garbage collection is going to be suspended.
Campgrounds will be closed starting over the next few days. Families
looking to camp in the White Mountains will have to find new lodging or
change their plans.
Ongoing repairs to bridges and roads in response to Hurricane Irene--
we are still cleaning up as a result of the damage from Hurricane
Irene--those projects are going to be put on hold, and only a few staff
members are going to still be there to respond to emergencies, conduct
repairs, and help direct people.
This is leading to a frustrating experience for tourists, and it is
frustrating for all of the businesses that depend on the people who
come to visit. The shutdown could really hurt a very important industry
in New Hampshire at a critical time.
All told, about 120 employees for the White Mountains have been told
to stay home until Congress reaches a budget agreement. And as we have
heard here in Washington, as we know from our own staffs, these
employees have done nothing to deserve these furloughs. They have
worked hard, they have been dedicated, but they are going to have to
try to make ends meet because Congress can't get its act together. No
wonder people are outraged.
Our Federal forest lands are not only critical drivers of the tourism
industry, they support New Hampshire's timber industry. If this
shutdown continues, the Forest Service will have to determine whether
to suspend existing contracts for timber-harvesting on Federal lands,
and these companies will have to shut down their operations at one of
the best times to harvest timber. So the impact will also be on all of
those people who work in the timber industry and depend on that
industry for their livelihood.
I wish to highlight some of these effects because we need to remind
ourselves just what this government shutdown means for the people who
are being hurt, what it means for the small businesses and their
employees, and what it means to the economy in my State of New
Hampshire and the economy across the country. We are clearly seeing the
effects of the shutdown in New Hampshire. If we don't act, these
effects will become more and more severe every day.
I hope we can begin to see talks going on between Members of the
House and Senate. I hope those who are holding up the continuing
resolution in the House--the legislation that would get this country
operating again--will reconsider. All it takes is the Speaker to bring
that legislation to the floor. He keeps saying we haven't negotiated.
In fact, we have negotiated. We negotiated for over 1 year before we
passed the Affordable Care Act. We negotiated before this continuing
resolution was agreed to, and the Senate, in fact, accepted the
numbers, the cost of that continuing resolution to keep the government
open. We thought our numbers were better, but we accepted the House
numbers because we wanted to try to negotiate and reach an agreement.
Unfortunately, what we have seen is that the House has reneged on that
agreement.
It is now time to bring that legislation to the floor, to get this
government operating again, and to end the negative impact and the real
hardship so many people across this country are experiencing.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. SANDERS. Madam President, in Vermont and all over this country
there is profound anger and disgust at what is going on here in
Washington. The reason is that today we remain in a significant and
very serious economic downturn. Real unemployment is close to 14
percent. Over 20 million workers are unemployed. And what the American
people are saying as loudly and as clearly as they can is, Congress, we
want you to create millions of decent-paying jobs. All over this
country, people are struggling with wages of $9 or $10 a hour. What the
American people are saying to Congress is: Congress, Mr. President, we
want you to raise the minimum wage.
In the midst of a serious economic crisis, the American people want
us to act to improve the economy, to create jobs, to raise wages. But
what are we doing today? We are saying to 800,000 hard-working Federal
employees: Don't come in to work. We don't know when and if you are
going to be paid. We are saying to 1.2 million other Federal employees
who are at work: Thank you very much for coming in to your job today.
Thank you for your work as a Capitol Hill police officer or FBI agent
or somebody in the CIA or somebody working at Head Start or somebody
delivering meals to low-income senior citizens, thank you all very much
for your work but we don't know when and if you will be paid.
What we are doing right now is the exact opposite of what the
American people want. They want us to create jobs and raise wages. What
we are saying to 2 million American workers is: You are not getting
paid. Some of you are furloughed. Some of you are coming in.
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These Federal employees are not millionaires. They are hard-working,
middle-class Americans. They are struggling as is everybody else in
this country to pay their mortgages, to send their kids to college, to
afford childcare, to do what other middle-class families need to do. We
are putting all of them under extreme anxiety today. In an unstable,
volatile economy, that is not what we should be doing.
In addition, this shutdown is having a very negative impact on the
entire economy. The estimate is that we are losing about $10 billion a
week as a result of the government shutdown, according to Goldman
Sachs. If the government is shut down for 3 weeks, the economy will
lose over $36 billion. Moody's has estimated if the shutdown lasts 4
weeks, it will drain $55 billion from the economy.
Does any sane person believe that when our economy today has so many
problems--when we are just beginning to recover from the worst economic
downturn since the Great Depression, when we were losing 700,000 jobs a
month, when we are trying to get our feet on the ground economically--
does anybody think it makes sense to not be paying over 2 million
workers and to be losing billions and billions of dollars in the
economy as a result of the shutdown?
This is the start of the flu season. Every fall the Centers for
Disease Control closely monitors the spread of flu and directs vaccines
to where they are needed the most. But because of the shutdown, the CDC
is today unable to support the annual seasonal influenza program. Does
that make sense to anybody? We are endangering the health and the lives
of millions of Americans because of the shutdown of the CDC.
During the shutdown the Food and Drug Administration is stopping most
of its food safety operations. We have seen over the years outbreaks of
salmonella and other types of food problems. Does anyone think it makes
sense to shut down the FDA?
Most of the Department of Labor is closed. Ironically, we are
supposed to be receiving a report from the Department of Labor telling
us what kind of unemployment rate we now have, but we cannot get that
because they are shut down.
The WIC Program, Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program, is
being shut down. This is a program that provides good nutrition to low-
income pregnant women and their babies so that the mothers and the
babies will be healthy in these critical times in their lives. We want
healthy children in this country. We don't want to see children die at
birth. That is what the WIC Program is about.
Social Security services are being delayed. In Burlington, VT, where
I live, there was a rally yesterday. Social Security workers are being
furloughed. Others are working without pay. We owe it to the seniors in
this country that when they are eligible for Social Security and they
apply for Social Security their papers are processed in a timely
manner. That is what they are due.
Head Start Programs for thousands of lower income kids are starting
to close. Today Head Start provides education, health, nutrition, and
other services to roughly 1 million children throughout our country.
The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on the impact the shutdown
is already having. Four Head Start Programs that offer preschool
activities for 3,200 children in Florida, Connecticut, Alabama, and
Mississippi have closed and officials said 11 other programs would be
shut down by week's end if Federal funding is not restored. Does any
sane person believe we should be shutting down Head Start Programs at a
time when preschool education is so important? We all understand that.
And it is so hard to come by. What we are telling parents today is
next week you may not be able to bring your kids into a Head Start
Program. How does that impact your employment? What do you do with your
kid? Does anybody around here care about that?
The United States is the only nation in the industrialized world that
does not guarantee health care to all people. Today we have about 48
million people with no health insurance. ObamaCare, to my mind, is not
a solution to the problem but it is a step forward. We are talking
about 20, maybe 25 million people who are in desperate need of health
insurance being able to get that insurance; others who are paying more
than they can afford perhaps getting insurance that is more affordable
to them. We should be going farther in terms of health care, but for
rightwing Republicans in the House of Representatives to be saying we
are going to keep this government shut down until we deny millions of
people the health care based on legislation that we passed is
inexcusable. It is not acceptable.
The point I think many of my colleagues made and everybody agrees
with now--this is not in debate and the American people have to
understand this--No. 1, the Senate passed a continuing resolution that
in my view simply underfunds many of the programs out there. I am not
happy about that bill. It should be much higher than that. It is not a
good bill, but it was passed. Everybody understands that if Speaker
Boehner chose to be the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives and not the Speaker of the Republican Party, and if he
brought that bill that we passed here in the Senate on the floor this
morning, there is no debate, they have the votes. The Democrats and
moderate Republicans and maybe more would vote for that legislation and
government could be reopened this afternoon. The Speaker there has an
issue he has to deal with. He has to understand that he represents all
this country and not just an extreme rightwing faction.
I hope very much the Speaker will do the right thing, bring that to
the floor, and reopen the government.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. BEGICH. Madam President, I want to follow up briefly first on the
comments of Senator Sanders. We have a continuing resolution over
there. The annualized cut is $70 billion. Usually when you compromise,
one side gives a little, the other side gives a little. On this
continuing resolution that passed out of this body, we took their
numbers. Compromise means you take a little bit from both sides. We
took 100 percent the numbers from the House, a $70 billion annualized
cut. That is what we took. So to people who keep saying we are not
negotiating, we did. As a matter of fact, we went much farther than
many of us wanted. We did it because we wanted to keep the government
open.
So let's not get fooled by some of the political speeches they are
making on the floor or over there, outside in the courtyard. We met
their annualized reductions--they wanted $70 billion--with this
continuing resolution. When they sent bills over here we have voted on
them. They have not prevailed on their side, but we have voted on them.
We sent the bill over there. It is sitting. We know by public
statements by many Republicans and Democrats over there, they are ready
to vote on this bill, a clean CR, continuing resolution, to keep the
government open.
What is amazing about this is we are debating this. What we should be
getting back to--I know the chairman of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, Senator Mikulski, would--as a member of the Appropriations
Committee we would like to get back to appropriations, annual bills.
Then we would not be in this start-and-stop deal that I think the
American people are fed up with, this manufactured crisis that a few
over in the House used to set us up in a situation where we create more
uncertainty in the family, more uncertainty with small businesses, more
uncertainty with individuals in the Federal Government on furlough.
Eighty percent of my staff is on furlough. Every day they are on
furlough I donate my salary. I am doing my part because we should not
be exempt from this situation. But at the same time we have to
recognize the impact it is having to our economy.
I get it; they are passionate about their view on the Affordable
Health Care Act. They do not like it, some of them over there. Some of
them also said we should work to fix it. I proposed multiple solutions
and ideas how we can move forward on that. But to hold up the economy,
hold up the budget over this issue is ridiculous. I don't like No Child
Left Behind. I hate it. For Alaska it doesn't work. It destroyed many
efforts in our rural communities. But to hold up the government over
that? I am going to work to fix it, and if I can't fix it I am going to
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vote against the reauthorization. That is the right that we have here.
But they are playing, as I called it last night, Russian roulette
economics, and the American people are on the back end. It is shameful.
We have to get back to doing what we should be doing, annualized
appropriations bills, create certainty in our economy, create certainty
in our government, focus on this economy that has moved, for 4 or 5
years now, from this recession, a great recession. It is a slow climb
out, but it is in the right direction. Let's keep it moving in that
direction with the right kind of policies.
In my State, winter is setting in. The Low-Income Housing Assistance
Program is critical for Alaskans who are living in areas where their
income is not able to purchase the energy they need to supply their
house with winter heat, and they depend on the Low-Income Housing
Assistance Program. It is not about some fluff program or some luxury
program. It is for them life or death. If you cannot heat your home in
Alaska when it is 30 below, you may not survive. It is that simple.
I said earlier I think the Members on the other side clearly
understand that we have to get the government running, and there are
Members on both sides who are ready to do that over there if the
Speaker would just put it on the table so people could vote on it. If
it fails, we go back to negotiations. My bet is it will not fail.
Because it passed here. People forget the cloture vote here, the vote
to move the bill forward here in the Senate passed 99 to 0. I am not
sure when that happened recently around this place, but we did it--
after great passionate speeches by some, but we did it. We debated it,
we moved the bill over because it was the right thing to do. Again,
reminding people, we met the House numbers. We didn't lift our numbers
up or down, we went all the way down to their number--$70 billion in
cuts in annualized savings--annualized cuts to the Federal budget on
this 6-week or so continuing resolution.
In Anchorage--a columnist just wrote about it--we estimate about
13,000 Federal workers are in some form impacted by this, laid off or
impacted because they are working longer hours with no pay.
I want to detail a couple of examples in Alaska where it is
impacting. Take this Federal worker who has now been furloughed. They
are in the midst of remodeling their home. I got this call. Everything
stopped. The contractors who are expecting to get paid are not getting
paid. The contractor working for the employee who was remodeling their
home--that will not happen because of the uncertainty. His comment was,
I thought, pretty clear: Life doesn't stop just because Congress says
you can't come to work anymore.
Life continues, and these costs pile up.
In my State, the Bering Sea crab fishery--many people see this on the
TV show the ``Deadliest Catch''--is worth about $80 million a year. The
amount of crab they can catch is determined by NOAA Fisheries and the
State of Alaska.
Crab season starts October 15. If they do not have these quotas set,
then making sure that the process is safe and the product is exactly
what people expect when they get it on their plate to eat or at the
grocery store--the problem is those employees are furloughed, so the
quota will not be set. As a result, the permits they need to catch the
crab will not happen, and the end result is a multimillion-dollar hit--
and not to some government employee.
I heard people criticize the bureaucrats. Well, not only are 1
million or so employees furloughed across this country, but now it is
affecting second and third options. In this case it is the crab
industry, which will affect people all over this country and people all
over the world. Again, we have delay after delay.
Alaska receives about $1.2 billion from the Federal payroll every
single year. A lengthy disruption will have an incredible fiscal impact
to our State and will trickle out because these folks travel. I see my
colleague from Washington State. We have lots of people who go to
Seattle, WA. They may not take that trip and spend in that economy
because they are afraid of what might happen with this stop-and-go
situation.
We are now about to move forward--after decades of waiting--on the
National Petroleum Reserve for oil and gas exploration. What does it
take? It is a Federal Reserve so it takes Federal permits. Without the
Federal permits, it cannot happen or it gets delayed, and it is costly.
When we look at the issues and the calls I have received, it is all
the way from an elder in the Artic Circle who said: Please, get the
people back to work. It has a direct impact, not only on Alaskans, but
on people all across this country.
There has been a lot of great debate. Yesterday, I saw a press
conference given by a small group of the minority over there who said
they were concerned about the National Institutes of Health. I am
concerned about the National Institutes of Health. I can tell you story
after story of how those medicines are critical for young people and
adults. What they failed to mention was the billions they have already
cut. They forgot that little detail. Amnesia is like a prerequisite for
some Members around here, and they forgot that little detail. It's
amazing to me.
I will mention again--because I believe the public has not heard this
enough because they say over there that we are not negotiating--we have
negotiated with them. We have taken their numbers and have gone down by
$70 billion in annualized cuts. We have taken them for this continuing
resolution. Every time they sent something over here, we voted on it.
They may not have liked the vote outcome, but we voted on it.
We sent one continuing resolution over there. We also have the farm
bill, the immigration bill, and the WRDA bill. It has not piled up over
there because they have not taken action. They would rather play party
politics and figure out what elections they can win or lose rather than
focus on what is important for the American people, and for my
constituency, specifically, in Alaska that I represent.
I hope we end this debate, get on with business, and re-open the
government. Let's negotiate. They have some ideas to fix the health
care act. I am happy to talk with them. I have several bills I have
introduced, but I never have heard from them over there. As a matter of
fact, I know they mentioned my name over there quite a bit. I have seen
it on TV. The House somehow recognizes that I have some influence, and
I do in some ways. If they want to have a conversation, I'm game. Pick
up the phone or walk across the Capitol.
Let's be real: The continuing resolution is about managing our budget
and putting people back to work so we can keep this economy moving and
get on with the big issues that we have to deal with. If they want to
fix the health care act, I am happy to sit down with Members. If they
want to move the immigration bill, I am happy to work with folks. We
can go through the list.
Let's not hold the American people hostage for a simple situation. If
they were to put it on the floor, it would pass. I would bet on it.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Murphy). The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, yesterday we had a hearing in the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, as the Presiding Officer knows. We had
testimony by Secretary Sherman as to the enforcement of sanctions
against Iran in order to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapon
state, which would be a game changer.
During the course of that hearing, it came out that as a result of
the government shutdown, we are not as effective as we could be. There
is always more that can be done in working with other countries, and
the shutdown is affecting our full preparedness for enforcing the
sanctions internationally against Iran.
One of my colleagues started to challenge the representative from the
State Department as to why they couldn't do more. Of course, it was the
Treasury Department's budget that was primarily affecting the attention
to this. The Secretary assured us that we are enforcing our sanctions.
Senator Kaine made the observation--and the right observation--don't
blame the administration; blame the Congress. It is the Congress that
has the responsibility to make sure the government is functioning with
all cylinders. This tea party shutdown is
[[Page S7181]]
jeopardizing our national security. It is not putting us where we
should be as far as taking care of the needs of the people of this
country.
I was on the floor a couple of days ago, and I quoted from the
Baltimore Sun as to the responsibility for the shutdown, and I'm going
to quote a little bit more from that article. It said:
It would be tempting, of course, to write that this
impasse--the inability to agree on the continuing resolution
to fund government past the end of the fiscal year--was the
fault of Democrats and Republicans alike. But that would be
like blaming the hostages for causing the perpetrator to put
a gun to their heads.
As President Obama noted, he and congressional Democrats
put forward no agenda other than keeping government operating
temporarily at the current levels.
I want to review how we got here on October 1. It was 6 months ago
that the Senate passed the budget. It was different than the House
budget. Then, we, the Democrats said: Let's go to conference. That is
what we should do, negotiate a budget, so that when it comes to October
1, we have a budget in place to fund government at the levels we agreed
to--Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans refused to go to
conference.
Fast forward to October 1. We didn't have a budget, and, therefore,
it was necessary to pass a continuing resolution. That is what you do.
When we can't pass a budget, we keep government operating at the
current levels until we can agree on a budget. So that is what we
decided to do, but we went further. The majority leader met with the
Speaker of the House, and rather than negotiating about what level we
thought should be in the continuing resolution--what the Democrats and
the Republicans thought--we went along with the lower number. We
negotiated the continuing resolution at the lower level, and that is
what we passed.
The Republicans in the House decided they would not go for that, and
they attached their changes in the health care system as a condition to
passing a continuing resolution. Make no mistake about it; it is a tea
party shutdown.
Now the Republicans are saying to us: Why aren't we negotiating?
Well, let me quote from this morning's editorial in the Baltimore Sun.
I think this morning's editorial really captures where we are as far as
negotiations. The headline says:
There is no room to ``negotiate'' when extremists take the
federal government hostage--and threaten to do the same to
the economy.
How can the tea partiers in the House expect to be offered
anything for doing the equivalent of strapping C-4 and a
detonator to their chests and holding the government hostage?
The editorial goes on to say:
Reward these tactics and you'll only see more of it in
Congress. And that's critically important given that the
stakes are about to rise. Should Republicans engage in
similar behavior with the debt ceiling, they risk not only
the health of the U.S. economy but the global economy. To
default on the debt--to refuse to pay bills already incurred
by the federal government--has the potential to pull the
nation back into recession and put thousands, if not
millions, of people out of work.
It is very clear: We have compromised, and the tea party Republicans
have shut down government. We can't negotiate with a gun to our head.
It reminds me of a football team that played a game and didn't like the
results, so they say: Let's just play that game all over.
Last Sunday the Baltimore Ravens didn't play a very good game. They
lost. They didn't say: Let's play that game over. They are going to be
here this weekend playing again and trying to improve their record.
I heard one of my colleagues use another sports analogy. He said we
could do a mulligan on ObamaCare. We are the big leagues. There are no
mulligans at the U.S. Open. There are no mulligans in golf. Let's use
the regular order.
Yes, we want to negotiate a budget for the next year, but we can't do
it with a gun at our head and say: Open government and pay our bills.
Then the Republicans are saying: Well, let's do this piecemeal. Why
don't we just take up small provisions.
This is another quote from this morning's Baltimore Sun:
Even the little fixes the GOP is offering is outrageous if
they slow down the return of a fully-funded government.
Reopening parks would be great, but what about cancer
patients denied treatment? And for every National Institutes
of Health reopened, what about the funding for inspectors
that are making sure our food isn't tainted, or intelligence
officers monitoring the next al-Qaida attack, or FDA
scientists reviewing the next miracle drug? It's impossible
to even keep track of all of the hardships the shutdown has
created, and why do so when the solution is at hand?
This shutdown is hard on our country. My colleagues have talked about
it. It has affected our welfare, it has put our Nation at risk, and it
has hurt our economy--including my own State of Maryland. Senator
Mikulski is here, and she will be speaking as chairman of the
Appropriations Committee. The State of Maryland loses $15 million every
day in our State economy.
We literally have over 100,000 workers who are on furlough and not
getting paid, and it is costing the taxpayers money. The last shutdown
in 1995 cost $2 billion. What a waste of taxpayers' resources.
Let us put an end to this tea party shutdown. Let us also assure
those who are on furlough that they will get paid. I have introduced
legislation in this regard. I believe the House is going to be passing
that legislation. Let's make it clear that our Federal workers--who
have endured 3 years of pay freezes, furloughs under sequestration, and
have been asked to do more with less--will be made whole when this
shutdown ends.
Let's put an end to the shutdown and make sure we pay our bills.
Let's meet together to work out a budget for the coming year, as we
should.
The tragedy here is that the votes are in the House of
Representatives to pass the Senate continuing resolution. If Speaker
Boehner would just vote on the resolution we sent over, the shutdown
would end and we could get on with the business of this Nation.
I yield the floor
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas
Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I intended to give remarks and then
promulgate a series of unanimous consent requests. However, the
majority leader requested, for purposes of scheduling, that I begin
with the unanimous consent requests, which I am happy to do to
accommodate his schedule. I ask that at the conclusion of these
unanimous consent requests, I be given 20 minutes to speak to lay out
the reasons why I believe the majority should cede to these unanimous
consent requests.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
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