[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 358]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE PRESIDENT'S LEADERSHIP

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, if this were a card game, which it is not, I 
guess what I would do is trump what the Republican leader has said. My 
friend lives in a world that doesn't exist. Let's talk about this 
person named Barack Obama. What has happened under his time in office, 
his 7 years, in spite of the unheard of, unrecognizable Senate that the 
Republicans have created--cloture had to be filed more than 500 times 
because they set out to block everything he wanted--in spite of that, 
the state of the Union now reflects the last 7 years. We have 14 
million private sector jobs that have been created. During the Obama 
years, the economy has grown. The private sector created jobs for 70 
straight months--the longest stretch in the history of our country. 
Unemployment is at 5 percent. When Barack Obama took office, in some 
States it was as much as 14 percent.
  During the years of Barack Obama, 17 million uninsured Americans have 
gained access to health care--17 million--and the number is climbing. 
Renewable energy production has increased significantly. You drive 
across America today and you see wind farms in the middle part of this 
country, and farmers make more money from producing energy on their 
farms than they do harvesting corn and soybeans because of what the 
President suggested and what we legislated in the so-called stimulus 
bill.
  Solar, wind, and geothermal has increased significantly, and it will 
continue to grow more because they have tax incentives now for as long 
as 7 additional years. You know what else we have done--not enough. The 
wealthiest Americans who don't mind paying more than their fair share--
the only people in America today who believe that these rich people 
shouldn't pay a little more are the Republicans in Congress, not 
Republicans around the country, so we made sure the wealthiest pay a 
little bit more.
  We have secured permanent tax relief that will help lift 16 million 
lower income, middle-income families out of poverty. The auto industry 
was on the brink of destruction. General Motors, this icon of American 
industry, was begging for help. Chrysler Motors was begging for help. 
The Republicans said no. We Democrats said yes. We were right. 
Republicans were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created 
in the auto industry. Last year more American cars and trucks were sold 
than any time in the history of our country. Why? Because of Barack 
Obama's leadership.
  Osama bin Laden is gone. He has been killed, and we destroyed and 
degraded terrorist organizations in our Nation. We have more to do. Of 
course we do.
  There have been historic agreements on climate change. We have 
stopped Iran from getting access to nuclear weapons. Within the last 
few days, Iran has shipped 12 tons of uranium out of Iran because of 
Barack Obama. While we have a lot more to do for America on behalf of 
the American people, we can't ignore the progress that has been made.
  My friend talks about the new Senate, and there is a new Senate 
because there is a constructive minority. We Democrats have been 
willing to work with them. The issues that we have been able to pass 
with rare exception have been issues that we should have passed years 
ago but we couldn't because Republicans filibustered and obstructed 
everything we tried to do.
  I repeat: We have a lot more to do for the American people. It is a 
wonderful country, and I am so pleased with the progress we have made 
during the 7 years of Barack Obama.
  Mr. President, I see no one on the floor. Please state the business 
of the day.

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