[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 336-337]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         REBUILDING THE ECONOMY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in 1946 President Harry Truman delivered his 
first State of the Union Message. This was the first State of the Union 
Message since the end of World War II. The trials of war were behind us 
but new challenges laid ahead. Truman laid out a vision for not only 
how America could survive those challenges but thrive in the modern 
world. He described the path forward in simple words. He said:

       Our basic objective--toward which all others lead--is to 
     improve the welfare of the American people.

  That meant economic prosperity. It meant Social Security and 
unemployment insurance. It meant an opportunity for higher education, 
access to medical care, and the dream of home ownership.
  The goal, he wrote, was ``that we become a well-housed people, a 
well-nourished people, an educated people, a people socially and 
economically secure, an alert and responsible people.'' And in the 
three decades that followed that vision, that was reality. The middle 
class was never larger, never stronger, and it had never been easier to 
become a part of that middle class. That is the way it was. Through 
hard work and ingenuity, Americans prospered together.
  For three decades after World War II, the rungs on the ladder to 
success grew closer together, but in the three decades that followed, 
something changed. The goal was the same--to be a well-housed, well-
educated nation of responsible and economically secure people--but for 
many, reaching that goal became very difficult--certainly more 
difficult. Incomes skyrocketed for the richest few, but they stalled 
for the rest, and the middle class lost more and more ground.
  Today, the richest 1 percent holds nearly half of all the wealth in 
this country. Today, the richest 1 percent takes home a quarter of all 
wages. Income, personal income--1 percent takes 25 percent of that. I 
repeat, the richest 1 percent holds nearly half of all the wealth in 
this country.
  Americans are working just as hard as they worked 60 years ago, but 
that hard work is paying off for fewer and fewer people. What does that 
mean? For the last three decades, the rungs

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on the ladder to success have grown farther apart instead of closer 
together, and the farther apart those rungs grow, the fewer Americans 
climb that ladder. The farther apart those rungs are, the fewer 
Americans make it into a disappearing middle class.
  We just weathered the worst recession since the Great Depression, but 
the financial collapse of 2008 was not the cause of the problem, it was 
a symptom of the problem. It was a symptom of a system that is rigged 
to pay off for a few but leave many behind, and it is time to even the 
playing field.
  As we rebuild our economy, let's rebuild it to last. Let's rebuild it 
to work for every American, regardless of the size of their bank 
account. This week, President Obama laid out a vision to do just that.
  The President's plan will spur manufacturing. It is time to reward 
companies that ``make it in America'' and end giveaways to companies 
that ship jobs overseas. It will reduce our reliance on expensive 
foreign oil. It is time to rely on plentiful, homegrown, renewable 
energy sources, in spite of the fact that President Obama said that 
just less than 10 years ago we were importing 60 percent of the oil and 
now it is less than 50 percent. We are producing more oil than we have 
in about a decade, and that is good, but we need to make sure the 
future is one of renewable energy. The plan will ensure that today's 
students have the skills to become tomorrow's workers. That is the only 
way to keep pace in a competitive world economy. And it will return 
this country to the core value that has always made it a great 
country--a country of fairness. Everyone must share the prosperity as 
well as the responsibility, and every person and every corporation must 
play by the same rules. That value encouraged three decades of growth 
after World War II, and it can make America grow again.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to make this vision of fairness a reality.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. 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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