S6476 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 20, 2012 

SCHEDULE 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senate 

is now considering the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 117, which is the continuing resolution, postcloture. The 

next 2 hours will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees with the Republicans controlling the first half and the Democrats 

the second half. 

At 2 p.m., all postcloture time will be 

yielded back and there will be a rollcall vote on the motion to proceed to 

the continuing resolution. 

I am hoping we can reach an agreement on our unfinished business and 

avoid a weekend session and a session 

in the early part of next week. 

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MEASURE PLACED ON THE 

CALENDAR—S. 3576 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, S. 3576 is at 

the desk and due for a second reading. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will read the bill by 

title for a second time. 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

as follows: 

A bill (S. 3576) to provide limitations on 

United States assistance, and for other purposes. 

Mr. REID. I would object to any further proceedings with respect to this 

bill at this time. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Objection having been heard, the 

bill will be placed on the calendar. 

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HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this month 

I join more than 52 million Latinos in 

Nevada and across the country to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Each year Hispanic Heritage Month 

is an opportunity to honor the contributions of a population that is so 

important to our national identity—a 

community that has contributed to our 

country’s progress for centuries. 

We see those contributions in every 

facet of our society: on the battlefield 

and in the boardroom, in the courtroom and the classroom, at the art gallery and in the recording studio, and on 

the playing field. In Nevada Hispanic 

influence is evident in the name of our 

State—Nevada, snowcapped Las Vegas, 

and the meadows. 

Today, more than one-quarter of Nevada’s population is Hispanic. Nationwide, Latinos are expected to make up 

60 percent of the population growth in 

the coming decades. To ensure our 

country thrives, we need to make sure 

its Hispanic population thrives as well. 

That is why President Obama and 

Democrats in Congress have fought for 

the policies that are making the Hispanic community stronger and more 

prosperous. Despite opposition, we 

have made progress on economic and 

educational issues that are important 

to Latinos and to all Americans. The 

Recovery Act, which included tax cuts 

for working families and improvements 

in unemployment insurance, kept more 

than 2 million Hispanics out of poverty. 

Unlike Governor Romney, we know 

Americans who access the employment 

benefits they have earned while working are not ‘‘victims’’ who are unwilling to take ‘‘personal responsibility’’ 

for their lives. ‘‘Victims’’ is Mitt Romney’s word; ‘‘personal responsibility’’ 

are his words. 

Democrats secured tax credits for 

more than 8 million Hispanic children 

and their families. Mitt Romney, on 

the other hand, believes tax credits for 

working parents struggling to make 

ends meet are a hand out, not a hand 

up. 

Democrats fought to give small business loans to almost 9,000 Hispanicowned businesses. Under a Romney administration, loans for small businesses would be a thing of the past— 

one more remnant of the dependency 

culture he loathes. 

Mitt Romney was caught on tape 

telling wealthy donors he would be 

winning this election if he was Latino. 

That is what he said. But we know Mitt 

Romney’s problem isn’t that he is not 

Hispanic; his problem is that he opposes the commonsense policies that 

are good for Hispanic families. 

Republicans have been paying lipservice to concerned Hispanic families 

in the months leading up to election 

day. Democrats are helping Hispanic 

families tackle the challenges they 

face every day. 

To us, Hispanic Heritage Month isn’t 

just about recognizing the incredible 

contributions Hispanic Americans 

make to our Nation; it is also about 

building a brighter future for Hispanic 

Americans in our Nation. 

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RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY 

LEADER 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is recognized. 

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NEED FOR NEW LEADERSHIP 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, we 

all understand there is an election 

going on around here in a few months, 

but I would like to remind my colleagues on the other side that we also 

have a job to do right now. We have 

multiple crisis-level issues to deal 

with. Yet our Democratic friends don’t 

seem to want to do a thing. Never before—never before—has a President and 

a Senate done so little to confront 

challenges so great. 

We have a $16 trillion debt. Democrats haven’t bothered to pass a budget 

in 3 years. Every single American will 

get hit with a massive tax hike in just 

3 months if we don’t act to prevent it. 

Democrats are saying we shouldn’t 

do anything about it; just go off the 

cliff. Go off the cliff, and let’s see what 

happens. The defense budget is about 

to suffer automatic cuts that the President’s own Defense Secretary—the Defense Secretary in this administration—has described as devastating. But 

Democrats can’t be bothered to figure 

out a way to avoid them. 

The Middle East is in turmoil. We remain at war in Afghanistan and with 

al-Qaida, and Senate Democrats have 

not even bothered to pass the Defense 

authorization bill. 

Gas prices have more than doubled 

over the past 4 years—doubled in just 4 

years. Democrats responded by conspiring with the President to make 

sure a domestic pipeline didn’t get 

built. They just let the debt grow, let 

taxes go up, let the defense cuts stand, 

and let gas prices get higher and higher. They don’t pass a budget, don’t pass 

any spending bills, don’t do anything 

that involves making tough choices; 

just sit around and kill time in the 

hopes that the voters will focus on the 

other guys instead. 

Look, our constituents didn’t send us 

here to watch the clock or to offer running commentary on the Senate floor. 

They sent us here to make a difference. 

We have jobs to do. It is about time we 

did them. In these very challenging 

times, Americans deserve leadership. 

Never before—never before—has a 

President and a Senate majority party 

done so little when our challenges were 

so great. There is no excuse for it. 

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RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 

leadership time is reserved. 

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ORDER OF BUSINESS 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 

next 2 hours shall be equally divided 

and controlled between the two leaders 

or their designees with the Republicans 

controlling the first half of the time. 

The minority leader. 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, we 

have a number of colleagues who will 

be speaking this morning during our 1- 

hour morning business time. Given the 

number of speakers, I ask the Chair to 

help remind colleagues when they have 

consumed roughly 1 minute, and I 

thank the Chair for doing so. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will do so. 

The Senator from Tennessee. 

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SENATE LEADERSHIP 

Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, 

some say the reason for a do-nothing 

Senate—or the cure for it—is that we 

need to change the rules. I say we need 

a change in behavior, and I wish to 

offer a single example. 

We have a big spending and borrowing problem: 42 cents out of every 

dollar we are borrowing. We are headed 

off a fiscal cliff. The minority leader 

has described that. 

The Australian Foreign Minister has 

said the United States of America is 


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