Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 176, S. 1280.

I ask unanimous consent the substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to; the committee-reported amendment, as amended, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S.J. Res. 22 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent the joint resolution be passed, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 81, which was received from the House and is at the desk.

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

Madam President, I ask the Senate that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 275 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 motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 283, introduced earlier today.

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 that any related statements be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 284, introduced earlier today.

Madam 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, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until Thursday, September 29, 2011, at 1:45 p.m. for a pro forma session only, with no business conducted, and that following the pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until Monday, October 3, 2011, at 2 p.m.; 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 3:30 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1619, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act, with the time until 4:30 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; further, at 4:30 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session, under the previous order; finally, that the cloture vote with respect to the motion to proceed to S. 1619 occur when the Senate resumes legislative session following the rollcall vote on the confirmation of Henry Floyd to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.

Madam President, there will be two rollcall votes at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 3. The first vote will be on the confirmation of Henry Floyd of South Carolina, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit, and the second vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 1619.

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

Mr. President, I am in a moment going to note the absence of a quorum. There will be no speeches until the Republican leader and I have a chance to visit and determine what we are going to do this morning. We expect a vote fairly quickly. We will do the best we can. We are waiting for a message from the House.

At this time, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I apologize to all Members for not being able to get here more quickly, but we have done the best we can. I have been waiting to hear from the Speaker for the last half hour or so and he has not called.

I ask unanimous consent that at 11:20 this morning, not withstanding the message not having been received from the House with respect to H.R. 2608, the House message be considered to have been laid before the Senate; further, that I may move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2608 with an amendment, the text of which is the House amendment with a technical change; that there be 10 minutes of debate, equally divided, between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the majority leader be recognized to move to table the motion to concur with an amendment and the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to table the motion to concur with an amendment, with no intervening action or debate.

I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask the time be equally divided.

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

Mr. President, we can see there is not a stampede to talk, so I now ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the previous order, the motion to table be in order now.

Mr. President, I move to concur, with an amendment. The amendment is at the desk.

(The text of the amendment (No. 655) is printed in today's Record under ``Text of Amendments.'')

I move to table that and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I now move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2608, with an amendment.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that.

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. President, I now have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I have a motion to refer the House message to the Appropriations Committee with instructions to report back forthwith, with an amendment.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to my instruction that is also at the desk.

I ask for the yeas and nays on that.

I have a second-degree amendment to my instructions at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum requirement under rule XXII be waived with respect to the cloture motion I just filed.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur with an amendment occur at 5:30 p.m., Monday, September 26.

First of all, my friend, I am sure, understands that this great piece of legislation that was sent to us by the House received 36 votes over here. It was tabled on a bipartisan basis.

The matter that is now before the Senate is really a nice piece of legislation. It funds the government until November 18. That is what the House wanted. There also is money in this bill to take care of FEMA. And even though we passed a bill here with bipartisan support that had $6.9 billion, which we believed was an appropriate figure, in an effort to compromise on this CR, we have the number the House thinks is a better number. That is what is before us.

So, Mr. President, my suggestion to my friend--and he is my friend-- is that the two Democratic leaders, Reid and Pelosi, and the two Republican leaders, McConnell and Boehner, should just cool off a little bit and then work through this. There is a compromise here, and the compromise is now before the Senate. Everyone, once in a while, needs a little cooling-off period.

The government is not shutting down. I spoke to Mr. Fugate myself, and FEMA is not out of money. We will come here Monday, and more reasonable heads will prevail. I hope over the weekend the four leaders can lead their troops in the right direction.

So I again ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur with an amendment occur at 5:30 p.m., Monday, September 26.

Mr. President, first of all, we have a piece of legislation at the desk that takes care of all the issues. It takes care of funding the government after October 1, and it also takes care of FEMA for the foreseeable future. It is a nice piece of legislation.

It is not our number; it is the House number.

I ask unanimous consent that the Reid motion to concur to the House amendment to the Senate amendment H.R. 2608 with amendment No. 656 be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this bill be placed in the Record at the appropriate place as if read. In fact, what we are asking here is the CR, with the FEMA language, be passed.

I renew my request. I would tell everyone--as my friend said, we will have the vote on Monday. We will keep the vote open, and if people are pressed on planes, I will work with the Republican leader and make sure that everyone is protected as much as possible.

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 the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the 18th annual National Public Lands Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday, September 24. I am pleased to acknowledge the efforts of volunteers across our Nation who will come together to improve and restore one of America's most valuable treasures, our public lands.

National Public Lands Day started in 1994 with 700 volunteers working in just a few locations. This year over 180,000 volunteers will come together to work at more than 2,000 locations across all 50 States. These people come from all walks of life, holding a shared interest in protecting our public lands for the enjoyment of future generations. National Public Lands Day provides an annual opportunity for the American public to devote a day to conservation and to give back to the public lands that give so much to us.

Our Nation has a proud tradition of conservation. When Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, it was the world's first national park. The idea of a national park was an American invention of historic proportions that led the way for global conservation efforts. President Teddy Roosevelt, one of our earliest and most energetic conservationists, dedicated 194 million acres of national parks and national preserves over the course of his Presidency. As we look ahead to enhance our Nation's conservation agenda, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has enlisted Congress to identify the ``crown jewels'' of public lands that will be part of our legacy for future generations.

Public lands make up more than one-third of our country, and are places of continuous discovery, where we go to find ourselves, to uncover our history,

and to explore for resources that help improve our quality of life. Our public lands provide wide open spaces, deep forests, dramatic vistas, and opportunities for solitude that not only fulfill us individually, but form a fundamental part of the American character. Our public lands are part of who we are and the diversity of their uses, like the diversity of their landscapes, reflects our identity. In many areas, they provide timber, ore, and forage that are the economic bedrock of rural America. In other areas, Congress has designated them as wilderness, places ``untrammeled by man, where man is a visitor who does not remain.''

Nevada boasts some of the most rugged and diverse landscapes in the United States. From the vast Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada, to the alpine peaks of Mount Rose overlooking the shores of Lake Tahoe, to the imposing buttes and sagebrush plains of the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge, and the Mojave Desert floor covered in Joshua trees and yucca plants. Over the past quarter century, home grown conservation advocates have worked to protect and preserve 68 wilderness areas consisting of 3.4 million acres, an area approximately the size of Connecticut. These advocates continue to work towards protection of the most special places in the Silver State. Currently, there are strong grassroots efforts underway to protect the high alpine lakes and thick aspen groves of the Pine Forest Range in Humboldt County as well as the rich archeological resources and spectacular red rock formations in the Gold Butte area just a short drive from Las Vegas.

Our public lands also provide a consistently reliable source of natural resources that fuel our national economy. In northern Nevada, mining is a way of life. Although Nevada was well known for silver during the 19th century, miners working in the Silver State now produce almost 80 percent of the gold in the United States, much of which comes from public lands. Nevada also has a rich history of ranching for both sheep and cattle and grazing on federal lands helps feed this family tradition. Throughout the state the burgeoning renewable energy industry on public lands has provided a variety of new job-creating economic opportunities. Harnessing the solar, wind, and geothermal resources in Nevada and throughout the country will bolster our country's economic and energy security for decades and centuries to come.

I recognize and thank the thousands of Federal employees who manage these lands year-round. The Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and other federal land management agencies ensure that public lands in Nevada and across the Nation meet the changing needs of our communities. They provide a vital, though rarely reported, service to our Nation.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the many Nevadans that will spend September 24 improving our public lands undertaking 19 projects across the State from the Big Rocks Wilderness Area in Caliente to Daggett Summit Trail in Stateline. In northern Nevada, volunteers will be working to improve our public lands at the Mill Creek Campground. These people will spend their day installing new fire rings, barbeques and lantern hooks as well as cleaning the debris from the stream and placing rocks in parking and camping areas.

The focus of National Public Lands Day this year is highlighting the opportunities public lands offer young people through the Youth in the Great Outdoors Initiative, launched by the U.S. Department of the Interior. This initiative will engage youth from all backgrounds in exploring, connecting with and preserving America's natural and cultural heritage. National Public Lands Day is also relaying the health benefits of outdoor recreation by encouraging families to develop more active lifestyles on our public lands.

The preservation of our public lands is a priority for me. Our public lands are part of what makes the United States a great Nation. I voice my gratitude to all who will participate in National Public Lands Day this year.