[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4095-4147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET FOR THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 
                                  2005

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of S. Con Res. 95, which the clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 95) setting forth the 
     congressional budget for the United States Government for 
     fiscal year 2005 and including the appropriate budgetary 
     levels for fiscal years 2006 through 2009.

  Pending:

       Corzine amendment No. 2777, to eliminate tax breaks for 
     those with incomes greater than $1 million and reserve the 
     savings to prevent future cuts in Social Security benefits.

  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the pending 
amendment be laid aside.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I have yet 
to have a chance to review the amendment of the Senator from 
California. I object at this point and I expect in the near future I 
will be happy to accommodate our friend. She can begin her debate and 
maybe that will help clarify the intention of her amendment.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I appreciate that. I am so sorry. I was 
sure Senator Nickles had seen this amendment. I don't think there is 
anything surprising. It is essentially a jobs amendment, initiatives 
that have been introduced by other Senators. We packaged it in one 
package.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator from California seek time 
from the manager on your side for proceeding?
  Mrs. BOXER. I ask Senator Conrad if he wants me to take time by 
discussing Senator Corzine's amendment and making other remarks or take 
time off the managers' time? Either way he wants it.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Chair. How much time would the Senator need?
  Mrs. BOXER. I was hopeful, when I spoke last night, that I could have 
20 to 30 minutes for the entire amendment. That would be fine for me.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. Chairman, might we agree to a time on her amendment 
of 30 minutes equally divided?
  Mrs. BOXER. No, no, 30 minutes on my side, or 20 minutes on my side.
  Mr. CONRAD. Then 40 minutes equally divided? Is that what the Senator 
is seeking?
  Mrs. BOXER. No, 20 minutes a side.
  Mr. CONRAD. Yes, 40 minutes equally divided.
  Mr. NICKLES. I still haven't reviewed the amendment. I will do this: 
I tell my colleague I am happy to enter into time agreements on a lot 
of amendments but I will state I want to see the amendments first. I 
know there is a whole package of amendments. I suggest we go under the 
assumption it will be that. I will grant you that in just a moment.
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield 20 minutes to the Senator from California at this 
point, just for her side.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is recognized for 20 minutes.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank my colleague very much. I have been looking 
forward to offering this amendment. I hope at the appropriate moment in 
time I will be able to send it to the desk.
  Mr. President, if you were to go out all over this country and ask 
most of our constituents from every State in the Union what is on their 
minds, they

[[Page 4096]]

are going to say it is the economy; it is jobs; it is their security. 
In this particular budget we should do much more to ensure that jobs 
are created and that our families are protected. So what we do in this 
amendment, which we pay for, is a number of initiatives which will help 
us create and retain jobs in this great country.
  First of all, I want to give my colleagues a sense of why this is so 
important. The amendment I am offering is cosponsored by Senators 
Daschle, Sarbanes, Clinton, Schumer, Kennedy, Kohl, Durbin, Levin and 
Dodd. I see Senator Kohl is here. I am hopeful he will want to make a 
few comments as well.
  Let me paint a picture of where we are. I think the best way to do it 
is just show a series of charts, that are very clear:

       Private sector jobs decline: Three million jobs lost since 
     January 2001.

  We see the incredible graph that just shows, essentially, almost a 
straight line down. We did see in February we had a little increase of 
21,000 jobs, as I understand it, in the public sector. There is very 
little in the private sector.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, will the Senator from California yield?
  Mrs. BOXER. I will if I can reserve the remainder of my time.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, we have entered into a time agreement 
where the total time consumed on the Boxer amendment will be 20 minutes 
equally divided.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection? Without objection, it 
is so ordered.


                           Amendment No. 2783

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the 
Corzine amendment and send my amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from California [Mrs. Boxer], for herself and 
     Mr. Daschle, Mr. Sarbanes, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Schumer, Mr. 
     Kennedy, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Dodd, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 2783.

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To create jobs, to discourage the shipping of jobs overseas, 
 and provide adjustment assistance for dislocated workers, by changing 
the tax treatment of certain income from runaway plants and by reducing 
   tax breaks for individuals with incomes in excess of one million 
      dollars per year, without affecting middle-class taxpayers)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $16,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $8,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $16,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $24,000,000,000.
       At the end of title II, insert the following:

     SEC.   . RESERVE FUND FOR JOB CREATION.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $24,000,000,000 over 
     the total of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 for a bill, joint 
     resolution, motion, amendment, or conference report that 
     would provide resources for job creation, discourage 
     outsourcing of jobs, provide a tax credit for the creation of 
     new manufacturing jobs in the United States, provide small 
     businesses with a tax credit for health care coverage, 
     restore funding to the Manufacturing Extension Program and to 
     the Advanced Technology Partnership, increase spending on 
     federal science research activities, prohibit the use of tax 
     dollars to outsource non-defense and non-homeland security 
     government contracts abroad, require employers to provide 
     workers advance notice of any intention to move their jobs 
     offshore, and expand Trade Adjustment Assistance to include 
     service workers and improve access to affordable health care.

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, let me continue with the story that is not 
a very happy story about job loss. We have seen 3 million jobs lost in 
the last 3\1/2\ years. We see unemployment for 27 weeks or longer. We 
see that 1.9 million workers are unemployed for more than 6 months. We 
have statistics that say although the unemployment rate looks to be 5.6 
percent, in reality it is over 9 percent if you factor in the people 
who have given up their search for jobs. We see the smallest share of 
the population at work since 1994, with 62.2 percent of the population 
unemployed. These are startling statistics.
  Manufacturing jobs in America: From 1993 to 2000, 385,000 
manufacturing jobs created; and from 2001 to 2003, 2.785 thousand jobs 
lost. That is 75,270 jobs lost per month. For my people in California, 
we have seen an enormous drop in manufacturing jobs.
  I want to show my colleagues the context of this job loss if we look 
back to other administrations. This is the average number of jobs 
created or lost per month. Under Ronald Reagan, we had 165,000 jobs per 
month; under George H. Bush, we had 47,604 jobs created every month; 
under Bill Clinton, we had 236,625 jobs created per month; and under 
George W. Bush, 58,815 jobs per month on average lost.
  By any standard, this is a unique time. We have a chance to do 
something about it with this budget resolution.
  California jobs: From 1993 to 2000, under the Clinton administration, 
25,644 jobs were created per month in my State of 35 million people. 
Under George W. Bush, 284,900 jobs lost. That is 7,913 jobs lost per 
month. Nearly 8,000 jobs are lost per month in my State. That is about 
8,000 family members coming home to tell their families they are in big 
trouble. We ought to do something about it. The good news is we can do 
something about it with this amendment I offered.
  I want to show one more chart.
  President Bush promised a whole different story--promises, promises, 
wishful thinking on jobs. The Bush administration has consistently 
over-predicted job growth for 2002, 2003, and 2004.
  Today, I read in the paper that the President is going to appoint a 
manufacturing jobs czar. He came to a decision about the individual he 
wants to appoint. We have learned that this particular individual built 
a plant in China. Whether he will continue with that nomination, I do 
not know, but clearly that sends a very mixed signal, to be polite 
about it.
  Let me talk for a moment about the amendment I am offering to protect 
America's jobs.
  How much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 15 minutes 42 seconds.
  Mrs. BOXER. Thank you.
  Our amendment creates a $24 billion job reserve fund for the 
following purposes:
  The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, $110 million cost; 
Advanced Technology Program, $125 million cost; Federal science at $1 
billion cost; new manufacturing jobs tax credit at $7 billion cost; 
small business health insurance tax credit at $14 billion cost; stop 
jobs from moving overseas and end the runaway plant tax break, which 
saves $2 billion; the Dodd amendment with no Federal funds for 
outsourcing, no cost; worker notification, which is Senator Daschle's 
amendment in relation to jobs moving overseas, no cost; and worker 
assistance and trade adjustment expansion for service workers and 
expanded health insurance, $2 billion.

[[Page 4097]]

  The way we pay for this amendment is the following: We end the 
runaway plant tax break, which brings in $2 billion, and we reduce tax 
breaks for millionaires, which brings in another $1 billion.
  I want to spend just a moment explaining why I think that is fair. If 
you earn over $1 million, under the Bush tax cut you are going to get a 
refund of about $140,000 every single year.
  Let me rephrase that. You are going to get a tax cut of $127,000 
every single year. We reduce that refund to $85,000 for a very noble 
purpose. That purpose is to get America back to work and to help our 
middle-class families.
  I think if you ask the average person in your State, just from what I 
can tell by looking at polls and talking to people, they will say even 
if they were in that millionaire category, we will have a stronger 
economy and more people working by not giving millionaires $127,000 a 
year from their taxes.
  We reduce it to $85,000. Let us talk about that. They will now get 
back $85,000. How much is that? That is 7.5 times the annual income of 
a minimum-wage worker, just in the millionaire tax cut. We are, in 
fact, cutting it to $85,000, but that is 7.5 times the annual income of 
a minimum-wage worker. It is also two times the median household 
income. If you are a millionaire and get back $85,000 a year instead of 
$127,000, you are still getting back every year twice the median 
household income and 7.5 times the annual income of a minimum-wage 
worker.
  I want to briefly tell you about each of these job creation plans.
  Be providing a tax credit for creating new manufacturing jobs--this 
is a tax credit that goes to businesses that create jobs in 
manufacturing, originally sponsored by Senator John Kerry--the 
manufacturing jobs tax credit gives the tax cut to companies that 
create a new factory job in 2004, 2005 and 2006. This is a good thing 
for business. It is a great thing for workers. It is a good way to deal 
with this issue.
  We increase the funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. 
It sets aside $110 million of the reserve fund for the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership Program. In 2003, this program helped create or 
retain 35,000 jobs.
  The administration only asks for $13 million in 2004, and it is 
requesting only $39 million for 2005. They say they care about jobs, 
but they ought to do more, and $110 million will create a lot more 
jobs.
  For the Advanced Technology Program, this amendment sets aside $140 
million in the reserve fund. The administration proposes zeroing out 
this ATP program. The ATP helps companies get to market and grow, and 
that means jobs. Of the first 33 small companies to complete ATP 
programs, 60 percent doubled in size, and 4 grew more than 1,000 
percent. The ATP program bridges the gap between the research lab and 
the marketplace. We need to see that go up to this $140 million level. 
I might say, even with that, it is still less than we have spent in the 
past on the program. George Bush, in 2005, requests zero for this 
important program.
  Then we have Federal research and development, which is so key, at 
the National Science Foundation. It falls $1 billion short of what is 
called for in the bill we passed 5 years ago. It is very important. 
When President Bush says he increases Federal research by 5 percent, 
the problem for our Nation's researchers and research institutions is 
that increase is largely targeted for weapons development. However, we 
have other things we need to do which will create jobs, as well. That 
is the purpose of this amendment.
  The health insurance tax credit for small business is clear. If 
business pays health insurance for its people, we think they ought to 
get a tax break. That is the kind of tax break we believe in on this 
side of the aisle because it is to encourage businesses to help 
employees with their health care.
  We end tax subsidies to U.S. companies that send plants overseas. 
This is a Dorgan-Mikulski idea. This amendment includes language 
bringing to an end tax subsidies for employers that ship production of 
goods abroad. This part brings $2 billion.
  We prohibit Federal funds from being used for offshore jobs. This is 
Senator Dodd's amendment that passed the Senate 70 to 26. When we give 
State and local governments Federal funds and when we decide to issue 
contracts, the jobs ought to stay here.
  In my own State, the Defense Department wanted to buy rice for Iraq. 
Instead of buying it from California, which has the best rice in the 
world, they bought it from a foreign country. That is my farmers, 
taxpayer dollars, and all my people's dollars going into the war 
effort. We give a contract on rice to a foreign country when the sons 
and daughters of our farmers and our people are going to war. I don't 
get it.
  This is an important amendment. We are improving the Trade Adjustment 
Assistance Program and extending it to service workers. That means help 
for people who are pushed out of a job because of trade agreements.
  I will save some time for colleagues. How much time remains?
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator has 7 minutes 24 seconds.
  Mrs. BOXER. I yield 4 minutes to Senator Kohl.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Senator Kohl is recognized for 4 minutes.
  Mr. KOHL. I come to the Senate today as a cosponsor to the Boxer-Dodd 
amendment.
  I thank my colleague from California for pulling together this 
package--and for including a provision I authored to restore the 
funding for the Manufacturing Extension Program, MEP. I hope my 
colleagues will join us in resounding, bipartisan vote for the 
amendment. It remedies a serious failing of the budget before us.
  A budget worthy of the Senate's support should have vision. It should 
point the way to a better world for our workers, our families, and our 
communities. Senator Boxer's amendment has a vision for bringing good 
jobs back to our shores--and training a workforce able to fill and 
create such jobs. Without the Boxer amendment, the budget will remain a 
document whose only answer to the deterioration of the manufacturing 
job base is upper income tax cuts cloaked in discredited trickle-down 
economic theory.
  I am particularly pleased that Senator Boxer's amendment provides the 
resources to increase funding for the Manufacturing Extension Program 
from the $39.6 million suggested in the President's budget to $100 
million, fully funding the program for fiscal year 2005. I intended to 
offer this as a free-standing amendment, but in the interest of time, I 
will defer to my colleague from California. I commend her for allowing 
the Senate to go on record on this vital program.
  Manufacturing makes up 25 percent of Wisconsin's economy--making 
Wisconsin the fourth largest manufacturing State in the Nation, tied 
with Michigan. While that statistic may conjure up images of huge 
businesses, in Wisconsin, 89 percent of our manufacturers have fewer 
than 100 employees. These small- and medium-sized firms are consistent 
forces for manufacturing job creation and are less likely than larger 
firms to outsource jobs. Smaller manufacturers pay good wages and 
contribute to the overall vitality of the local economy.
  In Wisconsin, the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, but these 
figures hide the disappearance of the solid manufacturing jobs on which 
Wisconsin's prosperity once rested. In January, the number of factory 
jobs in Wisconsin fell to the lowest level in more than a decade--even 
as unemployment fell. Since 2000, we have lost one out of every seven 
manufacturing jobs--79,000 in total.
  In Wisconsin, and across our Nation, MEP is one Federal program 
actively and effectively combating this deterioration of the 
manufacturing base. By helping small- and medium-sized manufacturers 
streamline production, integrate new technologies, and improve 
competitiveness, MEP has created or saved more than 35,000 
manufacturing jobs nationwide during the last fiscal year. In 
Wisconsin, the program is supported--and used--by scores of 
manufacturers and the largest business association in my State: 
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
  I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support for the MEP from Jim

[[Page 4098]]

Haney, President of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                           Wisconsin Manufacturers


                                                   & Commerce,

                                   Madison, WI, February 27, 2004.
     Hon. Herb Kohl,
     U.S. Senate, Hart Senate Office Building,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Kohl: It was a pleasure to tour Berntsen 
     International with you last week in Madison. This company is 
     just one example of many WMEP success stories that I have 
     personally witnessed in Wisconsin. I completely agree with 
     you that MEP is one of the best government investments 
     around, and it should be fully supported at the state and 
     federal level.
       Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is an association 
     representing 4,300 members. As the largest business 
     association in Wisconsin, we are first and foremost concerned 
     about the business climate in the state. Our primary 
     priorities are to reduce the tax and regulatory burden on our 
     businesses. But we also recognize where smart and appropriate 
     investment of public dollars can produce results for business 
     in the state.
       We need to prioritize our economic development initiatives 
     and judiciously place taxpayer dollars in those investments 
     that provide the best return for our state and our country. 
     There are many programs that should not make the cut. 
     However, MEP is one government investment that ranks at the 
     top when evaluated against criteria of national need, 
     effectiveness and results. We should not shortchange or 
     undercut this excellent program.
       I understand the Senate Commerce, Justice, and State 
     Appropriations Committee will be reviewing manufacturing 
     support priorities with Secretary Evans this week. Please 
     urge Secretary Evans to do what he can to restore MEP funding 
     support to the FY03 level of $106 million.
       Feel free to call me at 608-258-3400 to talk more about MEP 
     and its impact in Wisconsin.
           Sincerely,
                                                      James Haney,
                                                        President.

  Mr. KOHL. Let me quote from that letter:

       We need to prioritize our economic development initiatives 
     and judiciously place taxpayer dollars in those investments 
     that provide the best return for our state and our country. 
     There are many programs that should not make the cut. 
     However, MEP is one government investment that ranks at the 
     top when evaluated against criteria of national need, 
     effectiveness and results. We should not shortchange or 
     undercut this excellent program.

  I ask my colleagues, isn't MEP exactly the sort of program a budget 
with vision would support, a program, as Mr. Haney says, that brings 
real returns--jobs, economic growth, hope--from our scarce taxpayer 
dollar, a program that has received strong bipartisan support at the 
State and national level, a program that faces our challenges head on--
and taps the innovation and work ethic of American businesses to solve 
them?
  The Boxer amendment in so many ways adds vision to a budget that is 
blind when it comes to the trials of the American manufacturing sector. 
It adds courage to a budget frightened to acknowledge the serious 
jeopardy our economy faces. And it adds common sense to a budget that 
calls for short sighted cuts in programs, like MEP, that offer a 
tenfold return on taxpayer dollars.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Boxer amendment. I urge the 
Senate to continue to work to amend this Budget resolution to turn it 
into the plan that our Nation needs and deserves.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas is recognized 
for 2 minutes.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I wish to ask the Senator from California a 
question. I have been reading in the business magazines and the 
newspapers about the jobless recovery we are having and I wonder, if 
the Senator from California feels so passionately about creating jobs 
in this country, if she could give me a historical perspective about 
what we are talking in job creation in the last 3 years.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Senator for asking this question. I have 
never known that we have offered such a comprehensive jobs amendment on 
a budget resolution. These are not ordinary times.
  My friend is right when he asked this question. If we go back over 
time to Herbert Hoover in the Depression years in the 1930s, that is 
the only time we have actually lost jobs. We have created jobs under 
Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, 
Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and now we are down to this and we 
have seen 3 million jobs lost. We need a jobs amendment.
  Mr. PRYOR. If the Senator will yield for another question, I notice 
in all the statistics, small business is the sector of the economy that 
creates jobs and R&D is critical for creating jobs; also, the area we 
are struggling in in this country is manufacturing jobs.
  Again, the Senator from California is so passionate on this issue. I 
would like to hear the Senator's perspective and how this amendment 
will help those sectors.
  Mrs. BOXER. Clearly, we give tax breaks in this amendment to small 
businesses that pay or help pay for their employees' health benefits.
  When we talk to people, they are scared about the cost of health 
insurance. They are frightened. They are frightened that the costs are 
going up, that they may lose it, not to mention their entanglements 
with HMOs that want to walk away.
  We say to employers, employees, we will help if, in fact, you pay for 
your employees' health care, or at least part of it.
  We also give a manufacturing jobs tax credit. And this is Senator 
Kerry's idea.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Murkowski). The Senator's time has 
expired.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, do I have a remaining minute on my time?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All the time has been used.
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I yield an additional 20 minutes off the 
resolution to the Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank my friend.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for 20 minutes.
  Mrs. BOXER. So I say to my friend from Arkansas--because I would like 
to continue this give-and-take--what we are seeing is a devastating 
change in what has been known as economic progress in America--a 
devastating change--something we have not seen since Herbert Hoover. 
This is serious business.
  For our small businesses that are creating whatever jobs are being 
created--although we still are not seeing a net increase in those 
jobs--we need them to get help. So in this amendment not only do we 
suggest a reserve fund to help our workers, but we suggest tax credits 
and tax breaks to our businesses that create manufacturing jobs. For 
every job they create, they get a tax credit, and also for those 
businesses that pay for health care for workers.
  So I think the question was right on the mark.
  I would be glad if my friend has any other questions.
  Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, will the Senator would yield for another 
question?
  Mrs. BOXER. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. PRYOR. So it seems you are providing tax relief for companies 
that are trying to, in effect, stimulate the economy and trying to 
create jobs in this country. Again, as I understand economic principles 
and the reality of this economy, it is small businesses that create 
jobs in this country. With all due respect to the top 500 or 1,000 
companies--we love to have them, and I am proud of what they do--it is 
the small businesses, when you are talking about the bread-and-butter 
job creation, that do that.
  I know the Senator's amendment would help small businesses 
considerably, not just in the manufacturing sector but in other areas.
  I would just like you to comment on that.
  Mrs. BOXER. Absolutely.
  This health care tax credit is very important as well.
  In my State, my small businesses that do the right thing by their 
employees are being hurt. We ought to recognize if you do the right 
thing, you ought to get rewarded for it. So that is why we do this.
  I say to my friend, he is right; this jobs amendment helps workers 
and

[[Page 4099]]

helps businesses. It is a balanced approach.
  Here is how we encourage the creation of American jobs: We provide 
tax credits to companies that create new jobs. We provide tax credits 
to help small businesses pay for health insurance. We expand funding to 
the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology 
Program, which really helps small businesses in an enormous way. What 
we do with these programs is we help them go from the research part of 
things to the marketing part of things. It has been a huge success.
  Unfortunately, the President has zeroed out the ATP. I cannot 
understand it. This is something our businesspeople really want.
  Also, as to basic scientific research, we see it in the budget, but 
it is mostly for defense weapons programs. We do not have it on the 
civilian side.
  Again, coming from a State--I am sure your State has them, as well--
with very entrepreneurial people, who really can take off from 
scientific research, it is very important.
  I say to my friend, we pay for this. We pay for this by ending--this 
is Senator Dorgan's idea--we end the tax break for companies that move 
offshore. Oh, yes, they are creating jobs, but they are creating jobs 
offshore. And we pay for it by saying to the millionaires--people who 
make over $1 million a year--we are saying to those folks: Instead of 
getting $127,000 a year back, can you take $85,000 a year back? That is 
still 7.5 times more than a worker at the minimum wage.
  So this is a golden moment for this Senate to come together across 
party lines on behalf of our small businesses, on behalf of our 
workers, and create jobs.
  I have already shown my colleague the historic proportions of this 
moment in history in which we find ourselves: the worst record since 
Herbert Hoover, the only Presidency since Herbert Hoover not to create 
jobs. This is an extraordinary moment. We need to take a moment to 
realize if a millionaire gets back $85,000 instead of $127,000, that is 
not a great sacrifice to make for putting people to work, for giving a 
lift to small business.
  Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I just have one more observation to make, 
and I will be glad to yield the floor. It seems to me our economy is 
changing. As a Congress, we need to recognize that, we need to 
understand that, and try to harness that change in a positive way for 
our economy.
  One area our economy has changed quite a bit in the last several 
years is we have gone more and more to a service-oriented economy 
rather than just purely a manufacturing economy. Back in the 1960s, the 
Congress passed something called Trade Adjustment Assistance. What it 
did is it provided sort of a package of various programs for workers 
who had been dislocated--who had been downsized, in today's ver-
nacular.
  What I think we ought to do, and what this amendment does--and I 
think it is very smart to do this and move in that direction--is it 
gives workers in the service industries those same TAA benefits.
  The reason I think that is important is because a much larger 
percentage of our economy is now based on the service industries, and 
what we are seeing is the trend that those service jobs are moving 
offshore. We have heard about call centers and other things going 
offshore. That is exactly what we are seeing.
  So, here again, the Boxer amendment acknowledges the economic reality 
today and tries to help people who need help most.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I thank my friend because he is exactly 
right. This outsourcing is a very tough issue. I say to my friend, 
before he goes to his committee hearing, I met a young man in 
California who had an excellent job as a computer program manager. He 
is a newlywed and very excited about his life. He finds out he is being 
fired, not because he is not a good employee--he is a great employee, 
terrific--but because his job is being outsourced to another country. 
And the person over there is going to get a quarter of what he makes. 
Now, here is the real kicker. He is told he has to train his 
replacement.
  I have to say, this is what is happening all over America. If we 
cannot take a stand in this budget which reflects all of our priorities 
as a nation, if we cannot take a stand for America's workers and 
America's small businesses, I do not know why we are here. What are we 
here for?
  I ask my friend again to look at this chart which shows that the 
smallest share of the population is at work since 1994. This is not a 
good chart when you translate it into real lives of real people--and we 
know the stories in our States: a mother wakes up worried because her 
company says it no longer will pay health care--that is why we give a 
health care tax credit in this amendment--a gentleman, as I described, 
is told by his boss: You are losing your job. It is being outsourced, 
and you have to train your replacement. This is what is happening in 
America.
  I know some colleagues are here who would like to be heard on this 
amendment, which I am very pleased about.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record this Washington Post article from today: ``Bush Choice for 
Manufacturing Post in Question.''
   There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, Mar. 11, 2004]

             Bush Choice for Manufacturing Post in Question

                 (By Mike Allen and Jonathan Weissman)

        Six months after promising to create an office to help the 
     nation's struggling manufacturers, President Bush settled on 
     someone to head it, but the nomination was being reconsidered 
     last night after Democrats revealed that his candidate had 
     opened a factory in China.
        Several officials said the nomination may be scrapped 
     because of the political risk but said that had not been 
     decided. Bush's opponent, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass), has 
     made job losses his chief point of attack, and some 
     administration officials feared the nomination could hand him 
     fresh ammunition.
        In late afternoon, the administration announced that the 
     new assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing and 
     services would be named at a ceremony this morning. Industry 
     officials were told that the job would go to Anthony F. 
     Raimondo, chairman and chief executive of a Nebraska company 
     that makes metal buildings and grain silos.
        But Kerry's campaign, tipped off about the impending 
     nomination several hours earlier, hastened to distribute news 
     reports that Raimondo's firm, Behlen Manufacturing Co. of 
     Columbus, Neb., had laid off 75 U.S. workers in 2002, four 
     months after announcing plans for a $3 million factory in 
     northwest Beijing.
        Bush aides said Behlen, founded in 1936, has four U.S. 
     plants employing 1,000 people and a 150,000-square-foot plant 
     in China employing 180.
        A senior administration official, who refused to be named 
     because Raimondo has not been nominated, said Behlen has 
     exported products to China since 1984 but was losing market 
     share to other U.S. firms. The official said that half the 
     equipment used to build the factory was made in the United 
     States.
        ``This is not a case of making goods more cheaply in China 
     to sell back in the U.S.,'' the official said.
        Democrats contended, however, that Raimondo's record helps 
     illustrate why the nation has lost 2.2 million jobs, most of 
     them in factories, during the Bush presidency. The layoffs 
     have been concentrated in such swing states as Pennsylvania, 
     Michigan and Ohio.
        Seventy-five minutes after the administration announced a 
     news conference with Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans to 
     name the official, an advisory went out saying the event had 
     been ``postponed due to scheduling conflicts.''
        By last night, three senior administration officials said 
     Raimondo's nomination might be scuttled but said they did not 
     know for sure. Bush announced the new office with fanfare on 
     Labor Day, and Democrats had been saying for weeks that the 
     long delay in naming the new assistant secretary reflected 
     the low priority that Bush puts on preserving jobs.
       An aide close to Bush said last night the uncertainty about 
     the nomination had ``nothing to do with Senator Kerry or his 
     baseless charges.'' This aide, who thought the nomination 
     would go forward, said the delay ``more has to do with 
     congressional notification issues and things like that than 
     it does anything else.''
       The congressional issues concerned one of the senators from 
     Raimondo's home state, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R). An aide said 
     last night that Hagel had no comment.
       Bush's White House prides itself on orderliness but has 
     been on the defensive on economic issues. Last month, the 
     White House

[[Page 4100]]

     had to disavow its own estimate that 2.6 million jobs would 
     be created this year. The same economic report, issued under 
     Bush's signature, touted the economic efficiencies of sending 
     certain types of U.S. work overseas.
       Business groups praised plans for the new position, which 
     quickly became known among industry officials as a 
     ``manufacturing czar.''
       Raimondo, who is chairman of the Omaha Branch Board of the 
     Kansas City Federal Reserve Board, contributed the maximum of 
     $2,000 toward Bush's reelection in June, a month after the 
     campaign opened for business.
       Raimondo is a longtime board member of the National 
     Association of Manufacturers. Michael E. Baroody, the group's 
     executive vice president, called Raimondo ``a class act who 
     understands manufacturing and understands public policy.''
       When Bush announced the new position Sept. 1, he noted that 
     the nation had ``lost thousands of jobs in manufacturing . . 
     . some of it because production moved overseas.'' He made the 
     announcement in Ohio, which last year suffered the second-
     worst job losses of any state, mostly in manufacturing.

  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I will only read the first paragraph, 
and then I would like to yield 5 minutes to my friend from New Jersey, 
Senator Corzine.
  Here is what it says:

       Six months after promising to create an office to help the 
     nation's struggling manufacturers, President Bush settled on 
     someone to head it, but the nomination was being reconsidered 
     last night after Democrats revealed that this candidate had 
     opened a factory in China.

  Now, I ask you, what signal are we sending to the workers of America, 
to the businesses of America, when the President's No. 1 choice for 
manufacturing czar has opened a business in China?
  So if you put together this fact with this fact, with the chart I 
showed you that illustrates the worst problem in job creation since 
Herbert Hoover, we have an explosive situation on our hands. The vote 
on this amendment should not be about parties; it should be about our 
people, whether they are in Alaska, Wyoming, New Jersey, Michigan, or 
California.
  I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from New Jersey and ask, after 
yielding that time, how much time would be remaining on my side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator would have 4\1/2\ minutes on her 
side.
  Mrs. BOXER. I yield Senator Corzine 3 minutes and Senator Stabenow 4 
minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I say to the Senator from California, I 
would be happy to yield time off the resolution to the Senator from 
Michigan so it would not come out of her time.
  Mrs. BOXER. Excellent. So how much time will the Senator yield off 
the resolution?
  Mr. CONRAD. I could yield 10 minutes off the resolution to the 
Senator from Michigan. How much time does the Senator from New Jersey 
seek?
  Mr. CORZINE. I would use 3 to 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I am happy to yield 5 minutes off the resolution to the 
Senator from New Jersey.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank the Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. CORZINE. Madam President, I thank the Senator from California for 
both raising the issue and addressing it with resources through this 
budget resolution. There is hardly an issue in America that is more 
important than that which has been very ably demonstrated by the series 
of charts the Senator from California has provided.
  We have before us the worst record of job creation in the last 70 
years. It is one that is not getting better anytime. The only 
observation I will add to the presentation of the Senator from 
California is that not only are we losing jobs, but when we lose those 
jobs it makes the competitive market for wages and real income for 
Americans go down.
  The reality is for those people who lose their jobs--and there have 
been roughly 3 million in the private sector--their likelihood of 
retaining another job that pays the same as the one they have lost or 
the benefits they had in the job they have lost is virtually nil. You 
see about 75 or 80 percent of the equivalency of the compensation for 
individuals who lose their jobs.
  The problem is, we are putting more people on the job market. The 
normal economics of supply and demand are undermining the real wages of 
the people who remain in the workforce. So not only are we getting more 
unemployed and fewer people working in the overall workforce, but we 
are seeing a reduction in real wages in the economy.
  This is an extraordinarily negative cycle that is being set up. It is 
absolutely important that we reverse it. That is why this amendment is 
so important. It will encourage the creation of American jobs in a way 
that begins creating greater demand which is going to raise the wage of 
what we pay for the jobs we have.
  Certainly, we need to stop this mad rush of sending jobs overseas 
which is undermining also not only the number of jobs in America but, 
as I say, is lowering the real cost of real wages, which is undermining 
the quality of life for everyone, not only the people who are 
unemployed but those who are working.
  This is a dangerous phenomenon. The Senator from California has 
absolutely focused on the right thing, making sure we are using our tax 
system to generate jobs. It is one of those issues that is going to 
resonate most strongly with the American people in 2004 because it 
matters in people's lives more than anything else.
  We have the worst job creation record in 75 years. Contrast that with 
what went on in the previous 8 years up through 2000, where we created 
22.5 million jobs with an entirely different tax structure. We were 
focused on making sure we were increasing the real wages, increasing 
the earning power of Americans. We did it by increasing the demand.
  The Senator from California has focused on just the right issue. 
Frankly, as the chart now before us illustrates, in job creation not 
only for the 1990s but all the way back through President Bush 1 and 
President Reagan as well, there was a serious effort to try to create 
jobs. We have a series of economic policies right now that are 
undermining not only job creation but the real wages of American 
workers. It is time we all take steps to try to correct that.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield for a question before his time 
expires?
  Mr. CORZINE. Certainly.
  Mrs. BOXER. When my friend goes home to New Jersey and talks to 
people, does he find what I find; that people are anxious, they are 
insecure, they are concerned about retaining their job, retaining a 
good job, retaining health benefits? What I find is, even if people 
have good jobs, they are fearful of the cost of health insurance.
  As the Senator knows, in our Democratic jobs alternative, we give a 
tax credit to businesses that pay for all or part of health insurance. 
I wondered if my friend has that same sense when he goes to talk to his 
people at home?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey has used 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. BOXER. I ask my friend if he will yield an additional minute to 
the Senator.
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield an additional 3 minutes to the Senator from New 
Jersey off the resolution.
  Mr. CORZINE. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
  First, a week ago Friday in New Jersey, we closed our next to last 
oil production facility. At the end of 2005, an industry that used to 
have several hundred thousand workers in New Jersey, as recently as 10 
years ago, will have zero autoworkers now. We closed a Ford plant a 
week ago Friday. At the end of 2005, our final auto production facility 
for GM will close.
  We have seen the shrinkage of workers in the telecommunications 
industry, Lucent, and AT&T, which have been truly remarkable. Over 
100,000 telecommunications jobs have been lost over the last 4 years. 
It is incredible the tension and the anxiety that people feel about 
both their ability to work and to care for their families. But then to 
think about the responsibility of health care and their retirement 
security is overwhelmingly a part of the concerns that middle-class 
Americans

[[Page 4101]]

have. The kind of proposal the Senator from California is putting forth 
addresses those real concerns. I reemphasize, it is not only the people 
who lose their jobs; it is the people who live next door to those folks 
who see their real wages being depleted to low levels. We are 
undermining the economic health and well-being of the Nation.
  Mrs. BOXER. If the Senator will yield, he is so right. Consumer 
confidence is almost everything in our economy, which is a consumer-
based economy.
  I took economics, so I have an economics background from my college 
years. But my friend practiced economics and did very well at it. What 
he says is so important. If your next-door neighbor is suffering 
because of a loss of jobs or downward pressure on job income, it has a 
contagious impact. A lot of this lack of consumer confidence is what we 
are seeing today.
  I wish to ask my friend another question that has to do with the fact 
we paid for this amendment. We paid for this in two ways. First, we 
eliminate the tax loophole for companies that send their jobs overseas. 
That brings in $2 billion to pay for this reserve fund for jobs. We 
also say to millionaires, we know you are going to get back $127,000--
and people who earn more than that will get exponentially more--so 
instead of getting back $127,000, you get $85,000. That difference is 
more than a minimum-wage worker's salary for an entire year.
  As my friend looks as his people in New Jersey and knows the median 
income level there, do you think this is a fair thing we do here, ask 
everybody to sacrifice?
  To reiterate, we are saying to the millionaires of this country, we 
are proud of you, that you got the American dream; and you worked for 
it--most of them did, not all of them. Can't you make that sacrifice so 
we can put people to work and turn around these numbers?
  Look at this chart. We talked about this before, going back to Ronald 
Reagan. We haven't seen this kind of deal since Herbert Hoover. Looking 
at New Jersey and the people making over $1 million who would be 
impacted, does my friend not believe we pay for this in a fair way?
  Mr. CORZINE. I think the Senator from California is talking straight 
common sense. I think even those who are doing very well in our society 
can understand it.
  First, the millionaires you are talking about are two-tenths of 1 
percent of the total amount of the taxpayers who would be impacted--
two-tenths of 1 percent. What the Senator is talking about is moving 
marginal tax rates back to the level where they were during the 
nineties, at a time when 22.5 million jobs were created.
  Think about it. Moving it back on two-tenths of 1 percent of the 
population, to a point in time when economic growth was the highest and 
the most sustained we had in the 20th century, the most expansionary 
period we had in the 20th century.
  What we are trying to do is turn around the economic performance of 
the Nation so all will benefit as the performance of our economy 
spreads out. I think it is fair. It is smart because it actually has 
been exhibited by history that these kinds of rate structures are not 
inhibiting to the economy; they were a part of the economy at the most 
successful period in the 20th century.
  Mrs. BOXER. I have one more question and that is it. First, I ask 
unanimous consent that Senators Mikulski and Dorgan be added as 
cosponsors of the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CORZINE. Will the Senator make the Senator from New Jersey a 
cosponsor?
  Mrs. BOXER. I ask for that as well.
  When we look at the promises made and the reality, I would like my 
friend----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The initial time has expired.
  Mrs. BOXER. I will wait on that. I thank my friend from New Jersey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan is recognized.
  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I rise to speak in strong support of 
this amendment. I am pleased to be a cosponsor. I, first, thank my 
friend from California for her ongoing leadership, her eloquence, her 
understanding of these issues, and also my friend from New Jersey, who 
speaks with such common sense about what this is all about.
  There are several pieces to this amendment that are critical for my 
State. Frankly, there is nothing more important right now in Michigan 
than creating a level playing field for our businesses and our workers, 
helping them to lower the cost of their health care, helping and 
supporting those efforts to invest in innovation and education, and the 
ability to move forward with increased skills and productivity and 
compete in the world economy.
  I am very pleased that in this amendment is the type of manufacturing 
tax credit I first introduced last fall and have been working with the 
Finance Committee on to make sure we are rewarding those who are 
creating manufacturing jobs in the United States of America. We need to 
make sure they have a lower tax rate, and we need to make sure our tax 
system does not encourage those who wish to take our jobs and export 
them. We want to export products, not our jobs. That is what this 
amendment does. It allows us to focus on those things that create jobs 
in America, good-paying jobs, that focus on work, not wealth, in our 
country.
  It is very common sense to say, rather than another tax cut for the 
privileged few, we want to invest in jobs and strong businesses in 
America for everyone. That is what this amendment is all about.
  In speaking about this, I want to, once again, raise concern that 
after 6 months of the President talking about putting someone in the 
Department of Commerce to focus specifically on manufacturing, we have 
yet to see that person appointed.
  My deep concern is that I read in the paper today the person now 
being considered, after we have been encouraging this month after 
month, is someone who actually has--I don't know this gentleman and 
this is certainly not a personal attack. I certainly don't know him, 
but I do know of my concern that his company, Behlen Manufacturing, of 
Columbus, NE, laid off 75 workers in 2002, 4 months after announcing 
plans for a $3 million factory in northwest Beijing. As Yogi Berra 
said: It's deja vu all over again.
  This is the kind of headline we get every day now in my State. I 
don't want somebody heading up the manufacturing effort who is doing 
that. I want to see someone who has made a commitment to America and 
American jobs and to help American businesses stay here and be 
productive. That means fighting for a level playing field on trade 
policy, currency manipulation, and tackling health care issues. It also 
means focusing on those issues that help our companies be more 
competitive, more efficient.
  Two of those programs, which I have been deeply involved in now for 
over 7 years, in the House and now in the Senate, are the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will my friend yield for a moment?
  Ms. STABENOW. Yes.
  Mrs. BOXER. She was right on target about this manufacturing czar, 
this potential nominee, who may be a very lovely gentleman; 
nonetheless, what a poor choice. We should be rewarding people and 
companies that create jobs for the American people.
  You know, I wish the world well. I want Iraq to have democracy and 
the Haitians to have democracy. I want the people of Afghanistan to 
thrive. Lord knows, we spend enough money there to help them. What 
about people at home? Isn't that our first responsibility?
  I am telling you, when I have to hear stories from constituents who 
say, Not only was I laid off and my job is going to be outsourced to a 
foreign country but I have to train my replacement--I say somebody may 
call that outsourcing; I call it painful. I call it wrong.
  Mr. ENSIGN. Madam President, regular order.

[[Page 4102]]


  Mrs. BOXER. My friend from Nevada wants me to get to the question and 
I will.
  When this gentleman moves his jobs to China, does he not get a tax 
advantage? And are we not closing that loophole--it is the Dorgan 
idea--and does my friend support that, as well as the other items on 
this list?
  Ms. STABENOW. Absolutely. This is an issue we have to address. We 
have to make sure our tax policy rewards those who create jobs here.
  As the Senator from California was speaking about individuals, I 
would like to share for the record two of literally hundreds of letters 
I have received from people in Michigan speaking about their personal 
situation. This is not economic theory. These are real-life experiences 
of businesses and individuals in Michigan who are desperately impacted 
right now by our unwillingness to have policies that are good for 
American businesses and jobs at home.
  One example: A Michigan resident from Union City, MI, writes:

       My wife and I own a small machine shop in Union City, MI. 
     At one time, we had seven employees. Now my wife, my son, and 
     myself are all that's left. Most of the time we don't even 
     have enough work for ourselves. I watched as many of my 
     friends and competitors have gone out of business and just 
     closed their doors or filed for bankruptcy. While we fight 
     the war on terrorism, if we are not careful, we will lose a 
     much bigger war to the rest of the world without firing a 
     shot.

  This economic war, this need to fight for a level playing field for 
our businesses and workers, is every bit as serious to our quality of 
life as what is happening abroad.
  One other part of a letter I will share, and this is from a resident 
in Clyde, MI:

       My husband, a 25-year mechanical engineer, designer of 
     automotive special machines, has been laid off seven months. 
     The company he worked for was bought by Fiat and within two 
     years, began outsourcing the engineering to countries such as 
     Bosnia where engineers will work for $6 hourly. Our workers 
     can't compete with that obviously. The engineering department 
     is now closed completely, everything outsourced. He is 55, 
     laid off 2\1/2\ weeks short of his retirement vesting at 100 
     percent, can't draw social security and has been unable to 
     find work. The market is flooded with engineers because 
     outsourcing is happening all over . . . .
       If we want to maintain the quality of our environment and 
     keep our families fed, we need legislation to address the 
     inequities in manufacturing standards globally, balancing 
     tariffs, something. Our workers can't compete with the 
     salaries outsourcing provides from other countries . . . .

  And maintain our standard of living. I hear this story every single 
day in my State.
  Before my time is up, I wish to address a couple of very important 
provisions from which Michigan has greatly benefited, in addition to 
the issues on tax policy and health care, and the other provisions.
  The Advanced Technology Program is exactly the kind of program we 
ought to be doing in this country and we have been doing, although we 
have been fighting to keep it going. Now the President this year has 
zero in his budget for this program, even though we hear from the 
administration rather than tackling issues such as smart trade policies 
and currency manipulation, they say we should focus on education and 
innovation. Great. But when we have the innovative programs, such as 
ATP, they have zero in the budget to fund them.
  What does this do? It allows industries, such as the automotive 
industry, to come together and partner with our universities on 
programs and research projects that allow them to be more competitive. 
It allows them to do activities such that got a headline yesterday in 
the Detroit Free Press:

       Detroit-based automakers can take pride in a report on the 
     latest issue of influential and assiduously objective 
     Consumer Reports magazine that they have surpassed the 
     Europeans in vehicle reliability.

  I know some of the ways they do that have been to come together in 
projects funded by the ATP to allow them to create greater reliability, 
greater efficiencies, to compete in the world economy.
  The Boxer amendment makes sure we continue this important 
partnership. It is partly funded by the Federal Government and partly 
funded by the businesses. It is critical.
  Madam President, I ask for an additional 5 minutes from my esteemed 
colleague on the Budget Committee.
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I am happy to yield an additional 5 
minutes to the Senator from Michigan off the resolution.
  Ms. STABENOW. I thank the Senator from North Dakota.
  In Michigan, 154 different businesses have been involved with 68 
completed and ongoing partnerships. They are joint ventures as well as 
single business applicants. These are exactly what we hear from the 
administration we ought to be doing: partnerships, public-private 
sector, working with the universities, small investment, big results.
  The other important part of this amendment that relates to moving 
forward and being positive is the manufacturing extension partnership. 
It is interesting; some of us have been involved with agriculture and 
cooperative extension. This program is based on that model of bringing 
together the best management practices, cutting-edge information, and 
working with manufacturers to increase productivity and efficiency to 
compete in a global economy. A very small amount of dollars is involved 
in this particular program, and it yields tremendous results.
  In Michigan, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership funding is 
credited with more than $80 million in sales impact, more than $32 
million in cost reductions, and through the regional offices they have 
assisted over 250 companies in my State alone in achieving 
certification to industry quality standards. This is important. It 
helps our small and medium-size manufacturers.
  It has had, in the past, strong bipartisan support. I was deeply 
disappointed in the Budget Committee when I offered an amendment to 
restore funding for MEP and ATP, and we did not have bipartisan 
support. It was a party-line vote. We certainly can correct that today 
because I know in the past there has been good bipartisan support for 
this amendment.
  I simply say to my colleagues this amendment gives us an opportunity 
in a very broad sense to focus on what is the most critical issue 
facing our families and our businesses today, and that is the ability 
to compete in a global economy in a way that keeps jobs and our 
standard of living in the United States.
  There is not a business I talk with that does not say: Give us a 
level playing field and we will do the rest. We know if, in fact, we 
have the right kind of policies and the right kind of investments, we 
can do that.
  This budget is all about choices. It always is. We are asking for a 
small change rather than investing, once again, in the success of those 
privileged few who have been getting tax cuts and are set to get the 
most tax cuts right on down the line; that we take a portion of that 
and invest it back in the health of our U.S. economy and the strength 
of the economy for the future and in the quality of life of every 
American, and in those policies that will allow us to have the 
strongest possible businesses, the best workers, and the most 
successful workers in the world, because the Boxer amendment gives us 
the ability to do what we need to do to put us on the right track for 
the future and to continue the quality of life we all want for our 
families.
  I strongly support the Boxer amendment. I thank my colleague from 
North Dakota for yielding me time. I am very hopeful we will see a 
strong bipartisan vote.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I am going to have to oppose this 
amendment offered by the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, and I 
would like to take a moment to explain why.
  The spending proposed by the amendment is for a good purpose. We can 
and should find ways to fund this important goal.
  But I do not believe that we need to roll back tax relief that 
Congress enacted in 2001 to fund this amendment. I supported those 2001 
tax cuts. Congress enacted them in a time of massive surpluses. 
Returning some of those surpluses to the taxpayer was the right thing 
to do.

[[Page 4103]]

  We can find other offsets to pay for the spending in this amendment. 
Offsets such as the closing of corporate tax shelters currently pending 
in the JOBS bill come readily to mind. Before we start rolling back the 
tax relief that we enacted in 2001, we should ensure that we have taken 
all reasonable steps to obtain revenues through closing down abusive 
tax shelters.
  And so, I shall reluctantly oppose this amendment, as I did the 
amendment offered by the Democratic leader, Mr. Daschle, the day before 
yesterday increasing veterans' funding--and for the same reason.
  I shall look forward to working with my colleagues to find other 
offsets for their amendments--offsets that as much as possible avoid 
rolling back the tax relief that we enacted in 2001.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I rise in support of the amendment 
offered by my colleague from California. I urge all Senators to side 
with working Americans and vote for this amendment.
  There has been considerable media attention recently to the dire 
employment situation in America, but this problem is so acute that I 
think it bears repeating. Eight million Americans are currently looking 
for work. Of these, nearly 2 million workers have already been 
unemployed for more than 6 months.
  The Labor Department told us last week that almost 400,000 Americans 
are not even counted by the unemployment statistics because they have 
simply given up and left the workforce. In the last 3 years, the Nation 
has lost 2.5 million jobs--2.5 million.
  This situation demands a response from the Nation's leaders that will 
actually help create jobs. Unfortunately, the Bush administration is 
failing this test. Instead of appreciating the crisis facing those who 
have lost their jobs, this administration presses ahead with failed 
economic policies.
  The President continues to call for additional tax cuts tilted toward 
the wealthiest Americans. He opposes extending unemployment benefits to 
help families weather the difficult economy. And recently, his 
administration actually endorsed the shipment of jobs overseas. The 
budget resolution before us today makes the mistake of affirming the 
President's failed policies.
  The amendment offered by Senator Boxer offers a starkly different 
direction. Her amendment includes a series of provisions that will 
respond to the employment crisis facing America by helping American 
companies stay here and add jobs.
  First, this amendment creates a temporary tax break for businesses 
that create jobs. In order to help employers feel more confident in 
adding new workers to their payroll, this amendment would reduce the 
cost of hiring during this uncertain time.
  In addition, the amendment would require the Federal Government, 
whenever possible, to hire American workers when spending taxpayers 
dollars. This is the least that we owe workers who are struggling to 
pay their taxes as they worry that their jobs will be shipped overseas.
  The amendment also ensures that our Tax Code does not provide 
incentives for companies to move their factories to other countries. 
American businesses should not be allowed to avoid taxation on income 
from production that it moves overseas only to ship the goods back to 
the U.S. The amendment before us would eliminate this perverse 
incentive in our Tax Code.
  In cases where corporate executives have determined that it is in the 
best interests of their companies to ship jobs overseas, this amendment 
requires that the companies show some respect for their workers and 
communities by providing sufficient notice before pulling up their 
stakes.
  The amendment also calls for increased investment in programs that we 
know help our small- and medium-sized manufacturing companies benefit 
from new science and technological developments. Both the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership and the Advanced Technology Program help our 
manufacturing companies globally. This amendment calls for adequate 
funding for these important programs.
  These are just a few of the important provisions of this amendment. 
The message that this amendment sends is very simple: Congress 
understands that Americans need good jobs and we are prepared to 
support policies that will help create and maintain these jobs.
  In my own State of West Virginia, hard-working people expect Congress 
to understand how devastating it is when factories close their doors 
and ship the jobs overseas. Since President Bush came to office, West 
Virginia has lost nearly 10,000 good manufacturing jobs.
  Manufacturing jobs have traditionally provided a path to the middle 
class. They offer good wages, health care benefits, and pension plans. 
Having worked for years to bring new jobs to my State, I know how 
important it is to have public policies that will support job creation 
and protect American workers. That is what this amendment would do, and 
I urge my colleagues to support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume off the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I thank the Senator from California for 
this very important amendment. It is becoming increasingly clear jobs 
are very much an endangered species in this economy. It is the No. 1 
subject. When I go home and go from town to town, the No. 1 subject is 
economic opportunities, jobs, economic growth, and a deepening concern 
that we are not seeing the kind of economic growth and job 
opportunities all of us would like.
  We saw yesterday in the very steep selloff in the stock market an 
increasing concern that economic growth is already stalling out.
  We have seen in the jobs reports that job growth is badly lagging 
behind what all of us would like to see, and badly lagging behind what 
we have seen in other recessions.
  On March 9 in the New York Times, Paul Krugman, the noted economist, 
had this headlined article: ``Promises, Promises.'' The subheadline was 
``Wishful Thinking on Jobs.'' He went back and looked at the job 
history from 1999 to 2004 and then looked at the forecasts of the 
administration. He pointed out that back in 2002, the administration 
said by this time, or January of 2005, we would have 138 million jobs. 
Obviously we do not have 138 million jobs. We are at 130 million jobs 
now.
  Then in 2003 they refined that estimate and lowered it substantially 
and said, Well, no, we will not have 138 million jobs; we will have 135 
million jobs. Now this year they revised the estimate again and said, 
Whoops, we were wrong again. We are not going to have 135 million jobs; 
we are going to have 132.7 million jobs. As of the end of February, we 
are nowhere close to that. We are at 130.2 million jobs.
  I will go to this chart that shows what has happened in every 
recession since World War II. In every one of these recessions, we have 
seen on average, 17 months after the business cycle peaked, the job 
recovery really took off. That has been the pattern of the nine 
recessions since World War II.
  Let's compare it to what is happening this time. That is the black 
line. Here we are 36 months since the business cycle peaked and we 
still see almost no jobs recovery. Something is wrong and it is 
seriously wrong. We are now 5.4 million jobs short of the typical 
recovery going all the way back to World War II. Look at nine previous 
recessions. In those other recessions, the job market was soaring by 
this time. Not now. Something is wrong.
  Even when the administration dramatically altered and lowered their 
projection of jobs by January of next year, they still said there would 
be 2.6 million more jobs by the end of 2004 than 2003. If that forecast 
is to come true, they will have to generate 520,000 jobs a month 
between now and the end of the year. The most recent month was not 
520,000 jobs; it was not 420,000 jobs; it was not 120,000 jobs; it was 
21,000 jobs and every one of them was a

[[Page 4104]]

Government job. There was no growth in the private sector. Something is 
wrong.
  Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. CONRAD. I would be happy to yield.
  Mr. SARBANES. The quote stating that they expected 2.6 million more 
jobs, was that by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers?
  Mr. CONRAD. That was Mr. Mankiw, the Chairman of the Council of 
Economic Advisers.
  Mr. SARBANES. Is that the same administration official, high economic 
official, who told us in the annual report, the one President Bush 
signed off on, that outsourcing jobs was a good thing for America?
  Mr. CONRAD. He did say that. It is a rather remarkable statement. He 
thought it was good for the country that jobs were outsourced overseas.
  Mr. SARBANES. Yes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I think he has regretted that remark, but that is what he 
said. He is the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the 
President. He is the same person who said there were going to be 2.6 
million more jobs in 2004 than the jobs we saw in 2003. We can see that 
to achieve that goal, they would have to be generating 520,000 jobs a 
month. In February, they had 21,000, and not a single one of them in 
the private sector.
  If we think about it, the President says his tax policies are 
working. If his tax policies were working, the jobs that would be 
generated would not be in the Government. The Government jobs are not 
developed by his tax plan. One would expect he would be generating jobs 
in the private sector, and yet if we look at February there were no new 
jobs in the private sector. The only new jobs that were created were 
Government jobs, and it was only 21,000.
  By the way, they would have to add 128,000 jobs a month just to keep 
pace with the new people coming into the job market, just to stay even. 
In February there were only 21,000 new jobs, and none of them in the 
private sector--all of them in Government. As I say, that is 500,000 
jobs short of the necessary number of new jobs that would have to be 
generated to meet the President's chief economic adviser's forecast.
  Mrs. BOXER. Will my friend yield for a quick question before my 
colleague continues? I find this give-and-take very helpful.
  I read an economic report that said although the jobless rate is 
officially at 5.6 percent, if one factors in the people who have given 
up, it is well over 9 percent. I wonder if my friend could comment on 
that, because he talked about how important it is to just keep up with 
the people who are coming in. What about the people who have given up?
  Mr. CONRAD. If we just think in our own lives who do we know who is 
out of work, and I started thinking about my extended family and my 
close friends, and you start adding up the number of people who are out 
of work, in my own family there are people who are highly educated, 
have had really excellent careers who now are approaching 60 years of 
age, are out of work and finding it extraordinarily difficult to find 
new work. These are people with advanced degrees who have had very 
successful careers, and yet, because of outsourcing, because of this 
job weakness, they are out of work and cannot find new jobs. Not only 
do we see it in these statistics, but there is another statistic that 
also tells us something is wrong, and that is the wage growth of 
production workers is now starting to fall behind inflation. I think 
that is why people feel under so much pressure.
  The Senator from California mentioned the number of people who have 
given up looking for work. Once one gets past a certain point, they are 
no longer counted as unemployed because they have been unemployed so 
long they are no longer included in the statistics. Being out of work 
is not just a statistic; it is not just a number on a page; it is a 
real person living a real life with a real family who has lost hope, 
who has lost an opportunity, who has lost a chance. That is why I think 
there is such growing concern about what is happening.
  I had a gentleman who is an executive in the machine tool industry 
who told me, Senator, at this stage of a recovery our order books ought 
to be full. They are not. Something is happening that is structurally 
different than previous recoveries. He said he believes the jobs are 
being created, but the jobs are being created in China, in India, in 
Mexico. They are not being created in America.
  That is why I have to say I believe the amendment of the Senator from 
California is important. We need to be much more aggressive and 
proactive at creating job opportunity in this country.
  The Senator from California is offering amendments to provide 
incentives for businesses to create jobs in America. She is also paying 
for it, which is the responsible thing to do, instead of just sticking 
it onto the debt. I might remind my colleagues that the budget 
resolution before us runs up the debt by almost $3 trillion over the 
next 5 years, and at the worst possible time, right before the baby 
boomers retire.
  Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator yield on that point?
  Mr. CONRAD. I will be happy to yield.
  Mr. SARBANES. I say to the very able Senator from California, who 
earlier showed a chart about how the rate of people participating in 
the workforce has dropped, what has happened is you have 4.4 million 
workers today who are working part time for economic reasons. In other 
words, they want to work full time but they are only working part time.
  When you compute the unemployment rate, they are counted as employed, 
not as unemployed, but really they are only partially employed.
  Then you have another 4.6 million people who are discouraged and not 
currently looking for work who want to work. So they have been knocked 
out of the labor force as well.
  Actually, there are 13.3 million Americans unemployed, and if you use 
the broadest measure that the BLS prepares, they report an unemployment 
rate of 10.3 percent. That is factoring in everybody. That is your 
broadest measure and that is not usually the figure that is focused on. 
Ordinarily, when the unemployment rate figure comes down, those other 
figures shrink as well. But it is not all moving in the right 
direction.
  One of the reasons the unemployment rate figure has dropped just a 
little bit is because people are dropping out of the workforce and they 
are not looking for a job or they are being shifted from full-time to 
part-time work. I think that is one of the reasons why, as the able 
Senator from North Dakota points out, as he moves around his State, he 
is encountering more and more people who are concerned about the 
unemployment problem.
  What the administration says is this particular rate is the 
unemployment rate, but that only tells part of the story. That is only 
part of the story. You have to, in effect, complete the story by 
looking at those who are working part time but want a full-time job. Of 
course, if they have been cut from full time to part time, that makes 
it more difficult to support their family.
  Then there are the people who want a job but they are so discouraged 
and pessimistic that they have dropped out of the effort to find a job. 
They don't get counted in that unemployment rate.
  Mr. CONRAD. I would say in response to the inquiry of the Senator, in 
terms of what I found at home, North Dakota has one of the lowest 
unemployment rates in the Nation. We have a very low rate of 
unemployment in our State. Yet job anxiety is growing there. Why? It is 
not because the unemployment rate is high; it is because good jobs are 
not available. It is because people who are more highly educated, more 
highly trained, are not able to get jobs commensurate with their 
training and education, and this is creating a whole level of people 
who are what we would call underemployed--underemployed based on their 
previous job experiences, underemployed in terms of their education and 
training.

[[Page 4105]]

  I say to my colleagues, there was a cartoon in the New Yorker 
magazine that my wife drew to my attention the other day. The cartoon 
was two guys who kind of looked like deadbeat guys.
  One guy says to the other: You know, you are out of work, aren't you?
  He said to the gentleman: I have quit looking. I understand that's 
good for the economy.
  No, it is not good for the economy. That I think is what is 
increasingly of concern to people. These are middle-class people, 
people with good education, with good training, who had good jobs.
  I have a relative who was very advanced in a major corporation and 
his entire division was laid off. These are very highly skilled people, 
very highly trained, very highly paid. They found all of their jobs 
were being shipped to India. To add insult to injury, they were asked 
to go to India to train the people to take their jobs.
  Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator yield on that point? The President was 
in Ohio a day or two ago. Of course, Ohio has been badly hit. They have 
lost manufacturing jobs and they are being hard hit by, in effect, the 
flow of jobs overseas.
  This morning's paper says we ran a record trade deficit last month of 
$43 billion. That monthly rate translates into well over a $500 billion 
annual trade deficit--a $\1/2\ trillion trade deficit. Of course, 
people say we are exporting goods and that is true. But we are 
importing far more than we are exporting, so much so, that we have set 
a record monthly trade deficit figure. That only again reflects the 
flow of jobs out of this country, overseas, exactly the point the 
Senator is making. In particular, it is the flow of some very good-
paying jobs.
  The manufacturing sector has been very hard hit. The Administration 
set up this post of an Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing. They 
waited 6 months, they didn't nominate anyone, and now it looks as if 
the person they are nominating they are not going to go through with 
because it turns out he was establishing a factory over in China and 
cutting back on jobs in this country. Can you imagine that?
  I thank the Senator from California for her amendment. She is right 
on target. This is an extremely important amendment. The package she 
has put together is a very sensible package to try to address this 
problem.
  Mr. CONRAD. I want to pick up on a point the Senator was asking 
about; that is, what are the implications of these massive deficits, 
both budget and trade?
  The Senator mentioned yesterday we just got the latest month's trade 
deficit, $43 billion. Over a year, obviously, that would be a trade 
deficit of over $500 billion. At the same time we are running a budget 
deficit of nearly $500 billion.
  This article from the Washington Post of January 26 caught my eye 
about the long-term effects of these massive deficits, both budget and 
trade. I think these are warning signals to us all. We are on a 
dangerous course with these massive deficits. This is what the article 
said: Currency Traders Fretting Over That Dependency.
  The dependency they are talking about is these massive deficits, the 
trade deficit the Senator from Maryland referenced and the budget 
deficit.
  The currency traders, those who trade currency for their living, are 
concerned over that dependency, the dependency on borrowing--

       They have been selling dollars fast and buying euros 
     [that's the European currency] furiously. The fear is that 
     foreigners will tire of financing America's appetites. 
     Foreign investors will dump U.S. assets, especially stocks 
     and bonds, sending financial markets plummeting. Interest 
     rates will shoot up to entice them back. Heavily invested 
     Americans will not be able to keep up with rising interest 
     payments. Inflation, bankruptcies, and economic malaise will 
     follow.

  If we look at what has happened to the value of the dollar against 
the euro in the last 2 years, it ought to sober us up about these 
deficits. The dollar has declined more than 30 percent in value against 
the European currency in just the last 2 years.
  I note Warren Buffett, who, as I understand it, is the second 
wealthiest man in the world, second wealthiest American as well, worth 
tens of billions of dollars, has now placed a major bet against the 
value of the U.S. dollar.
  He has made a $12 billion bet against the value of the dollar in part 
because of the economic weakness of our country reflected in these 
massive budget and trade deficits.
  I believe deeply we have to get serious about the budget deficit and 
the trade deficit. Why is it the Comptroller General of the United 
States is warning us these deficits are too large? Why is it the 
International Monetary Fund is warning us of the danger of these 
deficits, that they will put upward pressure on interest rates, which 
will choke off economic growth, which will choke off job creation, and 
leave us in an even weaker position?
  Again, I say this is why I believe the amendment of the Senator from 
California is so important. It is an insurance policy to prepare for 
the economic weakness we are already seeing, the job losses we are 
already experiencing, and to help us prepare for what might yet come.
  Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, will my friend yield for a question?
  Mr. CONRAD. I am happy to yield.
  Mrs. BOXER. I thank Senator Sarbanes and Senator Conrad for their 
enormous contribution in support of this amendment, which is really an 
amendment that is made up by the contribution of various members of the 
Democratic caucus, including Senator Dodd, who has just come to the 
floor. An important amendment ensuring Federal contracts should not be 
outsourced passed this Chamber with flying colors. It is important. As 
a matter of fact, I met with my local elected officials and I asked, Do 
you have any idea whether any of your department jobs are outsourced? 
They looked at me, and said, I don't know. I will go back and make sure 
tax dollars aren't being used to create jobs overseas.
  I thank my friend for his contribution to this amendment. I want to 
ask my friend a question. It has to do with this whole notion of the 
anxiety in this country. I think anyone watching this debate 
understands there are many reasons for people to feel anxious. They 
feel anxious when there are deficits as far as the eye can see. It is 
stunning to think back to 3\1/2\ years ago. There were surpluses as far 
as the eye could see. What mismanagement.
  I say to my friend the shocking part is--and when I was an economics 
major a long time ago we thought when there were big deficits it would 
create a lot of jobs. Here we have a circumstance where you have 
runaway deficits, runaway debt, and no job creation whatsoever. In 
fact, there is a net job loss.
  I want to say to my friend from North Dakota, when he talks about the 
budget deficit, the trade deficit, the twin deficits, there is also the 
job deficit. Now you have the tripling. I think my friend made a good 
point when he talked about people being laid off and then having to 
train their replacement workers. I met such a gentleman who was a 
newlywed. He had a job as a computer program manager and he had to 
train his replacement. I cannot tell you the look on this man's face. 
He is leaving my State. He thought for sure this could never happen in 
the Golden State. As we know, it is happening in California and all 
over this country.
  This is a stunning moment in history. That is why this amendment is 
so important.
  The budget document is in fact the priority of the country. If we 
turn our back on the people of this country who need to work for a 
living, we shouldn't be here, to be honest, because that has to be an 
essential part of what we do to protect the country, from the 
standpoint of defense, protect workers and make sure they have jobs.
  I want to ask my colleague this point about the anxiety in the land. 
I think what is feeding it is when your next-door neighbor loses a job, 
or someone in your family loses a job, you begin to feel anxious. When 
your next-door neighbor loses his health insurance or pension, you 
begin to get anxious yourself. Then when you pick up the papers--I put 
a lot of this together last night, and you can read this. ``Analysts 
Gloomy Over Job Creation''; ``Growth In Jobs Is Still Sluggish''; ``Job 
Growth

[[Page 4106]]

Falls Short of Forecast''; ``Jobs Slump''; ``Fewer Small Businesses 
Plan To Hire''.
  I am saying to my friend I think all of this is creating an anxiety 
in the land.
  I will ask this question: Given everything we said--it is not 
rhetoric; it is reality; we have shown the numbers. They are real. We 
have talked about real families. We have seen what is happening. I ask 
my friend, is not this the time, if there was ever a time, we should 
say to the American people whom we care about and their families, their 
ability to have a quality of life, their ability to educate their 
children and send them to college, and their ability to look at the 
future with hope and optimism--wouldn't it be the moment we should be 
united as Republicans and Democrats and Independents here today in 
passing the amendment we put forward which not only will stimulate jobs 
directly but will stimulate small businesses by giving them the tax 
credits they deserve, so they can pay for health care insurance or 
create jobs? I ask my friend, is this not the moment in time to make 
this a priority for this Senate across party lines?
  Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I think it is undeniably the case. 
Something is very wrong with the economic strategy we are pursuing as a 
Nation. We see the evidence in the job market as clearly as it can be 
seen. The fact is we are now 5 million jobs behind what we would 
normally see in a recovery. Looking at the nine recessions since World 
War II--I will put that chart back up--this should tell us something is 
off the track. This is the average job recovery of the nine recessions 
since World War II that you can see 17 months after the peak of the 
business cycle peak. We see that, for the average for every one of the 
9 major recessions since World War II, the job recovery started soaring 
17 months after the business cycle peaked. In this case, we are 36 
months past the business cycle peak, and we still do not see job 
recovery occurring.
  At this point, we are now 5.4 million jobs short of the typical 
recovery for all of the recessions since World War II. If that doesn't 
tell us something is wrong--and the President's forecasts over and over 
have had to be revised on jobs. Again, this just appeared in the New 
York Times on Tuesday. In 2002, the President said by the end of this 
year there would be 138 million jobs in the country. He revised that in 
2003 and said, Whoops, we were wrong in 2002. There will only be 135 
million jobs by the end of 2004. At the beginning of this year, they 
revised their estimates again, and said, Whoops, we were wrong again. 
There are only going to be 132.7 million jobs by the end of the year, 
and even now we see we are nowhere close to that forecast. They have 
been wrong in 2002, wrong in 2003, and it looks like they are going to 
be wrong again. Their forecast, looking at this year, would have to add 
500,000 jobs a month, and in February only 21,000 new jobs were 
created, a half million behind their forecast for that month, and not a 
single one of the new jobs is in the private sector. Every one of them 
was a Government job.
  The strategy is not working. I don't know what could be more clear. I 
think it should tell us it is time for a new game plan.
  I think what the Senator from California has offered is entirely 
constructive and it is the beginning of a plan. What this country needs 
is a plan. We need a program to go forward.
  I thank my colleagues.
  At this point, I will yield the floor. I have a colleague who has 
been very patiently waiting.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ensign). The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I yield myself 15 minutes off the amendment. 
It should not take me longer than that to debunk the rhetoric I have 
heard on the budget for the last hour or the last hour and 45 minutes. 
It actually hasn't been on the budget. It has been an attempt to say 
they care more about jobs than the Republicans do. That is not true. 
There isn't anything that would bear that out. I have to get this in 
the Record because I am afraid the college students might read this 
stuff or may have been listening. If they use some of the information 
they heard, they could fail economics class. I don't want that to 
happen.
  It has been very depressing listening this hour and 45 minutes. This 
is a 20-minute amendment. That is a long time on a 20-minute amendment. 
But it is the way this process works. It was 50 hours of time, equally 
divided, and each side can spend it however they want. We will probably 
yield ours back, portions of it, to be able to get to some final votes 
and get this completed.
  This has been depressing and wrong. The budget document is a few 
assumptions that we use. Granted, it is based on a pile of documents, 
probably 20 pounds worth of paper. There are all kinds of ways to work 
the assumptions, but when it comes down to it, we set up a few targets. 
The specific committees get to arrange the bull's eye in that target 
for the priorities. Then, finally, the Appropriations Committee, if we 
ever get to that point, will be able to shoot the real bullets at the 
target, spend the real money.
  This is not spending the money. This is coming up with some 
assumptions or some real numbers based on assumptions. You can use any 
assumptions you want, obviously, if you have been listening to the 
discussion.
  If you listen to the discussion and what I have said about 
assumptions, you might think what they are trying to do is rearrange 
the deck chairs on the Titanic. It is not the real operation of the 
ship. What we are doing is rearranging the deck chairs on the deck of 
the finest cruise ship in the world.
  I want to be a lot more positive about what the possibility is for 
this country and the people of this country and what they can do.
  First, I want to know how we pay for it. Then I will go into the jobs 
part. We need to know how most of these amendments work, where they 
tell us how to pay. The way they will pay is a tax increase. They can 
say this is going to be a tax increase just on the rich. From the 
discussions I have heard around here, the Democrat definition of 
``rich'' is anyone who makes enough money to pay taxes. If you pay 
taxes, worry about it; you are part of the rich.
  They will say it is those who make over $1 million. It would not be 
the first time we did something against those who make more than $1 
million. Congress once passed a law--this fascinates me--that said a 
CEO could not make more than $1 million in cash compensation. How could 
anybody possibly do that? If the American dream is to make money--I 
really hope that is not the American dream--but to make enough to 
provide for their family, to buy a home, and to contribute to their 
community, until we get this country going down that road, we have 
problems. Right now the emphasis is on how much you make. We try to 
limit that severely. We have done it with laws.
  Now we are saying if you get rich, we will take part of your money, 
and we will put it into the economy where we think it will do the most 
good. It does not matter what you think. It does not matter that you 
have been investing and creating jobs. That does not count. The 
Government will do it for you. By golly, we have some great programs. 
These programs will create jobs. Yes, they do create jobs because we 
hire a bunch of people to run the programs, who tell the successful 
businessmen how to do it better, and a lot of it goes into regulation. 
I will talk more about regulation in a bit.
  In order to do a tax increase, the Finance Committee has to do it. 
The only thing we have allowed so far are things that deal with the 
family. What we would be directing them to do is take away any family 
benefits.
  Who are these rich? Some of them are the small businessmen. Every 
dime of revenue that is net revenue for a small businessman becomes 
part of their bottom line taxes for that particular year. They have to 
pay taxes on that. When they pay taxes on it, they are pulling out a 
third. Some would like it to be a half; some would like it to be three-
fourths. What do they do with what is left? It does not go in

[[Page 4107]]

their pocket. If their business is growing, it goes right back into the 
business. If we did not tax them as much, they would put more back into 
the business. When they put more back into the business, that grows 
jobs.
  Do not tell me you will increase the economy by ripping money away 
from people who are creating jobs already.
  Who cares about jobs the most? Who wants outsourcing? None of us want 
outsourcing. Why does outsourcing happen? Part of it will be because of 
a lack of confidence we create in the Senate. We have been talking for 
2 hours now about the rotten economy and how jobs are being outsourced. 
We are creating an impression among every businessman out there that if 
he is not outsourcing his jobs, he is cheating his investors. Did 
anyone hear a message different than that? That is not right. That is 
absolutely not right. We do not have to have the jobs go overseas.
  When we keep talking about a bad economy, we help create a bad 
economy. I am reminded of the 1960s ad that used to run on television 
that I think was partly responsible for pulling us out of a recession. 
It was a story about a guy who had a hot dog stand. People loved his 
hot dogs. So he added on to his hot dog stand. Pretty quickly he had 
more hot dog stands.
  Then his son came home from college and said: Dad, don't you realize 
we are in the middle of a depression? How can you be expanding? He quit 
expanding and he laid people off and pretty soon he was out of 
business.
  If we keep telling people they should not hire because it is tenuous, 
save your money, put it in the mattress, we will have a little problem 
in this country. We expect to be paid the highest wages in the world, 
and we expect to buy everything for the lowest prices. Where do you 
think you are going to buy those things from? I hope everyone out there 
does a quick inventory on what they are wearing and where it was made; 
what they are driving and where it was made; what they are listening to 
and where it was made.
  You have a responsibility, as well. Government does not solve these 
problems. You solve these problems. You buy what is made in America, 
the jobs come back to America, and our people get paid more.
  Make a law. Right, we can make a law that says you cannot send the 
jobs overseas.
  Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. ENZI. I listened for almost 2 hours to the other side ask a bunch 
of questions. I would like to get my statement completed in 15 minutes 
so we can move on to the vote. There should have been more fairness on 
give-and-take at the time. There was not. So I will reserve my time to 
finish my comments.
  Another reason the jobs go overseas is regulation. What do we 
specialize in? Regulation. We pile on regulations that make it 
extremely difficult for businesses in the United States to do work in 
the United States.
  Lastly, one of the reasons we lose jobs overseas is skills. There are 
jobs out there that are not being filled because American people do not 
have the skills to take those. The ones who do are already employed in 
that field.
  I want to tell about a little company in Powell, WY. This is what I 
am hoping for the world. This little company in Powell, WY, makes 
tachometers, highly specialized ones for race cars, and very durable 
ones for heavy equipment that vibrates. The guy who designed these and 
originally made them had the parts manufactured in Taiwan and the 
construction of them, the manufacturing of them, in Taiwan.
  He said: Now, wait a minute. Maybe I can reduce the error rate 
putting these things together and make more money if I use American 
labor and those great people in Powell, WY. He tried that, and he was 
right. Then what does he say? He said: Let's see, I am having to 
manufacture them over there, but they have an error rate. Maybe I could 
manufacture them here. And he is going to do that. Wyoming--the United 
States--is going to steal a job from Taiwan. That is the creative 
capability of the people in this country. That is what we can do if we 
give the people a chance.
  On a more basic level, how can we give them the chance? We passed the 
Workforce Investment Act. We got it out of the Labor Committee, which 
is usually very contentious, unanimously. We passed it on the floor 
unanimously. Where is that now? Well, the House has already passed one, 
too, but we cannot do a conference committee on it. This would be 
training for 900,000 jobs a year, better jobs, more skilled jobs, the 
skilled jobs people overseas are getting because we cannot fill them.
  What is happening to that bill? We are letting it languish because we 
will not appoint a conference committee. So what are the reasons given 
for not appointing a conference committee? Well, we don't trust the 
Republicans to invite us to the conference committee.
  I want to tell you, I worked with the Senator from Washington State 
and the Senator from Massachusetts in putting together a bill that 
passed the committee unanimously. I worked with them to get it through 
this floor unanimously. You do not do that without some degree of 
trust. I have to believe they would trust me to do a conference 
committee and include them in the conference committee, and anything 
else is bunk. You do not have to do every bill, but I cannot believe we 
will talk about who cares about jobs the most in this country and not 
get a conference committee on the Workforce Investment Act that will 
train 900,000 people a year for better jobs.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my 
time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, how much time would the Senator from 
Connecticut like?
  Mr. DODD. Three minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from 
Connecticut.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank my good friend and colleague. I know 
there are other Members who want to be heard on these matters. I will 
try to be brief.
  Mr. President, I will show you a chart. I have great respect for my 
friend from Wyoming. He is a knowledgeable and good Member of this 
institution, and he cares deeply about these issues.
  I cannot help but note, of course, out of all the States--if I am 
wrong maybe someone will correct me--one of the single lowest job loss 
of the 50 States has been the State of Wyoming, according to the 
analysis we have on job losses in manufacturing.
  Mr. President, 1,200 jobs have been lost in Wyoming. I am sorry about 
those losses, but when you compare that to States of similar size--
neighboring States--Utah has lost 15,000, Colorado has lost 38,000, 
Texas has lost 156,000, Maine has lost 15,000. I am not even mentioning 
large States. Iowa has lost 26,000, Missouri has lost 40,000, Arkansas 
has lost 29,000, Oklahoma has lost 26,000.
  The point is, we are watching a hemorrhaging on jobs. No one likes to 
recite all the bad news, but reality says you have to know the facts if 
you are going to set policy.
  Unfortunately, no matter what the conditions are in this country, the 
administration has one answer: cut taxes for the wealthy. When we had a 
surplus: cut taxes. When we are in a recession: we need to cut taxes. 
Job growth is weak: we need to cut taxes. It is a Johnny-one-note, no 
matter what the economic circumstances are.
  All of us who are involved in supporting Senator Boxer's amendment 
are pointing out that this is maybe the critical issue at this hour. 
People across the country are worried deeply about job creation. They 
are worried about jobs leaving the country. They are worried about 
companies making that decision, and doing so either through tax 
incentives, where we actually encourage, through the Tax Code, to 
outsource, or actually using Federal taxpayer money.
  I express my appreciation to 75 of my colleagues in this Chamber who, 
last week--Democrats and Republicans--

[[Page 4108]]

joined on the amendment I offered that would prohibit the use of 
Federal taxpayer money to subsidize the outsourcing of jobs.
  If a private company, with their money, wants to outsource, I cannot 
do much about that. But I do not believe you ought to incentivize that 
decision by offering someone a tax break to do it or providing direct 
Federal subsidies to do it. We think we ought to be doing everything we 
can to encourage job growth at home. That does not make you an 
isolationist. That does not make you a protectionist. It just indicates 
to us how serious we think this potential problem is.
  It is not just us who say this. I would take note that a few days 
ago, in the Washington Post, in a front-page article was the story of 
Clintwood, VA, and the loss of 270 jobs. Does anyone think a year or 2 
or 5 years ago the loss of 270 jobs in Clintwood, VA, would have 
merited a front-page story in the leading newspaper in this city or 
area? I doubt it. Yet the Washington Post, obviously, has some 
sensibilities about what people care about in this area. And the loss 
of 270 jobs in one small town in Virginia, that got sent overseas by 
Travelocity, is yet one more piece of evidence that people are worried 
about what is going on in this country, particularly when it is 
occurring because we encourage it through our Tax Code or through 
direct subsidies.
  I am glad the President finally decided to suggest we have a 
manufacturing czar. But to fail to check to find out if the person you 
are apparently going to nominate is involved in exporting jobs to a 
facility in China indicates a lack of sensitivity about this issue. In 
fact, the other day I read where the administration now is going to do 
everything it can to fight the efforts some of us are making to slow 
down the outsourcing of jobs in the country, particularly when 
outsourcing occurs through Federal subsidies and through tax 
incentives.
  We do not think the Federal Government ought to be in the business of 
promoting job exportation to another country or suggesting that somehow 
it is all the same, that it does not make a difference if you have the 
loss of a product being produced here or a service being performed here 
and it is now going overseas, watching someone's job go overseas.
  You cannot stop it in every case. We are realists. We understand 
that. But Senator Boxer has put together a very good amendment which, 
in part, highlights the outsourcing issue. She goes into other areas as 
well.
  The Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program is being cut by 63 
percent. I listened to the President the other day say: I am against 
outsourcing. What we need to be doing is investing----
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask for 1 additional minute.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yield the Senator 1 additional minute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I just would note that the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership Program is a significant program that helps U.S. 
manufacturers, small manufacturers with everything from plant 
modernization to employee training. This cut means that 11,000 small 
manufacturers are not going to receive services, and 28,000 employees 
will either be laid off or not hired.
  So even if you agree with the President that we ought to not be 
talking about outsourcing, not be talking about manufacturing job loss, 
that we ought to be investing in small businesses, what is he doing 
when he cuts 63 percent of the budget for the Manufacturing Extension 
Partnership Program? That is a complete reversal of his rhetoric on 
these issues.
  He also tries to eliminate entirely the Advanced Technology Program, 
which spurs cutting-edge research in solving manufacturing problems and 
increasing competitiveness. Here we are eliminating that program 
altogether and slashing by more than 50 percent the Manufacturing 
Extension Partnership Program.
  That is what we do not understand. He is opposed to doing anything 
about outsourcing. He is opposed to doing anything to provide tax 
relief for small manufacturers who need help. And he is going to cut 
the budget in the two areas that can make a significant difference to 
our manufacturers.
  I applaud the Senator from California for offering her amendment, and 
I urge my colleagues to support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Who yields time?
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator from Texas such 
time as he desires on this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I want to talk for a few minutes about the 
Boxer amendment, which would raise taxes by $24 billion, and to say why 
I think this amendment is a miscalculation. Unless, of course, the 
intent of this amendment is to try to convince the American people that 
the American economy is in the tank and offers no opportunity, no 
hope--something this economy has always provided to American workers, 
and I believe still does today.
  If, in fact, our colleagues across the aisle believe the economy is 
doing so badly, I wonder why it is that home-ownership is at an all-
time high in this country. Interest rates are low. Productivity is 
booming. The gross domestic product is growing by leaps and bounds.
  If the economy was really doing badly, which it is not, the last 
thing you would want to do with a slow economy would be to raise taxes 
to make it harder for the job creators in this society to create new 
jobs. I would just ask all of my colleagues to consider what is being 
proposed here. I believe it is simply the wrong answer to the 
challenges that confront us when it comes to encouraging further job 
creation and an economy which continues to be the envy of the free 
world.
  The amendment we are discussing would do exactly the wrong thing. It 
conflicts with every free market principle this country stands for. We 
know that entrepreneurs, the risk takers, those who invest their money 
to try to create a profit for themselves and their families, are the 
ones who create jobs. When they have more money to invest in their 
businesses, they create those jobs.
  Once again, this amendment is the best indicator that there are still 
those who believe government really does know best, who want to raise 
taxes on the American people by $24 billion and throw it around at 
government's whim and then expect new jobs to somehow miraculously 
appear.
  Let's just step back for a moment and see what the whole picture 
reveals. Sometimes it seems the world is moving faster every day. New 
technological advancements have given citizens of the 21st century 
access to instant information; on-demand services are available 
everywhere. We have an ability to communicate faster and more 
comprehensively than ever before in the history of the world. Yet with 
these technological advancements and enhanced abilities, many companies 
have come to the conclusion that when it comes to manufacturing and 
customer assistance and many other areas, location no longer matters. 
There is not a day that goes by that there isn't another article, 
another report about a company outsourcing some facet of what they do 
to another country, to another part of the globe.
  Sometimes these changes are noticeable to every consumer, and 
sometimes not in a positive way. Indeed, what we see with this 
amendment, and the comments made in the Chamber, demonstrates the 
backlash that sometimes occurs when jobs leave our shores and go to 
other countries.
  The fact is, there is a real and discernible benefit to consumers 
from the lower prices that come from efficiencies in labor costs. The 
dollars American consumers spend on products and services buy them a 
lot more than ever before.
  Yet sometimes these changes are hardly noticeable at all. If a small 
part of the newest computer is now made in India instead of Abilene, 
TX, what does

[[Page 4109]]

it matter to the consumer? It may not matter to them, but it matters to 
Abilene and it matters to the people who live and work there.
  Yet even as outsourcing continues to be a subject of discussion, even 
as some of my colleagues in this body throw it out as a trend that is 
bad for America, we all seem to have forgotten that it also runs the 
other way.
  I am proud to say that Texas is one of the leading beneficiaries of 
in-sourcing, which is just a fancy way of saying ``out-sourcing by 
foreign companies on American soil.'' According to the Texas Department 
of Economic Development, Texas benefits from more than $110 billion in 
foreign direct investment in the state. There are 430,000 Texans on the 
payrolls of foreign corporations. There is approximately $5,000 in 
foreign investment in our state economy per Texan. That is a good 
thing. That helps create jobs for hard- working citizens of my state.
  But I believe we are missing something important in terms of the 
overall context of the debate. The economy is clearly on the right 
track back to recovery. The latest numbers bear that out no matter how 
much some would try to disparage the booming economy and what is 
reflected in those numbers. That recovery of the economy will take care 
of the joblessness concerns we all share, regardless of partisanship, 
regardless of any other issue. Yet we are facing another problem in 
this recovery, and this recovery is an opportunity for us to face the 
problem head on: The real motivation behind outsourcing, behind the 
desire of a manufacturer of a product or a service to find efficiencies 
in the way they operate so they can grow and continue to prosper and 
hire more people here in America has to do with the labor force.
  Given our advanced technological capabilities, why would a business 
pay someone in America to do a job when they can go to another country 
where there is no minimum wage or labor laws or other restrictions on 
what they do? The conventional wisdom is that no business will choose 
America merely out of loyalty, that instead they will study the numbers 
and realize it makes more economic sense to run their telephone banks 
in Malaysia, for example, instead.
  In response, some in this body and elsewhere have concluded that the 
answer is more job training and funding for education and advanced 
learning programs. Statistics suggest more and more people are taking 
advantage of these educational and work-related resources.
  Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently commented:

       Generic capabilities in mathematics, writing, and verbal 
     skills are the key to the ability to learn and to apply new 
     skills and thus to earn higher real wages over time.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time on the amendment has expired.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield to the Senator such time as he 
may consume from the resolution to complete his statement.
  Mr. CORNYN: I thank the Senator from Oklahoma.
  Alan Greenspan said:

       Generic capabilities in mathematics, writing, and verbal 
     skills are key to the ability to learn and to apply new 
     skills and thus to earn higher real wages overtime. The 
     avenues to acquiring those skills are many, and one effective 
     tool we have developed to facilitate the transition to a new 
     job or profession has been our community colleges. These two-
     year institutions have been in the forefront of teaching the 
     types of skills that build on workers' previous experiences 
     to create new job skills. Currently almost one in three of 
     their enrollees are age thirty or older, a statistic that 
     suggests that these individuals have previous job experience.

  I support the job training and community college initiatives the 
President has endorsed in his State of the Union Message and which Alan 
Greenspan just referred to. They are a good and positive thing. They 
provide much of the answer to the global competitiveness we now find 
with glob-
alization. I believe much of the instruction they provide ought to have 
been given at the lower levels, but we can't go back and change that. 
As it is, these programs give many Americans the opportunity to change 
their job track midstream and to pursue greater dreams and more 
fulfilling careers.
  But that is not enough. If we in Government fail to acknowledge what 
the outsourcing crisis truly means, if we think more job training alone 
is a sufficient answer to the problem, we are just fooling ourselves, 
and we haven't addressed the real problem.
  As Ronald Reagan once said:

       We've gone astray from first principles. We've lost sight 
     of the rule that individual freedom and ingenuity are at the 
     very core of everything we've accomplished. Government's 
     first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.

  In America today, we are seeing that all too clearly.
  All too many of our states have reached the point where they are 
simply no longer friendly toward the free market. Why should a business 
choose to stay in America where they will have to deal with ever 
expanding red tape and regulation, where they face exponential legal 
risks in states without real commonsense tort reform and class action 
reform, where they are virtually guaranteed to pay higher and higher 
taxes every year?
  No, raising taxes won't solve this problem. Job training and 
educational programs alone won't solve the problem either. The knee-
jerk response of many in government, to take more money from the 
taxpayers so we can throw it around, doesn't work.
  The only way we will solve the problem is when we in the Federal 
Government work in concert with those in the states to effect 
fundamental change in our government's attitude toward business and the 
free market--not just for the benefit of business or indeed for an 
abstract free market, but for the benefit of everybody in this country 
who wants to work and wants to find a job. We must once again value the 
principles of free trade and competition. We must encourage success and 
innovation, and not punish it. We must renew that old American 
conviction that protecting freedom, not restricting it, is the highest 
goal of government.
  The vision of America as a free market paradise is a very real one, 
not just the stuff of the so-called overexuberant economists. I 
strongly believe we have the best workforce in the world, the most 
dedicated people you can find. We have in this country innovators and 
thinkers, we have doctors and scientists, and we have all the resources 
they need. We have people who started businesses in their garage and 
now create things that change the very way we live and communicate. We 
have young people who are ready to follow in their footsteps. That is, 
simply stated, the foundation for a thriving free market economy. It is 
all right here.
  We still hear the voices of those who say the bureaucrats really know 
best, and government will take care of you if you will give us more and 
more of your tax dollars. But the truth is the people across this land 
know that government doesn't know best, and they know government cannot 
create prosperity; that instead prosperity is created by the 
entrepreneurs and risk takers, and the people who work hard every day 
to provide for their families.
  The truth is, instead of raising taxes, we ought to reduce the tax 
burden on the American people by eliminating the tax increases that 
come with the expiration of the tax cuts this Congress previously 
passed. There are people, some of whom are in this very body, who still 
honestly believe we can sue, tax, and regulate our way to economic 
growth and prosperity.
  Finally, I want to say I realize we are in an election season, and 
there are some who have pinned their political prospects on America 
doing badly, on unemployment remaining high. When they see that the 
facts are against the trend they want, that the economy is actually 
doing better, their only hope for their political prospects is to talk 
about a ``jobless recovery.'' Well, the economy is recovering; it is 
creating jobs. But it will not continue to do so if we reverse the 
policies that have brought us to where we are today. We must ensure 
that the taxpayers keep more of the money they earn, so they can save 
it or invest it in a small business--which is a great job-creating 
engine in this country--the small businesses that proliferate in this 
Nation, which provide jobs by huge numbers to the American people.
  I simply believe we should not let ourselves lose confidence in what 
has

[[Page 4110]]

brought us here today. There are those who think they will benefit 
politically from trash-talking the American economy, from causing a 
loss of confidence by the American people, from saying that we are no 
longer the land of opportunity and freedom. But the truth is there are 
people who are dying to come into this country because they see this 
nation as their only hope and only opportunity. There are not people 
knocking down the doors to try to leave this country, because the truth 
is people are voting with their feet. They understand America remains 
the last, best hope of freedom-loving people everywhere.
  For those who want an opportunity to achieve part of the American 
dream in the free market system we have in this country--not a 
government command-and-control system, but a free market system is one 
that best allows them to achieve those hopes and dreams--they recognize 
that system is what we need to preserve, not defeat. The effect of 
passing this amendment and others that would raise taxes on the 
American people would defeat that system.
  I hope we don't listen to the nay-sayers, that we don't believe those 
who would have us lose confidence in our economic system, because I 
think that provides the best opportunity for a bright future for all 
the American people.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I love everybody in this Senate, but I 
want to finish this bill this week. My guess is we have a few 
amendments in the pipeline and we have considered one amendment today 
and we are not quite finished with it. That is not the kind of 
discipline we need to finish it. I ask, how much time remains on the 
resolution on both sides?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Six hours 50 minutes for the Senator from 
Oklahoma, and 5 hours 39 minutes for the Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. NICKLES. I plan on yielding back some time, as I have said. 
Unfortunately, we started this amendment at 9:30 and we have been on it 
now for a couple of hours. It is an interesting amendment, but it is 
not that interesting. I am troubled. I have 6 hours and 50 minutes. Mr. 
President, I yield back 4 hours off of our time on the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right. That time is 
yielded back.
  Mr. NICKLES. I plan on yielding back additional time. I came in today 
thinking we should have 10 minutes on each side on every amendment 
today. I don't want to cut people off from being able to debate their 
amendments. My colleague from North Dakota is correctly wanting to have 
time agreements on a multitude of amendments. I am willing to enter 
into those, but I am insisting on being able to see the amendment. I 
know my colleague from North Dakota is trying to get them. A lot of 
people say I want a time agreement, but they are rewriting the 
amendment as we speak. That is not fair. We need to have both sides be 
able to analyze the amendments so we will know what we are debating, 
especially if we are going to be in a very truncated timeframe. If I am 
debating an amendment and I say it increases taxes by $24 billion, I 
want to be accurate. I actually insist on accuracy. It bothers me if we 
are not accurate.
  Mr. President, I am going to speak on the Boxer amendment for a 
moment. We had a time limit of 20 minutes on each side on the Boxer 
amendment. It was breached very significantly primarily on the Democrat 
side, and maybe a little bit on our side. This is an amendment that 
says we want to do some things to create jobs domestically, but in 
effect it says we want to sock it to the people creating jobs by 
increasing their taxes.
  Then it says we will give tax credits if you do such and such. It is 
a tax-spend amendment, $24 billion of increased taxes. Incidentally, 
the taxes we are assuming for next year--and this has an $8 billion tax 
increase for 2005. What we are assuming in the budget for 2005 is $2.6 
billion for child credit and $5.4 billion on marriage penalty. So this 
could eliminate the child credit and the marriage penalty. I find it to 
be a very flawed concept.
  Also, I can't help but think the repercussions they would have if we 
actually did some of what is contemplated in this amendment. We are 
going to sock it to companies that have runaway plants. I wonder if 
``runaway plants'' is defined by Microsoft or by Intel or General 
Electric or some of our great multinationals we have in this country. 
If we are going to tax them at rates that are greatly to the 
disadvantage to their competitors, this amendment is more or less 
saying we would like your headquarters, Intel, to be in China, or maybe 
we should have Microsoft's headquarters in Japan. Our Tax Code actually 
encouraged the location of Chrysler to be in Germany, and this 
amendment would make it worse: Let's export jobs and headquarters 
overseas. This may be well intended, it may be a political amendment, 
but its economic consequence would be a disaster.
  The Finance Committee is working on a FSC/ETI bill that has broad 
bipartisan support. The essence of it is to be WTO compliant and also 
to assist manufacturers. I do not happen to agree with preferential 
corporate rates for manufacturers vis-a-vis other corporations, but it 
has a lot of positive provisions to help make us competitive with 
particularly our European allies. That bill has bipartisan support. We 
ought to pass it.
  I think the proposal that has been discussed for the last 3 hours 
would be very detrimental. It is a big tax increase, and since the only 
tax change we are contemplating is keeping the tax laws as they are for 
American families, I am afraid this will be a big hit on American 
families.
  At the appropriate time, I will urge my colleagues to vote no on the 
amendment.
  Mr. President, the next order of business is the Senator from 
Maryland, Mr. Sarbanes, to offer an amendment. I ask unanimous consent 
that we set the Boxer amendment aside and consider the amendment of 
Senator Sarbanes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. NICKLES. Not on my time.
  Mr. SARBANES. I was going to try to get a time limitation because the 
Senator seemed anxious to do that. I am happy to try to cooperate in 
that effort. Would 30 minutes equally divided be acceptable, 15 minutes 
on a side?
  Mr. NICKLES. That will be more than acceptable. I ask unanimous 
consent that there be 30 minutes equally divided on the Sarbanes 
amendment.
  Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Might we also lock in the Dorgan amendment? We have a 
copy of that amendment, and we have gotten an agreement on our side to 
have 20 minutes equally divided on that amendment.
  Mr. NICKLES. I will agree with that, Mr. President. I amend my 
request to include the Dorgan amendment to be 20 minutes equally 
divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The pending amendment is set aside, and the Senator from Maryland is 
recognized.


                           Amendment No. 2789

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Maryland [Mr. Sarbanes], for himself, Mr. 
     Dodd, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Biden, Mr. Levin, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
     Corzine, Mr. Kerry, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Rockefeller, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 2789.

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To fully fund the FIRE and SAFER Acts and reduce the debt by 
   reducing the tax breaks for the top one percent of income earners)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $429,000,000.

[[Page 4111]]

       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $1,430,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $858,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $143,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $1,430,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $858,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $143,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $1,430,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $858,000,000.
       On page 4, line 23, increase the amount by $143,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $1,859,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $2,717,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $2,860,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $2,860,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $1,859,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $2,717,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $2,860,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $2,860,000,000.

     SEC.   . RESERVE FUND FOR FIRE ACT AND SAFER ACT PROGRAMS.

       The Chairman of the committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $1,430,000,000 in 
     budget authority for fiscal year 2005, and by the amount of 
     outlays flowing therefrom in 2005 and subsequent years, for a 
     bill, amendment, motion, or conference report that provides 
     additional fiscal year 2005 discretionary appropriations, in 
     excess of the levels provided in this resolution for 
     firefighter assistance grant programs such as those 
     authorized by Title XVII of the FY 2001 National Defense 
     Authorization Act (P.L. 106-398) and by Section 1057 of the 
     FY 2004 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 108-136) and 
     are administered by the Department of Homeland Security.

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, as I understand it, I have 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I offer an amendment today to fully fund 
the Assistance to Firefighters grant program, and to fully fund the 
Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act, which, 
of course, provides for additional staffing.
  As a Co-Chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, I am 
pleased to offer this amendment. I certainly underscore and recognize 
the significant role which my colleague, Senator Dodd of Connecticut, 
has played on both the firefighter grant program and the SAFER Act.
  In his budget for 2005, the President requested only $500 million for 
the FIRE grant program. This is a cut of close to $250 million, a third 
of the funding for this program from the levels established by the 
Congress over the past two fiscal years. The fully authorized amount 
for the current fiscal year is $900 million, and this amendment would 
seek to take the program to that level.
  The FIRE grant program is a competitive grant process that funds 
firefighting equipment, firefighting vehicles, fire prevention, and 
safety programs. Unlike many other programs directed toward first 
responders, these funds go directly to local communities and fire 
departments and do not pass through the States.
  The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act, the SAFER 
Act, would provide 4-year grants to career and volunteer fire 
departments for firefighter hiring. The Congress authorized this 
program in the fiscal year 2004 Defense Authorization Act at a level of 
$1.03 billion, and this amendment seeks to fund that program at the 
authorized level.
  Regrettably, the budget the President sent to the Congress, despite 
the fact he signed the legislation contending the authorization of the 
SAFER Act, contained no money; indeed, no mention of it, as I indicated 
before, while the budget he sent to the Congress with respect to the 
firefighter grant program reduces that program from the previously 
appropriated amounts in two successive fiscal years of approximately 
$750 million to $500 million.
  The need for both of these programs is very strong; indeed, I would 
say overwhelming. In December of 2002, FEMA and the National Fire 
Protection Association jointly released the congressionally authorized 
Needs Assessment of the U.S. Fire Service. The results of this report 
were startling. Among its findings, the report noted that an estimated 
57,000 firefighters lacked protective clothing; half of all fire 
engines are at least 15 years old; and approximately one-third of 
firefighters are not equipped with essential self-contained breathing 
apparatus, one of the most important and basic safety devices for any 
firefighter.
  The need for the SAFER program is equally evident. OSHA has set a 
standard that dictates that four firefighters are needed to respond to 
any structural fire, two inside the structure and two outside. The 
FEMA-National Fire Protection Association Needs Assessment estimates 
that, on average, close to half of all fire departments in communities 
of less than 1 million people are forced to respond to emergencies with 
fewer than the four firefighters mandated by these standards.
  The SAFER Act would go a long way in ameliorating this severe 
staffing shortage and would provide funding for 75,000 new firefighters 
over the next 7 years.
  This amendment, which provides the full funding for both the 
Assistance to Firefighters grant program and the SAFER Act, will go a 
long way in preparing our Nation's firefighters for the hazards that 
face them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mr. SARBANES. I yield myself 1 additional minute.
  Mr. President, I say to my colleagues, it is all well and good to run 
ads on the television that show our firefighters meeting their duty, 
carrying out their heroic responsibilities. But if we really want to 
honor our firefighters we need to fund these programs, both to give 
them the staffing and to provide them the equipment they so desperately 
need.
  I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Graham of South Carolina). The Senator 
from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, in response to the suggestion of the 
Senator from Maryland, I point out that this amendment not only 
increases spending but it raises taxes. It is a specific assumption 
that tax levels will be increased and spending will be directed with 
those funds to a homeland security function involving first responders, 
firefighters.
  The budget resolution submitted by the President to the Congress asks 
for $3.6 billion for fiscal year 2005 for first responders. During the 
appropriations process, the Congress is going to determine the exact 
level of funding for each program within that general broad category in 
the budget resolution, but this resolution before the Senate approves 
and suggests the President's requested level is appropriate and that 
ought to be the level the Senate approves.
  Since the events of 9/11, Congress has responded with significant and 
generous support for our Nation's firefighters and other first 
responders. Over $1 billion has been specifically appropriated for 
direct assistance to firefighters since fiscal year 2002. In addition 
to specific Federal assistance, States and local communities can use 
the funds available through the Office of Domestic Preparedness to 
support the needs of firefighters at the local level. Over $5.7 billion 
has been appropriated to the State and local grant program through the 
Office of Domestic Preparedness since fiscal year 2002.
  For our most threatened communities, the funds available through the

[[Page 4112]]

high-threat, high-density urban grant program can also be used to 
assist firefighters. Over $1.4 billion has been appropriated to this 
account since fiscal year 2003.
  I do not think Congress has ignored the interests of the first 
responders, nor has this administration. I know of numerous 
announcements that have been made in my State, as there have been in 
many other States, of specific grant allocations throughout the States 
to the local communities that have applied for funds, that have tried 
to upgrade equipment, and improve training opportunities. This is all 
for the purpose of making sure our homeland will be protected in the 
best possible way by those who are on the front lines; that they will 
have what they need to do their jobs, and that they will have the 
training to do it safely.
  This is a very important matter, and I think not only has the 
Appropriations Committee responded through the new Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Homeland Security, but so have the authorizing 
committees that have made available these new programs, specifically 
authorizing them for the benefit of those at the local level who are 
firefighters and who are called upon to be the first person on the 
scene in the case of a disaster, whether it is a natural disaster or 
whether it is a disaster that is occasioned by the attack of 
terrorists.
  Like all programs, we are going to continue to listen to those who 
have the obligation of meeting these responsibilities to be sure they 
have what they need to do their jobs and to carry out their mission 
successfully. We are working hard to assist them to the best of our 
ability.
  Any Senator has the opportunity to offer an amendment to a budget 
resolution to increase spending for any popular program, but at some 
point we have to recognize that the committee of jurisdiction has a 
responsibility, too. That is the responsibility to make the tough 
decision that it is going to be $1 billion for this program, or $2 
billion for that program.
  These are not easy decisions. But this committee has gone through the 
process of reviewing the request from the administration, listening to 
all of the suggestions made in the committee, weighing our 
responsibilities to provide the moneys we would like to provide and 
then providing the moneys available to us through the tax process that 
we can expect to be available for allocation.
  This is a tough job. It is not a fun job. I respect the work that has 
been done by the Budget Committee. As chairman of the subcommittee that 
has jurisdiction over the funding of the activities of the Department 
of Homeland Security, we try to bring to the process the same kind of 
diligence and sensitivity to the needs of those who will receive the 
funds but also to the budget process and to the integrity of the 
process so we do not undermine our capacity to get our economy moving 
again and to continue to grow.
  Working within the current fiscal constraints and trying to exercise 
good judgment, we must set priorities. I urge the Senate to reject this 
amendment and make the choice to support the Budget Committee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. SARBANES. How much time do I have remaining?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 8\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. SARBANES. I yield myself 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, the budget submitted by the President 
reduces funding for grants to local police, fire and emergency medical 
agencies from $4.2 billion in the current fiscal year to $3.5 billion 
in fiscal year 2005, a very substantial cut.
  This cut comes despite a June 2003 report entitled ``Emergency 
Responders Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared,'' issued by 
a commission headed by our former colleague, Senator Warren Rudman of 
New Hampshire. The title of that report, again, is ``Emergency 
Responders Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared.''
  The President's budget for the firefighter grant program, which 
provides this badly needed equipment, asks for $500 million. We 
appropriated $750 million in this year's budget and in the previous 
year's budget. Yet the President is cutting that figure by one-third. 
The President's budget provides no funding for the SAFER Act, which 
this Congress passed last fall, and which provides State, local, and 
regional agencies with funds to hire firefighters, paramedics, 
emergency medical technicians, rescue workers, ambulance personnel, and 
hazardous material workers for local fire departments.
  These fire departments desperately need these funds. The question is 
then, as the Senator pointed out, how will they be paid for? Well, the 
tax cuts that have been received by the top 1 percent are $45 billion 
annually. A small percentage of that in the single numbers shifted from 
that purpose to this purpose would enable us to fund these firefighter 
programs at the fully authorized level.
  These are questions of choice, and the choice very directly put by 
this amendment is whether a portion of these outsized tax reductions 
for the top 1 percent of the population ought not to be shifted to 
enable our first responders to get the equipment and staffing, and get 
the training which they need in order to handle the situations that 
face them. It is not a sufficient tribute to firefighters, in my 
judgment, to show them on TV ads carrying out their heroic 
responsibilities and then to fail to provide them with the resources 
they so clearly need in order to be able to do the job.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, how much time remains on the amendment?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There remain 9 minutes on the majority side 
and 4 minutes 18 seconds on the minority side.
  Mr. COCHRAN. One other point I should have made when I was responding 
to the remarks of my good friend from Maryland was he suggested the 
administration has somehow failed to fund the so-called SAFER Act. This 
is legislation that was adopted and signed into law last year, at the 
end of the year, almost, November 25, 2003, by the President. The 
budget process for fiscal year 2005 had already begun. The budget 
submissions were on their way, in fact, through the pipeline. Given 
there will be an opportunity to review the new authorization that was 
contained in the SAFER Act, which was actually a part of the Defense 
authorization bill, it will be reviewed as we go through the next 
budget cycle and it may be reflected as a specific request for funding 
next year. I don't want to make the presumption as to what the 
administration's decision will be regarding specific amounts for this 
purpose. It was simply premature, I think, to suggest the 
administration has failed to fund the SAFER Act. That is the point.
  I mentioned all the other authorizations the Congress has approved 
and the requests for funding the administration has made for additional 
programs. I don't think anyone who has been reading the papers or 
following the progress of the financial commitments that have been made 
by the Federal Government to State and local communities for first 
responders can ignore the fact that there has been a gigantic infusion 
of funding for these purposes. Local volunteer fire departments, 
communities that have training facilities and those who do not, have 
been able to get money to send people for specialized training. Some 
communities have been able to obtain equipment they had never had an 
opportunity to purchase, and wouldn't, under the tax structures of 
these towns and cities, have a chance to obtain. The response has been 
enormous.
  You can say: Well, more needs to be done.
  My answer is: More will be done. We are continuing to look for ways 
to support the activities that are important at the local level to 
equip our first responders. Firefighters are certainly included. I am 
proud of the aggressive

[[Page 4113]]

way the administration has moved to respond and to act in a generous 
way, and to provide the requests and the support for these training and 
equipment activities. We have special funds allocated to high-threat 
urban areas. I mentioned that over $1.4 billion that has been 
appropriated to that grant program since fiscal year 2003.
  I am hopeful we can continue to see the Government respond in a 
thoughtful way to make sure we continue to set the priorities that need 
to be set and support those who are responding to save lives and 
protect the citizens of this country. I am proud of the work we are 
doing, too, here in the Congress to support these efforts. There is not 
enough money to satisfy some people, and there never will be. But 
working together with local communities and State governments to 
identify the highest priorities, to make sure we allocate the funds in 
a fair and reasonable way is our obligation. I think the Budget 
Committee has done a good job sorting through all the requests and the 
suggestions that have been made by the Senate for this resolution. I 
think we should applaud them.
  I support the committee and hope the Senate will reject this 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I again underscore the tremendous need 
for these resources in order for our firefighters to be able to carry 
out their responsibilities. In June of last year, not even a year ago, 
the Rudman Commission, headed by our former colleague Warren Rudman, 
issued a report entitled ``Emergency Responders Drastically 
Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared,'' that found budget shortfalls in 
the tens of billions of dollars. We need to address this issue.
  The history of the administration on this matter is regrettably a 
sorry tale. When we created the Fire Grant Program in 2000, the Bush 
Administration, when it came in, moved to eliminate the program in its 
preliminary budgetary vision for fiscal 2002. We had to fight the 
administration to put the program back in its budget request for that 
year. In the end, it proposed flat funding the program.
  After the attacks of 9/11--and as I noted earlier, we are now seeing 
television spots showing our firefighters carrying out their heroic 
responsibilities--Congress appropriated an additional $210 million in 
emergency spending for the program, recognizing its significance. The 
administration refused to spend the money initially, and eventually and 
reluctantly did so after an outcry from the Congress.
  In the fiscal year 2003 budget they proposed rolling this Fire Grant 
Program into the general first responder account. There was great 
concern in the Congress about dismantling the specific program. We 
appropriated almost $750 million to the program in its own account.
  Last year the President sought to cut it by a third. Last year the 
Congress--and I give credit to my colleagues for this--restored the 
funding to close to $750 million.
  This year the budget submitted to us again cuts it to $500 million 
and there is no money for the SAFER Program, even though it had been 
authorized back in November.
  We need these resources. The Rudman Commission has told us in their 
report, emergency responders are drastically underfunded and 
dangerously unprepared. We need to change that equation and we can 
begin the process of doing so by providing the resources to fund these 
two programs at their authorized level, paying the firefighters the 
tribute they deserve by giving them the protective tools and the 
staffing with which to do their job.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. How much time remains on the amendment?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There remain 4 minutes 20 seconds for the 
majority, 34 seconds for the minority.
  Mr. NICKLES. Does the Senator from Mississippi mind if I make a 
couple of additional comments and I will be happy to yield him 
additional time if he wishes.
  I know some people think we never do enough anywhere. Basically they 
will want to increase spending everywhere. In this particular area we 
are increasing spending a lot.
  The Department of Homeland Security has a 15-percent increase, 
according to the Congressional Budget Office. That is counting 
bioshield. That is kind of hard to compute. Take bioshield out. It is a 
10-percent increase--a 10-percent increase. Secretary Ridge wants to 
reallocate some of it into higher threat areas. I know some people want 
to use homeland security as basically revenue sharing and give more 
money to every city in the area, or every county in the area, maybe 
every police department or fire department and say this is for homeland 
security. Secretary Ridge said we should reallocate some of these 
moneys. It is still a big increase. Actually, it is the largest 
percentage increase of any of our major departments, and we should 
direct this toward the high critical threat area. I compliment him for 
that.
  I also say this is money wasted. A lot of money is being wasted. 
Maybe a little tightening might be in order.
  The District of Columbia used this to outfit leather jackets on the 
police side; in Maryland, money is used to buy the Prince George's 
County prosecutor's office a security system.
  This is homeland security, but this is all in one pot. We can try to 
pretend this is going to this or that, but, frankly, we are giving so 
much money to the appropriators. But we are expecting at least a 10-
percent increase going to homeland security.
  In Virginia, a small volunteer fire department spent $350,000 on a 
custom-made fire boat. The Metropolitan Washington Council of 
Governments used some of the money for janitorial services. The 
District of Columbia Hospital Association shows a formula that 
guaranteed every city hospital a share of an $8 million grant. Prince 
George's homeland security funds, instead of buying protective gear for 
police officers, they chose to purchase a half-million-dollar digital 
camera system used for mug shots. The District of Columbia, Leslie 
Hotaling, director of the District's Department of Public Works said, 
``If we can tie it to 9/11 and build capacity into our core 
functioning, let's do it.'' Her agency spent more than $55,000 on basic 
training courses such as map reading and handling problem employees.
  My point is that Secertary Ridge requested--and he has a very 
difficult and challenging job--10 percent more money for the Department 
of Homeland Security, and we have provided it for them. He wants to 
reallocate some of it to higher priority areas. I think we are trying 
to give that to him to fulfill that function. Senator Cochran manages 
this appropriations bill, and he does it very well.
  I urge our colleagues to vote no on the Sarbanes amendment.
  Also, I failed to add this amendment raises taxes by $2.9 billion. It 
is another big tax increase.
  The only taxes we are really assuming in the next couple of years are 
family-friendly tax cuts. Maybe that means the 20-percent tax credit 
won't continue to be as broad as it is. Maybe it means the child credit 
won't be extended.
  I urge our colleagues not to support this amendment.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President. I rise in support of this amendment to help 
the Nation's firefighters safely do their jobs.
  Specifically, this amendment does three things. First, it restores 
funding to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, which I 
authored in 2000 with Senators DeWine, Levin, and Warner. This law 
stands as the first federal grant program explicitly designed to help 
firefighters throughout America obtain better equipment, improved 
training, and needed personnel.
  Second, this amendment provides funding for the implementation of the 
SAFER Act. This law, which I authored with Senator Warner and was 
enacted last November, authorizes a federal grant program to hire an 
expected 75,000 new firefighters over the next seven years.
  Finally, this amendment allocates much-needed funding for deficit 
reduction. The Senate budget resolution,

[[Page 4114]]

which largely reflects President Bush's irresponsible fiscal policies, 
adds a staggering $2.86 trillion to the national debt over the next 5 
years.
  Mr. President, $2.86 trillion dollars! These numbers are totally 
mind-boggling. The Republicans have always claimed that they are the 
party of fiscal responsibility. Under their Senate Budget resolution, 
however, $612 billion will be added to the gross debt from 2004 to 
2005; the next year $569 billion will be added; the next year $553 
billion; the next year $553 billion; the next year $563 billion; and 
the next year $564 billion will be added to the debt. Despite the 
claims of President Bush and the Budget Committee majority, I see no 
significant progress being made at reducing the increases to the debt. 
In fact, we've gone from record surpluses to record deficits in only 3 
years!
  The offset we are proposing to pay for this amendment is a reduction 
in the tax cuts benefiting individuals with annual incomes over $1 
million. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the 
Senate budget resolution calls for tax cuts which are extremely 
beneficial to the wealthiest Americans such as accelerating the repeal 
of the estate tax by 1 year, and making permanent the capital gains and 
dividend tax cuts. With the deficit exploding, the country still 
vulnerable to terrorist attack, and our Nation's firefighters in need 
of the resources necessary to respond to emergencies and to save lives, 
it is only right that the top one-tenth of one percent of the 
wealthiest Americans pay their fair share for homeland security.
  In fact, Mr. President, homeland security is exactly what this 
amendment is all about. The defenders on our home front are not dressed 
in combat fatigues. They do not drive tanks on the streets of the 
Nation's cities. They wear firefighter uniforms, and they drive fire 
engines. They risk their lives to keep us safe just like our troops 
overseas, and I for one appreciate their efforts greatly.
  I know that the fire service has men and women who are willing to do 
whatever it takes to get their jobs done. We have first-rate 
firefighters throughout the Nation, but they are underfunded, 
understaffed, undertrained, and underequiped to deal with many 
emergencies that may arise.
  The responsibilities of America's firefighters have changed. They 
have certainly come a long way from the ``bucket brigades'' in colonial 
America, where two rows of people would stretch from the town well to 
the fire, passing buckets of water back and forth until the fire was 
extinguished.
  Today, firefighters must do more. They still have their traditional 
responsibilities of extinguishing fires, delivering emergency medical 
services, and ensuring that fire codes are inspected. Now the fire 
service has new homeland security responsibilities, such as responding 
to biological and radiological agents.
  The reality, however, is that cash-strapped States and cities simply 
do not have the resources--financial as well as personnel--needed to 
single-handedly safeguard their populations. Nor do they have the 
fiscal reserves necessary to deal with heightened warning levels for 
any extended period of time.
  According to a national Needs Assessment study of the U.S. Fire 
Service published in December 2002, most fire departments lack the 
necessary resources and training to properly handle terrorist attacks 
and large-scale emergencies. The study found that:
  Using local personnel, only 11 percent of fire departments can handle 
a rescue with emergency medical services at a structural collapse of a 
building with 50 occupants. Nearly half of all fire departments 
consider such an incident beyond their scope.
  Using local personnel, only 13 percent of fire departments can handle 
a hazardous material incident involving chemical and/or biological 
agents with 10 injuries. Only 21 percent have a written agreement to 
direct the use of non-local resources to handle the situation.
  An estimated 40 percent of fire department personnel involved in 
hazardous material response lack formal training in those duties, most 
of them serving smaller communities.
  Finally, an estimated 60 to 75 percent of fire departments do not 
have enough fire stations to achieve widely used response time 
guidelines. Many fire departments often fail to respond to fires with 
sufficient personnel to safely initiate an interior attack on a 
structural fire.
  These statistics are startling. The risks that firefighters are 
expected to respond to have far outgrown the ability of city 
governments to equip firefighters to do what we are asking them to do. 
This situation demands immediate action by the Senate to address these 
concerns.
  Unfortunately, the Bush administration is talking out of both sides 
of its mouth when it comes to helping firefighters. Secretary Ridge of 
the Department of Homeland Security talks about training and equipping 
first responders yet the President's Budget and the Senate budget 
resolution cuts the FIRE Act grant program by $250 million. This 
amendment will restore these funds to their authorized level of $900 
million for fiscal year 2005.
  Mr. President, the FIRE Act grant program has been one of the most 
successful initiatives in recent years. I am currently working closely 
with Senator DeWine to reauthorize this program for the future. The 
need is certainly out there in all regions of the country urban and 
rural, large cities and small communities, North and South, East and 
West--for these competitive, merit-based grants that assist fire 
departments with their heaviest burdens. For Fiscal Year 2003, the 
program received approximately 19,950 applications from fire 
departments across the nation, totaling $2.5 billion in grant requests, 
while only $750 million in federal funding was available for such 
grants.
  A January 31, 2003 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found 
that 99 percent of program participants were satisfied with the 
program's ability to meet the needs of their department. In addition, 
97 percent of the participants reported that the program had ``a 
positive impact on their ability to handle fire and fire-related 
incidents.'' The report concluded that ``overall, the results of our 
survey and our analysis reflect that the Assistance to Firefighters 
Grant program was highly effective in improving the readiness and 
capabilities of firefighters across the nation.'' The FIRE Act grant 
program is truly a success story, and it deserves the Senate's full 
support.
  It is surprising to me then that President Bush and the Senate budget 
resolution would slash $250 million from this very successful program. 
It is also surprising to me that President Bush would show images of 
firefighters in a campaign advertisement when his budget, as well as 
the Senate budget resolution, provides not one cent for the SAFER Act, 
which would fund 75,000 new firefighters over the next seven years. It 
makes no sense.
  The need for additional firefighters on our Nation's streets is 
great. According to National Fire Protection Association standards, a 
minimum of four firefighters is required to initiate an interior attack 
on a house fire. And 73 percent of departments serving populations 
between 10,000 and 25,000 lack such personnel.
  For fire departments serving populations between 25,000 and 50,000, 
the number climbs to 82 percent.
  For fire departments serving populations between 50,000 and 100,000, 
76 percent lack the minimum of four firefighters.
  And 56 percent of fire departments protecting 100,000 and 250,000 
people also do not have the necessary four firefighters.
  Then it is 41 percent for departments serving 250,000 and 500,000 
people, 40 percent for departments protecting populations between 
500,000 and one million people, and 0 percent for departments 
protecting at least one million people.
  Just as the FIRE Act provides the equipment and training resources 
for firefighters to do their job, the SAFER Act complements it by also 
providing

[[Page 4115]]

the human resources to meet the challenge of an extended war against 
terrorism. Since 1970, the number of firefighters as a percentage of 
the nation's workforce has steadily declined. Today in the United 
States there is one firefighter for every 280 citizens. We have fewer 
firefighters per capita than nurses and police officers.
  We need to turn the trend around now more than ever. Understaffing is 
dangerous for the public and for firefighters. Chronic understaffing 
means that many firefighters do not have the backup and on-the-ground 
support they need to do their jobs safely. The sad consequence is that 
about every three days we lose a firefighter in the line of duty. On 
some days, the losses are unimaginably high. Firefighters need 
reinforcements, and the Congress should be prepared to give them all 
the help they need. This amendment therefore provides funding for the 
SAFER Act at its FY2005 authorized level of $1.03 billion.
  In closing, it is important to recall the important role that 
firefighters have played in American history since its earliest days. 
In fact, firefighting can be linked to some of our Nation's most 
illustrious personages. Benjamin Franklin established the first 
volunteer fire department in Philadelphia in 1735. George Washington 
himself was a volunteer firefighter across the Potomac River in 
Alexandria, Virginia, and he imported the first fire engine from 
England in 1765.
  Of course, on September 11, 2001, 343 members of the New York Fire 
Department made the ultimate sacrifice in their efforts to save 
thousands of lives trapped in the World Trade Center. The role played 
by those firefighters who lived and died in the line of duty on that 
tragic day made the Nation proud.
  On that day and on every other day, they are the first ones in and 
the last ones out. They risk their own lives to save the lives of 
others. They stare danger in the face because they know that they have 
a duty to fulfill.
  The Congress has a duty to the fire service as well. We must ensure 
that there is full funding for the FIRE Act and the SAFER Act, so I 
urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I want to point out that the examples 
the chairman of the committee used for the supposed waste of money, 
other than one, did not involve firefighters. You can drag all these 
cats and dogs in from anywhere you want. The only firefighter example 
that was used was a purchase of a firefighting boat. On the face of it, 
that may well have been a good expenditure.
  In any event, these are competitive grants and the judgment on who 
gets the grants and for what purpose is made by the administration. To 
the extent you can site something, the ultimate responsibility for it 
comes back on the administration.
  Furthermore--will the Senator give me 2 minutes?
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield 2 minutes to the Senator from Maryland off the 
resolution.
  Mr. SARBANES. Furthermore, the Senator says if we are going to get 
this money, $2.8 billion, you would have to--then he mentions all kinds 
of possibilities on the tax side. Obviously, we can't direct specific 
instructions to the tax committee, but we can point out what the 
opportunities are. The top 1 percent is getting that billion-dollar tax 
credit. The cost of the Bush tax cut for those making over $337,000 in 
2005--the top 1 percent, over a $337,000 income--$45 billion.
  We are suggesting very simply that a small portion of that be shifted 
in order to help address the challenges that confront our firefighters.
  I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I will speak on time off the resolution.
  My colleague keeps coming back saying we want to sock it to the 
wealthy. You don't do that in a budget resolution. You tell the 
committee to raise more taxes. I will tell you that all we are assuming 
the committee is going to do is extend present law. This would make it 
so you can't do that. That means low-income people are going to see a 
tax increase, if we don't extend present law. That is what we are 
assuming we are going to do.
  I know my colleagues would like to raise the 35-percent rate. That is 
what corporations pay. A lot of us really do not think individuals will 
pay more than Exxon. How about a little fairness?
  I tell my colleagues that this idea of tax and spend, we are always 
going to tax that person behind the tree, it is going to be that 
multimillionaire, that is not the way the Budget Committee works and 
that is not the way the Finance Committee works.
  We have defeated these amendments. I hope we will continue to defeat 
the amendments that sock it to them by raising taxes and increasing 
spending.
  I hope our colleagues will realize it is not going anywhere, and then 
maybe we can eliminate a lot of these amendments so we can get some 
business done.
  I am trying to cooperate with my colleague from North Dakota. But we 
are making very little progress. I know there are a lot of amendments. 
I am trying to be fair to all colleagues if they wish to debate their 
amendments. But this idea of spending 3 hours on 2 amendments is not 
very productive. I hope we will be more successful in moving a little 
more quickly through amendments, especially ones that are so close to 
being repetitive.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yield myself such time as I might use 
off the resolution.
  I urge my colleagues to support the amendment of the Senator from 
Maryland. The amendment of the Senator from Maryland does two things: 
It restores the cuts to firefighters that have been made in this 
budget, and it reduces the deficit. It reduces the deficit. We have 
record deficits. The amendment of the Senator from Maryland is a 
twofer. He restores the cuts to firefighters, the first responders. We 
know from the disaster of September 11 that one of the biggest failings 
was our first responders, including our firefighters, who could not 
communicate with each other. They had units from different 
jurisdictions and they couldn't communicate. That has to be fixed. That 
costs money.
  The Senator from Maryland has offered an amendment to restore the 
cuts to firefighters. That makes sense.
  Second, he reduces the deficit. To pay for it, he takes a tiny 
fraction of the tax cut going to the wealthiest 1 percent in this 
country, those earning over $337,000 a year. The total cost of the tax 
cuts for that group in 2005 is $45 billion. The Senator from Maryland 
reduces the deficit and restores the cuts to firefighters by using 1.6 
percent of that money over four years.
  This amendment is a serious amendment and it deserves support.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized to 
offer an amendment.


                           Amendment No. 2793

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr.President, I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Dorgan] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2793.

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To increase funding for COPS, Byrne grants, and Local Law 
     Enforcement Block Grants, and reduce the debt by reducing the 
   President's tax breaks for taxpayers with incomes in excess of $1 
                            million a year)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $344,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $632,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $510,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $610,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $104,000,000.

[[Page 4116]]

       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $344,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $632,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $510,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $610,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $104,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $344,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $632,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $510,000,000.
       On page 4, line 23, increase the amount by $610,000,000.
       On page 4, line 24, increase the amount by $104,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $344,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $976,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $1,486,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $2,096,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $2,200,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $344,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $976,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $1,486,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $2,096,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $2,200,000,000.

     SEC.   . RESERVE FUND FOR COPS AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT 
                   GRANT PROGRAMS.

        The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $1,100,000,000 in 
     budget authority for fiscal year 2005, and by the amount of 
     outlays flowing therefrom in 2005 and subsequent years, for a 
     bill, amendment, motion, or conference report that provides 
     additional fiscal year 2005 discretionary appropriations, in 
     excess of the levels provided in this resolution for the 
     Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, the 
     Edward Byrne formula grant program, and the Local Law 
     Enforcement Block Grant program at the Department of Justice.

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I have agreed to a rather short time limit 
for a debate on my amendment. I know we are facing a lot of votes in 
the later hours of today and perhaps even tomorrow. So I have agreed to 
10 minutes on each side.
  This budget that is brought to the Senate deals with choices. We make 
choices. I have great respect for people who have a differing view than 
mine on the choices of where to spend money and where to save money. 
They have every right to share views. I respect their views. There are 
times with respect to this budget document where we disagree. This is 
one of them.
  My amendment deals with law enforcement. The budget that is before 
the Senate, consistent with the Administration's wishes, proposes to 
cut $1.6 billion of proven, critically important domestic law 
enforcement programs; then it would restore about $500 million in 
funding, leaving the budget $1.1 billion short for law enforcement 
programs. This includes the COPS Program. We know that works, but it 
would be eviscerated by this budget. The Byrne grant program, that is 
the most important program to help local law enforcement agencies 
around this country, would be eliminated. The local law enforcement 
block grant program would be eliminated. We will be $1.1 billion short 
for these critical law enforcement needs.
  My amendment restores that money, and, in addition, reduces the 
Federal budget deficit by $1 billion. We simply restrict, just 
restrict, a very small amount of the tax cut that goes to the folks in 
this country earning more than $1 million a year.
  This is just a choice that we have to make, one that says a lot about 
our priorities.
  Last month I held a meeting in North Dakota, as I have on previous 
occasions. I had county sheriffs, the highway patrol, local police 
officers there. We were talking about the scourge of methamphetamine. 
What a devastating scourge to this country. Methamphetamine is 
destroying lives. Anyone can buy the ingredients for methamphetamine at 
the local stores. Then you can cook it up in a trunk or abandoned 
farmhouse. It is literally like a prairie fire out in rural America. It 
is an enormous challenge to local law enforcement officers. The 
equipment, the communications opportunities, the manpower, needed to 
fight this new meth scourge is very substantial. This is the wrong time 
to be cutting the law enforcement assistance to the states that we have 
given previously. So I suggest we restore this money and provide the 
funding from the tax cut that has been given to those earning over $1 
million a year.
  This choice that we have to make is also about terrorism. We talk a 
lot about the terrorist threat in this country. The first responders to 
the next terrorist attack will not come out of the Centers for Disease 
Control or the FBI or the Secret Service. The first responders are 
going to be the local police officers on the scene, the firefighters on 
the scene. The question is, Do they have the training? Do they have the 
equipment? Do they have the capability, the manpower to deal with these 
issues? The Edward Byrne grants and the COPS Programs and the Local Law 
Enforcement Block Grants go a long way in making sure that our first 
responders are ready.
  Now we discover the priority of the majority and also the 
administration is to cut that funding. That is, in my judgment, a very 
significant mistake.
  You know, I was here months ago leading the fight to try to stop 
sending $20 billion of the taxpayers' money to reconstruct Iraq. Why 
did I feel that way? Because Iraq has the money to reconstruct itself. 
The Iraqi people can pump Iraqi oil and reconstruct Iraq. The American 
taxpayer does not need to spend $20 billion for that.
  I lost that vote. This money is on its way to Iraq. And we have all 
these law enforcement programs now in Iraq. So the American taxpayer is 
going to pay for law enforcement programs for Iraq, which Iraqis could 
pay for themselves, and we will cut law enforcement programs in this 
country. What kind of priority is that?
  There are some who take a look at those in politics and say: America 
first; that is pretty selfish.
  It is not selfish, in my judgment, to ensure that we protect the 
American public, that we head off future terrorist threats, that we 
support local law enforcement and respond to the scourge of 
methamphetamine and other issues. If we do not have the funds for that 
but we have the funds to invest in local law enforcement in Iraq, which 
the Iraqis could have paid for themselves, there is something wrong 
with our priorities. Our priorities need to be changed.
  I have talked about the three programs that the budget would cut. The 
proposal is to cut a substantial amount of money from the COPS Program, 
$698 million, $696 million from the Edward Byrne grant program, and 
$224 million from the local law enforcement block grant. After cutting 
$1.6 billion, they create a new program of $500 million, roughly, so 
you are about $1.1 billion short.
  Maybe those who say, let's do this, maybe they really think that tax 
cuts for people who make over $1 million are more important than the 
Byrne grant. But if you just held meetings with law enforcement 
officials in your State and understand what they face, the challenge 
they face every single day, you understand that is a bad choice to be 
cutting these programs.
  I recall that days after the devastating attack on September 11, I 
went to Ground Zero with my colleagues. I recall looking into the eyes 
of the law enforcement officers and the firefighters who lost brothers 
and sisters, who were moving up those buildings as the buildings were 
coming down. They were not punching a timecard. They were not asking 
whether they were being paid overtime. They were not talking about 
anything other than their job. They ran right into the face of danger. 
Many of them lost their lives trying to save people. That is what law 
enforcement does in this country. This country takes them for granted 
every day and every night. We go to bed at night feeling safe because 
law enforcement is on our streets. This country takes it for granted. 
We ought to say thank-you to the men and women who wear the badge and 
keep the peace and keep our streets safe.

[[Page 4117]]

  It is the wrong way to cut the Byrne grant program, the COPS Program, 
and the things that are essential and are needed by local law 
enforcement, and to do that in order to preserve a tax cut for those 
who make over $1 million a year. It is a bad choice for the country. 
And, in my judgment, it is a bad political choice for those who have 
done it, as well.
  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I will make a couple of comments and 
maybe Senator Gregg may want to speak. He is more knowledgeable about 
this program than I am.
  What is very clear to me to see is that this amendment is another one 
of these amendments on which we had the pleasure of voting. This will 
increase spending, yes, and it will also increase taxes. We have had 
that debate several times. I guess we will have it several more times. 
I am happy to debate it.
  Some think individuals should pay more than corporations. I don't. I 
think that is bad tax policy. I think the power to tax is the power to 
destroy. If you have to work more than half the time for the 
Government, then you lose your personal freedom.
  Looking at the COPS Program, I remember the objective of the COPS 
Program was to have 100,000 new cops on the street. According to the 
figures I was just handed, we have 118,000 as a result of the COPS 
Program, a program that started with an enormous Federal subsidy, I 
believe. I have to refresh my memory, but I believe the Federal 
Government pays 75 percent of the costs of the first year and then 
something like 50 percent the next year and maybe 25 percent the third 
year. Then it is on the community.
  In other words, local police are supposed to be paid by local 
communities. But we said we would give them an additional incentive to 
hire additional police officers basically by a big subsidy, but that 
subsidy would curtail and it would be the responsibility of the 
community, certainly entirely by the fourth year.
  Some want to keep it forever. As Will Rogers once said: All Federal 
programs have something in common: a beginning, a middle, and no 
ending.
  We accomplished the objective, I guess, but yet some people want to 
continue it. I have no doubt there are lots of cities that would say, 
Hey, we would love for you to pay three-fourths of the cost of a new 
police officer, because they have people retiring, they have people 
leaving, and so on. So, yes, we would love to have the Federal 
Government come in and pay three-fourths of it.
  I question, How long are we supposed to do that? I do not think that 
is really the Federal Government's responsibility. Maybe it was a 
little easier to do when we had enormous surpluses. We do not have 
those surpluses today. And this really is not the Federal Government's 
responsibility to be putting police officers in every city.
  I know we had a city in Oklahoma--I am trying to remember the name of 
the city--that had no police officers. Yet when the COPS Program came 
in, they thought: We need to have a police officer. We are going to 
have the Federal Government pay three-fourths of the cost of our police 
officer for the first year. Oh, we have to get him a car--and on and 
on. It was almost comical because they never had a police officer in 
this town. It probably had a population of 65 or something.
  But my point is, we have significant increases for the Department of 
Justice. We have significant increases to help the FBI, to help law 
enforcement. I do not think this is that high of a priority for us to 
try to be subsidizing police departments all across the country. Nor do 
I think it is good economics to say, oh, well, we are going to have the 
upper whatever percent. Everybody knows. I guess I will repeat this 
every time. All this amendment does is raise taxes. And all we have on 
the assumption in the budget resolution is that middle-income taxpayers 
are going to get to keep present law. Now, if that goes away because of 
a tax increase, the middle-income taxpayers better look out because 
their taxes are going up by this multitude of amendments.
  Incidentally, if it makes any difference, we are counting how many 
tax-and-spend amendments are being offered. And we assume it is going 
to be the millionaires. That is not the way it works. You tell the 
Finance Committee: raise more money, and the Finance Committee is going 
to raise taxes. And you know with this President we are not going to be 
raising marginal rates. The marginal top rate is 35 percent. When Bill 
Clinton was elected, it was 31 percent. He took it up to 39.6 percent. 
It took us this long to get it at 35 percent.
  Who benefits from that? Entrepreneurs, people who are growing, 
building, and expanding their businesses. When they expand, they create 
jobs. Let's not stifle economic growth by some of these ridiculous 
expansions to try to grow Government.
  I think these amendments are getting a little redundant, maybe a 
little bit repetitive. If our colleagues want to finish, I do not know 
why we have to have so many of them.
  But I urge our colleagues to vote no on the amendment.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yield myself time off the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I heard my colleague, the chairman of the 
Budget Committee, say that this would increase taxes on those who earn 
over $1 million a year. The cost of the tax cuts, in 2005, to those 
earning over $1 million a year, is $27 billion.
  I point out to my colleague that when it is a question of job 
creation, it is an interesting fact. It is true that during the Clinton 
administration the top marginal rate was increased from 31 percent to 
39.6 percent. And guess what happened to economic activity and job 
creation. We had 22 million jobs created in this country with the 39.6-
percent rate. Now we are down to 35 percent, and under this President 3 
million jobs have been lost.
  If we go back to the Clinton years, the fact is, he put increased 
revenue into place, cut spending; and we went from 22.6 percent of GDP 
down to 19 percent of GDP on spending, and raised revenue, because 
President Clinton inherited from the previous President Bush the same 
mess this President Bush is creating: record budget deficits. The 
previous record, before this President, was in his father's 
administration.
  When President Clinton came in, he faced a $290 billion budget 
deficit. He put in place a 5-year plan that cut spending, raised 
revenue, balanced the budget, stopped the raid on Social Security. And 
guess what. We had 22 million jobs created, with the longest economic 
expansion in the Nation's history, the lowest unemployment in 30 years, 
and the lowest inflation in 30 years.
  Now we have this alternative plan, which is to run the biggest 
deficits in history, run up the debt, and lose 3 million jobs. I would 
take the Clinton economic years over the economic years of this 
administration.
  I want to say, my office was visited this week by State and local 
officials from back home. They told us the proposed levels in the 
Republican budget resolution for law enforcement and for the COPS 
Program is going to do serious damage to law enforcement in our State. 
That was the message they delivered.
  The President's budget cuts the COPS Program 94 percent. It is the 
COPS Program that has put 100,000 police officers on the streets of 
America, including several hundred in my home State. Why we would cut 
the COPS Program when we face a terrorist threat eludes me.
  I think the amendment of the Senator from North Dakota deserves our 
support.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, last year right about this time I stood in 
the Senate chamber questioning why an administration that talks so much 
about the importance of homeland security and first responders would 
submit a budget that so drastically shortchanges their needs. I find 
myself 1 year later still asking the same questions but hearing no good 
answers.

[[Page 4118]]

  Specifically as it pertains to community policing and other law 
enforcement programs, this budget shortchanges smaller communities and 
grossly under funds programs that have put more police officers on the 
street, reduced crime in rural areas, curbed drug abuse and put at-risk 
youth back on the right track.
  Instead of strengthening these programs--programs that we know work--
we are pulling the rug right out from under our communities' feet. 
Under the budget proposal, the COPS program would see a reduction from 
$756 million to $44 million--a staggering 94 percent cut.
  Let me be clear: Taking away COPS funding will mean less police 
officers on our streets; it will mean less resource officers in our 
schools preventing violence and drug abuse; It will also mean longer 
response times and higher crime rates. This is tradeoff we should never 
even consider, yet alone go through with.
  Since 1994, my State received $88.4 million in COPS grants, which has 
funded 1,289 additional police officers and sheriff deputies, 112 
school resource officers and more than $11 million in crime-fighting 
technologies. Arkansas is not alone; I ask if there is a Senator among 
us that would contest that their State has benefited from the COPS 
program.
  We can't be serious about law enforcement by paring this successful 
program to $44 million. Texas alone received nearly $30 million from 
the COPS program last year. How are we going to fund the entire 
country's COPS needs using the budget of what just one State received 
last year?
  When I was the Attorney General of my State, I worked closely with 
law enforcement to make Arkansas a safer place to live and raise a 
family. One thing I know for sure, these police officers operate under 
tight budgets with smaller staffs than most of their urban 
counterparts. Nevertheless, they put their lives on the line every day 
and we need to make sure they have adequate resources to do their jobs 
properly.
  I recently talked with several Arkansas police chiefs about the 
proposed cuts to the COPS program. They told me how important this 
program was in their continuing battle to stop the production of 
methamphetamine throughout Arkansas.
  Chief James Allen of the Bentonville Police department said the COPS 
program has been the biggest single factor in helping his region fight 
the environmental and social problems created by methamphetamine use.
  Last year alone, Arkansas police shut down 1,208 meth labs, but more 
are popping up each day.
  Methamphetamine spreads so easily because it is cheap and easy to 
produce. It is also extremely addictive and it is tearing rural 
communities apart. Law enforcement officials have told me that if 
Congress reduces COPS funding by 94 percent, we would effectively 
decimate their ability to battle this deadly drug.
  These law enforcement officers are making a huge difference in our 
communities and on top of that, they play the integral part in our 
homeland defense as first responders.
  COPS grants have played a critical role in providing additional 
manpower, technology and training--all of which are necessary to 
enhance community security and contribute to the overall goal of 
national domestic preparedness. The Chief of Police in Pine Bluff, AR 
Daniel Moses characterized his Homeland Security Overtime grant as a 
godsend.
  September 11 made us acutely aware of the need of genuine 
partnerships that involve all segments of our communities and all 
levels of government--we all have a role in keeping our community safe.
  Our local law enforcement must be able to respond to whatever may 
confront them in the future, but how can they properly respond, when 
they are given a budget that cuts deep into their existence?
  I would also like to note that in my State, a number of police 
officers on the front lines of crime prevention are also fighting on 
the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are pulling double duty 
for our country in the Reserves and National Guard. But at the same 
time, their absence has spread our police forces even thinner.
  We need to build on what we know works. These law enforcement 
programs work. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of Attorney 
General John Ashcroft who said not two years ago:

       Since law enforcement agencies began partnering with 
     citizens through community policing we've seen significant 
     drops in crime rates.

  Mr. President, our communities, the people we represent have truly 
benefited from these programs and taking away its funding would be a 
major step backwards in our efforts to fight crime.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I forgot to mention at the start that 
Senator Daschle joins me as a cosponsor of this amendment.
  Mr. President, it has been suggested that my amendment amounts to a 
tax increase. That is just nonsense. The question before us is this: 
next year, shall we give a $26 billion tax cut to those who receive $1 
million or more in income and at the same time restore the funding for 
law enforcement officials around the country--funding we know works to 
fight crime? Or shall we instead cut funding for law enforcement 
officials so we can give a $27 billion tax cut to those whose income is 
over $1 million a year?
  This is not about tax increases. I am sorry. My friend from Oklahoma, 
I am sure, is familiar with Will Rogers, because Will Rogers is from 
Oklahoma. What a wonderful man. Will Rogers once said: When there's no 
place left to spit, you either swallow your tobacco juice or you change 
with the times.
  Well, there is no place left to spit with respect to these choices. 
Do you want to cut local law enforcement funding, the Byrne Grant that 
helps those folks out there today who are keeping this country safe, 
who are chasing those people who are producing methamphetamine and 
addicting our children? Do you want to invest in law enforcement? Do 
you want to chase the criminals? Do you want to apprehend them and get 
them? Or do you want to decide we cannot afford to do that? Let's cut 
back on law enforcement efforts so those who make $1 million a year can 
get an extra $1 billion--from $26 billion to $27 billion--next year in 
tax cuts.
  One hundred years from now, we will all be dead--everybody in this 
Chamber is likely to be dead--and the only thing they will know about 
us is to look at this budget. And they will say: Here were their 
values. Here is what they held dear. Here is what they felt was 
important for this country.
  Someone once asked: If you didn't know someone, never met someone, 
and had to write their obituary, and you only had their check register 
with which to write an obituary, what would you say about them? You 
would be able to tell something about their value system. The same is 
true with the Government. The same is true with choices made in this 
budget. What is our value system? What do we hold most dear? What do we 
think makes our country strong?
  The question for us is, Will this Congress stand up for the men and 
women who wear the uniform on the street who keep this country safe?
  We talk a lot about national security and the threat of terrorism. 
Once again, let me say, the first responder, in the event of a 
terrorist attack, is going to be a man or woman out there in the local 
sheriff's office, the local police force, the highway patrol. They 
benefit and their programs benefit from these grant programs that are 
being proposed to be cut now by $1 billion. I propose to restore it 
because I think it is the right choice for this country.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Who seeks recognition?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, could the Chair update us in terms of the 
time status on the Dorgan amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time for Senator Dorgan has expired. 
Senator Nickles has 5 minutes 9 seconds.
  Mr. CONRAD. I don't know if the chairman seeks to use time now on 
that amendment.

[[Page 4119]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. I will be very brief. I was looking at some additional 
information about the COPS Program. The grant programs administered 
through the COPS Program were 100 percent earmarked in 2004 
appropriations bills. The administration feels the earmarking has 
gotten out of hand and seeks to eliminate funding in favor of a new 
grant program located in another account. This new account consolidates 
almost all State and local law enforcement grant programs and 
activities. Rather than have the programs spread out over a half dozen 
accounts, it assumes consolidation in one account called justice 
assistance. A lot of the old COPS Program is included in the new 
Justice Assistance Program. Maybe it won't be quite so directed by 
Congress. Maybe it will be more appropriate.
  I don't know if it is the Federal Government's responsibility to hire 
hundreds more police officers in North Dakota or Oklahoma. I happen to 
be one who says: We all have to do our fair share. I just don't know 
that it is the Federal Government's responsibility to be putting police 
officers in every little town in America.
  We have accomplished our objective in hiring and training 118,000 
police officers. We should say a job well done and not continue this 
program forever.
  Mr. DORGAN. Might I ask for one minute off the resolution?
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield an additional minute off the resolution.
  Mr. DORGAN. Let me say my colleague from Oklahoma talked about the 
COPS Program--which, incidentally, has been a remarkable program. It 
has worked very well to reduce crime. He did not mention, for example, 
the Byrne grant program which today is aiding law enforcement in 
tracking drug dealers, dealing with this methamphetamine scourge.
  My colleague from Oklahoma described a new grant program that the 
Administration is proposing, but this new grant program my colleague 
described is going to cut funding for local law enforcement officials 
by $1.1 billion. That is why I felt constrained to come and offer the 
amendment.
  It is about choices. If one feels the assistance we have given local 
law enforcement through the Byrne grant program and other programs has 
not been effective, then one would want to oppose this amendment. But 
if you meet with our law enforcement officers at the state and local 
level, they will tell you to a person how incredibly effective these 
programs have been in bringing them up to speed with training and 
equipment and helping them pursue drug dealers and reduce crime on the 
streets. If one believes that is important, then one must vote for this 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I believe we have an agreement to next 
consider an amendment by our colleague and friend from New Jersey, 
Senator Lautenberg. We are almost ready to enter into a time 
limitation, but I need to consult with the chairman of the committee, 
Senator Inhofe. At this point we will not, but I understand there has 
been a general agreement for 20 minutes equally divided or 20 minutes a 
side. Is the Senator from New Jersey willing to have a time agreement? 
I cannot enter into it at this moment, but is he looking for 20 minutes 
each or 20 minutes a side?
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the Senator from Oklahoma. We would like to 
have 20 minutes on each side.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I won't make the request now. I am 
telling our colleagues, the Senator from North Dakota has about 5 
hours, maybe a little less now.
  I ask the Chair, how many hours remain?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The hours remaining are 1 hour 50 minutes for 
the majority; 4 hours 46 minutes for the minority.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I am trying to be fair to everybody, but 
if colleagues keep coming down and taking 40 minutes or an hour on 
their amendments, that means a lot of people are going to get zero 
debate on their amendments. I don't want them to be mad at me, nor do I 
want them to be mad at my colleague from North Dakota. People will have 
to be restrained in their request or else people later in the queue 
will have very little debate time. I will leave it at that. I cannot 
enter into a time agreement. I will be happy to talk to Senator Inhofe. 
He may be more than happy to do that.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I think it is important to note at this 
time the situation we face. It is important for our colleagues to 
understand. Senator Nickles could yield back all the rest of his time. 
I would then have 4 hours 46 minutes left. But he would have a right to 
half of that time. So it is important for colleagues to understand, 
when we say there are 4 hours 46 minutes left on our side, no, there 
really are not in a functional way. The chairman would verify that.
  I understand he is unable to enter into a time agreement at this 
moment on this amendment because he has to communicate with the 
committee chairman, but I am saying to other colleagues who are 
listening, please understand, we are rapidly approaching the time when 
we have far more requests for time than we have time. The dislocation 
that occurs here is people hear I have 4 hours 46 minutes left. All the 
chairman has to do is give back his remaining hour 50 minutes, and then 
he has rights to half of my time. So instead of 4 hours 46 minutes, I 
would then have 2 hours 23 minutes. I now have pending requests for 4 
hours of time. It doesn't fit together.
  We have to ask restraint on the part of our colleagues. I understand 
we can't enter into a time agreement on this amendment. Senator 
Lautenberg has been very gracious in saying he will live with whatever 
time agreement we can produce. Perhaps the best we can do now is to 
have Senator Lautenberg proceed and at the earliest possible 
convenience of the chairman, if we can enter into a time agreement on 
this one and subsequent amendments that are pending, I think we could 
make real progress.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I concur with everything my colleague and 
friend Senator Conrad said. I ask unanimous consent to lay aside the 
pending amendment and take up the Lautenberg amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the Chair.
  I want to offer an amendment for myself, Senator Boxer, Senator 
Jeffords, and Senator Corzine.
  Mr. CONRAD. Will the Senator withhold for one moment? I would ask the 
Senator not to send his amendment up. I want to make sure we don't do 
that. I listened to what the chairman said. I will yield to the Senator 
time off the resolution. I yield the Senator 20 minutes off the 
resolution and ask he not send the amendment to the desk at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is recognized for up to 20 
minutes.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank my friend from North Dakota 
for the generous offer he has made to let me have time to describe this 
very important amendment.
  As I said, I will offer this amendment for myself and Senators Boxer, 
Jeffords, and Corzine. Other cosponsors include Senators Lieberman, 
Biden, Durbin, Clinton, Leahy, Cantwell, Feingold, and Kennedy.
  My amendment would readjust the budget resolution so we can 
reauthorize the Superfund corporate fee. There are many reasons why 
this is an urgent matter and the right thing to do.
  When Congress created Superfund, the operating principle was the 
polluter should pay.
  I ask that the Chair remind me when 10 minutes of my time have been 
used, please.
  The Superfund program was created because of a number of blighted 
toxic sites that were located in cities and towns across the country, 
places in Montana and Nebraska and Maine and New Jersey. New Jersey had 
over 100 sites listed on the Superfund list. Today 900 sites have been 
cleaned up, turned over to practical use in these

[[Page 4120]]

communities where often land is precious. To be able to get space that 
was occupied by nothing but toxic materials can create quite a 
difference in the health and the well-being of a community.
  We started off by saying the people who polluted the area should pay 
for its cleanup. It was reviewed in the courts and it was challenged 
and debated all over the place. The fact is, it worked. In 1980, 
Superfund was authorized. In 1986, we reauthorized the collection of 
corporate fees paid by polluters that would be placed in the Superfund 
trust fund to pay for the cleanup of these so-called orphan or 
abandoned sites. These are the sites for which an actual polluter can 
be found. That way, all the taxpayers would not be stuck with the bill 
for a mess caused by corporate polluters.
  Editorials and polls nationwide repeatedly showed that Americans want 
the polluting corporations, not the taxpayers, to pay for the cleanup 
of properties contaminated with dangerous chemicals. In a March 9 
editorial, this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer said:

       The Senate should put the burden back where it belongs: on 
     polluters.

  Unfortunately, now the trust fund is flat broke and our citizens are 
feeling the impact. They are discouraged by the fact these toxic sites 
are going to continue to be in the middle of their communities and 
unusable for any productive purpose. Some sites, which should be 
cleaned up in 3 or 4 years, are instead now taking 9 or 10 years 
because the funding isn't there. That means youngsters living next to a 
toxic wastesite could be graduated from high school by the time the 
site is decontaminated. There are children and families in America 
living around the corner from toxic dump sites all over the place. It 
is inexcusable.
  As my colleagues know, such exposure to toxic chemicals cannot be 
undone. EPA scientists report that small children are 10 times more 
likely than adults to develop cancer when exposed to chemicals. Our 
children are the most vulnerable among us. They are especially 
susceptible to dioxin, arsenic, DDT, and brain-damaging heavy metals 
such as lead and mercury, which are often found in the soil and ground 
water at these Superfund sites. Across the country, each site we clean 
up--and so far, we successfully cleaned up more than 900 sites--reduces 
the health risks to our children and families. Parents don't want to 
raise their kids under the shadow of a toxic waste site, only to worry 
about the high risk for cancer, birth defects, and other diseases.
  The Superfund Program needs additional revenues now. Just as our 
mounting debt is slowing the economy, our failure to adequately fund 
Superfund is slowing toxic cleanups to a crawl. The administration 
claims that it supports the ``polluter-pays'' principle and 
``aggressively'' cleans up Superfund sites, but the facts speak 
otherwise.
  This year taxpayers will be asked to bear virtually the entire cost 
of cleaning up abandoned Superfund sites. In the President's fiscal 
year 2005 budget, the Superfund trust fund column shows a zero--the 
tank is empty. As we look at the timeframe, we can see from 1996, when 
we had over $3 billion available in the Superfund treasury, almost $4 
billion, now, because we have not replenished it, we have used it, 
slowed the process of cleanups, finally in 2003 the fund is down to 
zero.
  If the people in the communities want those sites cleaned up, they 
are going to have to pay for it. All the taxpayers will have to pay. 
Superfund is not even a fund anymore. There is nothing in it.
  It is shameful what the President and this Congress have done to the 
Superfund. They have emptied it and told polluters: Don't worry, we 
will make everyone else pay for the mess our friendly contributors and 
political allies created. In 1986, taxpayers paid only a small portion, 
8 percent, of orphan site cleanups. In 1995, only 17 percent of these 
costs came from general revenues. Today, the number is almost 100 
percent. All taxpayers have taken on the burden of paying for what 
polluters should be paying.
  The GAO recently reported that funding for the Superfund Program has 
fallen by 35 percent in the last decade. It was underfunded by at least 
$175 million in 2003. What does that say? It says that whatever work is 
not going on, because it is underfunded, the taxpayers are going to pay 
for it.
  It is outrageous to suggest that the taxpayers ought to pay for the 
misdeeds of the corporations that polluted the area. If they pollute 
it, they ought to clean it up and pay for it. What we are talking about 
is a fee that spreads across business lines, where chemicals are 
manufactured, and oil and gasoline products are handled.
  Yet one of four Americans, and 10 million children, still live within 
4 miles of a Superfund site. That statistic does not include the 40,000 
hazardous waste sites which have not made it onto the Nation's priority 
list. The National Priorities List has something like 1,300 listings. 
These are the especially toxic and dangerous sites--large sites 
typically.
  Fewer sites are being listed, and many of those listed are not 
receiving sufficient funding. One Superfund manager in my State of New 
Jersey said this: EPA is strangling the program.
  Here are the facts: The rate of site cleanup has fallen by 50 percent 
under this administration. In other words, they allowed, deliberately, 
these sites to rot where they are and that threatens the people who 
live in the nearby vicinities.
  The listing of new sites on the National Priorities List has fallen 
by 23 percent. There is no action there. We cannot pay our bills. A lot 
of the people who are with the EPA doing that kind of work have seen 
the end of their jobs in sight and they don't want to stay there. They 
want to look to see what else is a prospect for them and their family.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used 10 minutes.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I thank the Chair. I say to my colleague, since I am 
on the floor, I will allot myself another 3 or 4 minutes before I turn 
the microphone over to the Senator from Vermont.
  Even when a site finally makes it onto the NPL, it will take 11 
years, on average, to actually decontaminate this site.
  My State, unfortunately, has the second highest number of Superfund 
sites, second only to California. We have 113 Superfund sites, and more 
sites are waiting to be listed. My amendment would be the first step 
toward a solution. It would also reduce the budget deficit by $8.3 
billion over 5 years. If you spread the cost around, it becomes 
infinitesimally small. It has been calculated that two-tenths of a cent 
on a gallon of gas would be the cost to taxpayers generally. It is a 
small, but appropriate, step for us to take for fiscal sanity. 
Reinstating the polluter-pays principle is fair. It has a proven track 
record.
  I yield 5 minutes to my colleague from Vermont.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator for yielding to me.
  This is a very important amendment. Inscribed on a wall in a side 
room of the Capitol is a wonderful statement of Theodore Roosevelt 
reminding us that:

       The Nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources 
     as assets which it must turn over to the next generation 
     increased and not impaired in value.

  The Bush administration is ignoring this sage advice and is turning 
back on the Superfund Program. This program has successfully removed 
PCBs, arsenic, lead, and other toxic waste from almost 900 communities. 
Yet this administration refuses to reauthorize the expired Superfund 
polluter-pays fees that were supported by President Reagan, the other 
President Bush, and President Clinton.
  As a result, the Superfund trust fund that once contained $3.6 
billion is now essentially bankrupt. The taxpayers are forced to pay 
for the cleanup of abandoned toxic dumps, instead of the waste-
generating chemical and petroleum industries.
  The impact of the resulting funding shortfall is illustrated by two 
sites in Vermont. The Elizabeth Mine site in Strafford has been denied 
funds for the

[[Page 4121]]

second year in a row to clean up acid mine drainage that is leaching 
into the Connecticut River which flows down to several States. The 
delay has forced EPA to spend millions of dollars in emergency funds to 
stabilize this site, while still failing to pay for actual cleanup.
  Only a few miles away lies another abandoned Superfund site, the Ely 
Mine site. It was added to the National Priorities List in 2001, but 
the Bush administration has yet to fund the investigation to discover 
the full extent of the contamination, let alone begin cleanup.
  These examples illustrate how the Bush administration's refusal to 
support reauthorization of the polluter-pays fees chokes off funds for 
sites at all stages in the cleanup process.
  Not surprisingly, the pace of cleanups completed annually during the 
Bush administration has plummeted by more than 50 percent. I, 
therefore, support the effort to reinstate the Superfund fees because 
every community deserves clean soil and water without delay.
  I urge my colleagues to support the Lautenberg amendment. I thank the 
Chair, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey has 5 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. How much time remains of the time that was given to 
me?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Four minutes forty-five seconds remain.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, what we are looking at is a way to 
relieve the taxpayers of having to come up with $8.3 billion, relieving 
pressure on the budget to the extent of the $8.3 billion.
  We have so many sites in so many places, as I earlier discussed, in 
States such as Montana, Nebraska, and Maine. Some of these sites are 
huge. We see the same situation in Utah. I cannot believe that in this 
body at this time we would not say the communities across the country 
are being burdened by all kinds of discontinued programs, by all kinds 
of reductions in grants that went to the communities. A lot of the 
programs have been absorbed into grants, single grants, and let the 
communities use whatever they can for whatever they choose to but 
always at a diminished rate. This is a chance to set the record 
straight and let the public know this administration does not really 
care about what happens in these communities; that this administration 
would rather say to their friends, the polluters, many of which are 
listed on the contributors list for the campaign: Listen, we excuse you 
big companies from the dirt and the mess you made in these communities; 
we forgive you, but we will not pay it any other way except through the 
taxpayers' pockets.
  This is a chance to set the record straight. I submit that every 
Senator who casts a vote against this amendment is saying to the people 
in his or her State: It is too bad you have those polluted sites. So 
what. Our friends, the companies that created this pollution, are 
closer to us than you, the citizens, the constituents in our States and 
in our country.
  It is time we face up to the reality. We had a program that was 
excellent. It began in 1980. I came to the Senate in 1982. I followed 
it very closely and worked very hard on its reauthorization, which took 
place a couple of times. The program was going well. Cleanups were 
being done faster. People felt more secure about their jobs, those who 
worked to effect these cleanups, because they could see something ahead 
of them in terms of their own family security and their own needs.
  When these people leave, it will be very hard to find the skills and 
the specialities that are required to continue this work. They will go, 
and I do not blame them for going. I am sure if it came to my own 
family and I had to support them through my job in my profession, I 
would say that is my first obligation. It is not to take care of the 
cleanup of the polluted sites. The President does not care about it. 
Our friends on the other side of the aisle do not care about it. One 
wonders how cynical people have become about voting, about putting 
their trust in politicians, their trust diminishes considerably, except 
now when people are beginning to feel the pressure of job scarcity, of 
termination of health plans, and retirement plans at risk. It is a 
whole different world.
  I submit that when the vote finally comes on this amendment, the 
people who are going to vote against it have to examine their 
conscience very closely to make sure they are doing the right thing for 
their communities and for their States.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of 
Senator Lautenberg's amendment to provide additional resources for the 
Superfund trust fund. I think my colleagues would all agree on the 
success of the Superfund Program. Since its inception in 1980, we have 
cleaned up 890 of the most hazardous toxic waste sites in communities 
around the country, including 44 in my home State of Washington. The 
Environmental Protection Agency's enforcement of the ``polluter-pays 
principle'' has helped clean up these sites.
  Unfortunately, since the Superfund fees expired in 1995, American 
taxpayers have picked up an increasingly large share of cleanup costs 
and today are bearing almost the entire burden of paying for sites 
abandoned by polluting corporations. That is why the amendment before 
us is really about fairness--it holds polluting industries accountable 
and protects public health and safety. I believe a recent editorial in 
the Seattle Post-Intelligencer makes the point well:

       Washington taxpayers paid only $7 million in 1995 for 
     Superfund program costs. Next year, we will pay between $25 
     million and $30 million. Americans are now paying for the 
     worst toxic waste sites in the country with our health and 
     our tax dollars.

  This amendment will also help stem the ongoing erosion of funding for 
the Superfund Program. According to the U.S. General Accounting Office, 
the overall Superfund appropriations have dropped 35 percent in real 
terms since 1993, even while highly contaminated hazardous waste sites 
continue to be added to the National Priorities List, the Environmental 
Protection Agency's list of the Nation's most contaminated sites. In 
fact, at the end of fiscal year 2002, the National Priorities List had 
1,233 sites in various stages of cleanup.
  The Environmental Protection Agency's own Inspector General reported 
in January 2003 that the agency is facing Superfund shortfalls 
exceeding $174 million. That means the Bunker Hill site on the border 
of Washington and Idaho is only receiving $15 million this year, even 
though the Environmental Protection Agency estimated a need for $37.8 
million. To put that in personal terms, I quote directly from the 
Inspector General's report:

       The impact of reduced funds for the Bunker Hill site is 
     associated with risk to human health, particularly for young 
     children and pregnant women, from lead contamination in a 
     residential area.

  I think this quote, directly from the Environmental Protection 
Agency, tells us all how critical it is we support this amendment. 
Reinstating the fees means that we can shift costs away from 
overburdened taxpayers, protect Americans from exposure to dangerous 
toxic chemicals, and revitalize properties that blight our nation and 
often inhibit urban redevelopment.
  Waste sites still threaten more than 65 million Americans who live 
within 4 miles of a Superfund toxic waste site. And there are 40,000 
other sites of concern that have not yet been listed on the National 
Priorities List. There was a very good reason for initiating a 
Superfund fee 23 years ago, and, until the remaining Superfund sites 
are cleaned up, we should reinstate and maintain this important 
environmental fee. I urge my colleagues to support this critical 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, for a moment I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page 4122]]


  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, we are going to try to not let time be 
wasted in quorum calls because time is such a precious commodity at 
this point. I will take a moment to talk about the budget resolution 
before us and what I think are the deficiencies of that resolution.
  Let me put up this first chart that shows the operating deficits 
under the budget resolution that is before us. The hard reality is, the 
budget resolution before us will add nearly $3 trillion to the debt in 
just the next 5 years. Already we have record budget deficits. This 
year the Congressional Budget Office is saying the deficit will be 
nearly $500 billion. But that does not tell the whole story.
  Actually, on an operating basis the deficit is even larger because 
nearly $160 billion of Social Security money is being used for other 
purposes as well. So if one looked at an operating basis, the true 
deficit would be the $477 billion plus another $160 billion. That is 
approaching $650 billion on a $2.3 trillion budget. That is a big 
budget deficit by any objective measure.
  Here it is, $638 billion. As we see it, under the resolution that is 
before us, this operating deficit never gets below $500 billion as far 
as the eye can see.
  Some are saying this budget resolution will cut the deficit in half 
in 3 years. Well, that is a certain definition of deficit that does not 
reveal the full story. It does not talk about how much is actually 
being added to the debt. The reason for the difference is one includes 
Social Security trust funds and one does not.
  Right now the Social Security trust funds are running very large and 
growing surpluses. Under the budget resolution before us, all of that 
Social Security money is being taken over the next 5 years to pay for 
other things.
  When the chairman of the committee talks about cutting the deficit in 
half in the next 3 years and cutting it in an even larger way by the 
fifth year, here is what his assumptions are: He says in the fifth year 
the deficit will be down to $202 billion. Here are the things he is 
leaving out: Under his resolution, he is also going to take $235 
billion from Social Security, every penny of which has to be paid back 
and there is no plan to do it. He is taking $22 billion out of the 
Medicare trust fund, every penny of which has to be paid back and he 
has no plan to do that.
  In addition, it would cost $55 billion to fix the alternative minimum 
tax in that year. The alternative minimum tax is the old millionaires' 
tax that is rapidly becoming a middle-class tax trap.
  Why do I say that? Well, right now only 3 million people are affected 
by the alternative minimum tax. By the end of this 10-year budget 
period, there are going to be 40 million people. Those people who 
thought they were going to get a tax cut are in for a rude surprise.
  On top of that, he leaves out the residual war cost in that fifth 
year which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, will be $30 
billion. So instead of adding to the debt by $202 billion, which one 
might conclude when he says he is going to run a deficit of that amount 
for that year, we see he is actually going to be adding to the debt by 
$545 billion.
  Still lots of things are left out. For example, on war costs, in the 
President's budget he has no funding for the war in Iraq, no funding 
for the war in Afghanistan, no funding for the war on terror past 
September 30 of this year. To the chairman's credit, he has put in $30 
billion, although interestingly enough he does not add it to his 
deficit totals. So it is magic money. It is money that is on paper, 
says it is available, but he does not count it.
  Look at what the Congressional Budget Office tells us ought to be the 
money set aside for war costs. They say $280 billion is what it is 
going to cost over this next period of time. The chairman has $30 
billion in his budget resolution, although he does not really provide 
the money, he does not count it in his deficit calculations. It is, as 
I say, magic money: Now you see it, now you don't. The President has no 
money.
  So I go back to this calculation of what this budget resolution adds 
to the debt and what kind of operating deficits it runs, and they are 
much larger than is being revealed. Here is what I mean. From 2004 to 
2005, it will add $612 billion to the debt. The next year, $569 billion 
is added to the debt. These are not my numbers. This is from the 
chairman's own mark. These are from his documents. The third year it 
adds $552 billion to the debt. The fourth year, $563 billion to the 
debt; the fifth year another $563 billion to the debt. That is a 
cumulative total of nearly $3 trillion to the debt, and all at the 
worst possible time, right before the baby boomers retire.
  I know my colleague from Idaho is waiting so I am going to wrap this 
up, and I know Senator Nelson is seeking time as well. This is a final 
point I think is important to understand: The deficit on a unified 
basis, when Social Security is included and other things are left out, 
is going down. That is misleading us as to our true fiscal condition 
because the additions to the debt are basically stable, but if I 
examine the chairman's proposal he is actually adding to the deficit 
beyond what would occur if we did nothing in this Chamber.
  I hope my colleagues are listening. The chairman's budget adds to the 
deficit in each of the next 5 years by $177 billion over and above what 
would happen if we did nothing. If we just put the Government on 
automatic pilot, we would have $177 billion less in deficit over the 
next 5 years than if we passed this budget resolution.
  I hope my colleagues study this document very carefully because I 
think it conceals much of the true financial condition of our country.
  I yield the floor, because I know colleagues are seeking time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise to speak against the Lautenberg 
amendment and also to speak generally about S. Con. Res. 95, which is, 
of course, the underlying budget resolution. I also come from a State 
that has a very large Superfund site, so one would think I would be in 
support of the Lautenberg amendment to fund that site, but I am not, 
and here is the reason why, and why I think it is important we all 
understand a tax is a tax is a tax, and what the Senator proposes on 
Superfund is really a tax on a lot of businesses that are having 
difficulty at this moment.
  In fiscal year 2005, the request for Superfund is $1.38 billion, and 
that is an increase of about $124 million over fiscal year 2004. The 
fiscal year 2005 budget includes a $150 million increase in Superfund 
cleanups, and that $150 million not only funds the cleanup work already 
underway in Idaho and the program we have planned out there, but it 
also includes 15 new construction projects, or cleanup projects, 
involved under Superfund law.
  Democrats will argue to reinstate the Superfund tax so that, in their 
words, the polluter pays for the cost of the cleanup. Well, the fact is 
the polluter already pays under current law. Where there is an 
identifiable and viable polluter, consistent with the law, they are 
held liable. Congress has exempted a few small businesses, but in most 
cases, again, where there is an identifiable polluter which has a 
viable company that can obviously be held responsible, they are asked 
to pay, and by law they will pay.
  That was certainly true in the Superfund area of Idaho, which was an 
old mining area. While some of those mining companies and smelting 
companies participated in paying, there is also a tap on the Superfund 
itself for that kind of pay. In 2003, potential responsible parties, or 
PRPs, paid about 87 percent of the cost of new construction.
  Certainly a great deal of money is coming out of the business sector 
to pay for cleanup under the Superfund law. Historically, PRPs--again, 
responsible parties--have paid more than 70 percent of the cleanup 
itself. So the law itself is a tax imposed on those companies when they 
are found responsible for the pollution and are by law required to 
clean up the pollutants.

[[Page 4123]]

  Superfund taxes were always unfair. The tax goes where the money is 
and not where the responsibility lies. What we are doing now is 
directing it toward the responsible parties. This is not a tax on 
polluters. It is an indiscriminate tax on business, as proposed by 
Senator Lautenberg. The Superfund tax was levied against a broad range 
of businesses.
  It is interesting there is no correlation between the dollars in the 
Superfund and the level of funding that goes to Superfund cleanup. 
There is no delay in cleanups due to a lack of the Superfund tax.
  As we work to stimulate this economy and get it back on line and get 
companies in the business of growing and expanding so they can create 
new jobs and hire the unemployed, this tax goes, in a broad-based way, 
right at those companies, once again potentially dragging them down.
  I am on the floor today also to strongly support S. Con. Res. 95 
which the Budget Committee has worked so hard to produce. This is not 
the kind of budget resolution I wish I was voting on. That is not the 
fault of the chairman of the Budget Committee or the majority of the 
committee, and it is not the fault of the President of the United 
States, and it is not the fault of the tax relief this Congress enacted 
in 2001 through 2003.
  Where does the fault lie? There has been a lot of fingerpointing by 
all of the amendments that have been brought out here in a great rush 
on the part of my Democrat colleagues to crank all these taxes back up 
and stunt the growth that is starting.
  Where does the fault lie? With an economic cycle that, despite the 
collective denial of politicians, bequeaths our Nation with a recession 
at least about once every decade. Certainly in my time here in the 
Congress I have watched that cycle go forth. Somehow in the late 1990s 
we thought the cycle would never come, but it did come. It came in the 
latter years of the Clinton administration. We were trying to pull it 
out and then along came 9/11. We all know what happened at that time 
when terrorists attacked innocent civilians in this country and really 
threw this country into a phenomenal, quick slowdown. Some will argue 
it took over $1 trillion out of the economy at that time.
  Where does the fault lie? With the international terrorist movement 
and the foreign regimes who supported it. We saw what happened, 
tragically, in Spain today. No country is immune. Certainly we have had 
to invest mightily to begin to develop a level of protection for the 
civilian population in this country we really had never had before.
  With that difficult, perfect combination of things happening, and I 
think obviously understood by all, what are we dealing with? We are 
dealing with a very difficult time. We, as a Congress, have worked 
mightily to work our way out of that. These circumstances, most of them 
forced upon us, have really been a body blow to our economy, to 
American jobs, and to the current fiscal situation.
  Something else is also happening. The American people have said, in 
reality, you have spent about as much as you need to spend. We have 
deficits growing. It is time we get those deficits under control. The 
chairman of the Budget Committee has worked mightily to do that.
  We are in the aftermath of a market slump and an economic slowdown 
that truly began in 2000, before this President took office. Nobody 
denies that today, although some would like to point a finger in a 
rather odd direction, at this current President. We are still working 
our way out of this recession in all respects. It is not smooth 
sailing, but clearly the wind is now to our back and it appears the 
economy is slowly but progressively coming on line.
  We fought a shooting war against terrorism on two fronts and continue 
to fight terrorism at home and abroad.
  Unfortunately, in a business world in which most folks play by the 
rules and follow the law, something else has happened: A significant 
handful of scandals and a legacy of some of the excesses of the 1990s 
that shook the confidence of the stock market and further depressed the 
economic downturn. That cyclical downturn already was inevitable. I 
think I can well remember what Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said when he 
warned us of an overvalued market and an irrationally exuberant 
attitude, long before the market slumped. So the combination of the 9/
11 and bad actors out there in the market along with the reality of 
cyclical movements in our country have brought us to where we are today 
and brought the budget to where it is, trying to be fiscally 
responsible and fund the needed and necessary services of our 
Government and at the same time saying we are controlling our spending 
here and we are not going to overtax America's workforce.
  Quite another message comes from the other side at this moment. 
Somehow they have an insatiable appetite to continually increase taxes 
on working men and women. They will argue they would like to direct it 
at the millionaires of this country. They never really quite define it. 
We know the vast majority of the taxes paid in this country are paid by 
average working men and women because they make up by far the vast 
majority of the cumulative wealth and generated wealth of our country.
  Given all the circumstances, I believe this is a very good budget 
resolution. I believe we ought to work hard to support it and to refine 
it where we can throughout the process and get on with the business of 
doing what is responsible here and that is causing our Government to 
function in the appropriate fashion.
  It is a political year. We all know that. It would be a nice surprise 
if the Congress of the United States, at least on budgetary matters, 
and at least through the appropriation process, could show the American 
people we are going to be responsible, we are going to finish the 
budget on time, we are going to get our appropriations out on time. 
Then we can get at the business of politics, of deciding who is going 
to run the next Congress and who the next President of this country 
will be. But it would be amazingly refreshing if we could show the 
American people we can work together.
  It doesn't appear that is going to happen and that is a real sadness 
of mine. We are working hard to put a budget resolution together and 
yet we see this insatiable appetite on the part of my Democrat 
colleagues to continually raise the spectrum of more taxes, more taxes, 
more taxes.
  I congratulate Senator Nickles, chairman of the Budget Committee. 
This resolution represents a truly heroic effort of responsible 
management of our budget during a time of trial and challenge in our 
country. It is a tough time. We all know that. It is understandable. It 
is unfortunate that several years of international and economic shocks 
and jolts have produced today's record budget deficits. Our 
constituents today know it. They understand history. But they also 
understand responsibility and they have handed us that responsibility 
and they are suggesting we treat it with due respect.
  The American people, especially after 9/11, showed tremendous 
resilience. They met the challenge. They expect us to meet the 
challenge. They demand it of us. They demand it of our President. In 
nearly all instances that simply has happened. The President and 
Congress did the right thing in 2001 and 2003. Without tax relief, 
where would we be today? We would probably have fewer jobs. Our senior 
citizens' nest eggs would be lower in value and less secure. Millions 
of low- and moderate-income families would probably have less freedom 
and financial empowerment today than they would without the tax 
reduction. Small business startups and growth would have been stunted.
  Without the leadership and the effectiveness of this President and 
Congress on matters of defense and homeland security and the economy, 
we would still be in a recession. We are not in that recession now. We 
are clearly in a recovery mode. This country is struggling along, but 
always upward, building its job base and bringing people back into the 
job market in a very progressive way.

[[Page 4124]]

  Lots of challenges remain. None of us will argue the difference 
because challenges are there. But is the challenge simply to go out and 
burden the economy again by major tax increases? They would suggest 
that we not extend the current taxes. That is not going to be a tax 
increase? You ask the average working man or woman, ask the average 
family of four, if doing that doesn't constitute a tax increase because 
it takes money away from their spendable bottom line. You darned bet it 
is a tax increase. The very least we can do is assure that we maintain 
the child tax credit and the marriage penalty relief and the 10-percent 
tax rate which is going to be critical to the working men and women of 
modest means in this country. That is what this Congress ought to be 
about.
  If I have heard the rhetoric once, I have heard it a good number of 
times in my years here in Congress. Somehow Government can do it best; 
somehow an expenditure of the Government dollar is going to cause our 
lives to be better. In instances that is true, such as in areas of 
health care and in Social Security. But in instances of good-paying 
jobs, Government doesn't create them. It is the private sector that 
creates them. We ought to be incentivizing in every way we possibly can 
the very job creator we know about--small business, medium-size 
business, and large business in this country.
  I strongly support what the Budget Committee has brought forward. I 
think it is responsible. I am glad we are defeating most of these 
amendments that would simply send us into a tax-and-spend spiral, the 
kind we have seen before that more often drove us into a recession than 
drove us out of a recession. To tighten our belt, to bring the deficit 
down, and to begin to show a pattern of moving us toward a balanced 
budget again is the right thing. The chairman of the Budget Committee 
is doing just that.
  The President asked that we begin to tighten our belt and curtail our 
spending in a variety of areas that are less essential to the 
fundamental responsibilities of our Government. That is exactly what we 
are doing. It is a tough budget. It is not an easy budget. But it is a 
budget worth voting for. It is a budget worth finalizing so we can get 
on with the appropriating process.
  I hope at the end of the year when we adjourn sine die we can say our 
job was complete; that while it was a very partisan year and a highly 
politicized year, the Congress came together, got their appropriations 
bills finished, and did their homework. There will be only one way that 
won't happen--if the other side, in an obstructionist way, decides it 
won't happen; if they decide every appropriations bill that comes up 
has to have 50, 60, 90, or 100 amendments and we have to labor day 
after day after we have worked in a bipartisan way to craft the 
appropriations bills, as we always do.
  That is our challenge. Let us get our budget resolution complete. Let 
us get reconciliation, the tools that move us forward toward the 
appropriating process so we can complete the year as the American 
taxpayer and the voter would expect us to do. That is the challenge. 
The chairman of the Budget Committee and the Budget Committee are 
meeting that challenge, and I hope we are worthy of it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the Senator from Nebraska is seeking time. 
How much time would he desire?
  I yield five minutes off the resolution to the distinguished Senator 
from Nebraska.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Thank you, Mr. President. I thank my 
colleague from North Dakota and commend him for all the work he has 
done on the budget.
  I say to my friend from Idaho I think we recognize across the aisle 
it is important for us to work on a bipartisan basis. I agree with him. 
I might take issue with him when he would suggest that any, or all, or 
always, or never with respect to your friends on this side of the 
aisle. I think we are here to work together. I hope we can, without 
classifying ourselves one way or the other, except to say we are here 
as Americans representing the folks back home by working together and 
getting something accomplished. I know that is the goal of the Senator 
from Idaho. I think a lot of us share that goal.


                             Tony Raimondo

  I rise today to come to the defense of a great friend, and more 
importantly, a great Nebraskan, Tony Raimondo. As many are aware, Tony 
Raimondo was to be nominated this morning as the Bush administration's 
new manufacturing czar. Late yesterday the announcement was canceled, 
citing scheduling conflicts.
  I realize there have been speeches in this Chamber that have been 
critical of Tony's record as a businessman. I am here to say 
``nonsense.'' We all know politics runs the days around here. It is a 
very political time with the Presidential election. Much is at stake. 
Yesterday was no exception to that, and today is not either.
  I am not going to address what was said earlier. Everyone has a right 
to an opinion. No matter who the Bush administration decided to appoint 
to this position, he or she is going to be run through the ringer. But 
I am here to tell you this Nebraskan isn't going to watch another 
Nebraskan get treated like this.
  Tony Raimondo is a friend of mine, a former business partner of mine, 
and he is not the antijobs CEO he is painted to be.
  Sure, he has a company in China. He expanded there last year. In 
fact, I had the pleasure to be at the ribbon cutting of his factory 
there. Next week I will be in Columbus, NE, the headquarters of Tony's 
business, Behlen Manufacturing. I will see many Nebraskans who are 
employed at Behlen, or are related to somebody employed at Behlen, or 
at least know someone employed by Behlen.
  Tony is a respected member of the Columbus business community. He is 
a Nebraska business leader. He has represented Nebraska business 
interests around the world and here at home as a prominent member of 
the National Association of Manufacturers, and he is a good employer.
  Sure, his business has struggled in recent years. It is hard to find 
one that hasn't. But he didn't do what others have done. He is fighting 
to keep his business alive and well in Nebraska and in the other States 
where it is located. He is fighting to save those jobs. He is fighting 
to not let his employees down, his community, his State, or his 
country.
  He expanded his business to China. He didn't close it and move it to 
China. With his experience, I think he can show others how to keep jobs 
here at home and how to expand and diversify their businesses--saving 
jobs in America. Tony Raimondo should be held up as an example, not 
derided as a pirate.
  I am not sure what is happening with the nomination at this point. 
Obviously, there is a predictable partisan opposition. But what I am 
not hearing is any alternative. Should we leave this important position 
empty and watch manufacturing jobs continue to decline or should we get 
someone in place to at least try to preserve those jobs, those good-
paying jobs here in America?
  I came here to get things done and to do what is right for Nebraska. 
I say let us try. Tony Raimondo is not only a good choice for this 
position but, in my opinion, he is the best choice.
  I thank the Chair. I thank the distinguished Senator from the State 
of North Dakota for the time.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Nebraska for 
taking the time. I also thank him very much for being flexible about 
when to come so we can keep the business flowing and not have dead 
time. I appreciate very much his accommodating the managers.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I also want to compliment my colleague 
from Nebraska. I very much appreciate his comments concerning having 
partisan work on the budget. I have had the pleasure of working with 
the Senator from Nebraska. We are very good friends. I hope his 
basketball team goes in defeat today against the University of 
Oklahoma. I wanted to make sure he

[[Page 4125]]

is aware that could happen. You never know.
  Senator Inhofe, I believe, wants to speak on the Superfund amendment 
offered by our colleague from New Jersey. In a moment, I will ask to 
set this amendment aside, and we will take up an additional amendment. 
But let me make a couple of comments.
  This is a tax increase. We have had a lot of tax increases. This 
assumes it is going to be reauthorized. I hope and expect it will be 
authorized. But the taxes shouldn't be increased until it is 
reauthorized. That should be done by the authorizers. Chairman Inhofe 
is chairman of that committee. I want to protect his rights. When he 
returns to the Senate Chamber, I will give him ample time on whatever 
amendment we are considering to fully debate the Lautenberg amendment. 
I am willing to consider additional amendments.
  I tell our colleagues again we have spent a lot of time debating. We 
need to be moving more amendments or else other people are going to be 
squeezed on time.
  I believe the Senator from Iowa has an amendment. It is all right 
with me if we go to that amendment.
  The Senator from Connecticut, I believe, has an amendment. We are 
happy to consider that amendment.
  I want to notify our colleagues time is running and we are going to 
have a very late night tonight and, unfortunately, maybe tomorrow. I 
happen to think it is possible to finish this tonight, but it will take 
people not offering amendments. It will take people not making long 
speeches. I don't want to stifle debate. I enjoy debate. But it is 
important to get our work done. I see a fairly lengthy list of 
amendments yet to be handled.
  I am willing to set aside the Lautenberg amendment for the amendment 
of the Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. CONRAD. Senator Lautenberg never sent the amendment up.
  Mr. NICKLES. I guess I will not set it aside. I asked unanimous 
consent to set aside the Dorgan amendment to consider the Lautenberg 
amendment but it was not sent to the desk. We will save a spot for 
Senator Lautenberg to introduce the amendment.
  Mr. CONRAD. If I might clarify, I can understand why this may be 
surprising. We were not able to arrive at a time agreement because you 
needed to talk to the chairman. We thought it would be more appropriate 
to withhold sending the amendment to the desk until you had a chance to 
consult with your chairman.
  Mr. NICKLES. I appreciate that.
  Mr. CONRAD. We thought that would be more fair to you.
  If we could enter into a time agreement on the Harkin amendment, that 
would help substantially.
  Mr. NICKLES. If my colleague will yield.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I think it would be most appropriate if 
the Senator from New Jersey did not offer his amendment.
  Mr. CONRAD. We have a lot of amendments that the chairman might feel 
that way about.
  Mr. NICKLES. I will compliment my colleague from New Jersey for his 
amendment if he does not offer it. I will oppose it strenuously if it 
is sent to the desk. I urge my colleague to withhold, if he can.
  Our colleague from Kentucky wants to be heard on the amendment from 
our friend from Iowa. I need to consult with him before we enter into a 
time agreement. I am perfectly willing to enter into a time agreement 
on several amendments.
  Mr. CONRAD. Could we get a general understanding of what it is we 
will try to achieve in terms of a time agreement on this amendment so 
the Senator from Iowa has some understanding of what we would be 
talking about, 20 minutes equally divided, as we discussed earlier?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. As I understand the Senator from Iowa, he raises taxes 
only $80 billion over this period of time, so if we give a minute per 
billions, this would be 40 minutes a side. I am not sure. I would be 
willing to do 15 minutes a side, but I need to consult with a couple of 
colleagues. I am not positive what this amendment does, if it has a 
reserve fund or if it just is a direct tax increase and assumes 
spending.
  Mr. CONRAD. Could we say initially that in terms of the advice for 
our colleagues that we try to make this 30 minutes equally divided, 
with an understanding that it may be altered somewhat when you have a 
chance to consult? It would just help those who are managing the 
amendment to divide up the time in a way that might make things go 
faster.
  Mr. NICKLES. I appreciate the suggestion by my colleague from North 
Dakota. I would like to have an assumption that no amendment gets over 
10 minutes on each side. I mentioned that would be my desire at the 
beginning of the day. That is still my desire. That would be ample time 
for discussion. That would be my hope. I hope the standard amendment 
does not receive more than 10 minutes a side. That would be my thought. 
Maybe we can do that for the amendment of the Senator from Iowa.
  I ask unanimous consent to lay the pending amendment aside and to 
consider an amendment to be offered by our colleague from Iowa.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield to the Senator from Iowa 15 minutes off the 
resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.


                           Amendment No. 2799

  Mr. HARKIN. I send an amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Iowa [Mr. Harkin], for himself, and Mrs. 
     Feinstein, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. 
     Landrieu, and Mr. Lieberman, proposes an amendment numbered 
     2799.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To provide for increased resources for medical research, 
 disease control, wellness, tobacco cessation and preventative health 
     efforts including substance abuse and mental health services, 
  establishing a fund for this purpose, offset by an increase in the 
cigarette tax to $1 and proportional increases in other tobacco excise 
                      taxes and deficit reduction)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 4, line 23, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 4, line 24, increase the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $15,600,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $23,400,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $31,200,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $39,000,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $7,800,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $15,600,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $23,400,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $31,200,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $39,000,000,000.
       At the end of Title III, insert the following:

     SEC.   . FUND FOR HEALTH.

       If the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate reports 
     legislation with a level of appropriations for function 550 
     discretionary

[[Page 4126]]

     programs without the use of this Fund that at least 
     appropriates the sum appropriated for function 550 
     discretionary programs in fiscal year 2004, the Chairman of 
     the Committee on the Budget of the Senate may revise 
     aggregates, function totals and increase the allocations to 
     the Committee on Appropriations up to $6,000,000,000 in new 
     budget authority and $6,000,000,000 in new budget outlays for 
     fiscal year 2005 and $30,500,000,000 in new budget authority 
     and $30,500,000,000 in budget outlays in fiscal years 2005 
     through 2009.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, this amendment is offered on behalf of 
myself and the major cosponsor is Senator Feinstein; also Senators 
Durbin, Lautenberg, Bingaman, Landrieu, and Lieberman.
  The Nation's health system is in crisis. There are nearly 44 million 
uninsured individuals. Skyrocketing health costs are leaving more and 
more people without insurance. We have shortages of health 
professionals all across rural America. Everywhere, health providers 
are stretched to the limit. Finally, as the Centers for Disease Control 
pointed out just this week, obesity will soon match tobacco use as 
America's No. 1 preventable killer.
  This is not the time to cut Federal investments in health care. We 
stand on the brink of fantastic discoveries and breakthroughs in 
medical research. This is not the time to cut short this vital 
research, denying hope to tens of millions of Americans with chronic 
diseases. This is the time to increase our efforts not only to treat 
and cure illnesses, but also to dramatically increase our efforts to 
prevent illnesses. We need major new efforts to promote wellness in our 
health care system.
  And yet, the President has proposed slashing function 550, the health 
care function in this budget. This is taking America in exactly the 
wrong direction.
  Accordingly, I am offering an amendment that would increase function 
550 funding by $6 billion in fiscal year 2005 and $30 billion over 5 
years.
  This new funding would go to medical research disease control, 
wellness, tobacco cessation, and preventive health efforts. It would 
help to recruit and retain our incredibly talented health professionals 
in this country--especially in rural areas. It boosts research into new 
medical treatments and cures. It includes funding for mental health and 
substance abuse programs. It includes funding for the prevention of 
chronic diseases, which account for 75 percent of our Nation's $1 
trillion in health care costs.
  The Harkin-Feinstein amendment fully offsets this new funding by 
levying a tobacco user fee of 61 cents per pack. That would bring the 
Federal total to $1 per pack.
  This user fee will raise enough revenue both to fund the increase in 
function 550 and to reduce the deficit--steps that will be good for the 
physical health of the American people and the fiscal health of the 
federal government.
  Bear in mind that tobacco use costs this country billions of dollars 
and millions of lives every year. Tobacco use is the leading cause of 
preventable death in the United States, causing 440,000 deaths each 
year and resulting in more than $75 billion in direct medical costs. 
Smoking causes chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and 
stroke, as will as cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and 
bladder. In addition, smoking contributes to cancer of the cervix, 
pancreas, and kidneys.
  This creates an enormous financial burden for the federal government. 
Smoking-caused Medicaid expenditures amount to a whopping $23.5 billion 
annually. Smoking-caused Medicare-expenditures are $20 billion per 
year. Reducing tobacco use in this country could save American 
taxpayers billions of dollars annually, while freeing up resources to 
invest in the country's public health system.
  Study after study tells us that increases in the price on tobacco 
products have significant positive public health effects--especially 
with children. With a $1 user fee on tobacco products, we can decrease 
youth smoking by 18 percent. We can keep 105,000 young people from 
starting smoking in the first place.
  Despite our efforts in the 1990's to curtail manipulative marketing 
targeted at children, the tobacco industry currently spends more than 
$11 billion a year to promote its deadly products--that is $30 million 
per day. We should be curbing this threat, this epidemic. And this 
amendment will do exactly that.
  Prevention is the key. Today, Americans are plagued with more and 
more chronic diseases that are largely preventable. As I said, 75 
percent of the $1 trillion we spend on health care in the United States 
goes to the treatment of these largely preventable chronic diseases. 
Without question, giving Americans an incentive to reduce or quit using 
tobacco products would be an urgent step in the right direction.
  This amendment offers us a trifecta of benefits: It increases funding 
for health care services, medical research and prevention. It reduces 
the deadly pandemic of tobacco use in America. And it makes a solid 
contribution to reducing the budget deficits that are destroying our 
government's fiscal health.
  Lastly, let me say that our amendment does not contain any provision 
dealing with the tobacco quota buyout and FDA regulation of tobacco. I 
believe we need to do both; both must be done together. This is one 
Senator who will stand here and do everything I can in my power, along 
with others, to make sure there will not be a tobacco buyout without 
FDA regulation of tobacco.
  I believe we have to do both because I believe we need to help our 
tobacco farmers, those who are struggling to feed their families in 
small, rural areas all over the South and sometimes even to the 
Midwest. They need the tobacco buyout. But we also need to make sure we 
have meaningful oversight of tobacco use and promotion by the Food and 
Drug Administration.
  With that, Mr. President, I now yield to the Senator from California.
  Mr. NICKLES addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I just checked with Senator McConnell, 
who I think might be involved in leading the opposition, and he has no 
objection. So I ask unanimous consent that the time allotted for the 
amendment of the Senator from Iowa be 30 minutes, equally divided--the 
time allotted from the beginning of the debate on the amendment.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, just for our understanding, the time used 
so far would be charged to the amendment?
  Mr. NICKLES. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. CONRAD. We have no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. How much time does this side have left?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Nine minutes remain.
  The Senator from California.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Iowa for his 
leadership on this issue, and I join him wholeheartedly.
  Funding for public health programs has never been more critical. The 
President's budget, for the first time in 10 years, includes a decrease 
in Function 550. This is the portion of the budget that covers cancer 
research, AIDS treatments and new discoveries, potential health 
threats, including anthrax or other biological or chemical attacks--all 
through the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 
Control, the Indian Health Service, and others. If we do not adopt this 
amendment, all of those programs are threatened with cuts. Let me speak 
about how this amendment works. It increases the budget for 
discretionary public health programs for fiscal year 2005 by $6 
billion. That is a 12-percent increase over the fiscal year 2004 level.
  Now, a 12-percent increase in Function 550 is supported by more than 
400 health groups. And, this increase is also paid for. It is paid for 
by a 61-cent increase in the federal tax on tobacco, which will bring 
in about $8 billion per year. Mr. President, $6 billion of the $8 
billion covers the cost of increasing funding for public health, and 
the remaining $2 billion goes for deficit reduction. It is a prudent 
step to take at this point in time.

[[Page 4127]]

  Now, you might say, why? We know tobacco kills. And we know that 
prevention saves lives. For the first time in my State--California--we 
have had a drop in lung cancer incidences and death among women because 
of the tobacco prevention programs that are taking place. So I think an 
increase in the tobacco tax is an appropriate means to support a 12-
percent increase in cancer research.
  Let me speak to that for just a moment. We now have seen the mapping 
of the human genome. This holds tremendous promise for finding cures 
for diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, and cancer, by 
attacking their genetic roots.
  We have seen advances in genomics, in molecular biology, which have 
made the development of new, targeted cancer therapies such as Gleevec, 
for chronic myeloid leukemia; Herceptin, for breast cancer; and, most 
recently, Avastin, for colon cancer.
  We now have drugs that are so advanced that they can target just the 
bad cancer cells and not harm the good cells. These drugs are amazingly 
effective and are less toxic for the patient.
  I have been vice chair of the National Dialogue on Cancer, now called 
C-Change, for 4 years, and co-chair of the Senate Cancer Coalition for 
even longer than that. If there ever is a time to continue the march to 
solve major health problems before this Nation, this is that time.
  This amendment allows that to be done, with a 12-percent increase for 
public health programs. And it is fully offset. It would be funded from 
an increase in the tobacco tax, a tax that I think is an appropriate 
measure--about $2 billion for deficit reduction and $6 billion to fund 
this amendment.
  I urge the Senate's approval of this increase in basic health 
functions across the board.
  Mr. President, I yield my remaining time to the Senator from 
Illinois.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator.
  How much time is remaining in support of the amendment?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Five and a half minutes.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I will not use that amount of time, just 
perhaps 1 minute, if the Senator will yield it. I will just use 1 
minute.
  Mr. President, I rise in support of this amendment and ask unanimous 
consent to be added as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, this is an extraordinarily important 
amendment. It should be strongly bipartisan. Is there a person 
listening to this debate who believes there is a Republican or a 
Democratic approach to research, finding cures for the diseases that 
are affecting America? There has been a strong, bipartisan commitment 
by Democratic and Republican Presidents to invest in research. The 
Senator from Iowa and the Senator from California have the courage to 
stand up today and say: We will not allow this effort to end; it will 
go forward; and we will fund it in an honest fashion, by raising the 
Federal cigarette tax by 61 cents. They will generate the billions of 
dollars that we need to put back into health care and health research 
so families across America have peace of mind that we are doing 
everything in our power to spare their children and their loved ones 
from diseases that are threatening them.
  The second part, that is equally if not more important, is, as you 
increase the cost of tobacco products, fewer people buy them, 
particularly children. A 61-cent increase in the price of a pack of 
cigarettes or tobacco is going to discourage children from taking up 
the habit, becoming addicted, and, ultimately, losing their lives to 
this deadly addiction.
  I commend this amendment. I hope my colleagues will rise to the 
occasion, on a bipartisan basis, to endorse this real investment in 
health care and research for America.
  I thank the Senator from Iowa and the Senator from California for 
allowing me to speak.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, how much time does this side have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Three and a half minutes.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I will yield myself a couple minutes.
  A lot of people might say: My gosh, Senator Harkin and Senator 
Feinstein and Senator Durbin, a dollar a pack is a lot of Federal tax 
on a pack of cigarettes. But this chart shows the history of the 
Federal excise tax on cigarettes going back to 1950.
  Shown on this side of the chart would be for 1950. At that time, the 
Federal excise tax was 49 percent of the average wholesale price for a 
pack of cigarettes--49 percent. Today, it is 14 percent.
  So those who say that a dollar a pack on that is too much, I point 
out it only brings it up to 30 percent of the average wholesale price 
of a pack of cigarettes. That would be 30 percent; and that would be 
less than what it has been many times in the past.
  So it is not out of line with what we have had as a Federal excise 
tax on cigarettes, as I said, going clear back to 1950. Then all the 
way up until about 1983 it was more than 30 percent of the average 
wholesale price. So this is not out of line.
  But what we get for this, as has been pointed out, is we get $30 
billion over 5 years to invest in health research, wellness, prevention 
programs, anti-obesity programs, smoking cessation programs, and 
keeping our people more healthy. Plus, we also get out of this 
amendment about $9 billion in deficit reduction.
  So this amendment does two things: It raises the Federal excise tax 
on a pack of cigarettes from 39 cents to $1, which would bring it up to 
about 30 percent of the wholesale price, and it takes that money and 
puts it in the health function so we can invest in the health of our 
people in this country. That is all this amendment does. It does 
nothing else.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. HARKIN. Yes, I yield for a question.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Is it not also true, with the success of this amendment, 
there will be a dramatic reduction in teenage smoking?
  Mr. HARKIN. The Senator is absolutely right. We know with this 
amendment there will be a dramatic reduction. It is estimated youth 
smoking would go down by at least 18 percent with this amendment.
  I thank the Senator from Massachusetts for his support and for 
pointing that out.
  I reserve whatever time we may have remaining.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Alexander). The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I think I may have a colleague who wants 
to speak on this; I believe Senator McConnell. I am looking at the 
amendment. I can read the purpose, but I will tell my colleagues, you 
can put whatever purpose you want, but the net essence of the amendment 
is to increase taxes by $39 billion. I appreciate the assumption. I 
don't know if that scores correctly. I have no idea.
  I don't know what the tax raises today and I don't know how much 
money would be raised if it was increased today $1 a pack. I do know a 
lot of States have been doing this. My Governor in my State of Oklahoma 
is in the process of trying to increase tobacco taxes as we speak. This 
would conflict with that to some extent because a lot of States have 
been doing that. I believe New York and a lot of other States have very 
hefty taxes. This has been primarily an area where the States have 
maybe the heavier tax between the Federal and the State.
  This amendment also purports to say it will increase spending. Just 
reading the language, it says, ``If the Committee on Appropriations 
reports the legislation'' such-and-such, then the chairman of the 
Budget Committee may revise aggregates up to. So it doesn't actually 
directly increase spending. It does directly increase taxes to the tune 
of $39 billion over the first few years. It assumes there would be a 
lot of new spending. I want to make that clear. Some people are 
assuming it is a direct increase in some functions.

[[Page 4128]]

  Again, to repeat, my colleague from North Dakota and I have done this 
repeatedly. The purpose does not really mean the Finance Committee is 
going to get an instruction to increase taxes, decrease taxes, keep 
present law, have tax increases. This is a tax increase. I have been on 
the Finance Committee for a long time. I don't remember ever voting on 
an amendment to increase cigarette taxes. I guess it has floated 
around, but I don't remember a serious debate on increasing the 
cigarette tax and should this be a function to be reserved for the 
States or for the Federal Government.
  I will reserve the balance of our time for Members who may be more 
knowledgeable. I didn't know what the excise tax on a pack of 
cigarettes was until my colleague said it is 31 cents. I don't know 
what the wholesale price of a pack of cigarettes is. I don't know what 
the retail price is. I don't know, don't care too much. So maybe this 
is a fight for other people.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the Harkin 
Amendment. I'm against raising taxes. And that is exactly what this 
amendment is--a tax increase and a large one. Moreover, it is very 
regressive. It raises taxes on many people who can't afford it.
  However, I share the overall goal of reducing tobacco use. Smoking is 
still the number one killer in America, though obesity is now a close 
second, a should be addressed by Congress. As a heart and lung 
transplant surgeon, I know very well the results of this deadly habit, 
and I have consistently supported reasonable FDA regulation of tobacco 
which focuses on youth consumption.
  I hope that we can eventually reach agreement on a package that will 
give FDA reasonable authority to regulate tobacco and provide a buy-out 
for our tobacco farmers. I encourage my colleagues who support this 
amendment to work to accomplish that worthy public health goal.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the Senator from West Virginia is seeking 
time. How much time would the Senator want?
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Five or six minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I yield 5 minutes off the resolution to the Senator from 
West Virginia. For the information of the chairman, the Senator has 
agreed to talk about an amendment but not offer it. That is why we are 
asking at this time that he be given 5 minutes to discuss his concern.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I thank the extremely distinguished 
Presiding Officer, Senator Conrad, and Senator Nickles.
  Last year we had a very interesting scene on this floor in which 75 
Senators, working with Senator Collins, Senator Nelson from Nebraska, 
and Senator Smith from Oregon and I, and others, passed a $20 billion 
fiscal relief bill for the States. Half of that was devoted to 
Medicaid. It became an extraordinarily important part of what States 
did to be able to survive.
  We are once again in a dire fiscal situation. States face the 
prospect of having to cut benefits to kids, particularly poor kids, 
needy families, and seniors in nursing homes, something which 75 
Senators voted not to do last year. It passed the House. The President 
signed it.
  Forty-two States last year were in a budget deficit situation with 
respect to Medicaid. It was and is their largest problem. Sluggish job 
growth continues to add to that problem. Last month our economy gained 
21,000 new jobs. There are 8 million people out of work, so that is 
only one job for every 380 unemployed workers. The majority of 
Americans get their health care through their job, particularly 
manufacturing jobs, so employment is tremendously important. 
Manufacturing has been going down, as the Presiding Officer knows.
  Even more depressing, about 400,000 Americans have dropped out of the 
workforce altogether, which to me is the saddest thing that can happen, 
where people just kind of give up. The Presiding Officer and I have 
seen that in our States and across America.
  But instead of working to further ease the budgetary strain on 
States, Congress has actually made life tougher for States fiscally. 
The new Medicare law includes at least $1.2 billion in net costs to 
States in fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006. We should be providing 
States the resources they need to work with Medicare, not enacting 
legislation that assumes cuts.
  My amendment, which I will not offer formally, would allow Congress 
to enact legislation simply to extend the enhanced Medicaid match we 
passed last year beyond June 30 of this year. It is not a prescriptive 
policy, but rather a placeholder that will allow us to help an awful 
lot of people down the road.
  Some in this body will argue we did this just to be temporary. The 
economic situation has not stabilized. To the extent we can say the 
problem is there and there is something we can do to help States, it 
will make an enormous difference to lots of people. It is interesting 
and sad that 30 States are projecting budget deficits for the fiscal 
year coming up. Estimates indicate those deficits could total as much 
as $41 billion. In eight States--and I won't name them--the budget 
shortfalls are so large for Medicaid that they exceed 10 percent of the 
entire budget of the State.
  I put this concept, which I believe is tremendously important, before 
the Senate. It simply allows fiscal relief beyond June 30. It allows an 
extension of what we passed by an enormous amount last year. I hope my 
colleagues will look upon it favorably.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Of course.
  Mr. KENNEDY. If I might have the attention of the floor manager for a 
minute, does he have 2 minutes for an inquiry available?
  Mr. CONRAD. Does the Senator from West Virginia have any time?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Thirty seconds.
  Mr. CONRAD. I am delighted to yield the Senator 2 minutes off the 
resolution.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, isn't it true that under this resolution 
we are now considering, there will be no expansion of health care 
coverage under the existing program; and if the proposal of the Senator 
from West Virginia isn't accepted, then what we are going to see are 
hundreds of thousands, even millions of the poorest of the children, 
poorest of the elderly, frailest of our seniors, dropped from any kind 
of health care coverage?
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. The Senator from Massachusetts is precisely correct. 
The fact is there is not a nickel's increase from what it was we passed 
so unanimously a year ago, not a nickel's increase.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Would the Senator agree with me that one of the great 
concerns across the country is there has been increasing numbers of the 
uninsured, costs have gone up 43 percent? And now without the inclusion 
of the proposal of the Senator from West Virginia, we are putting at 
risk the poorest of the poor, poor children, frail, elderly people, 
those in the nursing homes of this country. I commend the Senator from 
West Virginia. This makes absolute sense and I think it is an absolute 
necessity. I hope we will have the opportunity to make sure it is part 
of the budget.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I thank the Senator and I thank the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yield myself time off of the resolution. 
I want to say to my colleagues that we are rapidly approaching a 
defining moment of this year's budget resolution. We have just a few 
hours left, and we have requests for much more time than there is 
available. I remind colleagues of the way this works. Even though I 
have 4 hours remaining--how much time remains on this side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Four hours three minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I have 4 hours 3 minutes. Senator Nickles has an hour and 
30, something like that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
  Mr. CONRAD. Senator Nickles can yield back all of his time and that

[[Page 4129]]

means we functionally have 2 hours left on our side. That is the 
reality.
  No. 2, we have 50 amendments pending on our side. That is after we 
started with 98. We have reduced it to 50. I have never done this 
before, but I am going to do it this time. At some point in the very 
near future, I am going to start voting against amendments offered on 
either side that spend more money. I don't think, in light of the 
massive deficits and debt that we have, even if the amendments are paid 
for, we should be offering dozens of amendments, other than those of 
extremely high priority.
  We have had amendments thus far today that have been of an extremely 
high priority. I don't believe it is in the interest of this country or 
of this body to have dozens and dozens of amendments, even if they are 
paid for, that add to the spending base, given the level of deficits 
and debt that we have.
  I have been approached by many members on our side who have asked me 
to deliver this message. I do so at this time. We have lined up, in 
addition to the amendment from Senator Harkin and Senator Feinstein, 
one from Senator Byrd, an amendment from Senator Lieberman, an 
amendment from Senator Lincoln, and there may be a few more I am not 
yet aware of. But I hope that the message goes out loudly and clearly 
that we are going to show restraint and dramatically reduce the number 
of pending amendments.
  Fifty amendments would take us 17 hours of voting. We still haven't 
gotten to the point of beginning the voting. Please, colleagues, I ask 
you to show some restraint. There is no need for us to come out here 
and offer 50 amendments. This is the time. I hope the phone starts 
ringing off the hook in the cloakroom from colleagues who say they have 
8 amendments to offer and they call back and say, I will reduce that to 
the one that is really a priority.
  Please, let us not go through another vote-a-rama that takes 17 
hours. Please let's not do that.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be 
set aside, and I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, we have not 
seen the amendment and we cannot agree to any amendments going to the 
desk that have not been presented to the ranking member and chairman, 
those managing the bill. I am constrained to object until we see the 
amendment.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, this is an amendment from myself and 
Senators Kyl, Bingaman, Hutchison, Kennedy, Cornyn, Boxer, Domenici, 
Clinton, McCain, Schumer, Graham, Lautenberg, Cantwell, Corzine, 
Feingold, and Edwards. It has to do with the State criminal assistance 
program for illegal aliens. We have tried to get floor time and have 
been unable to do so.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, for the advice of my colleagues, we have 
an order here. We have to follow that order. Senators have to come to 
the managers and present their amendments and get into the queue. The 
next amendment we have committed to considering is one from Senator 
Byrd, also, Senator Lincoln.
  If Senator Lincoln is ready, we could go to her at this point. I ask 
the Senator not to send her amendment to the desk, but to seek 
recognition to present the amendment. Then we will go to Senator Byrd, 
and then we go to Senator Lieberman. That is the order that we have. Is 
Senator Lincoln ready to go?
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Yes.
  Mr. CONRAD. Off the resolution, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator. I 
ask her not to send the amendment to the desk.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Reserving the right to object. Is the Senator saying 
I have no right to introduce my amendment?
  Mr. CONRAD. I am saying I am not going to give the Senator time to 
introduce her amendment at this point. We have an order that has been 
agreed to. We have made commitments to people as to when to present 
amendments. We have not seen the Senator's amendment. Until we have 
seen it and gotten it into the queue, other Senators who had 
commitments made to them are the only ones that we will give time to.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. For the record, it is my understanding that the 
amendment had been presented to your staff yesterday. We have sought 
time. I recognize this amendment may not be one of your priorities. It 
is a huge amendment for many States that have very high costs, and I 
have presented it in the past. It has been unanimously adopted by this 
body in the budget bill. I offered a separate amendment which was an 
authorization for $850 million, which passed the Senate and is now in 
the House. There is no number from the President in the budget. That is 
why I am submitting it at this time.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I hope the point is clear. The Senator has 
every right to offer her amendment. The Senator will have a chance to 
offer her amendment. The point is this: We have an order. We have an 
agreement. We are working through those amendments where Senators have 
been put in the queue. I am not going to yield time to other Senators 
who break the line. We have made commitments to Senators for an order 
of recognition. I intend to keep those commitments.
  Again, I yield to the Senator from Arkansas 10 minutes off the 
resolution.


                           Amendment No. 2803

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague. I thank all of my 
colleagues. This is such an important issue as we look at the budget in 
the confines of the budget of this country, really in the context of 
priorities. We have a lot of choices and we have a lot of priorities in 
this country. Each of us as Americans, here in the Senate, our 
constituents who depend on us tremendously to make sure that the 
priorities of this country are recognized--each of us in our own homes 
and families has to set priorities within the confines of our own 
family budgets. We have to look at the year, the circumstances, and we 
have to figure out what is important to us as a family, important to us 
as part of a community, and what is important in terms of long range 
goals that we have for ourselves, our families, our communities and, in 
this instance, our Nation.
  We also have to recognize that the priorities and choices that we 
make regarding those priorities have consequences. They have immediate 
consequences on our families, communities, and our country. They also 
have long-term consequences on the things that we want to achieve as 
individuals and collectively as a group. That is why I rise today to 
offer an amendment to the budget resolution to provide $60 billion over 
5 years to reduce the growing number of uninsured Americans and to 
reduce the high cost of health care.
  I do not know about the other Members of this body, but I do know, 
almost to the individuals who come into my office, whether they 
represent corporate America, whether they represent their families, 
whether they represent the interest of their community and the small 
businesses that make up that community, but to a person, almost every 
one of them mentions the cost of health care in this country, its 
escalation, and the concern it brings to them as an individual and to 
their families, to their businesses, and to their communities.
  What are we going to do about it? How much of a priority are we going 
to make this issue in terms of the high cost of health care in this 
country?
  One of the most incredible contributors to this high cost of health 
care is the number of Americans who are uninsured, those who are 
unprepared for what may happen to them or to their family members. It 
affects them, it affects their families, it affects their jobs, their 
employers, their communities, their health care providers--it affects 
absolutely everyone.
  This amendment I offer today will dedicate funding to address this 
critical issue and to do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. 
Unfortunately, the budget resolution before us does not

[[Page 4130]]

specify either an amount to promote expanding health insurance coverage 
or a way to pay for it, which leads me to believe it simply is not a 
priority, and I am here today to make it one.
  The fact is, the number of uninsured in our country is alarming and 
should be a national priority. Based on the statements of HHS Secretary 
Tommy Thompson last week, it is clear President Bush's administration 
does not recognize the severity of this crisis. Secretary Thompson was 
quoted as saying:

       Even if you do not have health insurance in America, you 
     get taken care of. That could be defined as universal health 
     care.

  With all due respect to Secretary Thompson, I do not know where he is 
getting his information. Just look at these simple facts: 20 percent of 
the working-age adults in Arkansas are uninsured. Nationwide an 
estimated 44 million Americans do not have health insurance.
  Uninsured families have less access to important screenings, state-
of-the-art technology, and prescription drugs.
  Uninsured adults have a 25-percent greater mortality risk than adults 
with health insurance coverage. An estimated 18,000 deaths among people 
younger than 65 are attributed to lack of health insurance coverage 
every single year.
  Uninsured adults with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, 
cardiovascular disease, HIV infection, and mental illness, have less 
access to preventive care and have worse clinical outcomes than insured 
patients.
  Uninsured adults negatively affect our health care providers and the 
local economy, too. A community's high rate of uninsured can adversely 
affect the overall health status of the entire community, the financial 
stability of its health care institutions and providers, and access to 
emergency departments and trauma centers.
  My hospitals in Arkansas will tell you how expensive uncompensated 
care can be. These facts make it clear. People without health insurance 
do not get taken care of, as Secretary Thompson said. Those who lack 
health insurance do not get access to timely and appropriate health 
care.
  The fact is Americans without health insurance--children and adults--
suffer worse health and they die sooner than those who do have health 
insurance.
  The fact is people who lack health insurance are sicker and they die 
sooner. You do not get taken care of if you have no health insurance. 
You simply fend for yourself.
  Working families need help with this problem. In Arkansas, the No. 1 
cause of bankruptcy is high medical bills. If what we want to do is put 
our economy back on track, let us work to provide small businesses and 
industry the ability to access health insurance and health care for 
their workers. We know that works.
  Last week, I introduced legislation with Senator Durbin and Senator 
Carper to help small businesses gain access to affordable health 
insurance for their employees. Small businesses are the No. 1 source of 
jobs in Arkansas. Small employers say offering health insurance has a 
positive impact on recruitment and retention, employee moral, their 
performance, and the overall success of their business, their ability 
to succeed and to grow the jobs that will help make this economy 
strong.
  What better way to get our economy going again than to help small 
businesses to succeed? More than half of the workers in firms under 100 
people make less than $25,000. I ask my colleagues, How in the world 
can someone afford health insurance in the open marketplace on an 
income at that level? Firms with a high proportion of low-wage workers 
are much less likely to offer insurance, and the fact health insurance 
for individuals, low-income working families to afford it on their own 
does not exist.
  This budget resolution does not prioritize this growing problem. It 
fails working families because it does not put any money aside.
  In President Bush's budget, he suggested he wants to work with 
Congress on an offset for this proposed plan. Guess what, Mr. 
President. I have one. Let's eliminate the abusive tax loopholes 
corporations have taken advantage of for years. How long do we have to 
wait, anyway?
  This amendment is about priorities. Are we going to choose to help 
working families afford health insurance? Are we going to continue to 
allow corporations to get away with these abuses? We have investigated 
Enron's tax shelters activities, but we have done nothing. We have done 
nothing in those circumstances.
  We must make the growing number of uninsured in our country a 
priority. It is clear working families are not getting the health care 
they need. No one can argue with that point. I challenge any one of my 
colleagues. If they are not hearing the same concerns in their offices, 
I would be surprised.
  There are a number of bipartisan proposals introduced in the Senate 
to address the high number of uninsured. Let's come together and do 
something good for the hard-working folks in this country who cannot 
afford health insurance, those who cannot get access to the most basic 
of preventive medicine. Congress needs to address this issue.
  The high cost of health care in the United States is giving other 
developed countries an advantage in keeping and attracting jobs. If we 
want to talk about losing jobs, look at one of the highest costs to 
industry and to small businesses. It is providing quality health care 
and health insurance that is going to allow them to keep those workers 
and provide them what they need to be good workers and good family 
members.
  For each car they build, DaimlerChrysler AG pays out $1,300 in 
employee health care costs. When they make that car in Canada, they pay 
hardly anything. They depend on a government program to provide that 
health care. That is why the big three automakers actually lobbied the 
Canadian Government to maintain their national health care system. If 
we want to keep jobs in America, let's make it worth their while. Let's 
make their quality of life comparable in those instances.
  At a time when jobs are leaving our country, at a time when health 
insurance premiums are rising by leaps and bounds and working families 
are losing their jobs and what health insurance they may have, Congress 
must do something.
  I do not claim my amendment will address every health care need in 
our Nation. Some want to do more, and some think we should do less. I 
believe my amendment is a balanced, commonsense approach that will 
advance this important cause in a meaningful way. I ask my colleagues 
for their support.
  We cannot assume people are getting the health care they need, 
because they are not. All we have to do is listen to corporate America, 
listen to small business, listen to our health care providers, most 
importantly, listen to our constituents.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, we cannot continue to turn a blind eye. 
Let's get it done. I urge all Senators to vote for my amendment and 
vote on behalf of quality health care for all Americans.
  I thank the Chair.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I am a cosponsor on this amendment, and I ask for 1\1/2\ 
minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I would be glad to yield 2 minutes off the resolution on 
this amendment to the Senator from Massachusetts.
  Might I ask the chairman if we could get a time agreement on this 
amendment so we can get that amendment sent to the desk. We will try to 
keep this queue as orderly as possible.
  Mr. NICKLES. I ask unanimous consent that the debate on the Lincoln 
amendment be limited to 20 minutes equally divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Chair. I yield 2 minutes off the resolution 
to the Senator from Massachusetts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, first, I congratulate and commend the 
Senator

[[Page 4131]]

from Arkansas. She is basically challenging the Senate, saying that 
when we are considering a $2.4 trillion budget we ought to make a 
commitment in this budget to a downpayment on health insurance for 
working Americans. Eighty percent of those who do not have health 
insurance are from working families. Working families play by the 
rules, work hard, provide for their children, and they are effectively 
without this coverage.
  In the past, the Budget Committee has had a reserve fund that has 
been funded on this. In the last budget, $50 billion came out of 
conference for health insurance. It was $89 billion the year before, 
but it is zero effectively in this budget.
  The Senator from Arkansas is reminding us of our responsibility. The 
problem has not gotten less; it has gotten worse, and she is 
challenging this body to meet its responsibilities, to say to the 43 
million Americans, including the children who are out there, we are 
committed to making a downpayment. We are not going to have all the 
answers but we insist, as a matter of national priority, that we give 
focus and attention to the uninsured. That is what the Lincoln 
amendment is all about.
  Goodness knows, of the 43 million Americans, there is not a single 
Member of the Senate who does not have health insurance. There is not a 
single Member of the House of Representatives who does not have health 
insurance. Let's meet our responsibility and begin to treat our fellow 
Americans the way we treat ourselves.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. I ask unanimous consent to lay aside the pending 
amendment, and I send my amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment is 
set aside.
  The clerk will report the amendment.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Arkansas [Mrs. Lincoln], for herself, Mr. 
     Daschle, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Corzine, Mr. 
     Bingaman, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Pryor, 
     Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Jeffords, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2803.

  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To provide $60 billion over five years for greater health 
security for working Americans and their families through a combination 
  of public and private efforts to expand quality, affordable health 
insurance coverage and cut health care costs by eliminating abusive tax 
                               loopholes)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 4, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 5, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 6, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 7, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 8, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 12, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 13, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 14, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 4, line 15, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 12, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 13, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 16, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 17, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 20, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 21, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 24, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 16, line 25, increase the amount by 
     $12,000,000,000.
       On page 17, line 3, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.
       On page 17, line 4, increase the amount by $12,000,000,000.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I have great respect and esteem for my 
neighbor from Arkansas, but this is an amendment that would increase 
taxes by $60 billion. I think we want to send out a clarion call to 
taxpayers: Look out. Our good friends on the Democrat side of the aisle 
are after you. They are coming. They are coming after your pocketbooks.
  We just considered an amendment from our colleague from Iowa for $39 
billion. The Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer, offered an amendment 
for $24 billion, and there are a lot of other tax increases in a lot of 
other amendments that I guess we will discuss. The $60 billion tax 
increase that Senator Lincoln is offering proposes to close loopholes.
  My colleague from Arkansas is on the Finance Committee. We mark up 
tax bills all the time. The Senator should introduce her amendment to 
close the loopholes. As soon as I found out about the leasing 
provision, I started talking about we need to repeal it.
  The chairman of the Finance Committee put that in the FSC/ETI bill. 
We had that bill on the Senate floor, and it will be back in a week. We 
can make that law. There are other loopholes that need to be closed, 
many of which the chairman of the Finance Committee has in that bill, 
supported by Senator Grassley and Senator Baucus and many of us on the 
committee, most of those in a very bipartisan way.
  Now a lot of that is used to pay for the JOBS bill that Senator 
Grassley and Senator Baucus are trying to pass. The idea of being able 
to lower manufacturing rates, and so on, there are a lot of these 
``loopholes.'' If my colleague has more loopholes, let's talk about 
them.
  I asked the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary Snow, if he has some 
ideas about some loopholes that need to be closed to give me a list. I 
like to close loopholes. I do not like it when there are real 
inequities and there are people cheating who are not paying their fair 
share. There are a lot of unreported taxes, for example. So I am 
willing to do it, but this amendment just basically increases taxes.
  We can suggest closing loopholes but this raises taxes. In the first 
year, it raises $12 billion in taxes. It just so happens in the first 
year we are assuming continuation of present law and that will cost us 
$12 billion. In other words, we continue present law for primarily low- 
and middle-income people, and that will be $12 billion. So this will 
totally offset that.
  The net result, if these two amendments are put together, the budget 
resolution and this amendment, it will say zero tax relief in 2005; 
i.e., it will say a tax increase for every family in America, for every 
couple in America, for everybody who has a child in America. That is 
what this amendment is.
  I want taxpayers to look out. There are a lot of people looking after 
your checkbook and they are looking to get in your checkbook. Some of 
us are not going to let that happen. I urge our colleagues to vote no 
on the amendment at the appropriate time.
  I ask unanimous consent that we lay aside the Lincoln amendment and 
now take up consideration of the amendment of Senator Byrd and that the 
amendment have 40 minutes equally divided.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.


                           Amendment No. 2804

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished manager of the 
bill. I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.

[[Page 4132]]

  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2804.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To provide responsible restraints on discretionary funding 
 while providing adequate resources for education, veterans, homeland 
 security, and other critical domestic priorities and fully offsetting 
the cost by closing corporate tax loopholes, improving tax enforcement, 
and reducing tax breaks for the top 1 percent without affecting middle-
                            class taxpayers)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $13,365,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $3,596,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $1,200,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $13,365,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $3,596,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $1,200,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 4, line 5, increase the amount by $7,361,000,000.
       On page 4, line 13, increase the amount by $13,365,000,000.
       On page 4, line 14, increase the amount by $3,596,000,000.
       On page 4, line 15, increase the amount by $1,200,000,000.
       On page 4, line 16, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $5,656,000,000.
       On page 23, line 9, increase the amount by $7,361,000,000.
       On page 23, line 10, increase the amount by 
     $13,365,000,000.
       On page 23, line 14, increase the amount by $3,596,000,000.
       On page 23, line 18, increase the amount by $1,200,000,000.
       On page 23, line 22, increase the amount by $429,000,000.
       On page 40, line 1, increase the amount by $7,361,000,000.
       On page 40, line 2, increase the amount by $13,365,000,000.
       At the end of Title III, insert the following:

     SEC.   . RESERVE FUND FOR EDUCATION, VETERANS' MEDICAL CARE, 
                   GLOBAL HIV/AIDS, AMTRAK, HIGHWAYS, MASS 
                   TRANSIT, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH, FIRST 
                   RESPONDER GRANTS AND OTHER DEPARTMENT OF 
                   HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAMS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $11,223,000,000 in 
     budget authority for fiscal year 2005, and by the amount of 
     outlays flowing therefrom in 2005 and subsequent years for a 
     bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, or conference 
     report that provides additional fiscal year 2005 
     discretionary appropriations, in excess of levels provided in 
     fiscal year 2004, for Department of Education programs in the 
     No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110), Veterans' medical 
     care programs, the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, Amtrak, 
     Federal-Aid Highways, Mass Transit Capital Investment Grants, 
     the National Institutes of Health, and first responders 
     (including High-Threat/High-Density Urban Area Grants, State 
     Basic Formula Grants, Firefighter Assistance Grants, COPS, 
     and State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance) and other 
     Department of Homeland Security programs.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Senate has an obligation to approve a 
budget resolution that addresses the massive deficits and debt that now 
lie before us. Such a balanced resolution should rely on responsible 
restraint, on all three elements of the budget: revenues, mandatory 
spending, and discretionary spending.
  The Senate has an obligation to approve a budget resolution that will 
permit the Congress to enact 13 fiscally responsible appropriations 
bills. This budget resolution utterly fails to meet those tests. 
Instead, the resolution puts the Congress on a course toward long-term 
deficits, higher debt, and an appropriations process that will 
inevitably produce gimmicks and delays.
  The budget resolution puts us on a course that will prevent us from 
meeting the needs of the Nation. Rather than confront record deficits 
with responsible limits on mandatory and discretionary spending and 
reassessment of the revenue losses produced by the tax cut legislation 
of 2001 and 2003, the Budget Committee produced a myopic budget 
resolution that pretends to address the deficits with ridiculously low 
limits on domestic discretionary spending.
  It is not the spending side of the budget that has put the Federal 
budget back into the deficit ditch. Rather than restoring some sanity 
to our revenue base, the budget resolution that is before us includes 
$144 billion in new tax cuts. According to the House Budget Committee, 
the tax cuts enacted since 2001 have or will increase our deficits by 
$2.6 trillion for the period from 2001 to 2013.
  According to the Office of Management and Budget, taxes in 2004 are, 
as a percentage of gross domestic product, the lowest they have been 
since 1950. Every year, the IRS fails to collect hundreds of billions 
of dollars from delinquent taxpayers and corporations. In 2001, IRS 
data showed $49 billion in lost revenues from delinquent employment 
taxes, penalties, and interest owed to the Federal Government. The 
Joint Tax Committee estimates that the cost of tax preferences 
increased by twice the rate of spending during the last 10 years, from 
$488 billion a year to $730 billion a year, and none of it--none--is 
required to be reviewed annually by the Congress.
  Yet there is nothing in the budget resolution to increase tax 
enforcement or to close tax loopholes. Instead, this budget resolution 
heaps more tax cuts on top of the huge back-loaded tax cuts already 
enacted. This budget resolution pretends to reduce deficits by focusing 
cuts on one very small piece of the budget pie, domestic discretionary 
spending. Unlike the Tax Code or mandatory programs, discretionary 
spending is the only piece of the Federal budget required to be 
reviewed every year by the Congress, and it is the only part of the 
budget that is squeezed routinely for savings, even though there is an 
abundance of potential savings from excesses in the other areas of the 
budget.
  Here are the facts. Domestic discretionary spending comprises less 
than 17 percent of the Federal budget. No one should believe cutting 
domestic discretionary spending by itself can produce balanced budgets.
  I remind Senators that according to the White House's own budget 
documents, if we were to eliminate every penny of nondefense spending 
in fiscal year 2004, we would still run a deficit of $65 billion.
  The mathematics in this resolution just do not work. The budget 
resolution cuts discretionary budget authority for fiscal year 2005 by 
$1.9 billion and outlays by $12.1 billion below the request of the 
President. For nondefense, non-homeland security programs, the 
resolution cuts budget authority for fiscal year 2005 by $11.2 billion 
below the level necessary to keep pace with inflation. Outlays for 
nondefense programs face even deeper, unsustainable cuts; that is, 
$11.2 billion in cuts in education, health care, veterans medical care, 
job training, transportation, and other critical priorities. Such cuts 
do not have the support of the American people or their Representatives 
in Congress.
  Just 2 weeks ago, the House Veterans' Affairs Committee called upon 
the House Budget Committee to increase veterans spending by $2.4 
billion. Recently, the Senate passed a bill

[[Page 4133]]

increasing funding above the President's request for highway and mass 
transit programs. The Senate Finance Committee has requested more funds 
for tax enforcement. The Senate Small Business Committee called for 
increases in small business loans. The Senate Governmental Affairs 
Committee called for increases for the Coast Guard. None of these 
increases are included in this resolution. Yet we engage in this 
charade, framed by the Bush administration, about how discretionary 
spending is bloated and how funding cuts are the absolute one and only 
way to reduce the deficit.
  Under the President's budget, by 2009, education and training 
programs will be cut 7 percent below levels necessary to keep pace with 
inflation. Environmental programs will be cut by 20 percent, law 
enforcement programs by 16 percent, veterans medical care by 17 
percent. The President tells us that we are in the midst of an energy 
crisis, but his budget cuts energy programs by 27 percent in 2009.
  Remember No Child Left Behind? In 2009, the title I program will be 
cut by $260 million below levels approved for 2004, adjusted for 
inflation. Overall, domestic programs would be cut by 12 percent in 
2009.
  Does this budget resolution restore those cuts? No. No. No. Instead, 
this budget makes it next to impossible for the Federal Government to 
meet its obligations to children, to seniors, and to veterans. It digs 
a deep hole for funding education; a deep hole for funding health care; 
a deep hole for funding environmental programs, such as clean and safe 
drinking water. This budget puts the President's political priorities 
first and it puts the American people last. This budget resolution will 
force cuts to domestic discretionary programs by almost $1 billion 
below the President's totally inadequate request for fiscal year 2005. 
It is a slash-and-burn program. Ignore the consequences. We must cut, 
cut, cut.
  The resolution is $11.2 billion below the amount necessary to keep 
pace with inflation. During the next 5 years, the budget resolution 
cuts domestic programs such as veterans, education, and transportation 
by $107 billion below the amount necessary to keep pace with inflation.
  What is going on here?
  This Nation is suffering from neglect--neglect. Our schools are 
breaking apart; our health care system is in disarray; Social Security 
and Medicare face bankruptcy; America's veterans have to wait for weeks 
upon weeks for basic medical care; our homeland security network is 
riddled with massive gaps. Even though terrorists struck our Nation 
2\1/2\ years ago, this very day protections at home are little improved 
from that fateful day.
  Why? Why do we face such major crises in so many critical areas? The 
answer is simple. The Bush White House and this Congress have failed to 
live up to the promises made to the American people.
  Today, the President is scheduled to participate in the 
groundbreaking for the 9/11 memorial in New York City. It was 2\1/2\ 
years ago today that those planes struck the two towers, the Pentagon, 
and the field in Pennsylvania. But are we safer? Hardly. The security 
of this Nation is on thin ice. The Bush administration has held back 
support for critical investments in homeland security, in police 
officers, in firefighters, in border, airport and seaport security. As 
a result of this White House's foot dragging, America is woefully 
unprepared to prevent or respond to another terrorist attack.
  Police officers, firefighters, and paramedics throughout this country 
have sent a clear message to this Capitol; namely, they need more 
Federal help to best do their job. Law enforcement grants are proposed 
to be cut by $1 billion.
  The President, in his budget, puts first responders last in line for 
Federal funding. The President's budget proposes to cut grants that 
equip and train police, fire, and emergency medical services personnel 
by $733 million. Fire grants alone are to be reduced by 33 percent.
  These cuts come despite continued warnings--from think tanks, from 
commissions, and from first responders themselves--that our Nation is 
not adequately prepared to respond to another act of terrorism.
  Congress has a responsibility to protect the Nation. It must focus on 
the country's many serious vulnerabilities and invest dollars where 
they are most needed. But it seems as though the only time this 
Congress is willing to increase funding is for our defense forces 
overseas. Defenses here at home are left to scramble and scrape.
  My amendment would increase the levels of the 2-year caps on 
discretionary spending contained in the resolution to sustainable 
levels. These levels would allow Congress to responsibly move forward 
on the appropriations process.
  This amendment provides sufficient resources, including $11.2 billion 
in fiscal year 2005 and $7.4 billion in fiscal year 2006 to make sure 
that the level of activity for domestic programs that the Congress 
approved and the President signed into law for 2004, can be maintained 
in 2005 and 2006, after adjusting for inflation.
  We will hear during the debate that spending is out of control. It 
really is not. We have seen an increase in the 3 years since President 
Bush took office, but what programs have received those increases? The 
increases have been for defense, homeland security, and the response to 
the September 11 attack. In fact, 91 percent of the spending increases 
since 2001 have been in those three categories. According to staff 
analysis, increases for domestic programs, excluding homeland security, 
have barely kept pace with inflation over the last 2 years.
  If you think the Congress should restore the President's proposed 
cuts of $1 billion in State and local law enforcement grants, you 
should be for this amendment. If you voted for the Senate highway bill, 
you should be for this amendment. If you think that veterans should not 
have to pay special charges and membership fees for health care, if you 
think that veterans already paid their dues at Iwo Jima, Pork Chop 
Hill, and the Mekong Delta, then you should be for this amendment.
  Anyone who wants to characterize this amendment as excessive spending 
is not paying attention to the needs of their constituents. Nor are 
they paying attention to the bottom line. This amendment would reduce 
the deficits below the levels assumed in the budget resolution. The 
amendment assumes additional revenues from the elimination of waste in 
tax expenditures, through increased tax enforcement and compliance, and 
through the partial repeal of the excessive tax cuts for the wealthiest 
Americans enacted in recent years.
  This Senate must not continue to tell the American people that we are 
enacting legislation to better educate our children and to provide 
adequate care for military veterans--- those men and women who are 
enduring service in the powder keg called Iraq and will need care--
because we are not providing the money. We do not pay for our promises 
and that is nothing short of flim-flam and fraud pulled on the American 
people. To starve basic domestic needs and feed the country only feel-
good rhetoric is the worst kind of posturing. Let us stop misleading 
the taxpayer and deliver what we promise.
  This amendment is balanced. It is fair. It is responsible. We should 
not ignore the needs of our constituents. I urge the adoption of my 
amendment.
  I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to again send a message out to our 
colleagues just as strongly and as clearly as I can. We are very close, 
I believe, to having presented our major amendments. I believe very 
strongly that this year less is more. I hope colleagues will refrain 
from offering additional amendments unless they are just 
extraordinarily important and they are able to convince the managers 
and the leadership they simply must be offered.
  We are now on the fourth day of deliberations on the budget 
resolution. We have had an opportunity to debate this in a full and 
virtually complete

[[Page 4134]]

way. We are on the brink of having been able to complete the offering 
of all our major priority amendments.
  I am asking my colleagues, please refrain from offering additional 
amendments. I hope very much we will have a meeting on our side to 
discuss how we proceed from this point.
  I thank all of our colleagues who have debated. I thank all of our 
colleagues who have offered these key amendments. I want to especially 
thank Senator Byrd for his courtesy and his willingness to accept the 
limitation on time.
  The next Member in our order is Senator Lieberman.
  I see the chairman has returned.
  Again, I am asking all of our colleagues who have pending amendments 
on our side, please review them with a fine-tooth comb. Unless they are 
absolutely essential, I ask you, I urge you not to offer the amendment. 
And for the first time I have ever done this on a budget resolution, I 
am very close to the point where I will begin opposing amendments 
because I feel so strongly we should not offer substantially more 
amendments than we already have. I am very close to the point of taking 
the position that I will oppose amendments. We have had a good 
opportunity to debate. We have had a good opportunity to consider major 
amendments. We can have some additional high priority amendments. But 
50 additional amendments, no. That is not reasonable. It is not fair to 
our colleagues. Please, let us show some restraint.
  I thank the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I want to echo everything my colleague 
from North Dakota said.
  I know I have complained to Senator Byrd in the past about 
deliberations on the budget process. I said I dislike vote-aramas. In 
the past, management of budget bills has many times stacked the votes. 
Well, there won't be any votes and people would have long debates, and, 
therefore, not really consider very many amendments until late Thursday 
night. We haven't done that, frankly in large part because of my 
relationship and respect for Senator Conrad. We said we wanted to avoid 
the vote-arama. Last year was probably the worst vote-arama in Senate 
history. To me, it is very demeaning to the Senate. We cast 51 rollcall 
votes, most of which were jammed together, most of which had 1 minute 
of debate each, and no one knew what they were voting on. It was not a 
pretty picture. It wasn't good for the Senate. I want to do what is 
right for the Senate. I have heard Senator Byrd say that. I happen to 
agree with him.
  I appreciate his amendment. I don't support his amendment, but I 
appreciate it. It is a substantive amendment. As Senator Conrad said, 
we are willing to take substantive amendments and debate them and 
discuss them and give Members ample time to consider them. But we do 
not need to have repetitive amendments. We do not need to have endless 
amendments. We do not need to have sense of the Senates. And we do not 
need to have people staying here until 1 o'clock in the morning voting, 
where they are like zombies and don't really recognize what they are 
voting on.
  I want to make a couple comments on the amendment before the Senate 
right now, the amendment by my colleague and friend, Senator Byrd. This 
amendment would increase taxes by $24.5 billion. It increases spending 
by about $18 billion. I urge our colleagues to defeat it.
  We have had a lot of amendments that will increase taxes and increase 
spending. We are going to be voting on that several times--maybe even 
more times. I hope we don't continue voting on it. I think people are 
making their points. I understand a lot of people want to tax more and 
spend more. That is understood. I do not know how many times we would 
have to vote on it.
  The tax assumption we have in the bill before us for 2005 is $12.3 
billion in tax reduction. But in reality we are assuming present law 
will be extended. If you extend present law--no tax cut, but basically 
extend present law--that costs us about $12.3 billion.
  This bill increases taxes by about $11.2 billion. In other words, you 
could not extend present law. It nets out. It would tell the Finance 
Committee, don't do it. The net result would be a lot of families in 
Oklahoma and in other places around the country--if they have four 
kids, it would be a tax increase of $2,200, if they have taxable income 
of $58,000. These are not necessarily wealthy individuals.
  I know the top line of this says: We want to reduce tax breaks for 
the upper 1 percent. I urge colleagues, if you know of some tax breaks 
that need to be closed, Chairman Grassley is going to have a bill on 
the floor when we return from this recess week after next. Offer those 
amendments to close the tax breaks, and if they are legitimate, I may 
well support you. That is the time to do it. But I think a lot of these 
so-called closing tax breaks are not there or Senator Grassley and 
Senator Baucus already have them in their bill or they are planning on 
putting them in the bill. I am all for closing them. And I could 
mention other provisions. I am for closing them. But let's do it on the 
tax bill.
  This is basically saying, let's have a tax increase of $24 billion 
and increasing spending by $18 billion.
  I urge our colleagues to vote against the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Crapo). The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I say to my colleague, the chairman, 
Senator Bingaman is in the Chamber. He would be willing to take 5 
minutes to describe an amendment, and I am wondering if we could give 
him that time. My intention would be to give him 5 minutes off the 
resolution.
  I would ask him, because we have just given the amendment to the 
other side, not to send his amendment to the desk at this moment but to 
describe it. I would give him 5 minutes off the resolution. If the 
Senator needs more time, I would add time. We need unanimous consent to 
allow him to speak on his amendment without sending it to the desk and 
set aside Senator Byrd's amendment for the moment.
  I ask the Senator, would that be acceptable?
  Mr. BYRD. When may I briefly respond to Mr. Nickles?
  Mr. CONRAD. Would the Senator prefer to do that at this moment?
  Mr. BYRD. Just briefly, if I may.
  Mr. CONRAD. An entirely reasonable request.
  Thank you, I say to Senator Byrd.
  Mr. BYRD. Thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, if I may resume and take a bit more of my 
time.
  It is not spending that has put us back into the deficit ditch. 
Spending for 2005 is estimated to be about 20 percent of the gross 
domestic product. That is significantly less than during the Reagan 
administration or during the administration of President Bush's father. 
On the other hand, revenues as a percentage of gross domestic product 
are the lowest since 1950.
  This amendment produces just enough spending to cover the levels 
approved by this Congress and signed by the President for fiscal year 
2004, adjusted for inflation. This is a disciplined amendment that sets 
reasonable limits. This amendment is not about increasing taxes.
  In July 2003, at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on waste, 
fraud, and improved uses for taxpayer funds, GAO Comptroller David 
Walker testified that tax compliance and collection activity declines 
are a ``high risk'' concern for the GAO.
  As of September 2001, IRS data showed that employers owed $49 billion 
in delinquent taxes. IRS and Federal payment records indicate that 1 
million taxpayers owed about $26 billion in delinquent taxes as of 
February 2002 and were still receiving some type of Federal payment.
  Our own budget chairman, at a hearing this year with Treasury 
Secretary Snow, expressed his concerns about tax compliance and its 
effect on the revenue side of the budget.
  The Senate should at least make some effort to ensure we are 
enforcing

[[Page 4135]]

our current tax laws and that delinquent taxpayers are paying their 
fair share before we cut education, health care, and veterans programs 
for citizens who actually pay their taxes.
  I reserve the remainder of my time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I now yield to Senator Lautenberg for the 
purpose of sending forward his amendment that we earlier discussed I 
will give him a minute off the resolution to send his amendment to the 
desk, and then go to Senator Bingaman for 5 minutes to discuss his 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
pending amendment is laid aside.


                           Amendment No. 2703

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I call my amendment up, which was 
debated earlier. It is amendment No. 2703.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Jersey [Mr. Lautenberg], for himself, 
     Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
     Biden, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
     Feingold, and Mr. Kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 
     2703.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading 
of the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

  (Purpose: To reduce debt and require the industries respondible for 
 producing products that contaminate toxic waste sites and industries 
 who are exempt from liability for such contamination, to help pay for 
  the cleanup by reinstating the Superfund polluter pays fees, and to 
                          reduce the deficit)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $1,501,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $1,629,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $1,696,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $1,735,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $1,754,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $1,501,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $1,629,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $1,696,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $1,735,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $1,754,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $1,501,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $1,629,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $1,696,000,000.
       On page 4, line 23, increase the amount by $1,735,000,000.
       On page 4, line 24, increase the amount by $1,754,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $1,501,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $3,130,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $4,826,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $6,561,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $8,315,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $1,501,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $3,130,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $4,826,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $6,561,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $8,315,000,000.
       On page 25, line 8, decrease the amount by $1,501,000,000.

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment be sequenced following the Dorgan amendment No. 2793, and 
that there be 2 minutes remaining for debate at that time with respect 
to the amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I reserved time for the Senator from 
Oklahoma to speak on the amendment. He has not done that, so I will 
continue to reserve 7 minutes for my colleague from Oklahoma.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  The Senator from New Mexico.


                           Amendment No. 2765

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator Conrad, 
for yielding me some time to describe an amendment I intend to offer 
and would like to have the Senate consider and vote on.
  This is an amendment which can be best summarized by reading it. It 
is only a sentence long. And it says:

       It shall not be in order in the Senate to consider a bill, 
     amendment, motion, joint resolution, or conference report 
     that increases the number of taxpayers affected by the 
     alternative minimum tax, except for a measure that extends 
     expiring provisions relating to the child tax credit, the 10-
     percent tax bracket, and the marriage penalty.

  Mr. President, this is what I would call a first-things-first 
amendment. I heard the President, in his State of the Union speech--and 
we have all heard him on numerous occasions--talk about how we need to 
make permanent the tax cuts.
  We had a hearing in the Finance Committee where Secretary Snow, our 
Secretary of the Treasury, came in and said: We need to make permanent 
our tax cuts. And my question to him was: What about this looming 
problem that we all know about, which is called the alternative minimum 
tax?
  Now, the alternative minimum tax was put in place with the idea that 
very wealthy individuals should not be able to avoid all taxes. If they 
calculate their taxes and they figure out some way to determine they do 
not owe anything, then they have to also calculate on the basis of the 
alternative minimum tax and at least pay that amount.
  That was the idea behind it. Unfortunately, with the changes we made 
in the tax law and with the changes in the economy and the tax 
structure, we are now to a circumstance where we are beginning to see 
more and more people affected by the alternative minimum tax. If we 
were to do what the President has urged--that is, make all these tax 
cuts permanent--then the number of people who are adversely affected by 
having to calculate their tax pursuant to the alternative minimum tax 
would go up very dramatically. Instead of it affecting a couple million 
people, we are talking about it affecting 30 million people by the year 
2012.
  My amendment says, let's do first things first. Let's figure out how 
to resolve this problem of the alternative minimum tax, and let's not 
be bringing bills to the floor and passing legislation unless we have 
60 votes in the Senate in favor of it. Let's not be passing legislation 
to worsen the situation and to require more and more Americans to fall 
under these provisions of the alternative minimum tax. To me, it is a 
straightforward, commonsense thing to do.
  I asked Secretary Snow in this same hearing: How much is it going to 
cost to fix the problem?
  His answer was: We don't know. We are working on that.
  I said: When are you going to know?
  Well, we are going to know maybe a year from now.
  That is not an acceptable answer for the Senate or for the Congress 
or for the American people. We should not be making permanent tax cuts 
and further cutting taxes unless we know the extent of the revenue loss 
that is involved in fixing this alternative minimum tax problem.
  All this does is set up a point of order. It says, if you are going 
to bring a bill to the floor that adds more Americans to this roster of 
people who have to calculate and pay their tax pursuant to the 
alternative minimum tax, then you have to get 60 Senators to agree to 
pass that bill or else it does not pass.
  It is a very constructive proposal. It is one that would strengthen 
this budget resolution substantially. I hope all Members will support 
the amendment when the time comes for me to offer it.
  I am advised by my colleague, Senator Conrad, this is not the 
appropriate time. Therefore, I will not send the amendment to the desk. 
Again, I appreciate the chance to explain the amendment so my 
colleagues will know what is involved. As I say, I hope we can get a 
very strong bipartisan vote in favor of the amendment.

[[Page 4136]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Might I advise the Senator, we have now had a chance to 
show the amendment to the other side. If the Senator would like at this 
moment to send his amendment to the desk, that would be appropriate.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, if our colleague would decide not to send 
his amendment to the desk, I would be much more favorably inclined to 
discuss it.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, this is the kind of good government 
amendment that I was counting on my colleague from Oklahoma supporting. 
I am sure the more he studies it, the more merit he will see in the 
amendment. I will be glad to send it to the desk at this point, if now 
is the correct time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. To further inform my colleague, I believe a budget point 
of order lies against the amendment. I don't know that will change his 
desire about whether to send it to the desk, but I am fairly certain 
that a budget point of order does lie against it. I would urge you to 
consider maybe keeping it at a good verbal discussion but not sending 
it to the desk. But you certainly have that right to do so.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, in response to my colleague from 
Oklahoma, I would certainly want to send it to the desk and have the 
opportunity to call it up for a vote at the appropriate time, if that 
is appropriate at this time. I do send the amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment will 
be set aside.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New Mexico [Mr. Bingaman] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 2765.

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

(Purpose: To ensure that legislation is not enacted that increases the 
      number of taxpayers affected by the alternative minimum tax)

       On page 45, after line 13, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. POINT OF ORDER REQUIRING THAT INCREASES THE NUMBER 
                   OF TAXPAYERS AFFECTED BY THE ALTERNATIVE 
                   MINIMUM TAX AGAINST LEGISLATION.

       (a) Point of Order in the Senate.--It shall not be in order 
     in the Senate to consider a bill, amendment, motion, joint 
     resolution, or conference report that increases the number of 
     taxpayers affected by the alternative minimum tax, except for 
     a measure that extends expiring provisions relating to the 
     child audit, the 10 percent tax bracket, and the marriage 
     penalty.
       (b) Supermajority Waiver and Appeal.--This section may be 
     waived or suspended in the Senate only by an affirmative vote 
     of \3/5\ of the Members, duly chosen and sworn. An 
     affirmative vote of \3/5\ of the Members of the Senate, duly 
     chosen and sworn, shall be required in the Senate to sustain 
     an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on a point of order 
     raised under this section.

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the Senator from Connecticut is next in 
our queue. I am wondering if we might enter into a time agreement on 
the amendment of the Senator from Connecticut. I would suggest 20 
minutes equally divided. We provided that amendment to the other side.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I haven't consulted with Senator Cochran. 
That is the reason I am caught a little bit off guard. I have no 
objection to limiting the debate to 20 minutes. I will be happy to 
limit the debate time on Senator Lieberman's amendment to 20 minutes. I 
may withhold some of our time for Senator Cochran to come in and debate 
it at a later moment.
  I ask unanimous consent that we have 20 minutes equally divided on 
the Lieberman amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Connecticut.


                           Amendment No. 2807

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment is 
laid aside.
  The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Lieberman], for himself, 
     Mr. Schumer, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Biden, Mrs. 
     Murray, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Levin, Mr. Kohl, Mrs. 
     Boxer, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
     Leahy, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Graham, proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2807.

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

 (Purpose: To restore cuts and increase funding for homeland security 
programs and reduce the debt by reducing the President's tax breaks for 
         taxpayers with incomes in excess of $1 million a year)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $3,664,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $4,533,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $4,089,000,000.
       On page 3, line 12, increase the amount by $1,160,000,000.
       On page 3, line 13, increase the amount by $175,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $3,664,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $4,533,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $4,089,000,000.
       On page 3, line 20, increase the amount by $1,160,000,000.
       On page 3, line 21, increase the amount by $175,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $3,664,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $4,533,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $4,089,000,000.
       On page 4, line 23, increase the amount by $1,160,000,000.
       On page 4, line 24, increase the amount by $175,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $3,664,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $8,197,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $12,286,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $13,446,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $13,621,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $3,664,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $8,197,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $12,286,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $13,446,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $13,621,000,000.

     SEC.  . RESERVE FUND FOR HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAMS.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $6,800,000,000 in 
     budget authority for fiscal year 2005, and by the amount of 
     outlays flowing therefrom in 2005 and subsequent years, for a 
     bill, amendment, motion, or conference report that provides 
     additional fiscal year 2005 discretionary appropriations, in 
     excess of the levels provided in this resolution for first 
     responder grant programs, border security programs, port 
     security grants, the Operation Safe Commerce program, the 
     Coast Guard Deepwater program, and transportation security 
     programs at the Department of Homeland Security; the 
     Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, the 
     Edward Byrne grant program, and the Local Law Enforcement 
     Block Grant program at the Department of Justice; and 
     bioterror--related programs at the Department of Health and 
     Human Services.

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, last week we observed the first 
anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, the largest 
reorganization of the Federal Government in almost a half century. With 
that anniversary came a round of reflection on the status of our 
homeland defenses. There was general agreement on the verdict. Yes, we 
are stronger and safer at home, thanks to the creation of the 
Department of Homeland Security and other steps that we have taken 
since September 11, 2001. But no, we are not nearly as safe as we 
should be. We are not as safe as we should be because this 
administration has not given homeland security the focused leadership 
and resources that it demands.
  The Gilmore commission, led by former Virginia Governor James 
Gilmore, a distinguished Republican leader, recently warned of 
complacency

[[Page 4137]]

about the terrorist threat and decried the lack of a clear strategy to 
bring about improved security. Other expert panels, one of them 
convened and led by former colleagues Warren Rudman and Gary Hart, 
called the Nation ``still unprepared'' to respond to another September 
11 attack and said that our first responders were ``drastically 
underfunded.''
  Homeland security will not come cheap. On first responders alone, one 
of the expert panels I described told us they believe it would take $98 
billion over 5 years to bring our defenses at home up to where they 
need to be. Yet the administration proposes a stunning 30-percent cut 
in resources for firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical 
personnel.
  The President's budget for fiscal year 2005 fails to acknowledge, 
much less address adequately, the new threats we face as a nation, 
shortchanging the homeland side of our war on terrorism.
  That is why I rise today to offer this amendment that would add $6.8 
billion to the administration's homeland security budget.
  Let me describe where the money would go: $4.4 billion of that amount 
would go toward helping our first responders, the firefighters, the 
police officers, the emergency medical personnel, the hundreds of 
thousands of people who every day go to work, put on a uniform to serve 
not only as first responders but really, if we use them well, as first 
preventers of terrorist attacks. I also propose $900 million in 
additional resources for port and container security, widely 
acknowledged as a continuing vulnerability to terrorists who will 
strike always where we are undefended, and our ports and containers are 
too greatly undefended.
  I am calling here for $500 million to better prepare for the threat 
of bioterrorism, which recent intelligence reports say continues to be 
a focus of the terrorist groups around the world. I am asking for $500 
million for additional border personnel as well as for needed equipment 
and technology for border security, so we will not see a repeat of the 
terrorists who came into America to carry out the evil deeds of 
September 11, 2001.
  I am asking for $\1/2\ billion to make further advances on aviation 
security and for greater protection of other modes of transportation--
rail, bus, mass transit--that remain too unprotected. About $2.5 
billion of this amendment is needed just to restore cuts that the 
administration's budget makes in some of these homeland security 
functions from fiscal year 2004 spending.
  For example, in this amendment we restore the administration's $1 
billion cut to the State homeland security grant program, the main 
source of assistance to State and local governments and first 
responders, an unacceptable cut. The amendment also would restore more 
than $1 billion in cuts to proven first responder programs in the 
Justice Department: the local law enforcement block grant, the Edward 
Byrne Memorial grant program, and the Community Oriented Policing 
Services Program, widely and appreciatively known as COPS.
  If someone asked whether we have been safer since September 11 from 
another attack, I just say: Thank God, we have been safe. But this is 
not an overreaction.
  Mr. Tenet testified before the Armed Services Committee the other day 
and he said that al-Qaida and more than two dozen other terrorist 
groups around the world are still in eager pursuit of chemical, 
biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Their No. 1 goal--not 
their only goal--is to carry out another ``spectacular attack'' on the 
United States. Those are the terms they use, ``spectacular attack,'' 
which they are convinced will break our will and certainly disrupt our 
economy.
  We cannot let that happen. We must defend our homeland and protect 
our infrastructure and our people where we are vulnerable, through the 
Department of Homeland Security, with the kinds of funds that are 
authorized and appropriated in this amendment.
  We have a long way to go before we fulfill the promise each of us has 
made that our Federal Government would adequately secure the American 
people when they are at home. We have to approach this profound 
responsibility with the same unity, the same resolve, and the same 
resources we have brought to the war on terror overseas. That is why I 
have introduced this amendment and asked for my colleagues' support.
  Allow me to lay out, more specifically, what this amendment would do 
and why it is so necessary.
  I am advocating $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2005--above the 
President's request to help ensure that first responders have the 
equipment, training, and other resources they need to prevent, prepare 
for and if necessary respond to acts of terrorism.
  We all remember the heroic role police, firefighters and other first 
responders played on 9/11, as our Nation responded to the horrific 
attacks of that day and braced for untold sequels that might be soon to 
follow. Less visible is the role many of these officials also play in 
attempting to prevent acts of terrorism here at home: State and local 
police are the eyes and ears of the community that may first detect a 
terrorist plot on U.S. soil or intercept a terrorist before he or she 
can strike. We owe these front line homeland security troops more than 
our admiration we owe them our full financial support.
  Yet a distinguished panel convened by the Council on Foreign 
Relations found these first responders wanting for the tools they must 
have to confront a terrorist attack: firefighters without their own 
radios or breathing equipment; police departments without protective 
gear to respond to an attack with a chemical, biological or 
radiological agent; and nearly all without interoperable communications 
equipment. This is unacceptable and must be changed.
  Let's start with the work that must be done just to undo the harmful 
cuts sought by the administration. First, my proposal will restore the 
administration's drastic $1 billion cut to the State Homeland Security 
Grant Program, which is the main source of assistance to state and 
local governments and first responders for emergency planning, 
equipment, training, exercises, mutual aid agreements, and other 
preparedness activities. There is bipartisan support for restoring 
these cuts, reflecting the reality that all states face certain 
homeland funding needs and need a steady, predictable source of money--
as this program provides--to plan wisely.
  My amendment will also restore more than $1 billion in cuts to key 
first responder programs in the Justice Department: the Local Law 
Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG), the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant 
Program (BYRNE), and the Community Oriented Policing Services Program 
(COPs). These programs provide vital aid to help communities hire more 
police officers and equip them with the tools they need. Funding levels 
for these three programs have declined more than $1.8 billion since 
fiscal year 2002, representing a dangerous and unwise reduction at a 
time when the threat from terrorism, but also domestic crime, has 
clearly increased.
  The amendment would also provide $400 million to restore a 33 percent 
cut in the vital Fire Act program, which provides direct support to 
thousands of fire departments around the country, and to bring it to 
full funding. And it restores a $9 million cut to the Emergency 
Management Planning Grants program, which supports the capacity of 
state and local governments to respond to emergencies of all kinds.
  All of these programs are integral to the strength of our first 
responders and it is incomprehensible that we would cut them at a time 
the terrorist threat remains high. But we must do more than just hold 
the line we need to dramatically improve our homeland defenses in our 
communities.
  My proposal would provide $1 billion in new funding to be dedicated 
to helping first responders obtain interoperable communications 
equipment so they can ``talk to one another'' when responding to 
events. The lack of communications interoperability has received 
substantial attention since the September 11, 2001 attacks revealed 
major problems with communication

[[Page 4138]]

between police and fire fighters at the World Trade Center in New York. 
But the problem is hardly unique to New York. Federal officials 
involved with this issue report that at best--only 14 States have 
communications equipment that allows public safety agencies to talk to 
each other during a terrorist attack or other emergency. The price tag 
for fixing the problem nationwide has been estimated as high as $18 
billion, and the lead Federal official on this issue has stated that, 
at the present rate, it will take 20 years to achieve full 
interoperability in our country. This is much too long.
  Yet, the President's 2005 budget actually takes a step backwards by 
eliminating relatively small grant programs at FEMA that were dedicated 
to interoperability. Instead, funding for interoperability must now 
compete with funds for protective gear, training, exercises, and other 
equipment. My proposal would dedicate $1 billion specifically for 
interoperability to provide a significant lift to States' efforts to 
overcome a critical obstacle facing emergency responders across 
America. In addition to equipment, this would include funding necessary 
for planning, evaluation, deployment, and training on the use of modern 
interoperable communications.
  Another $1 billion in this amendment would go to fully fund the SAFER 
Act, staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, that is 
necessary to hire 10,000 additional fire fighters. According to the 
International Association of Fire Fighters, the shortage of fire 
fighters has reached crisis proportions. Two-thirds of all fire 
departments do not have adequate staffing, falling below the accepted 
industry standards developed by the National Fire Protection 
Association and, more to the point, putting those firefighters who are 
on the job in danger. The SAFER Act, which Congress finally passed last 
year due to the outstanding leadership of my colleague Senator Dodd, 
authorizes $7.6 billion in grants over 7 years to career, volunteer, 
and combination fire departments hire new firefighters. At a time when 
budget cuts have forced some local jurisdictions to actually reduce the 
number of first responders, this funding is necessary to help protect 
firefighters and to provide the emergency response capabilities 
communities want and expect.
  Virtually every expert analysis of terrorist threats to the United 
States focuses on the critical issue of port security. Small wonder--
millions of containers arrive at U.S. ports each year, coming from all 
parts of the globe and subject to only limited, if any, inspection. The 
ports are at once a tempting portal into the U.S. for dangerous cargo, 
and a vital economic conduit that--if shuttered due to a terrorist 
assault--could cause devastating disruption of the Nation's economic 
life's blood. Earlier this year, the FBI testified that terrorist 
organizations are looking ``for any holes in the port security system 
to exploit.'' Yet in the face of such risk, the administration proposes 
to cut spending on port security grants and eliminate Operation Safe 
Commerce, an innovative program to improve the security of container 
traffic into this country. In addition, the President's budget puts 
Coast Guard fleet and equipment modernization on a slow boat--at the 
administration's pace, the Deepwater modernization program will take 22 
years. A 22-year modernization is practically an oxymoron.
  My amendment would provide $900 million in additional resources for 
port and container security. About half of that would go to restore 
Operation Safe Commerce and to improve physical security at our ports. 
Bring port security grants--at only a suggested $46 million in the 
President's budget--to $500 million. The Coast Guard has estimated it 
will cost $7.5 billion--and $1.5 billion this year--just to provide all 
ports with minimum security measures and implement the Maritime 
Transportation Security Act. The grants help finance measures such as 
fencing and surveillance to better secure the ports and--with them--our 
vital trade links. Operations Safe Commerce has explored new 
technologies to track container traffic and can provide a valuable 
think tank for new approaches to secure their travel into our country.
  The rest of the money would go to accelerating the Deepwater program, 
a 22-year Coast Guard fleet modernization program. Since 9/11, we have 
turned to the Coast Guard again and again for a growing roster of 
homeland security needs--even as we expect them to continue their 
outstanding work on non-defense missions such as fisheries enforcement 
and search and rescue. Yet this outstanding agency operates with 
virtually the oldest naval fleet in the world--39th out of 41. Senators 
from both parties--and even the Heritage Foundation--have called for 
more money for Deepwater. Not only is it the right thing to do, it will 
actually save money in the long run since the longer Deepwater takes to 
complete, the more the Coast Guard must spend on maintenance of the 
decaying fleet.
  More than 2 years after the anthrax attacks demonstrated our 
country's vulnerability to bioterrorism, our efforts to protect the 
American people against biological attacks remains disorganized and 
underfunded. Indeed, a recent report by the Trust for Public Health 
concluded that communities are ``only modestly better prepared'' to 
respond to a bioterror attack than they were before 9/11. Yet here 
again, the administration actually wants to cut spending--contradicting 
the opinion of even its own official responsible for bioterror 
preparedness.
  The President's budget cuts $105 million from Centers for Disease 
Control grants to help public health agencies prepare for bioterrorism, 
and another $39 million from a program to help hospitals expand their 
capacity to treat victims of a bioterror attack. Where bioterror is 
concerned, these health officials are our first responders and we must 
give them support commensurate to the threat. It is true that The 
President would provide some new money for surveillance to detect a 
bioterror attack, but this will be of limited use if we have no 
resources to respond to an attack once we detect it. One public health 
official likened it to ``laying off firefighters while investing in new 
hoses and ladders.''
  Therefore, my amendment would add $500 million for bioterror 
preparedness, to restore those cuts and significantly expand the 
hospital grant program. The health community has identified more than 
$11 billion in additional needed medical supplies, protective gear for 
staff and other essentials to respond to a bioterror attack. At the 
current pace, it would take more than 20 years before hospitals could 
provide even basic care in the event of such an attack. We must speed 
up this effort, and my amendment would help us begin down that road. 
The investments we make here will have the added benefit of improving 
our capacity to respond to naturally occurring diseases, such as a 
severe flu outbreak.
  Our border officials process more than 440 million visits each year, 
and police more than 7,000 miles of border with Canada and Mexico. In 
the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Congress recognized we must spend more 
to make this system work--to facilitate lawful visitors and trade, 
while weeding out and halting those who pose a threat. We passed the 
Patriot Act and the Enhanced Border Security Act, both of which called 
for significant new border personnel. But since then we have fallen 
short--hundreds upon hundreds short--of meeting those targets. Indeed 
one of the only targets that was met--posting 1,000 Border Patrol 
agents along the Northern Border--was reportedly achieved only by 
shifting agents from the Southern Border. This is not real homeland 
security.
  My amendment would provide $500 million for additional border 
personnel, as well as for needed equipment and technology for border 
security. The needs are extensive and include portable, interoperable 
communications equipment, surveillance systems and fingerprint 
identification equipment. As US VISIT--the entry/exit system mandated 
by Congress--is expanded to land ports, we will need expanded 
facilities to process visitors. Total implementation costs for the 
program could reach $10 billion.

[[Page 4139]]

  Border security can make a difference. The September 11th Commission 
discovered that one alert inspector in Miami had apparently stopped one 
of the would-be hijackers simply by conducting a probing interview at 
the airport. But we cannot expect such high performance if critical 
homeland defense workers such as these are overworked and poorly 
equipped.
  We know from 9/11, and from terrorist attacks around the world, that 
transportation networks pose a tempting target to would-be attackers. 
This knowledge spurred Congress to create the Transportation Security 
Agency in record time. Now we must give the agency the resources to 
fulfill its mandate. My amendment would provide $500 million to make 
further inroads on aviation security and expand to other modes of 
transportation, which have been largely neglected thus far.
  Although TSA has made headway on aspects of passenger and baggage 
screening, much work remains to close known gaps in our aviation 
security. Specifically, I would direct additional funding to developing 
systems to screen air cargo, to screen passengers for explosives, and 
to screen airport workers with access to aircraft.
  About a quarter of all air cargo travels on passenger planes. Yet, 
despite all the added precautions we've developed for air passengers 
and their bags, this cargo remains largely uninspected--only about 5 
percent is screened. All-cargo jets pose a similar vulnerability. We 
must also develop effective systems to screen cargo and implement 
short-term solutions at once. Another vulnerability is explosives: 
current passenger screening only detects metallic threats, such as guns 
or knives, not explosives. Yet we know this is not an obscure threat--
would-be terrorist Richard Reid was able to bring about 10 ounces of 
explosives onto an American Airlines flight and was only stopped from 
igniting them by an alert passenger on board. There are promising 
technologies in this area, but we must spend money to develop them. 
Finally, many airport workers with access to aircraft and sensitive 
areas of the airport receive little scrutiny. We must do better.
  However incomplete the work on aviation security, the federal effort 
to secure other modes of transportation has hardly begun. According to 
a recent news report, we have intelligence suggesting that al-Qaida is 
looking at derailing trains, possibly carrying hazardous material. GAO 
has also identified vulnerabilities regarding rail shipments of 
hazardous materials, as well as protective measures that have not yet 
been taken. Yet despite such concerns, little has been done to assess 
the risks to our rail system or to deploy countermeasures. Similarly, 
we know from the deadly sarin attack on the Tokyo subway and suicide 
bombers on Israeli buses, that mass transit presents an inviting target 
to possible terrorist activity.
  The American Public Transportation Association has identified at 
least $6 billion in transit security needs, such as video surveillance 
and chemical and biological detection systems. But DHS has released 
only $115 million in transit security grants thus far, and no money is 
set aside for this purpose in the President's budget.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the 
amendment offered by my friend, the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. 
Lieberman, to address shortfalls in homeland security funding in the 
President's FY05 Budget Request. As a cosponsor, I believe this 
amendment would go a long way to ensuring that our homeland security is 
not shortchanged.
  I am disappointed that the President's budget request cuts taxes for 
the wealthy at the expense of funding homeland security programs. Our 
amendment would restore $2.5 billion in proposed budget cuts and 
includes an additional $7 billion to strengthen existing programs. It 
would also reduce the deficit by offsetting spending with tax cut 
reductions for those earning more than $1 million a year.
  Our amendment takes an important step to prepare our first responders 
by restoring $1 billion for the State Homeland Security Grant Program, 
which provides first responders critical funding for emergency 
planning, training, and equipment.
  This program is crucial for all States, especially States like Hawaii 
with smaller populations, since a portion of this funding is evenly 
distributed among all States.
  Our amendment also takes important steps to ensure that homeland 
security funding is allocated where it is needed most. It provides $1 
billion in much needed funding to address first responder shortfalls 
for interoperable communications equipment and $600 million for 
hospitals and public health agencies to respond to emergencies.
  I am equally disappointed that the President's budget request fails 
to address the serious funding gaps for port security. In fact, the 
American Association of Port Authorities has expressed great concern 
that the President's FY05 budget contains no Federal funds to meet port 
security requirements.
  The amendment takes important steps to secure our ports and our 
economy by providing $1 billion for port and container security and 
Coast Guard modernization. This funding is critical to Hawaii, where 98 
percent of imported goods are transported by sea. This is not just a 
matter of security for Hawaii or coastal States, but the security of 
our Nation.
  According to a Council on Foreign Relations Homeland Security Task 
Force report entitled, ``America--Still Unprepared, Still in Danger,'' 
if our Nation's ports suffered a weapons of mass destruction attack, 
``the response right now would be to shut the [entire] system down at 
an enormous cost to the economies of the United States and its trade 
partners.'' The Task Force report estimates that if American ports were 
to be closed to containerized cargo for longer than three to four 
weeks, global shipping container trade would grind to a halt.
  Our amendment also includes $500 million for aviation security, which 
would provide for systems to screen air cargo and passengers for 
explosives. This is an important step towards ensuring adequate funding 
for security devices needed to detect dangerous material and to prevent 
a potential crisis.
  We must ensure that our homeland security is not shortchanged. This 
is why I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. At this time, I yield 2 minutes of the time I have 
allowed to the Senator from New York for his statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is recognized.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Connecticut for 
his leadership. I will be brief. In 2 minutes, one has no choice. This 
subject could and should have a long debate. I understand the time 
constraints.
  We heard of the awful, terrible terrorist attack in Spain. There is 
some debate as to whether it is ETA, the Basque separatist 
organization, or al-Qaida. Now signs are beginning to point to al-
Qaida. I am getting asked by my people whether this could happen in New 
York, Chicago, Los Angeles, or anywhere else? The obvious answer is 
yes.
  We are not close to doing what we should be doing on homeland 
security. We are not helping our first responders, who are desperate 
for more help in terms of their patrols and the equipment. They have 
cut out money for interoperability of radio, which we in New York City 
learned was so important on 9/11.
  In port security, we are wide open and we are doing very little. 
Truck security--what if they use bombs in trucks to blow up buildings, 
or railroad stations, or whatever else? Brazil is way ahead of us on 
truck security, I hate to say. The northern border is still wide open 
and empty. Our immigration lists don't match up with our FBI lists, 
which is allowing terrorists to slip into this country.
  None of this is lack of technology. This is all lack of dollars. This 
budget talks tough on homeland security, but it doesn't do the job. The 
terrible tragedy in Spain today should remind us we are just as wide 
open and vulnerable, but we don't have to be.

[[Page 4140]]

  I salute my colleague from Connecticut on his amendment because it is 
so needed, so desperately needed. We are doing everything we can to 
fight the war on terror overseas. I have been supportive of that war. 
But the bottom line is that we are not doing close to enough at home to 
protect us. Money will help. If there was ever a consensus where we 
need more dollars, it is here. We are not doing it.
  I hope this Senate, in a bipartisan way, will rise to the occasion 
and support the amendment my friend has offered and of which I am proud 
to be a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired on the amendment.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I wonder if I might ask for an 
additional minute of my colleague from Connecticut who has a related 
matter.
  Mr. CONRAD. How much time does the Senator need?
  Mr. DODD. One minute.
  Mr. CONRAD. I will give a minute off the resolution to the Senator.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I heard my colleague mention the tragedy 
that occurred in Spain, with the tremendous loss of life there as a 
result of a terrorist attack, and we don't know whether it was ETA or 
another organization. I inform my colleagues that we drafted a 
resolution expressing our sense of outrage over these events.
  I chair the United States-Spain Council every year and have developed 
strong friendships with the people there. I know the budget matters are 
gripping our attention, but I ask the managers at some point to find a 
few minutes this evening to set aside the budget and express our sense 
of solidarity with the people of Spain, as well as our great sense of 
loss of what occurred. It is in connection directly to what my 
colleagues are offering on this amendment on homeland security, which I 
support.
  I hope we might express our unanimous support for the people in 
Spain.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, the Senator makes a very good point. I 
think I speak for everybody when I say our hearts and minds are with 
the people of Spain after the terrible tragedy they suffered. We will 
seek to find a way to express our condolences to the people of Spain 
before we complete our work before the break. I thank the Senator for 
bringing that matter to our attention.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, we are continuing the assault on 
taxpayers. Next, in the not too distant future, we are going to be 
voting on a lot of tax increases. This would increase taxes by $13.7 
billion and increase spending by $6.8 billion. That is a 40-percent 
increase. We fully funded the President's request of a 15-percent 
increase but, obviously, that is not enough for some individuals.
  I will now yield management of this amendment to Senator Collins.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is recognized.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, it is with great reluctance that I rise 
to oppose the amendment offered by the Senator from Connecticut. The 
Senator from Connecticut serves as the ranking member on the Committee 
on Governmental Affairs, which I am privileged to chair.
  We have worked very hard together on the issue of homeland security 
and have held many hearings during the past year to evaluate the 
progress that the new Department is making. But I believe the Senator's 
amendment is ill advised.
  I strongly support increased funding to help secure our communities, 
but we must target those additional resources to programs that address 
our greatest vulnerabilities, from our ports to our borders to even our 
farms. We must also make sure each and every State builds and maintains 
a baseline level of homeland security preparedness and response 
capability.
  The amendment of the Senator from Connecticut would increase funding 
for many State and local homeland security programs by more than $7 
billion over the President's budget request. That is simply not 
responsible in this fiscal climate.
  I also fear if we pour that amount of additional money into the 
system, it will not be well and carefully spent.
  Many of us met this past week with municipal officials from our home 
States. I heard from my municipal officials in Maine that they are 
spending the homeland security money that we are giving them very 
wisely to improve their training, to perform joint exercises, and to 
purchase new equipment.
  Since September 11, according to Secretary of Homeland Security 
Ridge, Congress has appropriated some $13 billion in homeland security 
assistance for first responders, States, localities, and other 
entities. This year, the President will allocate an additional $3 
billion through the Office of Domestic Preparedness for many of these 
programs.
  I do believe we need to provide additional funding in some areas--
port security, for example, and the basic homeland security grant 
program--to continue to build that baseline capacity and also to 
address one of our biggest vulnerabilities, and that is the 
vulnerability of our seaports. But I believe Senator Lieberman's 
amendment does not target resources in the most effective manner.
  Let me give a couple of examples. The Lieberman amendment provides 
$600 million for new biosecurity spending. The administration's budget 
also includes more than $100 million for a new biosurveillance 
initiative and makes more than $2.5 billion available in fiscal year 
2005 for bioshield. I simply do not believe the additional funding that 
is contained in Senator Lieberman's amendment is required, given the 
substantial investment the President's budget already makes in 
biosecurity.
  Again, I hope to be offering either a joint or my own version of a 
homeland security amendment later in the budget debate. I believe the 
proposal I will be putting forward better balances the need for fiscal 
restraint as we work to improve the security of our homeland.
  I urge that the Lieberman amendment be rejected.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, further responding to the amendment, I 
urge Senators to reject the amendment. The administration has requested 
substantial increases in funding for homeland security. Although it is 
a new Department, the Department of Homeland Security was funded at a 
very generous level, about $30 billion of funding, during the current 
fiscal year.
  States and localities are submitting plans to the Office for Domestic 
Preparedness on their priorities in terms of equipping and training 
first responders and equipping the States to modernize their emergency 
management agencies. A tremendous amount of money is being spent this 
year, and a request is made for even more money next year.
  The Budget Committee has analyzed the needs and the ways these funds 
can be utilized and has come up with a very thoughtful and, in my 
judgment, responsible recommendation to the Senate on this subject.
  I support the Budget Committee's conclusions and their 
recommendations. It is always easy to say we can use more money, we can 
add more money for every good-sounding program in Government, and this 
is certainly one that is very important. None is more important than 
our national security and homeland security. But we do have the funds 
that we need, that we can spend in an efficient way and in a responsive 
way to the threats that exist to try to help us do a better job of 
protecting the homeland.
  The President has given strong leadership on this issue. The Congress 
has responded in a very generous way, both bodies of Congress working 
together to accommodate the needs we have in these areas.
  I hope we can support the Budget Committee chairman and reject this 
amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, is the Senator from Connecticut seeking 
additional time for wrap-up?
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I thank my friend, the ranking member 
of the Budget Committee. I will take 3 additional minutes.

[[Page 4141]]


  Mr. CONRAD. I yield 3 minutes off the resolution to the Senator from 
Connecticut.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I appreciate my good friend and 
colleague from Maine. She said ``reluctantly'' opposed the amendment, 
but opposed it nonetheless, and the Senator from Mississippi. My own 
feeling about this is, just as I have fully supported funding for the 
war on terrorism abroad--and it has been a considerable amount of 
money. We had a tremendous debate and controversy around the $87 
billion supplemental last year, and we will have another supplemental 
this year, but at least $50 billion for the war on terrorism, 
critically necessary to our security, for the advancement of our 
values, and to our freedom. In the same way, $6.8 billion, less than we 
will give to the international war against terrorism, is critical for 
the homeland side of the war against terrorism, to raise our defenses, 
to protect our people.
  As I said at the outset, we have made real progress in the last year 
as a result of the work that the Department of Homeland Security has 
done, but I do not think anybody--including the folks over there--
believe we have done enough to secure the safety of our people.
  We provide for funding. It is a deficit reduction amendment, a $6.8 
billion deficit reduction, paid for by the now familiar tax cut for 
millionaires. It is fiscally responsible.
  Can we afford it? I say we can't afford not to afford it. This is 
today's primary way in which we are fulfilling our constitutional 
responsibilities to provide for the common defense and to ensure 
domestic tranquility.
  This ought to be nonpartisan because it is like national security. We 
always used to say partisanship stopped at the Nation's borders. Since 
our enemies have attacked us within our borders, when it comes to 
homeland security, we ought to be joining across party lines to do what 
is right to protect our people.
  I thank the Chair. I thank the Senate Budget chairman and ranking 
member. I ask that when the vote is taken, it be done by the yeas and 
nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time?
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, how much time does the Senator from 
Massachusetts need?
  Mr. KENNEDY. I think my colleague and cosponsor, the Senator from 
Connecticut, wants 4 minutes. I will take 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. I will be happy to yield 5 minutes off the resolution to 
the Senator from Massachusetts and 4 minutes to the Senator from 
Connecticut off the resolution as well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.


                           Amendment No. 2725

  Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I offer this amendment 
on behalf of myself, Senator Dodd, Senator Clinton, Senator Corzine, 
Senator Stabenow, Senator Lautenberg, Senator Schumer, Senator Reed, 
Senator Mikulski, Senator Kohl, Senator Lincoln, Senator Levin, Senator 
Lieberman, Senator Reid, Senator Bingaman, Senator Durbin, Senator 
Murray, and Senator Pryor.
  This amendment is about education. It is about higher education. It 
is about the children whose family average income is $15,000 a year. It 
is about 4.8 million children in this country who receive Pell grants--
young people, gifted, talented, bright, smart, who come from families 
with limited incomes and cannot survive even with the Pell grants, 
unless they get additional help because of the increase in the cost of 
tuition over the last 3 years.
  Over the last 3 years, the tuitions in our public schools have 
increased from $3,700 to $4,700. That is a 26-percent increase. 
Currently, the Pell grants are $4,050. This would raise it to $5,000. 
Almost 500,000 more low-income students will receive Pell grants. The 
average Pell grant will increase by $600. Not everyone will go up to 
the full $5,100, I should say, but the average grant will go up $600 
and the maximum Pell grant will increase by $1,050. This effective 
increase in the Pell grant offsets the explosion that has taken place 
with tuitions across this country paid for by the $10 billion--$5 
billion for the cost of Pell grants and $5 billion for deficit 
reduction from the top limits.
  If we are talking about priorities in this country, we are talking 
about not leaving children behind. Middle-income, working families are 
having a difficult time on health care, education, and employment. This 
makes sure about one-quarter of all of the children who are attending 
higher education come from families of $15,000 or below, 4.8 million. 
This amendment is going to make sure some of the most gifted, talented 
young people in this country are going to be able to continue their 
education.
  I remind my colleagues of President Bush's statement he made when he 
was running for President of the United States in Hampton, NH, in the 
year 2000: It is known for a fact that Pell grant aid significantly 
affects the ability of a child to attend college or stay in college. A 
child eligible for a Pell grant will be affected by the size of the 
Pell grant. I am going to ask Congress to bolster the first-year aid--
at that time from $3,300--to $5,100 per recipient of the Pell grant.
  This is what President Bush promised. The year was 2000. We have an 
opportunity now in 2004 to fulfill this promise. The need has never 
been greater. This is a defining issue, whether this institution is 
committed to the cause of higher education and educational opportunity. 
Everyone in this body understands education is the key to opportunity 
for our future. It is the key to our economy. It is the key to our 
national security. It is a key to our democracy. It is in our national 
interest, our national defense, and our national economic interest. 
Most of all, it is an issue of fairness, decency, and national priority 
to have an increase in the Pell grants. I hope the Senate will accept 
this proposal I offer on behalf of myself and my colleagues.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who yields time? The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts. 
He is my very good friend. He did not get as excited today as 
yesterday. I do not know if that is good or bad.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Does the Senator want to give me 3 more minutes?
  Mr. NICKLES. I think it is good. I think it is good.
  My colleague from New Hampshire is not in the Chamber yet, but 
hopefully he will be here.
  I will make a couple of comments. One, we have assumed in the budget 
a significant increase for Pell grants already. This is another one of 
these things that no matter what we put in, there is going to be an 
amendment to increase it. I understand that. I recognize that. The 
history is this Congress, and frankly in the last few years since 
Senator Gregg has been chairman and Arlen Specter has been chairman and 
George Bush has been President, the amount for Pell grants has risen 
and risen dramatically, from about six point some billion dollars under 
President Clinton's last year to all the way now up to $12.5 billion. 
So there have been dramatic increases in Pell grants.
  In the year 2001, it was $8.7 billion. In our budget it is right at 
$13 billion. That is a significant increase.
  If this amendment was adopted, Pell grants would increase from 2004 
to 2005 by 48.2 percent. We have had a lot of amendments. We had one 
just a moment ago dealing with homeland security offered by my very 
dear friend whom I respect greatly, Senator Lieberman, that would have 
increased the homeland security function by 40 percent. This increases 
Pell grants by 48.2 percent between 2004 and 2005.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Will the Senator yield on that point?
  Mr. NICKLES. Yes.
  Mr. KENNEDY. How can you possibly figure that when now it is $4,050 
and the average Pell increase was $600, that is 48 percent?
  Mr. NICKLES. Well, because that is what my staff told me, and if I am 
incorrect, I will be happy to revise and

[[Page 4142]]

edit my remarks. Again, I wish Senator Gregg was doing this.
  My staff informs me it would increase from $4,050 to $5,100 under the 
Senator's amendment, and that would increase the cost by 48.2 percent. 
It is not just the maximum amount of the award. The maximum amount of 
the award would be going up some 20-odd percent, but there are a lot of 
awards, not just at that amount but also at other amounts.
  That is a very significant increase, 48 percent in 1 year. Funding 
has gone up dramatically in this program, as I just mentioned. When 
there is an increase from $8.7 billion under our resolution to $13 
billion--and looking at the Senator's amendment it would increase that 
amount from $13 billion an additional $4.9 billion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time on the amendment has expired.
  Mr. NICKLES. I yield myself an additional 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.
  Mr. NICKLES. The Senator could add $4.9 billion because it says it 
would increase spending by $4.9 billion for 2005. If we add that to $13 
billion, that is taking a $13 billion program to an $18 billion 
program. My very able staff did very good work. I think that is 48 
percent.
  Again there has to be some kind of limit. I happen to like the idea 
of doing some good things in Pell grants. We have assumed a 7.4-percent 
increase, almost $1 billion increase for Pell grants in 1 year. My 
colleague and friend from Massachusetts wants to multiply that times 
five. I do not think we can afford that.
  His amendment also says, well, we want to raise taxes to do it and 
would raise taxes by $9.8 billion. I also want to say this is kind of 
clever, but it does not sell. Many of our colleagues' amendments say we 
are only increasing taxes 1 year to pay for the spending 1 year. There 
is no way in the world if the taxes and spending are increased by $4.9 
billion in 1 year that is not going to be continued or to be assumed. 
So I mention, yes, that tax increase would be extended year after year 
and so would the spending increase.
  I want to warn taxpayers, there are a lot of amendments out here. We 
are going to start voting on these amendments momentarily. My colleague 
from North Dakota has been urging me, let's get the votes started. I 
would like to advise our colleagues momentarily we are going to start a 
long list of rollcall votes. I want to advise taxpayers to look out 
because almost every one of these votes will raise your taxes.
  I will tell the spenders of the world, almost every one of these will 
increase spending. We will have a chance to vote.
  I see my colleague from Oklahoma is in the Chamber and I reserved 
some time for him to speak on the Lautenberg amendment. I do want to 
let our colleagues know momentarily we are going to begin a series of 
rollcall votes and it is very much my intention to run them very hard. 
We will have 15 minutes on the first one. I hope not much more. On 
subsequent votes, we are going to hold them to as close to 10 minutes 
as the managers can. If Senators miss votes, they miss votes. Most of 
these votes are going to become pretty obvious how they are going to be 
determined before too long. Hopefully we will not waste too many hours 
in the process.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I join the chairman in saying we need to 
move to votes as quickly as possible and we need to be disciplined in 
how much time we spend on those votes. I think it is in the interest of 
all of us to proceed expeditiously.
  I do not share the chairman's characterization of these amendments. 
These amendments, in a limited number of high-priority areas, are doing 
two things. They are adding resources but paying for them, and not only 
paying for them but in addition providing deficit reduction. Remember, 
the budget resolution before us will add nearly $3 trillion to the 
national debt over just the next 5 years. So the amendments on our side 
to restore some of the cuts in funding to the COPS Program to put 
police on the street, to restore funding for the firefighters who are 
the ones we expect to respond to any bioterror threat, to provide a 
program to expand job opportunities in this country, to provide 
expansion of health care opportunities for people in our country--each 
one of these amendments is completely paid for.
  In addition to that, we have provided for deficit reduction so at the 
end of the day our Nation is burdened with less deficits and less debt.
  In our amendments we have turned in some cases to closing egregious 
tax loopholes, tax scams that are unfair to all taxpayers of our 
country. Others of our amendments are paid for by turning to those 
privileged few who earn over $1 million a year and we have asked them 
to just slightly reduce their tax cuts. Remember, in 2005 the cost of 
the tax cuts going to those who earn over $1 million a year, the cost 
of their tax cuts for that 1 year alone will be $27 billion. For those 
who earn over $337,000 a year, the top 1 percent, the total cost of 
their tax cuts for that 1 year is $45 billion.
  We don't think it is unreasonable to take a tiny fraction of those 
tax cuts and use them to improve the education of our children, to 
restore the cuts that have been made to the COPS Program that has put 
150,000 police on the street, to slightly reduce the tax cuts of those 
earning over $1 million a year to restore the cuts to firefighters or 
to expand health care coverage in this country when we have over 40 
million people who do not have health care coverage, or to slightly 
increase Pell grants so we are providing expanded educational 
opportunities in a way that will make our country more competitive in 
this global economic environment.
  We think those are the priorities of the American people, to reduce 
these deficits, to reduce this buildup of debt, and to restore the cuts 
in certain high-priority areas: law enforcement, police on the street, 
firefighters, education for our kids. Those are the priorities of the 
American people. Those are the priorities of American families. We 
offered those amendments on our side.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor to the Senator from Connecticut, if 
he is seeking time?
  Mr. DODD. I thought I had 4 or 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONRAD. The Senator had been previously yielded 4 minutes off the 
resolution.
  Mr. DODD. I will maybe take less than that. I associate myself with 
the comments of Senator Kennedy and Senator Conrad in this debate.
  It was 200 years ago this year that Thomas Jefferson said that any 
nation that ever expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was 
and never possibly can be.
  That was at the outset of the 19th century. Here we are, gathered in 
this great Chamber at the outset of the 21st century and we are arguing 
whether we can afford to give those who are the wealthiest in our 
society a little bit less of a tax cut than they otherwise might be 
getting in order to see to it that a significant majority of our young 
people get the opportunity of a higher education which they are being 
denied, not because they lack the drive or determination or absolute 
desire to acquire the skills necessary to improve the quality of their 
lives and the lives of all of us in this country but because they lack 
the means.
  What I hear my colleague saying is the total amounts are going up. 
What has not gone up is the amount of money we provide to each student. 
Because of a declining economy--and we are talking about families here 
with incomes of $15,000 a year or less who qualify for Pell grants--we 
have seen a growing number of families and a growing number of students 
who want to go on and get a higher education.
  In 1975, Pell grants paid for somewhere around 80 percent of a 
college education. That is a generation ago. Today, I don't need to 
remind people who may be listening to this discussion, $5,000, even at 
a public institution, doesn't necessarily cover even 50 percent of the 
cost of a higher education. Nevermind, the cost at private

[[Page 4143]]

institutions. In fact, at public colleges and universities, tuition has 
gone up some 26 percent since President Bush took office and 77 percent 
of all students attend public institutions. This Pell increase, up to a 
little more than $5,000, really will help students and their families, 
students who want to get an education and want to contribute to the 
wealth of this Nation.
  We now know, in the coming years, in the next 10 years, 80 percent of 
the 23 million new jobs we hope are going to be created will require 
that a person applying for them have more than a high school 
education--80 percent of the 23 million jobs. What are we doing in this 
year, this year, to prepare those students so they can acquire the 
skills necessary to get the jobs that will require that someone have 
additional education beyond high school?
  We are asking today, in this amendment, that the most wealthy in our 
society take a little less of the tax cut President Bush has offered 
them in order to pay to see to it that more and more Black and Hispanic 
children in this country, those who primarily fall into Pell income 
categories, can get Pell grants to go on and get an education.
  I don't know of many affluent people who would disagree with this 
request. The very beneficiaries of the tax cut, I suspect, if you 
polled them, would say, I'll take less of a tax cut if in fact you put 
those resources to seeing to it that people who come from the poorest 
families in our society, who have the intelligence and ability to go on 
and get an education, will qualify for an additional amount of money 
under the Pell grants.
  That is what the Senator from Massachusetts is asking. We ought to be 
supporting that on a bipartisan basis. I can't imagine, as we talk 
about job creation and talk about this Nation remaining No. 1 in the 
21st century, that we want to shortchange the ability of qualified 
young people to go on to higher education. Pell grants make a huge 
difference. We are unfortunately depriving these kids of the necessary 
dollars they need, and all because we are not asking the most affluent 
1 percent income earners to take a little bit less of a tax cut than 
they might otherwise be getting.
  I urge the adoption of the Kennedy amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, Senator Kennedy was questioning my math. 
He said where did I get this answer that it increased by 48 percent. I 
said I got it from my staff. Now I did it myself. I regret to inform my 
good colleague from Massachusetts, but my staff was right. It just so 
happens when you add $4.9 billion that is called for by his amendment 
to the $12.9 billion we have in our resolution, that totals $17.8 
billion. Last year we spent $12 billion. That is a 48.2 percent 
increase. Actually, I calculated it at 48.3 percent. That is an 
increase in 1 year.
  Pell grants, as I showed by the chart, have already risen 
dramatically. They have grown by 47.3 percent since 2001. Senator 
Kennedy's amendment would have it grow by more than that in 1 year. 
That is not affordable. That is not sustainable, not if you believe in 
deficit reduction.
  I have heard so many people make speeches about deficit reduction and 
be critical of our President, but that is not the way people are 
voting. They are voting for more spending, and then this hypothetical 
we are going to raise somebody else's taxes. I don't think you can have 
programs grow at 48 percent. Senator Lieberman had an amendment that 
would grow homeland security by 40 percent. I don't think you can have 
that kind of growth rate in expenditures and ever say you are serious 
about deficit reduction.
  During the debate on the Lautenberg amendment, I said I wanted to 
refer to my colleague who happens to be chairman of the committee, the 
authorizing committee that overseas Superfund, for his comments in 
relationship to the Lautenberg amendment.
  I notify our colleagues it is my expectation that we will begin a 
series of rollcall votes in the very near future.
  I yield my colleague from Oklahoma such time as he desires.
  Mr. CONRAD. Will the Senator withhold?


                           Amendment No. 2725

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf 
of Senator Kennedy.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, the pending amendment will 
be set aside, and the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Conrad], for Mr. 
     Kennedy, proposes an amendment numbered 2725.

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

   (Purpose: To create a reserve fund to finance an increase in the 
maximum Pell Grant that keeps pace with the rate of increase in public 
  college tuition, extend Pell Grants to 500,000 new recipients, and 
           lower the national debt by closing tax loopholes)

       On page 3, line 9, increase the amount by $2,352,000,000.
       On page 3, line 10, increase the amount by $7,253,000,000.
       On page 3, line 11, increase the amount by $196,000,000.
       On page 3, line 17, increase the amount by $2,352,000,000.
       On page 3, line 18, increase the amount by $7,253,000,000.
       On page 3, line 19, increase the amount by $196,000,000.
       On page 4, line 20, increase the amount by $2,352,000,000.
       On page 4, line 21, increase the amount by $7,253,000,000.
       On page 4, line 22, increase the amount by $196,000,000.
       On page 5, line 3, decrease the amount by $2,352,000,000.
       On page 5, line 4, decrease the amount by $9,606,000,000.
       On page 5, line 5, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       On page 5, line 6, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       On page 5, line 7, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       On page 5, line 11, decrease the amount by $2,352,000,000.
       On page 5, line 12, decrease the amount by $9,606,000,000.
       On page 5, line 13, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       On page 5, line 14, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       On page 5, line 15, decrease the amount by $9,802,000,000.
       At the end of Title III, insert the following:

     SEC.   . RESERVE FUND FOR THE PELL GRANT PROGRAM.

       The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate 
     shall revise the aggregates, functional totals, allocations 
     to the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     discretionary spending limits, and other appropriate levels 
     and limits in this resolution by up to $4,900,000,000 in 
     budget authority for fiscal year 2005, and by the amount of 
     outlays flowing therefrom in 2005 and subsequent years, for a 
     bill, joint resolution, motion, amendment, or conference 
     report that provides additional fiscal year 2005 
     discretionary appropriations, in excess of levels provided in 
     this resolution, for the Pell Grant program.


    Providing For A Conditional Adjournment Or Recess Of The Senate

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of the adjournment resolution which is at 
the desk. I further ask unanimous consent that the concurrent 
resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 98) was agreed to, as 
follows:

       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That when the Senate recesses or adjourns at the 
     close of business on Thursday, March 11, or Friday, March 12, 
     or Saturday, March 13, or Sunday, March 14, 2004, on a motion 
     offered pursuant to this concurrent resolution by its 
     Majority Leader or his designee, it stand recessed or 
     adjourned until Monday, March 22, 2004, at 12 noon.

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from Oklahoma 
such time as desires.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.


                           Amendment No. 2703

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I compliment the senior Senator from 
Oklahoma. He is doing a great job in handling this most difficult 
issue.
  We go through this every year, and I believe we are going to finally 
get

[[Page 4144]]

something done tonight. I certainly hope we will and that we will have 
what we all will be proud of.
  I can't help but comment. I happened to come in when my friend, the 
Senator from Connecticut, was leaving the Chamber. It seems as if the 
argument you hear from the liberal side of this body is the fact that 
all of this came about as a result of the tax cuts of this 
administration. I feel compelled to remind this body of the history of 
these tax cuts. It was not a Republican idea. Ironically, one of the 
truly great Democrat Presidents of this country, John Kennedy, was the 
guy who came up with the concept. He said--and this is an exact quote--

       We need more revenues to run these programs that we have 
     and the best way to increase revenues is to reduce marginal 
     rates.

  That was back in the 1960s, and it worked.
  There is a recognition of the problem we have right now. This 
administration inherited a recession, and they are coming out of it by 
having the very tax reductions to add to the amount of revenues coming 
in. This is going to work. It is working today. If you do not think it 
does, let us remember what happened back in the 1980s.
  In the 1980s, the total amount of money that was raised from marginal 
rates was $244 billion. In the 1990s, it was $466 billion. That was the 
10-year period of the largest tax reductions on marginal rates in the 
history of America. It had the result of increasing--not decreasing--
the amount of revenue.
  The formula used was for each 1-percent increase in economic 
activity, it creates $46 billion of new revenues. John F. Kennedy knew 
that, Ronald Reagan knew that, and we ought to know that today, but we 
ignore history.
  Now my friend from New Jersey, Senator Lautenberg, is coming up with 
another one of his favorite tax increases. I have never seen a tax 
increase he didn't like. But this seems to be one of his favorite ones.
  We are going to have a big tax increase to vote on in just a few 
minutes. It is called the Superfund tax.
  There is a lot of doubletalk. On the one hand, they blame the 
administration for U.S. job loss and lack of competitiveness. At the 
same time, they want to impose a tax that expired in 1995 on some of 
the most fragile industries that are not going to make it.
  People say reinstating the Superfund tax will be a deficit-reduction-
reducing measure. I am not sure that is necessarily true. What you are 
going to do is drive a lot of people out of business who are already 
overtaxed.
  I think if I could single out one argument I find the most 
offensive--and I hear it as chairman of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee over and over and over--every time we have a committee 
hearing, they talk about ``polluter pay.'' Polluters are paying today. 
That is the whole concept. When a polluter pollutes, that polluter 
pays.
  In fact, historically, PRPs--potentially responsible parties--since 
Superfund started, the average of all cleanups has been 70 percent in 
the average year of those cleanups which are cleaned up by industries 
that have polluted.
  This is interesting because in 2003, that 70 percent jumped to 80 
percent.
  In other words, all but 13 percent of the cleanups took place and 
were paid for by the polluters.
  The antijobs and the protax supporters also ignore the fact that the 
Superfund tax, on its face, is unfair. It has nothing to do with taxing 
companies and industries that pollute. If an industry falls into a 
certain category--say you are going to have your taxes go up. It has 
nothing to do with whether or not they have ever polluted. In fact, oil 
and petroleum companies have paid more than 50 percent of the Superfund 
taxes but were responsible for less than 10 percent of the liability on 
Superfund sites.
  That is historically accurate. I would defy anyone to challenge it. 
As a result, this is an especially unfair tax to American families who 
have to pay more at the pump.
  Furthermore, Superfund tax supporters argue that cleanups have slowed 
down as a result of the amount of money lost from the trust fund. That 
isn't true at all. In fact, we had testimony in our hearings this last 
week that there is not a correlation between the amount of money in the 
Superfund reserve and the amount of cleanup.
  In 1996, the tax fund was at its highest level. Yet the amount spent 
by the Clinton administration in 1996 for Superfund cleanup was at a 
10-year low.
  This year's Superfund budget request is around $1.4 billion. But wait 
a minute. Let us look at what they are proposing.
  In this amendment, they propose an $8.5 billion tax increase. This is 
the same thing we went through, by the way, last year. There has never 
been a correlation between the amount of money raised by a tax and the 
amount of money that has been spent.
  For those who are responsible for contamination, they are already 
being held liable for cleanup costs under Superfund. No one is getting 
let off the hook, and I will challenge right now the other side to name 
one viable polluter who is not being held accountable for the Superfund 
contamination they caused.
  Here we are again with the same amendment. We have had it several 
times before. Senator Lautenberg danced this thing out again. We beat 
it the last time 57 to 43. I will be down here to remind people how 
they voted before. They will forget.
  I honestly believe the only issue here is if you want to increase 
taxes on the American people by $8.5 billion in one vote, this is your 
opportunity to do it.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, we are very close now to starting to vote.
  Again, I ask our colleagues who have amendments in the queue to come 
so that they could make their final argument before the vote with 1 
minute to each side. I think that would be reasonable.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, 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.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I appreciate everyone's patience. For the 
information of our colleagues, we are going to have a series of votes 
starting momentarily.
  I am going to yield to my colleague and former chairman of the Budget 
Committee for a few moments. I notify our colleagues we expect several 
votes to begin momentarily. We are trying to warn everybody, we would 
like everybody to be prompt and we would like for everybody to stay on 
the floor.
  Mr. President, I yield to my colleague from New Mexico such time as 
he desires.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the chairman.
  Mr. President, I rise to speak for 2 minutes on the fiscal year 2005 
budget resolution currently pending before the Senate. In particular, I 
want to focus for just a little bit on the budgets for scientific 
research.
  The funding for the National Institutes of Health should be my 
starting point. In the omnibus bill of 2003, thanks in large part to 
the leadership of President Bush, we met our commitment; that is, in 
2003, we met our commitment to double the funding for NIH.
  Senator Nickles remembers that clearly, that a couple of Senators 
started and everybody followed, and a resolution was adopted that 
said--it was incredible to many of us, but we did it--let's double the 
NIH. President Bush helped us, and we did that.
  Allow me to explain these numbers. In 1998, we spent $13.7 billion on 
the National Institutes of Health for cancer, for all of these various 
diseases, heart conditions, and mental illness. When the commitment was 
fulfilled, we spent $27.1 billion for medical research.
  We need not stop there, however. Last year, we further increased it 
to

[[Page 4145]]

$27.9 billion. This means we have spent $145.9 billion in the last 7 
years on the National Institutes of Health--a 109-percent increase. 
This year we are planning on further increasing the budget of NIH to 
$28.7 billion.
  I join the President in supporting the work the NIH has done and 
continues to do. But I am somewhat chagrined when I see the current 
brochures and documents of the NIH complaining about the fact this 
President, who funded them at the highest increased levels in their 
history, who this year says we can only afford inflation--instead of 
saying, the President who supported us the most says we cannot keep on 
with that kind of increase, they end up critical that this year he did 
not increase their funding as much as he did in the past, saying: We 
must have more. He is not funding us enough.
  I tell you, when I read that, it is a good thing they are not down 
here asking for more money, as far as this Senator is concerned, 
because I would be on the side of saying: Enough is enough.
  In fact, I would like to give you a couple other thoughts about how 
impressive their work has been.
  The human genome project--for those who do not understand or 
remember, that project is the genome project, spelled: G-E-N-O-M-E. Not 
too long ago, the human genome was completed, in terms of mapping it, 
much ahead of schedule. The completion of this work was only the 
beginning.
  More than 300 genes for human diseases, from cancer to deafness to 
birth defects, have already been identified. It means in the past we 
would spend years of research at maybe three major institutions to 
locate a gene for diabetes. The mapping of the human genome says we are 
in the process of mapping every genetic point of every major disease in 
the human body at every location. We will know where they are. Then 
let's hope the great scientists in the future will begin to cure those 
incurable diseases.
  The NIH is doing amazing work in developing techniques to detect, 
diagnose, and treat many of the most devastating diseases humans face, 
such as cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease.
  I hope that we can continue to fund this important agency at these 
record levels.
  I am concerned, though, that we have collectively failed to be as 
aggressive when it comes to funding basic scientific research in other 
agencies.
  Basic research is defined as systematic study directed toward greater 
knowledge or understanding of the fundamental aspects of phenomena and 
of observable facts without specific applications towards processes or 
products in mind.
  The technologies transitioned from basic research are the foundation 
of applied programs and eventually fielded systems.
  Put another way, basic research is the engine that makes our national 
defense, homeland security, and economic superiority possible.
  However, basic scientific research is not funded in a single place as 
with medical research at NIH.
  The correlative type research to NIH is something we call in America 
basic research--physics, computer science, chemistry, engineering, et 
cetera. We have no central focus point for that in America. I am not 
sure we should or should not. It is just a fact.
  In 2004, the sum total of expenditures for that was $11 billion, and 
that included the Veterans' Administration--we assume some of what they 
do is science--Interior, EPA, NASA, DOE. This is compared to $8.8 
billion for these programs in 1998.
  In the same period of time these programs have increased 35 percent, 
while NIH increased by over 100 percent. I do not think America can 
continue to dominate the world, invent the products, maintain our 
standard of living with that kind of disparity for too much longer. The 
time has come to spend money on basic research, just as we have on 
medical research.
  It is important to note much of our scientific research is done at 
our universities. They have plenty of research in medical science and 
medical science problems. But I guarantee you, Mr. President and fellow 
Senators, they are very short on research for the basic sciences.
  The Presiding Officer comes from a State that has great wealth. They 
devote great quantities of that wealth to their schools, and then say: 
Spend it on science. Go look at the University of Texas and a few other 
of your universities and see where you put your money. You put it 
there. But America does not put it there across the board.
  I put this statement in comparing the two only because to keep them 
at such a disparate level of a 100-percent increase in 10 years in one 
and 30-some percent in the other is not going to keep America great.
  I am hopeful when we finish with this resolution, we will get on to 
thinking a little bit about where we are going the next decade, and 
maybe we should start a resolution saying basic science ought to be 
increased over the next decade in a substantial way, maybe even as we 
did with the National Institutes of Health. I only wish I could see the 
way clear to find the money. I would be here offering that resolution 
right now.
  Our future is just as certainly tied to our basic science moving up 
into a parity position with wellness research. Eventually wellness 
research will come up against insolvable problems. At least the 
technology of application won't work because we won't have the physics 
solved, the physical science.
  With that, I thank the Chair for giving me a few moments and hope 
every now and then somebody in a position to do something about this 
can join together and see if we can't get this done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.


                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 319

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, we are going to begin our series of 
rollcall votes momentarily. First, I ask unanimous consent that after 
the first vote in this series, the Senate then proceed to a resolution 
at the desk regarding the recent bombings in Spain; provided further 
that following the reporting of the resolution, there be a brief moment 
of silence; provided further that each leader be recognized for up to 5 
minutes each, Senator Allen and Senator Dodd be permitted to speak up 
to 2 minutes each; I further ask consent that the Senate then proceed 
to a vote on adoption of the resolution with no intervening action or 
debate; further that following the vote the preamble be agreed to and 
the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.
  Mr. CONRAD. Reserving the right to object, this does not define what 
the first vote in the series would be.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that with 
respect to the voting sequence, the Senate proceed to the votes in 
relation to the pending amendments in the order offered, with no 
second-degree amendments in order to those amendments; finally, there 
be 2 minutes equally divided for debate prior to each vote; and after 
the first vote, that the time limit for each vote be limited to 10 
minutes.
  The sequence of votes will be as follows: Boxer amendment No. 2783; 
Sarbanes amendment No. 2789; Dorgan amendment No. 2793; Lautenberg 
amendment No. 2703; Harkin amendment No. 2799; Lincoln amendment No. 
2803; Byrd amendment No. 2804; Bingaman amendment No. 2765; Lieberman 
amendment No. 2807; and Kennedy amendment No. 2725.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to vitiate the 
order dealing with the Spanish resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, we are now ready to call upon Senator 
Boxer for her 1-minute description. I would also say if the sponsors 
are not ready, we don't need descriptions and we will move forward with 
rollcall votes. We are going to be very tight with time. Senators 
cannot assume there is going to be an extra 10 minutes on the rollcall 
votes. We are not going to allow that to happen, or we are going to try 
not to let it happen.
  I believe the Senator from California is ready.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.

[[Page 4146]]




                           Amendment No. 2783

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, in 1 minute let me give it to you 
straight: We have seen a loss of 3 million jobs in the last 3 years. 
This is not sustainable. Our people are hurting. What this amendment 
does is gives us a chance to do something about it. We give tax credits 
to businesses, if they pay for health insurance, if they create 
manufacturing jobs. What we do is boost up some of the wonderful 
programs that are working in advanced technology, manufacturing 
extension. We increase investments in basic science. We close the 
loophole so if companies move abroad, they can't get special tax 
breaks, and we don't allow Federal funds to be used to offshore jobs.
  We pay for it by saying to the millionaires of this country: Instead 
of getting back $120,000, you will get back $80,000. That is multiple 
times what a minimum-wage worker will get. Millionaires will still get 
back $80,000 a year under the Bush tax cut. We are asking them to make 
that sacrifice because we need the jobs.
  I urge an aye vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, this amendment offered by our friend from 
California increases taxes by $24 billion over 3 years. Basically it 
would wipe out all the tax relief we have in the bill in the year 2005 
for the child credit and marriage penalty. But it doesn't add any 
funding for jobs programs. We hear it does. It has a reserve fund that 
could increase spending, maybe, if a few things happen. The resolution 
before us fully supports the FSC/ETI bill, the JOBS bill Senator 
Grassley and Senator Baucus are working on. If you want to help us be 
more competitive, to create more jobs, that is certainly the approach. 
It is a bipartisan approach and has a much greater likelihood.
  The proposal suggested by our friend from California, frankly, would 
mean an exodus of jobs from the United States. It would be telling 
multinational corporations, you should not be in this country. You have 
tax advantages for being in other countries. I don't think we should be 
encouraging the headquarters of companies such as Intel or Microsoft 
and others to be leaving the United States.
  I urge our colleagues to vote no on the Boxer amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time has expired.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2783. The clerk will 
call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I announce that the Senator from Montana (Mr. Burns) 
and the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Ensign) are necessarily absent.
  Mr. DASCHLE. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), and the Senator 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are necessarily absent.
  I also announce that the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Reid) is absent 
attending a funeral.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 41, nays 53, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 41 Leg.]

                                YEAS--41

     Akaka
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham (FL)
     Harkin
     Hollings
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Wyden

                                NAYS--53

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Enzi
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--6

     Burns
     Edwards
     Ensign
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Reid
  The amendment (No. 2783) was rejected.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. CRAIG. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           Amendment No. 2789

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, next we will have a vote on the Sarbanes 
amendment No. 2789. I have two comments, but first I tell my 
colleagues, we are going to cut these votes off. I am warning 
everybody, and I urge colleagues to stay on the floor. We are going to 
try to keep all of these amendments limited to 10 minutes. In fact, I 
ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be limited to 10 
minutes each.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That order has been entered.
  Who yields time?
  Mr. NICKLES. As soon as we have order, I ask the Chair to call upon 
the Senator from Maryland.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, this amendment would fully fund the 
assistance to firefighter programs, the firefighter grant, and the 
SAFER program up to the authorized amount. I urge my colleagues stand 
with our firefighters. Warren Rudman, in a report, said, ``emergency 
responders drastically underfunded, dangerously unprepared.'' Don't let 
that situation continue.
  I yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. The Senator from Maryland is correct. This budget contains 
a $250 million cut in FIRE Act grants. There have been over 19,000 
awarded since the program was established from 33,000 departments 
across the country. These fire departments absolutely need the 
equipment and training resources. In addition, the SAFER Act will put 
75,000 new firefighters on the street over the next seven years. Recent 
studies by major organizations indicate there are chronic shortfalls in 
the numbers of people who serve in paid and volunteer and combination 
departments.
  This is a good amendment. We are asking those who make more than $1 
million a year to take a little less of a tax cut than they would 
ordinarily get. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.
  Mr. NICKLES. This amendment, as most of the amendments we are going 
to be facing in this sequence of 10 votes, increases taxes. This one 
increases taxes by $2.86 billion next year. That happens to be about 
the same amount of money we assume for the child tax credit next year. 
But it doesn't add any money for firefighters, zero. What it does is 
promise a possible $1.3 billion increase in spending later in the year, 
if the appropriations bills do such and such.
  I think it is a gimmick. The facts are, if it did go to firefighting, 
that would be a 157-percent increase over last year. That is 
ridiculous. We put in 10 percent for homeland defense as requested by 
the President. What the Secretary is trying to do is move more of that 
money into high-threat areas, not necessarily in every little rural 
fire department in Oklahoma, which, frankly, is not a Federal 
responsibility. Terrorism is not a threat in most of the rural 
communities.
  I urge opposition to the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to amendment No. 2789.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.

[[Page 4147]]


  Mr. DASCHLE. I announce that the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. 
Edwards), the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), and the Senator 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry) are necessarily absent.
  I also announce that the Senator from Nevada (Mr. Reid) is absent 
attending a funeral.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 41, nays 55, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 42 Leg.]

                                YEAS--41

     Akaka
     Bayh
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Boxer
     Byrd
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Clinton
     Conrad
     Corzine
     Daschle
     Dayton
     Dodd
     Dorgan
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Feinstein
     Graham (FL)
     Harkin
     Hollings
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lincoln
     Mikulski
     Murray
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Wyden

                                NAYS--55

     Alexander
     Allard
     Allen
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Burns
     Campbell
     Chafee
     Chambliss
     Cochran
     Coleman
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Craig
     Crapo
     DeWine
     Dole
     Domenici
     Ensign
     Enzi
     Fitzgerald
     Frist
     Graham (SC)
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Kyl
     Lott
     Lugar
     McCain
     McConnell
     Miller
     Murkowski
     Nelson (NE)
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Sununu
     Talent
     Thomas
     Voinovich
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Edwards
     Johnson
     Kerry
     Reid
  The amendment (No. 2789) was rejected.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. FRIST. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________