Senator Coons to host conference in Delaware on opportunities in Africa

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, will host a half-day conference on sustainable development and trade with Africa on January 18 in Wilmington. The Opportunity: Africa conference will give Delawareans a seat at the table with some of the nation’s leading voices on sustainable development and trade with Africa, looking closely at how Delaware’s businesses, faith communities, and individuals can engage with Africa.

“Africa is a continent of enormous opportunity, and enormous challenges,” Senator Coons said. “With six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies in the world in Africa, there is great potential for economic engagement and sustained development. This conference is designed to give Delawareans – many of whom are already engaged in Africa – a seat at the table with some of the America’s leading voices on Africa policy and a chance to connect with other people from our area who share their concerns.  It is my hope that our neighbors come away from it with a better appreciation for the opportunity that engaging in Africa presents for strengthening our economy and our national security.”

The conference will feature a series of plenary sessions and workshops on specific aspects of U.S. diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian policies toward Africa. Two of the most prominent American voices on Africa will keynote the conference: Daniel Yohannes, chief executive officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and Raj Shah, director of the U.S. Agency for International Development. 

Opportunity: Africa will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. on January 18 in Arsht Hall on the Wilmington Campus of the University of Delaware. It is open to the public. Afternoon workshops will focus on opportunities for businesses and investors in Africa, while evening workshops will examine human rights, global health, sustainable development, and food security challenges in the region.  Delawareans can RSVP online at: http://www.coons.senate.gov/opportunityafrica

A PDF of the save-the-date for the conference can be downloaded here: http://www.coons.senate.gov/opportunityafrica/savethedate.pdf

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Statement from Senator Coons on vote to continue middle-class tax cut, unemployment benefits

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement after the Senate voted 89 to 10 to extend a tax cut for middle-class families, and continue emergency federal unemployment benefits for 7,300 Delawareans who are struggling to find work.

“As our nation slowly recovers from this paralyzing recession, it is important that Congress not turn its back on those still struggling to make ends meet. While I would have preferred the certainty of a one-year extension instead of the two-month measure approved today, I am glad my colleagues finally came together today to act and avert additional financial hardship for so many Americans. By extending the middle-class payroll tax cut, Congress prevented a tax increase of nearly $800 for the average Delaware family from kicking-in at the end of the month. It was an important step to continue our nation’s economic recovery.

“Congress has a responsibility to work together to not only help pass legislation that helps grow our economy and create jobs, but also to support those struggling to find work. With only one job opening for every four job seekers, nearly half of all unemployed Americanshave been out of work for more than six months. In continuing funding for emergency federal unemployment benefits today, we are telling the millions of out-of-work Americans that we are not giving up on them. We cannot leave our neighbors out in the cold. Unemployment benefits are a vital lifeline for so many families, and I am proud that the Senate did the right thing today in continuing them.”

Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Budget Committee.

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Senators Coons, Isakson react to Congolese Supreme Court decision, call for transparent review of election results

WASHINGTON – A day after holding a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs on governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senators Coons (D-Del.) and Isakson (R-Ga.) expressed deep concern about today’s ruling of the Congolese Supreme Court, which declared President Kabila the winner of recent elections without a transparent review of the election results.

“We are deeply troubled by today’s ruling by the Congolese Supreme Court, which confirmed the results of the Congolese election commission despite widespread reports of irregularities. This was clearly not a well-run election, as reported by observers from the European Union, Carter Center, and Congolese Catholic Church.  Congolese authorities must engage in a thorough and transparent review of the results that will shed light on whether irregularities were caused by a lack of organization or fraud, and the United States stands ready to provide technical assistance for such a review. 

“We are increasingly concerned that the election irregularities are a setback for already weak systems of governance in Congo, and may further destabilize the DRC and lead to an escalation of violence.  All sides should engage in dialogue about next steps and consider establishing a formal mediation process with the support of the international community.  Wecall on President Kabila to direct his security forces to protect the Congolese people, and work with Mr. Tshisekedi to resolve their disagreements in a way that will restore credibility to the process.  The U.S. stands with the Congolese people in their attempt to advance democracy and hope it can be achieved peacefully.”

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Statement from Senator Coons on House’s delay of energy efficiency standards

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a strong advocate for energy-efficiency policy, issued the following statement after Republicans in the House of Representatives inserted a rider into the ‘omnibus’ appropriations package sent to the Senate Friday:

“I am disappointed and dumbfounded that a Tea Party provision adopted by the House will delay enforcement of the light bulb efficiency standards created with bipartisan support four years ago. These common-sense standards have been strongly supported both by industry and the environmental community, and would have led to more choice in the marketplace and reduced costs for consumers.  Energy-efficient lighting products can save Americans a combined $13 billion on their energy bills annually — that’s the equivalent of a tax cut of more than $50 per household per year.

“Industry has been clamoring for greater regulatory certainty during this difficult economic recovery, but, frustratingly, this Tea Party provision does the opposite. I am deeply disappointed that these standards were blocked literally weeks before being implemented, but comforted that the five largest lighting manufacturers already have compliant 100-watt bulbs in stores for consumers. I will continue to work to support policies that promote energy efficiency and the full implementation of these standards.”

Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

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Carper, Coons, Carney congratulate Delaware schools on winning federal grant for early childhood education

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative John Carney (all D-Del.) today congratulated Delaware on being one of just nine states to win federal funds in the Race to the Top – EarlyLearning Challenge. The new program rewards states that develop comprehensive plans for transforming their early learning systems with better coordination, clearer learning standards, and meaningful workforce development.

“I was proud to work closely with Gov. Markell, Sen. Coons, Rep. Carney, and Delaware Secretary of Education Lowery to ensure that Delaware had a strong application for this federal funding and I’m thrilled that our hard work has paid off,” Senator Carper said. “This grant is another important tool to help improve Delaware’s early-childhood educational programs through the innovative and ambitious reforms supported by Race to the Top. This funding will help Delaware’s educators employ assessments that better measure the First State’s youngest students’ knowledge and skills, including children enrolled in child care, Head Start centers and public or private preschools.  I am delighted that Delaware is one of the states honoredwith this significant Race to the Top grant, it is a testament to the FirstState’s strong commitment to improving education for our children of all ages.” 

“Too frequently, children enter elementary school already lagging behind those who have attended quality early-learning programs that teach development skills,” Senator Coons said. “We need to do everything we can to give our kids the best start possible, which is why I was an original cosponsor of legislation that would create precisely this type of program. The Early Learning Challenge will improve the quality of our early-learning education and increase the number of children eligible to receive it. Under the leadership of Governor Markell and Secretary Lowery, Delaware has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of the education our kids receive, and the Early Learning Challenge grant is a testament to that. I heartily congratulate all of Delaware’s educators on this win.”

“I am pleased that Delaware has once again distinguished itself as a nationwide leader in education and I look forward to seeing the positive results that I am certain will follow from winning the Early Learning Challenge Competition,” Congressman Carney said. “This grant will help fortify efforts already underway to improve early childhood education across the state, with the goal of ensuring that every child enters kindergarten ready to learn. As a result of this achievement, and after years of statewide collaboration, Delaware is now poised to break new ground in our effort to provide a world-class education to every child in our state.”

To qualify for the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge, states’ plans had to increase access to quality early learning programs for low income and disadvantaged children, design integrated and transparent systems that align their early care and education programs, bolster training and support for the early learning workforce, create robust evaluation systems to document and share effective practices and successful programs, and help parents make informed decisions about care for their children.

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Senator Coons objects to detainee provisions in Defense Authorization

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed his objections today to provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011, which the Senate adopted Thursday. Excerpts from a statement entered into the Record are below.

“The new detention authorities thrust upon our military in this bill are an assault on our civil liberties and do not belong on our books. They were not requested by the Pentagon, in fact they have been resisted by the President, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the directors of National Intelligence and the FBI.  They do not make us safer and, to the contrary, they will create dangerous confusion within our national security community.”

“As technology has advanced, so has the ability of the government to reach into our lives, whether through unseen drones and hidden electronic surveillance, omnipresent cameras and advanced facial recognition programs, or unfettered access to our telephone and Internet records.  The advance of technology, however, is not justification for the retreat of liberty — especially not when we have at our disposal a criminal justice system that is up to the task of keeping us safe.”

“President Obama has said that these provisions will hinder his ability to prosecute the campaign against terrorists.  The Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence have said that these provisions threaten to undermine the collection of intelligence from suspected terrorists. The military doesn’t want them either. The Secretary of Defense has said that the provisions will unnecessarily complicate its core mission of protecting our nation and projecting military force abroad.”

“Though we weren’t able to remove the dangerous and counterproductive provisions contained in Sections 1021, 1022 and 1023 from the NDAA today, we are not done trying,” Senator Coons wrote. “I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that we maintain the balance between security and liberty.”

The full statement can be read here: http://bit.ly/uvsyBV.

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In opening statement, Senator Coons supports Delawarean Michael Scuse’s nomination for USDA undersecretary

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) delivers an opening statement at a Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hearing on Thursday in support of Michael Scuse’s nomination to be the Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his nomination to serve on the Board of Directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation.

– As Delivery on December 15, 2011 –

 Poultry is really the beating heart of the Delaware agricultural sector, but there are lots of other components to it. I just want to start by saying that I am grateful, madam chairman, for the opportunity to introduce my friend and fellow Delawarean, Michael Scuse.  

It is a rare and good day when I see good people advance here, in Washington, and Michael is one of the best I have ever known. He and his wife, Patrice, have been good friends to my wife, Annie, and I for a long time. I first got to know him well in a public capacity when he was serving as the secretary of agriculture for the state of Delaware and we had an opportunity to get to know each other both personally and professionally. He is passionate about agriculture, he is hard working, he is smart, he is genuine, and he is a decent man. He and his brother continue to run a family farm in Smyrna. Like me, he commutes to and from Delaware.  His wife, Patrice, is with him today and I know that he remains a connected part of the tightknit farm families that are the backbone of rural Delaware.

I worked most closely with Michael when I was the New Castle county executive. The day I announced my candidacy for that position, promoting farm preservation and strengthening our partnership between the county and state was one of the things I was determined to do– and it was not easy. It required a state secretary of agriculture who was innovative, who was willing to find ways to adapt to program and who was willing to partner with me. And largely because of Michael’s leadership and the governor under whom he served, Delaware, today, has the highest percentage of preserved productive agriculture farmland of any state in the country.

We also worked together to promote agro-tourism and to promote on-farm income sources that where non-traditional, which in my county –which is rapidly becoming suburban– was one of the few ways we could save for the long term, productive agricultural properties.

I just wanted to share with you, if I could, by way of introduction, that I think Michael’s critical work in the state of Delaware and now here, in Washington, in the United States Department of Agriculture gives him the skills and the experience to build on his personal character and values to be a great undersecretary of agriculture. I also think he will contribute significant skills and experience to the Commodity Credit Corporation.

I think you could do no better than to take this great Delawarean and give him an opportunity to show everybody in the United States that Delaware doesn’t just have a great agriculture sector, it also grows great agricultural community leaders and Michael Scuse is one of the best.

Thank you.

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Judiciary Committee advances Senator Coons’ bill to avert potential Delaware bankruptcy judgeship crisis

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today applauded progress on legislation he introduced last month to extend 30 temporary bankruptcy judgeships in 14 states and Puerto Rico — including five judgeships in Delaware — to prevent vacancies in those key positions. More than one-third of the nation’s largest bankruptcies are handled in Delaware’s bankruptcy courts, which play an important role in Delaware’s economy.

“Talented bankruptcy judges can help turn a likely economic loss into a successful reorganization that protects jobs and creditors,” Senator Coons said. “For many, economic recovery depends on bankruptcy courts that have the capacity to fairly and expeditiously resolve personal and corporate bankruptcies. If Congress allows five of Delaware’s bankruptcy judgeships — and 25 more around the country — to expire by not moving on my legislation, our already-busy bankruptcy courts would become overwhelmed. I applaud the Committee’s work today in passing the Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011, and hope that this bill will see swift action on the floor.”

Faced with increasing demand on the federal court system, Congress has created dozens of temporary bankruptcy judgeships over the last 20 years to help the courts keep pace. The Temporary Bankruptcy Judgeships Extension Act of 2011 heeds the recommendations made earlier this year by the non-partisan Judicial Conference of the United States, whose biennial review urged Congress to prevent the expiration of the 30 temporary bankruptcy judgeships covered by this bill by extending each by five years. The bill is fiscally responsible, offsetting the costs of maintaining these judgeships through a small increase in filing fees. The statutory authorization to fill these judgeships, should they be vacated, has already lapsed.

The last thing we need to do at this moment is to disrupt the legal systems and institutions that businesses — large and small — depend on to adapt to shifting economic conditions.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

Twenty districts in 14 states, plus Puerto Rico, currently have temporary judgeships that would be extended by this bill, including:

• The central district of California: 3 judgeships
• The eastern district of California: 1 judgeship
• The district of Delaware: 5 judgeships
• The southern district of Florida: 2 judgeship
• The southern district of Georgia: 1 judgeship
• The district of Maryland: 3 judgeships
• The eastern district of Michigan: 1 judgeship
• The northern district of New York: 1 judgeship
• The southern district of New York: 1 judgeship
• The eastern district of North Carolina: 1 judgeship
• The middle district of North Carolina: 1 judgeship
• The eastern district of Pennsylvania: 1 judgeship
• The western district of Pennsylvania: 1 judgeship
• The district of Puerto Rico: 2 judgeships
• The eastern district of Tennessee: 1 judgeship
• The western district of Tennessee: 1 judgeship
• The district of Nevada: 1 judgeship
• The district of New Jersey: 1 judgeship
• The district of South Carolina: 1 judgeship
• The eastern district of Virginia: 1 judgeship

The full text of the bill can be downloaded here:

http://www.coons.senate.gov/media/bankruptcyjudgeships.pdf

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In colloquy, Senators Coons and Kirk debate amending the Constitution to require the federal government to balance its budget

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday to debate a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

– As Delivered on December 14, 2011 – 

SENATOR KIRK: Mr. President, too often we have a set-piece speeches in the Senate, without any resort to the traditional debate where two sides are equally dividing time, without a set script on a critical issue before our country. And so I’d like to restart the true Senate tradition of debate with a debate with my colleague from Delaware. And I yield to him right now.

SENATOR COONS:  Thank you, Senator Kirk. I am grateful for your inviting me to join you in a real debate on the floor today on an issue on which we disagree and about, which we have cast opposing votes earlier today. An issue of real import for our country, something that’s been debated in the past and will be debated again in the future, but essentially a question of whether or not we should have a balanced budget amendment. Senator Kirk.

SENATOR KIRK:  What I’d like to do is a chess clock style, is to take ten minutes with unanimous consent to be equally divided between me and the senator from Delaware on the subject of the balanced budget amendment.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: Without objection for ten minutes the senator from Illinois and the senator from Delaware may engage in a colloquy and the parliamentarian will keep track of each’s time to the best of our capability.

SENATOR KIRK: Mr. President, the United States needs to adopt a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. It was a good idea when Thomas Jefferson backed it, and it’s an even more important idea today. What we’re seeing in Europe is a collapse of government finance, because they have spent too much, taxed too much, and borrowed too much. Not only do they have a crisis of their government debt, but they have higher taxes and lower economic performance because of that philosophy.

We cannot repeat that mistake.

And that’s why the Senate should have adopted a balanced budget amendment. I will speak in bipartisan fashion. Any of the balanced budget amendments we considered today would have been better. Rather than to subject our country to a rising tide of debt and an economic model which is already, we’re seeing, failing in Europe.

SENATOR COONS: I couldn’t agree more, Senator, that we need to be responsible, that the United States and this Senate needs to face our serious and crippling national deficits and debt. It was a good idea when Thomas Jefferson recognized that a balanced budget amendment was a bad idea. Thomas Jefferson actually several years later after supporting a balanced budget amendment acted as president in ways that demonstrated that he understood that real opportunities required extraordinary capabilities by the federal government.

I was a county executive. Others in this chamber who were mayors or governors lived with balanced budget requirements and it imposed great restrictions on us. It forced us to make tough decisions on annual time lines. So I understand why it’s tempting to consider passing one of the balanced budget amendments that we’re before this chamber today. But there is a difference, between the federal government and the state and local governments. Thomas Jefferson acted decisively to make the Louisiana Purchase possible, to finance the War of 1812, and during the current economic downturn, if the federal government hadn’t been able to borrow and invest in restoring growth to this country, we wouldn’t have had a ‘great recession,’ we would have had a second Depression.

I’m convinced of it and one of the reasons had the balanced budget amendment been in place, we would have been in even greater trouble than we’ve been over the last few years. Senator?

SENATOR KIRK: What we now see today is we’re awash in $15 trillion in debt, that since the creation of the AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor’s, the United States has now lost that rating.

That when a young American is born today, they already owe the federal government $40,000, and so they will have a lower income and a higher tax burden throughout their working lives because of the debts put on them. The biggest reason for a balanced budget amendment, though, is we have a structural inability to represent young Americans. They can’t vote until they’re age 18. And yet the representatives of their parents can transfer tremendous burdens onto that young generation of Americans.

The essence of the American Dream is that our children’s lives will be better than our own. But given the weight of the debt we are now transferring onto the backs of the next generation that may no longer be possible. We have absolutely got to have a structural way to prevent one generation from transferring new spending and new debt to the new generation. So that the American ideal is preserved and so that they have a fighting chance to have a better life than their parents.

SENATOR COONS: This Senate can, should, and has shown the ability to reach balanced budgets. No, in fact surpluses – within living memory. When Mr. Clinton was the President, this Senate and the House acted together. They adopted budgetary self-restraint. Why amend the Constitution of the United States, our most foundational document, when we have within our own power, recently demonstrated in the late 1990s, the capacity to control ourselves?

The senator and I agree we are leaving to our children an enormous, crushing legacy of a national debt that has exceeded safe boundaries. But why amend the Constitution in order to force the Senate to do our job?

Instead, I think we should embrace some of the tough, big, bold, bipartisan proposals that have been put on the table. Whether the Bowles-Simpson Commission or others. The framework of a broad deal that requires sacrifices from all, changes to the spiral federal spending and changes to the direction of the country, is on the table before us. Why take a detour into amending America’s foundational document rather than simply stepping up and doing the job that’s before us?

SENATOR KIRK:  The job of each generation is to make sure that the Constitution deals with critical problems facing the country. So we amended the Constitution so that we could prohibit slavery. We amended the Constitution so that we could grant women the right to vote. And we should amend the Constitution to prevent one generation from encumbering the next generation.

America is the greatest experiment in self-government, and more importantly, the underlying value of self-control, ever designed. But we have seen in recent days that self-control disappear. We work here in the United States Senate, now well onto I think, 900 days without a budget. Is the most successful corporation, the most successful enterprise on earth representing the real aspirations for human dignity and freedom, and yet that is in danger if we become indebted to China and other countries in ways that no previous generation of Americans have done.

This country has regularly amended the Constitution to fix inequities in our society. And the growing inequity we see today is debt and deficits, especially to other countries. Therefore, we should amend the Constitution to protect those who cannot yet vote from an economic fate that would otherwise befall them.

SENATOR COONS: Mr. President, how much time remains?

THE PRESIDING OFFICER: On your side 2 minutes and 20 seconds, on the Senator from Illinois’ side, a minute and 15.

SENATOR COONS: Thank you. As the good senator from Illinois suggests, we are encumbering future generations with a debt that has risen above $40,000 per American. This is a central challenge of our time, one which our national security leader cited as critical to ensuring our security and our liberty going forward. But in my view, the balanced budget amendment that was advanced through Senate Joint Resolution 10 earlier today would compel exactly the sort of intergenerational burdens that my good colleague from Illinois suggests he seeks to avoid.

Let me be clear. The requirements of that balanced budget amendment, a spending cap, a supermajority requirement to raise the national debt, a two-thirds requirement for any increase in federal revenue, those in combination would compel drastic, immediate, and substantial reductions in a wide range of programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits. That if imposed, would have not just a short term very negative impact on our current economy but a significant restructuring of the long-standing relationships between individual citizens and generation.

Yes, leaving a legacy of debt to the next generation is a terrible thing for us to do. But leaning on the crutch of the Constitution and the fig leaf of a Constitutional amendment to avoid doing our responsibility, a job which the Senate is fully capable of doing, avoids that responsibility to the next generation.

I close with this question: As we say in the law, Mr. President, if there is a right, what’s the remedy? If we were to pass this Constitutional amendment, how would it be enforced if the Senate in the future were to fail to balance the budget? Would lifetime federal judges around the country be imposing choices in terms of budget cuts, spending cuts, revenue changes? I think that would be no better – in fact, far worse than the Senate simply doing its job.

Today I voted against this balanced budget amendment because I think we have it within our power to show self-control and to secure the future for the next generation of Americans.

SENATOR KIRK:  And I would close by saying the Senator and I agree, I think, that the Simpson-Bowles plan is the right way to go. And my hope would be that on a bipartisan basis we would join together to reduce expected federal borrowing by $4 trillion along the lines of that bipartisan presidential commission. But, unfortunately, the Simpson-Bowles plan right now is gathering dust.

That the super committee that was given procedural powers to possibly put that forward also collapsed. We have not been able to do our job. And we are now encumbering the next generation with even greater amounts of debt, historic amounts.

I think the founding fathers did not contemplate the ability to borrow as much from other countries as we now have. And with the United States as the center of freedom and democracy around the world, there’s a lot riding on the credit of the United States.

My colleague from Delaware talks about the future, a very vital future, especially for people like my own mother, of Social Security and Medicare. But I think she understands that a bankrupt country cannot support Social Security and Medicare that we have to defend the credit of the United States. And, therefore, I think a balanced budget amendment is essential to the long-term future of the United States.

And with that, I thank my colleague.

Mr. President, we just finished this. I hope we do return to a tradition of actual debate. I want to thank my colleague for the chance to carry on this debate.

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In floor speech, Senator Coons calls for continuation of middle class tax cuts

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) spoke on the Senate floor on Wednesday in favor of maintaining payroll tax cuts for America’s middle class.

– As Delivered on December 14, 2011 –

Mr. President, I rise today to share a feeling that many in my home state have expressed to me. I rise to share my frustration. It’s not just the frustration that you may feel, as I have felt, presiding over this body – when for hours at a time it is empty. When there is such precious and important work  that we can and should be doing to get the people of this great country back to work, to strengthen our national security, to lay the groundwork for a strong recovery, to deal with the hundreds of issues that this body should be dealing with. I am expressing my frustration at our inability to work together and to make real progress.

Today I’ve had the blessing of being visited by a number of Delawareans: for lunch, for some business visits, for just some constituent catch-up.

As I do almost every day, I commuted down from Delaware this morning. As I’ve heard from folks on the train, as I’ve heard from folks in my office, as I’ve heard from folks who have written and called my offices in Delaware and here in Washington, they’re puzzled and they’re frustrated. They don’t understand why we can’t move forward.

 To paraphrase the good senator from Missouri, who just spoke, there is a no brainer right in front of us, and it’s the extension of the payroll tax cut. It is something that at least has the support of both parties in both houses. It is something that a number of economists have said is an important contributor to the modest but steady economic growth that is helping pull America out of this terrible ‘great recession.’

So I ask, Mr. President, why is it that we sit here stalled, unclear on when we can proceed to a vote, to a consideration of a clean payroll tax cut?

Well, there have been a whole series of efforts to get us to the floor, to a vote, to an extension of the payroll tax cut.     

This is a simple enough matter. Working Americans all over this country, I believe 160 million of them, will be hit with an increase in their payroll tax rate at the end of this month – just a few days now away, unless we act.

My good friend, Senator Casey of Pennsylvania, suggested several versions of a payroll tax cut extension that would build upon and strengthen the payroll tax cut that the president proposed and this body passed last year. The Casey compromise that has most recently been considered and debated in this body would put up to $1,500 in the pockets of hardworking Americans all over this country and contribute as much as 1.5% in G.D.P. growth in the coming year.

But in the last two weeks we’ve seen our colleagues here on the other side of the aisle four times block our efforts, through filibusters and dilatory tactics, to attempt to get to a payroll tax cut extension. The first Republican version was opposed by 26 Senate Republicans.  The second version opposed by 25.

On some level, Mr. President, I have to ask: What are we doing?

Since when do Republicans openly oppose tax cuts? I’ve been in the Senate just over a year. As you know, I was sworn in last November. And in my freshman year you’ve seen many moments when we’ve been unable to reach reasonable compromise, when we’ve been unable to move forward, and when we’ve flirted with having to shut down the whole federal government, because we couldn’t reach an appropriate compromise with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle.

Now we, once again, stand here this Wednesday knowing that unless we can act in partnership, we will shut this government down on Friday without a continuing resolution.

Last night the House acted. They passed this payroll tax cut extension and sent it over to us. And I’m puzzled as to why we’re not moving to it on the floor today. I will tell you that when we get to move to it, I will vote against it. And I know many others here as well.

Why?

Because H.R. 3630, which passed the House last night, is not just a clean extension of the payroll tax cut bill – in fact, far from it. It is loaded up with things that have nothing to do with the payroll tax cut extension, which House leadership had to do in order to garner enough votes to move it.

So today we should considering this bill sent to us last night, the speaker asking us to take it up, and it has a whole series of provisions, which, I suspect, many here and at home don’t know about.

So I’ll briefly consider a few of them. It undermines health care reform by punishing low and middle-income families whose economic circumstances changed during the year. It cuts 40 weeks of unemployment benefits from the 99 weeks we would like to extend to 54 weeks. It overrides the president’s decision-making process on the keystone pipeline, which in my view simply to embarrass the president. And it amends the clean air act to block E.P.A.’s proposed rules on toxic air pollution from industrial boilers. It would also freeze federal pay through 2013 and impose a triple contribution — mandatory contribution — to federal retirement programs, effectively cutting federal employee pay and taking more than $50 billion out of the pockets of federal workers.

To me, in some ways most alarmingly, it allows states to impose drug-testing requirements on employees who have lost their jobs and are seeking unemployment.

In short, Mr. President, what has come over us to from the House last night is the farthest thing possible from a clean extension of the payroll tax cut. It is a payroll tax cut with rider after rider sitting on the back of this horse that have weighed it down so greatly that it can clearly, hardly, move.

It is a terrible bill, and, in my view, we should move to it, dispose of it, and get back to the business of the country.

Last, I’m puzzled as to why we’re not proceeding to it. My recollection and I don’t have the joy of sitting here on the floor all the time. But my recollection, from what I’ve read and heard, is that the Republican leader has twice called on us to move to this bill.

I believe he did so twice earlier this week. Saying that we should put partisanship aside and promptly take up whatever is sent over to us from the House by way of a payroll tax cut extension. His comment was: “The first thing we need to find out is whether there are the votes in the Senate to pass what the House has passed, so I’d rather not speculate about what happens, I’m hoping we’re spending our time and energy trying to get this bill passed in the Senate, as well as in the House.”

Perfectly reasonable attitude. We should proceed to this bill. We’re here. We have the bill. We’ve been waiting almost literally the entire day without making any progress. Mr. President, we need to extend tax cuts for payroll. We need to extend tax cuts that incentivize clean energy investments. We need to extend tax cuts that can help inspire innovation, research, and development. There is a whole list of tax cuts that will expire at the end of this year without action.

We need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. We need to pass a continuing resolution to fund this government and the rest of this year’s appropriations bills. Mr. President, there are so many important bills to which we must turn. 

My sole question is: Why when we try to proceed to this bill this morning, did the Republican leader object?

I’m just a freshman, but I represent a state that is deeply frustrated and puzzled. Since when do Republicans load up a tax cut extension with so many riders that they’re afraid to even bring it to a vote on the floor of this chamber?   

I’m puzzled. I’m frustrated.

With that, I yield the floor.

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