[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Pages 31940-31942]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          UNFINISHED BUSINESS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we are now in the final days of this 
session, and congressional Democrats have left an enormous amount of 
work undone. As we move into the final stretch, let's take stock of the 
unfinished business. On spending, we are 2 full months into fiscal 
2008, and our friends across the aisle are still staring at 11 
unfinished spending bills out of the 12 they were supposed to do. We 
need to work together to get those overdue spending bills signed into 
law.
  On troop funding, thousands of American families will have sons and 
daughters fighting overseas this Christmas, and under the Constitution 
that falls on us to provide for them. We may disagree about the 
mission, but no one should disagree about getting those courageous men 
and women everything they need while they are fighting in the field. 
Congressional Democrats need to get serious about the troops and get 
them the funds they need without any more games and without any further 
delay.
  We have heard some remarkable reports from Iraq in recent weeks. 
Sunni tribes and other militants who turned against al-Qaida are now 
working with coalition forces to secure Iraqi neighborhoods and towns. 
Refugees are returning to Iraq in droves. Shops are reopening, curfews 
are being relaxed. Al-Qaida in Iraq, we are told, has been pushed to 
the brink.
  Americans like what they have heard, and even some congressional

[[Page 31941]]

Democrats have acknowledged the positive reports. Congressman Murtha, a 
hero of the antiwar left, says the new strategy is a success. 
Congressman Dicks talked about a new feeling of normalcy in Iraq. 
Thanks to the increase in U.S. forces and a smart new strategy, we have 
seen a stunning reversal.
  Unfortunately, talk of congratulations is scarce among the antiwar 
left. Rather than stop for a minute to acknowledge what we are hearing 
from the field, our friends on the other side now seem to be looking 
around for something that is not going well so they can blame that on 
Republicans.
  According to press reports, they have settled on gas prices. And we 
do need to do something to lower energy costs. But the bill our 
Democratic friends are reportedly about to bring to the floor will not 
do that. In fact, the bill they are discussing would actually increase 
gas prices at the pump and electricity bills in States that do not have 
an abundance of windmills. An energy bill that raises the cost of 
energy is not what we need today.
  Frankly, I am baffled by the congressional Democrats' position on the 
whole troop funding debate. Earlier in the year, they said sending more 
troops to Iraq would lead to failure. Then they approved the funds 
anyway. Now they say things are going well, and they want to cut off 
the funds that are needed to finish the job. So they funded the war 
when they thought it would fail, and now they want to defund it when 
they think it is succeeding.
  Does this make any sense at all? Reasonable people could be able to 
agree that now is not the time to talk about walking away from our 
troops in Iraq. Yet this is exactly what Democrats are planning to do.
  The senior Senator from Massachusetts has said he thinks the 
Democrats have an obligation, an obligation to cut off funds for the 
war. And now they are apparently following through with it. Just in 
time for the holidays, they are forcing the Pentagon to prepare pink 
slips for more than 250,000 employees as a way of getting around the 
threat.
  I would urge the majority to rethink its position, to keep its word, 
and to send our troops the funds they need to finish their mission and 
return home in success. We have a solemn obligation to assure America's 
military families that their sons and daughters will get whatever they 
need. Let's not break that trust at this moment of optimism and hope 
and good news from the field at a time when even Congressman Murtha 
says the surge is working.
  Congressional Democrats need to get serious about security at home 
too. It is no accident that we have not been hit here since 9/11. We 
passed the PATRIOT Act, set up the Department of Homeland Security, and 
made sure intelligence agents would have the tools they need to do 
their jobs.
  One of those tools is the Protect America Act that we passed in 
August and expires on February 1. This essential terror-fighting tool 
recognizes that we need to be able to monitor terrorists overseas. And 
however the Senate deals with its expiration, we must protect its core 
strengths. But Democrats on the Judiciary Committee seem to disagree. 
They just voted for a revised version of this law that weakens it in 
dangerous ways. The experts tell us that under this new version, the 
Judiciary Committee version, U.S. commanders could be blocked from 
gathering critical intelligence on foreign targets.
  Imagine: An American commander prepares to attack a city such as 
Fallujah. He gives orders for a blanket surveillance of the city to 
pinpoint terrorist activity. Then the lawyers step in and say: Sir, you 
cannot do that. You need to go to the FISA Court first.
  Well, this is one vision of how to fight the war on terror. 
Republicans have a different view. We think we need to stop foreign 
terrorists who want to kill innocent Americans, not be paralyzed into 
inaction over their search and seizure rights.
  Republicans are ready to support the bipartisan, commonsense Senate 
Intelligence Committee bill. In addition to allowing our commanders 
greater freedoms in the field, this version recognizes that telecom 
companies should not be sued for doing their patriotic duty in helping 
intelligence officials to protect American lives.
  It also recognizes if these companies are exposed to lawsuits, 
taxpayers should not have to foot the bill, which is exactly what 
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are proposing. They want to make 
sure the trial lawyers are happy one way or another. We need to protect 
the telecom companies that did their duty and the taxpayers, not the 
trial lawyers, who want to bring these lawsuits.
  Congressional Democrats have neglected their duty on the 12 spending 
bills. They are threatening to neglect their duty to the troops in the 
field and to our security at home. Now they are about to slap millions 
of Americans with a middle-class tax hike better known as the AMT.
  Well, the American people have a right to know how Democrats found 
the time for 63 Iraq votes over the course of the past year, some of 
them at midnight, but somehow couldn't find an afternoon to fix a 
mistake in the Tax Code that is about to hit 50 million households. It 
is not as if they didn't see it coming. They have known about the 
problem all year. Treasury Secretary Paulson reminded us of its urgency 
in October. He sent us a letter, dated October 23, reminding us that 
the problem was before us. He warned that if Congress didn't act by 
early last month, about 25 million households would get mistakenly 
whacked with a major tax hike. He said if we didn't act by the middle 
of this month, 50 million would face delays in getting their refunds. 
Even if we acted today, millions of tax returns will still be delayed. 
We have already inconvenienced millions of American taxpayers by 
inaction.
  The IRS oversight chairman reminded us about the problem again last 
month, saying the longer we wait, the longer the refund delays would 
be. Here is a letter from the IRS, dated November 26. This is a tax 
none of these people were ever intended to pay. Originally targeted at 
fewer than 200 families, it was never indexed for inflation. It is a 
mistake that has never been permanently fixed, and Republicans are not 
about to let Democrats impose a new tax on a lot of other taxpayers to 
pay for its correction. Americans don't need to be giving Government an 
interest-free loan in April by letting the IRS hold on to their 
refunds. They need to get their refunds when they expect them. We need 
to fix the AMT without new taxes, and we need to do it now. The number 
of families affected is staggering: Democratic foot dragging on the AMT 
threatens 1.6 million taxpayers in New Jersey, more than 3 million in 
New York, and nearly 4.5 million in California. That is more people in 
California alone than we have in my State. We need to block this giant 
middle-class tax hike now before voters get stuck with it in April.
  Senate Democrats need to act on executive nominations, including 
nominees to head the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department 
of Agriculture. The Judiciary Committee needs to do a much better job 
processing circuit court nominations. Christmas will be here before we 
know it, and we have only had one hearing--one--on one circuit court 
nomination since the summer recess. We have only had five hearings for 
five circuit court nominees the entire year of 2007. During a 
comparable period in President Clinton's last Congress, the Republican-
controlled Senate held hearings on 10 of President Clinton's circuit 
court nominees, including five after the August recess.
  We have had qualified circuit court nominees up here for months who 
satisfy the supposed criteria of the Democratic majority. There is no 
good reason for the Judiciary Committee to bring progress on circuit 
court nominations to a standstill. It is time our colleagues on the 
other side acted on nominations and on the other legislative duties I 
have listed.
  They have spent nearly a year now focusing on politics rather than 
essentials. Now they are trying to distract the public by shifting the 
focus at the finish line. We need to pass the bills that keep the 
Government functioning.

[[Page 31942]]

We need to stop taxes from being raised on the middle class. We need to 
strengthen the laws that help us catch terrorists before they strike, 
and we need to fund the troops in the field.
  It is now December, the last month of the year. Senate Democrats have 
more to do in these last few weeks than they have already done all 
year. It is time to stop the political show. It is time to focus for 
once on the fundamentals.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, as the Senate begins its final work period 
of the year, I wish to thank those members of the Judiciary Committee 
who have been cooperative and who have worked so hard throughout this 
year. Much has been accomplished. But much can still be done. We 
reported and the Senate passed an important privacy measure, the 
Identity Theft Enforcement and Restitution Act, S. 2168, just before 
the Thanksgiving recess. I urge the House to adopt it without delay. In 
addition, the Senate again passed our copyright bill to protect vessel 
hull designs, S. 1640, which I hope will also be adopted by the House.
  Months ago we reported and passed an important court security bill, 
S. 378, and Freedom of Information Act reform legislation, S. 849. I 
believe that we have resolved differences raised by the House and 
should be able in the short time remaining to us this year to have the 
Senate reconsider these measures in slightly modified form, pass them 
by unanimous consent, and have the House endorse them, as well.
  I would like to see us consider and pass important matters the House 
has passed and sent to us. The Free Flow of Information Act, H.R. 2102, 
is on the Senate calendar. It would provide protection to first 
amendment values by establishing a Federal privilege and procedure for 
considering claims of press protection. For the first time, this year 
the Judiciary Committee reported a similar bill, S. 2035, and we did so 
on a bipartisan basis. We should proceed to enact this legislation into 
law.
  Another important matter sent to us from the House that I would hope 
we could enact before adjourning this year is one on which we have 
worked for some time, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, H.R. 3685. 
We also have before us a House-passed version of the Second Chance Act, 
H.R. 1593. While it does not include every provision I would have liked 
to incorporate, we should nonetheless proceed to enact this 
legislation.
  I urge the Republican Senator who has a hold on the bill to extend 
temporary judgeships around the country, S. 1327, to remove this hold 
so that we can provide the relief needed in our Federal judiciary in 
Kansas, Ohio, Nebraska, California, and Hawaii. Enacting court security 
legislation will likewise require the relinquishing of a Republican 
hold. Another matter stalled since this summer by a Republican hold has 
been the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, S. 535. I have 
made statements to the Senate about these consensus measures before. I 
hope that with the year rapidly ending, the Republican Senator holding 
up these worthwhile matters will reconsider the opposition and allow 
bills supported by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority of the Senate 
to pass.
  A number of other measures reported by the Judiciary Committee have 
been delayed by Republican holds too. If it is not possible to move 
these measures this month, I urge the Senate to take up and pass these 
bills when it begins its second session in January. One such bill is 
the War Profiteering Prevention Act, S. 119, which was reported by the 
committee in April. It would provide a significant new tool for Federal 
law enforcement to combat the scourge of war profiteering, and it is 
needed now more than ever, given the ongoing reports of rampant fraud, 
waste, and abuse in Iraq. Another is the School Safety and Law 
Enforcement Improvements Act, S. 2084, which we developed in response 
to the tragedy at Virginia Tech.
  When we return next year, we will have the opportunity to consider 
and enact patent reform legislation, the Leahy-Hatch Patent Reform Act 
of 2007, S. 1145. I hope that we will also make time to consider our 
comprehensive bipartisan data privacy bill, the Leahy-Specter Data 
Privacy and Security Act, S. 495, which we reported in May.
  Next spring I hope we can turn to the Deceptive Practices and Voter 
Intimidation Prevention Act, S. 453, which the committee reported this 
fall, and our bipartisan Leahy-Cornyn Public Corruption Prosecution 
Improvements Act, S. 1946, that adds teeth to our ethics reforms.
  These are just some of the matters on which the Judiciary Committee 
has been hard at work this year. We could not have accomplished what we 
have without the contributions of our members. I want, in particular, 
to commend our newest members, Senators Cardin and Whitehouse, for 
their exceptional work. They have initiated legislative efforts, 
chaired important hearings, and been full partners in the work of the 
committee.
  I would also like to thank and commend Senator Durbin for chairing 
our newest subcommittee, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, 
and for making it one of the most active and productive subcommittees 
we have. Senator Durbin has originated genocide accountability and 
child soldier accountability legislation, trafficking in persons 
legislation, and war crimes legislation, all in rapid succession. He 
has made the Human Rights Subcommittee into what we hoped it would be, 
a vehicle to focus our attention on fundamental aspects of what makes 
us all Americans. We all owe him a debt of gratitude.
  Of course, we would not be nearly as far along in our work without 
the help of our Republican members, led by Senator Specter. We have 
proceeded with significant bipartisan legislation on privacy, press 
shield, patents, FOIA, public corruption, and crime. Currently we are 
working together to improve the FISA legislation about to be considered 
by the Senate by exploring whether we can adopt an amendment that will 
increase accountability through the procedural device of substitution, 
rather than a blanket grant of retroactive immunity for the warrantless 
wiretapping of Americans that took place from 2001 through 2007. 
Senator Specter and I joined to seek to restore the great writ of 
habeas corpus but, despite support by a majority of the Senate, we were 
stymied by a Republican filibuster. Likewise, we have joined to achieve 
majority support for voting rights for the District of Columbia only to 
be blocked this year by another Republican filibuster.
  I hope that as we enter these last few weeks of the year, we are 
allowed to make progress on the matters I have outlined here today and 
that the obstruction that has stalled our further progress will not be 
continued. Let us move forward together in the best interest of the 
American people. Any Senator can prevent action on an item in these 
waning days of the session. There is no secret or magic about that. The 
question for Senators this month is whether they are willing to put 
aside minor differences and partisan agendas to join with us in making 
progress and moving forward.
  I yield the floor.

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