November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10707 

he began that very long, arduous, challenging period of his life. It took years 

to rebuild that body, but the mind was 

always there fully intact. But he would 

once again have an important role 

serving America as a public servant in 

the Senate. 

I don’t know of a husband and wife 

team who any admire with a greater 

level of affection than we do Bob and 

ELIZABETH Dole. So I wish them both 

very well. She was on our Armed Services Committee. She was a strong advocate for the men and women in the 

Armed Forces. She had a place in her 

heart for all who served at Fort Bragg 

and the Marines’ Camp Lejeune, and 

Pope Air Force Base. But that is further evidence of the deep affection she 

has for her husband Bob. 

JOHN SUNUNU

Lastly, I turn to JOHN SUNUNU. I confess not to have known him very well. 

I had met him when he came from the 

House of Representatives to the Senate. I suppose all of us who have been 

here for a period of time, having been 

given that marvelous accolade of an 

old bull, presume we can judge others 

quickly. I saw in JOHN SUNUNU a man 

who would take charge from the day he 

came, and that he did. From the very 

moment he walked on the floor of the 

Senate, he was possessed of his own 

self-confidence, his own driving, almost 

a fierce desire to be a leader—a leader 

in the sense of advocating as a true 

fighter, advocating for those issues in 

which he had a belief in the principles 

that were dear to his heart. 

The field of economics is quite a 

challenge, and with little provocation 

he would give you a tutorial on the 

most complex issues as they relate to 

economics. Indeed, in the weeks before 

the election, as this body was coming 

to a close and we voted on such measures as the rescue package and so 

forth, he frequently stood. When he 

spoke, our caucus and those around 

him listened very carefully. I mention 

this because he exhibited real academic 

strength at both MIT and Harvard. He 

did a lot of interesting things in his 

short life before he came to the Senate, 

not the least of which was being in the 

House of Representatives. 

JOHN also had a special niche for his 

interest in education. He wanted to 

make sure people less fortunate than 

we would have an opportunity to get an 

education and that those in the system 

and struggling are given any help possible to succeed in their own goals of 

educating themselves. He also held— 

very unusual—a special regard for the 

families of law enforcement officers, 

men or women in uniform, and particularly those families who lost a spouse 

or loved one in the line of duty. 

He is an extraordinary man, JOHN

SUNUNU—very sensitive, very thoughtful, a man who loves his State, particularly the rivers of his State. He commended me for leading the charge in 

my State to remove an old dam that, 

for 80 years, blocked the migration of a 

fish from the Atlantic Ocean to the 

Blue Ridge Mountains. He was challenged to try to remedy a similar situation that existed in his State. I will 

miss JOHN, his wife Kitty, and his lovely family. Kitty and my wife shared a 

few words on our departure last night 

from the dinner. 

I am not one who makes many predictions, but I predict this man continues to not walk but run down that 

road of life, one who makes those 

twists and turns, climbs those mountains, and crosses those rivers. He will 

leave his mark on many successful ventures. We will hear from this man not 

once, not twice but many times again. 

I wish him well. 

Lastly, I simply say to my State two 

words: Thank you. I thank all those 

Virginians who have supported me 

these 30 years. It was a humble challenge for me. I accepted it and I look 

back on it with the deepest of respect 

for the trust and confidence you gave 

me—all Virginians—over these 30 

years. 

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

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the order for 

the quorum call be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

The Senator from Michigan is recognized. 

Mr. LEVIN. I thank the Chair. 

(The remarks of Mr. LEVIN pertaining 

to the introduction of S. 3715 are printed in today’s RECORD under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint 

Resolutions.’’) 

Mr. LEVIN. I suggest the absence of 

a quorum. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the order for 

the quorum call be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE). Without objection, it is 

so ordered. 

f 

AUTHORITY TO SIGN DULY 

ENROLLED BILLS 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the majority 

leader be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills today, November 20. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I suggest 

the absence of a quorum. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the order for 

the quorum call be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

THE ECONOMY 

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, today 

there has been much discussion once 

again here on the floor of the Senate 

and certainly in the news and in various other venues, I am sure at the Secretary of the Treasury’s office, about 

the economy and what is happening in 

this country. 

One only has to look at the stock 

market—today it moved down very 

quickly and very aggressively once 

again; it has happened many times in 

recent days. There are very serious 

problems. But it is not just the stock 

market that reflects those problems. It 

is perhaps if you were sitting in a home 

tonight or last night or last week or 

last month to hear someone come 

home from work to stay to the spouse: 

Honey, I have lost my job. And 1.2 million people did that in the last 10 

months, half of them in the last quarter. There were 240,000 last month who 

came home and said: I have lost my 

job. 

No, not because they are bad workers; because people are being laid off. 

This economy is in a recession. It appears to be a very deep recession, with 

a great deal of trouble coming from a 

range of activities that went way beyond the pale. 

The subprime loan scandal, an almost unbelievable economy that was 

providing substantial additional benefits and salaries and bonuses to people 

at the top of the economic ladder. It is 

almost unbelievable what has happened 

with the reckless behavior with respect 

to some of the financial firms in this 

country. The result is that the amount 

of leverage and the development of a 

house of cards built on an illusion of 

assets has caused a collapse, and it is 

affecting virtually every corner of this 

country. 

Tonight there are people who will 

ask the question: What has happened 

to my retirement account? What about 

my 401(k) account? What about my individual retirement account? How far 

has it gone down? How much have I 

lost? What will it mean to my retirement? How much longer will I have to 

work? 

I have been on this floor plenty of 

times talking about what has caused 

all of this. If you do not think about it 

and talk about it and take steps to correct it, it will happen again. 

The only way the American people 

will have confidence about the future is 

if they believe we are taking steps to 

correct that which caused this problem. I have talked about the companies 

that started this mess, the brokers, the 

mortgage companies, the folks who buy 

and sell securities, the hedge funds, 

those who trade in derivatives such as 

credit default swaps. I have talked 

about all of them. All of them made 

massive amounts of money. Do you 

know the highest income earner in the 

country last year earned $3.7 billion? 

One person. That is $10 million a day. If 

the spouse said: How did it go today? 

That person had to say, pretty well, I 


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S10708 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

made $10 million. That day and every 

day. 

That is unbelievable to me. It is an 

example of what has been happening at 

the top. Massive bonuses and salaries; 

everybody making money hand over 

fist by creating this financial house of 

cards. It collapses and injures everybody in this country, and a whole lot of 

folks are thrown out of work. 

The source? Subprime loans, companies saying to people: Hey, how about a 

loan? You do not have to pay even the 

principal at all. You do not have to pay 

all of the interest. You have bad credit, 

you cannot get any credit, you have 

been bankrupt, you are a slow payer, 

you do not pay your bills, but it does 

not matter. Come to us. 

That was the advertising. Is it any 

wonder that all of this collapsed? And 

as they put all of those bad loans together, they securitized them and 

chopped them all and sold them as securities. They securitize everything 

these days. They sold them as securities and moved them around the country and around the world. 

All of a sudden we have a bunch of 

firms that decided, hey, these are pretty good-paying securities. They have a 

big return. We are going to buy some of 

these. So they bought them all up. And 

now guess what. They have got all of 

these rotten assets in their portfolio, 

and it is pulling them all under and 

causing a massive problem. 

So here we sit with a collapse of a financial system, names that are household names, the biggest firms in the 

country going belly up, getting bailed 

out. 

The Treasury Secretary comes to us 

and says: I need $700 billion on an 

emergency basis in 3 days, and if not, 

the sky is going to fall in. So the Secretary does not get it in 3 days or with 

a 3-page bill, but he gets it in a couple 

of weeks. 

Now he has $700 billion, but he does 

not know what he wants to do it with 

it. He said: I need it and I need it urgently right now because I want to buy 

toxic assets and I want to get these 

toxic assets off the balance sheets of 

these companies. 

Well, he got the money. Then he said: 

You know what, that is not right either. I do not want to buy toxic assets. 

What I want to do is provide money, 

capital, to big banks. He takes $125 billion and aimed it at nine banks, some 

of whom did not want it. The problem 

was, it was the biggest gift in the 

world. There were no strings attached. 

Can you imagine taking $125 billion 

and saying to nine big banks: You take 

this money, and, by the way, I will not 

require you to expand your lending. 

That is the reason I am giving it to 

you, but I will not require it. I will 

have no prohibition on you using it for 

bonuses. Go right ahead. And, by the 

way, my agency is also going to encourage you to merge because we like 

bigger banks; merging will be beneficial, we are told. Is it any wonder 

people do not have confidence? Is it 

any wonder people are not inspired by 

this? This is not a consistent, wellmanaged approach to deal with a crisis, 

in my judgment. I know it is easy to be 

critical, but it is hard not to be critical 

of something that seems so random in 

terms of policy. 

Now, I sat with a banker in North 

Dakota recently at a table. I said to 

him, a small town banker: Do you have 

money to lend? I said: They say the 

credit markets are frozen. Do you have 

money to lend? 

Oh, yes, he said. He said: If somebody 

comes in, I have got money to lend 

them, because he did business the oldfashioned way. He said: I take deposits 

and I make loans. But when I make 

loans, I make sure those to whom I 

lend the money are going to have a reasonable opportunity and are able to 

repay the money. 

That is business the old-fashioned 

way. He said: I did not get involved in 

all of those reckless practices. I did not 

buy those securitized notes with 

subprime loans. I did not do all of that. 

Well, the biggest financial companies 

in this country did. They were like 

hogs in a corn crib, buying and selling, 

making lots of money, everybody is 

wading in cash. Now they are up to 

their necks in trouble, and the Treasury Secretary says if we do not bail 

them out, the whole economy is going 

to collapse. So this bailout occurs 

without any conditions at all. 

Did anybody say, with these hundreds of billions of dollars—and by the 

way, it is not really hundreds of billions. If you take a look at what Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board 

have done, it is somewhere between $2 

and $3 trillion that has been pledged to 

those big firms. Not many people know 

that. And you cannot get all of the details. But the Federal Reserve Board 

opened up its window, first time in history, to say: We will do direct lending 

with investment banks whose assets 

are not insured by the Federal Government. First time in history. So we have 

around $2 to $3 trillion out there extended on behalf of the American people with some of these companies that 

were engaged in unbelievably reckless 

practices and behavior. 

The issue, it seems to me, is what did 

the Treasury Secretary require of these 

companies that got this massive 

amount of money? What did the Federal Reserve Board require of these 

companies? The answer is nothing. No 

restrictions. No restrictions on bonuses. We now read that somewhere 

around $20 to $30 billion of bonuses will 

be paid in the next month or two. Any 

restrictions on parking the corporate 

jets? No. Any restrictions on income at 

all? No. No restrictions at all. No 

strings attached. 

Now, there is a great discussion here 

on the floor of the Senate and in this 

town about bailing out the automobile 

industry. That proposal is $25 billion, 

about 4 percent of the $700 billion. As 

far as I am concerned, the automobile 

industry has plenty to answer for. But 

if we are talking about a potential loss 

of 3 to 5 million additional jobs if that 

industry goes belly up, at a time when 

this economy is in such desperate condition, putting 3 to 5 million additional 

people out of work would, I think, be 

devastating to this economy. 

So that is a very important consideration. But I am not about to propose 

bailing out anybody unless there are 

tough restrictions and conditions. I 

know those executives from Detroit 

got a pretty tough time, and should 

have, yesterday. They flew here in 

their private jets, making about $20 

million a year, saying: We need help 

from the American taxpayer. 

Look, if we are going to lose 3 to 5 

million jobs, I want to help for a couple 

of reasons. No. 1, I don’t want millions 

more people out of work that would 

further jeopardize this economy. No. 2, 

I want to retain a strong manufacturing base. Part of that is the automobile industry. You don’t long remain 

a strong world economic power unless 

you have a strong manufacturing base. 

But I am not about to support a bailout 

for anybody unless there are strong, 

tough, and rigorous conditions. Park 

those corporate jets, 24 roundtrip 

flights from Detroit to Washington, 

DC, and they flew in corporate jets, 

making $20 million a year, saying: Give 

us a little help. Where is the self-sacrifice? 

I am not just talking on the part of 

that industry. They were singled out 

yesterday, and I am not excusing them. 

They got what they deserved in the 

House hearing. But did anybody ask 

the question, when the Treasury Secretary was ladling money around by 

the hundreds of billions of dollars or 

the Federal Reserve Board was ladling 

money around to the point of $2 to $3 

trillion, did anybody say to those biggest financial firms: By the way, here 

are some restrictions. Maybe you 

ought to park your airplanes. Maybe 

you ought to be concerned about these 

unbelievable incomes. Talk about $20 

million a year for people running an 

automobile company, we are not talking about $20 million when we talk 

about some of these hedge funds. We 

are talking about an average of the top 

25 hedge funds, somewhere around $700 

million a year. Did anybody impose 

conditions on them? No. Should they 

have? You darn right they should have. 

If the automobile industry wants help 

from the American people and this 

Congress to preserve 3 to 5 million jobs, 

then they are going to have to be responsible to adhere to significant restrictions. 

Those restrictions ought to be rigorous and tough. There must be independent oversight on anything that is 

given to that industry, or other industries for that matter. They ought to 

agree to a prohibition on dividend payments so that money going to those 

companies isn’t going to go out in dividends. That would make no sense. 

There ought to be prohibited golden 

parachutes for executives as well as executive bonuses during the duration of 


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November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10709 

the loan. Again, I say park those corporate jets. How about announcing 

that you are willing to take $1 a year 

for the sake of trying to repair what is 

wrong with your company and trying 

to put that company back on track? 

I understand it wasn’t their fault 

that sales dropped 30 percent. They are 

victims, as are all Americans, of this 

economic crisis. It is not their fault 

that sales dropped 30 percent. So if 

they need some help to save 3 to 5 million jobs, I think most Americans 

would say: Let’s save those jobs. But 

most Americans would also ask the 

question: Where is the self-sacrifice on 

the part of those folks who are running 

these companies? Let’s see a little and 

let’s hear a little self-sacrifice from 

people who say: I will own up to this. I 

will put something significant on the 

table in terms of trying to turn this 

economy and these companies we run 

around. 

Let me finally say, there are a whole 

lot of folks across the country who are 

doing business the right way, Main 

Street businesses, community banks. 

They come to work in the morning. 

They turn the key. They open the lock 

on that door. They are at risk. They 

are just trying to make a living. Yet 

they, too, are victims, not because 

they got engaged in the kind of behavior in which some of the biggest companies in this country were engaged. 

Some of the biggest financial companies were engaged in reckless behavior. 

When the Financial Modernization Act 

passed the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate nine years ago, an 

act that was a devastating piece of legislation that led us down this path to a 

financial collapse, I said back then 

when I voted against it—and I was one 

of eight Senators to vote no—I said: If 

you want to gamble, go to Las Vegas. 

No, instead they were allowed to gamble by creating holding companies and 

merging bank enterprises with securities and with real estate and other 

risks. 

We knew you shouldn’t do that. We 

learned it in the Great Depression. It 

caused the closure of massive numbers 

of banks. Some of my colleagues 

brought a bill to the Congress and got 

almost everybody to agree to it that 

said: These lessons are old-fashioned. 

Let’s let these financial institutions 

merge and fuse together risky things 

with banking, securities, and real estate. What an unbelievably ignorant 

thing to do. We had learned that lesson 

before and forgot it. 

Guess what. From that day on we 

began to see the kind of inherent risk 

established in financial enterprises 

that someday most of us believed 

would create the house of cards that 

would collapse. And it has. Now the 

question is, how do we put this back 

together? 

Let me say this: If I didn’t have great 

hope for the future of this country, I 

would hardly be able to get up and go 

to work, but I think this is a resilient, 

wonderful place. We have made very 

big mistakes. A lot of people have 

made very big mistakes, perhaps all of 

us. But this country is a great place. 

Think about what America has been 

through: the Civil War, the Great Depression, beating back the forces of fascism and nazism. We have done so 

much in this country to prevail. This 

generation of Americans is not about 

to lose. This generation of Americans, 

too, will prevail. But it is going to require all of the effort of every one of 

us. 

This isn’t about politics. It is certainly not about Republicans and 

Democrats. It is about creating good 

public policy that gives the American 

people confidence and hope in the future. That is what will get us out of 

this rut. Those who caused the financial wreckage, who drove this economy 

into the ditch, are not going to get us 

out. It is good public policy by 

thoughtful people that will begin mirroring what happens on Main Streets 

and community banks all across the 

country, doing business the right way. 

When that happens, we will put this 

country back on track. I hope that is 

sooner rather than later. I hope the 

American people do not lose hope because we believe, all of us believe, in 

the great promise of this country. 

It is true that we face great challenges, but we are turning a page. We 

will have a new Congress. We will have 

a new President and a new determination to try to fix what is wrong and put 

this country on a better path. 

I yield the floor. 

f 

NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE 

MONTH 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am 

pleased that the President has proclaimed November as National American Indian Heritage Month and the 

Congress has designated November 28, 

2008, as Native American Heritage Day. 

This is the time when our country 

traditionally offers thanks for the 

bounty and protections we enjoy. This 

year, Congress and the President have 

chosen to specifically acknowledge and 

be thankful for the contributions and 

achievements of American Indians, 

Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. 

Together, we have called on Federal, 

State, and local governments, tribal 

governments, and others to come together to celebrate and share with one 

another the cultures, traditions, and 

languages of more than 500 tribes. 

In my home State of Nevada, our 

tribes represent three distinct cultures 

and languages Paiute, Shoshone, and 

Washoe. Throughout my career, I have 

promoted programs and education efforts to preserve these native languages and others and expand cultural 

programs for children, young adults 

and elders. Nevada’s tribal leaders and 

youth tell me this cultural exchange 

with tribal members and with those in 

their school and local communities 

bridges differences and leads to individual successes. Nevadans can be 

proud of our State’s diversity. 

And while Nevada’s 26 tribes are distinct, they share goals common to 

nearly all sovereigns—to care for their 

people, to keep them safe, to help them 

prosper, to protect and use their resources wisely, to engage in the larger 

world while being mindful of their histories. 

During this session, the Senate 

worked with tribal leaders and advocates and our colleagues in the House 

to help tribes achieve these goals. 

Working together, we reauthorized the 

Native American Housing Assistance 

and Self-Determination Reauthorization Act, reauthorized the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, and amended laws to strengthen families and improve the care and development of children in foster care. We passed legislation that helps tribes develop their 

natural resources, expand their commercial activities, and encourage investment in Indian Country. During 

this time of war, we made it a priority 

to help our Native American veterans 

and their families—who continue a 

long history of serving in our Armed 

Forces—by expanding benefits and 

services under the G.I. bill. Under the 

leadership of Chairman BYRON DORGAN

and Vice Chairperson LISA MURKOWSKI

of the Indian Affairs Committee, the 

Congress has worked to honor our first 

Americans and fulfill our promises to 

them. 

During this month especially, we recognize the leadership and efforts of 

tribes and others to improve the lives 

of Native Americans. But our work is 

not finished and we will not rest on the 

accomplishments of the 110th Congress. 

As majority leader, I am committed to 

work with my colleagues to reform 

health care and reauthorize the Indian 

Health Care Improvement Act. I hope 

that the Senate will be able to again 

consider a package similar to one the 

Senate passed earlier this year. 

As we approach the end of this Congress, I am pleased that we take a moment to recognize and celebrate the 

gifts Native Americans and Alaska Natives share with all of us daily. 

Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, each 

November we celebrate American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage 

Month to honor the first inhabitants of 

this land and recognize the relationship this country has with American 

Indian people. In that same spirit, I 

would also like to specifically recognize the nine treaty tribes that I am 

honored to represent in South Dakota. 

American Indians are unique among 

other groups in this country because of 

the government-to-government relationship established through countless 

treaties—documents affirmed in article 

VI of our Constitution as the supreme 

law of the land. This special status and 

the strength of these age-old contracts 

have enabled American Indians to 

shape this country’s history in profound ways, as tribal history is deeply 

entwined with America’s. The continued fulfillment of our treaty and trust 

obligations along with a respect for the 


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