Benjamin Cardin

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the Justice Thurgood Marshall's Elementary School Study Act. The elementary school that Justice Marshall attended, known as PS 103, located in my hometown of Baltimore, is a place of national significance because it marks the site where one of our Nation's greatest legal minds began his education. Thurgood Marshall is well known as one of the most significant historical figures of the American civil rights movement. By the time he was 32, he was appointed the chief legal counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP. He served at the NAACP a total of 25 years and was a key strategist to end racial segregation throughout the United States. Perhaps the greatest illustration of this effort was his victory before the Supreme Court overturning the Plessy doctrine of `separate but equal' and ending school segregation with the landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, KS in 1954. Not only did this case open up educational opportunity and sparked the civil rights movement in this nation, it also established Thurgood Marshall, still a young attorney from Baltimore, as one of the greatest legal minds in all the land. This case was just one of the 29 cases he won before the U.S. Supreme Court. Fittingly, Marshall was the first African American confirmed to the Supreme Court. He was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and served 24 years, until 1991. On the high court, Marshall continued his fight for the Constitutional protection of individual human rights. But Thurgood Marshall was not always a legal giant. He was once a young boy growing up in West Baltimore. He received the first 6 years of his public education at PS 103. An apocryphal story goes that a young Thurgood Marshall studied the U.S. Constitution in the basement of the building while serving detention. Regardless of whether or not this is true, the building powerfully tells the story of racial segregation in America, PS 103 was a ``blacks only'' school when Justice Marshall was a student there, and the rise of one of the country's paramount thinkers and pioneers in the civil rights movement. The building is located at 1315 Division Street in the Upton Neighborhood of Old West Baltimore. The building is part of the Old West Baltimore National Register Historic District, and is listed as a contributing historic resource for the neighborhood. The Old West Baltimore historic district is one of the largest predominately African American historic districts in the country, and its significance is centered on the African American experience in the area. In Baltimore, we are fortunate to have the National Park Service operate two historical sites, Fort McHenry and the Hampton Mansion. Adding PS 103 is a unique opportunity for the National Park Service to work in Baltimore's inner-city and to expand its ability to engage people around African American history. Needless to say, Thurgood Marshall's legacy is one that should be preserved. He was one of our country's greatest legal minds and a prominent historical figure of one chapter of our country's great history--the civil rights movement. This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of PS 103 to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of establishing the building as a unit of the National Park Service. Preserving the building that was Justice Marshall's elementary school will give Americans insight into Justice Marshall's childhood. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Let me thank my colleague from Virginia. He is absolutely right. We went through a pretty tough time a month ago when we reached an agreement on the funding levels. It should be a very simple process to get a continuing resolution passed that will extend the government based upon the agreement that was reached just a month ago. The Senator from Virginia is right about our Federal workforce. Our Federal workforce is doing more work with less people. They are subjected to a 2-year pay freeze, which they were subjected to before we had an agreement to deal with the deficit. For the sake of our Federal employees, for the sake of the people who depend upon their service, and for the sake of our economy and for good governance, the passage of what we call a clean continuing resolution that allows us to work out the individual appropriations bills should be beyond any disagreement. I thank the Senator from Virginia for his leadership not only on behalf of Federal employees, but also on behalf of sensible budgeting so we do not have to go through this type of ordeal and put people through this unnecessary anxiety.

Mr. CARDIN. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, today I wish to recognize and pay tribute to a dear friend, fellow Marylander and 16-year member of the Maryland House of Delegates, Shirley Nathan-Pulliam. Shirley has been a tireless advocate for eliminating health disparities throughout her career as a public servant. The Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene is appropriately honoring her on October 4 by announcing the establishment of the ``Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Health Equity Lecture Series'' at this year's annual Maryland Health Disparity Conference. Shirley has strong convictions and has often stated: ``In a country as rich and powerful as the United States of America, no person should be without a basic plan of health care.'' As a registered nurse and former faculty associate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Shirley has seen firsthand how minorities are disproportionately harmed by certain diseases and the inequality in care across racial and ethnic lines. Her belief that health care is a basic human right, and not a privilege, has compelled her to serve in public office--a decision that has benefited all Marylanders and has helped improve health equality in our State. Shirley has had many successes as a legislator, but one of the most important has been her work in establishing the Maryland Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities in 2004. This office is charged with promoting health equity for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and other groups experiencing health disparities. Another key legislative accomplishment of Shirley's was her success in providing health care coverage to more than 100,000 children in Maryland. Shirley is not a woman who idly witnesses society's inequities. Her compassion and empathy drive her to come up with solutions for the problems she sees. As a sponsor or cosponsor of hundreds of bills that have been signed into law, Shirley has been instrumental in improving the lives of Marylanders in countless ways. When Shirley discovered Maryland had the third highest oral cancer rate for African-American men in the Nation, she secured $500,000 to fight the disease. She also was lead sponsor of legislation providing $2.6 million annually for breast cancer treatment for low-income women living in Maryland. Shirley has been an indispensable partner and an inspiration in my efforts to address health disparities at the federal level. We worked together to codify the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities, correcting a long-standing bias in our health care system that was ill-equipped to deal with disparities among different populations. I wish the University of Maryland's Center for Health Equity and the State Office of Minority Health great success in their stewardship of the ``Shirley Nathan-Pulliam Health Equity Lecture Series.'' There is still a great deal of work to be done in achieving Shirley's dream of erasing health disparities and making health care a right for every human being. But with her leadership and legacy to follow, I am confident her dream will one day become a reality.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I take this time to bring to the attention of my colleagues activities that will take place this week in New York at the United Nations and the request that has been made by the Palestinians that they seek status as an independent state with full membership in the United Nations. It is clearly the position of the United States, it is clearly I think the position of the international community, that there needs to be two states, a Jewish State of Israel along with an independent Palestinian State, living side by side in peace. But the only way that will take place is through direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, was here in Washington and spoke before a joint session of Congress. He laid out very clearly how peace in the Middle East needs to evolve, through the recognition by the international community of the Jewish State of Israel and an independent Palestinian State through direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Israel has been one of our strongest allies. They have been a loyal ally to the United States. We share common values. It is strategically critical to the United States, particularly in that part of the world. It is clear to all that the only way we will achieve the two states will be through direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The Palestinians have been reluctant to have these direct negotiations and tried to use intermediaries. They need to do it directly. Sit down with the Israelis. Negotiate the issues. That is the way to move forward to accomplish their goal. The action they are seeking in the United Nations will be counterproductive. We have gone on record, every single one of us in the Senate of the United States, in S. Res. 185, a resolution I brought forward with my colleague from Maine, Senator Collins. It was passed unanimously by the Senate. It stated very clearly that if the Palestinians were to pursue this unilateral action through the United Nations, that would not advance the peace process, that it would be counterproductive to the objectives of the Palestinians to establish an independent state. This past week, Senator Collins and I sent a letter to President Abbas, the President of the Palestinian group. We told him that we believed trying to go directly to the United Nations, circumventing the peace process, would be a lack of good faith in peace negotiations and that it would have repercussions on United States foreign policy. What we have been told by the Palestinians is they will seek full membership as a state in the United Nations, going to the Security Council. That is not going to succeed. We hope the Security Council will recognize the inappropriateness of such action and will not take it up or will not provide the necessary support to forward it to the General Assembly. In the unlikely case that it were to get the necessary support in the Security Council, the United States has made it clear that it would veto any such action, for good reason--because it would be counterproductive to achieving the objectives of two states living side by side in peace. The Palestinians may go to the General Assembly. Although they cannot get full membership, they could try to advance a resolution within the General Assembly in the United Nations. We know the numbers. We know what could happen. But I must tell you, seeking some form of recognition through the General Assembly, circumventing the peace process and the Security Council, will be harmful to advancing the peace process and the objectives of the Palestinians for an independent state. Let the parties negotiate directly, in good faith. Israel has indicated they are prepared to do that. We have been prepared to do that--negotiate in good faith through direct negotiations. There are no shortcuts to achieving this. Moving through the United Nations will not achieve those objectives. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 14, 2011, at 10 a.m.

Mr. CARDIN. 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 ``Securing the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain,'' on September 14, 2011, at 10 a.m., in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. CARDIN. 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 September 14, 2011, at 10 a.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. The Committee will hold a hearing entitled, ``Moving Intercity Passenger Rail into the Future.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs' Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 14, 2011, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Emerging Issues in Insurance Regulation.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 14, 2011, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Tax Reform Options: Marginal Rates on High-Income Taxpayers, Capital Gains and Dividends.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at 2 p.m.

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs' Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 14, 2011, at 2 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``New Ideas for Refinancing and Restructuring Mortgage Loans.''

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on September 14, 2011, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Trafficing Victims Protection Reauthorization Act: Renewing the Commitment to Victims of Human Trafficking.''

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I am not sure it is good stuff, but it is what has happened in our State. I thank the Senator from Florida for his leadership on so many of these issues and his comments on the floor of the Senate. About 2 weeks ago, right before Hurricane Irene struck, I was at the Maryland Emergency Management Center located in Reisterstown, MD. I was with Governor O'Malley, the Governor of our State, and other leaders. I saw our team there to prepare the people of Maryland for the onslaught of Irene and later from Tropical Storm Lee. I saw Maryland preparing the best it possibly could to minimize the risk to the people of our State from a natural storm. I saw the local officials do the right thing and tell people in our coastal areas to evacuate their homes because of the potential risk to life and property from this massive storm. I also saw another agency that was located right there, side by side with the Maryland agencies, and that was FEMA, the Federal officials. These were people I met for the first time. They were not from Maryland. They had come in from other States to help the people of Maryland and provided the expertise to our State officials so we could properly prepare for this storm that was potentially damaging to the people of Maryland. They were there. I thank President Obama for declaring, before the storm hit, emergency declarations to Maryland so we could utilize Federal resources and we could take maximum steps to minimize the loss of life and property. It was the right thing to do. I take this time on the floor--I am going to talk a little bit about the damages that occurred in my State--to point out that we have always come together as a nation to stand by those who have been devastated through these natural disasters. This has been a particularly rough year. We have seen hurricanes and storms and tornadoes and flooding and even an earthquake on the east coast of the United States. This has challenged our ability to respond in a timely way. We have a responsibility to make sure our Federal agencies have the resources to respond--how they were able to be about Maryland before the storm, during the storm and after the storm and they are there now to help the people of Maryland. Our governments--our local governments, our businesses, and our residents are counting on that continued Federal purpose to get us through this very difficult period. Hurricane Irene caused severe storms, flooding, and strong winds in the State of Maryland. It was followed by Tropical Storm Lee, which aggravated the flooding and other damage throughout the State, including damage to roads, water treatment plants, and agriculture. Our agricultural community was hit hard. Our water treatment facilities, the plants we depend upon to keep our waters clean and to keep our neighborhoods safe, were damaged severely by this storm. I have talked to our transportation people. Roads were knocked out. Damage was caused. On the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as I have already indicated, there was a mandatory order for evacuation of Ocean City the weekend before the Labor Day weekend, resulting in heavy economic losses during one of the most profitable periods during the summer for that city. The flooding in Queen Anne's County destroyed railroad tracks. I have a photograph. This is, by the way, railroad tracks. They have been knocked out by the hurricane. As you can see, this required emergency attention. Multiple roads were closed and numerous homes were flooded in the town of Millington after the Chester River flooded over its banks. In Millington, the wastewater treatment plant was disabled, also affecting the residents in Kent County. The storm in Talbot County caused roads and pipeline damage. Let me show you this photograph, if I might, because I think it points out the problem. When that amount of water goes through the storm pipes, it can cause significant damage because these pipes were not able to handle the amount of water that was brought down by the hurricane and tropical storm. As a result, the pipes burst, causing the road which the pipe was under to give way, bringing about a road closure. That was terribly inconvenient, of course, to the people of that area, the businesses, et cetera. I am showing an example in Talbot County, MD, on the Eastern Shore. We could show numerous other examples of the failure of stormwater management pipes as well as roads that had to be closed for public safety. In Caroline County, the towns of Federalsburg and Greensboro experienced major flooding of the Choptank River, including the malfunctioning of a wastewater treatment plant. In Cecil and Harford Counties, Irene led to the opening of a significant number of floodgates at the Conowingo Dam, due to rising water levels feeding in from the Susquehanna River. This was the first time the engineers took such measures since Tropical Storm Isabel hit Maryland in 2003. Opening the floodgates led to flooding and property damage in many areas, and mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Port Deposit and Havre de Grace, in Maryland. People had to leave their homes. The streets were underwater. When the water receded, there was muck and damage to the towns. In southern Maryland, damage from metal on a roof that was blown into a transformer forced the shutdown of a reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. In Calvert County, many of the substations were damaged and rendered inoperable during Irene, resulting in widespread power outages for many customers and that forced businesses to close for several days. You heard about power outages. We had whole counties where everyone was out of power--everyone. In most of our counties the majority of people lost their power, not for a couple hours, for many days, causing major disruptions to our businesses, to our families, to schools that could not open and, therefore, parents who could not go to work because they had to deal with the unexpected news that the schools would be closed because there was no power in the schools themselves. In the Washington metro region, Irene and the additional storms caused severe power outages and flooding in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. In Prince George's County, the loss of power caused thousands of basements to flood. As you know, without power you cannot use your sump pumps. Without that, there is significant damage. Frankly, because the water came in from the low level rather than from the roof, these property owners are now being challenged as to whether their insurance will cover this damage. That raises the importance, I might say, of the Federal protections that are available when a disaster is declared an emergency by the President because of the altercations over what insurance does not cover. All the more reason why the Federal Government must be there in its traditional role to help communities when a storm or emergency occurs. Hurricane Irene and subsequent storms required governments to incur additional expenses due to overtime needed for first responders who save lives and property after the storm. I must tell you, I saw those first responders. I saw them out there working 24-hour shifts in some cases. They didn't get home to their families because they were there to help us maintain order and help reduce the loss of life and the loss of property. I thank President Obama for making a timely major disaster declaration for the State of Maryland in advance of the hurricane. Maryland is now eligible for Federal disaster recovery dollars through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The State budget has already been very much impacted. We all understand our States do not have the flexibility of our country. It is during emergencies that our State and local leaders look to Washington, look to their Federal Government to be there as a partner to deal with this issue that States cannot deal with. Congress has always acted in a bipartisan manner to help Americans and their communities recover from natural disasters. Congress has never insisted that disaster fund being offset. Let me explain this issue because it may be confusing to the people who are watching. Yes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has a budget. FEMA has a budget. But you cannot predict the number and scope of natural disasters. No one had predicted this storm would be as widespread as it was. Hurricane Irene affected the entire east coast of the United States. FEMA did not have in its budget that type of a scenario, along with the tornadoes we had, along with what has happened in the Midwest. During this period, we have seen 48 of our States declared eligible for FEMA assistance. This affects our entire country. Now the people on the east coast of the United States are looking to the Federal Government to be there. We have always done this, as I said, in a bipartisan manner, without the requirement that if additional moneys are needed, those moneys will be appropriated by Congress. We will not ask other agencies to have to contribute toward that because that was not anticipated when we did the budget. I might point out that we had a very contentious fight over the Budget Control Act. That is the bill we passed that allowed us to increase our debt ceiling and set our budget allocations for fiscal year 2012, the year that will start on October 1. As you know, there was an agreement in that Budget Control Act that permits the modification of the fiscal year 2012 discretionary cap to be adjusted to accommodate additional disaster relief funding without an offset. That is what we did. We came together as one entity recognizing we cannot predict the next hurricane, storm, earthquake, flood, or tornado. We just cannot predict that. Therefore, Democrats and Republicans said adjust the cap. Meet whatever disaster is out there. Whether it was Katrina in Louisiana, whether it is a bridge falling down in Minnesota that the Presiding Officer had to deal with, whether it is tornadoes as we had in the Midwest, droughts and floods that occurred in our country, we will be there to help the people of America. We helped rebuild countries around the world. We want to make sure we help the communities. I was with my colleagues from Vermont, and they shared with us the number of bridges that had been wiped out, people who have been isolated as a result of Hurricane Irene and then Tropical Storm Lee. We have a responsibility, and we recognize that in the budget agreement, that we adjust the caps without setoffs so the Federal Government can be there as a true partner in dealing with these issues. We were there for preparation. It is now time to help restore the communities. In some cases it will take months before we are back to normal. We know that, the people know that, but they have a right to expect that the Federal Government will be there to help. I commend Senator Landrieu, the chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee; Senator Inouye and the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. They recognize that. They have given us a budget that will accommodate the extra needs so FEMA will have the resources it wants. I thank President Obama. His budget request to us reflects the resources we need so we have the recommendation from our Appropriations Committee. We have the leadership from the White House. Now it is time for us to act. We have the vehicle on the floor of the Senate. It is time for us to give the resources to the Federal agencies so they can be there in all parts of this country--including helping the people of Maryland cope with the disaster of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee and the other natural disasters that have happened in other parts of the country by--taking up this issue now, passing it at this moment so the funds are there and the resources are there. We can live up to the historical mission of the United States to always be there to help any part of our Nation affected by a natural disaster. I hope we will be able to bring up this issue quickly. As the vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee indicated, it should not be delayed because of offset issues. We should get the needed funds and resources to the agency, working with our State and local governments, working for our local communities so we can try to restore and rebuild those areas that have been devastated by these natural disasters. I would urge us to do that as quickly as possible. Mr. President, I would yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CARDIN

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

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, there will be no rollcall votes during Friday's session. The next rollcall vote will be on Monday, September 12, no earlier than 5:30 p.m.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. 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. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I join my colleagues in commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001. I remember that morning so vividly. It was stunningly clear and beautiful with a crispness in the air that hinted that fall was just around the corner. And then, with a sudden ferocity, the airliners crashed into the World Trade Center, WTC, the Pentagon, and Somerset County, PA. Barely 2 hours elapsed between the first hijacking and the collapse of the North Tower of the WTC, 2 horrific hours that forever changed our Nation and the world. We mourn the lives that were lost in New York City, here in the Washington metropolitan area, and in Pennsylvania. The emotional trauma of those losses affected each and every American. Millions of us remained glued to our TV sets, watching unbearable images of death and destruction. We remember the 3,000 people who perished on 9/11. The attacks spared no one: Blacks, Whites, Christians, Jews, and Muslims; the young and old; parents, children, siblings; Americans and foreigners--all these and more were among the victims. The attack was not on one ethnic group, but on a way of life. It was an attack on our freedom and our dedication to its preservation. We honor the selfless actions of our first responders, including firefighters, police, paramedics, and other emergency and medical personnel, all of whom did not hesitate to answer the call of duty and demonstrated extraordinary bravery and courage in our hours of need. We also honor our brave service men and women who have taken the fight to the terrorists on foreign soil. We must never forget our country's solemn obligation to our service men and women, our veterans, and their families. There is no question that 9/11 and the days that followed were difficult ones. But they were also among our proudest ones. It brought out the best of the American spirit. Men and women waited in lines for hours to give blood, children donated their savings to help with relief efforts, communities sponsored clothing drives, and different faith groups held interfaith services. On 9/11 and in the days and months that followed, Americans stood together. Our response showed the world that Americans have an unquenchable love of freedom and democracy. It showed American resilience, vigilance, and resolve. Much has changed since that day in September. The 9/11 attacks propelled our Nation into a new kind of warfare, unlike any war we have ever fought. They exposed the scope, depth, and utter ruthlessness of the al-Qaida network. And the attacks revealed gaps in our national security. Evolving threats required new tools. I am proud of how far we have come in addressing the challenge presented by al-Qaida or other terrorist organizations. While our security networks are far from perfect, in the decade since the 9/11 attacks, we created the Department of Homeland Security to streamline and better integrate the Federal departments and agencies responsible for protecting us. U.S. intelligence and law enforcement at all levels have become much more aggressive in pursuing terrorist threats at home and abroad. These measures have been largely successful. And let us remember arguably our greatest success against al-Qaida: President Obama's bold stroke to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. The raid was the result of painstaking intelligence gathering and analysis and thorough planning, and it was a remarkable display of our Special Forces capabilities and the extraordinary heroism of our men and women in uniform. The end of al-Qaida is in sight. Their future is bleak. They have far less global impact than they used to. They cling to an outdated and empty ideology, with little mainstream influence in the Muslim world. Indeed, the recent Arab Spring demonstrates that people in Middle Eastern countries--especially young people--are more interested in freedom and democracy than in being susceptible to al-Qaida's repressive ideology. Even as al-Qaida becomes more and more marginalized, evolving state- and nonstate-sponsored threats to our Nation's security persist. One of our greatest challenges will be securing cyberspace. The Internet has grown into one of the most remarkable innovations in human history. But it carries risks. Our current system allows hackers, spies, and terrorists to gain access to classified and other vital information. Today's cyber criminals, armed with the right tools, can steal our identities, corrupt our financial networks, and disrupt government operations. Tackling cybersecurity in a meaningful way will fill one of the last holes that exist in our national security regime. As our government moves to extinguish the remnant of al-Qaida and address new threats, we must strive to maintain a careful balance between protecting our Nation and protecting our civil liberties. Commemorating 9/11 should remind us of what makes us unique as a nation. Our country's strength lies in its diversity and our ability to have strongly held beliefs and differences of opinion, while being able to speak freely and not fear that we will be discriminated against by our government or our fellow citizens. After the 9/11 attacks, I went back to my congressional district and made three visits as a Congressman. First, I visited a synagogue and we prayed together. Then, I visited a mosque and we prayed together. Finally, I visited a church and we prayed together. On that day in September, Americans banded together, regardless of our personal belief or religion. My message that day was clear: we needed to condemn the terrorist attacks and to take all necessary measures to eliminate safe havens for terrorists and bring them to justice. But my other message that day was equally important: we cannot allow the events of 9/11 to make us demonize a particular religion, nationality, creed, or community. In these trying times, we cannot let our society succumb to the temptation to scapegoat one group. We did it before--with the Palmer Raids following World War I, the internment of 120,000 Japanese-American citizens during World War II, and the McCarthy-era witch hunts. These were shameful events of our history. We must strive to live up to our Nation's highest ideals and protect our precious civil liberties, even when doing so is difficult or unpopular. We must always remember how we stood united on 9/11 and showed the world the depth of our commitment to ``E Pluribus Unum.'' Out of many, one. Our many faiths, origins, and appearances should bind us together, not break us apart. They should be a source of strength and enlightenment, not discord and enmity. All of us belong to smaller communities within the larger community we call the United States. Each community has an obligation to the larger community to promote the safety and well-being of each and every one of us. There is a mutual self-interest in preserving and nurturing our freedom. September 11, 2001, was a dark day. We remember those who perished and mourn with those who lost family and friends. We honor those who responded and those who fought and continue to fight to keep us safe. Archibald MacLeish wrote, ``There are those who will say that the liberation of humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a dream. They are right. It is the American dream.'' 9/11 was a nightmare. As horrific and cruel as it was, however, it can't extinguish the dream.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:45 a.m. on Friday, September 9; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and that following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to submit for the Record a report on the activity of a congressional delegation I led to Belgrade, Serbia, from July 7 to 10, to represent the United States at the 20th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. I did so in my capacity as cochairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission. I was joined by our colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, who also traveled to Sarajevo, Bosnia. Senator Shaheen is also a member of the Helsinki Commission. Our colleague from Alaska, Senator Begich, also participated on the delegation but was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, as part of the official U.S. Delegation to the 6th annual Croatian Summit of regional political leaders and European officials. As the report details, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE PA, has been an excellent opportunity for the U.S. Congress to engage our European friends and allies, and to make clear to less friendly countries that our ties to the continent will not be diminished. U.S. engagement also provides a means for us to advance U.S. interests by encouraging Europe to focus more on policy issues of concern to us, from democratic shortcomings within Europe such as Belarus to the new challenges and opportunities coming from North Africa and the Middle East and other parts of the world. The revised Senate schedule made us miss the opening days of the Belgrade meeting, but we made up for that with an intensive schedule from Friday to Sunday. All three U.S. resolutions and most of our delegation's amendments to resolutions were adopted, including a resolution I submitted on political transition in the Mediterranean region and amendments welcoming the arrest of at-large war crimes indictee Ratko Mladic and calling for Turkey to allow the Ecumenical Patriarch to open a theological school in Halki. Senator Shaheen and I also used the opportunity of visiting Belgrade to encourage progress in Serbia's democratic transition. We met with President Tadic as well as the Speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, the chief negotiator in the technical talks on Kosovo-related issues, representatives of civil society, and of Serbia's Romani and Jewish communities. We came away from our visit impressed with the progress Serbia has made thus far. While there are lingering manifestations of the extreme and violent nationalism from the Milosevic era of the 1990s, I believe there is a genuine commitment to overcome them. We should support those in and out of government in Serbia who turn this commitment into action. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the Report to which I referred.

Mr. CARDIN

Mr. CARDIN. I want to thank Senator Boxer for raising this issue. I cannot tell you how many people I have heard from in Maryland, not just the workers at the FAA who have been furloughed but small business owners who are not getting their contracts who are going to have to lay off workers through no fault of their own. So I think it would be absolutely wrong for us to go home on this recess, for this district work period, and not extend the FAA. For those who think it will save the government on the budget deficit, let me remind you that if we do not extend the FAA authorization, we do not collect the revenues on the passenger tax, which, by the way, is currently being charged by the airlines in extra ticket prices to the passengers. So the passengers are not even getting the break of lower prices, but we are not getting the revenue. It is $30 million a day we are adding to the deficit problems because we are not collecting the revenue associated with the FAA reauthorization. For all those reasons, for the sake of those 4,000 furloughed workers, who are really not at fault here, who are currently on furlough, and that is hurting our economy; for the sake of the contractors, who are depending upon the government funds in order to pay their workers, many of which are small companies; for the sake of the construction work that needs to be done at our airports, including work being done at our own airport, BWI; and for the importance to moving forward with modernization of the FAA itself, I would urge us to find a way to extend the FAA authorization until we come back. I would hope we could get a conference committee together, a reauthorization, but at a minimum we should extend the current provisions during those negotiations. I say to Senator Boxer, she is absolutely right. I strongly urge the Senate to allow a short-term, clean extension of the FAA. That is the best way to proceed. I hope we can find a way to get this done now so the damage that is being done no longer will take place. I thank the Senator.

Mr. CARDIN. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. CARDIN

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

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, let me first compliment the majority leader. I think he said it accurately; that is, we need to find a compromise between where we are, so we can move forward with increasing the debt limit, and a credible plan to reduce the deficit. I have heard many of my colleagues talk about that. But I want to point out that Leader Reid's proposal that we will be voting cloture on in a few moments is a compromise. It includes two major provisions that the Republicans have been asking about that, quite frankly, many Democrats disagree with. First, there will be a dollar for dollar reduction in spending for the increase in the debt ceiling. Let me tell you, there is no relationship between the debt ceiling and spending. The debt ceiling represents funds that have already been committed that we have an obligation to pay. We all understand what would happen if we violated the debt ceiling. It would affect the credit of America, its standing internationally, the dollar's global significance, it would affect our creditworthiness in America, increase the cost of government borrowing, increase the spending for all taxpayers in this country. It would have effects in my own State of Maryland. We have been told that the Maryland bond rating is very much tied to the Federal bond rating, and it could very well cause a downgrade for Maryland taxpayers, increase costs for mortgages, for credit cards. Every family would be affected. So the Reid bill yields to what the Republicans have asked. And although there is no relationship to the debt ceiling and the spending, because these are bills that have already been incurred, there is dollar for dollar reduction in spending for every dollar increase in the debt. The second major concession the Democrats have already made in the Reid proposal is that there is no revenue in this. We have been talking for a long time. If we are going to have a credible plan to reduce the deficit, we have to include all of the elements of Federal spending. We have a lot of what are called tax expenditures: moneys that are spent in our Tax Code. Some of these dollars are spent on shelters and loopholes that we should close. I have taken the floor several times to talk about several of these loopholes, the ethanol credit that we should not give for ethanol subsidies, the funds that go to gas and oil companies. There are a lot of loopholes in our Tax Code that we could close. The Reid proposal has made an accommodation to the Republicans to say: Okay, you said that is a deal killer. That is not in the Reid proposal. So the Reid proposal is the largest amount of deficit reduction--$2.4 trillion of deficit reduction or $2.4 trillion of debt ceiling increase so we can get through March of next year, March of 2013, the year after. That gives us the stability we need. And we know what we have gone through already as far as the debt ceiling debate. It has already hurt our country. We don't want to go through this again. That is what I think is critically important by moving forward to get this done. We are going to have a vote in about 45 minutes. That vote is on cloture. I want to explain that. Senator Levin talked about it yesterday. What the Republicans are doing is they are filibustering the debt limit bill. It is a filibuster. They are requiring us now to have 60 votes rather than a simple majority. The Speaker of the House passed his proposal in the House with a majority of those voting. That is what democracy should be about. We are talking about the debt limit increase and whether it is a type of issue that should be filibustered by the Republicans. They are doing that--filibustering it--and their vote in a little while will determine whether we should be able to move forward without a 60-vote threshold. The majority leader pointed out that on previous occasions we have taken up the debt ceiling and we have not required a 60-vote threshold. I had my staff pull the information about the debt ceiling votes we had when George W. Bush was President. The Senate passed the debt ceiling increase by a 68-29 vote on June 11, 2002--with no requirement for a 60-vote threshold. We had another vote on May 23, 2003, that passed the Senate by a 53-to-44 vote, and there was no filibuster of that by the Democrats. We had a vote on November 17, 2004, with a debt ceiling increase of $800 billion. The vote was 52 to 44 in the Senate. Again, there was no effort made to require a 60-vote threshold, and there was no effort made to filibuster that issue. Then again on September 27, 2007, the debt ceiling was increased by $850 billion by a vote of 53 to 42. On a fourth occasion--March 16, 2006--there was a 52-48 vote for a debt ceiling increase. Once again, there was no effort made to filibuster that issue. Webster's Dictionary defines ``filibuster'' as ``the use of extreme dilatory tactics to delay or prevent action by the majority in a legislative or deliberative assembly.'' That is exactly what the Republicans are doing if they vote against the cloture motion in a few moments. They are using extreme dilatory tactics to deny the majority the opportunity to take up an issue. I know we are close to working out an agreement. I certainly hope we work out an agreement. I have been saying on the floor of the Senate for a long time that Democrats and Republicans need to put the Nation's interests first. We have two goals: to increase the debt ceiling and have a credible plan to deal with the deficit. The Reid proposal offers solutions to both of those goals. I hope we have a bipartisan agreement before the day is out. We can move forward. I think it is critically important that the Members of the Senate express whether they believe we should be filibustering a debt limit increase. I believe that is not the right precedent for this body to set. We should always allow the debt ceiling to be increased by a majority vote. That is what they did in the House; that is what we should be doing in the Senate. I urge my colleagues to vote for the cloture motion, but let's continue this discussion because in order to get a bill to the President's desk, we know we are going to have to reach further compromises. We understand that. We have had, I think, some discussions among our colleagues here, and I am hopeful we will be able to reach that type of a compromise. We have a chance, in a few minutes, to move forward so that we can express ourselves that we should be doing this in the Senate by majority vote. I urge my colleagues to support cloture and support the Reid proposal. I ask unanimous consent that during the quorum call, the time be equally divided between the Democrats and the Republicans.