Senate Proceeding on Jul 30th, 2008 :: 1:10:44 to 1:17:12
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1:10:44 to 1:11:00( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: ~ vote: the presiding officer: any senators wishing to vote or change their vote? on this, the yeas are 51, the nays are 43. three-fifths

1:10:44 to 1:17:12( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Richard Durbin

1:11:00 to 1:11:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. mr. reid: mr. president, i enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked.

1:11:10 to 1:11:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: mr. president, i have 12 unanimous consent requests that have been approved by me and senator mcconnell. i ask consent these requests be agreed to and be printed in the record. the presiding officer:

1:11:19 to 1:11:28( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader. mr. durbin: it is my understanding until 12:30 the democrats controlhe time; is that correct? the ?presidg

1:11:28 to 1:11:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: officer: there ff is no agreement in order. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be recognized for 5 minutes and senator stabenow for 20 minutes to follow me. the presiding officer: without

1:11:41 to 1:11:54( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, m this vote that wasis just cast here, something america shouldn't miss, this was about an energy program for america and it was defeated. it was defeated because

1:11:54 to 1:12:10( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: only four republicans -- maybe five -- managed to cross the aisle and help us. this is two days run running that the republicans who have given us speech after speech about why we want an energy

1:12:10 to 1:12:20( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: policy have voted "no." that's all they do is vote no. what did this proposal include? it included energy tax credits desperately needed by america. this morning senator stabenow gathered together

1:12:20 to 1:12:32( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: governors, leaders in business and leaders in labor and they all told us the same thing: pass the energy tax credits and pass it now. jobs are at stake across america. i had a major company in

1:12:32 to 1:12:44( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: chicago came in -- the c.e.o. came in to see senator reid and myself last week, facing bankruptcy because we cannot pass this bill. why? because the tax code was written year to year, creating incentives

1:12:44 to 1:12:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: for investment in wind power. that's the power that doesn't pollute but creates electricity. wind turbines all over my state and all over the country are doing the right thing for our future. they

1:12:58 to 1:13:08( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: will not continue without these tax credits and the republicans consistently vote "no." and then hang on after lunch, they'll be on the floor saying, "we desperately need an energy policy." where

1:13:08 to 1:13:20( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: were they when we needed them? and if that was not the only thing in this bill, this bill also put $8 billion in the highway trust fund that's gone broke. across america, we're losing jobs at a time

1:13:20 to 1:13:31( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: when we need good-paying jobs right here at home. because the republicans refuse to do this. they will not vote for it. there was another provision or two in there equally important, but i want to focus

1:13:31 to 1:13:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: on those two. let me explain to you why they won't vote for it. they won't vote for it because on the democratic side we insist that if you're going to have tax credits given, we pay for them.

1:13:46 to 1:13:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: so that ultimately it doesn't add to our national deficit. this president inherited a surplus from president clinton and has now taken the gold, the silver, and the bronze medals for the biggest

1:13:58 to 1:14:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: deficits, top three deficits, in the history of the united states in his eight years. and we're saying this has to end. we can't broker america's future for our children, so we want to pay for these tax

1:14:09 to 1:14:25( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: credits. we do it in a way that even the business community says that's reasonable, we can live with it. but not the republicans. only four or five will cross the aisle to help us. just a minute

1:14:25 to 1:14:36( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: ago i met in my office with the c.e.o. of american airlines, gerard arpee, this poor man is struggling to coop one of the -- keep one of the major airlines out of bankruptcy. he's cutting back on schedule,

1:14:36 to 1:14:47( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: reducing the number of employees because when oil is $125, $135 a barrel, the cost of jet fuel is bankrupting his airline. he's begging me, begging me that the united states and the congress show

1:14:47 to 1:14:59( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: some leadership. now, what can we do? first, we can get some republicans to join us for this energy policy. if they really want to produce more energy in america, have them vote for it, not give more speeches

1:14:59 to 1:15:11( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: with their produce more, use less slogans on the floor. produce some votes for us. a few less speeches and a few more votes, and we'd have an energy policy. and tt's the reality. there's something

1:15:11 to 1:15:21( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: that can be done immediately, though, and it's something this president can do and doesn't need to wait on congress. and he ought to do it today. president bush announced that he is going to start selling

1:15:21 to 1:15:33( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: off oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to bring the price of a barrel of oil down to $100 a barrel. that's our target price for america. that will turn this economy on. that will give the

1:15:33 to 1:15:46( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: airlines a chance. that will put the truckers back to work. that will give the farmers a break. and the president can do it without any congressional approval. his father did it. it's not a radical

1:15:46 to 1:15:58( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: idea. 700 million barrels of oil. if the president released and sold 10% of that, saying my goal is to get to $100 a barrel, that oil on the market would start the price coming down. all this discussion

1:15:58 to 1:16:09( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: on the republican side and from the president about drilling, if we decided today to start drilling certain acreage, you wouldn't see the first drop of oil for 8 to 14 years. you'd have to wait

1:16:09 to 1:16:19( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: 8 to 14 hours from the president's announcement about releasing oil from spro to see an impact on the market. it's time for presidential leadership. the fact that the president comes out of the oil industry

1:16:19 to 1:16:30( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: and the vice president does as well, they understand it. and the oil industry's never done better. now it's time for the president to show leadership. he can do it. we should call on him in congress

1:16:30 to 1:16:41( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: on a bipartisan basis, release this oil from the spro, bring down the price of a barrel of oil, give american families a fighting chance when they go toth the gas station, and give these companies

1:16:41 to 1:16:52( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: a chance to create more good-paying jobs in america. that's what's at stake. mrs. boxer: will the senator yield for a couple of questions? mr. durbin: h appy to yield. mrs. boxer: first of all, i know my

1:16:52 to 1:17:12( Edit History Discussion )

Richard Durbin: friend from illinois, the senior senator from illinois, for many, many, many years. we served in the house together. he's one of the most collegial members of the senate. i don't think i've ever

1:17:12 to 1:17:24( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: seen you quite as upset and angry as you are. and i want to ask my friend, because he touched on this: the real impact on america's families that he started to discuss, as chair of the environment

1:17:12 to 1:19:43( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barbara Boxer