[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 73-75]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      A NEW DIRECTION FOR AMERICA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is my honor to follow the speeches that 
have been given by my new majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of 
Nevada, and my new Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of 
Kentucky. It is a great honor for me to stand this day in the Senate as 
the assistant Democratic leader. I cannot express my gratitude to my 
colleagues for entrusting me with this responsibility.
  I come to this moment with a sense of amazement. Some 40 years ago, 
as a college student in this town, I first set foot in the old Senate 
office building as an intern, never dreaming that 40 years later I 
would be standing on the floor of the Senate in this capacity. It is 
indeed a great honor.
  I do not know how many men and women have lived in the United States

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of America in our history--hundreds of millions, for sure. Today there 
are some 300 million who count America as their home. In the entire 
history of the United States of America, from its creation, as of 
today, as of this moment in our history, 1,895 men and women have had 
this high honor of serving in the Senate. Today, we were joined by 10 
more.
  Their life stories, like the stories of many of us, are the stories 
of America: stories of immigrant families, stories of struggle, stories 
of dreams that finally resulted in an election to this great body in 
the Senate.
  I imagine if you called on some of the experts in U.S. history--even 
those who served for quite a few years in the Senate--and asked them 
how many of the 1,895 Senators who have served here they could 
remember, they would be hard pressed to come up with a long list. As it 
happens in most walks of life, a few people stand out in history. But 
most are part of a parade, a parade that passes by many times 
anonymously.
  In the desk drawers of each of our desks here there is a quaint 
little Senate custom. I was talking to Senator John Glenn of Ohio about 
it today. Senators who have served here, despite what they were told by 
their teachers in grade school, are encouraged to scratch their names 
in the bottom of the desk drawer. I happen to be sitting at the desk of 
former Senator John Glenn of Ohio, and my former mentor and 
inspiration, Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois. I would imagine if you 
look in these desk drawers, there will be many names you do not 
recognize. The point I am trying to get to is this: Members of the 
Senate, men and women, come and go, but, thank God, this Nation 
endures. And it endures because of the sacrifice each makes for the 
common good of this Nation.
  We have weathered so many storms--9/11 the most recent but, of 
course, the Civil War, which almost tore us apart--and time and again 
throughout our history men and women in this body, in the Senate, have 
decided the good of this Nation was more important than their 
individual personal ambition.
  We have another similar moment in history. It is interesting how 
critical Americans are of their politicians; and that is a healthy 
thing. We do not assume that those elected to public office are part of 
any gifted class or any special group. We just assume they are people 
who are like us and fortunate enough to get elected. But over the years 
a lot of people have questioned us, whether those of us who have 
devoted a good part of our lives to public service truly have the 
public interest in mind.
  The skepticism grew last year with the culture of corruption, the 
announcements of indictments, prosecutions, resignations, not just 
among public officials but those who work in the Halls of the Capitol. 
And the skepticism and cynicism about public life grew as people heard 
more and more of these stories. That is why it is so important we 
reflect on what Senator Reid said earlier about our agenda.
  The first item on our agenda--and there could be many--is to address 
this issue of ethics and honesty in Government. I have been a fortunate 
soul in public life. Two people who brought me here--Paul Douglas and 
Paul Simon, both Senators--were literally paragons of public virtue.
  Paul Douglas, as Senator from Illinois, used to have a tradition that 
except for food and drink he would not accept a gift worth more than 
$2.50. Now, it sounds like an interesting standard. It turned out to be 
a complete headache to figure out what to do with a gift that was worth 
$3, or what to do with the belt that a man hand tooled with Senator 
Douglas's name on it and sent to him as a gift. But he was steadfast in 
his belief that public service meant public sacrifice, not public 
enrichment.
  Paul Simon, my other mentor in life, felt the same, followed in the 
Douglas tradition, and started me on a long road of disclosing in 
complete detail every year my income taxes and total net worth. There 
were painful moments early in my married life when Loretta and I had 
very little to claim as earthly possessions and filed a net worth which 
was pretty embarrassing. Things are a little better now, and I have 
continued the tradition.
  But when Senator Reid talks about changing the Senate rules, to start 
with, as the first item of business, I think what he is trying to do on 
behalf of Democrats and Republicans in this bipartisan bill is to 
address this fundamental issue of restoring the confidence of the 
public in the Senate. Before we roll up our sleeves and take on the 
issues that count for every family across America, let's take on the 
issue of restoring the integrity of the Senate. That is why this is a 
bill that is high on our list and the first we will consider.
  The American people voted for change in this last election in many 
ways. They certainly want us to move forward. Some of our advisers tell 
us that the term ``bipartisanship'' has too many syllables and is 
unintelligible to the average person. I am not sure. But people do 
understand the words ``cooperation'' and ``compromise.'' And I think 
people across America said to us in the last election: We want you to 
compromise. We want you to find solutions. We do not want you to play 
to a draw with nothing to show for it.
  The first issue that concerns the people of Illinois to whom I speak 
is this war in Iraq. In the first week of October, I went to Iraq with 
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. We visited Afghanistan and had three 
different stops in Iraq, and we spent many hours meeting with our 
soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. I spent extra time with those 
from Illinois just to say hello to them and thank them. I came back not 
just with some frustration over a war which I think was a colossal, 
strategic mistake, but anger--anger that we continue to ask these brave 
young men and women to sacrifice their lives every single day.
  I can recall when one of the generals took us aside and showed us one 
of these roadside bombs that kills and maims our troops, almost on a 
daily basis. It looked like nothing more than a fruit cocktail can, 
with both ends lopped off and a metal charge inside. They disguise it 
and camouflage it and put it on the side of the road. While 
unsuspecting American soldiers course down that road, they unleash the 
blast that kills or maims them. That is life for our soldiers in Iraq. 
They do not confront an enemy so much as confronting these improvised 
explosive devices.
  Over the last few weeks, we have passed some tragic milestones. More 
Americans have died in Iraq than died on 9/11. As of the first of this 
year, the 3,000th American life was lost among our fighting men and 
women in Iraq. Over 22,000 have returned from Iraq with serious 
physical and mental injuries.
  The legacy of this war will continue. Next week, the President is to 
propose the next phase of the war, what he wants to do next. I have to 
tell you, as one of 23 Members of this Senate who voted against this 
war, I continue to believe we made a serious mistake underestimating 
the gravity of the challenge once we had deposed Saddam Hussein. It is 
clear now this administration was not prepared to wage this war, 
certainly not prepared to move us to peace. What they have done is to 
move our troops into harm's way, risked their lives, and leave us in a 
situation, 4 years into this war--a war longer than World War II--where 
there is still no end in sight.
  In October, our leaders in Iraq told Senator Jack Reed and myself it 
is a matter of months. If we cannot get this under control in a matter 
of months, we have to be honest about it. I think honesty is important. 
There is a lot of talk about surge. Let's move beyond the word 
``surge'' into the reality. We are talking about the lives of American 
soldiers, whether we will send 20,000 or 30,000 more American soldiers 
into that field of combat, whether that can possibly make a difference.
  I hope to God the President reconsiders that. I am afraid in many 
instances we are only sending targets and not troops. It is time for 
the Iraqis to stand up and defend their own country. It is time for 
them to accept the responsibility of governance and defense. We have 
given them so much,

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over 3,000 American lives and all of our treasure, so they can rebuild 
their country and have a chance. We deposed their dictator, put him to 
trial, saw his execution, gave them a chance for constitutions and 
governments, gave them all these opportunities, and now it is their 
turn. We cannot impose democracy on them. That appetite for democracy 
has to spring from their souls, and they have to want it badly enough 
to work out the political compromises to disband the militia, to show 
the kind of leadership which will give them a nation in fact rather 
than just in words. That will be one of the big issues we debate here.
  Some have criticized us this week for not talking about Iraq enough. 
I can understand it. When I hear the mothers of fallen soldiers say 
that should be our first priority, I think they understand, as we do, 
there is nothing more important that ever happened in their lives. This 
assurance I can give: Next week, when this Senate convenes, both the 
Armed Services Committee and the Foreign Relations Committee will begin 
hearings on Iraq. The debate will really begin in earnest, as it 
should, as the American people expect. And we will have a 
responsibility to come up with the best answer for our Nation, for our 
troops.
  There are so many other issues we face. One near and dear to my heart 
is the cost of college education. This young boy from East Saint Louis, 
IL, could never have attended Georgetown University or law school were 
it not for Government loans. I borrowed the money, paid it back, and 
believe it changed my life forever. So many students across America 
today wonder if they will ever be able to borrow enough to go to 
school. Some of them drop out because of debt. Some of them change 
their life plans because of paying off student debt.
  One of our first priorities is to reduce the cost of college 
education expenses so young people with great dreams and limited means 
have a chance to succeed. That is one of our priorities as Democrats, 
and one I totally support.
  I also think we have to restore some basic economic justice in 
America. How can you possibly explain that over 10 years we have not 
raised the Federal minimum wage? These people get up and go to work 
every day, many of them raising children, struggling to survive, going 
to soup kitchens and pantries to supplement their income.
  Over the Christmas holidays--as many of us do--I visited some of 
those places, and I met a lot of people who work 40 hours a week. They 
come to the soup kitchens, they come to the pantries because that is 
the one way to supplement their income. Well, we can do better. We need 
to increase the Federal minimum wage. And as Senator Reid said, it is 
one of our highest priorities.
  Senator McConnell said, a few moments ago, when it comes to the 
Medicare prescription Part D program, he will not stand by and allow us 
to scrap the program. I say: Hear, hear. We do not want to scrap the 
program. It is long overdue. Prescription drugs under Medicare keep our 
seniors healthy, independent, and strong. But, sadly, we know the 
reality that when that bill was passed, it was written by the 
pharmaceutical industry. It took competition out of the program so they 
could charge higher prices. It created a maze of opportunities, but a 
maze of choices for many seniors who were bewildered by what to do. It 
created a doughnut hole, a period of time where seniors who were the 
sickest had no coverage whatsoever.
  So I would say to my colleague on the other side of the aisle, we are 
not going to scrap it. We are going to do our best to improve it. And 
we can improve it, bring in some competition so we have reasonable cost 
drugs, so we have more coverage for seniors across America.
  There is an old saying that there is no education in the second kick 
of a mule. No matter what side of the aisle we are on, there is a 
lesson for all of us. The American people have given us today a rare 
opportunity in our history. They have given us an order, too, to chart 
a better course for this Nation. They have asked us to listen. And if, 
at the end of the day, we play to a draw on these major issues--if we 
do not achieve results, if we do not show a good-faith effort toward 
compromise and cooperation--they will be just as harsh in their 
judgment 2 years from now as they were last November. And we deserve 
it.
  As we begin anew this Congress, we need to resolve together, on a 
bipartisan basis, to find that path to a better and stronger America.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.

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