November 17, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10579 

S. 826

At the request of Mr. MENENDEZ, the 

names of the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. JOHNSON), the Senator from 

Virginia (Mr. WEBB), the Senator from 

Florida (Mr. MARTINEZ) and the Senator from South Dakota (Mr. THUNE) 

were added as cosponsors of S. 826, a 

bill to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Alice Paul, in recognition of her role in the women’s suffrage movement and in advancing 

equal rights for women. 

S. 988

At the request of Ms. MIKULSKI, the 

name of the Senator from Arkansas 

(Mrs. LINCOLN) was added as a cosponsor of S. 988, a bill to extend the termination date for the exemption of returning workers from the numerical 

limitations for temporary workers. 

S. 1070

At the request of Mr. HATCH, the 

name of the Senator from Minnesota 

(Mr. COLEMAN) was added as a cosponsor of S. 1070, a bill to amend the Social Security Act to enhance the social 

security of the Nation by ensuring adequate public-private infrastructure and 

to resolve to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, 

neglect, and exploitation, and for other 

purposes. 

S. 1211

At the request of Mrs. FEINSTEIN, the 

name of the Senator from Indiana (Mr. 

BAYH) was added as a cosponsor of S. 

1211, a bill to amend the Controlled 

Substances Act to provide enhanced 

penalties for marketing controlled substances to minors. 

S. 2092

At the request of Mr. DURBIN, the 

name of the Senator from Connecticut 

(Mr. DODD) was added as a cosponsor of 

S. 2092, a bill to amend title 11, United 

States Code, to improve protections for 

employees and retirees in business 

bankruptcies. 

S. 2585

At the request of Mr. HARKIN, the 

name of the Senator from New Jersey 

(Mr. MENENDEZ) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2585, a bill to provide for the 

enhancement of the suicide prevention 

programs of the Department of Defense, and for other purposes. 

S. 2639

At the request of Mr. JOHNSON, the 

name of the Senator from Arkansas 

(Mrs. LINCOLN) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2639, a bill to amend title 38, 

United States Code, to provide for an 

assured adequate level of funding for 

veterans health care. 

S. 2883

At the request of Mr. ROCKEFELLER, 

the name of the Senator from South 

Dakota (Mr. THUNE) was added as a cosponsor of S. 2883, a bill to require the 

Secretary of the Treasury to mint 

coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of Mother’s 

Day. 

S. 3073

At the request of Mr. CORNYN, the 

name of the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. BURR) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3073, a bill to amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

Voting Act to improve procedures for 

the collection and delivery of absentee 

ballots of absent overseas uniformed 

services voters, and for other purposes. 

S. 3229

At the request of Ms. CANTWELL, the 

name of the Senator from Minnesota 

(Ms. KLOBUCHAR) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3229, a bill to increase the 

safety of the crew and passengers in air 

ambulances. 

S. 3305

At the request of Mr. CHAMBLISS, the 

name of the Senator from Arkansas 

(Mrs. LINCOLN) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3305, a bill to authorize the 

Secretary of the Army to establish, 

modify, charge, and collect recreation 

fees with respect to land and water administered by the Corps of Engineers. 

S. 3331

At the request of Mr. CRAPO, the 

name of the Senator from Maine (Ms. 

SNOWE) was added as a cosponsor of S. 

3331, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require that the 

payment of the manufacturers’ excise 

tax on recreational equipment be paid 

quarterly. 

S. 3403

At the request of Ms. CANTWELL, the 

name of the Senator from New Jersey 

(Mr. MENENDEZ) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3403, a bill to amend title 49, 

United States Code, to require determination of the maximum feasible fuel 

economy level achievable for cars and 

light trucks for a year based on a projected fuel gasoline price that is not 

less than the applicable high gasoline 

price projection issued by the Energy 

Information Administration. 

S. 3596

At the request of Mr. KERRY, the 

name of the Senator from New York 

(Mr. SCHUMER) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3596, a bill to stabilize the 

small business lending market, and for 

other purposes. 

S. 3652

At the request of Ms. CANTWELL, the 

name of the Senator from Michigan 

(Ms. STABENOW) was added as a cosponsor of S. 3652, a bill to provide for financial market investigation, oversight, and reform. 

f 

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED 

BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS 

By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, 

Mr. BOND, Mr. LEVIN, and Ms. 

STABENOW): 

S. 3684. A bill to amend the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to allow an abovethe-line deduction against individual 

income tax for interest in indebtedness 

and for State sales and excise taxes 

with respect to the purchase of certain 

motor vehicles; to the Committee on 

Finance. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, our 

economy is in shambles. People are losing their jobs, they are losing their life 

savings, and they are losing their 

homes. Congress must act and we must 

act now. 

I agree with the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. SPECTER, that this session of the Congress and this session of 

the Senate should not be called a lameduck. We should neither be lame nor 

should we duck the big issue facing our 

country. We have helped out. If you 

look at what we have done already— 

well, we have already done a bailout. 

We helped the sharks and we helped the 

whales. Now it is time to help the minnows, the little guy and gal, the American consumer. 

I have that solution. Today, I introduce legislation, cosponsored by my 

colleague from Missouri, to save jobs 

in the American automobile industry, 

to help consumers, and get our economy back on track. It is simple, it is 

straightforward, and it is bipartisan. It 

is also timely and temporary. 

My bill would save jobs. What is it 

that I want to do? I want to stimulate 

demand in the automobile industry so 

people actually come into showrooms 

and buy cars, minivans, or light 

trucks. Why is this a good idea? Actually, if you buy a car, someone has to 

make it, someone has to sell it, someone has to service it, and someone has 

to provide administrative services. 

This is good for manufacturers, the 

dealers, and the suppliers. It could save 

considerable jobs in the auto industry. 

My bill is not about bailouts. It is 

about jobs, jobs, jobs. Six million jobs 

are at stake in the American car industry. One out of ten jobs in America relies on the auto industry. Right now, 

the facts are gloomy. Sales are down. 

The auto industry has already cut over 

100,000 jobs. The 30,000 American dealerships in this country are at risk of 

losing 37,000 jobs. We cannot let this 

happen. We cannot let the American 

automobile industry implode. 

I believe we can help by getting the 

consumers into the showroom, have 

them feel that Government is on their 

side in helping them with one of the 

biggest purchases during this tough 

time. 

What does this amendment do? My 

bill is simple. If you buy a passenger 

car, minivan, or light truck between 

November 12 of this year and December 

31 of 2009, you will get a tax deduction 

for your sales or excise tax and the interest on your loan. Families can save 

anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 by the 

Mikulski-Bond bill. 

This is a big deal because, next to the 

purchase of your home, the purchase of 

your automobile is your next big ticket. 

It is targeted. I cap it at families 

with an income of over $250,000 a year. 

It focuses on the middle-income and 

the middle-class family cars. It is also 

timely because we need to know that 

the biggest 6-week period for automobile sales is between Thanksgiving 

and New Year’s Eve. They sell other 

cars during 6-week periods, but between Thanksgiving and New Year’s 

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S10580 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 17, 2008 

Eve is the biggest 6-week sale. This bill 

also helps the environment because it 

gets more people in more fuel-efficient 

cars. 

This bill is not limited to only American cars. It focuses on any car, recognizing that many automobiles are now 

made in southern States, as Texas does 

Toyotas; Kentucky does Toyotas; Tennessee does Nissans. Any way we look 

at it, even though it might have a foreign logo, it is American jobs doing the 

manufacturing. 

What would this mean? I have here a 

chart—it is bigger than me—for a 

Dodge minivan. The average minivans 

cost about $25,500. 

On a 4-year loan at an 8 percent excise tax, it would result in a savings of 

anywhere, depending on the State, 

from $1,500 to $2,000. 

I have already heard from people all 

over this country how that, plus the 

deals being offered by manufacturers 

and dealers, could result in being able 

to buy a minivan for under $20,000 a 

year. 

This would be fantastic. I could put 

up chart after chart for the Malibu, for 

the Ford pickup 150, for the Toyota 

Camry. This would stimulate demand. 

Just think what it means. People could 

come into a showroom of their choice, 

and if we passed this bill—it would be 

retroactive to the day I announced 

they could actually buy something 

that would put them on the road with 

a car that is more fuel efficient with 

lower carbon emissions. 

At the same time, jobs, jobs, jobs. As 

I said, there are 30,000 new car dealerships nationwide. They employ close to 

1 million people. In my own home 

State there are 300 dealerships. People 

do not realize that dealers in many 

rural parts of my State usually employ 

over 50 people in sales, the auto mechanics, as well as the administrative 

positions. This legislation would help 

them because they would actually be 

working. It would help the people who 

are actually making those. 

Senator SPECTER said he has been 

traveling the State. I have been traveling mine too. I went to the General 

Motors plant in Maryland at White 

Marsh where they make the new power 

transmission. Right now they can 

make a Tahoe hybrid, a Tahoe, a big 

muscle car, that with the hybrid technology they have now, can get the 

same mileage as a Toyota Camry. 

If you also talk to the people who 

worked there, they could employ 1,000; 

they now employ 250 people. If you 

were with me in the car dealership and 

would talk to people such as the mechanic—I talked to a mechanic who 

works for a Chevy dealer in Bethesda. 

He has worked there for 23 years. 

He said to me: Senator BARB, all my 

life I have loved to work on cars. I just 

love it. I love to fix them; I love to repair them. If they are new, I want to 

make sure they are fit for duty. I have 

earned a good living. I have been 

happy. I think I have helped make a lot 

of other people happy. But the only 

way I can stay happy is if I continue to 

work. I have a mortgage. I have two 

kids in college. Maybe they are going 

to go into engineering, I do not know, 

but I know if we do not get more people 

into this dealership my job could be 

gone. 

Talk to the dealer. The dealer’s name 

is Sam. The first thing you know about 

him is he wears the little Rotary pin 

on his lapel because he is the guy who 

not only provides jobs, tries to provide 

good deals to customers, but also is the 

one who is part of the Chamber of Commerce, part of the United Way. 

We are talking about people who are 

part of the fabric of our society. We are 

not talking about an abstraction. We 

are not talking about a single ZIP code 

like Wall Street. We are talking about 

the automobile industry in every State 

and every community. So when we help 

them, we are helping ourselves. 

People say: what is the cost of this, 

Senator BARB? Well, I will tell you. It 

is about $8 billion. They go: Oh, well, 

we just spent $350 billion and threw it 

down the rat hole. We do not have anything to show for this $350 billion but 

more arrogance and more greed. While 

they want Americans to dine on Lean 

Cuisine, they are dining on spa cuisine. 

So I think it is time we help people 

in our own community, help the consumers who want to participate in the 

economy. Clunkers get traded in, and 

we also help them. Maybe you know 

somebody who works for a hedge fund, 

I do not. But I do know the people who 

work for the automobile industry— 

whether it is the dealers or the receptionist who came to work 43 years ago 

right out of high school who said: Senator BARB, we could not sell cars in 

those days, but I have been here in and 

out of this same dealer for 43 years, 

raised my kids, earned a good living, 

did the back office work. I want to 

keep on doing it. I am not ready for Social Security, and, for God’s sake, do 

not put it in Wall Street. 

Well, I say do not put Social Security 

on Wall Street and do not put another 

nickel on Wall Street. If we are going 

to help with our economy, let’s do it 

where it creates jobs. 

I wanted to explain the bill I have introduced today that I am going to 

bring up as part of our economic recovery plan on Wednesday. But most of 

all, what I wanted to say is, the Congress should not go home until we see 

how we are going to help this economy 

get rolling. 

I think my bill which has been cosponsored by Senator BOND puts wheels 

on the American economy, and I hope I 

have victory on it later this week. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized. 

Mr. BOND. Mr. President, it is a real 

pleasure to join and partner with my 

good friend, Senator MIKULSKI, on this 

initiative to save American jobs, help 

American families, support the auto industry, as she has just said, and put 

America back on wheels. 

During those tough economic times, 

we believe this proposal will help 

American families afford the cars, 

small trucks, and SUVs they need to 

get to work, to take their kids to 

school, and encourage investment 

needed to boost auto sales which will 

help save American jobs, help middleclass families, and support the auto industry. 

Selling cars, again, is one of the most 

important things we can do for the entire auto industry, by encouraging now 

tentative buyers who are worried about 

making the payments to go ahead and 

purchase. This is the best way to get 

our auto industry back to work and 

provide the jobs people need. 

In my home State of Missouri and 

throughout the Nation car sales have 

declined sharply in recent months, and 

there will likely be a further decline as 

the economy struggles. Cars and trucks 

are one of the largest purchases for 

households. Most rely on some kind of 

financing to acquire the vehicles. 

By making interest payments and 

sales and excise taxes deductible, this 

program will help middle-class families 

afford the cars, SUVs, and light trucks 

they need to get to work and take their 

kids to school. This should mean real 

savings to middle-class families who 

are struggling to pay a mortgage or 

rent, buy groceries, and afford health 

care. 

This proposal also helps the struggling auto industry and millions of jobs 

that are dependent on them: auto suppliers, steel and glass manufacturers, 

and the car dealers. 

There are closing car dealerships in 

Missouri. They are shutting their 

doors, laying off workers, cutting jobs. 

Others are facing real squeezes. They, 

too, may be facing this same crisis if 

they do not get people purchasing cars. 

With our economy shedding hundreds 

of thousands of jobs over the past several months, it is critical that we act 

now to prevent further losses to an industry that touches the entire Nation. 

Now, in addition to this tax proposal, 

I think we must take action to provide 

bridge loan financing to Detroit’s big 

three auto companies. The idea of getting Government involved in the free 

market is troublesome and potentially 

dangerous to the health of our system, 

but I strongly believe we have to act in 

unique times of crisis when millions of 

workers are in danger of losing their 

jobs. We are clearly in this unique crisis. We are experiencing a crisis unparalleled since the Great Depression. 

It is for that reason that I will not 

turn my back on hundreds of thousands 

of Missouri jobs. Now is the time to 

act. Unlike many other industries, the 

auto industry touches, as I said, millions of manufacturing and servicing 

jobs across the Nation. 

Over 100,000 auto workers are in assembly plants, more than 1 million 

workers are at auto dealerships in 

every State, over 300,000 workers are in 

the wholesale end of the auto industry, 

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November 17, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10581 

over 800,000 workers work in auto repair, and over 500,000 workers are in 

auto parts plants. 

These autoworkers are not just in big 

cities such as Detroit. Autoworkers are 

found supporting families in small- and 

medium-sized communities across 

rural America. 

In my home State of Missouri, small 

towns such as Maryville in northwest 

Missouri have 10,000 people, and 1,800 

families depend upon the 200 workers 

at the Federal-Mogul plant. They are 

making steering systems. Closing that 

plant will be a tough blow to the Maryville community dependent upon it. 

We have 500 jobs at the Dura plant in 

Moberly, 400 at the Gates plant in 

Versailles, 170 at the Modine plant in 

Joplin. On and on it goes, like a long 

list of just about every Missouri smalland medium-sized town. We cannot afford to pull the plug on the manufacturing backbone of rural America. 

These auto-dependent jobs, whether 

they are union or not—and many are 

not—provide very good wages. They are 

manufacturing jobs that support middle-class families. They provide health 

care benefits for families, retirement 

for the elderly, and a couple weeks of 

paid vacation. Without these blue-collar jobs, many of these middle-class 

families would slip back into lower incomes with no health care, little hope 

for college, and an uncertain future. 

We have to fight for working people 

and their jobs and not allow their employers to go under. 

Despite the real need for temporary 

emergency assistance to save jobs in 

Missouri and across the country, I do 

not support a blank check from the 

Government. I want to make sure we 

are not simply throwing good money 

after bad. It is critical that any rescue 

include three basic principles: First, 

the bill must have strong taxpayer protection. This means any bill must ensure that taxpayers are repaid for their 

emergency assistance and that taxpayers share in the turnaround profits 

of participating automakers. 

Second, the bill must include executive accountability so that failed executives are not rewarded for poor 

management. I do not know about you, 

but I am offended when I read in the 

paper that companies getting Federal 

bailout money are using it to pay bonuses. Some of them said they have already set the bonuses aside. Well, if 

they set the bonuses aside, they set 

them aside as their company was going 

down. Getting money from the Federal 

Government should not enable them to 

make those bonus payments. 

I have seen one major Wall Street 

firm saying it is going to stop bonuses 

until this crisis is over. I think that is 

something we should commend. I think 

that is a practice that ought to be followed. 

Third, and most important—and this 

is key—the bill must include significant financial reform so that recipients 

of taxpayer funds demonstrate that 

they have a plan to ensure long-term 

competitiveness, health, and profitability by bringing their costs under 

control. 

Funds should be conditioned on a 

strong restructuring plan for the industry and for each recipient to have funds 

so that this aid is a bridge to somewhere, not a bridge to nowhere. That is 

why I need to emphasize the need for a 

real financial strategy that will put 

the Detroit big three on the road to 

competitiveness, health, and profitability. 

I believe we ought to set up a system 

where a responsible Government agency, a Secretary-level official, has to approve the continuing plans, the goals, 

the definable standards that must be 

met, and that official ought to hold 

them accountable for accomplishing 

the purposes, cutting the costs, and 

making the tough business decisions 

that are necessary to assure profitability. 

Well, these are things I believe most 

of my colleagues want to see. I do not 

believe anybody wants to see the auto 

industry go down. But there is real 

concern that if we put in some money 

now, we may be back seeing them in 

the same condition several months 

down the road. 

Well, the time has come for the auto 

industry to lay out for Government officials in their ability to approve the 

release of these funds if they have a 

plan. And as they go forward, they 

ought to be required to show the approving official that they are taking 

those steps that are necessary to make 

their plants and their companies profitable. 

Some ask: Why don’t we just allow 

the automakers to fall into bankruptcy 

like some in the airline industry? We 

all know bankruptcy has successfully 

allowed many airlines to get back in 

the air. I am afraid it would be a disaster for the thousands of parts and 

service businesses dependent on major 

automakers. How would they get credit 

to run their operations to supply a 

company in bankruptcy? How would 

the bankrupt company in the current 

crisis get the credit it needs to emerge 

from bankruptcy? Who is going to buy 

a car from a bankrupt company? What 

protections would they have for their 

warranties and other requirements 

they have for servicing? 

Others say a financial rescue has no 

place in the free market. I agree that 

generally that is a good question. But 

even free markets need oversight and a 

safety net. That is why we have the 

Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation. Each of 

these agencies is designed to take 

emergency actions in times of emergency. Clearly, that is what we have. 

That is why we should respond now. 

There have been a lot of discussions 

on the source of funding for the auto 

industry, whether it should come out 

of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief 

Program, or TARP, or the Department 

of Energy’s Section 136 program. I am 

pleased to see that there seems to be 

broad support for assisting the auto industry despite the differences in funding. I support either or both of these 

measures of support, provided we meet 

the conditions I laid out which include 

significantly laying out a plan to profitability, cost cutting that will be approved and then will be monitored by 

the appropriate Government official 

who has the power to continue to release the funds. 

I will discuss in other remarks how 

the TARP has changed in purpose from 

what we were told it would be. It has 

continued to change. I am afraid it has 

caused a great deal of uncertainty, 

which, obviously, markets do not like. 

But before closing, I wish to suggest an 

area where there is great need and 

where I believe the funds under the 

Troubled Asset Relief Program can and 

should be used to give the economy a 

major boost, creating the jobs we badly 

need, and that is in State and local 

government infrastructure. 

Despite the Government’s efforts to 

thaw the credit crunch, State and local 

governments continue to face hardships in municipal bond financing. People were telling me, once we got the 

money into the banks, credit would 

loosen up and municipal bonds could be 

sold. So far, we are not seeing that. 

State and local bond and debt financing is still a problem. In Missouri and 

throughout the Nation, many infrastructure projects are being delayed or 

scaled back due to credit problems, the 

inability to get credit, and they have 

not faced it in many years. 

Even State and local governments 

with high credit ratings are struggling 

to obtain affordable financing. In Missouri, for example, we have some $800 

million approved in debt to rebuild our 

bridges. The city of Kansas City, MO, 

has $200 million it is ready to spend on 

its water and sewer infrastructure. The 

St. Louis Airport is badly in need of 

funding for $100 million in upgrades to 

facilitate commerce and continue to 

provide jobs. I believe the funds should 

be used to purchase those portions of 

those debts that can be used to put 

people to work in 2009. Not all of the 

$800 million on fixing bridges is going 

to be spent in 1 year, but there should 

be a reasonable judgment as to how 

much work can be started when construction season begins in the spring. 

We ought to be willing to have the 

Federal Government provide the funding and get the debt issuance in return, 

which, if they fund it at the current 

going rate for debt with the Federal 

Government, should be a no-cost ultimate cost to the taxpayer or an addition to the debt. But what these infrastructure jobs will do right now is provide work so that working men and 

women will be able to do things such as 

buy cars, provide for their families, 

spend the money to get the economy 

growing again. 

I urge Treasury to consider assisting 

the municipal bond market through 

the TARP program. It will not only 

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S10582 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 17, 2008 

boost infrastructure investments, build 

the critical infrastructure we need to 

make our economy go forward, but it 

will create jobs. As has been said many 

times before by people a lot smarter 

than I, a good job is the best social policy we have. A good job is the basis of 

the economy. 

What we are advocating today in the 

bill I cosponsored with Senator MIKULSKI is a way to get cars sold so they 

will create jobs all up and down the 

chain in the auto industry and provide 

a bridge to somewhere for the future of 

the auto industry so they will get their 

costs under control, keep them out of 

bankruptcy, and make the changes 

that are needed to be competitive in 

the national and the world market. 

I urge my colleagues to join with us 

in the legislation by Senator MIKULSKI

and also in pushing to use the TARP 

funds for investment in municipal 

bonds that will put people to work on 

infrastructure. 

By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself 

and Mrs. BOXER): 

S. 3685. A bill to prohibit the selling 

and counterfeiting of tickets for a 

Presidential inaugural ceremony; to 

the Committee on Rules and Administration. 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I 

come to the floor as chairman of the 

Rules Committee and as chairman of 

the Joint House-Senate Inaugural 

Committee. I come to introduce legislation to prohibit the selling and counterfeiting of tickets to the President’s 

inauguration ceremony. 

The inauguration of the President of 

the United States is one of the most 

important rituals of our democracy, 

and the chance to witness this solemn 

event should not be bought and sold 

similar to tickets to a football game. 

This is not a football game. This is a 

dignified and critical moment of transition in Government, a moment of 

which Americans have always been 

proud because it is, in fact, the 

strength of our democracy—the fact 

that all across this great land people 

go to the polls and elect the next President of the United States, they don’t 

take to the streets, they don’t take to 

weapons. They elect the next President 

of the United States. 

We have all read the news reports: 

Tickets bid on the Internet for $5,000 

apiece, some going as high as $40,000 

each. Internet sites today are selling 

tickets they do not have and will not 

have unless somehow, some way they 

obtain them. I find it unconscionable. 

These tickets are supposed to be free 

for people, for the volunteers who gave 

up their weekends, walking miles door 

to door to encourage voters to turn out 

at the polls on election day, for Members of the African-American community to see one of their own take the 

oath of office, the highest office in the 

land, for schoolchildren to witness history, and for the American public to 

watch this affirmation of our Constitution, this peaceful transition from one 

administration to another. 

This is going to be a major civic 

event of our time. Excitement is at an 

all time high, and every one of us has 

received more phone calls for tickets 

than we could possibly ever meet. People are desperate to become part of it, 

to touch it, to be around, to feel it, to 

listen to it, and they are coming from 

all over the country. We could have 

more than 1.5 million people descend 

on the Nation’s Capital for this inauguration. 

Congress has the responsibility of 

overseeing this historic event. So we 

must ensure that the inauguration has 

all the respect and dignity it deserves. 

These tickets are supposed to be free 

for the people. No one should have to 

pay for them. Once more, these tickets 

are not yet even available. They will 

not be distributed to congressional offices until the end of the week before 

the inauguration. And then the offices 

will require in-person pickup, with secure identification. But they will be 

free and they should stay that way. 

I can tell you what I am going to do. 

We will ask people to pick up their 

tickets the day before the inauguration 

in my office. Everyone will submit 

their name, their address, and their 

driver’s license. They must be who 

they are if there are tickets waiting for 

them. I believe this kind of procedure 

essentially deters unscrupulous people 

from selling these tickets on the Internet. No Web sites or other ticket outlets have inaugural swearing-in tickets 

to sell, despite what some of them 

claim. 

This legislation is aimed at stopping 

those who seek to profit by selling 

these tickets. It would also target 

those who seek to dupe the public with 

fraudulent tickets or those who merely 

promise but can’t deliver on tickets 

that they do not actually have. 

I want to say one thing. We are working now to see if there is any creative 

way we might be able to secure more 

tickets for the House and the Senate. 

We have followed protocol with exactly 

the same distribution system that existed in prior inaugurals, but it is clear 

that there are not as many tickets as 

there are requests. 

Those who violate the law under this 

legislation, if in fact it passes, would 

face a class A misdemeanor with a substantial fine, imprisonment up to 1 

year, or both. I am also very pleased to 

tell you, Mr. President, that eBay and 

StubHub announced last week that 

they will not allow the sale of inaugural swearing-in tickets on any of 

their Web sites. I want to take this opportunity to thank them and to commend them for leading the way. 

It is my hope that Congress will pass 

this legislation this week. I hope my 

colleagues will join me in supporting it 

on a hotline. I think it is very important to establish once and for all that 

tickets to the inauguration of the next 

President of the United States are not 

issues of commerce, they are free tickets to be given to the people. 

So I hope that this week this legislation can pass unanimously by this 

body. I send it to the desk and thank 

the Chair. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The bill will be received and appropriately referred. 

By Mr. SPECTER: 

S. 3686. A bill to establish an Office of 

Foreclosure Evaluation to coordinate 

the responsibilities of the Department 

of the Treasury, the Department of 

Housing and Urban Development, the 

Federal Housing Administration, the 

Federal Housing Finance Agency, the 

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, the Board of Governors of 

the Federal Reserve System, and other 

Federal Government entities regarding 

foreclosure prevention, and for other 

purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. 

Mr. SPECTER. I am now introducing 

legislation captioned ‘‘The Foreclosure 

Diversion and Mortgage Loan Modification Act of 2008.’’ It would create 

an Office of Foreclosure Evaluation inside the Treasury Department, to coordinate a great many efforts. The core 

purpose of this legislation is to provide 

Federal endorsement and financial assistance for setting up programs such 

as those now in existence in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and similar programs which exist in New York, New 

Jersey, Ohio, and Connecticut, that 

suspend foreclosure until there has 

been an opportunity, under court supervision, to have the borrower and the 

lender sit down to try to work out a 

plan to avoid foreclosure. My full 

statement, which I will ask consent to 

place in the RECORD, goes into some 

great detail about the problems that 

exist at the present time regarding 

foreclosures. 

In addition to the legislation I am 

proposing, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has proposed a program aimed at preventing an estimated 

1.5 million foreclosures in the next 

year. I have talked to the FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair, and think her proposal is a good one. The legislation I 

am proposing and the program Chairwoman Bair has proposed would supplement legislation which is now pending 

in the Congress. Last October, Senator 

DURBIN and I separately introduced 

bills that would permit mortgages to 

be modified by the bankruptcy courts. 

However, Senator DURBIN’s legislation 

would permit the court to modify the 

principal sum. I think that goes too far 

and would have the undesirable consequence of making it more difficult to 

obtain a mortgage in the future. My 

legislation authorizes the bankruptcy 

courts to modify interest rates on variable interest rate mortgages. In many 

cases, there was not full disclosure to 

borrowers who took out these loans. 

Then they found that their mortgage 

went from $1,200 a month, for illustrative purposes, to $2,000. 

It is my hope that Congress would 

stay in session beyond just this week. 

It seems to me the economic problems 

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