[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20688-20689]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the debate last week between Senator Kerry 
and President Bush marked a milestone in this campaign. Some 65 million 
Americans tuned in to this debate, which is an extraordinary number, 
more than tune in to such popular television shows as the Oscars. 
Certainly, we believe that Presidential debates serve that audience 
even more.
  It was an important debate because it signaled the beginning of the 
real campaign. Despite all the time, effort, and money, it appears that 
a large group of American voters are waiting to these closing weeks, 
listening closely to the candidates, to make the decision about how 
they will vote on November 2, one of the most historic elections we 
have witnessed in recent times.
  The debate come Friday night is going to be equally, if not more, 
important. We will move from the critical issue of national security 
and foreign policy to issues of great importance related to the 
domestic situation in America: How are things going for America's 
individuals and families and businesses?
  We believe, as we look at the record, that the choice is going to be 
very clear. We will use the same matrix, the same measure President 
Ronald Reagan used when he ran for President, when he asked very 
bluntly: Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?
  When it comes to the domestic issues, we believe there is a 
compelling case and a compelling argument that America is not better 
off today than it was 4 years ago when President George W. Bush was 
sworn in. The numbers speak for themselves. This President will have 
lost more jobs as President than any President in the history of the 
United States since Herbert Hoover.
  I have to explain for those not old enough that Herbert Hoover's 
Presidency was a disaster. It was the Great Depression. America saw 
more suffering from families and businesses in that period of time than 
at any time in that whole era, and now we have a President who came to 
office, George Bush, saying, give me a chance with my economic policy, 
and by every objective standard the President's economic policies have 
failed. They have failed to create jobs. We have seen an exodus of 
good-paying jobs. In my State, 160,000 manufacturing jobs have been 
lost. Some have been replaced, but virtually every single replacement 
job pays less, offers fewer, if any, benefits, and families find 
themselves falling behind.
  Look at the national numbers. Consider what has happened. We have 
seen median household income across America decline by 3.4 percent 
under President Bush. That means the earning power of American families 
has gone down under Bush's economic policies while the costs of living 
have gone up. Gasoline prices are up 22 percent over when the President 
was elected, college tuition at public 4-year institutions up 28 
percent, and family health care premiums up 45 percent. This is a back-
breaking statistic because individual families cannot afford to go 
without health care insurance protection, and yet the cost goes up 
every year. It becomes increasingly expensive and less coverage is 
offered.
  What has the Bush administration done to help working families deal 
with these increased costs of living? Virtually nothing. They have 
offered tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America, with the blind 
faith that if the richest people in America are given more money, 
somehow working Americans and middle-income Americans will prosper. It 
has failed. It has not worked. The debate on Friday night will focus on 
that.
  President Bush will be held accountable not just for the situation in 
Iraq and the standing of the United States in the world but in terms of 
what he has done or failed to do for families. Listen to what has 
happened since President Bush has taken office: 1.6 million private 
sector jobs have been lost; 5.2 million more Americans have no health 
insurance. Since President Bush has been President, 5 million Americans 
have lost their health insurance, and 4.3 million Americans have 
descended into poverty. They were above the poverty line when President 
Bush came in. His economic policies have driven them below.
  Household debt has risen $2.3 billion as families borrow more money 
to try to keep up with the costs. Personal bankruptcies have hit a 
record high. The S&P 500 has dropped 15 percent, decimating retirement 
savings of families across the board. The No Child Left Behind Program 
has not been funded, shortchanged by billions of dollars. There has 
been $500 billion taken out of the Social Security trust fund, and keep 
this in mind: When President Bush took office, we had a $236 billion 
surplus. Today, we have a $422 billion deficit. In fact, some argue, 
including my colleague from Illinois, that it is almost $700 billion 
when the Social Security trust fund that has been raided is added in.
  This President, a so-called fiscal conservative, has driven us more 
deeply in debt than any President in our history, has lost more jobs 
than any President in 70 years. How will he answer the most basic 
question: Is America better off today than it was 4 years ago? By every 
objective measurable standard, when it comes to the comfort and hope of 
American families, the Bush administration has failed time and time 
again. They have a foreign policy which has put us in a situation in 
Iraq with no end in sight. They have an economic policy giving tax cuts 
to wealthy people, which has no sensitivity to the struggles working 
families are facing.
  So how are the constituents of President Bush doing, what he calls 
his base, the wealthiest people in America? Pretty well. HMO profits 
are up 84 percent, CEO compensation up 20 percent, corporate profits up 
15.3 percent. They are doing great on Wall Street but not too great on 
Main Street, and that is what the issue is going to be in St. Louis at 
Washington University on Friday night when Senator Kerry faces 
President Bush in a townhall meeting, where families from across the 
Midwest can ask the questions on their mind. These are the questions 
they will ask because they reflect the reality of family life in 
America.
  The President promised us compassionate conservatism. He has failed 
when it comes to conservatism, as we have record historic deficits. He 
has certainly failed when it comes to compassion, as he has not 
addressed the most basic issues: making certain families have good 
jobs, that they have health insurance to cover them in times of need, 
that they can afford the college tuition so their kids can have a 
better life than they have had. These are the issues we are going to 
face.
  What will we do in the Senate after we have considered this important 
bill on intelligence? We will go to a tax bill which is now in 
conference, which is

[[Page 20689]]

larded up with some of the worst special interest favors we have seen 
in the history of this Senate. That is the best this Republican-led 
Senate can do, is come up with that kind of a bill at the end to give 
away literally tens of billions of dollars in a deficit economy to 
special interest groups again in Washington.
  What will we do in this tax bill to help working families and small 
businesses pay for health insurance? Absolutely nothing. What will we 
do to stop good-paying jobs, manufacturing jobs, from being outsourced 
to other countries? Scarcely anything. Very little. It shows where the 
Republican priorities are on Capitol Hill and where the Republican 
priorities are in the White House, and it shows the clear choice that 
American voters are going to face on November 2.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). The majority leader.

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