Floor Statements

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 301, S. 2038.

There is a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call under rule XXII be waived on the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to S. 2038; further, that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 2038 occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 30.

I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H.R. 3800, which has been received from the House and is at the desk.

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

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3801.

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

Mr. President, it is my understanding this is legislation that has been pushed by Gabrielle Giffords who resigned from the House yesterday.

What wonderful statements made by Members of the House yesterday signifying the way the whole country feels about the courage of this gallant woman. We all wish her the very best in her future with her heroic husband standing by her side, an astronaut. I am sure they will fare better than we can imagine.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 2039, introduced earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Boxer substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, January 30, 2012; 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; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business until 4:30 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each; that at 4:30 p.m., the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 301, S. 2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK), with the time until 5:30 p.m. equally divided between the two leaders or their designees.

Mr. President, the next vote will take place next Monday at 5:30 p.m. on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 2038, the STOCK Act.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn following the statement of Senator Boozman and that the statement be limited to 15 minutes.

Mr. President, if I could just take a moment. I know my friend from Arkansas is here to speak.

This is the last day this group of pages, who have been here since September, will spend in the Senate. I believe I am going to speak at their graduation--I am quite sure that is true--tomorrow.

I think the pages render such terrific service to this body. They do a lot of things. They get very little credit for what they do, but we depend on them for some of the most menial tasks a lot of times. But they are always polite. I have never had one treat me impolitely in all of the years I have been in the Senate. I can only speak from personal experience, and I have said this before on the Senate floor, and I will say it again: My two oldest grandchildren--granddaughters--both served in the Senate as pages, and it really changed their lives. I say that without any reservation. They became more in tune with what is going on in our country, and it hasn't left them. They look back with great--I don't know if ``reverence'' is the right word, maybe that is the wrong choice, but they look back certainly fondly on their experience here in the Senate.

I hope these young men and women understand how much we appreciate what they do. I do hope from a personal perspective that they have benefited as much as my two granddaughters did during their time here.

Mr. President, the guest Chaplain is from the State of Louisiana. It is my understanding Senator Vitter would like to say a few words, so I yield to him.

Mr. President, following any leader remarks this morning, the Senate will begin consideration of the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 98, which is a joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the President's exercise of authority to increase the debt limit. The time until noon will be for debate on the motion to proceed and is equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. At this time, I designate whatever time we have on this side to the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Baucus. At noon, the Senate will vote on that motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 98.

Mr. President, in 1946 President Harry Truman delivered his first State of the Union Message. This was the first State of the Union Message since the end of World War II. The trials of war were behind us but new challenges laid ahead. Truman laid out a vision for not only how America could survive those challenges but thrive in the modern world. He described the path forward in simple words. He said:

Our basic objective--toward which all others lead--is to

improve the welfare of the American people.

That meant economic prosperity. It meant Social Security and unemployment insurance. It meant an opportunity for higher education, access to medical care, and the dream of home ownership.

The goal, he wrote, was ``that we become a well-housed people, a well-nourished people, an educated people, a people socially and economically secure, an alert and responsible people.'' And in the three decades that followed that vision, that was reality. The middle class was never larger, never stronger, and it had never been easier to become a part of that middle class. That is the way it was. Through hard work and ingenuity, Americans prospered together.

For three decades after World War II, the rungs on the ladder to success grew closer together, but in the three decades that followed, something changed. The goal was the same--to be a well-housed, well- educated nation of responsible and economically secure people--but for many, reaching that goal became very difficult--certainly more difficult. Incomes skyrocketed for the richest few, but they stalled for the rest, and the middle class lost more and more ground.

Today, the richest 1 percent holds nearly half of all the wealth in this country. Today, the richest 1 percent takes home a quarter of all wages. Income, personal income--1 percent takes 25 percent of that. I repeat, the richest 1 percent holds nearly half of all the wealth in this country.

Americans are working just as hard as they worked 60 years ago, but that hard work is paying off for fewer and fewer people. What does that mean? For the last three decades, the rungs on the ladder to success have grown farther apart instead of closer together, and the farther apart those rungs grow, the fewer Americans climb that ladder. The farther apart those rungs are, the fewer Americans make it into a disappearing middle class.

We just weathered the worst recession since the Great Depression, but the financial collapse of 2008 was not the cause of the problem, it was a symptom of the problem. It was a symptom of a system that is rigged to pay off for a few but leave many behind, and it is time to even the playing field.

As we rebuild our economy, let's rebuild it to last. Let's rebuild it to work for every American, regardless of the size of their bank account. This week, President Obama laid out a vision to do just that.

The President's plan will spur manufacturing. It is time to reward companies that ``make it in America'' and end giveaways to companies that ship jobs overseas. It will reduce our reliance on expensive foreign oil. It is time to rely on plentiful, homegrown, renewable energy sources, in spite of the fact that President Obama said that just less than 10 years ago we were importing 60 percent of the oil and now it is less than 50 percent. We are producing more oil than we have in about a decade, and that is good, but we need to make sure the future is one of renewable energy. The plan will ensure that today's students have the skills to become tomorrow's workers. That is the only way to keep pace in a competitive world economy. And it will return this country to the core value that has always made it a great country--a country of fairness. Everyone must share the prosperity as well as the responsibility, and every person and every corporation must play by the same rules. That value encouraged three decades of growth after World War II, and it can make America grow again.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make this vision of fairness a reality.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 4 p.m. today. During that period of time, each Senator will be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes. The majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the second 30 minutes. The Senate is going to recess from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. today to allow for our weekly caucus meetings. The State of the Union is at 9 p.m. tonight. Senators will gather at 8:30 p.m. to proceed to the House of Representatives.

Mr. President, for generations this was the American promise: If you worked hard and played by the rules, success would be within your reach. We call that success the American dream--to earn a decent wage, buy a home, put your children through school, and retire comfortably. For many people in this country, that dream has drifted further and further from reality. The recession cost many Americans their jobs, homes, savings, and basic economic security. Many are still struggling. Although the economy has made slow progress toward recovery, there is still much more work to be done before every American who wants to work can find a job.

But the terrible recession is only part of the problem. The same Wall Street greed that caused the financial collapse is fueling the greatest income disparity since the Great Depression. In the last few decades, the average CEO's income has multiplied 250 times. Meanwhile, CEO's employees have watched their incomes creep up barely at all.

So America is at a crossroads. As President Lyndon Johnson said in 1965--and it is time to ask that now--and I quote:

. . . not only how to create wealth but how to use it; not

only how fast we are going, but where we are headed.

That is what he said. And the path we choose will determine what kind of a country we will be. We can choose to be the kind of nation where the hard work of many pays off only for the richest few or we can be the kind of nation where every man and woman shoulders a fair share of the burden and reaps a fair share of the reward. We can be the kind of country where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer or we can be the kind of country where middle-class families share in the opportunity and the prosperity.

President Obama has called this choice a ``make or break moment'' for the middle class, and tonight he will lay out a roadmap that sets us on the path to fairness instead of inequality. I look forward to hearing President Obama's vision this evening. It begins with an economy that works for every American--regardless of the size of his or her checkbook. I expect the President to lay out commonsense ideas to spur American manufacturing, create jobs, and help small businesses compete and grow. His vision is fueled by homegrown, renewable energy. It is time to stop spending American dollars on foreign oil. It is time to hire American workers to build wind turbines and next-generation vehicles. The President will propose a new plan to make sure that today's students are ready for tomorrow's jobs and that today's workers remain competitive in our global economy.

I expect the President to include ideas from Democrats and from Republicans. For 3 years, the President has reached out to Republicans. Now is the time to work with him on common ideas to produce legislation, not stalemate. I ask my Republican colleagues to give his bipartisan vision the consideration it deserves.

In 1947, President Truman delivered the first televised State of the Union Message. Truman was the 20th President to govern alongside a Congress controlled by the opposing party. The first was George Washington. He said Democrats in the executive branch and Republicans in the legislative branch could and should work hand in hand to shape the Nation. This is what he said:

There are ways of disagreeing; men who differ can still

work together sincerely for the common good.

I hope Republicans in Congress will keep those words in mind tonight. Despite all our differences, together we can build an economy that works for the common good of all Americans.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following any leader remarks on Thursday, January 26, the Republican leader or his designee be recognized to move to proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 294, H.J. Res. 98, a joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the President's exercise of authority to increase the debt limit; that the time until noon be for debate on the motion to proceed, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; that at noon, the Senate proceed to vote on the adoption of the motion to proceed; that if the motion is successful, then the time for debate with respect to the joint resolution be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the joint resolution; finally, that all other provisions of the statute governing consideration of the joint resolution remain in effect.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 353.

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