Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Transitional Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, FMAP, Act, and I am pleased to do so with the support of Senators Brown, Whitehouse, Akaka, Durbin, Klobuchar, and Begich. This bill is an important step in continuing the conversation about how we can help our States, businesses, and individuals as our economy recovers.

In my State of Rhode Island, the economic downturn has been particularly hard hitting on families and businesses. As a result, the State has seen a decline in tax revenue and an increased enrollment in safety net programs like Medicaid. Revenue from the sales tax is down over 7 percent, income tax receipts are down 2.3 percent, and corporate tax revenue is down nearly 10 percent. At the same time, unemployment rates have soared to new heights, topping 13 percent earlier this year. In the past 2 years, 40,000 Rhode Islanders have lost their employer- sponsored health insurance. Many of these individuals have come to rely on Medicaid for health coverage. This has caused great strain on the State's resources and its Medicaid program. In November, we learned that the estimated Medicaid caseload for the year will cost over $40 million more than what the State had initially estimated in its budget.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which I supported, provided States with additional Federal assistance through 2010. States have used these funds to help balance their budgets, minimize harmful cuts in public services, and, very importantly, to prevent tax increases in many cases. However, even with the funding from the Recovery Act, Rhode Island will close the current fiscal year $219.8 million in the red.

A total of 38 States have looked ahead to fiscal year 2011, and they have estimated $92 billion in combined deficits in the coming year. As the State fiscal year nears, and more States have had ample time to analyze their fiscal health it is expected that the total shortfall will likely equal $180 billion.

As Congress debates health reform and works to ensure that every American has access to health insurance in 2014, we must not forget about ensuring that Americans have access to health insurance between now and then, as the economy slowly recovers and as state budgets begin to heal. During this tough time we need to help individuals, businesses, and States, and I am particularly concerned with making sure our States have the resources to provide adequate health care.

Unless Congress acts on FMAP legislation, States will be forced to use their limited resources to cover an expanded Medicaid population beginning in January 2011. Since States are planning their fiscal year 2011 budgets, which will begin in July, many Governors are requesting Congress act now to provide States with additional Federal support.

The Transitional FMAP Act would extend the enhanced FMAP funding which we passed in the Recovery Act for two additional quarters. This extension accounts for the prolonged recession and ensures that the pressure of Medicaid needs do not overwhelm the States. The bill would also begin a slow decrease of enhanced FMAP funding from July 2011 through December 2013. This will help States as they recover and ensure that States do not experience a gap in assistance prior to health reform-related FMAP levels beginning in January 2014.

Mr. President, this additional funding is important for States, businesses, and individuals. I know that Chairman Baucus and Leader Reid are well aware of the importance of FMAP and have a history to working to aid our States. I look forward to working with them and my other colleagues to provide States with necessary additional Federal Medicaid assistance.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Minnesota. I want to add my comments to that of the Senator from Maryland and the Senator from Delaware to commend the new Senator from Massachusetts. He not only carries on the great work of Ted Kennedy, but he does it with the same passion and eloquence.

What struck me in this legislation--and reminiscent of Senator Kennedy--is that this legislation will provide real help to real people. It is about solutions, not slogans.

Let me illuminate, if I may. Premium relief. What is troubling so many middle-class families? They are too wealthy to qualify for direct public assistance in terms of the Medicaid Program, but they are not wealthy enough to pay for insurance.

This legislation will cap family outlays on medical insurance premiums. Families making under $88,000 will pay no more than 10 percent of their income on premiums. They will be given direct assistance through the tax system. There will be a rebate. So people now, rather than staring at 20 percent, 15 percent, 18 percent increases, will at least know there is a cap. And perhaps if we do our work well enough, the whole system will begin to reduce below the 10- percent mark, and everyone will benefit.

It is also notable that real families worry about many things. They worry about educating their children. They want them to be educated, but they also recognize as full-time students in higher education, they can stay on the family health care plan. It is interesting to note that decisions made about education are tied into health care, and also, in fact, as to where you work, if you should keep your job you do not like because you have health

care or go on, whether you strike out to start a new business because you have this brilliant idea or stay in your current position because there is health care there. But what this bill does, again, is provide real help for real people and allows families to keep their children on their health care plan until they are 26 years old.

It also reforms dramatically the insurance system. Again, we listen to many of the complaints: Oh, we don't want a government-run health care system; we don't want bureaucrats telling us what to do. The irony, of course, as you mentioned, and Senator Schumer did, too, is that one of the most popular health care programs in this country is Medicare, which is government run. One of the other most popular health care programs in this country is run through the Veterans' Administration, which is a government agency. The least popular programs are private health insurance, where everyone has complaints-- doctors, patients, providers. This legislation will prevent lifetime limits that insurance companies dictate. It will also do many other things.

So let me conclude because I appreciate very much--and if the time allows, I have a question for the Senator from Massachusetts. But this is a bill that when you move past all of the rhetorical smokescreens-- because, frankly, most of our colleagues on the other side don't want to do anything. They didn't want to do it in 1993 and 1994; they didn't want to do it in 1933 and 1935; and they still don't want to do it-- this legislation helps real people with solutions not slogans about nationalization and bureaucrats.

I thank Senator Udall. Senator Kaufman has made an excellent point. What we have seen over the last several years, actually more than a decade, is increasing costs shifted to small business. Just this year, a 15-percent increase in small business premiums is anticipated, much higher than inflation. That is because there is no real competition. Rhode Island is on that map, where two companies control 8 percent of the market. There are forces, which have been illuminated, that drive up this constant increase in cost. One is profits. That is what private companies are organized to achieve. If we were directors of those companies, we would be trying to do that. But those profits drive two things: One, shareholder return, profitability of stock, and also compensation for executives. Those two phenomena will not be in place in a public option. It will be a not-for-profit cooperative arrangement. So the response will not be to shareholders or to self-aggrandizement of executives; it will be to delivering service. That is going to be a check.

What I find ironic in this discussion is the bold proponents of free markets who believe the free market can solve it are afraid of competition. They are afraid of a public option because they say: We can't compete with the Government. Their definition of competition is any competition. They are probably worried about 80 percent shared between two companies. This is a managed environment. Year in and year out, the insurance companies do great and small business does worse and worse.

I thank the Senator for yielding.

Mr. President, today I have the great privilege of rising to pay tribute to my chairman, the longest serving Senator in the history of this country, the senior Senator from West Virginia, Robert C. Byrd.

He has reached a milestone among many in his career. It is an extraordinary record of service and dedication and patriotism to the country, and it reflects the values of the people of West Virginia and of this great Nation. Senator Byrd's extraordinary service is measured not just in length but accomplishments, but the length is impressive, indeed. He has 20,744 days of service as a Member of Congress--over 56 years, 10\1/2\ months. Over that time, Senator Byrd has cast over 18,500 rollcall votes, witnessed the inauguration of 11 Presidents, and he has been successful in 15 out of 15 elections.

For over 60 years, Senator Byrd has represented the people of West Virginia tirelessly, with a great deal of energy and a great deal of success. He started in the West Virginia House of Delegates and then was elected to the West Virginia State Senate. Then he went to the U.S. House of Representatives. Finally, he came here to the U.S. Senate, where he is currently serving in an unprecedented ninth full term.

I think Senator Byrd's success is a reflection of his steady progress, learning first about the people of his home State as he worked among them, knowing them well because they were his friends and neighbors; and then going on into local government and dealing with the concerns as a State representative and then as a State senator; and then coming to the House of Representatives, understanding the operation of the House and how he could help the people of West Virginia; and finally, he coming here to the U.S. Senate.

What is incredibly impressive about Senator Byrd is that he is not only the longest serving Senator in the history of this country, he is the most knowledgeable Senator with respect to the history of our body. He is the author--he literally wrote the book on the U.S. Congress and the Senate, among so many others that he has written. This reflects his incredible talent and intellect but also his incredible hard work and tenacity, and it reflects the range of experience he has had.

No one knows this body better than Robert Byrd. No one has served it longer. Nobody has served it with the same kind of energy, insight, and dedication. It has been reflected in West Virginia, across the Nation, and across the globe. For example, in 1947, shortly before Senator Byrd first came to Washington D.C. as a U.S. Congressman, there were only four miles of divided four-lane highway, in West Virginia. Today, as a result of Senator Byrd's work, the expansive Appalachian Development Highway System is nearing completion. He understood, as we must today, that economic development is not only a fundamental need, but that it results largely from the infrastructure improvements that speed commerce and literally connect people to one another.

Senator Byrd also is a tireless advocate for miners, those men and women--principally men--who go down and literally risk their lives in the coal mines. He knows this firsthand. As a result, mining-related injuries in West Virginia have significantly declined since Senator Byrd came here--the results of his actions, the results of his understanding, and the results of his commitment to the people he served. He worked hard each and every day for those who risk their lives in a dangerous occupation and deserve the attention and respect of this body and our country.

He has done much more than help the people of West Virginia. As I indicated before, as the greatest scholar in our body, he has demonstrated a profound understanding and respect for the Constitution of the United States. He has shown that not just in words but in deeds. He has been prepared to stand up when he thought constitutional values were being impaired. Indeed, no commitment is greater to Senator Byrd than his commitment to the Constitution and the values therein. He has stood up forcefully and persuasively on so many occasions to defend the Constitution and to serve truly the oath we all take to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.

On Friday, Senator Byrd will celebrate his 92nd birthday. He will celebrate that in his usual fashion: He will work, I am sure. He will work for the people of West Virginia, for the people of this country, and for the people of the world. He will reflect back on his dearest partner, his wife, who was his support, comfort, and inspiration. He will reflect upon his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He will reflect upon a life well lived in service to his country. But more important, he will look ahead to the work he will do as he finishes this term and prepares for his next election to represent the people of West Virginia.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. in room 106 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

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

committee on environment and public works

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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

committee on foreign relations

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 10:15 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 10 a.m., in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on November 18, 2009, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on November 18, 2009, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Nominations.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009. The Committee will meet in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 18, 2009, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Accountability for Foreign Contractors: The Lieutenant Colonel Dominic `Rocky' Baragona Justice for American Heroes Harmed by Contractors Act.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate to conduct a hearing on November 18, 2009, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that upon disposition of the nomination of Judge David Hamilton and the Senate resuming legislative session that the Senate then proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 190, S. 1963, Veterans Health Care Initiatives, and that the bill be considered under the following limitations: that general debate on the bill be limited to 30 minutes equally divided and controlled between Senators Akaka and Burr or their designees; that the only amendment in order be a Coburn amendment regarding funding priorities which is at the desk and that it be printed in the Record once this agreement is entered; that debate on the amendment be limited to 3 hours, with 2 hours under the control of Senator Coburn and 60 minutes under the control of Senator Akaka or his designee; that upon the use or yielding back of all time, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Coburn amendment; that upon disposition of the Coburn amendment, the bill, as amended, if amended, be read a third time, and the Senate then proceed to vote on passage of the bill.

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 come to the floor today, as so many of my colleagues have, to reflect on the extraordinary tragedy that took place at Fort Hood, TX, yesterday. It is almost inconceivable such an event could take place.

As we sort through the motives and the rationale, which may take weeks, I think we, obviously, have to extend our deepest, sincerest condolences to the families of these men and women. They were there because they wanted to serve their country. They were there because they were willing to risk their lives in service to this Nation.

Tragically and inexplicably, it happened on a post in the United States not in a faraway land. I think this is a moment where we all have to stop, not only to extend our warmest condolences to the families, but also to reflect on the service and sacrifice of all the troops. Their continued willingness to serve and expose themselves to risk, to leave their families behind--all of this creates the pressure, the tension, the burden of soldiering in this moment in our history. We owe them more than we can repay them.

At this moment, I express my deepest condolences to the families and also to those soldiers who came to the aid of their comrades, who exposed themselves in a dangerous manner to try to get people to safety, to try to provide first aid to the wounded. They continue to be our heroes, and they always will be.

Mr. President, I would now like to speak on the military construction bill before us. I want to commend, obviously, my colleagues, Senator Johnson and Senator Hutchison, for their great work. I had the privilege for a short time to serve as the acting chairman of the subcommittee and worked very closely with both Senator Johnson, our chairman, and Senator Hutchison, the ranking member. They are both very committed and dedicated colleagues, and they have done a remarkable job.

This bill provides $134 billion for military construction, military family housing, and veterans affairs programs, an increase of approximately $429 million over the President's request.

This bill provides a total of $109 billion for the VA and increases funding for medical care by $4.2 billion over last year's funding.

For the first time, the bill includes advance appropriations for the VA's medical programs to ensure a stable and uninterrupted funding stream.

This bill also provides funding to combat homelessness among veterans. This is a priority of both Secretary Gates and Secretary Shinseki, and also Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This bill includes $3.2 billion for health care, support services, and housing assistance for homeless veterans.

I hope, again, the Senate will act before Veterans Day to pass this measure. I think it would be a fitting tribute to our veterans, whom we honor in words, and I think we have the chance, early next week, to honor them in deeds.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that my following remarks be printed elsewhere in Morning Business.

Mr. President, I yield the floor and 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 a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I have been very fortunate in my life. One of the great opportunities I received from Senator John O. Pastore of Rhode Island was the opportunity to attend West Point. At West Point, it was not just a great education, it was not just an opportunity to serve the Nation. The most important opportunity I had was to meet an extraordinary group of my colleagues and classmates who have served this Nation with great distinction now for over 30 years.

Recently, some of my colleagues who have reached general officer ranks have retired: GEN Bill Dailey, who was one of the chiefs of our special operations forces, someone whose heroism and courage would be well renowned if it could be revealed, but because of his special operations missions, much of what he has done will be classified for many years; GEN Mike Maples, who was the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency--two valued friends and classmates who have retired.

In a few days, another of my classmates will join that distinguished roster: LTG Tom Metz. Tom Metz is someone who personifies the values of duty, honor, and country, and who has spent his entire life in service to the Nation.

He joined the Army as an enlisted man in 1966. He went to the Army's West Point preparatory school, and then he joined the class of 1971 in the summer of 1967. Even then, back in the late 1960s, it was quite obvious that Tom Metz was going to be a leader in our Army, that he was going to command great responsibilities. It was a function of his skill but, most importantly, it was a function of his character, his commitment to those he led and to the Nation he chose to serve.

Tom Metz's career has been an extraordinary one. He started as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion of the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Germany in the 1970s. He rose through the ranks to hold command at every level: platoon, company, battalion.

He concluded his command responsibilities in Iraq as the commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. There he led our forces from January 2004 to February 2005. In a difficult moment, he provided the leadership and the example that our forces needed.

His previous assignments included being the assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division, where he was able to begin the technological improvement of our Army by introducing new digital technology for our armored forces. He also served in several staff positions of great responsibility.

Presently, he is the head of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. This is the weapon--the IED--of choice of our opponents, and the Department of Defense chose one of the most capable and most caring individuals to lead our effort to defeat these devices.

Tom will conclude a distinguished career. He was bolstered, supported, encouraged, and sustained throughout his career by his wife Pam and his family. They, too, served and they, too, deserve our great commendation and respect.

I am extraordinarily proud of his service as a classmate, as a friend, as someone who admires his character, his courage, and his unstinting commitment to the soldiers he led and the Nation he served. I thank him for his great service.

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

Mr. President, we all recognize the severity of this issue and the passion the Senator from South Carolina brings to the issue. But since 9/11, we have tried 195 terrorists in article III courts; we have tried 3 in military commissions. I think we have recognized that our courts are durable enough to stand up to the issues of the culpability of these individuals and the magnitude of their actions. Secretary Gates and Attorney General Holder have asked for the option to use article

III courts or military commissions. We are preserving that if we reject the Graham amendment.

Let me say something else. Our enemies see themselves as jihadists-- holy warriors. They don't object to being tried in military commissions because they see themselves as combatant warriors. They are criminals. They committed murder. The sooner we can convince the world that these aren't holy warriors, that they are criminals, the sooner we will take an advantage in this battle of ideas between those people and the system of laws and justice that we represent and try to protect and defend.

So I recognize the sincerity and the passion of the Senator, but I would urge a vote against this amendment, and I move to table the amendment.

Mr. President, do I have time remaining?

Mr. President, this present statute that is on the books gives the Secretary of Defense the opportunity to recommend and the Attorney General the opportunity to prosecute in either an article III court or a military tribunal. I think that choice should be maintained.

I would urge that we defeat this amendment.

I move to table the amendment.

Mr. President, I commend several of my colleagues who brought us one step closer to passing an extension of unemployment insurance which is absolutely critical in the lives of millions of Americans. Hundreds of thousands--millions, indeed--have run out of their benefits or are about to run out of their benefits. They are facing the prospect of a tough economy without jobs and looking feverishly and not finding them and not having a basic support for their families. This is critical.

Majority Leader Reid has helped immensely, together with Chairman Baucus. I particularly single out Senator Isakson and Senator Bunning. They have worked collectively, collaboratively to bring to this bill two other measures which are critical. As Senator Isakson explained, the housing tax credit. One of the real benefits of this body when it works well is we are able to have the expertise and the judgment and the knowledge of someone such as Senator Isakson who understands better than anyone else the real estate market because he came up through that business.

His vision months ago gave us the option to move forward on this homeowners tax credit. It has been a huge success, and it is much to the credit of Senator Isakson.

Senator Bunning recognizes the need for the net operating loss favorable treatment to small businesses.

When we work together, pooling our best ideas, we can contribute to the well-being of Americans all through this country. I thank those two Senators.

I hope that after what I anticipate to be another overwhelming procedural vote that we could move immediately to consideration of final passage of the unemployment compensation bill, together with the measures Senator Isakson and Senator Bunning have offered.

I hesitate, but I will add that it has been 20-plus days since we have been considering this unemployment extension. We have been through numerous procedural votes. These procedural votes have been overwhelming. Monday evening, it was 85 to 2. Typically, when we have that kind of underlying support for a measure, we do not need 30 additional hours, particularly now since we are considering a bipartisan bill, incorporating unemployment compensation extensions, first-time home buyers, together with net operating loss treatment for small businesses.

So I anticipate a successful procedural vote. I would like to anticipate swift and unanimous passage, and I hope that is the case.

The issue of unemployment compensation is absolutely critical all across this country. There is no place today in the United States that does not see a serious crisis in unemployment. In my home State, we have a 13-percent unemployment rate. My assembly was briefed today with the prediction that the rate will peak sometime next year at 14 percent. That is crippling in terms of its effect on families.

We have seen some progress in our economy. We saw last week, for the first time in a year, a growth in the gross domestic product--3.5 percent. The economy is expanding. We are growing again. The downward collapse has stopped, and we are beginning to grow. But, as I suggested previously on the floor, you can't feed your family GDP. You need a job. You need to be able to work. You need to have the certainty of your work, that it will be there. And you have to be able to have that job to provide for your family and to give us the confidence we need to continue to grow and expand the economy.

One of the economic effects we have seen is lagging consumer consumption, which was a major driving force in our economy. It is obvious that when people are afraid of losing their jobs, when people have lost their jobs, their consumption is necessarily limited. So in order to sustain our growth, we have to go ahead and rebuild our employment situation.

But what we have to do immediately is to recognize there are people without jobs. These are people who have worked all their lives. My colleagues have come to the floor repeatedly and they have read-- Senator Durbin and so many others--letters from constituents, husbands and wives who are now faced with no employment, are faced with the loss of their insurance because their COBRA is running out, their health care, and they are worried about losing their homes. For the first time, they are at the edge of financial ruin. Many have already exhausted their 401(k)s, all their retirement benefits, just to get by, just to survive.

Again, these are people who have worked all their lives. We owe them something more than procedural niceties in the Senate. I hope that today we will pay that debt to these people.

We are here on the verge, I hope, of quick passage and not additional delay. We have taken it step by step. The leadership of Majority Leader Reid and Chairman Baucus has been extraordinary, and with the thoughtful and substantive contributions of my colleagues, Senators Isakson and Bunning. I hope that with this now bipartisan approach, we can, in fact, not only procedurally take it a further step but pick up the pace dramatically and cross the finish line--today, I hope. I would obviously urge all my colleagues to support this measure and support the underlying legislation as quickly as possible.

At this juncture, 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 time during the quorum be charged equally against both sides.

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

Mr. President, how much time remains on our side?

Mr. President, without objection, I will proceed for the remaining seconds and simply remind everyone that we are taking another step to expand unemployment coverage for an additional 14 weeks for every State and 6 more weeks for those States that have unemployment rates above 8.5 percent. We are incorporating a home buyer tax credit that has worked remarkably well, and we are also incorporating net operating loss treatment for small businesses so they can have additional resources to hire more Americans.

This legislation is important, it is critical, it is vital, and I hope it is unanimously accepted.

Cloture Motion

Mr. President, I again rise to urge my colleagues, particularly from the other side, to join us in passing the extension of unemployment insurance, without delaying action through more procedural votes. We are in the midst of a very complicated and important debate on health care and we are being urged to move forward on that. But something that is pressing, in my view, is the need to extend benefits to the people who are running out of the ability to support their families. By my count we on this side of the aisle have been trying for days to do something that the other body did, with bipartisan cooperation, in a vote of 331 to 83 under Suspension of the Rules.

As the President of the Senate knows, this is the way the House moves noncontroversial legislation forward without any delay. It is not used for major legislation such as this, typically, so that underscores the bipartisan solution the House proposed to us more than 25 days ago.

To compound matters, the other side is now doing more than just delaying unemployment benefits for millions; they are also needlessly delaying tax cuts for small businesses and first-time home buyers. This is a very disturbing precedent. The American people, as my colleague was talking about, want to see some results. They want to see us move on issues that are critically important to them. What could be more critical and more important than extending unemployment benefits to those who have lost their jobs and are in a very difficult economy? What could be more important to our economy, and to so many people, than extending the further benefits of the tax treatment of new home buyers, which has produced an increase in sales and investment? This is the time to move forward and to also help small businesses. The legislation before us includes not only the extension of unemployment benefits and the tax break for home buyers, but also the preferential tax treatment for small businesses in terms of their ability to access losses in the past.

With the winter and the holidays approaching, this legislation cannot come soon enough for millions of Americans who are feeling the effects, not of the last 8 months but of the last 8 years, of the Bush economy. This legislation will help people literally put food on the table. It will give them a sense of support and substance as they go forward. It will also help continue the expansion of the economy we have seen. Last quarter for the first time in a year we saw growth in the American economy--3.5 percent GDP. To sustain that we have to keep incentivizing our economy in many different ways. Two of the provisions included-- again with bipartisan support--provide those incentives. Small business will get relief in terms of net operating losses. Individual purchasers in the real estate market will get the stimulus of the addition and extension of the tax treatment of purchase of homes.

But we could anticipate another cloture vote this week, another procedural burden to do something that everybody says we should have done weeks ago. My colleagues on this side have suggested amendments that are not germane--some that we have repeatedly taken up already, indeed have passed. But this should be something more than about messaging. This should be about helping the American people. We have legislation before us which incorporates, as mentioned, not just unemployment extension but two other benefits, for small businesses and for new home buyers. This compromise before us should not face these delaying tactics. The reality is that 4,000 people in my State need this help right away. They need the unemployment benefit extension. There are thousands more Rhode Islanders who will exhaust their benefits in the next several weeks. Indeed, 3,000 Rhode Islanders are receiving extended benefits, which is the final tranche of unemployment benefits for most. They will be without any real support if we do not move this week, if we do not move promptly, in a timely fashion.

The latest compromise provides 14 weeks of unemployment insurance for jobless Americans in all States, and 20 weeks in those States that have the highest unemployment rates, above 8.5 percent. As I mentioned before, it also provides help to the home market and help to the small business community.

These are amendments that are important. They are important to all of us. We can look back with some sense of progress on our recent GDP numbers. But you cannot feed your family on GDP. When you are unemployed, looking for work, not finding it, you need unemployment compensation benefits. You cannot keep this recovery in the housing market going, as robust as it has been, without some further assistance. You have to create further benefits for small business so they can begin once again to hire Americans. The key to our economic crisis is not growing GDP, it is growing employment. These latter efforts will be pointed in that direction as we help people who are without jobs today.

This crisis is nationwide. It is not a red State, blue State problem. It is our problem. Too many Americans will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. Hundreds of thousands have already exhausted benefits. So this delay has real consequences in the lives of all of our constituents in every part of this country. It has already been over a month since the House passed their legislation. We could have passed this promptly. In fact, if you look at the record, the number of cloture votes and everything else, we passed yesterday a cloture vote on a substitute amendment by 85 to 2. Typically when we have 85 votes we do not go through further procedural amendments. We, by unanimous consent, take up the measure and pass it routinely. What is lacking here is not the 60 votes for cloture, it is unanimous consent; i.e., the consent of our Republican colleagues to move forward.

They are not denying us, they are denying the American people. We should take this measure up immediately. With 85-to-2 cloture votes, 85 people

will come down, perhaps even all 100, and vote for this bill. But it will be a month after we should have accomplished this task.

While we wait, our economy suffers and thousands of Americans do. So I urge passage as quickly as possible. I hope Leader Reid would propose that we move to the measure as quickly as possible, that we could avoid another cloture vote, another 85-to-2 vote confirming what we all know, that eventually when we are allowed to vote on final passage, this measure will pass overwhelmingly.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I want to thank Chairman Feinstein for her work on this bill.

I appreciate the attention that she has given to a number of key investments, particularly funding for the state revolving funds for sewer and drinking water infrastructure, which I have strongly supported. These investments are not just a matter of improving public health and environmental quality; they are a matter of job creation, which is all important at this time.

I am concerned, however, about a provision that was included at the insistence of the House of Representatives that will exempt certain vessels on the Great Lakes from regulation under a proposed EPA rule designed to limit emissions from marine diesel engines. I know that this provision is not one that was advanced by Chairman Feinstein, and I appreciate her efforts to prevent a larger exemption than is in this bill.

Although the exemption included in this bill is limited to 13 vessels, the impact on public health has not been explained. In addition, the conference report includes language that encourages EPA to adopt additional exemptions for vessels on the Great Lakes in its final rule. As a result, I am alarmed about the potential impact on air quality in downwind States, like Rhode Island, which, I must note, will be required to comply with EPA's regulations on marine diesel engines.

Representing a State that has an unfortunately high unemployment rate, I have great sympathy for those who called for this exemption on the basis of potential economic impact on a local industry. On the other hand, my constituents bear the environmental and health burdens that come from pollution that originates from the Midwest.

Last week, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, NESCAUM, which represents air quality agencies in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, wrote to express its deep concern about any effort to delay or limit EPA's regulations on marine diesel engines based on the potential environmental impacts and the impacts on international efforts to reduce emissions from marine engines. I will ask that this letter be printed in the Record.

I would hope that after a more thorough deliberation we will have a chance to revisit this issue and provide appropriate protection to downwind States.

Again, I appreciate the efforts of the chairman to limit the reach of this provision and for the important investments she has made in this bill. I am grateful for her leadership and am honored to serve with her.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the letter to which I referred.

Mr. President, I wish to speak for up to 10 minutes in morning business.