Kent Conrad

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Does the Senator from New Hampshire ask to speak for an additional 30 seconds?

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, let me end where I began. This is not about a personality; this is about policy. The fiscal policy of this administration has exploded the debt of our country at the worst possible time--right before the baby boom generation retires. Here is the record. It is undisputed. It is uncontradicted. It is a simple fact. The debt of this country under this policy--and Mr. Nussle is one of the architects of this policy--has skyrocketed from $5.8 trillion at the end of the President's first year to $8.9 trillion at the end of this year. So much of that debt is now held abroad. When this President came into office, there was $1 trillion of U.S. debt held by foreign interests. That has now reached over $2.1 trillion, a more than doubling of U.S. debt held abroad. That puts this country at risk. We saw during the last few weeks the Chinese Minister indicate they might start to diversify out of dollar-denominated securities. Economists said if they chose to do that, they would push the United States into recession. In many ways, our economic future is now less in our hands and more in the hands of the people who hold our debt. I ask my colleagues on the basis of policy to reject this nomination. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the motion was agreed to.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. CONRAD. If I could ask the Senator a question or two?

Mr. CONRAD. I was listening to the floor earlier today. I heard colleagues say this SCHIP program is a first step toward socialized medicine. Is this Children's Health Insurance Program a new program?

Mr. CONRAD. How many children are covered under this program?

Mr. CONRAD. As I understand it, this would add several million children?

Mr. CONRAD. About 3.3 million, and there are already 6 million. I am wondering if they are suggesting this program should be eliminated, which would mean 6 million children currently covered would no longer be covered?

Mr. CONRAD. Is it my understanding the American Medical Association has endorsed this legislation?

Mr. CONRAD. Does the Senator know of anytime in the history of this country where the American Medical Association has endorsed socialized medicine?

Mr. CONRAD. I just say the argument being made out here is one of the most far-fetched arguments I have seen on this floor; No. 1, that this is somehow socialized medicine. Isn't this care provided by private doctors?

Mr. CONRAD. The fact is, this care is provided by private physicians using private insurance companies, endorsed by the American Medical Association and many other national organizations, including many business organizations; is it not?

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, our Nation's first responders are vital to protecting our citizens from everyday crime, and to keeping our citizens safe from fire and health-related emergencies. Our first responders are also vital in the event of disaster, whether man-made or natural. But these same men and women that keep us safe and healthy at home are often called upon to fight for our country abroad with the National Guard and Reserves; or sometimes they are called to active duty within the U.S. The demands on the Guard and Reserves have become extremely heavy during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the demands on first responders here at home do not decrease and local fire, police and ambulance services are forced to manage without key employees. That is why I am introducing the Reinforce First Responders and Emergency Employees Deployed Overseas in the Military, or Reinforce FREEDOM Act today. My bill will reinforce local first responder agencies whose employees are fighting for our freedom overseas. It establishes a grant program through the Department of Homeland Security for first responder agencies that have employees deployed with the National Guard or Reserves. The grants are available to law enforcement and fire departments, as well as public and private ambulance services. Agencies are eligible to receive up to $15,000 for each 3 month period they are without employees serving with the military. Primarily volunteer organizations are eligible if they are missing a substantial part of their workforce. The funds from these grants can be used to hire replacement employees or for overtime salary expenses. The funds can also be used for non- salary costs that were created by the employees' deployment with the Guard or Reserves, or which would alleviate the impact of their absence. Extra funding perhaps cannot fully make up for the loss of crucial employees. But this bill will help ensure that first responder agencies can continue to keep the American people safe when their Guardsmen and Reservist employees are called to defend the United States of America.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, our Nation's first responders are vital to protecting our citizens from everyday crime, and to keeping our citizens safe from fire and health-related emergencies. Our first responders are also vital in the event of disaster, whether man-made or natural. But these same men and women that keep us safe and healthy at home are often called upon to fight for our country abroad with the National Guard and Reserves; or sometimes they are called to active duty within the U.S. The demands on the Guard and Reserves have become extremely heavy during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the demands on first responders here at home do not decrease and local fire, police and ambulance services are forced to manage without key employees. That is why I am introducing the Reinforce First Responders and Emergency Employees Deployed Overseas in the Military, or Reinforce FREEDOM Act today. My bill will reinforce local first responder agencies whose employees are fighting for our freedom overseas. It establishes a grant program through the Department of Homeland Security for first responder agencies that have employees deployed with the National Guard or Reserves. The grants are available to law enforcement and fire departments, as well as public and private ambulance services. Agencies are eligible to receive up to $15,000 for each 3 month period they are without employees serving with the military. Primarily volunteer organizations are eligible if they are missing a substantial part of their workforce. The funds from these grants can be used to hire replacement employees or for overtime salary expenses. The funds can also be used for non- salary costs that were created by the employees' deployment with the Guard or Reserves, or which would alleviate the impact of their absence. Extra funding perhaps cannot fully make up for the loss of crucial employees. But this bill will help ensure that first responder agencies can continue to keep the American people safe when their Guardsmen and Reservist employees are called to defend the United States of America.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, section 301 of S. Con. Res. 21, the 2008 budget resolution, permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels for legislation that reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. On July 30, 2007, I filed revisions to S. Con. Res. 21 pursuant to section 301 for Senate amendment No. 2530, which Senator Baucus offered as a substitute to H.R. 976. I find that Senate amendment No. 2602, as modified, offered by Senator Kerry to Senate amendment No. 2530 satisfies the conditions of the deficit-neutral reserve fund for SCHIP legislation. Therefore, pursuant to section 301, I am further adjusting the aggregates in the 2008 budget resolution, as well as the allocation provided to the Senate Finance Committee. I ask unanimous consent that the following revisions to S. Con. Res. 21 be printed in the Record.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, earlier today, pursuant to section 301 of S. Con. Res. 21, the 2008 budget resolution, I filed revisions to S. Con. Res. 21. Those revisions were made for amendment No. 2602, as modified, an amendment offered by Senator Kerry to amendment No. 2530 regarding the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. The Senate did not adopt amendment No. 2602, as modified. As a consequence, I am further revising the 2008 budget resolution and the adjustments made today pursuant to section 301 to the aggregates and the allocation provided to the Senate Finance Committee for amendment No. 2602. I ask unanimous consent that the following revisions to S. Con. Res. 21 be printed in the Record.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I thank the chairman of the Finance Committee not only for this recognition but for his leadership in putting this legislation together. This has not been easy to do. It has been extraordinarily challenging. We wish to thank Senator Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, for his diligent effort and his advocacy for this program. I also thank Senator Rockefeller of West Virginia for the extraordinary effort he has made with respect to extending children's health insurance in this Nation. I also recognize, on the other side, Senator Hatch and Senator Grassley. We are now debating legislation to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program, otherwise known as CHIP. This is one place where we should all be in agreement. To extend health care to our children has to be one of America's priorities. There is no greater moral obligation than providing for the least among us, especially our children. We also know providing health care for kids is a good investment because improving their health early on is an investment paid for over a lifetime. You get the return for a lifetime. The bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program has been extremely successful in getting kids covered and keeping them healthy. Experts across the country agree. Here is what one health care expert had to say about the Children's Health Insurance Program: It is a simple idea: We invest in children's health care, and we get healthy children eager to learn and grow,'' said Dr. Rob Nordgren of Child Health Services of Manchester (New Hampshire). . . . Nordgren said children who get good health care, which begins early in life and continues without interruption, are less likely to need expensive interventions as adults. What could be a simpler or more profound idea than that? You provide health care to children, and that is a gift that keeps on giving. It keeps on returning on the investment through that child's lifetime. This is a good investment. There are 6.6 million children who now have health insurance because of the Children's Health Insurance Program. But 9 million children remain uninsured, and 6 million of these kids are eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program or Medicaid right now, but we do not have the money to actually provide them the coverage. In this reauthorization, Congress simply needs to invest more to reach these kids. But let's be clear. If we do not act, we are not only losing an opportunity to get more kids covered--if we freeze the current program, by 2012, there will be over 1.4 million fewer children covered simply because of a lack of funds. Here are some facts about this bill. First, it provides health insurance for 4 million more uninsured kids, children who would otherwise go without coverage. To bring it closer to home, this bill will mean an increase in funding for North Dakota to get more kids covered. In fact, North Dakota's allotment will almost double, from about $7.7 million now to over $13 million next year. This will allow the State to cover 1,450 more children over the next two years. Second, I think it is important to note this bill is fully paid for over 6 and 11 years. Therefore, it fully complies with pay-go. We have heard some other ideas here. As chairman of the Budget Committee, let me be clear, this bill fully meets its pay-go obligations. It also meets the other requirements of the Children's Health Insurance Program reserve fund set out in the 2008 budget resolution that allows for the reserve fund adjustment. Third, it is a 5-year reauthorization. Congress will reauthorize in 2012 with new policies and with new offsets. Perhaps we will not even need a Children's Health Care Insurance Program by then because perhaps by then we will have reformed the way we deliver health care in this country. I believe the time is right to do that, and certainly in this next 5 years, it will become more critical because we know we are on a course that is absolutely unsustainable. So my own conviction is we will be reforming health care during this period. Fourth, reauthorizing the children's health program could actually spur action on broader health care reform. It is wrong that our Nation has over 40 million uninsured. We must do something to fix this problem. Having SCHIP in place for this next 5 years will serve as a bridge to what we all hope will be a brighter day of fundamental health care reform. Now, let me conclude by saying, some have criticized this bill on budgetary grounds. To the extent that funding levels in the outyears are lower, it simply means we will have to pay for these costs during the next reauthorization. But that is the way it always works. I have been stunned to hear some of my Republican colleagues complain that this bill sunsets at the end of 5 years. They say: Well, if the program continues beyond that 5 years, there will be a cost in those succeeding years. Well, of course that is true. But this bill is paid for, for the next 5 years, unlike what they did on their enormous tax cuts. Look at this slide I have in the Chamber that shows what they did. These are the tax cuts, under current law, that they put in place, without paying for any of them, by the way. As shown on the chart, here is what it would cost to extend those tax cuts: $421 billion in 2017-- $421 billion. That is shown on the chart. Here is what extending the CHIP program would cost by comparison. Do you see this little, tiny line at the bottom of the chart? Now, our friends on the other side are complaining about that little gap. They say nothing about this yawning chasm created by them--$4.1 trillion. They say nothing about that. But they complain about this tiny sliver to provide health care insurance for our kids. One has to ask: What priorities are those? Again, this SCHIP funding is paid for. Overall, this bill sets us on a responsible path to get every child in America covered with health insurance. Four million fewer children will be without health insurance as a result of this legislation. We should be proud of that. It is not socialized medicine, as some have asserted. The Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid are partnerships between States and the Federal Government. These programs use private doctors and private health plans to provide services. This is not socialized medicine. The children's health program is successful. It was created with strong bipartisan support. Faith leaders, business groups, labor, insurers, health providers all support this reauthorization proposal. Partisan politics should not get in the way of providing health care insurance for our kids. Goodness knows, if we cannot agree on anything else on the floor of this body, we should be able to agree on providing health care insurance for our kids. America's children are counting on us. They deserve our very best and they deserve our support for this legislation. We cannot let them down. I hope all my colleagues are paying close attention to what is at stake. If they are, they will support this legislation. Again, I thank the chairman of the committee, Senator Baucus, for his leadership and his untiring efforts and Senator Rockefeller for, over and over, bringing the challenge of health care insurance for our kids to the attention not only of the committee but of the full Senate and of the country. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, section 301 of S. Con. Res. 21, the 2008 budget resolution, permits the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels for legislation that reauthorizes the State Children's Health Insurance Program, SCHIP. Section 301 authorizes the revisions provided that certain conditions are met, including that the legislation not result in more than $50 billion in outlays over the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2012 and that the legislation not worsen the deficit over the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2012 or the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2017. I find that S. 1893, which was reported to the Senate on July 27, 2007, and will be offered as a complete substitute to H.R. 976, satisfies the conditions of the deficit-neutral reserve fund for SCHIP legislation. Therefore, pursuant to section 301, I am adjusting the aggregates in the 2008 budget resolution, as well as the allocation provided to the Senate Finance Committee. I ask unanimous consent to have the following revisions to S. Con. Res. 21 printed in the Record.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, as chairman of the Budget Committee, and along with my colleague, Senator Gregg, the ranking member, I would like to gratefully acknowledge the expert assistance that the Congress has received from Paul Cullinan during his time at the Congressional Budget Office. Paul is retiring from congressional service in August, and this institution will sorely miss him. Dr. Cullinan arrived at CBO in 1981, and has contributed to a vast range of policy analyses, budget projections, and legislative cost estimates over the past 26 years. But more important than the amount and variety of such work is the consistently high quality of that work and Paul's continual dedication to providing the Congress with thorough and timely analysis. For the past 13 years, Paul Cullinan has served as the unit chief of CBO's Human Resources Cost Estimates Unit. He excelled in that role, and his service there allowed CBO to provide critical support to consideration of many varied pieces of legislation, including: efforts to reauthorize and extend higher education programs and the food stamps program, potential changes to Social Security, proposals to reform U.S. immigration policies, and changes to a host of income security programs. Moreover, Paul has been a key contributor to and coordinator of CBO's work on long-term budget projections, which we have come to consider more as we move toward the pending retirement of the baby-boom generation. In addition to his superb analysis of legislative proposals, Paul has provided constant and wise support to the Budget Committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. In short, there are only a handful of true first-tier budget experts here on Capitol Hill, and Paul Cullinan is clearly in the top ranks of that small group--we will miss his input, careful judgment, and dedication to providing the best budgetary information possible for congressional consideration.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, on a matter of personal privilege.

Mr. CONRAD. I ask for one moment, I say to the leader. Explanation for Not Voting

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to indicate that on the last vote, Senator Wyden and I were in the Budget Committee on the confirmation hearing of Mr. Nussle. We called over to ask that the vote be held so that we could come to the floor and cast our votes. If I had been here, my vote would have been ``yea'' on the Graham amendment. I want the Record to reflect that fact. Senator Wyden should also be recognized for a similar purpose.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, it has been 2,144 days since 9/11. We all remember the day our Nation was attacked. That attack was led by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida. At the time, the President said: This act will not stand. We will find those who did it. We will smoke them out of their holes. We will bring them to justice. Mr. President, 2,144 days have passed, and still we have not brought Osama bin Laden or al-Zawahiri or the rest of the top leadership of al- Qaida to justice. These are the people who led the attack on our country. It wasn't Saddam Hussein and Iraq; it was Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Yet this Nation lost focus under the leadership of this administration. I think the most striking story of all is this from the USA Today in late March 2004: In 2002, troops from the 5th Special Forces Group who specialize in the Middle East were pulled out of the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan to prepare for their next assignment: Iraq. Their replacements were troops with expertise in Spanish cultures. Mr. President, there are not a lot of Spanish speakers in Afghanistan or in Pakistan. That is where Osama bin Laden is still lurking, still hiding, still waiting to strike our country. This amendment says: Let's remember who attacked America, and let's finish business with him and his al-Qaida network. Mr. President, we have now learned this week, according to the New York Times, that a 2005 raid on al-Qaida chiefs was called off at the last minute by Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: The mission was called off after Rumsfeld rejected an 11th hour appeal from Porter Goss, Director of the CIA. Members of the Navy Seals unit in parachute gear had already boarded C- 130 cargo planes in Afghanistan when the mission was canceled. This amendment says: Let's put the focus back on Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Let's finish business with the people who attacked America. I yield the floor.