June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4735 (A) the application of such medical stand- we have reached will ensure that col- his health care bill didn’t raise taxes ards provides an appropriate and fair evalua- lege students who are already facing on the middle class, as he did again and tion of an individual’s qualifications; and enormous challenges in the Obama again and again. (B) the individual understands the basis for economy will not be paying higher in- Yesterday, the Court blew the Presi- determining medical qualifications. (c) ADVICE FROM PRIVATE SECTOR terest rates next month. dent’s cover. In a narrowly upheld case GROUPS.—The Administrator shall establish Students can’t wait for the President on one basis only—that the penalty as- a panel, which shall be comprised of rep- to get off the campaign trail and actu- sociated with the individual mandate is resentatives of relevant nonprofit and not- ally work with Congress to prevent a tax—the Court spoke. It said Con- for-profit general aviation pilot groups, avia- student loan interest rates from rising gress doesn’t have the constitutional tion medical examiners, and other qualified this year. So while the President con- authority to mandate insurance cov- medical experts, to advise the Administrator tinues to ignore the bipartisan pro- erage under the commerce clause. Con- in carrying out the goals of the assessment posals sent more than 3 weeks ago, gress doesn’t have the authority to required under this section. (d) FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION RE- Senate Democrats dropped their de- mandate individual insurance coverage SPONSE.—Not later than 1 year after the mand for job-killing tax hikes and under the commerce clause, but it ob- issuance of the report by the Comptroller worked with Republicans to find solu- viously does have the power to tax. So General pursuant to subsection (a)(2), the tions. they upheld the central provision of Administrator shall take appropriate actions It is nice to finally see the Senate ac- the bill on the fact that the penalty for to respond to such report. tually work as the Senate used to. It failing to comply with it was a tax. The bill (S. 1335), as amended, was or- proves that if this body ignores the In the eyes of the Court, that is all dered to be engrossed for a third read- campaign attacks from the President the penalty tied to the individual man- ing, was read the third time, and and if our Democratic friends stop date ever was: a tax imposed by a passed. pushing job-killing tax hikes, we can Democratic Congress—without a single Mr. REID. I thank the Chair. actually get a lot done around here. I, Republican vote—primarily, interest- f once again, thank my colleagues for all ingly enough, on the middle class. It is their hard work on these important a tax on the middle class. Let’s be very SMALL BUSINESS JOBS AND TAX measures. clear about that. The tax connected to RELIEF ACT MOTION TO PRO- HEALTH CARE DECISION the individual mandate is not pri- CEED—Continued Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, the marily a tax on the rich but on the RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER most important issue brought to the middle-class Americans who will bear The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- front page in the last 2 days is the the brunt of it. pore. The Republican leader is recog- state of the new ObamaCare law. Listen to this, colleagues. According nized. Two and a half years ago, President to the CBO, at least 77 percent of the SURFACE TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE Obama teamed up with Democrats people paying this tax will meet the REPORT right here in Congress to pass a health President’s own definition of the mid- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I care bill they knew most Americans dle class; 77 percent of the people pay- will address two issues. I commend, in didn’t want. Americans have been very ing this tax will meet the President’s particular, the senior Senator from clear about what they thought of this own definition of the middle class. Oklahoma for the extraordinary work bill. So Democrats settled on a deeply Those who have to pay the tax will he has done to produce a transpor- dishonest sales pitch aimed at con- pay an average tax of $1,200. Even if tation bill that has significant reforms vincing them otherwise. they pay it every year, they still will in it. He has been tenacious and effec- Nearly every day since then, the not have insurance. tive. He has tugged on our sleeves and promises that formed the very heart of Yesterday’s decision turns the Presi- pointed out to us repeatedly the impor- that sales pitch have been exposed for dent’s campaign rhetoric on its head. tance of getting this job done. I con- the false promises they were. Those who will end up paying the gratulate him for an extraordinary ac- Americans were promised lower heaviest burden for not buying govern- complishment. health care costs. But, of course, they ment-mandated insurance are not With regard to the bill, the highway are going up. Americans were promised going to be the wealthiest Americans— conference report contains significant lower premiums, and they are going up. oh, no—but the very middle-class fami- reforms to the surface transportation Seniors were promised Medicare would lies the President claims to defend. program. Projects will now be com- be protected; it was raided to pay for a That is the truth the Court un- pleted in a more timely manner be- new entitlement instead. We were masked yesterday. cause, for the first time, there are hard promised it would create jobs; CBO pre- Most Americans thought the process deadlines on agencies to complete envi- dicts it will lead to 800,000 fewer jobs Democrats used to pass the health care ronmental reviews. because of ObamaCare. People were bill was unseemly, secretive, partisan, Also, States are given maximum promised they could keep the plans even antidemocratic. They also flexibility to use their transportation they liked; millions have now learned thought it was unconstitutional for the dollars the way they choose, rather they cannot. government to create commerce in than how Washington dictates. This For 2 years, the list of broken prom- order to regulate it—for the govern- bill is fully paid for with a package of ises has grown longer and longer and ment to create commerce in order to offsets mostly included in the Senate- longer. regulate it. passed highway bill. But yesterday morning, we got pow- All of that is still true. But what The conference report also contains erful confirmation of what may have many Americans may not have appre- important legislation to reform the Na- been the biggest deception of all. For ciated when this bill passed was how tional Flood Insurance Program and years, the President and his Demo- empty all of the promises were—how prevent the interest on college student cratic allies in Congress have sworn up completely empty all the promises loans from doubling. and down—sworn up and down—that were. And at the center of them all was The flood insurance bill is a model of failing to comply with the individual the claim that failing to buy health in- reform: It moves this long-failing pro- mandate did not result in a tax on indi- surance did not result in a tax. That gram closer to where it should be—the viduals or families. ‘‘It is not a tax,’’ was the central claim: Failing to buy private sector. These reforms actually they said. health insurance did not result in a cut subsidies, save the taxpayers The reason was obvious. If Americans tax. money, and greatly improve the pro- knew that failure to comply resulted in But the Court has now spoken: It is a gram’s financial position. It was nego- a tax hike, of course, the bill would tax—largely on the middle class. This tiated and reported out of committee never have passed. If our friends on the is just one more reason this law needs on a bipartisan basis. other side had conceded the obvious— to be repealed in its entirety. With On the student loan issue, Repub- that it was, in fact, a tax hike—we all every passing day we learn something licans and Democrats worked hard to know it never would have passed. The new about this terrible law. Not only find common ground. The agreement President would not be able to claim does it make the problems in our

VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:54 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29JN6.002 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4736 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 health care system worse, it leads to a dated to expand to cover people below a person in a family with no income tax on middle-class families who are ei- poverty. Yesterday, the Supreme Court would be guaranteed nothing. When ther unable or unwilling to purchase ruled that mandatory expansion uncon- people below poverty, the people who health insurance. What a terrible idea. stitutional. can least afford coverage or the con- So it is time for Democrats to stop Writing for the majority, Chief Jus- sequence of not having coverage are trying to defend the indefensible and tice Roberts said: left with nothing, it sounds like failure join Republicans in wiping this colossal Nothing in our opinion precludes Congress to me. legislative mistake clear off the books. from offering funds under the Affordable I yield the floor. Yesterday’s decision gives us the clear- Care Act to expand the availability of health The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- est proof yet this bill has to go. It care, and requiring the States accepting such pore. The Senator from Arizona. funds to comply with the conditions on their needs to be repealed to clear the way Mr. KYL. Mr. President, regarding use. What Congress is not free to do is to pe- yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, for commonsense, step-by-step reforms nalize States that choose not to participate that protect Americans’ access to the there have been a variety of very inter- in that new program by taking away their esting editorials, op-ed pieces, and care they need from the doctor they existing Medicaid funding. choose at a lower cost. That is pre- blogs—many of them erudite and very With this decision, States now have useful for the analysis of the Court’s cisely what Republicans intend to do. the option to expand Medicaid to cover Mr. President, I yield the floor. opinion. Of course, it will take a long people below poverty. Mr. President, time for us to know precisely how all RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME the States had that option even before of this will work out over time. I The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Affordable Care Act was passed. So thought I might refer to a couple of pore. Under the previous order, the what does this decision mean in real these opinions and op-eds and put them leadership time is reserved. terms? in the RECORD for people to see what a The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- It will be up to the States to deter- sampling might look like so they can pore. Under the previous order, Sen- mine if they will cover the poorest of more thoroughly analyze the opinion ators are permitted to speak for up to the poor. The Federal Government can- and then pose a question at the end. 10 minutes. not guarantee coverage. So now people I start with one of my friends, and I The Senator from Iowa. with jobs will have to purchase insur- think one of the best columnists, even HEALTH CARE DECISION ance under the tax mandate. People nationally, that I know. He writes for Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, yes- without an income, people who are my local paper, the Arizona Republic. terday the Supreme Court overturned below poverty, are dependent upon the His name is Bob Robb, and he writes in the mandatory Medicaid expansion in State in which they reside. his column on June 29: the Affordable Care Act. As of yester- I know some people will believe the Roberts’ decision controlled the outcome, day, the States now have a choice to choice is perfunctory, that Medicaid even though it was fully joined by no other expand or not expand coverage to the expansion will move forward because justice. Here’s what he concluded: poorest people in society without being the Federal Government has offered to The federal government has no power subjected to harsh Federal penalties. pay for more than 90 percent of the ex- under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause to require individuals to purchase health in- I would like to draw attention to a pansion. But if you were a State, would you really trust a promise from a Fed- surance, as Obamacare does. However, the speech I gave on the Senate floor in De- federal government does have the power to cember 2011 on the subject of the con- eral Government that is $15 trillion in impose a financial penalty on people for not stitutionality of the Medicaid expan- debt? If you were a State, would you complying with the mandate the federal gov- sion. I expressed my concerns then really trust an Obama administration ernment has no authority to impose. That’s about the potential impact of a Su- that proposed eliminating that special because the penalty is actually a tax under preme Court decision on Medicaid ex- Federal payment rate through a pro- Congress’ constitutional taxing authority. posal known as the blended rate? However, the penalty is not a tax for pur- pansion. poses of the Anti-Injunction Act, which I said on the floor that day: States will very reasonably be risk averse. States can now expand if they would preclude the court from considering A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the the legality until someone actually pays it. States in this case could not only jeopardize choose to or not at all. No one should assume for a second all States will ex- Obviously, Mr. President, these di- the mandated Medicaid expansion in the Af- lemmas require some explanation. It fordable Care Act but could challenge the pand to cover as much as was man- fundamental structure of Medicaid and have dated under the Affordable Care Act. may be—and this is my phrasing, not broader implications outside of health care. Of course, one might think people Bob Robb’s—this is a good example of where the phrase of ‘‘legal legerde- The concerns I expressed then have, below poverty could still get health main’’ comes into play. to a degree, come true. care through tax credits, but the peo- Robb continues: Reading from a Washington Post edi- ple who wrote this bill made people below poverty ineligible for tax credits. If Congress has no authority to require torial this morning about the Court people to do something, such as purchase ruling on Medicaid: That is right—ineligible. It is all or health insurance, how can it penalize them This restriction of federal authority may nothing for the poor with Medicaid. for not doing it? have greater ramifications than the court’s With today’s ruling, the answer is, And how can money owed exclusively be- limiting of the Commerce Clause. One can nothing. cause of failing to comply with an unconsti- imagine challenges to federal conditions On December 15, 2011, I said on the tutional mandate be regarded as a tax and across a wide spectrum of programs, includ- Senate floor that the expansion of Med- not a penalty? ing but not limited to the environment, edu- icaid and the coverage of poor people He goes on to say: cation and transportation. was in jeopardy because ‘‘the White The purpose of the constitutional taxing This decision overturns the manda- House and the Democratic majority power is to raise the money to operate the tory expansion of the Medicaid Pro- put their partisan goals ahead of col- government. The clause reads: ‘‘Congress gram. While I realize most of the focus laboration with Republicans and States shall have the power to lay and collect taxes is on the decision related to the tax to build legitimate public policy.’’ . . . to pay the debts and provide for the mandate, we should spend a moment Today, that is the outcome. When common defense and general welfare of the United States.’’ talking about the consequence of the people with income, people with jobs The purpose of the penalty for not buying Medicaid decision. are mandated to purchase health insur- health insurance, however, isn’t to raise rev- Mr. President, one of the goals of the ance and face a tax penalty if they do enue. The government would prefer not to health care reform was to provide cov- not, while the poorest people in soci- get any money from it at all. The purpose is erage for people in need. I would argue ety, those without a job or without in- to compel compliance with the mandate that the people most in need of coverage are come have a guarantee of nothing, I Roberts says the government has no power people without a job, people without an to impose. think victory laps are premature. There is nothing in the Constitution that income, and the poorest of the poor. After this decision, a person in a fam- can remotely be construed as giving Con- The Affordable Care Act required ily with an income of more than $80,000 gress the power to tax people, not to raise States to cover people below poverty a year would be guaranteed access to a revenue but to punish them for failing to do through Medicaid. States were man- subsidy to buy private insurance, while what Congress would like them to do.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:23 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.026 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4737 And Robb concludes: June 28, ‘‘Chief Justice Roberts’s mandate is a tax for purposes of the Con- If Congress cannot do something directly, Folly’’; and the Joshua Hawley piece stitution because he says so. But it’s a pen- it shouldn’t be able to do it indirectly dated June 28 from the Daily Caller. alty for purposes of the Anti-Injunction Act through taxation. because Congress says so. There being no objection, the mate- In Robertsworld, an unconstitutional man- Mr. President, this raises a very im- rial was ordered to be printed in the date becomes not a mandate if the money portant question. If the taxing power RECORD, as follows: owed for not complying is dubbed a tax and can be used to institute mandates such [From the Arizona Republic, June 29, 2012] not a penalty. But the same money can be both a penalty and a tax depending on who is as ObamaCare, the real question is, FALSE PREMISE LETS ‘OBAMACARE’ GO ON What limits are there on such taxing asking and why. (By Robert Robb) It’s as though Roberts were channeling power? I believe this may be one of the For whatever reason, Chief Justice John Lewis Carroll in writing the opinion. most important unanswered questions Roberts decided to rescue ‘‘Obamacare’’ from This decision is hardly the end of the in Justice Roberts’ opinion. the constitutional trash heap. Obamacare saga. Obamacare will implode as One attempt to square the circle, in His reasoning in doing so should be an em- it is implemented. effect, was by a writer named Joshua barrassment to him. It certainly tossed more The country will have to readdress the Hawley in the Daily Caller in his col- dirt on the burial site of the Founders’ vision question of how to most cost-effectively sub- umn entitled ‘‘What’s behind Roberts’ of a federal government with limited, enu- sidize the care of the seriously and chron- ically sick. surprising decision?’’ I note that merated powers. Roberts’ decision controlled the outcome, But for today, let’s mourn the death of rea- Hawley comes to this with some cre- even though it was fully joined by no other soning and something more important. dentials, being described as a former justice. Here’s what he concluded: In Federalist No. 45, James Madison wrote: law clerk to Chief Justice Roberts as The federal government has no power ‘‘The powers delegated by the proposed Con- well as an associate law professor at under the Constitution’s Commerce Clause stitution to the federal government are few to require individuals to purchase health in- and defined.’’ the University of Missouri. In effect, as That’s not the federal government we have surance, as Obamacare does. I read Hawley’s piece, he said Justice today. Roberts’ pettifogging on Obamacare However, the federal government does have Roberts actually constrained can be seen as its final interment. Congress’s power dramatically by, first the power to impose a financial penalty on people for not complying with the mandate [From the Wall Street Journal, June 28, 2012] of all, drawing a clear line on the rea- the federal government has no authority to OBAMACARE AND THE POWER TO TAX sonable and proper extension of the impose. That’s because the penalty is actu- commerce clause power. But he also ally a tax under Congress’ constitutional (Opinion) said the taxing authority Roberts uses taxing authority. ‘Judicial tax-writing is particularly trou- to justify Congress’s action in However, the penalty is not a tax for pur- bling. Taxes have never been popular, see, ObamaCare is actually very limited. poses of the Anti-Injunction Act, which e.g., Stamp Act of 1765.’ would preclude the court from considering Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, In fact, he says that Roberts at- Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and tempted to make this case sui ge- its legality until someone actually pays it. Where to begin? Samuel Alito dissenting from the majority neris—that is the Latin phrase for ‘‘one If Congress has no authority to require opinion that upheld most provisions of the of a kind’’—and that only in this par- people to do something, such as purchase Affordable Care Act on Thursday: ticular case would the taxing authority health insurance, how can it penalize them The provision challenged under the Con- stitution is either a penalty or else a tax. Of be permissibly used for Congress to re- for not doing it? And how can money owed exclusively be- course in many cases what was a regulatory quire the people to do something. mandate enforced by a penalty could have cause of failing to comply with an unconsti- I hope Hawley’s analysis is correct. I been imposed as a tax upon permissible ac- tutional mandate be regarded as a tax and am not so sure it is. Roberts’ opinion tion; or what was imposed as a tax upon per- not a penalty? certainly will make it more politically missible action could have been a regulatory The purpose of the constitutional taxing mandate enforced by a penalty. But we know difficult for Congress to pass things power is to raise the money to operate the of no case, and the Government cites none, that extend its authority because it government. The clause reads: ‘‘Congress in which the imposition was, for constitu- will have to be clothed in the cloak of shall have the power to lay and collect taxes tional purposes, both. The two are mutually a tax, and Congress doesn’t generally . . . to pay the debts and provide for the exclusive. Thus, what the Government’s cap- common defense and general welfare of the like to pass new taxes on people. But tion should have read was ‘‘ALTER- United States.’’ Congress and the lawyers who advise us NATIVELY, THE MINIMUM COVERAGE The purpose of the penalty for not buying are pretty clever about phrasing legis- PROVISION IS NOT A MANDATE-WITH- health insurance, however, isn’t to raise rev- lation in such a way that it would meet PENALTY BUT A TAX.’’ It is important to enue. The government would prefer not to bear this in mind in evaluating the tax argu- constitutional challenges. get any money from it at all. The purpose is Now that we have a new example of a ment of the Government and of those who to compel compliance with the mandate that support it: The issue is not whether Congress power that we might exercise—namely, Roberts says the government has no power this expanded taxing power—I suspect had the power to frame the minimum-cov- to impose. erage provision as a tax, but whether it did we will see efforts in the future to There is nothing in the Constitution that so. clothe our legislation under the guise can remotely be construed as giving Con- In answering that question we must, if of that taxing power. If so, the con- gress the power to tax people, not to raise ‘‘fairly possible,’’ construe the provision to straints in Chief Justice Roberts’ opin- revenue but to punish them for failing to do be a tax rather than a mandate-with-pen- what Congress would like them to do. ion would be no constraints at all. alty, since that would render it constitu- If Congress cannot do something directly, tional rather than unconstitutional (ut res There is an old saying that hard it shouldn’t be able to do it indirectly cases make bad law. I don’t know that magis valeat quam pereat). But we cannot through taxation. rewrite the statute to be what it is not. this was all that hard of a case, but it Congress, unlike Roberts, understood that ‘‘[A]lthough this Court will often strain to clearly resulted in a lot of different it was enacting a penalty, not a tax. The law construe legislation so as to save it against points of view from the Justices, from repeatedly calls the money owed for failing constitutional attack, it must not and will which one could conclude that at least to comply with the individual mandate a not carry this to the point of perverting the they saw it as a hard case. I just hope penalty. purpose of a statute . . . or judicially rewrit- the end result is not bad law, as I have Roberts says that what Congress calls it ing it.’’ In this case, there is simply no way, isn’t dispositive regarding whether it is a tax ‘‘without doing violence to the fair meaning suggested it could be here today. under the Constitution. But it is dispositive I ask unanimous consent to have of the words used,’’ to escape what Congress for purposes of the Anti-Injunction Act. enacted: a mandate that individuals main- printed in the RECORD at the conclu- The Anti-Injunction Act prevents those tain minimum essential coverage, enforced sion of my remarks the following who are subject to federal taxes from chal- by a penalty. pieces: first, the Robert Robb column lenging their legality until after they have Our cases establish a clear line between a dated June 29 from the Arizona Repub- been paid. tax and a penalty: ‘‘[A] tax is an enforced lic; second, the Wall Street Journal If the penalty is a tax, then no one could contribution to provide for the support of editorial of June 28, ‘‘ObamaCare and challenge its legality until after someone government; a penalty . . . is an exaction pays it, which won’t happen until 2014. The imposed by statute as punishment for an un- the Power to Tax’’; a Rich Lowry piece case wouldn’t properly have been before the lawful act.’’ In a few cases, this Court has in National Review Online dated June court. held that a ‘‘tax’’ imposed upon private con- 29, ‘‘The Umpire Blinks’’; a National So, Roberts declared that the money owed duct was so onerous as to be in effect a pen- View Online piece by The Editors dated for failing to comply with the individual alty. But we have never held—never—that a

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:23 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.027 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4738 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 penalty imposed for violation of the law was porters. The Government’s opening brief did the mandate (and its penalty) in a different so trivial as to be in effect a tax. We have not even address the question—perhaps be- title of the act from the revenue provisions. never held that any exaction imposed for cause, until today, no federal court has ac- ‘‘To say that the Individual Mandate merely violation of the law is an exercise of Con- cepted the implausible argument that § 5000A imposes a tax is not to interpret the statute, gress’ taxing power—even when the statute is an exercise of the tax power. And once re- but to re-write it,’’ the four conservative dis- calls it a tax, much less when (as here) the spondents raised the issue, the Government senters from the Roberts opinion write. The statute repeatedly calls it a penalty. When devoted a mere 21 lines of its reply brief to chief was willing to take out his rewrite pen an act ‘‘adopt[s] the criteria of wrongdoing’’ the issue. At oral argument, the most pro- to avoid striking down the mandate. He did and then imposes a monetary penalty as the longed statement about the issue was just the same to keep from throwing out the ‘‘principal consequence on those who trans- over 50 words. One would expect this Court Medicaid expansion. He considers it, too, an gress its standard,’’ it creates a regulatory to demand more than fly-by-night briefing offense against the constitutional order. penalty, not a tax. and argument before deciding a difficult con- Wherever exactly the line for impermissible So the question is, quite simply, whether stitutional question of first impression. coercion of the states falls, he noted, ‘‘this the exaction here is imposed for violation of statute is surely beyond it.’’ the law. It unquestionably is. The minimum- [From the National Review Online, June 29, Roberts gets points for cleverness. He set coverage provision is found in [the Afford- 2012] clear constitutional boundaries without able Care Act’s individual-mandate provi- THE UMPIRE BLINKS striking down the law. He largely sided with sion], § 5000A, entitled ‘‘Requirement to main- (By Rich Lowry) the critics of Obamacare without enraging tain minimum essential coverage.’’ (Empha- its supporters. He came up with the only 54 sis added.) It commands that every ‘‘applica- Chief Justice John Roberts famously de- decision that wouldn’t subject his court to ble individual shall . . . ensure that the indi- fined himself as an umpire in his confirma- the calumny of the Obama administration vidual . . . is covered under minimum essen- tion hearings. But an umpire is willing to and law-school deans everywhere. All the op- tial coverage.’’ (emphasis added). And the make the toughest calls. eds that had been drafted trashing the legit- In his Obamacare decision, Roberts the immediately following provision states that, imacy of the court have been filed away for umpire blinked. By issuing a decision that ‘‘[i]f . . . an applicable individual . . . fails now. to meet the requirement of subsection (a) . . . forestalled the tsunami of criticism that As chief justice, Roberts has competing there is hereby imposed . . . a penalty.’’ (em- would have come his way had he struck down priorities, of course. But it’s not his job to phasis added). And several of Congress’ legis- the law (as an activist, a partisan, and an al- redraft laws under the guise of judicial re- lative ‘‘findings’’ with regard to § 5000A con- together rotten human being), Roberts effec- straint. On Obamacare, the umpire struck firm that it sets forth a legal requirement tively rewrote the constitutionally problem- out. and constitutes the assertion of regulatory atic portions of it. He overstepped his power, not mere taxing power. . . . bounds. The umpire called a balk, but gave [From the National Review Online, June 28, We never have classified as a tax an exac- the pitcher a do-over. The ref called a foul, 2012] tion imposed for violation of the law, and so but didn’t interrupt the play. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS’S FOLLY too, we never have classified as a tax an ex- As a result, there’s Obamacare as passed action described in the legislation itself as a by Congress. Then there’s Obamacare as (By the Editors) penalty. To be sure, we have sometimes passed by the Supreme Court. In today’s deeply disappointing decision on treated as a tax a statutory exaction (im- Obamacare as passed by Congress had a Obamacare, a majority of the Supreme Court posed for something other than a violation of mandate to buy health insurance and a pen- actually got the Constitution mostly right. law) which bore an agnostic label that does alty for failing to comply. Obamacare as The Commerce Clause—the part of the Con- not entail the significant constitutional con- passed by the Supreme Court has an optional stitution that grants Congress the authority sequences of a penalty—such as ‘‘license’’ or tax for those without health insurance. to regulate commerce among the states— ‘‘surcharge.’’ But we have never—never— Obamacare as passed by Congress required does not authorize the federal government to treated as a tax an exaction which faces up states to participate in a massive expansion force Americans to buy health insurance. to the critical difference between a tax and a of Medicaid, or lose all their federal Med- The Court, by a 5-4 margin, refused to join penalty, and explicitly denominates the ex- icaid funds. Obamacare as passed by the Su- all the august legal experts who insisted that action a ‘‘penalty.’’ Eighteen times in § 5000A preme Court makes state participation in of course it granted that authorization, that itself and elsewhere throughout the Act, the Medicaid expansion optional. only yahoos and Republican partisans could Congress called the exaction in § 5000A(b) a In pursuit of a judicial modesty deferential possibly doubt it. It then pretended that this ‘‘penalty.’’ to Congress, Roberts usurped its role. requirement is constitutional anyway, be- Judicial tax-writing is particularly trou- Obamacare as passed by Congress didn’t pass cause it is merely an application of the tax- bling. Taxes have never been popular, see, constitutional muster. Obamacare as passed ing authority. Rarely has the maxim that e.g., Stamp Act of 1765, and in part for that by the Supreme Court didn’t pass Congress— the power to tax is the power to destroy been reason, the Constitution requires tax in- and might not have passed Congress had it so apt, a portion of liberty being the direct creases to originate in the House of Rep- been presented for an up-or-down vote fes- object in this case. resentatives. That is to say, they must origi- tooned with yet another tax. What the Court has done is not so much to nate in the legislative body most account- Roberts vindicated the core of the con- declare the mandate constitutional as to de- able to the people, where legislators must stitutional argument against the individual clare that it is not a mandate at all, any weigh the need for the tax against the ter- mandate that had been sneered at by the more than the mortgage-interest deduction rible price they might pay at their next elec- legal establishment and pronounced prepos- in the tax code is a mandate to buy a house. tion, which is never more than two years off. terous by the likes of Nancy Pelosi. The Congress would almost surely have been The Federalist No. 58 ‘‘defend[ed] the deci- mandate is unprecedented in that it doesn’t within its constitutional powers to tax the sion to give the origination power to the regulate existing activity; it compels people uninsured more than the insured. Very few House on the ground that the Chamber that to undertake an activity—namely, buying people doubt that it could, for example, cre- is more accountable to the people should insurance—that Congress then regulates ate a tax credit for the purchase of insur- have the primary role in raising revenue.’’ under the Interstate Commerce Clause. This ance, which would have precisely that effect. We have no doubt that Congress knew pre- stretches the Commerce Clause beyond the But Obamacare, as written, does more than cisely what it was doing when it rejected an breaking point. that. The law repeatedly speaks in terms of earlier version of this legislation that im- The chief even reverted to the widely de- a ‘‘requirement’’ to buy insurance, it says posed a tax instead of a requirement-with- rided broccoli argument: If the federal gov- that individuals ‘‘shall’’ buy it, and it levies penalty. Imposing a tax through judicial leg- ernment can make you buy insurance, it can a ‘‘penalty’’ on those who refuse. As the con- islation inverts the constitutional scheme, make you eat vegetables. The government’s servative dissent points out, these are the and places the power to tax in the branch of logic, Roberts wrote, ‘‘authorizes Congress hallmarks of a ‘‘regulatory penalty, not a government least accountable to the citi- to use its commerce power to compel citi- tax.’’ zenry. zens to act as the Government would have The law as written also cuts off all federal Finally, we must observe that rewriting them act. That is not the country the Fram- Medicaid funds for states that decline to ex- § 5000A as a tax in order to sustain its con- ers of our Constitution envisioned.’’ pand the program in the ways the lawmakers stitutionality would force us to confront a Then, Roberts went out in search of some sought. A majority of the Court, including difficult constitutional question: whether way, any way, to find the mandate constitu- two of the liberals, found this cut-off uncon- this is a direct tax that must be apportioned tional. He alighted on the argument that the stitutionally coercive on the states. The among the States according to their popu- mandate isn’t a mandate at all, but a tax. Court’s solution was not to invalidate the lation. Perhaps it is not (we have no need to Never mind that the tax argument was an law or the Medicaid expansion, but to rule address the point); but the meaning of the afterthought in the administration’s defense that only the extra federal funds devoted to Direct Tax Clause is famously unclear, and of the law. Never mind that administration the expansion could be cut off. As the dis- its application here is a question of first im- officials, from the president on down, vocif- senters rightly point out, this solution re- pression that deserves more thoughtful con- erously denied that it was a tax during the writes the law—and arbitrarily, since Con- sideration than the lick-and-a-promise ac- debate over the bill. Never mind that the law gress could have avoided the constitutional corded by the Government and its sup- itself never defines it as a tax and includes problem in many other ways.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:23 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29JN6.003 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4739 The dissent acknowledges that if an ambig- see themselves as above partisan allegiances it can likely be jettisoned through use of the uous law can be read in a way that renders and the grand questions of law they decide as reconciliation process—meaning the Senate it constitutional, it should be. It distin- more important than run-of-the-mill par- will need to muster only a bare majority for guishes, though, between construing a law tisan disputes. repeal, not 60 votes. charitably and rewriting it. The latter is No, I mean politics in the constitutional By converting the mandate to a tax, then, what Chief Justice John Roberts has done. If sense, concerning the Supreme Court’s role Roberts limits the ability of the government Roberts believes that this tactic avoids dam- in the Constitution’s structure. The danger to do the same sort of thing in the future and age to the Constitution because it does not this case held for the court from the begin- underlines the political unpopularity of the stretch the Commerce Clause to justify a ning was the possibility—indeed, high likeli- law, all while allowing the law to stand. And mandate, he is mistaken. The Constitution hood—that it would draw the institution because it does stand, the court is spared a does not give the Court the power to rewrite into an acute confrontation with the execu- nasty turn at center stage in the November statutes, and Roberts and his colleagues tive branch in the middle of an election year, elections. have therefore done violence to it. If the law and at the same time force the justices into Whether the chief justice’s stratagem actu- has been rendered less constitutionally ob- the thick of a policy debate where they have ally works is a different question. Suffice it noxious, the Court has rendered itself more no genuine expertise. The chief justice’s to say, I have my doubts. The text and struc- so. Chief Justice Roberts cannot justly take opinion can be fruitfully read as a sort of ture of the law seem overwhelmingly to indi- pride in this legacy. maneuver, an effort to avoid these evils cate that the mandate is a legal require- The Court has failed to do its duty. Con- while simultaneously blocking the federal ment—namely, to buy insurance—enforced servatives should not follow its example— government’s attempted power grab. with a fine. The mandate does not qualify as which is what they would do if they now Consider: Roberts begins with the Com- a tax under the Supreme Court’s settled gave up the fight against Obamacare. The merce Clause question, where the Obama ad- rules for identifying taxes, and both the text law, as rewritten by judges, remains incom- ministration placed nearly all the weight of of the law and those who wrote it said it was patible with the country’s tradition of lim- its argument. According to the administra- not. ited government, the future strength of our tion, the Commerce Clause permits Congress But then, Roberts’ aim may be less to health-care system, and the nation’s sol- to regulate any behavior (or non-behavior) apply tax doctrine than to shift the law’s vency. We are not among those who are con- that has some incidental effect on com- fate from the court to the voters. At the be- vinced that we will be stuck with it forever merce. Roberts rejects that contention root ginning of his opinion, the chief justice if the next election goes wrong: The law is and branch. Indeed, for the first time in the pointedly notes that the court ‘‘do[es] not also so poorly structured that we think it Supreme Court’s modern Commerce Clause consider whether the Act embodies sound may well unravel even if put fully into ef- jurisprudence, he announces a clear and deci- policies. That judgment is entrusted to the fect. But we would prefer not to take the sive limit to what the federal government Nation’s elected leaders.’’ He repeats this risk. may do with its commerce authority: it may sentiment at the opinion’s close, but with a It now falls to the Republicans, and espe- regulate only actual economic activity, and subtle variation. ‘‘[T]he Court does not ex- cially to Mitt Romney, to make the case for then only if the activity has a substantial ef- press any opinion on the wisdom of the Af- the repeal of the law and for its replacement fect on interstate commerce. It may not reg- fordable Care Act, he writes, for ‘‘[u]nder the by something better than either it or the ulate a person’s choice not to enter the Constitution, that judgment is reserved to health-care policies that preceded it. Instead stream of commerce in the first place. the people.’’ Could it be that the chief justice of trusting experts to use the federal govern- Had this been the sum and substance of the is asking the people to render a verdict on ment’s purchasing power to drive efficiency opinion, liberals would have bewailed it as the leaders who wrote the law in the first throughout the health sector—the vain hope the constitutional apocalypse they feared. place? In all events, they should take him up of Obamacare’s Medicare-cutting board— But of course it is not the end; Roberts goes on it. they should replace Medicare with a new sys- on to the administration’s secondary argu- Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I also refer tem in which individuals have incentives to ment. Yet by placing the Commerce Clause people to an excellent piece in the Wall get value for their dollar. Instead of having discussion where he does, by holding un- Street Journal, ‘‘A Triumph and Trag- Washington establish a cartel for the insur- equivocally that the individual mandate can- not survive on commerce grounds, Roberts edy for the Law,’’ by David Rivkin, Jr., ance industry, they should give individuals and Lee Casey, both fine lawyers who tax credits and the ability to purchase insur- makes the Commerce Clause holding nec- ance across state lines. Instead of further essary to the final judgment. That means the frequently opine on matters of this centralizing the health-care system, in limits on the commerce authority he an- sort. short, they should give individuals more con- nounced (and with which the four dissenting Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I suggest the trol over their insurance. justices agree) will control in future cases. absence of a quorum. Opponents should take heart: The law re- This is a significant, even major, develop- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- mains unpopular. Let the president and his ment, but one that is largely concealed by pore. The clerk will call the roll. partisans ring their bells today, and let us the opinion’s ultimate judgment. Yet even The legislative clerk proceeded to that judgment turns out to be rather less a work to make sure that they are wringing call the roll. their hands come November. victory for the government than it first seems. Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for [From the Daily Caller, June 28, 2012] The key move in Roberts’ opinion is his conclusion that the individual mandate is the quorum call be rescinded. WHAT’S BEHIND ROBERTS’ SURPRISING actually a sort of tax, and therefore con- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- DECISION? stitutional by virtue of Congress’ unques- pore. Without objection, it is so or- (By Joshua Hawley) tioned power to tax. That allows the man- dered. Say this for the lead opinion in the health date to stand, yes—but effectively makes the 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED WAY OF care case the Supreme Court handed down mandate sui generis, and thereby denies the WEST VIRGINIA Thursday: nobody saw that coming. Chief government a new source of regulatory Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, to Justice Roberts joins with the court’s more power. liberal wing to uphold the Affordable Care This is why: Roberts does not say that the lighten the mood a little bit today, I Act . . . as a tax? The result is, to put it government may now regulate anything it rise to recognize West Virginia’s mildly, counterintuitive. Scribes have been likes by calling the regulation a tax. He says United Way as this special organiza- busily dissecting the chief justice’s doctrinal this mandate can be read as a tax in these tion celebrates its 125th anniversary. analysis from the instant the opinion went circumstances—that is, in light of the fact The United Way was founded in 1887 viral, but here’s a different thought: doctrine that it would be unconstitutional on any by community leaders in Denver, CO. may not be the key to this judgment. As Leo other ground and the court is supposed to The renowned organization originated Strauss once made a point of telling his stu- avoid finding statutes unconstitutional if it through a group of individuals who dents, a text can be read in many different can—and on these grounds: because it is ad- ways, and will mean different things depend- ministered by the IRS through the tax code came together with the drive to im- ing on the lens with which one reads it. The and operates in many respects like a normal prove community conditions. Since text the chief justice published on Thursday tax. Only if future regulatory schemes can then, the organization has grown to may or may not make good sense read as meet all these criteria would they be valid 1,800 community-based United Ways in constitutional doctrine. But read it as con- under the taxing power. Yet Roberts does not 41 countries and remains the world’s stitutional politics and things get more in- give a single example of any such scheme— largest privately supported nonprofit, teresting. and we know for a fact, because they have raising nearly $5 billion annually. Not politics in the way the Washington told us repeatedly, that members of Congress In our little State of West Virginia, punditry means, of course. Roberts’ opinion would never have voted for this regulation if United Way has touched the lives of so has nothing to do with helping or hurting they had believed it was a tax. President Obama’s re-election chances this Making the mandate a tax has at least one many. United Way volunteers have fall. The truth is, Supreme Court justices are other effect. It makes repeal easier. Now clocked thousands of hours of commu- rarely interested in that sort of thing. They that the mandate has been deemed taxation, nity service through health services,

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29JN6.005 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4740 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 senior assistance programs, student tu- munity leaders for their efforts to im- to do something about is that if you toring, nutrition sites, job skills train- prove the quality of life in all of our are not a pilot, you may not appreciate ing, and financial literacy services. communities. Today the United Way the fact that a lot of them are single- United Way has enthusiastically em- has every reason to celebrate its suc- issue people. braced local institutions throughout cess as they face this impressive mile- I had an experience where my license our State. This wonderful organization stone. I once again congratulate their was in jeopardy for something that we has provided for at-risk teens at resi- achievements, and I look forward to found out I didn’t do. I thought about dential treatment centers, such as the seeing what this great organization all these complaints I have had over Daymark around Kanawha Valley. It will accomplish in the next 125 years the years about abusive treatment by has supported comprehensive medical and beyond. some of the enforcement people, and I and health services at establishments Mr. President, I yield the floor. never appreciated it until it happened such as the West Virginia Chapter of The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to me. the Alzheimer’s Association, West Vir- pore. The Senator from Oklahoma. I know more people in the FAA who ginia Health Right, Cabell Huntington PILOT’S BILL OF RIGHTS do a great job. They are very conscien- Children’s Hospital, Thomas Memorial Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, before tious. These are career people. The Hospital, and the Putnam County Den- the Senator from West Virginia leaves, problem is that every once in a while tal Health Council. United Way has I would like to publicly thank him for you have someone in the field with en- supported family counseling at the all his support in something that just forcement powers who just can’t han- Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home and happened a few minutes ago; that is, dle that kind of power. at Family Counseling Connection. It passage of the Pilot’s Bill of Rights. I was mayor of Tulsa for several has also benefited emergency assist- Several—certainly Senator BEGICH— years a number of years back. We had ance facilities, such as the Boone Coun- have been working hard, including Sen- a great police force, but every now and ty Community Organization and Madi- ator PRYOR and Senator MANCHIN, as then you had someone on the force who son Baptist Church, Mountain Mission, well as many on the Republican side. couldn’t handle the power. They would and Nitro-St. Alban’s Care and Share. But it is a reality now. abuse that power, and you would have In 2011 alone, 68,337 individuals were This is kind of a strange day for me to seek them out. And that is what this served by United Way-supported pro- because I have been working on two is all about—you hear from these peo- grams in West Virginia alone. More bills for 11⁄2 years, and both will become ple when abuses take place. than 13,162 children and youth bene- a reality on the same day: the highway So what we have done is we have cor- fited from the services of United Way bill that everyone knows about and rected that. We have a system set up in partner agencies, and more than 26,997 then the Pilot’s Bill of Rights that this legislation that if someone is ac- people received financial assistance only pilots know about. cused of or cited for doing something from a United Way partner agency. In I have been a pilot for 55 years, and I that was wrong or that might be a vio- addition, nearly 28,000 people received get the calls and complaints that come lation of one of the FARs, that person health-related assistance from a United in. But pilots are really the only ones will now have access to the evidence Way partner agency. in our society who are denied access to that would be used against that person. I have always been an avid supporter justice like every other citizen has, and People might say: Well, wasn’t that of United Way and their community this corrects it. So I just want to say happening anyway? No, it wasn’t. When service efforts. My wife Gayle also to my friend that I very much appre- this happened to me, I can remember served as chairwoman of Marion Coun- ciate his support in making this a re- very well—and I say to the Presiding ty’s United Way. I applaud the organi- ality. Officer because we are very close and zation’s ability to inspire members in Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, if I he knows I have been active in aviation their communities to work together may say I appreciate the leadership of for a long time—one year ago in Octo- and improve all aspects of their neigh- my good friend from Oklahoma and his ber, I went to land at one of the south- borhoods. unwavering support in bringing this to ernmost airports in America, in South United Way has so many laudable all of our attention. I have been a pilot Texas, one at which I have landed more goals. The organization is working to for not quite 55 years, but 45 years, and than 200 times. I know every square promote a healthier society by working I understand completely. Senator foot of it. It is a noncontrolled field. with families to develop healthy life- INHOFE brought it to the attention of When I came in—there is a thing styles. While Americans continue to all of us, even the nonpilots here. His called NOTEM, Notice to Airmen. You struggle in tough economic times, steadfast leadership in support of this are supposed to and you should find out United Way has worked with families action and also his ability to work what the NOTEMs are on the runway to help them achieve financial sta- across the aisle with those on our side you will be landing on so if there is bility. For example, United Way of the aisle, Democrats, I appreciate so work on the runway—any towers going launched the Financial Stability Part- much. up, construction going on—you will nership, which aims to halve the ap- I know Senator BOXER feels very know that in advance. That is your ob- proximately 40 million Americans who compelled about this and the Senator’s ligation. are working in low-paying jobs without leadership in working with her on the The problem is there has never been basic health benefits. United Way has Transportation bill and both of them a central location where that can be also targeted key areas of education, bringing that to the forefront for all of found. In this case there was no addressing problems such as the stu- us. We are all going to benefit from NOTEM that had been published. There dent dropout rate and preparing chil- that. I go in, with the controller in the val- dren for success at an early age. I thank the Senator and look forward ley down there who has actually United Way also has identified com- to continuing to work with him. cleared me to land. Here I am, a United munity health care needs and focuses Mr. INHOFE. I appreciate the com- States Senator. It took me 4 months to efforts on changing health policies and ments of the Senator from West Vir- get the voice recorder and I never did practices for Americans of all ages. ginia. find out, early on, what the evidence About 47 million Americans don’t have Mr. President, I will make a couple was against me. It turned out fine, but health care coverage, and more than 80 comments and be more detailed later. I nevertheless 4 months to get a voice re- percent are working families. The or- know a lot of people will want to talk cording that you were cleared to land, ganization tackles tough health prob- about the bill that will most likely that is unreasonable. lems, such as health insurance cov- pass today in both the House and the I see my friend from Indiana is on the erage, along with the obesity epidemic Senate. floor. I do not want to take any more and prescription drug abuse. These are A lot of people are not aware of the time on this, but on the NOTEM situa- tough issues that oftentimes have no fact that a general aviation pilot tion we will have a central location for easy solutions. doesn’t have the same access to rem- that. I applaud United Way and all of its edies as everybody else does. What The other problem we are having staff members, its volunteers, and com- makes this a little bit more compelling right now is medical certification. I

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.031 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4741 have case after case. In fact, at the lows goods to be transferred up and transparent. Pick out something; you AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots As- down all the way to the delta and the are either for it or against it. We will sociation—we are talking about 400,000 Mississippi and all the way out to the evaluate whether we want to support pilots out there—they have as their No. St. Lawrence Seaway. It is the middle- you or not support you in the next 1 concern the lack of consistency and west access to commerce that centers election on the basis of your voting, uniformity in medical certification. A around the Chicago-northwest Indiana but when you cloud over the whole person could be a pilot and have a con- area. thing we do not know what is going on. dition, could be a light heart attack or This provision, which was slipped in That is one thing, packaging bills. something, temporarily lose his li- without debate, without consider- Second, we have a problem here, a cense, then go back and have it rein- ation—it did not appear in the Senate major problem with our debt. We have stated. However, if he lives in another bill, the transportation bill, and it did known that. We spent the first 6 town, has a different doctor, that may not appear in the House transportation months of 2011 trying to come up with not happen. So we have people out bill and therefore is a blatant violation a long-term solution which would re- there who have lost their licenses. We of rule XXVIII, which simply states structure some of our spending and put are going to have a panel set up that is you cannot do this kind of thing—but a lid on some of our spending. Finally, going to include the general aviation, it was done anyway. I will at the prop- by August of 2011, Congress reached an include the medical community, and er point here raise an objection to that agreement called the Budget Control try to get uniformity. So those are in a procedural way. Act which basically put caps on how three of the reforms we have in this Let me first talk, if I could, about much we would spend, trying to hold legislation. the way in which we do business down this plunge into debt. I yield the floor. I will be talking around here. Throughout my campaign By the way, just before I came over about that later and also talking about in 2010 to return to the Senate, I con- here I checked the debt clock which I the upcoming highway bill. I want to tinually heard from people as to how have on my Web site. The numbers of remind people, my good conservative frustrated they were with the process course turn faster than you can write friends, people who are trying to say by which laws are passed. We come them down because that is how fast we this is not a conservative bill—it is. home and people say why did you vote are plunging into more debt, but as of The worst thing we can do is continue against that? You say I voted against probably minutes or so ago, our na- to operate our roadbuilding and our that because it included this over here tional debt stood at $15 trillion, nearly construction in this country on exten- which was not relevant to it, and even $16 trillion. sions. When you do an extension you though I liked the rest of the bill I did None of us can comprehend what $1 lose about 30 percent of the money. Ob- not like this part—or vice versa. I trillion is. It is impossible. There have viously, the conservative position is to voted for this even though I did not been all kinds of examples—if you do this. like what it included because they stack dollars on top of each other you We have reforms, incredible reforms, packaged it all together and therefore can go to the Moon and back and so enhancement reforms. We will be talk- there is nothing on record as to where forth—but I think it is important that ing about that during the course of the I stand. They say to us where do you we understand the gravity of our situa- day. stand? We don’t know whether your yes tion in terms of our plunge into debt I yield the floor. is a yes or your no is a no because it is and what impact it is going to have on The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- so confusing the way you mix the the future for this country and what a pore. The Senator from Indiana. whole thing together. debt burden it is going to be on future ORDER OF PROCEDURE That is exactly what is happening generations now getting ever closer Mr. COATS. Mr. President, can I ask here today. We have taken a transpor- to—$15,935,594,616,879 was what our debt what the procedure is regarding time? tation bill, which was adeptly led by was. That is 14 digits; 15,935,594,616,879. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the Senator from California and the We took a little bit of a step in Au- pore. Senators are permitted to speak Senator from Oklahoma, they did a gust, a mini step in August, saying we for 10 minutes each. marvelous job putting a transportation are going to cap this spending so we do Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I ask package together, and now it is merged not spend more than that going for- unanimous consent I be permitted to with two other major provisions. So we ward. That will at least slow down the speak up to 20 minutes. I do not intend get one vote on this. People say: I have rate of plunging into debt. It does not to take that much time, I do not think a real problem with the student loan begin to do what we need to do to ad- I will take that much time, but I think bill or I have a real problem with the dress this, but it will slow it down. I will probably go over the 10-minute flood insurance bill, but I wanted to What have we done since? What we limit. vote for the transportation bill. Now I have done is bring a number of bills to Mrs. BOXER. Reserving the right to am stuck in the position of having to this floor, all of which continue to object, Mr. President, and I will not ob- vote yes on the whole thing, except spend beyond our means. I did not vote ject, I ask unanimous consent that I be what I have a problem with, another for the Budget Control Act because I allowed to have 20 minutes following bill over here, or no, even though I had a lot of skepticism about it. First my friend from Indiana. want parts of the other bills to pass. of all, I felt it was woefully short of The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Then we go home and explain this to what we needed and, second, I believe pore. Without objection, it is so or- the people we represent and they say: that, having served here before and dered. Why can’t you guys and ladies take up seen how this process works, I thought SURFACE TRANSPORTATION one thing, vote yes or vote no, come we are going to waive points of order Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I rise here home, defend your vote, but we at least time after time. today to express my deep concern with know where you stand? Instead of this We congratulate each other by voting this transportation conference report; gobbledygook, throw everything in one for spending controls. ‘‘This is an im- in particular, about a provision that big pot and vote your yes or vote your portant step to dealing with our budget was slipped into the transportation no. The way we package bills here, it is crisis. We have committed now not to conference report literally in the dark no wonder people are skeptical. It is no spend more than the budget we deemed of night earlier this week. wonder our approval rating is where it allows.’’ This provision, which I will describe, is. This gobbledygook, so-called magic The postal reform bill violated budg- could have a devastating effect on my dust that we use around here to ob- et rules; the student loan interest rate State as well as the State of Illinois. scure what we stand for and stand extension, it looks as though we have The Greater Chicago metropolitan re- against, is very frustrating for the the score now, and we are going to vio- gion—whether it is northwest Indiana American people. I can’t tell you how late agreed to levels; the Senate or northeast Illinois—is a region that much that has been expressed to me version that went over on the transpor- works together. It is part of the ex- when I can go home and talk to them tation bill violated budget rules; the panded metropolitan area. A critical and try to explain certain votes and payroll tax extension and the Violence part of this is a waterway, which al- procedures. They say be straight up, be Against Women Act—all violated what

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.034 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4742 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 we promised we would do. And we won- Mississippi River system, and they age system. Closing the locks would der why the American people are skep- have since spread throughout the also render worthless the billions of tical? We wonder why our approval rat- whole watershed. They are voracious dollars that have already been invested ing is in the low double digits? I mean eaters, which make them beneficial, to complete the Corps of Engineers really low, almost into single digits— and we can see why they were im- flood control projects along the entire why people are frustrated and upset ported. They were beneficial for con- Mississippi watershed, and they may with us? Because we tell them we have trolled agricultural settings, fish not even solve the problem. made this promise to be fiscally re- farms, and so forth, but they create se- While the Chicago waterway system sponsible and virtually every bill we rious ecological challenges when com- is the only direct continuous connec- bring up here is irresponsible and we peting for food with native species. tion between the Great Lakes system, waive what we had agreed to do. We I agree wholeheartedly that the other potential pathways could allow can hardly blame them for their skep- spread of Asian carp throughout the carp immigration in times of flooding. ticism here. Mississippi River and potentially into So while it is clear that closing the Let me talk about this middle-of-the- the Great Lakes is a serious and press- Chicago locks is not an economically night stuff. Another problem you ing problem, and I am committed to viable solution for stopping Asian have—you go home and what you sim- addressing this, as is Senator DURBIN carp—and I do understand the concerns ply can’t explain is the fact that, no, and Senator BROWN from Ohio. We the Great Lakes States have on this this was not talked about in the Sen- worked out a compromise agreement in issue and I share those concerns—as a ate; no, this was not talked about in terms of how we should go forward result of all that, we worked out a bi- the House; there was no process—yet with this. partisan compromise solution to ad- somebody, as we tried to merge the two A number of steps have already been dressing this area. We would allow a bills, in the dark of the night, taken by the Corps of Engineers. In study to go forward, allow an economic unnamed, no process, slipped in a pro- 2002, the Army Corps of Engineers in- assessment of the various options that vision and there it is. Usually we find stalled the first of a series of electric had been presented, and then give Con- out about this later. barriers along the lower reach of the gress the information so it can make a In this case we had a process. Sen- Chicago area waterway system. In decision as to which solution was best ator COATS from Indiana worked with doing so, they believe, to date, they needed to go forward. Senator DURBIN, a Democrat from Illi- have successfully prevented the migra- What this provision does in this bill nois, and worked with another Demo- tion of carp into the Great Lakes. is simply give the agency responsible crat, the senior Senator from Ohio, to In 2009, the Corps began DNA testing the authority to go ahead with the come to an agreement on a provision to detect Asian carp in locations up- project and what they think the solu- that impacted our area, the Great stream in the barrier system. The test- tion is without Congress having any- Lakes area, in a significant way. That ing showed these barriers have been thing to say about it whatsoever. It is was part of the Senate Energy and very effective—to use the Corps’ a preauthorization on a new project Water Appropriations bill. words—in preventing Asian carp from which could include closing of the In the dark of the night, during the entering the waterway. In fact, when locks, and if it does, it would have hun- conference deliberations, another pro- the Illinois Department of Natural Re- dreds of billions of dollars of financial vision was added, not the bipartisan sources wanted to check this out, they implications for the taxpayers and for provision by Senators looking out for purposefully dumped a bunch of toxins this Congress but also have enormous the economic interests of their State. into the Chicago waterway to discover negative economic impact on north- And by the way, the economic interests the extent of the Asian carp infesta- west Indiana, northeast Illinois and the of this country—because what was tion. Those toxins killed tens of thou- entire Chicago region and all that com- dropped in, in the middle of the night, sands of fish, but only one Asian carp merce that flows up and down the Mis- is something that could potentially was found among them. Since that sissippi and up and down the St. Law- cost our Government and therefore time, the Army Corps has firmly held rence Seaway. The other problem with cost our taxpayers hundreds of billions that the electric barriers are working this is the new language also expedites of dollars. as designated. the study, even though the Corps says We were fortunate enough to have Furthermore, in 2010, the Indiana De- they need more time to do so. discovered that because bringing those partment of Natural Resources con- I guess, in conclusion, there are two bills to the floor was delayed and we structed barriers in the watershed. No things: One is the egregious procedures had time to dig into it and all of a sud- State has gone further or gone to that continue to give the public such a den find out that this was done. What greater lengths to address this ques- negative slant on how we do business— is egregious here is that this is not a tion than my State of Indiana, as well this bundling of bills, where we are partisan issue. We all know the House as the State of Illinois, in terms of pre- forced to vote yes or no on the whole is controlled by my party. I don’t know venting the introduction of Asian carp bundling, up or down, and we can’t let who put this in. I don’t know exactly in the Great Lakes system. It is eco- our yes stand for one purposeful inter- the motives as to why they put this in. nomically devastating for us if this est or another or a no stand due to bun- But here it is, a dark-of-the-night slip happens and it is economically dev- dling; second, we need to address these it into the bill and overturn something astating for us and for Illinois if what midnight procedures, this issue of ‘‘slip that was processed through the appro- was proposed in this bill in the dark of it in there,’’ without going through the priations committee, deliberated, dis- the night by the House of Representa- regular process. This body of Congress, cussed, and voted on. tives goes forward. both the House and the Senate, need to So what are the consequences of all Currently, the Army Corps of Engi- return to regular process, where we that? What does this have to do with neers is undergoing an extensive study. bring an idea forward, it is worked what I am talking about here? It Despite all the attempts to take these through the committee, it is trans- sounds minuscule. We are talking steps, which so far have proven to be parent to all who are looking at it, we about Asian carp. Why is the Senator successful, this provision that was in- give our yea or nay, and we move it from Indiana talking about Asian carp corporated in there could result in the through the system, rather than sim- and hundreds and billions of dollars of closing of the locks of this waterway ply changing things in the dark of the costs? Let me tell you why. Asian carp system, and it would endanger about night at the last minute, where we is a generic term for four species of $14 billion per year of economic activ- have no opportunity to amend it and nonnative fish: grass, bighead, black, ity and over 100,000 jobs in this area no opportunity to address it. and silverhead carp. These fish were in- that I described that rely on the Chi- As we go forward with this, I am troduced to the United States in the cago area waterway system. going to object on the basis of rule 1970s to assist agricultural interests in Closing the locks also may cost up to XXVIII. I don’t know how it will all the southern States. an additional $100 billion because it turn out, but I hope my colleagues will At some point—probably through would require completely overhauling understand this is more than some- flooding—the carp escaped into the Chicago’s underground water and sew- thing that just affects Indiana, Illinois,

VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:54 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.035 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4743 and the Great Lakes. This is something Senator BOXER for her extraordinary is a very active member of the Envi- that affects the way we do business efforts in pushing this bill forward. ronmental and Public Works Com- here. If we cannot enforce these rules, This is an enormously important bill mittee. He is focused on jobs, jobs, we will continue to follow these prac- that took a lot of hard work, and I jobs. He has looked at the green job tices the American people have come commend her for the work she and her sector. He has looked at the effect of to absolutely hate and think they have staff have done. Senator INHOFE and I what we do on the construction indus- a dysfunctional Congress. We deserve have very little in common politically, try. I am ever so grateful to him. He better than this. I hope my colleagues but I also wish to applaud him and his also has been a very clear voice for the will agree with that. staff for coming together on this issue way to move this country forward by I yield the floor. and doing something that is extremely having a clean energy policy, which we The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- important and doing it in a bipartisan are definitely going to be looking at in pore. The Senator from California. way. the days and weeks ahead. We are now Mrs. BOXER. Before the Senator Anyone who drives in the State of at the moment where we are waiting to from Indiana leaves the floor, I wish Vermont or, for that matter, drives see whether our friends on the other for him to know I listened very care- around America, understands, to a sig- side of the aisle will allow us to pro- fully and I know his concern. I have nificant degree, our infrastructure is ceed to finish our work on three issues: spoken with Senator DURBIN about it, collapsing. In Vermont, we have dozens One is flood control, one is helping to and I hope we can work together. I do and dozens of bridges that are in need make sure student loan interest rates want to say this process where some- of repair. We have many hundreds of do not double, and the third and big- times bills are put together is frus- miles of roads that need repair. Our gest one involves the transportation trating to everybody, and we do need public transit system needs help. What sector. to take a look at the way we do things. this bill is about is a start toward re- We all know, whether we are Repub- However, I do have some measure of building our crumbling infrastructure, licans or Democrats, our focus is on sympathy for the leadership around our roads, our bridges, our public tran- boosting this economy. This bill will do here because it takes so long to get any sit and, in the process, putting a sig- that like no other. In this Transpor- one piece done. nificant number of people back to tation bill we are talking about pro- So I do agree. I don’t like the fact work. tecting 2 million jobs that are cur- that we cast one vote and there are It is estimated this bill will save rently in place in this country in the three subjects. It is very difficult for more than 1.8 million jobs nationwide construction sector and the transit sec- the people at home to understand it. I in each of the next 3 years, and it will tor. So these are the jobs that con- also want to say to my friend—before I create 1 million new jobs through an struction workers do on the highways, yield 3 minutes of my time to Senator expanded infrastructure financing pro- the freeways, the bridges, making sure gram. What that means in the State of SANDERS—to feel proud of the way we our roads are in good shape and our Vermont are thousands and thousands put together the Transportation bill. I bridges are not going to collapse be- of decent-paying construction and think in that case, which is a huge pol- cause we have 70,000 bridges that are other types of jobs, something we sore- icy bill, it was transparent and that deficient, and we know what happens ly need. So this bill is an excellent what my friend complained about was when there is a horrible failure of a start. Does it go as far as it should? No, something that was put in by the other bridge. body and said it is a must have. it does not. Compared to China, com- I know my ranking Member, Senator pared to Europe, our investments in in- The truth is, up to that point, every- INHOFE, feels very strongly about this frastructure are minimal. When we in- thing we have done was very much in because he had an incident in his State vest in infrastructure, we make our the open, and I am very sorry my where one of his constituents was actu- country more productive, we put peo- friend feels so negatively toward what ally killed by a bridge failing. We can- ple back to work, and we make our- we are about to do because in his State not sit by and allow the highway pro- selves more internationally competi- it is tens of thousands of jobs and in gram and the transit program in this tive. So I just want to say this is an my State it is hundreds of thousands of country to disappear. We have taken it important step forward, but we have jobs. It is thousands of businesses. It is up to the line. more to do. going to mean a boost to this economy I am very grateful to Ranking Mem- Today, we are focused on roads, ber INHOFE. I am very grateful to and a boost to the private sector. I bridges, public transit—very impor- wish to say to my friend, I understand tant—but that is not the entire infra- Chairman MICA and to Ranking Mem- his frustration, and I will do every- structure. We have to pick up the issue ber RAHALL for the work we have done thing I can to help him on this issue. on rail. We are falling further and fur- in this conference. This is a bill that Mr. COATS. If the Senator would ther behind China, Japan, and Europe everyone can be proud of, whether they yield, I appreciate very much her say- in terms of high-speed rail. We have to are Republican or Democrat. CBO has scored this, and it actually ing that. I did commend, and I will invest in rail and there are great jobs returns money to the Treasury. We again, the work the Senator from Cali- in doing that. We have to invest in our fornia and Senator INHOFE have done in water systems and in our wastewater have support from people who don’t bringing this bill forward in the right plants. We have to make sure every agree on most matters. I am not only way. I know my friend is as sorry as I community in America has high-qual- talking about Senator INHOFE and my- am that someone in the other body de- ity broadband as well as cell phone self, who do not see eye to eye on many cided to violate the rule, injecting into service. That is what infrastructure is issues; we have come together on this. all the hard work that has been done. I about. We have not invested anywhere Besides that, we see the AFL–CIO and regret that. I hope in the future we can near the degree we should, and now is the Chamber of Commerce walking avoid this. the time to get started. hand in hand asking us to please pass I thank the Senator for her good So this bill, which focuses on roads, this bill. So we have a few little hold- words. on bridges, and public transit is an im- ups now, but I am very hopeful we can Mrs. BOXER. I definitely share the portant step forward, and I wish to con- work through them. The highlights of this bill: Overall, frustration. At this time, I would like gratulate Senator BOXER and her staff, jobs, jobs, jobs. Jobs in the private sec- to yield 3 minutes of the remainder of Senator INHOFE and his staff for their my time to Senator SANDERS. important work. tor, businesses in the private sector. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- With that, I would yield the floor. We are talking about leveraging a Fed- pore. Without objection, it is so or- Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, how eral program called TIFIA, which is dered. much time do I have remaining? going to mean, frankly, hundreds of The Senator from Vermont. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- millions of dollars that will go out the Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I pore. The Senator has 14 minutes. door to leverage funds at the local thank the Chair for yielding. As a The Senator from California. level as well as the private sector. member of the Transportation Com- Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to As we look at our bill, we see a re- mittee, I would like to congratulate thank my friend, Senator SANDERS. He form bill. We see project deliveries

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.036 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4744 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 speeded up from 15 years to 8 years ity at all—I am going to do everything acted because they could not get insur- without giving up the health and safe- I can to stop them from repealing it for ance because the woman—this par- ty laws people deserve. We have not a reason: The reason is the families in ticular one—had a preexisting condi- done away with any environmental my State and all over the country who tion, and now she can get insurance. law; we have just put deadlines in the are getting the benefits of this law. Because of the work of Senator SAND- law. We have put milestones in the law, Governor Romney says it is going to ERS—and I helped him with it—we have and we have stated if people have a be something he is going to do on the community health care centers across problem, let us know the problem and first day—he is going to repeal the the country getting funding. So if a get on with it. If there is anything health care law, if he gets elected, day person has no insurance—or even if new—a new factor—we will look at one. Let me tell my colleagues very they have insurance—they can go to a that, but we cannot sit around and clearly what will happen. community health center and, based on wait an average of 13, 12, 14, 15 years to There are 54 million Americans who their ability to pay, get health care. get a project done. are now getting access to free preven- That would be repealed. There are no riders in this bill. There tive services such as mammograms and School-based health centers would be are no environmental riders in this immunizations, if they have private in- repealed. Training of our health care bill. I think that sends a good message surance. That is most of our people. workers would be repealed. to the public that we are focused on They would no longer get free mammo- I will tell my colleagues, that is just transportation. These other issues are grams, free checkups—over and out. what the benefits are today. In 2014, going to be addressed, but they don’t Fifty-four million Americans lose if there will be a slew of new benefits. have to be addressed on this bill and Governor Romney and the Republicans This bill, while not perfect—and we can become a target of a veto or a standoff repeal this bill—6 million of my people fix the problems—is a good bill. between the parties. in California. Just remember that everyone in our What did we do on bike paths? We My seniors, over 300,000, would no country gets health care, but the dif- have had a lot of controversy. People longer get help with their prescription ference is some of them walk into an are saying we did away with the money drug benefits. Now they are getting emergency room having paid nothing for alternative transportation routes, help. They will then go back to choos- for a premium, even if they are or bike paths, called safe routes to ing between taking their prescription wealthy, and they expect us to pay the school, called pedestrian walkways. No, drugs or eating dinner. I am sorry, I bill in the emergency room. With the we saved the same level of funding, the am going to stand in the way, if I can. approach that Massachusetts Governor same percentage of funding, but we Under Medicare, millions of seniors Romney took, he said if a person is re- gave more flexibility to the States would lose access to free preventive sponsible and can afford it, that person with their 50-percent share so if they services. Thirty-two million Medicare has to buy a minimal health insurance have another pressing need they can patients get these services for free, in- plan. President Obama got the idea use it for something else. Frankly, if cluding cancer screenings and flu from Governor Romney. I call it a per- the grassroots people at home are not shots. Why on Earth would somebody sonal responsibility premium. Some happy with the State, they can let the or some party want to get up and say: people call it a tax. Some people call it State know that. For the first time, I am repealing that? a fee. I call it a personal responsibility the other 50 percent goes to the local There are 105 million Americans who premium because most of the people I people. This is very important. will once again face lifetime limits on represent buy health care coverage, We also have the RESTORE Act. This their health insurance plans. If some- and a few just say: You know what. I means those Gulf States that got hit so one is diagnosed with cancer and they feel terrific. I will wait until some- hard from the BP spill will be able to look at their plan, it says they are cov- thing bad happens to me and then I restore their areas. If they had eco- ered up to $250,000. That sounds like a will go to the emergency room. And nomic damage, environmental damage, lot of money. I can tell my colleagues they can all pay. this will help. The money will come now, that is not a lot of money for That is what we have. We have the from the court settlement, and BP will someone who is battling cancer. Now, people who are responsible paying for then make those funds available. So it suddenly, in a person’s worst moments, the free riders. The idea that President does not add a dime to the deficit. So we have a bill that doesn’t add to when they are facing radiation and Obama got was from then-Governor the deficit. We have a bill that will chemo, they have hit up against their Romney. boost this economy. We have a bill that lifetime limit. That will be gone. So this is going to be a long election More than 6 million young adults, in- is supported by conservatives and lib- season, and there are going to be a lot erals, progressives and moderates. I cluding 300,000 in my State, would lose of battles over health care. I hope we will pass the bill that is in think it is a great day. I am sorry there their health insurance because now are a few issues that got added on that they have a guarantee. Because of the front of us and take care of the con- are disappointing to certain colleagues. health care bill, they can stay on their struction sector and transportation. I Believe me, I want to work with them parents’ coverage until they are 26. hope we will take care of flood insur- to help resolve those problems. But I Why would anyone want to repeal that? ance and student loan interest rates. have to tell my colleagues, when we Ask them. They do. We can do that with one vote on a bill write a bill of this scope, of this na- Insurance companies would no longer shortly, if we get permission to move ture, we are going to have some of owe rebates to customers if those in- forward. If we don’t, we will be here all these issues. We will work on them. surance companies spent too much on weekend or whatever it takes to get it For my remaining time—how much premiums and paid the CEOs exorbi- done. I am not going to go home until time do I have remaining? tant bonuses and paid hardly anything this is done. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- to help people with their health care. I will also tell my colleagues—as we pore. The Senator has 7 minutes re- We are going to see 12 million Ameri- look at this health care battle, the maining. cans get back $1 billion in rebate lines are pretty clear. There are mil- Mrs. BOXER. I wish to discuss the checks in August. They will stop that. lions and millions of Americans who Supreme Court ruling. In a very fas- They want to stop that. are getting benefits today. Why would cinating ruling, the Chief Justice de- How about millions of children who anyone want to take away those bene- cided that the Affordable Care Act is are now getting coverage because they fits? Yet that is where we are in the de- constitutional. I am not going to spend have a preexisting condition. Before bate. So I hope cooler heads will pre- a lot of time discussing why he said it this law, they couldn’t. So if a child vail. and why they decided it. What I am was born with a heart defect, even if it Let’s get on with bringing this econ- going to talk about is what will happen was something that could be con- omy back. Let’s allow this bill—with a if the Republicans have their way and trolled, they couldn’t get insurance. few corrections because we can always this law is repealed. We pity those families. I have had re- fix things that don’t work—go forward. I want the American people to ports of people in my State crying Let’s stop the heated name calling. know—and I say this with no animos- tears of joy when the Supreme Court Let’s make sure we work together, just

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.038 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4745 as we did on the Transportation bill. I But to make all those things pos- about this war, we all appreciate those believe this is a good moment for this sible—the weekend we are going to who fight it, and we all suffer and Senate today. I hope we can get our enjoy, and the holiday season, and de- mourn for those who lose their lives in work done, and then we can actually nying terrorists safe havens—some of this cause. celebrate something before we start us have to leave our families and go off I believe this is a just cause. I believe battling over health care. and fight this war. these men who joined the military vol- Let’s celebrate and say to the con- SFC Brad Thomas of Easley, SC, was untarily and left their families to go to struction sector: We need you to re- killed in an attack on June 20. He was Afghanistan were doing so in the most build those broken roads, those broken a graduate of Travelers Rest High noble tradition of the country—that bridges. We need you to make sure we School and attended Greenville Tech- they were trying to make our families get those transit systems up and run- nical College. He was a member of the safer, my family safer, and they died in ning. Then, I honestly believe, the rest 133rd Military Police Company of the the service of their country. And that of these problems we will take up one South Carolina Army National Guard. is a life well lived. They died far too at a time. He is survived by his wife Jana and a soon. They left behind young children, Thank you very much, Mr. President. son Cayden, a brother and two sisters. but they will never be forgotten. I yield the floor. I know the family is devastated. You May God grant them eternal rest and The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- are in our prayers, and God bless you peace. May God bless and provide un- pore. The Senator from South Caro- and give you the healing and under- derstanding and healing to the families lina. standing during this tough time. left behind. And may, as Americans, we Mr. GRAHAM. I ask unanimous con- To SFC Brad Thomas, you died in the never forget that our freedom is de- sent to speak as in morning business. service of your country, and you will pendent upon a few of us being willing The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- be missed. to go to faraway places, with strange pore. Without objection, it is so or- LT Ryan Davis Rawl of Lexington, sounding names, and risk never coming dered. SC, was killed in the same attack. He back. HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES was a first lieutenant in the 133rd MP Mr. MCCAIN. Mr. President, if the SERGEANT FIRST CLASS BRAD THOMAS, LIEU- Company. He graduated from Lex- Senator will yield, first of all, I thank TENANT RYAN DAVIS RAWL, AND SERGEANT ington High School. He was a graduate the Senator for his eloquent statement JOHN ‘‘J.D.’’ DAVID MEADOR, II of the Citadel. He is survived by his on behalf of those who have served and Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise wife Katherine and their daughter sacrificed. to pay tribute to three fallen National Callie and their son Caleb. Since we will all be spread around at Guard members from South Carolina I just want to acknowledge to Kath- different places over the Fourth of July who were killed in Afghanistan on erine, who interned in our office, that and celebrating our independence, I June 20, 2012, in Khost Province. They you are certainly in our prayers. You think those are very appropriate and were members of the 133rd Military Po- did a great job for us, and anything we moving words. lice Company who were serving on this can do for any of these families in I am reminded of the saying at the duty. There are now 16 members of the South Carolina, we will. We very much battlefield, written: South Carolina National Guard who pray for you and your family. They shall grow not old, as we that are left have died in combat in Iraq and Af- Sgt John ‘‘J.D.’’ David Meador, II, grow old: ghanistan since 2003. graduated from Lexington High School. Age shall not weary them, nor the years con- With the July 4 weekend coming up, He was a member of the wrestling team demn. we are preceding one of our biggest and was a wrestling coach. He was a At the going down of the sun and in the holidays in America, and people right- member of the same MP Company. He morning fully will take some time off, I hope, to is survived by his wife Christy and We will remember them. enjoy their families and friends and get three daughters: Olivia, Brianna, and Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- away from work and have some family Elana. To Christy and her family, you sent for a brief colloquy with the Sen- time. It marks a special event in our will be in our prayers. ator from South Carolina. Nation’s history: The founding of our This will be a tough weekend in The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Nation through a declaration of inde- South Carolina. We are going to have pore. Without objection, it is so or- pendence that was not just words but three funerals. dered. resulted in men and women fighting to To General Livingston and the Na- SEQUESTRATION achieve our independence. tional Guard family, you are certainly Mr. MCCAIN. Mr. President, we are Here we are a couple hundred years in our prayers. This is a tough blow for also facing another crisis as far as the later and we are still fighting. My be- an MP company to have three people military is concerned; that is, the lief is, as to the radical Islamists who killed in one attack. So to all the looming prospect of sequestration. The would kill us all if they could, it is bet- members of that company, we will do Secretary of Defense has stated that ter to fight them over there so we do our best to take care of your families sequestration would have a ‘‘dev- not have to fight them here. while you are gone. astating impact’’ on our national secu- Afghanistan was the place the We have had a big argument about rity. We are talking about layoffs, and Taliban took over after the Russians health care and about transportation, some estimates are of as many as 1 left and invited al-Qaida into the coun- and that is great—democracy in action. million workers in the defense indus- try, with bin Laden as their honored What is the right decision for the Court try. We are looking at unknown effects guest. He had sanctuary there and was to have made in the health care case? of the strategic thinking that goes on able to plan the attacks of 9/11 from Is this a good transportation bill? I ap- as we plan to defend our Nation’s secu- sanctuary provided to him in Afghani- preciate in a bipartisan fashion trying rity—for example, our shift in empha- stan. to find a solution. sis from Europe to Asia Pacific, which Our goal is to never let Afghanistan But I just wanted to take a few min- requires significant air and naval as- become a sanctuary for al-Qaida or utes before going to the holiday week- sets amongst other things. other terrorist groups. Thus, we are in end and remind us of one thing we do I would ask my colleague—I am not a long struggle. It has been 10 years. It have in common: Our freedom depends sure the American people are fully has been hard, but we are making on people willing to fight for it, and aware of the effects of something that progress. The Afghan Army is getting the one thing about this war—whether is supposed to take effect, as I under- better and stronger. The police are get- you agree with the war in Afghanistan stand it, at the beginning of the next ting more proficient at their job. We or not—virtually every American, re- fiscal year, which would be the begin- are going to be winding the war down gardless of political persuasion, has ning of October 2012. Is that a correct in 2014. But I think we can do it in a shown an appreciation for the troops statement, I would ask my colleague? fashion to make sure Afghanistan re- and their families. I cannot thank Mr. GRAHAM. Yes, it is. mains stable and our national security Members of Congress enough for never Mr. MCCAIN. So we are asking the interests are protected. losing sight. No matter how they feel Defense Department to plan on what

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So if we do revenues’’ or because of the other side’s forming the way the Pentagon does sequestration on top of what we are al- insistence on that and a resistance to business and, quite frankly, do more ready trying to cut in the Defense De- spending cuts, I say to my colleague, I with less. So count us all in—the three partment, we will destroy the finest do not think people understand we still of us—for reducing defense spending to military in the history of the world at live in a very dangerous world. The help get us out of debt. a time we need it the most. Senator just talked about those who But here is what has us all upset. The This is a body known for doing some have already sacrificed. Don’t we owe supercommittee that was formed by pretty dumb things. This would be the it to them and their families to stop the Budget Control Act had a mission prize. So what Senators MCCAIN, KYL, something that all of us agree would of cutting $1.2 trillion over a decade to and myself are trying to do is avoid se- have a catastrophic impact on our abil- help get us out of debt. That is a pretty questration before the first of the year ity to defend this Nation? small number given what we are going so our defense people can plan. If we do Isn’t it true—would the Senator to spend over the next 10 years. But the not set this aside before the election, agree—that it is time we sat down and committee—Republicans and Demo- that is political malpractice. I thank started having serious negotiations, be- crats—could not find common ground Senator MCCAIN and Senator KYL for cause there is no greater responsibility as to how to cut $1.2 trillion over the their leadership. the Congress and the people’s rep- next decade. There was a penalty provi- Mr. MCCAIN. I wish to add—I note resentatives have than to defend the sion in the law, and it said that in the the presence of the Senator from New security of this Nation? event the supercommittee failed, we Hampshire who has also played a very I know the Senator from South Caro- would cut $1.2 trillion over the next key leadership role, including working lina—before I ask him to answer—trav- decade as follows: $600 billion out of with the mayors of every city in Amer- eled around his State, which I intend the Defense Department, $600 billion ica, who have issued a resolution about to do, to the various military installa- out of the rest of the government. their concern about this issue. tions and talked about what would If that penalty kicks in, then we will I wish also to state to my friends and happen with this sequestration. We are have cut $1 trillion out of the Defense colleagues that I know the chairman of talking about a very limited period of Department over the next decade, the Armed Services Committee, whom time. We are about to go out of session. blindly, across the board. Every ac- I have had the opportunity of working We will be in during the month of count gets affected. with for 25 years, the Senator from What did Secretary Panetta say? He July—most of the month of July—and Michigan, also shares our concern. probably the month of September. End said: Sign me up for $450 billion. I I hope we could at least get some of of story. think we can get there. We will lose us together who have been involved Mr. KYL. Mr. President, might I ask some capability, but we will be OK as a with these issues of national security my colleague to yield, if I could add nation. We could fight Iran and win if for so many years on both sides of the one other question to his very impor- we had to. aisle, that we could reach some kind of tant question for my colleague from Then I asked him: What if we did $1 an agreement. We know additional sac- South Carolina. trillion over the next decade—if we rifices have to be made when we are I have a recollection that during one overdoubled what you are trying to of the hearings the Senator from South cut? He said: We would be shooting facing a $16 trillion deficit. But to take Carolina specifically asked the Sec- ourselves in the head as a nation. We the overwhelming majority—well over retary of Defense what the consequence would not have the ability to go in and 50 percent of these reductions—out of would be, and I recall he had a very take out the nuclear program in Iran what is about, I believe, 12 percent of dramatic response. I wonder if the Sen- because the weapons we need we could our spending is obviously not appro- ator might share that with us as well. not maintain and afford. priate. Mr. MCCAIN. Mr. President, I ask When it comes to personnel costs, we One other point. If the President of unanimous consent that Senator KYL are reducing the Army by 80,000 people the United States shares the concern be included in the colloquy. under the $450 billion plan. If we do se- that the Secretary of Defense shares— The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- questration on top of that, I say to catastrophic, impossible to plan on, so pore. Without objection, it is so or- Senator MCCAIN, we are taking another draconian that it would cripple our dered. 100,000 people out of the Army. Under ability to defend this Nation; all of Mr. GRAHAM. Well, one, I hope my sequestration, the Navy would be down those are statements which the Sec- colleagues will stay around for a to a little over 200 ships. We would retary of Defense has made—I would minute or two because this is an im- have the smallest Navy since 1915, the argue that it would be appropriate, and portant topic to be talking about. smallest Air Force in the history of the I would sincerely ask that perhaps the Let me put this in the perspective of country, and the Army would go back President of the United States also be what we are trying to do and what we to 1940 levels. involved and members of his adminis- are trying to avoid. We are about $16 To my colleagues, do you believe the tration or charter members of the ad- trillion in debt. There is probably no world has gotten that much safer that ministration to sit down with us to see stronger defense supporters in the Con- we do not need a Navy bigger than in how we could resolve this. gress than JON KYL and JOHN MCCAIN. 1915, given the threats we are facing So far the executive branch has not The Senator just spoke of war. JOHN from Iran, China, North Korea? Do you been involved in these efforts, with the MCCAIN has seen his fair share of war. think now is a good time for the coun- exception of the Secretary of Defense, I think he understands as well as any- try to basically disarm, given the who has told us in the most graphic body in this body—probably better threats we face from radical terrorism terms the devastating consequences. than most—what happens in war. Peo- throughout the whole globe? Again, I want to point out to my col- ple get hurt and people get killed and So here is what we are going to do, leagues: You have to plan, especially in anybody who has been in the military and our congressional leaders need to national defense, what weapons you are is no fan of war. But the goal some- be on notice. About 1 million people going to procure, the number of people times is to make sure those who are would lose their jobs if we put these you are going to maintain in the mili- asked to fight a particular war can cuts in place, and we would destroy the tary, what those missions are going to fight it quickly, overwhelmingly, win, defense industrial base that provides be. and come home. good jobs to the economy and keeps us All of those right now, if held in What we are doing is trying to get free and safe by giving our people tech- abeyance in the Pentagon as far as out of debt. The three of us are pretty nology better than the enemy has. planning is concerned, cannot have a

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.041 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4747 great deal of validity if we are staring also say that without concrete, signifi- this country will be deeply concerned if at sequestration and these draconian cant, and meaningful action to cause we are going to diminish our Guard and reductions. this sequester to be prevented, we are Reserve. So this is an issue that cries Mr. GRAHAM. Would the Senator risking the lives of our young men and out for leadership from both sides of yield? women who are serving in the military. the aisle. I look forward to working Mr. MCCAIN. Yes. And I know our I do not know of a greater responsi- with my colleagues on this now. It can- most eloquent member has arrived on bility that we have. not wait until a lameduck session. We the floor, not to mention other at- I ask the Senator from New Hamp- cannot put our national security in the tributes we are lacking. shire if she agrees. balance, and nearly 1 million jobs at Mr. GRAHAM. I would like all three The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. issue, to a lameduck session. This is Senators to comment on this propo- BLUMENTHAL.) The Senator from New something we should resolve right now. sition. You have just challenged the Hampshire is recognized. I appreciate that my colleagues have President, who is the Commander in Ms. AYOTTE. I join with my col- come to the floor to talk about this Chief, by the way, to fix the problem leagues over the concern, deep concern issue today. We must get this done on that your Secretary of Defense has said that keeps me up at night about se- behalf of the American people and our would be most devastating to our abil- questration, because we cannot do this men and women in uniform. ity to defend ourselves. He said it to our national security. Both sides of I yield the floor. would be catastrophic, it would be dra- the aisle have to come together. We The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- conian, there is no way to plan for it, need leadership from our Commander ator from Illinois. we would be shooting ourselves in the in Chief on this issue. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I think head. Mr. President, you are the Com- To put it in perspective, I asked the Senator CORKER from Tennessee was on mander in Chief. When your Secretary Assistant Commandant of the Marine the floor before me. I do not know if we of Defense and every general under Corps what the impact of sequestration are going back and forth or how long your command is telling you and the would be on the Marines. Do you know he expects to speak. I wish to yield to Congress, you need to fix this before it what he told me? That the Marine him to see what his plans are. gets out of hand, why are you not ask- Corps of the United States of America The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- ing us, as Republicans and Democrats, would be unable to respond to one ator from Tennessee. to answer the call of the Secretary of major contingency. Talk about putting Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I thank Defense? You are the Commander in our country at risk and putting our- the Senator from Illinois. I am going to Chief, my friend. It is your job to make selves in a situation where unfortu- speak for about 21⁄2 to 3 minutes if that sure our military has what it needs to nately there are still so many risks is okay. go fight wars that we send them to around the world that our country Mr. DURBIN. I would be happy to fight and protect our Nation. needs to be protected from. To think yield to the Senator from Tennessee. I But that is not enough. It is also our that our Marine Corps would not be ask unanimous consent that I follow job as Members of Congress to take able to respond to one major contin- him. care of those who serve. So to our Re- gency. It is outrageous. It cries for bi- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without publican and Democratic leader: Why partisan leadership on this issue, par- objection, it is so ordered. do you not convene a group of Sen- ticularly leadership from our Com- ators? And to our leaders in the House: mander in Chief. BUDGET CONTROL ACT Why do you not get a group of House To put it in perspective, it is not just Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I appre- Members, and ask us to come up with an issue of our national security. You ciate the comments of my friends from a plan to do at least one thing, avoid would think that would be enough to New Hampshire and Arizona and South the consequence of sequestration for 1 bring people to the table. But we are Carolina regarding the sequestration. I year in 2013, to take the monkey off talking about jobs across this country. will say the reason we are in this se- their back? The National Association of Manufac- questration mode is that six Repub- I am willing to meet our Democratic turers has estimated it would be nearly licans and six Democrats could not fig- friends in the middle to find a way to 1 million jobs; George Mason Univer- ure out a way, over a 10-year period, to offset the $110 billion in defense and sity, the same. cut $1.2 trillion in spending out of $45 nondefense spending. But to our lead- To my colleagues, looking around trillion that is going to be spent by the ers and to the President, if you think here, polling some States in terms of Federal Government during that period the rest of us are going to sit on the the estimate of job losses: 24,000 for of time. So I do hope there is a way to sideline and let this matter be taken Alabama. When we look at a State like resolve that. But I am here to speak up in lameduck when it becomes a Missouri, 31,000, when we look at a about something related, but in some nightmare for the country, you can for- State, for example, like Florida, 39,000 ways very different. get it. So we are challenging our lead- for Florida. This is an issue that will Today we are getting ready to vote ers and the President to get a group to- hit every State in this Nation. on some legislation dealing with flood gether to fix this. But, most importantly, what I am insurance, dealing with student lend- I ask Senator MCCAIN, do you think concerned about is it is going to hit ing, dealing with highways. And these that is a good idea? our military in a way that we break are all very popular programs. Mr. MCCAIN. I know it is the only faith with our troops. In fact, General What people who are listening, who way we are going to solve this. I ask Odienero of our Army has said he may be paying attention to what the unanimous consent that the Senator would have to cut an additional 100,000 Senate is doing today, what they may from New Hampshire be included. I troops from our Army on top of the re- not know is that for the third time, in know the Senator from Tennessee, our ductions we are making right now, ap- a bipartisan way, this body is getting friend Senator CORKER, is waiting. But proximately 72,000, and 50 percent of it ready to spend more money than was I think my friend from South Carolina, would have to come from the Guard deemed by the budget that was ulti- as usual, has stated the problem and a and Reserve. mately created by the Budget Control solution here. The problem is, we face You think about the important func- Act last year when the country almost a devastating impact on our national tion not only of protecting our coun- shut down trying to save a mere $900 security. The solution is for our leaders try, we could not have fought in Af- billion over the next 10 years. So a vote and the President—if possible—to con- ghanistan or Iraq without our Guard today for this piece of legislation is ba- vene a group of Senators, whether it and Reserve. I am the proud wife of sically a vote to say the Senate cannot includes us or not is immaterial, on someone who served in the Iraq war. I be entrusted to carry out what it laid both sides of the aisle, on both sides of can tell you, it is not only the function out last August to keep us from spend- the Capitol, to sit down and work this that our Guard and Reserve play in ing money we do not have. I know out so we can avoid the sequester. terms of protecting us overseas, but there are going to be some budget I will take responsibility for seques- they also perform a very important points of order that will be brought ter if that is what is necessary. But I homeland function. Every Governor in forth at some point later today.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 04:46 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.042 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4748 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 I want to say as one Senator from not in the 19th century, it was about 11 passed said: If you cannot reach agree- Tennessee, it continues to be unbeliev- years ago. It was a time when William ment, we are going to do it automati- able to me that this body does not have Jefferson Clinton was President, and cally. We are going to take $500 billion the courage, does not have the will, for 3 years we had a balanced budget out of defense and $500 billion out of does not have the discipline to even under a Democratic President—3 years. nondefense spending. That is what this live within a very modest budget that When we reach a balanced budget, if is about. People are coming to the floor was laid out last August. Today I am you said, ‘‘What do you have in terms and saying that we cannot take an- certain we are going to pass legislation of spending and revenue?’’—they are other $500 billion out of defense spend- that spends billions of dollars more the same—here is what we found: Rev- ing. than we agreed to in the Budget Con- enue and spending both equaled 19.5 I will tell you that I think that is a trol Act and especially the deemed percent of America’s gross domestic lot to be taken out in light of what we budget that came after that, the product. The gross domestic product is have already anticipated we are going deemed budget that was put in place as the sum total of the goods and services to reduce in spending. I think it will a result of what we passed last August. produced in America every year. It cause some serious problems. But I re- I would say all those who vote for changes and grows. The last year we ject the notion that that $500 billion, if this today are basically saying we do were in balance, taxes equaled 19.5 per- it is taken out of domestic discre- not have the discipline to live within cent of our GDP and Federal spending tionary, won’t have equally horrible re- our means. The problems our Nation equaled 19.5 percent. We had a balanced sults. faces fiscally are only going to get budget. So I say to my friends on the other worse. I think this is a very sad day for Now we are in deep water. We saw side of the aisle, when you had a our country if that, in fact, is what the accumulated debt of the United chance in the supercommittee to deal happens within the next 2 or 3 hours on States more than double under Presi- with spending cuts of a lesser amount the Senate floor. dent George W. Bush, and it continues or deal with revenue, closing tax loop- I yield the floor. to grow, because of the recession, holes, you walked away from it. Now The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- under this President. Our annual defi- you are complaining that we may end ator from Illinois. cits are over $1 trillion and are up cutting defense spending. SEQUESTRATION unsustainable. We borrow 40 cents for Incidentally, if the sequestration Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I thank every dollar we spend, whether we are number went through—the additional the Senator from Tennessee for his buying military equipment or paying $500 billion in cuts over the next 10 comments. I share his concern about for food stamps. That is unsustainable. years—it would bring the amount of our deficit. I was a member of the But now that we know there was a money we spend on defense to the same Simpson-Bowles Commission, voted for time when we were in balance, it is fair percentage of the GDP as it was when the commission report, bipartisan ef- to say: What happened to spending the budget was in balance. fort to reduce the deficit by $41⁄2 tril- since this budget was in balance? If you So my friends who are speaking for lion over 10 years. I think we set in do it in constant dollars so there is no national defense, I join you, but I also place a description, maybe a guidepost monkeying around with numbers, here speak for investments in America when for how we can do this. is what happened since we were last in it comes to education, innovation, and I would agree with him that we need balance in our budget: Domestic discre- infrastructure. That will help our econ- to take care in the money that we tionary spending equals student loans, omy grow. And sequestration on the spend now which will add to the deficit, medical research, transportation—all domestic side is unacceptable, from though I have to say my understanding of the different things that don’t fit this Senator’s point of view, as well. is this transportation bill is paid for. into the Department of Defense. The We clearly need to get beyond this There are revenue sources that are part spending in those areas since we were and talk about an honest answer to re- of this. I know the student loan contin- last in balance has been flat, with no ducing the deficit. An honest answer, ued decrease in interest rates to 3.4 increase. going back to Simpson-Bowles, puts ev- percent for student loans is paid for. I What about spending for entitlement erything on the table—everything. To believe the changes within the Flood programs—Medicare, Medicaid, pro- my friends on the other side, I say that Insurance Program, which is part of grams such as those—and veterans’ it puts revenue on the table, and it this package as well, the Republican care? What has happened to that since must. It puts entitlement programs leader spoke to that this morning, re- we were last in balance? Since we were and spending cuts on the table, and it forms in that program will move it last in balance, the spending on enti- must. That is the only honest way to closer to sustainability and solvency. tlement programs has gone up 30 per- address this issue. To pick it off and It is not where it needs to be, but it is cent. Why? The baby boomers have ar- say that we are going to take the one moving closer. rived; 10,000 people a day reach the age area that has grown in spending by 73 But I want to address, if I can, for a of 65. They paid into Social Security percent and ignore it and then have minute what has been a topic on the and Medicare their whole life, and they them say that we don’t touch revenue floor this morning about the planned show up now and say: It is our turn. leaves two possibilities: If we are going cuts in the Department of Defense. Let Because of that, entitlement spending to do anything about the deficit—deep- me say at the outset what we all agree has gone up. er cuts in programs such as student upon. No. 1, we never, ever want to Let’s look at the third part of the loans, medical research, or cuts in shortchange America’s security, never budget, which was addressed by my Re- Medicare—that is what it comes down shortchange our men and women in publican colleague this morning—de- to. They are hard choices, right? I uniform. fense spending. What has happened to think the Bowles-Simpson approach of A nephew of mine who serves as a defense spending since the budget was putting everything on the table is the doorman in the gallery recently re- in balance? Domestic discretionary right approach. turned from 1 year in Afghanistan. We flat; entitlements 30 percent. As of this I urge my colleagues on both sides to were sending packages and were wor- year’s budget, defense spending will take this pain that we are facing De- ried about Michael every day. He got have risen 73 percent since the budget cember 31 and turn it into an oppor- home safely. That is happening over was last in balance. tunity to work on a bipartisan basis to and over across America. I wanted my We created a supercommittee, and reduce this deficit. nephew to have all he needed to come Senator KERRY of Massachusetts, who I yield the floor. home safely. I think everybody feels is here, was a member. They said: Let’s The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the same when it comes to the Depart- find ways to reduce the deficit by $1.2 ator from Utah. ment of Defense. trillion over 10 years. They tried. I am SURFACE TRANSPORTATION Let’s step back and look at this def- sure Senator KERRY will speak to that Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I stand to icit debate. Allow me to put it into per- effort. At the end of the day, they raise a concern I have regarding the spective for a moment. The last time could not reach a bipartisan agreement conference committee report to accom- we balanced the Federal budget was on how it would be done. The law we pany H.R. 4348.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.043 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4749 Pursuant to paragraph 9 of rule hall who are trying to get something here. I object strenuously. I will vote XXVIII of the Standing Rules of the out of this bill that affects their against this, and I will raise a point of Senate, we are supposed to have ade- States, which they found out about order that says we should read the bill quate notice of a report like this before just minutes ago. Nobody would have before we pass it. we have the opportunity to vote on it. known about it if they had not found The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- The rule states: out about it. ator from Alabama. It shall not be in order to vote on the adop- There are three bills in question Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I tion of a report of a committee of conference here: transportation, student loans—on thank Senator PAUL for raising these unless such report has been available to the student loan bill, originally we had issues. We are mismanaging the Amer- Members and to the general public for at loans at 6 percent, and it was somehow ican people’s money. It is good to see least 48 hours before such vote. bringing in money to the Treasury. We Senator LEE, who just spoke, and Sen- The current version of the committee were using that money to pay for ator PAUL, both new Members of the report was filed, as I understand it, at ObamaCare. Now it is at 3 percent, and Senate, who have been out talking to 8:07 p.m. last night. It is not even close that money is gone. Where is the the American people and made com- to the 48 hours required notice. money to pay for ObamaCare? We have mitments that they are going to work What we have, ultimately, when we a shell game up here. We say one thing to try to improve the process here. I look at this, is the fact that we have a will pay for it, and now this will pay celebrate their activity, their vigor, highway bill that was sent to con- for it—the money disappears. and their determination, and a lot of ference, but it came back from closed- Now they are saying they are going others feel the same way in our body. door negotiations with a student loan to pay for this by taking money out of Shortly we will be moving a cobbled- bill and also with a flood insurance bill pensions. Raise your hand if you think together bill. An attempt will be made attached to it. We were neither given it is a good idea to underfund pensions to accomplish this. I expect budget the chance to debate nor to amend more. Over half of the pensions in this points of order and another point of these provisions before they came to country are technically insolvent be- order to be raised. the floor. Now we are approaching a cause they don’t have enough money to I want to share some thoughts about vote on that. pay for them. Is it a good idea to have how it is we do business and some of We did not provide our fellow Sen- less money go into workers’ pensions the efforts that are not legitimate as ators or the American people with an to pay for a student loan program? we go about our business and are dan- adequate opportunity to read the 596- I have a bill in Congress that says we gerous to the financial health of Amer- page conference report, which is re- should read the bill before we pass it. ica. quired by our very own rule. This is We should wait 1 day for each 20 pages, Let’s take what we call the LUST somewhat reminiscent of a statement to be given time to read 600-page bills. fund. I know it is an odd name. The made a few years ago by then-Speaker At the very least, we ought to adhere true name of it is the leaking under- of the House NANCY PELOSI when, to our own rules. They say it should be ground storage tank fund. People who speaking to Members of her body re- posted online at least 48 hours. Forty- have them have to pay fees, and it goes garding the passage of the Affordable eight hours is still a challenge to find into a fund. The idea of the fund is to Care Act, she said: out everything in here. Do you know be available when cleanups need to be We have to pass the bill so that you can how long the Federal Register is— done. When the company or other com- find out what’s in it. 55,000 pages, which is added to annu- panies have gone bankrupt and there is This is one of the problems we have ally. When you read this, you have to no money, this fund will pay to clean in Washington of which the American refer to the Federal Register, which is up the waste. Maybe it makes sense. It people are becoming increasingly hundreds of thousands of pages, to find has been operating for quite a number aware. It is a problem that I think we out what they stuck in this bill in the of years. It has run up a surplus. That need to address. Time and again, we dead of night. This isn’t the way we surplus is in the LUST trust fund— have a problem in which the Senate should operate. leaking underground storage tank waits until the day before a holiday or The American people want to know fund—and where does it go? What do the day before a scheduled instate why do we say the government is not you do with that money? work period before bringing something going to do something for 3 days. What The Treasury of the United States is to the floor for a vote—without fol- were they doing the previous 3 months? spending more money every year than lowing the Senate’s own rules, which The other side hasn’t produced a it takes in. This year we will spend ap- are designed to promote and protect budget in 3 years. That is against the proximately $3.7 trillion. We take in the openness and transparency of the rules. The rules of the Senate say you about $2.4 trillion, and we have a $1,300 legislative process. This is a troubling must produce a budget, and they didn’t billion deficit. That is how much we trend and one we should seek to avoid do it for 3 years. When we presented are spending. We spend around $3.7 tril- whenever and wherever possible. them with a budget that we wrote for lion and are taking in about $2.4 tril- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- them, nobody voted for it, and zero on lion, and we have about a $1.3 trillion ator from Kentucky. the other side voted for their own deficit this year—the fourth consecu- Mr. PAUL. Mr. President, currently President’s budget. tive year that we have had almost a Congress has about a 10-percent ap- How are we going to compromise if $1,000 billion deficit. We will have a big proval rating. One of the reasons is they are not showing up for work? How one again next year because we are sys- that we don’t even obey our own rules. are we going to get anything done if tematically overspending. For goodness’ sakes, this is a 600- they don’t obey their own rules? But let’s look at this fund—it has page bill. I got it this morning. Not one I will raise a point of order in the some real money in it, a number of bil- Member of the Senate will read this next hour that says that we have bro- lions of dollars—and what happens to bill before we vote on it. We are going ken the rules of the Senate, and I will it. Well, when the government spends to vote on this in the next 30 minutes. ask them to vote on it. I fully expect more money than it takes in, it takes I, Senator LEE, and others will object that the Parliamentarian will rule in the money from the LUST fund. Well, to this. We will have a point of order our favor. We will see. The other side how does it get it? It borrows it. So that our own rule says it has to be will simply close their eyes to the there is actually a debt instrument posted online for 48 hours. It is 600 rules, and they won’t care what the from the United States Treasury to the pages, and nobody will read it. No won- Parliamentarian says, and they will trustees or the holders or managers of der our approval rating is 10 percent. overturn this by saying: We are the the LUST trust fund, and they have Nobody knows what we are voting on. majority, and we deem it so. We are loaned the money. They do not need it In fact, provisions were stuck in this the majority, and we don’t care what is today, so they loan it to the govern- bill last night that have nothing to do in the bill or to take time to read the ment so they can spend it. And it has with any of these bills. They have been bill; we just deem it so. been borrowed and has been spent. stuck in and we are just now discov- I think this is why the American peo- The assets in the LUST fund are ering it. I passed two Senators in the ple are unhappy with what is going on nothing more than debt instruments

VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.045 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4750 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 from the U.S. Treasury. But on the what did they do? They figured out how Mr. REID. So again, people have had books, it appears this LUST fund has to use the conventions of accounting in since March to read this bill and to get assets. I guess in a sense it does. It has a way that obscured the fact they up to speed a little bit, don’t you U.S. Treasury notes. So the people didn’t have the $400 billion and that it think? looking around to spend money and to was, in truth, borrowed money. Mr. INHOFE. I answer in the affirma- try to meet the demands of our con- Mr. President, I see my colleagues on tive. stituents—to build highways in this the floor, and I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, would case—decided they could take that my friend yield for 1 minute? I want to money. ator from Oklahoma. correct the RECORD. And you know something, it does not Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I just score as an expenditure in that fashion. have a couple of comments to make for There are a few changes, there is no It is an odd way this is done. It is seen clarification purposes. question. We have speeded up project as found money that they can go over First of all, I don’t think anyone is delivery, as my friend knows. We gave going to question my conservative cre- and spend. But where does the money a little more flexibility to the States dentials over the years I have been come from? The money is not in the in terms of the TE program. So a few here. I have been really offended by a fund, remember? The fund holds Treas- things were changed. But my friends lot of the things that have happened ury bills. But the highway trust fund are right, primarily, this is a similar structurally in this institution, over in bill. It takes the money and we say we doesn’t want Treasury bills, it wants the House, but so far as this bill is con- money that can be spent. So what hap- are going to spend the same thing, plus cerned, let me clarify a couple of inflation. And it is true these bills have pens is the U.S. Treasury, which has things. been borrowing money from another been out here for a long time. Actually, It sounds good to stand up here and they passed our committee, I say to government agency and giving a debt say we have only had a matter of min- instrument in return, has to come up Senator INHOFE, in November of last utes to look at something that is 500 year. with the money now. It is going to be pages. We have had this bill for a long spent. It is going to be taken out of the time—for several days. We have had it Mr. INHOFE. I respond, yes, that is trust fund. So where do they get the and gone over everything. On the bill correct. That is accurate. money? They convert an internal debt we sent from the Senate to the House, I think that is very important too be- to an external debt. it is essentially the same thing. cause we have been talking about this The only thing they will do is borrow I didn’t agree when they added the bill for a long period of time. We actu- more money. So it will be this many two provisions on student loan and ally started trying to get a highway re- billions of dollars more than $1.2 tril- flood insurance. I didn’t agree with authorization bill way back in 2009, lion or $1.3 trillion that we have. The that. Everyone knows those issues, but when the old bill from 2005 expired. debt is converted to a public debt, and I don’t think they should have been on But the problem is—and I want to get somebody in China or in Japan or in here. Nonetheless, we didn’t have any back to where I was—there is an alter- New York will loan money to the gov- control in this body over that. But as native to this bill. If we defeat this bill, ernment and they will use that money far as the provisions of the bill are con- we go back to extensions. If we go back to pay the highway trust fund with it. cerned, these provisions we have seen. to extensions, first of all, we are losing You see how circular that is? It al- And everyone who has spoken against about 30 percent of the money off the lows the money to be double counted. it has been there when we have talked top. Everybody knows that. Secondly, And that is actually what happened about the great reforms, and I have we don’t get these reforms. If people with President Obama’s health care commented several times that I are concerned out there—conserv- bill. That $400 billion was funded this thought one of the problems was we did atives—that they want to defeat this way. Social Security still has a sur- too good a job because we had too and go back to extensions, they are not plus. Although it has been drawn down, many reforms. But when it got over to going to have reform with the enhance- it still has a surplus in its account—or the House, where they are inclined to ments. Right now the law requires 10 Medicare does. So the Medicare trust- have more reforms there, they had to percent, depending on how we want to ees raise Medicare taxes, they cut start from a base where we had done a put it, in total funding or 2 percent of Medicare benefits, and they save $400 good job. Streamlining and enhance- surface transportation. That has to be billion, And that would be money of ments and all those things are in it. spent on transportation enhancements. the Medicare and the trustees. It is The only thing I can say, from a con- their money. But what happened with servative perspective, is we have seen My good friend, the chairman of the it? Under the conventions of account- this bill. We have lived with this bill, committee, Senator BOXER, and I dis- ing, the money was available to be not just hours but for days, and actu- agree on enhancements. She likes spent by the U.S. Treasury, and the ally for weeks, the basic provisions of them; I don’t. I want money to be spent U.S. Treasury then would spend it on the bill. But what we have to realize is on concrete, on roads and bridges. This the new health care bill. there is an alternative to what we are is what I think we should be doing. But The Congressional Budget Office Di- doing here today, and that alter- that is a disagreement we had and so rector, Mr. Elmendorf, wrote me a let- native—and the only alternative—is to we had a compromise where she can ter the night before the bill passed— go back to extensions. have—and anyone can have—what they Christmas Eve—and he said this is dou- If we go back to extensions, a couple want. It is an oversimplification, but it ble counting the money. You can’t si- of things happen. No. 1, we don’t have means, yes, this money is going to be multaneously count it as making Medi- any of the reforms we have in the bill; put into something. It can be enhance- care better and providing new money No. 2, we throw away about 30 percent ments. In my State of Oklahoma, it is of the money—— to fund the health care bill. Four hun- not going to be in enhancements, it is Mr. REID addressed the Chair. going to be paying for some of the un- dred billion dollars on the night before The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- the vote he announces this is double funded mandates. It will be paying for jority leader. things we have to do in terms of the counting. If a private business were to Mr. REID. Will my friend yield for a environment and things that are re- do it, they would be in big trouble, I question? suggest. They might be sued for fraud. Mr. INHOFE. Yes, of course. quired. So we have solved that prob- They would be sued for fraud. Mr. REID. Through the Chair, I lem. If we don’t pass this bill, we go So the money was done in that fash- would ask my friend, the ranking mem- right back and it will have to go to en- ion, and the way it happened was Mr. ber of this committee, is it true this is hancements. Elmendorf said it is double counting basically the same bill we are going to On streamlining, all the streamlining the money. You cannot simultaneously vote on today that passed this institu- is in this in terms of environmental benefit Medicare and fund a new health tion in March? streamlining. Talk to any of the road care program, although the conven- Mr. INHOFE. It is true, I say through contractors out there and they will tell tions of accounting might suggest oth- the Chair. It passed this institution you about the waste of money and the erwise. So the real smart financiers, with 74 votes, as I recall. number of miles of roads they can’t do

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So not against the conference report and an Baucus Hagan Murkowski only will it cost more, we will not get applicable motion to waive is made Begich Harkin Murray Bingaman Heller Nelson (NE) the streamlining. during any debate time, the Senate Blumenthal Hoeven Nelson (FL) I am very proud of a group that has proceed to vote on the motions to Blunt Hutchison Pryor always supported me, the American waive in the order they were raised fol- Boozman Inhofe Reed Conservative Union. Is there anyone Boxer Isakson Reid lowing the use or yielding back of Brown (MA) Johanns Rockefeller around here who doesn’t think the time; that if the motions to waive are Brown (OH) Johnson (SD) Sanders American Conservative Union isn’t successful, the Senate proceed to vote Cantwell Kerry Schumer conservative? I made this a part of a on the conference report; that adoption Cardin Klobuchar Shaheen Carper Kohl Shelby speech yesterday, an editorial by Al of the conference report be subject to a Casey Landrieu Stabenow Cardenas, the chairman of the Amer- 60-affirmative-vote threshold; that Chambliss Lautenberg Tester ican Conservative Union. It is an op-ed there be 2 minutes equally divided in Cochran Leahy Thune piece he wrote. But let me read now Collins Levin Udall (NM) the usual form prior to each vote, and Conrad Lieberman Vitter two short paragraphs from this op-ed all after the first vote be 10-minute Coons Lugar Warner piece from the American Conservative votes, and I ask that in spite of the Durbin Manchin Webb Union: fact the votes may not come right after Enzi McCaskill Whitehouse Feinstein McConnell Wicker Article One, Section Eight of the Constitu- each other, all the rest today will be Franken Menendez Wyden tion specifically lists interstate road-build- 10-minute votes; further, that if the ing as one of the delineated powers and re- conference report is adopted, the title NAYS—22 sponsibilities vested in the federal Govern- amendment be agreed to; finally, that Ayotte Hatch Risch Burr Johnson (WI) Roberts ment. In Federalist Paper #42, James Madi- no motions to recommit be in order to son makes an early case for the federal gov- Coats Kyl Rubio ernment’s role in maintaining a healthy in- the conference report. Corker Lee Sessions Cornyn McCain frastructure, by stating ‘‘Nothing which The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there Snowe Crapo Moran Toomey tends to facilitate the intercourse between objection? DeMint Paul states, can be deemed unworthy of the public Without objection, it is so ordered. Grassley Portman care.’’ Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest NOT VOTING—6 And the article goes on to say—and, the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Alexander Coburn Kirk remember, this is the American Con- Bennet Inouye Udall (CO) servative Union. clerk will call the roll. The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this Perhaps most importantly, those of us who The legislative clerk proceeded to believe in constitutional conservatism un- call the roll. vote the yeas are 72, the nays are 22. derstand that unlike all the things the Fed- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- eral Government wastes our money on, ask unanimous consent that the order sen and sworn having voted in the af- transportation spending is at the core of for the quorum call be rescinded. firmative, the motion is agreed to and what constitutes legitimate spending. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without the point of order falls. That is from the American Conserv- objection, it is so ordered. The majority leader is recognized. ative Union. I wanted people to under- Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, on Mr. REID. Senator COATS wishes to stand that voting for this is the con- behalf of Senator PAUL, I raise a point speak. servative approach. We get more for of order that the conference report on The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- the money being spent, it has all the H.R. 4348 has not been publicly avail- ator from Indiana. streamlining in it, and it is our con- able for 48 hours as required by rule Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I would stitutional responsibility. This is what XXVIII, paragraph 9. like to raise the point of order that we are supposed to do. There are only The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- section 1538 of the conference report to two ways of doing it: one way is to pass jority leader. accompany H.R. 4348 violates rule this bill and the other is to operate Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to XXVIII as it is a matter not committed under extensions, and I think it is very waive paragraph 9 of rule XXVIII with by either House. important for people to understand respect to the conference report to ac- This is not a partisan issue. The Sen- that. company H.R. 4348. ator from Illinois, Mr. DURBIN, the Sen- With that, I yield the floor and I sug- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ator from Ohio, Mr. BROWN, the Sen- gest the absence of a quorum. question is on agreeing to the motion. ator from Illinois, Mr. KIRK, and I The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and reached an agreement on how to deal clerk will call the roll. nays. with this issue. Yet during this con- The legislative clerk proceeded to The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a ference work that was proceeding in call the roll. sufficient second? the dark of the night—— Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- There appears to be a sufficient sec- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The imous consent that the order for the ond. point of order is not debatable. quorum call be rescinded. There is a sufficient second. Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I am not The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without The clerk will call the roll. debating it. I am explaining it. objection, it is so ordered. The legislative clerk called the roll. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to ORDER OF PROCEDURE H.R. 4348 Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the waive all scope of conference points of Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent Senator from Colorado (Mr. BENNET), order on rule XXVIII. that notwithstanding lack of receipt of the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. INOUYE), The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there the papers with respect to the con- and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. further points of order? ference report to accompany H.R. 4348, UDALL) are necessarily absent. Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I ask for at 12:55 p.m. today, the Senate proceed Mr. KYL. The following Senators are a recorded vote. to a series of stacked votes as outlined necessarily absent: the Senator from The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there in this agreement; that the time until Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER), the Sen- are no further points of order on rule then be equally be divided between the ator from Oklahoma (Mr. COBURN), and XXVIII, the yeas and nays have been two leaders or their designees; that the the Senator from Illinois (Mr. KIRK). asked for on the motion to waive. only points of order in order to the Further, if present and voting, the Is there a sufficient second? conference report be budget points of Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- There appears to be a sufficient sec- order or points of order relative to rule ANDER) would have voted ‘‘nay.’’ ond.

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Therefore, I raise a there was a bipartisan agreement that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. INOUYE), point of order under section 311(a)(2) of was reached on this. I will not name and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. names, but after it went over to the UDALL) are necessarily absent. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- House, somebody dropped something in Mr. KYL. The following Senators are jority leader. the middle of the night to change this necessarily absent: the Senator from Mr. REID. Mr. President, pursuant to whole process. Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER), the Sen- section 904 of the Congressional Budget The issue is not just so-called Asian ator from Oklahoma (Mr. COBURN), and Act of 1974, the waiver provisions of ap- carp; the issue is that if this language the Senator from Illinois (Mr. KIRK). plicable budget resolutions, and section is allowed to proceed, we will be au- Further, if present and voting, the 4(g)(3) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go thorizing over $100 billion of potential Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- Act of 2010, I move to waive all applica- spending to address this without any ANDER) would have voted ‘‘nay.’’ ble sections of those Acts and applica- review by the Congress. All we ask for The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there ble budget resolutions for purposes of in our agreement was a simple oppor- any other Senators in the Chamber de- the pending conference report, and I tunity to review the study by the Corps siring to vote? ask for the yeas and nays. of Engineers so we can make a decision The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 66, However, I ask unanimous consent based on all the facts, which included nays 28, as follows: that the letter from CBO be printed in over $100 billion of authorized spend- [Rollcall Vote No. 170 Leg.] the RECORD at this point, which indi- cates that not only is everything paid ing. That is why I urge my colleagues YEAS—66 to oppose any effort to waive this rule. for in this bill, it reduces the debt. Akaka Hagan Murray Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the provi- Baucus Harkin Nelson (NE) There being no objection, the mate- sion in question simply accelerates a Begich Heller Nelson (FL) rial was ordered to be printed in the study of invasive species such as the Bingaman Hoeven Portman RECORD, as follows: Blumenthal Inhofe Pryor CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, destructive Asian carp, a study essen- Blunt Johanns Reed tial to protecting the Great Lakes, a Boozman Johnson (SD) Reid U.S. CONGRESS, resource that is vital to the health, Boxer Kerry Rockefeller Washington, DC, June 29, 2012. safety, and livelihoods of millions of Brown (MA) Klobuchar Sanders Hon. DAVID DREIER, Brown (OH) Kohl Schumer Chairman, Committee on Rules, Americans. Cantwell Landrieu Sessions House of Representatives, Washington, DC. The study was included in the Water Cardin Lautenberg Shaheen DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Resources Development Act of 2007 Carper Leahy Shelby Budget Office has reviewed the conference Casey Levin Stabenow that authorized the Army Corps of En- Cochran Lieberman Tester report for H.R. 4348, MAP–21, as posted on gineers to conduct a feasibility study Collins Lugar Udall (NM) the Web site of the House Committee on to prevent the spread of aquatic nui- Conrad Manchin Vitter Rules on June 28, 2012. sance species between the Great Lakes Coons McCaskill Warner CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4348 Durbin Menendez Webb and Mississippi River basins. would reduce budget deficits over the 2012– Feinstein Merkley Whitehouse 2022 period by $16.3 billion. That figure does Since that time, Congress has pro- Franken Mikulski Wicker not include effects that may be counted for Gillibrand Murkowski Wyden vided over $13 million to the Corps to budget enforcement purposes in the House of conduct this study. The Corps main- NAYS—28 Representatives. Specifically, the House- tains that the study cannot be com- Ayotte Graham Moran passed budget resolution calls for counting pleted until the end of 2015. Barrasso Grassley Paul transfers from the general fund of the Treas- The provision included in the con- Burr Hatch Risch ury to the Highway Trust Fund as new ference agreement before us today Chambliss Hutchison Roberts spending. Coats Isakson would accelerate this study and require Rubio Major provisions of the legislation that Corker Johnson (WI) Snowe would affect the budget (see Table 1) would: its completion within 18 months. Cornyn Kyl Thune Reauthorize, through fiscal year 2014, the We should not minimize the threat of Crapo Lee Toomey DeMint McCain surface transportation programs adminis- the destructive Asian carp entering the Enzi McConnell tered by the Federal-Aid Highway Adminis- Great Lakes. tration, the Federal Transit Administration, If Asian carp got into the Great NOT VOTING—6 the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin- Lakes, they would not only pose a very Alexander Coburn Kirk istration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety serious threat to the environment but Bennet Inouye Udall (CO) Administration, and certain programs ad- would have a devastating effect on The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this ministered by the Pipelines and Hazardous vote, the years are 66 and the nays are Materials Administration; thousands of local jobs and a $7 billion Establish the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust fishing industry. 28. Three-fifths of the Senators duly Fund and require that 80 percent of any ad- Accelerating this study would put us chosen and sworn having voted in the ministrative and civil penalties paid to the on a better track to protect one of our affirmative, the motion is agreed to, federal government under the Clean Water Nation’s greatest treasures and the and the point of order falls. Act in connection with the April 2010 explo- thousands of jobs that depend on it. The Senator from Tennessee. sion at the Deepwater Horizon facility in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, the Gulf of Mexico be deposited into that trust jority leader. pending measure, the conference report fund and made available to be spent; Change the interest rate that pension Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know ev- to accompany H.R. 4348, would exceed plans use to measure their liabilities, in- eryone is anxious to finish. I am too. the aggregate level of budget authority crease pension premium rates for both vari- This is a massive bill. It is so good for and outlays for fiscal year 2012, as set able and flat rate premiums paid to the Pen- our country. This bill includes student out in the most recent budget resolu- sion Benefit Guaranty Corporation, and es- loans, flood insurance, and 2.8 million tion deemed by the Budget Control Act tablish a cap on the variable rate premium; jobs. There are a lot of disappoint- of 2011. Provide payments to certain states by re- ments. I have a few in this bill that I Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the authorizing the Secure Rural Schools and would be happy to share with someone Senate is not in order. Payments In Lieu of Taxes programs; Allow eligible federal employees to enter at the right time. We must waive this. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Would into a phased retirement, during which they This is one of the great accomplish- the Senate please be in order. continue to work part time while drawing a ments of this Congress. Please, every- Mr. CORKER. Therefore, I raise a partial salary and a partial civil service re- one, vote to waive this. point of order under section—— tirement annuity;

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by fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2012–2017 2012–2022

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING Transportation Contract Authority: Budget Authority a ...... 0 243 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 3,443 7,443 Estimated Outlays b ...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gulf Coast Restoration: Estimated Budget Authority...... 0 0 45 127 184 339 366 399 372 328 302 695 2,462 Estimated Outlays...... 0 0 2 14 47 105 175 260 322 351 352 168 1,628 Pension Provisions: Estimated Budget Authority...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥220 ¥350 ¥1,065 ¥1,885 ¥1,685 ¥1,555 ¥1,255 ¥1,115 ¥1,055 ¥1,040 ¥5,205 ¥11,225 Secure Rural Schools: Estimated Budget Authority...... 288 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 288 288 Estimated Outlays...... 0 253 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 288 288 Payment in Lieu of Taxes: Estimated Budget Authority...... 0 398 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 398 398 Estimated Outlays...... 0 398 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 398 398 Phased Retirement: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥9 ¥26 ¥45 ¥54 ¥53 ¥52 ¥50 ¥49 ¥46 ¥42 ¥187 ¥427 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥9 ¥26 ¥45 ¥54 ¥53 ¥52 ¥50 ¥49 ¥46 ¥42 ¥187 ¥427 Change in Medicaid FMAP Increase: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥510 ¥160 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¥670 ¥670 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥510 ¥160 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¥670 ¥670 Repeal Incremental Ocean Freight Differential: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥540 ¥1,080 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥108 ¥540 ¥1,080 Limitation on Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund Payments: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥139 ¥131 ¥47 ¥46 ¥46 ¥98 ¥99 ¥47 ¥47 ¥49 ¥409 ¥749 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥55 ¥94 ¥86 ¥73 ¥55 ¥67 ¥83 ¥73 ¥63 ¥53 ¥363 ¥702 National Flood Insurance Program 3: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥5 ¥30 ¥70 105 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥5 ¥30 ¥70 105 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 One-Year Extension of Subsidized Student Loan Interest Rates: Estimated Budget Authority...... 4,285 2,595 * * * * * * * * * 6,880 6,880 Estimated Outlays...... 2,480 3,505 * * * * * * * * * 5,985 5,985 Eliminate Interest Subsidy for Certain Borrowers: Estimated Budget Authority ...... 0 ¥15 ¥85 ¥110 ¥130 ¥145 ¥170 ¥195 ¥200 ¥210 ¥210 ¥485 ¥1,470 Estimated Outlays ...... 0 ¥10 ¥55 ¥90 ¥105 ¥120 ¥140 ¥160 ¥175 ¥180 ¥185 ¥380 ¥1,220 Changes in Direct Spending Excluding Intragovernmental General Fund Transfers d Estimated Budget Authority...... 4,573 2,450 305 547 751 787 738 747 768 717 693 9,413 13,075 Estimated Outlays ...... 2,480 3,239 ¥786 ¥1,450 ¥2,073 ¥1,916 ¥1,747 ¥1,396 ¥1,198 ¥1,101 ¥1,076 ¥506 ¥7,025 Intragovernmental Transfers from General Fund to Highway Trust Fund d: Estimated Budget Authority...... 0 6,200 12,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18,800 18,800 Estimated Outlays...... 0 6,200 12,600 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18,800 18,800 Changes in Direct Spending, Including Intragovernmental General Fund Transfers d: Estimated Budget Authority...... 4,573 8,650 12,905 547 751 787 738 747 768 717 693 28,213 31,875 Estimated Outlays ...... 2,480 9,439 11,814 ¥1,450 ¥2,073 ¥1,916 ¥1,747 ¥1,396 ¥1,198 ¥1,101 ¥1,076 18,294 11,775 CHANGES IN REVENUES Pension Provisions ...... 595 2,391 4,501 5,044 3,540 1,446 74 ¥882 ¥2,303 ¥3,046 ¥2,616 17,517 8,744 Transfer of Excess Pension Assets and Allow Section 420 to Apply to Life Insurance Benefits...... 0 0 20 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 24 145 354 Phased Retirement...... 0 1 2 3 4 4 4 3 3 1 ¥1 14 24 Expand Definition of Tobacco Manufacturer to Include Roll-Your-Own- Cigarette Machines...... 2 12 13 11 10 9 8 7 7 7 7 57 94 Increased Civil Penalties for Lenders...... 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 10 Total Changes...... 597 2,405 4,537 5,100 3,597 1,503 131 ¥826 ¥2,245 ¥2,989 ¥2,585 17,738 9,226 On-budget Revenues...... 597 2,291 4,324 4,888 3,425 1,422 141 ¥726 ¥1,998 ¥2,712 ¥2,355 16,946 9,299 Off-budget Revenues ...... 0 114 213 212 172 81 ¥10 ¥100 ¥247 ¥277 ¥230 792 ¥73 NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT FROM CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUES—EXCLUDING INTRAGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND Impact on Deficit d ...... 1,883 834 ¥5,323 ¥6,550 ¥5,670 ¥3,419 ¥1,878 ¥570 1,047 1,888 1,509 ¥18,244 ¥16,251 On-budget Deficit Change ...... 1,883 948 ¥5,110 ¥6,338 ¥5,498 ¥3,338 ¥1,888 ¥670 800 1,611 1,279 ¥17,452 ¥16,324 Off-budget Deficit Change ...... 0 ¥114 ¥213 ¥212 ¥172 ¥81 10 100 247 277 230 ¥792 73 NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT FROM CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUES—INCLUDING INTRAGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERS FROM THE GENERAL FUND TO THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND FOR BUDGET ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES IN THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Impact on Deficitd ...... 1,883 7,034 7,277 ¥6,550 ¥5,670 ¥3,419 ¥1,878 ¥570 1,047 1,888 1,509 556 2,549 On-budget Deficit Change ...... 1,883 7,148 7,490 ¥6,338 ¥5,498 ¥3,338 ¥1,888 ¥670 800 1,611 1,279 1,348 2,476 Off-budget Deficit Change ...... 0 ¥114 ¥213 ¥212 ¥172 ¥81 ¥10 ¥100 ¥247 ¥277 ¥230 ¥792 73 Memorandum: Increased Net Income to the National Flood Insurance Programc 0 ¥5 ¥30 ¥70 ¥145 ¥250 ¥320 ¥380 ¥430 ¥490 ¥555 ¥500 ¥2,675 Sources: Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. Notes: FMAP = Federal Medical Assistance Percentages; * = between -$500,000 and $0. Amounts may not sum to totals because of rounding. a H.R. 4348 would provide $12.4 billion in contract authority (a mandatory form of budget authority) for the last quarter of fiscal year 2012, $50.1 billion for fiscal year 2013, and $50.9 billion for fiscal year 2014, CBO estimates. Con- sistent with the rules in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act for constructing its baseline for future contract authority for transportation programs, CBO assumes that the contract authority for years after 2014 would be equal to the amount provided for 2014, the last year of the authorization. b CBO expects that most of the outlays from contract authority (a mandatory form of budget authority) for surface transportation programs will continue to be controlled by obligation limitations enacted in future appropriation acts. Those expenditures are displayed in Table 2. c The proposed amendment would raise premiums for certain subsidized flood insurance policies, increasing net income to the National Flood Insurance Program by $2.7 billion. However, because many policies would continue to be sub- sidized and the program would continue to face significant interest costs from its prior and future borrowing, CBO expects that additional receipts collected under this legislation would be spent to cover future program shortfalls, resulting in no net effect on the budget over the 11-year period.

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d Pursuant to section 508 of H. Con. Res. 112, the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget—Fiscal Year 2013, general fund transfers to the Highway Trust Fund are considered to be new budget authority and outlays for budget enforce- ment purposes in the House of Representatives. CBO estimates that such transfers would increase the balances attributed to the Highway Trust Fund; however, those transfers would not increase direct spending or affect budget deficits.

TABLE 2—CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER THE CONFERENCE REPORT FOR H.R. 4348, MAP–21, AS POSTED ON THE RULES COMMITTEE WEB SITE ON JUNE 28, 2012

By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars 2013– 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2017

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION Spending from the Highway Trust Fund: Estimated Obligation Limitation a ...... 49,409 50,103 0 0 0 99,512 Estimated Outlays ...... 12,318 31,794 27,318 12,134 6,780 90,344 Other Authorized Transportation Programs: Estimated Authorization level ...... 2,697 2,198 0 0 0 4,895 Estimated Outlays ...... 379 1,011 1,168 817 618 3,993 Non-Transportation Programs: b Estimated Authorization Level ...... 438 437 437 437 437 2,186 Estimated Outlays ...... 80 245 337 431 435 1,528 Total Changes: Estimated Budgetary Resources ...... 52,544 52,738 437 437 437 106,593 Estimated Outlays ...... 12,777 33,050 28,823 13,382 7,833 95,865 Memorandum: Reduction in Offsetting Receipts from. Lower Employer Contributionsc ...... 0 2 3 3 3 11 Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. a Estimated discretionary outlays reflect use of funds from the contract authority provided by the legislation under the obligation limitations specified or estimated by CBO. (Outlays stemming from any additional contract authority that would be provided for years after 2014 would be attributable to future legislation.) Under current law, CBO estimates that spending from the Highway Trust Fund would be about $48 billion in 2012. (See Table 3 for estimates of total out- lays from the trust fund in 2013 and subsequent years.) b H.R. 4348 would authorize the appropriation of $440 million a year over the 2013-2017 period for a national flood mapping program and flood mitigation assistance. The legislation also would lower future federal employer retirement contributions. Those contributions are contingent on future appropriation actions. c Employer contributions are intragovernmental transactions that do not affect the deficit; positive numbers indicate a decrease in receipts.

TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF CASH FLOWS FOR ACCOUNTS IN THE HIGHWAY TRUST FUND UNDER H.R. 4348, MAP-21, AS POSTED ON THE WEB SITE OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON RULES ON JUNE 28, 2012

By fiscal year, in billions of dollars— 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Highway Account: Start-of-Year Balance ...... 14 8 4 4 c c c c c c c Revenues and Interest ...... 33 33 33 34 35 36 36 36 36 37 37 Intragovernmental Transfers ...... 2 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Outlaysa,b ...... 42 43 44 44 44 45 45 46 46 47 47 End-of-Year Balance ...... 8 4 4 c c c c c c c c Transit Account: Start-of-Year Balance ...... 7 5 5 1 c c c c c c c Revenues and Interest ...... 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Intragovernmental Transfers ...... 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Outlaysa,b ...... 7 8 8 9 10 10 10 9 9 10 10 End-of-Year Balance ...... 5 5 1 c c c c c c c c Memorandum: Cumulative Shortfall: c Highway Account Shortfall ...... n.a. n.a. n.a. ¥6 ¥15 ¥24 ¥33 ¥42 ¥52 ¥62 ¥72 Transit Account Shortfall ...... n.a. n.a. n.a. ¥3 ¥7 ¥12 ¥16 ¥20 ¥24 ¥29 ¥33 Notes: n.a. = not applicable. Contract authority is a mandatory form of budget authority typically provided in authorization acts. Obligation limitations are limitations on the obligation of contract authority typically provided in appropriation acts. a After 2014, the estimated outlays assume obligations will continue at the 2014 level, adjusted for inflation. The total outlays shown reflect prior and future obligations. b Outlays include amounts ’’flexed’’ or transferred between the highway and transit accounts. CBO estimates that amount would total about $1 billion annually. c CBO projects that, under provisions of the Conference Report for H.R. 4348, the highway account and the transit account of the Highway Trust Fund would be exhausted in fiscal year 2015. Under current law, the Highway Trust Fund cannot incur negative balances. However, following rules in the Deficit Control Act of 1985, CBO’s baseline for highway spending assumes that obligations presented to the Highway Trust Fund will be paid in full. The memorandum to this table illustrates the cumulative shortfall of fund balances, assuming spending levels that would be authorized by the Conference Report for H.R. 4348.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for the American people we would do to Further, if present and voting, the the yeas and nays. try to get our fiscal house in order. Senator from Tennessee (Mr. ALEX- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a I urge my colleagues to vote against ANDER) would have voted ‘‘nay.’’ sufficient second? this motion to waive right now. The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 63, Thank you, Mr. President. There appears to be a sufficient sec- nays 30, as follows: The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- ond. [Rollcall Vote No. 171 Leg.] jority leader. There is a sufficient second. Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Con- YEAS—63 The yeas and nays are ordered. gressional Budget Office is a non- Akaka Hagan Murkowski The Senator from Tennessee is recog- partisan body that determines what Baucus Harkin Murray Begich Heller Nelson (NE) nized. spending is for the Congress, and they Bingaman Hoeven Nelson (FL) Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, if I have determined that this bill is paid Blumenthal Inhofe Pryor could have everybody’s attention, ac- for and it reduces the debt. Blunt Johanns Reed The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Boxer Johnson (SD) Reid cording to CBO, this is paid for the old Brown (MA) Kerry Rockefeller way, where we spend all the money in question is on agreeing to the motion. Brown (OH) Klobuchar Sanders a year or two and then it is paid for The yeas and nays are ordered. Cantwell Kohl Schumer The clerk will call the roll. Cardin Landrieu Shaheen over 10. The legislative clerk called the roll. Carper Lautenberg Shelby This body came together last August Ms. SNOWE (when her name was Casey Leahy Stabenow in a bipartisan way to put in place the Cochran Levin Tester called). Present. Collins Lieberman Udall (NM) Budget Control Act, and this bill vio- Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Conrad Lugar Vitter lates the deemed budget by $2.5 billion. Senator from Colorado (Mr. BENNET), Coons Manchin Warner This will be the third time we violate the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. INOUYE), Durbin McCaskill Webb the Budget Control Act deemed budget. Feinstein Menendez Whitehouse and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Franken Merkley Wicker For all of those people who are meeting UDALL) are necessarily absent. Gillibrand Mikulski Wyden in the evenings, meeting in groups in Mr. KYL. The following Senators are rooms trying to solve our Nation’s fis- necessarily absent: the Senator from NAYS—30 cal issues, a vote to waive this motion Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER), the Sen- Ayotte Chambliss Crapo Barrasso Coats DeMint says we don’t have the discipline, the ator from Oklahoma (Mr. COBURN), and Boozman Corker Enzi courage, or the will to do what we told the Senator from Illinois (Mr. KIRK). Burr Cornyn Graham

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Does the chair- that we find a way to address the issue man agree? Alexander Coburn Kirk Bennet Inouye Udall (CO) as soon as possible, and I will work Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Ab- with them to make Wyoming and the solutely. Nothing in this bill changes The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this other impacted States whole. the fact that decisions to use public or vote, the yeas are 63, the nays are 30. Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, a portion private service should be up to local One Senator responded ‘‘present.’’ of the abandoned mine land trust fund providers. We firmly believe that the Three-fifths of the Senators duly cho- program falls within the jurisdiction of public versus private question should sen and sworn having voted in the af- the Senate Finance Committee. I am be decided on the basis of local needs, firmative, the motion is agreed to and also committed to working with my not ideology. And most importantly, the point of order falls. colleagues from Wyoming to correct the Federal Government should remain ABANDONED MINE LAND TRUST FUND this situation. I hope we can do so as neutral, and it should not intrude on Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I am ex- soon as possible. local decisionmaking. The language in tremely disappointed to be here today TRANSIT TITLE current 49 U.S.C. 5306 regarding private to discuss a provision in the conference Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, we sector participation states that such report that impacts my home State are poised to pass a truly historic issues are guided by local policies, cri- and potentially impacts a number of transportation bill and I wanted to en- teria, and decisionmaking. This bill other states. The provision relates to gage in a brief colloquy with my col- maintains this language, reaffirming the abandoned mine land trust fund, league Chairman JOHNSON, with whom Congress’ commitment to local control and undoes a carefully construed com- I have worked closely over the past on this issue. promise that occurred in 2006 between year and a half to craft the transit Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank the chair- a coalition of Eastern and Western title of the bill. He has been a true man. I look forward to continue work- States, mine workers, and coal compa- pleasure to work with and I think we ing with you to oversee the implemen- nies. should all be proud that we have se- tation of this and other provisions in This provision was included at the cured stable funding for public trans- this bill and continue to do all we can last moment. This pay-for was not in portation over the next 2 years. do to support a robust, well-funded either the Senate version of the Trans- The bill has record amounts of rail public transportation program. portation bill, nor was it in the House funding and by abandoning earmarks, Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I version. Although it has a tremendous all of the major formula programs have rise today to thank my colleagues on impact on Wyoming, neither Senator been increased significantly. We have the transportation conference for in- BARRASSO nor I were consulted about greatly enhanced the Federal Transit cluding the National Flood Insurance the impact of the provision. We are ex- Administration’s powers to provide Program reauthorization and for re- tremely disappointed that is the case safety oversight and set national moving the controversial residual risk and seek commitments from our col- standards, which will ensure millions provision. leagues to fix this provision hopefully of transit passengers can travel safely That provision was a real concern to as a technical correction, but at any and efficiently. me and more than a dozen cities and rate not later than the end of the year But for the purposes of this colloquy counties in California. It would have to reconstruct the careful compromise I wanted to focus on section 20013 on required nearly 1 million residents in that occurred in 2006. While I respect private sector participation in public my State to purchase flood insurance the work of the conference committee, transportation. I ask the chairman, even though they live behind fully provisions like this are the reason that does anything in this section show a functioning levees that meet or exceed Congress is unpopular. I look forward preference by Congress for public Federal safety standards. That provi- to working with my colleagues to undo transportation to be provided by pri- sion alone could have quadrupled the this terrible provision and make Wyo- vate operators rather than public oper- number of homeowners in my State ming and other impacted states whole. ators? who have to buy flood insurance. Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I sec- Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Ab- The flood insurance bill called this ond the comments of Senator ENZI. solutely not. That section is intended low-level risk behind levees ‘‘residual This is an egregious provision that was to help public and private sector pro- risk.’’ It is the risk left over after a included at the last moment without viders to better coordinate service and levee has been built—the risk of levee any consultation of Senator ENZI or I. allow for more private investment in failure, in essence. I am extremely disappointed that we public transportation projects. Public These are levees that homeowners have not been able to address this mat- providers of public transportation do funded with their own tax dollars, and ter before the conference report was our Nation a great service in providing the provision would have forced them filed, and it is essential to fix it as soon affordable efficient service, lowering to spend even more money. That is just as possible preferably in a technical pollution, and easing traffic conges- not good policy. And I was proud to add corrections bill that will be drafted in tion. There is no reason to have a pol- my voice to that of the Senator from the coming weeks but most certainly icy that favors private-public transpor- Arkansas in strong opposition to in- by the end of the year. tation service, and this language does cluding it in the bill. This provision is not well thought not do so. The bottom line is this: Until the re- out. It has the potential to impact not Mr. MENENDEZ. Chairman JOHNSON, sidual risk provision was removed, the only Wyoming but a number of other I completely agree. This language National Flood Insurance Program re- States as well. I look forward to work- should not be interpreted to encourage authorization would have had a dev- ing with my colleagues to fix the provi- or require public-private partnership astating effect on communities in Cali- sion in an expeditious manner. activities in transit or give any pref- fornia and across the Nation. Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I under- erence to grantees based on the deci- Even homeowners in communities stand the problems that my colleagues sions they make on this issue. who maintain their levees to Federal from Wyoming have with section 100125 For years, the committee has en- safety standards with their own tax of the conference report. I recognize dorsed the longstanding congressional dollars would have been forced to pay that this provision was included in the policy that decisions involving the for Federal flood insurance. I simply conference report without their con- choice between public and private tran- could not support such an unfair pol- sultation. We will be working on a cor- sit operators should be left to local au- icy. It sent the message to homeowners

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Even with us over the finish line with a con- vest more in flood control infrastruc- their changes, the provision could have ference report that provides the Amer- ture, not when homeowners are strug- further depressed home prices by driv- ican people with the good policies in- gling to pay their mortgages, not when ing up ownership costs in many areas. cluded in this bill: housing starts are near alltime lows, Let me be clear: This policy wasn’t There was Tom Lynch, who worked and not when our economy is still proposed because homeowners lived be- on both the Environment and Public struggling to get back on track. hind unsafe levees. These were safe lev- Works Committee’s portion of the bill I was not alone in my opposition to ees that meet Federal standards. Some and the Finance Committee’s portion. the residual risk provision. I received believe this provision was added to the Tax Counsel Ryan Abraham, whose letters from elected officials across the original bill to restore the fiscal sol- work along with Tom Lynch on the State—Oceanside, Long Beach, Lake- vency of the program. By bringing in highway trust fund was key to being wood, Los Angeles, Santa Maria, new, low-risk properties, it is true that able to fund highways and transit Stockton, Sacramento, Yuba City. Del the fiscal health of the Flood Insurance projects under the bill. Norte, Sutter, Yolo, and Butte Coun- Program would have improved. But I, Tom, Ryan, and Lily Batchelder, ties were opposed, as well as San Joa- for one, oppose propping up the Flood chief tax counsel and head of Finance quin County. Insurance Program on the backs of Committee’s tax team, held more than This was not a regional issue. The constituents who played by the rules. 20 staff meetings with Democrats and letters came in from southern Cali- If the goal is to ensure that people Republicans before our Finance Com- fornia, the central coast, northern are informed about the risks they face, mittee markup. California and the Central Valley. I continue to be willing to work with Mark Hybner, who was critical to re- In San Joaquin County, in the middle my colleagues to accomplish that. In fining the Indian Reservation Roads of my State, this provision would have fact, California already offers a model Program among other things, a pro- meant 280,000 additional residents had for achieving that very goal. gram that is very important to the to purchase flood insurance. This is a The bottom line is this: Even with seven tribes in my State. county where 1 in every 194 homes is in the changes made to the residual risk Tax and benefits counsel Tom Reed- foreclosure—3.3 times the national av- provision, the bill would have still re- er, a true seasoned professional with- erage. At even $1 a day, this added ex- quired homeowners and businesses pro- out whom we couldn’t have found the pense could jeopardize the county’s al- tected by certified levees to purchase essential offsets to ensure the highway ready shaky housing market. mandatory flood insurance. Candidly, I trust fund would remain solvent. The purchase requirement would was shocked that we even considered Spencer Gray, who shepherded the se- have covered most of the city of Stock- adding this provision without a full cure rural schools and payment in lieu ton, with a population of nearly 300,000. floor debate because it was not a triv- of taxes through this process. This would have further devastated a ial extension. The bill would have im- Dave Hughes and Ann Cammack, who city that suffered the second highest posed substantial new costs to nearly 1 made critical contributions both to foreclosure rate in the Nation last million homeowners in California raise revenue and in tracking policy. year. alone. Sean Morrison and Blaise Cote, the In Palo Alto, this provision would Again, I thank my colleagues on the Finance Committee’s two excellent re- have required another 5,500 home- conference committee for removing search assistants. owners to buy insurance. this provision. This conference report Heather O’Loughlin, easily one of the In Sutter County, an estimated 28,000 was not the time or place for it to be most versatile and capable staffers of the 34,308 parcels would have been considered. working in the Senate, who was key affected. That is 81.6 percent of all par- Now, with the 5-year reauthorization both to the education and the flood in- cels in the county. of the National Flood Insurance Pro- surance portions. In Butte County, 14,000 parcels would gram in place, we will be taking an im- Amber Cottle, Bruce Hirsch, Gabriel have been affected. portant step to stabilize our housing Adler, Hun Quach, Chelsea Thomas, In Los Angeles County, supervisors market. We have also taken some very and Rory Murphy, who were very help- Mark Ridley Thomas and Don Knabe responsible steps to put the program ful in the effort to develop offsets dur- tell me that at least 200,000 properties back on the path to fiscal solvency. ing the Finance Committee markup. and 800,000 residents would have been I commend my colleagues for putting Department of Transportation impacted. These homeowners are cur- together this package of bills. I know detailee and Billings Montana native rently protected by 130 miles of levees they had a tremendous challenge, and I Avital Barnea, who lent helpful assist- and 18 dams in L.A. County. think they have done an exceptional ance at a crucial time. Many of the affected homeowners job. Jeffrey Arnold, who was very helpful live along the Los Angeles River, which Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I would in assisting on Pension Benefit Guar- isn’t really a river at all—it is a con- like to turn to discussing the vital con- anty Corporation provisions and crete channel. And it is very hard to tributions of staff who worked on this phased retirement. imagine a flood ever occurring there. bill. We are very fortunate in the Sen- Intern extraordinaire Pete More than $200 million has been in- ate to be able to rely on the expertise Markuson, who logged a lot of mean- vested to minimize the risk. and the support of so many talented ingful hours. The federally authorized Los Angeles and dedicated staffers whose efforts en- The outstanding press team of Jenny County Drainage Area Project rein- abled us to finalize this conference re- Donohue, Meaghan Smith, Ryan Carey, forced levees along the Los Angeles port. Kate Downen, Kathy Weber, and our River to protect against floods well be- This bill turned out to be unique be- newest addition, Sean Neary. yond a 100-year event. Local taxpayers cause it spanned so many different And my indispensable leadership contributed $55 million to complete issues. In addition to the ones I have staff of Jon Selib, Russ Sullivan, and this project; Federal contributions to- already mentioned, my staff also had Paul Wilkins, who as always remained taled another $155 million. This invest- to work on pension matters, flood in- focused and unflappable despite the ment was made so that residents could surance, Federal trust funds, labor, and challenges. avoid $32 million in yearly flood insur- a range of other issues. All of this com- Finally, I also want to use this op- ance premiums. With the inclusion of bined to make this a very complicated portunity to thank Bettina Poirier, the residual risk provision, home- bill with many moving parts. David Napoliello, Andrew Dohrmann, owners in the area would have once Accordingly, I want to take this op- and Grant Cope from Chairman again had to pay flood insurance bills portunity to publicly and profes- BOXER’s Environment and Public every year. sionally thank the following staffers Works Committee staff; Ruth Van

VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:04 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.005 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4757 Mark, James O’Keeffe, Murphie Bar- ment for inflation, through September National Flood Insurance Program. We rett, Kyle Miller, Dmitri Karakitsos, 2014. Given the difficult budget cli- must correct this disparity, and the and Alex Renjel from Senator INHOFE’s mate, this has to be viewed as a vic- conference report takes some steps to staff; Charles Brittingham with Sen- tory. Our State transportation agen- do so in requiring that premiums be ator VITTER; Tyler Rushforth with Sen- cies need to be able to do long-term more reflective of the true risk of ator REID; Ellen Doneski, James Reid, planning. This bill helps that cause and flooding. Ian Jefferies, Rich Swayze, Richard is surely better than the short-term ex- The conference report will phase out Russell, and Bailey Edwards from the tensions we have been living under. subsidies for repetitive-loss properties Commerce Committee; and Chris Given the negative budget climate and that continue to be rebuilt in high-risk Campbell, Mark Prater, Jim Lyons, the difficulty we had finding the rev- areas. It will also phase out subsidized Nick Wyatt, and Preston Rutledge enue to offset the highway trust fund rates for vacation homes and busi- from the Finance Committee. shortfall, a 2-year bill is what is pos- nesses located in high-risk areas, many Without the individual and collective sible, although I would have preferred a of which have received subsidized rates contributions of each one of these peo- longer term bill. for more than 30 years. ple I have mentioned, we would not I am pleased the agreement includes This bill will clarify the law to allow have pulled this off. For them and their a provision that would direct the Corps property owners to purchase flood in- efforts to help support American jobs, of Engineers to accelerate its feasi- surance from a private insurer, rather all of us should be very grateful. bility study of preventing the inter- than the Federal Government, if they Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, the bill basin transfer of aquatic invasive spe- so choose. This means private compa- before us today takes several impor- cies, such as the destructive Asian nies can compete with FEMA to offer tant steps in several policy areas to carp, between the Mississippi River and consumers a better price. move our Nation forward. It prevents a the Great Lakes basins. While the Finally, I am very disappointed that pending student loan interest rate hike Corps is planning to produce an in- the conference report removes an off- that would make college less affordable terim report at the end of 2013, this shore tax provision that I authored for American students and their fami- provision would require a full feasi- with Senator CONRAD to fight against lies. It makes important investments bility report that would also include a tax evasion. This provision, which was in our roads, bridges, and other trans- recommendation for implementing pre- included by voice vote in the Senate portation infrastructure, investments ventative measures. Accelerating this bill and is similar to a provision I in- that will put Americans to work today study will put us on a better track to troduced as part of a broader offshore and make our economy more competi- protect our $7 billion Great Lakes fish- tax bill, was scored as raising over $1 tive for years to come. It reauthorizes ery that supports thousands of jobs. billion over 10 years and could have the Flood Insurance Program that pro- The conference agreement includes a helped pay for transportation programs vides security to millions of Ameri- provision regarding harbor mainte- or reduced the deficit. I am dis- cans, while making the program more nance that is based on an amendment appointed that Congress has yet again efficient and more fair to States such to the Senate Transportation bill. This missed an opportunity to fight offshore as Michigan that for too long have paid is the first time we have addressed har- tax evasion, which robs billions of sore- more in premiums than they receive in bor maintenance in a transportation ly needed dollars from our Treasury benefits. While this legislation does bill, and including this language will each year. not include everything I had hoped for help elevate this important issue and The legislation before us today does or supported, it makes significant strengthen momentum to use trust not include everything I had hoped for progress on issues our constituents fund receipts for harbor maintenance. or supported, but it is necessary, and need us to address. I am disappointed, however, that the we should pass it without further Millions of Americans will be re- provision in the conference agreement delay. lieved that this bill avoids a looming does not include the strong enforce- Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, at the increase in student loan interest rates. ment language I urged conferees to in- first public meeting of the conference On July 1, those interest rates are clude that would ensure that appropri- committee charged with producing scheduled to double, an increase that ators actually include funding for har- transportation reauthorization legisla- Americans already struggling to pay bor maintenance that is collected for tion, I laid out a series of basic prin- for higher education simply cannot af- this purpose. ciples that I think should guide our ef- ford. Extending the current 3.4 percent Navigation infrastructure is a vital forts to finance transportation policy. I interest rate for another year lifts a link in the transportation system, one had voted against the Senate bill in significant burden, financial and emo- our economy depends upon. Maintain- large part because it failed to follow tional, from students and their families ing our harbors and ports is vital to these basic principles. who were looking to us for aid. our economic competitiveness. I will Boiled down, these principles are I am pleased Senate and House con- continue to work to ensure that we simple. The user-pays model that is the ferees have come to an agreement on a provide sufficient Federal funds to reason for the creation of the Highway transportation reauthorization. Reau- properly maintain our harbors. Trust Fund should be preserved. Reve- thorization of our Nation’s transpor- The conference agreement also ex- nues and spending should line up on a tation programs is long overdue. tends for 1 year mandatory PILT fund- year-to-year basis. We should avoid Investing in transportation infra- ing, or payments in lieu of taxes, that spending down the trust fund. And we structure creates jobs and improves will provide about $4 million to Michi- should not raise taxes, but rather our international competitiveness. We gan local governments to help offset should examine the spending side of create more than 35,000 jobs for every losses in property taxes due to non- the ledger. $1 billion in Federal funds we spend on taxable Federal lands within their The conference agreement is an even transportation infrastructure. The bill boundaries. These payments can help further departure from these principles will create or preserve an estimated 3 support a variety of infrastructure and than the Senate bill was. The con- million jobs nationwide. In Michigan, educational needs. I had urged con- ference agreement by and large uses the bill will provide more than $2 bil- ferees to include this provision in the sources of revenue that are problem- lion over the next 2 years for road bill, and I am pleased it was included in atic in and of themselves to facilitate projects and another $261 million over the final agreement. yet another general fund transfer that the next 2 years for Michigan transit The conference report should provide requires our Nation to make payments projects. Funding transportation infra- some much needed equity to Michigan for 10 years on 2 years of programs. structure improvements at robust lev- and other States through a 5-year reau- Despite all of the committee mark- els is one of the most obvious things we thorization of the National Flood In- ups, and staff meetings, and press con- can do to help boost the U.S. economy. surance Program. ferences, and frantic press accounts, at The conference report extends Fed- Michigan residents have paid more the end of the day we simply got the eral surface transportation programs than six times more in premiums than fourth in a series of general fund trans- at current levels, with a small adjust- they have received in payouts from the fers that stretches back to 2008.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.018 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4758 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 I think the supposed consensus the would bring the hammer down on those We always say a grateful nation will conference committee product rep- families. Most families affected by the never forget. Then we pound our resents can best be summed up by the change would see their premiums dou- chests, hold hearings, and nothing is Margaret Thatcher quote I cited at the ble. Some may even see their pre- ever done. Well, not this time and not Finance Committee markup of a rev- miums increase five-fold. In New Jer- this Senator. Immediately following enue title held on February 7. sey, we know of families in over 1,800 the Metro crash, I was the first to in- ‘‘To me consensus seems to be the homes that would see their premiums troduce a bill, the National Metro process of abandoning all beliefs, prin- increase under these provisions. Resi- Safety Act of 2009, to establish Federal ciples, values and policies in search of dents in other States, including Lou- standards. My bill required the U.S. something in which no one believes, isiana, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation to work but to which no one objects the process and Florida, would also face these dra- with the National Transportation Safe- of avoiding the very issues that have to matic rate hikes. ty Board to implement their most be solved, merely because you cannot To address some of these concerns, I wanted safety recommendations: crash- get agreement on the way ahead . . .’’ introduced two amendments on flood worthiness standards, emergency entry Well I object. The taxpayers of this insurance this week. One would have and evacuation design standards, and country deserve better than this legis- prevented premium increases for pri- data event recorders for rail cars; and lation, and I will be voting against it. mary residences built prior to 1974, and hours-of-service regulations for train Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I the other would have allowed the in- operators. rise today to oppose to the flood insur- creases to occur for some homeowners, Now, 3 years later, Congress has fi- ance language that is included in the but provided for a hardship exemption nally acted. This highway bill includes conference report to accompany H.R. from premium increases for families similar language to my transit safety 4348, which the Senate will consider that cannot afford the higher rates. bill. It requires the Secretary of the today. Let’s remember, many of these home- U.S. Department of Transportation to The Senate had been debating a owners rely on fixed incomes, are re- create and implement safety standards stand-alone bill to reform the National tired, and have budgeted with the ex- and a safety training program. The Flood Insurance Program for several pectation that their premiums would Secretary must also take into consid- days, but we were prevented from vot- stay steady. We should not change the eration the recommendations of the ing on amendments to the bill and ulti- rules in the middle of the game when National Transportation Safety Board mately passing the legislation. Since homeowners have played by those rules when establishing the safety perform- agreement on a process for considering from day one. Many of these families ance standards for railcars. flood insurance amendments was simply do not have the means to raise This bill before us today also requires blocked, we are now forced into an up- more money if rates increase. transit authorities to complete com- or-down vote on a conference report I also cosponsored an amendment prehensive safety plans and States to that contains provisions that will save from Senator PRYOR to eliminate a re- have a safety oversight program ap- or create millions of jobs in the trans- quirement in the stand-alone bill that proved by the U.S. Department of portation sector and keep Federal stu- owners of homes behind dams and lev- Transportation. The Secretary must dent loan rates from doubling. I will ees obtain flood insurance. I am certify that these oversight programs support the conference report because pleased that the language in the con- are meeting the new Federal safety of those provisions, but I oppose the ference report does not include that re- standards each year. If a State over- flood insurance portions. quirement. sight agency is not doing its job, the Last September, I saw firsthand how Flood insurance reform will have real Secretary can withhold Federal fund- Hurricane Irene’s floods devastated implications for millions of people ing or require that 100 percent of fund- communities in my State of New Jer- throughout the United States, includ- ing be used to fix the metro system’s sey. President Obama and I toured the ing in my home State of New Jersey. problems. wreckage together. It was heart- Changes to the National Flood Insur- In addition, the U.S. Department of breaking. We saw families with their ance Program should not be taken Transportation has the power to con- belongings on their front lawns, and lightly, and deserve to be debated and duct inspections, investigations, and much of their homes destroyed. Unfor- amended on the Senate floor. I am dis- audits of transit system railcars, facili- tunately, Hurricane Irene was not the appointed my Republican colleagues ties, and operations. It can also inves- only storm to cause major flooding in have prevented us from considering im- tigate accidents and provide corrective New Jersey recently. In just the last 3 portant flood insurance amendments guidance. The Secretary has the au- years, FEMA has declared five federal this week, and I oppose including flood thority to issue a subpoena when inves- disasters that caused major flooding in insurance reform in the legislative tigating an accident as well as require New Jersey. For many of the people package we are considering today. additional reporting and record- who have been hit by these floods, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under keeping. their homes are all they have. Many of the previous order, the question is Every weekday more than 7 million them have owned their homes for gen- agreeing to on the conference report to people board railcars. Now they can erations. They have raised their chil- accompany H.R. 4348. breathe a bit easier knowing their dren and built their lives in them. For Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise metro will soon have Federal safety these homeowners, it would be wrong in support of the transportation con- standards just like commercial buses, to turn our backs on them. But I am ference report. This legislation will es- airplanes, and commuter rail systems. afraid the flood insurance language in tablish for the first time Federal safety I want to thank Senators TIM JOHNSON the conference report could do exactly standards for metro systems. and BOB MENENDEZ for working with that. My promises made are promises kept. me on this important safety issue. The flood insurance language we are After the deadly DC Metro crash on Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. considering will require major insur- June 22, 2009, I promised two things to President, today I wish to speak in sup- ance premium increases for people liv- the workers at Metro and my constitu- port of the surface transportation con- ing in certain homes built before ents who ride Metro. One, I would de- ference report. As chairman of the Sen- FEMA’s flood maps were finalized. For liver the $150 million in dedicated fund- ate Banking, Housing, and Urban Af- years, families who bought homes built ing for Metro’s capital improvements fairs Committee, which is responsible before floods maps were available paid in the annual Transportation appro- for authorizing the public transpor- lower rates for their flood insurance. priations bill. I have done this every tation portion of the bill, I was proud We did that because we recognized it year. Two: pass legislation giving the to serve as one of the conferees. would be wrong to charge extremely U.S. Department of Transportation au- After intense and exhaustive negotia- high premiums on families who did not thority to establish safety standards tions our conference committee know their flood risk when they pur- for metro systems across the country. reached an agreement on a bill that chased their home. But the flood insur- Today, this legislation delivers on that will benefit every American. In my ance reform proposals on the table promise. home State of South Dakota alone,

VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:04 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.010 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4759 this bill will support 10,000 jobs and Insurance Program by reauthorizing it for students across South Dakota and across the country it will support near- for 5 years. The National Flood Insur- throughout our country. ly 3 million jobs. It will improve rural ance Program protects millions of In passing this conference report we transit service and make our Nation’s homeowners and is critically impor- will send a clear message that it is still highways safer and more efficient. I am tant to our Nation’s housing market. possible to work across the aisle and relieved that we will not let another As the people of South Dakota and pass commonsense bipartisan legisla- construction season go by without cer- others across the country have experi- tion in the interest of the American tainty of Federal funding. enced firsthand, flooding is responsible people. From the start, the Banking Com- for more damage and economic loss I urge my colleagues to support this mittee worked in a bipartisan fashion than any other type of natural dis- bill and I yield the floor. on the transit reauthorization which is aster. It affects people across the Na- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I yield back why we were able to pass our portion of tion, in every State, which is why we all time. this bill out of committee by a unani- are going to do the right thing today The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without mous voice vote. I am happy to say and pass this bipartisan legislation to objection, all time is yielded back. that most of our committee-passed bill provide stability and much needed re- Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and is still intact in the final product we forms for the program. nays. have before us today. Since 2008, when our last long-term The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a This conference report will increase reauthorization expired, we have sufficient second? funding for public transportation passed 18 short-term extensions of this There is a sufficient second. through the end of fiscal year 2014 and program. During this time, the pro- The question is on adoption of the deliver critical investments in the Na- gram has lapsed 5 times, for as long as conference report. tion’s aging transit infrastructure. 33 days, with detrimental effects on The clerk will call the roll. In addition, the bill will institute homeowners and the insurance and The assistant legislative clerk called much needed reforms such as speeding housing markets. the roll. the construction of public transpor- By passing this bill, we will end the Ms. SNOWE (when her name was tation projects. The bill also includes uncertainty of month-to-month exten- called). Present. transit safety provisions that have sions for the NFIP and the families and Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the been stalled for 3 years. businesses that rely on its $1.2 trillion Senator from Colorado (Mr. BENNET), Finally, our bill increases formula of coverage. the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. INOUYE), funding for all types of transit: addi- This bill is not perfect, and no one and the Senator from Colorado (Mr. tional urban and rural formula funds, has gotten everything that they want- UDALL) are necessarily absent. new money for every State to address ed. Unfortunately, we were unable to Mr. KYL. The following Senators are state of good repair needs, and more reach a bipartisan agreement on ad- necessarily absent: the Senator from money for tribal transit. Our Nation’s dressing the outstanding debt of the Tennessee (Mr. ALEXANDER), the Sen- transit systems need more than $77 bil- program that has accumulated since ator from Oklahoma (Mr. COBURN), and lion to address backlogged repairs. Hurricane Katrina. But we have found the Senator from Illinois (Mr. KIRK). This bill can’t address all of those enough common ground to move criti- The result was announced—yeas 74, needs, but it can ensure that our tran- cally important reforms forward. As nays 19, as follows: sit systems don’t fall further behind. part of that effort, I want to thank my [Rollcall Vote No. 172 Leg.] Americans make 35 million trips on colleagues on the Banking Committee YEAS—74 public transportation every weekday. and in the House for their cooperation Akaka Hagan Murkowski Many of these trips are in our cities, and input. Baucus Harkin Murray but in places like South Dakota, rural The flood insurance bill didn’t just Begich Heller Nelson (NE) Bingaman come together in one night. It came to- Hoeven Nelson (FL) transit service connects seniors with Blumenthal Hutchison Pryor their doctors and helps our workers gether in countless late nights worked Blunt Inhofe Reed travel long distances to get to jobs. Ev- by staff over the last year. So I want to Boozman Isakson Reid take this opportunity to thank my Boxer Johanns Roberts eryone benefits from public transpor- Brown (MA) Johnson (SD) tation, and this is a bill the American committee staff—Beth Cooper, Brett Rockefeller Brown (OH) Kerry Sanders Burr Klobuchar people deserve. Hewitt, Chris Ledoux, Glen Sears, Schumer Cantwell Kohl This bill wouldn’t have been possible Laura Swanson, and Charles Yi for Sessions Cardin Kyl Shaheen without the hard work and determina- their work on this legislation. Addi- Carper Landrieu tion of more people than I can name tionally, I want to thank Alison Casey Lautenberg Shelby Chambliss Leahy Stabenow today. However, there are a few in par- Wright MacDonald and James Ollen- Tester Smith from the Office of Legislative Cochran Levin ticular that I must single out. Collins Lieberman Thune We would not be at the finish line Counsel. Conrad Lugar Udall (NM) today if we didn’t have Senator BOXER Lastly, I am pleased that the con- Coons Manchin Vitter as our conference chairwoman. And ference report includes a provision to Durbin McCaskill Warner Feinstein McConnell Webb Senator MENENDEZ, our Transportation avert a catastrophic interest rate hike Franken Menendez Whitehouse Subcommittee chairman, worked side- on student loans. If Congress had failed Gillibrand Merkley Wicker by-side with me on transit since we to act, over 7 million students, includ- Grassley Mikulski Wyden started work on this bill last year. I ing an estimated 31,000 undergraduates NAYS—19 thank them for their support. in South Dakota, would have seen their Ayotte Enzi Paul And I would be remiss if I did not interest rates double. Barrasso Graham Portman mention my staff. Homer Carlisle, my Earlier this month, I talked with stu- Coats Hatch Risch lead transit aide, did outstanding work dents at Southeast Technical Institute Corker Johnson (WI) Rubio Cornyn Lee Toomey in helping craft this bill. In the last in Sioux Falls. They told me a rate Crapo McCain year, he worked countless late nights hike would make it harder for them to DeMint Moran that often lasted into the early morn- complete their schooling and would ANSWERED ‘‘PRESENT’’—1 ing. Additionally, Charles Yi and likely deter countless students from Snowe Dwight Fettig were instrumental in pursuing their higher education goals. getting us to this point today. At a time when too many students NOT VOTING—6 There is just so much credit to go are graduating with enormous debt Alexander Coburn Kirk around. We had four committees work- loads, we should not make it more dif- Bennet Inouye Udall (CO) ing on this bill and without such dedi- ficult for students to finance their edu- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under cated hard-working staffs we could not cation and manage their debt. I am the previous order requiring 60 votes have reached this agreement. glad we have reached an agreement for the adoption of this conference re- I am also pleased this conference re- that prevents the rate hike from tak- port, the conference report is agreed port will provide stability to the Flood ing effect. This is an important victory to.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G29JN6.014 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S4760 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 29, 2012 The title was amended so as to read: ‘‘An have put the dream of a college degree would stop and the repairs on our Act to authorize funds for Federal-aid high- further out of reach for thousands of bridges because everybody out there, ways, highway safety programs, and transit Colorado students, and increased an al- since President Dwight Eisenhower was programs, and for other purposes.’’. ready crushing debt burden on the mid- President, depends on the Federal The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- dle class.∑ share. ator from California. Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it has We cannot have a strong economy Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I move been a very long and winding road to without a strong infrastructure. Here to reconsider the vote and lay that mo- get to this place. I am overwhelmed are the names. I am not reading Demo- tion upon the table. with the amazing vote we just had—the crats and then Republicans; I am read- The motion to lay upon the table was margin of success, the fact that this is ing the bipartisan list of staffers: agreed to. the product that is not only bipartisan Bettina Poirier, Ruth VanMark, David VOTE EXPLANATION but bicameral. I understand that the Napoliello, James O’Keeffe, Andrew ∑ Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I House vote was equally lopsided in Dohrmann, Murphie Barrett, Tyler am disappointed in the final version of favor of passage. I think this sends a Rushforth, Kyle Miller, Jason this bill. If I had been present, I would tremendous signal to the people of Albritton, Grant Cope, Mike Burke, have voted against it for a number of America, and that is that we can work Tom Lynch, Mark Hybner, Charles reasons, including the fact that it vio- together. Do not give up hope. When it Brittingham, Alex Renjel, and Dimitri lates the Budget Control Act, it does comes to the well-being of our people, Karakitsos. not use the money produced from the we must get together. I also thank the leadership staff. pension reforms to shore up the finan- I know the President must be smiling When things were looking glum, there cial strength of pension systems, and it broadly because he has stated over and they were. They are David Krone, Bill fails to prevent the EPA from regu- over how important it has been for us Dauster, and Bob Herbert. lating coal ash as a hazardous mate- to pass a highway bill and to pass a re- Here are the staff directors of the rial.∑ duction in student loan interest rate key committees who worked on this— VOTE EXPLANATION bill in order to help our people. remember, this was a four-committee ∑ Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I want I have said many times that what process, including EPW, Banking, Com- the record to reflect that I would have kept me going and so many others— merce, and Finance. I thank Russ Sul- voted in favor of H.R. 4348, but I went and I am going to name the various livan, Dwight Fettig, Ellen Doneski home to Colorado to be with my con- chairmen whom I worked with here and and their extraordinary staff. They in- stituents, many of whom have lost over on the House side and staff—what clude Ryan Abrahams with the Finance their homes and are facing severe chal- really kept us all going is the fact that Committee; Ian Jefferies, David lenges as several fires continue to rage we know how hard the construction Bonelli, Anna Laitin, and James Reid across the State. sector has been hit in this recession. with the Commerce Committee; and By finally reauthorizing our trans- The housing crisis started this reces- Homer Carlisle with the Banking Com- portation programs for over 2 years, we sion. It has not gotten better. It is mittee. will provide some measure of certainty slowly coming around, but new con- I also want to thank the Senate leg- for States, municipalities, and busi- struction is going to take a while be- islative counsel, Rachelle Celebreeze nesses across the country urgently in fore all of the inventories are back in and Gary Endicott, whom I drove crazy need of more than just a 2-month ex- their appropriate place. What is going yesterday by telling them to please tension. The bill includes resources, to help us? We could fill 10 Super Bowl produce the paper. modeled on legislation that I intro- stadiums with unemployed construc- This staff loved their work so much duced with Senator MARK WARNER, for tion workers. We are looking at well that I thought they would never end it. transit-oriented development competi- over 1 million construction workers I had to beg them: Please finish be- tive grants to help local communities who are unemployed. Well, this was the cause there will always be something work with private investors to promote answer. more you can do. You can always find long-term transit planning, and the The transportation sector is hurting. something better or put a comma in a legislation also contains a common- The construction sector is hurting. different place. They wanted to make sense modification to the rural transit And today we have sent a message, a it as perfect as they could. There was a formula for which I advocated. These powerful message that for 2 years and 3 time when we just had to say, OK, we provisions will benefit transit agencies months, we have funded a good bill are done. They got it done. I am very across my State as they provide qual- that is going to employ up to 3 million moved of their dedication. ity service to Coloradans. The bill also workers and help thousands of busi- I know my staff at EPW—for 3 days, maintains continued funding for the nesses, and it is all in the private sec- the staff members, whose names I Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Pro- tor, the things that need to be done. read—if they got 4 or 5 hours of sleep, gram and Secure Rural Schools and We know we have 70,000 bridges that they got a lot. They are running on Community Self-Determination (SRS) are deficient. We know we have 50 per- empty right now. I tell them that their Act. These programs are lifelines for fi- cent of our roads that are deficient. We names will forever be in this record, nancially strapped rural counties and know we have transit systems that and people they don’t know will flour- local businesses. need capital improvements. We know ish because of their work when we Of course this is not a perfect bill. I we have bike paths that need fixing start hiring people to do this infra- am disappointed that the conference and pedestrian walkways that need fix- structure work. committee eliminated the Senate pro- ing. All of that has been resolved. I thank my dear colleagues, JAY vision funding the Land and Water Are there things in this package that ROCKEFELLER, MAX BAUCUS, and TIM Conservation Fund, a program that has I do not like? Absolutely. Are there JOHNSON. No way could I have done it been vital to preserving Colorado’s things in this package my Republican without them. I also pay tribute to western heritage. And I would have counterparts do not like? Absolutely. MARY LANDRIEU, who is on the Senate liked to see a longer reauthorization, We had to give. We had to take. We floor today. Senator LANDRIEU and her with structural reforms to the highway struggled. State have gone through so many trau- trust fund to ensure we can continue to I am going to read into the RECORD mas—so many—with hurricanes and all finance improvements to our public in- the names of these staffers. This is an of the attendant problems, and the BP frastructure and leave more—not less— unbelievable list. I am going to do it oilspill, which did so much terrible for the next generation. That said, I quickly. I am going to say to these damage to her State and the other Gulf commend my colleagues for all their staffers from the various committees States—environmental damage, com- hard work getting this bill across the that they knew how important their mercial damage, broken hearts, broken line. work was. spirits. I am also pleased that this legisla- If we didn’t succeed, there would be Let me tell you, you never break tion will prevent loan rates from dou- no more money in the highway trust MARY LANDRIEU’s spirit. She teamed up bling and averts an increase that would fund, and all of the repairs on our roads with Senator VITTER, and they wrote

VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:13 Jun 30, 2012 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A29JN6.015 S29JNPT1 PWALKER on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with SENATE June 29, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4761 the RESTORE Act. Then she went to context of the political quagmire we I particularly thank Secretary Ray all of the other colleagues of the gulf find ourselves in just a few months be- Mabus, whom we will remember led the cost and said: You have to help me. fore a very significant national elec- President’s first commission, former They put together a great package. tion, with both sides hugging the oppo- Governor of Mississippi, who knows the What it means—without going into de- site wall. For these two to come for- gulf coast well and understands Louisi- tail; she will do that—is that when the ward today and meet in the middle of ana’s coast as a neighbor for so long. court decision comes down and the the Chamber and produce a bill with He stepped up and said: Yes, this is the funds come to the Federal Government this kind of vote, people did not think right thing to do. We had hundreds— for all the violations of law that took it was possible up until just a few and, really, thousands—of individuals place with the BP spill, 80 percent of weeks ago. There was still the majority and hundreds of organizations that the funds will be directed to the very saying it will never happen. started to come forward. people who got hurt. But I know something about BAR- Let me name a few: the Environ- Senator LANDRIEU, it is an honor and BARA BOXER, as well. She came here as mental Defense Fund was absolutely a privilege to work with you. You have a fighter. Her name ‘‘BOXER’’ says it instrumental, National Audubon Soci- been a model of a Senator who never, all. It is the way she fought her way to ety, National Wildlife Federation, Na- ever stops fighting. I am so grateful I the Senate, and she continues to fight ture Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy, was able to step to the plate and help not just for the people of California but Oxfam America, and GNO, Inc.—Great- you. the people of the Nation. er New Orleans, Inc. They were some of I will add more names of colleagues, I knew 2 years ago—now a little over the first organizations to step up. but I don’t have time at this point. 2 years ago—when the Deepwater Hori- The Greater Houston Partnership zon platform blew up in the gulf, one of Others want to speak. This is a great was invaluable in the early days to the first people I could go to, to ask for moment. The bill we passed is a good build support among the business com- help, for support, for ideas and advice bill. It is going to speed up project de- munity, as were the Mobile Chamber of about what to do would be Senator livery without waiving any environ- Commerce, Ducks Unlimited, Amer- BOXER. She is a strong environ- mental laws that we keep the protec- ica’s WETLAND Foundation, Restore mentalist. She has a heart for our tions in and give a little more flexi- or Retreat—a vibrant local and dy- oceans, and she understood the chal- namic organization in south Lou- bility to the States on the alternative lenge of Louisiana’s eroding coast- isiana—Chamber of Southwest Lou- transportation routes. But, believe me, line—more so than many Members in isiana, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, we also add a new piece that gives this body. more power to the local people to de- I will be forever grateful for the fact and Women of the Storm—representing cide on these projects. I am so pleased. that she and her staff sat with me and thousands of women, not just through- I will add more statements to the other colleagues and crafted the RE- out the gulf coast, but as well from RECORD later today. We have done this, STORE Act, which is a historic piece of your State and every State. Women and we are going to mark this moment. legislation. It has no precedent in Con- stepped up who said this kind of acci- After we get our breath back and get gress. It will, for the first time, set dent has to stop. This kind of explosion our energy back, we are going to look aside such a significant amount of should never happen again. at a long-term solution to the problem money from a penalty that has yet to Most important, they said the people of the highway trust fund. We know the be determined by a polluter that has who were hurt the most, the area dam- gas tax receipts are going down, and we been determined—BP—that under the aged the worst should be compensated have to solve the problem. If it wasn’t law, after the Valdez spill, now has to by this fine. This money should not for Senator BAUCUS and his staff, we pay to the Federal Government $1,000 come to the general fund of the United never would be at this point because we for every barrel of oil that was spilled States to be spent everywhere else in didn’t have the funding. They have to or gushed out of the explosion for the Nation for a variety of unrelated come up with it. I thank them and the months on end. They have to pay $1,000 purposes. The RESTORE Act says: No, Republicans on the committee. for every barrel of oil that was spilled. the right way for this money to be allo- With that, I yield the floor, thanking The estimates are that, unfortunately cated is to the area where the accident one and all for this tremendous vote for our coast, our people, our fisher- occurred, where the injury occurred, today. men, shrimpers, charter boat captains, and that is exactly what RESTORE The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- and the pelicans, fish, shrimp, and oys- does—no more and no less. ator from Louisiana. termen, for us it was 5 million barrels There is one other person who de- Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, be- of oil spilled between August and July, serves particular thanks and a fore the Senator from California leaves until the well was capped. It is the shoutout, and that is the Senator from the floor, for a much needed rest and largest pollution event in the history Rhode Island SHELDON WHITEHOUSE. relaxation and celebration with her ex- of the Nation. It will be the largest When Senator SHELBY and I finished traordinary staff, let me be one of the fine. crafting this bill, which was introduced first to thank her, to join my col- I have every confidence that the peo- by a few colleagues—a similar bill—on leagues who have thanked her for her ple of the gulf coast and the Nation the House side, Representative STEVE leadership. will find justice in the courts. I hope SCALISE, CEDRIC RICHMOND, and Rep- This Transportation bill would not be this fine is as high as it can be, based resentative BONNER from Alabama—we a reality for the Nation—not for Cali- on the damage that has been done from were having a great deal of difficulty fornia, Texas, New York, or Lou- Texas to Florida and off the coast of moving a bill through a committee isiana,—if it weren’t for the leadership Louisiana. When I brought this to Sen- that only had two gulf coast Members of the chairperson of this committee. ator BOXER, she understood that we and Senator BOXER. Senator ROCKEFELLER was there to had to find a way for justice in the The other Members were sympathetic push, Senator BAUCUS was there to gulf. I crafted the RESTORE Act with but not that enthusiastic, and I can push, Senator JOHNSON was there to my colleague DICK SHELBY. For months most certainly understand why. As you push, but the leader of this victory was we negotiated about how to craft it, know, this is going to be a tremendous Senator BARBARA BOXER. what to say, how to specifically direct amount of money. It is going to direct Her colleague, Senator INHOFE, stood the funding, and had the benefit of hav- these funds to only five States. They bravely against winds of opposition, ing the support of the White House, the were sympathetic, but what was in it ideology, without common sense—ide- support of every commission and every for everyone else? SHELDON WHITE- ology without regard to the needs of individual appointed by the President HOUSE and I put our heads together and the Nation. Senator INHOFE, a Repub- supportive of this idea. came up—it was his idea—with the bill lican, stood against those winds and So I first thank the VP’s Presidential itself and thought maybe we could, as with the Senator from California to commission that was one of the first to a part of RESTORE—an integral part produce a jobs bill for the Nation. step up and support this concept of an of RESTORE—say perhaps the oceans I hope people appreciate the extraor- 80-percent set-aside and redirect to the deserved justice as well because water dinary accomplishment this is in the gulf. knows no boundaries. What happened

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In Louisiana, we derive with the inclusion also of the land and licans who came up with this idea in- great pleasure, joy, and income from water, which was not part of RESTORE sisted on this offset when there were our oceans, and from our oil and gas but an amendment that was put on to others that could have been offered exploration, which is usually safe, on help this effort with other parts of the that were much more fair, much less any normal day. This was not a normal country. So the good news is we passed impactful, and much less hurtful. day in the gulf, not a normal operation that bill and paid for it in full over There were some Republican Members when the Horizon rig blew up. We get here with a pay-for that was also who absolutely insisted this offset be our fish, our oysters, our seafood indus- agreed to by 76 Senators. included, and so the Republican Gov- try, our restaurant industry, our ho- But when the bill went over to the ernor Bobby Jindal, with a Republican tels, and our ecotourism—and I could House, one of the first and most serious legislature and a Republican delega- go on and on—from the ocean. We detrimental things that happened was tion in the House, will have to find a make our living from the ocean. Sen- the oceans endowment trust fund was way forward. I am not sure what that ator WHITEHOUSE and I thought—and I stripped out. I want those who stripped way is going to be, but when the bill think most reasonable people agreed— it out to know this: We will be back. left the Senate that was not even dis- the oceans deserve something out of We are going to lead a coalition of cussed under any circumstance whatso- this. So at no cost to the five States, Democrats and Republicans in the Sen- ever. we put in a provision that a small por- ate who are going to send a strong mes- But even this terrible action taken tion—a half percent of the interest sage to House Republicans that the on the House side cannot diminish the earnings that would be generated—not oceans do deserve our time, our atten- extraordinary victory of the RESTORE the fund itself, not taking money away tion, our love and support and our Act. Bills such as this, that basically from the gulf coast, as some have money. We can’t do this on a wish and distribute anywhere from $5 billion to claimed, but appropriately saying in- a prayer. We have wildlife and fish and $20 billion for coastal restoration ef- terest earnings—would create a trust migratory birds that depend on healthy forts, take years, even decades to pass. fund for the oceans so that every State oceans. The people of our country and We did this in 2 years, working to- could use it for research along their the world depend on that. gether, staying focused, and building a coast. This will not be the last time they support structure nationwide from the But that was a bridge too far for the see the national oceans endowment. I business community to the environ- Republican leaders in the House who will be proud to have my name right mental community. The Chamber of think we can learn nothing, who want next to SHELDON WHITEHOUSE’s and we Commerce stepped up, the American no partnerships, no research whatso- will go into battle again. Petroleum Institute did their part, and ever, I guess, to go on in the oceans. So But around here, you don’t win ev- many of the oil and gas companies as that amendment became a part of erything every day, and so they cut it stepped up as well. With the coalition the committee process over here, we out. But we will put it back and it will of environmentalists, business organi- had that amendment connected to RE- be bigger and stronger than it was zations, wildlife enthusiasts, we were STORE at the committee level. It was when they took it out. able to get this significant bill passed. part of RESTORE. It was moved to the The other thing the House Repub- It is going to be a tremendous down- floor and it enabled us to build a broad- licans did, which I have no under- payment for the challenge in the gulf er coalition, which is the way legisla- standing of why, to pay for this RE- coast. tion is built. It is not one person’s idea. STORE Act, the student loans, the Let me, for the record, say again that It is not one person’s work. The best of transportation bill, and the flood insur- there were 86,985 square miles of water the bills and legislation we pass are ance bill, is they took $700 million closed to fishing, approximately 36 per- about teams, about generosity and away from Louisiana’s Medicaid budg- cent of Federal waters in the gulf that sharing and understanding, a little give et. I will have more to say about the were closed to fishing for months, caus- here, a little take there. details of that later, because I want to ing a loss to the industry of $2.5 billion. It is a shame there are some people stay focused on RESTORE, but I want There were 600 miles of the gulf coast- on the other side of this Capitol who to put in the record what our Commis- line that were oiled. Over half of those don’t seem to know that is the basic sioner of Administration said, who, of miles were in Louisiana, and some oil operation of a democracy. I am not course, works for Republican Governor is still lingering. In fact, scientists who sure what books they read in school, Bobby Jindal, and Republican Sec- have been studying the baseline said but they weren’t the ones we read at retary of Health and Hospitals Bruce the erosion of the marsh that was oiled Ursuline Academy, taught by the Ursu- Greenstein: was eroding at twice the speed as nor- line nuns. But SHELDON WHITEHOUSE . . . the loss of more than $400 million— read those same books, and we put this mal, and that normal erosion is pretty And that was in fiscal year 2013, and bill together. I couldn’t have been breathtaking in terms of its rate. it was another $250 million, so it was happier. Not only could I go home and We have lost basically the size of the $650 in 2014. say we did this great thing for the Gulf State of Rhode Island in the last 50 of Mexico and that everyone came to- —in so-called FMAP money, already built years. If our delegation is not success- into the state’s Fiscal 2013 budget passed by ful in continuing to have victories such gether to help us in our time of need, the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. but I could also look at our great Bobby Jindal, would altogether lead to a loss as this, it is conceivable, with the cli- friends from other parts of the country in Medicaid dollars that would require $1.1 mate change that is happening, the ris- and say there is a portion in here for billion in cuts. ing of the tides and the frequency of the oceans. Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- these great storms, that one day, if we That is how the bill came to the sent to have printed in the RECORD a are not successful in preserving these floor. One of my proudest days, in my copy of this quote from Paul Rainwater wetlands—and these are wetlands of all 16 years here in the Senate, was when and Bruce Greenstein. of America, that drain 40 percent of our this Senate voted, under the leadership There being no objection, the mate- Nation, that supply 40 percent of the of Senator BOXER and myself and Sen- rial was ordered to be printed in the fisheries to everybody, and 80 percent ator SHELBY, for this bill—the RE- RECORD, as follows: of the oil and gas to everyone—that STORE Act—with 76 votes. I don’t Louisiana Commissioner of Administration New Orleans will be existing as a city think the transportation bill itself got Paul Rainwater and Secretary of Health and with a 30-foot concrete levee around it 76 votes, to indicate how difficult it is Hospitals Bruce Greenstein said the loss of and everything else washed away—our to get 76 votes. Other than just for im- more than $400 million in so-called FMAP culture, our hope, our way of life.

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But we are want to extend my congratulations, ap- beach and getting a tan. There are no going to come back next year and talk preciation, and respect to Senators beaches to lie on. We only have two. about the sharing of the tax revenues BOXER and INHOFE. I know from past Grand Isle is 7 miles long, and Holly that the oil companies—not individuals experience that they are both prin- Beach, which got washed away in Rita but the oil companies—pay to the Fed- cipled, tough negotiators, and I am and still has not been rebuilt. eral Government every year for every sure that is why the transportation bill The Corps of Engineers continues to barrel of oil, every cubic foot of gas returned from conference with so many tell me there is nothing they can do for they take out of the gulf. That sharing key provisions intact. the last inhabited island off the coast should be done not just here in Amer- In March, the Senate acted in a bi- of Louisiana. Well, there is a lot they ica, it should be done off the coast of partisan manner to pass a transpor- can do, and we will see to that in an- Africa, off the coast of South Africa, tation bill that contained significant other bill. But we want these wetlands off the coast of Brazil, off the coast of achievements for our country, and preserved for our children, for our Ghana, so the people who live along the would have greatly benefited my State grandchildren, and for the economic vi- coast can be respected, since that is of Connecticut. The bill would have re- tality of the Nation. This is the mouth where the drilling and the exploration duced red tape for transportation of the greatest river system in North is taking place. projects while still protecting our envi- America and we intend to save what we Just as people in North Dakota and ronment and resources. It included a can. We will never get everything back. Utah and Wyoming share their reve- provision I worked on with my col- We have lost 1,900 square miles since nues with the Federal Government, we league from Delaware, Senator CAR- 1930. We lose 25 square miles of wet- intend to have a more robust revenue- PER, which would have required cities lands each year, and we lose a football sharing effort in the future. But until and States to take air quality goals field every 30 minutes. the day that happens—and I am con- into account when drafting transpor- Two million people live in coastal fident, as sure as I am standing here, it tation plans. It also would have pro- Louisiana, about 1⁄2 million in Mis- will—this RESTORE money will go as vided mass transit benefits the same sissippi, about 1 million in Alabama, a significant downpayment to help tax beneficial treatment as parking and probably about 4 million in Texas. jump-start coastal efforts. We are not benefits, and would have funded Con- We cannot get up and move. There is doing it like every man or woman for necticut’s transportation programs at no place to go. We don’t want to live in himself. It is not a grab bag for Gov- a level that met our basic needs for the Arkansas and Missouri. We want to ernors. Senator SHELBY and I carefully next few years. live on the gulf coast, and we have been crafted this so the money will be spent The bill that came back from con- there since before this Nation was a na- wisely, well, and efficiently in coordi- ference retained many of these provi- tion, and we are not leaving. We are nation with the Federal and State gov- sions, but I regret to see that it weak- tired of retreating. We know this can ernments. ened others and discarded some of the be done. We have been to The Nether- Is it going to be perfect? No. I am rest. As I stated earlier, I am no lands and places around the world sure we are going to have some stum- stranger to working on a conference where wetlands have been saved—lev- bling blocks. But this is unprecedented committee, and I fully realize that the ees built that don’t break. It is cost ef- in its nature. This kind of public works best legislation is produced through a fective in the long run. In the short run effort has never been undertaken in give and take on various issues. Clear- it costs investment. In the long run, it this great way. So the scientists hope- ly, that was the case here. Despite my creates wealth for everyone. fully will lead us, the engineers and de- disappointment on some of these com- Three trillion dollars is contributed signers will design what we need, and promises, I believe that it was essential to the national economy by the gulf we can continue giving our best effort that we acted to ensure that our na- in hopes of saving a great place on this coast every year, 17 percent of the na- tional transportation programs did not Earth; that is, the great marshes of the tional GDP comes from the gulf coast lapse on July 1, and that is why I sup- gulf coast and the great delta that this every year, 50 percent of all the oil and ported the transportation bill con- mighty Mississippi River built thou- gas that fuels this Nation comes from ference report. I would like to take a sands and thousands of years ago and the gulf coast, and 80 percent comes few minutes to briefly explain some of leave it better to our grandchildren from offshore. Every year, despite how my concerns, and why I ultimately much we do, we get zero back from off- than most certainly we found it. It has been a wonderful part of my voted the way I did. shore oil and gas drilling off our shore. My concerns can generally be broken life’s work. It has been a worthy The interior States have received 50 down into three categories: environ- project to work on. There are others percent since 1923, but not Texas, not mental, Connecticut-specific programs, who have most certainly joined me in Louisiana, not Mississippi, and not this leadership. But I am very proud of and the long-term viability of the Alabama. We drill, drill, drill, and send the work this Senate did and very dis- transportation system. First, let me oil everywhere, keeping lights on ev- appointed in some things the House did touch upon the environment. We have erywhere. The pipelines just run come a long way since the days when on it. But as Senator BOXER said, it is through our State. We are happy to legislation and we just can’t have a Federal and State transportation de- have the industry, but we would like to perfect bill. It was better to get this partments labored under the mistaken share the revenues with the Federal than to leave it on the cutting-room belief that building our roads and high- Government. We send to the Federal floor, even though they did leave im- ways bigger was better, no matter the Government about $6 billion a year, portant pieces of it there. consequences. We have long since real- and have for decades. So when people I wish to thank Senator BOXER’s ized that land deserves to be preserved, say, don’t you ever get embarrassed by staff, in particular, Senator INHOFE’s the purity of our water protected, and asking for so much money? No. I could staff for being so courteous, and Sen- our air quality improved. I worry that not possibly ask for as much money ator BOXER’s staff for being very tena- the bill would be a step backwards be- from Washington as we have already cious—to Tina and Jason particu- cause it would waive environmental re- sent here. So I am going to continue to larly—to help us negotiate one of the views of many transportation projects, ask for funding for our State because great environmental pieces of legisla- including some in environmentally en- we send off of our coast, and we are tion in decades. dangered areas of our country. By pro- happy to do it, but we believe in fair I yield the floor. viding a categorical exclusion under partnerships and mutual respect. And Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I the National Environmental Policy Act until we get that, I am not going to rise today to discuss the transpor- for any projects within an existing

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I understand this was Wyoming, Senator ENZI, who took a The assistant legislative clerk pro- a necessary concession in order to get stand and proposed adjusting the gas ceeded to call the roll. a conference report agreed to, but I tax for inflation, basically a half-cent a Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask hope it will be addressed in the future. gallon increase. This could have gone a unanimous consent that the order for The second concern I have is the im- long way to reducing the amount of the quorum call be rescinded. pact of the bill on my State, Con- money we need to use to bailout the The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without necticut. The Federal highway pro- trust fund. Unfortunately, we never objection, it is so ordered. gram is just that: a Federal program had a chance to discuss the matter. I f that is intended to address the needs of understand that colleagues do not want the national transportation system. to talk about raising taxes. But in the CONDITIONAL ADJOURNMENT OR Nonetheless, our country’s different re- end we have no choice but to talk RECESS OF THE SENATE AND gions have particular needs. Con- about raising taxes if we want our ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE necticut, and the Northeast in general, transportation infrastructure to keep OF REPRESENTATIVES have urgent needs when it comes to pace with our people’s needs. Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask transportation. My State has one of We need leadership from Congress, unanimous consent the Senate proceed our Nation’s oldest transportation sys- and the President, to face the facts: to immediate consideration of S. Con. tems, because Connecticut has been our transportation system is both Res. 51, the adjournment resolution around a long time, one of the Nation’s broke and broken. The system does not which was submitted earlier today. highest ratios of traffic volume to have funds for some basic repairs, let The PRESIDING OFFICER. The miles of road, and is a frequent pass- alone to make the new investments for clerk will report. through State for commuters through- infrastructure we urgently need. In The assistant legislative clerk read out the Northeast. Federal transpor- 2002, the United States was ranked as follows: tation funding should go to areas with fifth, in terms of infrastructure qual- A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 51) the greatest need, just as happens with ity, worldwide. Today, we have dropped providing for a conditional adjournment or other government programs such as to twenty-fourth. We have fallen 19 recess of the Senate and an adjournment of farm subsidies and disaster relief. Con- places down in less than a decade. the House of Representatives. necticut residents do not protest these Unfortunately, the large-scale invest- There being no objection, the Senate agricultural support programs despite ments we need will not be possible proceeded to the concurrent resolution. our paying a disproportionate share of until we can fix the funding issue. The Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask taxes for them, but we deserve to re- Simpson-Bowles Commission rec- unanimous consent the concurrent res- ceive adequate funds to address our ommended a 5-cent per year increase to olution be agreed to and the motion to unique transportation needs. Under the gas tax for 3 years. Others have reconsider be laid upon the table, with this bill, Connecticut will receive inad- recommended shifting to a system that no intervening action or debate. equate funding. I would urge my col- charges users for vehicle-miles-trav- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without leagues to reconsider this problem, as elled. Such a VMT would ensure that objection, it is so ordered. well as the 95 percent minimum rate of those driving fuel efficient, electric, or The concurrent resolution (S. Con. return for all States, during delibera- alternative fuel vehicles pay for the Res. 51) was agreed to, as follows: tions on the next transportation bill wear-and-tear to the roads they cause. S. CON. RES. 51 just as we did during consideration of Although I will not be a member of the Resolved by the Senate (the House of Rep- the 2005 transportation bill. Senate when the next transportation resentatives concurring), That when the Sen- Finally, I want to take a moment to bill is debated, I would urge my col- ate recesses or adjourns on any day from Fri- address a growing concern across the leagues to begin to address this issue day, June 29, 2012, through Monday, July 2, country: the future of our Highway before the trust fund goes broke once 2012, on a motion offered pursuant to this Trust Fund. Since the establishment of again. Washington must have the cour- concurrent resolution by its Majority Leader the Federal highway system, we have age to keep all options on the table, or his designee, it stand recessed or ad- journed until 12:00 noon on Monday, July 9, utilized a user-fee system to fund our and then do what works to fix this transportation programs. That system 2012, or such other time on that day as may problem. be specified by its Majority Leader or his served us well for years, and relied on In closing, I wish to again express my designee in the motion to recess or adjourn, a gas tax to fill the Highway Trust gratitude to Senators BOXER and or until the time of any reassembly pursuant Fund, which in turn distributed funds INHOFE. This is a true jobs bill, and it to section 2 of this concurrent resolution, to our States. As is so often the case, will guarantee that millions of con- whichever occurs first; and that when the with the good comes the bad: as we struction workers are still employed House adjourns on any legislative day from make cars that are more fuel efficient, come Sunday, that student loan inter- Friday, June 29, 2012, through Friday, July 6, thereby cleaning up our air and reduc- est rates do not double this school 2012, on a motion offered pursuant to this ing emissions, we also purchase less concurrent resolution by its majority leader year, and that our truly important or his designee, it stand adjourned until 2:00 gas per mile driven, and the amount of flood insurance program will be reau- p.m. on Monday, July 9, 2012, or until the money flowing into the Trust Fund thorized. time of any reassembly pursuant to section 2 shrinks as a result. The gas tax has I thank Senator BOXER, Senator of this concurrent resolution, whichever oc- stayed static at 18.4 cents per gallon INHOFE, the staff of the EPW com- curs first. since 1993. Because it is not adjusted mittee, as well as the staffers at the SEC. 2. The Majority Leader of the Senate for inflation, the federal gas tax has ex- Departments of Transportation both in and the Speaker of the House, or their re- perienced a cumulative loss in pur- Washington and Connecticut, for their spective designees, acting jointly after con- chasing power of 33 percent since 1993. efforts in bringing this bill to fruition. sultation with the Minority Leader of the Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I for- Senate and the Minority Leader of the For 4 years now, the Trust Fund has House, shall notify the Members of the Sen- been running a deficit and we have had got to thank my own staff, which ate and House, respectively, to reassemble at to bail it out with transfers from the would be very important to do. Eliza- such place and time as they may designate Treasury. This is not the way the sys- beth Weiner, Elizabeth Craddock, Jane if, in their opinion, the public interest shall tem was meant to work, and it is not a Campbell, my chief of staff, and my en- warrant it. way it can long survive. tire staff for their tremendous work— Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I sug- The blame lies at all of our feet. Nei- we are all going to get a good rest in gest the absence of a quorum. ther party has had the courage to face the week to come—and other staff, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the reality that we are running out of Tanner Johnson in particular, no clerk will call the roll.

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