Max Baucus

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 26, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following staff of mine be granted the privileges of the floor during consideration of the debt limit legislation: Christopher Goble, Dustin Stevens, Lucas Hamilton, Tsveta Polhemus.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Paula Haurilesko, a detailee to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, be granted the privilege of the floor for the remainder of the week.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today is the Senate's fourth day of consideration of the joint resolution to increase the debt limit. I remind my colleagues this is the legislation that allows the government to honor its commitments to pay its bills. Four amendments remain pending: The substitute amendment raising the amount of the debt limit; this Senator's amendment to protect Social Security; the Conrad-Gregg amendment to create a fast-track process to consider the budget commission's recommendations; and the majority leader's amendment reinstituting the statutory pay-as-you-go budget law. Up to seven other amendments remain in order to the joint resolution. The Senator from Alaska has the right to offer an amendment on the Environmental Protection Agency's endangerment finding. We expect she will seek to address this matter through a freestanding resolution of disapproval rather than an amendment. The remaining six amendments in order are a Coburn amendment proposing a package of rescissions; a Sessions amendment creating caps on appropriated spending; an amendment by the Republican leader's designee relevant to any on the list; an amendment by the majority leader relevant to any on the list; and two amendments by this Senator regarding the budget commission. Under the previous order, every amendment to this joint resolution will be subject to a 60-vote threshold. The Senate will not, however, conduct any rollcall votes on the debt limit today. We are hopeful Senators with amendments on the list will offer some of those amendments today. Under the previous order, at 5:30 this afternoon, the Senate will return to the nomination of Rosanna Peterson to be district judge for the Eastern District of Washington. At 6 o'clock this evening the Senate will conduct a rollcall vote on the confirmation of the Peterson nomination. Under the previous order, at 11:30 tomorrow morning, the Senate will proceed to a vote in relation to the following two amendments to the debt limit: First, this Senator's amendment to protect Social Security; and second, the Conrad-Gregg amendment to create a fast-track process to consider a budget commission's recommendations. So the Senate is open for business this afternoon for Senators to offer their amendments. We will work toward developing an agreement for the offering of all amendments by a time certain, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, and we hope to conclude action on this measure as soon as possible thereafter. I thank all Senators. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I notice other speakers who wish to speak are on the floor now. I will make a very short statement here and defer to those Senators. I ask unanimous consent the pending amendments be temporarily set aside so I can call up one of my amendments under the previous order.

Mr. BAUCUS. Pursuant to the previous order, I send an amendment to the desk.

Mr. BAUCUS. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I will briefly explain my amendment. This amendment would achieve all of the same objectives of the Conrad-Gregg amendment but with one exception, and this is an important exception. In the amendment I just offered, there are no fast-track procedures for consideration of the commission's recommendation. Thus, for Senators who want to have a commission consider our fiscal situation and report back to us, this is your alternative. But this alternative would protect the rules of the Senate and the prerogatives of the Senators. I urge my colleagues to support this alternative. I yield the floor.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, Dr. Laurence Peter, the educator who came up with the Peter Principle, once said: Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the [person] who will get the blame. In a democracy, that is the people's right. In a democracy, the people elect us to represent them. And in a democracy, the people elect us to be accountable. But the chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee have come up with a process to shift the blame. They have come up with a process for Congress to punt our accountability away. They have come up with a process to outsource Congress's central fiscal responsibilities to a new budget commission. I can see that a commission may be attractive to some. It is the easy way out. Senators can blame everything on the commission. Senators can say: The commission made me do it. But we should not shirk our responsibility. Rather, we should do the job our constituents sent us here to do. We already have a process for doing so. It is called the budget process. The chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee have proposed a new budget process. No one has shown greater zeal in taking on the budget deficit than the chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee. I commend them for their good intentions. But we should reject their new process--not their intentions but their new process. Senators Conrad and Gregg have said: Everything needs to be on the table, including spending and revenues. But why stop there? If Congress is going to outsource its central fiscal responsibilities, why stop there? Why not cede to this commission all of our responsibilities? Why don't we outsource all of this year's work and then adjourn for the year? Come to think of it, if we do cede all of our powers to this commission, what is to stop them from inserting anything and everything they choose into the commission's one, nonamendable, omnibus vehicle? They can insert anything they want--anything. That is the catch with this commission. If we were to cede all of our responsibilities to this commission, and we were to tie our hands so we could not amend its recommendations, then we would risk setting in motion some truly terrible policy. Under the proposed fast-track procedures, we would not be able to amend the proposal. But what if we did not like the committee's recommendations? We would not be able to replace the commission's recommendations with our own. It is clear from the statements of Senators Conrad and Gregg that they have painted a big red target on Social Security and Medicare. That is what this commission is all about. It is a threat to Social Security and Medicare. That is why the first amendment this Senator offered is to protect Social Security. Senators Conrad and Gregg have proposed a system that will not allow Senators to offer amendments to protect Social Security later, after the commission has come up with its recommendations. That is why we have to vote to protect Social Security now, while we still can offer amendments. We already have a process to address the budget. It is called the congressional budget process. Anytime we wanted to, we could use the budget process to address the budget deficit. Since the creation of the budget process, it has been the process that Congress has usually used to address fiscal challenges. The chairman and ranking Republican member of the Budget Committee should skip the commission. They should go straight to their recommendation. They should bring it up in their committee. That is exactly why Congress created the Budget Committee, the budget resolution, and the reconciliation bill in the first place. That was the purpose. We do not need a commission to do our work. We do not need a new process to shift the blame. Rather, to address our fiscal challenges, let us get to work on it now. Let us do the job the people sent us here to do. Let us reject this commission. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I join in today with my colleagues Senators Bill Nelson, Bob Menendez, George LeMieux, and Chuck Grassley in support of the Emergency Aid to American Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake Act. This bill will provide much-needed resources to the United States Repatriation Program, which is currently assisting U.S. citizens who are returning home from Haiti. The United States Repatriation Program was established by title XI, section 1113 of the Social Security Act to provide temporary assistance to U.S. citizens and their dependents who have been identified by the Department of State as having returned, or been brought from a foreign country to the U.S. because of destitution, illness, war, threat of war, or a similar crisis. The Department of Health and Human Services works with State and local governments to administer the Repatriation Program and provide vital services such as immediate medical care, temporary lodging and travel, and food assistance to returning Americans in need. The Federal Government reimburses States for the full cost of providing these services and individuals who receive aid are expected to repay it except in the case of extreme hardship. The Repatriation Program is currently being used by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide assistance to citizens returning from Haiti as a result of last week's devastating earthquake. But, funding for this important program is capped at $1 million per year, which will not cover the cost states have already incurred to provide support for the more than 14,000 Americans who have already returned from Haiti. And the State Department expects between 600 and 2,000 more Americans will continue to return from Haiti each day in the coming months. They too will need the vital services this program provides. As a result, we have been asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to increase the cap for this fiscal year so that the program can continue to provide these vital services to Americans returning home from Haiti. This bill will answer the Department's call for help by raising the cap for fiscal year 2010 to $25 million. In the past Congress has passed similar measures to aid Americans returning home from abroad during times of crisis. In 2006, for example, Congress raised the $1 million annual limit to accommodate Americans returning home from the devastation in Lebanon. During the gulf war, the annual limit was waived entirely. These measures proved to be simple and successful solutions to help bring Americans home safely and give them the support they need to get back on their feet. This bill is modeled closely off those measures and we have worked with the Department of Health and Human Services and other government agencies in creating this bill. Additionally, this legislation will provide additional funding for the Qualified Individual Program, which pays the Medicare Part B premium costs for low-income seniors here at home. Like the Repatriation Program, the Qualified Individual Program is also subject to annual spending caps. Without additional funding for 2010, this program will see shortfalls in approximately two dozen States. This legislation will provide $65 million in additional funding for the Qualified Individual Program to ensure all States are able to provide this critical assistance to seniors this year. The entire cost of this legislation, $60 million, is fully paid for through the Medicaid improvement fund. This legislation is a reasonable and fiscally responsible solution that will allow these programs to meet their obligations to Americans in need. We urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the House for immediate consideration. We should not allow these important resources to be denied or needlessly delayed.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today the Senate resumes its third day of consideration of the joint resolution to increase the debt limit. We continue our discussion of whether Congress will allow the government to honor its commitments to pay its bills. Yesterday, the Senate disposed of the Thune amendment to terminate the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Today, three amendments remain pending: the substitute amendment raising the amount of the debt limit, this Senator's amendment to protect Social Security, and the Conrad-Gregg amendment to create a fast-track process to consider a budget commission's recommendations. Up to eight other amendments remain in order to the joint resolution. The Senator from Alaska has the right to offer an amendment on the Environmental Protection Agency's endangerment finding. The Senator from Alaska spoke on this subject yesterday, and although I do not by any means wish to speak for the Senator from Alaska, it appears from a statement yesterday that she seeks to address the subject matter as a freestanding resolution of disapproval rather than an amendment. The majority leader also has the right to offer an amendment reinstituting the statutory pay-as-you-go budget law. We hope we might see that amendment today. The six remaining amendments in order are a Coburn amendment proposing a package of rescissions; a Sessions amendment creating caps on appropriated spending; an amendment by the Republican leader's designee relevant to any on the list; an amendment by the majority leader relevant to any on the list; and two amendments by this Senator regarding the budget commission. Under the previous order, every amendment to this joint resolution will be subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold. The Senate will not, however, conduct any rollcall votes today. We expect the next rollcall vote will occur no earlier than Monday afternoon. The Senate is open for business this morning for any of these Senators to offer their amendments, and the Senate is available for the statements, obviously, of all Senators. We will work toward developing an agreement for the offering of all amendments by sometime early next week. We hope to conclude action on this measure shortly thereafter. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 4462, an act to accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti, received from the House and at the desk.

Mr. BAUCUS. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. BAUCUS. Madam President, I am glad we passed the bill here now-- it already passed the House--to help all of those Americans who find the tragedy in Haiti so wrenching and want to help. Americans are trying to help in lots of ways. Some are taking orphans into their homes. I have worked, as an example, in the last several days with many churches and organizations, including especially the Catholic Relief Society, to just help in any way we possibly can. But there are other Americans who just want to help with financial contributions. So this bill enables many people--in my home State of Montana, many people have contacted me to say: Max, what can we do to help? And this is essentially an effort to help people who want to help, so they can get a deduction on their 2009 tax returns if that deduction is made between basically the date of the earthquake, January 11, and March 1. So any contributions made during this period will be tax-deductible on 2009 income tax returns. I am happy to work on a bipartisan basis with Senator Grassley, my counterpart on the Finance Committee, and he and I worked to get this put together, as well as the two Senators from Florida--both political parties. They very much care about this, and I know all Senators do. But I give particular thanks to those Senators who have been very helpful to get this put together and get it passed without any rancor. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 3 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``Civilian Strategy for Afghanistan: A Status Report in Advance of the London Conference.''

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 10 a.m. in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010, at 10 a.m., to hold an East Asia subcommittee hearing entitled ``Principles of U.S. Engagement in Asia.''

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on January 21, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, on behalf of Mr. Dodd, I ask unanimous consent that Deborah Katz, a member of his staff, be granted the privilege of the floor for the duration of the consideration of H.J. Res. 45.

Mr. BAUCUS

Mr. BAUCUS. We are now on the debt limit legislation. In a second I will cease speaking so the Senator from Utah can address the Senate. I think we are making progress. Three amendments are now pending. The first is the substitute amendment raising the debt limit amount; second, an amendment by the Senator from South Dakota on TARP; and third, an amendment by this Senator to protect Social Security. We anticipate the Senators from North Dakota and New Hampshire will be offering their amendment to create a budget commission sometime midday today. I am hopeful the Senate can schedule votes on my Social Security amendment, the Conrad-Gregg commission amendment, and, perhaps, the pending Thune amendment as well early this afternoon. We are hopeful we can continue to process amendments, with the goal of wrapping up this legislation early next week. Before I take a few moments to describe the amendment I offered yesterday to protect Social Security, I yield the floor so the Senator from Utah may address the Senate.