Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, Springfield, MA, police officer Michael Carney fought for 2\1/2\ years to get his job back--and he won. After he took a medical leave of absence, Springfield officials refused to reinstate Officer Carney because the veteran officer had revealed he was gay. But Officer Carney was determined to return to the force. Because he lived in Massachusetts, one of only 17 States to protect employees against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, Officer Carney is now back on the job, serving and protecting the people of Springfield, MA. I am also pleased to say Nevada law also includes robust protections against this type of discrimination. Officer Carney testified before the House of Representatives in 2007 and shared his story. This is what he said: I'm a good cop, but I have lost 2\1/2\ years of employment fighting to get that job back because I am gay. I never would have been able to do that had I not lived in Massachusetts or one of the handful of other States that protect . . . employees from discrimination. Sadly, not everyone is able to fight back like Officer Carney. In 33 States, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people can be fired and harassed just for being who they are. West Virginia coal miner Sam Hall was terrorized by his coworkers for 7 years because he was gay. Mr. Hall just wanted to make a living, but supervisors told him he would have to endure the persecution if he wanted to keep his job. West Virginia is one of 33 States with no protections against this type of oppression. That is why I so admire Joe Manchin for recognizing that this is an issue which is important to everyone. A patchwork of State laws that excludes tens of millions of Americans from basic protection against discrimination is simply not good enough. It is time for Congress to pass a Federal law so that all Americans, regardless of where they live, can go to work unafraid to be who they are. As long as hardworking, qualified Americans can be denied job opportunities, fired or harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, all workers are at risk. This week the Senate will begin debate on the Employment Non- Discrimination Act, which would simply afford all Americans the same protections from discrimination based on prejudice. In fact, 4 out of 5 Americans mistakenly believe that these protections already exist. Two- thirds of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, support Federal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. Once again, Republicans in Congress are out of step with Republicans in the rest of the country. House Speaker John Boehner this morning said he does not support this legislation, but the Speaker should take his cue from the 56 percent of Republicans nationwide who support ENDA and bring this legislation up for a vote. Corporations also agree nondiscrimination policies are good for business. Most Fortune 500 companies already prohibit this kind of persecution, and more than 100 of the nation's largest businesses, more than 80 national civil rights, labor, religious, civic, and professional organizations, and faith leaders from many denominations have spoken in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. But there is more, much more, and a more important reason to support this legislation than popular support. It is the right thing to do. Here is what Harvey Milk, the murdered California politician and gay rights activist once said: It takes no compromise to give people their rights. . . . It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression. All Americans, regardless of what they look like, where they live or who they choose to love, deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity while they earn a living. An employee should not be judged on matters that really are unimportant. We are talking about fairness. Employees should be judged on the quality of their work and on their talents and performance, and not on their sexual orientation or gender identity. I urge my colleagues to vote tonight supporting the legislation that 81 percent of Americans approve, to begin debate on a bill that would affirm the equal rights and freedoms of every American and to do so simply because it is the right thing to do.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, yesterday I read an excellent column in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof, the complete text of which I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record.

Mr. REID. The editorial tells the story of a number of people, but one is about Richard Streeter, a truck driver who is very ill with colon cancer. Why? Because he couldn't afford insurance; he couldn't afford health insurance. Kristof writes: The biggest health care crisis in America right now is not the inexcusably messy rollout of ObamaCare. No, far more serious is the kind of catastrophe facing people like Richard Streeter. Mr. Streeter is a resident of Eugene, OR. His problem is not ObamaCare but a tumor in his colon that is going to kill him unless there is a miracle. He could have been treated had he had health insurance. For him, ObamaCare did not come quite soon enough. Kristof's column is an important reminder that the rollout of ObamaCare is about more than a defective Web site, it is about saving lives, lots of lives. Kristof is reminding Republicans that they should have empathy for ``the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance who play health care Russian roulette [every day] as a result.'' He urges them, the Republicans, to remember that every 20 minutes an American dies. Why? They lack health insurance. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back time on the motion to invoke cloture.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following my remarks and those of Senator McConnell, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Congressman Watt to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The time until noon will be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. At noon, Senator-elect Booker will become a U.S. Senator. Following the swearing in, there will be a cloture vote on the Watt nomination.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, October 31 has always been a special day for me, since it marks the admission of the great State of Nevada to the Union. There are always parades and celebrations at home, many of which I have sadly missed in recent years because of my responsibilities here. But October 31 is special for another reason, and not just that it is Halloween. It is my brother's birthday--my youngest brother, 22 months younger than I. My brother Larry, who lives in Searchlight, celebrates another birthday today. It is my pleasure to wish both my brother and the Silver State of Nevada a very happy birthday. Nevada Day is particularly special as it marks the beginning of a year-long celebration of our 150th anniversary of the Battle Born State's entrance into the Union. For thousands of years Nevada was the home to Nevada American peoples. I have in my office across the hall a wonderful painting by a Nevadan which shows the first non-Indian to see the Las Vegas Valley. You can see there the Sunrise Mountain and glimpses of the oases that were there. There were a number of them in that valley. He was the first non-Indian to see the valley a long time ago. He is in the picture mounted on his beautiful horse with all his fancy regalia. But the fact is the picture doesn't begin to show what Rafael Rivera looked on that day, because he had been lost. He was with the Spanish Expedition and he was lost. He was there by accident. It is a wonderful picture, and we honor Rafael Rivera in Nevada. So it is a special day for us in Nevada. On October 31, 1864, right in the middle of the Civil War, Nevada became the 36th State of the Union. Nevada is only one of two States to join the Union during the war. The first was West Virginia, which seceded from Virginia to form a new State and remain part of the Union. It gained its statehood before Nevada, on June 30, 1863. Union sympathizers had rushed to finalize Nevada's statehood in order to ensure Lincoln's reelection--because, remember, this is right before his reelection. In fact, they were so eager to mint a State they telegraphed the new Nevada constitution to Congress. At that time, it was the longest telegram ever sent--coming in at 16,543 words and costing $59,294.92. Eight days later, President Lincoln was reelected President of the United States. Nevada is only one of two States to significantly expand its borders after its admission to the Union. Eastern and southern Nevada joined the State in the late 1860s after gold was discovered in the regions. Many Nevadans believe the State was only allowed to join the Union so its mineral riches could help fund the northern war effort, but in truth that is a myth. It is not true. The tale probably stems from the fact that the Nevada Territory was created in 1861 so its gold and silver could be used to help the Union rather than the Confederacy. So the State's slogan, Battle Born--a reference to the war--and an erroneous episode of ``Bonanza,'' which depicted a constitutional convention in Carson City I guess helped cement the legend. The 150th anniversary of our admission to the Union is a wonderful time to study and reflect in this shared history we have as States and as a nation. It is also time to build a foundation for another 150 years of innovation and accomplishment for our State. Nevada--from the mountains and high deserts of the east, to the geothermal wells of the north, including Lake Tahoe to the west, of course, to southern Nevada with the Las Vegas strip, from Indian Country to the mining towns and ranching communities--is a unique State in today's modern Union. I like to say that people don't understand Nevada is more than the bright lights of Las Vegas. From the glittering waters of Lake Tahoe, Nevada is the most mountainous State in the Union, except for Alaska. We have more than 300 mountain ranges. Other than Alaska, it is the most dangerous place to fly a private plane because of the weather patterns which develop so quickly. I have been involved as I have flown in some of the smaller airplanes around the State. We have magnificent wildlife. We have the famous bighorn sheep, we have mountain goats, the largest antelope range in the world. We have 1 mountain almost 14,000 feet high, and we have 32 mountains over 11,000 feet high. It is a magnificent State, and I am so fortunate to be able to represent that State--the State where I was born. So today and throughout this special year we should celebrate everything that makes Nevada extraordinary and successful. Happy Nevada Day, Nevadans.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I wish to take a minute to congratulate a man who has been part of the Senate for a long time. With more than four decades of service to the Federal Government and some 32 years here in the Senate, a man by the name of Carl Fritter will retire today. He began his career at the Government Printing Office and gave 44 years of service to the Federal Government. He is respected by his colleagues in the Secretary's Office and admired throughout the Senate community for his craftsmanship. Carl learned the art of bookbinding as an apprentice in the Government Printing Office. He received special training in bookbinding from experts across the globe. In 1977, Carl was detailed to the Senate Library, where he eventually became Director of the Office of Conservation and Preservation. My son, during one of the summers, worked in that office, and that was a great experience. There he got to know Carl. In addition to binding and repairing books, he has built many beautiful boxes and other things. He is a modern-day artisan. It is amazing the things he has built and can build. He has built, for example, boxes to contain gavels, books, and other works of art. Later today when we swear in the new junior Senator from New Jersey, the oath book Vice President Biden will use to swear in Senator-elect Booker was made by Carl Fritter. I wish him the very best in his retirement. He is going to go to Key West, FL, where he wants to spend more time there with his wife Bunny and his children and grandchildren. I thank Carl for his decades of dedicated service to this institution and the Federal Government, and congratulate him on a career of success building and preserving artifacts here in the U.S. Capitol.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, very briefly, I want to respond to my friend from Arizona. I have worked with the senior Senator from Arizona on many things over these many years we have been in Congress together, and I heard what he said. I appreciate his suggesting we have a conversation about what is going to happen in the next couple of days and I am always willing to do that.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, in a few minutes we are going to have the good fortune of welcoming a fine young man to be the next Senator from the State of New Jersey. I trust that serving in the Senate will be among the most rewarding experiences of his life, and he has had many of them. I urge my fellow Senators, Democrats and Republicans, to get to know this good man. I feel so elated that he is going to be here. Of course, I loved Frank Lautenberg. We served together for all those many years. But we are going to find that Cory Booker is going to be a great asset to this Nation and to the Senate. He has had a tough time the last few months. His parents moved to Las Vegas in early August. And as things happen in life, his dad was stricken with a very violent stroke. His aunt lives there, his mom's sister. She is a retired dentist from California. I was there because of the August recess and I had the good fortune of meeting all three of them. His dad, of course, was not able to communicate and, sadly, he died not too long after that. But this was right before his election was completed, and it was very difficult for Senator-elect Booker going to Nevada, campaigning with all the national publicity he had in that election, but he, during this time of fire, did extremely well. I am very proud of him. He had a demanding year, no doubt, with all the things he was doing and his deciding to run for the Senate. But he traveled to Nevada on various occasions, as I indicated, to be with his family and to support them. This quality he has was apparent early in life--his love of family and dedication to his parents, now especially his mom, who is going to be here today. He is not only a devoted son but a brilliant scholar and a dedicated public servant. Think about this man's academic record: Stanford undergraduate, senior class president at Stanford. That fine institution also allowed him to study even more there and he earned a master's degree in sociology, which has served him well in the work he has done. His having this advanced degree in sociology helped him in his work with the people of the State of New Jersey and the city of Newark. But with him, one Stanford degree wasn't enough; he got two. And then, if that weren't enough--and it wasn't--he was chosen to be a Rhodes scholar and then got another advanced degree at Oxford. If that wasn't enough, he went to Yale Law School. This is quite a record. He has been a city councilman and mayor for more than a decade. He has lived with his constituents and kept in touch with them like no mayor with whom I have ever come in contact. We are so fortunate to have him here. He has been with his constituents in the inner city of Newark. I commend him for his dedicated service to the people of New Jersey and the people of Newark. Part of his job was to highlight the difficulties of working poor families, and he did that and he did it very well. He has done everything he can to highlight to everyone who would listen to him and watch him to indicate that many Newark residents are struggling to know where their next meal will come from. At a time in the history of this country when we have so many people needing so much, where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is being squeezed, we are very fortunate to have this good man in the Senate. I am confident he will treasure his memories in this historic legislative body and serve his Nation and State with distinction. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID. Before we have this ceremony, I wish to say one thing about Cory Booker. I have talked about his great academic record. But for me, a frustrated wannabe athlete, his most impressive qualification, as far as I am concerned, is that he was a tight end for one of the great Stanford football teams.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Watt nomination.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the nomination of Ms. Millet.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 2 p.m., and that at 2 p.m. the Senate proceed to a period of morning business for debate only until 6 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 184.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 357; that the nomination be confirmed; the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nomination; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this is a fine young man. He worked for me, did my intelligence work. He is an outstanding person. We are so fortunate that good people like him are in public service. He speaks well of everyone who is a public servant in our country.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 224, H.R. 3080, that the substitute amendment, which is at the desk, which is the text of S. 601, as passed by the Senate, be inserted in lieu thereof; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed; the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table; that the Senate insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on part of the Senate with ratio of 5 to 3; all of the above without any action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 229.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the Veterans' Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3302 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.