Wendell Ford

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. No. It is my understanding that when you related to figures that you reduced the amount of reduction using $135 billion, that the White House on December 15th moved toward your figures--moved toward your figures on discretionary, moved toward your figures on Medicare, moved towards your figures on Medicaid, did not move toward your figures on earned income tax credit--you did come down $12 billion on that over the 7 years. I kind of thought that both sides were beginning to work together.

Mr. FORD. I am not arguing with you either. But I want to be clear. I worked Saturday. I worked Sunday. I put in what I thought were long, hard days, and we moved toward you. And I congratulate you, you were moving toward us. I just thought we were on the right track rather than getting into the mess that Senator Hatfield and others think we are in as it relates to appropriations bills. Am I correct in my statement?

Mr. FORD. What is wrong with it then, if I might ask?

Mr. FORD. The Senator does not have one now either unless you use Social Security.

Mr. FORD. That will be fine. But you are out here saying a lot of things.

Mr. FORD. I apologize; the Senator is saying a lot of things that I disagree with.

Mr. FORD. I do not want to leave it without having some opportunity to defend our side of the aisle.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. The President of the United States signed--the President is responsible for that.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for morning business be extended until the hour of 12:30, and Senators be allowed to have 10 minutes to speak.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, we hear a lot about ``all the President has to do is sign the bills.'' If you put things in the bills that are not acceptable, then you ought not to expect it to be signed. That is trying to put the President in a position where he cannot sign it. All we have to do is pass a clean CR and put Government back to work. The Senate has done that. The Democrats in the House are ready. There is only one group, one element that is saying to my people down there: ``We do not care whether you pay the mortgage, whether you pay your utilities, whether you buy food''--things of that nature. We think we ought to get with those people and say to them, let us get on with the running of the Government. We can balance the budget. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, all my life I have heard the saying, ``Can't see the forest for the trees.'' I think those words can be appropriately applied to the situation we now find ourselves in. For too many Federal workers, for too many thousands of honest, hard- working Americans trying to make a decent living, this budget impasse and shutdown has demonstrated to them that some of their elected representatives cannot see the forest for the trees. While some are wrapped up in trying to score political points, to gain political favor in certain circles, they are missing the point of what is really going on outside the beltway. How disappointing it is to pick up the morning's Washington Post with the headlines, ``Employees Find They Are an Afterthought.'' How sad it is to know that people who need food, who need medicine and basic care will be deprived of services. How sad it is, Mr. President, to hear some demagog the situation by saying that nobody is missing those Government workers and we need to get rid of more of them. My office, as others have stated here this morning, is being overrun with calls and letters about how this shutdown is affecting families in Kentucky, far outside the beltway, far away from the political arena. A mother in Lexington, KY, wrote me, ``Most of us live from paycheck to paycheck. We cannot survive without being paid. I am a single parent struggling to pay rent, a car payment, and keep food in the house, so I haven't been able to save part of my salary. If I'm not paid on January 16, I will be evicted.'' This is a woman that was on welfare, that was able to get a job and get off of welfare, and now the Government is forcing her back into welfare. She asks in her letter, ``Isn't this the United States of America? Isn't our Government supposed to be by the people and for the people?'' ``Federal employees,'' she says, ``are also people.'' She is speaking from her heart about real people, about the thousands who cannot get mortgage insurance, thousands who are losing home loans, thousands working in service industries, the rippling effect, facing the daily threat of being laid off. Homeowners in eastern Kentucky threatened with landslides because the Office of Surface Mining is operating on reduced staff and reduced funding. Real people, Mr. President. Another person wrote, ``I'm excepted from furlough which means I'm working now with no pay. The check I received yesterday was one-quarter of my salary. My mortgage is due. This one-quarter does not cover the mortgage. What is worse is that I have two small children. I must continue to pay my baby sitter to keep them after school while I go to work for no pay.'' I received a call from a grandmother. I do not know how many in here have ever been involved in trying to help a couple adopt a child. When I was Governor of Kentucky we worked with agencies. It is an emotional period. It is a real decision to adopt a child. So I got a call from this grandmother. She was worried about her granddaughter. The adoption of a baby has been halted because the agencies do not have enough money to process the necessary paperwork. That is hurt, Mr. President. That is not inconvenience, that is hurt. You have hurt that family that made up their mind to adopt a child. That is hurt, capital H-u-r-t. She is looking to her representatives for help and answers. What do we do to help her? How do you tell someone that is out there working hard, paying their taxes, that because of circumstances completely out of their control they cannot go forward with adopting a child? Mr. President, the hardest thing I have had to do in my 21 years in the U.S. Senate is to say to men and women in the military to go defend our country on some foreign shore, to lay their lives on the line. One thing I have told them, and one thing that helps, that whatever I can do to support them when they come back, or their loved ones if they do not come back, I will do. Looking now at the VA, ``VA Runs on Promises.'' ``Nursing home workers tend patients without pay. They are stripping the sheets off, the laundry, trying to take care of our veterans, for no pay.'' So we say to our veterans, the only reason you are being taken care of is because they are willing to come as long as they can. These people cannot get another job. They are prohibited from getting another job to have some income, maybe, to offset the loss of their paycheck. Let me also tell you about ``Helen's Hotline'' from the VA hospital in Lexington. What are they doing? Food--God's Pantry, in Lexington, distributes food to the homeless and those who need food. They will provide up to 3 weeks of food to those people. They are even giving them transportation to God's Pantry in order to pick up some food. Food and social and spiritual support are being offered by the VA hospital there in Lexington, stress relief, and the canteen service will accept--think about this, now--accept postdated checks from the cafeteria or retail store through January 17. Creditors' letters have been sent from the Directoegins its centennial celebration having been admitted to the Union of States in 1896. This 100-year mark is very significant considering the long struggle for the citizens of the Utah Territory to gain statehood in the late 19th century. The people of the Utah Territory tried unsuccessfully for admission to the Union six times--1849, 1856, 1862, 1872, 1882, and 1887--before being admitted in 1896. Today, Utah is one of the fastest growing States in the country. Business is thriving as more and more companies establish roots in the State. The banking and financial industry have a long history of success in Utah. Manufacturing industry continues to grow and succeed. Utah's software industry is growing so rapidly that it has now surpassed that of Silicon Valley. Utah provides many opportunities for the families that reside in the State. With six 4-year, degree-granting universities and colleges, including four State institutme. ``Is this really America? Is this what America is all about? Is this how the world's greatest superpower functions?" These people want a resolution to the crisis. They want to reopen Government just like the distinguished majority leader, Senate Republicans, and Senate Democrats want. As one said, it is time to stop the nonsense going on here in Washington. They agree with our majority leader when he says, ``Enough is enough.'' Let us reopen Government. Let us stop this insanity and get on with the shaping of a fair and equitable budget agreement. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the full text of two letters I referred to in my statement earlier.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Let me also add my voice to this. I think my colleague on the other side of the aisle said he did not commit himself to a piece of legislation, but subject to consultation with his leadership, that at the best possible moment, first possible moment that would be an adequate or proper way to do it, that he would assist. I will do the same. I do not want to speak for my leader under the circumstances that I have not asked him nor has he told me about a letter and advice here. I am sure it has been done. I do not try to impugn anyone's integrity here. I understand what they are trying to do. I hope that this would be held over until sometime soon. I believe you could get a standing piece of legislation here that you could just go right through the order right quick and we could maybe get it done quicker than with an amendment to a continuing resolution. So you could offer a stand alone piece of legislation and we could go through the parliamentary procedures. I am sure the Parliamentarian would advise us how to do that. We may get it passed this afternoon or January 3 because we will back here doing something on the 3d because that is when this resolution expires. So I look forward to working with them. If you want to go ahead with it, that is fine. If you want to take a voice vote on this, fine. Then we will voice vote some other things I am going to suggest here this afternoon. That might change your mind a little bit. But we will offer some voice votes on other amendments to this resolution. Mr. BROWN addressed the Chair.

Mr. FORD. Yes, the Senator did. And the Senator said the President would not sign it, would not sign it, would not sign it. That is fine. But when I give you something you do not want, you are not going to swallow it. So you have given him something he does not want, and he vetoed it. That is No. 1. No. 2, the strategy has been, and if you go back and read all the statements that have been made, is to come to this point where the Congress would be equal to the President with shutting the Government down versus the veto power. Now, quote after quote after quote. So this is a premeditated shutdown. This is a premeditated shutdown. So whatever you say, $40 million a day, people not being able to get their checks, not being able to pay their mortgages, and we could stop all this by a clean CR. And we cannot get a clean CR. You object to it. You object to it. Mr. President, I believe the Senator from Virginia wants to reserve the right to object, and I will be glad to yield the floor at the moment. Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.

Mr. FORD. The Senator says it is all the President's fault.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President.

Mr. FORD. Not all.

Mr. FORD. Are you going to reserve the right to object?

Mr. FORD. I personally do not want a voice vote because I have a strong indication it would not pass, and I think it would be a shame because this is, while not of great consequence as far as dollar sums, as a signal to the American public I think it would be a shame that the Senate voted to reject this amendment.

Mr. FORD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. FORD. I will be glad to yield to the Senator.

Mr. FORD. Continuing reserving the right to object.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, it is hard for me to understand how we can tell the people out there how concerned we are about them when the Government is shut down and there is no reason for it except to force the President into signing a budget with which he does not agree. I do not agree with it. We have 10 Republicans and 9 Democrats who have gotten together on a budget that does not agree with the budget that the Republican majority has sent to the President. So you have 10 of your membership that do not like it, and we are trying to get together. As we worked through--I have the papers, I wish I had them with me-- where we had the first budget and then the second budget and then there was a first agreement and a second agreement, we moved a little toward the Republicans and they moved a little toward us. I thought that is what negotiation is all about. But it is just like ``If you don't play by my rules, Sam, I'm going to take the ball and go home,'' and that is exactly where we are left. I can hear we want all these people to have their money, but you do not want anybody else to have it. You do not want that family to have it. There is not a soul on this side that I know of who has any objections to the veterans getting their money, AFDC, D.C. Government, foster care, adoption assistance, particularly the Medicaid quarterly payments. States probably would not have enough money to take care of it if we did not do this. There is not a Senator on this side of the aisle that objects to anything that is in this continuing resolution. The only thing we say is that you ought to treat everybody else the same. That individual that is out there working every day, the honest worker, as you talked about, and he needs, or she needs, to have a full check. Second, if they do not get the money, then they are laid off. All you have to do is read the paper every day, and I am sure most of you do before you come to work. Dad always told me, ``Never go to work without drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.'' So I try to do that. I am very disappointed we are costing taxpayers--we want to try to protect the taxpayers--we are costing them $40 million a day, giving them half checks, they cannot meet their mortgage payments, contractors are laying off their employees. All we have to do is pass a clean CR. People are working around here and want to get it done, and you know you will get it done but you are creating hurt, harming people rather than trying to help them. So the harm is now greater than the help that they will ever get. So, Mr. President, I reluctantly remove my objections because I cannot get an agreement, and it has to be by unanimous consent. I reluctantly remove the objection from this side if we are not going to get help for the people in this country.

Mr. FORD. I just hate to see all these crocodile tears-- they are just dripping down everybody's cheeks and off their chin--that we cannot get a balanced budget. We have agreed to 7 years. We have agreed to CBO. You cannot put CBO to it until you have a final agreement. What we are doing is costing taxpayers $40 million a day. Our employees get half a check. They cannot make the payment on their mortgage and cannot make their payment on their car. The contractors are laying people off in droves. They are laying them off in droves because you are saying, ``We're going to shut the Government down until we get what we want.'' You have the right to do that. You are in the majority. But I will say one thing: I believe you will rue the day that you shut the Government down. I believe that you will rue the day that that widow with two children could not make her mortgage payments. You cannot do these things. I think that is a mistake. But if that is the position of the majority, then I will further reserve the right to object and ask the Senator, would it be possible to have an amendment reinstating the military COLA that is included in the DOD authorization bill which is going to go into effect in January?

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I do not argue with my friend from Virginia at all. I have had a call from my State as it relates to the Medicaid payment. They are very concerned about it. That is a quarterly payment. It ends this month. The January, February, and March quarter for Medicaid is vitally important to them. And then when we have the, I think, good judgment to include that in the continuing resolution and the House said there are other means of paying it, well, if there are other means of paying it, let us not fuss at the Secretary of the Treasury trying to keep the Government open and keep it afloat with money when he finds other ways to make ends meet around here. So I just wanted to make the point, and I do not want to offend my friend from Virginia. I understand what the Senate is trying to do and I applaud Senator Dole for saying he does not want to shut the Government down. So the blame now is where it ought to be. The blame now is where it ought to be, not on the Senate.