[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 750]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NEW IDEAS FOR AMERICA

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, tonight President Obama will deliver his 
State of the Union Address to outline his plan to make life better for 
middle-income families and those struggling in our strengthening 
economy. I have heard from both sides--Democrats and Republicans--the 
lament that even though many hard-working families are doing their best 
and businesses are more profitable because our workers are more 
productive, a lot of families don't see it in their paychecks. They 
struggle from paycheck to paycheck to pay for the basics in life. So we 
have to ask ourselves: What will we do about this? Will we do anything?
  I worry that the comments just made by the majority leader suggest 
that he is relying on faith alone--faith in our free market system; 
faith in the belief that if we have an expanding economy, which we do, 
and if we have profitability in corporations, which we do, that it will 
translate into a better standard of living for working families. Well, 
it may be an article of faith, but it is one that can be challenged 
because that is exactly what has been happening in America for years. 
The economy has been growing, and we have seen an increase in jobs for 
58 straight months. At the same time, we have noted that working 
families across America don't see any change in their lives. They don't 
see any income change.
  Then we look at the reality. The reality shows that the gap between 
the rich and poor in America just grows larger and larger. We can talk 
separately about the compensation for CEOs and corporations. It is 
reaching record levels--far beyond the excesses of previous moments in 
American economic history.
  What we are finding is that people at the very top of the corporate 
ladder are taking out more money from the economy than the workers who 
are generating the profits they are gleaning. That is not right. The 
President is going to challenge us to get beyond faith in our free 
market system to good works by Congress. He is going to talk about 
specifics--ideas the average family can understand and appreciate, such 
as the earned income tax credit. Here is an effort to say if you are 
working, we will make sure that your tax burden gives you a break so 
that you have additional money for your family to pay for daycare for 
the kids, to make certain you can pay for the utility bills and the 
basics of life. I have joined with Sherrod Brown of Ohio. We want to 
try to make the earned income tax credit available to more and more 
working Americans so we can supplement their income as they struggle to 
get by paycheck to paycheck. That is one of the first ideas we can 
pursue.
  The second initiative the President will address is college 
affordability. There are plenty of critics of the President's plan, but 
I think he has put his finger on reality. We can no longer be satisfied 
by saying it is the responsibility of our society to provide education 
from kindergarten through the grade 12. That doesn't reflect the 
reality of work today. In just a few years, more than a third of the 
jobs across America will require a college degree. What are we doing to 
prepare the workforce in America for 21st century requirements when it 
comes to education? Now, we know what is happening. More and more 
students are getting deeper and deeper in debt, and many are dropping 
out because of it. Those who finish and earn a diploma are saddled with 
a debt which changes their lives. President Obama has said: Let us 
start moving forward to make 2 years of community college a commitment 
in America for those students who are in need, No. 1, and No. 2, are 
willing to meet the standards. And the standards are graduation within 
3 years.
  I look at some of the comments made in criticism of this, and they 
overlook the second part of the President's proposal--that part which 
demands that those students perform in order to receive assistance from 
our government in paying for community college.
  We have to look at a new model in America--in Arkansas, in Illinois, 
and across America--that is a K-14 model. That is reality. Certainly, 
we have to improve the K-12 performance. When two-thirds of community 
college students in many States, including my own, come to community 
colleges not performing at the 12th grade level, there is work to be 
done in the lower grades. But let's assume the obvious: If people want 
a good-paying job in the future, they need additional training. The 
affordable place to go is a community college, and we ought to make 
that a pathway that is affordable for every dedicated, hard-working 
student and their family.
  That isn't all. The President also acknowledges and will acknowledge 
tonight the reality of the housing market. Since 2009, our housing 
market in America has been recovering from a recession. Home building 
has more than doubled, yielding a lot of jobs for construction workers. 
Home prices are going back up. Millions of families whose home value 
was less than what they owed on their mortgage are now turning the 
corner. But for many Americans, buying a home is still out of reach. 
The President plans to reduce the FHA mortgage insurance premiums which 
is going to help responsible Americans afford a home.
  We need faith in our free market but good works by Congress when it 
comes to these essentials. The President is also going to propose a 
Healthy Families Act. Here is something that gets to the reality of 
life for working Americans. It would provide for businesses with 15 or 
more employees up to 7 paid sick days each year. You might say to 
yourself: What is a business going to do with people taking 7 days off 
in sick leave?
  What we found is if the employer will stand behind the employees when 
it comes to the basics such as sick leave, they will get more loyalty 
and more performance from those employees. That is a fair trade. It is 
one the President will propose this evening.
  I would say to the majority leader and those who share his position, 
faith in the free market is a good thing but not enough. We need to 
step in and make sure we have faith in working families, faith in the 
belief that if they can improve their lot in life, if their struggle 
paycheck to paycheck is somehow lessened, we are all going to be better 
off for it. I support the President's message this evening and look 
forward to hearing it delivered.

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