Jeff Merkley

We estimate that it would create between 150,000 and 200,000 jobs.

Building Star would establish a rebate and a financing program to help make our existing commercial and multifamily buildings more energy efficient.

These savings would go to business, tenants and hopefully families in multifamily structures.

The energy saved would equal 33, 300-megawatt power plants.

The type of impact we're talking about is, in parallel, 150,000 jobs on the residential side, 150,000 jobs on the commercial side.

So much can be done to be smart with energy, and being smart on energy is smart for our economy.

We, too often, have a sick-care system rather than a healthcare system.

I think that'd be very interesting.

My wife is a nurse, and I can't tell you, during the 10 years she worked at a hospital, how often she'd come home and just say, 'You wouldn't believe how big American children are getting.'

In Oregon, we've done a number of things to try to take this on. And we are now third in the Nation--I believe, behind Utah and Minnesota--in terms of childhood obesity.

Utilizing your last comment as a segue to the revenue side, and I am sorry if I missed this...

This is such an important issue for every State and for our national economy.

Well, you might be familiar with--we have a stress test in the Bank on Our Communities Act to avoid putting funds into banks that are failing...

I think we need to pursue it and understand it and see if it needs to be changed.

Thank you very much. Thank you all.

I hope as we address this issue we also extend the Small Business Administration loan guarantee that expires this month and increase the maximum loan size of SBA 504 and 7(a) programs.

I am very proud to be a cosponsor of your legislation as well.

I think that statement alone speaks to the value of the program.

The SBA allows no refinancing of existing debt by the bank that currently holds the debt. This restriction . . . prohibits the borrower from obtaining new financing critical to continued success.

I think my principal concern is that, you know, $5 billion in a quarter for the SBA is probably a pretty good number.

But there are many people who lose their benefits much sooner if we do not pass this extension?

I have before me a chart on workers losing Federal unemployment benefits at the beginning of March. It notes 'Workers Exhausting Regular State Benefits without Additional Federal Extensions' as 380,000 workers. Then there is an additional…

I am deeply disturbed that one could be so disconnected from the challenges of working Americans as to have us in the situation we are in at this moment.

So if I understand right, there is the complete opportunity to have a debate 30 days from now, but we could have had the debate tonight because there could have been a vote tonight. It was offered but turned down. There will be…

So the principle being presented tonight is that if you are fortunate to be among the wealthiest Americans, we will give you additional benefits and it doesn't matter if we pay for them. But if you are among the most unfortunate Americans…