Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that we now resume legislative session.

I ask unanimous consent that we proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, in room SD 628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:15 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Universal Service Fund Reform: Ensuring a Sustainable and Connected Future for Native Communities.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on June 7, 2012, at 10 a.m., in SD 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct an executive business meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, at 11:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety of the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen 406 to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future for a Consent-Based Approach to Siting Nuclear Waste Storage and Management Facilities.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, at 10:45 a.m., to hold a Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs subcommittee hearing entitled, ``The Path to Freedom: Countering Repression and Strengthening Civil Society in Cuba.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Nathan Engle, a legislative fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the consideration of S. 3240.

I ask unanimous consent that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3261.

Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the importance of updating our aging and diminishing fleet of air tankers for emergency wildfire suppression operations.

Congress, the Forest Service, and communities sensitive to fire have known for a decade that we need to retire old air tankers. The tragic deaths this past weekend of two Forest Service contractors in an air tanker crash, and a crash landing at the Minden-Tahoe Airport near Carson City, remind us that further delay is unacceptable.

First, I would like to express my deep sorrow over the deaths of the two Forest Service contractors. Todd Tompkins and Ronnie Edwin Chambless were killed on Sunday as they dropped flame retardant from their P 2V7 heavy air tanker on the White Rock fire. At its highest point, the fire was ravaging nearly 5,000 acres in western Utah and southeastern Nevada, including sagebrush and other grasses in Lincoln County, NV.

Between the two of them, Captain Tompkins and First Officer Chambless had been flying for nearly three decades, including over a decade fighting fires. Captain Tompkins said he liked his work because it helped save communities and lives. Sadly, when he went into that mission on Sunday, he could not save his own.

My State has incurred much devastation from wildfires in recent years. These blazes have destroyed homes, displaced families and businesses, and wiped out both critical wildlife habitat and productive grazing lands.

Of course, without the brave work of the air tanker pilots dispatched to battle these fires, the damage could have been much worse. It is therefore critical that we help ensure these courageous men and women have the tools they need to conduct their important public safety work and preserve their own lives.

Today, we are asking for unanimous consent for Senate passage of legislation introduced by Senators Wyden and Bingaman, S. 3261, which would allow the Forest Service to quickly complete the contracting process for acquiring at least seven new large air tankers to fight wildfires during the 2012 and 2013 fire seasons.

The Forest Service is contending with an aging fleet of aircraft. The agency is working with planes that were designed for combat in the Korean War. Finding parts for tankers a half-century old is difficult, leading them to be grounded for long periods of times when repairs are needed.

The Forest Service has said it needs between 18 and 28 new air tankers for optimal response to emergency response to wildfires. Today, however, there are only nine Forest Service tankers deemed airworthy to fight fires during what is expected to be a terrible fire season. If we act promptly, Congress has the opportunity to help the Forest Service put more tankers into service this year.

To partially satisfy the need for new air tankers, the Forest Service has requested that Congress waive a 30-day

notification requirement before it awards contracts for four large air tankers. S. 3261 would waive this requirement, and allow the Forest Service to deploy these urgently needed air tankers.

There are hundreds of men and women currently fighting the White Rock fire, and I understand they are making progress. We should recognize their bravery, and provide them with the tools needed to do their dangerous job more safely by taking swift action on this issue.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, we less than a week ago had two pilots killed in Nevada fighting fires with one of these airplanes that was old, old, old. I appreciate the work of the Senators who worked so hard to get this done. This is an important piece of legislation that will allow us to do a better job of fighting fires when we have these new large air tankers. The old ones are really, really old.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5883, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5890.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 476 and the Senate now proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I do not know of any further debate on this resolution.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 488.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, we have worked hard. Not as hard as I would have liked or not as long hours as I would have liked and not as much accomplished as I would have liked, but this is the last day for this group of pages.

These spring pages have been exemplary. I really enjoy walking past them. They are out there studying. They are sitting here as we speak now. I wish I could have been a page. I really do. I think it would have been a great life.

We have done a much better job of making sure they are safe and happy. When I first came here, the pages lived wherever they could find a place to live. Now we have wonderful, safe, secure dormitories for those young men and women. We have a wonderful educational program for them. It is hard; no one can say it is easy. They learn a lot.

Two of my granddaughters have been pages. It changed their lives. They came here not having much interest in government. By the time they left, they had started reading the newspapers--not like the Presiding Officer and I, they did most of their reading online. But they were interested in government, and they still are. I guess they are both seniors now, one at New York University and one at the New School in New York.

One of my prized possessions in my office is a picture of my first two grandchildren, these two little girls, Ryan and Mattie. They are in diapers, and they are hanging onto each other. Then I have a picture right on the same little table of them in their page uniforms. That is a wonderful picture for me. It shows the progress of people's lives. It is really meaningful to me.

I can say this to these pages: This will be an opportunity they will never forget. They will make friends here who will be friends for the rest of their lives. The Presiding Officer and I know the friends you make when you are young are just so important to you as you proceed through life. I still love to pick up the phone and call some of the young men and--in fact, I talked to a woman today with whom I went to school. That is good. That is what life is all about. Make good friends and maintain that friendship.

Now, they have seen some things in the Senate that I think will be in the history books forever. We passed the surface transportation bill, we passed the Violence Against Women Act, we passed the Ex-Im Bank reauthorization, Iran sanctions bill, FDA Modernization Act, postal reform--we passed that.

We are in the process of trying to resolve the student loan debate, but we worked on that. That was something we were able to move on through this body. We did not pass the paycheck fairness--we did not, but we have been involved for a long time on the Paycheck Fairness Act. They have been able to watch all of this, and they can go home and tell their friends and family that they all relate to this stuff all of the time because they know now how the foundation of the government works. They have been here.

So I appreciate personally everything they have done. Senator McConnell is going to speak to the pages tomorrow. I am not going to be able to be here. But he will tell those assembled that he is speaking on our behalf. I appreciate that very much.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, June 11; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day.

Mr. President, when the Senate convenes on Monday, it will resume consideration of the farm bill postcloture. We are working on an agreement to move that bill forward.

There will be a cloture vote at 5:30, as I announced, on Andrew Hurwitz.

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

Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 415, S. 3240.

Madam President, we are now on the motion to proceed to the farm bill.

I now ask unanimous consent that today at 4 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 610; that there be 90 minutes for debate, which will be equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on the nomination; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Madam President, following my remarks and those of my esteemed colleague, the first hour will be equally divided, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. We hope to reach an agreement to begin consideration of the farm bill today.

Madam President, in a time when too many of the products we buy are made overseas, America can be satisfied that most of the food we eat is grown right here at home. The American agricultural industry boasted a $42 billion trade surplus last year--greater than any other sector in our economy. Our farmers are the most productive in the world, exporting $136 billion worth of their yield last year.

It is amazing how States produce agricultural products. The State of New York isn't considered by most people to be an agricultural State, but it is. The State of Michigan is not considered by most people to be an agricultural State, but it is. Even some of the States in the western part of the United States produce products that are exported. For example, in Nevada, alfalfa is exported. It is very high in protein. It is made into pellets, and it is a needed commodity overseas. So all over America the farm bill is important.

Our farmers are the most productive in the world, exporting $136 billion worth of their yield last year. At a time of economic uncertainty, America's agricultural industry supports 16 million much needed jobs. So Congress must give farmers the certainty they need to keep this industry thriving.

I commend Senators Stabenow and Roberts, the managers of this bill, for crafting a strong bipartisan bill. This

measure will create jobs and cut subsidies. It includes important reforms that make farm and food stamp programs more accountable and more defensible.

With more farmers seeking global markets for their product more than ever before, this bill supports rural farm jobs as well as urban manufacturing jobs. It will help new farmers--especially those who served their country in the Armed Forces--to build successful businesses. This legislation helps local farmers sell their products where they grow them--connecting farms, schools, and communities. And it saves $23 billion, which we will use to reduce this deficit we have.

I know there are a number of Democratic and Republican Senators who wish to offer amendments to this legislation. I have confidence in the leadership of Senators Stabenow and Roberts and look forward to working quickly and cooperatively to pass the bill that creates jobs, cuts subsidies, and reduces the deficit, while protecting American farmers.

Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse

Madam President, every day the dedicated officers of the U.S. Capitol Police keep members of Congress, our staffs, and millions of visitors from around the world who visit the Capitol grounds each year safe. For the last 6 years, this department has been led and run by Chief of Police Phillip Morse. He spent more than half of his life on the Capitol Police Force, and I think it is time for a little down time. Today Chief Morse retires after 28 years serving and protecting the U.S. Capitol. I thank him for his service and congratulate him on a job well done.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 410, S. 3220.

Mr. President, we are now on the motion to proceed to the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the time until 12:30 will be equally divided. The majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the second 30 minutes.

The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings.

I ask unanimous consent the cloture vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3220 occur at 2:30 p.m. and that the time from 2:15 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided between the two leaders, with the majority controlling the final half.

Mr. President, as I indicated, we are on the Paycheck Fairness Act, and we will have that cloture vote at 2:30 p.m. today.

Mr. President, most Americans believe if they get an education, they work hard and play by the rules, they will have a fair shot at success. But for millions of American women, no amount of talent or dedication will bring pay equality with their male coworkers. In the minds of many employers, they simply are not equal.

American women take home 77 cents for every $1 their male colleagues earn for doing the exact same work. That stunning fact holds true whether the woman has a college degree, regardless of how many hours she spends in the office each week or on some manufacturing floor and regardless of what job she holds--77 cents applies.

But listen to this. If she is an African-American or Hispanic woman, the disparity is even starker. African-American women make 62 cents on the dollar and Hispanic women 54 cents on the dollar compared to White men working the same hours and doing the same jobs. They are not working at different jobs; these are the exact same jobs. If someone is Hispanic and they are a woman, they get about half as much as a man doing the same job. If they are African American, they get about 62 cents compared to every $1 a man makes.

While landmark pieces of legislation such as the Equal Pay Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act have narrowed the pay gap, they have not closed the gap, and that is obvious by the numbers I just announced to the Senate. So Congress must do more. This act that is before the Senate would give workers stronger tools to combat wage discrimination.

One of the tools of retaliation employers have is they fire workers if they discuss how much they make with another worker. Our legislation would bar retaliation against workers for discussing salary information. Why do we

have this in the bill? We have this landmark legislation that we had to pass because the Supreme Court ruled against Lilly Ledbetter.

Lilly Ledbetter is a woman who worked in Alabama for many years, and she didn't know she was being paid far less than her male counterparts who did the same work. So when she learned of this, she filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said: Sorry, Lilly. You didn't file it in time; the statute of limitations has run, meaning she had to file within a certain period of time.

We have many different places in the law where we do not start tolling the statute until someone learns something is wrong. For example, we had to go back on medical malpractice cases where people were treated negligently by physicians, but the poor patient didn't realize this until long after. For example, in the State of Nevada, there is a 2-year statute of limitations. So we changed that in most places in the country, and we need to make sure people understand, in this instance--now that we passed the Lilly Ledbetter legislation--the time doesn't start running until one has learned they are being cheated.

Our legislation would bar retaliation against workers for discussing salary information, and it would help secure adequate compensation for victims of gender-based pay discrimination. Let's look at the State of Nevada. Over their lifetimes, Nevada women will earn about $475 million less than their male counterparts--almost $500 million.

This is not just an issue for women; it is a family issue. Why? Because every year millions of American families are cheated out of money they could spend on groceries, rent, and gas. Every year wage discrimination puts almost 400,000 Nevada children at risk.

For many families in Nevada and across the country a woman is the only income generator in that family. For many more women that person is the primary breadwinner. Yet Republicans have vowed to block this legislation. It is in all the news today. Every headline in the news talks about this bill coming up today and the Republicans are saying they are going to vote against it because it creates too much bookwork.

They vowed to block legislation that would even the playing field and help women provide for their families even though Americans overwhelmingly support this legislation. Nine out of ten Americans-- including 81 percent of men and 77 percent of the Republicans--support pay equity legislation.

Once again, the only Republicans who are against our commonsense measure are the ones who are in Congress in Washington. Even Mitt Romney has refused to publicly oppose this legislation. He may oppose it, but he is afraid to say anything about it. Why? Because it is obvious why. He should show some leadership. In my opinion, Governor Romney should tell his fellow Republicans that opposing fair pay for all Americans is shameful. Instead, no one knows where he stands, but we know where Democrats stand. Everyone knows. We stand firmly on the side of equality for every working woman.

Democrats stand with middle-class women who are working to keep their families afloat during these difficult times. We stand with young women pursuing a college education who are hoping to get a good-paying job when they graduate. We stand with little girls whose mothers taught them there is no limit to their dreams.

This evening Americans will see where Republicans stand on this issue. It is unfortunate they, once again, favor obstruction over equality.

Recognition of the Republican Leader