Finding Solutions

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I listened carefully to the statement made by the minority leader, Senator McConnell of Kentucky, concerning the current state of affairs in the U.S. Senate. I certainly want to endorse his conclusion that we should find ways to work together, try to find solutions, bipartisan solutions, in this divided government that will actually address the problems America faces.

If you ask people across America about our problems, No. 1 on the list is the creation of jobs, the high unemployment. President Obama has come forward with a jobs plan which he is now trying to sell to Congress, as well as to the American people, with some success, certainly when it comes to appealing to the public.

When you ask the American people: Is it a good idea to give a payroll tax cut to working families so they have more spending power, so they do not have to live paycheck to paycheck, so they can fill the gas tank, go shopping? Of course. It makes sense. That is one of the pillars of the President's jobs act.

The President also proposes that we give tax breaks particularly to businesses, smaller businesses that hire the unemployed, including veterans. If you ask the American public: What do you think of that, overwhelmingly they think that is a good idea.

When you say the President's plan also tries to help those State and local governments that are facing layoffs of teachers, firefighters, and policemen by lessening the impact that would have, the American people say that is reasonable. We do not believe crowded classrooms and communities without fire and police protection are good for our future. So they endorse the President's approach to that.

The President also thinks we should invest, in this jobs act, in rebuilding the fundamental structure of the American economy--not only highways and bridges and airports but our schools--and the American people have overwhelmingly said that is a good idea.

The President said we should pay for this, and we should pay for it by making certain those who can afford to pay more in taxes--those making $1 million or more--pay a little more so we can achieve what I outlined earlier.

Well, it turns out that is not only approved by the American people, 59 percent of Republicans agree with that--raising taxes on the highest income Americans to help move this economy forward. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans agree with that. As someone said in a meeting this morning, unfortunately none of them are serving in Congress. And the Republican Senators and Members of the House are saying: No way will we consider any additional taxes on the wealthiest people in America even if the money is going to be used to give payroll tax cuts to working families and to give tax incentives and credits to small businesses and to avoid laying off and firing firefighters and policemen and teachers. They say: No way.

So when the minority leader comes to the floor of the Senate and says we have to find common agreement, let me tell you, what the President's jobs bill does is it comes up with a bipartisan-approved approach to getting this economy moving. I hope we can find a way to do exactly that.

The minority leader talked this morning about trade agreements, and our hope is to bring those up in the very near future. I think it is a good thing. But we made it clear as well that before it could be seriously considered, we needed to take a look at something called trade adjustment assistance. That is a program to help workers who lose jobs because of trade agreements or because of the trade relationship between the United States and another country. I have had it happen in my State. I am sure the Acting President pro tempore from New Hampshire has had the same experience, where people in her State have lost their jobs because of competition overseas or jobs moving overseas. Well, we want to make sure those workers have a fighting chance to pick up new skills and education so they can find another job in this economy and provide for their families.

That was a condition to bringing up the trade agreements. We passed it in the Senate. It is now pending in the House. But we can move to those trade agreements. Let the Senate and House vote accordingly. But the reason it has been delayed--if there has been any delay--is to get that part right. I think the Senate has done that.

So I heartily agree with the conclusion of the minority leader that we should work together in a bipartisan fashion. I suggest the minority leader take a look at the President's jobs act. Most of the ideas there are ideas Republicans have openly endorsed time and time again. I hope they are not going to reject the Obama jobs act because the word ``Obama'' is in the title. Let them come forward and think about ways, with us, to design an economy that is moving forward rather than to design the next Presidential campaign slogan and bumper sticker. The American people expect us to look beyond campaigns and get something done on the floor of the Senate and the House.

I might differ with the minority leader when it comes to whether we have had gridlock and obstruction here in the Senate, and I would just say for the record that it has become a matter of course, a normal part of the business of the Senate to require 60 votes on virtually everything--60 votes. That is not required in the rules of the Senate. We have reached the 60-vote threshold because of Republican filibusters. If it were simply an up-or-down majority vote, 51 votes would do it. But the Republicans, by threatening filibusters and imposing filibusters, have created a 60-vote requirement. That gives them leverage. It takes away the power of the majority and gives the minority this new empowerment. But to suggest this has not been used and things have gone along just swell around here--take a look at the Record. Three times now we have been knocking on the door of closing down the government and closing down the economy just this year. The American people noticed. They did not like it. Standard & Poor's noticed and downgraded the American credit rating, saying the problem is not the economy, the problem is the political system which is in gridlock in Washington. That is a reality. We can change that, we should change that, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides to look for ways to change that.

Source