Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 40 year anniversary of HELP of Southern Nevada, a nonprofit organization providing Nevadans with housing, emergency services, life skills and prevention--the four cornerstones for which its name is an acronym. HELP has served as a vital resource to hundreds of thousands of Nevadans, and continues to provide unwavering support to our communities.

HELP was first created out of the Junior League of Las Vegas in 1969, and called the Voluntary Action Center. They incorporated a year later, in 1970, and became one of Nevada's premier resource centers for the disadvantaged. In that year, HELP provided its services to 300 people in southern Nevada. Today, they serve 55,000 distinct clients every year.

The services HELP offers range from financial assistance with rent and transportation costs, to providing meals to families during the holidays. A focus on providing practical assistance in gaining self- sufficiency makes HELP one of southern Nevada's greatest social service providers. Its services include seven different areas of support: Community Alternative Sentencing, Holiday Programs, Nevada 2-1-1, Social Services, Weatherization, Work Opportunities Readiness Center-- W.O.R.C., and the Youth Center.

To highlight a few of the great contributions of HELP of Southern Nevada, let me tell you about the Community Alternative Sentencing programs and the Youth Center. The Community Alternative Sentencing Program offers hope to individuals facing incarceration and other sanctions. In lieu of these penalties, individuals give their times and services to aiding nonprofits in community service. In addition to the productive and illuminating experience this program offers its participants, it saves taxpayers the cost of incarceration, and directly increases the capacity of nonprofits to help in the community. The HELP of southern Nevada Youth Center provides training and assistance to Southern Nevada's youth to prevent homelessness and equip young people for success. Many are matched with volunteer mentors from the community, who work help them get the most out of classes they take at the center which help them develop work and personal skills. These programs only scratch the surface of HELP's vast offerings.

It brings me great joy to see Nevadans working so hard to make meaningful and lasting influences in our community. Over the course of four decades HELP and its devoted staff and volunteers have exemplified the ideals of selflessness and public service. I know that the hundreds of thousands of individuals whose lives have been touched by the work of HELP would share in my desire to express our gratitude. Furthermore, I would like to congratulate HELP. The positive changes they have made amongst the lives of individuals and within the community are truly remarkable achievements. I am grateful and honored to recognize the 40th anniversary of HELP of Southern Nevada today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 427, H.R. 3951.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

The PRESIDING OFFICER . Without objection, it is so ordered.

The bill (H.R. 3951) was ordered to be read a third time, was read the third time, and passed.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 16; that following the prayer and the 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 the Senate then proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half; that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the House message on H.R. 4213, the tax extenders, as provided for under the previous order.

Mr. President, Senators should expect the first vote of the day to begin around 10:40 a.m. That vote will be in relation to the Baucus amendment No. 4301 to the motion to concur with respect to the tax extenders bill.

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, 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 3 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the House message with respect to H.R. 4213, which is the tax extenders legislation.

There will be no rollcall votes today. Senators should expect the next votes to begin around 11:50 a.m. tomorrow. Those votes will be on confirmation of several District Court nominations: Tanya Pratt of Indiana, Brian Jackson of Louisiana, and Elizabeth Foote of Louisiana.

Mr. President, we will learn a lot this week about who wants to fix problems and who wants to make excuses. This week will be the seventh week the emergency unemployment insurance bill has been on the Senate floor. It is another week the good families in Nevada and across the country have to struggle to make ends meet after their benefits have expired--to simply cover the basics while they look for full-time work.

If my friends on the other side of the aisle have their way, this week will be yet another week with no lifeline for the most needy-- those willing to work and who are waiting to work. The other side has slowed and stalled almost every piece of legislation this year, just as they did last year and the year before. And that is not a secret. The numbers don't lie and the Republicans make no efforts to hide their strategy of delay. That is why today they are known as the party of no.

But that strategy has consequences. The first is unemployment insurance. Years of disastrous Republican policies led to the worst economic disaster in generations. That, in turn, led to layoffs in nearly every industry in every State. When millions of Americans lost their jobs, they lost their incomes, their homes, their savings, their gas money, their tuition payments, all through no fault of their own. Democrats aren't about to turn their backs on out-of-work Americans, which is why we are trying to help them keep their heads above water in this emergency.

The second casualty is Medicaid funding, known as FMAP, so the poorest of the poor in our communities can see a doctor when they get sick. Many States, including the State of Nevada, have budgeted for this money and count on us to deliver it. Nevada is counting on more than $100 million. Others are waiting on billions of dollars. If we don't deliver, we will leave huge holes in State budgets that will be filled with other deep and drastic cuts affecting the basic goodness of our country and directly the lives of millions. Critical services from coast to coast will bear the burden. We have to pass this bill on the FMAP legislation. We have to do it to protect those services and the jobs they create.

Third, this bill will fix an injustice to doctors who treat America's senior citizens--those on Medicare. More than a decade ago, a Republican-dominated Congress passed a flawed policy regarding how doctors are reimbursed for seeing patients on Medicare. Tomorrow, these doctors will see those payments drop 21 percent--that is more than one- fifth--and it will drop overnight. That is grossly unfair to doctors and it is dangerous for seniors, veterans, and others they may soon no longer be able to treat.

But that is not all. Many HMOs and other providers base their reimbursements on Medicare rates. So you don't have to be a senior citizen or a veteran to be affected by the sharp cut scheduled to take effect tomorrow.

Some on the other side are still trying again to stand in the way. As I said, the doctors payment problem came out of a Congress that was dominated by Republicans. The Democratic Congress is determined to fix this.

Let's say a word about the BP disaster. Next week will mark 2 months since millions of gallons of oil started gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. But this week will tell us a lot about who is fighting for the taxpayers and who is fighting for corporate America.

The cost of the BP disaster isn't limited to the devastated waters and wildlife along our gulf coast. The damage extends to the lives and livelihoods of so many in that region--such as small businesses that can't operate at full speed, and the workers whose jobs are threatened when these businesses slow. Whether it is fishermen, shrimpers, or tourism businesses whose workplace--the Gulf of Mexico--has been polluted on such a large scale, the damages would stretch clear across the State of Nevada, from our California border to our Utah border. Understand how big that is. Nevada is the seventh largest State in the Union, areawise.

Another cost, of course, is the families forever changed when 11 men died in the explosion that caused the spill. Some estimate the pricetag for this disaster will climb to the tens of billions of dollars. But let's be honest: Someone is going to end up paying that bill eventually, but we are making sure it is not going to be the taxpayers. We are going to send the tab to BP.

That is why I sent a letter yesterday to Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive officer. I am pleased and encouraged that the vast majority of Democrats we could get hold of signed their names alongside mine. We told Hayward we are committed to ensuring BP is held fully responsible, and that we refuse to ask taxpayers to bail out one of the richest companies in the whole world. We asked our Republican colleagues to join us.

We are calling on BP to create a special accountability account-- overseen by an independent trustee--to pay for the damages from their historic disaster and the cost of cleaning up their catastrophe. We are making these demands because we don't have a lot of reason to give BP the benefit of the doubt. Shortly after the explosion, we learned of the shortcuts that led to it. We saw it all over--including a very nice piece they did on ``60 Minutes.'' We also recently learned BP vastly understated the extent and rate of the spill. And in past disasters, we have seen other oil companies spend millions on lawsuits and public relations campaigns, all designed not to compensate the businesses and families they hurt but to improve their profits.

Our message to BP is as simple as this: If you drill and you spill, we are going to make sure you pay the bill.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, it is my understanding, through the Chair to my distinguished friend, the senior Senator from Kentucky, that this is paid for out of stimulus money?

Mr. President, a 30-day extension doesn't solve the problems we have. A 30-day extension of unemployment, 30-day FMAP, 30- day doc fix, is just kicking them all down the road. We have to have a legitimate program to extend these benefits into the future, and 30 days does not do it. It just kicks the ball down the road.

I would also say, with money being taken from the recovery moneys-- this is one of the job-creating things we have left going on in this government. It is a good program, it creates jobs.

I look forward to working with my Republican colleagues to have a more long-term fix of this difficult problem, and therefore I object.

Mr. President, would the Chair be kind enough to have the bill reported.

Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk, and I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendment be set aside.

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

Mr. President, I will talk briefly on this amendment. It is an important amendment. Last year, in November, we passed the Worker, Home Ownership and Business Assistance Act containing a number of important provisions to support our economy.

First of all, let me say the idea for this came from the Senator from Georgia, John Isakson.

It is a great idea. He was a businessman before he came here. This certainly indicates he must have been a good businessman. This credit has been so helpful to our economy, not only in Nevada but around the country.

As part of this bill we passed in November, we expanded and extended the home buyer tax credit. We made the credit available to more individuals and families who purchase a home.

We also extended the credit through April 30 of this year and allowed anybody who signed a binding contract on a home and makes the purchase before July 1 to benefit from that credit.

When this provision became law last November, the housing market was just beginning to recover. But further support was necessary given the importance of the housing industry to the overall economy.

Now we are beginning to see more signs of recovery. Sales have increased since January. Median home prices have increased since November. Still, in States such as Nevada, the housing market is struggling. Across the State a significant percent of mortgages are underwater. That means the amount owed on the mortgage is greater than the value of the home.

The home buyer tax credit is helping to alleviate some of that pressure. Economists estimate that the home buyer tax credit increased demand by about 1 million buyers.

The stories I have been told about people being able to buy their first home are remarkable. Someone who worked for me had a girlfriend who wanted to buy a home. She was finally able to do that. She was so happy. She tried eight different times before she got one for which she qualified.

I was doing a tour of one of the hotels, the cafeteria in the Paris Hotel. It is actually two large rooms where they eat coming off their shifts. I was asked by one of the executives taking me around to come and talk to this man. He was so happy. He had come to this country. He was an immigrant. He had become a citizen. He was so excited because his son was able to buy a home because of this first-time home buyer tax credit. You could not have seen anyone happier than this man. He was proud of his son being able to buy a home.

This tax credit helps to increase the value of homes and, just as important, it adds jobs to the housing industry. This shows the credit is doing what it was designed to do--help stimulate the housing market in a tough economic climate.

There are some home buyers who entered into a binding sales contract by April 30 of this year expecting to receive a credit but will be unable to close by July 1, 2010, through no fault of theirs. There is a huge backlog of people wanting to buy these homes. They should not be prevented from doing this because of the paperwork.

These home buyers are doing everything they can to close by the deadline, but completion of the sale will take longer than some originally expected. One reason is because of the volume of work. The other reason is because some of the financial institutions are very slow, for administrative reasons, especially on sales of bank-owned properties where paperwork can take an inordinate amount of time.

An extension of the date to close the transaction from July 1 of this year to October 1 of this year will give these home buyers who properly secured a binding contract for their new home before April 30 the ability to receive the credit. This will especially help States still struggling to recover from the troubled housing market. These States have higher levels of bank-owned properties.

To remind my colleagues, this extension only applies to those home buyers who are already under a binding contract. This amendment is not an extension of the time to enter into a contract.

To quote my friend, the Senator from Georgia, whose idea this is, this whole concept:

As I tell so many who call me, it is not going to be

extended because credits such as that are designed to do what

it has done; that is, to bring the marketplace back and

hopefully stabilize values and move forward.

We must make sure those home buyers who are already under a binding contract or committed to the purchase of a new home are able to receive the home buyer tax credit. This amendment is necessary to ensure we follow through on the commitment to help the struggling housing market. This extension of time is fully paid for with an offset included in the President's tax compliance proposals. The offset would deny a tax deduction for payments made for punitive damages.

Punitive damages are intended to be just that--punitive. The American taxpayers should not be subsidizing payments intended to be punitive in nature through a tax deduction. These exemplary damages entered should not be something they can write off. This offset is good policy and will help pay for our Nation's ongoing economic recovery. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. President, could I ask my friend to yield?

He will have the floor right back. I told the Republican leader earlier today I would file cloture. I am going to do that right now, recognizing this is not in any way going to hinder people offering amendments, but I told the Republican leader I would do that and, frankly, I want to do it now so I will not have to worry about it later.

Cloture Motion

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk.

I express my appreciation to my friend from South Dakota.

Amendment No. 4333 to Amendment No. 4301

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

I now ask that we be allowed to proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 352, S. 1660.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be considered; that a Klobuchar amendment at the desk be agreed to; the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; and that the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate and any statements be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 547 and that we now proceed to that matter.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that we proceed to S. Res. 551.

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