[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9647-9649]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   FLOOD INSURANCE REFORM AND MODERNIZATION ACT--MOTION TO PROCEED--
                                Resumed

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 250, 
S. 1940.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 250, S. 1940, a bill to 
     amend the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, to restore 
     the financial solvency of the flood insurance fund, and for 
     other purposes.


                                Schedule

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the time until 11 
this morning will be equally divided and controlled. At 11 o'clock 
a.m., we will begin up to 10 rollcall votes. We will complete the farm 
bill today in the early afternoon. We also hope to have a cloture vote 
on the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill today.


                            Working Together

  Mr. President, we come here and lament all the bad things happening 
in the Senate. It is not out of order once in a while to talk about 
some of the good things happening in the Senate. I think we should look 
at it as if, as difficult as it has been to get things done, we are 
making progress. We had that postal bill, which was good work on behalf 
of the Senate. The highway bill worked out extremely well. We have this 
5-year farm bill--very difficult, but it is now near passing, which is 
good for the country.
  We have to make sure before the end of the month we finish our work 
on the Flood Insurance Program, which is so extremely important to the 
country. With the construction picking up a little bit everyplace, we 
have to make sure when a loan is to close it can be closed. Thousands 
of them each day cannot be closed unless we do a renewal of the Flood 
Insurance Program.
  I had a meeting with the Speaker on Tuesday, with Senator Boxer, 
chairman of the committee, Chairman Mica, her counterpart in the House, 
and Senator Inhofe, and we are making progress on the highway bill. I 
feel good about that. Whether we get it done remains to be seen. But 
the House, in an overwhelming vote yesterday--totally bipartisan or 
they could not get the 384 votes--instructed the conferees to come back 
with the bill by tomorrow. Contentious issues have been resolved, and I 
believe we have a shot at getting the highway bill done. That would be 
good for the country and good for the Senate.
  So I appreciate everyone working together. As the Republican leader 
and I have talked, as difficult as it is to work out agreements on the 
bills I have just mentioned--including the farm bill--it is good for 
the Senate.
  I appeared before a committee chaired by Senator Carper, and there as 
the ranking member was Senator Collins. They both indicated today 
before everybody that the spirit on the Senate floor was good 
yesterday.
  That is because everyone can feel we are accomplishing something. 
Some of the votes were difficult, and some we all wish we had not taken 
because they were tough votes. But that is what the Senate is all 
about. So I feel comfortable with the last bit, that we are trying to 
work together for the good of the country.
  I have said lots of times, if we are able to accomplish good as a 
body, everyone can take credit for it. We can go back to our States and 
claim we are part of a victory for the country. But if we do not get it 
done, we are part of the blame and people can go home and lament the 
fact that we have not been

[[Page 9648]]

able to get our work done. People point fingers at us: Why can't you 
get more done?
  So, hopefully, this summer, which started yesterday--in fact, today 
is the longest day of the year--will bring good tidings to the Senate.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is 
recognized.


                      Traditional Senate Operation

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, before the majority leader leaves the 
floor, let me just say I agree entirely that the Senate, it seems to 
me, is sort of getting back to operating the way the Senate 
traditionally has. I think the way Senator Roberts and Senator Stabenow 
have handled the farm bill has been exemplary. Members on both sides 
have gotten opportunities to offer amendments. We have had a lot of 
votes, but it is an important bill.
  So I commend all of those who have been involved in beginning to work 
us back in the direction that I think most of the Senate would be 
comfortable with.
  I also want to thank my friend, the majority leader. He has a tough 
job setting the agenda and deciding how to go about moving legislation. 
I think the way we have handled the farm bill and other measures to 
which he has referred in recent months has been a very important step 
in the right direction.


                           Student Loan Rates

  Mr. President, 3 weeks ago today, Republican leaders in the Senate 
joined Republican leaders in the House in calling on the President to 
resolve a pending increase in student loan rates.
  Drawing on some of the President's own ideas, we proposed multiple 
good-faith solutions to this problem before it is too late. We have 
been waiting ever since for the President's response. He has actually 
been missing in action. He has yet to offer a concrete solution. So you 
can understand our surprise upon learning this morning that the 
President plans to call on Congress later today to do something about 
student loan rates.
  Mr. President, the Republican-led House of Representatives already 
passed a bill that would solve the problem. As I said, Republican 
leaders in the Senate have been on record supporting multiple--
multiple--good-faith solutions to this problem for literally weeks. It 
is actually the Democratic-led Senate that has failed to act, and the 
President who has failed to contribute to a solution. The reason is 
pretty obvious.
  It was reported yesterday that the Democratic Congressional Campaign 
Committee is launching a Web site with a student loan countdown clock 
aimed at raising money off this issue. The implication is that 
Republicans are the ones dragging their feet.
  As for the President? Well, this is just another sad example of the 
election-year strategy of deflection and distraction--deflection and 
distraction.
  College graduates are struggling to find work and pay their bills in 
the Obama economy. He would like them to believe it is somebody else's 
fault.
  Latinos are struggling with high unemployment. He would like them to 
believe the Republicans are the problem.
  Middle-class moms are struggling to make ends meet. He wants them to 
think we are engaged in some phony war on women.
  The President does not have a positive message to send to any of 
these folks, so he is cooking up false controversies to distract them 
from his own failure to turn the economy around.
  Well, on the student loan issue, we could solve this problem in a 
sitting. Republicans have acted quickly, and on a bipartisan basis, to 
help prevent these rates from going up. We have passed a bill out of 
the House. We have reached out to the President. We have proposed 
multiple--multiple--solutions.
  The only reason this issue is not already resolved--the only reason--
is that the President wants to keep it alive a little while longer. He 
thinks it benefits him politically for college students to believe 
somehow we are the problem.
  It is time to stop playing games. It is time for the President to 
act.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.


                       Reservation of Leader Time

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
leadership time is reserved.
  Under the previous order, the time until 11 a.m. will be equally 
divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.
  The Senator from Colorado.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, good morning to you. Good 
morning to my colleagues.


                          PTC for Wind Energy

  I am here again on the Senate floor to urge all of my colleagues to 
vote for an extension of the production tax credit for wind energy, 
otherwise known as the PTC.
  Today, as I have been doing, I will focus on an individual State. I 
am going to look at the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and show all of us 
the promise it holds as a wind energy manufacturing hub, as well as the 
negative effects that will occur if we do not extend the production tax 
credit.
  Pennsylvania has a strong blue-collar background and an extraordinary 
number of highly skilled workers. With those factors, those positive 
elements in Pennsylvania, it has seamlessly transitioned into a wind 
energy powerhouse.
  Look at this map I have in the Chamber of the State of Pennsylvania. 
You will see, from Philadelphia to Rockwood, from Pittsburgh to 
Scranton, there are wind projects all over the State. Those wind 
projects have created good-paying jobs and stability for Pennsylvania 
families.
  Pennsylvania, as I have alluded to, has long been a center of 
manufacturing in the United States, and the wind industry has taken 
note.
  You can see these green circles on this map. Each one of those 
indicates a manufacturing facility that makes parts for wind turbines 
in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. That represents over 20 plants and 
hundreds of employees in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  I would suggest that the State of Pennsylvania is only beginning to 
realize its potential when it comes to the wind energy industry.
  My colleagues know I have been on the Senate floor talking about the 
economic benefits of wind energy. I want to highlight what has happened 
in Pennsylvania.
  If we look at this chart, in Pennsylvania, the wind energy industry 
supports 4,000 jobs. There are 180,000 homes that are powered by wind, 
and there is a conservative $1.4 million in property taxes from wind 
projects that go to local communities.
  So this is an important set of numbers. It is money, particularly on 
the tax side, that helps local communities pay for basic services, and 
it is critical in this time of decreasing local and State budgets.
  If we think about it, all of these figures--the jobs, the revenues, 
the investments--are prime for significant growth going forward. But 
that future and that growth are going to be threatened unless we act, 
unless the Congress acts to extend the production tax credit.
  Just last week, Gamesa--which is a global leader in the manufacturing 
of wind turbines--announced it is ending the development of the Shaffer 
Mountain Wind Farm, which is in northeastern Somerset County. This 
project would have ultimately ended up with 30 new wind turbines, and 
it was planned to come online in 2013. That is just 6 months from now. 
But because of the uncertainty tied to Federal policies, such as the 
production tax credit, Gamesa has sidelined this project.
  In short, our inaction is costing this community jobs, this 
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania jobs. It does not make any sense in the 
current economic environment we now face and as our Nation is 
desperately focused on becoming more energy independent.
  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette made the point that this is the third 
wind project under development that has been stopped--all in the last 
month--just because of the uncertainty we have created here by not 
extending the PTC. These are on-the-ground examples of how 
congressional inaction is costing American jobs and investment.

[[Page 9649]]

  I know the Acting President pro tempore knows this is not a partisan 
or regional issue. There is strong bipartisan support for extending the 
production tax credit, and the wind industry has a presence in almost 
every single State in our country. So if we look at the overall 
picture, this is not the time for companies such as Gamesa to grow, 
reluctant to invest in the future. So we have to expand the PTC. It 
will incent this industry to continue its rapid growth, and it will 
build a strong foundation for a 21st-century clean energy economy.
  So I am again on the floor urging my colleagues to work with me to 
extend the wind production tax credit as soon as possible.
  As I close, I want to highlight an event that is on Capitol Hill 
today where Members, staff, and others can learn more about the 
potential of wind energy, as well as other types of renewable and 
energy-efficient technology.
  That event is the 15th Annual Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency 
EXPO. It is underway all day in the Cannon Caucus Room on the House 
side.
  The bipartisan Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, 
which I cochair along with Senators Lieberman and Crapo, is an honorary 
cohost of the event. I encourage all of us to go over there, look at 
the technologies. They are awe inspiring. They are awesome. They are 
truly the future. When we implement policies that will help these 
technologies penetrate all of these various markets, we are going to 
continue to be a leader in the clean energy economy.
  So I will be back next week to talk about the wind production tax 
credit. I will be here every day until we pass it and extend it.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown of Ohio.) The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, what is the pending business?

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