[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22213-22214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PACKAGE

  Mr. DODD. Madam President, I want to take a minute and talk about the 
matter before the Senate, which is the economic recovery package, the 
stimulus package. I say to my colleagues here, and to others, that, 
again, this is one where the President --I know he is meeting with 
President Putin, and the subject matter is obviously the war against 
terrorism in central Asia. But it is also going to be very important in 
the prosecution of that war that we convey to the American public our 
deep concern about the present condition of our economy, and that there 
is clearly a recession.
  The unemployment numbers are getting worse. Last month we had the 
highest increase in unemployment in 20 years. There is every indication 
that this economic downturn will be with us for some time. We have seen 
a staggering number of people lose their jobs, particularly at the 
lower end of the economic spectrum. I hope the President will be asking 
us to extend unemployment benefits for these people who have lost their 
jobs. First of all, it is a wonderful way to provide some stimulation 
because these are dollars that

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must be spent. The people on unemployment don't have the luxury, having 
lost their jobs, of opening up a savings account. They are trying to 
provide for their needs on a daily basis. Those extended unemployment 
benefits are dollars that end up in the marketplace. If demand is one 
of the issues --and I believe it is, based on the economists who have 
shared their thoughts with us--then clearly those who would receive 
these unemployment benefits are going to contribute to stimulating the 
economy.
  Providing health care benefits--again, none of us subscribes to the 
notion that people who are unemployed or lose their jobs are anywhere 
near as much a victim as those victims on September 11, at the World 
Trade Center, or the Pentagon, or aboard that airplane in Pennsylvania. 
But they are all victims.
  We know that what happened on September 11 contributed to the 
economic difficulties that existed on September 10. We know, for 
instance, that airline travel is down some 20, 30 percent. We know, as 
a result of that, the hotel industry and the restaurant industry--
which, by the way, are the largest employers in America; some 17 
million people work in the service industries these are the ones who 
have been hit immediately. And the people who set tables, who wash 
dishes, wait on tables, who clean hotel rooms, who work in some of the 
more difficult and lower paying jobs in the country have lost their 
work. These are family members, heads of families, and they are out 
there wondering whether or not the next job is going to be available 
for them. So they are, in a sense, victims because, clearly, the events 
of September 11 have impacted their lives.
  Many of us are suggesting as part of this economic package that we 
include extending unemployment benefits and health care, and we say to 
those people and their families that we wish we could provide you with 
a job tomorrow. We can't. We wish we could produce one for you 
immediately. We can't do that. But we can reach out to you and say 
during the next number of weeks we are going to provide extended 
unemployment benefits to you and see to it that States get back some 
dollars from Medicaid and the COBRA program, so you can have health 
care coverage during this time of difficulty. I don't think that is an 
exaggerated or excessive request. I hoped, frankly, that the request 
would be made of us to do this, rather than we making a request of the 
President and others to support this.
  This is America. We are coming together as a people. Everybody who is 
hurt and has suffered as a result of these tragic events deserves an 
extended hand to try to see if we can't lift them up.
  I was so impressed yesterday while watching the film clips of the 
people in New York. Average citizens were racing to help the firemen, 
helping to extend the hoses to try to put out the fires in the 
communities that were devastated by the downed aircraft. What a 
wonderful photograph, in a sense, during a time of tragedy. Average 
citizens--not firemen or policemen but people in civilian clothes--were 
running along the streets, grabbing firehoses and helping the 
departments reach the flames to try to save lives and property. That is 
my America. That is the America I know.
  I want to see my Congress and my national leadership be as those 
people in the streets of Queens yesterday who were racing along to help 
out during a time of tragedy. That is what this economic package we 
have crafted tries to do. It is short term, it is focused, it is 
fiscally responsible, and it tries to help people who are suffering. 
That is all we are trying to do--give a tax rebate, a tax cut for the 
folks who didn't get it last spring so they might have additional 
dollars in their pockets to provide for family needs, and to see to it 
that we might invest some dollars as well in hardening up our 
infrastructure in the country.
  Put aside September 11 for a minute. How many times have we heard 
over the last number of years that if you don't maintain the basic 
infrastructure of your country--roads, bridges, mass transit systems--
economic growth suffers? So this bill will also include some dollars to 
try to harden up this infrastructure so we will be better prepared to 
withstand the kinds of terrorist attacks that could occur that would 
put those pieces of infrastructure in harm's way. This bill will 
provide some resources for that. Of course, it puts people to work. 
Imagine that; we might put some people to work by passing this bill.
  That is basically the package. It is designed to provide unemployment 
benefits, health care benefits, dollars for infrastructure, and a tax 
cut for people who did not get one so they might not only get a break 
themselves but also contribute to the demand side of the equation which 
is necessary if this economic stimulus package is going to provide 
additional lift during this time of difficulty.
  I hope in these next couple of days we can come together. We have 
done it before in the last few weeks. These are not excessive requests. 
This is a fiscally responsible plan. We have done so much in the last 
10 years to put our economy on a footing that none of us imagined would 
ever be the case: that we would actually be in a situation where we 
would be talking about eliminating the national debt if we wanted.
  How many of us have seen those clocks in almost every city that 
rapidly show the increase of the national debt? Yet over the last 10 
years as the result of some very fine leadership in Congress, by the 
Federal Reserve, and obviously the White House, we were able to make a 
difference to put this country on a path many people thought we could 
not get on again.
  As we talk about an economic recovery package, it must be fiscally 
responsible. If we are going to spend ourselves once again into huge 
debt, I cannot imagine anything more that Osama bin Laden or his 
supporters would like to see than us not only weakened from their 
attacks on September 11 but that we would weaken our economy either 
because we made excessive tax cuts or spending additions that were 
unwise.
  As most Americans, I am stunned. I represent the most affluent State 
in the country, and certainly many of my constituents would benefit 
directly. They are some of the top income earners in the country. I do 
not hear my constituents talking about the need for a $1.3 million tax 
break for IBM or the Ford Motor Company as a result of repealing the 
alternative minimum tax.
  Where is the sense of contribution? Are they like the people in the 
streets of Queens running and dragging those hoses along to help put 
out the fires, somebody who is probably making $20,000 or $30,000? Some 
of them are retired. They were racing along to help stop a fire. How 
about that coming out of the top income earners in the country to help 
put out the fire in a sense? That is all we are asking.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has consumed 10 minutes.
  Mr. DODD. I thank the Chair. I will wrap up by saying I hope we can 
find some common ground this week and do what the American public 
expects of us. I would so much love to hear my President ask me to 
extend these unemployment benefits and provide health care. Presidents 
in the past have done it.
  This President is doing a wonderful job in the battle in central 
Asia. All of us appreciate his work and the work of his team. I know he 
is occupied with that now, but we also would like him to appreciate the 
battle going on at home.
  Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. In my capacity as a Senator from the State of 
New York, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be 
rescinded.
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

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