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National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 - Motion to Proceed

Floor Speech

Date: July 30, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Defense


NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009--MOTION TO PROCEED -- (Senate - July 30, 2008)

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, reserving the right to object, what the Senator from Iowa proposes is that we pay for these tax extenders for energy by reducing domestic discretionary spending. To put that in layman's terms, for the last 4 years, we have frozen the increases of spending at the National Institutes of Health for medical research. Senator Grassley would say, let's continue freezing those increases in spending for medical research so we don't have to impose taxes on American businesses doing business overseas. I disagree with that. It is far better that those businesses pay those taxes than we cut back on medical research. I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

The Senator from Iowa.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I wish to correct the Senator on a couple of respects, and he has exercised the right I expected. First, we accept the provisions that were in the Baucus bill for offsets. We did suggest a modification on the provision that the Senator said we don't want. He is wrong on that point. We will accept it. There is a slight modification in it that would give an election. We go along with that provision, and I think I made that clear in the remarks I proposed.

The second place the Senator from Illinois is wrong is we are not proposing the cutting of spending. We are proposing the $350 billion increase that their budget has suggested for additional spending be reduced by a very small percentage.

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, if the Senator from Iowa will yield.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Yes.

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, so any proposal to increase spending at the National Institutes of Health for medical research will be reduced by the proposal of the Senator from Iowa?

Mr. GRASSLEY. If my colleague wants to figure that all the $350 billion is going to go to the National Institutes of Health, he is right. But all $350 billion, obviously, is not going to go to the National Institutes of Health.

I yield the floor.

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