Senate Proceeding on Nov 6th, 2009 :: 2:36:15 to 2:49:20
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2:36:11 to 2:36:32( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: systemic risks that where we the taxpayers are left basically holding the bag. so i thank the senator for his comments and look forward to issue. mr. dorgan: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from forth dakota. according to doing mr. president, i wanted to comment this morning -- mr. dorgan: mr. president, i wanted to comment this morning about the information that was released this morning on unemployment. the unemployment level has now

2:36:15 to 2:49:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Byron Dorgan

2:36:33 to 2:36:53( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: gone to that's an antiseptic number. it doesn't mean so much sass a number. but it means a lot for the folks we're n at a point where we've had a massive number of job losses since this decline began.

2:36:54 to 2:37:14( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: this is the decline since the great depression. but in the same couple of weeks where we have learned that the economy has once again begun to grow -- and that's good news -- we also know tha people are still losing their jobs and that's bad news. and an economic recovery that is a jobless recovery, in my judgment, is? the a real economic recovery. we're working

2:37:15 to 2:37:35( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: things in the united states senate, all important: health care, climate change -- yes, all of them are important. but, for me, in my judgment, the most important thing for this congress and do is to try to restart this econ creates real jobs -- in a way that createseal jobs, that

2:37:36 to 2:37:57( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: puts our economy back on track, that produces real significant jobs that pay american people to work, to be able to make a living and care for their families. when that happens, we wil achieve something significant. now, let me say quickly, as i've said before, this president has been in office less than 10 months. he inherited an unbelievable

2:37:58 to 2:38:21( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: economic mess, the deepest great depression. so i understand that. i know he understood that, that this was not an optimal time perhaps to assume the but he understands and we understand. we have to do everything we can to get this economy started once again. on a friday to hear a report

2:38:22 to 2:38:43( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: that we are at 10.2% unemployment, that's tough news. we have a lot to do here in the congress, and in our government. to try to find a way to put this back on track. there's some evidence that maybe this is beginning -- but again a jobless economic a real economic recovery, and we need to focus like a laser on

2:38:44 to 2:39:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the question of how do you create new jobs in this country? clearly, small- to medium-sized businesses are generators in this country, and we need to find need to focus all of our attention to find incentivize the creation of jobs once again in the private sector. public policies that can incentivize the creation of

2:39:08 to 2:39:29( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: those jobs, i think, are what is expected of us. there's a lot of urgency for a lot of things. in my judgment, the most circumstance urgent priority at the moment is to focus on jobs and get people back to work. have a meeting next tuesday morning with a good many of my colleagues to talk about putting together the set of policies on

2:39:30 to 2:39:52( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: an urgent basis that will try to push that result. we just cannot decide that, well, this is the long tale of serious young-term economic downrn that has now preached the bottom and is now coming back up with economic growth, i believe 3.6% in quarter. we cannot believe that somehow

2:39:53 to 2:40:14( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: that is going to do the job because growther without jobs, in my judgment, is not real economic recovery. so we've got let me just say, while describe that we also have two different economies working in this country, and all those folks that lost month, last year and the last

2:40:15 to 2:40:35( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: few years, some million americans additionally who had to tell their loved ones that they weren't employed anymore, their jobs are gone, not because t not because they did a bad job, but it is because of cutbacks, because of this steep economic decline. well now we see day after day after day that there's another

2:40:36 to 2:40:58( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: economy working out there, and i just brought a few of these to the floor of the senate to people who are looking for work, who lost their jobs last month, when they explain the difficulty they see in this. and probably the anger, more likely the anger.

2:40:59 to 2:41:19( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: oblght new companies are making fortunes in hot and bonds rather than the ho-hum business of lending people money. they're also profiting by taking risks that weaker rivals are unwilling or unable to shoal

2:41:20 to 2:41:41( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: derk competition after the file you are a of some of the -- after the failure of some of the investment firms last year." october 26, bloomberg. "citigroup and bank of america paid top executives an average of $18.2 million each last y

2:41:42 to 2:42:02( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: as the banks accepted a $90 billion in taxpayer funds to survive the financial crisis "citigroup paid $390 million to 21 people, that's an average of $18.6 m bank of america paid million to 13 million.

2:42:03 to 2:42:24( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: that's $17.5 million apiece. " again, these payments in some cases are from com might not have been around were it not for the federal govern for them. these are payment payments and

2:42:25 to 2:42:45( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: we are told that wall street is going to pay itself in bonuses. let me describe what was done in the last year and a half for the industry that steered this economy into the ditch. shoits a been between $12

2:42:46 to 2:43:06( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: billion and $15 billion -- excuse me, trillion -- $12 trillion to $15 trillion has been lent, spent, cmitt pledged, subsidized or guaranteed. let me say that again. $12 trillion to

2:43:07 to 2:43:28( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: the taxpaye congress, mostly through the federal reserve board and other devices, has been lent, spent, committed, pledged, subsidized, or guaranteed. and because of that, presumably, these firms -- some of these firms that are now here paying bonuses would not have been but nor that, they wouldn't have been around.

2:43:29 to 2:43:52( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: no what we're doing is picking up the paper every single day -- october 20, "new york the lead headline in the upper right-hand corner, bob herbert, "u.s. deficit rises to $1.4 trillion, biggest since 19456789" "bailout h

2:43:53 to 2:44:13( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: banks and bonuses." september 8, "a year after lehman, wall street is acting like wall it's been 12 months since brothers failed sov a chain reaction that came close to destroying the world's financial system. that anniversary makes this a convenient time to take a deep breath."

2:44:14 to 2:44:35( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: "see what we can learn from the past turbulent year." what are the lessons? how has wall street changed since lehman september 15? that's a year ago. the fact doing the same things they did

2:44:36 to 2:44:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: do prior to the collapse. what red ink? wall street paid hefty bonuses. 200 8, despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of se of the most prominent implies in new york now diminished world capital

2:44:57 to 2:45:18( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. the sixth-largest bonus hall on record, according t the new york comp treeler. this in "the new york times." july 30, 2009.

2:45:19 to 2:45:39( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: "report outlines big bonuses at rescued two merrill, suffered losses of of $27 billion each, but paid out $5.3 billion and and $3.6 billion in bonuses respectively, "the report again, this from the "washington post." at citigroup, 738 employees got

2:45:40 to 2:46:00( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: bonuses of at least $1 million, the report said, while 11 executives received a combined combined $77 million in cash, deferred cash and stock the point is we have a couple of di here. we have an read some are making very large

2:46:01 to 2:46:22( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: profits and paying very large bonuses, and some of them, by the way, wouldn't exist were it not for the american taxpayer backstopping the reckless behavior and the losses they occurred as they steered this economy into the ditch. it's pretty unbelievable to me. and then today, unemployment. at the same time that we see the

2:46:23 to 2:46:44( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: economy is, we are told, growing quarter. the point i wanted to make this morning is pretty simple -- the american people will not stand long for two economies. the fact is is not acceptable, not acceptable to anybody. and those who are losing their

2:46:45 to 2:47:07( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: jobs and losing hope and losing their homes in some cases should expect the urgent priority, the urgent priority among a of us, all of us in government is to decide that jobs are number one. restarting this economic engine, putting this economy back on track and work has to be the urgent

2:47:08 to 2:47:28( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: priority of this congress, and i hope that the work that i and others can do will make some small contribution to that in the mr. president, the american people, i think, if you look at the history of this country, have always been a resilient bunch. we have been through tough times and been through good times, but

2:47:29 to 2:47:50( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: it's time now, i think, said the other day, for us to stop thinking of ourselves as two different teams in places like the united states senate. there ought to that works together to find ways to put people back to work in this country and country's economy started again. if you take a look over the economic history of this country and s it's lifting people out of

2:47:51 to 2:48:12( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: poverty, putting people to work on payrolls, making a good wage to be able to take care of their families. that expansion of the middle class is what has country great. now, it's not the capability of the people at the very top to make even more and to pay bigger bonuses. it's the expansion of the middle class that's great, great country.

2:48:13 to 2:48:34( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: and what we have seen now is a shrinking of the middle class. we have seen more and more unempl the middle class. we've seen day after day after day, not only as people are losing their jobs in this country, we still see companies shipping american jobs overseas and getting a tax break for doing it. we have got a lot of things on our plate to do to try to what's wro i'm convinced we can.

2:48:35 to 2:48:56( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: i have an effervesc hope that we can do these things, but we have got to start now. those this morning who read in the paper the unemployment is 10.2%, those who have lost their jobs fully understand what that number means. and i hope all of chamber do as well. it requires from us an urgent this problem.

2:48:57 to 2:49:09( Edit History Discussion )

Byron Dorgan: mr. president, i yield the i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.