Senate Proceeding 02-03-09 on Feb 3rd, 2009 :: 1:06:00 to 1:25:55
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1:05:57 to 1:06:17( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: situation than we are in today. i ask consent that director's letter be printed in the record at the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: mr. president, first of all, just a couple of comments on senator mccain's proposal that several people are putting together. i've looked at it.

1:06:00 to 1:25:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Ensign

1:06:18 to 1:06:39( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: still need to study it a little more. but on its surface, i think it's a responsible, balanced proposal. and i think that that group needs to be congratulated for putting such a proposal together. i rise today because the most deliberative body in the world

1:06:40 to 1:07:01( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: is facing a moment o challenge but also great possibility. we should all feel the grave responsibility weighing on each of us as we debate this bill. if we pass legislation that truly stimulates our economy, it could carry this levels of growth and prosperity. unfortunately, if we pass a

1:07:02 to 1:07:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: bloatedpending bill with little chance of jump-starting the economy, we could delay this country's financial recovery for many years to come. and while there san scries stahl ball to show us what -- and while there isn't a crystal ball to show us what path will bring us to our ultimate goal, we are not without some guidance. winston churchill once sated,

1:07:23 to 1:07:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: "those to fail to learn from history are doo it." we have several examples from which to learn. if we absolutely want to raise this nation from the economic quicksand that is swallowing us up more and more each day. the great depression is the

1:07:44 to 1:08:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: chapter of our history that fewer and recall firsthand. maybe that is why the circumstances are so widel misunderstood today. it has beesaid that today's economic crisis is the result of a perfect storm. while the great depression w many perfect storms.

1:08:06 to 1:08:27( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: herbert hoover, a republican, did not sit on the sidelines as many people believe when black tuesday -- black thursday black tuesday hit back in 1929. he was actually a big-government interventionist, working with congress, he he enacted protectionist laws by raising u.s. tariffs -- senator

1:08:28 to 1:08:48( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: mccain referred to these as the smoot-hawley laws -- and i pushed all levels of government to invest in infrastructure and expand public works projects. when franklin roosevelt took office in 1932, he created great momentum by earning the confidence of the american people.

1:08:49 to 1:09:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: but his new deal sank this nation into an even deeper economic depressio as a matter of fact, in the late-1930's, there was a depression within the depression depression. and the stock market -- get this: the sck market did not return

1:09:11 to 1:09:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: to 1929 levels do we want to have the same kind of experience today? do we want t wait 25 years f our stock market to return to the levels that it was before this economic crisis hit? and while world war ii pulled us out of the great depression, there were still tremendous sacrifices being made by all

1:09:33 to 1:09:53( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: americans. and some have argued that the spinning of the new deal was not aggressive enough. i've actually therd that a lot, and i couldn't disagree more. on some levels we are still paying for the projects that were started with the new deal. the single-biggest failure of the response to the great depression is that the private sector was

1:09:54 to 1:10:14( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: grow this country out of its financial cris. in fact, by injecting so much money into the government programs, f.d.r. created a competitor to the private sector. david, the private sector, and goliath, the government

1:10:15 to 1:10:37( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: this time, unfortunately, goliath won. we know that the policies of the new deal actuall prolonged our nation's financial hardships. after all, the depression lasted 10 years. do we want to be in this kind an economic recession for 10 years?

1:10:38 to 1:10:58( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: more recently we have lessons to learn from japan in its failed efforts to spend its way out of a recession. that country passed stimulus bills for 10 straight years during the 1990's. the 1990's in japan is known as "the lost decade." they projects while letting insolvent

1:10:59 to 1:11:20( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: banks be supported with government money. does that sound familiar? what did that get them? unmanageable and debilitating debt and a decade unemployment. so we cannot afford to ignore the less the responsibility that is facing us during this economic cris cannot be overstated.

1:11:21 to 1:11:41( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: we are bound by the constitution that empowers us to collect taxes, borrow money, regulate commerce and provide for the general welfare. but we are also bound by the responsibility to future generations of americans. to burden our children and grandchildren with the kind of debt that we are talking about today should give each of us

1:11:42 to 1:12:04( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: reason to pause. and seriously consider the ramifications. there is no doubt that the crisis facing the financial markets, the housing sector, and families across this country will require extraordinary measures, mr. president. there is perhaps no better illustration of the grave challenges facing our nation

1:12:05 to 1:12:25( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: than that of my home state nevada. at one time people thought that we were recession-proof. but when americans buckle down on spendinging spending, a vacation to las vegas just isn't in the cards anymore. jobs are lost, homes are

1:12:26 to 1:12:47( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: foreclosed and it becomes harder to finish the construction projects all across southern nevada. we are among the few americans with at least some level of job security. that is, of course, until our next election. most americans are living day to day waiting to hear what new massive layoff will be announc and if it will hit them or someone in their family.

1:12:48 to 1:13:12( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: and it's a terrible feeling to have that much uncertainty in your life. the calls and the e-mails that i have received from constituents are these are good citizens. they have worked hard, saved well, and contributed to our communities. and right now they find themselves in a place of desperation.

1:13:13 to 1:13:33( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: mrs. lou wees cut cutler has lived in las vegas for years. her two children are unemployed. she lost her job with a mortgage company more than year ago. she back at work making about 0,000 a year less than before. she has student loans to pay, has lost 20,000 in the value of her home, and she wants to know what -- what and how we are

1:13:34 to 1:13:55( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: going to happy. -- we are going to help. my constituents are looking to us for leadership and for solutions. and i believe that we need stimulate our economy immediately. government does that a role to play. the question is, how do we leverage our resources, paid for on the backs of struggling taxpayers, as efficiently as

1:13:56 to 1:14:18( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: possib our economy and to grow it in the future? i believe we need to start with the root of the problem. my traing in veterinary medicine taught me that you puncture wound. it does not help the patient survive.

1:14:19 to 1:14:39( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: the economy is very much our collective patient. it would ensure greater catastrophe to put a band-aid on an initial wound that started in downward spiral. that is, the housing crisis. the housing market is barely addressed in this so-called stimulus bill.

1:14:40 to 1:15:00( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: most americans would tell you it's the that we need to heal. if we make mortgages more manageable, people can stay in their homes, and our economy can begin to rebuild. one proposal that i have, a guaranteed 4%, rate mortgage for americans would go a long way toward

1:15:01 to 1:15:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: easing pressure on family budgets. on average, more than 40 million credit--l worthy would save more than 00 per month. that makes a huge difference to most families and it would target the problem of oversupply in the housing market, something that we cannot ignore. this is like a permanent tax cut which economists

1:15:23 to 1:15:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: best stimulus for our economy. not a one-year tax rebate. another proposal that goes a long way to fixing the housing situation is one from senator isakson. it expands the current homeowner tax credit to 5,0 and covers all property and all home buyers, not just first-time home buyers.

1:15:44 to 1:16:04( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: this would give a big boost to housing markets across the country. so limited spending that makes our economy more efficient. tax relief that provides businesses and companies the additional capital to retain and hire more employees, increase their output and compe into the future.

1:16:05 to 1:16:25( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: that spending and tax relief needs to happen soon, not next year or two years down the road. american families cannot wait that long. i think that we all must be prepared to make a sizable -- sizable investment in order to ensure a swift and a successful recovery. unfortunately, the bill before us does not do that.

1:16:26 to 1:16:47( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: instead, it spends money on programs that cannot and will not aid that recovery. while pell grants, head national endowment for the arts may be worthwhile projects in their own right, putting billions of dollars into them will not stimulate the economy. i fought for head start for years, but i don't think it should be considered i an economic stimulus bill.

1:16:48 to 1:17:09( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: the bill before us simply does not qualify as an economic stimulus bill, and there is nothing immediate about it either. it is a laundry list of spending priorities with token tax relief. now is not the time for this kind of spending bill. we need arue economic stimulus bill that efficiently spends money on projects that will make

1:17:10 to 1:17:30( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: our highways and infrastructures better equipped as a conduit for business. and we need meaningful tax relief that will spawn a new generation of growth and success in the private sector, instead of half of the so-called tax proportion of this bill is jus creative spending dressed up as tax relief. it gives tax relief to people

1:17:31 to 1:17:51( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: who don't even pay income taxes. how are we relieving their tax burden if they don't have one? in actuality, only 1 billion of this trillion-plus spending bill goes to small businesses. small businesses are the engine of our economy. equal to less than 3% this have

1:17:52 to 1:18:13( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: monstrous bill. it is supposed to be an stimulus bill to create jobs and drive growth, but less than 3% is dedicated to tax relief for small businesses. mr. president, 80% of the jobs in the by small businesses. small businesses always grow us out of recessions. and yet, only 3% of this tax

1:18:14 to 1:18:35( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: bill is dedicated to helping small businesses. how do we expect to stimulate the economy that that goes to show you how little input the republicans actually had in this process. hoeup that process can -- i hope that process can change. president obama came to the hill last week with a message of bipartisan cooperation. i have reached out to my

1:18:36 to 1:18:58( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: democratic colleagues on several tax relief measures that they agree would give a much-need boost to our economy. i hope that these proposals have the opportunity to be voted on by all of my colleagues so that together we can witness an economic revital. the first plan is one i am very familiar with because i worked with senator barbara boxer to get it enacted into law several years ago.

1:18:59 to 1:19:20( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: we called it then the the u.s.a. act, and it lived up to its name. it brought back 60 billion to the united states in 2005 and helped to retain or create more than 2 million jobs. it also produced more than 4 billion in various tax revenues. it didn't hurt the deficit;

1:19:21 to 1:19:41( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: actually helped the defic. history has proven that the tax rate that u.s. businesses pay to return money that they made overseas provides a tremendous return. one great example comes from california-based oracle. they used the money they brought back into the united states to defeat a german company in a

1:19:42 to 1:20:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: acquiring a u.s.-based retail software firm. this purchase allowed oracle to keep those jobs and intellectual property in the united states. company over to germany with its 2,000 jobs. oracle has since grown its facilities in georgia and minnesota by several hundred jobs.

1:20:03 to 1:20:23( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: right now i'm working with senator barbara boxer to add an updated version of this legislation to the sti bill. right now the subsidiaries of many u.s. companies are faring well competitive tax structures make it beneficial for those companies to keep their money overseas. if they want to return the money

1:20:24 to 1:20:44( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: to the united states, they have to pay up to a 35% tax rate. so there's not much of an incentive to bring the money back to the united states. our proposal that senator boxer and i have put forward gives businesses temporary relief. instead of paying 35% tax, they'll only pay a 5.25% tax if

1:20:45 to 1:21:06( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: they bring the money back in the next 12 months. now, they must use these funds for capital investment, job creation and traing, research and development, or u.s. debt reduction. some economists predict that this time around not 60 billion will come back, but 65

1:21:07 to 1:21:28( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: billion will come back to the united states. that's 65 billion not kept overseas, but back coming right back here to the good old u.s. of a. mr. president, this is legislation that is absolutely critical if we want to get this country going again.

1:21:29 to 1:21:49( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: and the side benefit to bringing back the funds from overseas? guess what? it puts money back into u.s. banks. it puts capital back into u.s. banks that those banks then can loan out to other folks to get the economy going. so there are other side benefits to our proposal.

1:21:50 to 1:22:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: another proposal that i had -- and i want to thank the chairman of the finance committee for working with us on a compromise -- had to deal with cancellati of indebtedness. right now if a company that's having trouble meeting its payments, going to go out of business, if it wants to reduce its debt, let's say it had a

1:22:11 to 1:22:31( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: million bank department and it couldn't make that payment, so it went to the bank and it said we can only afford to pay the payments on a 50,000. so will you reducehat to make sure we don't go out of business. if the bank reduces it down by 50,000, guess what? the i.r.s. says you owe the tax

1:22:32 to 1:22:52( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: on the 50,000 like you made a profit. well, a lot of companies are strapped out there right now and have huge debt. they can't afford to pay that tax, and i appreciate the chairman of the finance committee, instead of paying that tax, they're -- we're going to delay that for five years. and then th would have an additional five years to be able to pay that tax. this is going to help small and

1:22:53 to 1:23:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: large businesses across the united states. and i want to thank the chairman of the finance committee and senator conrad for working on this proposal because i believe this proposal is going to help improve the debt situation of ma stat. so, mr. president, let me conclude.

1:23:16 to 1:23:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: if we pass this .3 trillion spending bill, which is what it started at -- and some people actually want to expand it -- what's going to especially with, as president obama has said, the next several years it looks like we're going to have trilliodollar debts. this does not include what some

1:23:37 to 1:23:58( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: have said, we need a second round of tarp funds; another maybe 00 billion that secretary geithner is goi to be asking for for this -- quote -- "bad mr. president, we still have an omnibus spending bill before us. we still have what are called military bills.

1:23:59 to 1:24:19( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: they're called supplemental bills. unfortunately, just military bills. everything else gets christmas trees on top of it. we are talking trillions and trillions of dollars. i'm look at our senate pages here, the next future generations. don't we care about them? don't we have a moral responsibility to not pass huge tax burdens on to them?

1:24:20 to 1:24:40( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: because current calculations are with our debt that we're running up, plus phed kaeurbgs medicaid, social security, they're going to have to pay close to a 90% tax changed. i don't think that's fair to them. here, we just pass debts on. we take whatever we want; this generation be

1:24:41 to 1:25:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: a generation. presidentoosevelt said -- he talked abouthe forgotten man. what he was talking about is this person who is forgotten during the depression. unfortunately, we may be now dealing with the forgotten generation. that generation who does not have a voice here in the u.s. senate.

1:25:03 to 1:25:24( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: we need to stand up and to say we cannot pass this kind of debt burden on to we cannot pass the kind of high taxes on to them that are going to be required to pay this debt. so, mr. president, we need to act responsibly. we cannot put, as this bill does, 00 billion in new entitlement programs. we can't raise the baseline that this bill will end up doing. we know that programs don't stop

1:25:25 to 1:25:45( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: around here, so we need to act much more responsibly than this bill acts. it's still time. there is no hurry. yes, we want to act quickly, but there is a false deadline that has been put on this bill. as we saw with tarp funds, when we do things too quickly around here, we make major mistakes. these false deadlines that we

1:25:46 to 1:25:56( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: put on this bill, i believe are going to lead us down the wrong road. let's slow down. we don't get any trial runs on this one. this one's too big.