Barbara Boxer

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 9:30 a.m.

Mrs. BOXER. 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 April 22, 2010, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``China's Exchange Rate Policy and Trade Imbalances.''

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Promoting Global Food Security.''

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet, during the session of the Senate, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Meeting the Needs of the Whole Student'' on April 22, 2010. The hearing will commence at 10 a.m. in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 2:15 p.m. in Room 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on April 22, 2010, at 10 a.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on April 22, 2010, at 3 p.m., in SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Nominations.''.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Examining the Filibuster: History of the Filibuster 1789-2008.''

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 2:30 p.m.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet on April 22, 2010, from 2-5 p.m. in Dirksen 562 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 3:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled, ``The Future of the U.S. Postal Service.''

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 22, 2010, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``After the Dust Settles: Examining Challenges and Lessons Learned in Transitioning the Federal Government.''

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the confirmation of the nomination of Denny Chin to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Second Circuit occur at 12 noon today, and that the time until then be divided as previously ordered; further, that the other provisions of the previous order remain in effect, and that upon confirmation, the Senate then return to legislative session and proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 15 minutes each.

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. I just want to say to my friend, I thank him for bringing the issue of the promotion of an Army Corps general to the floor today. I support his remarks. I support moving forward on that promotion. Madam President, April 22 is Earth Day. It has been 40 years since then-Senator Gaylord Nelson first advocated setting aside a national day to focus on our environment. We have learned a lot in those 40 years. What we have learned is, it is very rewarding to protect and defend our environment. What we have learned is, when we do that, and we do it in the right way, we create millions of jobs and an economy that is very prosperous. One very clear example of that is, take my California coastline. It is an economic driver. It is beautiful. It is an economic driver because people want to see it in all of its beauty. They want to enjoy its beauty. They spend a lot of dollars on tourism to come and visit my coast. They go to the restaurants. They go to the stores. That is why we have always argued against our colleagues who want to go and destroy--potentially destroy--that magnificent coastline, which is a gift from God, in my humble view. It is interesting because the first Earth Day was inspired by a horrible oilspill that hit Santa Barbara, and the whole country saw the devastation, what happened to the wildlife, what happened to the ocean, what happened to the people there. Ever since that time we have been taking a moment to take a deep breath. By the way, breathing clean air is also an important part of Earth Day to actually appreciate this incredible gift that we have been given and to rededicate ourselves to the preservation of our environment. In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire. Swaths of the Great Lakes were lifeless dead zones. Air in our cities was very unhealthy. All that happened in that year that then-Senator Gaylord Nelson decided to act on Earth Day. When Senator Nelson took a trip, a plane trip, and looked down at the devastation of the awful Santa Barbara spill, he realized we needed a day to celebrate the Earth and to dedicate ourselves to protecting these gifts we have been given. Twenty million Americans rallied to celebrate the first Earth Day the following year in April 1970. I think it is important to note that protecting the environment has been a bipartisan thing here, at least up until recent times. The Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors in November of 1970. It was Richard Nixon who signed that law. The Clean Water Act became law in 1972, the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, the Toxic Controlled Substances Act in 1976. We have seen dramatic improvements in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and, again, very good growth in our economy over this period. We saw the gross domestic product rise from $4.26 trillion in 2005 dollars, in 1970, to $12.9 trillion. That is a threefold increase in the GDP during the time we had these great environmental laws on the books. So when the next politician stands up and says: You are going to devastate the economy, let's show him or her that is not so. If we take the lead--lead is a neurotoxin. When we keep it out of the area of our children, we know their IQs have gone up. It has been proven. We know what lies before us, clean energy. We know if we can get carbon pollution out of the air, it is going to unleash twice as many dollars from the private sector into finding new technologies, clean energy technologies. It will get us off of that addiction to foreign oil, $1 billion a day. We will make products in this country that the whole world wants. The world is going green. Why should we step back and allow China to make all of the solar panels? Why should we step back and allow Germany to make all of the windmills? They have taken over the lead from the United States of America. I want to see the words ``Made in America'' again. I want to see them on products, clean energy technology products. I hope we will recommit ourselves to protecting this environment. Today, we have a tremendous opportunity before us in clean energy. When we move forward to address the challenge of climate change, we will create millions of jobs and protect our children from dangerous carbon pollution. Most importantly, clean energy will move us away from our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, which is costing us a billion dollars a day and making our country less secure. America should be the leader in creating clean energy technologies that are made in America and work for America. It will mean manufacturing jobs for people who build solar panels and wind turbines; it will mean jobs for salespeople who will have a world- wide market for these American made exports. It will mean jobs for engineers, office workers, construction workers, and transportation workers too. But today, other countries are moving quickly to take advantage of the enormous opportunities to manufacture and sell the solar, wind, geothermal and other clean energy technologies that will power the world in the coming decades. Venture capitalists tell us that when we pass clean energy and climate legislation, it will unleash a wave of private investment that will dwarf the capital that poured into high tech and biotech combined. That means new businesses, new industries, and millions of new jobs for American workers. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle are working on legislation to step up to the clean energy and climate challenge, building on the work we have done in the Environment and Public Works Committee. I look forward to working with them as this process moves forward. This Earth Day, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reinvigorate our economy, create jobs, and put America on a new course to recovery and prosperity. Let's remember the lessons of the past and seize this opportunity. I yield the floor.

Mrs. BOXER. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, we teach our children that genocide, wherever it occurs, is a crime against humanity that must never be tolerated or ignored. That is why it is so important for the United States to always recognize genocide for what it is and acknowledge when it takes place. Between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire carried out genocide against the Armenian people. However, the United States has yet to recognize this stain on history by its rightful name despite an irrefutable body of evidence documenting the atrocities. Diplomats, members of the military, humanitarians, journalists and others from the United States and around the world saw with their own eyes the deportation, starvation, drowning and murder of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. And there are countless testimonies from victims who lived to tell of their experiences. The American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morganthau, wrote: When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact. There were great efforts made by Americans to relieve the suffering of the victims of what would become the first genocide of the 20th century. Powerful leaders of industry and government did speak out. Schoolchildren and poor families contributed mightily to try to save lives by donating whatever they could. American farmers sent food to reduce starvation. Yet in the 95 years since the Armenian Genocide began, the word ``genocide'' has not been used by the United States to describe the atrocities carried out against the Armenians. The United States has always been a beacon to the world--standing up for what is right and just. Now is the time for the United States to join countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela, and more than 40 U.S. States and unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide.

Mrs. BOXER

Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I supported the motions to table the three Coburn amendments to the Continuing Extension Act of 2010. These amendments would delay important legislation to provide a short term extension of unemployment and health care benefits to Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. This bill is critical to families that have bills to pay and are struggling to put food on the table. Yesterday, I voted to table the Coburn amendment that would have rescinded $40 billion in unobligated funding. This amendment did not say where the cuts would be made. As the chairman of the Appropriations Committee explained, many important homeland security, national defense, and Veterans Administration priorities could have been drastically reduced or eliminated by this amendment. There is no telling how many jobs would have been lost had this amendment been adopted. The two Coburn amendments considered today both include funding offsets that have already been included in a bill to create jobs and reduce taxes. This legislation, which has already passed the Senate and is pending in the House of Representatives, would also extend unemployment insurance and health care benefits until the end of the year. Adoption of the Coburn amendment today would jeopardize this critical bill. Extending unemployment insurance and health benefits are an emergency for those who have lost their jobs. We should come together as a body and pass this bill as soon as possible.

Mrs. BOXER. Will the Senator yield for a question?

Mrs. BOXER. First, I want to say thank you so much for taking to the floor to explain to the American people the very strange debate we hear coming from the Republican leader on this. I was stunned, because I had heard that he had met with the Wall Street people and the banks, and then he said over and over again the same phrase yesterday, which was repeated endlessly, that the bill you and the President and the Democrats are working on--trying to get bipartisan support for, for which I commend you--he said that bill would mean one thing and one thing only--taxpayer bailouts--when we all know the entire purpose is to put an end to one dollar of loss of taxpayer bailouts. So I have a question to ask. Is it not my friend's goal to get into a situation where the banks, the super big banks, the investment houses, pay into a fund themselves with their own money, so that if there are any problems and they need to be wound down, it does not cost a dollar of taxpayer money, that the fund will be paid for by these businesses themselves? Am I correct on that?

Mrs. BOXER. Further, my understanding is, if an institution gets in trouble, they are going to go down. They are not going to be revived.

Mrs. BOXER. I would say to my friend, because he is an expert on this--and years ago I was on the Banking Committee, and am no longer there--I want to make sure I understand if I am right on this: I think the American people have appreciated the FDIC over the years, because the FDIC was another way for taxpayers to be kept out of a problem, because it is an insurance fund. The banks are taxed and they put the money into the fund. And if there is, in fact, a bankruptcy, you are covered. Right now I think it is up to $250,000. Am I correct?