Volunteer Pilot Organization Protection Act of 2007

Mr. President, I appreciate everyone's courtesy. This is the first experience of mine to go through these procedures. It wasn't as smooth as clockwork, but with staff help it was smooth enough. So I very much appreciate everyone's cooperation as we look forward to this new Congress.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize that the great public is interested more in

Government than in politics.

Franklin Roosevelt, 1940.

I have chosen this line to open this new session of the Senate because the wisdom it imparts is as relevant today as it was 67 years ago.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize that the great public is interested more in

Government than in politics.

The American people are expecting positive results from this 110th Congress, not more partisan rancor. We stand today at the cusp of a new Congress, ready to write a new chapter in our country's great future. It is a time of hope and promise for our Nation. The elections are over, and the next Senate campaigns have yet to begin.

Today we are not candidates; we are U.S. Senators. We 100 are from different States, we 100 represent different people, we 100 represent different political parties, but we share the same mission: keeping our country safe and providing a Government that allows people to enjoy the fruits and prosperity and, of course, our economic freedom.

Last November, the voters sent us a message. They sent this message to Democrats and they sent this message to Republicans: The voters are upset with Congress and the partisan gridlock. The voters want a Government that focuses on their needs. The voters want change. Together, Democrats and Republicans must deliver that change.

No longer can we waste time here in the Capitol while families in America struggle to get ahead. No longer can we here in the Capitol afford to pass the problems of today to Congresses of tomorrow. Those problems, for example, are from keeping families safe to raising the minimum wage to instituting new ethical reforms. We can and we must get to work.

As the new Congress begins, the challenges facing America are complex. They range from a contracted war in Iraq to a health care crisis right here at home, from a middle class that is squeezed to an energy policy that is warming our globe, from a higher education system that has exploded in costs to jobs where benefits have all but disappeared. We Senators can make a difference in each of these areas if we remember we are here to fight for our country, not with each other.

The majority, my party, holds a very slim margin--51 to 49. Some may look at this as a composition for gridlock, a recipe for gridlock, but I see this as a unique opportunity. I guarantee everyone in this Chamber that the American people are hoping it is a unique opportunity--an opportunity for Democrats, an opportunity for Republicans--to debate our differences and seek common ground. We must turn the page on partisanship and usher in a new era of bipartisan progress. How can we achieve progress? By doing things differently than they have been done in recent years.

One, we must--I repeat again and again--work together.

Second, we are going to have to work here in Washington, in the Senate, longer hours. Factory workers, shopkeepers in America's malls, schoolteachers, police officers, miners, welders, and business men and women work at least 5 days a week. Shouldn't we here in Washington, where we do our business, in this laboratory we call the Senate, do the same?

Three, we will achieve progress by working on an agenda that reflects not the needs of Democrats, not the needs

of Republicans, but the needs of the people of this great country.

Today Democrats may be in charge of the Senate and the House of Representatives, but we in the Senate are committed to bipartisanship. We found that a one-party town simply doesn't work. We know from experience that majorities come and they go. Majorities are very fragile, and majorities must work with minorities to make that lasting change.

In this body, the U.S. Senate, nothing can be accomplished unless we reach across the aisle--not one way but both ways. It is because when our Founding Fathers created the Senate 219 years ago, they carved out a special place for the minority. See, the Framers of this Constitution knew that majorities can always take care of themselves. Majorities didn't need help as defined in the Constitution. But this Constitution takes care of minorities because they can't always take care of themselves. The Founding Fathers created an institution that protects this minority, and we will respect our Constitution and those protections.

I have talked with Senator Mitch McConnell, the senior Senator from the great State of Kentucky. He is the minority leader. He is my friend. In the months and years that go forward, we will become even closer because he has learned, and I have learned, through adversity we grow together. I am committed to working with him, and I know he is committed to working with me. We as Democrats are committed to working with Republicans and Republicans are committed to working with us.

Does this mean there are going to be no bumps in the road? Of course there will be bumps in the road. We are in the Senate. The Founding Fathers wanted bumps in the road.

This morning, at 9 o'clock in the Old Senate Chamber, we held a rare joint caucus. It was an opportunity for us to look across the rows at each other and understand that the Senate is a place where we have to work in a bipartisan fashion.

We in the majority, we Democrats, are committed to working with our President, President Bush. He has pledged to work with Democrats. He has pledged to me personally that he would work to make progress.

We are not going to talk about what went on for the past 6-plus years. What I have discussed with the President, as late as last night, is what we are going to do for the next 22 months together. There are 22 months left in this Presidential term. The President, I know, wants to accomplish things. I want to accomplish things. He has to work with us and we have to work with him or jointly we do nothing to help our country.

As I have said, we are going to work longer hours, we are going to work full weeks, we are going to have votes on Mondays and Fridays. None of us are happy because all but 10 Senators here participated in the last Congress, the so-called do-nothing Congress. We are not proud of that fact. We spent less time working than any Congress in modern history. Some days the sessions lasted a matter of minutes. In this Congress, legislative days will be real workdays.

The extra days will help our committees. The foundation of this institution, the Senate, is the committee system. It has worked from the beginning of our great Republic, but it hasn't worked so well lately. But it now is going to have an opportunity to work better. Our committees will have the time they need to put their expertise to use.

The best legislation with the broadest possible support always comes from our committees. In the Senate, we have chairmen and ranking members with years of experience: Ted Kennedy and Mike Enzi on the HELP Committee; Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley on the Finance Committee; Joe Biden and Dick Lugar on the Foreign Relations Committee; Carl Levin and John McCain on the Armed Services Committee; Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter on the Judiciary Committee. And on and on. These names speak of their broad experience and their ability to get things done for our country, but it must come through the committee process.

As all my Democrats know, when I assumed the job as Democratic leader, I told every ranking member that those committees had to function and I was going to let them function, and I have done that for 2 years. Now there is going to be more time for them to produce legislation. They are no longer ranking members, they are Chairs, but they cannot succeed unless they work with their ranking members.

Our committees will have the time to do a number of tasks, but the one item they need to do is conduct strong oversight. This is not a negative term. Oversight is good. It is important to find out what Federal agencies are doing, to listen to what the people who work there have to say. Congressional oversight is a responsibility that has been abdicated in recent years. Oversight is important for our country, not so we can point fingers or cast blame, but answer difficult questions and find lasting solutions to the enormous challenges we have. Everyone focuses on Iraq--of course, that is a very difficult problem--but there are many other problems that face this great country. The war in Iraq will cast a long shadow over the Senate's work this year. No issue in our country is more important than finding an end to that war. We will be listening very closely to President Bush when he comes forward with his plan next week. The President's new plan must ensure that Iraq takes responsibility for its own future and remove our troops from this civil war. Completing the mission in Iraq is the President's job and we will do everything to assist the Commander in Chief to ensure his responsibilities.

Finally, the Senate will achieve progress for our Nation by ensuring the Senate calendar reflects America's needs. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to receiving input from the minority. This afternoon, as is the tradition in the Senate, I will present an overview of the Democrats' legislative agenda, bills S. 1 through S. 10. Following the tradition of the Senate, my friend, the distinguished minority leader, Senator McConnell, will offer bills S. 11 through S. 20 whenever he feels it appropriate.

In the first 10 bills we will introduce this afternoon, and in our ongoing oversight of the war in Iraq, we intend to address these priorities, basically three of them: one, providing real security; two, restoring transparency, accountability, and responsibility in the United States Government; and three, helping working Americans get ahead by boosting wages and cutting costs in health care, education, and energy.

We begin with S. 1, our plan to change the way Washington works. It was late 2005 when scandals involving lobbyists and lawmakers shocked the very core of this Nation. Despite the Senate's best attempts on a bipartisan basis, here we are 2 years later and still no reform of ethics, lobbying, and earmarks. The American people deserve better. That is why as our first order of business we will seek to give Americans the open and accountable government they deserve. We will start Monday with a bipartisan bill cosponsored by Reid and McConnell. I think that is a pretty good start. We will start with the ethics bill that passed the Senate last year. Now, had that bill passed, which it didn't, it would have been the most significant reform since Watergate in lobbying and ethics reform. It didn't pass. Some people minimized our starting point. I maximize our starting point. This bill included important provisions in many areas, but it was not allowed to proceed because of what took place on the other side of the Capitol. This year, we will improve that legislation and make additional reforms.

This legislation will include reforms to slow the revolving door between Government jobs and lucrative employment with special interests. It will eliminate gifts paid for by lobbyists and interests that hire lobbyists. It will limit privately funded travel such as that of the notorious golf junkets to Scotland. It will increase disclosure requirements so the public will be better informed about the activities of lobbyists. And it will increase penalties for those who seek to break the rules. I lay and spread across this Record how grateful I am that the distinguished minority leader has agreed to cosponsor this legislation. I think it sends the right message to America.

With these reforms, which I am confident will pass, we will help ensure America has a government that is good and honest as the people it serves.

Mr. President, I send S. 1 to the desk and ask for its appropriate referral.

The bill is at the desk. I am told that the bill is at the desk and we choose not to rule XIV it at this stage.

Mr. President, S. 2 is our plan to increase the wages of working families by raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. It has been 10 years since the minimum wage was last increased. In that time, the cost of gas, to say the least, has increased. The cost of food has increased. The cost of health care has increased. Even the salaries of Members of Congress have increased. In fact, the salaries of Members of Congress in the last 10 years have increased 9 times, by more than $30,000. But through all of this, the minimum wage has stayed the same. It is long past time America's workers received a raise as well.

Today, a mother or father can work full time for the minimum wage but still live $5,000 below the poverty level. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest level since 1955. S. 2 will directly raise the pay of nearly 7 million Americans by more than $4,000 and by setting a new salary floor that will indirectly boost the wages of 8 million more workers. That increase is enough to provide nearly 2 years of childcare, full tuition for a community college degree, over a year's worth of heat and electricity or more than 9 months of rent.

During the minimum wage debate we will also likely consider giving small businesses some tax relief. In fact, as we speak, Senator McConnell's staff and my staff are working, along with Senator Enzi, Senator Grassley, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Baucus, to see if we can have a minimum wage bill that he and I will cosponsor and bring before the Senate. We are working on that.

S. 2 is at the desk, and it will be reported at the appropriate time.

S. 3 is our plan to reduce drug costs for seniors. The flaws in the Medicare drug program are well documented, but many can be traced back to one simple fact: The law as written puts drug companies ahead of America's aging. No matter whether we supported or opposed that law-- that is, the one that created Medicare drug benefits--we all want to improve the program for older Americans and people with disabilities. It is our obligation to do so. Now the Federal Government, with the millions of seniors it represents through Medicare, is unable to negotiate for lower drug prices. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries are hostages to insurance companies, drug companies, and managed care entities like HMOs. S. 3 is at the desk.

S. 4 is our plan to make America safer by fully implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Following September 11, 2001, the country turned to a respected, bipartisan group--the 9/11 Commission--to review the lessons of that terrible day and to recommend better ways to fight the war on terror. Two American patriots chaired that independent bipartisan commission: Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana and former Governor Tom Kean of New Jersey. They did a remarkably good job in a period of 1 year. We realized we didn't need Democratic solutions or Republican solutions to keep people safe; we needed bipartisan American solutions to keep us safe. The Commission did a wonderful job and made a number of recommendations. Some were implemented, others weren't. I was the manager, along with my distinguished colleague, the minority leader, of the bill that was brought before the Senate.

One year ago, the Commission delivered a report card grading the Government's progress in implementing its solutions. Among the grades given by that commission were 12 Ds, 5 Fs, and two incompletes. I say, try taking those grades home to your parents. These grades made clear we still have not done enough to make America safe. We have work to do, and this legislation will step toward in fulfilling the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Specifically, it will reinvigorate the fight against Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, and the ideologies of violent extremists. It will enhance the security of our transportation system and our ports. It will provide America's first responders with the technology they need to communicate with each other during a crisis, and it will make it a priority to secure loose nukes around the world.

Finishing the job of implementing 9/11 Commission recommendations will not by itself win the war on terror or guarantee 100-percent complete security for the people of our country, but we hope with our legislation to improve on the worst of those grades, those Ds and Fs and incompletes, so the American people can have every confidence that Congress and the White House are taking every step--every step possible--to keep America safe. S. 4 is at the desk.

S. 5 is the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of this year, 2007. It is legislation we seek to pass so that American scientists will find cures--allow them to find cures for dread diseases that affect millions of our fellow countrymen. Today, there are people all across America suffering from debilitating diseases that stem cell research would cure. For these Americans, stem cell research is an area of science that offers hope, if only we in Washington would allow this hope to flourish. Last year, Congress passed legislation promoting stem cell research, only to see it vetoed by our President. This year, we will consider the legislation again, and on behalf of millions of Americans looking for cures, looking for relief, we urge our President to reconsider his veto. S. 5 is at the desk.

S. 6 is our plan to promote energy independence so we can enhance America's security and begin to deal with the threat--the threat--of global warming. I, with five of my Senate colleagues, traveled last week to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Bolivia. We were in Ecuador and Peru. They told us, the most diverse Nation in the world, the most ecologically diverse Nation in the world--Ecuador--that the glaciers are melting Ecuador, rapidly. For too long our country's energy policy has had only one concern: oil company profits--$34 billion for Exxon and the other companies, international cartels, not far behind. We have allowed Exxon's bottom line to take priority over families struggling at the gas pump and the harmful effects of global warming. So in an effort to begin to solve this energy crisis, our sixth bill takes an aggressive approach to reducing America's dependence on oil, especially foreign oil, and putting more advanced technologies in the hands of consumers. It will boost production of electricity from solar, geothermal, and other renewable resources that are abundant in States such as Nevada, and it will grow our Nation's renewable energy jobs and manufacturing base. Freeing ourselves from oil is a tremendous challenge, but it is one we cannot afford to ignore. Remember: Unstable regimes around the world use our petro dollars to pay for international terror, to fund it, and pursue their despotic goals. So energy independence is not only energy independence, it is security. S. 6 is at the desk.

S. 7 is the College Opportunity Act, our plan to make college more affordable for middle-class families. In America today, a college education is more important than ever. Unfortunately, it is also far more expensive than ever. Today, too many families are being squeezed trying to put their children through school. In the last 6 years, the cost of college has increased by 52 percent. Federal assistance has declined, especially in the form of Pell grants. Our legislation will reverse this trend by raising the maximum Pell grant award. It will also assist families by lowering interest rates for student loans and expanding tax breaks for college costs. S. 7 is at the desk.

S. 8 is Rebuilding America's Military Act. As we speak, there is not a single nondeployed Army unit that is battle ready. The wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, the war on terror, have been terribly devastating to our military. These brave men and women have done the very best any fighting force could do. But because of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. militarily is strained to levels not seen since Vietnam. While our troops remain the finest in the world, infrastructure is crumbling around them. Nearly all of our combat divisions have been deployed and two-thirds of our Army combat brigades are not ready for combat. GEN Peter Schoomaker, the Chief of Staff of the Army, testified last month, ``At this pace . . . we will break the active component'' of the U.S. Army.

We, also, have National Guard, Reserve and Active-Duty veterans coming back in droves to America without sufficient help for their health care and certainly not their education.

If we want real security, we must rebuild the U.S. military and ensure it remains the best fighting force in the world. S. 8 is at the desk.

S. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform. I had friends and colleagues, staff, ask: Why are you bringing up this controversial subject on the first day of Congress? It has to be brought up. Immigration is a problem that affects this Nation. Last year, we passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate. There are parts of that bill I didn't like, but we passed a bill. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics, again in the other body. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again this year. Our immigration system is broken. Does anyone dispute this? Our borders remain unsecured. Does anyone dispute that? Our laws remain underenforced. Does anyone dispute that? Does anyone dispute the fact that we have 11 million people with bad papers who are here illegally? Does anyone dispute that? No. So our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it will secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay down a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here. There is no amnesty. If there were ever an example of the need for bipartisanship, it is on immigration because it is going to be hard, but it is something that we have to do. S. 9 is at the desk.

Finally, S. 10 will reinstate pay-as-you-go rules to the budget process. This does not sound very politically sexy, to talk about pay as you go. But as most know, the Senate used to operate under a rule called pay as you go. This simple proposition demanded that when we increased spending or cut taxes we had to pay for it. It is a commonsense principle families all across America practice when they balance their checkbooks. Pay-go was in place in the Senate in the 1990s, when our country experienced unprecedented levels of economic growth and vitality. Remember, it can be done. In the last years of the Clinton administration, we paid down the national debt by almost a half trillion dollars. Unfortunately, the rule disappeared in recent years and the results have been disastrous: $9 trillion in debt; the largest deficits, of course, in our history; foreign debt that has more than doubled, giving unprecedented control to countries such as Saudi Arabia and China. We are even borrowing money from Mexico. These countries should not have the unprecedented control of our economic destiny. We are facing a fiscal nightmare that will not go away this Congress, and it will handicap our ability in all we need to do in so many different areas. With pay-go in place, we will begin to set America on the right track.

I have been in Congress going on 25 years. In my 25 years, I witnessed many fine moments in our Senate's history. But I believe in my State, in the Senate, and in the House, the days following 9/11 are what America is all about. It was a national tragedy, but it brought out the best in us, the best in Members of Congress, the best in the American people. Democrats and Republicans from all over America put aside our differences and worked with the administration to protect our country. That day showed the Government working as the Founders intended. This year we must work on the same bipartisan basis, the same fashion.

It should not take a national tragedy for us to work together. We should be equally united by our ability to make a positive difference in the lives of the people who sent us here. Today is that beginning. This year let us work side by side and succeed together.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize the great public is interested more in government

than politics.

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1940.

Mr. President, we have heard my good friend, the majority leader, describe the first 10 bills of the majority in the new Congress. I would say for the information of all of our colleagues, the procedure in the Senate Republican conference is for the conference itself to designate our first 10 bills. We will be doing that at a meeting to occur in the next few weeks. We have essentially reserved the numbers S. 11 through S. 20 which will reflect our priorities for this Congress.

Let me say at the outset, before giving my opening remarks, how much I value the friendship and relationship I have with the distinguished majority leader. I believe we had an excellent session this morning in the old Senate Chamber, and we look forward to getting off to a good start.

Today is the 110th time in our Nation's history that we begin a new session of Congress. This is a day to renew our purpose, to set a sturdy course for the important work ahead, and to ask ourselves: What will future generations say of the 110th Congress? This is the first day of that Congress. What will they say of us on the last day?

The Senate has a unique role in our Government. It always has. It is a place where the two great political parties must work together if a common goal is to be reached. It is the legislative embodiment of individual and minority rights, a place where the careful design, crafted by our Founding Fathers, pretty much operates today the way they planned it 220 years ago.

We saw this 43 years ago with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the two parties forged a difficult alliance to reach a great goal. Segregated buses and lunch counters are difficult to fathom now, but their end only came about through the kind of cooperative resolution that has marked this body from the start.

At its best, the Senate is a workshop where difficult challenges, such as civil rights, are faced squarely--and addressed--with good will and careful, principled agreement. At a time such as our own, when so many issues of consequence press upon us, it must be nothing less.

Yet the challenges ahead will not be met if we do nothing to overcome the partisanship that has come to characterize this body over the past several years. A culture of partisanship over principle represents a grave threat to the Senate's best tradition as a place of constructive cooperation. It undermines the spirit and the purpose of this institution, and we must do something to reverse its course.

The Senate can accomplish great things over the next 2 years, but this opportunity will surely slip from our grasp if we do not commit ourselves to a restoration of civility and common purpose. So as we open this session, I stake my party to a pledge: When faced with an urgent issue, we will act; when faced with a problem, we will seek solutions, not mere political advantage.

The Framers thought a lot about the kind of people who would sit behind these desks on the floor and they set down some simple rules. Senators should be older than their House colleagues. They should serve longer terms, and proportional representation ensures that all States have an equal say, regardless of size. The Senate was also conceived to be a place of civil debate and good will.

Mike Mansfield showed grace and humility in his efforts to expand civil rights. Working with Republicans to offset resistance in his own party, he guided passage of the great Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s and even let a Republican take the credit. In fact, today the name Everett Dirksen may actually be better known, but historians know better.

Mansfield's collegial spirit didn't just surface when it served his purposes. Historians tell us his first appointment each day was breakfast with Senator George Aiken, a Republican from Vermont. The two men met when one of Aiken's aides spotted Mansfield alone, pushing a tray down the cafeteria line in the Capitol. She asked the new Senator if he wanted to join her and her boss for lunch, and he did. The two men remained close friends for 25 years. A small act of kindness set the tone.

Cooperation among parties is not so distant a memory that some of us can't recall Democrats and Republicans working together to pass President Reagan's tax cuts in the early 1980s. That common effort led to the greatest economic expansion of our history--the American miracle, they called it.

We saw the spirit of cooperation again in the 1990s, when a Republican-led Senate worked with the Democrats, including President Clinton, to reform welfare. And we have seen it in recent years, though less frequently, on issues such as tort reform and the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

We used to say that Senators were friends after 5 o'clock. We need more of that if we are going to restore this body to its high purpose. The Senate is not a club nor a clique. It is a group of men and women charged with the solemn duty to support and defend the Constitution against its enemies. George Mitchell once called the Senate a single body made up of 100 independent contractors. Yet he earned the respect of his colleagues by his willingness to listen, to work together, to take risks. He knew when to put self-interest aside. He knew the role of the Senate.

The risks we face today are grave, and facing them will require greater unity and civility than we have been used to around here lately. But drawing on the examples of the past and conscious of this body's historic role, we can again rise out of our party trenches and work together for the good of all.

This morning the Democrats and Republicans got together in the old Senate Chamber, an ornate, rather small room compared to this one, that always reminds me of the promise of this Nation in its early days. I would like to see, in this small act of bipartisanship, a sign of restoration to come.

The work of restoration should start with the things that are easiest to do because a victory in small things now will lead to big victories later. The Senate has not approved a minimum wage increase in more than a decade, but we are willing to work together toward that end. We believe that an increase needs to help both the workers who earn it and the small businesses that pay it.

It just makes sense to pair the increased wage with tax and regulatory relief, so the small businesses that create most of the new jobs in this country can remain competitive and employ even more people. We can get this done.

The voters told us in November that they expect more from us. One concrete thing we can do to restore their trust is common sense lobbying reform. The first bill I will sponsor as the Republican leader, in cooperation with the majority leader, is aimed at precisely that. The voters want honest government. We can get this done too.

Two issues. Two issues we can move on carefully but quickly. Let's get them done.

After that, I challenge this body to be daring. The Senate has no claim on greatness unless its power is put to great ends. Divided government demands that we must work together. So let us do so not only for ends that are easily within our grasp, but for those worthy things that have just eluded us in the past.

Social Security is an issue on which Americans demand action--yet many fear what action might mean.

Our job is not to play into those fears but to erase them. To show voters that the greatest cause for fear is the system in its current, unsustainable form. Everyone in this Chamber knows the facts. So let's be honest brokers--and strengthen Social Security before this Congress ends.

Today, the 110th Congress begins. But before it ends, the first great wave of babyboomers will retire. Over the next two decades, more than 77 million people will leave the workforce even as fewer new workers join it. And by the time they all leave, there will be only two American workers supporting each retiree.

This is clearly unsustainable. Unless we reform the system, we have a choice: Either our children work longer and harder or our parents live with less.

The Senate cannot sit idly by as this demographic reality takes shape. Rather, we must do the hard work we were elected to do. We must make our money work harder for our parents and our children, and so we need to reform Social Security now.

The Framers knew we would have to make tough decisions. That's why they didn't want Senators to be elected by popular vote. The system they devised had its own problems, so we changed it.

But the principle was sound: the right decision is not always the easiest one. We have an obligation to address the important issues of the day, in a spirit of cooperation and courage, and with a goal of accomplishment for all Americans.

Immigration is one the most pressing issues of our day. We should be daring about immigration reform--and act on it soon. The voters demand it. We have a duty to deliver.

Americans are generous, eager to welcome strangers and happy when they prosper. Yet we know that the blessings of liberty depend on respect for the law and a common national culture. We can ensure both even as we welcome those who come here looking for a better life.

Laws that are generous need not be lax. And a country that is not secure at its borders is not secure in its laws. Border security and other law enforcement professionals must have the tools they need to keep our borders--and our laws--strong.

America has not seen a domestic terrorist attack since we committed ourselves to the global war on terror. That is not an accident, some quirk of fate. Rather, it is due to the hard work of spotting and disrupting threats before they strike.

The indisputable success of these efforts is the greatest argument we have to continue to support them--and to make sure those who secure the homeland are fully equipped to continue the outstanding work they have done.

One of the principles that has guided our efforts in the war on terror is that terrorism must be fought at a distance or it will be fought in our streets.

This policy has worked--and we must ensure that it continues to work by giving the men and women who carry out that mission every day all the tools they need.

One of those tools is the terrorist surveillance program. If terrorists are calling the United States, we should know what they're talking about. This program has saved lives. And we would endanger others by ending it.

Al-Qaida is not a threat to Republicans; it's not a threat to Democrats--it is a threat to America. And the Senate must work together as we prepare for the long struggle ahead.

We must use all the tools we have: diplomacy, intelligence, economic and military might. The men and women of the Armed Forces have sacrificed much in battle. Their families have made great quiet sacrifices at home. We will honor both by pledging that the American Armed Forces will remain the best equipped, best trained, and best prepared in the world.

And very soon, we will return to the issue of Iraq. It is my hope, and my challenge to this body, that the debate will be based on what's best for the future of our Nation and for Iraq--not what's best for the Republican party or the Democratic party.

The Senate must be bold in preparing Americans for the struggle ahead. Our Nation's security depends on secure borders and a strong fighting force. It also depends on energy independence. So we must continue to work hard to decrease our reliance on foreign sources of energy.

We laid a solid foundation during the last Congress, with passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and, just last month, with the enactment of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Both measures were passed with bipartisan support, and both will decrease our dangerous dependence on foreign oil and gas.

There is more that we can do both to increase domestic supply and decrease our demand for foreign energy. The United States has an abundance of coal and remains a leader in nuclear technology. We should focus attention on using these natural resources safely, cleanly, and efficiently.

We cannot go back on the gains we made in the last Congress. And I will work with my colleagues to continue this vital work.

If the restoration of our purpose does not lead those of us in the Senate to be daring, then our prosperity should.

Republicans presided over 4 years of economic growth; the biggest housing

boom since World War II; and an unemployment rate that has stayed at or below 5 percent for more than 15 months. The current rate of 4.5 percent is just remarkable.

The crash of 2000 yielded to gains that have sent the Dow Jones Industrial average to an all-time high. We have created more than 7 million jobs since August 2003. These gains are no accident. They are the result of the stimulative tax relief we passed. These policies clearly worked, and they should be kept in place.

Republicans used the strong economic climate to cut the deficit. We cut it in half even more quickly than anyone thought we would. And working together, across the aisle, we must continue that trend and balance the budget within 5 years.

Another focus of this Congress is the overwhelmingly popular and effective prescription drug relief for seniors. President Bush and the Republican Congress gave seniors the Medicare prescription drug care benefit they had waited on for decades. We cannot ``scrap'' this program, as some would like. And we will oppose any effort to do so.

A spirit of cooperation will lead to a heightened respect for fairness--and ensure that the same number of judicial nominees that were confirmed in the final years of the last three administrations are confirmed in the last 2 years of this one.

Americans want judges to uphold the original intent of the Constitution, not rewrite it. Judicial activism has divided the courts, the Congress, and the Nation for too long. If our work of restoration and a new civility is to take hold, we must recommit ourselves to the ideal of judicial restraint.

Like the three Presidents before him, President Bush will spend his last 2 years in office with the opposition party in control of the Senate. Like them, he has a right to expect that his nominees will receive an up-or-down vote.

The voters recently sent us a message. They told us to solve the problems that face this Nation. They expect us to win the wars we wage. And they expect us to be men and women of principle.

The people of Kentucky gave me the great honor of my life when they first elected me to the Senate. And I have gone about my work here with them foremost in my mind.

I have fought hard to advance and protect the values that matter most to the people of my State.

It is because of another election that I stand here today. I am honored that my colleagues chose me to lead them at this important moment in our history. I take my duty seriously.

I am filled today with a sense of purpose--for party, yes, but for this institution and for our Nation first, for their renewal.

Elections are about ideas, and here are some I hold most dear.

I believe the state exists to serve individuals and families, not the other way around.

I believe everyone fortunate enough to call himself or herself an American should be able to pursue their dreams freely.

I believe God has blessed this country richly, and that the proper response to the gift of freedom is to defend it.

And I believe that the first duty of Government is the defense and protection of its citizens.

So I am eager to work with my colleagues to find bold solutions to big problems. Yet on some things I will not yield.

I will never agree to proposals that weaken the security of our citizens at home or the capabilities of our Armed Forces abroad.

I will never agree to a tax increase on working families or small businesses. Our economy is strong because of the hard work and enterprise of Americans. We will not undermine that spirit by taxing it.

I will never agree to retreat from our responsibility to confirm qualified judicial nominees.

Bipartisanship, cooperation and accomplishment; yes. Civility; yes. But we will remain true to our principles.

Henry Clay was a great Kentuckian. He spent the last 2 years of his life using the tools of the Senate to save his country. His devotion to the cause of national unity was so great that one rival called it ``a crowning grace'' to Clay's public life.

Clay shows us that divided government need not be divisive. Indeed, it often leads to historic agreements that unity governments have little incentive to achieve.

And so, working together, forgetting past grievances, forging new alliances, we can solve the difficult issues of the day. This is the purpose of the Senate and the privilege of its Members.

If our steps are guided by this simple principle, then this 110th Congress will have met its responsibility on behalf of all Americans, and strengthened this institution for the unseen challenges that will always lie ahead.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, while we are facing new difficulties in the mortgage and subprime markets, we cannot forget the ongoing and deepening crisis that affordable rental housing presents for our Nation. Long-term changes in the housing market have dramatically limited the availability of affordable rental housing across the country and have severely increased the cost of rental housing that remains. As a result, more and more families are forced to pay more than 50 percent of their income for housing. In 2005, a record 37.3 million households paid more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, according to the Nation's Housing 2007 Report from the Joint Center

for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Approximately 17 million families paid more than half of their incomes on housing costs. This is unacceptable. Our Nation must act to ease this rental housing crisis by producing more affordable housing options.

We can no longer ignore the lack of affordable housing and the impact it is having on families and children around the country. I believe it is time for our Nation to take a new path--one that insures that all Americans, especially our poorest children, have the opportunity to live in decent and safe housing.

Housing construction is a critical part of our economy. Unfortunately, just yesterday the Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes dropped by 5.5 percent last month, the lowest level since April 1991. The overall construction decline left home building 24.2 percent below the level of activity a year ago. Residential construction has seen the largest share of job losses, more than 192,000 since March 2006.

The question is, what do we do today to face--and to finance--this mounting challenge?

In September 2000, I wrote and introduced the original National Affordable Housing Trust Fund legislation. Today, along with Senator Snowe, I am again proposing to address the severe shortage of affordable housing by introducing legislation that will establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund and begin a rental housing production program.

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund that is established in this legislation would create a production program that will ensure 1.5 million new rental units are built over the next 10 years for extremely low-income families and working families. The goal is to create long- term affordable, mixed-income developments in areas with the greatest opportunities for low-income families. Sixty percent of Trust Fund assistance will be awarded to participating local jurisdictions. Forty percent of Trust Fund assistance will be awarded to States, Indian Tribes and insular areas. A proportionate amount of funds to the States must go to rural areas. If the total amount available for the Trust Fund is less than $2 billion, then there is a $750,000 minimum funding threshold for local jurisdictions.

All funding from the Trust Fund must be used for low-income families, defined as those families with incomes below 80 percent of the State or local median income. However, if the funding for the trust fund is less than $2 billion for any year, then the income ceiling is reduced to 60 percent of local median income.

The funding from the Trust Fund can be used for construction, rehabilitation, acquisition, preservation incentives, and operating assistance to ease the affordable housing crisis. Funds can also be used for downpayment and closing cost assistance by first time homebuyers.

The Trust Fund will be funded through amounts transferred from the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation under Title XIII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. It will also be funded through any amounts appropriated under the authorization in the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, relating to the use of FHA savings for an affordable housing grant program. Finally, the Trust Fund will be funded through any amounts as are or may be appropriated, transferred or credited to such fund under any other provisions of law.

The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund bill is cosponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators. Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed legislation, introduced by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, to establish a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund by a 264-148 vote. It has been endorsed by more than 5,700 community organizations led by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition and including the National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Builders, Children's Defense Fund, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Coalition for the Homeless, and others. I am pleased that Senator Reed, within the Government Sponsored Enterprise Mission Improvement Act, included legislative language within the Affordable Housing Block Grant section to provide grants to an Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Enacting the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund will help reverse the recent declines in housing jobs, starts, permits and construction in every State. It will help small businesses across the Nation continue to produce the jobs that are critical to our economic security today and in the future.

During this time of rising rents, increased housing costs, and the loss of affordable housing units, it is incomprehensible that we are not doing more to increase the amount of housing assistance available to working families. The need for affordable housing is severe. Many working families have been unable to keep up with the increase in housing costs. In 2005, one in seven households was considered to be ``severely housing cost burdened.''

For too many low-income families and their children, the cost of privately owned rental housing is simply out of reach. Today, working families in this country increasingly find themselves unable to afford housing. According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, in Massachusetts, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is almost $1,200 per month. In order to afford this apartment without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn over $47,000 per year. This means teachers, janitors, social workers, police officers and other full-time workers are having trouble affording even a modest two-bedroom apartment.

The cost of rental housing keeps going up. According to the Consumer Price Index, CPI, contract rents began to rise above the rate of inflation in 1997 and have continued every year since. Rental costs have outpaced renter income gains for households across the board. Low wage workers have been hardest hit by the increase in the cost of rental housing.

Because of the lack of affordable housing, too many families are forced to live in substandard living conditions putting their children at risk. Children living in substandard housing are more likely to experience violence, hunger, lead poisoning and to suffer from infectious diseases such as asthma. They are more likely to have difficulties learning and more likely to fall behind in school. Our Nation's children depend upon access to affordable rental housing.

At the same time the cost of rental housing has been increasing, there has been a significant decrease in the number of affordable rental housing units. According to Real Capital Analytics, the number of rentals in larger multifamily properties converted to for-sale units jumped from just a few thousand in 2003 to 235,000 in 2005. New construction of multifamily buildings intended for rental use dipped from 262,000 units in 2003 to 184,000 in 2006. Simultaneously, the number of renter households increased by 1.2 million. The decline in affordable rental units has already forced many working families eligible for Section 8 vouchers in Boston to live outside the city because there are no available rental housing units that accept vouchers.

The loss of affordable housing has exacerbated the housing crisis in this country, and the Federal Government must take action. We need to enact the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to jumpstart the production of affordable housing in the U.S.

Decent housing, along with neighborhood and living environment, play enormous roles in shaping young lives. Federal housing assistance over the past generation has helped millions of low-income children across the Nation and has helped in developing stable home environments. However, changes in the housing market clearly show that we need to take additional steps to both produce and maintain affordable housing units. Otherwise, many more children and their families will live in substandard housing or will become homeless. These children are less likely to do well in school and less likely to be productive citizens. They deserve our best efforts and require our help.

I ask all Senators to support the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce an important piece of legislation, the MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2007. This legislation will provide health insurance for every child in the U.S. by 2014, regardless of family income. My long-time friend from California, Congressman Stark, introduced companion legislation earlier this year in the House. He has worked tirelessly to improve access to health care for all Americans, and I am pleased to join him once again to advocate on behalf of America's children.

This past year, the majority in Congress made it clear that improving health care access for children was a priority. I proudly worked with my colleagues in a truly bipartisan fashion to reauthorize and expand the Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, to meet the serious health care needs of children in a very cost-effective manner. This legislation, which had the support of Democrats and Republicans in both chambers of Congress, would have maintained health insurance coverage for the over 6 million children currently enrolled and expanded health insurance coverage to an additional 4 million uninsured children. Unfortunately, the President, in vetoing this legislation not once, but twice, has shown the nation that providing health insurance to children is simply not a priority. I am outraged by the President's decision to veto this legislation multiple times, but I remain committed to making health insurance a reality for all children.

Congressman Stark and I have introduced our MediKids legislation in each of the last four Congresses because we know how vital health insurance is to a child. Children with untreated illnesses are more likely to miss school, leaving them at a disadvantage both in their health and education. Also, parents with sick children must miss work to care for them. These factors make it less likely uninsured children will move out of poverty and present significant barriers to becoming productive members of society. We can have a positive impact on our children's lives today, as well as tomorrow, by guaranteeing health insurance coverage for all. Children are inexpensive to insure, but the rewards for providing them with health care during their early education and development years are invaluable.

Despite the well-documented benefits of providing health insurance coverage for children, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, there are still over 9 million uninsured children in America. We can and must do better. Our children are our future. No child in this country should ever be without access to health care. This is why I am proud to reintroduce the MediKids Health Insurance Act.

This legislation is a clear investment in our future--our children. Every child would be automatically enrolled at birth into a new, comprehensive federal safety net health insurance program beginning in 2009. The benefits would be tailored to meet the needs of children and would be similar to those currently avable to chldren through the Medicaid Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment, EPSDT, program. Families below 150 percent of poverty would pay no premiums or copayments, while those between 150 and 300 percent of poverty would pay graduated premiums up to 5 percent of income and a graduated refundable tax credit for cost sharing. Families above 300 percent of poverty would pay a small premium equivalent to \1/4\ of the average annual cost per child. There would be no cost sharing for preventive or well-child visits for any child.

MediKids children would remain enrolled in the program throughout childhood. When families move to another state, Medikids would be available until parents enroll their children in a new insurance program. Between jobs or during family crises, Medikids would offer extra security and ensure continuous health coverage to our Nation's children. During the critical period when a family climbs out of poverty and out of the eligibility range for means-tested assistance programs, MediKids would fill in the gaps as parents move into jobs that provide reliable health insurance coverage. Our program rests on the premise that whenever other sources of health insurance fail, MediKids would stand ready to cover the health needs of our next generation. Ultimately, every child in America would grow up with consistent, continuous health insurance coverage.

Like Medicare, MediKids would be independently financed, would cover benefits taylored to the needs of its target population, and would have the goal of achieving nearly 100 percent health insurance coverage for the children of this country just as Medicare has done for our Nation's seniors and individuals with disabilities throughout its more than 40- year history. When Congress created Medicare in 1965, seniors were more likely to be living in poverty than any other age group. Most were unable to afford needed medical services and unable to find health insurance in the market even if they could afford it. Today, it is our Nation's children who shoulder that burden of poverty.

Children in America are nearly twice as vulnerable to poverty as adults. It is time we make a significant investment

in the future of America by guaranteeing all children the health coverage they need to get a healthy start in life.

Congress cannot rest on the success we achieved by expanding Medicaid and passing the Children's Health Insurance Program. Although each was a remarkable step toward reducing the ranks of the uninsured, particularly uninsured children, we still have a long way to go, as is evidenced by the millions of children who are still uninsured.

It's long past time to rekindle the discussion about how to provide health insurance for all Americans. Americans have told us loud and clear that they want leadership in solving the health insurance crisis. The bill I am introducing today--the MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2007--is a comprehensive approach toward eliminating the irrational and tragic lack of health insurance for so many children in our country. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Full Faith & Credit in Our Communities Act of 2007. Strong communities form the bedrock of a successful economy and ultimately, a healthy society. For communities to be strong and families to prosper, there must be economic opportunity. Economic opportunity, in turn, depends on access to capital. Unfortunately, many communities across our Nation lack this fundamental tool for financial prosperity and self-sufficiency.

We must provide economic opportunity not only today, but also lay the groundwork so that future generations can thrive and prosper, and we must do it in a way that fosters real and permanent change rather than short-term solutions. We cannot simply rely on short-term band aids that serve to only mask the vast inequalities in income and unacceptable levels of poverty that plague our Nation. We must invest in our Nation's future. We must close the wealth gaps that are growing wider each day in this country by investing in our citizens and closing the opportunity gap. We must invest in entrepreneurship, ownership, and economic growth--but we must do so in a fiscally responsible manner.

Federal resources are scarce. We must focus our efforts and invest in successful programs that give us the biggest bang for our buck. CDFIs have a history of prudently using scarce public funds to leverage additional private funding to finance emerging domestic markets. They are able to lend successfully in these markets in part because CDFIs build their borrowers' capacity by combining their financing with technical assistance such as homeownership counseling, entrepreneurial training, and financial literacy education. CDFIs finance small businesses, homeownership, affordable rental housing, childcare facilities, charter schools, and other needed development resources. About 1,000 CDFIs operating in the U.S. manage more than $25 billion in assets, providing much-needed financial services to low-income communities across the U.S.

Unfortunately, CDFIs have limited access to capital due to the relatively small size of, and lack of awareness about, their projects. This results in a hesitancy of Wall Street to invest in CDFIs, forcing them to rely largely on commercial banks which usually only offer short-term loans with high interest rates. Every dollar wasted on interest payments is another dollar lost to communities, making these additional costs a clear impediment to community development efforts.

This legislation would increase the length and decrease the cost of capital available to CDFIs by providing them access to the enormous financial power of Wall Street. It would accomplish this by allowing the Treasury Department to guarantee up to $1 billion per year in bonds issued by qualified CDFIs. These bonds would be sold on Wall Street with the proceeds going to CDFIs to finance a myriad of community and economic development projects such as job-training centers and health care clinics. Unlike many legislative proposals that often result in winners and losers, this legislation is a win-win for everyone involved. CDFIs will have access to much-needed, low-cost capital. Communities will benefit from an infusion of investments in community and economic development projects. And investors will have an opportunity to make sound, long-term investments.

Perhaps the best part of this legislation is that it should not end up costing the American taxpayer a single dollar. Since these bonds will be issued by CDFIs, they will be the ones responsible for honoring the bonds when they reach maturity. Considering the fact that CDFIs have very low loan default rates that are often below mainstream bank averages, the risk of insolvency is very low. To further mitigate this risk, CDFIs will be required to create a loan loss reserve fund, similar in nature, but much smaller in scope, to the FDIC.

In addition to providing low-cost capital to underserved communities, this legislation would require CDFIs to pay a portion of their savings to a subaccount of the Treasury Department's CDFI Fund. These funds will be used to provide technical and financial assistance grants to non-profits for community and economic development purposes. CDFIs can apply for these grants through a competitive application process with the requirement to match, dollar for dollar, Federal funds with private investment. According to the Treasury Department, for every Federal dollar of investment, CDFIs leverage $19 in non-federal funds. CDFIs use the ``seed capital'' from the Federal Government to attract private-sector capital, ensuring continued community investment well beyond the initial Federal funding.

A community isn't complete without places to shop and work, without affordable housing, without the prosperity that thriving businesses represent. My Full Faith & Credit in Our Communities Act will help CDFIs develop retail and commercial facilities, train and place neighborhood residents in jobs, and provide affordable housing across the country. This bill is essential for our people and communities most in need. Beyond the obvious tangible benefits, the Full Faith & Credit in Our Communities Act will provide our Nation's distressed communities with something all but lost in many: HOPE. Hope for a better future, a safe community, flourishing businesses, and a more prosperous future for generations to come.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to support the Full Faith & Credit in Our Communities Act to ensure that every American has access to the American Dream. With this bill, we can not only change lives and communities today, but for generations to come.