E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 157 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2011 No. 59 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon as- ing waters of the Ohio River and other called to order by the Honorable sumed the chair as Acting President rivers in the region. KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from pro tempore. I have a photo that shows the devas- the State of New York. f tation, which I witnessed personally last Friday. This is an area of southern PRAYER RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME Illinois, one that has been hard pressed The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- economically, has been struggling, and fered the following prayer: pore. Under the previous order, the now is inundated with flooding. Let us pray. leadership time is reserved. A few days ago when I visited Olive Eternal Lord God, the Father of mer- Branch and Cairo, IL, near the south- cies, show mercy to our Nation and the f ern tip of the State, I saw this flooding world. In Your mercy, give our Sen- MORNING BUSINESS firsthand. Homes, barns, and roads ators a discerning spirit so that they were covered by floodwater. Voluntary The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- will understand our times and know ex- evacuations have been called for in a pore. The Senate will be in a period of actly what they should do. Lord, in- dozen Illinois towns, and people are morning business for debate only until struct them in knowledge that trans- scrambling to find a place to stay with 12 p.m. with Senators permitted to forms, enabling them to guide others friends and family and shelters to wait speak therein for up to 10 minutes through exemplary living. Provide for out the flood. each, with the first hour equally di- their needs, lighten their burdens, and They worry about what will happen, vided and controlled between the two fill them with Your joy. Refresh them when they will get back in their leaders or their designees, with the ma- with Your presence as You equip them homes, and when the kids will get back jority controlling the first 30 minutes to serve You and humanity. to school. and the Republicans controlling the We pray in Your holy Name. Amen. This is another photo which dem- next 30 minutes. f onstrates the kind of floodwaters that The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- people are struggling with in my part PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE pore. The Senator from Illinois. of the world in southern Illinois. My The Honorable KIRSTEN E. f colleague, Senator KIRK, was in south- GILLIBRAND, led the Pledge of Alle- SCHEDULE ern Illinois over the last couple of days giance, as follows: and has witnessed this firsthand as I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, the well. United States of America, and to the Repub- filing deadline for all second-degree We are both prepared to do whatever lic for which it stands, one nation under God, amendments to S. 493, the small busi- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. we can to help our State and all of the ness jobs bill, is at 11 a.m. There will States in the region that have been af- f be up to two rollcall votes at noon. The fected by this terrible flooding. In APPOINTMENT OF ACTING first rollcall vote will be on the motion many cases this flooding is, unfortu- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE to invoke cloture on S. 493, the small nately, going to be there for some The PRESIDING OFFICER. The business jobs bill. If cloture is not in- time. clerk will please read a communication voked on the bill, the Senate will im- One of the properties I showed was in to the Senate from the President pro mediately proceed to a second vote on Cairo, IL. The water is already waist tempore (Mr. INOUYE.) the motion to invoke cloture on the high and will continue to rise. It can be The legislative clerk read the fol- nomination of John McConnell to be weeks before people can return home to lowing letter: U.S. District Judge for the District of see what, if anything, they can salvage. Rhode Island. U.S. SENATE, Late Monday night, the Army Corps PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, f of Engineers made a very difficult deci- Washington, DC, May 4, 2011. sion. They blew a hole in a levee on the To the Senate: MIDWEST FLOODING Missouri side of the Mississippi River Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, hun- near Cairo, IL, to relieve pressure on of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby dreds of local first responders, 500 Na- the levee and on other levees along the appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from the State of New tional Guardsmen, and hundreds of vol- Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. That deci- York, to perform the duties of the Chair. unteers in southern Illinois are work- sion will flood farmland, and that DANIEL K. INOUYE, ing around the clock to try to protect flooding will relieve some of the pres- President pro tempore. homes and communities from the ris- sure on the towns and communities, ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S2639 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:41 May 05, 2011 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A04MY6.000 S04MYPT1 tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with SENATE S2640 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 4, 2011 the families and homes which have and create jobs, the jobs Americans President was not whether to solve been threatened by these rising river need. As part of that effort, we out- these crises but whether or not to give waters. lined a comprehensive jobs agenda yes- a speech about them. The decision to disable the levee at terday. Last year, we waited for weeks to Birds Point in Missouri, as difficult as And today we will oppose pre- hear the President’s position on one of it was, may have saved the lives of maturely ending debate on the small the biggest ecological disasters in his- some of the nearly 3,000 people in business bill. The other side has re- tory. And throughout this past winter Cairo, IL, and surrounding commu- fused to allow votes on some of the and spring, we waited to hear what he nities. There are early indications that best ideas Republicans have offered for thought about a debt that had spiraled the Army Corps plan is starting to creating jobs as a part of this legisla- so out of control that America’s eco- work. The Ohio River has already tion, including an important amend- nomic outlook has been downgraded to dropped 11⁄2 feet at Cairo since 10 ment by the ranking member of the ‘‘negative’’ for the first time ever. o’clock Monday night. Engineers esti- Small Business Committee, Senator We can not wait for the President on mate the water level may go down as SNOWE. And we intend to oppose their this one. much as 7 feet as a result of the release efforts to short circuit this debate The consequences of sweeping our of water at Birds Point. until they do. problems under the rug again are just I want to make it clear to the people Republicans are also committed to too great. of Missouri, to my colleagues from stopping the administration’s inexcus- So let me be clear: As even some Missouri, that I will stand with them able war on American energy at a time Democrats have conceded, a failure to to make certain there is compensation of near-record gas prices. And we are do anything meaningful about the debt given to those farmers and homeowners committed to repealing the Democrat would be far more harmful to our eco- who were affected by this decision to health care bill that is already raising nomic future than a failure to raise the open this levee. Their misfortune is costs and destroying jobs. debt limit. going to spare literally thousands of But hovering above all of this is a The warnings are simply too loud to homes and businesses from the inunda- growing fear about our Nation’s debt. ignore. tion of these floodwaters, and we The administration knows this. That In early 2008 most of us had no idea should stand with them just as if they is the reason for tomorrow’s debt meet- we were headed for a financial crisis. were the victims of the original flood- ing at the White House. Only a few prophetic voices were say- ing. So this morning I would like to start ing anything about the dangers in the I am thankful for the good news that there, because anyone who has felt housing market. the river levels are coming down, but even the slightest twinge of pain from Over the past few years, we have seen the flooding is far from over. Water the recession has a vested interest in the painful consequences of that crisis: continues to rise and overtop levees this debate. unemployment lines, lost savings, mil- throughout the southern part of my Here is why: if we do not act to re- lions of homes foreclosed. State. My heart goes out to the men duce our debt, this country could very Despite this largely unforeseen eco- and women piling sandbags, to the Na- well experience a crisis that makes the nomic catastrophe, the American peo- tional Guard—God love them; every economic meltdown of 2008 look like a ple have dug in.