Floor Statements

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 September 12, 2012, at 2 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The Committee will conduct a hearing entitled, ``The Path from LEO to Mars.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 12, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 12, 2012, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen 406 to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Oversight Hearing: NRC's Implementation of Recommendations for Enhancing Nuclear Reactor Safety in the 21st Century.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 12, 2012, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Update on the Crisis in Syria and Iran''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 12, 2012, at 2:45 p.m.

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 September 12, 2012, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Moving from Scandal to Strategy: The Future of the General Services Administration.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on September 12, 2012, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Citizens United Court and the Continuing Importance of the Voting Rights Act.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session on September 12, 2012, in room 418 of the Senate Russell Office Building beginning at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Andrea Chapman, Claire Green, Sarah Weaver, Sterling Laudon, Owen Haacke, James Mathis, and Joseph Steffens, staff of the Finance Committee, be granted the privilege of the floor for the remainder of the 112th Congress.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I return to the Senate floor to pick up where I left off when Congress adjourned 1 month ago and that is to continue with my daily efforts to urge this Congress, our Congress, the House and the Senate, to extend the wind production tax credit. I rise before the Senate to discuss an industry that has created tens of thousands of good-paying jobs for American workers and has contributed billions of dollars--literally billions of dollars--to our economy.

I think the Presiding Officer knows this, and all our colleagues should know this: This is an industry that will be in grave trouble if we in the Congress don't act soon--I actually mean immediately--to extend the wind production tax credit.

We return this week to Congress in the wake of really sobering news about recent layoffs of American workers in our wind industry, largely due to our congressional inaction on the wind production tax credit.

I want to be very clear: The wind industry has already begun firing American workers because we have failed to extend the wind production tax credit. It is that simple. You ask: Why? Well, the PTC has been a driver of the wind industry's enormous expansion in the United States, as well as the growing investment in American workers that we have seen in the last several years. This critical tax credit expires at the end of the year, and if we do not vote to extend it, manufacturing facilities may shut down, thousands more Americans will lose their jobs, and the negative economic ripple effect--this is not a positive ripple effect; this is a negative ripple effect--will be felt in communities all across our Nation.

Now, let me be clear in a further way. It has already happened; this is not conjecture. In my home State of Colorado, workers who had good- paying jobs in the wind industry just a month ago when I stood here no longer do. That is right. Over 100 Coloradans were let go of their jobs in the Colorado wind industry just in the last month. There are more job losses projected to follow. That is sobering to all of us.

On a more upbeat note, I come to the floor to talk about the production tax credit, and each time I have come to the floor I focus on a particular State because there is good news all across our country when it comes to wind energy. Today I want to focus on Vermont where the wind industry has grown faster than in many larger States. As a matter of fact, Vermont has the second highest rate of new wind installations of any State in 2011, growing over 650 percent. That is right, 650 percent growth in Vermont.

Vermont has numerous installed wind projects and wind manufacturing sites throughout the State that currently power over 11,000 homes and enough wind power potential to provide 160 percent of the State's current electricity needs.

One of America's leading wind energy production companies is NRG Systems, which is based in Chittenden County, which is up in the northwestern corner of Vermont. For 30 years, NRG Systems has been a fixture in Vermont's energy and technology industry, and it serves the wind industry in particular by providing developers, utilities, and turbine manufacturers with the tools they need to measure the wind. But with the looming end of the PTC, NRG's future growth in Vermont is uncertain.

This is very clear because for the first time in their history, NRG has had to lay off workers in Vermont, not once but twice this year. Their very capable CEO, Jan Blittersdorf, described these firings as ``deeply unfortunate, though necessary . . . to preserve our future in the face of a deeply unstable wind-energy industry.''

NRG's orders are off 50 percent from just a few years ago because of our inaction. The uncertainty about wind energy's future has encouraged them to look overseas for new opportunities, which then means we hasten the departure of good-paying jobs for skilled American workers who already are ready to go.

So the point I am trying to make--and I see my colleague from Vermont has joined me; I look forward to hearing his remarks--the wind industry needs certainty. NRG is an example of a company that needs certainty. We can lead the world in sustainable, smart energy, but we have to extend the PTC to stay on track.

As I have said for all these weeks I have been coming to the floor, this is not just about my home State of Colorado. I love my State of Colorado. I think we are the best State in the Union. But our country at large is threatened by the broad losses of jobs if we do not extend the production tax credit.

I am not going to stand by idly and observe the outsourcing of American jobs. I do not want to cede the leadership in the clean energy future to any of our foreign competitors. That is why I keep coming back day after day to urge my colleagues to work with me to pass the production tax credit.

It is pretty simple. The production tax credit equals jobs. We ought to pass it as soon as possible. It is common sense. We have support from both sides of the aisle.

I mentioned my great friend, Senator Sanders. He has joined me. I also want to mention the esteemed chairman of the Judiciary Committee, the senior Senator from Vermont, Senator Sanders' colleague, was unable to join us this morning, but he is a strong supporter of the PTC, and he will be making a statement as well.

So let me close by urging all of us, as soon as possible, to extend the wind production tax credit. Let's not let party affiliation or partisan politics interfere with what is right. Without the wind PTC, more Americans will be out of work, and we will have further neglected our duty to pass commonsense policies that help American workers build a better future for themselves and their families. Every day we do not act is a day that more companies like NRG Systems in Vermont are forced to lay off workers in our country. These companies are then looking overseas for better opportunities. That is just flat-out unacceptable.

Mr. President, I conclude. I want my colleagues to know I will be back on the floor tomorrow to talk further about this opportunity but also this threat. I will be back to talk about jobs, our economy, the need for America to lead in the clean energy space, and the need for Congress to take action today.

I thank the ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore for his attention.

Again, I want to acknowledge the great leadership of my friend from Vermont. I look forward to hearing his remarks on this important production tax credit.

With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I came to the floor to commemorate the events of 11 years ago on September 11. But I want to respond to my friend and fellow westerner Senator Enzi from Wyoming. I appreciate the sentiments and the tone of his remarks. I respect greatly his financial acumen. We know the training Senator Enzi has, and I appreciate his call to action hopefully as soon as possible.

I would like to stay in Washington and continue to work on the Simpson-Bowles architecture. I know my colleague from Colorado, Senator Bennet, has spent a great deal of time as a member of the Gang of Six plus two crafting legislative language to put the Simpson-Bowles recommendations into effect.

I did, however, want to set the record straight as I read it and as I understand it, which is that we have had a Budget Control Act that many of us voted for last year which in effect is a budget for 2012 and 2013.

I ask unanimous consent to have the documentation of the Budget Control Act printed in the Record.

The language reads:

. . . the allocations, aggregates, and levels set in

subsection (b)(1) shall apply in the Senate in the same

manner as for a current resolution on the budget for fiscal

year 2012 . . .

That language is duplicated below in the next paragraph for 2013.

I think I hear my friend from Wyoming suggesting that the process the Senate periodically uses to determine a budget is helpful and follows regular order, and I agree. But the Congress in the last 2 years has been at loggerheads. There have been more impasses in the last 2 years than I remember in my 12 previous years. But we do have a budget in place. It is a budget that reduces Federal spending and is a downpayment on the hard work we have to do going forward.

The Ryan budget was promulgated by Congressman Ryan. I was elected the same year as Congressman Ryan to the House. I have respect for Congressman Ryan and his constituents; I just happen to disagree with his priorities. His budget proposal sets priorities; it is a template. And if you really study what Congressman Ryan includes, there are concerns that I have that I think are reflected by not just members of my caucus but many Americans: The plan lacks balance, and it doesn't balance at least until 2040, which is not how it is advertised.

Why? There is no contribution from revenue. There is an increase in defense spending. And in my opinion, it requires extraordinary and unsustainable cuts to government services. In fact, the Federal Government would be cut in half. I don't think there is anybody who thinks that is a realistic goal.

President Reagan's economic adviser Bruce Bartlett was pretty tough on the Ryan plan. He called it a monstrosity, and pointed out that the Ryan plan is backed up by make-believe numbers and unreasonable assumptions.

I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the statements of Mr. Bartlett.

In conclusion, I want to again underline that I find, as always, in Senator Enzi someone who is thoughtful, practical, and pragmatic. And I heard in his comments a call to action where everything would be on the table, including providing for greater solvency of Social Security and Medicare, for cutting spending and ending duplication, but also for looking for additional revenue, which I think we all agree we can start to do by simplifying the Tax Code, reducing rates, and then taking a look at individual tax rates.

Mr. President, I was here 11 years ago. It was a very similar day to today; a beautiful fall day, low humidity. For us Coloradans, low humidity is something we expect in all cases, with bluebird skies. But it turned into a terrible day with terrible events, and I thought I would reflect on what they mean for our country 11 years later.

These attacks are forever etched in our collective memory. We lost 3,000 fellow Americans. It was a diverse cohort of Americans. Every religion was represented, every race, and every region. It was something that even as I try and think about it again, I am almost overwhelmed.

But we also have another memory associated with that day; and that was the amazing, beyond belief, selflessness and bravery of our first responders and the men and women of uniform as well as the resolve of whole communities who came together to help and comfort one another. Late in that day, lawmakers came together on the U.S. Capitol steps, as we did today, to say, We stand united.

During this time, Americans seeking some good to come out of these acts of sheer evil looked to each other and to their leaders in Washington to contribute to a greater cause of unity. At such a dark time, we saw the very best of America: a Nation, a community, and a people willing to stand together in the face of adversity that we didn't initially understand or comprehend. That strength of unity brought us together, and over the last decade we have made great strides in combating the evil of terrorism.

We owe a debt of gratitude, a deep debt of gratitude to those on the front lines of that battle. Intelligence officers, our men and women in uniform, and countless others have relentlessly pursued our enemies who seek to do us harm. We must honor their sacrifices.

That brings me to this point. Every time a veteran is unemployed or has injuries that are not well treated or finds himself or herself in a place so dark that suicide seems like the only way out, we failed in our most solemn duty. We must provide the best possible health care, services, and benefits

to those few Americans who are willing to risk anything and everything for us. We should be ashamed of anything less.

That is why it is fitting today, on the anniversary of 9/11, that the Senate voted to move forward on legislation to help post-9/11 veterans find jobs. Congress and the administration have been focused on helping these vulnerable veterans find jobs. We passed legislation. The President has championed initiatives providing tax incentives and grants to businesses hiring veterans and offering veterans job training programs, but still the unemployment rate for veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars remains higher than for the general population and much higher for veterans age 18 to 24. That simply is not acceptable. We can and we must do better.

The bill we are going to consider, the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012, is a solid step in the right direction. We all recognize the obstacles that veterans face in translating their military experience into civilian jobs. We know that is the case. This commonsense legislation will attempt to smooth this transition by connecting veterans with good-paying jobs that fit their skill sets and provide our communities with opportunities to hire veterans as firefighters, police officers, to work in the public safety sector--to work in any sector. When our veterans believe in themselves, they are up to any charge; they are up for any mission.

I have the great privilege--as does, I know, the Presiding Officer-- to serve on the Armed Services Committee. I also serve on the Senate Intelligence Committee. As a member of those committees I urge all of us to pass this bill as soon as possible. There is still time. We could perhaps offer it tonight. I could offer a unanimous consent request. We need to do this--and I am completely serious, Mr. President--to provide our heroes with a small measure of what we owe them for their incredible service and sacrifice.

As I think more widely, as I consider what I have heard at home from Coloradans far and wide, passing this bill alone is not enough. Looking back at the days and months after September 11, I cannot help but admire our Nation's resolve and the sense of togetherness we had in facing a shared challenge. But I also cannot help but be well aware that 11 years on we are now a nation at odds. Partisanship is at an all-time high, congressional gridlock prevents even commonsense ideas from winning the day, and middle-class Americans just wonder when businesses will have the certainty they need to begin hiring again.

For me, it seems a powerful argument and a powerful insight that a better future for our country can be and is, if we will hear it, grounded in our Nation's deep-seated respect for the courageous feats and sacrifices of those who answer the call of duty. Our military men and women have done their job. The public safety officers in the city of Aurora, back in July when we experienced such a terrible shooting, have done their job. Now it is, here in the Congress, time for us to do our job. It is not too late for us to harness the gratitude and the admiration that we have for those who have given everything for the United States and come together once again to do right by the Nation they have fought so hard to secure.

As we remember the events of September 11 and honor those men and women in uniform who fought so hard to keep America safe, we must recognize that our actions, not just our words, in the months ahead may be the greatest way to show our appreciation for their sacrifice.

Let's employ the doggedness of our military men and women, that doggedness that they exhibit on a daily basis in order to address the shared challenges of our time, to work together and to cast aside the partisan differences that stand in the way of our future prosperity. The American people deserve no less.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff of the Finance Committee be allowed on the Senate floor

for the remainder of the 112th Congress: Sara Butler, Anderson Heiman, Luke Johnson, Rolland Smith, and David Swedman.

Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to a true leader of Colorado's water community, Mr. Alan Hamel. Alan retired from his position on the Board of Water Works of Pueblo, CO, at the end of August after more than 50 years of service for the board.

Alan began his career as a student helper in 1960 working summers for the board. He returned after graduating from Colorado State University in Pueblo to become a full-time pump station operator. Over the next 20 years, Alan worked his way up the ladder through various management positions until he was appointed executive director in 1982.

Under Alan's direction, Pueblo has built one of the most modern water infrastructure systems in the Nation. Because of his leadership, the Pueblo area's future water supplies are sufficient and secure, which is truly impressive given all of the water challenges facing Colorado. The board has also benefited from extraordinary continuity during Alan's 29-year tenure at the helm, which I am confident will continue under new executive director Terry Book's guidance.

Alan has also been a water leader statewide. He is a member of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, CWCB, Colorado Water Congress, CWC, and Statewide Water Supply Initiative. He has also held leadership positions on the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District and Arkansas Basin Roundtable among many others. He also received CWC's top award in 2010, the prestigious Wayne Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award, for his lifetime of achievement.

On a more personal level, Alan has earned the respect and admiration of the Colorado water community because he is a true public servant in the best sense of the word. He is unflappable, a fountain of knowledge about water, and always seeks common ground with opposing views while fighting fiercely and fairly for the needs of his community. He cares deeply about Pueblo and Colorado and has served both remarkably.

And above all, Alan is a family man who knows none of this could be possible without the support of his wife Mary Kay and children. While he lives and breathes water, his family comes first and foremost.

As with most water warriors, Alan's retirement will only be partial. He will continue his work on CWCB and the Arkansas Basin Roundtable, and I am sure many of us will still call upon his wisdom and experience often. I suppose after more than 50 years of service he has earned the right to switch to part-time work.

I wish him well in his next endeavors and congratulate him on an impressive career.

Madam President, I am here again on the Senate floor, as I have been on 14 previous occasions, to urge all of us, to urge my colleagues in the Senate and, of course, our colleagues down through the Rotunda in the House to extend the production tax credit for wind. It is also known by its shorthand as the PTC.

The reason I am here on the floor, as I have said many times before, this is about jobs. If we do not extend the production tax credit as soon as possible, we will lose good-paying American jobs. It is that simple. It is that straightforward.

I am going to keep speaking on the floor of the Senate until my colleagues decide to act, until Congress decides to take the necessary action to extend the production tax credit and protect American jobs. I want to underline that. We are going to protect American jobs and help secure our energy future in the 21st century where clean energy will be a dominant part of the mix.

It has been a treat to come to the floor to do this on one hand because I am touring the country. I focus on a State when I come to the floor. Today I want to focus on the great State of Oregon, where the wind industry is a major part of their economy, and where the PTC's positive ripple effects have been felt statewide.

In short, Oregon is a national leader in wind power. I want to share some of the statistics to make the case. According to the American Wind Energy Association, Oregon ranks sixth in power derived from wind. The wind energy industry supports roughly 3,000 jobs in Oregon. That number is poised to grow but only if we extend the production tax credit.

As we look at the map of Oregon, we can see that Oregon has installed extensive wind power projects along the Colombia River Valley in the northern part of the State. The Colombia basically delineates the State of Oregon from the State of Washington on the right here along its northern boundary. There are enough projects there producing enough power so that 700,000 homes would have electricity from those wind- power projects.

The Biglow Canyon Wind Farm is the ninth largest wind farm in the Nation. And Oregon's Second Congressional District, which is a very big district, much like the Western Slope district, Colorado's Third District, ranks fourth in the United States for installed wind capacity. Over the last decade, one county alone, a relatively small county, Sherman County, has seen over $18 million in revenues coming into that county due to the simple presence of the wind energy industry.

That money has helped Sherman County do impressive things. They have created jobs and improved their infrastructure, including building a new public school and library, supporting the Sherman County History Museum, and installing solar panels on county property. A hybrid system is in use using renewable energy with those solar panels. Those are impressive achievements.

Oregon's wind energy potential is tremendous. Currently there are plans to more than triple the amount of power that Oregon gets from wind.

That would mean a total of 9,000 megawatts of electricity. That would power over 2 million homes. Moreover, such a move, such an investment, would create thousands of jobs.

I want to go back to my main point. The wind production tax credit has been a major driver of this growth in the last decade, encouraging some wind energy producers to invest in Oregon and the rest of our country. The PTC has encouraged American innovation, and innovation is how we will grow our economy. It has supported American companies in the wind energy sector. I know the Presiding Officer knows this--and I look forward to the opportunity to talk about her State of North Carolina in the future. The PTC has enticed foreign companies to bring their operations--jobs--to the United States. Because of the PTC, these companies are building factories and offices in the United States.

I want to talk about Vestas, a Danish company that has a significant manufacturing presence in Colorado--four different plants. Last Saturday, I was at a Vestas plant in Pueblo. They support many jobs in Colorado. Vestas also has a strong presence in Oregon. In fact, their U.S. headquarters is located in one of the most livable cities in the world, that being Portland. Vestas has made a real statement about the potential here in the United States.

Again, the point I am making is it is clear to me and a large, growing, and bipartisan group of colleagues in both Houses of Congress, including both of my colleagues from Oregon, Senators Merkley and Wyden, that extending the production tax credit is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do for our future, for our economy, and for our environment. Without the PTC--if you look at the other side of this success story--the sustained growth of the wind industry in recent years will slow--it already has--and possibly halt, and we actually may see good-paying American jobs being lost to China and other countries. Why would we want that to happen? We cannot let that happen. The continued uncertainty is not right and not fair when it comes to our U.S. wind industry and the people who work in that sector.

Last Saturday, I heard from the workers at the Vestas plant in Pueblo that they didn't know whether they were going to have jobs in a few months. The looks on their faces alone should motivate all of us to get the wind production tax credit extended. This is also an opportunity for us in Congress to show the American public that we are not as dysfunctional as a Congress as the public believes. This is a chance to support economic growth and American manufacturing right here in our country. The American people expect us to produce results, and we can only do so by working together.

I fear that the wind production tax credit has become a political football. We have a chance to show the American public, who are sick of campaign year rhetoric and politics, business as usual and partisanship, that we can rise above that. I reiterate that this is a perfect opportunity for us because this is not a partisan issue. It has widespread support from both parties across our country. I have been highlighting that fact over the last few weeks.

What can we do? We ought to understand that the production tax credit equals jobs. We ought to pass it as soon as possible. As I wind down, I note that the Senate Finance Committee is meeting right now to consider a tax extenders package. I know many colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee, including Oregon's senior Senator Ron Wyden, are working to include the PTC in the package. I add my voice to those who are already in place, urging the Finance Committee to pass an extension of the PTC today as a part of the tax extenders package, and then let's move the full Senate to the point where we can pass the PTC as soon as possible. Why? Because we are protecting American jobs and we are preparing the ground for additional job creation that is crucial, growing, and exciting in the 21st century to the wind energy industry.

I thank the Chair for what her State is doing for wind power. I look forward to talking about North Carolina.

With that, I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, as I begin to talk this morning about the wind production tax credit, I think we all know that tax credits have encouraged our wind industry to invest in that great, new, cutting-edge form of power, and that has resulted in the creation of thousands of American jobs and wind projects all over our country. Forty-eight States have a stake in our wind energy industry. But the production tax credit that has driven this investment in American manufacturing and job creation is about to expire at the end of this year.

I have been coming to the floor on an ongoing basis to make the case that we ought to extend the wind production tax credit as soon as possible.

I know the Acting President pro tempore has been here on a couple of occasions when I have spoken about this issue before. In fact, this is the 14th time I have come to the floor to speak to this important opportunity but also the peril that awaits us if we do not extend the wind production tax credit. The key here is that we have created uncertainty. The wind energy industry is beginning to back off investments for next year. They need certainty. They need predictability.

I have come to the floor today to talk, as I have been on each occasion, about a particular State and that State's contribution to the wind industry. Today I want to talk about North Dakota. It is a State with enough wind energy potential that it could meet more than 240 times its own electricity needs--240 times its own electricity needs. In fact, we know North Dakota sits in an ocean of wind, and it could power much of the Midwest if we could get that electricity to the city centers that need it, and if we keep the wind production tax credit in place.

What I want to talk about in particular in North Dakota are a couple of manufacturing facilities there. In the late 1990s, LM Glasfiber opened a facility in Grand Forks, which is in eastern North Dakota, close to the border of Minnesota, as shown on this map. They produce wind turbine blades there. And just a few years ago, DMI Industries--a company that manufactures the towers--opened a factory in West Fargo. That is also in eastern North Dakota. It is south of Grand Forks, over here, as shown on this map, on the Minnesota border as well.

These wind turbines--and the Acting President pro tempore knows this--are magnificent machines. They sit on

towers that in some cases are 100 meters tall. The wind blades themselves are like aircraft wings. The cell that sits on the top of the towers, where the gear box and all the technology is--these are very technical, very complicated, very sophisticated machines, and manufacturing them brings out American greatness. The point I am making is these are two important facilities in North Dakota.

I also want to talk about the leadership that exists in North Dakota when it comes to wind energy. I want to start with our colleague, Senator Conrad. He has been a proponent of the production tax credit for over a decade. His reasoning is that this is a great opportunity for North Dakota, as well as for the country, and the wind production tax credit creates certainty.

His colleague Senator Hoeven has also taken up the cause during his first term in the Senate.

One of the key points I want to make here is those two Senators are from two political parties. Yet they each support the wind production tax credit. Last month, North Dakota hosted a renewable action energy summit in Bismarck, and both Senator Conrad and Senator Hoeven attended. During this summit national leaders talked about how North Dakota's robust and diverse energy sector has provided the model for creating jobs and helping reduce our Nation's dependence on foreign oil.

I have to say this strikes me as the most intelligent kind of policy. It is a mix of traditional energy sources with sustainable energy such as wind. What you get from that is advanced technology. You have certainty for developers. You spur investment. You create jobs. I applaud North Dakota's leadership in putting in place a smart energy policy, an all-of-the-above energy policy, as well as our colleagues' work on this subject.

The point I am making is that North Dakota recognizes investment in wind energy is an investment in jobs. Some of those numbers make that point. Some 2,000 jobs in North Dakota are supported by the wind energy industry. Those jobs are there no doubt because of the existence of a tax credit. I would add that the tax credit is a production tax credit. So you produce the power and then you get the tax credit. This is not speculative. This is not hoping that something will happen. This is based on production of electrons. That is why it is such a powerful tool. It has been used in the past, by the way, in other energy sectors. You produce power, you produce energy, you are rewarded with an energy tax credit.

Besides jobs, the wind industry provides $4 million annually in property tax and land lease payments that go to supporting local communities and vital services tied to those communities. Where does North Dakota rank nationally? Well, they rank 10th in terms of installed wind capacity, and third in the Nation in percentage of electricity derived from wind, with almost 15 percent of their entire power supply coming from wind energy projects. That is the equivalent in North Dakota of 430,000 homes being powered by wind.

That number--I know this is important to the Presiding Officer-- equals about 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that are not released into our atmosphere every year. It is simple: The wind industry is important to America's future and it should be incented in communities that can support it, such as in North Dakota.

The wind production tax credit is that incentive. Without a doubt, if the PTC is allowed to expire, this important American industry will shrink, move overseas, and take thousands of American jobs with it. So as I have done when I come to the floor, I am imploring our colleagues to work with me, to work with us to stop this possibility from becoming a reality. Wind energy is not a partisan issue.

As I have noted, many of our colleagues agree with me, whether they are on this side of the aisle or the other side of the aisle. They understand if we do not extend the PTC we risk losing thousands of jobs and crippling a very important, successful, existing industry. So it would be a decision that we would all regret for a long time if we let the PTC expire.

As I close, I again implore and urge my colleagues to work on this together. If we believe in energy independence and job creation, as we say, then we need to work together. Let's show Americans that we understand the economy is job one. One of the ways we can create new jobs is to extend the wind production tax credit. One of the ways we lose jobs is if we let the wind production tax credit expire. So we ought to be passing the PTC as soon as possible.

The production tax credit equals jobs. It is crucial to our future. Let's not let the wind production tax credit be a casualty of election year partisanship. We cannot--America cannot--afford it.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I rise this afternoon in support of the bipartisan Cybersecurity Act of 2012, and I wish to share my concerns about the very real cyber threat facing our country. Most importantly, I rise to urge all my colleagues to move forward to the passage of this pending cyber security bill for the good of our national security. Top experts and respected members of both political parties have told us that time is wasting; we must debate and pass this critically important piece of legislation.

Cyber security policy is an issue with which I am deeply involved, given my seats on the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee. Moreover, Colorado's military and defense communities play a prominent role in defending our country, the United States, against cyber attacks.

The Air Force Space Command, located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, is responsible for protecting American space-based assets from network intrusions. The U.S. Northern Command, also located at Peterson Air Force Base, recently established a Joint Cyber Center to help provide on-demand cyber consequence response to civil authorities.

Multiple defense and technology industry companies based in Colorado also contribute hardware, software, and expertise to the effort to keep our networks and infrastructure secure.

Our Federal labs also conduct critical research into cyber security, most notably the National Institute of Standards and Technology, otherwise known as NIST, which is located in Boulder. They play a key role in helping establish cyber security standards.

The threats posed by cyber attacks have long been recognized, but we in the Congress have yet to act upon

these threats in a comprehensive way. It is as if we see the danger in front of us, but yet we cannot find the courage to face it. But Congress cannot afford to wait for a 9/11-sized attack in order to act. Waiting for a catastrophic act--something military and intelligence leaders and a bipartisan collection of national security experts are warning us against--is the exact opposite of leadership and the exact opposite of what our constituents expect us to do.

This debate, to me, has seemingly, unfortunately, unraveled into an antiquated argument about the public sector versus the private sector. We cannot let old ways of thinking bog us down. This is a threat that can only be addressed by both the public and private sectors working together.

The private sector owns 85 percent of our Nation's critical infrastructure, which is itself heavily dependent on computer networks. A successful attack on our critical infrastructure could result in disabled power grids, refineries, and nuclear plants, disrupted rail systems and air traffic control and telecommunications networks. A successful attack could bring commerce to a halt, our financial markets to their knees. It could also escalate into a war in cyber space or even a shooting war.

To defend against these serious threats, particularly those that involve national security, there needs to be an exchange of information between the public and the private sectors. Of course, allowing the government and industry to share information must be done with sufficient safeguards, so any legislation authorizing such sharing needs to strike a balance between privacy and civil liberties protections. I believe the bill's authors have achieved such a balance.

I recognize it is often difficult to find consensus on how to defend our Nation from security threats. Sometimes that is because we cannot agree on the nature of our vulnerabilities and in what priority to address them. Unfortunately, sometimes Congress is too polarized to act until after a crisis occurs.

But in the case of cyber security, we already know our Nation's computer networks are increasingly vulnerable. There is widespread agreement about the severity of the threat. Just last month, Defense Secretary Panetta testified before Congress that cyber attacks could ``virtually paralyze this country.'' The threat is not impending, it is here. We already know many of the steps we need to take to mitigate or prevent these attacks. The only issue getting in the way is politics. Frankly, Coloradans are tired of this. They want us to reason together and solve our most vexing national challenges.

The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 is not overly intrusive. It has been scaled back to a voluntary system of industry-driven security standards for critical infrastructure. The bill's authors have offered a further amendment to address some of the remaining concerns of the bill's opponents. As much as the bill's authors have compromised and worked with groups and businesses from across the policy spectrum, one would think they would get more in return from the Republicans than a demand to vote on the repeal of health care reform. But that is where the debate stands, and it is not a proud moment for our Chamber.

The cyber security bill before us may not be perfect. In fact, I have offered three amendments that I believe make this an even stronger bill.

The first would require the administration to provide a detailed plan on how it would develop a highly trained, robust Federal cyber security workforce. A stronger Federal workforce will not only better protect government assets, but these individuals will go on to fill critical roles protecting cyber assets in the private sector.

My second amendment would establish permanent faculty positions to train the next generation of military cyber leaders at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

My third amendment would require the assessment of the costs and benefits of building a strategic stockpile of extra high voltage transformers. We do not produce these highly specialized pieces of equipment domestically, and it would take months to replace transformers damaged by a physical or cyber attack.

I hope my colleagues will join me in passing these commonsense amendments aimed at improving our national security.

This cyber security bill is over 3 years in the making. I find it ironic some argue the process has been rushed and we need more time. But I believe this bill is long overdue and we simply cannot afford not to act.

As the head of U.S. Cyber Command and the Director of the National Security Agency, General Alexander, wrote in a letter to Congress this week, ``The cyber threat facing the Nation is real and demands immediate action.''

This is coming from the national security official who knows more than anyone about the cyber threats facing our country. As a member of the Intelligence Committee, I take his cautions and advice very seriously. The rest of us should as well.

As I close, I urge all of us, let's put aside partisan ploys and partisan differences. Let's work together to amend and pass this vitally important cyber security bill.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I want to acknowledge the powerful and eloquent words of my colleague from Delaware. I know our colleague Senator Collins is also on the Senate floor, and I have to tell the viewers and all of my colleagues I couldn't agree more. The time is now to act on cyber security.

I just came to the floor from an Intelligence Committee briefing. General Alexander was there. As the Senator from Delaware knows, he is forthright, he is well-versed, he is passionate, and he is as nonpartisan as they come. General Alexander is urging us to act now.

So I thank my colleague from Delaware for his compelling and important words.

Production Tax Credit

The matter that brought me to the floor has a link to cyber security, and that is energy security. I want to talk about one of the new and exciting technologies that is resulting in the production of many homegrown electrons, and that is wind power.

I have come to the floor on a daily basis to urge my colleagues to work with me to extend the production tax credit for wind.

The PTC has created literally tens of thousands of jobs across our country and has the potential to create even more. But if Congress-- that is us, the Senate and the House--doesn't act to extend it, tens of thousands of jobs, literally, will be lost. The Presiding Officer has a robust wind energy sector in her State, and she knows the extent to which it is important for business in the great State of New Hampshire. It is important to the businesses in every State in our country.

The production tax credit is an investment in a clean energy future. It is a critical investment in American jobs. Frankly, we are about to lose that investment. I fear, in fact, that through our inaction we continue to create real harm to our wind industry in America. But it is not too late to act.

Today I am going to focus my remarks on Idaho, a State that is known for its wide open spaces, its mountains, its potatoes, and for great, friendly people. One doesn't have to look any further than Senator Crapo and Senator Risch to know that the people of Idaho are very good people.

Idaho is a State with a vast untapped potential for wind energy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which we host in Colorado, has calculated that Idaho's wind resources could potentially provide more than 218 percent of Idaho's electricity needs. It ranks 23rd in our Nation's wind resource potential. Most of this potential is in the high plains of the southern half of the State.

Idaho is already working to take advantage of what is a bountiful resource. There are more than 20 separate wind projects either online or under construction across the State. In southeastern Idaho near Twin Falls, Invenergy's Wolverine Creek wind farm covers about 5,000 acres and pays royalties to almost 30 different landowners.

In 2011, Idaho's installed wind capacity grew by nearly 75 percent. That growth created hundreds of temporary construction jobs as well as permanent jobs in the operation and maintenance of these facilities. Right now, Idaho's wind resources provide power for nearly 160,000 homes without releasing the nearly 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that traditional power sources would.

Wind supports close to 500 jobs in the State of Idaho--jobs that wouldn't exist if the wind industry had not been enticed to invest in Idaho because of the production tax credit, the PTC. Wind energy projects are an investment in local and State economies. Wind energy producers provide nearly $2.5 million to the State in property tax payments every year and over $2 million annually in land lease payments to local Idahoans who go on to invest that money back into their local communities. Those are real dollars these communities count on.

The point I am trying to make is that we in Congress should be working to help create more projects like Wolverine Creek for the jobs and the clean energy they create. Instead, Congress is standing idly by.

I can't help but mention there have been some on the campaign trail who have suggested that we should let the wind production tax credit lapse at the end of this year, and that wind power should not be given the same help other industries have received. I could not disagree more.

Great States such as Idaho, Colorado, and New Hampshire make things. Great countries such as the United States generate their own energy. Letting the wind production tax credit lapse would be irresponsible. The PTC equals jobs. We should pass it as soon as possible. We should not waiver, and we should not wait. Every day that we let this unanswered question hang over our country may be another project and another job that gets shipped overseas.

I urge my colleagues to work with me to support manufacturing in rural communities in America. Let's extend the production tax credit as soon as possible. It is common sense. It has bipartisan support. Let's extend the production tax credit.

I will be back tomorrow to continue this discussion and talk about another one of our great States. I am at 13 States. I am going to keep coming back until we get this right.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to speak on the floor of the Senate again this morning to urge my colleagues to vote to extend the production tax credit for wind energy. It is also known as the production tax credit. I know the Presiding Officer's home State of West Virginia has a robust wind energy sector as well. I look forward to coming to the floor and talking about the Presiding Officer's State in the future.

The reason I am talking about the production tax credit is it is set to expire at the end of this year, and it will cost citizens in my State and the rest of the Nation their jobs. We cannot let this happen. Tens of thousands of vital jobs are dependent on the wind industry all across our great country.

As I have mentioned, I come to the Senate floor on a daily basis and I highlight a State and talk about what the production tax credit has done to encourage economic growth in that State. Today, I wish to talk about the great State of Illinois, the land of Lincoln, where the wind industry is thriving. Illinois is an impressive example of how wind resources can be harnessed and put to good use creating jobs and supporting local communities.

Overall, Illinois has the fourth largest installed wind capacity in the United States, with over 600,000 homes powered by the wind. If fully utilized, the wind energy resource in Illinois could provide 525 percent of the State's current electricity needs. That is truly a staggering amount of electricity for the fifth largest State in the Nation.

In 2011, Illinois was second only to California in the number of new wind energy projects completed, and they installed more wind turbines there than any other State in the country. Clearly, Illinois recognizes the economic potential wind energy holds for the future, as many other States have.

Just last week in Illinois, Invenergy announced it completed construction of the Bishop Hill wind energy facility in Henry County. That is up in the northwestern part of Illinois, near Davenport, IA. The project covers 22,000 acres of farmland and includes over 100 wind turbines and can power 60,000 homes. The Bishop Hill project is clearly a huge investment in Illinois and our Nation's clean energy future. But the economic power of wind energy has been equally impressive. The wind energy there supports 7,000 jobs, it contributes close to $19 million every year in property taxes to local communities, and Illinois led our Nation in 2011 with over 400 new wind turbines installed.

Just this month, Illinois State University released a report that estimates that the 23 largest wind farms in Illinois will contribute roughly $5.8 billion to the local economies over the lifetime of these projects. The construction of these wind farms generated over 19,000 jobs that cut paychecks totaling over $1 billion for workers. These are good-paying, high-skill jobs that we are proud to have in our country and that American workers are proud to have and it is one part of the overall wind energy story.

For example, the Odell Grade School, in Odell, IL, has a much needed project underway that will expand the school and make it more energy efficient. While this project is expensive, it will be paid for, in part, by payments from local wind farms. Wind energy is supporting a better education for Odell's youth without increasing taxes to the local residents.

This is not unique to Illinois. It is happening all across our country. I have no doubt the people of Odell would agree with me that extending the PTC is a commonsense proposal. However, without Congress extending the production tax credit, our country and the wind industry literally face impending disaster. In fact, many wind energy manufacturers and producers have already been preparing for the end of the PTC by backing off their investments in many of these communities such as Odell and by announcing future layoffs of thousands of workers. It is just flatout unacceptable that we in the Congress would let this happen.

I think everyone understands where I am heading. This is a serious issue that needs attention now--not next month, not in the fall, not in the lameduck session but now. The wind industry will not wait for us to extend the PTC at some date in the future. They have already begun to scale back their operations and move overseas. Further inaction is unacceptable. China is stepping into the breach and literally taking our jobs overseas. Other countries are prepared to do the same. For us in Congress to miss this opportunity to not only preserve jobs but put in place policy that would create thousands of good-paying jobs because of election-year gridlock is flatout unacceptable. If we don't act, our people in our States will suffer.

I come to the floor every day to implore my colleagues to extend the wind production tax credit as soon as possible. The PTC equals jobs. We ought to pass it as soon as possible. I will be back next week to continue discussing the wind Production Tax Credit and urge us to be bold, take up this issue and extend the wind production tax credit. It is about American jobs. It is about maintaining our leading position in the world when it comes to clean energy development.

I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, as does the Presiding Officer, I come to the floor this evening with a heavy heart. I know that as Senators and leaders we are expected to have words for every occasion, but what happened last Friday morning makes it very difficult to bring forth words that are appropriate. However, as I think of the Coloradans who were there whom we are so lucky to represent, their actions spoke louder than words. Their actions spoke very loudly on Friday morning in the city of Aurora.

I wish to focus on the actions of those brave, decent Coloradans who were victims in a variety of ways at the horrific movie theater shooting that took place there in Aurora. It cut short the lives of 12 people. It injured approximately 58 others. I rise to pay tribute to all of those people as well as to their families and their loved ones. I think I know the Presiding Officer, my colleague and my fellow Senator from Colorado, knows that, most importantly, we are here to state emphatically that Aurora will triumph over adversity in our State of Colorado to emerge stronger than ever.

From the time I awoke to the news of the movie theater shootings in Aurora early Friday morning, July 20, I, along with the rest of Colorado and our country, have experienced emotions ranging from deep, profound sadness to, frankly, utter outrage. Our State was just starting to recover from the devastating wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes, forced tens of thousands to evacuate their communities, and scorched thousands of acres in our beautiful State of Colorado. With that in mind, none of us could have been prepared for the news of these mass shootings in one of our communities.

I know the Presiding Officer has three beautiful daughters. I have two children. I know that having loved ones stolen from us in such a tragic and violent fashion is something for which one can never be prepared. But it is during these times we are also reminded to cherish those all-too-brief moments we have with the people we love.

Although this heinous crime may have shaken us, it did not break us, and it will not break us. We will mourn those we have lost and those who were injured, and with them in mind we will heal and we will become stronger.

Sadly, this kind of tragedy is not new to Colorado. It was 13 short years ago that we learned of another mass shooting at Columbine High School on the western side of Denver. As a nation, we are reminded of more recent shootings at Virginia Tech; Fort Hood, TX; and Tucson, AZ. These incidents may occur in one city or in one State, but they are national tragedies that tear at us all and then cause us all to tear up and cry together.

Like all Americans, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. I also remain hopeful--the Presiding Officer and I went to one of the hospitals--that the survivors are going to defy the odds on their road to recovery. We have been truly inspired by their stories.

I wish to take a moment and applaud the leadership shown by Colorado's public servants, from Governor John Hickenlooper, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, and especially Chief of Police Dan Oates and the Aurora Police Department. There are also other metro area law enforcement professionals who came to the scene almost immediately, including first responders, and medical professionals on site and at the number of hospitals where the victims were taken.

I think what is most notable is that they worked seamlessly to carry out the city's disaster plan and protect the victims from further harm. The police and firefighters arrived a mere 90 seconds after the first 9-1-1 call was placed. There is no question that lives were saved by the swift and coordinated action of Aurora's first responders.

I have to say that this incident shows what similar tragedies have before: that America shines brightest when the night is darkest, and that was literally the situation at midnight on Friday morning in Aurora.

We had the uplifting experience of hearing the stories of bravery coming out of Aurora. We marveled at those stories on Sunday. We start with the fact that at least four young men demonstrated the heights of heroism when they sacrificed their lives to protect their girlfriends from the hail of this gunman's bullets. One young woman had the courage to remain by the side of her wounded friend, calmly applying pressure to her friend's bleeding neck wound while dialing 9-1-1 with her other hand as the gunfire continued around her. Let me put it this way: Lives were saved Friday morning by those who did not let fear override their capacity to care for one another.

These experiences have underlined for me and our entire Nation that what makes us great and will help us endure this tragedy is our people. I saw that Sunday night, as did the Presiding Officer, while participating in a moving vigil in Aurora where our community not only mourned together but also held together during this most difficult time. Although the West is known for its rugged individuals, Colorado is also known for its rugged cooperators--people who help their neighbors in times of adversity. We saw that after the recent wildfires, and we see it again now.

President Obama's visit with victims and families on July 22--just Sunday--2 days ago in Aurora, provided comfort

and support to those in need and again reminded us that the sanctity and strength of family and community is what unites us in the face of adversity. Coloradans have seen that in the wake of this tragedy, our Nation has come together for Aurora and our State, and to my colleagues and anyone listening today, let me say humbly that we are grateful.

I wish to take a moment to say the names of the 12 people who were taken from us too soon. I know that later my colleague will share even more of their stories with us and with the Nation. Their families and friends have my commitment that we will, to honor these good people, these Coloradans, never forget them as the healing process goes on.

The 12 Coloradans, the Americans whom we lost Friday morning are Jonathan T. Blunk, Alexander J. Boik, Jesse Childress, Gordon Cowden, Jessica Ghawi, Micayla Medek, Matthew McQuinn, John Larimer, Alex M. Sullivan, Alexander Teves, Rebecca Wingo, and I think the hardest name for all of us to say is that of 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan. I smile in my sadness because I think the Presiding Officer has seen the photo of her with an ice cream cone in hand, delight on her face, ice cream on her nose. I guess maybe what we could do is take the time to enjoy an ice cream cone, maybe leave that ice cream on our nose for a little bit, and remember her.

In honor of these victims, I have submitted a resolution--S. Con. Res. 53--along with my colleague, the Presiding Officer, Senator Bennet. Congressman Perlmutter has filed an identical resolution in the House of Representatives. The resolution, among many things, strongly condemns the atrocities which occurred in Aurora; offers condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were killed in the attack and expresses hope for the rapid and complete recovery of the wounded; applauds the hard work and dedication exhibited by the hundreds of local, State, and Federal officials and others who offered their support and assistance; and last but certainly not least, honors the resilience of the community of the city of Aurora and the State of Colorado in the face of such adversity. I ask all of my colleagues in the Senate to support Aurora and support this resolution.

As we pay tribute to our fallen fellow Americans and the heroes around them, here is what I hope will come out of what can only be described as a senseless tragedy: We must harness the sense of community we feel this week and use it to create a lasting sense of collaboration in America and use it to solve our shared challenges in a measured, respectful, and thoughtful way. We can truly learn from those who selflessly gave of themselves during the chaos of the Aurora shootings and draw from it the strength to be better people, better family members, and, yes, even better legislators.

In Roman mythology, Aurora is the goddess of the dawn who renews herself each morning. At dawn on Friday, the chaos and the pain and the tragedy of the night before still lingered over that wonderful city of Aurora, but by dawn on the second day, signs of heroism, of recovery, of community began to shine through the darkness of the great Colorado city called Aurora.

As each dawn signals a new day, we owe it to the victims to rise to the occasion and renew our commitment to make this a better, stronger, and more perfect Nation.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I wish to recognize and commemorate the Landsat satellite program on the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first Landsat satellite. While perhaps not as well known as some of our other satellite programs, the Landsat satellites are nevertheless wildly successful and critically important to scientific research and policymaking.

On September 21, 1966, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall announced the commencement of Project EROS--Earth Resources Observation Satellites. The goal of Project EROS was to create a program responsible for mapping the characteristics of the surface of the Earth, thereby helping us better understand Earth's natural resources and changing climate.

In the years following, the Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Geological Survey and partnering with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, established the EROS Program, and on July 23, 1972, launched the first Landsat satellite responsible for Earth surface imaging. Over the last 40 years the United States launched six more Landsat satellites, ensuring continuous observation and creating a national archive of natural resource information. The next Landsat is scheduled to be launched in 2013.

Today Landsat is crucial, not only to environmental research and study, but to national policy and decisionmakers at all levels. Landsat collects data from across the United States from the forests of Washington and Oregon, to the changing wetlands and waterways of coastal Louisiana. It also collects data globally, mapping, for example, the arid regions of Saudi Arabia and Mexico and the shrinking Aral Sea and Lake Chad. Using the information gathered by these satellites, researchers are able to catalogue and compare changes in the land due to urbanization, deforestation, population growth, climate change, and natural disasters. This kind of analysis is critically important to local governments, farmers and ranchers, land managers, and many other decisionmakers.

For example, my home State of Colorado has been deeply affected by wildfires this year. Drought, climate change, and fire suppression have combined to make this one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in Colorado history. Landsat satellites collect data measuring water consumption by plants, bark beetle infestation, forest health, fuel loads, and even environmental recovery data from these damaging fires. Given this information, we can better combat wildfires both on the front lines and through our decisions here in Washington.

Not only does Landsat data benefit Colorado decisionmakers, but the satellites themselves have a strong Colorado pedigree. Ball Aerospace, located in Boulder, CO, is a key contributor to the development and progress of the Landsat program. Ball developed and constructed several vital components of the Landsat mission, most notably the Operational Land Imager, which allows for detailed imaging and a complete scan of the entire globe every 16 days.

I want to congratulate all those who have been associated with the Landsat legacy over the past 40 years on fulfilling Secretary Udall's vision so ably. Their tireless dedication has been a true benefit to all Americans and the world.

Mr. President, I wish to commend my colleague from Maryland for his singleminded and crucial focus on jobs in America. I rise to speak about another opportunity to produce in America, and that has to do with harvesting of wind that we can do and keep jobs in America.

I have been rising every day the Senate has been in session to talk about the necessity of extending the production tax credit for wind power. And every day I come to the floor of the Senate to talk about a different State and how important wind energy is to supporting economic growth and job creation in those individual States.

Today marks the 11th time I have come to the floor to urge all of us--all of my colleagues--to act by extending the PTC for wind. Today I am going to talk about my 9th State out of 50, and I just want to say, in case anybody's wondering, I am not tired yet. I am committed to coming to the floor until Congress does what our constituents expect us to do; that is, to extend the production tax credit. It is simply that important.

If we fail to extend the PTC, our economy will suffer, jobs will be lost,

and our clean energy leadership will truly be in jeopardy when we look across the world.

So where are we going to travel to today? We are going to the great State of Georgia. The wind industry in Georgia has quickly multiplied over the last few years. Nearly 1,000 wind energy jobs have been created. Equally important, there is real potential for significant continued growth.

I want to focus on ZF Wind, which invested nearly $100 million in a manufacturing plant in the city of Gainesville, GA, which is located northeast of Atlanta. This new plant will manufacture gearboxes for wind turbines, and that will bring several hundred good-paying jobs to Georgia. ZF Wind is a German-based manufacturer. They made the decision to invest in Georgia and in America. So I just have to ask my colleagues, if a foreign company can see the potential for wind energy in America, why can't we in the Senate? Do we really want to turn these jobs away? If Congress does not decide to invest in America by extending the production tax credit, I have no doubt these jobs will be shipped back overseas.

If we continue to support the wind energy industry, ZF's gearboxes will be shipped all over our country. In fact, in the interest of full disclosure, I would say ZF is a major supplier of gearboxes for Vestas, which has a large manufacturing presence in my home State of Colorado. The point I want to make is this is one small example of the wind energy supply chain that is being built all over our country and extends in every direction.

Let me share another example of what is happening in Georgia. There is the small town of Tybee Island, which is located on the northeastern coast of Georgia. If I have my geography right, that would be up in this area, as shown on this map I have in the Chamber. They have taken a stand to show how important wind energy is to their future.

In February, their city council passed a resolution recognizing the importance of Georgia's onshore and offshore wind resources. Tybee Island is saying: Look, let's encourage the development of wind energy projects near our community and all over Georgia. They see that Georgia has enough offshore wind potential to power over 1 million homes. One million homes could be powered solely from Georgia's offshore wind potential. That is significant.

We need--all of us all across our country; all of us elected officials--to stand for the future of American manufacturing in energy. It is an economic and environmental imperative, and the choice, frankly, is stark. If we do not act, if we do not act to extend the production tax credit, and it expires, 37,000 jobs may be lost around our country. However, if we extend the PTC, conservative estimates suggest 54,000 jobs would be created. That is the choice: job loss or job creation. I can tell you what I know the answer will be in Colorado: Extend the PTC.

Without the PTC, foreign countries will extend their energy advantage over the United States. Manufacturing jobs that could be created here, that should be created here, will go instead to China and other foreign competitors. There is simply no reason to do that. Instead, we need to extend the PTC.

The PTC equals jobs. We ought to pass it as soon as possible.

I want to end on this note. This is not a partisan issue. The production tax credit has long been a bipartisan idea. Senator Grassley from Iowa, our colleague who has served for many years in the Senate with great distinction, supports this idea and brought the idea forth almost 20 years ago, along with others.

Now more than ever the American people are asking us to take action and invest in clean, renewable made-in-America energy. Let's not let the production tax credit be a casualty of election-year gridlock. Now is the time for us to do the right thing: Extend the PTC.

I am going to keep coming back until we do so. I am enjoying the tour of our great country, the United States of America. Every State has a wind energy stake in the future. Let's extend the wind PTC as soon as possible to protect American jobs before it is too late.

I thank the Acting President pro tempore and yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I am here on the Senate floor urging my colleagues in both parties to extend the production tax credit for wind as soon as possible. I listened with great interest to the discussion the majority leader and the Republican leader just had, and as the majority leader just said, to focus--as it should be--on jobs and the economy. This is a way in which we can enhance job creation and make sure our economy continues to grow; that is, by extending the production tax credit.

This tax credit is also critical to the maintenance of our economic leadership when it comes to clean energy technologies. Every day I have come to the floor of the Senate to talk about a different State and the efforts that are underway in those States. I look forward to talking about the Presiding Officer's State at some point in the future. Today I want to talk about the Buckeye State, Ohio.

Many families and businesses in Colorado and across our country are still struggling in this economic downturn even though we have seen some signs of improvement. This is especially true in Ohio. Over the last couple of decades, Ohio has been plagued by outsourcing and layoffs, which is one of the things we want to prevent by way of Senator Stabenow's bill. Those layoffs and outsourcing have cost Ohioans thousands of jobs. It looked as though we literally devastated the manufacturing base of one of the world's best manufacturing bases in the State of Ohio. But in recent years the wind industry has helped turn that around.

We can see on the map of Ohio that these green circles show all of the activity tied to the wind industry in Ohio. That renewal, if you will, is tied to Ohio's long history as a manufacturing powerhouse. There are dozens of manufacturing facilities that have retooled to build wind turbines across Ohio, while in the process employing thousands of hard-working middle-class Americans. We can see that those manufacturing skills easily transfer to the wind industry. PTC has been key to this and has created those incentives that allowed the manufacturing history of Ohio to take center stage.

I wanted to specifically talk about what is happening in Ohio. When we think about the wind industry, it is not just the building of the towers, the blades, and the cells, but there are maintenance needs. They have support sectors and a supply chain that results in the manufacturing of some 8,000 parts.

In Ohio, 6,000 jobs are tied to the wind energy industry, and that is 50 different companies that have created those jobs. Here is an area that is of real interest as well: $2.5 million in property tax payments result to local governments. That is money that helps fund schools, roads, and other basic services.

It is important to focus too on the people to whom we are alluding. I want to focus on one of the 6,000 employed Ohioans who has been a beneficiary of the tangible effect of wind PTC, and that is Jeff Grabner. He is a wind product sales manager for Cardinal Fasteners in Cleveland, OH. He was originally born in Ohio, but he left Ohio. He returned to Ohio when the wind industry started looking for talented people in the State, and he has been working now for almost 6 years in the wind industry.

Cardinal's Cleveland facility employs almost 55 people. It has been in operation for 30 years. Cardinal used to supply the construction industry, but the demand fell off in recent years. Now this growth in the wind industry presented them with an entirely new market. The factory is retooled and now supplies fasteners, which is the superglue that holds a wind turbine together. In fact, thousands of fasteners were used in every wind turbine to keep them standing and operating securely.

I don't think I have to say that Jeff loves his job at Cardinal, and because of it he is able to provide for his own growing family. In fact, he and his wife are about to celebrate their 1-year wedding anniversary this week. All of that could change if we don't extend the wind production tax credit.

Orders for wind turbines are down 98 percent from last year in large part because of the uncertainty tied to the market. Without new orders, Cardinal and other manufacturers like it may be forced to shut down and let people like Jeff go.

That is why I am back on the Senate floor today urging my colleagues to pass the wind production tax credit now. The PTC equals jobs. We should pass it and extend it as soon as possible. It is a commonsense bipartisan measure. It has strong support across our country. Not only has it shown that we can turn around manufacturing in States like Ohio, but it has shown us that we can outcompete China and other countries. If we want to continue to lead and then win the global economic race-- and, specifically, the clean energy race--it is now

time for us to listen to the people of Ohio and Utah and South Carolina and New York.

This shouldn't be a partisan issue. This is an issue on which Americans expect us to work together. We must pass an extension of the production tax credit as soon as possible.

As I close, I want everybody to know I will be back on the Senate floor tomorrow to talk about wind production in another State, and I will keep pushing for this commonsense policy. Let's pass this as soon as possible.

I yield the floor.