Bob Casey

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Oklahoma for working through that unanimous consent agreement.

Mr. CASEY. Reserving the right to object.

Mr. CASEY. Will the Senator modify his request to add Senator Webb to that lineup to be the next Democratic speaker?

Mr. CASEY. Ten minutes.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I rise today to speak about the war in Iraq. There is a lot of talk in this Chamber and across this town and across the country about our economy, and that is justifiable. But we have to remember that in the midst of a difficult economy in America, there is a lot to talk about and to work on to respond to that. We still have a war in Iraq to worry about, to debate, and to take action on. I don't think we can lose sight of a war that grinds on without end in Iraq. This war does burden our troops, obviously, with repeated and prolonged deployments and, in fact, drains our national resources. The war hampers our efforts in places such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, the real frontlines in the global struggle against Islamic terrorism and extremism. So we must ask ourselves at least a couple of questions when it comes to the war in Iraq. There are many, but there are at least a few I can think of. What are we in the Congress doing about this war today, this week, this month, and in the months ahead, even as we struggle to deal with a difficult economy? The second question might be: When will the Iraqi Government start serious discussions on national reconciliation? Third, how will we know when we have achieved our objectives in Iraq? How will we know that? Finally, and I think the most compelling question is: When will our troops come home? Last night, the President spoke about a number of topics, and one was the economy. One of the first words the President said with regard to the economy, he talked about a time of uncertainty. Mr. President-- President Bush I mean--I disagree. With regard to the economy, this is not about something that is uncertain. It is very certain. The lives of Americans, the perilous and traumatic economy they are living through is not uncertain or vague or foggy. It is very certain. The cost of everything in the life of a family is going through the roof, and we have to make sure we respond to that situation. I argue that word ``uncertainty'' does apply when it comes to the war in Iraq in terms of our policy. I would argue to the President what is uncertain, if there is uncertainty out there in our land, it is about the war in Iraq. Uncertainty, frankly, about what our plan is in Iraq and what is this administration and this Congress doing to deal with this war in Iraq. That is where the uncertainty is. I think the reality of the economy is very certain for American families. While the headlines about Iraq have all but vanished from the front pages and television screens and the administration continues to divert attention elsewhere, we have a fundamental obligation as elected representatives of the American people to continue to focus on the war until we change the policy and bring our troops home. We marked the first year anniversary of the President's decision to initiate a troop escalation in Iraq, and we are coming upon the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Last night, in his State of the Union Address, the President described the surge in very positive terms. Make no mistake about it-- we all know this--our soldiers have succeeded in their mission with bravery and heroism and violence in many parts of Iraq is, in fact, down. Yet despite all that, despite all that effort, despite all that work, Iraq today is still not a secure nation, and it will not be secure until its leaders can leave the Green Zone without fear of assassination. It will not be secure until they can leave the Green Zone without fear of suicide bombings. It will not be secure until its own national Army and police forces can stand up and protect all of Iraq's people without regard to ethnicity or creed. In assessing whether the surge has worked, we should pay attention to the President's words from a year ago. President Bush declared in January 2007, when he first announced the surge: Iraqis will gain confidence in their leaders and the government will have the breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas. Those are the President's words. So let's judge this issue by his words. Judged by those standards enunciated by the President, we can only conclude the surge has not worked, if that is what the objective was. I add to that, when I was in Iraq in August and I talked with Ambassador Crocker about the terminology used by this administration with regard to the war, because I said sometimes the terminology is way off and misleading, he said: The way I judge what is happening here is whether we can achieve sustainable stability. That is what he said, sustainable stability. Based upon what Ambassador Crocker said and based upon what the President said, if we measure what is happening now against those standards, the surge has not worked, based upon those assertions by the Ambassador and by the President. The troop escalation did not prompt the Iraqi Government to make the hard choices or to meet the benchmarks laid out by the administration. As General Petraeus told me in that same meeting this past summer in Baghdad, the war in Iraq can only be won politically, not militarily, and he said that on the public record as well. But on national reconciliation, oil sharing, and other key issues where Iraqis must forge agreement in order to allow U.S. forces to eventually withdraw, we do not see nearly enough progress. In fact, the evidence of substantial progress is very bleak. We heard recently about things that have been happening in Iraq. Although the Iraqi Parliament passed a debaathification measure this past month, it is unclear how far the legislation will go toward addressing Sunni concerns, since serious disagreements exist on the law's implementation. Some contend that former Baathists will still be barred from important ministries such as Justice, Interior, and Defense. As has often occurred in the past, once again the Iraqi political leadership has chosen to avoid the hard choices and instead kick the can down the road, ensuring further bloodshed and national fragmentation in the interim. We all know how long this war has endured. It has endured longer than the war we know as World War II. It is longer than that war, with over 3,900 dead, 178 Pennsylvanians, the number of wounded in Pennsylvania is about 1,200 or more; across the country, 28,000. Our military forces have done everything we have asked of them. They have matched the bravery and success in every way possible of those great American warriors who preceded them in past conflicts. But our troops, the best fighting men and women in the world, cannot force a foreign government to be stable, they cannot force the Iraqi national police to put aside their deep-seated sectarianism and corruption, and they cannot force Iraqi political leaders to want progress as much as our troops do and as much as the Iraqi people deserve. We have much to do to make progress. But here is what is happening lately. This is a very important point, and I conclude with it. The President is showing every sign that he intends, in the waning days of his administration, to lock the United States and, in particular, to lock our fighting men and women into a long-term strategic commitment in Iraq without consultation with the elected representatives of the American people in Congress. He has signaled to the Iraqi Government that the United States can maintain significant U.S. troop levels in Iraq for at least 10 years--10 years--if not longer. He seeks to negotiate a long-term strategic agreement with the Iraqi Government that would commit the United States to providing security assurances to the Iraqi Government against external aggression--an unprecedented commitment that could embroil the United States in a future regional conflict or even a full-scale Iraqi civil war. The President's senior aides have proposed that such an agreement would need to be ratified by the Iraqi Parliament--the Iraqi Parliament--and bypass the U.S. Congress. That is unacceptable to me and I think to anyone in this body and to the American people, and it is why five other Members of this body joined me in December in sending a letter to the President stating that the Congress must be a full and coequal partner in extending such long-term commitments. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record my letter of December 6, 2007, to the President.

Mr. CASEY. We now learn that the President, in signing the Department of Defense authorization bill into law yesterday, has once again taken the opportunity to issue another infamous signing statement, imposing his own interpretation of a law over the clear intent of the Congress. Let's not forget that this important legislation has been needlessly delayed for weeks because the President wanted to defer to concerns of the Iraqi Government over compensation for U.S. victims of Saddam Hussein's acts of terrorism. Let me repeat that. A critical pay raise for our troops was delayed because a foreign government raised concerns with this White House. In signing the Department of Defense authorization bill into law, the President declared his right to ignore--ignore--several important provisions, including the establishment of an important special commission to review wartime contracting. This provision was an initiative of the Senate Democratic freshmen class, led by Senators Webb and McCaskill. The President also declared his right to ignore a provision prohibiting funding for U.S. military bases or installations in Iraq that facilitate ``permanent station'' of U.S. troops in Iraq. Let me say that again in plain language. This provision sought to prevent the United States from establishing permanent bases in Iraq, and the President has indicated he may ignore--ignore--this provision. Every time senior administration officials are asked about permanent military bases in Iraq, they contend it is not their intention to construct such facilities. Yet this signing statement issued by the President yesterday is the clearest signal yet that the administration wants to hold this option in reserve. This is exactly the wrong signal to send both to the Iraqi Government and its neighbors in the region and to others as well. Permanent U.S. military bases gives a blank check to an Iraqi government that has shown no evidence that it is ready to step up and take full responsibility for what happens in Iraq. Permanent U.S. military bases feeds the propaganda of our enemies, who argue that the U.S. invasion in 2003 was carried out to secure access to Iraq's oil and establish a strategic beachhead for the U.S. military in the region. Permanent U.S. military bases means U.S. troops will be in Iraq for years to come, ensuring that the great strain on the American military will continue indefinitely. Finally, and I will conclude with this, we have a lot on our plate this year to deal with. We have the economy to deal with and so many other difficult issues, but the war in Iraq continues to be a central foreign policy challenge faced by the President, by the Congress, and by the Nation. When this President departs office after 8 years, he should not--should not--commit our soldiers and our Nation to 10 more years--10 more years--if not longer, and hundreds of billions of dollars, if not more, spent on the war in Iraq. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I commend our colleague from North Dakota for highlighting some of the challenges we face economically. He did it in a very compelling way, as he always does. We are grateful for his leadership on these issues. I stood before the Senate a couple of days ago and talked about the fact that we have a war in Iraq that we cannot forget about. In fact, if you listen to some of the news, you would think there are only one or two issues we have to worry about, but the war continues to be a central issue for the American people. We also have to be very concerned, as Senator Dorgan and others have reminded us, about the economy. I was asked recently by a reporter--a couple of different reporters, actually--who said to me very simply--or asked me, I should say, very simply the question: Are we in recession? I answered them without blinking, without even stopping to think, because I know it is the truth, and the answer is yes, we are in a recession. I don't care about, nor do I need to wait, for some academic dissertation or some economist to tell us what is the textbook definition of a recession. We are in a recession. We have to do something about it. I think it is as plain as could be. So what do we do about this recession? How do we respond to it? Thank goodness, there is a lot of bipartisanship on this issue, both parties coming together to try to do something about it. But I think we have to describe for people in Washington what this means for real people. I will talk about it in the context of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania families, by way of highlighting this issue. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record two pages I am going to be referring to from the Joint Economic Committee, Pennsylvania Economic Snapshot, dated January 23, 2008.

Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I want you to know I will not read these two pages, but I want to highlight a couple of data points in this summary--two pages, four or five highlights. First, delinquencies, mortgage delinquencies, are up from the third quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2007, up by some 40,000 mortgages, just in Pennsylvania. Then, stretching back over a couple of years, we look at gas prices. From January of 2001 forward, up 86 percent, gas prices in Pennsylvania; home heating costs, in 1 year--1 year--up 18.9 percent; health insurance for families. If you look at it over a 5-year period, 2000 to 2005, health care premiums for families are up 45.8 percent. And one more: Childcare costs per month for two children, which is the case for a lot of families, childcare costs per month for two children is averaging $1,273. That is just in one State and a couple of highlights. We could go on and on, but I won't. There are the economic realities for Pennsylvania families, and we could add more to that list. So when a reporter or anyone else asks me, Are we in a recession, my answer is, You bet we are. A lot of families in Pennsylvania and across the country think we have been in a recession, or their families have been in a kind of recession for years now--not just since the holidays, not just in the last year, but for many years. So I think the data is compelling and overwhelming and irrefutable. But let's think about it even more broadly. In terms of health care, Families USA did a report this past November--again, just in Pennsylvania--and they have done it for a lot of States, but Pennsylvania was the first one they announced. I will read one sentence from a long report, one sentence from this report by Families USA on the issue of health care. I think one sentence tells the story. During this same period that they referred to earlier in the report, meaning 2000 to 2007, during that 7-year period: The average worker's share of annual family premiums rose from $1,656 to $3,281, an increase of more than 98 percent. What they are saying in that one sentence is that in the State of Pennsylvania, over that 7-year period of time, the workers' share of annual family premiums went up 98 percent--98 percent in one State, the workers' share on health care. I don't even need to refer to the rest of the report. That tells the story. So that is all the information. That is all the data. But what do we do with it? We saw in the news today and yesterday that there has been an agreement of sorts that has been brought about on the economy, and I think we should all be encouraged by the fact that the President and the Congress are working together on a stimulus package. But what does that mean, and what are the elements of it? I won't go into all of it, but I think one thing we have to be guided by--and we have heard over and over again this sound bite in Washington, but we should say it again. These are not my words. We have all quoted these, but they summarize it pretty well: Whatever stimulus package we have in place for the American people has to be timely, has to be temporary, and has to be targeted. Another way to say that is we have to put in place policies for the stimulus that we know will work. I want to refer to a chart here that tells that story pretty well. We have seen this chart before, but it bears repeating. Other Members of the Senate have used it. The targeted stimulus proposals, the ones that deliver far more bang for the buck. It is very simple: What do you get for a buck in stimulus expenditure? We know this from the data. This isn't some Democratic operative; this is what Mark Zandi from economy.com put forth: food stamps, spend a dollar and get $1.73 back; unemployment, spend a dollar in stimulus, get $1.64 back. States are in a fiscal mess. We won't go into that, but if you spend a dollar, you get $1.36 back in return. Then it goes down from pay, with payroll tax rebates and temporary income tax. We know that expending tax cuts for the wealthy, which is on the table right now, doesn't work. We know what works. We have to make sure, in my judgment, that if we put together a bipartisan stimulus package--and we still have to work on this in the Senate--that we invest in strategies that will work, not what we would like to do or hope to do or not what one side or the other believes is a good idea. We have to invest in strategies that work: Food stamps, not just because it helps individual Americans and their families, but we know by investing in that strategy, they will spend the money quickly. We need people to spend money very rapidly to dig us out of the hole we are in. Food stamps, unemployment benefits, and aid to the States--we have to provide investments in strategies that will work. Another thing we have to do is make sure that when we are dealing with the housing crisis, we spend dollars and have strategies that lead to help in the short run. I was one of three Senators who put in the budget $180 million for counseling. It is not some far-reaching plan to deal with the subprime crisis; it is dollars right now. In fact, the dollars for counseling would get dollars into the hands of nonprofit groups in the country to help families out of this next month, so to speak. Those dollars--$180 million--will begin being spent in March. That will work. Those counselors are experts. They are certified, and they know how to work with families. We have to invest in that. I will conclude with this thought. If you walked through the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, I don't think many people would be scratching their heads and wondering whether that was a category 5 hurricane or a category 4. It didn't matter; it was devastating. I don't think we ought to wonder whether an economist tells us we are in a recession. We are in a recession. We know something about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When all of the reporting was done, when that horrific nightmare engulfed so many families, who were washed out of their homes and their hopes and dreams were gone, I think we learned a lot from what didn't happen before the hurricane. We know as Americans that devastation doesn't always come with the awful swiftness of a hurricane. Sometimes it happens much more gradually, over time, when you don't make the right decision and prioritize and when you don't make the right investments. We are not doing that right now. We are not making the investments we should make in children in the dawn of their lives. We are not making an investment in fiscal responsibility to the extent we should. We are not investing in our infrastructure. Maybe all of those decisions can lead to a kind of slower moving Katrina or slower moving hurricane, which is an economic hurricane, or a devastating hurricane that dashes the hopes and dreams of children and their families. So when we make a decision about what will be in the stimulus package to help people in the short run, we also have to get to work on a long- term strategy for economic growth, investing in our children, and making sure families can grow. I am concerned about how we are doing that or not doing it in Washington. We should learn from the horrific nightmare that was Hurricane Katrina. We should learn from, frankly, information such as this that tells us what will work in the short run to get us out of this mess and stimulate the economy and get dollars in the hands of Americans who will spend the dollars, which will jump- start or jolt our economy. I think we can come together and do that. I don't think what we have seen so far gets us to that point. I am grateful for the opportunity to talk about these issues. I know they are central not just to Pennsylvania and our families but in States such as Minnesota and other States across this country. We have a lot more work to do to get the stimulus package right to help our economy.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue which is on the minds of millions of Americans, but you would not know about it from listening to the news. Most of the news has been focused, appropriately so I think, on the economy and the challenges we face. We are all going to be focusing on that issue and we are going to be talking a lot about it and taking action on it. But at the same time, the war in Iraq remains an urgent issue for our country but especially for the families who are living through this, the small percentage of American families who have someone serving in Iraq, a loved one, a relative, and also, of course, the troops themselves who are serving. So Iraq, the war in Iraq, remains an urgent issue, an issue that deserves our attention and our continued focus. Today I do not want to talk about the policy. We are going to have months and months to talk about it. I have strong feelings about it, but today I rise for a very simple but I think important reason and that is to salute the troops from the State of Pennsylvania who have recently died in the war. In July, I came to the floor to talk about the then 169 Pennsylvania natives, in some cases residents, who had died in Iraq. Today, unfortunately, I have to add nine more since July. We all know a lot of the lyrics of the great singer and songwriter, Bruce Springsteen. I quoted them last summer when I talked about the lyrics from his song ``Missing,'' where he talked about, in the context of 9/11, those who had perished and the effect on a family. His lyrics say, in part, he talks about waiting for that person to come home, the person who would have lost their life at the tragedy of 9/11. He says: Your house is waiting. Then he repeats it. He says: Your house is waiting for you to walk in, but you are missing. He says: You are missing when I turn out the lights, you are missing when I close my eyes, you are missing when I see the sunrise. And he goes on from there. I think that song and those lyrics have an awful lot of meaning for those who have lost a loved one in Iraq. Even if they did not, the time spent away in Iraq for a loved one is difficult enough but especially for a family with a member of their family who died in Iraq. They are missing, and for a lot of those families, will be missing for the rest of that family's life. It is important to remember and remind ourselves these troops volunteered for service. They were not drafted. They knew their task would be difficult. They knew they would be in danger but they made that commitment. In the end, they made the ultimate sacrifice. To those families across Pennsylvania, in communities such as Altoona and Falls Creek and State College and Wexford and on and on and on, the war in Iraq is not some obscure abstract policy being debated in Washington. For them, the war is something very real. As I said before, these fighting men and women in Iraq were born into families, not divisions and brigades. These families and these communities have lost sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, classmates, friends, all those relationships and all those families and communities. We know this war has gone on longer than World War II. We know the numbers, more than 3,900 dead. In Pennsylvania, it is at 178. Nationally, the wounded number is about 28,000. In many cases, those who have been wounded are grievously, irreparably, permanently wounded. We will not forget their sacrifice. But let me read the names of the recently lost from Pennsylvania, the nine members we have to add to our list. I will read their names and their hometowns. First, Michael A. Hook from Altoona, Pennsylvania; Zachary Clouser, from Dover; Michael J. Tully, Falls Creek; David A. Wieger, from North Huntingdon; Adam J. Chitjian, from the city of Philadelphia; also from the city of Philadelphia, Camy Florexil; from Pittsburgh, Ryan D. Maseth; David A. Cooper, Jr., from State College, PA; Eric M. Foster, Wexford, PA. So after reading these nine names, we have now read, between July and this date, all those from the State of Pennsylvania who have died in Iraq since the beginning of the war. I know we are short on time today, and we could read biographical sketches of all those 178 soldiers. But let me read a couple of notes about a few of them before I conclude. By way of example, one of the names is Adam J. Chitjian from Philadelphia. There is a section called Somerton in the city of Philadelphia. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, 39 years old. He joined the Army and his brother was quoted as saying: He wanted to act rather than just talk. That is why he joined the Army. He leaves behind a father and sister. When he visited Texas, after being in Pennsylvania and serving our country all those years, when Adam was in Texas, he met Shirley, who would later become his wife. So for that family, we are thinking of Adam and his family. He died on October 24, 2007. Then we go backward in time to 2003 in November, Nicholas A. Tomko from Pittsburgh, and a couple highlights about his life. He was 24 years old, from just outside Pittsburgh. The town is called New Kensington. His father's name is Jack Tomko. He is quoted, in part, as saying about his son that: He was a great kid, brave as hell. And he goes on from there talking about his son. Now this is a young man who left behind a fiance. And he was working as an armored car driver near Pittsburgh. He joined the Reserves 3 years ago hoping to get a head start in a career in law enforcement. I wish we could say Nicholas A. Tomko would have that opportunity to serve in law enforcement, but this war took him from us. His fiance said, and I am quoting in part here: I am going to make sure people know about his service--that he went over there to fight for his country and that he went over to serve. So we remember him. Two more before I conclude. SSG Jeremy R. Horton from Erie, PA, died on May 21, 2004. His tour was extended. He was a 24-year-old Pennsylvanian. His tour was extended. He joined the Army right out of high school, hoping to get money for college. This is what his uncle said about him: He certainly loved his family, and he loved his country, and he loved the military. It was what he wanted to do. We need more like him. No one could have said it better than that. We do need more people like him, like Jeremy. He is survived by his wife Christie, whom he married shortly after joining the Army. I will do one more because I know we are short on time. SSG Ryan S. Ostrom, from Liberty, PA. He was at one point in his life a baseball coach. One of his players quoted the story about his life: He was a good leader and a good person to look up to. And he had that special smile we used to see in the locker room. That is what they said about him as a coach. This man, Mr. Ostrom, was 25 years old when he died. Here is what another member of the military said, SSG Craig Stevens said about Ryan: He was a soldier you could give a task to and know it would get done. You could just look at him and know he was a leader. Ryan would have started his senior year at Mansfield University this fall, meaning then the fall of 2005. He is survived by his father Scott and his mother Donna. I will add one more. We have a minute. Our last biographical sketch is LCpl Nicholas B. Morrison, from Carlisle, PA. He died August 13, 2004. He was 23 years old. He joined the Marine Corps 16 months ago and planned to become a state trooper in the State of Pennsylvania. He was a 2000 graduate of Big Spring High School, where he was a linebacker on the football team. I hope we can all remember his family as well today. Here is what one of his friends said: He was the glue. When he would come home, we would all make an effort to go out. He would make us laugh about stories from when we were growing up. And on and on and on, stories such as that from so many families and so many communities across our Commonwealth and indeed our country. I conclude with this thought: There are a lot of great lines in ``America the Beautiful.'' We could spend a lot of time talking about each one of them. One of those lines, when we talk about ``America the Beautiful,'' says: ``Oh beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years.'' That is what a lot of these soldiers did. They not only volunteered for service knowing they could lose their lives, knowing they had to make a full commitment of their life and their time and their family's time, but they had dreams, dreams of serving their country and hopefully dreams to go beyond that. But they were patriots and they had dreams and it is those dreams we remember and celebrate today. It is those dreams that go well beyond the years we see before us. So we remember these troops today and as always we ask God's blessings on their lives, those who gave, as Abraham Lincoln said, the last full measure of devotion to their country. We remember them today and their families. May God bless them. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that newspaper accounts about these soldiers be printed in the Record.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. 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. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Injunction of Secrecy be removed from the following treaties transmitted to the Senate on January 22, 2008, by the President of the United States: Extradition Treaty with Romania and Protocol to the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Romania, Treaty Document No. 110-11; Extradition Treaty with Bulgaria and an Agreement on Certain Aspects of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters with Bulgaria, Treaty Document No. 110-12; and International Convention on Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships, Treaty Document No. 110-13; I further ask that the treaties be considered as having been read the first time; that they be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the President's messages be printed in the Record.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following calendar numbers be indefinitely postponed en bloc: Calendar No. 210 and Calendar No. 387.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to, en bloc, and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I have a resolution at the desk, and I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Con. Res. 63 and the Senate then proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period for the transaction of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. CASEY

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

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon, Wednesday, January 23; that on Wednesday, following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders reserved for their use later in the day, and there then be a period of morning business until 12:30 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; that on Wednesday, the Senate stand in recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. in order to accommodate the party conference meeting; that at 2:15 p.m., the Senate resume consideration of S. 1200, the Indian health legislation

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 455, S. 1498; that the committee-reported amendments be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time, passed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. I thank the Senator.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I am going to try to be about 5 minutes. I want to highlight a couple of issues, not only because it is this season but I think especially because it is this season, the holiday season. When we think about families coming together, we think about hope, and we think about caring for people. We think about exchanging gifts. It is a time of happiness. But for some families it is not so. It is a very difficult time for a lot of families--not only during the holiday season but the winter season. I was struck, unfortunately, in a very negative way the other day. I think it was yesterday. I picked up the Washington Post and read a story about President Bush's speech about the economy. We can go through that and debate what he said, but one of the first sentences in that article quoted him as follows--when he was talking about the economy: There's definitely some storm clouds and concerns. ``There's definitely some storm clouds and concerns.'' That is a quotation from that article from the President of the United States. I have to say, I have never seen a crisis in the lives of a lot of families so understated, and I think irresponsibly so. I hate to say that, but there is no other way to say that in any other way. It is not, Mr. President, just some ``concerns'' and some ``storm clouds.'' We are way beyond storm clouds for a lot of Americans. There are so many Americans who face the crisis of not having enough to eat this season. This Government can do something about it. We know that. We all know that if we are honest with ourselves. There are families who do not have enough resources or enough power in their own lives to be able to access the resources to heat their homes, so they are cold at this time. There are a lot of other families who are facing other crises--health care costs and others, the subprime crisis. We could go down the list: the price of fuel, gasoline, and home heating oil. We could go down the list. But it is a crisis, and for a lot of hard-working Americans, they are bracing for a winter storm that has nothing to do with snow and ice. Many of these same working families are one emergency away from financial disaster. In light of that challenge they face, I sent a letter to the President just over a week ago--actually before he made the statement about the storm clouds and some ``concerns.'' It is lot worse than that, I would respectfully submit to the President. I am not going to go through the letter. I ask unanimous consent that my letter to the President dated December 10, 2007, be printed in the Record.

Mr. CASEY. I will not read the letter, but I outlined some of these challenges people have in their lives. I asked him to do a couple of things. These things are not difficult to do. These things, literally, require his signature on either legislation that has just been passed or using his discretionary power as the most powerful elected official in the world to release small sums of money in the scheme of our entire Federal budget. I will wrap up with this, four things I have asked him to do basically in this letter. First of all, No. 1, provide emergency assistance to help local food banks and other programs meet the rising need this winter season. There is story after story. I say to the Presiding Officer, you know it from your home State of Colorado. We know it all over the country. There is article after article about food banks stretched in a way they have not been. It seems as if the same story has been written across the country. Never before, in 20 years, some would assert, have we seen this. We have not seen this in years. They do not have enough resources to meet the demand of those who are hungry. So I would ask the President to use his power--his power to provide that emergency assistance to those who are hungry. He has the power to do that. Secondly, I ask the President to use his power to give full meaning to a great program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, known here in Washington, like everything else, with an acronym, EFAP, the Emergency Food Assistance Program. It needs an infusion. This would be the optimal situation, if the President would do this for the American people. It needs an infusion, right now, of at least $27 million. I ask the President to get that done. And I think he could if he wanted to do this. I urge him also to approve the bill we just passed, that massive piece of legislation last night. A lot of good things are in that bill. I will mention one or two. One is the Women, Infants, and Children Program--a tremendous program that helps pregnant women and postpartum women, as well as young children, with nutrition and other assistance. Thank goodness the bill we passed has $6 billion for it. I am told that is full funding. I ask the President to sign that legislation for a lot of reasons-- hundreds of reasons--but if he has no other reason, to look at that part of that bill, the Women, Infants, and Children's Program during this holiday season; to sign the farm bill because of a lot of reasons, but in this context because of the nutrition funding which is included in it that I mentioned, as well as other nutrition increases. There are billions of dollars more for nutrition in the farm bill. So I ask the President, No. 3, to sign the farm bill. And No. 4, and finally, to release the remaining $20 million in contingency funding for the so-called LIHEAP program--another acronym, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. A lot of people know about it and depend on it. Just $20 million; a tiny eyedrop worth of money in terms of a Federal budget into the trillions. I ask the President not only to read a letter and not only to respond to it, but, most importantly, to take action which is asked for in this letter and the pleas for help from families across America. U.S. Senators, Members of Congress, and others have asked this President to do his part in this holiday season because the President, just like the Congress, has power--power to help people, power to improve their lives, and power to do all he can to help them every time throughout the year but especially at this time of the year. I conclude with this: In this season of hope, let it be said of those who have power--real power--let it be said of those who have power that they helped those who are hungry, those who are cold, and those who will live through yet another season of despair. Let it be said of us, and let it be said of the President, that he fulfilled and met his obligation to help those Americans who need it, especially in this season. Mr. President, I thank you and yield the floor.

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Madam President, thank you. I appreciate your attention in presiding today, on a day when people are headed home. We are grateful for your presence here. I join so many others--I do not want to be too redundant, but it is important to repeat expressions of gratitude--like a lot of people here, I have a lot of gratitude in my heart: gratitude for my wife Terese and my family for supporting me in my first year in the Senate; certainly for my staff--like so many Senators here could say of their own staff--I know it is true of mine; I have a great staff, and I am grateful for their help and their support and professionalism for almost a full year now; for the staff here in the Senate--I could go to any Senate office, but especially in the Chamber itself, all those who work so hard, day in and day out, year in and year out, to make this place work, and to guide even those veteran Members on parliamentary questions, but especially some of the first-year Senators. We are grateful for your skill, your knowledge, and your professionalism, and we wish you and your families a happy holiday season at this time. The same goes for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who have been so supportive of me as a first-year Senator. I will mention two in the interest of time: Senator Reid, our majority leader, the majority leader of the entire Senate, and also, of course, the leader of the Democratic side of the aisle--a great leader for our party, but even beyond that, a great leader for the Senate. He is a man of great compassion and decency, someone who cares about changing the direction of the country, to move us in the right direction. He has done that very well. I am honored to serve with him. Senator Lott is going to be leaving us. I had the privilege of presiding yesterday when I heard all of the testimonials to his service. I was honored to be a small part--a witness of that Senate history. We wish Senator Lott and his family all of God's blessings at this holiday season. But also beyond the season, we wish him the best of luck in his new life outside of the Senate. We are grateful for his service. I have one more note of gratitude and best wishes, and that is to those who are serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world--those men and women in our military the world over who are doing that brave and noble service every day. We are thinking of them. We pray for them at this time, as we try to throughout the year. But especially we are thinking of them and their families at this holiday season. (Mr. SALAZAR assumed the Chair.)

Mr. CASEY

Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, with the passage of the farm bill, I want to commend the work of my legislative staff led by Kasey Gillette our senior legislative assistant. Kasey did an excellent job on both substance and strategy always focusing on how the bill would impact farm families and the agricultural economy of Pennsylvania. Kasey had two great teammates: Caryn Long and Alex Davis, who labored for months on very complex matters in the bill. Without the work of Kasey, Caryn, and Alex, I wouldn't have been able to have four amendments adopted during the floor debate and five others adopted during the committee markup.