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The Next Eight Weeks
from the Office of Senator Mitch McConnell
Monday, March 31, 2008
‘Knowing the patience of the American people is wearing thin with partisan political games, I’m confident we’ll seize that opportunity and deliver something soon for the American people’
Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor Monday regarding the opportunity to chose bipartisan accomplishment over partisan politics in the upcoming work period:
“The Senate has a lot of work to do, and we have a good stretch of time in front of us to do it.
“First and foremost, Americans are waiting on Congress to address the housing crisis and the broader economy. They’re waiting for us to give intelligence officials the tools they say they need in the hunt for terrorists. They’re waiting on us to confirm qualified judges. Farmers are waiting for a Farm Bill that’s been in limbo for months. And all of us are eager to hear next week’s report from General David Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on political and military progress in Iraq.
“In all these areas, the Democratic Leadership has an option. It can work with Republicans to deliver help to the American people. Or it can follow the partisan path that views every piece of legislation as an opportunity not to solve problems but to position itself for the next election.
“Some on the other side talk openly about a grand strategy for picking up more seats in November. But their vision seems to end there. They seem to forget that once these seats are filled, people expect us to accomplish something. And the political route, as we’ve seen time and again, doesn’t accomplish much. America faces urgent problems, and most people care more about addressing them than about anyone’s electoral prospects.
“We came together earlier this year on an economic growth package, and had an accomplishment. It was a good start, but it didn’t last. As the Senate began to address the housing slump, our friends on the other side shut Republicans out of the debate and offered a proposal of their own that was guaranteed to fail.
“They proposed an ill-conceived plan that will substantially increase monthly mortgage payments on everyone who buys a new home or refinances. Why would Congress want to raise mortgages at a time like this? There is no way this proposal is going to fly. If Democrats want to help homeowners, they need to work with Republicans on proposals that will draw substantial bipartisan support.
“Republicans have put a number of sensible ideas on the table, including $10 billion to refinance distressed subprime mortgages and $15,000 tax credits for people who buy foreclosed homes as their primary residence — a proposal that will raise the value of homes and increase the stability and security of neighborhoods that have been hit hard by foreclosures.
“We’ve proposed new tax benefits for struggling businesses, new Truth-in-Lending requirements, expanded protections against foreclosure for returning veterans, and FHA reform to assist struggling homeowners who are trying to stay in their homes.
“Our proposals to address the current housing crisis have broad bipartisan support. Unlike the Democrats’ bill — which skipped the committee process — the FHA reform piece we’ve proposed passed in committee by a vote of 20 to 1.
“For the good of the economy, we ask our friends on the other side to allow a vote on these sensible, targeted provisions. The partisan housing bill that Democrats put forward failed. Why not give our bipartisan alternative, which will help homeowners without raising their mortgages, a chance to succeed?
“Another thing Congress can do to help the economy is to expand markets for U.S. goods abroad. And that’s what the Colombia Free Trade Agreement would do. The Colombia Free Trade Agreement is more than an act of friendship between allies. It would also strengthen our economy, and it would send a strong signal to Colombia our other Latin American allies that the U.S. stands with those who support strong markets and free societies in the face of intimidation and threats.
“Our friends on the other side can help American farmers by finishing the Farm Bill. More than three months have passed since the Senate completed action on this legislation. Yet House Democrats still have yet to even appoint conferees to put together a final product. With the short-term extension of current law expiring in just a few weeks, American farmers are about to enter the planting season without any certainty about legislation that significantly affects their lives.
“Turning to national security, it’s been nearly a year since the Director of National Intelligence asked Congress to modernize our nation’s electronic surveillance laws. The House had a chance to make the necessary changes before the recess. But it chose an irresponsible path instead, passing an amendment to the bipartisan Senate bill that included none of the things the Director of National Intelligence had called for. Ignoring the carefully-crafted Senate bill, the House decided it was more important to let people sue phone companies that stepped up when the country needed them to.
“The clock is ticking on the legal authorities contained in the current temporary fix, and a burden has been placed on the House Leadership to show that it can be trusted in matters of national security.
“General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will be here next week, and Americans are eager to hear what they have to say. Under the leadership of these two men, our prospects for protecting America’s national security interests in the Persian Gulf have vastly improved. Last year’s bold decision to launch a counterinsurgency plan under the direction of General Petraeus has renewed our hopes for a unified Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself as an ally in the War on Terror.
“Our men and women in uniform have protected the Iraqi people, scattered Al Qaeda, deterred militias, and helped create an environment that has led to progress not only at the tactical level, but in governing and reconciliation. Six months ago, General Petraeus proposed a plan for bringing counterinsurgency forces back home and transitioning their mission from combat to partnership and oversight. A reduction in forces is underway, and the Iraqi people are now preparing for provincial elections, hopefully in October. Thanks to the efforts of the counterinsurgency forces, Sunni allies now serving as Sons of Iraq will have a real stake in those elections.
“Last week’s decision by the Maliki government to go on offense against Shiite militias in Basra and Baghdad showed us that we’ve come a long way from the days when Iraq Security forces wouldn’t even show up for a fight. Now they’re taking the lead in major combat operations, with recent offensives against the Iranian-trained Special Groups, Al Qaeda in Iraq and the militias.
“Next week we’ll learn more about the pace of transitioning the mission. But with U.S. forces still in harm’s way, the Senate needs to quickly approve the supplemental spending bill without any unrelated non-defense spending. It would be pointless to repeat the partisan battles over the supplemental that consumed so much of our time and energy last year. We should set aside policy prescriptions and withdrawal timelines based on political calculations in Washington, and deliver the funds our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan need.
“As we seek to help the Iraqi people stand up a stable government, we should not neglect our own by allowing vacancies on federal courts to go unfilled. Three months into the New Year, the Senate has not confirmed a single judicial nominee of any kind, and it’s held only one hearing on a circuit nominee since September of last year. The process, it appears, has ground to a halt. This is unacceptable, it’s unfair, and the excuses we’ve heard for it aren’t convincing.
“Some nominees have waited hundreds of days for a simple hearing, including those who satisfy the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s specific criteria for quick action, such as the strong support of home-state senators. These vacancies need to be filled, especially in places that have been declared judicial emergencies, such as on the Fourth Circuit, where one out of every three seats is currently vacant.
“Nominees for seats on the Fourth Circuit — which covers North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and South Carolina — are ready, well qualified, and they have been waiting and waiting and waiting.
“Since the Committee has nearly stopped holding even simple hearings for circuit court nominees for the last several months, it should make up for lost time by holding hearings for more than one circuit court nominee at a time, as both Democratic and Republican Chairman have done in the past. That way, we can get these nominees confirmed.
“It’s time our friends on the other side stop blaming others for their own failures to act on judicial nominations. If they don’t, Republicans will be forced to consider other options.
“The Senate faces difficult challenges domestically and internationally. Conventional wisdom says we won’t address them because it’s an election year. And experience suggests that some of our friends on the other side will prefer political efforts to bipartisan accomplishments.
“We saw signs of hope for a more responsible and productive path in a rush of bipartisan accomplishments at the end of last year and in a bipartisan economic growth bill this year. And we have an immediate opportunity in the work period that starts today to choose the better path on an issue that’s vexing millions of homeowners.
“Knowing the patience of the American people is wearing thin with partisan political games, I’m confident we’ll seize that opportunity and deliver something soon for the American people. Then, hopefully, we can follow it up with other accomplishments.
“We have the potential for a productive work period. So let’s get to work.”
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