[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 22762-22763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PRIORITIES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, similar to all Senators, with rare 
exception, I spent last week's recess at home. I traveled Nevada 
meeting with my constituents. I met with a wide range of people. I had 
many conversations. But all the conversations came back to the same 
issues, including rising energy prices.
  One of the last conversations I had was at my home in Searchlight, 
where some of our friends who live in Searchlight came to visit with 
us, Judy and Dick Hill. He works at a powerplant, the Mojave Generating 
Facility, about 35 miles from Las Vegas. She is the assistant 
postmistress of Searchlight. They have two boys. One of them is going 
to school. She is even taking some courses at a community college.
  They spend about $500 a month on gasoline. Maybe they should get 
vehicles that do not use as much gas, and I am sure they are 
considering that, but it would not matter what kind of vehicle they 
drove; they need lots of gasoline to be able to do what they have to 
do, such as going back and forth to work, taking the boy to school.
  People in Nevada are concerned about Iraq, as well they should be. I 
certainly applaud the people of Iraq. A little more than half of them 
turned out to vote. That is courageous. They are proud people, and I am 
glad they have shown their strength by turning out to vote. And it 
appears the constitution is going to pass. We will know in a few days.
  We lost five soldiers yesterday in Iraq. We are very quickly 
approaching 2,000. We have not quite arrived at that number yet, but we 
are 10 or 12 short of that number.
  The costs are ongoing. The war seems to be intractable. Surprisingly, 
the administration is still claiming, as Secretary Rice did over the 
weekend on a Sunday talk show, that the war is a result of 9/11. The 
American people do not accept that because it is simply not true.
  Of course, constituents were concerned about Katrina and, of course, 
whether we are ready for another disaster such as the avian flu. I am 
sure this is not unique. I am sure other Senators had the same 
experiences I did these past 10 days. Americans from all walks of life 
are focused on these important issues, and they are looking to us for 
help. As the Democratic leader, I felt comfortable assuring my 
constituents that my Democratic colleagues are doing everything we can 
to meet these three areas about which they spoke.
  On Iraq, we continue to press the President to answer key questions 
about how he is going to change course and achieve military and 
political success and to get an accounting of how the money has been 
spent.
  On energy, we believe we must remain committed--and we will remain 
committed--to energy independence by the year 2020. And we have pushed 
to help families fill their tanks and heat their homes.
  With Katrina, we have continued to fight to make sure the needs of 
displaced families are placed at the top of the Senate's agenda.
  And with the avian flu, we have taken the lead in offering solutions 
to help prepare America and Americans for the next possible disaster.
  You see, Democrats understand these issues are the priorities of the 
American people. That is why they are priorities for us.
  Mr. President, a couple of comments regarding the statement of my 
friend, the Republican leader. I do not know of anyone who is calling 
for higher taxes, as he suggests. But I know there are people calling 
for doing away with the budget resolution and reconciliation that calls 
for $70 billion more in tax cuts--$70 billion more in tax cuts--that go 
to the elite of the country.
  On top of that, I would suggest that we need to, in effect, get rid 
of the reconciliation.
  The resolution that will be executed by the reconciliation process 
now before the Congress, that was called by all leaders of Protestant 
Churches the night we voted on it immoral, is even more so now, the 
resolution before us, not counting what the House says they are going 
to do. They are going to cut more, Medicaid by $10 billion, cut 
Medicaid more, cut medical care to the poorest of the poor in America. 
They want to increase it by another $5 or $10 billion. That is 
unconscionable.
  My distinguished friend, the majority leader, said the high energy 
costs are a result of the storm of Katrina. That is simply without 
fact. Prior to Katrina, oil prices were at $70 a barrel. This is a 
problem that has been going on for a while. We Democrats are concerned 
about the priorities of the American people. I suggest that those 
issues about which my friend spoke are not priorities, certainly not to 
the people of Nevada. We are focused on addressing America's pressing 
needs. Republicans are acting as though nothing is wrong, that the 
storm caused the problems.
  Take energy. The price of gas continues to hover around $3. I already 
told you about Dick and Judy Hill in Searchlight. Millions of other 
people are in the same boat as Dick and Judy. The administration's own 
Energy Department predicts families will pay hundreds more to heat 
their homes this winter.
  I met with Governor Doyle of Wisconsin today. He said in Wisconsin to 
heat your home will cost $300 a month more. Despite these facts, 
Republicans have refused to help families at the pump. They have 
blocked our efforts to help working families heat their homes. Senate 
Republicans have taken a similar hands-off approach to Iraq and 
Katrina. We still have done nothing to help the victims of Katrina. We 
have appropriated money. The majority leader says we should have 
somebody to make sure the money is spent right. We have begged for 
legislation to create a czar so this money can be spent wisely. No, no 
legislation in that regard. They won't allow us to bring it to the 
floor. The huddled masses we all saw on TV--I read the spokesperson for 
this administration, Bob Novak, in the Washington Post today, the 
columnist. He said it looks good in Louisiana, especially New Orleans: 
We just won't let the people come back. We will have the city about 
half of what it was before, and that will be great for Louisiana.
  That is their response to this catastrophe. The people who needed the 
help the most have still gotten no help. And preparedness for avian 
flu, let's see what happens on that.
  The best example, though, of the Republicans, the best example is the 
Defense authorization bill. We haven't done one. At a time of war, we 
have not done a Defense authorization bill. In that bill we have money 
for troops, for pay raises so that they will pay taxes, money for 
health care, for new equipment. Republicans refuse to bring it to the 
floor. We even agreed to 12 amendments, 12 amendments. The average

[[Page 22763]]

number of amendments is about 150. We agreed to 12. The only real vote 
we have had on the Defense authorization bill was an amendment offered 
by the majority leader on Boy Scouts. Yet we don't have time for the 
Defense authorization bill. Why won't they let us go forward with the 
12 amendments? Because one of the amendments calls for an independent, 
bipartisan commission to study what went wrong with Katrina. They will 
not let us do that. They are willing to bring down the whole Defense 
authorization bill because they know on that vehicle we have a right to 
offer an amendment. On the things they are bringing up now, the 
appropriations bills, we can't do it procedurally in the Senate. They 
do not want an independent, bipartisan commission to take a look at 
what went wrong with this administration's response to Katrina. You 
would think the administration would want this. But, no, they are 
fighting this, just as this President fought the 9/11 Commission.
  I would hope that we would get someone like Senator McCain, who was 
the one who forced the issue on 9/11, to come forward. Let's have this 
as a bipartisan call for help, for review. From Defense authorization 
to Katrina relief, the Republican record is clear: Their plans for the 
future are bad. Instead of helping Americans, Republicans have decided 
to use the months ahead to make problems worse. For the next 5 weeks, 
Republicans have decided we should focus on cutting health care funding 
for the sick and elderly, cutting education for students, cutting 
housing and food assistance, food stamps. That is part of the budget 
reconciliation. They want to cut food stamps. Republicans will be 
arguing that all this is justified in the name of fiscal discipline.
  Now we have about 20 people who are running the House. With 
Congressman DeLay's problems, the Speaker has lost control of the 
House. We read in papers all over America today that the House is being 
run by 20 renegades who are telling him what to do. It appears he is 
listening, and he is going to do what they want. What are some of the 
things they want to do? Cut Medicaid even more, more tax cuts, forget 
about the people in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group that now runs 
the House of Representatives is arguing that all this is justified in 
the name of fiscal discipline, and these are the same people who have 
brought us the largest deficits and debt increases in this Nation's 
history. Remember when President Bush took office, some say there was a 
surplus over 10 years of $7 trillion. That has all since gone. Now we 
are $7 trillion in the hole. Some turnaround. These are the same people 
who voted for trillions in additional tax cuts and hundreds of billions 
for Iraq without batting an eye about the fact that none of this 
spending was offset.
  The same people would like to move forward on another round of 
expensive tax breaks for the elite. America can do better than this. It 
is time for Congress to focus on the needs of the United States. The 
American people have concerns about a number of issues, and we have an 
obligation to address them. I know the majority leader would like to 
proceed with business as usual, but that is not what the American 
people expect or want. They aren't interested in more tax breaks for 
the rich or perks for big oil. They want us to come together and focus 
on real problems. We have 5 weeks before the next recess--that is 
Thanksgiving--and a host of issues to address, including energy prices, 
Katrina, preparedness for avian flu, and other disasters.
  It is the pledge of the Democrats that we will not allow these issues 
to be swept under the rug. Democrats will do everything in our power to 
make sure these issues are addressed before we leave. On energy, we 
will fight to make sure the Senate takes real steps to help millions of 
families fill their tanks and heat their homes, like LIHEAP, like price 
gouging. On avian flu, we will continue to push the Senate to consider 
our comprehensive legislation so that our country has the tools and 
resources it needs to focus and confront this threat. With Katrina, we 
will make sure hundreds of thousands of victims are helped, not 
forgotten. Displaced families may no longer be front-page news, but 
that doesn't mean their needs are met. Thousands are still without 
health care and housing, and we have an obligation to help. Energy 
costs, preparedness, Katrina relief--top priorities for the American 
people, and Democrats will fight to make sure they are the top 
priorities for the Senate as well. America must do better than what we 
have done.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. My understanding is the Senate is now in morning 
business?

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