Bernie Sanders

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, the issue here is a simple one: We cannot compromise the air safety of the United States of America to the lowest bidder, whose main function in life is profiteering rather than protecting the needs of American air travelers. Equally important, we cannot turn our backs on the promises made to 2,500 Federal employees in terms of their pensions. If we turn our backs on them, we are turning our backs on millions of American workers whose pensions can also be slashed. Let us protect Federal employees. Let us pass this amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Boren).

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This tri-partisan amendment has widespread support across the ideological spectrum, from Democrats and Republicans, from progressives to conservatives. It is being cosponsored today by the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich). It also is being supported by a number of leading national organizations including the National Taxpayers Union; Friends of the Earth; Citizens Against Government Waste; the Green Scissors Coalition; Taxpayers For Common Sense; and U.S. PIRG, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is simple and straightforward. It would prohibit the Export-Import Bank from providing corporate welfare for the construction of nuclear power plants in China. Mr. Chairman, I think the rationale for supporting this amendment is obvious. At a time when we have a $7.7 trillion national debt and a record-breaking Federal deficit, it is not only absurd, but it is dangerous for the taxpayers of this country to be subsidizing the construction of nuclear power plants in China. Mr. Chairman, amazingly enough, the company involved here, Westinghouse Electric, which builds nuclear technology is owned by British National Fuels which itself is a company wholly owned by the British government. So we are dealing with the absurdity of American taxpayers who are in the midst of a record breaking deficit, subsidizing the British government, a nation which, to the best of my knowledge, is not made up of starving, desperate people in the developing world. Mr. Chairman, there is no debate, but that when these four nuclear power plants will be built at a cost which involves an Export-Import loan of some $5 billion, that when these nuclear power plants will be built, the Chinese will own the technology. And a question that every Member of this Congress should be asking is, is it really in the best interest of the United States of America to provide advanced nuclear technology to China. Furthermore, the Chinese company which is building these four nuclear power plants, the Chinese national nuclear company has been tied to at least three instances of weapons proliferation involving Iran and Pakistan. Mr. Chairman, I do not always agree with the National Taxpayers Union. But let me briefly summarize what they say in a letter that they sent to me today. NTU has long advocated total elimination of taxpayer funding of the Export-Import Bank for the simple fact that American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the overseas operation of U.S. corporation or foreign governments. Considering the rapid pace of economic growth in China and its emergence as a strong force in the global business environment, it is particularly egregious to waste taxpayer dollars on such a project. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In another time and place, I would like to deal with many of the assertions made by my friend who just spoke, but now is not the time. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. SANDERS. The gentleman from Arizona closes; is that correct?

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, how much time remains for either side?

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of the time. The American middle class is shrinking, and one of the reasons that we are losing good-paying jobs is that corporation after corporation is throwing American workers out on the street and moving to countries like China where desperate people are paid 30 cents an hour, 20 cents an hour and go to jail when they stand up for their political rights or stand up for their right to form a union. There is increasing concern by people from all walks of life that the economy of China, which is growing in leaps and bounds, is threatening the American standard of living. Whether it is blue collar jobs or white collar, information technology jobs, China is growing while our jobs are shrinking; and we are losing good-paying jobs and providing our young people with low-wage jobs, with minimal benefits. If it makes sense to anybody in this country to be putting $5 billion of American taxpayer money at risk, to be subsidizing the development of nuclear power plants in China, providing them with the technology that can be used for military purposes, with a company that is owned by the British Government, if somebody got up here and proposed subsidies for a federally owned company, people on the other side would go ballistic; but it is okay to be subsidizing a nationalized company in Great Britain providing and building nuclear power plants in China. I think that the time is long overdue that the United States Congress took a very hard look at Export-Import Bank in general. Over the years, what we have seen is they are providing huge subsidies to large corporations who are outsourcing American jobs. In this instance, they are providing a subsidy to a British company owned by their own government building nuclear power plants in China. I think that is a very bad deal. I think the American people would be shocked if we allowed this to go through, and I hope that we can support this tri-partisan amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, there are over 800,000 volunteer firefighters in the United States. Of the 30,000 fire departments in the United States, two thirds are entirely made up of volunteers-- 21,761 companies. Another 5,271 companies are mostly made up of volunteers. In my own state of Vermont there are 246 small towns--and 244 fire departments. Five of them are in large cities, where there first responders are full time, paid firefighters. Vermont has 265 paid firefighters--all brave and dedicated men and women. But in rural Vermont, dotted with small cities and smaller towns, there is often neither the population base nor the budget to support full-time firefighters. But thousands of remarkable men and women step into the breech, giving generously of their time and energy and commitment to make sure our residences, our businesses, our farms, our towns, are safe. Vermont, with a population of about 620,000, has an astonishing 6,235 volunteer firefighters. Just over one person in every hundred who lives in our largely rural state has devoted himself or herself to protecting the community in which they live. These first responders are models for people across our entire nation of what commitment to one's neighbor looks like. Every day they demonstrate, in good weather and bad, in sweltering summer heat when their boots and coats are like ovens, and in the depths of winter when the temperature goes to 25 below and frostbite threatens, that they are willing to put their lives on the line to protect the lives of others. Our nation was built by people who were as concerned about their neighbors as they were about their own interests. It has been sustained by brave men and women who love their country, their community, their neighbors and family, as much as they love life itself. And that tradition of service and bravery continues in Vermont. I proudly celebrate, today, the remarkable volunteer firefighters of Vermont. We all owe them a debt of gratitude: They are among the great unsung heroes of our times.

Mr. SANDERS

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment is supported by the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association. Seven States in America, Democrat and Republican legislatures, have gone on record expressing serious concerns about the PATRIOT Act. And hundreds of thousands of Americans, hundreds of thousands, have written Members of Congress about this issue. Mr. Chairman, all of us and all Americans grieve the horror of 9/11 and the deaths of thousands of our fellow citizens. And every Member of this Congress is on record pledged to do everything he or she can to defend the American people from another terrorist attack. We have spent tens of billions of dollars, and we are prepared to spend more. But, Mr. Chairman, the reason that conservatives and progressives and people in between have come together is that we understand that what we are talking about is freedom; is liberty; that we can fight terrorism, we can defeat terrorism, we can protect the American people without undermining the constitutional rights that men and women have fought for, have died for, and that made us the greatest country on Earth. Let us go forward defeating terrorism, but let us do it in a way that makes us all proud, that protects the greatest document ever written, the American Constitution. And that is what this amendment is about. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, can I inquire as to how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, before I yield, I would remind my friend, as I am sure he already knows, that we have exempted computers that he referred to in several instances from the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman). (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Mr. SANDERS. Can I ask my friend how many speakers he has left.

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).