Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 44.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 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 that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 45, 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 be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that S. 126 be discharged from the Committee on Rules and Administration and be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

I ask unanimous consent the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 109 and the bill be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Mr. President, I am told there are three bills at the desk due for their first reading.

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

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Friday, February 4, 2011; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

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

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, following my remarks, Senator Paul of Kentucky will be recognized for up to 20 minutes in morning business to deliver his first speech as a Member of the Senate. Following Senator Paul's remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 223, the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization bill. I have spoken to the Republican leader, and we will have some votes between 5 and 6 o'clock tonight. We will have three votes. Senators will be notified as to the specific time at a later hour today.

Madam President, if the American people want to understand the difference between Democrats and Republicans, it is my suggestion that they pay attention to what is happening on the Senate floor this week. The two parties simply have different priorities. Democrats are fighting to modernize our Nation's air travel. Republicans are fighting to repeal the health care reform law, ignoring the 80 percent of Americans who want them to leave it alone. In other words, Democrats want to get passengers the rights they deserve. Republicans want to take away patients' rights that they already have, rights that are saving lives, saving money, and saving Medicare, just as we promised when we wrote this law.

What Republicans refuse to understand, or at least what they hope the people do not realize, is that in America we give our citizens rights; we don't take them away. That principle comes first and inspired the country's founding and has directed our evolution and defines our promise.

We as Senators have a choice. We can move forward or we can look backward; we can make progress or we can stage a futile fight with the future. It is clear this week that while the American people and Senate Democrats are looking ahead, Senate Republicans are looking for a way to distract the American people. This is what moving forward looks like: Our bill to modernize our Nation's air travel will protect consumers. It is a passengers' bill of rights. We know delays happen when we fly from the airports around the country. We try to fly sometimes. When we do, we want to make sure passengers are treated right. We want to make sure passengers have the right to timely and accurate information about their flight. We want to make sure passengers have the right to food, water, and access to restrooms when they are forced to wait.

We want to make sure passengers have the right to know that while they are sitting on an airplane that is on a tarmac--as I said here yesterday, 3\1/2\ hours in Dallas alone waiting for a gate--we want to make sure passengers know the airline they are flying has a contingency plan to get them where they need to go.

This bill will also make flying safer and make it more efficient. It will help prevent accidents on the runways. It will finally introduce GPS technology to our Nation's air traffic control system. Mongolia has GPS. We don't. In most every country in the world, they determine where airplanes are with GPS. They do it in the air. We are still doing it on the ground. This bill will improve access to rural communities, which is important to Nevadans in rural cities such as Ely, NV, which is not near a big metropolitan area, and would reduce delays in the first place. That is what moving forward looks like, and that is why Senator Rockefeller has worked for years to get this bill passed.

But there have been little side issues that have come up. The side issues are going to be debated on the floor and we will either pass them or get rid of them and get this bill on the road to the President's desk. So what I have talked about is what moving forward looks like. That is what we Democrats want to do.

This is what moving backward would look like: Republicans' symbolic effort to repeal the rights in the health care reform bill would put us all at risk. I am going to only mention a few of the things, but it would let insurance companies, once again, stand in the way of a child and the medical care that child needs. It would take away that child's right to get health insurance and instead give insurance companies the right to use asthma or diabetes as the excuse to take away that care. It would kick kids off their parents' health insurance. It would take away seniors' rights to a free wellness check. It would force seniors to pay more for their prescriptions. It would raise taxes on small businesses and add $1.5 trillion to our deficit.

That is what their amendment would do.

This is how health insurance worked before reforms became the law of the land. We do not want to go back. Madam President, I am sure you have had parents come to you with tears in their eyes, saying: Now my child can get insurance. We don't want to have mothers say: What am I going to do? That is what they said in the past.

There is one more difference between Democrats and Republicans. We are fighting for jobs this week. Along with all the advantages in the aviation modernization bill I mentioned a minute ago, it is also a jobs bill. It will create and protect at least 280,000 American jobs. That is why we are fighting so hard for this bill. This is a bipartisan bill. Let's get to passing it.

While the health care reform law is making sick Americans healthier and better, it is also helping unemployed Americans find work. A healthier health care system is going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs a year for the next decade.

I went to GW University Hospital--I wasn't sick--to visit somebody there. A woman--she must have been one of the administrators--said: Oh, I am so happy. She said: You know that health care bill you passed, we are going to hire 500 new physicians. I came back and told my staff that and they said you must have it mixed up. Five hundred? I said: Let's find out her name and you call her. They called her. I was right. That is what she told me, and she said that is because of the health care bill we passed.

We are talking about this health care bill also helping unemployed Americans find work. A healthier health care system is going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs a year for the next decade. That is what they tell us. That is because when businesses do not have to spend much on premiums, they can spend more on people--and healthier workers are, of course, more productive workers and that helps our economy at every level.

This is the difference between moving forward and moving backward. It is the difference between giving people rights and taking them away. In the late days of the health care reform debate, my colleagues on the other side asked us to stop everything and start over. It is nothing more than an excuse to keep insurance companies in charge of health care in this country. The minority is again asking us to turn back the clock on the progress we made, turn health care back to the insurance companies. They can dig in their heels, try to slam on the brakes as hard as they want, but the course of our country goes in only one direction. We move forward.

Madam President, as I announced earlier, Senator Paul is going to give his maiden speech. I am sure his father is looking on through the magic of all of the new communications we have to listen to his son give a speech in the Senate. We are all anxious to hear him.

Senator Paul.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5:15 p.m. today, the Senate proceed to votes in relation to the following amendments to S. 223, the FAA authorization bill, in the order listed below:

Levin amendment relative to repeal of 1099, the text of which is at the desk; the Stabenow amendment No. 9, repeal of 1099; and the McConnell amendment No. 13, which is the repeal of health care reform; that no other amendments, points of order or motions be in order to these amendments prior to the votes, except that a budget point of order, if applicable, remain in order to each of these amendments, and if one is raised, a motion to waive the budget point of order be in order; that if the motion to waive is agreed to, the amendment be considered agreed to; and the Senate then proceed to vote in relation to the next amendment in the sequence; further, that the Levin amendment be subject to a 60-vote threshold for its adoption and if it fails to achieve 60 affirmative votes, the amendment be withdrawn.

Finally, that there be 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to each vote; and that all votes after the first vote be limited to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, we are going to have no more votes tonight. We have an amendment that Senator Whitehouse is waiting to offer, and there are a number of other FAA-related amendments. We hope to have a productive day tomorrow. In the near future, we hope to develop a finite list of amendments so we can conclude this bill.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the extraordinary achievements of Andre Kirk Agassi, professional tennis player and fellow Nevadan, for his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame earlier this month.

He was born on April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas to Mike and Betty Agassi. The son of a former Iranian Olympic boxer, Andre Agassi's father taught him to play tennis at a very young age. At 16 he made his professional debut, and 1 year later he won his first singles title. He quickly rose to the international stage and was soon ranked No.1 in the world. He continued to represent Nevada and the United States, as well as athletes by winning a gold medal, which he earned at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, and by capturing eight Grand Slams.

He is known as one of the most impressive champions in tennis history, and his charisma for the game drew attention and rivals alike. Many recall the great tennis rivalry with Pete Sampras of the mid-1990s which recaptured a robust following of tennis fans.

Despite his tremendous success as an athlete, his accomplishments off the court are just as impressive. After his first Grand Slam title, Agassi founded the Andre Agassi Charitable Association, which has raised more than $60 million to help disadvantaged youth in Nevada. In 2001, he also established a charter school for children in underserved communities and has funded countless scholarships. And just as he achieved the No. 1 ranking as a tennis player, Agassi recently reached the top spot on the New York Times Best Sellers List when he released his autobiography.

I commend Andre for his efforts and extend my congratulations to his wife Steffi and their two children. Andre Agassi is an inspiration to all Nevada's student-athletes and I am pleased that his hard work and excellence is being recognized with the highest honor an athlete can receive.

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

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

Mr. President, following leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business until 12:30 today, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. At 12:30, we are going to each have our weekly caucus meetings, which we do every week. At 2:15, the Senate will begin consideration of the Federal Aviation Administration authorization bill. As I said last night, Senators with amendments to the bill should contact the bill managers to arrange for a time to offer their amendments. Senators will be notified when votes are scheduled.

Mr. President, a lot of people are talking this morning about a judge in Florida regarding his opinion on the health reform law. I wish to talk about the law very briefly and then talk about the effort to take away the rights that are in the law that are now prevalent in the land.

The health reform bill has already saved lives and saved lots of money. It is saving lives because children are not getting their insurance taken away, as happened before we passed this law. They can stay on their parents' health insurance plans until they are 26, and even younger kids can't get kicked off their plans because they have a pre-existing condition such as asthma or diabetes. Older Americans are healthier because we are starting to close the coverage gap on Medicare, which means they can have a wellness check for nothing--it doesn't cost anything--which means, as far as the Medicare doughnut hole, seniors can finally afford the prescription drugs they had to skip or split before we passed this law.

Saving money. Last week, we saw how much this law is helping cut down fraud in the health insurance industry.

We have recovered more than $4 billion so far, and the law will keep cracking down on those who are taking advantage of the vulnerable. As small businesses in Nevada and across the country have discovered, we are cutting taxes for businesses that give their employees health care.

These consequences of the health reform law--I have mentioned only a few of them: save lives, save money, and save Medicare as we promised-- are just the tip of the iceberg. As more parts of the law go into effect, it will do even more good; even more lives and more money will be saved. It is important to remember this context when we talk about the opinion handed down yesterday in Florida.

Two Federal judges have ruled in favor of the law, two have ruled against it. Lawsuits and lawmakers' efforts to repeal this bill are nothing more than attempts to raise taxes on small businesses, add more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit, force seniors to pay more for their prescriptions, and let insurance companies once again stand in the way of a child and the medical care he or she needs.

Health care reform is complex, but this debate is very simple. We put patients in control of their health care. Repeal would be insurance companies back in charge. We cannot afford it, not with our wallets and certainly not with our lives and health.

Let me spend just a minute on jobs. The health reform bill is about jobs. I was visiting with someone from George Washington University, the medical department. As I walked in, she said: You know, because of the health care bill, we are going to hire 500 new physicians. I went back and told my staff, and they said: Oh, no, that couldn't be true. I had my staff go back and check with the woman who told me that, and it is true. That is just one facility.

Also about jobs, we need to look to the future. Democrats are working to create jobs and strengthen the middle class, and we are starting today with the first jobs bill of this Congress. This bill, which will modernize Americans' air travel, creates and protects more than 280,000 jobs. We are improving the infrastructure and reducing costly passenger delays. We are going to have a passengers' bill of rights. This is the kind of commonsense solution that creates jobs while making our economy more efficient and America more competitive. This is a bipartisan bill. We need to stop refighting yesterday's fights and start strengthening our future. We are ready to work, to get the American people back to work, and I am hopeful and confident our Republican colleagues will join us in starting with this jobs bill on the floor today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Stabenow be recognized to offer an amendment related to 1099 reporting forms; that she give her speech regarding this after Senator McConnell offers an amendment relating to health care, and the amendments be debated concurrently.

Senator McConnell can do whatever he feels appropriate, but he will speak before Senator Stabenow. How much more time does the Senator from Texas need?

So whatever she and Senator McConnell decide on that is fine with me.

Then Senator Stabenow will be willing to let the Senator from Texas finish her statement.

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Stabenow be recognized to offer her amendment and then Senator McConnell would offer his.