We are happy to yield 41 seconds to the majority. I want my 41 seconds back with that voice. No objection. Regular order. Regular order, Mr. President. How rude that is. Thank you, Mr. President. First of all, I want to extend my…
We are happy to yield 41 seconds to the majority.
I want my 41 seconds back with that voice.
No objection.
Regular order.
Regular order, Mr. President.
How rude that is.
Thank you, Mr. President.
First of all, I want to extend my appreciation--and I speak for the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans--to the staff which has been supporting us the last few days. People are working very long hours. The Capitol Police are working a 16-hour shift. Their shifts are very important. There are some people from all over the world who target the Capitol of the United States where we now stand. These men and women who guard us, protect us, make us secure, have to be vigilant. They are among the best trained police officers in the entire world. I extend appreciation from all Senators to them for the work they do, not only during the time in the past few days but all of the time--having been a Capitol policeman in the day when things were much more calm and deliberate than they are now.
I also extend the appreciation of all Senators to all the staff, Parliamentarians, clerks, the enrolling clerks, the court reporters--I don't think I have done that--and the pages. We have juniors in high school who are here tonight. I haven't mentioned everyone. But my compliments go to everyone who supports this great institution. I am sorry they have had to work another night, but that is the way it is.
The reason you have seen all the charts on the other side of the aisle change is because this number Mr. Schumer talked about bothers them a lot. Now they have come up with judges who haven't even come before the Senate. They know only four have been turned down. But now they have the other thing, that there is going to be 12. Well, we might wait and see what is going to happen. Why don't we wait?
I say this: The 30 hours we have spent so far has been totally wasted. There isn't going to be a single vote changed. Nothing is going to change. This has been an effort to toss meat to the rightwing extremists. Many Senators--and I say many--certainly at least a dozen Republican Senators approached me and made different excuses and apologies for what is going on on the other side. They know this is very nonsenatorial. But we are involved in this and we are going to proceed in the best and most dignified way we can.
There is something else I would like to spend some time talking about tonight, and that is jobs.
Let us talk about what is happening in the last 30 hours. What has happened? We can start at a number of different places. During the last 30 hours, 2,833 Americans--men women, teenagers, old people, married, unmarried, grandparents--have been laid off. They have lost their jobs.
In America today, things are so difficult dealing with jobs. For the 2,833 Americans who have lost their jobs during the last 30 hours, the average time for them to find a good job will be 5 months. Five months, 2,833 Americans will wait an average of 5 months to find another job.
It seems to me it would be good for us rather than spending 30 hours plus on 4 people and not a single vote has been changed--4 people who have jobs, good jobs--that we would spend some time talking about how to create more jobs, thirty hours of debate here in the Senate about programs.
For example, I think what we should have is an infrastructure development program where the Federal Government is involved in putting out money so the contracts can be let in the private sector so companies can build roads, they can build dams, they can build bridges, they can do water systems, sewer plants. We could spend some time here debating where it should go and how much we should spend. We know for every $1 billion spent, we would create 47,000 jobs as compared to 2,833 Americans who have lost jobs in the last 30 hours--47,000 high- paying jobs. Of course, the spinoff from these jobs would be significant and magnificent.
As I indicated, 2,833 people have lost their jobs in the last 30 hours. The four people who have been dwelled on by the majority have jobs--good jobs. Who are the people who have lost their jobs? I have already talked about parents, single parents, families. It is really sad to understand that 2,833 people are going to have to wait on average 5 months to find another job.
During the last 30 hours, 8,698 people have lost their health insurance.
A man flew in from Arizona to meet with me today. He graduated from Utah State University where I did. He was a star football player at Utah State University. He is a big man physically and a big man emotionally. He flew back here because he is now a physician. He is terribly concerned about the 8,698 people who have lost their health insurance. He understands what it means for people to come to him and have no health insurance. He talked to me and my staff about what we can do about it. He felt so strongly about it that he came back and talked to me.
How does a mother feel, how does a father feel, who have children or no children, how do they feel going to bed at night recognizing if something happens to them or their family, they have no health insurance. What do they do? They do not get the treatment and care they need. They only go when something desperate has happened to them. An automobile accident, they go to the emergency room. Preventive care, forget about it. During the last 30 hours, 8,698 people have lost their health insurance. I think we should talk about that. We need to do something about that. There are 44 million Americans who have no health insurance.
In addition to 44 million people who have no health insurance, there are millions of people who are underinsured, meaning they have insurance but it isn't very good. That is what I talked about today among other things with my friend from Utah State University, a wonderful man, who is a young physician who cares about his community and his country.
We have 44 million Americans with no health insurance, and we are here, and we have been here for the last many hours talking about four people who not only have jobs but they have health insurance. Every one of the four have health insurance. And they have jobs.
What does it mean not to have a job? Does it take away someone's dignity? Does it cause divorce, dissension? Does it cause kids not to be able to go to school, to college? Of course it does. Does it cause crime? Of course it does. Does it cause our welfare rolls to go up? Of course it does.
But the 4, the 168 to 4, those 4 have jobs. They have health insurance. Why are we not here talking for 30 hours of constructive debate about doing something in this Nation about health insurance so people when they get sick can go to a doctor, people when they need preventive care can get it. In the long run it would save the country lots of money.
In the last 30 hours, the trade deficit of this country has gone up $300 million. In 30 hours, the trade deficit has gone up $300 million. What does that mean? It means we have bought more into this country and sold less outside our country to the tune of $300 million. That is not good.
I have heard my friend from North Dakota, Senator Byron Dorgan, give lectures in this Senate about the need to do something about our trade policies because the trade deficit continues to rise, causing this country lots of problems. We are doing nothing about it. We have a trade deficit with China. They jiggle their money, and it is continuing. We are afraid to take that issue up here.
My friend, the distinguished Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, has attempted on several occasions to bring forth an amendment to stop the Chinese from playing with the numbers so that the trade deficit continues. But we have been unable to do that. Why? Because we are talking about four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, and could care less about the trade deficit.
In the last 30 hours, focusing away from some problems that to some may not seem important--the trade deficit--we could talk about something that is real important. During the last 30 hours when we have been here talking about four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, and who have nothing to do directly with the trade deficit but are keeping us from talking about it, during that 30 hours the food stamp rolls in this country have gone up by 6,237. During the last 30 hours, 6,237 desperate people have signed up for food stamps saying, in effect: We are hungry. Government, will you help us buy food for our families? We have never done it before. But these are new people signing up for food stamps.
I could say without any qualms or reservations, the four people I have talked about here tonight and the majority has talked about here for a long time, they have not lost their jobs. They have not lost health insurance. They don't even have to consider food stamps. But wouldn't it be good for us as a nation to spend some time talking about food stamps?
I can remember when I was a new Senator, the great Senator Pat Moynihan--his chair was right back there. There was a vote going on about the homeless. Senator Moynihan said to me: We have helped create the homeless by Federal policies where we have, in effect, emptied out our mental institutions, but we have done nothing to have community health centers. A lot of the people who are homeless are people who need medical attention.
Well, food stamps, we need to do something about that.
About poor people, in America today, as sad as it seems, the rich are getting richer. The rich are doing fine. The wealthy are doing fine. The elite of America are doing great. The poor are doing real bad. The middle class is narrowing all the time. We need as a nation to figure something out to do something about that. We don't want to live in America like many countries where you have the rich and the poor and no middle class. Why don't we spend 30 hours doing that? Not spending 30 hours talking about four people who are well educated, have jobs, have health insurance, are not on food stamps.
During the last 30 hours, when we have been here in the Senate talking about these four people, we have had in America 36 mass layoffs. Employers have had 36 experiences where they said: We have to lay off more than 50 people. A mass layoff, by Department of Labor standards, is more than 50 people. During the last 30 hours, we have had 36 of those.
Why are we having so much trouble in America today keeping people working? Why is it taking so long for people who lose a job to find a job? I would think this Nation would be better served talking about jobs, not about four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, who are not on food stamps, who have not been part of a mass layoff in the last 30 hours.
On this Senate floor, during these last 30 hours, there have been seven attempts by the minority to extend unemployment benefits for people whose unemployment benefits have run out. Is that important? During the last 30 hours, while we have been here talking about four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, who are not on food stamps, who have not been part of mass layoffs, 13,194 people have had their unemployment benefits run out. The people who have lost unemployment benefits are real. These are not statistics that somebody made up.
Let me read to you a letter I received from a woman in Las Vegas, NV. We will just call her Margo. I won't give her full name. She writes, October 10, 2003:
Dear Senator Reid:
On July 2, 2003 I became a displaced airline worker after
38 years as a TWA (now American Airlines) Flight Attendant.
As a result of union concessions given to American Airlines,
I received no severance pay.
My Unemployment Benefits will expire on January 2, 2004.
Congress has passed new legislation which made December 28,
2003 the cut-off day for Temporary Extended Unemployment
Compensation. After that date, there will be no more
extensions. I will miss the deadline for Extended
Unemployment Benefits by 5 days.
I am a single woman and a sole supporter. I have no skills
applicable to this difficult job market and my age makes an
already bad job market even more limited. It will take time
to learn skills and find a suitable job. Extended
Unemployment Benefits will be needed for my very survival.
I ask you--
She has it in bold type--
to please support S1708--
The one we have tried to move seven times to the floor in the last 2 days, objected to by the majority--
which will extend the TEUC [benefits] and provide additional
Unemployment Benefits to those who cannot find jobs.
This is a real person. This is not someone who is made up. This is descriptive of the 13,194 people who, during the last 30 hours, have lost their unemployment benefits. That is sad.
I have another letter here from another woman. I will read the last paragraph:
I am not writing this letter to get a hand out or sympathy.
For every job that is open, 50 people apply. I have faith in
God that he has a perfect job for me and that he will provide
for us.
I ask unanimous consent that these two letters be printed in the Record, and with the permission of the Chair, I would ask the clerk to block off the names because I have not spoken to them for permission to make their names public.
I would also say that this woman says she would take two jobs at minimum wage just to make things work. She has a husband who is disabled. That is what this is all about.
We know that during the last 30 hours people in America have had some problems. Two thousand eight hundred thirty-three people have lost their jobs; 8,698 have lost health insurance; food stamps increased by 6,237; the trade deficit has gone up $300 million; 36 mass layoffs, 13,194 people lost their unemployment.
During the last 30 hours, we have 65,357 people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time. We have had, during this 30 hours, desperate people; 5,137 people have filed for bankruptcy.
I did general practice. I have had interviews with people who told me they had no choice but to file bankruptcy. Usually it is some problem with medical expenses, but these people are desperate. We don't have a bunch of deadbeats out there. We don't have 5,137 deadbeats. We have 5,137 desperate people.
What are we talking about here? Not doing something about the bankruptcy law when we came that close to passing it. There was one provision in it that because of the ideology of certain people it didn't pass. We came so close to reforming the bankruptcy law which would have helped a lot of these people. We should spend some time on bankruptcy.
I have talked to the distinguished senior Senator from Iowa on many occasions about the need to do something about this. And by the way, he is a Republican. We need to do something about it. But what are we doing? Spending 30 hours talking about people who have jobs. They have not lost their health insurance. They are not drawing food stamps. They have not been part of mass layoffs. They have certainly not lost their unemployment. They have not had to file for unemployment benefits for the first time, and they have not had to file for bankruptcy.
During the last 30 hours, to get real personal about this, 80 people have committed suicide. While we have been here talking about these 4 people, 80 people in America have killed themselves. These are real people. The distinguished junior Senator from Oregon lost a 22-year-old son about 2 months ago as a result of suicide. In this Senate Chamber, there are lots of people who have suffered as a result of suicide. My father killed himself.
We need to learn more about suicide. More than 31,000 people in America a year kill themselves. We don't know why. It is one of the leading causes of death for teenagers. Why are we spending time on these four people? Why couldn't we spend 30 hours trying to find out why people kill themselves? We don't know. And we, as a Congress, have trouble even having a hearing on it. The first hearing on this was held less than 10 years ago. We have done a little since then but not very much. There are desperate people out there trying to decide are they going to kill themselves today.
I met up here in my office today with a prominent person, a prominent name in Washington, DC. She proceeded to tell me when she was 17 years old she tried to kill herself. She took a lot of pills. She described to me how she believed she went to the other side and came back. This isn't some nut. This is a good friend, someone who a lot of people know, a wonderful person. We need to learn more about suicide. But we are not going to do it talking about these four people, these four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, who are not on food stamps, who have not been part of mass layoffs, who have not filed for unemployment benefits or bankruptcy.
During the last 30 hours--and this is very difficult to comprehend-- during the last 30 hours, 10,000 people have died in Africa because of AIDS; 10,000 people in 30 hours have died in one continent because of AIDS; 70,000 people in a week. There are no vacations. Christmastime, Thanksgiving, Easter, it doesn't matter, they keep dying. What about a debate for 30 hours recognizing what we can do to approach the needs of this worldwide problem which has an affect on America?
During the last 30 hours, Nasiriyah, Iraq, a suicide bomber, 31 killed; during the last 30 hours in Baghdad, Iraq, 2 of the 1st Armored Division killed; during the last 30 hours in Iraq, 37 attacks by terrorists, many of our troops not dead but injured; during the last 30 hours,
seven funerals of American servicemen killed in a helicopter downing in Iraq, seven funerals.
I understand how strongly people feel about these four people. I know how strongly people feel about this. But as I said yesterday, I don't in any way suggest we are wrong. I believe as strongly as I can that we have done the best thing for America in turning down these people who would be bad for the judiciary.
I have been to juries lots of times. I have tried over 100 cases with juries. I have the greatest respect for our justice system. I have tremendous respect for judges who try cases themselves. But I also have some idea in my own mind, having been a trial lawyer, how important it is to have good people on the bench, especially the Federal bench. These are appointments for life. I think no matter how strongly people feel about this issue, and assuming for purposes of this discussion that we are wrong, which I disagree, but let's assume for purposes of discussion, don't you think we have carried this thing a little too far? Don't you think the same points could be made?
I have tremendous respect for my friend from South Carolina. I sat right here, just like this, scared to death 5 years ago. It was the first time I had ever sat this close, first time I ever had the job as the assistant leader of the Democrats. I was afraid to be here. The first big thing was the impeachment trial of the President of the United States. The Senator from South Carolina was one of the managers. He is a fine lawyer. I have great respect for him. He is a man of courage. He breaks from his party on occasion. I admire him for that.
But I say to my friend, I think we have made our points. I mean, you make a good case. But for Heaven's sake, everything has been said by your side, and everybody has said it. On our side, I think everything has been said, and everybody has said it.
Enough is enough. I think during the last 30 hours we could have been discussing issues that are more important, such as jobs, not the four people who have jobs, who have health insurance, who have not had to go on food stamps, who have not been part of mass layoffs. They have not lost unemployment benefits. They haven't had to file bankruptcy. There are just so many problems we need to deal with that we have not done because of these 30 hours.
I say to my friends, we have had an equal discussion. I think that is good, that the two leaders worked that out, because it could have been a real nasty situation here without allocating the time in a balanced fashion. Maybe history books will look at this as something that has been important to the country. I hope so. But I have my doubts.
I think the more important issues are not those dealing with these four people. The more important issues are those dealing with the personal lives of other than those four people.
I would ask that we recognize that. I know the content of the character of the Senator from South Carolina who is leading the debate on the other side. I know he will lead a civil debate. I appreciate that. But I just say: Why don't we all just wrap it up and go home. Come back and vote at 8:30. That is what the schedule is anyway. I think that would be better for the whole body.
Whatever time we have remaining, I yield to the majority.