Floor Statements

Madam President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Madam President, I ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under rule XIV, I object to my own request.

I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 243, S. 1356.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of Senator McConnell, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Patricia Millett to be U.S. circuit judge for the DC Circuit and immediately vote on confirmation of that nomination.

Senators should expect additional votes this morning with respect to reconsideration of the cloture vote on the nomination of Mel Watt to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

millett and watt nominations

Mr. President, this morning the Senate will consider the nomination of Patricia Millett to serve on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, considered by many to be the second highest court in the land. We postponed this vote last night out of consideration for a number of Senators whose flights were delayed by bad weather. I thank my colleagues for their patience. And I am pleased that today Ms. Millett will finally get the fair, up-or-down vote she deserves.

Ms. Millett is exceedingly qualified for this position. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Illinois at Urbana and attended Harvard Law School. Ms. Millett has argued more than 32 cases before the Supreme Court, including one while her husband was deployed overseas with the U.S. Navy. She also served as Assistant Solicitor General under both President Bill Clinton and President George Bush.

She enjoys bipartisan support from a variety of law enforcement officials, legal professionals, and military organizations. And it is my honor to help confirm a woman whom colleagues have called fair- minded, principled, and exceptionally gifted.

I will also move to reconsider the nomination of Congressman Mel Watt to serve as Administrator of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Congressman Watt graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale Law School. He has represented North Carolina's 12th Congressional District since 1993 and served as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. And as a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, Mr. Watt understands the mistakes that led to the housing crisis.

Yet last month Senate Republicans blocked Congressman Watt's nomination--the first time a sitting Member of Congress has been filibustered since 1843, since before the Civil War. They denied Congressman Watt even the courtesy of an up-or-down vote.

Congressman Watt proposed legislation to crack down on the worst abuses in mortgage lending and helped pass the Dodd-Frank bill to prevent predatory lending. By any measure, Congressman Watt is qualified to help struggling homeowners recover from the worst economic downturn in generations.

And at a moment when America still faces difficult economic times-- and as the housing market is finally beginning to recover--it is crucial the Senate confirm the most talented and dedicated individuals to serve in the executive branch of government.

It is critical that the Senate confirm Congressman Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

This week the Senate will also consider a number of other highly qualified judicial and executive branch nominees.

The 13 district court nominees on the calendar have been waiting an average of 56 days for a confirmation vote--almost twice as long as the average at this point in President Bush's second term.

One of these district court nominees, Elizabeth Wolford, has been waiting 130 days.

There are also 75 executive branch nominees currently ready to be confirmed by the Senate who have waited an average of 140 days for confirmation.

I want to remind my colleagues that, as always, there is an easy way and a hard way to process these nominations. And the more time the Senate wastes burning the hours and days between votes, the more likely the Senate will hold late-night and weekend votes this work period.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

I move to proceed to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Watt nomination.

I move to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Watt nomination.

Mr. President, what is the question now before the Senate?

On the matter now before the Senate, how much of the time that remains is controlled by the Democrats?

That is a little over 2 hours. How much time for the Republicans? The same?

Oh, I see. Why don't we yield back 130 minutes of our time. That would leave us 14 minutes or something like that?

That is far too much time. I yield back another 10 minutes.

Mr. President, that last vote took 30 minutes. We are not going to wait around for Senators to come. We are going to start cutting off votes--Democrats, Republicans, Independents, everybody. We cannot do this. We have a lot of work to do, so it is unfair to everyone who gets here on time. We are going to start cutting off the votes in 20 minutes. I advise the floor staff that in fact is the case. We are not to be waiting for people. It is wrong. It is unfair.

I now move to proceed to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Pillard nomination.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the Pillard nomination.

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

Mr. President, a couple years ago I surprised everyone--but I didn't surprise myself--when I selected Patty Murray as chair of the supercommittee. At the time Patty was chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, she was a member of the Budget Committee, and I thought she would do a remarkably good job because I had such faith in her integrity, her temperament, her wisdom, and her ability to get things done.

The country should be so pleased with the work she was able to do on a bipartisan basis with Paul Ryan. It is really a kind of unconventional pair working together to come up with a budget that we can work on for 2 years. We have numbers now. I am very pleased that budget negotiators Murray and Ryan have come up with an agreement today that will roll back the painful arbitrary cuts of sequester and prevent another costly government shutdown. I again commend Budget Committee chairman Patty Murray for making this possible. But it is also fair-- and I hope this doesn't get him in trouble in the House--to say that Chairman Ryan also worked hard. It was a compromise. We didn't get what we wanted, they didn't get what they wanted, but that is what legislation is all about--working together. ``Compromise'' is not a bad word.

We believed all along that Congress should set sound fiscal policy through the regular order of the budget process and not through hostage-taking or crisis-making. We will have a lot more to say about this in the days to come, but this is a good day for our country.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed now to a period of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 10, 2013, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Housing Finance Reform: Fundamentals of Transferring Credit Risk in a Future Housing Finance System.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 10, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The Committee will conduct a hearing entitled ``Crafting a Successful Incentive Auction: Stakeholders' Perspectives.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 10, 2013, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``The Transition in Afghanistan.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on December 10, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H.R. 2922.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 2871, which was received from the House.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed; that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. Res. 315.

Mr. President, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has received a request from a Federal agency seeking access to records that the Committee obtained during its review of disability claims adjudications made in the Social Security Administration's Huntington, WV Office of Disability Adjudication and Review.

This resolution would authorize the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, acting jointly, to provide records, obtained by the Committee in the course of its review, in response to this request and requests from other government entities and officials with a legitimate need for the records.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, S. 1797, introduced earlier by Senator Reed, I am told, is at the desk and due for a first reading.

I now ask for a second reading but object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, December 11; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of Calendar No. 233, the nomination of Cornelia T.L. Pillard to be U.S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia, postcloture; further, that time during adjournment count postcloture.