Senate Proceeding on May 16th, 2011 :: 0:03:05 to 0:13:35
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0:02:46 to 0:03:06( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: may 16, 2011. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable joe manchin a senator from the state of west virginia to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: the presiding officer: mr. leader, please.

0:03:05 to 0:13:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Harry Reid

0:03:07 to 0:03:28( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for debate only until 5:00 today. there will be no votes today. the first roll call vote of the week will be around noon tomorrow on the confirmation of susan carney of connecticut to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit. i'm told there are

0:03:29 to 0:03:49( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: the desk due for second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the titles of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 1229, an act to amend the outercontinental shelf's land act to facilitate the save atomic reduction from the gulf of mexico and so forth and for other purposes. s. 990, a bill to provide for an

0:03:50 to 0:04:11( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act and the small business investment act of and for other purposes. object to any further proceedings with respect to these two bills. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bills will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, imagine there is a choice for congress to make.

0:04:12 to 0:04:33( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: here's the choice. there are two doors, we're standing before both of them. we have to pick one of the doors. behind door number one is a choice the chairman of the federal reserve calls catastrophic. the secretary of treasury says that if we open that same door, it could lead to a financial cris more severe than the

0:04:34 to 0:04:55( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: cris from which we are now only starting to recover. let me repeat that, mr. president. chairman bernanke says that if we open that door, it would be catastrophic. secretary geithner says it would lead to a financial crisis -- quote -- "more severe than the cris from which we only now

0:04:56 to 0:05:16( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: are beginning to recover." the majority of the american people we represent say opening that door would be disastrous. not just a bad idea. not one that would lead to discomfort, but one that would lead to disaster. it wouldn't be just irresponsible to make that choice. it would be -- we would be out of our minds. well, we are going to have to

0:05:17 to 0:05:37( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: make up our minds and do that sooner rather than later. that's because today america has hit a milestone but it isn't one that anyone is celebrating. today is the day we hit our debt limit, which means we have reached the maximum amount the united states is allowed to borrow. it means that with each passing day, we're that much closer to

0:05:38 to 0:05:59( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: the disaster that would come from defaulting on our debts, a day we would forfeit for the first time ever in the history of this great history of this country full faith and credit of the united states. this is the crisis chairman bernanke called catastrophic, that secretary geithner warned would lead to the great recession ten times over, it

0:06:00 to 0:06:20( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: would make the great recession look small, and what the american people demand we avoid. defaulting on our obligations would be unprecedented but it is not unavoidable. we can be responsible leaders and choose to open the other door. it might not be ideal, but we have to make a choice. door number two is a much better, safer and smarter choice.

0:06:21 to 0:06:41( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: let's be clear about what the debt limit does and doesn't need. raising the debt when it's absolutely necessary -- that is, the debt limit and do it right now lets us pay the bills that have already come due. we borrow a lot of money in this country. that's not a new phenomenon or unique to one party.

0:06:42 to 0:07:04( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: it's how america has done business for centuries. borrowing a lot of money means we owe a lot of money. we cannot cut off our own ability to pay those debts. here's what it doesn't mean. the emergency we enter today isn't about a penny of new spending. it's not about new programs or new taxes. it's about creating new

0:07:05 to 0:07:25( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: obligations that is meeting existing ones, not creating new obligations. the debt limit is about paying what we already owe. if we don't act, if we allow the united states to default, the day of reckoning will be much, much worse than today. things will be much, much worse for american jobs, families and businesses than they already

0:07:26 to 0:07:47( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: are, and the fallout will be felt around the world. right now, a lot of people are reaching for that first door, the one that leads to catastrophe and crisis. they're looking at this choice through a political lens, not an economic lens. they are willing to risk the strength of our economy just to make a political point. we can't afford to play these

0:07:48 to 0:08:09( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: political games and trigger a default crisis that will lead to a catastrophe. we can't afford to make unrealistic demands or hold hostage policies that affect real people. speaker boehner recently asked that everyone should act like an adult and reach a solution. i second that request. let's open the second door and

0:08:10 to 0:08:30( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: honor our obligations. once we avert this crisis, we can have another important adult conversation, a conversation about saving. one good way to do that -- not the only way, but a good, easy, obvious way is to cut wasteful spending. taxpayer giveaways to companies pulling in record profits are the epitome of wasteful spending.

0:08:31 to 0:08:51( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: we all know the companies i'm talking about, the five biggest oil and gas companies. it's time to make sure that we take away their incentives that they don't need and they can't afford -- that they can't afford. we can't afford to give them to them. that's a question that will come before the senate this week. it's a question of fairness, really. the bonus checks taxpayers are

0:08:52 to 0:09:12( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: writing to big oil are absurd and obscene. they defy common sense. the big oil companies that we know are not hurting. it doesn't need a hand, big oil. in the first three months of this year, the oil industry made made $36 billion in profits alone. not revenues, mr. president, profits.

0:09:13 to 0:09:35( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: that's $12 billion a month, that's $3 billion a week. that's pretty good money. meanwhile, the american taxpayer is getting -- giving the same successful companies $4 billion a year. when you take these companies' profits, add in the handout every american gives them, you

0:09:36 to 0:09:56( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: say you take the 52 weeks, we'll give you the 53rd week for free. what about the average american taxpayer, the one who is footing the bill with this big oil bonus? exxonmobil now pays a smaller share of its income taxes than the average taxpayer. this isn't because the average american isn't paying more in taxes. it's because big oil is paying less. over the last four years since

0:09:57 to 0:10:18( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: democrats have controlled the senate, we have cut taxes for middle-class families nine different times. the democratic senate has passed passed $1.5 trillion tax cut in different ways. again, the democratic senate has passed a $1.5 trillion tax cut. now families pay less in federal

0:10:19 to 0:10:39( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: taxes as a share of the federal economy since 1950 when harry truman was president. so this really is a question of fairness. it's about big oil paying its fair share. it's also a question of priorities. the people who want to keep giving big oil $4 billion a year are the same ones who want to take the social safety net away

0:10:40 to 0:11:01( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: from the sick, seniors and the poor. these people kick and scream about investing in cancer research or protecting student loans and help so many afford the rising cost of college, but ask them to recognize the absurdity of giving big oil taxpayer money it doesn't need, they cover their eyes and plug their ears. ask them to defend it, and they can't. that's what happened last week.

0:11:02 to 0:11:22( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: the nation watched the big oil bosses try to defend. fraifl, they didn't do a very good job. it's not their fault for doing so poorly. they were trying to defend an indefensible position, but it is their fault for holding that position. so this is a question of fairness and a question of priorities. certainly a question of economics.

0:11:23 to 0:11:44( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: but it is not a question of gas prices. independent, nonpartisan experts and seen some of the c.e.o.'s themselves say taking away these giveaways doesn't give a -- i'm sorry. let me say that again. independent, nonpartisan experts and even some of the c.e.o.'s themselves say taking away these giveaways doesn't have a thing to do with the price at the pump. anyone who claims otherwise is

0:11:45 to 0:12:06( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: simply not telling the truth. those distractions are disruptive to this debate. so are the gratuitous attacks on the patriotism of debaters. one of those companies, conoco phillips, said using taxpayer money to pay down the deficit rather than pad big oil pockets -- big oil's pockets was un-american.

0:12:07 to 0:12:28( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: it's hard to comprhend that, mr. president. conoco phillips said using taxpayer money to pay down the deficit rather than pad big oil's pockets was un-american. that's conoco phillips' words, not mine. attacking another's patriotism has no place in this debate. it's offensive that this company has done that. that is saying because we want

0:12:29 to 0:12:49( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: to pay down the debt and not give these bonuses to these big oil companies that it's un-american. i don't think so. it's offensive that this company has done that and shameful that its c.e.o. refuses to recant or to apologize on tv this past week. i disagree strongly with his position on this issue.

0:12:50 to 0:13:10( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: i disagree with his claim that only one side of this debate loves this country. i question his sense of fairness, i question his pr his patriotism. he shouldn't question mine. would the chair announce morning business? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. and under the previous order,

0:13:11 to 0:13:33( Edit History Discussion )

Harry Reid: the senate will be in a period of morning business for debate only until 5:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum, mr. president. the presiding offi will call the roll.