[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9821-9822]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. LEIBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to offer my support for H.R. 
4899, the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act. I would like to begin 
first by explaining why I voted for this measure--although I did so 
reluctantly and with strong reservations, since I firmly believe that 
it is past time for us to end our reliance on emergency supplemental 
appropriations, which undermine our fiscal discipline and exacerbate 
our skyrocketing deficit.
  I supported this measure because the funds it appropriates are 
critical to the first and most fundamental purpose of our government--
keeping America safe.
  The money appropriated in the bill will be used, in large part, to 
support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq who are fighting against the 
enemy who attacked our homeland on September 11, 2001. We went to war 
in Afghanistan because the 9/11 attacks were a direct consequence of 
the safe haven given to al-Qaida in that country under the Taliban 
government that ruled there. We remain at war because a resurgent 
Taliban, still allied with al-Qaida, is trying to restore its brutal 
regime and reestablish that country as a terrorist safe haven.
  A large portion of the funds appropriated in this bill will be used 
to deploy the surge of additional troops that our commander on the 
ground in Afghanistan, GEN Stanley McChrystal, has said is essential to 
turning the tide there. I agree with President Obama that the war in 
Afghanistan is ``a war of necessity,'' and as such, we must fund our 
efforts there to the full measure necessary.
  Allowing the Taliban to return to power would represent a major 
victory for Islamist extremist forces throughout the world, tilting the 
balance of power in South Asia in their favor and directly endangering 
America's homeland security from terrorists trained there. As we were 
reminded just a few weeks ago, in the wake of the attempted terrorist 
bombing in Times Square by an individual who received terrorism 
training in Pakistan, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border remains the 
central front of the global war on terror. If we fail there, the 
ramifications will be devastating.
  I also believe it is imperative that we continue to provide the 
necessary resources to ensure a successful outcome in Iraq, which faces 
a window of heightened instability and danger. In particular, it is 
essential that we provide the necessary funding for the Iraqi Security 
Forces so that--as our own troops draw down--our Iraqi counterparts are 
capable of maintaining the hard-fought security gains that we have 
achieved together.
  Because this bill is essential for our national security, I voted for 
it.
  However, as I said, I strongly oppose our continued reliance on the 
emergency supplemental appropriations bills to fund our military 
efforts abroad. I agree with President Obama that this method of 
spending has obscured the costs and budgetary consequences of our 
ongoing military operations. I believe we must end the practice of 
labeling our long-term military costs as ``emergency funds,'' which 
allows us to avoid our own self-imposed spending limits. This practice 
has also significantly reduced our ability to exercise effective 
congressional oversight.
  A sound budgeting process, by contrast--which would factor future 
military costs into the annual budget--will allow for a more precise, 
honest, and fiscally responsible estimate of Federal spending and will 
force us to grapple with and pay for the true costs of our policy 
choices.
  Simply put, we must change the way we do business in Washington. We 
cannot continue to ask our children and grandchildren to pay for the 
policy choices of today. For this reason, it is imperative that 2010 be 
the last year that we use an emergency supplemental for initiatives 
that are not truly ``emergencies.'' After all, our ballooning Federal 
debt and out-of-control deficits are not only a threat to our economic 
health--they are also a threat to our national security.
  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued in testimony before 
Congress earlier this year that as America relies increasingly on 
foreign lenders to fund our government, we compromise our national 
security. Let's not forget that each year, we are paying almost $200 
billion in interest on public debt, a significant percentage of which 
goes to nations whose political interests may not always be aligned 
with our own. Today, nearly half of our publicly held debt is in 
foreign holdings, compared to nineteen percent twenty years ago. This 
is dangerous to America's financial autonomy and long-term national 
security.
  In Congress, we are motivated by good intentions--each of us wants to 
govern well and make it easier for our constituents to live, work, and 
prosper--but those good intentions often have serious and adverse 
consequences for our long term economic health and our vitality as a 
nation when we ignore their economic consequences. Unfortunately, if we 
do not act quickly and decisively to address our mounting debt and 
continuing deficit spending, we will soon face a fiscal crisis that 
will dwarf the financial turmoil we have experienced in the past 
several months.
  We are all concerned about the deficit, but unless we actually stop 
passing bills that we are not paid for, we will not make the progress 
that we must in reining in deficits.
  We all know what the answer to this problem is: The United States of 
America must begin to live within our means again. Responsible American 
families and businesses do this--it is time for the U.S. Congress to do 
the same.
  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise in support of an amendment that 
was filed by Chairman Bingaman, Ranking Member Murkowski and myself 
that would help create jobs in communities across the country and help 
us transition to a clean energy economy.

[[Page 9822]]

  When Congress passed the Recovery Act last year, it recognized the 
challenges that many developers of alternative energy and other clean 
energy projects are facing in obtaining financing by expanding the 
Department of Energy's loan guarantee program.
  This program, known as the 1705 program, is helping developers to 
finance their projects, create jobs and spur the development of 
innovative clean energy technologies across the country, including New 
Hampshire.
  Our amendment would expand the 1705 program further to include loan 
guarantees for energy efficiency technologies, including making 
buildings energy efficient.
  And that is what I want to talk about today.
  I see enormous potential in reducing our Nation's energy consumption 
by simply investing in energy efficiency, especially through renovating 
existing buildings. Renovating our existing buildings is a tremendous 
opportunity for us to cut energy use, save money and create jobs.
  According to the Energy Information Administration, buildings account 
for more than 48 percent of total energy consumption in the United 
States. That is more than the transportation sector and more than the 
industrial sector. More than 70 percent of the commercial buildings in 
this country are older than 20 years and these buildings are 
significantly less efficient than buildings built today. Improvements 
to these types of buildings can improve efficiency by 20 to 40 percent 
using widely available technologies and the payback period can be as 
little 5 years.
  Updating buildings with modern energy efficiency technologies not 
only saves money on energy costs, it also creates jobs. Jobs in the 
construction industry. Jobs in the manufacturing industry. Jobs in the 
retail sector of the economy. These jobs can't be outsourced and they 
are jobs that can serve as an important part of our clean, alternative 
energy economy.
  Yet despite all this potential, there is actually very little of this 
energy efficient renovation taking place because of the financial 
barriers. Lenders typically will not accept projected energy savings--
even if guaranteed by an energy services company as sufficient 
collateral.
  That's why I am working with Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member 
Murkowski to use the DOE loan guarantee program to help unlock private 
capital and encourage investment in building retrofit projects and 
programs.
  I am also working with Senator Mary Landrieu to develop legislation 
to further expand the DOE loan guarantee program to cover large 
building in the commercial sector, in schools and universities, and 
hospitals so that they can also be renovated to be more energy 
efficient.
  There is so much potential that exists here and I think we need to 
put existing programs to work, like the loan guarantee program, to 
unlock private capital and reap the benefits that will come from making 
these buildings more energy efficient.
  We have the opportunity to create jobs, support our continued 
economic recovery and save money by making these investments in energy 
efficiency.
  While it is unfortunate that we could not get the amendment added to 
the supplemental appropriations bill, I look forward to working with my 
colleagues to pass this important provision this year.

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