[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 21871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           SERVING FLORIDIANS

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, it is a great privilege for 
this Senator from Florida to continue public service as a result of the 
will expressed in last Tuesday's election by the people of my State of 
Florida. It is a great privilege for a lifetime of public service. It 
is especially a great privilege serving in this body at this time in 
our Nation's history, with the challenges that are facing us.
  I believe there are many messages that have come from the American 
people in this election that we have just experienced. Clearly, the 
issue of Iraq and the policy of the United States Government toward 
Iraq is one. That was discussed during the election all over this 
country, and it was particularly discussed as two of the main items of 
interest in the two televised debates that we had in the Senate 
election in Florida.
  The other message coming out of this election, in addition to Iraq, 
is that the American people are tired of the partisan bickering. They 
have seen excessive partisanship operative in Washington. When they see 
that excessive partisanship overlaid with ideological rigidity, the 
result is gridlock. That is what we have had, in large part. People 
would like for their public servants to perform by reaching out to each 
other across the aisle and bringing people together in order to build 
that consensus in order to govern. That has not been the main theme in 
the American Government in the last several years.
  I hope that both the House of Representatives and the Senate are 
getting that message loudly and clearly from the American people. I can 
tell you, Mr. President, I know what Floridians are thinking. It is my 
business to know that. Interestingly, also, Florida is a microcosm of 
the Nation. People are tired of this bickering. Folks do not want a 
Republican or a Democratic solution; they want the right solution. If 
you do what is right, you can get a lot done. That is what the American 
people want.
  Certainly, a thorny problem, such as how to bring about stability in 
Iraq, is going to require a bipartisan solution. It is going to take a 
great deal of cooperation between the legislative branch, the Congress, 
and the executive branch, the President. The statements that we have 
heard by the new majority leaders of both the House and the Senate, as 
well as the statements made by the President, are certainly statements 
in the right direction. Now we will see if those statements can, in 
fact, become a reality in deeds and accomplishments.
  This Senator is dedicated to reaching out and building that consensus 
across the aisle, when you look at the enormous challenges that are 
facing this country in addition to Iraq--the whole war on terror, the 
defense of the homeland, the protection of our seaports; the stability 
of the U.S. budget, the attempt to bring the budget back into balance, 
an approach of pay-as-you-go; attending to the needs of our senior 
citizens, particularly senior citizens who have been lifted out of so 
much poverty as a result of these programs, such as Medicare and Social 
Security, and the protection of those programs and the proper financing 
of those programs; the need of the United States to address the needs 
of assisting State and local governments on education; the preparation 
for the big one that is surely to come in terms of natural disasters 
because, surely, we are going to have it--and the two Senators in the 
Chamber, both, are coastal Senators. A category 4 or 5 hit directly 
from the water on a highly dense urbanized area, and that will cause 
economic havoc that will be even over and above what we have seen, and 
the potential of insurance losses in excess of what we experienced in 
the 2005 and 2004 hurricanes that hit a lot of our Southeastern States.
  When the economic loss and insurance loss hits $50 billion, there is 
no one State, no one insurance company that can withstand that kind of 
loss. That is another challenge facing us. Then there is the 
straightening up of FEMA and its ability to respond, and respond 
quickly, which I have great hopes under Administrator of FEMA Paulison 
that we are much better prepared than we were in the 2004 and 2005 
hurricane cycles.
  As we go down the list of the challenges that are facing this 
country--and there are many that I have not named--these cannot be 
solved as a Democratic or as a Republican solution; they have to be 
solved with the right solution; otherwise, you will never get 
consensus, particularly in the Senate. So this is my profound hope, and 
I want to express it to the Senate on this first day after the Tuesday 
election of November 7.
  The message has been clear: Stop the partisan bickering. Reach out 
across the aisle. Bring people together with the enormous geographical 
and philosophical differences as are expressed in this Senate, 
reflecting the opinions of the people of the United States to reach out 
across these partisan lines and bring people together.
  Mr. President, again, I appreciate the privilege of continuing my 
service to our country as I express this heartfelt opinion.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from Georgia.

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