The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“PRIORITIES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Senate section on pages S11340-S11341 on Oct. 17, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PRIORITIES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Mr. REID. Mr. President, similar to all Senators, with rare exception, I spent last week's recess at home. I traveled Nevada meeting with my constituents. I met with a wide range of people. I had many conversations. But all the conversations came back to the same issues, including rising energy prices.
One of the last conversations I had was at my home in Searchlight, where some of our friends who live in Searchlight came to visit with us, Judy and Dick Hill. He works at a powerplant, the Mojave Generating Facility, about 35 miles from Las Vegas. She is the assistant postmistress of Searchlight. They have two boys. One of them is going to school. She is even taking some courses at a community college.
They spend about $500 a month on gasoline. Maybe they should get vehicles that do not use as much gas, and I am sure they are considering that, but it would not matter what kind of vehicle they drove; they need lots of gasoline to be able to do what they have to do, such as going back and forth to work, taking the boy to school.
People in Nevada are concerned about Iraq, as well they should be. I certainly applaud the people of Iraq. A little more than half of them turned out to vote. That is courageous. They are proud people, and I am glad they have shown their strength by turning out to vote. And it appears the constitution is going to pass. We will know in a few days.
We lost five soldiers yesterday in Iraq. We are very quickly approaching 2,000. We have not quite arrived at that number yet, but we are 10 or 12 short of that number.
The costs are ongoing. The war seems to be intractable. Surprisingly, the administration is still claiming, as Secretary Rice did over the weekend on a Sunday talk show, that the war is a result of 9/11. The American people do not accept that because it is simply not true.
Of course, constituents were concerned about Katrina and, of course, whether we are ready for another disaster such as the avian flu. I am sure this is not unique. I am sure other Senators had the same experiences I did these past 10 days. Americans from all walks of life are focused on these important issues, and they are looking to us for help. As the Democratic leader, I felt comfortable assuring my constituents that my Democratic colleagues are doing everything we can to meet these three areas about which they spoke.
On Iraq, we continue to press the President to answer key questions about how he is going to change course and achieve military and political success and to get an accounting of how the money has been spent.
On energy, we believe we must remain committed--and we will remain committed--to energy independence by the year 2020. And we have pushed to help families fill their tanks and heat their homes.
With Katrina, we have continued to fight to make sure the needs of displaced families are placed at the top of the Senate's agenda.
And with the avian flu, we have taken the lead in offering solutions to help prepare America and Americans for the next possible disaster.
You see, Democrats understand these issues are the priorities of the American people. That is why they are priorities for us.
Mr. President, a couple of comments regarding the statement of my friend, the Republican leader. I do not know of anyone who is calling for higher taxes, as he suggests. But I know there are people calling for doing away with the budget resolution and reconciliation that calls for $70 billion more in tax cuts--$70 billion more in tax cuts--that go to the elite of the country.
On top of that, I would suggest that we need to, in effect, get rid of the reconciliation.
The resolution that will be executed by the reconciliation process now before the Congress, that was called by all leaders of Protestant Churches the night we voted on it immoral, is even more so now, the resolution before us, not counting what the House says they are going to do. They are going to cut more, Medicaid by $10 billion, cut Medicaid more, cut medical care to the poorest of the poor in America. They want to increase it by another $5 or $10 billion. That is unconscionable.
My distinguished friend, the majority leader, said the high energy costs are a result of the storm of Katrina. That is simply without fact. Prior to Katrina, oil prices were at $70 a barrel. This is a problem that has been going on for a while. We Democrats are concerned about the priorities of the American people. I suggest that those issues about which my friend spoke are not priorities, certainly not to the people of Nevada. We are focused on addressing America's pressing needs. Republicans are acting as though nothing is wrong, that the storm caused the problems.
Take energy. The price of gas continues to hover around $3. I already told you about Dick and Judy Hill in Searchlight. Millions of other people are in the same boat as Dick and Judy. The administration's own Energy Department predicts families will pay hundreds more to heat their homes this winter.
I met with Governor Doyle of Wisconsin today. He said in Wisconsin to heat your home will cost $300 a month more. Despite these facts, Republicans have refused to help families at the pump. They have blocked our efforts to help working families heat their homes. Senate Republicans have taken a similar hands-off approach to Iraq and Katrina. We still have done nothing to help the victims of Katrina. We have appropriated money. The majority leader says we should have somebody to make sure the money is spent right. We have begged for legislation to create a czar so this money can be spent wisely. No, no legislation in that regard. They won't allow us to bring it to the floor. The huddled masses we all saw on TV--I read the spokesperson for this administration, Bob Novak, in the Washington Post today, the columnist. He said it looks good in Louisiana, especially New Orleans: We just won't let the people come back. We will have the city about half of what it was before, and that will be great for Louisiana.
That is their response to this catastrophe. The people who needed the help the most have still gotten no help. And preparedness for avian flu, let's see what happens on that.
The best example, though, of the Republicans, the best example is the Defense authorization bill. We haven't done one. At a time of war, we have not done a Defense authorization bill. In that bill we have money for troops, for pay raises so that they will pay taxes, money for health care, for new equipment. Republicans refuse to bring it to the floor. We even agreed to 12 amendments, 12 amendments. The average number of amendments is about 150. We agreed to 12. The only real vote we have had on the Defense authorization bill was an amendment offered by the majority leader on Boy Scouts. Yet we don't have time for the Defense authorization bill. Why won't they let us go forward with the 12 amendments? Because one of the amendments calls for an independent, bipartisan commission to study what went wrong with Katrina. They will not let us do that. They are willing to bring down the whole Defense authorization bill because they know on that vehicle we have a right to offer an amendment. On the things they are bringing up now, the appropriations bills, we can't do it procedurally in the Senate. They do not want an independent, bipartisan commission to take a look at what went wrong with this administration's response to Katrina. You would think the administration would want this. But, no, they are fighting this, just as this President fought the 9/11 Commission.
I would hope that we would get someone like Senator McCain, who was the one who forced the issue on 9/11, to come forward. Let's have this as a bipartisan call for help, for review. From Defense authorization to Katrina relief, the Republican record is clear: Their plans for the future are bad. Instead of helping Americans, Republicans have decided to use the months ahead to make problems worse. For the next 5 weeks, Republicans have decided we should focus on cutting health care funding for the sick and elderly, cutting education for students, cutting housing and food assistance, food stamps. That is part of the budget reconciliation. They want to cut food stamps. Republicans will be arguing that all this is justified in the name of fiscal discipline.
Now we have about 20 people who are running the House. With Congressman DeLay's problems, the Speaker has lost control of the House. We read in papers all over America today that the House is being run by 20 renegades who are telling him what to do. It appears he is listening, and he is going to do what they want. What are some of the things they want to do? Cut Medicaid even more, more tax cuts, forget about the people in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group that now runs the House of Representatives is arguing that all this is justified in the name of fiscal discipline, and these are the same people who have brought us the largest deficits and debt increases in this Nation's history. Remember when President Bush took office, some say there was a surplus over 10 years of $7 trillion. That has all since gone. Now we are $7 trillion in the hole. Some turnaround. These are the same people who voted for trillions in additional tax cuts and hundreds of billions for Iraq without batting an eye about the fact that none of this spending was offset.
The same people would like to move forward on another round of expensive tax breaks for the elite. America can do better than this. It is time for Congress to focus on the needs of the United States. The American people have concerns about a number of issues, and we have an obligation to address them. I know the majority leader would like to proceed with business as usual, but that is not what the American people expect or want. They aren't interested in more tax breaks for the rich or perks for big oil. They want us to come together and focus on real problems. We have 5 weeks before the next recess--that is Thanksgiving--and a host of issues to address, including energy prices, Katrina, preparedness for avian flu, and other disasters.
It is the pledge of the Democrats that we will not allow these issues to be swept under the rug. Democrats will do everything in our power to make sure these issues are addressed before we leave. On energy, we will fight to make sure the Senate takes real steps to help millions of families fill their tanks and heat their homes, like LIHEAP, like price gouging. On avian flu, we will continue to push the Senate to consider our comprehensive legislation so that our country has the tools and resources it needs to focus and confront this threat. With Katrina, we will make sure hundreds of thousands of victims are helped, not forgotten. Displaced families may no longer be front-page news, but that doesn't mean their needs are met. Thousands are still without health care and housing, and we have an obligation to help. Energy costs, preparedness, Katrina relief--top priorities for the American people, and Democrats will fight to make sure they are the top priorities for the Senate as well. America must do better than what we have done.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cornyn). The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. My understanding is the Senate is now in morning business?
____________________
