S3652 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 1, 2008 Tennessee Valley residents face no greater ing with our majority leader, and he cans increasingly go to the gas pump challenges today than dealing with energy certainly has done a good job in many to fill the need of energy for their vehi- costs, clean air and climate change. The Ten- instances. But, today, strictly on a po- cles and they find that the prices at nessee Valley Authority needs a full mem- litically motivated basis, in a letter to the pump are ever higher, more oner- bership on its board to solve those problems. I respectfully request that you lift your the senior Senator he stated he is not ous, and it makes the family budget roadblock, stop trying to change seventy- going to confirm TVA appointees be- more difficult to manage. This is a five years of law and custom, and allow these cause they are not Democrats. problem for working families, to the two outstanding nominees to go back to We went through a tremendous typical American family trying to work on the TVA board helping to provide amount of effort, or this body did prior drive children to school, participate in the large amounts of clean, low cost, reliable to me being here, to make sure the carpools and other activities. It hits electricity Tennessee Valley residents need TVA board was a professional board, everyone at a time when other eco- to keep good jobs and clean air. that people there were able to make de- nomic problems are surrounding the Sincerely. cisions in the best interests of that LAMAR ALEXANDER, American family. We have a problem, body and all the many people who are and we have to act. Failure to act is United States Senator. served by the TVA facility. Mr. ALEXANDER. I have said to the not an option. At this point in time, we These two nominees are outstanding cannot offer immediate solutions, but majority leader: This is an insult to human beings. They have served their we have to recognize where we are. We Memphis. Bishop Graves is the first State, their cities, and our country have to recognize what has not hap- Memphian ever to serve on the TVA with great distinction. Bishop Graves board in its history. It is an affront to pened. is someone who recently was heralded I recall many days sitting where the the more than 1.5 million African here in Washington because of his tre- Presiding Officer sits today, when our Americans in our region. Bishop mendous leadership in making sure party was in the majority. Democrats Graves is the first African American that the racial divides that have been a would come to the floor and talk about ever to be on the TVA board. part of our country were swept away. At a time when there is a stream of Susan Williams has done the same, how, if they were in power, because Democratic Senators coming to the has been a leader in many other ways, they were not in cahoots with the big floor trying to find somebody to blame in business, and both of them have oil companies, then things would be for high gas prices, why is the majority helped shepherd TVA through some of better, they would find a way to make leader locking up two of the most valu- the finest years TVA has had. things better. There was a bold an- able players on our team whose job it Both of these are reappointments. In nouncement made by then-House mi- is to deal with high gas prices, high other words, they have already served nority leader NANCY PELOSI on April 24, electric prices, climate change, clean as part of the TVA board, which re- 2006: air, and national security? cently has been expanded geographi- Democrats have a commonsense plan to I respectfully suggest that the major- cally to bring in other States, which is help bring down skyrocketing gas prices. ity leader, for whom I have the great- a very good thing from the standpoint That is when prices were tipping at est respect, lift this roadblock—stop of board representation. $3 a gallon. They were $2-something a trying to change 75 years of law and Both of these members were approved gallon. I wish today we were back to custom. Unlock our two players and let unanimously by EPW, again a bipar- those moments in time. them out and let them into the game tisan effort, which I might say also is A commonsense plan to help bring against high gas prices and let them go controlled by the Democratic Party. So down skyrocketing gas prices? I ask, to work. I have to tell you while it is frustrating where is the plan? What happened to This is disheartening playpen par- to me to see this body become a proxy that plan? Democrats came into power tisan politics—it disappoints the Amer- in some cases for the Presidential to lead both Houses of Congress on ican people and causes them to cry out races, I hate to see some of the things January 4, 2007. The distinguished Sen- for changing the way that we do busi- we deal with as a result, and that di- ator from Minnesota proudly took her ness in Washington. minishes this body. oath; many others came into office. At I yield the floor. I will tell you that our leader taking that point in time, the price of gas was The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- this position is a tremendous disservice $2.33 a gallon. Today, it is $3.62 a gal- pore. The Senator from Tennessee is to this body; diminishes this body. I lon. Is this what the commonsense plan recognized. hope the leader will come to his senses, to bring down prices was supposed to Mr. CORKER. Madam President, it is will realize that not only is he doing bring us? Is this why someone had a always an honor to be in the presence something that is of tremendous harm plan that was going to help America? of the senior Senator from Tennessee to TVA, it damages this body for the Has it helped us? Have we gone up or who does such an outstanding job in majority leader to act in such a politi- down? The fact is, today prices are this body of promoting bipartisanship. cally motivated way. $3.62. I know the Presiding Officer has I hope very soon these nominees will What we should do is have some plain played a big role in that. I thank you be reappointed. I hope TVA can get talk. The fact is, it didn’t matter who for that. I want to say I came here as about its business in serving the people was in control of Congress because the did the Senator to solve big problems of Tennessee and other surrounding laws of economics go well above the for our country in a bipartisan way. States in a proper way. I hope the ma- laws of politics. This is about supply I just left a meeting that I think ex- jority leader again will do the right and demand. The fact is, there is not a emplifies that to the highest level, thing, will cause these nominees to commonsense plan. The fact is, there is come to the floor. I am sure they will where RON WYDEN and BOB BENNETT no plan, that America’s energy policy are cosponsoring a great piece of legis- be unanimously confirmed. continues to flounder for several rea- I suggest the absence of a quorum. lation in a bipartisan way, to solve the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- sons. We have to act, and we have to tremendous health care crisis our pore. The clerk will call the roll. act as responsible leaders. country is dealing with today. The legislative clerk proceeded to One of the things that is inevitable is I am proud to be part of that and to call the roll. that as long as supply and demand stay join them in a bipartisan way to solve Mr. MARTINEZ. I ask unanimous where they are today, with demand this major problem. I know many of us consent that the order for the quorum ever increasing and supply topping out, are doing the same thing to focus on call be rescinded. we will continue to have increasing the energy issues that are before us as The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- prices. I submit that part of what has a country. That is what I came here to pore. Without objection, it is so or- to occur is increased production. We the Senate to do. I know that is ex- dered. have to find ways that we can, within actly the reason, Madam President, f our own borders, produce more energy. you came to the Senate. I have been supportive of drilling in That is why today I rise with tremen- ENERGY POLICY 2000 acres of the vast wilderness of dous frustration over the actions of our Mr. MARTINEZ. Madam President, Alaska in a way that would be safe. If majority leader. I have enjoyed work- we are facing a real problem as Ameri- it had been done back when President

VerDate Aug 31 2005 04:26 May 02, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A01MY6.002 S01MYPT1 smartinez on PROD1PC64 with SENATE May 1, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3653 Clinton vetoed it, today a million bar- One of the best friends of the Presi- Something gives there. It is time for rels a day would be flowing into the dent was the CEO of Enron, a major something very different. I want to stream of production and would help funder to the President, close friend of work together. The finger pointing with this supply problem we have the President who had a personal nick- should end. Let’s sit down and do this today. name, and Enron had gamed the sys- right, but don’t block us to do things There may be other safe ways. A year tem through speculating and specu- that will help stabilize gas prices now or so ago, we made a deal. The deal was lating. It cost consumers, especially on and help to bring them down over the that we would drill safely in areas well the west coast, hundreds of millions, short and medium term and long term away from the Florida coast in the even billions of dollars as people raked to come up with a real energy policy so Gulf of Mexico—8 million acres for new off profits from their speculating. We we are not relying on—as my friend drilling that are also available and will are seeing the same kinds of things. I Senator MARTINEZ said—not relying on produce oil and gas. don’t know if they are the President’s Venezuela and Saudi Arabia and coun- These are helpful steps, but they are friends doing it anymore, but I know tries that are not so friendly to us. not enough. We have to conserve. We there are people who have gamed the f have to find ways to encourage Ameri- system. That is the reason, with no cans to conserve at the pump, to save SMALL BUSINESS EMPOWERMENT major international incident in the ACT by carpooling, to save by finding a way last 2 years, no major outage of a refin- of buying more energy-efficient vehi- ery or fire of a refinery or pipeline dis- Mr. BROWN. Madam President, ear- cles. ruption, that prices have spiked so lier this week, I spoke on the Senate We as a government should be help- much. floor about Cover the Uninsured Week ing American consumers through our It is clear that a Justice Department and a bill I was introducing that would tax system to find a way they can pur- working for the President of the United increase access to health coverage for chase vehicles that are more energy ef- States, that is not beholden to the oil small businesses and self-employed in- ficient. We know that a hybrid vehicle industry, might actually take some ac- dividuals—a group we all too often for- will get 35 to 38 miles to the gallon. We tion on price fixing and recommend an get about around here. Today I am for- know that a standard vehicle of similar excess profits tax—all the kinds of mally introducing the Small Business size would be lucky if it gets 17 or 18 things we could be doing in this body Empowerment Act. I wish to discuss miles to the gallon. and that the executive could do. But in this bill in a bit more depth. At the end of the day, it is a com- First, why is it necessary? this body, we have seen filibusters. bination of strategies. The bottom line It is necessary because 82 percent—82 Every time we try to do something is, we have to have a multifaceted percent—of the uninsured work for a on oil prices, every time we try to do strategy. We have to work together, living. They have jobs. The over- something on long-term alternative en- not suggesting that there is one party whelming majority work in small com- ergy, the Republicans filibuster. They that has a secret plan that, in fact, panies—companies with 2 people, 5 peo- have filibustered more than 60 times. It doesn’t exist. We have to find a com- ple, 20 people—or they are self-em- is approaching 70. I am not sure of the monsense way to work together, Demo- ployed. number; it is hard to keep up. They crats and Republicans, to increase pro- In Ohio, my State—whether you are have filibustered more times already in duction modestly and safely, to encour- in Steubenville or Lima, whether you age conservation and new technologies, this congressional session than they are in Kent or Chillicothe—99 percent and to continue to boldly move forward did in any 2-year session in history by of firms with more than 50 workers toward a Manhattan-type project that a lot, and they are continuing to do it. sponsor health insurance. So if you are We would love to sit down with my is going to put all of the resources and at a relatively midsized or larger com- friend on the other side of the aisle and energies of this country toward energy pany, you have 50 or more workers, 99 work on real energy legislation and independence and energy security so percent of those firms offer some kind wean this body and wean the White we can discontinue this horrendous of fairly decent insurance for their em- House from their addiction to oil com- practice of wealth transfer that is tak- ployees. That is for companies above 50 ing place today between our country— pany campaign dollars, and help wean employees. the billions and billions of dollars we the American people from our addic- For companies under 50 employees, are transferring to some of the worst tion to foreign oil. We would love to only 44 percent of those firms do. Many enemies of our country, people such as work on that. of them are self-employed. Many of I introduced legislation yesterday Hugo Chavez and Ahmadinejad. them only have 5 or 10 or 15 employees. The day is coming when we have to that will help to jump-start the green Small employers who do offer cov- find a way to pull together toward a energy industry in this country. It is erage—and most of them absolutely try common goal of having a sensible, bal- clear we need to do a lot of that. But to—I have talked to small anced energy policy, increase produc- the American public is tired of finger businesspeople from Springfield to tion safely, conserve more, and new pointing. It is time this Congress did Zanesville, from Bellaire to Delphos, technology. All working together, we more on energy, and that the Repub- and I hear repeatedly from small busi- can do this. America can meet this licans, instead of filibustering—there nesses they want to insure their em- challenge. are 51 Democrats in this body; we need ployees, but it is getting harder and I yield the floor. 60 votes to do anything because of the harder and harder. According to the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- filibuster—instead of the Republicans well-respected RAND Corporation—a pore. The Senator from Ohio is recog- holding together and blocking things, nonpartisan group that dispassionately nized. instead of filibustering, let us work to- analyzes these kinds of things—small Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I gether on energy issues and not have businesses saw the economic burden of can’t quite believe what I just heard. the oil companies dictate to this body, health insurance rise by 30 percent be- Because Democrats in 2006 said we need as they did for year after year after tween 2000 and 2005. And it is getting a different energy policy than the year. worse. White House, a President and Vice When I was in the House of Rep- The situation is even worse for the President who both come out of the oil resentatives, the oil companies dic- self-employed, who must contend with industry, both top energy executives, tated to the House of Representatives staggeringly high premiums for indi- where much of the funding for the leadership, and everybody in those vidual coverage—they don’t get any President’s party comes from the oil days in the majority party—which was group-rate break—if they can find an industry, and in 2006, the Democrats the Republicans then—went along with insurer even willing to cover them. said the Congress betrayed the Amer- their leaders on writing an energy bill In these small pools, if you have 3 ican people because they let the oil in- that had $18 billion of subsidies and employees or 8 employees or you are dustry write the energy bill, now my giveaways and tax breaks to the oil in- self-employed, and there is anybody in friend from Florida is saying it is the dustry. Yet they are the most profit- this small pool of 1 or 20 who has some Democrats’ fault that gas prices are able industry in America year after major preexisting condition, you prob- through the roof. year after year. ably cannot get insurance at all.

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