Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Lieberman substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read three times and passed, the Lieberman title amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 344, H.R. 4014; and H.R. 4367, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bills be read three times and passed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements to these matters be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 6328 which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a Gillibrand amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record as if read.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the report to accompany Calendar No. 514, (S. 76), be star-printed with changes at the desk.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 12, 2012; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 2 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first hour equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half; and that the previous order with respect to the remarks of retiring Senators be amended to occur from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 3637, the TAG extension legislation.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. During today's session, cloture was filed on S. 3637. As a result, the filing deadline for all first-degree amendments to the bill is 1 p.m. Wednesday. Under the rule, that cloture vote will be Thursday morning.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise to honor our colleague the senior Senator from Nebraska, Ben Nelson, upon his retirement from the Senate. This will become effective after the first of the year. For 12 years, Ben has been a valued member of the Democratic caucus and an exemplary Senator for Nebraska and the country. But his life in public service dates back to his youth. He spent his college days serving his Nebraska community in another way--as a lay minister. But eventually he chose law over ministry and went to law school. He attended law school at the University of Nebraska, where he got his bachelor's and master's degrees. He spent many years practicing insurance law. He served as director of the Nebraska Department of Insurance and as president of the Central National Insurance Group. Then, in 1990, he was elected Governor of Nebraska. Four years later, he was reelected--with almost 75 percent of the vote--to become the first Nebraska Governor in 20 years to win a second term. So it was not a surprise when he ran for the Senate in 2000. He won, even though President Bush took Nebraska handily. It is easy to see Ben Nelson truly possesses the same independent spirit as his Nebraska constituents. He served his constituents with distinction in the Senate and, of course, when he was Governor and as insurance commissioner. He has always provided a strong voice for fiscal responsibility, and he has been terrific for the State's energy industry, agricultural sector, and even tourism. Similar to many of his Nebraska constituents, Ben is an avid hunter, fisher, and outdoorsman. As a sidelight, one of the things we learn as kids--and as we get older it is something we must adhere to--is that one should not be envious. Envy isn't something that is very becoming of human beings, especially in an adult. But I think if the truth were known, many Senators would be very envious, as I am--and I would even think the Acting President pro tempore would be--about that hair of Ben Nelson's. I mean that is a mop of real hair. It is often people call his office and they believe he has a toupee, but it is his hair. He will pull it for you anytime just to show you it is real. I mean he has hair like a 15-year-old. So I have to acknowledge I am a little envious of his hair, and I think, if the truth were known, maybe others are as well. My wife has said on many occasions--and she tells me this all the time--how handsome Pat Leahy is and she is so glad he doesn't do a comb-over. Anyway, Ben Nelson is an avid hunter, fisher, and outdoorsman. He has bagged pheasants and turkey, and one time, to the consternation of all of us, he decided he was going to take Senator Schumer from New York hunting for pheasants. He did that. Everybody survived it alive, and Ben Nelson still boasts about that; that he was able to bring Schumer back all in one piece. More important, the people who went hunting with them all came back in one piece. The story goes that Senator Schumer even shot a bird or two. A lot of us have some trouble accepting that, but that is what Ben says and I will take him at his word. He has bagged all kinds of game birds--dove, quail, pheasants, turkey--but he has also had the opportunity to hunt all over the world and has bagged some of the most exotic game that is possible for a hunter to hunt. He is the epitome of a sportsman. Ben isn't just a great hunter, though. He is also an accomplished practical joker and a wonderful singer. That may surprise some people. In our caucus, I proved to everyone that he could sing, and sing quite well. He recorded a few years ago a song called ``Western Town'' to raise money for visually impaired children. He was one of a dozen Nebraskan celebrities to record songs for this charity. I obtained a copy of this and played it at a Democratic caucus a few years ago. It was a hit. He was singing--it is his voice--and it was very good. Here is how it goes: I'm from a western town in Nebraska. Don't know why I left so long ago. All I know is this western town in Nebraska lives in my heart and in my soul. He did a great job of that song, as he has done everything since I have known him. I am sure Ben is looking forward to going home to the western town-- Omaha--where he lives with his wife Diane. She is wonderful. She was a great first lady and a wonderful Senator's spouse. I like her for lots of reasons, the smile she has, but also she makes some of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever eaten. They have four children and five grandchildren. As he departs for Omaha, he will be sorely missed here in the Senate. He has always been a loyal and dedicated member of this caucus, even when he was showing loyalty by questioning the wisdom of the party sometimes. He is arguably the most conservative member of the caucus. And while there are a few things Ben and I disagree on, we agree on most everything. Through the last 12 years he has been a valued member of the team. He has made many of our accomplishments possible through his dedication to country first and State second. That is how it should be. Edwin Chapin, a North American preacher and poet, said: No more duty can be urged upon those who are entering the great theater of life than simple loyalty to their best convictions. Ben Nelson lives by his convictions, even though it may put him at odds with his party or his constituents. His highest duty is to country and his conscience. We had a retirement party a week ago tomorrow, and when it was over, I grabbed Ben and we embraced. I care a great deal about him. He has made some extremely difficult votes, but he did it because it was the right thing to do. His duty is to country and his conscience, and I repeat, I have such high respect for Ben Nelson. I will miss him. I have enjoyed working with him. I congratulate Ben Nelson on his career in public service, including his service in the Senate, and wish him the very best in his retirement.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there will be a period of morning business until 5 p.m. today. At 5 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 3637. What has happened--and the reason the Senator from Vermont is in the Chair--is airports in parts of the country are closed because of the fog, especially in Washington, DC. As a result, even people coming from the West weren't able to leave. The Sun might have been shining brightly there, but airplanes scheduled to come here couldn't be given a time to land. So we will have people who will not be here for our scheduled vote this evening, so we will reschedule that vote for tomorrow. Order of Procedure I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 3637 be postponed to occur at 2:15 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11; further, that if cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed, the motion to proceed be agreed to and the majority leader be recognized.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, first of all, it is very unusual to have one of the most senior Members of the Senate presiding and especially at this time of the day. I would say to my friend, this is how the Senator has conducted himself all the time he has been in the Senate. We had a little emergency here today. The Senator who was expected to be here was unable to make it due to the fog we have around the eastern part of the United States, and so the Senator from Vermont agreed to preside. I say to everyone, the people of Vermont are so fortunate to have the longest serving Senator from Vermont, a man of such quality. Those of us who work with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy of Vermont, consider it an honor to be able to talk to him--speaking for myself, but I am sure we all feel this way--and to learn from him. I am the majority leader in the Senate, but I talk to my friend from Vermont often to get ideas as to how we handle the difficult issues of the day. For me, as a person, I will always remember, as long as I am on this Earth, the kindness Senator Leahy and his lovely wife Marcelle extended to my wife. As most of my colleagues know, she was in a violent car accident. Her neck was broken in a couple places and her back was broken and so she had a lot of surgery. When that was over, she learned she had breast cancer, and so she has been fighting that. Marcelle, who is a nurse, has been so thoughtful and kind to my wife, calling her often to help her work through the sickness that comes with breast cancer. So this is an opportunity for me to say something about my friend from Vermont. I can still remember the first day we met, the first night we met in Florida. He was running for reelection and I was running for the Senate. I want the Record spread with the fact that I have so much confidence and appreciation for this good man who, on a minute's notice, came over to make the Senate work again. I thank our Acting President pro tempore very much.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for a second reading of S. 3664.

Mr. REID. I object to any further proceedings with respect to this legislation at this time.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, last week the country received more good economic news. The private sector created 150,000 jobs--these are new jobs--and once again the unemployment rate fell. Unemployment is now at its lowest rate since December 2008. While too many families across the Nation are still struggling, especially in Nevada, there is no doubt our economy is headed in the right direction. America is poised for a rebound this year if a few good things happen. The last thing we can afford is yet another crisis manufactured by Republicans in Congress just as the economy finally gains some momentum. If Republicans force a $2,200 tax increase on 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses to protect the richest of the rich, the economy will suffer greatly. If Republicans again threaten default on the full faith and credit of the United States, the economy will suffer. We have seen the terrible impact of these contrived emergencies before. When Republicans threatened to shut down the government and force a default on the Nation's debt, the economy stumbled and middle-class families were in a state of peril. Who paid the price? Middle-class families. Republicans face a real difficult choice in Congress. Will they cooperate with Democrats and put the country on a path to provide certainty for families and investors? As my friend the senior Senator from Missouri said, the Speaker has a chance to do some good things, but he also has a problem because he has to decide whether he is going to work to save his speakership or the country. Will they cooperate with Democrats or will they force us to lurch from one crisis to the next in 2013 as they did in 2011 and 2012? We need long-term solutions, not temporary fixes to problems that dragged down the economic recovery over the past 2 years. The House should take up the Senate-passed middle-class tax cut which provides lasting security for families and businesses making less than $250,000 a year. The number of Republicans calling on the Speaker to allow a vote to give middle-class families confidence their taxes will not go up has grown. Speaker Boehner could end this suspense with just one vote. Over the weekend, the junior Senator from Tennessee, Mr. Corker, joined a number of Senate Republicans and more than one dozen House Republicans in calling for that vote. Senator Corker, admitting Republicans have little leverage in this faceoff, said: ``I actually am beginning to believe that is the best route for us to take.'' Democrats agree sending the Senate-passed tax cut to President Obama's desk is the quickest and most sensible way out of this crisis. But avoiding the fiscal cliff is no excuse for Republicans to replace this artificial crisis with another one. Congress should also pass Senator McConnell's proposal to end periodic standoffs over the debt ceiling. His plan would give President Obama the authority to avoid default on the Nation's bills without a protracted fight. Senate Democrats are ready to vote on the minority leader's sensible suggestion at any time, but first Senator McConnell needs to stop filibustering his own legislation. Right now, Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader McConnell are the only ones standing between Congress and compromise. It is time for them to prove to American families they are more interested in protecting the middle class than pleasing the tea party.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Tim Johnson, I ask unanimous consent that Jeanette Quick, a detailee on his committee staff, be granted the privilege of the floor for the duration of S. 3637.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 11:45 today. During that period of time, Senators will be allowed to speak up to 10 minutes each. It is certainly not mandatory, but we would like that time to be used for speeches of our retiring Senators. At 11:45 a.m., the Senate will move to executive session to consider the Walker and Berg nominations, both district judges from Florida and Michigan, respectively. At approximately 12:10 p.m., there will be up to three rollcall votes: first on passage of the Russia trade bill, and then on confirmation of the Walker and Berg nominations. We expect only two rollcall votes as we hope the Berg nomination will be confirmed by voice.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we Democrats have been saying for more than 4 months it is time for the House to pass a middle-class tax cut, which we approved here in the Senate in July. As the days until the country goes over the fiscal cliff tick by, more and more Republicans have joined our chorus. They realize the Republican leaders' unwillingness to compromise sooner has put them in a real bind. So reasonable Republicans are asking their House leadership to allow a vote on the Senate-passed legislation. What was once a trickle has become more of a flood. Last week, Republican Representative Tom Cole said it was time to give middle-class families certainty that taxes won't go up by $2,200, on average, on January 1. Then Tim Scott, Republican, a conservative Republican from South Carolina, admitted the Senate's middle-class tax cut would surely pass the House since it will take only 26 moderate Republican votes to ensure passage. I don't agree with columnist David Brooks--on occasion I don't agree with him, perhaps most of the time I don't agree with him--but no one can ever dispute the brilliance in writing of this columnist for the New York Times. He is a great journalist. He writes so well and explains things so well. I have great admiration for him. He wrote yesterday, ``Republicans have to realize that they are going to have to cave on tax rates.'' That is the way it is, ``they are going to have to cave on tax rates.'' Then on Tuesday, the day before yesterday, the senior Senator from Maine, Olympia Snowe, urged House Republican leaders to end the suspense for middle-class taxpayers. They shouldn't have to wonder, Senator Snowe said, whether ``we will ultimately raise taxes on low- to middle-income people.'' I assure them, we won't raise taxes on the middle class and the poor. That is what Olympia Snowe said. On Wednesday, Senator Susan Collins joined her colleague from Maine, agreeing the idea of ending the suspense for the middle class ``has merit.'' Yesterday it seemed every practical Republican left in Washington was suddenly willing to say out loud what we have known for weeks: The only remaining option is for the House to pass the Senate bill. Dozens of House Republicans signed onto a letter urging Speaker Boehner to take the last exit before the cliff. Neither President Obama nor Democrats in Congress have been ambiguous about our proposal to provide economic security for 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses, while asking the wealthiest 2 percent to contribute a little more to stop this runaway debt. Now even a dyed-in-the-wool conservative such as Senator Coburn from Oklahoma has endorsed the Democratic approach. Here is what he said: I know we have to raise revenue. I would rather see the rates go up than eliminate tax credits and deductions that benefit the middle class. He has been heavily involved in everything that has happened the last several years in Washington dealing with what to do with the debt. When he joins in, that is significant, so it is apparent how this will end. The only question is when will it end. How long will Speaker Boehner make middle-class families wait for relief, and how long will he force the financial markets to wait for certainty? The longer he delays, the greater the risk to our economy. So, John Boehner, who is my friend, I urge you, you don't have to listen to me. Listen to your own caucus. Listen to prudent members of your own party and around the country. We can argue whether to give more unnecessary tax breaks to the wealthy tomorrow. We can discuss responsible ways to reduce our deficit next week. We can reform our Tax Code next year, but we must give economic certainty to the middle class now, today. Democrats agree, Independents agree, the majority of Republicans agree, and the American public agrees by a huge margin. Even dozens of CEOs from major corporations, whose personal taxes would go up under our plan, emphatically agree. I have been saying for weeks the only people who aren't on board are the Republicans in Congress, but now even they are crying out for compromise. I only hope my friend John Boehner is listening.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, I have been thinking how best to describe what has been going on here on Capitol Hill the last couple of weeks. Every morning I get up, the first thing I read is the sports page. I am disappointed in the sports page from the Washington Post. It is not nearly as good as it used to be, and the New York Times is not very good either, but I read them. There is always some good news on the sports page. Then I go to the front page to get some of the bad news. I follow sports no matter what it is--basketball, football, baseball, whatever it is--and I have watched very closely. It is not one of my favorite teams, but it is really fun to watch the New York Jets. Coach Ryan has a problem. He has three quarterbacks: Sanchez, Tim Tebow, and he has a guy by the name of McElroy. He can't decide who their quarterback is going to be. That is the same problem the Republicans are having. Romney is gone, but he is still in the background. We have McConnell and we have Boehner. Who is the quarterback, Mr. President? Who is the quarterback? My friend talks about the trillions of dollars of debt. We just had an election. The people overwhelmingly know why we have this debt. The polling right before the election showed that the vast majority of the American people realized the debt was caused by George Bush. That is a fact. We will have another jobs report out tomorrow. We had a little problem because of what happened with Hurricane Sandy, but we still have created about 100,000 new jobs. Private sector job growth has been significant. We are approaching--let's see, it must be about 4 million jobs now that have been created. That doesn't nearly make up for what was lost during the Bush years, but we are making progress. People in America realize we can no longer have the top-down economy the Republicans so loved during the Bush years and what they wanted to create again with Governor Romney. I would be happy to take a look at the proposal my friend the Republican leader has shown us if we could come up with something like we did when they created this other furor by refusing to increase the debt, where we had an ability to come here and have a couple of votes to determine if we were going to increase it. If that is what they want to do again, I would be happy to seriously take a look at that and report to the White House and my caucus, but until then I object.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, of course, as I said, I will be happy to look at the proposal by my friend, but the President doesn't want to do anything other than what we have done before, and that is where we are now, and that is why I would be happy to take a look at his proposal, because if it is what we did last summer, I would be happy to take a look at that and move forward. Mr. President, it is not only we Democrats, but we have a long line of Republicans who, as I outlined early on, are recognizing that we need to immediately make sure the middle class and the poor are taken care of without their taxes being increased. We have Representatives Cole, Scott; David Brooks, a columnist from the New York Times; Senators Snowe, Collins, and Coburn; and a long list of Republicans saying let's move on.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, to my friend from Texas, the conference we will have won't take very long--half an hour, maybe 45 minutes. I am sure we could finish that by 1:45 p.m. or something like that, and we could have a vote.

Mr. REID. Madam President, this morning Senator McConnell came to the floor. He made a serious offer dealing with the debt ceiling--one of the most important issues facing this country. As I said, it is a serious offer. I have not personally read it. My staff looked at it, and it is important enough that I would like to have a vote on it this afternoon. I need to have a caucus and explain to my troops what this is all about. If we can work something out with Senator McConnell, I would like to have a vote sometime this afternoon. I do need to have a caucus. We have another vote right now, and if my Republican colleagues think there is not a chance of having a vote this afternoon--I can only do it by unanimous consent. If someone is going to object to it, they should do it now and we will arrange another time to address this issue. So the issue is that Senator McConnell has made a proposal on how we handle the debt ceiling, and we have to get permission from my Republican colleagues as to whether we can have a vote on it this afternoon at a time that would be as convenient as possible. I don't think we need a lot of time to debate it. We have done that lots of times.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I know there are airplanes that people want to leave in, but this is very important. This vote will end at about 1 p.m. I scheduled the caucus for 1:30 p.m. There is no reason we couldn't start the caucus at 1:05 p.m. We can move it up. I need some direction from my Republican colleagues. So if I hear no one yelling no, then we will go ahead and schedule this as soon as we can this afternoon, to vote.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that at 1:30 p.m. today, the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. 3664, which is a bill regarding debt limit increases, the text of which is at the desk; that there be no amendments in order to the bill; that there be up to 10 minutes of debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to passage of S. 3664.