[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 2976-2977]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, this is the fifth time this fiscal year 
that I have urged the Senate to support a continuing resolution to keep 
the Federal Government running. CRs are inefficient and hamstring our 
agencies and departments, especially the Department of Defense in a 
time of war. A CR funds programs that should be terminated and does not 
fund programs that need to be initiated. There is only one advantage to 
a CR--it is better than the alternative, a government shutdown.
  The House has proposed a 2-week continuing resolution, which would 
keep the government operating through March 18. The proposal includes 
$4 billion in cuts, many of which were recommended by the President in 
his fiscal year 2012 budget request. Clearly, the 2-week extension in 
this CR does not provide sufficient time to hammer out a final 
agreement. At this point, however, it would appear that the only 
alternative is a government shutdown. This is an unacceptable outcome--
the consequences for our economy and the American people would be 
severe. As a result, I have come to the reluctant conclusion that we 
should pass this extension quickly and send it to the President for his 
signature.
  As things stand today, I believe that we will find ourselves in the 
same place 2 weeks from now. I am not optimistic that there will be 
sufficient time to work out a final deal that will pass the House and 
Senate prior to March 18. I hope I am wrong, but the reality is that 
the two Houses remain far apart and the negotiations will be long and 
intense. By accepting this extension, Senate Democrats have 
demonstrated a good faith effort to work with our House and Senate 
Republican counterparts on a reasonable compromise that will end the 
current budget stalemate. Let us hope that our colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle are willing to meet us half way as we move forward 
with these critical negotiations in the weeks to come.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, let us be clear about where we are. The 
legislation before us is designed to avoid a shutdown of the Federal 
Government. It would provide funding for a 2-week period while we 
continue to debate and negotiate funding levels for the rest of fiscal 
year 2011. The price its supporters want to exact for that 2-week 
respite is our agreement to major cuts in spending, without any attempt 
to address our deficit by closing tax loopholes.
  I do not believe we should pay that price. Let me offer one example 
why. Under this continuing resolution, the Army Corps of Engineers' 
investigations budget--the funding for Army Corps studies of possible 
projects--would be reduced by 35 percent, for the whole year, not just 
this 2-week period. The Corps' construction budget would be reduced by 
17 percent. What does that mean? It means that the Army Corps of 
Engineers, which already faces a huge backlog of necessary projects,

[[Page 2977]]

would be deprived of a big chunk of the funding it needs to do its 
vital work, funding that was included in the President's budget for 
2011.
  This legislation exacts other big cuts. It reduces funding for 
surface transportation projects by $293 million. We will not build 
needed roads and bridges--and we will not gain the jobs those projects 
would create--under those cuts. We will also cut tens of millions of 
dollars from energy research projects at the very moment our Nation 
faces the urgent task of liberating ourselves from dependence on 
foreign oil. These cuts will damage our economy today, and they will 
damage our competitiveness tomorrow. They will do our country harm.
  The new House Republican majority sent us those spending cuts while 
continuing big tax cuts for upper income taxpayers. Last year, when we 
approved the extension of those tax cuts, I opposed them. I did so 
because I feared that they would create such strain in the budget that 
some would argue for massive, damaging cuts in spending levels. The 
legislation before us is confirmation that those fears were justified. 
The cuts it would impose would do very little to reduce our budget 
deficit, while doing much to harm working Americans, and leave 
untouched one large cause of deficits, the unfair and unnecessary tax 
cuts for upper bracket Americans. In fact, the price of those tax cuts 
for upper bracket taxpayers, about $30 billion a year, far exceeds the 
$4 billion in spending cuts included in this bill. In other words, we 
could avoid draconian spending cuts if we do not continue the Bush tax 
cuts for the roughly one in 50 U.S. households with incomes above 
$250,000 a year, households that have done very well in the last 10 
years while the middle class has lost ground.
  That is not a fair approach. I cannot agree to it, and I will vote 
against this continuing resolution.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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