Floor Statements

Mr. President, there will be a series of up to seven rollcall votes beginning at 10:15 in the morning--maybe a little earlier. The votes will be in relation to amendments to H.R. 2112 and passage of the bill.

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

Mr. President, we have worked very hard to move through this first tranche of appropriations bills we have. Progress is being made but not nearly enough progress. I am going to move in just a minute to the Bryson nomination. But I want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand this cannot go on forever. People sometimes are unreasonable. We cannot have votes on all these amendments that have been called up. I hope everyone understands there has to be some give-and-take here, and we need to move through this. They need to be cooperative with the staffs, because when this matter regarding the Secretary of Commerce nomination is finished, we are going to have to make a decision as to whether we can continue working on this appropriations bill.

This was a noble experiment. I am part of it. I want it to work very much, but it can't work without the cooperation of all Senators.

I say to everyone listening, this is the way it has always been. I was a member of the Appropriations Committee the first day I came to the Senate, and I managed many appropriations bills on the Senate floor. For every one of them, we had more amendments than we had time to vote on them. That is where we are today. But the only way we can finish them is to work through these amendments. We hope we can do that; otherwise, we will have a cloture vote either tonight or tomorrow to determine whether we want to finish these appropriations bills--all extremely important--Commerce-State-Justice, Agriculture, and, of course, the Transportation bill. It would be good for us to be able to get this done.

I heard Senator Collins, the Senator from Maine, speak about this a little earlier today, and she did an extremely good job of explaining why it is important we do this.

Under the previous order, I move to executive session to call up Calendar No. 410, the nomination of John Bryson, to be Commerce Secretary.

Mr. President, there are 4 hours under the order previously entered. We are hoping all this time will not have to be used. I ask unanimous consent that 20 minutes remain, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, regardless of any time consumed in quorum calls throughout the presentations made on this matter.

I wish to congratulate my friend, the chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the Senator from Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison. They both worked very hard in a fair way to move forward on this. It has been good for the Senate. When we confirm this nomination, it will be good for the country.

I don't think we will use all this time. I hope we can vote on this matter anywhere between 6:30 and 7:30 tonight, hopefully closer to 6:30.

Mr. President, we have a consent request we are working on. We hope to have people sign off on that. If they do not, one or many are going to have to object to it. We have spent enough time on this that we need to move forward.

We know we have a number of votes already scheduled. Senator McConnell has something pending. I do too. We know we are going to have to vote on that, but that is the least of our worries. We have to work through this appropriations stuff. So people who have concerns, bring them to David Schiappa or Gary Myrick because otherwise I might come here and offer a consent request. Either we are going to move this bill forward or move off this bill.

Mr. President, the provision my friend talks about is placed in legislation as a result of the study made during the Bush administration--second Bush administration. GAO did a study. They found that 33,000 contractors, in effect, cheated on their taxes, and they owed some $3 billion. This money, they also determined, went mostly to giving the owners more salary and building them second and third homes.

There is no question that a lot of people, in addition to the 33,000 who cheated, were found to be burdened by this withholding 3 percent of what they had coming to them. What my friend fails to acknowledge is this bill that was amended that my friend has before the Senate has no chance of accomplishing anything. Constitutionally it will be killed in the House in a matter of a millisecond because constitutionally it will be what we call blue slipped here. It is a revenue measure. It cannot start in the Senate.

It costs $11.6 billion to take this money out--I am sorry--take that 3-percent provision out, and we need to do that. It costs $11.6 billion. What my friend fails to alert the Senators to is that since this matter has come up in years past and months past, things have changed. We have burdened the American people--especially the American middle class--with all of these cuts we have made. We did them. It was done by Democrats and Republicans, but they have given enough.

My friend's bill is offset by reducing discretionary spending by $30 billion. Senator McConnell's bill does nothing to address contractors who cheat on their taxes and still get Federal contracts. Nothing, zero.

Our alternative--and I will offer a unanimous consent request of this at a later time before we get to these two cloture motions we have. It repeals the 3-percent withholding tax, and we acknowledge it should do that. The Democratic alternative also addresses the problem of tax evaders receiving government contracts by expressly prohibiting contractors who are delinquent on their taxes being eligible for Federal contracts. That way all contractors are not punished, only those who are, in effect, cheating.

The Democratic alternative offsets the costs of repealing the withholding requirement by closing the loophole that allows companies to claim excess foreign tax credits and the famous corporate jet preference. It has a 1-year delay in implementing worldwide interest allocation which allows taxpayers to claim greater tax credits for the foreign taxes they pay; fair, reasonable, not a burden on the middle class.

A vote for Senator McConnell's amendment would do nothing to repeal the withholding requirement because the House, I repeat, will blue slip this. The House will send us a repeal bill. They told us, the Republican leadership, soon, and I mean soon rather within a matter of weeks. We will have a real opportunity to repeal the withholding requirement when we get the House bill. We would, of course, put our amendment on that.

Let's be honest about this. This is nothing more than a misdirected stunt by my friend, the Republican leader. This provision will be repealed, but it should be done the right way. We all agree that it is unfortunate that the Bush administration did that. They had a good intent. They were trying to get rid of some people who were cheating, but it was too broad and overreaching and has hurt a lot of people. That GAO report said 33,000 people, civilian contractors, owed more than $3 billion. I repeat, that 2005 GAO report said $3 billion in taxes. I didn't make this up. The GAO report also found that these firms, many of them diverted these payroll taxes to increase an owner's salary or building him a new home or two.

So by withholding a small amount of a contractor's payment and sending it to the IRS, the belief was that the contractors would have more motivation to comply with the law. It didn't work well. It was too overreaching and too broad.

I would hope that we would look at the consent I will offer. Procedurally there is no way we can have a second-degree or side by side with what we are doing here. I would hope my friends, Democrats and Republicans, would do something that is real, not something that is only figurative. What we are doing is real. We agree it should be done. It should be done right. It should not be done by burdening the middle class with more domestic discretionary cuts.

I will say this generally. Here it is 9:30 at night. The decision is going to have to be made very quickly as to whether we will be here tomorrow. The two matters that the Republican leader and I have spoken about, we could vote on those right now. I offered to vote on those earlier today, but we were unable to do that. We can come tomorrow. It is getting late here, and I am not sure what we are accomplishing by trying to work through all of this tonight. We are trying to be reasonable. As I indicated, my friend the Republican leader said he needed 10 or 12 votes. We agreed to that a long time ago. I cannot imagine why we cannot move forward.

I repeat, we cannot be stalled so we come back with a very short work period. We have a continuing resolution and many other things to deal with when we come back with the short work period. I wish to do another appropriations bill, but we cannot do another appropriations bill while this one is still floundering here.

This was an experiment that I was happy to engage myself in because I believe we should try to do our work here. But this CR business and holding us up from doing the work we have done for 10 months this year was not our doing. This has been as a result of my friends who are the majority in the House and the minority over here. So we have spent all of these months on two major issues, CRs and raising the debt ceiling. I would hope we can work something out on this appropriations bill and get it done tonight.

No. What I said I would do is when we get ready to schedule these votes, I will do it. I will make sure you are here.

I note the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader after consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to a series of votes in relation to the following amendments and motions: Landrieu No. 781, as modified with the changes that are at the desk; Kohl No. 755; Vitter No. 917 to Menendez No. 857; Menendez No. 857; Gillibrand No. 869; Lautenberg No. 836; Bingaman No. 771, as modified; Sessions No. 810; Coburn No. 791; Coburn No. 792; Coburn No. 796; Coburn No. 800; Paul No. 821; Portman No. 859; McCain No. 892; Cantwell No. 893, as modified with the changes that are at the desk; Cochran No. 805, as modified with the changes that are at the desk; Burr No. 890; DeMint No. 763; Inouye No. 918; Ayotte No. 753; Crapo No. 814; Kyl, as modified with the changes that are at the desk; and Lee motion to recommit; that there be no amendments or points of order in order against any of the amendments prior to the votes other than budget points of order; that there be 2 minutes equally divided in the usual form prior to each vote; that the Vitter, Menendez, Sessions, Paul, Ayotte, Crapo, and the Coburn amendments Nos. 792 and 796 be subject to a 60-affirmative vote threshold; that all after the first vote be 10-minute votes; that upon disposition of these amendments, the remaining pending Coburn amendments be withdrawn with the exception of amendment No. 801; that no other motions or amendments be in order to the bill, the Senate proceed to the cloture vote on the substitute amendment No. 738, as amended; that if cloture is invoked, the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to and be considered original text for the purposes of further amendment; that the majority leader then be recognized to raise points of order against any pending nongermane amendments; further, if cloture is invoked, the Senate resume consideration of the bill at 4 p.m., Monday, October 31, and proceed to votes in relation to any remaining germane pending amendments in the order they were offered; further, that upon disposition of any pending germane amendments, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill with no intervening action or debate; that when the Senate receives a message from the House with respect to H.R. 2112, the Senate insist on its amendment, request, or agree to, a conference with the House on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses; and the Chair be authorized to appoint the following conferees: Kohl, Harkin, Feinstein, Johnson of South Dakota, Nelson of Nebraska, Pryor, Brown of Ohio, Inouye, Murray, Mikulski, Blunt, Cochran, McConnell, Collins, Moran, Hoeven, Hutchison, and Shelby; finally, that if cloture is not invoked on the substitute amendment No. 738, as amended, cloture on the underlying bill be vitiated and the bill be returned to the calendar in status quo. I failed, Mr. President, to identify the Kyl amendment. It is No. 912.

Mr. President, for all of these amendments that are pending, there is no requirement that we have to have rollcall votes. Everyone should understand that.

Mr. President, tonight the Senate will vote on a bill introduced by my friend, the Republican leader.

While I have great respect for my friend, the senior Senator from Kentucky, I believe in this case he is playing political games.

The Republican leader has inserted a poison pill for Democrats into his proposal.

To offset the $11 billion cost of his legislation, the Republican leader proposes we slash $30 billion in programs that help the middle class and get our economy back on track.

What is more, this is a backdoor violation of the debt ceiling agreement we reached after months of negotiation this summer.

This is not a serious attempt to repeal the rule requiring the government to withhold 3 percent from all government contractors. It is an attempt to circumvent the rules.

And even if we passed the Republican leader's bill tonight, the House will not act on it. Revenue bills like this one must originate in the House, a prerogative that body guards jealously.

So our action on this bill this evening is nothing more than a misdirected stunt by Republican leadership.

But let me be clear: this provision will be repealed before it takes effect.

The Senate will have a real opportunity to repeal this provision, when the House sends us a bill that repeals the 3-percent withholding the week we return from the in-State work period.

In 2 short weeks, we will have an opportunity to work together on a commonsense way to both repeal the withholding requirement and address the underlying problem it was enacted to address.

It is important to review the history of this proposal to understand why we are in this situation today, and how to move forward.

A 2005 GAO report found that 33,000 civilian contractors owed more than $3 billion in taxes. The GAO report also found that some of these firms diverted payroll taxes to increasing the owner's salary or build him a new house.

By withholding a small amount from a contractor's payment and sending it along to the IRS, the belief was that contractors would have more motivation to comply with the tax law.

The withholding requirement was enacted with overwhelming Republican support. Only a couple of Democrats supported the legislation.

But this withholding has turned out to be more trouble than it is worth for a number of reasons, and now many on both sides feel it should be repealed.

But Democrats also believe we must address the underlying problem. The Republican leader's bill does nothing to prevent taxpayer dollars from going to contractors who fail to pay their taxes.

Democrats have offered alternative legislation that would address the problem of noncompliant contractors without targeting those who pay their taxes.

The Senate will take action on this worthy alternative in just a couple weeks, after the House sends us its bill.

Voting on this measure today is nothing more than a diversion by my Republican colleagues.

I am confident that Senate Democrats and Republicans will be able to work together next month to repeal this provision.

We should be successfu1 at working together to stop an unfair tax increase that will hit middle-class families.

This month, Republicans blocked our attempt to keep payroll taxes low for families and businesses who are still struggling as our country fights its way out of a serious recession.

I hope they will be as willing to work with Democrats on finding solutions that work for middle-class families as they are on finding solutions for government contractors.

Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 674

Mr. President, I want to get the Republican leader's attention.

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives from the House H.R. 674, the Senate proceed to its consideration; that the Reid substitute amendment, the text of which is at the desk, be agreed to.

This amendment would do the following: It repeals the 3-percent withholding requirement; prohibits contractors who are delinquent on their taxes from being eligible for Federal contracts; offsets by closing a loophole that allows oil and gas companies to claim excess foreign tax credits, eliminating a tax preference for corporate jets, and a 1-year delay in implementing worldwide interest allocation.

I then ask consent that the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage of the bill, as amended, with all of the above occurring with no intervening action or debate.

We have both given our statements in this regard, Mr. President, earlier today.

Mr. President, I would say there would be no blue-slip problem whatsoever because, as I indicated, this would be an amendment to a revenue bill we have received from the House, and I identified which one that would be.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote with respect to the Reid motion to proceed to Calendar No. 204, S. 1723, occur at 9:55 tonight; further, that if cloture is not invoked on the Reid motion to proceed, the Senate then proceed to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the McConnell motion to proceed to Calendar No. 205, S. 1726; finally, that if cloture is invoked on either motion to proceed, that notwithstanding cloture having been invoked, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 2112, and upon disposition of H.R. 2112, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed, postcloture.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all remaining votes tonight be 10 minutes in duration.

Mr. President, we have 16 more amendments that we must vote on. I hope people will look at those closely. A number of them--in fact, most of them--can be done by voice vote. If they win, it doesn't matter how you win. Let's get done with them as quickly as we can.

Mr. President, I know how frustrating it is for everyone. This is not a question for the Parliamentarian. We are doing our best to work through these votes. They are 10-minute votes. We are doing our utmost to maintain that time and will continue to do that. We are sorry that close votes, as everyone knows, sometimes take a little bit longer. So I apologize to my friend from Louisiana and everyone else. We will move through the votes as quickly as we can.

Mr. President, I wish I had thought of saying that.

Amendment No. 869

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be terminated.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the Gillibrand amendment.

Madam President, we would be much more efficient here if we have 10-minute votes. It is very difficult for those who are doing the work for us to determine who is voting which way, to hear us. People are moving around. I think it will be to everyone's advantage if we all sit down and make sure these are really 10-minute votes. It would make it so much easier for the tally clerks and for everyone concerned. So I would ask that we all be ladies and gentlemen, take our seats. This will move much more efficiently.

Amendment No. 836

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent notwithstanding the previous order the Senate now proceed to vote in relation to the Ayotte amendment No. 753, and all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

Mr. President, the Republican leader and I had a meeting here a few minutes ago. Following this vote we will have more information for the body.

Amendment No. 753

Mr. President, as I indicated, the Republican leader and I met prior to the last vote. We understand there has been tremendous progress made. This is something for those of us who have been in the Senate a while that brings back a lot of memories. This is the way we did things in the past. It is difficult, but it moves legislation. It has been inconvenient for everyone.

Before moving to this consent agreement, the most difficult time is for our staffs. They have worked the last two days as hard as people can work, led by Gary Myrick on my side, David Schiappa on the other side. Other staff has worked very hard, but they have been exemplary people to help us move it.

Here is the consent agreement. I hope everyone will agree with this.

I ask consent that the next vote on our sequence be the cloture vote with respect to the substitute amendment No. 738; that if cloture is invoked, the substitute amendment be agreed to and it be considered original text for the purposes of further amendment; that the remaining amendments which were scheduled for votes under the previous order remain in order notwithstanding cloture having been invoked; that when the Senate resumes consideration of H.R. 2112 on Tuesday, November 1, the Senate proceed to votes on the remaining amendments; and that all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

All elements of the previous order are in effect.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the following amendments, which have been cleared by the managers of both sides be agreed to: Rubio, 898; Thune, 809; and Hutchison, 806.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 291, and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration, en bloc, of the following resolutions which were submitted today: S. Res. 304, S. Res. 305, S. Res. 306, and S. Res. 307.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc, with no intervening action or debate, and that any related statements be printed in the Record, as if read.

Mr. President, S. Res. 305 concerns representation by the Senate Legal Counsel of Senator Cornyn and Senator Hutchison, who have been subpoenaed to provide testimony and produce documents in a lawsuit between an individual and the Social Security Administration over the termination of the individual's benefits. That individual had requested that Senator Cornyn and Senator Hutchison assist him with his attempt to reverse the termination of his benefits by the Social Security Administration, and those Senators' offices had provided standard constituent service seeking an explanation regarding the matter from the agency for this individual. Neither Senator, however, has personal knowledge of the facts supporting the Social Security Administration's termination of plaintiff's benefits, nor were they involved in any way in that termination.

This resolution would authorize the Senate Legal Counsel to represent Senator Cornyn and Senator Hutchison, as well as any staff from either of their offices who may be subpoenaed in this lawsuit, in order to quash the subpoena.

S. Res. 305

(To authorize legal representation in Edward Paul Celestine, Jr. v.

Social Security Administration)

Whereas, in the case of Edward Paul Celestine, Jr. v.

Social Security Administration, No. 4:11-CV-3376, pending in

the United States District Court for the Southern District of

Texas, the plaintiff has sent subpoenas for testimony and

documents to Senator John Cornyn and Senator Kay Bailey

Hutchison; and,

Whereas, pursuant to sections 703(a) and 704(a)(2) of the

Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 2 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 288b(a)

and 288c(a)(2), the Senate may direct its counsel to

represent Members, officers, and employees of the Senate with

respect to any subpoena, order, or request for testimony or

documents relating to their official responsibilities: Now,

therefore, be it

Resolved That the Senate Legal Counsel is authorized to

represent Senator John Cornyn and Senator Kay Bailey

Hutchison in this matter as well as any employee in Senator

Cornyn's or Senator Hutchison's offices who may be subpoenaed

in this case.

S. Res. 306

(Supporting the goals and ideals of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and raising awareness and enhancing the state of cybersecurity in

the United States)

Whereas the use of the Internet in the United States to

communicate, conduct business, and generate commerce that

benefits the overall United States economy is ubiquitous;

Whereas the United States technological know-how,

innovation, and entrepreneurship are all digitally connected;

Whereas as the pace of innovation has accelerated, so too

have methods to attack the United States economic prosperity

and security, spawning new, high-tech challenges, from

identity theft to corporate hacking to cyberbullying;

Whereas many people use the Internet in the United States

to communicate with family and friends, manage finances and

pay bills, access educational opportunities, shop at home,

participate in online entertainment and games, and stay

informed of news and current events;

Whereas small businesses in the United States, which employ

a significant portion of

the private workforce, increasingly rely on the Internet to

manage their businesses, expand their customer reach, and

enhance the management of their supply chain;

Whereas many schools in the United States have Internet

access to enhance the education of children by providing

access to educational online content and encouraging self-

initiative to discover research resources;

Whereas cybersecurity is a critical part of the United

States national and economic security;

Whereas the United States critical infrastructure and

economy rely on the secure and reliable operation of

information networks to support the United States military,

civilian government, energy, telecommunications, financial

services, transportation, health care, and emergency response

systems;

Whereas Internet users and information infrastructure

owners and operators face an increasing threat of cybercrime

and fraud through viruses, worms, Trojans, and malicious

programs, such as spyware, adware, hacking tools, and

password stealers, that are frequent and fast in propagation,

are costly to repair, and may disable entire systems;

Whereas the intellectual property, including proprietary

information, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and related

information, of businesses, academic institutions,

government, and individuals are vital to the economic

security of the United States;

Whereas millions of records containing personally

identifiable information have been lost, stolen, or breached,

threatening the security and financial well-being of the

people of the United States;

Whereas consumers face significant financial and personal

privacy losses due to personally identifiable information

being more exposed to theft and fraud than ever before;

Whereas national organizations, policymakers, governmental

agencies, private-sector companies, nonprofit institutions,

schools, academic organizations, consumers, and the media

recognize the need to increase awareness of cybersecurity and

the need for enhanced cybersecurity in the United States;

Whereas coordination between the numerous Federal agencies

involved in cybersecurity efforts is essential to securing

the cyber infrastructure of the United States;

Whereas in February 2003 the White House issued National

Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, which recommends a

comprehensive national awareness program to empower all

people in the United States, including businesses, the

general workforce, and the general population, to secure

their own portions of cyberspace;

Whereas in May 2009 the White House issued Cyberspace

Policy Review, which recommends that the Federal Government

initiate a national public awareness and education campaign

to promote cybersecurity;

Whereas ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' is the national

cybersecurity awareness campaign founded and led by the

National Cyber Security Alliance, the Anti-Phishing Working

Group as a public-private partnership with the Department of

Homeland Security, and a coalition of private companies,

nonprofits, and governmental organizations to help all

digital people of the United States stay safer and more

secure online;

Whereas the National Initiative for Cybersecurity

Education, led by the National Institute of Standards and

Technology, is the coordinating body for the Federal

Government to establish a sustainable, operational, and

continually improving cybersecurity education program to

enhance the United States cybersecurity and support the

development of a professional cybersecurity workforce and

cyber-capable people;

Whereas according to U.S. Cyber Challenge, the initiative

is working to identify ``10,000 of America's best and

brightest to fill the ranks of cybersecurity professionals

where their skills can be of the greatest value to the

nation'';

Whereas the Cyber Innovation Center has established cyber

camps and other educational programs to bolster knowledge of

science, technology, math, and engineering to build a

sustainable knowledge-based workforce capable of addressing

cyber threats and the future needs of government, industry,

and academia; and

Whereas the National Cyber Security Alliance, the Multi-

State Information Sharing & Analysis Center, the Department

of Homeland Security, and other organizations working to

improve cybersecurity in the United States have designated

October 2011 as the eighth annual National Cybersecurity

Awareness Month, which serves to educate the people of the

United States about the importance of cybersecurity: Now,

therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Cybersecurity

Awareness Month;

(2) continues to work with Federal agencies, businesses,

educational institutions, and other organizations to enhance

the state of cybersecurity in the United States;

(3) commends the work of National Initiative for

Cybersecurity Education and all the Federal agencies,

nonprofits, educational institutions, businesses, and other

organizations that support this effort;

(4) recognizes ``STOP. THINK. CONNECT.'' as the national

cybersecurity awareness campaign to educate the people of the

United States and help all people of the United States stay

safer and more secure online; and

(5) congratulates the National Cyber Security Alliance, the

Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center, the

Department of Homeland Security, and other organizations

working to improve cybersecurity in the United States on the

eighth anniversary of National Cyber Security Awareness Month

during October 2011.

S. Res. 307

(Honoring the men and women of the John C. Stennis Space Center on reaching the historic milestone of 50 years of rocket engine testing)

Whereas, 50 years ago this month, on October 25, 1961, the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (referred to in

this preamble as ``NASA'') publicly announced plans to

establish a testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi,

for the purpose of flight-certifying all first and second

stages of the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo lunar landing

program that would take humans to the Moon;

Whereas the testing facility was renamed the John C.

Stennis Space Center (referred to in this preamble as the

``Stennis Space Center'') in 1988 in honor of United States

Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center conducted 45 engine tests

for the Apollo program;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is now home to the largest

rocket engine test complex in the United States and serves as

the premier rocket-propulsion testing facility in the United

States, providing propulsion test services for NASA, the

Department of Defense, and commercial providers;

Whereas NASA has celebrated the end of a successful Space

Shuttle program, having conducted more than 2,000 total space

shuttle main engine tests and certified 54 flight engines at

the Stennis Space Center;

Whereas, as NASA enters a new era in space exploration, the

Stennis Space Center will continue to play a vital role in

the United States space program and commercial space efforts;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center has grown into a unique

Federal city that includes more than 30 Federal, State,

academic, and private organizations, and numerous technology-

based companies;

Whereas the companies and agencies at the Stennis Space

Center share the cost of operating and maintaining the

facility, making the accomplishment of missions by each

entity more cost-effective;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is home to--

(1) the United States Naval Meteorology and Oceanography

Command, which includes the largest concentration of

oceanographers in the world;

(2) the most powerful supercomputer of the United States

Navy; and

(3) the National Center for Critical Information Processing

and Storage, which is facilitating the data center

consolidation efforts by the Department of Homeland Security;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center played a critical role

during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by providing unique

resources and expertise on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem to

predict the spread and impact of the spill;

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is an economic engine for

Mississippi and Louisiana, generating--

(1) approximately 5,400 jobs;

(2) a direct global economic impact of $875,000,000; and

(3) a direct economic impact of $616,000,000 within a 50-

mile radius; and

Whereas the Stennis Space Center is committed to continuing

in the role of inspiring the next generation of United States

scientists, engineers, and professionals: Now, therefore, be

it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) congratulates the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration on reaching the historic milestone of the 50th

anniversary of the John C. Stennis Space Center; and

(2) honors the men and women who worked tirelessly to

design, build, and test the rocket engines used in the Apollo

and Space Shuttle programs in order to promote science,

engineering, innovation, and exploration to the benefit of

the United States and all humankind.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Monday, October 31, 2011, at 4:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 249; that there be 1 hour of debate equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on Calendar No. 249; the motion to

reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that any related statements be printed in the Record; and that President Obama be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Calendar Nos. 129, 130, 248, 289, 341, 342, 367, 417, 418, 419, 423, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 442, 443, 444, and all nominations at the Secretary's desk in the Foreign Service, and NOAA; that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that President Obama be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Madam President, we rushed through these as if they didn't mean anything, but for each one of these people, it means a new life for them. These are very accomplished people, and I am only going to talk about one tonight--Mark P. Wetjen to be Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

This young man came to me working for a major law firm--the largest law firm in Nevada. I got a call from my son, who said: This person I work with wants to come to work in Washington, so he came and worked in Washington. He has been an invaluable employee of mine and the State of Nevada and the Senate. He is a person the entire Senate looks to for advice and counseling on banking, housing issues, and other matters.

He has been a wonderful employee. I really hate to lose him, but his talent is one people recognize, both Democrats and Republicans, and I am very proud of him. Even though I will miss him, I know he will be very good as Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission-- one of the most important commissions in the entire world. So I wish him the very best.

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 3:45 p.m. on Monday, October 24, 2011, for a pro forma session only, with no business conducted; and that following the pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until 11 a.m., on Thursday, October 27, 2011, for a pro forma session only, with no business conducted; and that following the pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until 3 p.m. on Monday, October 31, 2011; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal 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 morning business until 4:30 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each; and that, at 4:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session, under the previous order.

The next rollcall vote will be at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, October 31, 2011, on the nomination of Stephen Higginson to be U.S. District Judge for the Fifth Circuit.

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