Mr. President, today, I join millions of Nevadans in commemorating the day, 147 years ago, that Nevada joined the Union. Granted statehood during the bitter years of the Civil War, in 1864, our mettle was tested from the very beginning.…
Mr. President, today, I join millions of Nevadans in commemorating the day, 147 years ago, that Nevada joined the Union. Granted statehood during the bitter years of the Civil War, in 1864, our mettle was tested from the very beginning.
Today, our State is once again tested. All over the State of Nevada, too many Nevadans are still out of work or underwater in their home mortgages during these tough economic times. But I know by facing our challenges together, we will once again demonstrate the collective strength that comes from being literally ``battle born.''
What is on this chart appeared in last week's New Yorker magazine. ``I've got mine.'' ``Change, Smange.'' ``Leave Well Enough Alone.'' ``Keep Things Precisely as they are.'' ``I'm good, thanks.''
The pictures portrayed are obviously caricatures of very rich people--top hats, vests, cigars. For me, this did not portray people who were rich as much as what is going on with our Republican colleagues. We know all that has been said about the 1 percent--how well they are doing. It was reported last week that during the last 25 years, their percentage of wealth in America has gone up almost 300 percent. So there will be a lot of attention focused on the rich, as it should be.
But also I think it should be directed to the Republicans in the Senate--not to Republicans around the country but those in the Senate-- because Republicans around the country don't agree. They don't agree things are just fine. They don't agree we should leave well enough alone. They don't agree that just because the rich are doing so well, things are OK precisely the way they are. The vast majority of Americans disagree with that.
It is true that for a few lucky Americans, things in this country are going just fine. The haves have never had more. My colleagues in the Republican Party in the Senate are singularly focused on making sure it stays that way. Everything on this chart applies to what has happened in the Senate in the last 10, 11 months. The gap between the haves and the have nots has never been bigger. The middle class is falling further and further behind.
That is why, while Republicans advocate for millionaires and billionaires, Democrats are looking out for working Americans.
We have not forgotten that 14 million people are still out of work or millions more are struggling to make ends meet. We have not stopped fighting to get good-paying American jobs.
That is why Democrats will introduce the Rebuild America's Jobs Act tonight, legislation that will create hundreds of thousands of jobs by investing in our Nation's crumbling infrastructure. It would put men and
women across this country to work, for example, upgrading 150,000 miles of highways and roads, laying 4,000 miles of train tracks, restoring 150 miles of airport runways and installing a modern air traffic control system that no longer relies on World War II-era technology and will reduce travel time and delays.
Since the economic downturn began, more than 2 million construction workers have lost their jobs. That has happened all over the country. This legislation will send hundreds of thousands of those workers back to job sites to build $27 billion worth of roads, bridges, and other important aspects of our infrastructure.
The plan would fund $250 million worth of projects in my State and millions of dollars in the State of Delaware and other States. It would support about 3,300 badly needed jobs.
Overall, the Rebuild America Jobs Act would invest $50 billion, taking our citizens off the unemployment rolls and putting them back to work, ensuring our Nation has top-notch infrastructure once again.
It will also invest $10 billion to create an infrastructure bank that would leverage public and private capital to fund a wide range of long- delayed projects.
It will do all this without adding one penny to the deficit. Instead, it would require millionaires and billionaires to contribute their fair share--those whose incomes are netting over $1 million. They would be asked to pay a surcharge of less than 1 percent--seven-tenths of 1 percent, to be exact--to get this Nation's economy back on track.
Americans overwhelmingly support the Democrats' plan to invest in roadways, runways, and railways. Seventy-two percent of the American people support the Rebuild America Jobs Act.
I don't know if I have been to Jonesboro, AR. I had a case that took me all over that State on one occasion. But a man in Jonesboro, AR, is quoted in last week's Time magazine. ``The Return of the Silent Majority.'' I believe Drew Ramey qualifies for that. This is what he told Time magazine:
I used to think I was a libertarian. . . . But I like my
roads now. I like my public services.
That was Drew Ramey from Jonesboro, AR. He speaks for millions and millions of Americans, Americans of all political persuasions. Even 54 percent of Republicans believe a world-class economy should have world- class roads and bridges. They agree with what we are trying to do.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and labor union AFL-CIO rarely agree on anything, but they agree on this. They agree we should pass the Rebuild American Jobs Act to improve the woeful state of America's infrastructure. It is not only labor and business groups but transit officials, mayors, and three-quarters of the American people support our plan--76 percent.
I could quote one dozen of my Senate Republican colleagues who have supported aspects of this in the past. Why aren't they lining up to support our proposal? Two basic reasons. One, Republicans are determined to see President Obama fail, even if it means Americans fail with him--sad but true.
My colleague, the Republican leader, said his No. 1 goal in this Congress is to defeat President Obama. They would rather see Americans continue to struggle, as I have outlined, to find work than work together with the President and with us.
Second, Republicans are more concerned with protecting millionaires and billionaires than they are willing to work with us to put 14 million people back to work.
I heard on the radio this morning, on National Public Radio, that during the Bush years, we lost 8.6 million jobs. We have only gotten a little over 2 million of those back--2\1/2\ million, frankly. It wasn't long ago that a President who was in office for 8 years could boast, if he wanted to, about creating 23 million jobs.
That is what Republicans have given us. They refuse to ask the rich to contribute a tiny fraction more to secure our economic future, even if it costs more jobs.
In recent days, Republicans have shown new interest in the gulf between rich and poor that has motivated thousands to occupy parks across the country and make their voices heard. Apparently, they believe America's staggering income inequality makes a good talking point.
Yet while Democrats fight for jobs for the middle class, Republicans fight for tax breaks for the 1 percent of Americans who don't need our help.
I will bet if we could ask these very rich people would they be willing to give seven-tenths of 1 percent more to create millions of jobs, most of them would say yes. Why aren't my Republican colleagues supporting this simple, commonsense legislation?
I say to my Republican colleagues that I hope they will work with us. We want to work with them. If we can do something good, there is a lot of good will to go around. But we have to make sure the speeches we have heard from some of our colleagues about creating jobs amount to doing something about it. We have not seen it yet.