Floor Statements

Mr. President, I come to the floor now as a father and a grandfather. Bonnie and I have five daughters and are grandparents of eight granddaughters. Nothing in our family and nothing in families across this country have anything more critical on their minds than the health of their children and their daughters and our families.

Women in this rich country have a right to expect affordable quality health care. But those rights are under attack, and the attack is coming from what I call the ``maleogarchy''.

Several years ago, I initiated the name ``maleogarchy'' right here on the Senate floor. A maleogarchy is made up of men in Congress who always decide what they want to do for women, even taking away their rights.

These days the maleogarchy has declared war on women's health. We saw it when the Republicans in the House tried to defund Planned Parenthood. Now we are seeing it again this week in

the Republican efforts to take away affordable birth control, basic health care for women in our country.

Under a historic provision of the health care reform law, health insurance companies will be required to cover contraception with no additional copays or fees. This landmark requirement is scheduled to go into effect this summer. But as women cheer this new law, the maleogarchy is looking to take it away.

Here in the Senate, there is a Republican bill to get rid of these benefits for women. Imagine. This body, principally made up of males, wants to take away benefits for women.

The top Presidential candidate on the Republican side is Mitt Romney. He just said one of the first things he will do--I heard it, everybody heard it; it was loudly broadcast, it was vividly broadcast on television--he will do as the first thing, if elected, is overturn these new policies making birth control more affordable. Imagine. That is why he wants to be elected. I hope the American public is listening carefully to what is being said.

Affordable birth control shouldn't be controversial. I thought we put this question to rest long ago. Back in 1965, the Supreme Court overturned the State of Connecticut's ban on contraception. Today, 99 percent of women either use birth control or have used it at some point during their lives. It has become a critical component of health care for women in our country. But, as so many women know, birth control is also significantly expensive. One-third of all women have struggled to pay for it, and even if you have health insurance it is a struggle. Copays for birth control can be as much as $50 a month, and $50 a month adds up to $600 a year. Yet now the other side wants to take this benefit away. President Obama and many of us in Congress believe that is fundamentally unfair.

Mr. President, everyone needs to speak against this attack on women's health, just as they did last week when the Komen Foundation--a foundation that was named after Susan Komen, a young woman who died of breast cancer--allowed a partisan agenda to cancel its mission to fight breast cancer. Imagine that--this organization named for a young woman who died, and now they want to cut out these examinations for women who wish to see whether breast cancer is ahead for them. Komen tried to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, a trusted provider of lifesaving breast cancer exams for hundreds of thousands of women in our country. Across America, women were offended, hurt, and angry, so they spoke up and spoke out against Komen's narrowminded decision. People were outraged and justifiably so.

I was proud to bring together more than two dozen of our Senate colleagues to join the fight. We persuaded Komen to see the error of their ways, and they reversed their decision a few days later. Now the Komen organization and Planned Parenthood are getting back to doing what they do best--protecting women's health.

Let's be clear. It would have been wrong to take away resources that could save their lives, just as it is wrong to deny women the right to affordable contraception. So I call on my Republican colleagues to disband the maleogarchy view. Join us and stand up for women in our country. Politics don't belong in our doctors' offices, examination rooms, or in our medical clinics. Politics should never be used to block women's rights to get the care they need for healthier lives. I ask my friends on the other side of the aisle to consider what they are doing before they vote to take away those rights.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Madam President, late last year we lost Evelyn H. Lauder, a business leader, women's health advocate, refugee of nazism--and a friend.

Evelyn was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1936, the only daughter of Ernest and Mimi Hausner. Two years later, after Nazi troops invaded Austria, the Hausners fled to England, where Evelyn's mother was sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man.

In 1940, after Mrs. Hausner's release, the family sailed to the United States. They settled in New York, where Evelyn attended public schools and Hunter College. She then married Leonard Lauder; had two sons, William and Gary; and for a while worked as a schoolteacher in New York.

When Evelyn's mother-in-law Estee Lauder invited her to join the family's cosmetics company in 1959, it was a small business with a handful of employees. Evelyn helped build it into an empire. She created the Clinique brand and held a number of positions at the company, including senior corporate vice president. Today, the Estee Lauder Companies employ more than 32,000 people around the world.

Although Evelyn was a talented businesswoman, she arguably made her biggest impact outside the business world. In 1989, Evelyn was diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead of allowing her illness to be a setback, Evelyn made it a cause. She helped create the pink ribbon campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer and also founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which has raised more than $350 million and supports more than 180 scientists based in 13 countries. The Breast Center at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center bears her name.

In a New York Times profile in 1995, Evelyn stated, ``I feel it's important to make a mark somewhere.''

Madam President, I believe Evelyn achieved this goal. Her leadership in business and philanthropy, along with her passionate advocacy for women's health issues, is virtually unmatched. We are thankful for her and the enduring legacy she left us.

I ask to have printed in the Record a copy of the obituary the New York Times published at the time of her passing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I seek recognition in morning business.

Mr. President, we are at a time in the calendar that usually is a time of excellent anticipation. Christmas is coming. The holidays are coming. People are trying to

get their families in order, do the shopping, and all the things we have to do. It would seem this is a moment of fairly happy days and the holiday season is here. But these are not happy times for many Americans.

Across our country, families are fighting to keep their heads above water. Some parents do not know how they are going to put food on the table tonight, much less presents under the Christmas tree or during the Hanukkah holidays. That is why our side of the aisle is fighting to continue and expand a tax cut that has benefited millions of working families this year. This is a tax cut for people who need it--families who depend on a paycheck. With the payroll tax cut, the typical family in my State, the State of New Jersey, would receive an extra $40 a week, starting next year. That is what a typical household in the Northeast pays for gasoline or health care each week.

Mr. President, $40 a week adds up to $2,100 a year. For parents who are struggling--as many are--to make ends meet, an extra $2,100 goes a long way to help buy groceries or pay the electric bill or purchase medicines. It can help pay for childcare, preschool or college tuition--the necessities that help ensure children succeed in life.

To make sure all working families continue receiving this much needed relief next year, we are asking America's millionaires--people who earn over $1 million a year--to pay their fair share of what the country needs to get ourselves back into reasonable balance. But the Republicans will not even allow us to vote on a bill that their colleagues in the House approved last night.

I wish to just spend a minute here. The House passed a bill last night. It included tax relief for some and we should take it here and consider it. But the Republicans will not even let us bring up the bill that passed in the House last night, and there is a question as to why. Why will they not let us do it? There is, obviously, a hidden meaning.

But what we see is, the Republicans are acting like Scrooges. This picture I have in the Chamber shows a mean-looking guy, as we see. That is what they want to do for Christmas.

For GOP Scrooges, this is not the season of giving; it is time to take things away. He said: No payroll tax cut for you this year.

They want to take away the tax cut for ordinary working families. The Republican Scrooges want to take away unemployment insurance benefits for 1 million people--imagine, people who are dependent on unemployment insurance at times when they are out of work, to help sustain their families, put food on the table, to try and just keep their heads above water. But that does not matter to our friends on the Republican side.

Today in America there is only one job available for every four unemployed people. This is not the time to cut unemployment benefits.

Republicans also want to weaken safeguards that keep our air clean-- filling our atmosphere with poisons and endangering the health of our children. They want to weaken those safeguards.

To add insult to injury, the Republicans are also trying to ram through a massive pipeline that will carry toxic materials into our country--toxic materials. We are so conscious of what damage the toxic environment can do to our families, to our children. But they want to have a pipeline that will carry toxic materials into our country. They want to make it easier for coal-fired industrial facilities to foul the air, spew toxins into our neighborhoods.

It is hard to believe. Instead of gifts, the Republican Scrooges want lumps of coal in the stockings and coal pollution in our lungs.

In many families, it is a tradition to teach children to welcome Santa Claus during the holidays. This year, we are going to tell our kids to hide away from the Republican Scrooges. We are not going to alarm our children and tell them things that are difficult may be even more difficult if some tax relief that is proposed for working-class families is not available to them.

The Republican priorities are different. They want to raise taxes on middle-class families--families who work for a living--to protect luxuries for millionaires: nice boats, airplanes. I do not mind--they have made the money; it is what they buy with it--but at least carry their fair share of our financial needs in this country.

The Republican priorities say they are for lower taxes, but that only goes for the jet set. When it comes to cutting taxes for working families, the Republican mantra is: Hey, we have to take care of the wealthy. We have to watch out for the wealthy, make sure they are OK. Don't ask them to carry more of the load. It is not a good time to deal with them. After all, maybe they will be big contributors to our political campaigns.

Let's not kid ourselves. American millionaires do not need help. They do not need the Republicans' help. Since the 1980s, our country's wealthiest 1 percent of the working people have seen their average household income increase by 55 percent. Let me restate that. Since the 1980s, our country's wealthiest 1 percent have seen their average household income increase by 55 percent--enormous--but for the bottom 90 percent average household income has not increased at all. As a matter of fact, it has gone down because the cost of living has gone up much faster than even any raises that come through.

Even though incomes are growing for the very wealthy, their tax rates are actually going down. Their taxes are going down. We can also look at the chief executive officers to see how well the wealthy are faring.

CEOs at the largest companies are now paid an average salary of $11 million a year. Note that. The largest companies' CEOs are now paid an average salary of $11 million a year. That is 343 times as much as the average worker's salary of $33,000 a year. This comparison is so hard to reconcile. The CEOs of the largest companies have an average salary of $11 million a year, and the average worker's salary is $33,000 a year. Where is the equity in this? When we send the people out to fight, put on the country's uniforms, do the jobs, build the foundations, make sure the country is strong--$33,000 a year. That is tough.

Just a few decades ago, the pay gap between CEOs and workers was much more modest. The CEOs--again, the CEO, people at the top of these companies--were paid an average of 42 times as much as the average worker, as we see on this chart. The chart demonstrates that in the 1980s, the CEOs made 42 times the average worker's pay. So the difference was not that obvious or that big. In 2010, CEOs made 343 times the average worker's pay. There is no equity there.

I come from the corporate world, and I know what big salaries are. I have seen it in my own company. But the one thing you have to do is at least encourage the people who are working for you to understand that they have a chance in life to provide the things we all talk about for our children--a college education, the prospect of a decent job, the prospect of being able to take care of our own family.

The numbers make it clear: Our goal should not be protecting millionaires. They do not need our help. We should be focused on protecting Medicare, food safety, home heating for the poor, and Head Start for little kids who have a first chance to learn--to learn--to understand education, to see how important it is to learn, to start reading books at an early age, to start having conversations with their parents about what is going on in this world.

They want to take those children out of the Head Start facility--so many of them, 200,000; it has been proposed in some of the House budgets--take them out of the Head Start school.

But our Republican colleagues do not want to hear about that. They continue asking the poor, the middle class, the elderly, and our children to bear the entire burden of these tough times.

The Republicans now remind me of what accountants are like. They are people who are obsessed, obligated to deal with the bottom line. There is no soul, no humanity, no compassion--not around here--unless it is for the wealthy. They have compassion for themselves.

Let's be clear: It does not hurt those of us who have been successful to pay our fair share. I remind those within my voice, who hear me, we have two wars going on. We have people paying a terrible price to serve our country's needs--a terrible price. This is a time

for those who are fortunate enough to make above $1 million to say: Hey, I want to help carry this burden. I do not want to ask people who are scratching for a living--just trying to make ends meet--I do not want to ask them to do more without saying I want to do my share.

I was lucky. I ran a very big company. I want to do my share. That is why I am here. That is what I am talking about. To those who make more than $1 million a year, I say: Look in the mirror. Ask yourself if you could succeed without help from anyone else or did your country help you achieve your prosperity. Was it people who built the buildings and built the infrastructure and manned the jobs all across the country-- service jobs? They built the foundation upon which those who make $1 million a year build their futures, build their fortunes. That is what happens. But there is not the respect for the hard-working families that we like to see.

I ask our Republican colleagues, think about the true meaning of the holidays.

It is not Halloween, it is not trick or treat, because otherwise that is what the game looks like. This time of the year is about coming together, caring about your fellow man. This should be a season of giving, not taking away the necessities from our country's most vulnerable.

We all remember at the end of a ``Christmas Carol'' when Ebenezer Scrooge opened his heart and became a hero. We need the same kind of miracle here in Congress. We need the Republican scrooges to have a change of heart and work with us to help our fellow Americans this holiday season. We need them to help us continue and expand the tax cuts for working families. We need them to help us continue unemployment insurance benefits for the jobless and clean air safeguards for our children. We need them to help us protect the programs that benefit the people who need them most, whom we need to keep our foundation strong.

To our Republican colleagues, we say, come on, let's work together. Let's do this. Let's put the acrimony aside. Let's put the selfishness aside and say, those who work every day for a living and try to keep things together--and we have millions of people who are looking for jobs who cannot find them right now--let's work together to make sure our children and grandchildren inherit an America that is even stronger than the one we inherited. Show the heart of America. That will be the best gift we can ever give them.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask to speak as if in morning business.

Mr. President, we are here now deciding what kind of a country America might be in the future--whether it will be a place we can look back at and remember when everybody had a chance at success.

It is hard to believe that when we look at the vote we just had. It confirmed where the Republicans are on the issue of whether middle- class families should get a tax break. The Republican answer, was no. The answer they gave on the middle-class families tax break was: Absolutely no. No, no, no.

To the struggling single parent who wants to provide for their family, works hard every day, the Republicans said no way. To the recent college graduate trying to start a career but having trouble paying back college loans, paying rent, paying living costs, the Republicans said no. To the working couple, a family with a couple of kids who needs some help in this tough economy, the Republicans said no. No, no, no. The Republicans refuse to help them because their mission is to shield the wealthy from paying their fair share of our country's obligations.

Across our country, Americans are watching Republicans in this Congress and wondering what they are going to do to supply encouragement and hope for people who need it. Are we going to be simply a big accounting firm, simply doing the auditing, or are we going to be there to stimulate activity for people, to give them a chance to elevate their living standards for their family, to get their kids educated, and take care of the family necessities?

Right now, 14 million Americans are jobless, and they are worried about how they are going to stay in their homes, feed their children, and keep their families warm this winter. But unemployed Americans are not the only people who are struggling. Hard-working Americans from all walks of life are struggling to make ends meet. They are coping with skyrocketing grocery prices, surging health premiums, soaring college tuition.

In my home State, 1 in 10 New Jerseyans is on food stamps, the highest level in more than a decade. New Jersey has traditionally been among the top States per capita income in the country, within the top three, often in the first position.

On this side of the aisle, we are trying to help struggling families. I learned the hard way about family struggles when I was growing up. My father took ill with cancer when he was 42; I was 18. My mother, when my father died, was 37 years old. We had all kinds of obligations to pay. My mother took over the family leadership. We owed money for the pharmacy, for hospitals, for doctors. We were virtually bankrupt. I had enlisted in the Army. Next week, it will be 69 years ago that I enlisted in the Army, in December of 1942.

I know how tough it was and how much aggravation accompanies a family who just cannot keep their heads above water.

Here we are, in a day of some incredible wealth around this country-- around this room--and Republicans are trying to thwart our efforts to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for working families--for people who depend upon their incomes to take care of their family needs; not on their savings, not on their inheritance, on their jobs.

Millions of American families have benefitted from this tax cut that we have had this year, but it stands to expire at the end of December. Our side is eager to continue this tax cut and increase the size of that cut to help these families. In my State, this means a typical family would receive a total tax cut of $2,100 next year. For parents who are trying to feed their families, educate their kids, pay their bills, an extra $2,100 goes a long way. To make sure that all working families receive this much needed relief next year, we are asking America's millionaires to pay their fair share, but the Republicans would rather protect their wealthy friends than continue the payroll tax cut for working families.

First, the Republicans blocked our side's efforts to cut taxes for the middle class. Then the Republicans offered their own plan. It was a disgrace. Their plan calls for a much smaller middle-class tax break, which they would have paid for by laying off 200,000 middle-class government workers. That is how they would solve the problem--fire people. Don't take it out of your bank account, don't take it out of your salary--even if you make over $1 million a year--fire people. That will make sure they understand we are not as concerned about them as we are about the person who makes over $1 million a year.

It was a cynical ploy. It showed the other side's true stripes. The Republicans say they are for lower taxes, but we now see that only goes for the jet set. Their tax-cutting zeal doesn't extend to the middle class. Republican priorities? Raise taxes on middle-class families. Middle-class families do not have it easy in America today. Republicans want to raise their taxes to protect the luxuries for the millionaires.

Make no mistake. Working families will suffer if the Republicans continue to block our efforts to extend and expand the payroll tax cut, and so will our economy. Last week, Barclays Bank warned that our GDP will drop 1.5 percent if the payroll tax cut is allowed to expire.

The choice is clear. We can continue the payroll tax cut for working families or we can allow the Republicans to continue running their millionaires' protection ring. The fact is, American millionaires are doing just fine. They don't need protection from the Republicans. Since the 1980s, our country's wealthiest 1 percent have seen their average household income increase by 55 percent. But for the bottom 90 percent, average household income has not increased at all.

As we see here, even though incomes are growing for the very wealthy, their taxes are actually going down.

We can also look at CEOs to see how well the wealthy are faring. CEOs at the largest companies are now paid an average salary of $11 million a year. That is 343 times as much as the average worker's salary of $33,000.

It used to be a much more modest comparison. In 1980, CEOs made 42 times the average worker's pay. Just look at that. Just a few decades ago the pay was much more reasonable, and the people who were working in the mills and making products and doing the service jobs and all of that were living significantly better than they are today.

Millionaires are making much more money today than they did in those years past. This is something I know something about directly. I was the president of a very large company when I came to the Senate. And you know how I got there: I had a boost from our country. I had enlisted in the Army, and I served in Europe. I got the GI bill. I went to Columbia University. It happened because the country said: Frank, if you can learn we will help you. We will pay your tuition because you served your country. I've done well because my country invested in me, and I'm willing to invest more in my country today to help the next generation.

That company I helped start with two other fellows has 45,000 employees today; 45,000 people are working at ADP, the company I helped start, because we had a chance at an education and to learn what we had to do to be in management, what we had to do to be in leadership.

Our goal should not be to protect millionaires and billionaires who don't need our help. We should focus on the foundation that our society requires to function. We should be focused on protecting Medicare, food safety, Head Start.

Imagine, they want to take seats away from Head Start Programs. I visited a Head Start Program in New Jersey just a few weeks ago, and I saw the children. They were 3, 4, 5 years old. They were interested in learning something. I talked to them, and I wanted--one of the little kids came over and hugged me around the knees. I wanted to pick him up and take him home. He was so beautiful, so nice. I thought: Here is a child, learning. He came from a single-parent family.

The people who need help--we should be focusing on protecting them and giving them a chance to grow. We should be about making sure they have proper Medicare, that food safety is taken care of. Head Start, home heating for the poor, and other essential programs--we should be protecting them from reckless cuts.

The Republicans who served on the supercommittee refused, before the negotiations were started--refused to ask wealthy Americans to pay their fair share. They practically took an oath that they would demand nothing more of the wealthy, when the country is deeply in debt, starving for a better way to solve our problems.

As a result, the poor and the middle class are going to have to make up the difference. These are the people who need help the most right now. We must act now to protect the vital programs on which they rely. If we fail to act, our country and our economy will continue to suffer--especially Americans who are already struggling. It is just plain heartless to continue asking the poor, the middle class, the elderly, and our children to bear the entire burden of these brutal economic times.

It does not hurt any of us who have been successful to pay a fair share. It might cost a few dollars more, but if you are making over $1 million a year, look in the mirror and see if you have done it all by yourself or whether it took the help of your country to get there. There is a whole cadre of people working across America--they go to work every day because they want to make a week's pay and take care of

their kids and take care of their obligations. That is the foundation that built America. It is the foundation of the development of something that was called the ``greatest generation.''

That was the generation in the last century who served in World War II. All of us had an opportunity to get a college education when we otherwise would not have been near a college.

That built our country. That strengthened our foundation. Now we see people, Republicans, who want to make it tougher for people to make a living, tougher for people to get an education, tougher to provide heat for people who desperately need it in the wintertime, tougher to think ahead and say: You know what. I know my children will do better than I have done in my life.

That used to be a truism in our view of life in this country. We don't hear that much anymore because people are unsure, and it does not help to have the Republicans sticking up for the wealthiest among us and turning their backs on working-class families in this country, the middle-class families. It is not right.

I hope the people across this country will say: No. We are going to say no to these Republican policies. I hope our Republican colleagues will disband their millionaires' protection game, stop standing in the way, and start standing up for everyday Americans who need our help.

Help us continue the payroll tax cut for working families. Help us protect the programs that benefit the people who need them most. Help us, friends on the Republican side, to make America even stronger than it is today. We can do that.

Countries are failing all over the globe. America need not to do that. We just have to make sure that while we take care of our expenses, we also make sure we have the revenues to do the job.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I thank the leader for his kind words and the help he has given me to make some of the decisions we labored with. I thank my colleague, the Senator from New Jersey, Bob Menendez, who has worked very hard to do his share in moving legislation and doing the right thing by the people in our State and our country.

One of the things that is, to me, pretty important is when I said to my mother in 1982: Mom, I am going to run for the U.S. Senate; I think there is an opportunity there. I was running ADP and in quite good company at the time. So she said: Frank, what do you need it for? I said: Mom, I don't need it. On the night of the election, we were gathered at my house in New Jersey--and my mother was then committed to a wheelchair--and she had tears running down her face. I said: Mom, you asked me why I needed it. I said: Why are you crying? She said: Because I always wanted you to win.

The people in New Jersey were very kind over these years, electing me five times to the Senate and giving me the honor and the opportunity to give something back to this country of ours.

I came from a family that was a poor family, immigrant family. My parents were young when they were brought by their parents to America. They were hoping that maybe good things could happen as a result of their becoming Americans. So I stand here and I am glad we are not taking a vote on whether I should be commended for this. I might not get all the votes you gave me because you didn't ask for unanimous consent, but nevertheless, it passed, and so I thank all of you, even those with whom I might occasionally disagree. It is shocking, but it does happen here. But I have respect for everybody who is sent here by their constituents from every State in the country and for their point of view. It doesn't mean I agree, but I have respect for the fact that we can say what we want in this free country of ours, say things that sometimes maybe we wish we had not said, but we have a chance to speak out on the things we believe in.

I thank all of my colleagues for their service and for the accolades given to me this night.

With that, I yield the floor.

Amendment No. 1087

Mr. President, I wish to engage in a colloquy with my friend, the distinguished chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, regarding U.S. companies that continue to do business with Iran. I know the chairman shares my concern about Iran's continued violations of international norms. As the International Atomic Energy Agency's recent report starkly highlights, Iran continues to work to build a nuclear weapon despite the current sanctions in place. While we have made great strides in strengthening sanctions on Iran, more work clearly needs to be done to place pressure on Iran to change its behavior. For the past 7 years, I have been working to close a loophole in current law that allows foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies to continue doing business with Iran without facing the same penalties that would be placed on the parent company. I have now filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 currently under consideration to try and close this loophole once again. Although I am not going to call for a vote on this amendment at this time, it is time we work to close this loophole once and for all.

My amendment would have applied the same penalties that can be imposed on U.S. companies that violate the U.S. trade ban with Iran to foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies. Does the chairman agree that this loophole remains an issue that must be addressed?

I thank the chairman. As we know, Iran funds Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist

organizations. We should not allow American-controlled companies to provide cash to Iran so that they can convert these funds into bullets and bombs to be used against us and our allies. It is inexcusable for American companies to engage in any business practice that provides revenues to terrorists, and we have to stop it. I look forward to working with Chairman Johnson to close this loophole.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, with all of the important issues we constantly face in life, none compares to our concern for the health of our children. But the health of our children depends not only on us but what others might be doing--such as poisoning our air with secondhand smoke or deliberately fouling the air our kids breathe.

Few would stand by while a smoker puffs away where your child is inhaling. That is why we worked so hard to prohibit smoking on airplanes--to keep someone else's smoke out of our children's lungs. Yet when emissions from a powerplant in one State threaten people in a neighboring State, too often nothing is done about it. Make no mistake, pollution doesn't recognize State boundaries. Communities across our country are being forced to bear the consequence of another community's polluters, and this is happening in my State of New Jersey, where people are suffering because dirty air is blowing into our communities from out-of-State smokestacks.

Look at this horrible picture. Anything more threatening would be hard to imagine. The toxins coming out of smokestacks like these don't disappear. They typically wind up polluting playgrounds and school yards in New Jersey, and other eastern States. In fact, a single powerplant in eastern Pennsylvania is responsible for more sulfur pollution in New Jersey than all our State powerplants combined.

This year the Environmental Protection Agency took a major step toward protecting children from out-of-State emissions when it adopted the cross-State air pollution rule. This commonsense safeguard requires polluters to reduce the levels of dangerous soot and smog that they release into the air. The rule sends a clear message to powerplants in upwind States that they can no longer dump their dirty air on States that lie downwind.

Unfortunately, one of our Republican colleagues has proposed a resolution to block the EPA's efforts. This misguided message would put polluters' profits before the health of our families and children, and the consequences would be devastating.

Air pollution can cause asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. Long-term exposure can also damage the immune, neurological, and reproductive systems. Nationally, almost 1 in 10 children now suffer from asthma. That is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In some parts of New Jersey, one out of every four residents has asthma. We should be working to make skies cleaner for these children--not dirtier.

Some on the other side say we cannot afford to worry about the health of our children and our communities right now. They claim the new rule will kill jobs. This is not about killing jobs, it is about saving lives, and we should not allow ourselves to be misled. According to EPA, the new rule will prevent 34,000 premature deaths and 15,000 heart attacks from taking place.

The new standard would also prevent as many as 400,000 asthma attacks, improving life for children such as my own grandson who suffers from asthma. My daughter makes sure she finds an emergency clinic before my grandson plays ball or indulges in a sport because if he starts to wheeze, he has problems.

My sister, who was on the board of education in a city in New York State, was at a board of education meeting when she began to start to wheeze. In her car she kept a small device, a little respirator, and she ran for the parking lot. She didn't make it. She collapsed in the parking lot and died 3 days later.

For those who insist we cannot have both clean air and a strong economy, I say we cannot have a strong economy without clean air. Simply put, if you cannot breathe, you cannot work.

The fact is, many powerplants, factories, and other companies are ready to work with the EPA to reduce their impact on the environment. Take the example of Public Service Electric and Gas, which is New Jersey's largest utility. PSEG has already invested resources to reduce soot, smog, and mercury pollution by more than 90 percent. In the process the company has created over 1,600 construction jobs. That is why PSEG supports the EPA rule.

Ralph Izzo, the president of the company, said:

Our experience shows that it is possible to clean the air,

create jobs, and power the economy at the same time.

The bottom line is, this rule will protect the health of our economy, our workers, and our children. I urge my colleagues to reject this dangerous amendment and protect every American's right to breathe clean air.

With that, I yield the floor.

Madam President, this amendment increases funding for disaster relief grants at the Economic Development Administration. Forty-eight States have received a Federal disaster declaration this year and may be eligible for this relief. EDA funds rebuild sewers and drinking

water systems, coordinate response and recovery plans, and help businesses to recover. This year alone, we have experienced a record 10 natural disasters costing more than $1 billion each. Hurricane Irene caused more than $7 billion in damage alone.

In 2008, we gave EDA $500 million to respond to disasters in the South and the Midwest. This amendment would give EDA the same amount this year. The amendment complies with the disaster relief provision in the Budget Control Act and is not offset with cuts from other programs.

Senators Sanders, Menendez, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, and Leahy are cosponsors, and Chairman Mikulski supports it as well.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to temporarily set aside the pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 836.

Mr. President, this amendment would increase funding for disaster relief grants at the Economic Development Administration.

We all know that this has been a record year for natural disasters. Our country has already experienced a record 10 natural disasters that cost more than $1 billion each time. Hurricane Irene alone caused more than $7 billion in damages on the East Coast. In my home State of New Jersey, 11 people lost their lives as a result of the hurricane.

While President Obama came to my hometown of Paterson, NJ, to see the damage firsthand, I must point out that we are still, almost across the country, in the wake of huge storms that demand attention and will require substantial funding.

In my hometown of Paterson, NJ, we witnessed unforgettable images. The streets and sidewalks were covered in mud. In some homes, the second floor was also covered with mud.

But New Jersey is not alone. As I said, there have been extremely severe storms across the country, and flooding and tornadoes have devastated the Midwest and the South. As a result, FEMA has declared Federal disasters in all but two States this year. In the wake of these disasters, we have seen the American people pulling together, neighbor helping neighbor to put their lives back together; furniture out on the lawn; memorabilia that was so water soaked that it is valueless in terms of recalling memories.

It is painful to witness. When you see families standing together holding hands, wondering what is going to happen to them, we look to our country and they say help us recover from this disaster. Perhaps we will never quite get over it, but we can use the help desperately.

The Federal Government has to do its part, and I am pleased the Commerce, Justice, and Science bill we are considering includes emergency funding for disaster relief grants at the Economic Development Administration. I thank Senator Mikulski for her good work as chairman on this bill, but the needs all across the country are overwhelming and more disaster assistance is needed.

This amendment increases the funding for EDA disaster relief grants by $365 million to a total of $500 million of availability. I point out that many of these disasters themselves have $1 billion worth of damage. My amendment is cosponsored by Senator Sanders, Menendez, Gillibrand, Blumenthal, and Leahy, and I thank them for their support. Any area that received a Federal disaster declaration this year would be eligible to compete for this disaster relief, including areas in 48 States so far this year. I want to be clear. Natural disasters devastate local economies, causing damages that can linger for years. FEMA reimburses local governments' homeowners for repairs in the immediate aftermath of a storm, but EDA grants are needed to

help communities get back on track for recovery and economic revitalization in the wake of a major disaster. Communities use these disaster relief funds to repair damaged public infrastructure, such as sewer and drinking water systems, and States use the EDA grants to create and coordinate efficient disaster response and recovery plans.

Additionally, local governments and nonprofits can lend EDA disaster relief funds to businesses to help our private sector to rebuild and to grow. Congress has recognized the value of this program in the past. During the past 5 years, we have provided more than $550 million in EDA emergency disaster relief funds. This includes $500 million in emergency supplemental funding for EDA in 2008 to respond to the hurricanes that devastated the South and the heavy rains that caused massive flooding throughout the Midwest.

When these areas were in need, Congress came together and extended a helping hand. Unfortunately, we have to do so again now. The funding in my amendment complies with the disaster relief provisions included in the Budget Control Act and is not offset with cuts from other programs in the bill. When disaster strikes, victims don't want us to reach for the budget ax, they want us to help them rebuild and recover.

We all recognize our country faces serious fiscal challenges, but we cannot put a price on human lives. Nothing is more important than protecting our communities, our families, and our economy. Hurricane Irene and many other natural disasters hit our country this year, causing widespread damage that is going to require a massive rebuilding effort. The American people are looking to us, to the Federal Government, to lend a helping hand.

I point again to the picture of what a disaster such as this can do, where water is virtually up to the second floors, and this was repeated across the State of New Jersey and in many other States as a result of hurricane Irene.

With that, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Although there are squabbles about funding for various programs, at no time is the help more urgently needed than now--again, right after these storms have hit, leaving terrible devastation and people urging and pleading with us to give them the help. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

With that, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for 10 minutes.

Madam President, we find ourselves in a peculiar condition. We must have the people across this country scratching their heads and wondering: What are those guys doing? We know the American people do not think much of us as it is, but they are surely going to think less of us when they see what is happening.

We have a tradition in our country that when disaster strikes, we respond. Americans pull together and help each other. We saw that happening in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, which devastated New Jersey and other States along the east coast, and other natural disasters hitting our country across its breadth--forest fires in one State, water shortages in another, and other problems in others. There isn't a State in this country that hasn't felt the wrath of a storm or the difficulty that nature presents. But the one thing we don't see is the spirit of cooperation. It certainly doesn't extend to some of our colleagues.

I look at the House disaster relief proposal, and one thing is for sure: It is totally inadequate. Madam President, this is an emergency, and it is just plain heartless for our colleagues to turn their backs on families who are struggling to rebuild their shattered lives. I don't know what they are thinking because we know difficulties have struck all 50 of our States at one time or another, a lot fairly recently. Yet these people are saying: No, we are not going to give you enough money to deal with the emergencies that we have.

I hope the people who are in their districts or in their States look at their representatives and say: Hey, wait a second. We have problems here. And these people who are so negatively disposed are raising havoc within the families of their own States or their own districts. They are just turning their backs on them.

The early estimates suggest that Hurricane Irene could become 1 of the 10 costliest storms in American history, with damages that could exceed $10 billion. This violent storm produced some of the worst flooding in a century, destroying homes and displacing countless families.

In my State of New Jersey alone, 11 lives were lost, people were turned out of their houses. In many cases, as I saw them--as President Obama saw them when he came to my State--they can't go back to those houses. They certainly, for the most part--those who had to evacuate their homes and put their furniture out on the front lawn--their furniture is unusable even if they can get in their houses. So life has a grim picture for these people.

The President came to New Jersey to see for himself the destruction that Hurricane Irene caused. I joined him on a tour of the city of Paterson, NJ. It is my hometown. I was born there. It was one of the cities hardest hit by flooding. We have a picture. It has lots of pretty colors, but it is a disastrous portrayal--water all over the place, a bridge just about underwater. We witnessed unforgettable images--streets and sidewalks covered in mud, and in some houses the second floors were covered in mud as well.

But Paterson is not alone. This picture shows the damage in Bound Brook, NJ. Here we see, again, flooded roadways. By the way, my State of New Jersey happens to be the most densely populated State in the country. We have 9 million people living in a very small area. So when something like this hits, it hits a lot of people in a hurry.

In Cranford, NJ, this material we see here you might call trash, but the people who lived here didn't call it trash. These were their possessions. These were the things their kids slept on night after night, or tables they ate from every day. Trash. These people across the Capitol--people on the other side in the House of Representatives-- they say: Oh, too bad. First of all, we will have to go find the money if we are going to do anything; and, secondly, we are just not going to give enough money to deal with the problem.

We have a city called Boonton, NJ. People are unable to get what they need. There was a bridge there before. It is gone. How do they get across town? Well, maybe they just don't.

With Hurricane Irene we witnessed nature's power to destroy, and now it is time to see the Federal Government step up; get in there to repair, rebuild, restore, and give people encouragement. When the President of the United States stood before the people in New Jersey, I saw them weep when they held his hand. They wept not because it was a sad picture for the President, but because it was a sad picture for their lives. They are thinking about their own kids and their own lives, and seeing the President was a sign of relief. They were thinking: The President of the United States is here. He is going to make sure we get help in a hurry.

But our Republican friends on the other side, they say: No hurry. No hurry. I hope the people in these States, the people in these districts, will record these moments. We will remind them about it.

Even before this hurricane struck, FEMA's primary source of funding for cleanup and recovery--the Disaster Relief Fund--was already on life support. They didn't have enough money to do their job. The fund was depleted by recent tornadoes, flooding that wreaked havoc across the Midwest and South, and wildfires that ranged across the South and the West. So here in the Senate we passed a bill, and it wasn't easy.

A lot of our colleagues stood up to the assignment and said: OK, I don't necessarily agree, but I agree conceptually. Therefore, I will agree to make $7 billion in funding available to help victims of Hurricane Irene as well as victims of the recent tornadoes and wildfires. Our bill provides funding to get us through the end of the month because the fiscal year ends at the end of September--just a few days away--and to support emergency needs when the next fiscal year begins in October.

Last week, 10 Republicans had the guts to stand up and say: I don't care that it is the Democrats who are proposing this; I care about the people it is going to serve. They stood up and voted with us. It took courage. They stood up for their constituents and people across the country who are trying to rebuild their lives. This was a courageous vote for them, and it shows there is bipartisan support for the Senate disaster relief bill.

In contrast, the House Republicans couldn't even get enough support from their own party to pass their measly proposal last night. It is time for them to embrace the Senate plan on disaster relief and stop using disaster victims as political pawns.

Who are they going to hurt? Are they going to hurt President Obama? Are they going to hurt Democrats who are in office? No. The pain goes to the ordinary people who work for a living and take care of their families and those proud Americans serving in our military. Those are the people to whom they are saying no.

It is too bad. It is too bad. A lot of these people are veterans and have come back from dangerous duty. They go home, their unemployment rate is high, and very often they are rebuilding their lives. If they have a home, a domicile, in these areas, they say we can't help them.

The House Republicans' halfhearted approach offers little more than $3\1/2\ billion in disaster relief. That sounds like a lot of money, but it is not even close to being enough. It is going to leave our residents, our States, our cities and towns out in the cold at a time when they desperately need help.

In addition to shortchanging FEMA, the House provides zero funding for many of the programs that are needed to help us recover. Our Senate bill includes funding for the community development block grants--a very important program. It gives communities money and the latitude to deal with the problems that face them. It provides our communities with long-term support and Economic Development Administration grants to help businesses grow again--to hire people and to produce product. It also includes funding for the Department of Agriculture to help farmers and residents in rural areas to recover. It is the kind of help we offered in 2008 and 2010 when hurricanes and heavy rains caused destruction in States such as Texas and Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana, and it is what we have to do again.

The House Republicans failed to provide funding for farmers, economic development, or long-term support for local communities to rebuild. That is what you do when you have a crisis or a natural disaster, and there can't be any debate about the help that is required in all 50 States. It requires bipartisan support because we can't get it done with only one party.

Every State has experienced a disaster in recent years. This year alone, Federal disasters have been declared in 48 States. FEMA is working in every one of those States to help communities rebuild and recover--if they have the resources. If they don't, they will not be on the job and people will continue to suffer. So if the House Republicans get their way, every State is on the verge of disaster.

Incredibly, the House proposal pays for disaster relief by taking money from advanced technological development that will help our automobile industry, for instance, and create jobs. In the Senate, we have to reject this misguided approach. We have to say no way. We are not going to rob Peter to pay Paul. They simply want to rob Peter and Paul--that is what they want to do--of assistance and help.

We should ask why it was acceptable to provide more than $800 million to invade and then rebuild Iraq without paying for it, no questions asked. Ask the families who made sacrifices in that war how they felt about it. We turn our back on it. That is what we have done. But when the time comes to rebuild America, some Republicans want to hold the money hostage until painful spending cuts are inflicted elsewhere.

They are gunning for the President of the United States. They think they are going to be able to smash President Obama's accomplishments: getting a couple million people to work, the packages that got the decline stopped where it was and started to turn around.

We have to remember something. I was once the senior Democratic member on the Budget Committee, so I know about balancing budgets. But when these reckless tax cuts came up for the wealthy and cost $700 billion over 10 years, they were approved without being paid for. It is pretty clear, when it comes to giving big tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, the wealthy among us--and I say this without meaning to boast. I ran a very good company, a company I helped start with two other fellows that now employs 45,000 people, where there were three of us, and I, with my education being paid for by the government because I served in the Army for 3 years and I got the G.I. bill.

So I will tell you this--and I will tell this to all my colleagues and I hope they hear me. I think it is time for people like me who have made money to pay something back, to give strength to our country, and not argue about whether they pay enough tax. They

don't pay enough tax. Warren Buffet says they don't pay enough. They listen to him, that they don't pay enough tax. It doesn't hurt those of us who have been successful the least bit to pay a few more percent in taxes. We can feel good about it. Look in the mirror after we have put something in of value that our country needs, that strengthens the working class of people that tells them: Listen, we have gotten our share, and now it is our responsibility to give back some part of that share.

It is pretty clear; when it comes to giving big tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, the Republicans don't give a second thought as to how much they cost. But to our country's disaster victims, they have to go to the back of the line and wait their turn.

When disaster strikes, victims don't want us to reach for the budget ax. They want us to extend that helping hand that gets their lives back started again. The fact is, disaster victims have enough to worry about. In many years, people's lives have seen moments of jeopardy and difficulty, and they fully gave what they had to help their country, feeling all the time that the government is going to stand behind them.

That is what this country of ours is about, this democracy. The Constitution demands that we improve the lives of our citizens; that we give them rights, we give them support, we give them a view of life.

House Republicans want to turn their backs on storm victims. A lot of them are new here. They ought to enjoy these terms because they may not have another one when the public finds out what they are doing, turning their backs on storm victims, local communities, regional economies, and farmers. Their proposal will cost us jobs, and I hope their jobs will be included in it when it comes time next year to vote.

I appeal to my Republican colleagues, stand--stand for those who live in your States, including our neighbors, including the States' children, including the States' families. Remember this, Republican Senators, Republican House Members. We represent people across political lines, across religious lines, across all different lines, and our obligation is to take care of those people when they need help; to give them some support, to give them some hope, to give them some vision.

That is what we are supposed to be doing. We are supposed to be encouraging our citizens, our constituents, and not simply turning our back. What we ought to have is a camera in here that shows every time people vote no on issues and make sure it is clearly understood when people turn their backs on their fellow citizens.

We face serious fiscal challenges in our country, but we cannot put a price on human life. Nothing--nothing is more important than keeping our communities, our families, and our economy safe.

I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I speak today in commemoration of the life of Henry Taub, founder of ADP in 1949 at 21 years of age. He was 19 years old when he received his degree in accounting from NYU.

The company then called Automatic Payrolls was started with a loan of $5,000.

Henry Taub and I became acquainted in 1952 when we both worked in a building in Paterson, NJ where Henry's payroll service company was based. Our occasional contact served to familiarize me with a vital service to businesses large and small.

It was in 1952 that I joined this fledgling organization to become its first salesman and early on a senior member of management. Henry, his brother Joseph Taub, and I worked well together, and the business began the growth that would lead ultimately to a status few companies achieve.

Today ADP employs over 45,000 people in 23 countries and holds the record for at least 10 percent growth in profits each year for 42 years in a row. It is a record unmatched by any other publicly held company. It is now also only one of four companies in our country to qualify as a AAA rated company.

Thirty years at ADP in various assignments as head of marketing, president, chairman, and CEO of ADP brought me to think my experience might be of value for service in the public interest. In that connection I decided to try to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Good fortune came my way, and in 1982 I won a first term as a Senator.

My business experience and background credentials were principal issues in a tough campaign. I learned a great deal over the three decades at ADP, but a major factor in that success was my good luck to have worked side by side with Henry Taub.

Henry was an unusually talented individual. He had superb instincts buoyed by extraordinary intelligence. His modesty was widely known, and a subtle demeanor was included. He was a strategic thinker and responded calmly and directly with problem solving.

Additionally, he had an outstanding ability to bring people to his views, earning enormous respect and allegiance. He was highly moral and honest and encouraged trust in all who knew him. He was without trappings, and with Henry Taub his word was his bond. He shared affection and deep love with family and friends and could always be counted upon for straight answers when questions arose.

Henry Taub was my junior by a few years, but through more than 50 years of friendship, his high personal standards set a target for decency and quality in life. He will long be remembered as an example for others to follow and I remain extremely grateful for his contributions to my life.

I ask to have printed in the Record, a copy of the obituary that appeared in the New York Times at the time of his passing.

The information follows.

[From the New York Times, Apr. 4, 2011]

Henry Taub, a Founder of a Payroll Firm That Became a Global Giant,

Dies at 83

(By Duff Wilson)

Henry Taub, a founder of the payroll company that grew into

the global giant Automatic Data Processing, died on Thursday

in Manhattan. He was 83 and lived in Tenafly, N.J.

The cause was complications of leukemia, his son Steven

said.

For many years Mr. Taub was also a co-owner of the New

Jersey Nets.

Starting in 1949 in an office above a Paterson, N.J., ice

cream parlor and then in a hotel basement, Mr. Taub and his

brother, Joseph, built the company on a reputation for

precision and timeliness. They were joined in the early years

by an aspiring salesman who had been their childhood friend--

Frank R. Lautenberg, now a Democratic senator from New

Jersey.

``The idea was not a brilliant idea, it was a good idea,

but what we did in terms of hard work made it,'' Senator

Lautenberg said in an interview on Sunday. ``Lots of seven-

day workweeks, lots of 12-hour days.''

Today, A.D.P, based in Roseland, N.J., has annual sales of

more than $9 billion and about 550,000 clients and is one of

the world's largest providers of business services. Back

then, however, it was a shoestring operation: the Taubs often

delivered payrolls by bus and cleaned their own offices at

night.

``Each of us had a function,'' Senator Lautenberg said.

``Henry was the strategic one in the firm and designed the

system, and Joe managed the operation, and I was the

marketer, the salesman.''

The company, initially called Automatic Payrolls, changed

its name to Automatic Data Processing in 1958 and went public

in 1961. The timing was perfect because I.B.M. had recently

begun marketing an attractively priced business computer

system that increased A.D.P.'s capabilities.

Mr. Taub was president of the company from 1949 to 1970,

chairman and chief executive from 1970 to 1977 and chairman

from 1977 to 1985. He was an honorary board chairman since

then. Senator Lautenberg left the company in 1983 after

winning election to the United States Senate. He is now the

longest-serving senator in New Jersey history.

Mr. Taub and his brother were among seven local businessmen

who were co-owners of the struggling Nets franchise in the

National Basketball Association for almost 20 years. The Nets

suffered injuries, coaching changes, many losses and

bickering among the owners, who were known as the Secaucus

Seven. When the owners tried to turn things around in 1996,

they selected the well-liked Mr. Taub as chairman. Two years

later, they sold the team to another group of New Jersey

businessmen.

Henry Taub was born in Paterson on Sept. 20, 1927, the son

of a junk dealer, and was raised in a working-class

neighborhood there. ``The streets were just filled with

people and kids and debate and excitement and, from my point

of view, intellectual fervor,'' he said in a 1996 interview

with The New York Times.

After skipping two grades in public school, Mr. Taub

graduated from New York University with a degree in

accounting in three years at 19 and joined an accounting

practice. When a client, a clothing business, did not issue

paychecks one week because of an illness, causing an employee

walkout, Mr. Taub had the idea for a new business: payroll

processing.

Mr. Taub retired from A.D.P. in the mid-1980s, when the

company said it was processing paychecks for a 10th of the

nation's work force. Afterward he became involved in an array

of community, philanthropic and other business endeavors.

With his wife he created the Henry and Marilyn Taub

Foundation, with assets estimated at $150 million.

He financed the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's

Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University, the Taub

Center for Israel Studies at New York University and the Taub

Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel in Jerusalem.

Among other activities, he was president of the American

Technion Society, the United States affiliate of an Israeli

institute of technology, and was chairman of the institute's

international board of governors. He was chairman of the

United Israel Appeal from 1986 to 1990.

He was also a trustee of New York University and served on

the boards of Rite-Aid, Hasbro, Bank Leumi and Trust Company

of New York, Interfaith Hunger Appeal and the New York

Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater.

Mr. Taub is survived by his brother, Joseph; his wife of 53

years, Marilyn; their three children, Judith Gold, Steven and

Ira; and 10 grandchildren.

I ask unanimous consent to be able to speak for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I listened carefully to our colleague from Louisiana and note a particular distinction that her State brings; that is, the number of natural disaster problems that State has had and how diligently Senator Landrieu has fought to make sure that when we have a problem, we ask the government with a clear conscience to do its share in helping us cure the problem we get.

On Sunday just passed, we marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. On that terrible day, 10 years ago, we were reminded that when tragedy strikes one part of our country, Americans pull together to respond. When our enemies and Mother Nature sends us their worst, Americans are at our best.

In the wake of recent storms across the country, including Hurricane Irene in my State of New Jersey, we see this same American spirit of cooperation coming through. Unfortunately, we learned that the spirit of neighbor helping neighbor stops with our Republican colleagues. We saw a shameful display where all but a handful of Republican Senators voted to block consideration of an emergency disaster relief bill. They chose not to let our government do its share in curing a problem that enveloped much of the country. They have chosen to use disaster relief victims as pawns in their political gamesmanship.

Make no mistake. The disaster relief bill is a critical lifeline to the families who are struggling to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives after Hurricane Irene.

Early estimates suggest this violent storm could be 1 of the 10 costliest storms in U.S. history, with damages that exceed $10 billion. This is some of the worst flooding in a century, and it is a serious emergency.

Hurricane Irene produced devastating floods in New Jersey and other States along the east coast. A major tropical storm followed days later causing even more damage. In New Jersey alone at least 11 people were killed, and countless families were displaced after their homes were destroyed.

President Obama has declared the entire State of New Jersey--all 21 counties--a Federal disaster area. Earlier this month, the President came to New Jersey to see firsthand the destruction that Hurricane Irene has caused. I joined him on his tour of Paterson, NJ, my hometown, and one of the cities hit hardest by flooding. We witnessed unforgettable images. The streets and sidewalks were covered in mud, and inside homes--I saw it personally--mud covered the second floor of some. That is how deep the water was. Fourteen-foot crests followed what at times were very tepid streams. Walls were stained by high water marks. This picture shows some of the damage in the city of Paterson. Perhaps it is difficult to see, but what we are looking at is water-- water everywhere--and it is entirely enveloping homes and businesses and the community.

Paterson is not alone. This is a scene in Boonton, NJ, where we see the road was washed away and people can't move from one part of the town to the other.

In Cranford, NJ, we see another disaster scene. Here we have what looks like debris piled up. This debris was furniture. It included beds, cribs, and refrigerators. It included all kinds of things--people putting their wares out on the front lawn, furniture never able to be used again, the houses themselves often not being able to be entered again.

This picture shows the damage in Bound Brook, NJ, and the high level of the water as it compares to the buildings constructed there. With Hurricane Irene, we witnessed nature's power to destroy. Now it is time to see the Federal Government's capacity to repair, rebuild, and restore.

Even before this hurricane struck, FEMA's primary source of funding for cleanup and recovery--the Disaster Relief Fund--was barely on life support. The tornadoes and flooding that wreaked havoc across our Midwest and South earlier this year, along with wildfires and other disasters, depleted the funds. That is why, in my role as vice chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I helped to craft a bill to replenish the Disaster Relief Fund.

The Appropriations Committee approved this bill last week, and majority leader Harry Reid understood the urgency of the situation and brought emergency disaster relief legislation to the floor right away for us to consider--putting money into the relief fund so we can deal with the tragedies that have hit so many people in so many places.

What happened in the Senate yesterday? Republicans filibustered our attempts. I think everybody across America has learned about what the word ``filibuster'' means. It means stopping things, blocking things. They blocked our attempts to even allow an emergency disaster relief bill to be considered. What kind of foul play is that? They talk about saving money, and they talk about cuts. It is outrageous.

Some of them have claimed the bill would cost too much. But we all know the widespread damage that occurred demands a strong Federal response. We have to provide FEMA with the resources it needs to help New Jersey's people, businesses, and communities recover and rebuild from this disaster.

This bill also helps disaster victims in all 50 States--not just the States affected by Hurricane Irene. Every State has experienced disaster in recent years, and FEMA is working in every State to help these communities rebuild and recover. So if we fail to pass this bill, every State is going to suffer because if we can't help one State, we can't help any States, and that is an unacceptable condition.

The fact is, the victims of Hurricane Irene and other recent disasters have enough to worry about. They shouldn't have to also wonder if their government is going to stand behind them.

I wish to be clear. The Federal Government plays a critical role in disaster relief efforts, and we have a responsibility to provide funding to help communities rebuild and to make sure the job gets done well.

For decades the Federal Government has had a track record of extending a helping hand to victims of natural disasters. This includes more than $11 billion in emergency funding to help Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, and other States recover from hurricanes or flooding in 2008. Last year we approved more than $5 billion in emergency funding to help States such as Tennessee and Kentucky recover from floods. The people in these States desperately needed our help, and Congress responded. We have to do the same now.

It is hard to understand why people on the Republican side in the House and in the Senate don't step up to their responsibilities. What are those responsibilities? Those responsibilities are to protect and secure the safety of our people. Without that, the country isn't quite what it should be by all measures. We have to do what we have to do, now.

As we fight our way out of a recession, this is no time to play politics and penalize people who are struggling. Moments such as this demand shared sacrifice. We face serious challenges in our country, but we cannot put a price on a human life and say, well, if it costs a lot over there, we are not going to do that to save people. Nothing is more important than keeping our families, our economy, and our communities safe.

So I call on my colleagues to put aside the Republican cloak, put aside the savings we think we can make from avoiding our responsibilities because no money is going to be saved. The costs are going to be there, and the misery is going to be extended.

So I urge us all to join to approve this bill. Few of us, if any, are exempt from the possibility of disaster in our States. So let's put the politics aside and make sure our first priority is helping people-- helping individuals, helping families, helping the communities--and keeping functions going to permit our society to work.

With that, I close out my comments with wonderment as to what we have seen with the hard shell, heartless attitude about providing FEMA with the money to repair the results of disaster. It is almost incomprehensible. We heard a cry from one of the leaders on the Republican side in the House to say: Well, we first have to find the money to pay for it.

Like the Devil, we do. We don't do that when we see forests being ravaged by fire. We don't do it when we are attacked by outside enemies. We don't do it those times, and we ought not to do it now.

With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes in morning business.

Mr. President, we have arrived at a moment of truth: The American economy and our standing in the world hang in the balance as a result of the Republican plan to derail the functioning of our country and bring about the precarious prospect of a major default in our financial condition.

Democrats have bent over backward to compromise. Yet the Republicans continue to put our country in jeopardy. The American people and the American economy are determined for a reprieve from this disaster. We just heard comments by our colleague from across the aisle about getting our tax structure in order. It reminds me of a condition where there is a fire in a house and people start arguing about the color of the fire engine.

What we have in front of us is an imminent disaster that could upset the balance of our functioning as a society and put America, for the first time, in a position of having less support from around the world; preventing people who are hard at work from being able to make ends meet. So we ask: Isn't this a time for our Republican friends to stop playing ``gotcha,'' stop putting politics ahead of the needs of our middle-class families and, instead, start putting the people before politics?

Make no mistake, the people we serve are nervous and concerned. Purchasing power has declined while wage increases have been insufficient for family needs. Many in America are working their fingers to the bone to get out of this economic squeeze and keep their families intact, while all this time the richest among us see monumental gains in their incomes and their wealth.

The people who have the burdens of maintaining our infrastructure, running our military, and defending the very foundation of our democratic country are struggling daily to stay in their homes, hold on to their health care, and get their kids to college. The American people are the ones--the ordinary people, the middle-income people--who will suffer the most if the Republicans force the U.S. Government to default next week. Fourteen million Americans are already out of work, but more than half a million may join the unemployment line if we don't raise the debt limit.

That is only the beginning. The default crisis will send interest rates skyrocketing, which will be adding even more expense on the American middle class, making it harder for them to meet basic family needs. They will be forced to pay higher interest rates for mortgages, student loans, car loans, and credit cards. That money won't help create jobs or rebuild our economy. It will be going to the banks and to China and to investors who are going to demand higher yields for U.S. bond purchases because they will be seen as less reliable in their likelihood of being paid back.

We are also likely to see another calamity on Wall Street if the United States doesn't pay its bills. The stock markets have already been seeing daily declines in anticipation of a reckless attempt to put politics in the middle of a financial Armageddon. One analysis found that shareholders in U.S. stocks lost more than $400 billion during the past week, while House Republicans were fiddling with a scheme they knew would never become law. But they do not want to write law, they want to destroy the Obama Presidency. That is what the mission is.

The Dow has just had its worst week in a year, and consumers do not have spare dollars for investments because their incomes are consumed by spending money on basic necessities, and because they are aware of losses that will occur from the prospect of default.

Imagine what it will mean to the 401(k) savings of middle-class Americans--much of it accumulated over years--if faith in our country and its value decline sharply as default looms ahead. Their values can go down precipitously.

Other retirement savings can also be wiped out--all because of these punitive actions by Republican representatives. The pain will be excruciating for the neediest Americans. Seniors living on a fixed income can be forced to go

without their Social Security checks and the critical health care they receive through Medicare. We might not be able to deliver promised benefits to veterans or paychecks for the men and women wearing our country's uniform in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I want to be clear: A default will injure America's reputation throughout the world. It will weaken faith in the world's most respected financial power, leaving our country's credibility, stability, and financial leadership in doubt. Simply put, defaulting on the debt could trigger an economic collapse of historic proportion.

That is why I plead with our Republican colleagues to join us without delay in adopting Majority Leader Reid's plan. Senator Reid's plan will provide certainty for middle-class Americans and to the markets because it will provide stability through 2013, and stability is what we need right now.

This plan isn't perfect. Many of us, including me, believe it should include revenues. It doesn't. But that is why it is called a compromise. After we adopt this plan and step back from the brink, we need to work on a balanced approach to get our country back on sound economic footing. That means asking the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share.

I am one of those who was very fortunate in my business experience. I started a company with two other fellows and we have 45,000 employees today. Why? Because our country was there for me after I served in uniform in World War II. I was able to get an education at Columbia University, and we started a company called ADP. Now 45,000 people have their jobs because of ADP.

Our Republican colleagues have to abandon their obsession to protect the wealthiest among us at an unaffordable cost to the poor and the middle class, and recognize the value of our country's human infrastructure. No economy can grow if it doesn't invest in physical infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, railways, and no society can prosper if it doesn't invest in education. We need to prop up our human infrastructure to fill the future jobs in technology and science and research.

Let's face it, building houses and other physical facilities are never built from the top down. The work requires a strong foundation to guarantee reliability, endurance, and safety, now and for the future. Middle-class families form America's foundation--the pillars of strength, faith in the future, a belief that Americans can survive challenges and catastrophes, and the further belief that no place on Earth exists with more freedom and liberty than our blessed country. But all that could evaporate if default is permitted to occur.

Over the past half century, the debt ceiling has been raised 75 times--almost two-thirds of them under Republican Presidents. In fact, the debt ceiling was increased 18 times under President Reagan and 7 times under President George W. Bush. Our country has never defaulted on its obligations, and default must be prevented if we love our country.

It is time for the Republicans to abandon their ``my way or the highway'' approach. It is time for the Republicans to stop playing politics with our country's economy. The time for politics is election day 2012--not now.

Let's do our work, keep our precious ship steady and afloat. Majority Leader Reid's plan is our last best hope to avoid a disaster, and we need to act on it without further delay.

With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor, and the remainder of any time I may have.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 15 minutes.