Debbie Stabenow

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Thank you, Mr. President. The act would expand eligibility for home improvement and structural alteration assistance. It would also improve survivor benefits for the surviving children of our service men and women and a number of other things. I am glad we passed this legislation. I am sorry it was held up for 7 months, and then all this week there was obstructionism and delay before we could get to it. But I am glad we got it done. I am deeply disappointed that earlier this week we saw another filibuster that stopped us from proceeding to an equally important bill, and that is a bill that relates to equal pay and protection under the law, when women are working hard every single day and find themselves in a situation where they are receiving less than male counterparts for the same job. It is wrong. It needs to be fixed for the women of America and their families.

Ms. STABENOW. Thank you, Mr. President. I look forward to the opportunity to bring this to the floor again, and, hopefully, we will be able to get it done.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each and that the following Senators be recognized in the order listed: myself for 15 minutes, Senator Hatch for 10 minutes, Senator Tester for 7 minutes, Senator Isakson for 15 minutes.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. First of all, I thank Senator Brown for his eloquence and his comments and his conviction. I know he would agree with me that we want trade; we just want to export our products, not our jobs. That is what we want to export. It seems to me, Mr. President, that the administration, one more time, is getting the cart before the horse. We hear all the time about the interest in beefing up trade enforcement and passing Trade Adjustment Assistance or dealing with currency manipulation and so on. Yet those things are not happening, and the administration comes forward one more time with another trade agreement without those things in place. Now, I first wish to thank the chairman of the Finance Committee for speaking out very strongly about this and for introducing the bipartisan Trade Adjustment Assistance bill that he has indicated must be passed before this trade agreement is even considered. I appreciate that very much and his willingness to report from the Finance Committee, on which I am honored to serve, a bill dealing with currency manipulation. We have a trade enforcement bill as well. But the reality is that we have not received support from the administration, and we have not seen the willingness to make this the priority it needs to be in terms of our families. I know it is a priority for our leader. I know it is a priority for the chairman of the Finance Committee and the majority of us on that committee. Yet still today we are here one more time with an administration that, rather than listening to the leadership, the Speaker, rather than listening to our leadership and being willing to address the needs of workers who have lost their jobs because of trade, sends up another trade agreement. And as my friend from Ohio has indicated, it is not one that focuses on what is right in terms of workers--either the workers in Colombia or the workers in Michigan or Ohio or Montana or across the country. From my perspective, it is hard to imagine that since the beginning of this administration, almost 8 years ago, we have lost 3.6 million manufacturing jobs--million. That means 3.6 million families who had great middle-class jobs with health benefits and pensions now find themselves either unemployed or underemployed in many situations. In my home State of Michigan, we have lost 425,000 jobs. I don't know how many folks are in Montana for sure, but my guess is that would be a pretty big percentage of the folks who live in a State you love dearly and advocate for every day--425,000 people in the last 7\1/ 2\ years. Again, we know the economy is changing, and we are focused on advanced manufacturing. We are focused on new technology. Michigan is becoming a leader in alternative energy and will be a leader in alternative energy, but we have to continue to make things in this country. That is what manufacturing is about. I happen to believe that an economy doesn't grow unless you make things and grow things and then you add leverage to it and you add value to it. That is how you have an economy. That is how we have had an economy and a middle class that has been the envy of the world. Frankly, when we look at creating a level playing field, we ought to be talking about bringing other countries up to us, not racing to the bottom. Americans have been told: If you only work for less, lose your health care benefits, lose your pension, we can be competitive. Senator Brown talks about Colombia setting up zones, or other countries, where companies don't have to even pay minimum wage in those countries. If they come in as an American company or a company from another part of the world, they can come in and pay workers less. That is a race to the bottom. That is not a race we can win, and I don't want to win it because if we win that race, we have lost the American dream. We have lost the middle class of this country. What we want is a race up, and that means education, innovation, changing the way we fund health care, and, yes, it means a level playing field on trade. I believe that before we can go further with trade agreements, there are four things we have to make clear we are going to get done on behalf of American workers and American families: Trade Adjustment Assistance. There is an excellent bipartisan bill which has been introduced in the Senate which is a bill that would extend and improve upon trade adjustment assistance. This was set up so that if somebody loses their job because of trade, they are going to be able to go back to school and they are going to have their health care benefits continued for a couple of years while they get retraining to be able to go into that new economy we all talk about. Secondly, we have to have a stronger trade enforcement operation in this country. Mr. President, we have some 230 different trade agreements. According to former Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor, who came before the Finance Committee, we have the smallest trade enforcement office of anyplace in the industrialized world--the smallest trade enforcement office. So we need to beef that up. Again, we have legislation to do that. We just need to pass it and get it signed into law and hear the President will support it. It includes a provision that Senator Lindsey Graham and I have been working on, a bipartisan agreement we have worked on for years, to create what we call a U.S. Trade Prosecutor but basically is a chief enforcement officer--a place for business to go when their patent is stolen or there is an unfair trade practice against them so we have somebody fighting for American businesses and American workers. That needs to get done. We need the strongest possible currency bill to address what is, in fact, against the law and creating an unfair advantage--particularly as regards China but in the case of the auto industry, Japan as well-- where they are manipulating their currency and selling products to us that get anywhere from a 5-percent up to a 40-percent discount right off the top because of the valuation of their currency. That needs to change. That is called a level playing field. Finally, Mr. President, we need to make sure we extend unemployment benefits for folks who have been unemployed due to our inaction on trade or through other parts of the economic upheaval we have been in, in so many parts of the country, and which, unfortunately, is growing across the country. I think Michigan was the canary in the coal mine, in many ways. We were hit hardest first--the epicenter of manufacturing--but this is now spreading across the country. We need to make sure the middle-class person who has lost their job has the opportunity to at least put food on the table and pay the mortgage while they are continuing to look for work. I believe those things need to be put in place before we send any more trade agreements forward--a trade agreement that we don't have the capacity to enforce, where we are not helping the workers who have lost or will lose their jobs, and where we are not addressing the broader issues that have cost us jobs every single day. I am stunned. We got the new numbers on Friday for what has happened. Last week's dismal jobs report was released. It was reported that our Nation lost 83,000 jobs last month--83,000 jobs last month. We know what is happening. We know we are in a recession. We have known it in Michigan for a long time. Yet President Bush's Chief Economist, Edward Lazear, said: I don't focus too much on the monthly unemployment rate because it has been a bit volatile. A bit volatile? Three weeks, 4 weeks ago, we were hearing: Well, the underlying fundamentals of the country are good. We have a little housing problem, but the underlying fundamentals are good. With all due respect, I don't know what planet these folks are on, but the reality is that we have seen a convergence of issues, from the housing situation, to the broader financial markets, to trade imbalance, trade deficits, huge deficits in our budget; we have seen a lack of enforcement on trade agreements; jobs lost, 3.6 million manufacturing jobs alone; and I think this is more than just a little bit of volatility in the economy. So, Mr. President, I am extremely hopeful that we will say no to this Colombian Free Trade Agreement and that we will stand up for Americans, that we will stand up for Americans who have lived their lives working hard, trying to play by the rules, and who expect us to stand up for them, and American businesses that have done the same thing. Let's pass Trade Adjustment Assistance the right kind of way. Let's make sure we have a strong policy on currency manipulation. Let's make sure we toughen our trade enforcement laws. And let's most certainly recognize the tens of thousands--millions at this point--of those who are on unemployment insurance and who are asking us to extend those benefits, as has been done in every other time of recession, so that they have the ability to be able to care for their families while they are looking for a job. Mr. President, I hope we will value the dignity of work and what millions of Americans are going through every day now and understand it is our job, first and foremost, to fight for them. I thank the Chair.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, let me say, part of this recovery is to support those businesses currently not making a profit but that want to continue to invest in America and American jobs. That is the piece we address in this amendment. I thank Senator Baucus and his staff and Senator Grassley for working very closely with us to get this to a point where it is supported by them. Thank you.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I wish to honor a remarkable man from Michigan, Wally Bronner, who passed away on April 1, 2008, at the age of 81. As the founder of BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND in Frankenmuth, he embodied the spirit of Christmas. I had the privilege of visiting Wally at his store and it was an amazing experience. His enthusiasm and passion were contagious. He was truly an ambassador for the community of Frankenmuth and the State of Michigan, throughout our country and the world. It is hard to think of Christmas without thinking about Wally Bronner. BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND is truly one of a kind and provides visitors with the opportunity to experience different cultures and Christmas traditions from around the world. Wally Bronner was born and raised in Frankenmuth, MI. He started a sign painting business while in high school and then decorated window displays for a local hardware store. Several merchants approached him about providing them with Christmas decorations and that was the beginning of what has now become BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND, which sits on 45 acres of land with a shipping department that is the size of 5\1/2\ football fields and a chapel. Wally had a deep faith in God and was passionate about giving back to the community. His generosity has been felt in Frankenmuth and beyond. The Walter and Irene Bronner and Family Foundation, which he founded, has made many special things happen for the community, including a new auditorium at Frankenmuth High School and ``Operation Sparkle'' that provided the equipment needed to clean up Saginaw. BRONNER'S CHRISTmas WONDERLAND will continue to delight people of all ages across the world, but Wally's presence will surely be missed. I want to express my deepest sympathies to his wife Irene Bronner and his children Carla Spletzer, Maria Sutorik and Wayne Bronner. Frankenmuth, the State of Michigan and Christmas lovers everywhere are forever indebted to Wally Bronner.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, there is an objection on behalf of the majority leader. I object.

Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I first give thanks to my colleague and friend from Ohio. We have been working together on this issue. Michigan and Ohio are part of the epicenter as we have seen the downturn in the economy since 2000. We have seen 3 million manufacturing jobs--middle-class jobs that created the standard of living in this country--that have been lost. This amendment addresses those companies that have done the right thing, that have paid good wages, provided health insurance, provided pensions, that now find themselves in a challenging time but that we want to continue to support so they can continue to keep great American jobs in this country. I am so pleased we are joined by others in a truly bipartisan effort. We have four Democrats and four Republicans cosponsoring the amendment. We have Senators Hatch, Rockefeller, Cantwell, Vitter, Levin, and Smith coming together from all parts of the country, representing important American industries that are asking to be recognized and to basically allow them to use the AMT and R&D credits they have already accumulated. They have made investments and we want them to make more, and we want to create a mechanism that allows them to benefit from the mechanisms we are putting into place to support industries that need assistance in this difficult time and need to be ready to come out of this economic downturn as quickly as possible. There is no question that we are in a housing and economic crisis in America. Few States have been hurt worse than Michigan and Ohio. In Michigan alone, right now, we rank No. 6 in the number of foreclosures. Last year, 87,000 households were foreclosed upon; 87,000 families faced the loss of their homes and their piece of the American dream. Last year, Michigan lost 62,000 good-paying jobs. Unfortunately, we are not alone. In February, the manufacturing sector lost 52,000 jobs. Over the last 7 years, manufacturing has lost more than 3.6 million jobs. Again, these are middle-class jobs and these companies have stepped forward to do the right thing and pay health care, pensions, and provide a standard of living that has been unsurpassed in the world. Yet the Labor Department announced that the number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest levels in more than 2 years, from a seasonal adjusted 38,000 people to 407,000 people. In Michigan alone, right now, our unemployment rate is 7.2 percent. American families are in a state of crisis. They are losing their homes, their jobs and, of course, we cannot ignore this situation. We need to do everything possible to be able to support families, workers, and businesses that are being affected. The Voinovich-Stabenow amendment would help save many of these important middle-class jobs and keep families out of foreclosure. From manufacturing States such as Michigan, families are not losing their homes because of a housing bubble, they are losing their homes because they lost their jobs, their livelihood. They have exhausted their unemployment benefits and they have spent all of their savings, probably dipped into the equity in their houses, and they cannot afford to pay the mortgages anymore. This is a daily reality for the families I represent in Michigan. The bonus depreciation provision we passed in the stimulus package earlier this year gave manufacturers a strong incentive to increase their capital investments in an effort to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, that did nothing for manufacturers that are struggling the most right now, the ones that are not profitable, that are being forced to shut down plants and lay off workers. Our amendment would also give these struggling manufacturers an incentive to be here in America and invest in American jobs. By utilizing the AMT and R&D credit provision, manufacturers in this loss position that have built up AMT and research and development tax credits will now be able to use their credits, stimulate the economy, and create new jobs. These manufacturers will be able to recover their accumulated credits--in other words, they have invested and developed credits. They just cannot use them because they are currently not making a profit. This will allow them to recover those credits after they have made new investments, which will help them to fully realize the intended benefits of the bonus depreciation provision and put them on equal ground with profitable companies. This amendment will not only allow these manufacturers to stay afloat in this time of economic uncertainty, but will help them invest, expand, and create more American jobs. It will allow them to avoid laying off more workers, many of whom are the most vulnerable when it comes to the issue of foreclosure, losing their home. Adopting this amendment is an important first step in addressing the crisis facing our Nation. It cannot wait for another day. We would very much appreciate strong bipartisan support for this amendment that is a very important piece of addressing what is happening to so many millions of American families across this country. I urge colleagues to join us in this bipartisan amendment.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. I am pleased to join with my good friend, Senator Kent Conrad, in introducing the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act, which improves access for many Medicare beneficiaries by expanding telehealth services. As Senator Conrad has noted, this legislation makes a number of technical corrections to promote telehealth. First, this bill would expand the number of sites that provide telehealth services under Medicare to include nursing homes, dialysis facilities, and community mental health centers. Also, it would expand the list of providers to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other providers determined appropriate by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Lastly, this bill would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to update the list of covered telehealth services, along with the creation of a permanent advisory committee made up of physicians and non-physicians to provide recommendations to the Secretary and continue expansions of telehealth services forward. Michigan providers have been very innovative in using telehealth, often out of necessity because of geographic isolation. Telehealth allows providers to collaborate across great distances and share, rather than duplicate, services. This helps save money and improve patient access. One innovation is the use of tele-mental health services. Many Michigan community mental health centers have made tremendous strides in their ability to monitor patients and provide clinical consultations long distance. I am very pleased that both the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards and the National Council on Community Behavioral Healthcare support this legislation. I believe that the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act will build upon already successful initiatives happening in my home State of Michigan and across the country. I urge my colleagues to join with me and Senator Conrad in expanding upon this promising technology. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the Record.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. I am pleased to join with my good friend, Senator Kent Conrad, in introducing the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act, which improves access for many Medicare beneficiaries by expanding telehealth services. As Senator Conrad has noted, this legislation makes a number of technical corrections to promote telehealth. First, this bill would expand the number of sites that provide telehealth services under Medicare to include nursing homes, dialysis facilities, and community mental health centers. Also, it would expand the list of providers to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and other providers determined appropriate by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Lastly, this bill would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to update the list of covered telehealth services, along with the creation of a permanent advisory committee made up of physicians and non-physicians to provide recommendations to the Secretary and continue expansions of telehealth services forward. Michigan providers have been very innovative in using telehealth, often out of necessity because of geographic isolation. Telehealth allows providers to collaborate across great distances and share, rather than duplicate, services. This helps save money and improve patient access. One innovation is the use of tele-mental health services. Many Michigan community mental health centers have made tremendous strides in their ability to monitor patients and provide clinical consultations long distance. I am very pleased that both the Michigan Association of Community Mental Health Boards and the National Council on Community Behavioral Healthcare support this legislation. I believe that the Medicare Telehealth Improvement Act will build upon already successful initiatives happening in my home State of Michigan and across the country. I urge my colleagues to join with me and Senator Conrad in expanding upon this promising technology. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the Record.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about what is happening in the housing crisis, which I know we are all extremely concerned about, and to talk about what is happening to families across the country. We are in a crisis in America. Few States are being hurt as much as my State of Michigan, which currently rates sixth in the Nation in mortgage foreclosures. Families are seeing their life's dream--their home--being lost as a result of the crisis. Last year, over 87,000 households were in foreclosure-- 87,000 families faced with the loss of their piece of the American dream. Every day we delay passing legislation, thousands more families lose their homes and are stripped of their American dream, their home. I thank Senator Reid, our leader, and Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, for coming together for the leadership of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to forge an agreement, because it is absolutely critical that we come together and take action as soon as possible. I know that right now we are seeing the final stages of putting together a substitute amendment. I know it is our majority leader's position to move this legislation as quickly as possible. This year alone, over 20,000 households, 20,000 families, are in foreclosure in Michigan. This crisis is only going to get worse, which is why we have to act now. We are hearing about the broader ramifications--first starting with subprime loans, and then to larger home loans, and now to the larger financial markets, where there is no certainty, and capital is drying up so that entrepreneurs who want to start a small business may not be able to do so. The young person getting ready to go to college who is looking to get a student loan might not be able to do so. There are broad implications because the way the financial markets are intertwined right now has created a situation where it is imperative we act. We have to go to the heart, to the central piece that has started all of this, which is to address what is happening as it relates to home ownership and financing. It has become clear, unfortunately, because of many hearings that have been held and criminal investigations that have been launched on the issue of subprime lending that we have seen manipulative practices and tactics as a part of this problem--not the whole problem but certainly a very important part of it. It has become clear a considerable number of mortgage brokers targeted subprime loan products to minority borrowers, folks who are out doing a sales job, making something sound a whole lot better than it is, such a good deal, when maybe you have a senior who needs a home repair, a roof done, a new furnace, or a young family trying to get into that first home and they were told things that were not true and, in some cases, were sold a bill of goods. On top of that, many of these borrowers, many of these families, would have qualified for a prime mortgage with better terms. We are only beginning to see the effects of this crisis and the results of this kind of targeting. Foreclosures have already led to the loss of property values throughout entire communities in Michigan. It may be that only one home in a neighborhood has a foreclosure sign in front of it, but what happens to the values of the houses on either side, the house across the street, the house in the next block? This is impacting whole communities. The result is a credit crisis that is making safe, affordable mortgages less available for aspiring homeowners, putting the American dream further at risk. Families across Michigan are struggling. Families across the Nation are struggling. We know that for most people, it is getting that home. It is going from a renter to a homeowner, to tucking away that equity in the home that brings someone the opportunity to be a part of middle- class America. We know that home equity has paid for young people to be able to go to college and for future dreams of those families. That equity, that value of that home, in too many cases is slipping away. That is why I am proud to be part of a majority in Congress that has already acted on a couple of key points. Last December, we acted to pass my legislation that would make sure at least, as people are filling out their taxes before April 15 of this year, they would not be penalized with additional taxes if they lost their home or had to lose money on a refinancing. We passed together--and I am very appreciative of the fact that we were able to do this--and President Bush signed the bill that would basically indicate, as an example, if you have a $100,000 mortgage and you are in a situation where you have to sell for $80,000 or there is a foreclosure and a resale of $80,000, that you do not pay taxes on that $20,000 difference that is forgiven by the bank, for instance. That does not count as income toward you. What we have done is eliminate the added insult to injury. You lose your home and then you get another tax bill. We acted last December to make sure that would not happen, and I am very pleased to have led that effort. We also passed provisions in the economic stimulus package, as well as increasing FHA's ability to help families facing foreclosure. We know we are in the very final steps of having a conference committee report done, and this is a very important part of what needs to happen. We also know that is not enough. There is much more to be done, not only to directly help families and communities, but to create certainty within the marketplace so that lenders who are operating under the rules are regulated, so our traditional lenders feel confident to once again lend to others, to each other, to be able to continue our economy moving forward. That is why I am very proud of, again, Senator Reid, our leadership, Senator Dodd, Senator Baucus, and others who put together the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 to help over 1 million people stay in their homes and accomplish three important goals that I hope will be included as we come to a larger agreement with colleagues across the aisle so we have an approach that can pass with strong bipartisan support. We have brought to the floor of the Senate and have asked for action--we asked 3 weeks ago for action and we are now back hopefully to the point where we can get action on issues such as keeping families in their homes by increasing the preforeclosure counseling funds so people can get help figuring out the maze. Because of the financial structuring, you can get a mortgage and you can go back and those folks don't own the mortgage. In fact, they are packaged together, securitized, sold in the marketplace, maybe even divided up. Maybe you don't have one entity that owns your mortgage but maybe two or three. It is an extremely complicated question. So being able to help people get through that situation with preforeclosure counseling is very important. Allowing State housing agencies to issue $10 billion more in refinancing bonds has been a part of our package and I hope will be in the final package; also, allowing homeowners in bankruptcy to modify their mortgages. We also include in our plan the ability to help communities harmed by foreclosures by allowing them to use community development block grant funds, very important funds to support local communities to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed properties therefore, enabling struggling communities to focus on their properties. We also have focused on businesses--homebuilders and others--that at this point need assistance through the Tax Code to apply excess net operating losses to prior years that were profitable to allow them to manage the excess in inventory and be able to move forward and be profitable. Our plan also includes help for families to avoid foreclosures in the future by requiring mortgage documents be simplified. These are important steps that will help millions of hard-working Americans and address the most important issue causing our economic problems, which is the issue related to housing and financing. I urge colleagues to come together to act as quickly as possible as final plans for a bipartisan bill are being put forward. I would be remiss if I did not also speak to one other piece of this, particularly for a State such as Michigan. For us, it has not been the high values on homes or even the financial mechanism of adjustable rate mortgage arms and so on. For us in Michigan, our main cause of this problem relates to the fact that people are losing their jobs. It is unemployment, people losing their jobs or finding themselves in a situation where their income is cut in half from $28 an hour now at $14 an hour. The mortgage has not changed. The cost of food has not changed. In fact, it has gone up. Gasoline costs have gone up. Everything is going up, but wages are going down if they exist at all. In Michigan, these are not families who were flipping their houses or speculating on real estate. These are hard-working men and women who played by the rules all their life, patriotic Americans who have been devastated by the current economic downturn, devastated by policies that have allowed us to export jobs rather than products, which is what we need to be doing. In Michigan, we have been in recession for quite some time now. Middle-class families are losing everything in terms of jobs, homes, so on. Although I have to say, we are tough in Michigan and resilient and working hard to bring new opportunities and new industries to Michigan, but it has been very challenging for us at a time when since 2001, since this administration came into power, we have lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs in this country. It is hard to believe. These are the jobs that created middle-class America, good wage, good health care, good pensions, good way of life, good standard of living. We have been at the forefront, unfortunately, in a global economy where we are not enforcing our trade laws adequately, where we are not addressing health care costs in a way that makes sure everyone is covered but does not cause us to have health care costs going through the roof. By not addressing those issues--even though I have to say I am very proud to be part of a caucus that has tried at every effort, tried in every form we can to address those issues, but despite that, we have not seen what needs to be done in this country to create a level playing field, to create a race to the top so other countries are coming to us. Instead, we see pressure for a race to the bottom. In Michigan, families are seeing, unfortunately, their American dream turn into an American nightmare because of lack of action on those issues that relate to fighting for middle-class America in this country and to keep middle-class America in this country. I do not want to lose sight of these families. The housing bills in front of us are very important to help families, but I hope that in the not too distant future we will do something else that is incredibly important to help these families keep making the mortgage payments, and that is to extend unemployment benefits. In every other time of economic downturn, a recession, this Congress has responded, whether it be a Democratic President or Republican President, to extend the benefits to those hard-working Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own so they can continue to put food on the table, to pay the mortgage, keep a roof over their head while they work very hard to find another job. No one gets rich on unemployment compensation. People are getting on average 40 cents on every dollar earned. Nobody is operating without an extreme struggle even on unemployment compensation. But we know it is the right thing to do, the moral thing to do for families. We have been told that one of the two things that have the most economic stimulus is extending unemployment compensation. Why? Because if you are unemployed, you are not deciding: Gosh, do I save that money coming in or do I spend it? You have to spend it. You have to spend it to keep a flow for your family. So we know it has a tremendous economic stimulus effect. The other point that is so critical--and I want to give tremendous credit to our Presiding Officer, the great Senator from Iowa, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, for his incredible commitment to extending and strengthening the food programs in this country--food stamps, nutrition, school nutrition. But as he has said so eloquently on so many occasions, increasing the dollars for food stamps immediately goes into economic stimulus because when you receive that help, you are going right to the grocery store and you are buying the food your family needs. There is something wrong in this country when the best we can do at the moment is $1 per person per meal. I thank the Presiding Officer for his efforts. This is one of the key things we can do to help families. In Michigan right now, we not only have an unemployment rate that is the highest in the Nation, 7.2 percent, but we also have one out of eight people on food stamps. These are folks who never thought in their life they would need help, never dreamed they would need help and now find themselves in a situation. We have heard a lot over the last months from the administration that things are not as bad as we think, that the underlying economics are fine, although that has changed in the last 3 weeks. But we keep hearing that there is not enough evidence to show that we need to increase unemployment compensation or help people put food on their tables. But we also know that every economic indicator says exactly the opposite. And we are now hearing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Goldman Sachs that by the beginning of next year, which is coming faster than we would like, in January of next year, the national unemployment average will be 6\1/2\ percent. Families expect us to act and do something when this kind of evidence is available in terms of the economy. We took action in 2002 across the aisle in extending unemployment benefits, and yet I don't understand why that is not at the top of the list right now. Over 41,000 people in Michigan lost their unemployment insurance benefits in the first 3 months of this year, and millions more across the country will lose that help for their family by the end of the year. Something has to be done. We are talking about people who were working, the middle class of this country who have lost their jobs, probably related in some way to this economy and what is happening. The job may have gone overseas, it may not, but they are in a situation where they are losing their jobs. We can not turn our backs on them. The housing package in front of us is a critically important step, and I want to congratulate again everyone involved in coming to this point. I hope we have something we will be able to move quickly on, with a very strong bipartisan vote. Then I hope we are going to move just as quickly to those areas we know are desperately needed for families and that will have an immediate economic stimulus effect; to be able to do those things that will support the dignity of work. The majority of Americans are not looking for a handout from anybody. They are looking for an opportunity to care for their own family and to work hard and to be able to have the American dream. They are looking to us to understand what is going on not only in Michigan but across the country and to act to support them. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum

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

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 11, 2008, at 10 a.m., in order to conduct a hearing entitled the ``Condition of Our Nation's Infrastructure and Proposals For Needed Improvements.''

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 10:15 a.m. in order to hold a hearing on U.S. policy options on the Horn of Africa.

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in order to hold a hearing entitled, ``Examining the President's Proposed Fiscal Year 2009 Budget for the Civil Works Program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Implementation of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007''

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in order hold a hearing on NATO enlargement and effectiveness.

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing. At this hearing, the Committee will conduct an oversight hearing on the Department of Transportation's current Cross-Border Truck Pilot Program. This pilot program, administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, provides temporary operating authority to a limited number of motor carriers domiciled in Mexico and the United States for cross-border commercial operation.

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday March 11, 2008, at 10 a.m., room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing. At this hearing, the subcommittee will explore the importance of basic research to U.S. competitiveness. The hearing will examine research and development budgets at agencies in the Committee's jurisdiction, particularly the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation, as well as interagency science programs addressing climate change, nanotechnology, and information technology.

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet, during the session of the Senate, in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Broken Pipeline: Losing Opportunities in the Life Sciences'' on Tuesday, March 11, 2008. The hearing will commence at 11 a.m. in room 430 of the Dirksen Senate office building.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I know we are waiting for other colleagues to come to the floor, but let me summarize our priorities for a moment in terms of this budget resolution. There are a number of things we are doing that are very important, such as restoring the cuts the President made overall in health care and the fact he wanted to eliminate the COPS Program that puts thousands of police officers on the streets in our communities. We have restored those and other essential dollars for homeland security, firefighters, and so on. We have also picked three priorities, as we did last year, to focus on in terms of new investments, given what is happening to middle-class families across the country and given the fact that middle-class families feel squeezed on all sides. Gas prices are up. In fact, I saw today they are inching toward $4 a gallon. According to the Detroit News, a paper in Michigan, the chances that gas prices will hit $4 a gallon in the summer are growing with every uptick in the price of oil. We are hearing all about what is happening to families in terms of the price of gas, the price of health care, the price of college and on and on and on. People are being squeezed on all sides. We also know the best economic stimulus is a good-paying American job. So to address that, we have focused on three priorities in this budget. It is very simple: jobs, jobs, jobs. What do I mean by that? We are focusing on three areas, one that also addresses our dependence on foreign oil. It addresses the critical issue of global warming and where we need to go as we look to the future for our families. But it also creates jobs. There is a green-collar jobs initiative to invest in those new technologies, the new energy efficiency jobs, weatherization jobs, innovation for the future, green-collar jobs. We know we can create thousands and thousands of jobs by focusing in this area, and we do that. The second area is jobs for rebuilding America. We know for every $1 billion we put into rebuilding our roads and bridges and schools and water and sewer, we create 47,500 new good-paying American jobs. You can't outsource those jobs. Those are jobs here in America, and that is what we need to do. Then, finally, there is a focus on education and job training. We know that for the future, for ourselves, and for our children and grandchildren, it is opportunity, it is education, it is fully funding the law that was passed called Leave No Child Behind and creating job- training opportunities. People in my State have lost their jobs because of trade, so we have something called trade adjustment assistance that has been consistently underfunded. Yet we have individuals, through no fault of their own, who have seen their jobs go overseas. They are middle-class families trying to care for their families, trying to pay that mortgage we are all talking about right now with the housing crisis and trying to have the American dream for their families. Yet TAA, which was set up to help them go back to school, get training, help cover their health care costs for 2 years while they are doing the training, has been consistently underfunded. We have legislation to fully fund and expand the support for families under TAA. So we wish to make sure job training and education are also a part of this. This is jobs, jobs, jobs. I wish to focus for a moment on one of those areas because it directly relates to what I said a moment ago as it relates to gas prices inching up toward $4 a gallon. We have to change this scenario. I know our Presiding Officer understands this and has spoken about this. We have to get off foreign oil, invest in the new alternative energies that create jobs, that create alternatives in terms of being independent of foreign oil, and address gas prices directly, which are hitting people right between the eyes right now in terms of what is happening. Our green-collar jobs initiative focuses on energy efficiency and conservation, investment in battery technologies, retooling older plants so we are keeping our jobs here in America, and biofuels production and access. We have to have the pump available. You can grow the fuel, you can make the vehicle, but the pumps, if they are not available, we are not going to achieve the goal. Finally, there is a green-collar job initiative. These are five areas we have focused on in terms of investing in the future of our country. That is what we are all about. For us, this is all about focusing on America, about focusing on folks who every day get up, play by the rules, work hard every day, and want to know America is going to work for them and that they are going to be able to keep their home and be able to send their kids to college and have the health care they need and have that job which is going to allow them to be able to keep their standard of living and, in fact, live the American dream. That is what our budget resolution is all about: jobs, jobs, jobs. I am very pleased we have, in fact, put together something that makes sense for American families. I see my colleague from Maryland is here and who is a distinguished member of the Budget Committee. He was a distinguished leader in the House of Representatives before coming to us. So I yield now to the Senator from Maryland for whatever time he wishes to consume.

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, rather than do that----

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, in a moment I am going to yield to Senator Whitehouse, but I do want to respond for a moment because what my friend from Texas is talking about, frankly, in terms of focusing on middle-class families, is exactly what this budget does. It will be enhanced by the Baucus amendment, that takes surplus dollars that are in the budget and targets them right back to middle-class families, putting dollars into their pockets in terms of extending the middle- class tax cuts that we all support. But we also do more than that. We focus on jobs. We focus on health care, investing in education and opportunity for the future. We are not more of the same. This budget resolution is not more of the same of what has been occurring since 2001, in the last 8 years, particularly 6 years of that when we have seen our colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the White House basically controlling all of the agenda in terms of the priorities in the budget and spending and so on. We create a budget that offers a change, a set of priorities based on the values that are important to the American people, American families, American jobs here, investing here. Let me first say, overall, we have a situation where basically we have seen, under this President, more debt, more tax cuts for the wealthy, more spending in Iraq, less investment in America. That is what we have seen. In listening to the outline of what I understand will be a Republican budget alternative that will be presented this week, it is more of the same. It is more of the same. We want to reduce that and balance the budget by 2012, focus tax cuts on middle-income workers, hard-working Americans who have not seen tax relief or investments in their future and in their children's future. We want to refocus. Instead of talking about the spending in Iraq, we want to be focused on spending at home. We have somewhere near $12 billion to $15 billion a month being spent right now in Iraq. Even though we know the Iraqi Government is receiving dollars in oil revenues, we continue to be the ones investing in rebuilding their communities and their jobs, their infrastructure. Our budget invests in America--American jobs, American families, American communities. I am hopeful we will see a strong vote for the budget resolution we are presenting. I now yield up to 30 minutes to my friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse.

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, if I may, since we are on the resolution, I yield time----

Ms. STABENOW

Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, as my friend from Iowa is leaving the floor, I thank him for his incredible leadership on children's health insurance and the bipartisan way we came together around that measure. We hope to be able to do it again because we have millions of children and families who are still waiting for children to be able to receive health insurance. I wish to speak, though, as a cosponsor of the Baucus amendment, to the middle-class tax relief amendment, which is so significant. I find it interesting: my friend from Iowa was referring to a chart that related to the payment limitation issue, with 73 percent of the benefits going to 10 percent of the farmers, where you could cross that out and put President Bush's tax cuts at the top, and you could have the very same kind of ratio or even more of a difference. You could take estate tax repeal and put that up there and have the very same kind of ratio. So I hope when we get to a debate of a permanent extension--which I understand is coming--of the President's tax cuts, that we will see that same kind of concern about where tax benefits are going in America. I have middle-class families, working families who are still waiting, frankly, to receive the benefits they have heard so much about. That is what this amendment, the Baucus amendment, is all about: focusing on the extension and addition of tax cuts for middle-class families and for our brave men and women who are serving in harm's way right now around the globe, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families. This is a very important amendment. Let me start by saying what we want to address is the situation that is now occurring. We want to change what is now occurring as it relates to tax policy. Last year, in 2007, those who were earning more than $1 million a year received a tax cut of $119,557. So, roughly, it is fair to say $120,000 in average tax cuts for somebody earning over $1 million a year. That is more than twice what the average hard-working person in Michigan is earning, the paycheck that they are earning every single year. What we are seeing across the country are folks in the middle class being squeezed on all sides and actually seeing their incomes going down. Too many times we are seeing jobs being lost overseas. We are seeing people being asked to take less in terms of a paycheck. But gasoline now is projected to be inching up toward $4 a gallon, if my colleagues can believe it. Health care costs are going up. The cost of college is going up. Everything is going up, while wages, for most people, are either staying the same or going down. So when we talk about where we want to focus tax cuts for this country, it ought to be the folks who are working hard every day, who love this country and want to have the American dream available for themselves and their families but have not seen the tax cuts that have been talked about so much by the administration. So that is what this amendment talks about. Instead of $120,000 a year for somebody earning over $1 million, let's focus on middle-class families. The Baucus amendment would permanently extend the 10-percent income tax bracket. Everybody would get relief, but proportionately it would be relief for low- and moderate-income families. It would extend the refundable child tax credit. We want to make sure those families who have more than one child--two, three, four children or more--are able to benefit from the child tax credit. The marriage penalty--we want to make sure that is extended. Certainly, we ought not to be in America penalizing folks because they are married when it comes to their tax returns. This permanently extends marriage penalty tax relief. We also permanently extend the tax credit for childcare expenses. No one who has a child in America today will speak about childcare expenses as a frill. It is a necessity. If we care about children, children's well-being, and families, we need to make sure we are recognizing that childcare expenses are a very important and expensive cost for families, and we need to address that by permanently extending the tax credit for childcare expenses. We also permanently extend the increased adoption tax credit. We want to make sure families who are reaching out to children, who want to be able to adopt a child, have support and incentive to do that. Certainly, the biggest incentive is that beautiful baby, but we want to make sure the Tax Code will help them with their costs and expenses as well. Again, this is a pro-family, pro-children, pro-middle class amendment. I am hopeful it is one that we are all going to embrace. We all want to bring certainty to the estate tax law. No one, I believe, wants to see in 2010 the old law take place. We don't want to have uncertainty for families, for family farms, and small businesses. This permanently extends the tax relief that has already been adopted, the tax cuts that have already been adopted. Something else is very important for families right now as they are struggling to keep their homes. We are all very focused and have spent time on the floor talking about what we need to do. Senator Reid has put forward a very important proposal addressing what we can do to help with the home crisis and so many families losing their homes. This particular amendment includes a first of its kind standard deduction for property taxes for Americans who don't itemize on their Federal income tax returns but would allow them a tax deduction for their property taxes. This is a very important piece for supporting families who are working hard to be able to literally keep their home. The other provision that is so significant is to focus on those things that are needed in the Tax Code to support our brave men and women who are serving us in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and around the globe. We have men and women now who are on third and fourth redeployments. They have made tremendous sacrifices, and their families are as well, and we need to be doing everything we can to support them. So this does a number of things. It has a permanent allowance for soldiers to count their nontaxable combat pay when they figure in the earned-income tax credit, so they can get the benefit of the earned-income tax credit for low-income working families. We provide a tax cut for small businesses that are paying some of the salary of the members of the National Guard and Reserve who are called to duty. Again, we have families now that are really at a point of desperation trying to figure out how to pay the mortgage, how to keep going, and we have so many small businesses that are being supportive, and we want to recognize that and give them some support as well. A permanent allowance for all veterans to use qualified mortgage bonds to purchase their homes, again, is another way to help people be able to purchase homes, to be able to do what we all want, which is to have a home, save through the equity of a home, and be able to live a good life in America. We also have created the ability for Active-Duty troops to withdraw monies from retirement plans without penalty. This is very important, when people unfortunately now have dipped into savings. They may have a home equity loan going on and they find themselves in strapped situations and we ought to allow them to take their savings and retirement plans without penalty to be able to help them pay the bills. We have an extension of a provision that gives retired veterans more time to claim a tax refund. Under certain disability benefit payments, the ability for families of reservists killed in the line of duty to be able to collect life insurance and other benefits provided by civilian employers and the ability for families of soldiers killed in the line of duty to contribute 100 percent of survivor benefits to retirement savings accounts or education savings accounts. This is a very important part of this amendment that pays tribute to those who have been asked to sacrifice the most, whether it be someone bravely serving right now in the war, someone who has come home disabled, or the family of someone who did not come home. We are debating a budget resolution right now and talking about who receives benefits and where we have to make hard choices. The folks who have made the toughest choices are the folks who are serving us, serving our country in war halfway around the world. I have a lot of folks who are in this category of getting the more than $120,000 a year in tax cuts this last year who have said to me: I don't need it. I earn over $1 million a year. I don't need this. Give this to the men and women who are serving us. Help pay for the war so that we are not paying for it on a credit card or make sure our veterans have the health care they need when they come home or make sure we fund a GI bill that Senator Webb has introduced that would provide educational opportunities for the men and women who have come home from this war that so far has lasted 5 years. So there are many wonderful people who love our country who are saying this kind of a tax system where those who make less than $100,000 a year get $674, but if you make $1 million a year or more you get $120,000 in a tax cut, just doesn't make sense. In my opinion, it doesn't represent the great values of America, our values and priorities, what we are all about in this country. We are not about having a system where a privileged few receive all of the benefits, while we are asking so many others to sacrifice and to be able to be required, unfortunately, on too many occasions now, to lay down their lives for their country. So I hope the Baucus amendment is passed overwhelmingly. Then I hope we say no to what I believe will be an additional amendment, which would extend this tax policy. It would extend it out. With a war unpaid for, with the massive debt that we have in our country, the obligations to our veterans and their families when they come home, we do not need to extend a tax policy that has given so many of our precious resources to a blessed few people in our country, many of whom are asking us, in fact, not to do that. So I thank our leader on the Budget Committee for all of his wonderful leadership, as well as the ranking member. I yield back the remainder of my time.