Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate continue in morning business until 5 o'clock today.

As I indicated, we will have one vote at 5:30 today.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on June 28, 2010, at 12:30 p.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing on the nomination of Elena Kagan to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. President, following leader remarks the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 5297, the small business jobs bill. There will be no rollcall votes today. Senators should expect the next votes to occur Monday around 5:30.

I have been told there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings with respect to these bills en bloc.

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

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 President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, today there are about 1 million people in America who are terribly disappointed at what took place yesterday--1 million people. That is 1 million in one category. There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of others who are disappointed because of different things done to them yesterday as a result of the Republicans not supporting legislation. It was fully paid for.

The statements made by Republicans after this bill was rejected by them are simply without any fact.

There were efforts made to work with Republicans. We cut the size of the bill. We paid even for things we had never paid for before. We decided to do that in an effort to get help for millions of Americans.

One of the things we paid for was something called FMAP, which is money we would direct to the States that they could use for police, fire, teachers, nurses--to stop layoffs from taking place there. That was rejected.

There are numerous editorials around the country rejecting what the Republicans did yesterday, and there are headlines in virtually every newspaper of America:

LA Times: ``Senate GOP Blocks Jobless Aid Extension.''

Business Week: ``Republicans Thwart Bill With Unemployment Aid, Buyout Tax Boost.''

Boston Globe: ``Filibuster Halts Bill Boosting Jobless Benefits, Aid to States.''

McClatchy Newspapers: ``GOP Blocks Jobless-Benefit Extension Breaks.''

USA TODAY: ``Senate GOP Again Blocks Bill Extending Jobless Benefits, Tax Breaks.''

Those tax breaks were for middle-class Americans.

The Seattle Times: ``Republicans Continue Blockade of Federal Aid Bill.''

The Republicans in the Senate have made the decision to do everything they can to turn the country upside down, to do everything they can to stop any economic recovery because they think it may help Barack Obama, it may help some of their people trying to run for Senate seats around the country. So they figure, as bad as they can make the economy, the better off they will be.

That is a pretty difficult view for people who are Senators. The Presiding Officer is a Senator from the State of Oregon, and that is his prime responsibility, to take care of that State. But, also, as a United States Senator, he has to be concerned with what goes on in the other 49 States. That is our job, that is our role, that is the way we were constitutionally designated.

The bill they rejected yesterday creates jobs. As the headlines say, it closes corporate loopholes. The bill yesterday that was rejected by the Republicans would stop jobs from being outsourced from American companies getting tax breaks by creating jobs overseas. Those jobs should be created here. That was rejected by the Republicans.

The bill that was before the Senate was a bill that would help small businesses grow and allow them to hire once again, to be the engine that runs our country. Big businesses should not be rewarded for shipping jobs overseas when there are so many at home desperate for a paycheck.

I have read a number of these stories. They are heartbreaking. I read the Nevada clips today. There was a statement from one man there in effect saying: What is going on back there? This is not a partisan game. I need money to take care of my family. I need my unemployment check. I have tried to find work. I can't find work.

But that had no bearing on the Republicans yesterday because they, as we learned in the health care debate, want everything that Obama does to be his Waterloo. Everything in this bill was paid for with the exception of unemployment compensation--about which there has always been a bipartisan recognition it is an emergency or they wouldn't be asking for unemployment benefits.

The Republicans were even unwilling to allow us to bring up the bill for debate. They wanted to stop debate, stop further discussion of this bill. We could not invoke cloture to allow the debate to go forward. Every Republican voted against it.

I was surprised by statements of some coming to the floor afterward to say: Yes, but I was in favor of the unemployment benefits.

Let's be clear about all the good things a ``yes'' vote enables our country to do with this legislation. It would have allowed the Senate to pass this. It could have gone to the President for signature. A ``no'' vote stopped us from doing things to help regular guys on the street, people who are desperate for help.

Think of this one: The extension of a tax deduction for tuition. There are young men and women all over America today getting excited about going to school or going back to school. Because of what was done by the Republicans yesterday, there will be young men and women unable to go to school. They are going to have to stay out until the economy gets better, until their dad gets a job and mom gets a job because the tuition tax deduction is not going to be around. What a disappointed group of young men and women we are going to have. As sad as it is, some of those kids will never go to college because of this.

This legislation has allowed tax benefits for working men and women of this country, allowed for a deduction for property taxes. We didn't do it yesterday. It is not available now.

Teachers around America would have been able to deduct, with their income tax, not much--$250 a year to get a tax credit for the pencils and paper and stuff they buy every year.

As you know, having been around teachers, as we all have, they spend lots of their own money for supplies for the kids. Yesterday, the Republicans took that small $250-a-year deduction away from these teachers, all teachers.

Build America Bonds. Reading the Nevada clips today, because those monies are shrinking, there are not as many people making application for those Build America Bonds programs. This has been such a stimulus for our country since we passed that in the economic recovery act. And we are running out of money there. The bill yesterday would have provided $4 billion, all paid for--no running up the deficit, all paid for. That was rejected by the Republicans. They said no. That $4 billion would have multiplied into many more dollars because if you have a contract worth $2 or $3 million, people go to work, they can buy groceries, they can buy shoes. It stimulates the businesses all over the community. But the Republicans said no to that.

State and local governments are begging for these moneys. Infrastructure is down. We need to do water and sewer projects, street projects. But the Republicans said no.

Legislation was rejected yesterday on an extension of the small business lending provisions that would provide low-cost loans to small businesses. The Republicans yesterday unanimously said no.

The bill provided $2\1/2\ billion for State wage assistance programs. Starting in the Clinton administration, there was always talk by the Republicans and by everybody--not just the Republicans--about shouldn't we do more than provide welfare to people? Shouldn't we provide a way that, if they are on welfare, they can go to work? That is what this money is about. Those programs have been terminated, programs that have worked so well to have people go from welfare to work. Yesterday, the Republicans said no unanimously; let them stay on welfare; they do not need to learn how to work; they do not need to transfer to a job.

This legislation that was rejected yesterday provided tax credits for research and development. A lot of companies, especially small companies, cannot do the research and development they need to do unless they get some kind of a tax incentive to do it. It will not be done.

This bill provided $5 billion--all paid for--in new market tax credits. What this meant is that investments could be made in economically distressed areas. They exist in Oregon. They exist in Nevada. They are going to continue to exist without any improvement because of the rejection by the Republicans yesterday.

Everything I have talked about creates jobs, and to have the Republicans come to the floor and say: We reject it because of the cost--it was rejected because they do not believe that middle-class America deserves a break; that all of the breaks should go to the fat cats.

Right now, as a result of the Republicans rejecting this legislation, someone who is working for minimum wage will continue to pay more taxes percentage-wise than Warren Buffet or one of the multibillionaires on Wall Street. They will pay more of a percentage of their income than one of those very rich people.

In this legislation, we had a provision to extend the first-time home buyers tax credit so that people who already qualified can buy a home-- rejected. They even rejected a provision we had in this legislation so that someone who is called away to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq--we had a provision in this bill to allow them to make up the difference between their military pay and the pay in their job so they would not lose their home, as they have done, and put a tremendous burden on spouses left at home.

One thing my friends on the other side of the aisle should be very proud of is they protected corporate interests yesterday. They did that big time. They are betting on our country to fail. That is a sad commentary.

We are going to continue. A bill is on the floor now. It is another bill to create jobs, small-business job creation. We have worked hard to get that done--Senator Landrieu, Senator Baucus, Small Business, Finance--and we will have a vote on that Monday. Again, it is being blocked by the Republicans, blocking us from even going to it. So we will need 60 votes Monday to allow us to debate whether this country needs small businesses to create jobs. We should be on that bill today so people could start offering amendments and do something productive. But, no, what will happen on Monday is they will probably vote for it,

and then they will get the 30 hours to sit around and look at each other and do nothing. That is what the rules of the Senate allow. So they have accomplished more of their wasting time to prevent the Obama administration and the rest of us from accomplishing something good for the country. We are going to continue to try. We have to do that in spite of the obstructionism of the Republicans.

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, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Executive Calendar No. 962, the nomination of John Pistole to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security; that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record as if read; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 439, S. 3104.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee- reported amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 566.

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 that the Record remain open until 12 noon for the purpose of the introduction of legislation, the insertion of statements, and any cosponsors, notwithstanding an adjournment of the Senate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, June 28; 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 that following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business until 3 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 5297.

Mr. President, under a previous order, at 5 p.m. on Monday, the Senate will proceed to executive session to debate the nomination of Gary Feinerman to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Sessions or their designees.

At 5:30 p.m., there will be two rollcall votes. The first vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 5297; the second vote will be on confirmation of the Feinerman nomination.

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

Madam President, it was really a pleasure for me this morning to listen to and visit with Rev. Marvin Gant. Marvin is from the town where I went to high school. When I went to high school there, Henderson was a relatively small community, but, of course, now it is the second largest city in Nevada. It is a metropolitan area. But when Reverend Gant first started preaching in Henderson, it was a much smaller community. So I am happy to have him here. He is now part of-- not a small church like he has been involved in in other phases of his life but a huge church--a megachurch, it is called, the largest in Nevada, led by a man by the name of Judd Wilhite.

Judd Wilhite is a man who has such a great presence, as we say. The first time I witnessed his presence was at a funeral service he conducted for a police officer who was killed, a U.S. marshal who was killed. There were thousands of people there. When it came time for him to talk, he did speak and it was for less than 5 minutes, but he was conducting the ceremony and did it in a unique and brilliant and spiritual way.

I am very happy to have my friend Reverend Gant here. He brings honor to Nevada and to all the congregations he has served over many years in his pastoral duties. I am glad to call him my friend.