[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HOPE FOR CHILDREN ACT--Continued

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 622) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 to expand the adoption credit, and for other purposes.

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I understand under the unanimous consent 
request I am to be recognized, but the distinguished Senator from 
Illinois and the distinguished Senator from Oregon are here, and I ask 
unanimous consent it be in order first to recognize the distinguished 
Senator from Illinois for 2 minutes, then the distinguished Senator 
from Oregon for 1 minute, and the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma, 
the Republican assistant leader, for 30 seconds, and then we revert 
back to my original time.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the several 
requests?
  There being no objection, the requests are agreed to.
  The Senator from Illinois.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.


                Amendment No. 2714 to amendment No. 2698

   (Purpose: To provide enhanced unemployment compensation benefits)

  Mr. DURBIN. Pursuant to an earlier unanimous consent request, I am 
sending to the desk an amendment being offered by me on behalf of the 
majority leader.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Illinois [Mr. Durbin], for himself, Mr. 
     Wellstone, Mr. Dayton, Ms. Landrieu, and Mrs. Lincoln, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 2714.

  Mr. DURBIN. I ask unanimous consent reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under 
``Amendments Submitted.'')
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this is part of the economic stimulus 
package. It is an amendment agreed to by both sides, Democrats and 
Republicans, to extend the unemployment insurance benefits to those 
States which will provide protection, expanded coverage for part-time 
workers who otherwise would not be eligible for unemployment 
compensation, and expand coverage to low-wage and recent hires who are 
also out of work and cannot be covered by unemployment. It also 
increases benefit levels under unemployment compensation by 15 percent 
or $25 per week, whichever is greater. These proposals are temporary. 
All of the funding comes from Federal funding sources from the 
unemployment insurance fund. The amendment costs about $15 billion in 
one year, but it will provide direct, immediate relief to unemployed 
people across America. When we return next Tuesday, I will speak to 
this amendment at length.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting it on a bipartisan 
basis.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I thank the chairman of the 
Judiciary Committee for allowing me a minute to simply notify the 
Senate that I will redo my amendment and try to get 60 votes. It will 
come back and be filed later today. It will have a 2-year time period 
beginning January 1 of this year and going for 2 years, with a 30-
percent depreciation bonus, and it will also specifically include the 
motion picture industry so that they can have the advantage of this 
stimulus as well.
  I think it is critical we do what the the Senator from Illinois is 
talking about, and it is also critical we do something that is actually 
stimulatory of the economy. Two years is the absolute minimum, if we 
are serious about this part of the stimulus bill.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. Nickles.
  Mr. NICKLES. I ask unanimous consent that it be in order I ask for 
the yeas and nay on amendment No. 2698.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection to the request that it 
be in order?
  Mr. LEAHY. Reserving the right to object--I understand there is no 
objection.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second. The yeas and nays are ordered.
  Mr. NICKLES. I thank my colleague.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Is the Senator from Vermont correct that following my 
statement the distinguished senior Senator from Utah is to be 
recognized?
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. That is correct.

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