Floor Statements

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, next week Americans across our country are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving. It is a time that we reflect and give thanks for our families and friends and all that we have. But far too many of our families across my State and across this country have far less than they did just a year ago. They lost their homes, their cars, their health care, their 401(k)s, and their jobs. Just this month, we learned that this country has lost a total of 1.2 million jobs this year. Over half of that decrease came in the last 3 months alone.

Across this country, people are hurting, and some of the hardest hit have been our veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of our veterans are still recovering from physical or psychological injuries that make it very hard for them to pay their bills or to find a job, and too many find themselves sliding quickly into bankruptcy or foreclosure. Yesterday, in fact, the New York Times reported that advocacy groups have seen a huge increase in the number of veterans asking for financial help over the last year.

Americans made it very clear on election day that they want a new direction in this country. They want action that will help pull us out of this economic crisis. President-elect Obama has already announced that his first priority will be an economic recovery plan that invests in our country's infrastructure. As chair of the Appropriations Transportation and Housing Subcommittee, I stand ready to help with that. But, as the latest jobless reports show, we can't afford to wait even until January, when we have a new President, to start providing the help Americans need today. That is why I have come to the floor. We need to take action that will create jobs, diversify and modernize our economy, and help our families cope with this economic downturn.

This week, Senator Byrd and our majority leader, Senator Reid, proposed an economic stimulus bill that would do just that. Their bill is targeted at the biggest needs in our country today. It will create more than 635,000 jobs by investing in infrastructure and green energy development, and it would help our most vulnerable citizens put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.

Congress can make a real difference for millions of families across our country. If there was a mandate given on November 4, it was for Government to work for the people once again. America's working families want a government that will turn our economy around and end this war, and they want true progress on health care and on education. That is our mandate. We have an awful lot of work to do, and we need a bipartisan effort to do it. But we cannot just sit around waiting until we have a new administration and a new Congress. Americans are hurting today.

We have the ability in this Congress to come together across party lines and pass a bill that will put Americans back to work and stabilize our communities across this country. I wish to take a couple of minutes this morning to outline how that package will help get our country moving again and help those most in need.

First of all, it is critically important that we help families who have already lost their jobs and are drawing unemployment today. Especially with employers cutting jobs each month, there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who need help for basic needs while they look for work. This package reaches out to those families by extending unemployment benefits by 7 weeks across the country and 13 weeks in States where the jobless rate is the highest. It also brings relief to communities, since every dollar of unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in additional economic activity. This helps everyone.

This bill also provides help for the millions of families who are struggling today to find safe and secure housing. Across the country, public housing is badly in need of repair and improvement. This bill will allow communities to rehabilitate vacant public housing units, improve energy efficiency, and jump-start construction of new projects that will serve those tenants. It will also help address a growing problem in our community: renters who lost their homes because their landlords were foreclosed on. This bill will help protect these innocent victims of the foreclosure crisis and help them find immediate shelter and long-term housing.

One reason we need this bill badly is because it offers help to those who need it most, those who have lost their jobs and homes who are struggling to find housing today. But this bill will also help our communities and jump-start our economy by creating more than 635,000 jobs, investing in new technology and repairing our infrastructure. For example, this package would make investments in highway and bridge construction in every single State--all 50 States--by providing $10 billion to help fund projects that are ready to go today. We know that for every $1 billion we spend on highways, we create more than 34,500 good jobs. So this package will create more than 345,000 jobs.

Additionally, it is important to note there are no earmarks in this bill, no special projects as part of the highway funding in this bill. All highway dollars will be spent according to the formula that has been established for the Surface Transportation Program in our SAFETEA- LU highway bonds. States would have to put this money to work in 180 days.

We also know that roads are not the only area where communities need transportation dollars. Cities across our country are struggling to repair and expand their bus and rail systems as demand for mass transit and public transportation is skyrocketing. So this bill will improve and expand mass-transit systems so that millions of commuters can get to work smoothly and on time. It will help repair and improve our Nation's airports. It will make needed investments in our Nation's ferry transportation system and modernize our Nation's shipyards to make them competitive and efficient.

While creating these jobs will help get our economy going again, we also need to work to make sure our workers are prepared to compete for the jobs of the future. So this package does that by helping 160,000 dislocated workers and youth get education, training, counseling, and job assistance. This is particularly important for young people who are disengaged from school and for disadvantaged teenagers who are often hurt the most when our unemployment rates are high. It is critical that we enable these young people to get work experience now because if they lose out, they are less likely to move successfully into a career later.

We know teens without jobs are more likely to turn to crime or join gangs which cost our communities millions in law enforcement and lost productivity. Not only will the programs this bill supports pay off as the economy picks up over time, they will help stimulate the economy in the short term too, because, you know, teens spend immediately all the money they make. So that will help everyone.

This package also recognizes that we need to start investing in new and healthy industries that will help create new, good-paying jobs and help strengthen our economy for the long term. I think one of the most promising fields is green technology. That is why this package would invest almost $7 billion in research and development that would help us create new energy sources and improved energy efficiency.

Not only is the research and development absolutely vital in order to create the technology and the new jobs that come with it, but research and development and clean technologies are critical if we are going to become energy independent.

So these are parts of the package which I believe will be a shot in the arm, that will help our economy for many years to come.

Before I finish today, I do want to address the provisions in this bill that would help the country's struggling auto industry. I want the auto industry to remain viable and continue to support the millions of jobs across this country which depend on its success. But I cannot support any more funds without concrete assurance the automakers have a strategy to restructure and become viable, competitive companies. The auto industries cannot continue to follow a failed business model and then come here and ask for help.

I supported the $25 billion with strong restructuring language for the auto industry in the continuing resolution we passed a month ago. I will need to be convinced that adding funding will not only save jobs but the industry leaders will take seriously the issue of restructuring and work to reinvigorate an industry that continues to teeter on the brink of failure.

I am also, I have to say, very concerned about the blame being laid at the feet of the hard-working men and women in this industry. The auto industry's current financial industry crisis is the result of many financial factors, not the result of the cost of employee health care and negotiated contract benefits upon which numerous working families and retirees depend.

If the Federal Government, funded by working and taxpaying families, is expected to explore financial aid to ailing corporations, then I expect to hear about sacrifices industry management will make during these tough times. I am very hopeful we can do that.

A month ago this Congress came together and passed a bill to help restore stability in our financial markets. Well, we need this bill to provide stability for our communities and for our working families at home. We need it to help the most vulnerable among us to keep food on their table and a roof over their head.

We need it to help unemployed workers pay the bills while they start another job search. We need it so that we can create jobs, invest in our communities, and support new developments in sustainable and emerging industries.

We can start solving this economic crisis now. We can provide our families with the help they need for the holidays and before this economic situation gets worse. I hope our colleagues will join together, work across party lines, pass this stimulus bill, and offer hope this year to millions of struggling families across this country.

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 19, 2008 at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Health Care Reform: An Economic Perspective''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Helping Families Save Their Homes: The Role of Bankruptcy Law'' on Wednesday, November 19, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I would like to agree with the points made by my colleagues. The timber tax provisions are critically important to Washington and other States that rely on timber jobs, and the provisions must be extended promptly. I have discussed this matter with the chairman of the Finance Committee, and he has assured me that he will work to extend the provisions early next year.

Mr. President, as chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related

Agencies, I rise with my ranking member, Senator Bond, as well as the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee, to address an important issue pertaining to the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA. That issue is the agency's plans to engage in the practice of auctioning off landing and takeoff slots at slot-controlled airports.

Controversial aviation issues do not always garner immediate agreement on the part of all committee and subcommittee leaders in the Senate. They often trigger disagreements fueled by regional interests or differing views on the appropriate role of the Department of Transportation, DOT, in regulating the market. But in this instance, it should be noted that all four Senators with authorizing and appropriating responsibilities for the FAA are in agreement that the FAA's plans are illegal. We do not come to that conclusion lightly. Just yesterday, the committee received an authoritative legal opinion from the General Counsel of the Government Accountability Office, GAO, that reached that same conclusion.

GAO's legal opinion should not come as a surprise to the FAA. Indeed, the FAA, as recently as 2 years ago, was of the same view as GAO and stated in the Federal Register that it did not have the authority to proceed with such slot auctions. More recently, however, the General Counsel at the DOT concocted what, in my view, is a new far-fetched legal argument for the purpose of evading the clear limitations imposed by the authorizing statute and appropriations law. The GAO reviewed the Department's new interpretations of the law and found that they don't hold water. Indeed, the GAO concluded that, if the FAA were to proceed with these auctions, the agency would be engaging in a blatant violation of the Antideficiency Act. This legal opinion matters not simply because it corroborates our collective bipartisan interpretation of the authorizing and appropriations laws. It matters because the GAO is statutorily charged with making determinations regarding violations of Appropriations law including the Antideficiency Act.

One would think that this opinion would bring an end to this debate. Since we now know, in advance, how the GAO would rule on this question, one would expect the DOT to abandon its interpretation and cancel its planned auctioning of slots. To do otherwise would signal the agency's intention to proceed with a process that will almost certainly be found to be illegal. Unfortunately, we are getting indications that this is precisely what the Department intends to do--proceed with these slot auctions whether they are legal or not. I find the Secretary's plans to be both startling and disappointing. In my view, agency heads should not be launching into actions that are likely to be found to be illegal. And equally important, political appointees should not be forcing nonpolitical officials in their departments to participate in such acts.

So, Mr. President, I, along with my colleagues, am taking the time of the Senate to implore Secretary Peters to review the GAO's findings and abandon the Department's plans. To do otherwise will just subject the taxpayers to the costs both of litigating this matter while holding a losing hand. The taxpayers will also have to foot the bill for financing the operation of this slot auction process. This represents an expense potentially in the millions of dollars. Those funds would be much better spent addressing the long list of critical safety improvements that must be made by the FAA.

Mr. President, I very much want to thank my colleagues for engaging in this discussion today. I ask unanimous consent to have the legal opinion sent to us by the GAO General Counsel printed in the Record.

I thank the Senator. I appreciate the Senator's work on skills-training issues, and I am proud to cosponsor his legislation entitled, ``Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success--SECTORS--Act.'' Partnerships organized by industry sectors are an effective strategy to connect workers with thriving industries such as health care, emerging and transitioning industries like the energy industry, and manufacturing, which are vital to both the Ohio and Washington State economies. The strategies of both Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act and SECTORS Act are effective because they bring together the key stakeholders, including business, labor organizations, education at various levels, workforce boards, economic development entities, and other community organizations.

I thank the Senator for clarifying that point. The SECTORS Act models itself after many successful industry sector partnerships in our home States of Washington and Ohio, and elsewhere, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. I look forward to continuing to work with the Senator to develop innovative workforce policies and programs that help our workers and communities stay competitive in this knowledge-based, technology-advanced, global economy.

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

Mr. President, before I speak, I ask unanimous consent that following my remarks on the Democratic side, Senator Baucus be allowed to speak, and following Senator Baucus, Senator Byrd.

Mr. President, as all of us are aware, J.P. Morgan has agreed to buy Washington Mutual, which is based in my home State of Washington. I have been in touch with J.P. Morgan and with WaMu about their plans, and I have been assured that the transition will go smoothly and that Washington Mutual's banking customers will not see any interruption in service. And that is good news.

It is, of course, still too early to know the impact of the failure of WaMu, the Nation's largest thrift, will have on local jobs, but it is further evidence to me that the economic crisis has spilled over into our communities.

I am very saddened that it is having an impact on families and our economy, and yet it is another sign that we must find a bipartisan solution now.

We are working together quickly to reach an agreement. We have rejected the President's $700 billion blank check because it did not ensure oversight or protection for our taxpayers. But Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are working with the House Democrats, the Treasury, and the Fed to come up with a solution that keeps this crisis from hitting more communities. We are hopeful that the House Republicans will come to the table and work with us on a solution that protects American taxpayers.

As we do this, I firmly believe we must also offer the American people a hand and help get our economy going in communities across this country.

We now have an opportunity today to help millions of struggling families who are grasping for a lifeline as this economy sustains blow after blow. Long before this economic crisis rippled across our financial system, middle-class families were already reeling under the impact of failed policies that were implemented by President Bush and backed by John McCain, and it is critical that we act now to help those families, those small businesses, State and local governments get back on their feet. The bill I am hoping we will vote on shortly will do just that.

This bill brings security to seniors who are facing a stack of medical bills they cannot afford to pay and offers help to families who have seen the value of their homes drop below the amount they owe. It ensures that the most vulnerable Americans can continue to put food on their table and keep a roof over their heads. It creates jobs at a time when billions of workers have been laid off and billions more are worried that their job is going to be next.

The Bush-McCain economic philosophy of ``hands off'' has done its damage. It is time that we now put the interests of the American people first again.

This bill I hope we will vote on shortly will do just that. I wish to take a few minutes this morning to underscore the importance of what that bill will do.

First of all, dropping home values and dwindling business revenues have put our State governments under extraordinary financial stress at a time when they can least afford it. As a result of the White House's failed policies, Republican and Democratic Governors across the country are now facing drastic cuts in services from health care to education to law enforcement, and they are looking and asking for relief from Washington.

Already, State-supported health clinics and hospitals are closing, schools are pushing more and more students on fewer teachers, and fully trained police officers are being asked to hand in their badges because their departments can no longer afford to keep them on the beat.

This bill will allocate about $20 billion to help our States continue to provide the services on which our citizens depend.

Next, this package puts workers on the job immediately by providing $8 billion for highway projects in every one of our States. As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, I have been watching with dismay as the construction sector of our economy has endured hundreds of thousands of layoffs over the last several months.

Construction jobs play a critical role in our economy. They provide a living wage that enables those families to keep food on their tables. But the construction industry is now facing its highest unemployment rate in 13 years.

A couple of months ago, an estimated 783,000 jobless laborers, carpenters, plumbers, pipefitters, and other tradesmen were looking for work wherever they could find it. With that in mind and watching that happen, I helped to work to craft a transportation and housing infrastructure package that is in this bill that addresses our most critical needs.

It requires that we spend the money fast so that we will see an immediate impact on our economy in every one of our communities. Every State across this Nation has a highway, transit, or airport maintenance project that is ready to go to construction, but they lack the money to buy the rebar or purchase the timber or order the concrete or even pay the workers.

This bill we will be considering will allow those projects to get up and running right now when we desperately need those jobs. This funding will create more than 278,000 family-wage jobs in a sector that has taken it on the chin over the last year, and it does it fairly and it does it responsibly.

This bill requires those highway dollars be spent according to the formula that was established in our SAFETEA-LU highway law. There are no earmarks, no special projects. States have to use these dollars within 90 days.

Now, all of us have heard about the increasing demand for public transportation as gas prices have gone through

the roof. For example, Amtrak, our Nation's railroad, continues to set records now for its ridership. Well, the bill we are considering makes urgently needed investments in Amtrak and mass transit. It provides $2.35 billion in funding to improve and expand our bus and rail systems, including $350 million to repair railcars and make other necessary improvements to the Amtrak network. Most importantly, that will put another 70,000 Americans back to work.

The bill also includes $400 million for capital projects at our Nation's airports and $44 million to modernize our Nation's shipyards to make them competitive and efficient. It provides money to ensure that Americans who rely on public housing will continue to have a roof over their heads. It will help address a growing problem in our communities--renters who have lost their homes because their landlords were foreclosed on. This bill includes $200 million to help those tenants find immediate shelter and long-term housing. It includes $250 million so our public housing authorities can rebuild those vacant units and fill those units with needy tenants.

Finally, this bill will increase benefits for those jobless Americans who, at a time when unemployment is at the highest since 2003, need to know they can keep food on their tables. Our economy has bled jobs every single month this year. Hundreds of thousands of workers are wondering how they are going to pay their mortgages or pay for their food or their heat.

The jobless rate now stands at 6.1 percent across the country, and it is worse in those States where manufacturing and auto industries have been faltering for years. This bill reaches out to those families by extending unemployment benefits by just 7 weeks across the country and 13 weeks in States where the jobless rate is the highest. And it invests in our workforce by helping those laid-off workers search for a new job or earn skills so they can go back into the job market and be competitive.

It also helps our teenagers get job experience and helps them find long-term employment. I want our colleagues to know teenagers are among the hardest hit by the economic crisis today. Almost 20 percent of our teenagers are unable to find a job, and the number is even higher among minorities. So it is critical that we enable these young people to get work experience now. Because if they lose out, they are less likely to move into a career later. Teens without jobs are more likely, as we all know, to turn to crime or gangs in these difficult times, and that is going to cost our communities millions in law enforcement and lost productivity.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 3 additional minutes.

Mr. President, this bill helps support part-time jobs after school, paid internships, and community service jobs for older youth. Those programs will pay off in the long run.

I have talked about a few of the programs in this package which I believe are a critical shot in the arm to help our economy, and it is not going to come a moment too soon. The economic crisis we are facing is a direct result of failed policies by this President, this administration, in the long run.

We are hearing now we need to bail out Wall Street. Well, this package before us will help the average citizen across our country get the security they need as they face this troubling crisis. I urge my colleagues to work with us to get to a vote and send a message across the country that we in the Senate and the Congress stand behind them, the working families in this country.

I yield the floor.

I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Bill Gates, Sr.'s contributions to civic programs and initiatives that have changed the lives of many in our home State of Washington and across the country. On Friday September 26, 2008, the University of Washington will be holding an event to honor Bill Gates, Sr. and it is my pleasure to share my sincere gratitude to Bill Gates, Sr. for his extensive civic engagement and accomplishments.

Bill Gates, Sr. has a long history of serving others. First as an Eagle Scout and later serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, Bill Gates, Sr. made a conscious choice to lead by example. Bill Gates, Sr. has dedicated his time and efforts to numerous organizations that strive to improve the lives of individuals and families across the Nation and world. His active leadership roles in organizations such as the United Way of King County and the United Way of America; local and national boards of Planned Parenthood; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are just a few examples of his passion and commitment to helping others.

As a fellow education advocate, I appreciate the work Bill Gates, Sr. has done to increase the ability of our youth to access and afford a quality education. Bill Gates, Sr. clearly understands the importance of education and he has worked on this issue from many angles: as a chair of a Seattle Public School Levy Campaign, a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Washington, and as cochair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Sr. is an integral part of decisions made about influential

education initiatives. Recently, Bill Gates, Sr. chaired a $2 billion capital campaign for the University of Washington that included funding for the Husky Promise, which supports an endowment to help lower income students access higher education and attend the University of Washington.

Bill Gates, Sr. has also worked to advance projects that provide support for individuals and families in need around the world. As chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Sr. has helped launch initiatives that tackle major health and poverty issues for the developing world. The initiatives have focused on practical solutions that empower international communities and help save lives.

I would like to thank Bill Gates, Sr. for both his past activities and his current pursuits to help create healthier and happier communities. I am sure Bill Gates, Sr. will continue to embrace the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow through his work with many charitable organizations, and I am pleased he is being honored for his years of dedication to helping others.

Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening to talk about the emergency we are facing in the highway trust fund. The highway trust fund is the primary means of funding all of our highway construction and repair projects in every State in this Nation.

Last Friday, President Bush's Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, acknowledged finally what we on this side have been warning about for months: that the highway account of our highway trust fund is broke.

We have been hearing denials of this crisis for some time, but the Bush administration has now finally taken a closer look at the real receipts that are coming in from the Federal gas tax and discovered their estimates have been off by some $3 billion just since May. Now they tell us they are preparing to default on their bills to our States.

Let me make it very clear to everyone how serious the impact could be. If we do not pass the bill that is before the Senate this evening, my Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee is going to be forced to slash money for Federal highway investments in every State across the country, and it is going to cost each of our States tens of millions of dollars in the next month alone.

Not only does this threaten the safety of our Nation's roads and bridges, it could also very easily mean tens of thousands of jobs lost, as the Federal Government defaults on the contracts in every State of our Union.

Now, this nightmare is going to become a reality just as the unemployment rate has reached the highest it has been in nearly 5 years. Our country lost 84,000 jobs in August alone--84,000 jobs--which came on top of job losses in July and June and, in fact, every month of this year.

We know people across this country are hurting. Many are wondering how they are going to be able to pay their bills as the weather now starts to get colder and they have to begin turning on their heat.

If we do not shore up this trust fund, we are going to be forced to halt ongoing highway projects dead in their tracks. That means thousands upon thousands of people who go to work every day in the construction industry in our Nation to build our highways and bridges are going to be told to go home and do not come back to work the next morning.

The urgency of this bill is very critical. We cannot delay it. I hope we can put aside the ideology and partisanship for the evening and everyone can work together for the good of the Nation on this critical issue because we literally cannot afford to wait any longer.

I want to explain the situation so my colleagues understand where we stand this evening. This coming Thursday--that is tomorrow--may be the last time the Federal Government will be able to reimburse 100 percent of their expenses. The Department of Transportation has told my Transportation and Housing Appropriations Subcommittee that on Thursday, September 18--that is a week from tomorrow--reimbursements could drop to as little as 64 percent of the funds that States are due. They simply have to offer the States an IOU for the rest.

In my home State of Washington, 21 percent of the transportation budget is supported by the Federal gas tax. Local agencies spend between $15 million and $30 million per month in Federal dollars. If the Federal Government has to cut back or cut off funds, Washington State will lose between $33 million and $54 million a month over the next 5 months.

That is only one State, one example in this country. In other States, the Federal Government's share is a lot bigger than in Washington State. In fact, at a hearing this morning, the Oklahoma Transportation Director, Gary Ridley, testified to the Senate about the impact it will have in his State. In answer to questions, he said, in Oklahoma, 85 percent of the State's construction program--85 percent--is paid for with Federal funds. He said the kind of crisis we are talking about will have a ``dramatic effect'' on his State's ability to move forward on road construction.

He told us that in Oklahoma they just opened bids on $80 million in highway work, including a $40 million project to replace a bridge in Oklahoma City that has been identified as having numerous safety vulnerabilities. But Mr. Ridley testified this morning he has had to ask his State highway commission to hold off on those contracts. In fact, he said he might even have to stop all right-of-way acquisition and construction projects until we here in Congress find a solution to this trust fund crisis.

So this is a desperate situation in every State across the country. What is most disturbing to me is it is not as though we did not know this was coming. I have been sounding the alarm about the highway trust fund for almost 2 years. My Democratic colleagues and I have warned repeatedly that we face a looming disaster. We have proposed a solution that would enable these funds to stay solvent, so our States are whole, so our construction industry can continue during this construction season to move forward on these critical safety transportation projects. We have made it clear that

without action this year, we would face a financial disaster, and that it was coming upon us very fast.

Well, the situation is so serious that after months of blocking our legislative solution, this administration, the Bush administration, did a 180 and is now asking us--in fact, telling us--we have to get a bill on the President's desk by the end of this week. So I am very hopeful this evening we can finally move this bill and provide a solution to our States.

What this bill does is replace $8 billion that was taken out of the highway trust fund back at the end of 1998. This is not a bailout from the general fund of the Treasury. That $8 billion was collected from our gas taxes for the purposes of being deposited into the highway trust fund.

Now, at the time, the trust fund was flush with money and people did not think we needed it. Well, clearly, we need it now. We are proposing to restore that $8 billion that was paid in gas tax receipts to the trust fund, and we are not asking for a penny more.

This is not new to anyone in this body. We have debated this proposal before. I and my ranking member on the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Bond, included this proposed transfer in our Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. So it has been a bipartisan effort in our Senate Transportation Subcommittee.

In fact, Democrats also tried to pass this proposal back in June on the FAA bill. We included it in the tax extender package. We tried to pass it as part of the stimulus bill.

Well, we are back this evening. We have another chance. We are working on a bipartisan basis to move this critical bill forward, and I urge my colleagues again to get this done this evening because, as I said, we are going to start seeing severe consequences to this crisis if we do not act and work together on this now.

As I said, this Thursday--tomorrow--could be the last day that our States are fully reimbursed for construction work. So by this time next week, States may have to start doing without. The stakes could not be higher. Mr. President, 84,000 jobs were lost last month. We cannot afford to put another job at risk. But, importantly, these construction contracts are out there and we are in the middle of construction season. Our States need to know we stand by our word and this money is going to go out to them in a timely fashion.

I thank my Democratic colleagues, as well as our Republican colleagues, who have been working with us this evening in a bipartisan way to finally move this bill forward and solve this crisis that is in front of us.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from California for coming and talking about an absolutely critical issue this Congress should be focused on like a laser beam, and that is the issue of our highway funding for construction projects across this country and the highway trust fund. I and my Democratic colleagues have been telling the Bush administration repeatedly that we face a looming disaster across this Nation. We have proposed a solution that would enable this trust fund to stay solvent. We have warned that without action this year, we are going to face a financial disaster. We warned that it was coming very fast. But, as we have seen with a lot of problems in this country this year, President Bush and our Republican colleagues have, unfortunately, chosen to hide their heads in the sand and just avoid the problem. They told us earlier this year that the trust fund would have more than $3 billion in the bank at the end of this month. They have worked to block our proposed solution.

I rise today because last Friday, President Bush's Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, finally acknowledged what we have been warning about for months now, and that is that the highway account of our highway trust fund is broke. The administration has taken a closer look at the real receipts they are getting in from the Federal gas tax and discovered that their estimates have been off by some $3 billion just since May. The Bush administration is now preparing to default on its bills to every one of our States. Right now, instead of reimbursing our States twice a day, as the Federal Government has always done, Secretary Peters has told the States that they are only going to get paid now once a week. That is happening right now in every State in this country.

This coming Thursday, 2 days from now, may be the last time the Federal Government will be able to reimburse 100 percent of their expenses. The Department of Transportation has told my Transportation and Housing Appropriations Subcommittee that on Thursday, September 18--just 9 days from now--reimbursements could drop to as little as 64 percent of the funds that our States are due. They will have to offer our States an IOU for the rest of that money. The result of the administration's failure to act on this is that we are now faced, in this country, across every single State, with an emergency situation. If we do not pass a solution very fast right here in the Senate, our States, every one of them, are going to be forced to cancel critical highway construction and repair projects that are ongoing right now that ensure our roads and our bridges are safe and secure.

Not only does this threaten the safety of our transportation infrastructure, it could bring about massive layoffs in the construction sector in this country. That is an area of our economy that has suffered one of the biggest hits in recent months, and this is going to have a huge impact across the country.

As we all know, this news is coming just as the unemployment rate has now reached the highest it has been in nearly 5 years. We are talking about a scenario in which ongoing highway projects could be stopped dead in their tracks if we do not take action in the next day or two. Across the country, thousands upon thousands of workers are going to be told to go home and not to come to work the next morning. These are critical safety and congestion relief projects that are ongoing right now across the country, and they could be halted--by the way, right in the heart of the construction season.

Fortunately, we do have a solution. It is ready to go, if only the Republicans would put their partisan ideology aside just for this event and work with us to get this passed. Earlier this year, we proposed returning, as the Senator from California talked about, $8 billion that was taken out of the highway trust fund back in 1998. Contrary to what some people have said about our proposal, it is not a bailout from the general fund of the Treasury. That $8 billion was collected from gas taxes for the purpose of being deposited into the highway trust fund. At the end of 1998, that money was taken from the trust fund because at the time the fund was flush and we didn't think we needed it. We definitely need it now, so we have proposed restoring to the trust fund the $8 billion that was borrowed and not a penny more. All the money that was borrowed, we propose putting it back into the highway trust fund.

This situation is extremely serious. After months of blocking our legislative solution, the Bush administration did a 180 and is now asking all of us please to get this bill on the President's desk by the end of this week. You would think that would be enough for his Republican allies. You would think they would finally see how dire this problem is and work with us to avoid the thousands of layoffs that are coming across the country if we do not act. Instead, last night, as we saw, they blocked our efforts to bring this bill to the floor and get it to the President.

Senator Bond and I--he is my ranking member on the Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee--included this proposed transfer in our Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill this year. Democrats tried to press this proposal in June, in fact, as part of the FAA bill. Democrats included it in the tax extender package. We were blocked. We tried to pass it as part of the stimulus bill. We were blocked. We have seen this blocked by Republicans at every turn as this crisis has gotten larger and larger. Now it is on us.

The final effort we needed was just 60 votes. Do you know how many we got? We got 51. Only 5 Republicans voted to move that bill forward, while 42 Republican Senators voted against it. Now we are here in a crisis mode. But we have another chance, a final chance. The House has passed a similar bill by a 10-to-1 margin. It is not partisan over there. They know the emergency. That bill is here in the Senate. We could pass it by unanimous consent today. But, as we saw last night, Republicans are blocking it.

We literally cannot afford to tread water like this. I came to the floor yesterday to urge my Republican colleagues to see how important this legislation is. We are here again today making the case. I hope our colleagues across the aisle will listen and work with us. The obstruction and failure to take action has now gotten our country into a crisis, and we do not need another one. We have a housing and mortgage crisis. We have an economic crisis. We cannot afford, in this country right now, to have a transportation construction crisis in every one of our cities and communities across the country.

Within just a few days--take note--we are going to be seeing consequences across the country. This Thursday, as I said, could be the last day our States will be fully reimbursed by the Federal Government for the construction work that is ongoing. By this time next week, States are going to have to start doing without.

The stakes could not be higher. Mr. President, 84,000 jobs in this country were lost last month alone. We cannot put another American job at risk, and we cannot afford to play Russian roulette with our country's highway construction effort. That is what is happening right now. We have to act. We need to act now. I plead with our Republican colleagues, put your partisanship aside. When it comes to our country's safety, infrastructure, construction jobs, economy--all at risk--can we take care of that today, please? Can we move forward and fix this emergency that is upon us?

Mr. President, I share with my colleague from California a real sense of frustration. The people across the country know we are in political season. They understand politics. They understand all of that. But this is beyond politics. This is about severe consequences. I do not understand putting partisan politics, more filibusters, an effort to not let anything happen, on the backs of every single community across this country.

These are specific dollars that go to keeping our construction projects moving along. Now, I get frustrated like everyone in the summer when you come across a project in progress and you have to wait. But I want that construction process done because I know that highway needs to be repaired.

We saw a bridge collapse not that long ago. Not that long ago deaths occurred. A huge community in Minnesota was impacted. That can happen across the country. We are attempting to fix those construction projects and they are going to be halted if we do not fix this trust fund problem.

This has dire consequences.

This is not about politics. It is not about a Presidential election. It is not about who is going to stop what. This is about real consequences in our community, jobs lost in the construction sector to families who will not have a paycheck next month in the middle of an economy that is already struggling.

In some of our States, as we know well, the construction season is short; it ends in a few short months. And those projects, if they are halted now, will not begin again until next March or April. The long- term consequences are real.

Our Governors had better wake up and start calling all of our Republican colleagues. Our community leaders who want these projects completed had better start calling our Republican colleagues. We have a solution in hand. It is easy to do. We can do it today. The President now has turned around, finally, and asked for this solution.

I do not understand why it is being blocked. It makes no sense to me. I can tell you, to those families who wake up 2 weeks from now without a job, and to those families who are trying to drive to get to work and all of a sudden they see a critical construction project stopped in their State, they are going to be asking all of us: What are you doing back there?

I heard Senator McCain say recently: Watch what happens in Congress over the next several weeks. Well, I hope the American people are watching. What we see is obstruction and filibusters with dire consequences. It is going to be felt in every one of our communities if we do not put this aside for once and at least get this highway trust fund fixed.

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for 3 minutes.

Mr. President, the Senator from California and I have been on the Senate floor this morning talking about the dire straits we are in in terms of the construction trust fund, the highway trust fund, that provides the money across the country for construction projects and the fact that within a few short days our States are not going to be getting the checks they need to pay for those construction projects, resulting in layoffs across this country and construction projects literally coming to a halt very quickly.

We are going to offer a unanimous consent request to bring up that bill again and pass it and get it to the President, as he requested. We understand, unfortunately, now there is an objection on the Republican side, and we will not be able to do this request at this time. I respect our Republicans' request to be able to discuss this issue at their weekly meeting they are going to be having shortly to determine how to move forward. But I want everyone on notice this is a critical issue, it is not going to go away, and we are going to be asking again this afternoon to move this legislation forward because we believe we have a responsibility as leaders in this country to get this trust fund emergency problem fixed and moving. We hope our Republican colleagues, upon reflection, will join us and we can quietly pass this legislation this afternoon and move on to other major issues of the day.

But to me this is the most important critical issue facing us right now in the Senate, and I hope we can move it this afternoon.

Would the majority leader yield for a question? I would say to the majority leader, since I am chairman of transportation appropriations, I have been warning of this to come for some time. It is my understanding that the amendment you are asking unanimous consent for takes $8 billion out of the general fund and puts it back in the trust fund, which is exactly what happened back in 1998, in reverse.

Taxpayers pay their gas tax into the trust fund, expect it to go for transportation projects. In 1998, we took $8 billion of that money that they expected to go into transportation funding and put it in the general fund.

What you are asking to do tonight is simply to take that $8 billion back and put it exactly where taxpayers expected it to go originally, which was to transportation funds; is that not correct?

I did not talk to the Secretary of Transportation. I did see their press release that they now want this money to come out. It is my understanding that if we do not take this action, as the House has done, that beginning this Thursday, and shortly thereafter, States will not get their transportation dollars and will therefore have to begin to lay off workers at construction projects and essentially halt many of the construction projects in the country, correct?

Mr. President, I share the concern of the majority leader.

I am deeply concerned that several members of the Republican Party have said no to this. At a time when our economy is in real trouble, when construction projects are not only providing critical dollars but completing important transportation work across the country, that we would allow those projects to be halted and workers to be laid off, adding to the economic woes of the country at this time, is simply not a smart move. I hope we see that decision reconsidered on the other side in the next 24 hours.

Mr. President, no one in this country should have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. But with oil prices rising through the roof, more and more of our low- income families and our seniors today need extra help to stay warm and healthy. The cost of heating oil has risen 162 percent over the last 8 years, and by this winter it will have risen another 41 percent in the last year alone.

As these oil prices have skyrocketed, some regions of the country, including some counties in my home State of Washington, have had to cut back on the amount of heating assistance they can provide to the people who live there. The Seattle Times, our hometown paper in Seattle, is today reporting almost 100,000 people in Washington State alone will pay hundreds of dollars more to heat their homes this winter. Many people are already planning on how they are going to get by without heat because they can't afford it.

Last week, we had a chance in the Senate to double the funding available to help our low-income families and seniors to afford to heat their homes this winter. The Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act, which is S. 3186, would have ensured our local governments were able to cover these additional costs and help those who need it most. We were all extremely disappointed that despite the fact that 13 Republican Senators were cosponsors of this legislation, they chose last week to say no, once again, on behalf of big oil.

As we debate the refinements of how we are going to solve the short- term crisis, it seems logical to me that we not leave behind the people who are hurting the most. For seniors, low-income Americans, people who are truly worried, can't we come together on this one issue and solve it as we try to take care of the large energy crisis before us?

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 835, S. 3186, the Warm in Winter and Cool in Summer Act; that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I object to that, and I say to our colleagues that, as we continue to debate in this country, in a very clear manner, the different root causes and what we can do, it seems to me, without encumbering this in the larger debate, we ought to be able to at least deal with an oil heating crisis that is going to affect many Americans, and therefore I renew my unanimous consent request as I read it.

Mr. President, I did object, and I renew my original request.