November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S10701 

all postcloture time be yielded back 

and the motion to proceed be agreed to; 

that after the bill is reported, it then 

be read a third time, and the Senate 

proceed to vote on passage of the bill, 

without further intervening action or 

debate; that if cloture is not invoked 

on the motion to proceed, then a motion to reconsider the failed cloture 

vote be considered as entered, and the 

Senate then proceed to a period of 

morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes 

each. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there 

objection? 

Mr. REID. If the Chair will withhold, 

I appreciate very much all Senators’ 

thoughtful consideration of what we 

are trying to accomplish. I especially 

extend my appreciation to the Republican leader for his stepping out of important meetings to take calls from me 

and being available to help us work our 

way through these difficult times. 

We are all trying to accomplish the 

same thing. We have an economy that 

is in peril, and we want to make sure 

we do everything we can within reason 

and keeping with our responsibilities 

to succeed. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there 

objection? 

Mr. ALEXANDER. No objection. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

Mr. REID. This will be the last vote 

this week. 

f 

CONCLUSION OF MORNING 

BUSINESS 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The hour 

of 3 p.m. having arrived, morning business is now closed. 

f 

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION 

EXTENSION ACT OF 2008—MOTION 

TO PROCEED 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under 

the previous order, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to 

proceed to H.R. 6867, which the clerk 

will now report. 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

as follows: 

Motion to proceed to the consideration of 

Calendar No. 1123, H.R. 6867, an act to provide for additional emergency unemployment compensation. 

CLOTURE MOTION

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under 

the previous order, pursuant to rule 

XXII, the Chair lays before the Senate 

the pending cloture motion, which the 

clerk will report. 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

as follows: 

CLOTURE MOTION

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule XXII of the 

Standing Rules of the Senate, hereby move 

to bring to a close debate on the motion to 

proceed to Calendar No. 1123, H.R. 6867, the 

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act 

of 2008. 

Harry Reid, Max Baucus, Patrick J. 

Leahy, Bernard Sanders, Kent Conrad, 

E. Benjamin Nelson, John D. Rockefeller, IV, Dianne Feinstein, Robert P. 

Casey, Jr., Patty Murray, Richard Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Barbara A. 

Mikulski, Barbara Boxer, Carl Levin, 

Daniel K. Akaka, Mark L. Pryor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum 

call has been waived. 

The question is, Is it the sense of the 

Senate that debate on the motion to 

proceed to H.R. 6867, an act to provide 

for additional emergency unemployment compensation, shall be brought 

to a close? 

The yeas and nays are mandatory 

under the rule. 

The clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk called 

the roll. 

Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the 

Senator from Delaware (Mr. BIDEN) and 

the Senator from Arkansas (Mrs. LINCOLN) are necessarily absent. 

Mr. KYL. The following Senators are 

necessarily absent: the Senator from 

Georgia (Mr. CHAMBLISS) and the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. 

SUNUNU). 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR). Are there any other Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote? 

The yeas and nays resulted—yeas 89, 

nays 6, as follows: 

[Rollcall Vote No. 214 Leg.] 

YEAS—89 

Akaka 

Alexander 

Allard 

Baucus 

Bayh 

Bennett 

Bingaman 

Bond 

Boxer 

Brown 

Brownback 

Bunning 

Burr 

Byrd 

Cantwell 

Cardin 

Carper 

Casey 

Clinton 

Cochran 

Coleman 

Collins 

Conrad 

Corker 

Cornyn 

Craig 

Crapo 

Dodd 

Dole 

Domenici 

Dorgan 

Durbin 

Ensign 

Feingold 

Feinstein 

Graham 

Grassley 

Gregg 

Hagel 

Harkin 

Hutchison 

Inouye 

Isakson 

Johnson 

Kennedy 

Kerry 

Klobuchar 

Kohl 

Kyl 

Landrieu 

Lautenberg 

Leahy 

Levin 

Lieberman 

Lugar 

Martinez 

McCain 

McCaskill 

McConnell 

Menendez 

Mikulski 

Murkowski 

Murray 

Nelson (FL) 

Nelson (NE) 

Pryor 

Reed 

Reid 

Roberts 

Rockefeller 

Salazar 

Sanders 

Schumer 

Sessions 

Shelby 

Smith 

Snowe 

Specter 

Stabenow 

Stevens 

Tester 

Thune 

Vitter 

Voinovich 

Warner 

Webb 

Whitehouse 

Wicker 

Wyden 

NAYS—6 

Barrasso 

Coburn 

DeMint 

Enzi 

Hatch 

Inhofe 

NOT VOTING—4 

Biden 

Chambliss 

Lincoln 

Sununu 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this 

vote, the yeas are 89, the nays are 6. 

Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. 

Under the previous order, all 

postcloture time is yielded back and 

the motion to proceed is agreed to. 

Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, 

next week we will celebrate Thanksgiving—a holiday to be with family and 

to give thanks for the many blessings 

we enjoy. But this year, American families gathering around the Thanksgiving table are burdened with serious 

worries: Are we going to lose our 

home? Can we afford to retire when our 

savings have been wiped out? Will we 

have to choose between sending our 

children to college and paying our 

medical bills? 

One of the greatest hardships millions of Americans are facing is the 

loss of their jobs. The current job market is the worst in the past quarter 

century. Over 1 million people have 

lost their jobs this year—half a million 

in September and October alone. Last 

week, more workers filed for unemployment benefits than at any time 

since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. 

Economists predict the unemployment 

rate will continue to climb from its 

current 14-year high of 6.5 percent to 

well over 8 percent in the coming year. 

Earlier this year, Congress approved 

additional unemployment benefits for 

workers. That was an important step, 

but families need additional support. 

Unemployment benefits have expired 

for many workers, and finding a new 

job is far more difficult as the recession deepens. More than 2 million 

Americans have been unable to find 

work for more than 6 months. If Congress fails to extend benefits again this 

year, nearly 1.2 million Americans will 

have exhausted their benefits by the 

end of the year. 

That’s why this legislation is so essential. It provides 7 additional weeks 

of unemployment assistance to workers whose benefits have expired, and an 

additional 13 weeks for jobless workers 

in high-unemployment states. This bill 

has already passed the House overwhelmingly, with strong bipartisan 

support. By acting today, we will deliver immediate aid to many of the 

neediest Americans who are unable to 

find work. 

Not only does the extension of unemployment benefits provide a lifeline for 

struggling families, it also serves as a 

needed and immediate stimulus for the 

economy—each dollar of unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in economic growth. I urge my colleagues to 

join me in supporting this critical extension of unemployment assistance. 

Providing these additional unemployment benefits, however, is not the 

only step we must take to help working families meet the tough challenges 

that lie ahead. Jumpstarting our economy and restoring American prosperity 

will take bolder vision and more decisive action. We need to create good 

jobs for the millions of Americans who 

want to work. That means investing in 

our workers, investing in our infrastructure, and investing in technology 

for the future. It also means repairing 

the broken safety nets, so that more 

families who are being hurt by this 

downturn can get back on their feet. 

I wish we could have done more in 

this lame-duck, but at least we are 

taking an important step. I look forward to working with our new President and the new Congress in January 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE
S10702 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

to meet these difficult challenges and 

to restore the vitality of our economy. 

Mr. KYL. Madam President, I support H.R. 6867, the Unemployment 

Compensation Act of 2008. The unemployment level is high, it is increasing, 

and it is likely that this condition will 

prevail for many months. Thus, the 

need for this extension. 

According to the Labor Department, 

claims for unemployment benefits have 

increased dramatically, last week 

reaching a 16-year high. The unemployment rate in October was 6.5 percent; 

last year the rate averaged 4.6 percent. 

The Federal Reserve also released estimates Wednesday that project the jobless rate will climb to between 7.1 percent and 7.6 percent next year. 

As everyone knows, the economy has 

slowed dramatically. Retail and business spending has decreased. The next 

several months are projected to be a 

period of contraction. As long as the 

economy continues to struggle, the 

people of Arizona and the rest of our 

country will face difficult job prospects, given the limited number and 

types of jobs available. 

This dramatic downturn in the economy and surge in unemployment convinced me to support this extension of 

unemployment coverage. But this step 

simply treats a symptom of the bad 

economy; it is not a solution. We must 

try to take steps to improve the economy and, thus, create new jobs. As I 

have said in the past, I do not believe 

an extension or expansion of Federal 

unemployment benefits stimulates the 

economy. In fact, most economists believe that continual, temporary extension of unemployment benefits has little effect on the economy, and, in some 

circumstances, actually lengthens the 

time individuals remain unemployed 

because of the incentive to remain on 

unemployment insurance. 

Accordingly, I support this extension 

with a steadfast commitment to work 

to pass pro-growth measures that will 

actually help the economy recover and 

create new jobs. In the long run, people 

would rather have a job than have to 

take unemployment insurance; and, at 

some point, it will have to end. 

What can we do immediately to help 

Americans get back to work? First, we 

must maintain existing tax rates. During an economic downturn, the last 

thing Government should do is take 

more money out of the economy by increasing taxes. Everyone benefits when 

lower tax rates enable businesses and 

entrepreneurs to expand and create 

more jobs. 

When Congress returns to Washington, its first priority should be to 

reassure taxpayers that taxes will remain low by maintaining existing income-tax rates, marriage penalty relief, current rates on capital gains and 

dividend income, and relief from the 

death tax. Under existing law, the tax 

relief enacted in 2001 and 2003 will expire after 2010. Extending current tax 

rates now would give individuals and 

small businesses the certainty they 

need to plan their family budgets and 

permit small businesses to make critical long-term investments in our Nation’s economy that will increase job 

growth now and in the future. 

Unless the tax relief is extended, 43 

million working families with children 

will face a $2,300 tax increase. Small 

businesses will see their taxes increase 

by an average of $4,100. The death tax 

will rebound from zero in 2010 to a 

whopping 55 percent. The tax on capital gains will increase 33 percent, and 

the dividend tax rate will increase an 

astounding 164 percent, affecting 18 

million senior citizens who will see 

their taxes rise by an average of $2,200. 

We shouldn’t be asking Americans to 

pay out more of their hard-earned 

money at a time when they need it 

most; but if Congress doesn’t act, we 

will be asking exactly that. 

The current economic downturn has 

also affected the Nation’s investors, especially seniors who rely on their investments for their income. We need to 

continue to encourage responsible savings and investment, and one of the 

things we should do to ensure savings 

is to allow unlimited contributions to 

retirement accounts such as 401(k)s 

and IRAs. We should also raise the age 

at which holders of tax-deferred retirement savings accounts must begin 

making minimum required annual 

withdrawals. I believe that Congress 

will likely suspend the mandatory 

withdrawal rules for one year. While 

that is a positive step, a more permanent measure would provide certainty 

to seniors. 

The United States also needs to improve its competitiveness. We need to 

encourage trade between our country 

and others, and we need to enact, as 

soon as possible, the Colombia, Panama, and South Korea free trade agreements. We also need to stop taxing 

overseas corporate income and decrease our corporate tax rate—let’s not 

provide additional reasons for valuable 

companies here in the U.S. to move all 

their operations overseas. 

The United States has the second 

highest corporate tax rate in the world. 

We can make the United States more 

attractive to foreign investment by reducing our own corporate tax rate, perhaps from its current rate of 35 percent 

to 25 percent. 

I will vote for the unemployment extension today. But I am also calling on 

the President-elect and Congress to 

quickly pass measures that will actually help the economy to maintain and 

create jobs. I look forward to working 

with my colleagues toward such an end 

in the coming weeks. 

Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, passing an unemployment insurance extension today is urgent. More than a million people have lost their jobs this 

year alone, and there are 10.1 million 

unemployed individuals. We must ensure that these individuals who have 

lost jobs and are looking for work, during a time when industries are cutting 

jobs and the price of food and other necessities is rising, are not also struggling to put food on their table, pay 

their utility bills, and provide shelter 

for their families. 

During economic downturns in the 

past, we have always provided longer 

periods of unemployment benefits. The 

bill that I hope we pass today will provide a much needed unemployment insurance extension. This extension 

would ensure that out of work Americans in high unemployment States like 

Michigan will receive an additional 20 

weeks of insurance, for a total of up to 

59 weeks. 

In October, Michigan’s unemployment rate increased from 8.7 percent to 

9.3 percent, the highest unemployment 

rate since July 1992. The Nation’s unemployment rate also increased to 6.5 

percent. These are very hard economic 

times. Unemployment rates are rising 

dramatically, and since January 2001 

we have lost 3.7 million manufacturing 

jobs nationally and more than 250,000 

manufacturing jobs in Michigan. There 

are currently 429,000 unemployed people in Michigan. Between August 2007 

and July 2008, the long-term unemployed—those who have been unemployed and looking for a job for 27 

weeks or more—comprise about 27 percent of the total unemployed in Michigan. This is approximately, 100,000 unemployed persons. 

The numbers of unemployed are rising all over the country. We must do 

something now to protect American 

workers and their families. 

∑ Mrs. LINCOLN. Madam President, I 

regret that I will be unable to be 

present for today’s vote on the Unemployment Compensation Extension 

Act, H.R. 6867, due to a hunger awareness event previously scheduled in Arkansas. If I were present for the vote, I 

would vote to support this important 

piece of legislation as I did in June 

when the Senate passed a 13-week unemployment insurance extension as 

part of the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008, Public Law 110–252.∑ 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under 

the previous order, the question is on 

third reading and passage of the bill. 

The bill (H.R. 6867) was ordered to a 

third reading, was read the third time, 

and passed. 

f 

ADVANCING AMERICA’S PRIORITIES ACT—MOTION TO PROCEED—Resumed 

Mr. REID. Madam President, I now 

move to proceed to Calendar No. 894, S. 

3297. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion is now pending. 

f 

MORNING BUSINESS 

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask 

unanimous consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business 

with Senators permitted to speak 

therein for up to 10 minutes each. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE