Floor Statements

Mr. President, this morning, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 11 a.m. The minority will control the first half and the majority will control the second half. Under a previous order, the Senate will begin consideration of the ethics legislation at 11 a.m., for debate only, until the Senate goes into recess for its normal weekly party conference luncheons.

The managers of the bill will be here at 11 a.m., and they will be making their opening statements, if appropriate, as well as a number of other Members who have expressed an interest in speaking this morning. When the Senate returns after the party luncheons, the substitute amendment will be laid down. So Members should be ready to review this amendment and prepare their amendments accordingly.

I am working with the distinguished Republican leader to see if we can offer something together--I am hopeful and very confident we can-- as a substitute amendment.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the opening statements of Senators Feinstein and Bennett with respect to S. 1, the following Senators be recognized to speak for the times specified: Senator Tester, 10 minutes; Senator Nelson of Florida, 15 minutes; Senator Salazar, 15 minutes; and that when the Senate reconvenes at 2:15, debate time be extended for another 30 minutes, with Senators Lieberman and Collins recognized for 15 minutes each; that following that time, the majority leader be recognized to offer a substitute amendment.

Mr. President, let me be very clear that if a Republican Member is available and desires to speak, they would follow a Democratic speaker. We would alternate that. These times only list Democrats, but if there is a Republican, we will insert them between the two, if they want to speak.

Madam President, is S. 1 now before the Senate?

Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk in the form of a substitute.

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

Madam President, I am very happy the Senate has now begun debate on S. 1. It is a strong, bipartisan package of ethics reforms and will help reassure the American people that we answer to them.

The matter now before the Senate, S. 1, without the substitute I have offered, would be the most significant changes in ethics and lobbying reform since Watergate. So if we do nothing else other than adopt the Reid-McConnell S. 1, we should feel very good about what we are able to accomplish in this body.

I repeat, if we accomplish nothing else, the legislation now before this body will be the most significant, important change in ethics and lobbying rules for about three decades. So without any question, S. 1 is a good start.

But we should even do better, and that is what the substitute I sent to the desk on my behalf and that of Senator McConnell will do. It will even do better for the American people.

For those who are watching this debate in the Senate and are expecting

real, meaningful results, that is what is going to happen. I think the American people for sure are not interested in quick fixes or window dressing or a few public relations moves. They want bold changes. They want us to fundamentally alter the way business is done in the Nation's Capital and to ensure that the people's interests--not the special interests--come first in the Halls of Congress.

So today Senator McConnell and I introduced S. 1. And now I have offered on our behalf--Senators McConnell and Reid--a substitute amendment designed to make the Senate's ethics legislation even stronger.

First of all, I want the Record spread with my appreciation and the acknowledgment of the bipartisan effort of the Republican leader. I think it speaks volumes that the two of us are here before this body asking our Members to support two very fine pieces of legislation, S. 1 and now the substitute amendment. We are asking our Members to join with us.

As I indicated earlier--and I repeat for the third time--if we do nothing other than pass S. 1, tremendous changes in the way we do business in Washington will occur. But now, to add to that, is the bipartisan substitute which will make that even stronger. So I cannot say enough publicly or privately in the way of extending my appreciation to the Republican leader for working with me.

And we worked together on this issue. Our staffs have worked together on this for weeks--weeks. And we did not finalize what we were going to do until today as the Senate convened. The Republican leader suggested to me: Here are some things I think we should do. Here are some things we should not do. What do you think?

I said: I will think about it. I have thought about it. He was right. I acknowledged that he was right and called him a short time later and indicated that to be the case.

What are a few of the highlights of the Reid-McConnell substitute amendment?

First, the substitute will place new prohibitions and disclosure requirements on lawmakers and senior staff when they seek private sector employment. The underlying bill slowed the revolving door between top Government jobs and lucrative private sector employment, but the substitute amendment will do even more to reduce the undue influence that results from the revolving door.

Second, the Reid-McConnell substitute will eliminate dead of night changes to conference reports. Once a conference report has been signed, it will be completely impermissible to change it.

What is this all about? We have had so many instances in recent years where the conference is closed, and sure enough, we come to the Senate floor and the conference report includes matters that were put in the bill after the conference had been closed. That is wrong. That will no longer be possible. What we do with conference reports will have to be done in a public fashion.

Also, you will note this legislation does things other than what has been done on a bipartisan basis with Reid and McConnell. For example, one of the finest relationships we have in this body is between Democrat Kent Conrad and Republican Judd Gregg. They are both experts with the Government's money. They work together as much as they can, in a bipartisan fashion, and I think it is better than any two budget people have worked together since we have had a budget process in the Senate.

The substitute includes a reform proposal by the chairman and ranking member of the Budget Committee, Senators Conrad and Gregg, requiring that conference reports be accompanied by a CBO score. We need to restore fiscal discipline and reduce the large deficits that have developed over the past several years.

In the past we have had conference reports that have had matters included with no ability for Senators to determine how much it was going to cost. Just put these in there and, we were told: Well, the CBO did not have time to do it. It is the end of the session. It is a big bill. They do not have the time to do it.

They are going to have to have the time to do it now or it will not be done. That matter will not be in unless we have a score from the Congressional Budget Office.

There are a number of other things in this substitute. I will not mention them all. But the substitute amendment will strengthen the provision in the underlying bill requiring disclosure of earmarks.

The American public should be concerned about earmarks. Now, I am not opposed to earmarks. They have been in appropriations bills since we have been a country. They have just gotten way, way out of hand. Thousands of them. And it has not shined a good light on our Congress.

In recent years, we have seen lawmakers--working on behalf of lobbyists--insert anonymous earmarks, costing taxpayers millions and millions of dollars, into legislation at the last minute. In these instances, the earmarking process has been subject to abuses that we must all work together to bring to an end.

I have been a Member of the Appropriations Committee for two decades, and there is not a single earmark I have ever put in a bill that I would be afraid to put my name on. And that is in effect what we are asking: if an earmark has merit, a Senator should be willing to stand by it publicly. That is why, under this bill, if a Member of Congress wants to direct taxpayer funds to a specific need--they have a right to do that, and I believe an obligation to do that--if a Member of Congress wants to direct taxpayer funds to a specific need that they believe is important to their State or to this country, they will be required to attach their name to that in the light of day. That is appropriate.

Now, the substitute that Senator McConnell and I have offered to the Senate has more than that. But that is a rough outline of what we have.

Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the substitute amendment.

Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk.

Madam President, my presence on this floor relating to this bill is about to come to an end. I would hope that when I finish my brief statement Senators will come and participate in the debate dealing with S. 1, the substitute Senator McConnell and I offered, and this amendment, and then whatever other amendments.

I have indicated there will be an open process here, and I want Senators to feel comfortable that they have the opportunity to offer amendments. I will say, I think we should move forward as quickly as possible. I would very much like to finish this bill next week and have every intention to do so. In fact, everyone should be aware of and alerted to the fact that we are going to finish the bill next week, even if it goes past Friday at 12 o'clock.

We need to finish this legislation. Next week is a short week because of Dr. King's holiday. So we need to work on this legislation. We do not have a lot of time just to wait around and have a lot of quorum calls.

Last November, the American people called for bold changes in the way Washington does business. In the Senate, we have made answering this call for change our first priority, S. 1.

Senator McConnell and I have joined with S. 1, and Democrats and Republicans together introduced a sweeping package of ethics reforms as our first item of legislation. And today, as I have indicated, Senator McConnell and I have made the bill even stronger.

I would like to go even further. That is what this one, final amendment I have offered does. My second-degree amendment contains three major provisions.

First, it strengthens the gift ban in the underlying bill. Whereas S. 1 bans

gifts from lobbyists to Members of Congress and staff, this amendment would go one step further and ban gifts from companies and other organizations that even employ or retain lobbyists.

Two, this amendment strengthens the travel ban in the underlying bill. Whereas S. 1 bans travel paid for by lobbyists, this amendment will go further and ban--with some commonsense exceptions--travel paid for by companies and other organizations that employ or retain lobbyists.

Finally, this Reid amendment will include a very significant reform about which there has been much discussion in recent days.

This amendment will require Members of the Senate to pay the full charter fare if they wish to travel on private airplanes. If a Senator needs to fly on a private airplane for any purpose, he or she should be required to pay the full cost of that trip, not a discounted one. These reforms are not aimed at any particular lawmakers. I have traveled on private airplanes a lot over the years. These reforms are not directed to any particular lawmaker or any political party. We have all done it over the years, with some exception. They are designed to remove even the appearance of impropriety from this Congress.

What we in this body have to do is not only do away with what is wrong but what appears to be wrong. And to the American public, flying around on these aircraft appears to be wrong. I hope it hasn't changed any votes. I am confident it has not. But we want to do away with what even appears to be wrong.

I repeat, this particular reform is not aimed at any particular lawmaker, any particular political party, any particular campaign committee. It is designed to remove even the appearance of impropriety from Members of this body and send a strong signal to the American public that their elected representatives are not unduly influenced by meals, travel, and gifts that lobbyists and large corporations are willing to lavish. We all remember the scandals making headlines across America a year ago. The newspapers were filled with the stories of lawmakers being flown around the world for rounds of golf, corrupt lobbyists bilking their clients for millions of dollars, and of top congressional staff being wined and dined and treated to sporting events by special interests trying to influence their bosses. These stories have a corrosive effect on the great institution in which we all serve. We must make sure they are never repeated by reassuring the American people that legislation can't be traded and that their leaders can't be bought.

I look forward to a spirited debate on these amendments and eventual passage of this bill. Together we must do all we can to restore the faith of the American people in their Government. We need to answer the people's call for change. If an earmark has merit, a lawmaker should be willing to stand by it publicly. If a person wants to fly on an airplane, it should be under the rules that apply to most everybody else in the country.

These are significant proposals of change. They are for the good of the institution. I hope the vast majority of the Senate will support the amendment offered by Senator McConnell and this Senator and also the amendment I offered by myself.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for a period of up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, January 9, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing on Iraq.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Tuesday, January 9, 2007, at 9:30 a.m. for a

hearing titled ``Ensuring Full Implementation of the 9/11 Commission's Recommendations.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that tributes to the late President Gerald Ford be printed as a Senate document and that Senators have until Thursday, February 15, of this year to submit tributes to the late President.

Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the nominations to the Office of Inspector General, except the Office of Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency, be referred in each case to the committee having the primary jurisdiction over the department, agency or entity, and if and when reported in each case, then to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for not to exceed 20 calendar days, except in cases when the 20-day period expires while the Senate is in recess, the committee shall have an additional 5 calendar days after the Senate reconvenes to report the nomination and that if the nomination is not reported after the expiration of that period, the nomination be automatically discharged and placed on the executive calendar.

Mr. President, we have had a good day today, a lot of work has been done. I commend the distinguished Senator, who is still on the floor, for being such a good manager. Her assignment as chairman of the Rules Committee comes at a very opportune time for us and a burdensome time for her. There is so much the Rules Committee is going to be required to do in the next 2 years, not the least of which is some matters that will be spun off from this bill, including campaign finance reform, which I have spoken with Senator McConnell about. I think he agrees that all matters relating to campaign finance reform should be referred to the Rules Committee and other committees that feel they have any jurisdiction. But the principal responsibility will be with Rules. We have to have extensive hearings on campaign finance reform, dealing with a broad range of issues--foundations, 527s, and all kinds of other things.

It has been a good day. I applaud the Senator from California, Senator Feinstein, for her work.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, January 10, Wednesday; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of the proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and there be a period for morning business for an hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein, with the first half hour controlled by the majority and the second half hour controlled by the minority, and that at the conclusion of morning business the Senate resume S. 1.

Mr. President, today I offered the bipartisan substitute amendment. Four amendments are pending as well. Today, I alerted Members to expect votes tomorrow. Also, I remind Members that all Members of the 110th Congress have been invited to the Supreme Court tomorrow. There is a dinner. There is no cocktail hour and no reception. The dinner will begin promptly at 6:30 tomorrow evening. I have been to these events over the years, and they are really good. We have to reach out to our separate but equal branch of Government called the judicial branch. I find all nine of those Justices to be the most interesting people. They have such a tremendous responsibility. I think it will be good conversation, with a limited speech or two. I hope freshman Senators can find it in their schedules to come. It is also for the spouses.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 198, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 2007, be discharged from the Foreign Relations Committee and then referred to the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. President, if there is nothing further to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, the time until 12 noon will be divided between the majority and minority. I know Senators Levin and Stabenow and Salazar want to make statements regarding President Ford. At noon we will have a rollcall vote on the adoption of S. Res. 19, which is a resolution honoring the late President.

Following that vote, we are going to begin consideration of S. 1, the ethics package. This will be for opening statements. The minority has agreed that we could go to this bill in the morning. I appreciate that very much. We are going to work through this bill as quickly as we can. We would hope that people who want to offer amendments will be here tomorrow to offer amendments. The majority of the management of this bill will be by Senator Feinstein, whose committee, Rules, has most of the jurisdiction. Senator Lieberman will comanage it because there are some aspects of this legislation under the jurisdiction of his committee.

For the information of the Senate, there should be no other votes today after the 12 o'clock vote. Members are advised that the remainder of the week we should and will have rollcall votes during the day and into the evening. And we will have votes Friday. We hope to complete the voting by 12 noon if all goes right. But there will be votes Friday.

We will not finish this ethics bill this week, but we will finish next week, unless something untoward develops.

Mr. President, I never had the opportunity to meet with Gerald Ford when he was President, but I did when he was Vice President. I was chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Conference. This was during the height of the energy crisis, and we came to Washington. One of the pleasures was meeting with the Vice President in the White House. That was really a big deal for me, a young Lieutenant Governor from Nevada. And a week or so after having met with the Vice President, he sent a picture to my home, a picture of me and the Vice

President. That was really a significant event in the Reid family, but also my boy thought it was a significant event, and he took a crayon and marked all over that picture--my prized picture of my being in Washington, sitting with the Vice President. So my wife and I labored for some time and worked to get the crayon off that picture. We did a pretty good job. I still have the picture, but you can see my boy's marking on that with his crayon. I wish I had the opportunity to talk to the Vice President about that. I am sure he would have laughed.

President Ford was a wonderful man. We all know he died the day after Christmas. He was 93 years old. There were celebrations, as there should have been, in the Capitol Rotunda, at the National Cathedral, the Ford Presidential Library in Grand Rapids, MI, and the Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, MI, where I had the opportunity to attend at the invitation of the former First Lady. The speeches were good. Former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld spoke, President Jimmy Carter spoke, a noted historian spoke. It was really a quite moving event.

We have heard tales during the past couple weeks of Gerald Ford and the athlete he was. We have even read from Chevy Chase, who became famous literally making fun of Gerald Ford. He made fun of him because--he was a big man--coming out of an airplane once, he hit his head on the airplane door, and that was the beginning of Chevy Chase's career.

The fact is, even though Chevy Chase became famous making fun of President Ford, we have never had a more athletic President than President Ford--All-Big Ten; he was a great, outstanding football player at the University of Michigan.

As a Member of Congress, he was outstanding. He was praised by people who served with him. He served for about 25 years in the Congress and became the Republican leader. He, of course, was Commander in Chief as President of the United States. But one of the things we have learned so directly during the last couple weeks is how great he was to his wife Betty. She, during the time of their real public presence, had breast cancer and had a bout with alcoholism, and she approached both in a very strong, courageous way. The Betty Ford Clinic in Palm Springs is a place where people go to find that they are addicted and need help. But we have learned what a wonderful wife she was to President Ford and what a great First Lady she was to her entire country.

We have heard tributes from Senators, Governors, clergy, newsmen, and Presidents. They differed in tone and substance, but they all made the point of stressing one thing: Gerald Ford was, above all, a man of integrity, a man of honesty, and, ultimately, a role model for all of us who serve in Government.

He, of course, is the only man to become President who was never elected. Yet, time and time again, he proved himself the right man at the right time, healing the Nation after the scars of Watergate and moving our country forward.

Husband to his wife Betty, father to his beautiful children, Michael, John, Steven, and Susan, World War II veteran, star athlete, even an Eagle Scout--Gerald Ford was the core of what America is all about, a shining example of what we hold best in America. He took office at a dark time in our country's history and shepherded this Nation through the trials of Vietnam and Watergate, with a bipartisan spirit of reconciliation and grace, a shining example to us all. He reminded a wounded nation of the honesty and decency of its leaders.

Mr. President, we all hope when we pass on our friends and colleagues will look back and say we left the world a better place. With Gerald Ford, there is no doubt. This Government, this Nation, this world are better from Gerald Ford's life and service to our country, and for this the Senate honors his life today.