November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10685 

their dealerships. Like her, I want to 

see people throughout our country be 

able to operate their businesses. I am 

certainly not here to defend any of the 

Secretaries or anybody else. I will say 

that I did have a conversation yesterday with Secretary Paulson and with 

Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke. 

They are putting in place a facility to 

deal with consumer finance that hopefully will be in place by year end to 

help deal with some of the financing 

components that are stressing the 

automakers. 

I wish to specifically address the request by the automakers. I was privileged to be part of a hearing the other 

day in banking where the three CEOs 

and the leader of the United Auto 

Workers testified. I was struck by the 

lack of coherence, the fact that we had 

three leaders in corporate America 

whom I actually have a degree of respect for. I was in some ways embarrassed for some of them. They evidently had no plan. They felt in the 

Senate and in the House today the 

time was good for receiving moneys 

from taxpayers. It was sort of a ‘‘get 

here while the getting is good,’’ if you 

will. It was embarrassing to hear their 

testimony and the lack of thought that 

had been put into place as it related to 

the request. They had come up with a 

number of $25 billion. They were actually hesitant to tell us how, as a pact, 

the three of them had decided to divide 

this money. After a lot of probing, we 

were able to get them to say that they 

have decided to divide the money based 

on their proportional share of the auto 

market. 

I pressed them to find out if we did, 

in fact, agree to loan them this $25 billion, would that be it? It was evident 

that, no, this was a downpayment and 

that they had done nothing whatsoever 

to think about what might happen 

after the taxpayers invested in them. 

One of the questions I wish to ask is: 

Why would we address these three 

automakers as some homogeneous 

group? They are three different companies. They are in three different circumstances. It is interesting to me 

that the head of the United Auto Workers knows that they are in three different circumstances. What he said was 

that Ford was actually in good shape. 

They had made some tough decisions 

and done some things back in the year 

2006 that have put them in place to actually survive. They have about $23 billion of cash right now. He said he had 

been in to look at the books and Chrysler was actually in second place. I 

would have thought that Chrysler actually would have been the weakest of 

the three. Their books are not public 

because they are a private company. 

He laid out the fact that actually 

Chrysler was in a stronger position but 

that GM was a company that was in 

more disarray. So as we look at this, I 

find it so irresponsible that we would 

actually even talk about a rescue package, looking at these companies as a 

group. They are three very different 

companies that have addressed their 

issues in three very different ways. I 

find it incredibly irresponsible to even 

consider looking at them as a group. 

I wonder, in a market with 10 million 

cars being sold, why we need three domestic automakers. I wonder whether 

we would be better off if possibly we 

had two or we had one that was strong. 

Again, that is something that the market can decide. 

One of the greatest disservices we 

could actually do to these automakers 

and to the many people who depend 

upon them for employment, whether 

they be direct employees or tier 1 or 2 

suppliers, is to grant them this money. 

That would be a major mistake. These 

companies have all kinds of legacy 

issues they have not been able to deal 

with. Let me point out one. General 

Motors has 7,000 dealers. They probably 

need about 1,500 dealers. What the dealers did years ago is, they went around 

and got States to pass laws that said 

that GM could not do away with their 

dealerships. We have had the strong 

dealers actually calling our office and 

telling us they actually have hurt 

themselves by putting these State laws 

in place, because there are so many 

dealers that each of them is having 

trouble making a profit. It would be a 

tremendous disservice for us to grant 

money to these companies without 

causing them to reorganize. 

There is something we have in this 

country called bankruptcy protection. 

There is something that allows companies to go in and reorganize, to put 

their strengths in order, do away with 

their weaknesses and actually carry 

on. I do hope as we debate this—I realize nothing is going to happen this 

week; this was kind of a 

preapplication; that we will probably 

be dealing with this in January—but I 

do hope we will look at this in a mature way and realize that these companies have not done the things they 

should have done, maybe that they 

could have done, and that possibly we 

can be of service to them by making 

them do the things they need to do. 

Another example: Chrysler Company 

has a situation where when they idle a 

plant, they actually, in some cases, are 

obligated to pay the workers of those 

plants for up to 4 years beyond the 

time the plant is idle. I don’t know of 

any business in the world that can survive in a healthy fashion with those 

types of obligations. 

I have tremendous empathy for the 

people involved. One of these companies has a plant in our State. But I say 

to my colleagues, the worst thing we 

could possibly do in this situation is to 

acquiesce to this request that lacked 

coherence, lacked thoughtfulness, 

lacked a plan as to how these companies would be successful in the future, 

and let them go about their business in 

the way that they have been going 

about it. They will be back, if this 

money is granted. I hope we will stand 

firm, that we will be responsible with 

taxpayer moneys, and that even 

though I am opposed to this, even if 

the money ends up being granted in 

some form or fashion, we will cause 

them to make the decisions that need 

to be made for them to actually be successful in the future. 

I thank the Chair and yield the floor. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island. 

f 

EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT 

INSURANCE 

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise in 

support of extending unemployment insurance to help the 10 million jobless 

Americans, the most in a quarter century, who are searching for work. 

In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, turmoil on Wall Street, and 

decline in consumer spending, workers 

throughout this country are being 

given pink slips by the thousands. In 

fact, we are seeing record numbers 

today, further amplifying the depth 

and the seriousness of this employment 

crisis in the United States. The situation continues to worsen. This does not 

appear to be a passing trend, but, unfortunately, unless we do something 

quickly and appropriately, we can anticipate continuing job losses. We have 

already seen across the country individuals whom we know—family members, cousins, friends—who, one, are either losing their job, or, two, are being 

very concerned that their employment 

status is tenuous and at any moment 

they could be given the word that they 

have lost their job. Over the course of 

1 month, national job loss numbers 

jumped from 6.1 percent to 6.5 percent—an extraordinary jump in 1 

month. Updated State numbers, which 

will be released on Friday, will unfortunately likely continue to reflect this 

deterioration in our job markets. 

Despite this bad news, a resolution of 

this employment crisis does not seem 

to be approaching. As I suggested, 

there are indications this will get 

worse before it gets better—another 

reason to act now to try to provide support and assistance to those people who 

have worked and now find themselves 

without a job, through no fault of their 

own. 

In my home State of Rhode Island, 

these national trends are amplified 

dramatically. Nearly 9 percent of 

Rhode Islanders are now unemployed. 

That is 50,200 people. We are a small 

State with a relatively small population. Mr. President, 50,200 people are 

without work. They are searching for 

work. They are searching for answers. 

They are searching for help. We have to 

provide the help, and then the longterm answers. 

Job losses in Rhode Island are occurring in all sectors. This is not just one 

area of economic endeavor that is 

under stress. Every area is under 

stress. Workers in manufacturing 

plants have been particularly hurt, and 

that is another consequence or another 

aspect of this discussion of the support 

for the auto industry. We have thousands of jobs in Rhode Island that in 


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S10686 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

some way depend upon the auto industry. So their fate is linked to what we 

do effectively, constructively to assist 

these companies to maintain their 

presence, but also to change their practices so they are not only here for a 

few more months, but they can evolve 

into a sustainable manufacturing industry that will lead the world, as it 

once did, in the manufacture of highquality, economically, and environmentally sound vehicles. 

We are seeing layoff notices in the financial and services industries despite 

all the efforts we have made to support 

these industries through the legislation we passed last September. These 

losses are from small mom-and-pop 

manufacturing shops in Rhode Island 

and go up into national financial companies that are shedding workers. 

This is a problem that must be addressed. We have done it in the past. In 

1991 and 2002, Congress worked with the 

White House to successfully extend 

temporary benefits when unemployment rates were significantly high. In 

June, I was pleased that Congress came 

together and passed a 13-week emergency extension of unemployment insurance for all States. This was an important step to help desperate families 

make ends meet. But jobs are becoming 

scarcer. The action we took in June 

has actually been overtaken by events 

in the world marketplace. 

We have to deal with this issue, particularly in those States such as Rhode 

Island that are seeing unusually high 

unemployment rates. So far, 4,416 

Rhode Islanders have already exhausted their federal benefits. They are 

still searching for work, unsuccessfully, but now they have lost the support of unemployment insurance. 

There are 20,000 Rhode Islanders who 

are receiving unemployment insurance 

benefits. In the first week of November, 

another 1,347 Rhode Islanders were 

added to our State’s unemployment 

rolls. These are very dispiriting numbers. They call for action, and I hope 

we can act. 

Nationally, it is estimated that nearly 1.2 million Americans will exhaust 

their current benefits by the end of the 

year. Where do they go? They have no 

direct financial support through the 

unemployment compensation program. 

They have seen the value of their 

homes whittle down to, in some cases, 

less than the mortgage they owe. They 

are seeing pressures in every area. Unless we provide them some assistance, 

their ability to simply keep their heads 

above water—to keep their families 

fed, to keep a bit of hope alive—will be 

extinguished. We cannot let that happen. 

These benefits are not handouts. 

These people have worked. They have 

paid into the program. They receive a 

modest weekly benefit to keep them 

close to making ends meet. 

There is something else too. We have 

a task before us not simply to deal individually with men and women who 

have worked hard and now—through no 

fault of their own, through the action 

of the huge economic forces worldwide—find themselves without jobs. We 

have to get this country moving again. 

We have to stimulate the economy. 

Unemployment insurance helps do 

that. These benefits are spent right 

away in the local communities. These 

benefits are going to people who are 

not going to, unfortunately, be able to 

put it away for a rainy day. Today is 

their rainy day. They are going to have 

to go to the supermarket. They are 

going to have to go to the pharmacy. 

They are going to have to go put some 

gas in their automobiles to get around, 

to get their families around. This 

money is spent almost immediately on 

food, medicine, and gasoline. Economists of virtually every stripe believe 

this is one of the most effective ways 

to stimulate the economy, to increase 

consumer demand. 

This is something we have to do. It 

generates approximately $1.64 in gross 

domestic product per $1 spent. So for 

every dollar of unemployment compensation benefits, we are generating 

additional support. 

In September, I introduced bipartisan 

legislation to provide an additional 7 

weeks of unemployment insurance to 

people who have exhausted their benefits, and 13 more weeks of benefits to 

unemployed workers in States such as 

Rhode Island that have unemployment 

rates above 6 percent. 

Despite the urgent need for these 

extra benefits, a minority of Senators 

prevented this bill from moving forward. What we have seen since that 

date is not an improvement in the situation but a significant deterioration in 

the situation. We can no longer ignore 

acting on this critical issue. 

Today there are more disturbing 

numbers. There is an indication also in 

the press that President Bush would 

sign a bill, but he cannot sign a bill unless we pass a bill. We have the opportunity to do that before we leave 

today. Since the economy continues to 

unravel, we cannot sit back and wait. 

We have to act. 

In October, the House overwhelmingly passed a measure virtually identical to my legislation. We must do the 

same. I hope we take this action this 

week. We cannot wait until January. 

There will be more people without jobs, 

unfortunately, by January, and those 

who are having the opportunity to collect benefits bill exhaust those benefits 

by January. We have to act. 

We have to do more than just an unemployment insurance program. We 

have to focus on other forms of relief 

that will provide not only help to 

Americans but stimulate our economy, 

such as funding for food stamps and 

food banks. Families are turning more 

to these institutions every day. It is 

not just the marginal American, someone who might be on the street struggling with mental health issues, who 

needs the assistance of those institutions. More and more families—working families—are coming to food banks 

and asking for a handout, for food, to 

feed their children. 

We can do better, and we must do 

better. 

We also have to make investments to 

improve job creation and provide longterm benefits. I think this means investing in our infrastructure, putting 

people to work, putting people to work 

to rebuild this country, not in a transient, temporary fashion but in 

projects that will last beyond this economic crisis. 

When I was a child in Rhode Island, 

walking around on the sidewalks, looking down, I would ask my mom and 

dad: What is this plaque: ‘‘WPA’’? Well, 

it is the Work Projects Administration. 

That was from 1935, 1934. Well, in 1955, 

in 1958, in 1968, and, indeed, in 1998, and 

now in 2008, walk around, look at those 

facilities, those public infrastructures 

that are still serving the communities. 

They were investments to help people 

work, but investments that have 

spurred this economy for more than 60 

years. 

We have to do a lot, and we can do a 

lot. There are so many needs here: 

aging infrastructure, roads, bridges, 

public transportation systems, transit 

systems so people can get to work and 

get to school, drinking water systems 

and wastewater systems. 

In Rhode Island, proposed funding for 

these initiatives would support $50 million for road improvements. Some of 

the discussions we have had about a 

package—$50 million for road improvements. It would also support $14 million for transit operations which would 

assure transit operations for particularly the poorest citizens of Rhode Island. It would also support $19.1 million for water infrastructure projects. 

Across this country, these projects 

could generate more than 470,000 jobs. 

We are losing about 500,000 jobs, it 

seems, every reporting period. If we 

could reverse that and report an increase in jobs, that would not only put 

a lot of money into people’s pockets 

and families’ pockets, but it would also 

send a signal to the country that confidence can be restored, that hope can 

indeed be engendered. 

Finally, I believe we need to provide 

some funding for the States and communities that are strapped by this crisis. We are looking at severe deficits. 

States are looking at them. Many 

States do not have the ability to operate beyond a balanced budget. They are 

going to have to make excruciatingly 

difficult cuts. I think we should put 

more money into our matching Federal 

Medicaid programs which will help 

States and help people receive health 

care. These investments, again, are not 

only compelling because of the needs of 

our fellow Americans, but justified because of their ability to stimulate the 

economy and to pick us up and move us 

forward. 

Events over the last several months 

have dramatically highlighted the economic challenges we face. We are grappling with the most severe economic 


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November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10687 

downturn we have seen perhaps since 

post-World War II and perhaps since 

the Great Depression—the worst set of 

economic circumstances. We must do 

something. To sit back and watch 

Americans continue to lose hope, to 

lose their jobs, to lose their sense of 

the potential of this country is unacceptable. We need swift action. No 

more debate; we need to vote. We need 

to pass an unemployment compensation extension bill before we leave 

today. 

Mr. President, I yield the floor. 

f 

EXTENSION OF MORNING 

BUSINESS 

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for morning business be extended until 12 noon, 

with Senators permitted to speak for 

up to 10 minutes each. 

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

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I suggest 

the absence of a quorum. 

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

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Florida is recognized. 

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 

order for the quorum call be rescinded. 

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

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, is the Senate in morning business? 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. It is. The Senator from Florida is 

recognized. 

Mr. NELSON of Florida. I thank the 

Chair. 

(The remarks of Mr. NELSON of Florida pertaining to the introduction of S. 

Con. Res. 106 are located in today’s 

RECORD under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.’’) 

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest 

the absence of a quorum. 

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

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the order for 

the quorum call be rescinded. 

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

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, what is 

the parliamentary situation? Is the 

Senator from Virginia able to address 

the Senate? 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate is in a period of morning business. 

Mr. WARNER. I ask unanimous consent to proceed for no more than 5 minutes. 

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

TRIBUTE TO SENATORS 

TED STEVENS

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, this 

may well be my last opportunity to 

speak on the floor of the Senate. I see 

my senior colleague, the senior Senator from Alaska. I come for the purpose of saying some remarks about several colleagues, including my longtime 

friend. If it is convenient, I will take 

the 5 minutes I have just been granted 

by the Presiding Officer because I have 

to go out to the CIA for a meeting that 

has been established for some time. I 

shall leave shortly after I finish my remarks. 

Again, I see my friend from Alaska, 

and it evokes many long years of interesting and happy memories. I recall so 

well that when I came here 30 years 

ago to the Senate, Senator STEVENS

was one of those who sort of took the 

‘‘youngsters,’’ as we called ourselves in 

those days, under his wing. He had been 

here 11 years, I think, when I arrived. I 

remember serving under the Senator 

when he was the whip. I remember that 

whip; he exercised it judicially but 

with determination. All in our freshman class remember that very well. 

I suppose what I remember most is 

that I had a very modest and brief tour 

of military service in World War II. I 

was only 17. I went in the last year of 

the war, as did all the kids on my 

block. We joined and went in. I don’t 

know if I ever shared this story with 

the Senator. In those days, the boys on 

the block who were a year or two older 

than me had already gone in and started military service and were coming 

back on leave to visit their families. 

Some were severely wounded and having to stay for long periods of hospitalization. It was a dramatic period 

in American history. 

I remember the Army Air Corps and 

those fellows who would come back 

having flown their missions in Europe, 

Southeast Asia, north Africa, or wherever the case may be. All of us who 

were 16 and 17 and getting ready to 

take up our responsibilities stood in 

awe because the nearest thing we had 

connected with an airplane was building model airplanes. We built all the 

military model airplanes, and we knew 

them by heart. There were those magnificent flying jackets, and they were 

the envy of all of us. I tried to join the 

Army Air Corps and went down and 

signed up and joined the Navy. As happenstance would have it, the Navy first 

called me in. I had a modest career 

with my generation in the training 

command. 

The record reflects that Senator STEVENS, at a very young age, displayed 

courage, determination, wisdom, and 

leadership. His service in the Army Air 

Corps in World War II won him two 

Distinguished Flying Crosses, several 

Air Medals, and other decorations for 

flying those aircraft. He and I have 

reminisced many times over the different types of planes he flew—primarily the old C–47, if my recollection 

serves me—and flying over the hump, 

which was a perilous, dangerous mission not only from enemy resistance, 

but if anything malfunctioned on that 

plane, there was no landing field below 

you, just miles and miles of rugged 

mountain terrain, much of it totally 

uninhabitable. 

I think the Senator was under 21 

when he flew those missions, and his 

crew exemplified the courage of the 

World War II generation. He, among 

many, deserves credit as being a member of the ‘‘greatest generation.’’ 

In subsequent years, when I came to 

the Senate and joined the Armed Services Committee, it was my privilege to 

travel to many places in this world 

with TED STEVENS to visit the men and 

women in the Armed Forces. How 

many times did we work together on 

this floor—I as an authorizer and him 

as an appropriator—shaping that annual bill which I regard with a sense of 

humility as the most important bill 

this body passes every year; that bill 

that cares for the men and women of 

the Armed Forces and provides the economic resources for them to train, to 

modernize, and to preserve and protect 

the freedom of this Nation. Speaking 

on behalf of the men and women of the 

Armed Forces, they are grateful to 

Senator STEVENS for all he has done for 

them through his distinguished career 

in the Senate. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized. 

f 

FAREWELL TO THE SENATE 

Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am 

grateful to the Senator from Virginia 

for his comments. I understand that 

duty calls him to go to his meeting at 

the CIA. I am grateful for his support. 

Mr. President, just before Christmas 

in 1968, I was appointed to succeed 

Alaska’s first senior Senator, Bob 

Bartlett. Next month will mark the 

40th year I have had the honor and 

privilege to serve in this great Chamber. 

First, and most important, I thank 

my family. After my wife Ann’s tragic 

death in 1978, I thought the end of my 

career had come, but my dear wife 

Catherine entered my life in 1980, and 

joined by my six children, Susan, Beth, 

Ted, Walter, Ben, and Lily, and my 11 

grandchildren, my family has given me 

love, support, and sacrifice, which 

made my continued career in the Senate possible and gave it meaning. I 

dearly love each member of my family. 

Forty years. It is hard to believe that 

so much time could pass so quickly, 

but it has. I want everyone listening to 

know that I treasure every moment I 

spent here representing Alaska and 

Alaskans, the land and the people I 

love. 

As a Member of this body, I served as 

whip from 1976 to 1984, as chair of the 

Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, as chair of the Arms Control 

Observer Group, as chair of the Ethics 

Committee, as chair of the Rules Committee, as chair of the Governmental 


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