Establishing the Commission on Freedom of Information Act Processing Delays -- Continued

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the debt ceiling agreement that was reached last night.

Over the past week I have heard from countless Minnesotans who want Congress to come together and reach a compromise on the debt ceiling.

They did not want their interest rates to rise, the value of the dollar to fall, or to see their retirement savings decimated again because some in Washington believe that if they refuse to compromise, the resulting crisis will score them political points.

I would like to share with you some of the comments I received from Minnesotan's throughout the State.

Judy from Rochester writes:

As senior citizens, we understand where our country is compared to where it has been in the last 50 years or so, and we appreciate that sacrifices must be made. It is almost too far back to remember when people all pulled together, including congress, to solve our corporate issues.

..... all the American people want is for you to represent us and make the best decisions for us ..... using your best judgment. Not prejudice or narrow viewpoint, but the best judgment.

Paul from Rochester writes:

This is not the place for partisan political stubbornness. It is the time for our elected officials to work together for the good of the United States.

Louis from Lakeville writes:

It is time for all you legislators to put your political affiliations aside and act as Americans and do what is right for all Americans not just those who voted for you. We have a tremendous fiscal mess in this country and we cannot waste time blaming each other. It was jointly created and must be jointly resolved.

Bonnie from Osseo writes:

Please put your ideologies aside and work in a collaborative effort to restructure our debt and to give the USA the opportunity to continue to prosper.

Marla from St. Paul writes:

It is so frustrating to see the same game of political budgetary chicken playing out at the national level that happened in the state level in Minnesota.

Tom and Mary from St. Paul write:

If you wanted to wake us up as citizens, you certainly have. We've been told that if you allow a default, that will cost our 401K to lose $9,000. Our stock portfolio and retirement savings will likely take a 6 percent hit.

If ever a situation called for compromise, this is it. Raise the debt ceiling, and not just for 6 months, (Reagan did it many times) but make real promises to deal with the debt, and then make the real fight where it belongs, over the next budget, not paying for our current obligations. Do you really want the Chinese to call in all our debts now? Have a phased, sane plan for bringing down the debt, not a forced/false crisis. We're just hard working Americans trying to go on with our lives. We never write these kinds of messages. This is scary and we won't forget. Get it done please.

Jake from Minneapolis writes:

In these upcoming days, as you are faced with difficult decisions, I implore you to work with your colleagues on both sides of the isle to finalize the budgetary issues facing the United States at this time. As a husband who is supporting his wife as she attends a graduate program at the University of Minnesota, I am very concerned about what a default of United States loans would mean in regards to our finances.

I am faithfully paying down student loans and my wife and I will begin to pay down the student loans that she has incurred to pay for her education as she finishes her program in May. Paying off loans is never fun; it means cutting some things out of our budget (things that we like such as going out to eat or to the movies) and compromising on difficult decisions.

I hope that as decisions are made regarding the financial situations facing the United States you will be a person who reaches across the aisle, with a willingness to compromise and to make difficult decisions.

Marilyn from Buffalo writes:

As an independent voter I am asking you to compromise on the budget issue. I am also asking you to use a balanced approach to reduce the budget deficit.

Jay and Bonnie from Moorhead write:

We would like to see a timely resolution to both the debt limit issue and deficit reduction by means of genuine negotiation resulting in a nonpartisan compromise which will keep our country financially solvent.

Kim from Duluth writes:

I am writing to add my voice to the growing number of citizens worried about Washington's inability or perhaps unwillingness to get done the work you were elected to do. In my opinion as a working class American, I believe we ALL are expected to compromise in hopes that we can further the good work of our nation. I firmly believe all of America needs to be accountable to the economic disaster we have known was approaching these many long decades. So please, in the vernacular, ``suck it up'' and get the job done!

While no one feels the agreement we will soon vote on is the perfect solution, we are in the bottom of the ninth here, the time has come to break through the partisan stalemate and pass something to provide certainty so we can move our country forward.

This is why I plan on voting for this agreement as it will ensure our country does not default on our obligations--something that would have caused real pain for Minnesota families and businesses--while also providing a down payment on deficit reduction.

Unfortunately, this debate has once again shown we need to change the way Congress conducts its own business.

I come from county government and I can tell you local governments do not operate this way.

Minnesota is home to more Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other state. After fielding many calls over the past few weeks from business leaders from the biggest businesses in our State, like General Mills, to the smallest, one, two, three-person operations, they do not run their businesses this way.

And there is no doubt, this is not how families balance their budgets.

The sooner we can come together to agree on the next stage of this package, the better for our economy and the better for our country.

I believe we should look at things such as closing the loopholes for oil subsidies. I believe we should look at things such as tax cuts on the wealthiest expiring at the end of 2012. These are things that should be in the mix as we move forward.

It is time to put our political differences aside to work on an agenda that strengthens our economy, promotes fiscal responsibility, and increases global competitiveness.

If we insist on using the debate as a vehicle for rhetoric only, we will not just be doing ourselves a disservice, we will be cheating our children and grandchildren out of knowing the America in which we grew up.

We already know much of what will need to be done. Our failure to act has not been because we lack solutions but because, too often, Congress has lacked the political will to get behind a consensus proposal.

In the Senate, we have had this work going on. We have had bipartisan groups of Senators, including the Gang of 6, working together to find a solution. We need to now take that work and make sure that gets included in the consideration by this committee.

It is time for us to work together and tell the American people what they need to hear. We need to show them that Washington isn't broken; that, instead, we are willing to put aside our partisan politics to do what we were elected to do--to do what is right for America.

PASSING AN FAA EXTENSION

Mr. President, I will turn to another issue I hope we can resolve before the end of this week, which is to pass an FAA extension.

I rise today to speak about the urgent need to pass a Federal Aviation Administration extension. The Federal Aviation Administration not only keeps our airways safe but it also ensures that our air transportation runs effectively by overseeing grants for critical construction projects at our airports.

As you know, Congress allowed the FAA's most recent extension to expire on July 22. This has resulted in a partial shutdown of the FAA.

While the current partial shutdown of the FAA is not affecting the safety of our airways, it is still having some detrimental effects on our country's air service.

The lack of an extension means the FAA doesn't have the authority to collect the fees and taxes the aviation system needs to fund ongoing construction and improvement projects at our airports. This is approximately $200 million a week.

The fees and taxes have nothing to do with the current debt issues we have been debating over the past few weeks. These fees and taxes go into a trust fund that is self-funded and separate from the budget that has been in the news.

The trust fund pays for construction projects such as a new terminal at the Duluth Airport in Minnesota. This new terminal is critical to the Duluth area. The terminal will allow more flights in and out of the airport, which is vital as more and more businesses are moving to Duluth.

Unfortunately, the airport at this time is waiting for a $5.2 million grant that has already been awarded from the FAA. For each day that the airport waits to receive its grant money, the risk is higher that the airport will be forced to delay the terminal project for 1 year. Why is that? Why can't they go through constructing things in December and January in Duluth? It is pretty cold in Duluth then, and it is hard to do the construction, if not impossible. That is why it is so critically important that we get this money in Duluth immediately. Such a delay will not just be inconvenient, it will cause the cost of the project to significantly increase.

Duluth is not the only airport suffering. Construction projects are being halted throughout the country. The Associated General Contractors estimates that 70,000 construction workers in related fields have been affected by this shutdown.

I know there are political issues surrounding Congress's inability to pass an FAA extension. However, these issues have nothing to do with the construction projects such as the Duluth terminal, the 4,000 furloughed FAA employees, or the 70,000 construction workers just trying to make a living.

I appreciate the bipartisan work that has gone on in the Commerce Committee and in this Chamber with Senator Rockefeller from West Virginia and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison from Texas. I continue to support them in their efforts to get this FAA extension done.

I urge my colleagues to pass the FAA extension. The lack of one is hurting our aviation system and our economy.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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