Presidential Debates

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD
SENATE
Oct. 5, 2004

PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the debate last week between Senator Kerry and President Bush marked a milestone in this campaign. Some 65 million Americans tuned in to this debate, which is an extraordinary number, more than tune in to such popular television shows as the Oscars. Certainly, we believe that Presidential debates serve that audience even more.

It was an important debate because it signaled the beginning of the real campaign. Despite all the time, effort, and money, it appears that a large group of American voters are waiting to these closing weeks, listening closely to the candidates, to make the decision about how they will vote on November 2, one of the most historic elections we have witnessed in recent times.

The debate come Friday night is going to be equally, if not more, important. We will move from the critical issue of national security and foreign policy to issues of great importance related to the domestic situation in America: How are things going for America's individuals and families and businesses?

We believe, as we look at the record, that the choice is going to be very clear. We will use the same matrix, the same measure President Ronald Reagan used when he ran for President, when he asked very bluntly: Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?

When it comes to the domestic issues, we believe there is a compelling case and a compelling argument that America is not better off today than it was 4 years ago when President George W. Bush was sworn in. The numbers speak for themselves. This President will have lost more jobs as President than any President in the history of the United States since Herbert Hoover.

I have to explain for those not old enough that Herbert Hoover's Presidency was a disaster. It was the Great Depression. America saw more suffering from families and businesses in that period of time than at any time in that whole era, and now we have a President who came to office, George Bush, saying, give me a chance with my economic policy, and by every objective standard the President's economic policies have failed. They have failed to create jobs. We have seen an exodus of good-paying jobs. In my State, 160,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. Some have been replaced, but virtually every single replacement job pays less, offers fewer, if any, benefits, and families find themselves falling behind.

Look at the national numbers. Consider what has happened. We have seen median household income across America decline by 3.4 percent under President Bush. That means the earning power of American families has gone down under Bush's economic policies while the costs of living have gone up. Gasoline prices are up 22 percent over when the President was elected, college tuition at public 4-year institutions up 28 percent, and family health care premiums up 45 percent. This is a back-breaking statistic because individual families cannot afford to go without health care insurance protection, and yet the cost goes up every year. It becomes increasingly expensive and less coverage is offered.

What has the Bush administration done to help working families deal with these increased costs of living? Virtually nothing. They have offered tax cuts for the wealthiest people in America, with the blind faith that if the richest people in America are given more money, somehow working Americans and middle-income Americans will prosper. It has failed. It has not worked. The debate on Friday night will focus on that.

President Bush will be held accountable not just for the situation in Iraq and the standing of the United States in the world but in terms of what he has done or failed to do for families. Listen to what has happened since President Bush has taken office: 1.6 million private sector jobs have been lost; 5.2 million more Americans have no health insurance. Since President Bush has been President, 5 million Americans have lost their health insurance, and 4.3 million Americans have descended into poverty. They were above the poverty line when President Bush came in. His economic policies have driven them below.

Household debt has risen $2.3 billion as families borrow more money to try to keep up with the costs. Personal bankruptcies have hit a record high. The S&P 500 has dropped 15 percent, decimating retirement savings of families across the board. The No Child Left Behind Program has not been funded, shortchanged by billions of dollars. There has been $500 billion taken out of the Social Security trust fund, and keep this in mind: When President Bush took office, we had a $236 billion surplus. Today, we have a $422 billion deficit. In fact, some argue, including my colleague from Illinois, that it is almost $700 billion when the Social Security trust fund that has been raided is added in.

This President, a so-called fiscal conservative, has driven us more deeply in debt than any President in our history, has lost more jobs than any President in 70 years. How will he answer the most basic question: Is America better off today than it was 4 years ago? By every objective measurable standard, when it comes to the comfort and hope of American families, the Bush administration has failed time and time again. They have a foreign policy which has put us in a situation in Iraq with no end in sight. They have an economic policy giving tax cuts to wealthy people, which has no sensitivity to the struggles working families are facing.

So how are the constituents of President Bush doing, what he calls his base, the wealthiest people in America? Pretty well. HMO profits are up 84 percent, CEO compensation up 20 percent, corporate profits up 15.3 percent. They are doing great on Wall Street but not too great on Main Street, and that is what the issue is going to be in St. Louis at Washington University on Friday night when Senator Kerry faces President Bush in a townhall meeting, where families from across the Midwest can ask the questions on their mind. These are the questions they will ask because they reflect the reality of family life in America.

The President promised us compassionate conservatism. He has failed when it comes to conservatism, as we have record historic deficits. He has certainly failed when it comes to compassion, as he has not addressed the most basic issues: making certain families have good jobs, that they have health insurance to cover them in times of need, that they can afford the college tuition so their kids can have a better life than they have had. These are the issues we are going to face.

What will we do in the Senate after we have considered this important bill on intelligence? We will go to a tax bill which is now in conference, which is larded up with some of the worst special interest favors we have seen in the history of this Senate. That is the best this Republican-led Senate can do, is come up with that kind of a bill at the end to give away literally tens of billions of dollars in a deficit economy to special interest groups again in Washington.

What will we do in this tax bill to help working families and small businesses pay for health insurance? Absolutely nothing. What will we do to stop good-paying jobs, manufacturing jobs, from being outsourced to other countries? Scarcely anything. Very little. It shows where the Republican priorities are on Capitol Hill and where the Republican priorities are in the White House, and it shows the clear choice that American voters are going to face on November 2.

I yield the floor.