Floor Statements

Mr. President, Bart Giamatti was a well-rounded man. He was the president of the Yale University and also Commissioner of Major League Baseball. He once called education the ``heart of a civil society.'' But he also said the heart of education is the act of teaching.

The commitment to educate the children of this Nation is our greatest investment in our collective future. It is the key to keeping the American dream alive and crucial to staying competitive in a global economy. Teachers are the stewards of that investment. But the terrible recession that has rocked our national economy has threatened their ability to give our children the education they deserve.

Since 2008, State and local budget cuts have cost this country 300,000 education jobs. Nearly 200,000 of those jobs were lost in the last year alone. Schools are feeling the pinch of a larger class size, especially at the elementary and middle school levels. The number of children in an elementary school classroom has a direct correlation to student achievement and even college graduation rates.

Districts also shortened schooldays, school years, and eliminated summer

school programs that help underprivileged children to compete in the world. They have cut art and music classes and afterschool activities that keep students engaged and prevent everything from high school dropouts, delinquency, to even teen pregnancy.

While all of these cuts have been difficult, things could be much worse. The Recovery Act and the Education Jobs Fund provided money to keep 422,000 teachers in the classroom for a year. School districts across the country used that Federal funding to keep class sizes small and ensure students are given the world-class education they deserve. They used this funding to ensure America's children are trained for the jobs of today and prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.

Still, as the economy continues to struggle, so do State and local budgets. That means schools that are already doing more with less will continue to be at risk. Although Democrats have saved hundreds of thousands of teacher jobs already, schools have still lost 300,000 educators since this recession began.

And the brain drain could even get worse. State and local budgets could cost as many as 280,000 teacher jobs next year unless we do more. That is why President Obama proposed we invest $30 billion as part of the American Jobs Act to keep our schools well staffed and to ensure our children are well educated. This is not deficit spending. This is money that will be paid for. Republicans blocked that job-creating legislation which would have put 2 million people to work in classrooms and at construction sites across the country. But Democrats have not given up on keeping our schools fully staffed. Nearly 300,000 teacher jobs--I repeat--are at risk, and so is the quality of our education system.

Unless school districts get a helping hand, many will be forced to make more difficult choices between laying off educators and going without schoolbooks, paper, and other supplies.

Democrats will pursue the President's plan to keep nearly 400,000 teacher and support staff where they belong, in the classroom--a $30 billion investment, fully paid for, which will help school districts not only avoid layoffs but also rehire tens of thousands of teachers who have already lost their jobs because of budget cuts.

It will also commit $5 billion to retaining the police, firefighters, and first responders who work so hard to keep our communities safe, and to rehiring those who have already been laid off in these tough economic times. Our economy cannot afford to lose more jobs. Our communities cannot afford to lose the men and women who keep us safe and secure. Our Nation cannot afford to lose the competitive edge a world-class education system gives us in a constantly changing world. Democrats are committed to protecting the heart of education Bart Giamatti spoke of, the talented teachers who will shape our civil society.

Mr. President, will the Chair announce the business of the day?

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, Senator Kohl will be here momentarily. But until the managers of the bill are ready to proceed, I would, on behalf of Senator Webb, call up his amendment, which is at the desk.

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

Mr. President, notwithstanding the previous action just taken, I ask unanimous consent that the substitute be called up.

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

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

Mr. President, we were hopeful today that we could clear the nomination of John Edgar Bryson to be Secretary of Commerce. This has been outstanding for a long time. We have been told by our Republican friends that as soon as we got the trade bills done we would work this out. The trade bills are done. So I hope we can move forward. It is very unfortunate that one of the President's very important Cabinet positions; that is, Secretary of Commerce, which is directly related to the jobs we are trying to create, is not filled at this time. Hopefully we can get the minority to work with us in processing this nomination. I hope I do not have to file cloture on it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 96.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the committee- reported substitute be considered, the Rockefeller and Paul amendments at the desk be agreed to, the substitute amendment be agreed to, and the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 294, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 295.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I am told there are four bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask for a second reading of these four matters en bloc, and I object to my own request en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, October 18; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 2112; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

I note the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, before the Chair rules on my consent request, I am told we missed one bill due for its first reading. I ask the clerk to report that bill.

Mr. President, I ask for a second reading and, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, object to my own request.

Mr. President, I made a request, and it is my understanding the Chair has approved that. Is that true?

Mr. President, we will work on an agreement with respect to amendments that are pending. There are four or five of them pending now to H.R. 2112. We will notify Senators when votes are scheduled. We would hope we could get some of them out of the way tomorrow morning. There would be no reason we could not do that.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until noon. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the majority will control the next 30 minutes. At noon, the Senate will be in executive session to consider the Nathan, Hickey, and Forrest nominations. They are all nominated to be U.S. district court judges. We expect two rollcall votes at around 2 p.m. in relation to these nominations.

Additionally, there is a joint meeting of Congress today at 4 p.m. with the President of South Korea. Senators will gather on the floor at 3:40 p.m. to proceed to the House. We will do that together.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I would just say, as my friend leaves--I know he has an appointment--the work that has been done in the last few weeks in the Senate has been very important. We have been able to work on the FEMA bill, we worked through the problems with that; China currency, we worked through that. Even though, as my friend, the distinguished Republican leader, knows, I did not agree with the trade bills--what they did--I think it is a good sign of our working together. In spite of strong feelings on both sides, people put that aside. There were no dilatory efforts made to hold them up, and we moved forward. I think that is commendable. That should be the pattern for the rest of this Congress.

I also want the Record to be spread with the fact that as far as congressional action, this legislation would not have happened but for the Republican leader. He has been laser focused for a long time, and there were some things we had to work through to get here, but one of the reasons I did what I did to help move this along is because of his feelings about the importance of this legislation.