Floor Statements

Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to H.R. 6049.

Mr. President, I have spoken with the Republican leader about this. We have the opportunity to greet some Japanese parliamentarians. Senators Inouye and Stevens have worked for many years to develop a relationship with the Japanese parliamentarians and have been extremely successful. I hope Senators in the Chamber will say hello to our colleagues from Japan.

Recess Subject to the Call of the Chair

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate have a short recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. in room 192 of the Dirksen Senate office building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room SD366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 2:15 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 4:30 p.m.

Mr. President, today following leader remarks, there will be an hour of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act, with the time until 5:30 equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. Under a previous order, the leaders will control the final 20 minutes, with the majority leader controlling the final 10 minutes.

Order of Procedure

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Grassley control the time between 4:50 and 5 and Senator Baucus control the time between 5 and 5:10.

Mr. President, this Saturday, Jeff Alberici from Auburn, NY, delivered the Democratic weekly radio address. Jeff and his wife aren't rich; they aren't poor. They are squarely in the middle. They are middle class.

Jeff is a middle school teacher. He teaches American history. His wife is a teacher's assistant. Jeff said that if they didn't have to transport their three children to school and sports practice, they would probably ride bikes back and forth to work to save gas.

Jeff said when his wife returned to work last year, after staying home with their children, they thought the second income would give them a chance to pay off their debt and start saving for college. But that hasn't happened. Instead of getting ahead, the Alberici family's second income is covering the cost of food, and especially gasoline.

Jeff summed up things by saying that they will be fine. They are not in danger of losing their home, and they both have good steady jobs. They are not at risk. But instead of ordering pizza for an occasional dinner with the kids, now they have to eat grilled cheese on those occasions. And in the long term, they are not sure how they will be able to afford to send their children to college because they have basically not saved anything up to this date.

Families in every State, region, and corner of our country are facing the same challenges as the Albericis. Jeff and others like him were raised to believe that doing important work, such as being a schoolteacher, wouldn't make you rich but it would provide enough to live comfortably and raise a family. The middle-class dream--that American dream--is vanishing before our eyes.

Today, oil is trading near record levels again. It is up around $140 a barrel. Gasoline now averages $4.08 a gallon nationally, and in Nevada it is $4.24 a gallon. This morning, we learned that utility companies across the country are raising rates another 29 percent on top of the 30-percent increases American consumers have already endured over the past 5 years.

On President Bush's watch, American families are earning less today than they did 8 years ago--and that is the truth--yet paying more than ever for everyday necessities, such as gasoline, heat for the home, and of course groceries. And they are paying more than ever for long-term needs, such as the goal of health care, college, and retirement. American families can't survive this squeeze indefinitely.

Right now, many are able to keep their heads above water by saving less, and sometimes not saving, and finding other ways to tighten their belts. Like the Albericis, they are eating more grilled cheese and putting less of their paychecks into savings.

Most Americans are too busy figuring out how to pay the bills and make ends meet to pay close attention to what is going on here in Congress. But if working families see one thing from Congress, it is this: Democrats get it. That is what Jeff said in his radio address. We know what is happening in America, and we are fighting every single day to make things better.

Republicans? They talk about our country's problems, but when the time comes to stand up and take action, they are nowhere to be found. Republicans talk about high gas prices, alternative energy, the housing crisis, and job loss, but each time there has been a proposed solution to those challenges, Republicans have said no.

Our Republican colleagues fill endless pages of the Congressional Record with speeches about the affordability crisis in America that a Republican President created and the Republican nominee, John McCain, hopes to continue, but the American people need more than empty words.

Republicans can choose to keep standing on the sidelines, or keep sticking with the status quo, which they have done now for the entire year and a half we have been in the majority. They have that right. But Democrats will keep fighting to make the American dream affordable again for the Albericis of Auburn, NY, and the millions of American families like them who deserve better. Today we will give Republicans another opportunity to do the right thing by voting for cloture on the energy tax extenders bill. This legislation would lower taxes for businesses, entrepreneurs, and families. The deduction for State and local sales taxes helps level the playing field and provides tax relief to residents in States with no income tax. The tuition deduction helps families afford the skyrocketing cost of college. The teachers' deduction provides a small but important bit of help and appreciation to educators for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

This legislation would also extend tax benefits for businesses, particularly those engaged in research and development for clean renewable energy, tax credits, Mr. President, for clean renewable energy. Today we are going to use 21 million barrels of oil. That is not necessary. We could change that. We need to allow the great business minds of America to invest in renewable energy--the Sun, the wind, geothermal. That is what this vote at 5:30 today is all about.

Republicans have opposed this legislation in the past because it is paid for and will not increase the national debt. How do we pay for these tax cuts for businesses and families? By closing a loophole that allows superwealthy hedge fund managers to avoid paying tax on their earnings.

This is unique, that the Republicans would oppose this. The hedge fund operators even know it is unfair and they support us on this. Why anyone opposes legislation on these grounds is beyond the ability of the American people to comprehend. Why Republicans would oppose tax relief for businesses and families in order to protect a tax loophole for multimillionaires seems preposterous. And keep in mind, even the hedge fund operators, I repeat, believe it would be fair to do what we seek.

Republicans have the right to side with hedge fund multimillionaires over small businesses and families. They have already done so by blocking the tax extenders bill twice this year. Now they have a third chance to reverse course and support this legislation. Maybe this week enough Republicans will see the suffering in their States and break with the President and Republican Senate leaders to do the right thing. Maybe this is the time enough Republicans will say enough is enough.

I know our Republican colleagues see the terrible economic burden the American people are carrying. The only question is, will they let it continue or join us in doing something about it? For all the Republicans sitting on the fence, and there are some seeing how bad things have gotten but still not ready to stand up to the Republican Party, I ask: If not now, when? Democrats stand ready to legislate. Join us and we can begin repairing the damage and restoring the American Dream.

I acknowledge that on the Medicare fix we tried to do last week, we got nine Republicans who supported us. Had we had Senator Kennedy back--and he soon will be back, and a few other Senators--we would have been able to have 60 votes. So I am glad to see that my friends on the other side, even though not enough, are coming forward and voting with us. We hope there will be more of that in the future.

Mr. President, as some of us who are not in this building know, there is a raging storm outside. But it is all over the Eastern part of the country. I got a call from one Senator stuck at a small airport in northern New York. We have calls from all over the country that airplanes are messed up. La Guardia is not going to have anything going until 11 o'clock. When things back up there, it affects the whole country. So we would wind up probably with 20 Senators missing the vote at 5:30.

So I have spoken to the Republican leader. We both think for the safety of Members, if nothing else--which there is plenty else--but for the safety of Members, so they can kind of calm down and not try to do things they should not do at this last hour or so--I ask unanimous consent that the previously scheduled vote on cloture, which was scheduled at 5:30 p.m., today, be delayed to occur at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, June 17.

Mr. President, following the remarks of myself and Senator McConnell, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3101, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, with the time until 3 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. Senators Grassley, Baucus, McConnell, and Reid of Nevada will control the final 40 minutes, with 10 minutes each under their control. The order of speakers will be as I have mentioned. At 3 p.m., the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill.

Mr. President, S. 3118 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings at this time regarding this bill.

Mr. President, the remarks my friend, the distinguished Republican leader, made regarding the energy crisis facing us are, as has been this past week, Orwellian. Everyone listening to what he said understands the direct opposite has happened. Everyone knows we are not doing legislation because the Republicans will not let us.

There are 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans, a closely divided Senate. The Republicans have decided they are going to let us do nothing, and that is what they are doing, letting us do nothing. We want to legislate; they want to obstruct.

Let's take the three bills we dealt with this past week. Global warming: No, they would not let us legislate on that bill. We offered two amendments, three amendments, five amendments, eight amendments, relevant, germane--nothing. They did not want to legislate, and we knew that was the case because as we read into the Record several times, there was a piece of work that came on e-mail from the Republicans who are devising the strategy for the Republicans in the Senate, and they said in that memo that there is no legislation going to take place here; we are going to play political games. ``Political games'' were their words, and that is what they did.

As we have been here--the Senate opened 20 minutes ago--global warming has gotten worse, not better. It is time we decided to take some hard decisions and realize we cannot continue to take all this carbon out of the Earth and put it into the sky. That is what global warming is all about. We have to stop this.

We wanted to do something about gas prices. Of course gas prices have gone up. Since President Bush took office, the price of gas has gone from less than $1.50 a gallon now to $4.06 a gallon. As the Republican leader said, diesel fuel is approaching $5 a gallon. But during this period of time, we have been following the Cheney energy policy. The Cheney energy policy was one devised in the White House in secret. The press, groups around the country have tried to find out what went on, who came, what were the promises made. Obstruct--they would not allow us to find out what went on. The American people to this day do not know what went on. But we do know the Bush-Cheney administration is the most oil-friendly administration in the country. They made their fortunes in oil and they have treated the oil companies accordingly this past 7\1/2\ years.

We tried to do something about gas prices. We think it is important that we take a look at OPEC. It is not just Democrats talking about it. Arlen Specter, the ranking member and former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, believes that is an extremely important issue. OPEC is violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Why shouldn't they be subject to it? That is what we wanted to legislate, and they would not let us.

We wanted to take away the huge amounts of free money the oil companies get. Why should they get all the free money from American taxpayers when they made during the past year $250 billion in profit-- not million, billion. We tried to legislate on that issue saying these subsidies to big oil should be terminated.

We thought it was important to do something about these windfall profits these companies are making. We were stopped from doing that.

The Presiding Officer knows about legislating. He understands that legislating is the art of compromise. Is any one of the pieces of legislation we introduced perfect? Of course not. But it is an opportunity for us to try to do something about these gas prices. In the short term--these are short-term fixes for the gas prices I talked about--they would not allow us to legislate. And yesterday we tried to legislate on doing something about alternative energy, renewable energy. The Sun shines, the wind blows, steam comes out of the Earth. Shouldn't we harness that for our own benefit? Shouldn't we use that so we do not have to use 21 million barrels of dirty oil every day that is making our lives miserable with global warming, ruining the health of people all over the world? Shouldn't we do that? The Republicans say no. They would not let us legislate on that issue yesterday.

We want to give the American entrepreneurs the ability to invest in renewables. People are waiting to invest billions of dollars if they have the opportunity for these tax credits, but the Republicans say no.

My friend said that Democrats think this is some kind of a corporate plot. We don't think it is a corporate plot. We do think the oil companies are making far too much money. And the sad part about it--my brother for many years was a service station operator. My brother worked for Standard stations. I worked for Standard stations. He became a manager for Standard stations. The Chevron oil company had Standard stations and Chevron stations. Chevron stations were dealers, individuals such as my brother Dale--may my brother Dale rest in peace. He died at the age of 47. He was a Chevron oil dealer. He worked very hard. He didn't make much money with the gas that was pumped. He made money selling water bags, which was a canvas bag people needed to go across the desert if their car broke down, batteries, fan belts, tires. That is where he made his money; not very much, but that is where he made his money, not at the gas pump. And it is still that way. The modern Dale Reids with stations around America are not making much money. The money is going to these massive oil companies.

I don't think it is a corporate plot. I think it is a Bush-Cheney plot. I think these people have done nothing. These two men have done nothing to address the energy crisis facing America. It took 7 years of this man's Presidency before he could say the words ``global warming.''

My friend has used the name of the senior Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer. I am going to defend Senator Schumer. Senator Schumer is my friend. He does an outstanding job representing the people of New York, and he has done an outstanding job representing all Democrats as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. This is a difficult job, not one people seek. Senator Schumer took that job when he could have been Governor of the State of New York. All the editorials said he would be the next Governor of New York. I knew that when I became Democratic leader. I asked Senator Schumer, recognizing he could be the next Governor of New York: Will you take the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee? It is important for the country. And he gave up literally the governorship of New York, in my opinion, to take this job. He has done a tremendous job: nine new Democratic Senators last year.

He said yesterday in his speech before the Senate, among other things, that the 75 filibusters the Democrats have had to face with this Republican minority, which is so upset that we are in the majority, is creating problems for Republican Senators. It is the truth. Senator Schumer said:

It is unconscionable that the American public is being

forced to use their stimulus checks just to pay for gas.

Senator Schumer came and spoke for the American people. He spoke for the people of New York, he spoke for the people of America, saying: Why not let us legislate? And the fact that the Republicans are not letting us legislate on anything is going to work in November to the advantage of the Democrats. I think that is clear.

Look around the country. I am not going to predict what is going to happen in November, but the majority is going to be bigger than 51 come November. Why? Because the American people see what is going on with this Republican minority. It is the same in the House. Republicans have the same philosophy: status quo, keep things the way they are, tread water a while.

As a result, when Dennis Hastert--he broke the record for the longest Republican Speaker in the history of the country--retired, a heavily Republican House district in Illinois goes Democratic. That was only a quirk, they said.

Then we have a race in Louisiana, a heavily Republican district, been Republican for a long time, and it goes Democratic. Why? Because the American people see what is going on.

Illinois, a Republican district, sees what is going on; a Republican district in Louisiana sees what is going on. In Mississippi, they appointed Congressman Wicker to be a Senator after Senator Lott retired. That district--we don't have to worry much about that, that is a Republican district, always has been, always will be, except the people of Mississippi see what is going on and they elected a Democrat. Now we have a Democratic House Member representing that so-called Republican district.

We want to legislate. We want to legislate for the American people. All we want is an opportunity to go forward and not have to face 75 filibusters and legislate as the Senate has been doing for many decades.

These Orwellian speeches given by my friend when he says ``It's the Democrats' fault, they have been in power a year and a half; that is why gas prices are so high,'' think about that, everybody, think about that, how unreasonable that is.

Mr. President, my friend would like everyone to be confused. No one is confused. No one is confused as to what is taking place here. All records in the history of this country have been broken on the number of filibusters. No one is confused about what is going on here.

We know we have worked with the Republicans to do something about production. Of course we have. But we want to do something long term; we want to do something short term. The American people are being drowned with the smoke in the air, and too much carbon is coming out of the ground into the sky. We want to do something with the Sun and the wind, the geothermal.

The OPEC measure is ludicrous? Mr. President, tell my friend, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who is the biggest proponent in Congress of OPEC being subject to antitrust laws, that is ludicrous. I say to the Republican leader, tell Arlen Specter it is ludicrous to go after OPEC. Those are the words of the Republican leader.

Finally, Mr. President, here is what they want to do on global warming. This Orwellian verbiage we have heard this morning, that they want to do something on global warming, well, here is what they want to do about global warming. The e-mail on the Republican strategy that we obtained says this:

The focus is more on making political points than in

amending the bill.

That is what they said. And it continues:

GOP anticipates a struggle over which amendments are

debated and eventually fingerpointing over blame for demise

of the bill. The bottom line is that the GOP very much wants

to engage in it for a prolonged period, and then make it as

difficult as possible to move off the bill.

The focus is much more on making political points than on

amending the bill.

The American people aren't confused, Mr. President.

Reserving the right to object, on the floor now is the Presiding Officer and the chairman of the Finance Committee. Two more bipartisan Senators we do not have in the Democratic Caucus, Senators always willing to work with the other side. They both have reputations--Baucus in Montana, Nelson of Nebraska--of working with the other side. There is no partisan advantage in the minds of either one of these Senators.

Why can't we move to this bill? If there is a way to improve it, let's improve it. That is all we want.

Why do we have to go through this routine of stopping--

I object, Mr. President.

I have time set aside at this time. Why in the world do we want to object again?

Mr. President, downtown this morning one of the Republican Senators whose name I won't mention said, meeting with a number of people downtown--this Republican Senator said: There is a lot of frustration within the Republican caucus about blocking motions to proceed.

Of course, there is. The Republicans don't like it. Why do they continue to do this? We want to legislate on this important piece of legislation. It is not only a doctors fix, it is a fix to our health care delivery system.

I am disappointed very much that the Nelsons of the world, the Baucuses of the Senate world can't work together in a bipartisan basis. They want to. I received a call before lunch, before I went to our policy luncheon, from a Republican Senator. He said: Are you going to fill the tree? I said: Of course, I am not going to fill the tree. Why would I? He said: OK. I will vote with you. So I know at least we have one Republican vote. He told me he is going to vote with us on cloture. I hope others would follow with that.

In 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson traveled from Washington, DC to Independence, MO to join former President Harry Truman in Harry Truman's hometown of Independence, MO. The purpose of the trip and the meeting between the current and former Presidents was to sign into law a bill Harry Truman had conceived and Johnson had championed. The new law created Medicare.

I know a little bit about Medicare. My first elective job was in 1966. I was elected to the Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital board of trustees. It might not sound like much to anybody but to me that was important. I beat an incumbent. At the time I took that job--I was there for 2 years--40 percent of the senior citizens who came into our hospital had no insurance. What did we do? We had them sign a certificate or we would not let them in the hospital, unless a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a brother, a sister, or a friend agreed to pay their bill. If they didn't pay the bill, we had a collection department, and we went after them big time, as they did every place in the country.

Medicare came into being. When I was there, before I left, Medicare came into being. Now 99-plus percent of older people who go into hospitals in America have Medicare insurance, a pretty good deal. That is why Truman thought of it. That is why Johnson implemented his thought process. The new law they were there to celebrate created the Medicare Program, a program that has ensured quality health care to America's senior citizens for more than four decades. Since Johnson signed the bill and gave Truman the first ceremonial Medicare card, hundreds of millions of senior citizens have also received their Medicare card. With each new Medicare card issued, our country renews its commitment to bedrock values of those who have worked hard and made their contribution to society, and they deserve to know they will be cared for as they reach those golden years.

But even on the day that bill was signed, President Johnson acknowledged the bill was imperfect. Who were the Senators who voted against Medicare when it came into being? Who were the Senators who recognized they would not vote for that bill? All Republicans. Every person who voted against Medicare's implementation was a Republican Senator. They haven't changed. They reluctantly do what they can for Medicare, but they don't support it.

President Johnson acknowledged it was imperfect. For all the good Medicare has done our Nation's seniors through the years, for all the good it has done for them today, it could be better. Our efforts to make Medicare work better continue today with the Medicare Improvements Act. That is what the chairman of the committee was trying to do, make it better. That is what this is all about.

I am grateful for the work of Senator Baucus, chairman of our committee. Anyone who knows, I repeat, the Senator from Montana is well aware of his ability to work with both sides of the aisle to forge bipartisan solutions. On this legislation, Senator Baucus worked tirelessly with Democrats and Republicans. He reached out to the Bush administration and to the Republican leader. In these efforts, though, he was met with a reluctance to move forward, reluctance that has sadly become the rule, not the exception, among our Republican colleagues. Nevertheless, Senator Baucus moved forward. He worked side by side with Democrats and willing Republicans to create a bill that would make Medicare work better for millions of senior citizens.

Senator Baucus laid out the many virtues of this legislation yesterday so I will do no more than summarize the key points of this most important legislation. The Medicare Improvements Act provides increased coverage for Medicare. This is so important. There is no better way to treat illness than true preventive care. Not only will this enhanced preventive coverage improve the health of Medicare recipients, but it will also save taxpayers in the long run from the astronomically higher costs associated with treating serious illnesses which could have been avoided with preventive care.

This legislation also makes mental health care more affordable. I have worked throughout my time in Congress to shed light on the tragic but all too often hidden cost of depression and other mental health problems among older Americans. Sometimes depression among seniors leads to suicide. There is no group of Americans that dies more than seniors from suicide. Medicare currently discourages beneficiaries from seeking care for mental illness by requiring a 50-percent copayment for mental health services versus a 20-percent copayment for physical health services. This legislation will eliminate that disparity and expand coverage for medications to treat mental health illnesses.

The Medicare Improvements Act also makes it easier for low-income seniors to access benefits by extending the Qualified Individuals Program, increasing eligibility for the Medicare Savings program and eliminating the drug benefit penalty. And for all seniors, this bill provides funds for State and local programs to help navigate through the program and ensure the greatest benefits possible.

When President Johnson signed Medicare into law in 1965, he acknowledged that for all the good this program would do, I repeat, it wasn't perfect. That has not changed today. For all its virtues, far too many seniors are not accessing the care they earned and to which they are entitled. Far more can be done to prevent and treat physical and mental illness to provide older Americans with the very best quality care we can provide them. Will the Medicare Improvements Act make Medicare perfect? No. But there is no question it will make it better, far better. There is no question it will help millions of Americans access Medicare and get the most of its benefits once they do.

There has been some talk of Republicans refusing to join Democrats to support the motion to proceed to this legislation. That is what the Republican leader said today. He told all of his Republicans: Don't vote for this. We will work out something better. That is the process. The process is not the status quo. If there are improvements they want to make, there is no bigger listener than Max Baucus of the Finance Committee. He will manage this bill. But if they follow the lead of

the Republican leader, they are being led off a cliff. Republicans wouldn't just be refusing to support the bill, they would be refusing to let us even move to debate it. They would be stopping this crucial legislation in its tracks and deny any possibility of progress or compromise in the near future.

I hope people on the other side will follow what I read to them from a Republican Senator downtown this morning: There is a lot of frustration within the Republican caucus on blocking motions to proceed.

And well there should be.

I will use leader time, Mr. President.

I can't imagine why all 100 Senators would not flock to quickly pass this legislation, much less why they would not all vote eagerly for the motion to proceed. Denying debate on the Medicare Improvements Act and denying its passage would be a grave disservice to tens of millions of Americans over age 65. It would be a slap in the face to all those who suffer silently through mental illness because they can't afford the treatment that would make them well. Opposing this legislation and clinging to the status quo, as I fear some Republicans may choose to do, would be an abandonment of our decades-old commitment to honoring and caring for senior citizens in the manner they deserve.

In Independence, MO, 43 years ago, President Johnson said this:

Many men can make many proposals. Many men can draft many

laws. But few have the piercing and humane eye which can see

beyond the words to the people they touch.

Few can see past the speeches and political battles to the

doctor over there that is tending the infirmed, and to the

hospital that is receiving those in anguish, or feel in their

heart the painful wrath at the injustice which denies the

miracle of healing to the old and to the poor.

And fewer still have the courage to stake reputation, and

position, and the effort of a lifetime upon such a cause when

there are so few that share it.

But it is just such men who illuminate the life and history

of [this] nation.

Because times have changed in 43 years, I call upon the men and women of the Senate to do the right thing and let us move to this legislation. It is the right thing to do. President Johnson's words go to the heart of this country. People need to vote their conscience, not the status quo.

I have time? OK.

I say to my distinguished friend from California, it has gotten so out of hand that we are having trouble keeping up. We now have on filibusters 75, but we have it on Velcro because we know they will add another one to it in the near future. We also have Velcro as to what they are blocking on a given day. We pull it off because yesterday they were blocking global warming. The day before they were blocking gas prices, today Medicare improvements. It has gotten so difficult around here that we have Velcro as to what they are stopping.

If there is no more time to be used on the Republican side, we could start the vote early. We are going to start the vote early. We were going to consider having it started at 3 o'clock. There are some people who want to leave and we have some coming back. Anyway, I have gotten a nod to yield back all time for both Democrats and Republicans, and I ask that the vote start.

Cloture Motion

Madam President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to S. 3101.

Madam President, I now withdraw the motion to proceed.

Madam President, first of all, let me say I really appreciate the nine Republicans who voted to proceed. I appreciate that. We want to legislate. I think there is an indication that maybe things are getting to a point where we are going to be able to do that. I hope that, in fact, is the case.

Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 767, H.R. 6049, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of Senator McConnell, there will be a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. The majority will control the first 30 minutes; the Republicans will control the second 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3044, the Consumer-First Energy Act. The first 4 hours of debate will be equally divided and controlled in 30- minute alternating blocks of time, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and Republicans controlling the next 30 minutes.

Upon conclusion of the controlled time, Senators will be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

As a reminder, yesterday, I filed cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3101, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. That cloture vote will occur tomorrow morning.

Mr. President, when President Bush took office, one of the airplanes flying us to the west coast, or to the Midwest, or to the southern part of the States from Washington, DC, the cost of a tank of fuel for that airplane was 15 percent of the overall cost of the airline. Today, after 7 years and 6 months of President Bush, it now costs those airline companies almost 50 percent of the total costs. So it has gone from 15 percent to almost 50 percent.

All over America, airlines are eliminating flights that are full. Why? Because those airplanes cost too much to run. Every airplane flying across America today is losing money--every commercial airline-- because the cost of fuel is so high. Think about that. Eighty-five percent of the cost of an airline could be other things when President Bush took office; now it is 50 percent. Airlines are in deep trouble.

I repeat, airplanes taking off from Washington, DC, or other places in America, and are full, with every seat taken, those flights are being eliminated because that type of airplane uses too much fuel. They are doing everything they can to eliminate the need for extra fuel. They are hosing down airplanes to save a quart of fuel here and there.

Mr. President, it is a desperate situation that the American airline industry has. In addition, our airlines are having difficulty competing with the European airlines. They pay in euros; we pay in dollars. We pay approximately, let's say, $1.40 per gallon--we know that is wrong, but the mathematical calculation is the same--and Europe pays about 80 cents. We cannot compete.

Mr. President, when President Bush took office, a gallon of gasoline in a motor vehicle was less than $1.50. Now, this morning, it is announced that the average cost in America is over $4.05 a gallon. That is what has happened during the Bush administration.

The day before yesterday, I met with the National Association of Manufacturers. The biggest concern they have is the cost of energy. One relatively small American manufacturer who has been quite successful-- totally American--said this year, so far he has to

borrow or come up with another $6 million--he doesn't know where he is going to get it--just to take care of the problems attributed to rising energy cost.

In spite of all this, in spite of the problems we face in America today with gasoline, people are trying to take public transportation when they can, but in rural America there is very little public transportation. Vacations are being stopped. In spite of all this, yesterday, the Republicans stopped us from going forward on legislation that would ease some of the problems.

For example, in the matter we are talking about when morning business closes, we think it is time to look at the subsidies the oil companies get. During the past year, they made about $250 billion in profits--net profits. Yet we subsidize these oil companies. We believe that should be looked at closely.

We also believe we should look at a windfall profits tax. We also believe--and there is bipartisan support for this; Senator Specter talked about this, and Senator Kohl is our major mover on this issue on this side--OPEC scholars believe, and members of our Judiciary Committee believe they are violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. But there is a question as to whether they are subject to that. What these Senators and others want to do--and that is part of our legislation--is make them subject to the antitrust laws in this country. They make most of their money in America. Why shouldn't our laws apply? We were stopped from going forward to debate that issue.

There is a school of thought today that believes the problems with the cost of oil are based on speculation--pure speculation. If the Presiding Officer wanted to leave and buy a share of General Motors or Ford stock--and Kirk Kerkorian is buying about 1 billion dollars' worth of Ford stock today--if you want to buy stock in Ford or General Motors today, you would have to put up 50 cents, which is your margin, for every dollar you buy. But not with oil. Some margins with oil are 3 to 5 percent. There is a lot of speculation going on.

We wanted to take a look at that but, no, the Republicans said: We are not even going to let you legislate on that matter. It seems to me that is what we should do. If they don't like our proposal, let's do something they think would be appropriate. Let's legislate.

Mr. President, I think it is pretty clear we cannot produce our way out of the problems we have with energy. Take ANWR and all of the offshore, and we in America have about 3 percent of the oil in the world. So it is obvious we cannot do that. Can we do a better job in production? Of course we can. We do certain things, and we have done certain things, such as allowing more offshore drilling off the coast of Louisiana.

The answer to all of this is not drill, drill, drill. The answer is to do something to help save our world. Global warming is here because we have taken, for well more than a century, carbon out of the Earth and put it into the sky. It has caused our Earth to be sick. We have a fever. Global warming is here. So we not only have to face this issue and recognize we don't need more fossil fuel, we need alternative renewable energy. That is what we tried to move to yesterday. The Republicans would not let us.

We have entrepreneurs in America who want to invest money in renewable energy--the Sun, the wind, geothermal. They want to invest, and we want to be able to give them tax credits as incentives. But, no, not with this Republican minority, not with this Republican President. The answer is no, no, no to directly affecting energy costs and doing something to allow us to move to renewable energy.

If that weren't enough, yesterday, to show what is going on with the Republicans and to indicate to the American people why they keep losing these special elections--one in Illinois, one in Louisiana, and one in Mississippi--look what they are doing. Yesterday, the Judiciary Committee had a hearing on torture to find out why America--the United States of America--why we were torturing people who were being picked up for being suspected terrorists. All we wanted to do is hold a hearing. No. In the Senate, if you don't want a hearing to go forward, and we have been in session for more than 2 hours, you can stop it. So we had to recess the Senate to go ahead with the hearing anyway.

They do not even want us to do oversight. So we are going to come today and talk about the calamity facing America with the oil prices. The Presiding Officer and I just left a meeting of people concerned about food--food. Senator Dorgan from North Dakota indicated that the cost of fertilizer in the small, sparsely populated State of North Dakota, in 1 year, has gone from $400 million to $800 million. Those farmers are trying to figure out a way to pay for that. People all around that table were people concerned about food. The problem is energy costs.

Yet in the Senate, we are not allowed to debate that because Republicans want to maintain the status quo. The status quo will not be maintained much longer. We may have to put up with President Bush and his policies for 7 months, if he is not willing to work with us. We may have to put up with the obstructionism of the Republicans for another 7 months, but the day is going to change come November when the elections are held because we will no longer have the slim majority we have now, and we will be able to legislate for the American people.

I object.

Mr. President, people who are listening to and watching this discussion must go back and understand George Orwell set forth a principle in his book ``1984'' that has become known as Orwellian. What that means is what the person is saying, they mean the direct opposite.

This is so hard to respond to in a calm, deliberative manner. We want to legislate. The proposal the distinguished Republican leader suggested is an amendment we might find a way to approach, but shouldn't we get on the bill? I don't understand this. I don't understand this. They talk about the way to solve the problems of energy in America is to keep drilling, and now they are talking about drilling in wilderness areas--pristine areas in which they want to start drilling.

We have 3 percent of the oil in the world, counting everything--ANWR, all those other things. We cannot produce our way out of the problems we have. Sixty-five percent of the oil we use we import. So it seems logical to everyone the thing we should do is stop importing oil. We can produce a little more, and we should do that, but the way to get out of this problem is to move to alternative energy.

In this debate, with these gas prices as high as they have ever been in the history of America, more than $4.05 a gallon, where is George Bush, the President? Why isn't he talking about this? Why isn't he talking about this? He hasn't talked about it for the last 2 months. Where is John McCain? Does he favor, as obviously he does, the obstructionism of the Republicans in the Senate to allow us to go forward and debate gas prices? That is what we want to do.

I made very clear what is in our bill. There is nothing so difficult to understand. We believe the cost of oil is driven up by these margins that are out of whack. We want to legislate and say let's take a look at that. We believe the OPEC nations are being unfair to America. Shouldn't we be able to take a look at that? We believe there are windfall profits that should be directed back to the American people. We believe the subsidies to major oil companies should be taken away, and we believe we should be able to do something about alternative energy.

Each step of the way, the Republicans have blocked us from doing that. I don't understand why we can't go forward and legislate such as this body has done for more than 230 years. Senator Stabenow was here yesterday--now we put Velcro on the numbers because they change. Everything we do we have to go around the obstructions put up by the Republicans. Now the chart has 75 filibusters. We have Velcro, and we can add numbers to it. But remember, these acts of obstructionism by the Republicans are significant, and they are stopping us from doing the American people's business.

I hope we can move into a time where we can legislate. We are going to talk about gas prices today, and the American people, while we are talking about gas prices, are filling their tanks at these outrageous prices, with the Republicans not letting us move to this legislation. In the meantime, George Bush, the President, and John McCain, the nominee, are being silent as to what should happen.

Mr. President, first of all, my friend's statement about the L.A. Times is as Orwellian as his statement about wanting to cast votes. Understand, everybody, that he means just the opposite. They do not want to cast any votes, so that is why they are preventing us from debating this legislation. He said we are making it impossible. That is Orwellian. They are the ones stopping us from debating.

I would suggest to my friend that the L.A. Times is not some liberal newspaper. It has been purchased by one of the most conservative men in America today. He owns a chain of newspapers. He announced yesterday he is going to cut the news of the L.A. Times by 50 percent because the newspaper is going broke. So it is not a liberal editorial page.

But assuming that we understand the Orwellian-speak from the Republican side, let me read a little more from the same editorial he talked about.

Republicans are just as short of good ideas. Their big

strategy on oil is to open up the Arctic National Wildlife

Refuge to drilling. A recent report by the Energy Information

Agency showed that there is anywhere between 5.7 billion and

16 billion barrels of ``recoverable'' oil in the refuge.

Depending on where the actual number falls in that range, it

could eventually reduce the price of oil by between 41 cents

and $1.44 a barrel. Given that oil is trading at about $135 a

barrel, that's not much--and the price reduction wouldn't

occur until 2026. In fact, it would take at least a decade to

extract a drop from the refuge even if drilling were approved

tomorrow. The land is more valuable as a pristine home for

threatened species.

So, Mr. President, again, everything we have heard this morning, as I have indicated, everything we have heard from the minority is just the opposite factually.

Mr. President, remember the Orwellian-speak from the other side. Everything that my friend has said, just the opposite is factual. We would love to take votes. They won't let us take votes. As with global warming, we offered two amendments, three amendments, six amendments, germane, relevant. We tried every possible procedure, and they said: No, you can't do that.

Mr. President, that is how we feel about this legislation. We believe and we have acknowledged that our legislation is not perfect, but it is good legislation. If we could get to it, we believe it would allow for debate on how to lower gas prices in the short term and, with the alternative renewable energy, that it would allow us to look down the road and do something that is very significant for the long term. But they won't let us legislate on anything. For them to come and say: We don't want to take tough votes, well, we will take tough votes, easy votes, medium votes, anything. They won't let us. That is why we have 75 filibusters, and the number keeps going up.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 3101 occur at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, June 12; that following the opening of the Senate on Thursday, the Senate resume the motion to proceed to S. 3101, with the time until 3 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees, with the final 40 minutes prior to the vote controlled as follows: 10 minutes each, Senators Grassley, Baucus, McConnell, and Reid of Nevada, or their designees, in that order.

Madam President, I rise today to recognize Betsy Reifsnyder, a dedicated public servant who is retiring in July after nearly 25 years of service to the U.S. Congress.

Ms. Reifsnyder came to the Library of Congress in 1984 as part of an intern program and then moved on to the Congressional Research Service in 1985 as a reference librarian. She has worked in a number of challenging roles, and will retire as the data architect of the Congressional Research Service.

Throughout her years at CRS, Ms. Reifsnyder has performed complex and institution-supporting duties. Her leadership, sound judgment, and creative work, coupled with her technical expertise and her positive approach to any project or problem were keys to the early and continued success of the Legislative Information System, LIS. Her dedication and ability to find solutions have earned her a trust, and confidence, that echoes throughout the legislative branch.

An expert in the legislative process, data structures, and online search systems, she was instrumental in moving legislative data into the Internet age. Ms. Reifsnyder has played an active role in the development of improvements and advanced features for LIS retrieval and display to meet the needs of congressional staff.

Both Congress and the general public have benefited greatly from her work on the THOMAS and LIS, systems which have allowed access to reliable and timely legislative information. Congressional Members and staff will continue to benefit from her work, due to her major contributions to the plans for LIS 2.0. Her vision and leadership have shaped the data-entry system for legislative summaries and other resources that have made it easier for all of us to have access to reliable legislative information.

Although, Betsy Reifsnyder will be retiring, her many accomplishments will stand as a fitting tribute to her career and her person. Ms. Reifsnyder's presence will be greatly missed, and I wish her and her family all the best as she enters the next phase of her life.