FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I very much thank my colleague from Washington, who has been such a leader on this issue and on so many issues involving our economy, jobs, and the middle class. I thank her for her leadership on this issue as on so many others.

Today, I rise in ardent support of the legislation before us. Let me be clear. This critical funding bill is about one thing and one thing only; that is, saving American jobs. Congress should be focused like a laser on fighting unemployment and getting the economy humming on all cylinders again. This bill is part of that ongoing effort.

Our economy is starting to show signs of life again, but we have a long, long way to go. We are on the road to recovery, but it is a rocky and uncertain one. Too many American families are still suffering from the immeasurable hardship and heartache wrought by the worst recession since the 1930s. We all know the unemployment rate is unacceptably high. What we cannot forget is that high unemployment is not a blue State problem or a red State problem; it is a national problem, and it demands immediate bipartisan attention. If there is only one issue on which we can find common ground this year, it should be jobs. Yet the minority party has blocked this bill at every turn.

There is no doubt about it, if we fail to pass this bill, hundreds of thousands of teachers and firefighters will lose their jobs. Nationwide, 140,000 teachers will be kicked out of the classroom if this bill does not become law. In my home State of New York, there are 7,100 teacher jobs on the line. From Watertown to Buffalo, from Oneida to Queens, every school district will have to make painful cuts. Will those cuts hurt only the teachers? Of course not. Our kids--their education is our future. They will have vital programs cut, their education will decrease, and we all know that a child who loses something in the third grade or the sixth grade or the ninth grade doesn't gain it back. How can you look a kid in the eye and explain that their beloved teacher, Mrs. Ross or Mr. O'Malley, is no longer able to teach this year? We must pass this bill for the good of our Nation's schoolchildren.

From coast to coast State budgets are bleeding. Many States have made tough, responsible choices--cutting important programs and making necessary revenue adjustments. We cannot afford to kick them while they are down by denying them the FMAP and teacher funding.

We are fighting hard to create private sector jobs, and we should. But to then allow so many public sector layoffs robs Peter to pay Paul. We will not be able to reduce unemployment unless both the public and private sectors are healthy.

The bill directly injects money into our economy, and the best thing about it is it saves jobs without adding a dime to the deficit. I say to my colleagues on the other side, again, it saves jobs without adding a dime to the deficit. We cut in other places to help save the jobs of firefighters and teachers. This bill is fully offset. It closes tax loopholes multinational companies use to dodge taxes abroad. We should do that on its own, but the fact that now we have that as the offset, to do something so necessary and so good, is important.

I ask my colleagues to think of this not in terms of macronumbers but in terms of individuals--individuals who have worked hard their whole lives and are now about to be laid off; kids in classrooms who, again, will not be able to have their teacher teach them. Maybe it is that special science class. Some schools are cutting football. Some people think that is frivolous. I think that is an important part of school life.

The greatness of this country depends on us overcoming our problems. Unemployment is a huge problem. The lack of having the best education in the world is a problem. Keeping our streets safe from fire and crime is a problem. We are running away from it here to hide behind ideological barriers.

Let me repeat, this bill saves hundreds of thousands of jobs, provides vital help to the States, and reduces the deficit. For the good of the country, I implore my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to support this sensible and important bill. It is the right thing to do. Maybe just this once, in a bipartisan way, we will rise to the occasion.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source