Tim Johnson

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to return to morning business.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Madam President, I quote former Reagan Economic Adviser Bartlett on the House Republican plan. Distributionally, the Ryan plan is a monstrosity. The rich would receive huge tax cuts while the social safety net would be shredded to pay for them. Even as an opening bid to begin budget negotiations with the Democrats, the Ryan plan cannot be taken seriously. It is less of a wish list than a fairy tale, utterly disconnected from the real world, backed up by make-believe numbers and unreasonable assumptions. Ryan's plan isn't even an act of courage. It is just pandering to the Tea Party. A real act of courage would have been for him to admit, as all serious budget analysts know, that revenues will have to rise well above 19 percent of GDP to stabilize the debt. Former Reagan administration economic adviser Bruce Bartlett from Capital Gains and Games Blog, ``Imbalanced Budget.'' I would clarify the impact of the balanced budget proposal. He has called it sheer idiocy. That comes from the former Reagan economic adviser.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I thank the Chair. Amendment No. 575

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I would like to yield to Senator Kirk for any final remarks he may have.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, shortly we will be voting on final passage of the MILCON-VA appropriations bill. I would like to thank Leaders Reid and McConnell and Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman Cochran for their leadership and support in getting us to this point. I would especially like to thank my ranking member, Senator Kirk, for his cooperation and support in crafting this bill and steering it through the Senate. I am confident we would not be where we are today without his help and hard work on this bill. I also thank my colleagues for helping us to move this bill forward by rejecting dilatory amendments and by showing restraint in offering amendments to this bill. A number of Senators have filed amendments that are very important to them but are also controversial or not relevant to the bill. I appreciate their willingness to postpone debate on some of these issues so as not to bog down this bill. For example, I know Senators Webb and Warner feel very strongly about their amendments regarding the homeporting of a Navy carrier on the east coast, and I know the Florida Senators have equally strong feelings on this subject. I understand the Defense authorization bill includes a provision mandating a GAO report on this issue, and I appreciate the willingness of both delegations to postpone the debate on the carrier issue so we can focus on timely passage of this appropriations bill. Mr. President, I also thank the subcommittee staff who do the heavy lifting in the drafting and managing of the bill on the Senate floor. As I have said many times, this is a good bill. It is bipartisan, and it is responsible. I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Yes.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask for the yeas and nays on passage of the bill.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, as we begin our third day of debate on the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill, I would like to encourage my colleagues to file any amendments they may have as soon as possible, as we would like to begin disposing of amendments in short order. While we are waiting, I would like to take a few moments to talk about the VA portion of this bill. The bill totals $58.6 billion in discretionary spending for the VA in fiscal year 2012. Additionally, the bill contains $52.5 billion in advance appropriations for health care for our vets. One of the very few funding increases above the budget request contained in this bill is for VA medical research. As every Senator knows, the unique combat situations in Afghanistan and Iraq have left many vets suffering significant injuries, including PTSD and TBI. We have a moral responsibility to take care of those who have put their lives on the line to defend our Nation and it would be shortsighted to cut funding for critical research designed to improve medical outcomes from injuries suffered on the battlefield. Over the last several years, tremendous progress has been made by the Department in reducing the number of homeless vets. According to the VA, in 2005 an estimated 195,000 vets experienced homelessness on any given night. Today that figure is down to 75,600. Progress is being made and this bill continues those efforts. The bill also includes funding for the VA to transform from a Department heavily dependent on paper to a modern agency that leverages technology to shorten the time vets have to wait for services. The funds contained in this bill are necessary for the VA to deploy its automated claims processing system on time. These are only a few highlights of the VA title of the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill. As I have mentioned from the outset, this bill is a result of a bipartisan effort. Again, I urge my colleagues to file any amendments they may have so that we can continue to make progress in moving this bill toward final passage. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Collins be added as a cosponsor to amendment No. 556.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Thank you, Mr. President. Wall Street Reform Mr. President, Thursday marks the first anniversary of President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law. As chairman of the Banking Committee, I have a responsibility to oversee implementation of this critical new law. The Wall Street Reform Act was a direct response to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. While it appears that many on Wall Street, and even some here in Washington, have already forgotten the painful costs of inadequate financial regulations, I have not. And neither have the millions of Americans who lost their jobs, their homes, or their savings, and who are still waiting for the recovery. The financial crisis didn't just happen by itself. It was the result of reckless and irresponsible behavior on Wall Street, lack of consumer protections, and failure by financial regulators to take action even as the warning signs grew ever larger. In response to the devastation, Congress passed new financial reforms that created a sound regulatory foundation to protect consumers and help prevent future crises. However, these reforms have been under constant attack since their inception. Opponents of Wall Street reform continually repeat misleading claims that the new law was hastily conceived and will harm our economy. The truth is the Wall Street reform law is a product of nearly 50 Senate hearings, and scores more in the House, that identified the abuses and loopholes that fueled the catastrophe and helped develop clear proposals to end them. After a long series of hearings that began in 2007 and 2008 with examination of the turmoil in the mortgage and credit markets, and after months of hard work by bipartisan working groups of Senators, the Banking Committee reported out a Wall Street reform bill that incorporated many Republican ideas. On the Senate floor, the bill had a thorough debate in an open process that lasted more than 3 weeks. Fifty-six amendments were considered and 32 amendments were approved, 15 of which were Republican-sponsored amendments and 22 were bipartisan amendments. Finally, the bill was reconciled with the House version at an open conference committee which worked through more than 100 additional amendments. In short, through a rigorous, bipartisan, and transparent process, we produced a comprehensive reform bill that the times demanded and the American people deserved. The Wall Street reform law enhances consumer protections to help ensure people can make financial decisions with honest information, and it roots out predatory lenders who fueled the subprime mortgage bubble. The reforms we passed 1 year ago will no longer allow the shadow banking system that nearly destroyed our economy to continue to escape the light of day. The Wall Street reform law also enhances investor protections. During the financial crisis, investors suffered enormous losses when their retirement accounts or other assets were decimated. Some had invested in companies with compensation systems that encouraged executives to take on unmanageable risks. Some relied on mutual funds or pension funds that had bought mortgage-backed securities based on predatory loans that borrowers could not repay. New reforms will enhance transparency, increase accountability and allow oversight of previously hidden parts of the financial system. Unfortunately, some powerful Wall Street apologists are trying to rewrite history. They are claiming that new regulations are overly burdensome and will hurt their bottom line and the economy. Gaps in regulation hurt the economy. Bad, reckless decisions on Wall Street hurt the economy. But many top financial executives have apparently forgotten that the only reason they are still in business is that the American taxpayer saved them. Now, many of these financial institutions have nearly fully recovered, while Main Street Americans continue to pay the price for those bad decisions and inadequate regulations. The Wall Street Reform Act established responsible rules to make our financial system work for the benefit of all Americans, so that we never return to the days of too big to fail bailouts, backroom derivatives deals, predatory subprime mortgages, and the threat of economic collapse. Passing the Wall Street Reform Act was a monumental achievement, but there is much work left to be done. Now the financial regulators, the experts who have made it their life's work to understand these issues, must work to write rules and implement these reforms. This will take time, and we must get it right. If the attacks on the law and its implementation are successful in weakening or eliminating these new protections, however, our economy will once again be at risk. Since I became chairman earlier this year, the Banking Committee has held more than 25 hearings and bipartisan briefings on financial reform. We are exercising our oversight authority, following the regulators' progress closely, and are committed to seeing the process of reforming Wall Street through to completion. We all remember the economic nightmare we lived though 3 years ago, and we should never forget it. That is why I take my responsibility as chairman of the Banking Committee and custodian of this new law so seriously. I am fully committed to helping ensure Congress does its part to hold our regulators accountable and to providing Americans with a financial system they can trust. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I was very pleased that the Senate recently acted to confirm the nomination of David Cohen to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Crimes. I would like to pose a brief parliamentary inquiry as a followup to the Senate's action. For future nominees by the President to the position of Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, would all such nominees be referred, under current law and precedents of the Senate, to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs?

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the bill be waived.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator McCaskill be added as a cosponsor to the amendment.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, as the Senate resumes consideration of the fiscal year 2012 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, I wish to remind my colleagues of the important programs funded in this bill. This bill funds the infrastructure that is the backbone of our military--the facilities in which our troops work, train, and live--and the facilities that support their families, including family housing, schools, hospitals, and childcare centers. It also funds the medical care and benefits promised to the Nation's veterans--a sacred trust we must not fail to honor. This is a bipartisan bill that was reported unanimously out of the Appropriations Committee. As I have said before, the bill is balanced, disciplined, and responsible. Two amendments to this bill are currently pending and several others have been filed. If my colleagues have additional amendments they wish to offer to the bill, I encourage them to file those amendments without delay or call them up if they wish a vote. My staff and Senator Kirk's staff are available to work with Members to clear amendments if possible. There is a lot going on in Washington this week, but it need not distract from the disposition of this bill. I urge my colleagues to bring any amendments they have to the floor so we can act on them and move quickly to a vote on final passage. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. President, what is the pending amendment?