Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is a remarkable short history, very amazing how wonderful our country is. I note just in passing that my wife's father, my father-in-law, was born in Russia, immigrated to the United States like the rabbi and Senator Kohl's father.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, it took 4 months, but Republicans are finally realizing their way back from the fiscal cliff has been right in front of them all along. In July the Senate passed legislation to give economic certainty to 98 percent of American families and 97 percent of small businesses, to every American making less than $250,000 a year. For 4 months we have been one vote away from a solution to this looming crisis. For 4 months House Republicans have refused to act. Instead, they have held the middle class hostage to protect the richest 2 percent of taxpayers--people who have enjoyed a decade of blooming income and shrinking tax bills. One has to admire the President, who went out and campaigned on this issue. He did not in any way walk away from the issue. He said: That is how we are going to get our fiscal house in order. And independents by a huge margin, Democrats by a huge margin, and 41 percent of Republicans support what the President asks us to do. So now reasonable Republicans--I think it is very important--are coming around to what Democrats have said all along: Let's reassure millions of Americans that taxes will not go up by $2,200 a year on January 1; that is, those people who are the middle class of America. Prominent Republicans are calling on Speaker Boehner to end the suspense for millions of these American families. Yesterday Republican Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a veteran in the House of Representatives, urged his caucus to pass the Senate's legislation keeping taxes low for those making less than $250,000 a year. That would pass by an overwhelming margin. All the Speaker has to do is let it come up for a vote. I would bet a lot of his Republicans would vote for it. I would bet a majority of his Republicans would vote for it. Virtually every Democrat would vote for it. They only need 218. There are 435 Members in the House. We also noted yesterday that Republican Congressman Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is noted for his conservatism, admitted yesterday that if the Speaker brought our bill to a vote, it would surely pass. So it is time the House Republican leadership listened to the will of the American people--Independents, Democrats, and Republicans--and also the advice of the reasonable members of their own caucus. The way out of this standoff is clear. Yet we are left wondering how long Republicans will force middle-class families to wait and to worry. Unfortunately, resolving the standoff will not resolve every conflict over the fiscal future. We have to end wasteful tax breaks for the richest Americans. We agree. We agree with the majority of Americans. We are serious about reducing the deficit. It will take a balanced approach. Last year we successfully worked across party lines to cut $1 trillion worth of spending we could not afford. Even our Republican colleagues acknowledge budget cuts alone will not solve our fiscal challenges. We can argue over whether to give more wasteful handouts to the wealthy. They can do that tomorrow. We can discuss balanced, responsible ways to reduce our deficit tomorrow. But let's take care of the middle class today.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have one more vote to start in just a few minutes. Senator Levin wants to say something about the schedule for tomorrow. Senator Levin.

Mr. REID. There will be no morning business.

Mr. REID. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. REID. Madam President, on behalf of Senator Udall of Colorado, I call up amendment No. 2985.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 419, the DOD authorization bill.

Mr. REID. Madam President, the first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half. We expect to begin consideration of the DOD authorization bill today. Disabilities Convention On April 14, 1945, a very young Robert Dole lay gravely wounded in the mud of a war-torn Italian hillside. He had been hit with shrapnel which tore through his shoulder and his spine. But 24 years later, after years spent rebuilding his body and building a political career, the future Senate majority leader gave his maiden speech on the Senate floor. His first floor speech here in the Senate was about the challenges faced each day--even in this the richest of nations--by people just like Robert Dole, people with disabilities. That is what he spoke about. He described the discrimination disabled Americans faced as ``maybe not exclusion from the front of the bus, but perhaps from even climbing aboard it.'' Over the next 27 years of his Senate career, including 11 years as majority leader, and throughout his years in the private sector, Bob Dole would remain a vocal advocate for Americans with disabilities. Since Senator Dole fought for passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, barriers have been lifted, helping people with disabilities in this country live the full and productive life they want and deserve. There is no finer example of the extraordinary goals Americans can achieve in spite of their disabilities than Bob Dole's inspiring career. In my mind's eye, I can see Senator Dole on the Senate floor standing straight and tall, slim, and articulate--as I indicated yesterday, always with something funny to say. But what people did not notice was that one of his arms was inoperative. He always kept a pen in that hand so people would not grab his hand or something like that. But it was distinctive. That was the distinctive Robert Dole. He was such a force here in the Senate, and to think that he did it all after having been really blown up in a war. The United States has been a leader in expanding disability rights across the globe. U.S. law has been the gold standard for the rest of the world. But the United States must continue to lead by example and must do more to protect American citizens traveling and working abroad. The disabilities convention before the Senate today--a treaty ratified by 125 nations--would advance those goals. This convention would give us an opportunity to strengthen our leadership on disability rights around the world. It is another step toward ensuring that all people with disabilities in any country are treated with dignity and given the right to achieve to their full potential. Ratification of this treaty will not cost the U.S. taxpayers a single dime. It will not require any changes in our existing law. It has the support of veterans groups and disability groups around the country. It has the strong backing of a bipartisan group of Senators and leading Republicans such as George H.W. Bush as well as Senator Dole. He called me a few days ago to tell me how much he wanted this passed. Like passing the Americans With Disabilities Act, ratifying the treaty is the right thing to do. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, ``If you would lift me up you must be on higher ground.'' If the United States wishes to be a global example for the huge strides people with disabilities can make when barriers to succeed are removed, we must take the high ground. I thank Senator Kerry, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senators McCain, Lugar, Durbin, Barrasso, Coons, Tom Udall, Moran, and others, and especially Senator Harkin, who is the father of the Americans With Disabilities Act, leading the way on this issue. With their help, I hope we can quickly ratify this treaty. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. REID. Madam President, what is the matter now before the Senate?

Mr. REID. Is there further debate on this matter?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 535, S. 1998.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, November 29, 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 the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time 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 following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 3254, the DOD Authorization Act.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we continue to work through amendments to the DOD. We are not going to be on this bill forever. If people want to offer amendments, they should come and do it. We hope to finish the work on this bill this week.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I move to proceed to executive session for the purpose of the consideration of treaty document 112-7, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I ask unanimous consent that prior to the clerk reporting the motion, Senator McCain be recognized, and when he finishes that I be recognized.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 602.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that John Daley, a State Department detailee to the Foreign Relations Committee, be given floor privileges during the debate on the disabilities treaty.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 3642.

Mr. REID

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