Floor Statements

I thank the Senator from Illinois. Again, I was making the point that as we go to these African countries that want American products, whether it is the newest country in Africa, South Sudan, or the older countries, and we need to have the ability to supply them. Both Senators have mentioned China. China is certainly lurking out there. Again, it is not only China; it is India and a number of other countries. The Senator might want to comment on that. Senator Coons.

I agree with the Senator from Illinois. We trade not only goods and services, but we trade ideas. That is so important as we go on. Certainly, Africa is developing a very healthy middle class. This is certainly something new that they have not seen before. Again, they are hungry for American products.

I appreciate the way the legislation was crafted in the sense it is revenue neutral so there is no cost to the taxpayer. What we are trying to do is get a plan together to make it such, particularly our small businesses, so they can compete in this huge continent that has so much going for it. Again, it could be such a great help to a State such as mine. In Arkansas, we are talking about we already export $5.6 billion in merchandise. I think one of the ways we are going to climb out of the economic doldrums we are in and create jobs is going to be through exports, and certainly this gives us an opportunity.

We are almost--we could almost say, using the statistics from the Senator from Illinois; he talked about 7 of the 10 top emerging economies coming out of Africa--we are almost doing a disservice to our small businesses by not going forward with this legislation.

Well, I agree with the Senator from Illinois and the Senator from Delaware. The bottom line is there is a tremendous opportunity for our country. I think that our country, as we do start the trade process, trading ideas along with goods, that, again, we are givers. We can be very proud of the work we have done in Africa. Nobody has done more when we are talking about food. I was one of the cochairs of the malaria caucus. We can be very proud of the work the Congress has done in the last several years. These are things that the Western world can get together and eliminate.

As the continent settles down and develops a middle class, 60 percent of the businesses that do exports are small businesses and certainly we need to get in there. This bill challenges us to increase that by 200 percent and gives us the incentive and a template for how we do that so we can stop this erosion by the Chinese where they are outdoing us by about 3 to 1.

The Senator from Delaware.

I thank the Senator. We appreciate his leadership. Perhaps the three of us, and maybe others, can write a note to the Secretary of Commerce and ask him to make a much-needed trip to Africa, to look at this bill and not only do this, but use other ways as a strategy to implement so we can get our small businesses trading more with the continent, again, keeping up with the likes of China, India, and all of the places we mentioned.

I think once it is all over, we will be very proud of our efforts, just as I am

very proud, as was mentioned, of the efforts we have made in feeding the hungry, helping those with HIV, those with malaria, and diseases such as that. It is interesting that it is the place in the world where we have the highest acceptability. The people are very pleased with what the Americans have done there. Our State Department is doing a great job. We are teaching people how to fish rather than feeding them, and that has been very successful.

I appreciate everybody's efforts and hopefully we can get our colleagues together and get this thing passed.

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

Mr. President, we are reading in the news about the violence in countries all around the world and are reminded about the tremendous sacrifice of American troops as they protect and preserve the interests of our Nation. These men and women serve with courage and honor and it is our duty to honor and stand for those who have stood for us.

Today, I am here to pay my respects to SSG Jerry Reed II, an Arkansas soldier who sacrificed his life for the love of his country while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sergeant Reed graduated from Russellville High School in 2000 and enlisted in the Army. He served 4 years and then reenlisted in 2008 and served in Iraq, Germany, Korea, and Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Reed served as a tank driver and gunner with the Army's 28th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion, A Company at Grafenwoehr, Germany.

His sister Katherine, in an interview with the Russellville Courier, spoke of how he loved the military and planned to make it a career. Staff Sergeant Reed's family and friends describe him as a man who would have had no trouble fitting into the military, for he was one who faced danger head on. He was a protector and looked out for his friends. He loved being outdoors and fishing and spending time with his family.

On February 16, 2012, Staff Sergeant Reed passed away while serving in Afghanistan. Staff Sergeant Reed made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. He is a true American hero.

I ask my colleagues to keep his family and his friends in their thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time, and I humbly offer thanks to SSG Jerry Reed for his selfless service to the security and well-being of all Americans.

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

Mr. President, today I wish to honor Dr. Ed Coulter, who is retiring from his position as Chancellor of Arkansas State University Mountain Home (ASUMH) after 16 years of service and a lifetime of dedication to higher education.

Dr. Coulter devoted his life to education and began his career serving as a public school principal for 3 years. He spent the next 25 years working at Ouachita Baptist University as an assistant to the President and Vice President for Administration before joining ASUMH as Chancellor in 1995.

In his 16 years at ASUMH, Dr. Coulter expanded the campus from a small community college into the innovative institution it is today. His enthusiasm and leadership made him a very effective fundraiser which resulted in the expansion of facilities on the 140-acre campus. Under his watch, the $24 million, 65,000 square-foot Vada Sheid Community Development Center was built, which has become an icon to the campus and community alike.

Along with his commitment to education, Dr. Coulter has worked with numerous professional associations. His roles have included serving as a Chair of the American Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors, American Cancer Society Board of Directors, Arkansas State Chamber

of Commerce Board of Directors, and was corporate board member of the Baptist Medical Center System. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of First National Bank and is a member of the Mountain Home Rotary Club.

I congratulate Dr. Ed Coulter for his outstanding achievements in education and I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring his accomplishments. I wish him continued success in his future endeavors and I am grateful for his years of service and leadership to Arkansas.

I appreciate the Senator's leadership in this area. I also appreciate the fact that he jumped out and ran for the office and was elected, because we desperately need people such as Senator Johnson, people who were successful businessmen who understand the unintended consequences of much of what we do. I, similar to the Senator, also have a firsthand understanding of this issue from an employer's perspective and maybe a little bit unique perspective.

Before I came to Congress, I practiced optometry and helped run an eye care clinic with my nine other partners for 24 years. So when President Obama's health care bill came before us when I was in the House, I fully understood, from both the medical provider and from the business aspect, that from both accounts, it was the wrong approach to the problem of rising health care costs and, with the Doctors Caucus in the House, worked very hard to highlight the problems and to also highlight the alternative options working through the free market approach.

There is no doubt about it, we are facing a serious crisis. Health care costs are crippling Americans. Many Americans lack access to quality health care. It is stifling our Nation's overall economic development. There are real difficulties with physicians and hospitals that they face when it comes to accessibility and affordability of health care services. But despite all that, there is a right way and a wrong way to address the problem. The President's health care law is simply the wrong approach and the wrong answer.

Coming with a pricetag of $1.75 trillion, the law causes many more problems than it solves. It is not lowering health care costs, as we are seeing. In fact, it is driving them up. It is not deficit neutral. It is a budget buster.

Because of Medicare cuts, because of the way it is set up, it is going to lead to rationing and decreased quality of care. It will not help the economy. In fact, it is further stalling the recovery.

On that note, specifically, the President's health care law makes it difficult for small business owners to hire more employees. At a time when our economic recovery continues to lag, the concerns over new mandates, confusing rules, and additional taxes in the law have small business owners rightfully concerned. Again, I can appreciate this in the sense of not only being an eye care provider, a health care provider, but somebody who had 85 employees.

Far from getting jobs, as the President promised, it is estimated the law will actually result in 800,000 fewer jobs over the next decade. It is almost as if the law was written with no input from America's small business owners and the health care providers that will run it.

In the 24 years I was at our clinic in northwest Arkansas, we grew our staff from 5 employees to 85. My colleague from Wisconsin can attest to the fact that guiding one's business to the point where one can add personnel is not an easy task. It takes strategic planning and management, but it also takes an economic environment that allows small businesses to expand, invest, and

hire. Instead of doing that, the health care law furthers the climate of uncertainty that our job creators already face.

Small business owners are certainly hurting in this economy. They are worrying about tax hikes that Washington keeps threatening to force upon them. They see an enormous flood of regulations coming their way. Gas prices keep skyrocketing. Profits are way down as a result of the sluggish economy. There is so much uncertainty, what mandates will evolve from this health care law and ultimately what these costs will be for small business owners only adds to that unease.

When interviewed, business owners said that the major concern that keeps them from hiring--and I have been out and about as much as anybody in the last 2 years, and this is exactly what I am hearing--is the uncertainty caused by the cost that they believe they will incur by the new health care law. We need to repeal and replace it with health care reform based on a free market system.

I think this rationing is such an important situation. We are already seeing rationing right now. As an optometrist more than being a Senator, I get calls all the time from people who have moved into town and they can't find a health care provider for their aunt or uncle who is in the Medicare age group. Physicians are definitely cutting back because of the payment plan.

Seniors are smart enough to figure out that you can't add 30 percent more patients under this plan, and along with that, there is no increase in physician fees, no increase in the infrastructure required to take care of them. Something has to give, and that is going to be two things: quality of care and rationing.

The same thing is true of Medicaid. In Arkansas, we are going to have to increase our Medicaid rolls by 250,000 people. Our State only has 3 million people to begin with. Again, something has to give. How do you pay for that? The reality is that will cost us in the neighborhood of $400 million. Where will that come from? It will come from providers. It will come from decreased funding for education, roads, and things like that. Again, you can't do this without rationing and consolidation.

Mr. President, in 1912, the Arkansas Children's Home Society provided a safe haven for orphaned, neglected and abused children and opened the door to what is known today as the Arkansas Children's Hospital.

Children's welfare has always been the focus but over the decades, its approach evolved. What first started as an orphanage transformed into a hospital with the mission to help children most in need.

The facility has grown and thrived. The vision of the early hospital administrators has been realized and the dreams continue to get even bigger.

Today the Arkansas Children's Hospital is a destination for children from all over the country to receive the best medical care available. Just as important, it is a place that Arkansas children can go, in State and close to home, for treatment for their illnesses.

This is a state of the art facility that is using the newest technology and developing cutting edge treatments and cures for diseases affecting children. The scientists and doctors are advancing the world of medicine to help children lead a healthy and happy life.

Arkansas Children's Hospital consistently ranks as one of the leading employers in Arkansas. It is the only pediatric Level I trauma center in the State, and it is the sixth largest in the United States. Thousands of Americans have experienced the renowned care offered by the staff and facilities at ACH--many owe their lives to these world- class doctors and nurses that work here.

This hospital is something the people of Arkansas can be proud of, both its history and its vision for the future. I wish to congratulate Dr. Jonathan Bates, president and CEO, as well as the administration, physicians, residents, and support staff on the 100th anniversary of Arkansas Children's Hospital and I hope for its continued success for another 100 years.

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

Mr. President, as February came to a close, it left behind an unfortunate new record, $3.73 per gallon, the national average, for unleaded gasoline, the highest ever recorded during this month. Prior to this morning's drop of three-tenths of a cent, gas prices had been on the rise for 27 straight days. In just 3 years, gas prices have doubled, and they are not stopping there. Back home in Arkansas, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is up over 25 cents from a month ago. Many analysts are predicting we will hit $4 a gallon by summer.

Think about what that does to the economy. For our small business owners and farmers, it means much higher overhead. Those costs ultimately get passed on to the consumers. In very dire cases, which many of our small businesses are facing today due to reduced profit margins, threats of higher taxes and increased regulations, high gas prices could be the final straw.

It puts extra pressure on budgets of already cash-strapped local governments. Just the other day I was reading a story from the Booneville Democrat that documented the negative effects the price of gas has on Logan County, AR. The county judge, Gus Young, noted if gas prices reach $4, it is ``going to take away from the other things that need to be done.''

In Blytheville, AR, which is a 300-mile trek from Booneville, those same concerns are being voiced. In the Blytheville Courier News, former mayor Barrett Harrison described how in recent years, despite efforts to use more fuel-efficient vehicles and to cut down on idle time, the city would still end up having to amend the budget at the end of the year due to the high fuel costs.

For hard-working Arkansans, it is changing the way they live, and not for the better. It is especially painful for our seniors and single parents who live on fixed incomes. The high price of gas is one of the top issues I am hearing about in letters, calls, and during my visits across the State. I also recently posed the question about how the rising price of gasoline in Arkansas is affecting them on my Facebook page. I want to share a few of the responses I received.

Tim in Rogers, AR said, ``The more we have to pay for gas, the less money we have for the other necessities and pleasures of life and living.''

Melody in central Arkansas said it costs her family ``nearly sixty- five dollars to fill up their truck'' and said they have limited their driving to only their doctor in Hot Springs and the grocery store.

And it goes on from there. Many respondents said that it limits their spending at places like the grocery store and will affect their vacation plans. The overwhelming common thread in those responses is that Washington needs to do something about the high cost of gas.

There is no denying that rising fuel prices are hurting Americans and further complicating our efforts to revitalize the economy. There is also no denying that we are not moving fast enough to address these concerns. Americans want to know why, while their gas bills mount, Washington still does not have an energy policy. It is past time that we move forward on one and that begins with increasing our energy production here at home.

We have the largest recoverable resources of oil, gas and coal of any nation on the planet. America's recoverable resources are larger than the combined supply of Saudi Arabia, China and Canada. Despite that, we depend on hostile regimes--and nations that have agendas that are often at odds with our own--for much of our oil.

The current tension between Israel and Iran only serves to make matters worse. If Israel strikes Iran, there is a good chance that the Iranians could attack Saudi Arabia's oil fields to retaliate against the West.

It doesn't have to be this way. The Keystone XL Pipeline, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, and drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico alone would produce 3 million barrels of oil per day. The lack of will in Washington to increase production here at home is unnecessary. It is a literal road block. It prevents our economy from picking up, increases the costs Americans pay for fuel, and it creates an enormous liability for our national and economic security.

President Obama has said that increased domestic oil production is unnecessary as he contends it is at the highest it has been in 8 years. However, you only get those numbers by relying heavily on production on private lands in North Dakota, Texas and Alaska. We simply are not utilizing the resources we have been blessed with on public lands.

We can make a major dent in the problem simply by opening the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR to drilling in an environmentally responsible way. The Outer Continental Shelf alone is estimated to contain enough oil and natural gas to meet America's energy needs for about 60 years. Energy exploration and production in ANWR would take place on just a small portion of the 1.5 million-acre northern coastal plain, yet will allow us to safely produce 900,000 barrels of oil per day for the next 30 years. I have been there. I have seen firsthand that this can be done in an environmentally safe way.

Similarly, the Keystone Pipeline would transport 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to U.S. refineries in the gulf coast. And it too can be constructed and run in an environmentally safe manner. Tapping into Canada's oil sands--one of the world's largest oil reserves--would help ease our dependence on hostile regimes for oil. As global demand for oil surges and the Canadians increase production, the addition of the Keystone pipeline would allow us to get reliable and secure oil from our largest trading partner and trusted ally.

Unfortunately, President Obama has punted on every opportunity we have given him to move the Keystone Pipeline forward. That is why I am supporting legislation to approve the project under Congress' authority enumerated in the commerce clause. This same Congressional authority was used to move the Alaska Pipeline forward 40 years ago, which has dramatically increased the amount of oil produced here at home.

I have long supported legislation that puts a heavy investment into researching wind, solar, hydrogen and other

technologies. These will ultimately ease our dependence on foreign oil and gas. But we need relief now and American oil is necessary and available.

For the foreseeable future, our economy will rely heavily on fossil fuels. While we certainly need to encourage the market for alternative energy sources, it has yet to be fully developed. But there is no denying that by stalling domestic production, we create an unnecessary burden on an already weak economy and are hurting our efforts to meet our energy needs. We need to lift the moratorium on offshore oil development, open ANWR for exploration and move the Keystone Pipeline forward instead of further postponing the decision.

As I mentioned earlier, the people of Arkansas are demanding action from Washington. They are frustrated by the higher totals that appear on the receipts every time they go to fill up their gas tank. They are tired of seeing more and more of their disposable income being eaten up at the pump. Let's start providing them relief by increasing production here at home.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I wish to honor a true American hero who always had our veterans at heart--Nick Bacon.

Bacon served in the U.S. Army from 1963 1984 serving two deployments to Vietnam. As a staff sergeant during his second tour, Nick solidified his legacy as a hero.

On August 26, 1968, while commanding a squad of the first platoon of Company B, 4th Battalion, in an operation west of Tam Ky in Vietnam, Bacon destroyed several enemy positions with hand grenades. When his platoon leader was wounded, Bacon led the platoon to destroy remaining enemy positions. Bacon also took command of a second platoon, 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, when its leader was killed and rallied both platoons against the enemy. Providing cover for evacuation of wounded, Bacon climbed a tank to fire at the enemy, a move that exposed himself to enemy fire. He was credited with killing at least four enemy soldiers and destroying an anti-tank gun.

President Nixon awarded Nick the Medal of Honor for his bravery, heroics and valiant actions during this battle.

Nick's heroics extended well beyond the battlefield. He exemplified what it means to be a Medal of Honor recipient in the way he lived his daily life through his service to others.

After retiring from the military, Nick continued his commitment to his fellow soldiers by fulfilling the needs of our veterans. He is considered by many in Arkansas as the Father of Veterans Affairs in the Natural State. Under his guidance as the director of Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, State veterans saw the completion of the Fayetteville VA Long-term Care Facility, the development of the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery and the creation of the Arkansas Veterans' Coalition.

Nick's leadership in the department helped countless veterans in Arkansas receive the benefits they deserve. His actions throughout his life have inspired selfless service and sacrifice. Nick's legacy will live on as we remember his consistent passion for veterans and his tireless advocacy on behalf of the men and women who wore our Nation's uniform.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Missouri, and I appreciate his hard work and his leadership in bringing this amendment forward.

President Obama's accommodation of religious liberty in his revised health care mandate covering contraceptives, sterilizations, and medicines causing abortion raises more questions than it answers. Perhaps the most troublesome part is that even with this revision, the President's mandate refuses to acknowledge that the Constitution guarantees conscience protections. He instead tries to run around them. You don't ``accommodate'' religious liberties, you respect them. That is why they are enshrined in the Constitution.

Those constitutional protections should prevent the President from trampling the conscience rights of Americans and religious institutions that hold a strong belief that contraceptives, sterilizations, and drugs causing abortion are wrong. Clearly, however, these constitutional protections are not enough. President Obama's ``accommodation'' shows that he considers conscience rights to be an inconvenience in his effort to remake America in his vision. That is why we need the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act. The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act--introduced by my colleague from Missouri, Senator Roy Blunt--seeks to restore conscience protections that existed before President Obama's health care law. These are the same protections--and I think this is important--that have existed for more than 220 years, since the first amendment was ratified.

The amendment of the Senator from Missouri has been offered to the surface transportation act, and we expect to vote on it as early as tomorrow. The amendment's goal is commendable, and I look forward to supporting it. It is simply asking the President to respect the religious liberties of Americans.

Many longstanding Federal health care conscience laws protect conscientious objections to certain types of medical services. The President could have just as easily followed that course when he issued a mandate requiring almost all private health insurance policies-- including those issued by religious institutions, such as hospitals, schools, and nonprofits--to cover sterilizations and contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives at no cost to policyholders, but he did not.

Now Congress must step up and protect the religious liberties of all Americans. We can do this by passing Senator Blunt's amendment. I certainly encourage all of my colleagues to take a close look at this-- this is so important--and restore the conscience protections we have always stood for as a nation. I commend the Senator from Missouri and look forward to supporting his amendment.

Madam President, I am also here tonight to compliment my Senate colleagues, Senators Inouye and Cochran, and the members of the Appropriations Committee as well as Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell as they commit to do their best to pass all 13 appropriations bills. I also thank the senior Senator from Tennessee and my senior Senator from Arkansas for making this possible.

I do think it is very important. Each one of us in this Chamber owes it to the American people to work together to help our country today and build a path for success in the future. Our Founding Fathers laid the foundation that allows the Senate to function effectively and efficiently, but it requires working together. The American people are tired of the finger-pointing that has stalled much of the work they sent us here to do, but today I am hopeful that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel which starts with trying to enact all 13 appropriations bills through a regular process this year.

I again applaud Majority Leader Reid, Republican Leader McConnell, Senators Inouye and Cochran, and also the members of the Appropriations Committee for agreeing to do their very best to move the appropriations bills forward.

Determining how we spend our hard-earned taxpayer dollars is the basic responsibility for Congress. We know tough choices will have to be made on the appropriations bills, but moving forward is the right decision. This is an important step to reducing government spending and helping to balance our budget while investing in programs upon which Americans have come to rely. Moving forward on these bills returns the Senate to its proper function and provides a framework of spending so the American people can see and understand where their hard-earned money is going, as the Senator from Georgia alluded to earlier.

In recent days Members of Congress have worked together to find solutions to the troubles Americans are facing. This level of cooperation was evident in headlines. One newspaper reported that ``Washington is talking again.'' This should not be the exception. This needs to be the rule.

I am hopeful that the agreement on moving forward with the appropriations bills through our regular process sets a new trend that will become a standard. I can see from the people who have spoken before me tonight and those who are waiting to talk that there is widespread bipartisan support for these efforts to continue.

Our leaders' efforts show the proper way for the Senate to function, and I encourage all of my colleagues to come together, not only to help move forward on these bills, but also, as we work through regular order of the Senate, that will help us get our economy and our country back on track.

I again thank our senior Senator from Tennessee and my senior Senator from Arkansas.

The only thing I would say is that Senator Pryor reminds me that I was a Razorback two stadiums ago.

Madam President, on Monday morning the country was presented with President Obama's budget proposal for the fiscal year. If you were only to listen to the President and his advisers, you would think this proposal is great for the Nation. The Acting Budget Director says the President's budget ``makes the right investments.'' The head of the President's National Economic Council used several sports metaphors to make the case that ``the President has very much stepped up to the plate,'' and the President himself said his budget makes ``some tough choices in order to put the country back on a more sustainable fiscal path.'' The reason they are so excited about this proposal is that they believe, in an election year, they have offered every ally something to woo their support. This budget proposal truly does try to be everything for everyone. The problem is that no one wins with it.

When you scratch the surface of this proposal, the shine quickly wears off. The deficit reduction claims the administration throws out to defend this proposal simply do not hold water. You cannot claim $1 trillion in cuts that Congress pushed through during the debt ceiling debate as new cuts, nor can you say with all honesty that $850 billion in war savings are real cuts. This money was never going to be spent in the first place.

When you get down to it, President Obama was never serious about his pledge to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. Like every budget this administration has proposed, this one was written with red ink. The deficit spending proposed in the President's fiscal year 2013 budget topped $1 trillion again. This is simply an unsustainable rate of spending.

On Monday, the President's team was doing a full-scale PR push for that budget. At one point during the rollout, a reporter asked the President's top economic aides what ever happened to that pledge the President had made to the American people. Gone from their answers was the tough talk about making difficult decisions and facing challenges we have long neglected. Instead, his advisers were left to pull out the old standby excuse that the President's team simply did not realize how bad the economy actually was when they first took over.

Clearly, they still do not realize it now. Not only does the President's budget ignore the very real disarray our fiscal house is in, it makes it worse. Since President Obama took office, our national debt has shot up 42 percent. Under President Obama's watch, the national debt has jumped to a jaw-dropping $15.1 trillion. This is the fourth year in a row that the budget would run a deficit above $1.29 trillion. When it comes to fiscal responsibility, this is not a record of which to be proud.

America deserves better than a collection of tax hikes, phony savings, and additional debt. The President's budget proposal is bad for seniors, as it takes no steps to protect and strengthen Medicare and Social Security. It will hurt the chances of an economic recovery through tax hikes and will add $11 trillion more to our already staggering national debt in a 10-year period. We cannot continue to keep going down this road. America's fiscal health is at stake. We have to stop spending more than we take in. If not, we risk going in the direction of Greece, Portugal, Italy, and other European countries that have spent their way to the brink of default.

As we head into the final year of President Obama's first term, we have already witnessed the most rapid increase in debt under any U.S. President. With our national debt already the size of our entire economy, the President has proposed a budget that calls for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending. If we follow through with this budget, deficit spending would exceed $600 billion every year but one over the next decade. Our national debt would grow to $18.7 trillion.

President Obama would like you to believe that if we simply raise taxes we can solve all of our fiscal problems. A recent CBO report shows that spending is the primary cause of our fiscal crisis and supports spending cuts rather than tax increases to reverse the trend. But the President is holding steadfast to his desire to raise taxes as an answer. The President's failed policy of borrowing, spending, and taxing is just what the CBO is warning us to avoid. It has not worked in the past, and it will not work in the future.

Washington does not have a revenue problem, Washington has a spending problem. The fact that President Obama still believes we can tax our way out of the problem reveals a huge disconnect with the American people. When it comes to our country's budget, Americans have a right to expect accountability, honesty, and responsibility. This proposal has none of those.

If President Obama refuses to acknowledge and address the very real economic crisis facing our country, let's show America that we will. We can do so by rejecting the White House's proposal and passing a responsible budget that puts our Nation back on a fiscally responsible path.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask that I be recognized to speak.

Madam President, I come to the floor today to add my voice in opposition to President Obama's unwillingness to respect the conscience rights of religious institutions.

On January 20, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a mandate requiring almost all private health insurance policies, including those issued by religious institutions, to cover free sterilizations and contraceptives at no cost to policyholders.

What this means, in simple terms, is that churches are exempt from the mandate, but institutions such as church-run universities, hospitals, and nonprofits must comply with the government regulation. Therefore, in order to continue to operate, these church-run institutions must violate the very beliefs that inspire them to care for the least among us.

I would not be surprised to see many of these faith-based institutions disappear should this mandate move forward. Despite the President's contention this outcome is not what he intends, his mandate unfairly forces people to choose between their health and their moral or religious values.

Many parents, Christians and others, object to sterilization, agents that abort, and contraceptives. Americans should not have to pay for services or health care plans that conflict with their deeply held religious beliefs. This is purely a political decision on the part of the administration, and it shows that President Obama will do whatever necessary to appease his base and protect his own job, even if it means the blatant infringement on first amendment rights.

With this mandate, President Obama is not only trampling religious liberties, he is also confirming what many feared when this health care bill became law. Americans saw this massive expansion of government as a threat to individual rights. This mandate, one of the first based on the President's health care bill, does little to comfort those concerns. In fact, it comes across as confirmation the President intends to force on us his belief that he knows what is best for Americans when it comes to our health care choices.

In an effort to fight the administration's overreach, I have joined with several of my colleagues in supporting legislation to protect freedom of conscience and prohibit the government from imposing mandates on our religious employers. Religious institutions play a critical role in our communities. If Federal policies make it difficult for those institutions to continue important social services without going

against their principles, it will hurt the least fortunate among us by threatening the much-needed assistance and outreach provided by religious groups across the Nation.

The seemingly endless number of regulations this administration has handed down to the American people needs to end. Let us force the President to govern in a manner that respects the values of the American people, not just his base. Protecting religious organizations from this overreaching mandate is certainly an excellent place to start.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor to discuss an important action this Congress can take to protect manufacturing jobs and strengthen our economy.

Specifically, I encourage Senate conferees on the payroll tax bill to include projobs bipartisan language--such as H.R. 2250 or S. 1392--that would address the EPA's proposed rule on maximum achievable control technology standards for boilers, also known as boiler MACT.

Fixing boiler MACT is important because if the EPA gets it wrong, it will cost tens of thousands of good-paying blue-collar manufacturing jobs. These regulations will be one more unnecessary weight dragging down our economy and making life harder for low- and middle-income families.

Fixing boiler MACT is important also because Congress should provide clarity and certainty to the rulemaking process. The process has been plagued by complications, administrative stays, court orders, and numerous other stops and starts.

For example, employers spent hundreds of millions working to comply with the 2004 boiler MACT rules only to be told they must now spend billions more. The boiler MACT legislation should be included in the payroll tax relief legislation which is intended to provide some help to our sluggish economy by allowing Americans to keep a little more of the money they earn. By addressing boiler MACT on this bill, we can further protect jobs--especially manufacturing jobs--and prevent our country from having to absorb one more sudden regulatory punch in the gut.

Fixing boiler MACT is important because our economy is weak and families are struggling. Last week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted a weak and perilous economic situation for the next couple years. We see continued high unemployment, including estimates that the unemployment rate will tick up to 8.9 percent this year and 9.2 percent next year. We see projections of $1.2 trillion deficits. On top of all this, we have learned that the GDP growth slowed to just 1.7 percent last year.

I hope these troubling projections are wrong, but given what we know, we should be focused on encouraging job growth and opportunity. American families are counting on us. We should not stifle businesses that want to expand and create jobs. One way to help is to provide some regulatory certainty and to allow employers the time they need to adjust to new, burdensome regulations.

The boiler MACT fix would provide the EPA an additional 15 months to prepare appropriate, justified, and achievable regulations for industrial boilers. Without this time, EPA will be forced to rush the rules out the door only a few weeks after they will receive hundreds of substantive comments and new data on boiler performance.

The boiler MACT fix would also give employers a little extra time to comply with the rules once they are finalized. This is vital because it will minimize job losses that would occur if employers had to rush to implement the new rules. The rules are very expensive and spreading the cost out over a couple extra years will make it less likely that employers will have to lay off employees.

In Arkansas alone, boiler MACT will cost over $230 million and put 3,600 jobs at risk. These are real jobs and real people. I shake their hands and I hear their serious concerns when I visit communities such as Pine Bluff, AR, or Howard County, AR. In our State, the proposed boiler MACT rules will especially harm the employers with units that burn solid fuels such as biomass. The boiler MACT would help by stating that materials such as renewable biomass that have been used for fuel for decades should remain classified as fuel and not reclassified as solid waste.

We should be encouraging the use of renewable biomass, not discouraging it. Sending biomass to a landfill makes absolutely no sense when we can use it to power our industries and create jobs. The potential harm to renewable, carbon-neutral biomass is very bad for Arkansas. But it is not just our rural States with significant biomass that will be harmed; boiler MACT will hit all States, large and small, rural and urban.

For example, in Pennsylvania it will cost over $751 million and put over 12,000 jobs at risk. In Montana it will cost $32 million and put over 500 jobs at risk. In Maryland it will cost over $195 million and put over 3,100 jobs at risk. In Rhode Island it will cost over $19 million and put hundreds of jobs at risk. In Wyoming it will cost over $155 million and put over 2,400 jobs at risk.

Some of the hardest hit States include North Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Virginia, Illinois, and Minnesota. Several States will see more than 12,000 jobs put at risk. In Arkansas, the expense and uncertainty created by these rules will force some employers to scale back. Other employers

may be able to keep existing jobs but decide that it does not make sense to hire new employees while they face these mounting regulatory costs. Given these serious concerns, the boiler MACT fix will provide clarity and give businesses a reasonable timeframe to comply. The boiler MACT legislation passed the other body with bipartisan support from 275 Congressmen. In the Senate this legislation has the support of a strong bipartisan majority.

Over the last four decades our country has cleaned our air by reducing emissions that cause serious threats--threats to human health and to the environment. I strongly support appropriate, science-based protection for clean air, and we must continue to protect the environment.

The public will continue to support appropriate protections for clean air, especially if this Congress takes a reasonable approach and gives the EPA the time it needs to develop rules that are achievable and that can be implemented in a timeline that will protect important manufacturing jobs throughout our country. For these reasons I urge the Senate conferees on the payroll tax bill to include the boiler MACT fix. I also ask my colleagues to let the conferees know how important this issue is. Together, we can help create opportunities and protect these important, high-paying manufacturing and other blue collar jobs.

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

Madam President, it takes hard work, dedication, and great service for a business to thrive. In our changing world, companies are forced to adapt and modernize to compete for customers and maintain their success while continuing to grow.

In order for a company to withstand the test of time, it must achieve a commitment to quality products, customer satisfaction, and efficiency. Coleman Dairy is an excellent example of a homegrown business that continues its service and commitment to providing the best quality products that are just as important as the excellent people employed by the company.

Small businesses are the building blocks of our economy. They provide important services, products, and employment opportunities while sharing an identity with the community and the values of its employees. There is no better company that exemplifies being a leader on this front than Coleman Dairy.

Coleman Dairy has grown since Eleithet Coleman began the business in 1862. Through the generations the family has continued his vision, where hard work, honesty and customer service remain top priorities.

This year Coleman Dairy is celebrating 150 years of providing dairy products to Americans. As one of the 100 oldest family-run businesses in America, Coleman Dairy has a track record of success and I am confident will continue to provide high-quality products for customers who deserve the very best.

Thank you for providing us a quality product all these years. Congratulations on 150 years and best of luck on the next 150.