Floor Statements

Mr. President, there is a cloture motion at the desk.

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

Mr. President, I now move to proceed to legislative session.

Mr. President, there is a cloture motion at the desk.

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

Mr. President, I now move to proceed to legislative session.

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

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, on Tuesday, December 2, following the vote on cloture on Calendar No. 772, the Senate proceed to vote on cloture on Calendar No. 918; further, that if cloture is invoked on either of these nominations--the Coloretti and Adler nominations--the time until 4 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form and that at 4 p.m. all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order upon which cloture was invoked; further, that there be 2 minutes for debate prior to each vote and all rollcall votes after the first vote be 10 minutes in length; further, with respect to the nominations in this agreement, that if any nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate immediately after the first roll call vote on December 1, 2014.

I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2203 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, December 2, 2014; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that the Senate then proceed to administering the oath of office to Senators Schatz and Scott; that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume executive session and consideration of the Mamet nomination; and that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m., to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

For the information of all Senators, there will be four rollcall

votes at 10:30 tomorrow morning on confirmation of the Mamet and Bell nominations and cloture on the Coloretti and Adler nominations. Another series of votes will occur at 4 p.m.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 2 p.m. today, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

There will be five rollcall votes at 2 p.m. on confirmation of the Pepper, Sannes, Arleo, Beetlestone, and Bolden nominations, all to be district court judges, followed by 11 voice votes on executive nominations.

Mr. President, the famous poet Oliver Wendell Holmes said: ``Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.'' That is what he said. Since 2005 the Senate has put its money--precious taxpayer dollars--into the trusted hands of a man by the name of Chris Doby. He is the financial clerk of the Senate. He has proven himself to be equal to the task. That is an understatement. Through budget cuts, sequestration, and even a government shutdown, Senators and staff knew that Chris Doby and his team would make it work, no matter what took place.

There is just one story I will share with the Senate. In the midst of the government shutdown, Senate employees had no assurance of when their next paycheck would come. Staffers with families, mortgages, and student loan payments all hoped the shutdown would not be their personal financial disaster. Missing a check or two can be very difficult for most everyone.

After 16 days, Congress passed legislation funding the government, and the shutdown came to an end. That was October 16, 2013, just 2 days before payday for Senate staffers. It is important to understand that processing payroll for almost 7,000 employees normally takes about a week. But anticipating what a missed paycheck would mean for his fellow Senate employees, Chris Doby calmly pushed them to make it work.

So in less than 48 hours, with a very depleted staff, Chris and the Senate Disbursing Office ensured that every Senate staffer received their paycheck on time. Because of their efforts, mortgage payments were made, groceries were purchased, and working families breathed a sigh of relief.

I was trying to think what I could say today to indicate to this good man and his family and his friends and Senate staffers what a good person he is and what a good professional he is. The comparison I thought I would make is this. When I was a boy, I used to love to listen to the game of the day on radio, Mutual Radio Network in the town I lived in, a little town in Nevada. We, of course, had no TV. But radio reception came in pretty good during the day. I do not remember the station, but we could listen to the radio.

On the game of the day, I focused on some people who were so good and who later became even better than I had imagined. One of those people who is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame was a man by the name of Larry Doby. He was a center fielder for the Cleveland Indians. He was good. He could run fast, jump high. He hit with power. He stole bases. He was very good.

This Doby we have in the Senate, in my opinion, is somebody who, just like Larry Doby, would make the All-Star

team and should be in the Senate Hall of Fame for the good work he has done over these many years.

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