Floor Statements

Mr. President, I appreciate everyone's courtesy. This is the first experience of mine to go through these procedures. It wasn't as smooth as clockwork, but with staff help it was smooth enough. So I very much appreciate everyone's cooperation as we look forward to this new Congress.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize that the great public is interested more in

Government than in politics.

Franklin Roosevelt, 1940.

I have chosen this line to open this new session of the Senate because the wisdom it imparts is as relevant today as it was 67 years ago.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize that the great public is interested more in

Government than in politics.

The American people are expecting positive results from this 110th Congress, not more partisan rancor. We stand today at the cusp of a new Congress, ready to write a new chapter in our country's great future. It is a time of hope and promise for our Nation. The elections are over, and the next Senate campaigns have yet to begin.

Today we are not candidates; we are U.S. Senators. We 100 are from different States, we 100 represent different people, we 100 represent different political parties, but we share the same mission: keeping our country safe and providing a Government that allows people to enjoy the fruits and prosperity and, of course, our economic freedom.

Last November, the voters sent us a message. They sent this message to Democrats and they sent this message to Republicans: The voters are upset with Congress and the partisan gridlock. The voters want a Government that focuses on their needs. The voters want change. Together, Democrats and Republicans must deliver that change.

No longer can we waste time here in the Capitol while families in America struggle to get ahead. No longer can we here in the Capitol afford to pass the problems of today to Congresses of tomorrow. Those problems, for example, are from keeping families safe to raising the minimum wage to instituting new ethical reforms. We can and we must get to work.

As the new Congress begins, the challenges facing America are complex. They range from a contracted war in Iraq to a health care crisis right here at home, from a middle class that is squeezed to an energy policy that is warming our globe, from a higher education system that has exploded in costs to jobs where benefits have all but disappeared. We Senators can make a difference in each of these areas if we remember we are here to fight for our country, not with each other.

The majority, my party, holds a very slim margin--51 to 49. Some may look at this as a composition for gridlock, a recipe for gridlock, but I see this as a unique opportunity. I guarantee everyone in this Chamber that the American people are hoping it is a unique opportunity--an opportunity for Democrats, an opportunity for Republicans--to debate our differences and seek common ground. We must turn the page on partisanship and usher in a new era of bipartisan progress. How can we achieve progress? By doing things differently than they have been done in recent years.

One, we must--I repeat again and again--work together.

Second, we are going to have to work here in Washington, in the Senate, longer hours. Factory workers, shopkeepers in America's malls, schoolteachers, police officers, miners, welders, and business men and women work at least 5 days a week. Shouldn't we here in Washington, where we do our business, in this laboratory we call the Senate, do the same?

Three, we will achieve progress by working on an agenda that reflects not the needs of Democrats, not the needs

of Republicans, but the needs of the people of this great country.

Today Democrats may be in charge of the Senate and the House of Representatives, but we in the Senate are committed to bipartisanship. We found that a one-party town simply doesn't work. We know from experience that majorities come and they go. Majorities are very fragile, and majorities must work with minorities to make that lasting change.

In this body, the U.S. Senate, nothing can be accomplished unless we reach across the aisle--not one way but both ways. It is because when our Founding Fathers created the Senate 219 years ago, they carved out a special place for the minority. See, the Framers of this Constitution knew that majorities can always take care of themselves. Majorities didn't need help as defined in the Constitution. But this Constitution takes care of minorities because they can't always take care of themselves. The Founding Fathers created an institution that protects this minority, and we will respect our Constitution and those protections.

I have talked with Senator Mitch McConnell, the senior Senator from the great State of Kentucky. He is the minority leader. He is my friend. In the months and years that go forward, we will become even closer because he has learned, and I have learned, through adversity we grow together. I am committed to working with him, and I know he is committed to working with me. We as Democrats are committed to working with Republicans and Republicans are committed to working with us.

Does this mean there are going to be no bumps in the road? Of course there will be bumps in the road. We are in the Senate. The Founding Fathers wanted bumps in the road.

This morning, at 9 o'clock in the Old Senate Chamber, we held a rare joint caucus. It was an opportunity for us to look across the rows at each other and understand that the Senate is a place where we have to work in a bipartisan fashion.

We in the majority, we Democrats, are committed to working with our President, President Bush. He has pledged to work with Democrats. He has pledged to me personally that he would work to make progress.

We are not going to talk about what went on for the past 6-plus years. What I have discussed with the President, as late as last night, is what we are going to do for the next 22 months together. There are 22 months left in this Presidential term. The President, I know, wants to accomplish things. I want to accomplish things. He has to work with us and we have to work with him or jointly we do nothing to help our country.

As I have said, we are going to work longer hours, we are going to work full weeks, we are going to have votes on Mondays and Fridays. None of us are happy because all but 10 Senators here participated in the last Congress, the so-called do-nothing Congress. We are not proud of that fact. We spent less time working than any Congress in modern history. Some days the sessions lasted a matter of minutes. In this Congress, legislative days will be real workdays.

The extra days will help our committees. The foundation of this institution, the Senate, is the committee system. It has worked from the beginning of our great Republic, but it hasn't worked so well lately. But it now is going to have an opportunity to work better. Our committees will have the time they need to put their expertise to use.

The best legislation with the broadest possible support always comes from our committees. In the Senate, we have chairmen and ranking members with years of experience: Ted Kennedy and Mike Enzi on the HELP Committee; Max Baucus and Chuck Grassley on the Finance Committee; Joe Biden and Dick Lugar on the Foreign Relations Committee; Carl Levin and John McCain on the Armed Services Committee; Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter on the Judiciary Committee. And on and on. These names speak of their broad experience and their ability to get things done for our country, but it must come through the committee process.

As all my Democrats know, when I assumed the job as Democratic leader, I told every ranking member that those committees had to function and I was going to let them function, and I have done that for 2 years. Now there is going to be more time for them to produce legislation. They are no longer ranking members, they are Chairs, but they cannot succeed unless they work with their ranking members.

Our committees will have the time to do a number of tasks, but the one item they need to do is conduct strong oversight. This is not a negative term. Oversight is good. It is important to find out what Federal agencies are doing, to listen to what the people who work there have to say. Congressional oversight is a responsibility that has been abdicated in recent years. Oversight is important for our country, not so we can point fingers or cast blame, but answer difficult questions and find lasting solutions to the enormous challenges we have. Everyone focuses on Iraq--of course, that is a very difficult problem--but there are many other problems that face this great country. The war in Iraq will cast a long shadow over the Senate's work this year. No issue in our country is more important than finding an end to that war. We will be listening very closely to President Bush when he comes forward with his plan next week. The President's new plan must ensure that Iraq takes responsibility for its own future and remove our troops from this civil war. Completing the mission in Iraq is the President's job and we will do everything to assist the Commander in Chief to ensure his responsibilities.

Finally, the Senate will achieve progress for our Nation by ensuring the Senate calendar reflects America's needs. In the weeks ahead, I look forward to receiving input from the minority. This afternoon, as is the tradition in the Senate, I will present an overview of the Democrats' legislative agenda, bills S. 1 through S. 10. Following the tradition of the Senate, my friend, the distinguished minority leader, Senator McConnell, will offer bills S. 11 through S. 20 whenever he feels it appropriate.

In the first 10 bills we will introduce this afternoon, and in our ongoing oversight of the war in Iraq, we intend to address these priorities, basically three of them: one, providing real security; two, restoring transparency, accountability, and responsibility in the United States Government; and three, helping working Americans get ahead by boosting wages and cutting costs in health care, education, and energy.

We begin with S. 1, our plan to change the way Washington works. It was late 2005 when scandals involving lobbyists and lawmakers shocked the very core of this Nation. Despite the Senate's best attempts on a bipartisan basis, here we are 2 years later and still no reform of ethics, lobbying, and earmarks. The American people deserve better. That is why as our first order of business we will seek to give Americans the open and accountable government they deserve. We will start Monday with a bipartisan bill cosponsored by Reid and McConnell. I think that is a pretty good start. We will start with the ethics bill that passed the Senate last year. Now, had that bill passed, which it didn't, it would have been the most significant reform since Watergate in lobbying and ethics reform. It didn't pass. Some people minimized our starting point. I maximize our starting point. This bill included important provisions in many areas, but it was not allowed to proceed because of what took place on the other side of the Capitol. This year, we will improve that legislation and make additional reforms.

This legislation will include reforms to slow the revolving door between Government jobs and lucrative employment with special interests. It will eliminate gifts paid for by lobbyists and interests that hire lobbyists. It will limit privately funded travel such as that of the notorious golf junkets to Scotland. It will increase disclosure requirements so the public will be better informed about the activities of lobbyists. And it will increase penalties for those who seek to break the rules. I lay and spread across this Record how grateful I am that the distinguished minority leader has agreed to cosponsor this legislation. I think it sends the right message to America.

With these reforms, which I am confident will pass, we will help ensure America has a government that is good and honest as the people it serves.

Mr. President, I send S. 1 to the desk and ask for its appropriate referral.

The bill is at the desk. I am told that the bill is at the desk and we choose not to rule XIV it at this stage.

Mr. President, S. 2 is our plan to increase the wages of working families by raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour. It has been 10 years since the minimum wage was last increased. In that time, the cost of gas, to say the least, has increased. The cost of food has increased. The cost of health care has increased. Even the salaries of Members of Congress have increased. In fact, the salaries of Members of Congress in the last 10 years have increased 9 times, by more than $30,000. But through all of this, the minimum wage has stayed the same. It is long past time America's workers received a raise as well.

Today, a mother or father can work full time for the minimum wage but still live $5,000 below the poverty level. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest level since 1955. S. 2 will directly raise the pay of nearly 7 million Americans by more than $4,000 and by setting a new salary floor that will indirectly boost the wages of 8 million more workers. That increase is enough to provide nearly 2 years of childcare, full tuition for a community college degree, over a year's worth of heat and electricity or more than 9 months of rent.

During the minimum wage debate we will also likely consider giving small businesses some tax relief. In fact, as we speak, Senator McConnell's staff and my staff are working, along with Senator Enzi, Senator Grassley, Senator Kennedy, and Senator Baucus, to see if we can have a minimum wage bill that he and I will cosponsor and bring before the Senate. We are working on that.

S. 2 is at the desk, and it will be reported at the appropriate time.

S. 3 is our plan to reduce drug costs for seniors. The flaws in the Medicare drug program are well documented, but many can be traced back to one simple fact: The law as written puts drug companies ahead of America's aging. No matter whether we supported or opposed that law-- that is, the one that created Medicare drug benefits--we all want to improve the program for older Americans and people with disabilities. It is our obligation to do so. Now the Federal Government, with the millions of seniors it represents through Medicare, is unable to negotiate for lower drug prices. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries are hostages to insurance companies, drug companies, and managed care entities like HMOs. S. 3 is at the desk.

S. 4 is our plan to make America safer by fully implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Following September 11, 2001, the country turned to a respected, bipartisan group--the 9/11 Commission--to review the lessons of that terrible day and to recommend better ways to fight the war on terror. Two American patriots chaired that independent bipartisan commission: Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana and former Governor Tom Kean of New Jersey. They did a remarkably good job in a period of 1 year. We realized we didn't need Democratic solutions or Republican solutions to keep people safe; we needed bipartisan American solutions to keep us safe. The Commission did a wonderful job and made a number of recommendations. Some were implemented, others weren't. I was the manager, along with my distinguished colleague, the minority leader, of the bill that was brought before the Senate.

One year ago, the Commission delivered a report card grading the Government's progress in implementing its solutions. Among the grades given by that commission were 12 Ds, 5 Fs, and two incompletes. I say, try taking those grades home to your parents. These grades made clear we still have not done enough to make America safe. We have work to do, and this legislation will step toward in fulfilling the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. Specifically, it will reinvigorate the fight against Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, and the ideologies of violent extremists. It will enhance the security of our transportation system and our ports. It will provide America's first responders with the technology they need to communicate with each other during a crisis, and it will make it a priority to secure loose nukes around the world.

Finishing the job of implementing 9/11 Commission recommendations will not by itself win the war on terror or guarantee 100-percent complete security for the people of our country, but we hope with our legislation to improve on the worst of those grades, those Ds and Fs and incompletes, so the American people can have every confidence that Congress and the White House are taking every step--every step possible--to keep America safe. S. 4 is at the desk.

S. 5 is the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of this year, 2007. It is legislation we seek to pass so that American scientists will find cures--allow them to find cures for dread diseases that affect millions of our fellow countrymen. Today, there are people all across America suffering from debilitating diseases that stem cell research would cure. For these Americans, stem cell research is an area of science that offers hope, if only we in Washington would allow this hope to flourish. Last year, Congress passed legislation promoting stem cell research, only to see it vetoed by our President. This year, we will consider the legislation again, and on behalf of millions of Americans looking for cures, looking for relief, we urge our President to reconsider his veto. S. 5 is at the desk.

S. 6 is our plan to promote energy independence so we can enhance America's security and begin to deal with the threat--the threat--of global warming. I, with five of my Senate colleagues, traveled last week to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Bolivia. We were in Ecuador and Peru. They told us, the most diverse Nation in the world, the most ecologically diverse Nation in the world--Ecuador--that the glaciers are melting Ecuador, rapidly. For too long our country's energy policy has had only one concern: oil company profits--$34 billion for Exxon and the other companies, international cartels, not far behind. We have allowed Exxon's bottom line to take priority over families struggling at the gas pump and the harmful effects of global warming. So in an effort to begin to solve this energy crisis, our sixth bill takes an aggressive approach to reducing America's dependence on oil, especially foreign oil, and putting more advanced technologies in the hands of consumers. It will boost production of electricity from solar, geothermal, and other renewable resources that are abundant in States such as Nevada, and it will grow our Nation's renewable energy jobs and manufacturing base. Freeing ourselves from oil is a tremendous challenge, but it is one we cannot afford to ignore. Remember: Unstable regimes around the world use our petro dollars to pay for international terror, to fund it, and pursue their despotic goals. So energy independence is not only energy independence, it is security. S. 6 is at the desk.

S. 7 is the College Opportunity Act, our plan to make college more affordable for middle-class families. In America today, a college education is more important than ever. Unfortunately, it is also far more expensive than ever. Today, too many families are being squeezed trying to put their children through school. In the last 6 years, the cost of college has increased by 52 percent. Federal assistance has declined, especially in the form of Pell grants. Our legislation will reverse this trend by raising the maximum Pell grant award. It will also assist families by lowering interest rates for student loans and expanding tax breaks for college costs. S. 7 is at the desk.

S. 8 is Rebuilding America's Military Act. As we speak, there is not a single nondeployed Army unit that is battle ready. The wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq, the war on terror, have been terribly devastating to our military. These brave men and women have done the very best any fighting force could do. But because of Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. militarily is strained to levels not seen since Vietnam. While our troops remain the finest in the world, infrastructure is crumbling around them. Nearly all of our combat divisions have been deployed and two-thirds of our Army combat brigades are not ready for combat. GEN Peter Schoomaker, the Chief of Staff of the Army, testified last month, ``At this pace . . . we will break the active component'' of the U.S. Army.

We, also, have National Guard, Reserve and Active-Duty veterans coming back in droves to America without sufficient help for their health care and certainly not their education.

If we want real security, we must rebuild the U.S. military and ensure it remains the best fighting force in the world. S. 8 is at the desk.

S. 9 will secure America by undertaking comprehensive immigration reform. I had friends and colleagues, staff, ask: Why are you bringing up this controversial subject on the first day of Congress? It has to be brought up. Immigration is a problem that affects this Nation. Last year, we passed a solid immigration bill in the Senate. There are parts of that bill I didn't like, but we passed a bill. Unfortunately, it fell victim to politics, again in the other body. Immigration reform is too vital to our security and our economy to fall by the wayside, so we must deal with it again this year. Our immigration system is broken. Does anyone dispute this? Our borders remain unsecured. Does anyone dispute that? Our laws remain underenforced. Does anyone dispute that? Does anyone dispute the fact that we have 11 million people with bad papers who are here illegally? Does anyone dispute that? No. So our bill will take a comprehensive approach to repairing this broken system. With tough and smart reforms, it will secure our borders, crack down on enforcement, and lay down a path to earned legalization for undocumented immigrants already living here. There is no amnesty. If there were ever an example of the need for bipartisanship, it is on immigration because it is going to be hard, but it is something that we have to do. S. 9 is at the desk.

Finally, S. 10 will reinstate pay-as-you-go rules to the budget process. This does not sound very politically sexy, to talk about pay as you go. But as most know, the Senate used to operate under a rule called pay as you go. This simple proposition demanded that when we increased spending or cut taxes we had to pay for it. It is a commonsense principle families all across America practice when they balance their checkbooks. Pay-go was in place in the Senate in the 1990s, when our country experienced unprecedented levels of economic growth and vitality. Remember, it can be done. In the last years of the Clinton administration, we paid down the national debt by almost a half trillion dollars. Unfortunately, the rule disappeared in recent years and the results have been disastrous: $9 trillion in debt; the largest deficits, of course, in our history; foreign debt that has more than doubled, giving unprecedented control to countries such as Saudi Arabia and China. We are even borrowing money from Mexico. These countries should not have the unprecedented control of our economic destiny. We are facing a fiscal nightmare that will not go away this Congress, and it will handicap our ability in all we need to do in so many different areas. With pay-go in place, we will begin to set America on the right track.

I have been in Congress going on 25 years. In my 25 years, I witnessed many fine moments in our Senate's history. But I believe in my State, in the Senate, and in the House, the days following 9/11 are what America is all about. It was a national tragedy, but it brought out the best in us, the best in Members of Congress, the best in the American people. Democrats and Republicans from all over America put aside our differences and worked with the administration to protect our country. That day showed the Government working as the Founders intended. This year we must work on the same bipartisan basis, the same fashion.

It should not take a national tragedy for us to work together. We should be equally united by our ability to make a positive difference in the lives of the people who sent us here. Today is that beginning. This year let us work side by side and succeed together.

The future lies with those wise political leaders who

realize the great public is interested more in government

than politics.

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1940.

Mr. President, as the 109th Congress fades into memory and the 110th Congress comes into view, I want to say a few words about the importance of Senate rules. One of our finest accomplishments over the last 2 years was something that the Senate chose not to do. In May 2005, the Senate turned aside the so-called nuclear option and decided to preserve the rules of the Senate which allow for extended debate on judicial nominations.

Almost a century ago the Senate adopted rule XXII which formalized the principle of extended debate and established a balanced mechanism for limiting debate. The current version of rule XXII requires two- thirds of the Senate to cut off debate on any change in the rules and three-fifths of the Senate to cut off debate on any other question before the body. The nuclear option would have forced a change in this venerable Senate rule by the brute force of a simple majority vote.

The campaign to rewrite Senate rules was misguided from the start. It was a raw abuse of power fueled by a misreading of history. The Senate came dangerously close to adopting this plan. On the eve of the showdown vote, a courageous band of 14 Senators, 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans, came together to derail it. They agreed to vote as a block against the nuclear option in exchange for an up-or-down vote on a handful of disputed court of appeals nominees.

I feel very comfortable that had that vote occurred, this same result would have followed, but did I want to roll the dice on that? The answer is no. In the aftermath of that so-called Gang of 14 agreement, I was asked who won? I said the American people won. I am happy to report that commentators since then have also said that the American people won.

Had the nuclear option prevailed, it is almost certain that other valuable Senate traditions would soon have fallen to political expediency, raw power, simple majority vote, and we would have become another House of Representatives. Confirmation of a handful of controversial court of appeals nominees was a small price to pay for preserving the sanctity of the Senate rules for future generations.

The nuclear option was the most important issue I have worked on in my public life. Its rejection was my proudest moment as minority leader. I emerged from the episode with a renewed appreciation for the majesty of

Senate rules. As majority leader, I intend to run the Senate with respect for the rules and for the minority rights the rules protect.

The Senate was not established to be efficient. Sometimes the rules get in the way of efficiency. The Senate was established to make sure that minorities are protected. Majorities can always protect themselves, but minorities cannot. That is what the Senate is all about. For more than 200 years, the rules of the Senate have protected the American people, and rightfully so.

The need to muster 60 votes in order to terminate Senate debate naturally frustrates the majority and oftentimes the minority. I am sure it will frustrate me when I assume the office of majority leader in a few weeks. But I recognize this requirement is a tool that serves the long-term interest of the Senate and the American people and our country.

It is often said that the laws are ``the system of wise restraints that set men free.'' The same might be said of the Senate rules.

I will do my part as majority leader to foster respect for the rules and traditions of our great institution. I say on this floor that I love so much that I believe in the Golden Rule. I am going to treat my Republican colleagues the way that I expect to be treated. There is no ``I've got you,'' no get even. I am going to do everything I can to preserve the traditions and rules of this institution that I love.

Mr. President, I know the hour is late and we have other speeches to give, but I wanted to comment briefly to my friend from Ohio. Senator DeWine and I came to the House of Representatives together in 1982. We have careers that are similar. He served as Lieutenant Governor for the State of Ohio, I served as Lieutenant Governor of the State of Nevada. He served as a Member of the House of Representatives. I served as a Member of the House of Representatives. He and I served as Senators. Our backgrounds are also the same in that we are trial lawyers. I have heard Senator DeWine speak on a number of occasions about his days of being a prosecutor.

I also want the record to reflect that I approach my brief remarks here tonight keeping in mind our days as trial lawyers, where you could go into a courtroom representing your client, whether it be the State or an individual, a corporation or an individual, and you would give that client your very best, as would your opponent. But when that trial was over, you shook hands and went on about your business.

I have also had the same experience as Mike DeWine. I have lost a statewide election, and I know that is not pleasant. But I want Mike to know that I admire and respect the work he has done. His wife has been so thoughtful and kind to my wife. We all witnessed these speeches that he has given. Many more people have died in Iraq and Afghanistan from Ohio than Nevada because it is such a heavily populated State, and Mike's tenacity in directing his attention to each of those families is something that will always be remembered here in the Senate.

Mike, I want you to know that I want us to have the same relationship as you leave the Senate as if we were trying a case, and one won the case and one lost. We would walk out and shake hands. That is how I feel about you, someone who has been with me and I with you for 25 years, as Members of Congress and doing other things; we certainly have a relationship. I am happy to call Mike DeWine my friend.

Mr. President, I have experssed my feelings about Paul Sarbanes. I have spoken before the Democratic caucus about my affection for Paul Sarbanes.

I would like to read from the Congressional Directory something that this humble man did not tell us. His Bachelor's degree at Princeton University, magna cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa; Rhodes Scholar, Balloil College, Oxford England; first-class B.A. honors in School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics; LL.B., cum laude, Harvard Law School.

These are the things he didn't tell us. He is a man of great humility, a person the leaders whom I have served with in the Senate-- Senators Byrd, Mitchell and Daschle, Democratic leaders--counted their font of wisdom, without question. I sat for 6 years with Senator Daschle, and whenever there was a difficult issue facing him, he had to talk to Sarbanes. I, on a number of occasions, went and obtained Sarbanes to come and visit with Senator Daschle.

I am disappointed that Paul Sarbanes is going to be leaving because that font of knowledge, that font of wisdom will no longer be available to me. The leaders used the knowledge and the wisdom conveyed to them by Senator Sarbanes for the good of the Republic.

Senator Sarbanes has heard me on a number of occasions express my appreciation for his friendship and for his dedication to our country, but he has also heard me on every occasion I have had the opportunity to talk about his athletic prowess.

Paul Sarbanes, even though he kind of saunters around with the dignity of a Sarbanes, as a young man he was a good athlete. My favorite story some of our colleagues heard me say, and I know Senator Sarbanes has heard me say it and he is going to hear it again. He was selected as one of the best baseball players in all of Maryland. He comes from the Eastern Shore for the All-Star tournament in Baltimore. The starting lineup is announced: Sarbanes, second base. He goes to speak with the manager and says: I am a shortstop. The manager ignores him. He comes back a little bit later and says to the manager: I was selected to

be an All-Star second baseman. The manager ignores him. He goes back a third time. The manager says: Sarbanes, leave me alone. I'm starting Kaline at shortstop.

Of course, we know Kaline went on to the big leagues when he was 18 or 19 years old.

I am going to miss this good man and his wife Christine so very much. He is what, in my estimation, a Senator should be.

I move to reconsider the bill.

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

Mr. President, for 16 years I have had a woman working for me who has been outstanding. She has worked in my press department for the last 8 years. She has been my chief of staff. Her name is Susan McCue. She has a wonderful background. She is one of 10 children. She put herself through college working as a waitress, among other things. She is a graduate of Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree.

Some people are born with the ability to jump high and throw balls a long ways, and some people go to the finest business schools in the country to learn how to manage people. Susan has an innate ability, as if she were a skilled athlete, a skill to be an administrator. What she did to develop my staff is something that I am sure someday will be used as a ``how you should hire a staff in Washington, DC.''

I have such great affection for Susan. She has worked so hard for me. She has decided to leave after 16 years to go downtown and work, seeking not a job where she can make a lot of money but working in a program that will deal with poor people around the world. She will make just a little bit more money than she is being paid right here. But being the person she is, a kind, thoughtful, considerate person, she thought it was time for a change.

As hard as it is for me to let someone go who has done such a wonderful job for me, I must be as loyal and dedicated to her as she has been to me.

I want everyone to know--and I especially want Susan to know--that her work on my behalf has been something that I and my family will long remember. I have never had anyone in my professional career as a lawyer, as a government worker, who has been more dedicated or more skilled than Susan McCue. I will miss her greatly. I know our paths will cross, but I am a better person for having had her run my office. And poor people of the world will be well served with Susan McCue looking after them.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Bob McGowan, the Washoe County assessor. After more than 24 years in office, Bob will retire this year as the longest serving elected department head in the county. His personable demeanor and dedication to service will be missed.

Bob has been a resident of Nevada for more than 38 years. After working in the Nevada Attorney General's office, Bob made the first of many successful runs for elected office. In 1982, the citizens of Washoe County elected him as their county assessor. For more than two decades, Bob has presided over the growth of Washoe County. From the rising real estate values at Lake Tahoe to the rapid development in the city of Reno, Bob has sought to provide fairness for Washoe County residents.

Most importantly, Bob has never forgotten that the goal of elected office is service. After his election in 2002, he told the Reno-Gazette Journal: ``From the first day I went in office, we've always been a public service organization, not just a property appraisal.'' Under Bob's guidance, the assessor's office has become more responsive to Washoe County Residents. For example, Bob moved the assessor's office into the digital age, and residents of Washoe County can now access many forms online. Bob has also worked to save the taxpayers money, trimming his own budget to return more than $2 million to the Washoe County general fund.

As the county assessor, Bob has always been in tune with the issues of Washoe County. He has navigated controversies over rising property values with ease, taking the time to talk with people he serves. To this day, residents are amazed that Bob is so approachable and accessible. He can quickly put a visitor at ease with his humble demeanor and his frequent jokes. In fact, I cannot recall a time that I have met with Bob when he hasn't told me a funny anecdote or story.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Bob is a dedicated part of his community. He has served as president for Habitat for Humanity and as an executive board member of the alumni organization for the University of Nevada, Reno. Additionally, as the president of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful organization, he led an effort to protect the pristine areas surrounding Lake Tahoe. While working to improve Washoe County, Bob also raised three wonderful children in Reno. A few years ago, I had the privilege to host his daughter Megan in my Washington office as an intern.

Mr. President, Bob McGowan has been an important part of northern Nevada for more than two decades. His retirement will leave large shoes to fill, but I am confident that Bob will continue to improve Washoe County for many years to come. It is my great pleasure to offer my congratulations to Bob and the McGowan family.

Mr. President, the great Senator Daniel Webster once remarked that the Senate is a place:

of equals of men of individual honor . . . and personal

character.

He was right, and we can see what he was talking about in the fine men the Senate is losing to retirement at the end of this Congress: Senator Frist, Senator Sarbanes, Senator Jeffords, and Senator Dayton.

On previous occasions, I have talked about how much I appreciated serving with Senators Frist and Jeffords. Today, I would like to say a few more words about Senators Sarbanes and Dayton.

Paul Sarbanes is a man I have always admired. We share a similar background.

I grew up in a small Nevada town. My parents weren't well connected or highly educated. But as we see in my life--and Paul Sarbanes's life--in America your background does not matter.

Paul is the son of Greek immigrants. His parents didn't have a formal education, but they worked hard. They owned a restaurant--the Mayflower Grill on Main Street in Salisbury, MD.

Paul worked hard too, and as a result, he has lived the American dream. This son of Greek immigrants is the graduate of some of the world's leading educational institutions, and for the last 30 years, he has been a leading voice in the world's greatest deliberative body.

Paul received an academic and athletic scholarship to Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1954. After graduation from Princeton, he received the Rhodes Scholarship, which sent him to Oxford, England, until 1957. When Paul came back to the States, he went to Harvard to earn his Law Degree.

In 1970, Paul won his first Federal election--to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1976, he came to the Senate.

During the next 30 years, he made a tremendous mark on our country.

Paul Sarbanes has been an excellent Senator, but he has always excelled when the country needed him the most--during times of crisis.

During Watergate, he was a leading voice for reform in the House. During Iran-Contra, he led the fight for the truth in the Senate. And more recently, in the wake of the Enron accounting scandals, he was largely responsible for reforms which restored the people's confidence in corporate America.

During his 30 years in the Senate, Paul Sarbanes has cast over 11,000 votes. Not all of them were as monumental as his work on Watergate, Iran-Contra and Enron, but every one of them was cast with the people of Maryland, and the people of the United States in mind.

Mr. President, Mark Dayton has served in the Senate just one-fifth of the time Paul Sarbanes served here. But he, too, has made his mark. He's been a fine public servant, and an even better friend.

Of course, Senator Dayton's service has always been closely intertwined with that of our dear departed collegue Paul Wellstone. Paul was a legend in our country, but Mark has kept his legacy alive these last 4 years by fighting for the working people of Minnesota.

Mark was born in Minnesota in 1947. He graduated from Yale University in 1969, where he majored in psychology and played varsity hockey. Mark had many options coming out of college, but he chose to become a teacher at a public school on New York City's lower east side.

It was an unselfish choice, and it would not be the last time Mark chose a path in life that put the public's interest ahead of his own self-interest.

In 1957, after his years of teaching, Mark came to Washington, where he worked on the staff of then-Senator Walter Mondale. When Mondale was selected the running mate of Jimmy Carter in 1976, Mark was there to serve.

In 1990--following jobs in the Minnesota State government and the private sector--Mark ran for Minnesota State auditor and won. In 2000, he came to the Senate, where he has served ever since.

Mark is known here as a strong advocate for the people of Minnesota. He has used his Senate salary to send busloads of seniors to Canada for prescription drugs. He has used his power in the Senate to help low- income constituents get the oil they need to heat their homes. And he has created a ``Healthcare Help Line,'' which is available to Minnesotans who have problems with their health insurers.

Mr. President, Mark Dayton, like Paul Sarbanes, like Jim Jeffords, like Bill Frist, will be missed.

The Senate--and our country--are better off because of their service.

Mike De Wine

Mr. President, Andrew von Eschenbach is cleared on this side, so as far as we are concerned there is no need for a cloture vote. We look forward to working with the distinguished majority leader today, maybe tomorrow, maybe Saturday, to try to get as much cooperation out of Senators as possible. I know the finance folks have worked long and hard to try to come up with something that is very important for the country. We will continue to monitor that and do everything we can as we try to move this legislative agenda forward.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, parting really is sweet sorrow. Mr. President, thank you very much for being here today honoring not only Senator Frist, our majority leader, but the entire Senate.

On the surface, some may ask how the Senate and the operating room are the same. What do they have in common? Senator Frist has shown us that helping people is what he did as a doctor and what he has done as a Senator. Serving others is a trait as we have observed by knowing this good man is that he learned from his family. His father was also a doctor. As a young man he was obviously academically very talented. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. He went to Princeton University, which shows that he is someone who is talented academically and socially. He graduated from that great American learning institution and decided he was going to go to Harvard, which speaks well, again, of his intellect and, of course, his ability to get along with people. His surgical training came at Massachusetts General Hospital and Southhampton General Hospital in England.

Senator Frist was a pioneer, but he learned his transplant surgery from the pioneer. I have heard Bill Frist talk about Norman Shumway on many occasions--the first doctor to perform a successful heart transplant in the U.S. Senator Frist--then Dr. Frist--started Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Heart and Lung Transplant Center. I don't know if anybody knows--I am sure someone knows--how many heart and lung transplants Senator Frist has done, but most say it was nearly 200. Think about that. Some of these operations took many hours, and some of them took days.

I heard Dr. Frist talk about those first transplants, where he actually went and got the organs and personally brought them back to the operating room.

Things have changed since then. Pioneer, doctor, Senator Frist has and will write a lot about his success as a surgeon and as a Senator. And not only will he talk with his family and his friends about this, things will be written about his service as a doctor and as a Senator.

When we talk about these nearly 200 transplants, we are talking about 200 human beings whose lives have been saved by virtue of his talent. Senator Frist helped hundreds of people continue their lives. Here, as a public servant, a Senator, he has affected the lives of millions of people.

I have had the good fortune of serving with Senator Frist during his 12 years in the Senate. I knew him before I became the Democratic leader and, as all of you know, I spend a lot of time on the floor and I worked with him very closely.

Over the years, we have had our ups and downs. It has been tough. These jobs, I can tell my colleagues up close, are not real easy. We have had problems over budgets, over committee structure, disagreements about schedules--oh, yes, about Senate rules. I have never once doubted--never once doubted--that what Senator Frist was doing he was doing because he believed in his heart it was the right thing. That is why I, Harry Reid, at his home on a very personal level, told Senator Frist he should run for reelection. I don't believe in term limits. I truly believed then, as I do now, that he should have run for reelection. I told his good wife Karyn the same thing in her home, in their home.

I have come to learn a number of things about Bill Frist. He loves medicine. He has done his work in the Senate. But the thing that is first and paramount in his mind and his heart every minute of the day is Karyn and his three boys.

All of you out here have seen our fights publicly, and we have had them, but they have been fair. I can remember only once has Senator Frist ever raised his voice at me, and it was right from here because, even though I didn't mean to, he thought I had said something that reflected upon his family, and I apologized to him. This man loves his family and is an example of how people should treat their family.

Karyn is a wonderful woman. She has treated my wife--my wife is a very shy person. She has always been very shy. Karyn has taken good care of her, and I will always, Karyn, appreciate that.

In the years that go on, I, frankly, will never think about or, if I try, not remember any of the differences we had on the Senate floor, but I will always remember the friendship I have developed with the good man from Tennessee, a citizen legislator.

Senator Frist, Karyn, I wish you the very best. You are a good man. I love and appreciate everything you have done for the country and for me.

(Applause.)

Mr. President, the end of the 109th Congress marks the end of a very distinguished career of Linda Sebold, Editor of the Senate Daily Digest.

After 33 years of Senate service, Linda has decided that she will retire and spend time with her family. Linda began her Senate career with the Office of the Secretary of the Senate in August 1973, and remained a totally dedicated Senate employee.

Through her hard work and dedication, Linda advanced through the ranks and was named Assistant Editor of the Digest, and in the spring of 1999, Linda was appointed Editor of the Digest.

Over the course of Linda's Senate career, she had made numerous contributions which have been instrumental in the development of the Senate-wide Legislative Information System, LIS. Additionally, she had worked diligently in the area of the Senate's continuity of operations planning. Linda has been a true leader in the Senate's legislative staff operations.

It is our hope and wish that Linda, along with her husband Jerry and her children, Brian and Karen, will enjoy many days and family fun, and we wish her well as she embarks on her adventure of retirement.

Good luck, Linda, and thank you very much for your service to the Senate and the Nation.

Mr. President, I intend to support the nomination of Dr. Robert Gates as the new Secretary of Defense. I believe he will provide the Department of Defense, and the President's senior team, the new perspective and fresh ideas so desperately needed. He is a distinguished and seasoned public servant, and his long experience will serve him well in what will be a challenging post.

I want to thank Senators Warner and Levin for making sure Dr. Gates received an expeditious and thorough hearing. With our Nation at war, we could not afford to let his confirmation drag.

I am hopeful that, when confirmed, Dr. Gates will serve as an agent of change in the administration--most importantly, on Iraq.

Yesterday, when asked if we are winning in Iraq, Dr. Gates said ``no.'' Today, the Iraq Study Group said the situation in Iraq is ``grave and deteriorating.''

The Iraq Study Group has done a tremendous and historic service to the American people and to the troops serving in harm's way in Iraq. Their report underscores the message the American people sent one month ago: there must be change in Iraq, and there is no time to lose. It is time for the Iraqis to build and secure their nation, and it is time for American combat troops to be redeployed. Each day the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate. Time is not on our side.

This assessment rings particularly true today, as we learned that 10 U.S. troops were killed in fighting across Iraq, bringing the level of U.S. deaths to 27 in only the first 6 days of December. On average, almost three U.S. troops are killed each day. We do not have time for finger-pointing and pontificating from politicians--it is time for action and leadership.

Most experts agree that Iraq is now embroiled in a civil war, and our troops are caught in the middle. Policing a civil war between Shia and Sunni is not something for which our country or our military consented. We must begin to transition our mission in Iraq, reduce our combat footprint, and begin to extricate our troops from the middle of this sectarian strife. In short, we need more than a change in personality at the Defense Department, we need a change in policy. I urge the President to reach out to Congress and work with us to change course.

If the administration reaches out in a meaningful way, it will find Congress ready and willing to work as a partner. The Senate will do its part next year and conduct strong oversight to ensure the President carries out an effective change in policy. Our troops in Iraq, including hundreds of Nevadans, have sacrificed so much. It is time for President Bush to reward their effort by bringing the country together around a new way forward.

Once Dr. Gates is confirmed, I look forward to the Senate working with him and the President on this change of course in Iraq.

In addition, I look forward to working with Dr. Gates to change course on the other key challenges we face. Dr. Gates must come to Congress with a solid plan for addressing the readiness of our military which is under strain and at risk because of the administration's Iraq strategy.

Dr. Gates must help the administration develop an effective approach for curbing Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions. And Dr. Gates must spearhead a new effort to ensure a successful outcome for Afghanistan, as part of a broader fresh look at our strategy for the war on terror, the hunt for Usama bin Laden, and the struggle to empower moderates and combat violent extremists. These are serious issues that deserve to be addressed properly.

Hopefully, Dr. Gates can operate with the same level of candor and realism as Secretary of Defense as he has during his nomination process. The stakes for our Nation are high, and his task is a great one, but today, he has our support and a commitment to work together to solve this Nation's national security challenges.

Mr. President, in life we all have changes. They are so difficult to accept. In the last month or so, I have had a lot of changes in my life. One of the changes that has been so troubling for me is that we have lost a friend in the Senate. Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

Sorrow makes us all children again. [It] destroys all

differences of intellect. The wisest know nothing.

The family member we have lost is Mary Arnold. She was such a wonderful, pleasant, thoughtful, kind person. Anyone would recognize her even though they wouldn't know her by name, simply because of her description--beautiful white hair, elegantly dressed every day, a wonderful smile. She never drew attention to herself, but she was so good for the institution. She sat right back here every day we were in session.

She was the best when things weren't going so well. She was here for more than two decades. She was the best when things were real tumultuous here on the floor. If somebody wanted an easel for a chart, that was available. She directed the pages as to what they were supposed to do and not do. She always did it with such a pleasantness.

I first met Mary Arnold when her daughter worked here. She was a Republican floor person. She, like her mom, had this great, disarming smile. I was not in the city when the funeral took place and was unable to attend, but I saw in the program a picture of the deceased Mary Arnold. She looked exactly like her daughter. Exactly. She could have passed for her daughter.

She came to Washington over 40 years ago. Born in the late 1930s in Jonesboro, Arkansas, she attended Memphis State University. She worked as a flight attendant--a stewardess, as they used to be called. All the stewards and stewardesses are very attractive people, but in the old days that was a requirement. Stewardesses had to look real good; Mary Arnold looked real good. I am sure she was a great flight attendant, a stewardess.

She worked for a number of Members of Congress, including Congressman Harvey of Indiana and Representative Zion. She worked for the Sergeant at Arms, of course.

She was a wonderful person. I had conversations with her. She loved animals, especially the ugly little dogs people fall in love with, Boston terriers. She was in love with her Boston terriers. She was a wonderful person. Coming to the Senate today and not having Mary back there is a tremendous loss to me and to the Senate. I want her wonderful daughter Mary Elizabeth to know she will be missed. Her spirit is something all in the Senate should have a little bit of. My thoughts are with Mary wherever she might be and my love and respect for her family is paramount as a result of the wonderful person she was.

Mr. President, today we begin the final week, as I understand it, for the work created for the 109th Congress. There are only a few days left to complete a mountain of work, 2 years of work, really. The mission we have before the Senate these next few days is an impossible mission. It is truly a mission impossible, but we have to try.

The American people made it clear last month they want Members to work together. The judgment was held on whether a one-party town works and the American people said no. We have to work together. We have to work together this week and certainly when we come back after the first of the year.

To accomplish what needs to be accomplished in the next few days is mission impossible. We cannot get it all done. Appropriations bills, budget, health care nominations, conference reports for all kinds of things that, as I have said, somehow never make it to the other side of the Capitol.

I told Democratic Senators gathered recently that many of them have never, ever, participated in a conference, a conference between the House and Senate. Why? Because the Republicans would not hold them. We simply did not have them. Some of the most memorable times of my career were when I participated in conferences. A bill passed the Senate, a bill passed the House, you meet together, Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate, to work out the differences.

This administration and the Republican-dominated House and Senate did not believe in that. They did not believe in 200 years of experience. They did not hold conferences. They would bring a bill back that the Republicans in the House and the Republicans in the Senate agreed upon. We had to take it or leave it, period.

That is not the way it is going to be next year. We are going to have Senators participating in things that many of them have never participated in: a real live conference, where Democrats and Republicans from the House and the Senate meet in a room and work out the differences on a bill.

This year we have so much to do. And as I said, it is mission impossible. If we had years left, if we had months left, if we had weeks left in the 109th Congress, maybe we could do something about it. But we have days remaining to finish all the items I have mentioned, and many more.

I want to comment briefly. My friend, the distinguished majority leader, talked about the nuclear option. One reason we are here in the waning moments of the 109th Congress trying to complete the work that needs to be completed is because, again, the Republicans who control the House and the Senate--but here in this instance the Senate--decided to do away with 200 years of experience in this Senate. It was decided by the Republicans--because there were 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats--that they did not want the Senate to be the Senate. They wanted the Senate to be the House.

In the House of Representatives, if you have more than the other party, you get whatever you want. That is not how the Senate has worked for more than 200 years. The Republicans in the Senate in the 109th Congress said, we want another House of Representatives. They adopted the so-called nuclear option. They were not getting enough judges, enough of their rightwing, ideological judges. They were not getting enough--but it was well over 100. I don't know how many it is now. They were not getting enough. They wanted every one of them and they were willing to throw the traditions of this Senate overboard.

One of the negative things that happened in my political career was having to oppose the nuclear option. I said at the time, I say today, the most important thing I have ever worked on in my governmental career is the nuclear option because it was so anti-Senate, so antigovernment. I said in the Senate, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this, my friends, the Republicans? It would take a miracle for us to retake the Senate. As a result of the nuclear option and the other very bad things this Republican-dominated Senate did, the miracle occurred. One reason it occurred is because of the nuclear option. The American people knew that was beyond the pale.

We want to get our work done this year. We are willing to work up until Christmas, if necessary. We want to finish what we have to finish. I have talked to the majority leader. He knows the things I think should be done, must be done. We are leaving many things undone. However, as I said before, it is mission impossible. We cannot do it all; there is simply not enough time.

We spent too much time on the nuclear option, on estate tax, on gay marriage, on flag burning. The American people said, Why don't you work on our issues? On November 7, they said, Work together on our issues. We are committed to working together on the issues of the American people.

Mr. President, today I rise to salute Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on December 4, 2006. Founded at Cornell University in 1906, Alpha Phi Alpha is the Nation's oldest African-American fraternity. In addition to Martin Luther King, Jr., the fraternity also proudly claims notable American leaders such as former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, former Senator Edward Brooke, Congressman Charlie Rangel, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and countless others.

From advocating for the rights of African Americans to encouraging young people to attend college, Alpha Phi Alpha has played an important role in our country. Most recently, the fraternity successfully pushed to create a national memorial for Martin Luther King, Jr., on the National Mall in Washington, DC. I send my best wishes upon this important milestone, and I am certain that the fraternity will continue its rich legacy of service and social justice in the next 100 years.