FAA Reauthorization

Floor Speech

FAA REAUTHORIZATION -- (Senate - April 30, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I know the Senator and I spoke earlier, and I heard his conversation on the floor earlier.

I would say, through the Chair, if the Republican minority came forward, in the morning, with a list of germane amendments to this bill, it is my understanding the majority leader has said we will entertain and consider those amendments. This is open for an amendment process, for deliberation, and for votes on this important aviation safety bill. Is that correct?

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I even went one step further. I said the distinguished Republican leader would have the right to look at our amendments. It would not be just me; I want him in on the deal.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if I can further ask the majority leader: The Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison--who has put a lot of time in this, along with Senator Rockefeller--has objected to two or three provisions in the bill from the Finance Committee related to transportation and financing. I have said I support those provisions. But if the Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison, wants to offer a motion in the morning to strike those provisions, is the majority leader saying--I ask through the Chair--is the majority leader saying it is her right to offer that motion to strike?

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to my friend from Illinois, I asked our staff: When we close today, let's not have morning business. Let's go directly to the bill. But we found that was fruitless. They did not want us to go to the bill. I have said so many different times, in so many different ways, that we want to finish this legislation. We want to work with Republicans to finish this legislation.

And I say to my friend, the Senator from Texas, it is my understanding, has asked other people: Why don't you offer the amendment to strike all this stuff? For whatever reason, she does not want to have her fingerprints on eliminating this amendment, obviously. I just think it is really too bad.

I want this bill to go forward. The main thing I want is to make sure everyone understands we Democrats want to change things. We want change. We need change in a lot of different places, but one place we need change is the way air traffic is handled today. And the Republicans, obviously, want it to stay the same; let's keep it the same; let's maintain the status quo.

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if I could ask the majority leader to yield for one other question.

It is my understanding, so far in this session, the Republicans have initiated 68 filibusters, which is an attempt to slow down or stop the business of the Senate. But that breaks all records in the Senate, and they are on course, if they continue at this pace, to offer over 100 filibusters before the end of the year, maybe even more.

I would like to ask the majority leader, if they continue trying to stop us from even bringing bills to the floor, debating them, amending them, and bringing them to a vote--I would like to ask the majority leader how we could reach a point where we actually do change things for the better, where we can see the progress that the American people expect.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there are things we need to do. The No. 1 issue in America today: gas prices. We cannot go to gas prices because we are stuck on this thing that they will not let us move on, and that is the way it has been going since we took the majority. That is something they have had trouble getting over, that we are in the majority. It is a slim majority, but it is the majority, and because of that, we have the opportunity to determine what issues come to the floor. The issue that was long past due was FAA reauthorization. But they are stopping us from doing virtually anything that needs to be done for this country.

I have trouble understanding why they want to continue to up the record they have already broken. They broke the 2-year filibuster record in 10 months. But now I guess they want to keep adding to their record to see how many filibusters they can conduct. And they have been fairly successful stopping us from passing things that the American people want, such as the matter now on the floor. But energy legislation--they stopped us on that. That is to go to alternative energy so we do not have to use 21 million barrels of oil every day. We have wanted to do things dealing with education. We have not been able to do that.

Health care, we haven't been able to do that. Things that the American people want are being stopped because of the Republicans' love of the status quo.

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