[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 11, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1492-S1493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             GLOBAL WARMING

  Mr. President, our friends on the other side who run the Senate spent 
a lot of time talking last night. I am not sure what any of it 
accomplished. The reviews seem to be pretty terrible. The AP dubbed the 
talk-athon a lot of hot air about a lot of hot air and said the 
speeches were little more than theatrics.
  Maybe, as some speculate, Senate Democrats were just trying to please 
the left-coast billionaire who plans to finance so many of their 
campaigns.
  The talking Senators didn't really introduce any new legislation. I 
didn't hear the talking Senators announce votes on bills already 
pending before the Senate. They basically just talked and talked and 
tossed out political attacks at a party that doesn't even control the 
Democratic-run Senate.
  No wonder the American people have such a low opinion of Congress.
  The so-called talk-athon perfectly illustrated something else too--
the emptiness of today's Washington Democratic majority.
  I remember a time when Democrats could say with some legitimacy that 
they were the party for working people. Those days seem to be receding 
further and further into the rearview mirror. Because whether it is 
addressing the opportunity gap in the ObamaCare economy or building the 
Keystone Pipeline or last night's whatever that was, Washington 
Democrats keep opting for the empty political stunt over the 
reasonable, substantive solutions for the middle class.
  Here is the thing: We need two serious political parties in this 
country debating serious ideas. When we see Washington Democrats 
throwing seriousness out the window like this, it is bad for everybody. 
If Washington Democrats are actually serious about all of the talk last 
night, they should follow it with action. The Democrats control the 
Senate. Bring up, bring up the cap-and-tax bill and let's have a 
debate, put it on the agenda, and let's debate it.
  As the AP noted, despite all of the bravado, Democratic leaders made 
it clear they have no plan to bring a Democratic climate bill to the 
floor this year. So what was all the talking about?
  Our friends on the other side set up the agenda. Call up the bill. 
The reason they won't isn't because of obstructionism or whatever else 
they might want to claim. It is because too many Members of their own 
party would vote against it.
  Remember, Washington Democrats couldn't even pass that bill when they 
controlled the Senate with a filibuster-proof majority back in 2009 or 
2010. More importantly, the American people don't want a national 
energy tax that would make their utility bills even higher than they 
already are.
  Look. Americans have widely differing opinions about how Washington 
should be approaching environmental policy. That much is very clear. 
But one thing we should all be able to agree upon is this: Imposing 
massive restrictions upon our own economy, devastating the lives of our 
own mining

[[Page S1493]]

families, and imposing higher energy bills on our own seniors makes 
about zero sense, while huge carbon emitters such as China and India 
continue to ramp up energy consumption.
  Global carbon emissions would hardly be affected anyway, but millions 
of lives here certainly would be. The American middle class would be 
deeply and adversely affected.
  Left, right, and center, we should all be able to agree this is 
simply nonsensical. What we should all be working for is an ``all of 
the above'' energy strategy that will utilize more of our domestic 
resources to create jobs and meet America's energy needs. It is a smart 
and focused approach that accommodates both our economy and our 
environment, and it is one that Republicans strongly support and 
Democrats should as well.
  Democrats should also work with us to pass the legislation that would 
allow Congress to actually vote on environmental regulation to ensure 
Washington's rules strike the right balance between protecting the 
environment and creating jobs. That legislation is so important to my 
home State of Kentucky.
  Case in point. I spent this past weekend with hundreds of coal miners 
and their families at a rally in eastern Kentucky, and I heard from 
them how the administration's war on coal is hurting so many who 
struggle every day just to get by. It is a war that is taking away hope 
and destroying jobs.
  Let's be honest. The most immediate crisis in the Obama era is the 
jobs crisis--the jobs crisis. It always has been. If only our friends 
on the other side were willing to talk a little less and work with us a 
little more. There is so much we could get done on that front. There is 
so much we could be doing to create jobs and grow the middle class 
today. We could build a Keystone Pipeline that would create thousands 
of American jobs right away. We could increase U.S. exports and expand 
American jobs with trade legislation. We could reform our tax and 
regulatory structures to free small businesses so they can grow and 
hire and enrich their communities. And we could pass the dozens of 
House-passed jobs bills just sitting on the majority leader's desk--so 
many that even House Democrats are starting to complain. These are the 
kinds of things we could get done once Washington Democrats show they 
are ready to work with us.
  Talk is cheap. We know that. And America's middle class is tired of 
all the talk. They want action. Let's provide it on jobs.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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