[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22634]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ECONOMIC STIMULUS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, these are very difficult times for the 
American economy and America's working families. For most of the past 2 
weeks, the headlines have been dominated by news of Wall Street's 
financial meltdown. But our Nation's economic woes stretch far beyond 
financial institutions.
  The American people are watching the fluctuations in the stock 
market; they see investment banks failing and the values of their own 
401(k) accounts and money market funds decline. Gas is still hovering 
near $4 a gallon, their grocery and heating bills continue to 
skyrocket, and yet their wages remain stagnant. Millions of families do 
not know how they will make ends meet this winter. While they believe 
that something must be done to fix the problems in the credit markets, 
they need and expect us to help them too.
  It has been a week since the President sent to Capitol Hill a three-
page bill asking for unprecedented authority to increase the American 
people's debt even further--to $11.3 trillion--and to use that money 
solely to purchase troubled assets from failing financial institutions, 
while demanding no accountability from their executives. It is no 
surprise that the American people have solidly rejected that plan. 
Bewildered, they ask Congress, ``Where is the help for my family, for 
my community?''
  This week bipartisan efforts on the bailout continue in the Senate 
and House. We are working to craft a responsible plan to guarantee 
strong oversight of the system that created this disaster, limit 
exorbitant executive compensation and bonuses on Wall Street, and 
restore confidence in our markets. But we also recognize that much more 
must be done.
  Senate Majority Leader Reid and Appropriations Chairman Byrd have 
developed a thoughtful, comprehensive package that will begin to help 
our entire Nation recover. Regrettably, yesterday 42 Republicans 
rejected efforts to provide help beyond Wall Street. By voting against 
the motion to proceed, they denied the Senate the opportunity to even 
debate a plan for Americans' personal economic recovery.
  The most recent statistics on employment and inflation reveal why 
their choice was wrong and why an immediate and forceful response is 
needed.
  The unemployment rate stands at 6.1 percent the highest rate since 
September 2003. This bill would have extended unemployment benefits by 
7 weeks for all States and by an additional 13 weeks in high 
unemployment States, and it would have provided $300 million for 
employment and training activities for dislocated workers. These funds 
would have helped more than 79,000 people receive training, and job 
search and career counseling.
  Over the past 2 years, food costs have increased by nearly 15 
percent. This bill would provide an additional $50 million for food 
banks and $60 million for senior meals program, increase food stamp 
benefits by 10 percent and add $450 million for the WIC Program.
  Energy prices are up by nearly 40 percent in the past 2 years. This 
bill would have added $5.1 billion for low-income home energy 
assistance programs and $500 million to help make low-income homes for 
energy efficient through weatherization.
  The majority of State governments are in dire economic straits. My 
home State of Maryland faces a $1 billion shortfall for the next fiscal 
year, and cuts in programs and services are already being planned. This 
bill would have boosted state coffers by providing a 4-percent increase 
in Federal help for State health care programs and $1.2 billion extra 
for the National Institutes of Health, NIH, headquartered in Bethesda, 
MD. This bill would have allowed NIH to award 3,300 new research grants 
to help discover new treatments and cures for devastating diseases.
  Foreclosure rates are at the highest in our country's history and 
home values are plummeting. This bill included $37.5 million for the 
Legal Services Corporation to help families whose homes are in 
foreclosure, $52 million for the FHA to bolster its staff and resources 
to ensure that its mortgage fund remains solvent, $250 million to help 
public housing agencies rehabilitate vacant rental units, and $200 
million to help families in rental housing who are displaced by 
foreclosure find safe, affordable places to live.
  The Wall Street meltdown has vastly reduced the availability of 
credit for our small businesses and endangered the survival of many 
businesses. This bill would have provided $200 million to support 
reduced-fee loans to small businesses and $5 million to support 
microloans.
  The defeat of the cloture vote today truly represents a missed 
opportunity to answer Americans' call for aid. I want to commend 
Majority Leader Reid and Chairman Byrd for their work in crafting this 
much needed bill. I would hope that before this Congress adjourns, we 
will have the opportunity to debate and pass this necessary measure.

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