[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20905-20906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     WAR ON TERROR AND THE ECONOMY

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the situation in 
the war on terror. I listened to the debate last night, and I heard the 
candidate from the other side of the aisle talk about what a mess 
things were, how terrible everything was, how terrible things are in 
Afghanistan. Afghanistan is on the verge of having elections. Ten 
million Afghanis have registered to vote in spite of threats.
  The Vice President made a compelling case talking about El Salvador. 
People thought that democracy would never flourish. Yet because of the 
desire for democracy and the opportunity to vote, we have seen matters 
turn around.
  I had the opportunity to be with the President of El Salvador and the 
Presidents of other Central American countries at a breakfast. We have 
democracy in Central America. The lure of democracy is so powerful.
  I was listening to the distinguished minority leader, and he made 
references to the Great Depression, references to the economic 
situation today in analogy to the Great Depression.
  The President has made it clear: As long as any American does not 
have employment, we have to do better. But the reality is so far from 
the Great Depression. Some people must walk around and see us 
surrounded in darkness. In 1996, when Bill Clinton was running for 
reelection, the January to August average unemployment at this time, 
where we stand today, was 5.5 percent. It is 5.6 percent today. The 
unemployment rate for African Americans during that same period, the 
first- term average of President Clinton was 11.3 percent. It is 9.9 
percent today. The unemployment rate for Hispanics during the first 
term of President Clinton was 9.7 percent. It is 7.2 percent today. 
America's standard of living is on the rise. Real after-tax incomes are 
up nearly 10 percent since December 2000,

[[Page 20906]]

substantially better than the comparable time period in the previous 
business cycle. Consumer confidence continues to be substantially high. 
The national home ownership rate was at an alltime high. Minority 
ownership has set a new record of 51 percent in the second quarter and 
is up 2.1 percentage points from a year ago. Core inflation remains 
low. Mortgage rates remain at historic lows.
  There are challenges in this economy, but to draw a comparison to the 
Great Depression is a little excessive. The reality is, we do have 
things to do. But I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: 
Set us free. Let's get an energy bill passed, an energy bill that had 
44 Republicans voting for it, 13 Democrats. The reality is that if the 
minority leader wanted to get this done, it could get done.
  I represent the State of Minnesota. We are neighbors of the folks in 
South Dakota. I know they want an energy bill. Within that energy bill 
is a renewable fuels standards that would double the production of 
ethanol and will bring to life the soybean biodiesel industry, a great 
opportunity for our communities. If you want to grow jobs, get an 
energy bill passed. Give us the number of votes we need to get through 
cloture.
  Let us have class action reform. We came within a few votes of 
getting that done. You want to grow jobs, talk to the manufacturers in 
this country, talk to the small business people. They will tell you 
what they need. They need class action reform. Our friends on the other 
side won't give it to us.
  We need asbestos reform. We need medical malpractice reform. We 
couldn't even get welfare reform done. Again, those on the other side 
of the aisle were filibustering, saying: We will not allow it to 
happen. There is no work requirement today in welfare, if the welfare 
reform change that was previously passed expires.
  We have a lot of work to do. There is a plan and a vision out there. 
The vision is to make American business competitive with businesses all 
over the world. We do that by cutting taxes. We don't do that by 
raising the tax on small businesses, many of which are subchapter S 
corporations or sole proprietorships that pay taxes at the rate of the 
highest level. They pay more than large corporations pay. Yet my 
friends on the other side of the aisle talk about rolling back that tax 
cut, which would have a devastating effect on small business.
  In Minnesota we sometimes talk about the Scandinavian who loved his 
wife so much he almost told her. As I listened to the distinguished 
minority leader, I got this sense that folks care so much they will 
almost do something.
  We have a path to do something. It lies through an energy bill. It 
lies through medical malpractice reform. It lies through class action 
reform. It lies through getting the FSC/ETI JOBS bill through. Right 
now American manufacturers are paying a double-digit tax, in effect, 
because of a WTO violation.
  We can lower that. We can change it. Instead, we find it blocked. No, 
it is not the Great Depression. There is more work to be done. There is 
a path, but the path doesn't lie with obstruction. I know the people of 
Minnesota and of South Dakota need an energy bill, and they want one.
  In the last few minutes I have, because I want to give some time to 
my friend and colleague, the Senator from Pennsylvania, I want to talk 
a little about what is happening in the war on terror and in Iraq.
  This week, the forces of freedom won a major battle. We reclaimed the 
city of Samarra. We reclaimed it by working with the 5,000-member joint 
force of Americans and Iraqis liberating that city from insurgents and 
foreign fighters. The fact is that we are not out there by ourselves, 
and the reality is that we need the Iraqis to step forward, and they 
are doing so. Yet the Prime Minister of Iraq came here and addressed a 
joint session of this body and the House. He then was disparaged by the 
Democratic nominee for President; the Iraqi sacrifice was disparaged.
  Last night, we heard the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate 
simply dismiss the sacrifice of our strongest ally. We are not in this 
alone. We are not going to win it alone. But we can win it. We are not 
going to win it if we take an attitude that it is simply a diversion, 
if we take an attitude that things are so messed up that nothing will 
come together. We are not going to win it with folks who don't have the 
resolve to see this through or have the consistency to say, yes, it is 
a good thing that Saddam is no longer in power. We are not going to win 
by dismissing the contributions of our allies--the Polish, the English, 
the Italians, the Salvadorans, and on and on. We are not going to win 
it if we dismiss the sacrifice of the Iraqi people. We need them to 
step forward. We saw in Samarra what happens when you come together: 
You can liberate a city from insurgents.
  Mr. President, we have a lot of work to do. The situation is not 
perfect, but we can get it done with the leadership of this President.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, how much time is remaining?
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. There is 1 minute remaining.

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