November 19, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10609 

system. But also, for the good of the 

auto industry in the United States, for 

the good of those workers, let’s not 

doom them to failure. Let’s demand, 

whatever we do, that they go into a period of fundamental restructuring—the 

type of fundamental restructuring that 

is necessary, for instance, in a bankruptcy. It does not have to be done in 

the context of an actual bankruptcy. 

Many people say that would kill auto 

sales; that it is not practical, they cannot survive that. 

I do not particularly agree with that 

argument, but that same fundamental 

restructuring can be done in other 

ways without that bankruptcy title 

looming over the companies’ heads. 

That is what they need to survive. 

That is what those workers need to 

keep their jobs. Let’s not pass this 

auto industry bailout and deny them 

the possibility of a survivable and 

brighter future. 

These remarks apply equally to not 

only the Democratic leader’s proposal, 

under which the $25 billion would come 

directly out of the TARP program, but 

my remarks and my concerns are fundamental. They apply equally to President Bush’s proposal, which is essentially the same, simply taking the 

money out of a different pot, simply 

using the $25 billion of low-interest 

loans we have already authorized, 

against my objections, to do the same 

thing. 

Again, my concerns are not superficial—use this pot of money and not 

that pot—my concerns are much more 

fundamental. They go to the center of 

the future of our economy. But they 

also go to the core of what is needed 

for the U.S. auto industry to remain 

competitive, to become more competitive, and to save those American jobs. 

I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll. 

The legislative clerk proceeded to 

call the roll. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. I ask unanimous 

consent that the order for the quorum 

call be rescinded. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE 

HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair lays a communication 

before the Senate. 

The legislative clerk read as follows: 

U.S. SENATE, 

Washington, DC, November 18, 2008. 

Hon. RICHARD CHENEY, 

Vice President of the United States of America, 

President of the U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY, PRESIDENT

OF THE U.S. SENATE: This letter is to inform 

you that I resigned from the United States 

Senate, effective November 16, 2008, in order 

to prepare for my duties as President of the 

United States. 

Sincerely, 

BARACK OBAMA, 

U.S. Senator. 

ORDER FOR RECESS 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the Senate recess today from 2:30 until 4 to allow 

Senators to attend today’s briefing 

with Secretary Gates, Secretary Rice, 

and the Vice Chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

WORKING TOGETHER 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, that 

was quite a letter. I must say, to be 

here for this historic moment, my 

heart is racing. We heard the letter 

from the President-elect resigning 

from the Senate. This is, indeed, a moment of passage in the Senate and for 

the country. By Senator Obama’s resignation from the duty and responsibility the people of Illinois gave him, it 

is one more step for him to pick up the 

responsibilities of the Presidency of 

the United States. I will cherish this 

moment because it will be a historic 

moment, from ‘‘We need change’’ and 

‘‘Yes, we can’’ on the long campaign 

trail to election night, to a charismatic 

speech calling us to act like an American community, not only a country of 

which we are proud, a nation we hold 

dear, but an American community. 

That is the Obama message which I 

hope will be the Obama effect. As our 

President-elect lays down these duties 

and takes up others, we need to realize 

and respond to his call and a new 

American mandate. Because on November 4, we who hold Federal office received a new American mandate to 

change the tone, to change the direction, to change the priorities, and to be 

able to move on and get our economy 

rolling and bring our troops back home 

and restore our national honor in the 

world. 

Sign me up. Sign me up as an enthusiastic member of this effort. I accept 

that mandate. I accept it. I call upon 

all my colleagues to do the same, to 

embrace the message Senator Obama 

has set, not only in terms of a dynamic, robust agenda but how we will 

work with each other. I thought it was 

grand that he sat down with our colleague from Arizona, Senator MCCAIN, 

to talk about how they could work together, how they could find that common ground, how we could find that 

sensible center between what we want 

to do and what we can afford to do. 

That is the tone Obama set with 

MCCAIN. Let’s set it now with REID and 

MCCONNELL. Let’s try to find common 

ground, that sensible center, pragmatic, affordable solutions we can do 

now. We have a window. We have a 

time. As President-elect Obama said: 

This is our time. Our time doesn’t 

begin January 20. Our time doesn’t 

begin January 6. This is our time now 

to lay the groundwork for the transition of power, to work together. I ask 

us now, as we look at the stimulus 

package, as we look at solutions for 

our manufacturing area, how to extend 

the safety net for those people who are 

already hurting: Let’s do that. 

Right now, once again, back to business as usual, entangled in a parliamentary quagmire, digging in our 

heels, based on rigid ideology. That is 

not what the people said on November 

4. They said they wanted change, and 

they want it now. Let it begin with us, 

civilized debate, the clash of ideas to 

find that sensible center. By the way, 

that phrase is not mine. That phrase is 

Colin Powell’s, a great American. 

There it is, right there is the center. 

I am ready to walk over to it. Come on 

over, I say to the other side. 

f 

STIMULUS PACKAGE 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today 

I am standing here asking for help on 

the stimulus package. I know that part 

of the stimulus package is to extend 

unemployment insurance. I absolutely 

support that. But what I also wish to 

do is not only extend unemployment 

insurance for those who are hurting, I 

am with the parts of the stimulus 

package that will extend employment, 

where we will do what we need to do to 

create the safety net, but we need to 

have a launching pad to keep jobs in 

this country. I wish to vote to extend 

unemployment help, but I wish to also 

vote to extend employment help. Hello. 

Let’s find that sensible center. 

I am for saving and creating jobs, and 

I am also saying: Congress must act 

now. In the next 48 to 72 hours, we have 

our own rendezvous. If we do not act, 

we will create an economic framework 

that means the recession will be longer 

and deeper. The cost of doing nothing 

is more than we can afford to pay. 

I support the safety net in the economic recovery package—help with unemployment, energy assistance, help 

on Medicaid for the children and the elderly. Medicaid is a children’s and elderly program, for children who need 

health care and elderly who need to be 

in nursing homes. 

I also support the part of the stimulus that creates jobs. I salute our 

leadership team for coming up with the 

framework to create jobs by making 

important investments in physical infrastructure—desperately needed. We 

need to make public investments that 

generate private sector jobs. Note what 

Senator Barb is saying: I am not for 

make work. I am not for a WPA. I am 

for public investments that create private sector jobs. By doing it in building 

and rebuilding America’s infrastructure, we will be safer, and we will have 

a stronger economy—repairing bridges, 

building highways, mass transit that 

we need to move people and improve 

the environment, also to build water 

and sewer treatment plants to fix aging 

sewer systems. In my hometown of Baltimore, our mayor is under an EPA 

court order to rebuild the Baltimore 

sewer system. I am for that. My greatgrandfather, who came to this country 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with SENATE