Senate GOP Stakeout Following Policy Luncheons

Federal News Service

HEADLINE: SENATE GOP STAKEOUT FOLLOWING POLICY LUNCHEONS

SUBJECTS INCLUDING JUMPSTART (JOBS) BILL AND UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT

PARTICIPANTS: SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA); SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY); SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA); SENATOR MICHAEL DEWINE (R-OH); SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC); SENATOR SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS)

LOCATION: OHIO CLOCK CORRIDOR, CAPITOL, WASHINGTON, D.C.

BODY:

SEN. GRASSLEY: My two colleagues have made very clear the reason for this legislation. But I see this legislation as an opportunity for every member of the Senate who has been concerned about the loss of jobs in manufacturing, which started way back in the middle of 2000, the year 2000, and also for my colleagues who have been talking about outsourcing, that this is an opportunity to put your vote where your mouth is, because this legislation is all about preserving jobs, all about creating jobs because this bill gives impetus to domestic manufacturing. American companies and individuals and sub-Chapter S's and individuals, small business as well as large business is going to get a tax reduction for their manufacturing that's done in the United States, or companies from overseas that will come and build plants and hire Americans here. It's an opportunity to create jobs. More importantly, it's an opportunity to save jobs that would otherwise be lost.

Now here's the problem. The problem is that while this bill is not being passed, as Senator McConnell says, we've got a surtax on exports that's going to make our industry even more uncompetitive. So while this bill is being played by politics with the other side, we're stopping the chances of creating jobs in America moving this bill forward. If this bill doesn't move forward, people that say they want to do something about unemployment in America are in fact helping the Europeans solve their unemployment jobs because jobs that are not created in America are going to be created in Europe as a result of our industry being uncompetitive because of this surcharge.

SEN. SANTORUM: Chairman Grassley has to leave, so if anybody has a-we'll take a couple of questions for the chairman, and then we'll move on to the rest of our speakers.

Go ahead.

Q Senator Grassley, any chance that tax provisions in the energy bill will be attached to FSC/ETI?

SEN. GRASSLEY: There are some aspects for one year only of the energy bill. Most of the features of the energy bill that came out of my committee last summer-not exactly what was in the conference agreement last fall-are going to be a part of this legislation, yes.

Q Why can't you accept a vote on the Harkin overtime amendment?

SEN. GRASSLEY: The reason why is because we've already voted on that. And that bill is supposedly to preserve overtime for makers-for our workers. What I'm interested doing is preserving jobs and creating jobs so that workers will have a job first, because you have to have a job first before you worry about overtime.

Q What if it brings down your bill, Senator? You haven't done anything then.

SEN. GRASSLEY: Next question.

Q With all of the -- (word inaudible) -- obstacles in front of it, what is the soonest now we can have a final vote on 1637?

SEN. GRASSLEY: Well, it will be getting to cloture and then move-that should move us to final passage very quickly.

Now I'm hoping, just so we don't emphasize too much confrontation here, there are going to be some meetings today where we hope that we can work out some procedural agreements to get over these hurdles. But --

Q (Off mike) -- go through the 48-hour process?

SEN. GRASSLEY: Yes, yes, yes, that's a --

Q So that means Friday will be the soonest --

SEN. GRASSLEY: That's a possibility, yes.

Q Senator, if you don't get cloture and the bill has to be pulled, at what point does it go back on the floor, or is that it?

SEN. GRASSLEY: It's going to-listen, this bill is eventually going to pass, because Americans-senators can't sit around and wait until people are unemployed because their jobs are becoming uncompetitive because of first the 5 percent and then next month at 6 percent, the next month at 7 percent, over the course of a year, a 17 percent tariff put on our exports going into Europe, because this-so when the-when senators find out that their factory people are losing jobs, they'll soon get the pressure to get this passed. So it's going to be sooner or later. Why not sooner?

SEN. SANTORUM: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.