[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22964-22965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    UPON RETURNING FROM THANKSGIVING

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, last week, as I was celebrating 
Thanksgiving with my family, I was reminded of the history of the 
holiday. We often forget that Thanksgiving was not always a feast of 
abundance.
  The Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving, in 1621, didn't begin with plates 
full of turkey and vegetables, but with five small kernels of corn at 
each setting. For the Pilgrims, it served as a stark reminder of the 
hardship, struggle, and starvation they had suffered the previous 
winter.
  It wasn't until 1863 that we had our first national Thanksgiving. In 
the autumn of that year--at the height of the Civil War--Abraham 
Lincoln proclaimed a national day not to honor abundance, but to 
remember ``all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or 
sufferers.''
  And so, to me, this Thanksgiving came closer to the original meaning 
of the day: a day to remember, in the

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midst of hardship, that we have so much to for which to be thankful. A 
day to remember, in the midst of comfort, the many who are suffering.
  In the last 2 weeks, I have been asked by many people and many of my 
colleagues what the Senate intends to do before the end of the year.
  There are a number of things I would like to get done, but I believe 
that nothing we do here in the Senate is more important than helping 
those who are suffering, and passing an economic recovery plan.
  Last month, we saw the largest jump in the unemployment rate in 21 
years.
  Yesterday, a panel of economists announced that our Nation has 
officially entered a recession.
  For the more than 7 million Americans who are out of work, this 
Thanksgiving was a time of uncertainty.
  For all Americans, this has been a season of deep concern about 
threats to our safety.
  America needs an economic recovery plan that lifts our economy, 
secures our Nation, and remembers those who are suffering.
  It is time for us to renew our efforts to pass such a plan.
  In the weeks following the September 11 attacks, Democrats and 
Republicans in both the House and the Senate asked the experts: ``What 
are the most effective steps we can take to shore up our economy?''
  Here is what they told us: Put money into the hands of low- and 
middle-income workers; they are the ones who will spend it quickly. 
Make sure that workers who have lost their jobs receive unemployment 
benefits. And cut taxes for businesses--but limit the tax cuts to those 
businesses that actually help create jobs.
  They told us that any plan to stimulate the economy should help 
people regain the sense of security they need to shop, travel, and 
invest.
  Finally, they said our plan must be affordable, and temporary.
  Based on those conversations, the House and Senate budget committees 
agreed to four principles that should underpin any economic stimulus 
measure we pass.
  With their principles as our foundation, and those discussions as our 
guide, we began negotiations on how best to help our economy recover.
  Unfortunately, Republican leaders in the House chose to withdraw from 
that effort.
  Instead, they pushed through--on a party line vote--a bill that is 
not a recovery bill at all, but merely another laundry list of tax 
cuts--with the lion's share going to profitable businesses and wealthy 
individuals.
  It includes next to nothing for laid-off workers--the very people who 
most need our help. And, with an exploding price tag, it runs the risk 
of actually hurting our economy in the long term.
  In the Senate, we sought a better approach. Even after Republicans in 
the House walked away from the negotiations, Senator Baucus continued 
to call for bipartisan meetings on the Senate side. In the end, he and 
his staff held nearly a dozen of them.
  He put together a serious bill that: extends unemployment benefits 
and health care coverage for unemployed workers; cuts taxes for 
families who didn't get a rebate as part of the tax cut passed earlier 
this year; cuts taxes and for businesses that will invest and create 
jobs; and, with provisions authored by our distinguished chairman of 
the Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd, strengthens our homeland 
security with investments in things like infrastructure security and 
bioterrorism preparedness.
  The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, that bill was killed by a budget 
point of order--a procedural technicality which said that what we are 
facing is not an emergency.
  Republicans said they opposed our economic recovery plan because the 
bill contained too much spending.
  Democrats feel strongly that homeland security provisions should be a 
part of any economic recovery package.
  These measures not only make important investments to secure our food 
and water supply, ports, bridges, tunnels, as well as our stockpile of 
antibiotics and vaccines. They also give people the sense of confidence 
they need to shop, travel, and invest.
  The past couple of weeks have reminded us again about the importance 
of homeland security. We have seen another anthrax death, this time in 
Connecticut, and the FBI found an anthrax-tainted letter sent to 
Senator Leahy. The President's Director of Homeland Security, Tom 
Ridge, has indicated that billions in additional funds are needed to 
make America safer. In fact, it was reported that, in the wake of 
September 11, Federal agencies have asked the White House for $127 
billion more to recover from that assault and beef up security 
according to David Broder in Sunday's Washington Post.
  Defending against anthrax, making our infrastructure safer, 
protecting our water supply--these things are not pork. They are 
necessary goals, and an important part of any stimulus package.
  But despite my commitment to the homeland security provisions, I have 
indicated my willingness to negotiate them separately in the name of 
reaching an agreement.
  That idea was rejected.
  We also offered to debate only the economic recovery component, if 
Republicans would allow us an up or down vote on homeland security as 
an amendment to the DOD appropriations bill.
  That proposal was also rejected. That was 2 weeks ago. And since 
then, I have heard nothing.
  We are at the table, ready to negotiate. It is time for Republicans 
to get serious about reaching a compromise, and come join us at the 
negotiating table. This is not time to play politics with our economy 
and our security.
  In the meantime, perhaps our Republican colleagues would find it less 
objectionable if we consider, individually, the components of our plan 
on which we are all agreed. I will ask unanimous consent at a later 
time to bring up just the part of our plan that helps laidoff workers.
  Extending unemployment insurance is more than the right thing to do, 
it is the smart thing to do. It puts money into the hands of people who 
are most likely to spend it immediately. As Robert Rubin has said, 
unemployment insurance is ``a near-perfect stimulus.''
  During the first Bush administration, when we were facing a 
recession, Democrats and Republicans agreed to extend unemployment 
insurance four times. I believe we can agree to do the same now.
  Everyone in this body has said that they want to help the workers. 
But the voices of delay always claim they want to help the workers.
  If you want to help the workers, you will have an opportunity to do 
so today.
  In the days ahead, we can continue our work to protect America's 
families from terrorism, and discuss what kinds of tax cuts will be 
most effective in helping the economy.
  But when we talk about helping the hardest hit, we need to realize 
that the people we are talking about don't have unlimited savings. The 
holidays are fast approaching, and this delay is a luxury they 
literally cannot afford.
  Our Republican colleagues have a new mantra. They say, ``We need 
paychecks, not unemployment checks.''
  I think they should talk to some laidoff workers. Yes, they need a 
paycheck. And like most hard-working Americans, they don't want the 
Government to do anything for them that they can do for themselves. But 
right now, many of them need just a little help to make it through one 
of the most difficult times in their lives.
  As we return from Thanksgiving, we have an opportunity to honor the 
true meaning of the holiday--to remember those left behind and left 
out, to lift those who are suffering, and to make our Nation--this land 
for which we are all so thankful--even stronger in the future.
  So when people ask me what the Senate intends to do in the next 
couple of weeks, that is my answer, and that is my goal.




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