[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20825-20826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           CASH FOR CLUNKERS

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, later today, we are going to take up the 
Cash for Clunkers Program. This is an idea whose time has come. When we 
passed this legislation a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure. I didn't know 
if this would work, if we put a dollar incentive in front of American 
buyers and said: If you will bring in an old car or truck and trade it 
in on a new car or truck that is more fuel efficient, would you 
consider it--I didn't know if they would. We are in a recession and 
people don't have a lot of money.
  Well, they not only considered it, they made it a wild success. In a 
matter of just a few days, the $1 billion we set aside for the program 
led to dramatic increases in sales in auto showrooms in Illinois and 
all across the Nation. I got phone calls from dealers who said: Keep it 
coming. Folks are finally coming into our showrooms and buying cars.
  The good news is it is not only activity that is clearing the 
inventory in these dealerships, it also means we have more jobs. As we 
have more of these cars being purchased, there is more demand to 
rebuild that inventory at the auto dealership, and we put auto workers 
back to work. Also, the good news is people are buying more fuel-
efficient vehicles. Eighty-three percent of the vehicles being traded 
in are old trucks that are not fuel efficient. Most people--the 
majority of them--are buying fuel-efficient cars, and that is a good 
change. It means there will be less fuel use, less dependence on 
foreign oil, and less pollution. For those who buy it, it will be a car 
they can operate more cheaply than the one they traded in.
  We have a chance to extend this program today. It may be our last 
chance. A lot of amendments will be offered. Some may be good-faith 
amendments to improve the bill, and I fear some may be mischievous. 
Here is the reality. Any amendment adopted today means this program 
will be stopped in its tracks, and we will have to wait for the House 
to return in September. So for the next 4, 5, 6 weeks, nothing would 
happen.
  Let's not lose the momentum in the Cash for Clunkers Program. This 
program is helping to put life back into our economy, save and create 
jobs, and get our automobile sector moving forward again. That is 
something we desperately need to come out of the recession--creating 
jobs and getting back on our feet and be strong again. The Cash for 
Clunkers Program has been a success. Let's continue it.


                              Health Care

  The second issue I have relates to health care. I heard my colleague 
from Tennessee come forward and suggest that he is working on an 
alternative to health care reform. I salute him for that, and I hope he 
will continue that effort. I also salute the three Republican Senators 
who have met for weeks, if not months, trying to hammer out the 
differences in health care reform. It is a constructive, positive 
dialog. I am sure I would not agree with everything they have come to 
agreement on, but that is not what this is about. It doesn't have to be 
a bill that is perfect in my eyes; it has to be a bill that is 
reasonable, that will bring down the cost of health care.
  I know what happened in Illinois. In 1997, health insurance premiums 
through employers averaged $5,462. Just 9 years later, that number was 
$11,781. If we do nothing, by 2016, it will more than double, to 
$25,409.
  Those who come to the floor and to town meetings and say, ``Don't 
touch it; all you can do is make a mess of it,'' ignore the obvious. 
The current health care system is unsustainable for families and for 
small businesses. Fewer and fewer businesses are offering health 
insurance protection. More people are finding themselves without health 
insurance protection.
  In fact, in Illinois 15 percent of the population has no insurance at 
all. During the course of any given year, one out of three Illinoisans 
have no health insurance coverage at least some time during that year. 
That is unacceptable. People without health insurance coverage are one 
diagnosis or one accident away from bankruptcy. We know more and more 
people are going into bankruptcy court because of health care and 
medical bills they cannot pay. For those who stand here and say ``Don't 
touch it; leave it alone,'' it is unsustainable. It is a system headed 
toward disaster.
  Who wants to keep the current health care system? It is the people 
who are making the most money in the system, the health insurance 
companies. They have been profitable, when many other parts of the 
economy have not. They are now sponsoring activities and advertisements 
and all sorts of things at town meetings to try to create resistance to 
change in health care. That is not good. It is not a constructive 
dialog. To think that these town meetings that are supposed to take 
place for a healthy, honest dialog back home have now turned into 
political theater. Some groups have Web sites that instruct people 
about how to disrupt a town meeting and embarrass a

[[Page 20826]]

Senator or Congressman. I know that when I go to town meetings, people 
may disagree and be emotional, and that is OK. To think they have a 
coordinated effort to disrupt a town meeting. Who wants that? That is 
not constructive.
  Let's move forward with an honest, constructive, bipartisan dialog. 
Three Republicans are doing that now. If we do that, we can reach a 
bipartisan compromise that I and the President would like to see by 
September. Let us come back with resolve in September to make sure 
there is real health care reform that brings stability to the costs 
that businesses and Americans pay, stability to coverage so you don't 
lose your health insurance because of a preexisting condition, changing 
a job, caps and limits on your policy, with quality access to 
preventive care, wellness care, and the quality care that every 
American deserves.
  We can do that with patient-centered health insurance reform, and we 
can get it done in a bipartisan fashion in September when we return.
  I yield the floor.

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