[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            STIMULUS PACKAGE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it has been 19 days since the President 
called for a stimulus plan, and economists called for swift action on 
it.
  Republicans and Democrats in the House got the message, and they made 
some hard choices, showed restraint, and forged a bipartisan compromise 
literally within days.
  Unfortunately, Senate Democrats didn't follow suit. They turned the 
idea into political gamesmanship, with the head of their campaign 
committee calling for ``tough votes.''
  The American people are tired of political ``gotcha.'' We don't have 
time for it. The economy needs a boost right now. So I think we need to 
step back and ask ourselves what this exercise was all about in the 
first place.
  My preference is to modify the House package to include rebate checks 
for seniors and disabled veterans and certainly eliminate the 
possibility that any illegal immigrants will get checks.
  The White House and Treasury Secretary have indicated support for 
such a plan, so we can expect it will be signed into law.
  Meanwhile, we have no such assurance for the alternative, larger 
proposal Senate Democrats apparently are still hashing out. We read 
this morning that ``negotiations are still ongoing'' among Democrats 
about what to include in the final package.
  We started out united behind a proposal to help struggling taxpayers 
and stimulate the economy. Now some are insisting on a plan that might 
not even be signed into law.
  However, there is still another choice. We can still pass a bill that 
is targeted and timely and which helps seniors and disabled veterans--
and that is the amendment I will be offering later today with Senator 
Stevens.
  The Reid amendment, on the other hand, might not even get signed.
  So should the Reid amendment fail, we should immediately move to 
include seniors and disabled veterans, exclude those who are not legal 
citizens, and then quickly send this good, bipartisan, House-passed 
bill, as amended, back to the House, which I am sure will pass it 
quickly, and send it to the White House for signature. To do less would 
break faith with the American people who were told nearly 3 weeks ago 
they could expect relief quickly.
  I urge my colleagues and the whole body to support it so we can 
deliver timely help to the American people.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                          ____________________