Senate Proceeding 03-31-09 on Mar 31st, 2009 :: 5:11:00 to 5:21:35
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5:10:56 to 5:11:18( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: and i hope when the time com all of my senators will vote for it. a senat the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: mr. president, i first would ask unanimous

5:11:00 to 5:21:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Thomas Carper

5:11:19 to 5:11:39( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: consent that tom feely be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the consideration of the budget resolution. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we're discussing and debating all week on the budget, the budget resolution. i stand before the senate tonight to talk about some amendments that i'm offering.

5:11:40 to 5:12:00( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: buthis is a budget that president obama has worked very hard on as well as the work of chairman kent conrad, the chairman committee. and that worked on by the president and his team as well as by the budget committee has resulted in a series of proposals that focus on a whole

5:12:01 to 5:12:22( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: range of issues. but one of the most important parts about this resolution is that it keeps its focus on recovery for the short term, but long term on issues that we all are concerned about and need to spend a lot of time on. issues like health care, education, and energy. this budget als cuts the

5:12:23 to 5:12:44( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: deficit in half over the next couple of years and cuts taxes for working families. we need issues and more because of what's happened to our economy. since 2007, december of 2007, we've lost 4.4 million jobs in that time period.

5:12:45 to 5:13:05( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: in my home state of pennsylvania, in february of this year, it was reported that we had largest for the state in 13 years. these numbers reveal that not only is the economic downturn ongoing, but the pace of job loss is not slowing down. in response to the economic

5:13:06 to 5:13:26( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: cris, many of our commuties in pennsylvania hav colleges that have offered at least one semester of free tuition to workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the economic downturn. the first amendment that i offer creates a deficit-neutral

5:13:27 to 5:13:47( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: reserve fund to establish a tuition assistance program in the department of labor. this voluntary participation in the program would not only help workers in need of skills and training it will also strengthen qualifying educational institutions andeinforce their role in workforce our complex economy.

5:13:48 to 5:14:08( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: it makes perfect sense when people are losing their jobs because of the economy, because of the recession that they be offered an opportunity for further education. this bill makes this -- this amendment, i should say, makes all the sense in the world in light of that reality. the second amendment that i'm offering sets forth a

5:14:09 to 5:14:31( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: acceleratedarbon capture and storage in technologies. this amendment creates a fund to accelerate the research development, dem employment of advanced carbon capture and storage known by the acronym c.c.s. in coal-power generation technologies. today coal provides over half of

5:14:32 to 5:14:54( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: the nation's electricity and supplies more than 40% -- 40% -- of worldwide electricity demand. any domestic program to meet the challenge of climate change must include carbon capture and sequestration. we know that coal helps build our businesses, helps keep

5:14:55 to 5:15:16( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: americans' homes and factories, airports and schools humming. it creates millions of good-ping jobs across the economy. and we know that in addition to addressing our greenhouse gas responsibilities, this amendment that i'm offering will make the u.s. a leader in the development and export -- and that word is

5:15:17 to 5:15:38( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: very impornt, export -- of advanced coal technologies to those countries such as china and indiahat also ry upon coal as their dominant energy source. i'm proud to be joined in this amendment by senators rockefeller, bayh and stabenow, on this amendment and finally, a third amendment

5:15:39 to 5:15:59( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: which would create a deficit-neutral fund for long-term stability in housing for victims of violence. this would be an amendment that speaks directly to a program authorized under the violence against women act, a great piece of legislation passed to protect women in america.

5:16:00 to 5:16:20( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: i'm offering this amendment because i wanto highlight two very serious problems in this country and the relationship between the two. domestic violence, on the one hand, and its impact on women and children. and particularly, the high number of women and childn fleeing abusive situations often become homeless. there are many very harmful

5:16:21 to 5:16:42( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: consequences of homelessness for children which i'll mention in a moment. but first i want to emphasize the nexus between domestic violence, on the one hand, and homelessness on the other. and that's the reason i'm offering this amendment. one of the things the national center on family homelessness highlighted in its rent report is how frequently domestic

5:16:43 to 5:17:03( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: violence is a direct avenue to homelessness for women and children. this is supported by other data from the national network to end domestic violence and many other policy groups and researchers. several national and state repos show that between 22% and 57% of homeless women report that domestic violence was the

5:17:04 to 5:17:26( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: immediate cause of their homelessness. research on domestic violence is well documented, that batterers commonly sabotage a woman's economic stability making abused women moreulnerable to homelessness. this program that i'm offering an amendment for builds on collaborations between domestic

5:17:27 to 5:17:47( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: violence service providers and housing providers and developers to leverage existing resources and create housing solutions that meet victims' needs for long-term housing. helping victims remain safe and stable over time is critical. victims of domestic violence often return to their abusers because they cannot find

5:17:48 to 5:18:10( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: long-term housing. just give you one example of a real person, a real story from my home county, lackawanna county, pennsylvania. her name is jean, a 43-year-old survivor who experienced severe domestic violence during her ten-year marriage. she filed for divorce from her abuser in an attempt to find

5:18:11 to 5:18:31( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: better life for her and her two children. four-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. unfortunately, as often happens when the victim tries to end the relationship, the violence escalated and her husband stalked her, broke io her home and severely beat her with a crowbar as her in horror. the husband was arrested and

5:18:32 to 5:18:52( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: sentenced to one toour years. following the arrest of her estranged husband, jean turned to help -- to the women's resource center in scranton, pennsylvania. there she received free and confidential counseling and became an active participant in support groups.

5:18:53 to 5:19:14( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: her children joined the children's group at the center, and with legal representation from the center, jean was able to successfully fight her ex-husband's petition for custody while he was in prison. her family resided in transitional housing offered by the center while she got back on her feet financially after the divorce. she returned to school, and this

5:19:15 to 5:19:36( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: past mother's day she graduated with a social work. she completed an internship at the center and now works as a relief staff member at the center as she prepares to graduate from -- to finish graduate school this fall. jean says the center is -- quote -- "the wind beneath her wings."

5:19:37 to 5:19:58( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: and i'm continuing the quotation here. "everything i've done, i've done because of their help, their encouragement and their empowerment. i am where i am and who i am today only through their incredible support." so said jean, a real person living a life of horror that

5:19:59 to 5:20:19( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: most of us can only imagine. her story illustrates the kind of vital help victims of domestic violence and their children can get and need to get. we have a responsibility -- every one of us here has a responsibility to victims of domestic violence and their children to keep these programs and services going with the funding they need. these programs save money and

5:20:20 to 5:20:41( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: literally save lives. like jean, victims of domestic violence and their children can become survivors and go on to live successful, happy lives, free of abuse and free of fear. if we do anything in this budget this year, we should speak directly to those victims who

5:20:42 to 5:21:04( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: are ableo survive horrors that i can't even begin to imagine and go on to lead lives. so with these three amendments, mr. president, i hope to improve upon what i think is a very good product already. a budget that focuses on our priorities, our fiscal priorities, our health care, education and energy.

5:21:05 to 5:21:10( Edit History Discussion )

Thomas Carper: and with that, mr. president, i