Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009 No. 112 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Rollcall votes in relation to amend- called to order by the Honorable The Honorable KIRSTEN E. ments are expected to occur through- KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from GILLIBRAND led the Pledge of Alle- out the day and into the evening. This the State of New York. giance, as follows: is the time for people who have indi- cated they want to offer amendments I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the to do so. We had a lot of down time in PRAYER United States of America, and to the Repub- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, which Members could have, but we are The PRESIDING OFFICER. Today’s indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. making progress on the bill. It is my opening prayer will be offered by understanding, from speaking to the f American Legion national chaplain managers, that for the most conten- Rev. Lawrence L. Vollink from Ypsi- APPOINTMENT OF ACTING tious issues, there is a pathway to com- lanti, MI. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE pletion. I hope that in fact is the case. The guest Chaplain offered the fol- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The f lowing prayer: clerk will please read a communication RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY Let us pray. to the Senate from the President pro LEADER tempore (Mr. BYRD). For all of our honorable Senators and The bill clerk read the following let- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- staff, we pray, eternal God. We thank ter: pore. The Republican leader is recog- You for all of the blessings You have nized. bestowed upon us, especially for this U.S. SENATE, PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, f great Nation we are privileged to serve. Washington, DC, July 23, 2009. HEALTH CARE WEEK VII, DAY II We ask that You be with all of our To the Senate: leaders who are making the decisions Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, that affect us, that You would endow of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby last night, the President, to his credit, them with courage and conviction, add- appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. reiterated what the American people ing wisdom to their knowledge and fla- GILLIBRAND, a Senator from the State of New have been saying for weeks: that the voring it with humility. York, to perform the duties of the Chair. Democratic health care proposals we ROBERT C. BYRD, May our motivations be out of our President pro tempore. have seen so far aren’t where they need to be. I couldn’t agree with him more. love for all people to help them to live Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon as- peacefully. We ask for tasks that are President Obama also said that rising sumed the chair as Acting President health care costs are an imminent suited to our strength, but we ask for pro tempore. Your strength for any task You have threat to our economy and that any re- given us. Help us to live in the knowl- f form must reduce these long-term costs. edge that You have matched us to this RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY The problems the President high- hour in history and that the place and LEADER time of our service to You and to our lighted are real and, here again, Repub- country is not random but by Your wis- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- licans agree with him. Unfortunately, dom and direction. pore. The majority leader is recog- the solutions to these problems are not nized. in the Democrat plans now working Father, walk close to our Senators, their way through Congress. In fact, that they may not fail. Remind all of f the bills we have seen would make us, Lord, that Your wisdom is not SCHEDULE these problems even worse. The direc- found in an hour, a day, or a year but Mr. REID. Madam President, fol- tor of the Congressional Budget Office in a process that lasts a lifetime, with lowing leader remarks, the Senate will has said that these proposals would in- You, Lord, by our side. We ask for pa- resume consideration of the Depart- crease overall health care spending, tience, for understanding, as our Sen- ment of Defense authorization bill. not reduce it. All of us want health ators serve this beloved country. Last night, I filed cloture on this bill. care reform. But we want reform that We ask that You watch over our The vote is expected to occur 1 hour brings down costs and long-term spend- Armed Forces this day and always. after we come in tomorrow. Germane ing, not a so-called reform that makes O Lord, You are our strength and first-degree amendments must be filed things even worse. shield. Bless us with Your abiding pres- at the desk prior to 1 p.m. today in The President also said health care ence, now and forever. Amen. order to be considered postcloture. reform must not increase the national ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S7945 . VerDate Nov 24 2008 02:46 Sep 28, 2009 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD09\RECFILES\S23JY9.REC S23JY9 smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE S7946 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 23, 2009 debt. Republicans agree with that too. II, the Korean war, and Vietnam. In directly influence the foreign policy But, again, both Democrat bills we every case, the U.S. military under- decisions of a future President. have seen would saddle Americans with went an abrupt expansion of manpower We also get closer to the day when hundreds of billions of dollars of addi- and armaments only to be followed by our allies and partners will rethink the tional debt, making the situation even calls for a drawdown in the size of our value of a relationship with the United worse. Just yesterday, the Chairman of force and a reduction in defense spend- States. the Federal Reserve warned that unless ing. This pattern, though not always Sooner or later, we will have to face we get serious about spending and debt, well-advised, may have been under- the fact that we are on a path that we are endangering not only our recov- standable in some cases in the past. leads to some very unpleasant choices. ery from the current recession but also But the nature of our current threats Either we default on our debts, which endangering future economic growth. and position in the world makes it in- we will not do, print more money to That is why he said any health care re- defensible today. cover those debts and tempt a massive form must get control of costs. Other- With developments in weapons tech- inflationary spiral, or be forced to wise, it could bankrupt both our gov- nology, America no longer has the lux- withdraw from our security commit- ernment and eventually our entire ury of isolation. And September 11 ments, just as Great Britain did at the economy. showed us that we can no longer leave end of the Second World War. So the last thing we need is a flawed ungoverned territories unwatched. The America’s all-volunteer force costs a health care bill that adds to the na- demands on today’s military are con- lot of money to maintain. Indeed, one tional debt and increases long-term stant. We are either on offense, or we of the major reasons we have been able health care costs. Instead of trying to are at risk. Feast or famine and isola- to avoid conscription in this country rush through proposals that don’t tionism no longer work. since the Vietnam war has been our work, we need to take the time to do it And this is why our ever-growing na- ability to maintain recruiting and re- right and make the reforms the Amer- tional debt is so perilous—because even tention policies through an attractive ican people are asking for—reforms those who believe as I do that a strong retirement system, recruiting bonuses, that won’t put us on the road to bank- and ready defense is the cornerstone of incentive pay and sensible housing al- ruptcy. our security will not be able to guar- lowances. In current dollars, military f antee it if current fiscal trends persist. personnel costs have increased from $69 Put simply: if we do nothing to pay billion to $131 billion a year over the DEBT AND SECURITY down this debt and address the needs of past decade. Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Social Security, Medicare, and Med- But these necessary expenses will earlier this year I came to the Senate icaid, then America risks finding itself soon be crowded out by the growing floor and outlined a number of foreign so weakened financially that some day cost of long-term entitlements and the policy principles that have served our in the not-too-distant future we just growing principal and higher and high- Nation well in the past and which I be- will not have the resources we need to er interest payments on our debt. And lieve would serve us well in the future. equip and maintain our forces in the spending increases we now regard as In doing so, it was my hope that these places they are needed most.