November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10683 

run businesses from Washington and to 

finance those businesses? Is it necessary? 

I have gotten a lot of criticism because I have been quite outspoken in 

opposition to the $700 billion bailout. 

But I would like to do one thing; that 

is, if there is one thing people have not 

stopped to think about, that is the 

amount of $700 billion. What is $700 billion? It is very difficult for me and for 

anyone else, I think, to think in terms 

of those billions of dollars. But I did 

some research. I found that there are 

139 million families, households in 

America, who file tax returns. If you do 

your simple math, 139 million families 

and $700 billion in a bailout, that is 

$5,000 a family. If people think in terms 

of that, maybe they will get a little bit 

concerned. 

We have already spent, of that—Secretary Paulson—$125 billion on nine 

large banks. This is not what they said 

or what he said 2 weeks prior to the October 1 vote. What he said at that time 

was: We have to have $700 billion to 

buy damaged assets, and it is going to 

take $700 billion. If this continues to 

happen, we are going to have another 

Great Depression. 

And we got all excited and concerned. 

Granted, I know Secretary Paulson is a 

very knowledgeable person. But for 

him to make that case, get the money, 

and then spend it on something else is 

something that is very difficult to understand. 

I would suggest that when we drafted 

that law, which I opposed at the time, 

that was in two increments—actually, 

three. The first $250 billion was going 

to be handed to him to go ahead and 

spend as he wanted to, and then, if he 

needed $100 billion more, the President 

could see to it that they got it. That 

has already happened. They have $350 

billon, of which $60 billion is left and 

has not been spent as of this moment 

in time, to my knowledge. I got my information personally from them last 

Tuesday. 

So where we are today is we are sitting on $60 billion. He has described 

this as a cushion. When I say ‘‘he,’’ I 

am talking about Secretary Paulson. 

So we need to now think about the 

other $350 billion because it appears, as 

he said, the financial markets have 

been stabilized. If this is true, then 

maybe we do not need to get into that 

other $350 billion. Keep in mind, we 

have $60 billion there on the table 

ready to be used anyway. 

So what I have done is drafted legislation that is called S. 3697. We have 

some Democrats and some Republicans 

cosponsoring this. It is not a freeze. I 

wish it were. I wish I could craft a 

piece of legislation that said: Let’s 

take the $350 billion and give it all 

back to the taxpayers; it belongs to 

them. But we know that would not fly. 

So instead of that, we went ahead and 

did it to make a modest change in the 

system. 

As the law is drafted right now, if the 

request is made by the Treasury Secretary, whether Secretary Paulson or 

another person, that money is going to 

automatically come to them if no one 

objects while we are in session for 15 

days. Well, we are going to go out of 

session probably tomorrow and very 

likely will not be coming back until 

January 6. That means that if any need 

is there, all he has to do is say so and 

the money will come forward. 

So what we have done is change—actually, we only changed one word. The 

word we changed was ‘‘unless’’ and 

‘‘until.’’ I do not have it right here, but 

it says the money can be accessed unless Congress stops them from doing it. 

However, by changing that to ‘‘until,’’ 

that means it cannot be accessed until 

we take a positive action in the Senate. That is what I think is perhaps not 

nearly enough protection, but it is 

some protection. I would encourage 

colleagues to rally around this because 

there is no other means out there right 

now, no other vehicle that anyone has 

put forward that is going to resolve 

this problem. It is going to keep the 

other $350 billion, and that is about 

$2,500 for every family in America who 

pays taxes and files a tax return. There 

is no other way of doing it except for 

this bill. 

So I would encourage our Members to 

join in this effort. And it is going to 

have to be done today. If it is not done 

today, it is not going to be done. I hope 

the people outside realize there are a 

few of us here who realize we want to 

stop this train, particularly if Secretary Paulson is correct, as he believes he is, when he says the financial 

markets have been stabilized. So we 

have S. 3697. I would encourage my colleagues to come down and sign this so 

we can actually bring it up and vote on 

it and have it become a reality. 

I yield the floor. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Maryland is 

recognized. 

f 

SAVING JOBS 

Ms. MIKULSKI. I wish to speak in 

morning business on the topic of the 

economic situation which the country 

faces and where we are. 

I want to acknowledge that the Senator from Oklahoma has some interesting ideas, and I would like to know 

more about it because I am pretty frustrated about what has happened with 

the taxpayer rescue money we have 

gotten. 

First, let me say, though, I am pretty 

frustrated with the Senate right now. I 

am frustrated that we are lame in this 

lameduck session. I was telling my 

constituents as I moved around Maryland, as is my habit and joy, that I 

have used this as a November work session—you know, get back to work. The 

election is over. We know who won. 

Now it is time to govern and govern 

with responsibility, to come back and 

go to work. So we come back, and here 

we are again whirling around with a lot 

of parliamentary quagmires. Can we 

bring it up? I object. No. We could be 

filibustered, et cetera. While we are 

fiddling and diddling to a parliamentary tune here, our economy is burning. And the question is, Do we burn 

the economic house down around us by 

inaction? 

Now, you might not like this rescue 

plan or that rescue plan or what about 

the automobile. I am a champion of 

jobs in the automobile industry. I do 

not champion an industry, I champion 

the jobs in the industry. I do not believe this Congress understands what 

the automobile industry is. Yes, it is 

manufacturers, union and nonunion. 

Whether it is the big three in Detroit 

and the UAW or whether it is foreign 

logo cars being made in the Southern 

States of our country, the Toyotas in 

Texas and Kentucky, the Nissans in 

Tennessee and so on, we are talking 

about jobs. We are talking about people 

who make the cars, and then we are 

talking about dealers who sell them, 

service them, maintain them, and the 

support services. In many rural parts 

of my State, the automobile dealers 

are the biggest employers outside of 

the local school system and the local 

hospital. So I want to talk about jobs, 

and that is what I have been talking 

about. 

But while we are talking about the 

rescue plan, what is shocking to me is 

the rigidity of the administration to 

help wrap up their time in the White 

House and their time to get our economy going, the fact that they are unwilling to look at the rescue package 

as a tool for saving jobs rather than 

saving banks. 

Now, this is where I believe we have 

gotten ourselves off on the wrong 

track. When I voted for the rescue 

plan, I thought I was voting for dealing 

with the credit crisis and bringing the 

financial system to some form of stability. It was a little too trickle-down 

for me, but I thought, we are in a crisis, square your shoulders and get out 

there and do it. Well, what has happened is, instead of dealing with helping with jobs, we have been helping 

with banks. The bailout has been simply a handout to Wall Street banks. 

And you know what, they have made 

out like bandits. Them that got want 

even more and do not promise to do 

anything in return. 

Let’s review how we got there. We 

were facing Armageddon. We were concerned about the collapse of our financial system that America essentially 

helped create in terms of a financial 

system. We were talking about a frozen 

credit system that would affect big 

business and small business in our 

community. We were also concerned 

about the homeowner who was losing 

their home. Well, what did we do? We 

said: OK, we are going to make a public 

investment of $700 billion of taxpayers’ 

money in the economy, through our 

Secretary of the Treasury. Now, who 

was this investor? Well, the taxpayers 

became investors. 

You know, we use that term, ‘‘taxpayers.’’ What does it mean? Well, I 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE
S10684 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

will tell you what it means to ‘‘Senator 

Barb’’ from Maryland. It means that 

single mother, that single mother who 

is trying to hold her family together, 

maybe in a job that pays $10 or $12 an 

hour, trying to keep her kids together, 

collect her child support, make sure 

she has an 8-year-old car still running 

and make sure those kids are in school 

to do something. She does not have a 

lot of money, and we take a chunk of 

it. What about the farmer and what 

about the waterman who right now is 

out in this cold weather trying to bring 

oysters to our Thanksgiving table? We 

are going to have a table of bounty; 

they have a table of trouble. But no, we 

are going to take their money and give 

it to Paulson to give it to AIG. 

Mr. INHOFE. Would the Senator 

yield for one question? 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Let me finish describing the taxpayer, and I will come 

back to you. 

What about the waitress—you know, 

somebody who carries, in that diner, 

big plates of food? And what does she 

end up with at the end of the day? A 

few tips, a bad back, varicose veins, 

and a government that is not on her 

side. That is where Paulson got the 

money from. OK. So that is where that 

$700 billion came from. Then I will talk 

about what he did with it. 

I turn to my colleague. 

Mr. INHOFE. I thank the Senator for 

yielding. I appreciate the very favorable comments she has made about my 

legislation. What is interesting about 

this is it is supported by a whole host— 

Senator SANDERS is supporting it, as 

well as on the far right we have Senator COBURN and Senator DEMINT. So 

we are not the only ones who feel this 

way. 

But the point I would like to make 

and ask you if you agree is, $700 billion—you heard me describe how to put 

that in and understand how much that 

means to the American people. It is 

$5,000 for each family who files a tax 

return. We have an opportunity to save 

half of that right now. I would encourage the Senator from Maryland to join 

in this effort because I think it can get 

done and it could get done during this 

time. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Well, I will consider 

looking at his legislation, I assure him 

on the floor. I think we are in agreement with some of the principles you 

articulated earlier. 

But let me go on with my speech and 

see if we can’t find that sensible center, that common ground we both 

would like to perceive because when I 

say, What were the Congress and the 

American people promised for this astronomical sum of money we gave, we 

were promised by the Secretary of the 

Treasury, on behalf of the President of 

the United States, that the investment 

of the taxpayer would go to stabilizing 

the financial system, get credit flowing 

again in our communities, and get the 

economy rolling. What did we get? We 

got bait and switched from Paulson. 

Paulson changed his plan. He originally said he would use it to open credit and to also deal with the toxic mortgages. Now he is using it for money to 

buy ownership in banks and not asking 

anything in return. Paulson threw 

money at the banks with no strings attached. We have now spent close to $350 

billion, and where are we? We are nowhere. The stock market is down and 

unemployment is up. Things have actually gotten worse. People continue to 

lose their homes. Now they are losing 

their life savings. And with our inaction on unemployment, they will lose 

their jobs. 

So let’s talk about them that got. Do 

you remember their greed? Do you remember their incompetence on Wall 

Street that got us into this economic 

Superfund site? 

What did Wall Street say over the 

last several years to regulators and 

policymakers? Stay away. Get out of 

the way. It is our way or the highway. 

Having gotten buckets of bucks from 

the taxpayer, what does Wall Street 

say? Stay out of the way. Get out of 

the way. It is our way. And by the way, 

give us more, and let us keep our high 

pay. 

Well, it is not only what we hear 

from them, it is what we don’t hear 

from them. You know what is so shocking to me. After this money goes to the 

big banks, there is no sense of gratitude. There is no sense of gratitude 

that that waitress, that single mother, 

that farmer, that firefighter is willing 

to do this—no sense of gratitude. There 

is also no sense of remorse on how they 

got us into this terrible situation. 

I know the Presiding Officer is a man 

of faith, as are our colleague from 

Oklahoma and myself. In my faith, 

when you have sinned, the way you get 

it right is you show remorse, you 

promise not to sin any more. You say: 

Let’s make amends. How can I get it 

right? 

Have we heard that out of them? I 

have read every paper, heard every conversation. There is not one bit of remorse. They swagger around and say: 

There are three Americas—North 

America, South America, and corporate America. They treat themselves 

like a free trade zone. Hello. Do they 

promise to sin no more? Do we see a 

sense in the passion for reform coming 

out of them, saying: Boy, did we screw 

up; we now want to get it right? No. Do 

they say: Let’s make amends? And the 

way they want to say let’s make 

amends would be to work with our economic people to get jobs, credit, and 

our economy rolling. No. So what, instead, do those who have gotten bailout money do? They give themselves 

lavish salaries, bonuses, big perks such 

as spa retreats and golf tournaments in 

the most luxurious places in the world. 

And we are told that in order for them 

to keep talent, they have to pay big bonuses or people will walk away. They 

say that in order to keep the big talent 

at the big banks, they have to give big 

bonuses. I want to say, if they want to 

go, it is OK by me. I am an investor. 

Not as a Senator, but as a taxpayer, 

Why would we want to hold on to 

them? They got us into this mess. So it 

is OK by me if they go. There are plenty of talented people ready to go to 

work for our country. 

This is what ‘‘Senator Barb’’ wants 

to say to Wall Street: We do not want 

to be passive investors. We want to be 

active investors, not in a socialist form 

of government, picking winners and 

losers, but, by God, have a sense of reform. Cull out what is the best way to 

have sensible regulation. Come up with 

the great ideas to get our economy 

going and use the power and muscle of 

America’s financial system. There is 

talent there to do that. If you need a 

lavish bonus to do this, then leave. 

Leave or get out of the way. There is a 

new sheriff coming to town, and I am 

part of that posse. There are not only 

young people but a lot of people who 

want to rebuild our country. 

So I say to those on Wall Street who 

feel they can’t work for less than $14 

million a year, you now work for the 

United States of America. Once we 

started making that public investment 

in you, you now work for the United 

States. Work for the United States. 

Give us your best thinking. Give us 

your energy. Give us your ideas. What 

I want to say to them is: It is time to 

restore our economy, restore our national honor. 

I say to those who are working in the 

economic system, pull up your pants 

and your pantsuits and start to go to 

work. Let’s rebuild the economy. 

I yield the floor. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Tennessee. 

f 

AUTOMAKER BAILOUT 

Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, it is a 

pleasure to be back here this week. I 

hope the Presiding Officer and his family have a wonderful holiday season 

when we leave tomorrow. I rise today 

to talk about the proposed automaker 

bailout. I have tremendous empathy 

for all of the people involved. I spent 

most of my life in business. I am sure 

these CEOs and others leading these 

companies are going through tumultuous times. I empathize with them. 

In my beginning period, I was a cardcarrying union member. I know there 

are a lot of workers who are very concerned about their future. I have tremendous empathy for them and their 

families. This is actually a very serious 

time in our history. Regardless of 

where you are, people are concerned 

about the future. I was in other parts 

of the world last week. All around the 

world, people are concerned about the 

future. 

I do want to speak to the speech of 

the Senator from Maryland regarding 

the financial component. Many of the 

car dealers who have called into our office actually are far less concerned 

about the Big Three. What they are 

more concerned about is having financing for consumers who are coming into 


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