Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1791 and the bill be referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 8:30 p.m. tonight and proceed as a body at 8:40 p.m. to the Hall of the House of Representatives for the joint session of Congress provided under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 96; that upon the dissolution of the joint session, the Senate adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 26, 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 leader remarks, the Senate begin consideration of the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 98 under the previous order.

Madam President, before we move on that, the reason we are not going to be in session tomorrow is the Republicans are having a retreat. These are normally done at the beginning of every Congress. We are going to do ours in the next week or so--the next week or 2 weeks, I should say--and we will be out of session that day also. So this is why we are not working tomorrow.

We have work that we are going to complete Thursday, and the next week we have some fairly heavy legislation we are going to start. The reason we have not been working real hard this week is the IP bill, which we expected to work on this week and next week, things came up and we were unable to do that.

So I ask the Chair to rule on my request.

Madam President, the next vote will be on Thursday at 12 p.m. on the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 98.

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

Mr. President, I was saddened to hear that Senator Mark Kirk suffered a stroke over the weekend. He had surgery this morning. I have followed it as closely as I have been able to. The doctors say he will recover, and I am confident that is true. He is young and in very good health. I wish him a full and speedy recovery and look forward to him returning to his work in the Senate as soon as possible.

Mr. President, Winston Churchill said:

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is

also what it takes to sit down and listen.

I know each of my colleagues in the Senate--regardless of political party--has the courage to stand up and speak in defense of his or her principles. This year I hope we each find the courage and faith to listen and cooperate as well.

The Founders, in their wisdom, when drafting our Constitution, created a divided government. That is what they did with this bicameral legislature they envisioned. They also looked to see a robust debate on important issues. I do not believe they envisioned the obstructionism and gridlock that ground the Senate to a halt last year. Influenced by the tea party voices, Republicans forced us to waste months on routine legislation, they nearly shut down our government, and they held hostage the full faith and credit of the United States.

So I remind my Republican colleagues that not every discussion, every matter we deal with, should collapse into a fight. We do not have to fight about everything. Every piece of legislation we consider should not result in a political battle.

When we work together, we achieve greater results for the American people. That is why this year Democrats and Republicans must seek common ground. We must also admit it when we find that common ground, and work on that common ground we have discovered.

We should all be able to agree that Congress must do whatever it takes to help create jobs and strengthen our economy. Democrats believe it will take commonsense policies that protect the middle class and smart investments that rebuild our roads, bridges, and schools, our water and sewer systems.

We must combat income inequality now or the rich will keep getting richer and the poor getting poorer, while the middle class disappears. That is not fiction; it is fact.

I watched on public television within the past week or so a wonderful piece on ``Bill Moyers Journal.'' I was so impressed with that, I called and spoke with him afterwards. I am not in the habit of calling people like that very often, but over the years we have spoken a couple times--three or four times probably over the many years I have been here.

The reason I was so impressed with what he said is that it reminded me I think of what a lot of people should be reminded. He talked about going to a public elementary school, he talked about going to a public high school, a State-supported university, and during all this time of going to libraries, public libraries.

We have to understand that government has been so helpful to most of us, and we cannot turn away from institutions of government which have been so important to us over the years.

So I repeat, we must combat income inequality and combat it now or the rich will keep getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle class being squeezed all the more. I repeat, that is not fiction; it is a fact.

We Democrats will continue to defend working Americans, and we hope Republicans will join us in that regard. But if they allow the tea party to turn every issue into an all-or-nothing battle, we cannot back down--we should not back down--and we will always side with the middle class.

We saw the results of Republican brinkmanship in December.

I was on a--well, I will not talk about TV shows--but as soon as we had the vote here, I walked up to the press gallery, as I was requested to do, and complimented publicly my Republican colleague Senator McConnell--and I was happy it did get some press--because Senator McConnell and I made an arrangement here to complete this legislation, and he stuck by that. I know he had tremendous pressure, and I cannot understand all the pressure he did have. But I admire and appreciate what he did in sticking with what the Senate did. So we then refused to give up on a tax cut for hard-working families, and it turned out well because Members of Congress came to the realization that the American people said they could not afford a thousand-dollar tax hike. Putting money back in the pockets of 160 million American workers should not have been so difficult. It should not have been a fight in the first place. I hope we all learned a lesson in this battle.

It is time for us to stop fighting. I repeat, we do not have to fight about everything. There comes a time--and that time is now--when we need to have the courage to stand up and fight for what is right.

This year it will be as important that we summon the courage to sit down and listen. Rather than standing up and fighting, we need to sit down and listen more often.

Mr. President, I, first of all, welcome everyone back after the long break we had. I hope it was restful and productive for everyone.

As happens every 4 years, we have a Presidential election year and, as a result of that, things should be more tense than usual, but I certainly hope not.

Mr. President, there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. President, I object to further proceedings in regard to these two bills.

Mr. President, the Senate will be in morning business until 4 o'clock today, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Following that morning business, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of John Gerrard to be United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska. At 5:30 p.m., we will vote on confirmation of that nomination.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to Calendar No. 70, S. 968, be vitiated.

Mr. President, before my friend starts, the Republican leader and I deal with a lot of issues that come up in the Senate, and some of them are difficult. But the one thing we have that is kind of a diversion for us is we follow college athletics in our respective States. I have been very fortunate in Nevada that the University of Nevada has had a very good football team the last 5 or 6 or 7 years. I will not talk about the UNLV football item; it is not worth doing, as I told the university president.

But we also have in Nevada--and this is always the way it is in Kentucky; they always have good basketball teams--we have been doing very well in recent years, especially at UNLV; and now what UNR has is, I believe, the longest winning record in Division I basketball. They have only lost three games. UNLV has only lost 3 games.

So we have fun in our few minutes together talking about basketball. I have never seen a more avid fan of the University of Louisville. He, of course, follows the University of Kentucky, which is easy to follow, because their teams are always so good. But so is Louisville's team. And Louisville and UNLV have had, in recent years, some very tight basketball battles.

So I want the Acting President pro tempore and everyone else to know Senator McConnell and I do, on occasion, divert from the business of the Senate.

We only have eight more to go.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor Adrienne Powers, who recently retired as Head Interior Designer for the Architect of the Capitol at the end of last year.

Many on Capitol Hill join my wife, Landra, and me in expressing a sincere and warm congratulations on a well-earned retirement to Adrienne. Although her stylistic genius and sensitivity to the integrity and history of the walls and floors of the Capitol will be missed, she has left an indelible mark that will not be forgotten.

In 1984, after receiving her Bachelor's degree in interior design from American University, Adrienne began her career as an interior designer with the Architect of the Capitol. Her first assignment was to style the legendary Senator Moynihan's third floor office in the Russell Senate Office Building. After impressing Senator Moynihan with her ornate style and keen eye for fine art, other Senators quickly sought her services for their offices as well. This trend continued until she recently retired, making her one of the most popular figures among Members on both sides of the aisle and Capitol.

One would struggle to find some part of the Capitol that has not been improved by Adrienne's immense talent and impeccable taste. After 27 remarkable years balancing history and purpose, she leaves behind an indebted community on Capitol Hill that will forever remember her friendship, professionalism and dedication.

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the Financial Guidance Center, FGC, a nonprofit organization that has remained steadfast in its commitment to providing financial literacy services to all Nevadans.

This year marks 40 years of empowering Nevadans by providing quality financial and credit counseling. FGC is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, accredited by the Council of Accreditation and a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

More than ever, their services are crucial to countless homeowners in Nevada. FGC provides access to free financial, housing, and bankruptcy counseling, debt management, downpayment assistance, and financial literacy programs that are essential to making our communities more financially sound. The Financial Guidance Center should be proud of its enduring resolve to provide families with the important tools that contribute to a healthy community.

Selected by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce as the 2010 Non-Profit of the Year, FGC has remained dedicated to helping Americans get back on their feet, reach their housing goals, and attain much needed financial sustainability in trying economic times.

I am pleased to stand today in recognition of the Financial Guidance Center and their many contributions to Nevada and Utah, and I wish them continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that if the House passes and sends to the Senate a bill which is identical to the text which is at the desk, a 2-month extension of the reduced payroll tax, unemployment insurance, TANF, and the Medicare payment fix, the bill be considered 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 the bill be printed in the Record as if read; further, that when the Senate receives a message from the House requesting a conference with respect to H.R. 3630, the Senate agree to the request for a conference and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate with a ratio of 4 to 3; that if the House does not act by January 1, 2012, with respect to passage of a bill providing the 2-month extension, the Senate action with respect to a conference on H.R. 3630 be vitiated.

THe ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.