A resolution to authorize testimony in United States of America v. Vincent J. Fumo, et al.

Mr. President, this resolution concerns a subpoena for testimony in a criminal case against former Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent J. Fumo in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In this case, Mr. Fumo and two others are charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice, and filing false tax returns. Among the charges is that Mr. Fumo, as chairman of the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee, arranged for a friend, referred to as ``Senate Contractor No. 5'' in the indictment, to obtain a contract under which he was paid $150,000 over 5 years, but performed little or no work. To rebut the allegation that no work was performed under the contract, the defense has subpoenaed Senator Specter's former chief of staff, David Urban, to testify as a fact witness at trial as to contracts about and a meeting he had with Senate Contractor No. 5 during that 5-year contract. During that meeting, which was a typical meeting for a United States Senate office, Senate Contractor No. 5 explored possible federal funding for a low-income housing project in South Philadelphia. Neither the meeting nor the

project itself are the subject of the criminal complaint. Senator Specter has no objection to allowing the testimony.

The enclosed resolution would authorize Mr. Urban to testify in this matter.

Mr. President, why do we keep doing this? Why do we keep passing debt on to our children? Why do we keep running program after program out here that is shrouded in sweetness and light but not paid for?

We just passed a pay-go point of order 4 weeks ago to great fanfare, great breast-beating about how fiscally responsible we were going to be. Yet time after time since we passed that pay-go point of order, amendments have been brought to the floor which violate it. This is another one. This amendment costs $2 billion which is not paid for.

Summer jobs may be good. I am sure they are. But why do we want to put the debt for those summer jobs onto the children of the people who are having the summer jobs?

If this is a priority--and it is--let's pay for it. Let's take the money out of some other account. But let's not add to the debt, and let's not once again violate the pay-go rules which this Senate has so loudly proclaimed is the manner in which we will discipline ourselves fiscally. It is a $2 billion item. If we can't stand by pay-go for $2 billion, we are making a farce out of it.

As a result of this violation of pay-go, I raise a point of order against the amendment pursuant to section 201(a) of S. Res. 21, the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2008.

Mr. President, is this a pay-go point of order violation?

Mr. President, pursuant to the previous order, on behalf of the chairmen of the Rules and Budget committees, I call up my amendment No. 3429.

I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

The first amendment is a simple attempt to improve the availability of budgetary information on what Congress does. This amendment would require the Secretary of the Senate to create a new Web site that clearly provides information from the Congressional Budget Office on the legislative actions of the Senate. This is a side-by-side amendment to the Coburn amendment on the same subject.

I believe Senator Coburn has the same purpose in mind, but we have drafted this side-by-side amendment to avoid new burdens on the Congressional Budget Office. The Rules Committee and Budget Committee worked together with us on the drafting of this amendment to assure that it would work.

I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

I yield the remainder of my time.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I think we can vote on this. I yield the remainder of my time, but before I do, I think it is a step toward transparency, and I urge all my colleagues to vote for it.

How much time does the Senator from Washington have?

Mr. President, we just voice voted an amendment that will not do anything. What this amendment says is, where we violate our own rules in terms of pay-go, we will actually publish both the number of times and the amount of dollars we do that. It is about transparency of the Senate, being honest with the American people.

With great fanfare, the Senator from Montana came down and we put into law a pay-go law. Since that time, including this bill, we will have passed $120 billion of debt to our kids by saying we waive pay-go.

That is OK. That is the right of the body to do that. But it is not OK not to let the American people know that and let them keep track of us.

This amendment is very simple. Anytime we create a new program, anytime we pass and violate the pay-go rules by overriding the pay-go point of order, then we should list that with the American people so they can see what we are doing. It is quite simple, quite straightforward. It doesn't require any time. You will spend forever going to the Congressional Budget Office to find this. This makes it very simple, very straightforward.

I reserve the remainder of my time.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

I ask unanimous consent to use 1 minute and for Senator Kerry to have the second minute.

Mr. President, I am offering the youth summer jobs amendment to build on the extremely successful summer jobs program that made it possible for over 313,000 young people to have a job. I have personally heard amazing stories from these young men and women who got a job. It changed their lives and gave them the experience they needed.

This amendment will provide $1.3 billion to create up to 500,000 temporary jobs this coming summer. It will invest in critical employment and learning programs that will help not only these young people but the businesses that hire them. The underlying bill is going to help millions of families across the country who need a job. This amendment will make sure young people get a start in their professional lives, firmly planted on their feet and moving toward success.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, let me be clear: Working with the Finance Committee, this amendment is paid for over 10 years.

I ask that the budget point of order be waived.

I move that the budget point of order be waived and ask for the yeas and nays.