[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14684-14685]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           AMERICAN JOBS ACT

  Mr. REID. Madam President, Franklin Roosevelt said that no man can 
truly be free without economic security. With 14 million people 
unemployed--out of work--in America, there are far too many people 
living in the richest Nation in the world, yet unable to enjoy the full 
freedom and independence for which America stands. So this Congress has 
no greater challenge--none--and no more important responsibility than 
to enact the policies that help American businesses flourish and grow, 
put American citizens to work, and get our struggling economy back on 
track to prosperity. So I was disappointed yesterday when my Republican 
friends chose to play political games with not one but two pieces of 
important job-creating legislation.
  The bill before the Senate will even the odds for American workers 
and manufacturers in the global marketplace by stopping unfair currency 
manipulation by the Chinese Government. It would support 1.6 million 
American jobs, and it has the support of Democrats, Republicans, labor 
leaders, and business groups. We should pass it quickly so we can move 
on to other important work facing the Senate this month. But yesterday 
Republicans threatened to derail this legislation, even though they 
overwhelmingly support it, and allow China to continue to tilt the 
playing field.
  Also up for debate this work period, which ends in 2 weeks, is 
commonsense jobs legislation proposed by the President of the United 
States. President Obama's plan would invest in roads, bridges, dams, 
and other construction efforts to create jobs. It would put 
construction crews back to work building and renovating schools. It 
would extend unemployment insurance for Americans who are still 
struggling to find work. In that regard, Mark Zandi, who certainly is 
no Democratic spokesperson--in fact, he was the economic adviser for 
John McCain's Presidential election--said there is no more important 
stimulus for the economy than giving an unemployment check to somebody 
who is out of work. President Obama's legislation would expand the 
payroll tax credit, which has been very popular. It is a tax credit 
that will provide immediate relief to middle-class families and 
businesses. This legislation would revitalize communities that have 
been devastated by foreclosures.
  The President's plan includes some ideas proposed by Republicans and 
others offered by Democrats. No matter what, this legislation is fully 
paid for. We may have different ideas on how to pay for it, but we know 
the President's legislation is a smart, effective way to spur job 
creation.
  Democrats have listened to the American people, and they have been 
very clear. The American people believe it is time for millionaires and 
billionaires to pay their fair share to help this country thrive. 
Americans from every corner of the country and every walk of life 
agree. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents agree. Asked if they 
support a plan that would require people who make more than $1 million 
a year to contribute a little more to ensure this country's economic 
success, the results were resounding, stunningly strong: Nearly 80 
percent of Americans said yes. Wealthy Americans agree. Two-thirds of 
the people making more than $1 million a year said they would gladly 
contribute more. A supermajority of Republicans agree, with two-thirds 
saying they supported the idea. And even a majority--52 percent--of the 
tea party members agree. So when Democrats bring this commonsense jobs 
legislation to the floor, we will ask Americans who make more than $1 
million a year to contribute a little more to help this country reduce 
its jobs deficit.
  I am sure my Republican colleagues would like the opportunity to 
debate

[[Page 14685]]

how this Congress tackles the most important issue facing our Nation 
today: the unemployment crisis. So I will happily work with the 
Republican leadership to ensure a fair process that gives Senators the 
opportunity to be heard. That is why I was so disappointed yesterday 
when my friend the Republican leader attempted to snuff out debate and 
prevent a bipartisan discussion about how to move the American Jobs Act 
forward. Rather than debating this bill on the floor as we usually do, 
he wants to tack this important job creator onto an unrelated measure 
simply as an afterthought.
  I was willing to proceed to debate on the legislation yesterday, but 
the Republicans blocked that request. They even blocked that. Instead, 
they demanded an immediate up-or-down vote, with no opportunity for 
debate, discussion, or amendments. Again and again during the last few 
weeks, Republicans have rejected an all-or-nothing approach to this 
legislation. So imagine my surprise when they were unwilling to engage 
in the thoughtful debate this bill deserves. Instead, they took the 
very all-or-nothing approach they were so concerned about only a few 
hours earlier.
  This Nation's unemployment crisis is very serious business, but 
Republicans are more interested, it seems, in partisan games much of 
the time and political stunts than serious legislating. Fourteen 
million unemployed Americans deserve better. We live in a nation 
founded on the principle that every American has a right to personal 
liberty. But if Franklin Roosevelt was correct that no man is free who 
lacks economic security--and I am confident he was right--then we must 
do better as a Congress and as a country. I assure everyone within the 
sound of my voice that Democrats will do whatever we can to heal our 
ailing economy, even if it means the richest of the rich in America 
have to contribute a little bit more tomorrow than they do today.

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