Michael Bennet

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, today I wish to express my support and appreciation for the Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition, CVRC, and Crawford House, which has offered our veterans in Colorado Springs a decade of support and recovery services. CVRC was first formed on March 9, 2000, operating in a small, three- bedroom house on Cucharrus Street with a live-in house manager and two residents. Its first dormitory was later named in honor of WWII Medal of Honor recipient and proud native son of Colorado, William J. Crawford, with his family's permission. On February 14, 2012, Crawford House marked its 10th anniversary, completing its first decade of successful veteran recovery services to homeless and disabled veterans in Colorado Springs. In that decade, more than 1,100 veterans successfully completed Veterans Administration programs, and 80 percent of these alumni remain successfully in the community. Many of these veterans reestablished relationships with their spouses, families, and friends; completed secondary and advanced education; and entered in to the workforce as self-sustaining citizens. On December 1, 2003, the Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition and Crawford House added additional services, and on January 14, 2004, CVRC began purchasing two adjacent houses on Weber Street for graduating veterans to live in inexpensively while restarting their lives. These new facilities freed Crawford House beds to treat more homeless and disabled veterans. Today, both of these houses are fully paid for, which helps lower our future veteran treatment costs. It was my privilege to tour Crawford House and to meet with the staff and residents. The passion and commitment of those who work there, as well as their unending commitment to serving those who have served our Nation, is an inspiration and example to all Coloradans. Therefore, Mr. President, I want the Record to show my deep appreciation and gratitude--along with that of all Coloradans--for the contributions of volunteers, organizations, and individuals who created, expanded, and continually improved the Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition and Crawford House.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the period for morning business be extended until 7 p.m., with the time equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BENNET. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BENNET

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

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise to express my support for the Menendez-Burr amendment, No. 1782, dealing with natural gas vehicles. We have an opportunity today to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by diversifying our vehicle fleet to run on a fuel that is not made from crude oil. The Menendez-Burr amendment--which I cosponsor-- would make smart investments designed to spur greater production of vehicles that run on natural gas. Advances in technology have unlocked new reserves of natural gas in this country. And we ought to be using this resource-- which burns cleaner than any other fossil fuel--to power a greater share of our economy. Natural gas is a domestic resource that we now have in relative abundance. Its development has driven economic growth in Colorado and across the Nation. Passage of the Menendez-Burr amendment would create even more economic opportunities by building and retrofitting vehicles to run on natural gas. To be sure, natural gas alone is not going to solve our problems. We need to focus on continued increases in vehicle efficiency. We have recently made great strides in that arena. We also need to be sure we are developing natural gas in an environmentally responsible way. Colorado has been a leader on this point--with the strongest rules in the Nation--in ensuring that natural gas development protects communities and drinking water. Nationally more needs to be done to protect those living adjacent to development. I think all States should look to our rules in Colorado as a national model. In short, this amendment will diversify our vehicle fleet, drive continued economic growth in the energy sector, and clean up our air-- all while reducing our dependence on foreign oil. I urge my colleagues to support the Menendez-Burr amendment when it comes for a vote later today. I thank the Presiding Officer.

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to discuss the Roberts side-by-side amendment. I support several provisions in Senator Roberts' amendment, but, crucially, others miss the mark. One provision that gives me particular concern relates to the development of oil shale resources in the Rocky Mountain West. I believe we need to take a more cautious approach to oil shale development. This type of energy development could have enormous implications for Colorado's scarce water supplies and our farming and ranching heritage. That is why, over the years, a great diversity of voices--from the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Editorial Board--have raised concerns over plans to accelerate oil shale development on public land. Yet this amendment would do exactly that. Mr. President, there are other provisions in the Roberts amendment that are certainly worthy of support. I hope to work with the Senator from Kansas as we continue the discussion about where to make wise investments in our Tax Code and elsewhere.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I want to, since he is on the floor, recognize the Senator from Utah and his extraordinary service in the U.S. Senate. We do not agree on this issue, but he has done a tremendous job for the people of Utah over many years. I rise to talk a little bit about the amendment we are considering that would allow all employers and insurers to deny coverage, particularly for women, on any health care procedure or service they object to--not the women, but the employers and the insurance companies--on moral or religious grounds. The first thing I want to do--and I have not been around here a long time, but I want to first observe in what context we are discussing and debating this amendment. We have devoted extensive floor time on this amendment about contraception and the lack of coverage for women's health care in the context of a job-creation bill, in the context of the Transportation bill. This is the bill I hold in my hand. This is the bill that is on the floor of the U.S. Senate right now. The title says: A bill (S. 1813) to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes. I would have thought those ``other purposes'' would be related to transportation, transit, to job creation in the United States. I do not think the ``other purposes'' that are talked about in this bill have anything to do with contraception or women's health. But that is what we are spending our time debating this week on the floor of the Senate, instead of passing this Transportation bill and putting people in this country back to work. How is this conversation relevant to job creation or to infrastructure? It is not. In my home State of Colorado, I have held hundreds of townhall meetings in red parts of the State and blue parts of the State, and I do not remember a single time this issue--the issue that is of concern with this amendment--has been raised by anybody--by anybody--in 3 years. I can tell you what people are talking about in Colorado. They want to know why we are not spending our time working on how to create more jobs for them, more jobs in the 21st century in this country or how to fix this Nation's debt or deficit or how we pass a bipartisan Transportation bill that creates immediate jobs and fixes a crumbling infrastructure, while maintaining the infrastructure assets our parents and grandparents had the thoughtfulness to build for us--another case where political games are risking our ability to provide more opportunity, not less, for the next generation of Americans, something every single generation, until this one at least--the politicians--has treated as a sacred trust. Instead, over the last several weeks, we have continued to debate about women and whether they should have access to the health care services they need, and whether they should be the ones who are able to make the decisions about the health care services they need. And we sit here and wonder why the U.S. Congress is stuck at an approval rating of 11 percent. Maybe it is because we are talking about contraception in the context of a Transportation bill. I have a wife and three daughters--12, 11, and 7. There are a lot of women in my life telling me what to do every minute of every day and during the week, and thank goodness for that. One thing I know is they do not need to be told by the government how to make their own health care decisions--nor do the 362,000 Colorado women who would be affected immediately if this amendment passed. This amendment is written so broadly that it would allow any employer to deny any health service to any American for virtually any reason-- not just for religious objections. Women could lose coverage for mammograms, prenatal care, flu shots, to name only a few essential services, and, yes--and yes--the right to make decisions around contraception and their own reproductive health. My State, the great State of Colorado, is a third Democratic, a third Republican, and a third Independent. I can tell you, the last time there was an initiative on the ballot in my State to let the government intervene in women's health care decisions, it was defeated by 70 percent of the voters. Seventy percent of the voters said: You know what. We would rather leave these decisions to women to make for themselves. That is what my daughters want as well. People are speaking loudly and clearly on this issue all across the country. These are not the issues we should be debating right now. We need to be having the conversations people are having at home in my townhalls instead of distracting them with politics: How do we create more jobs? How do we reform our entitlements so Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are here for our grandchildren and for our children? How do we create an education system that is training our people for the 21st century? How do we assure poor children in this country that they can have a quality education and make a contribution to this economy? So I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment and help us get back on the road to passing a bipartisan Transportation bill that will create new jobs and make substantial improvements in our economy and infrastructure. There is a time to debate this, but that time is not now when we are having this infrastructure discussion, we are having this transportation discussion. I urge my colleagues to support the rights of women all across this country and their families and reject this amendment. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until Wednesday, February 29, at 9:30 a.m., that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half hour and the majority controlling the second half; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 1813, the surface transportation bill.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 381, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, tomorrow we will continue to work on a process to complete action on the surface transportation bill.

Mr. BENNET

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

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. As I recall, Senator Grassley actually was the one who wrote this to begin with. We have also recently filed an amendment, a bipartisan, fully paid for, 1-year extension of the credit to the surface transportation bill. I thank Senator Moran, a Republican from Kansas, for joining me to lead on that amendment. There is plenty of support out there for us to get this done. More important than that, if we do not act, there are thousands of people who are going to have to go home to their families and say they were laid off from their job for no reason other than the political dysfunction here in Washington, DC. I think enough is enough. I cannot tell you how much I look forward to a time when we have a thoughtful, bipartisan, fact-based tax reform in this country; when we are thinking about our Tax Code and our regulatory code and asking ourselves: Are we driving job growth here in the United States with these policies? Are we driving up middle-class family income with these policies? Are we addressing the income inequality gap by having an economy that truly does lift all ships and, as the President would make the point, are we dealing with the fiscal challenges this country faces so we do not strap our kids with this mountain of debt? I know there are people on both sides of the aisle who are anxious to work on this, but we have failed that test in this compromise measure. It is my hope that at some point in the near future we can get a vote on this amendment, Senator Moran's amendment, and we can put Americans back to work in these industries before we lose them forever.

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I am here on the floor today to talk a little bit about our economy and something that I think is very important that has been left unaddressed in this payroll tax compromise that I think is a real tragedy for our country and for my State, the State of Colorado, and, most importantly, for people who are suffering through this incredibly difficult economy. It is not well understood by people--I think maybe even in this Chamber--that our country's gross domestic product--the economic output of our country--is actually higher today than it was before we went into this recession. We saw it rising all the way in the 1990s and 2000s, and then we had the worst recession since the Great Depression. Now we are seeing economic output that is actually at a level that is higher than it was before we went into the recession. Our productivity is higher today than it has been at any time in the history of the United States of America. It has become fashionable to talk about what has happened or not happened since the founding of our country. Since the founding of our country, our economy has never been more productive than it is today, and there are several reasons for that. Competition from abroad that has become a daily occurrence-- something we have to fight hard every day to stay ahead of--has driven productivity. That is a good result. Technology has driven productivity. That is a good result. And the recession itself drove productivity straight up. As our business men and women of this country did what they had to do to get through this incredibly tough economic time to keep their businesses alive, to keep their doors open, to keep a promise to the next generation of Americans, productivity went ever skyward. That is a good result. That is progress. And we are only going to become more productive over time as we face competitive threats from around the world. But we can see what else has happened over this period of time. Median family income has fallen over the last decade for the first time in our country's history. The middle class is earning less today in real dollars than in the early 1990s. And, as the President knows, we are producing this economic output with 23 or 24 million people who today are unemployed or underemployed in this economy. There are no jobs for these Americans in this economy even though our output is as high as it was before we went into this recession. There are a lot of people smarter than I am who could figure out the answers to this, but there are at least two big ones we have to keep in mind. The first one is education because the worst the unemployment rate ever got for people with a college degree during this recession was 4.5 percent. That is the worst it got for people who had a college degree, who could compete in the 21st century, even in the worst recession since the Great Depression. As I have said on the floor of this Chamber that has 100 seats, 100 desks, if we were poor children living in the United States of America today, only 9 of these 100 seats would represent college graduates because 91 of 100 poor children in the United States in the 21st century cannot get access to a college degree. So that is job No. 1, to keep a promise to the next generation of Americans. I think job No. 2 needs to be driving innovation and job growth in this economy, which is what has brought me to the floor today because we are failing in this package, among other things, to extend the wind production tax credit which cuts right to the core of whether and how we want to compete in the 21st century in this global economy. For people here or elsewhere who think these jobs aren't real in the wind industry, I brought some pictures. I brought some pictures of a manufacturing plant made in America--made in America--in this case, in Brighton, CO--a manufacturing plant, the towers from which wind turbines are going to be hung, driving electricity and jobs in the United States. So we are not talking about some fly-by-night, experimental industry. This credit has triggered enormous economic growth in Colorado and across the country. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Iowa, wrote today in an op- ed that he published that ``the production tax credit has driven as much as $20 billion in private investing.'' This isn't some Bolshevik trick, some Socialist trick; it is $20 billion in private investment in real American manufacturing jobs. Wind power accounts for more than one-third of all new U.S. electric generation in recent years. In Colorado alone, I can tell you it has created 6,000 jobs in my State. It has moved our State toward a more diversified and cleaner energy portfolio, so that Colorado today is a leader among the 50 States in diversifying our portfolio. Let's be clear. We have oil and we have coal and we have natural gas. We have abundant wind and abundant sun and entrepreneurial horsepower all across the Front Range. What we don't have is Washington's cooperation. What we don't have is the decency of people coming together and doing better than just keeping the flickering lights on in this place. It is because they can't get any certainty out of Washington that developers and manufacturers are starting layoffs already in anticipation of the credit expiring at the end of this year. This is the result of nothing other than our political dysfunction in Washington. Vestas, which has a huge manufacturing footprint in Colorado--from Windsor all the way south to Pueblo--is poised to lay off 1,600 workers if we fail to act. Iberdrola Renewables, also doing business in Colorado, has already laid off 50 employees for no reason other than our inability to get our work done. Nationally, 37,000 jobs are at risk, not to mention the ones we could have created after 2012 but won't if we let this credit expire. I brought a couple of other pictures just to make sure people know this is distributed all over the United States. This is Pennsylvania and Texas. I know I sound like a broken record when I say this because I have said it over and over on this floor, but we should not be confused that the rest of the world is somehow waiting for us to get our act together, that they are somehow waiting for us to cure our politics and do something that will actually solve those curves that I mentioned earlier and put Americans back to work manufacturing in jobs that are actually driving middle-class family income up, rather than down, which is what we are doing today. Our largest single export from the United States of America is aircraft. We export $30 billion a year. China's export of solar panels last year was $15 billion--half our largest single export. They didn't export one solar panel 10 years ago, and we invented the technology here in the United States. In fact, some of us believe we invented that technology in the State of Colorado. I am sure the Chinese would love to have this business as well. And my concern is not that this is a temporary interruption in our wind industry but that this will become a permanent shutdown of our ability to drive economic growth across the United States. This is a perfect example of an industry that can move this employment level back up, an industry that we don't have today, one that is in its infancy but 50 years from now or 20 years from now may be driving significant employment growth across the United States of America. This is an industry that, by the way, would drive this curve up as well. I met a young man in Logan County not long ago. He was working--he was giving me a tour on the top of a wind turbine. I was standing on the very top of the box. It was about 10,000 feet in the air--or it felt that way to me. I was wearing the shoes I am wearing right now on the floor of the Senate, which is not what you should wear when you are on the top of a wind turbine, swaying in the wind. He told me he would be unable to live in his home community and raise his family in his home community if it had not been for that job, a job he could not even have imagined there being 5 years ago. And there it is today. These are high-quality, high-paying jobs in the United States of America. It would seem to me the Congress ought to figure out a way to support these industries. I actually do not believe any of these kinds of credits should be permanent. I want to be clear about that. I think we would be doing ourselves and the country a service if we designed them in a way that phased them out over time, because at a certain point every business has to sink or swim based on its merits. We are ``this close'' to being there with wind production and we are ``this close'' to turning it over to the rest of the world. This is not a partisan issue. This is not a partisan issue. Last week Republicans and Democrats from the Colorado delegation came together in the House and the Senate to urge a quick extension as part of the payroll deal. I know my colleagues Senators Harkin and Grassley did the same with the delegation from Iowa. I ask unanimous consent to have those letters printed in the Record.

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

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, today I come before you with a heavy heart to honor the life of Gil Chavez. Mr. Chavez died on November 30, 2011, of injuries sustained in a car accident outside of West High School in Denver, CO. He was 63 years old. Mr. Chavez was a true community leader in every sense of the word. After graduating from Denver's West High School in 1967, Mr. Chavez spent the next 30 years of his life giving back to the school through teaching, coaching, and counseling. He was always there for his students, so much so that after retiring, he came back to volunteer coach for the wrestling team beside his son, Gil Junior, the current head coach at West. Mr. Chavez's family continues his legacy of always striving for excellence in all that they endeavor. Gil Chavez was a committed educator and coach who was a role model to the students he worked with. He was a sincere motivator, and he backed up his words with promises that he kept to his students. Mr. Chavez was always there for those who needed him with an ear to listen, with help figuring out classes or locating a tutor, and always believing in those who needed it most. To Mr. Chavez's entire family, I cannot imagine the sorrow you must be feeling. I hope that, in time, the pain of your loss will be eased by your pride in Gil's life and by your knowledge that his community will never forget him. His memory will live on in the team, the school, the community, and all those he has touched along the way.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, be printed as passed by the Senate on December 1, 2011.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. As a reminder, the majority leader filed cloture on the Cordray nomination. Unless an agreement is reached, that vote will be Thursday morning.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, the Senate adjourn until 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 7, 2011; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first hour equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the second 30 minutes.

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, there will be two rollcall votes around noon tomorrow on motions to proceed to the joint resolutions of disapproval regarding net neutrality and cross-border air pollution. There will be an additional four rollcall votes around 2:30 p.m. in relation to H.R. 647, the 3 Percent Withholding Repeal and Jobs Act, with the veterans jobs amendment, and the motion to proceed to H.R. 2354, the Energy and Water appropriations bill. Senators should be aware we may get consent to begin the second series of votes earlier.

Mr. BENNET

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

Mr. BENNET

Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.