Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to S. Con. Res. 3.

I now ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that S. Res. 14, which is a resolution honoring the victims and heroes of the shootings on January 8, 2011, in Tucson, AZ, submitted earlier today by Senators McCain and Kyl, remain at the desk; that the Senate proceed to its consideration at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, Wednesday, January 26; that there be 3\1/2\ hours of debate, equally divided between the majority leader and the Republican leader or their designees, and upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to vote on adoption of the resolution; that there are no amendments, motions or points of order in order prior to the vote on adoption; further, that if the resolution is adopted, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Presiding Officer of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join a like committee on the part of the House to escort the President of the United States into the House Chamber for the joint session to be held tonight at 9 p.m.

I am told there are two bills at the desk for their first reading. I ask we consider those en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask for the second reading en bloc, but I object to my own requests en bloc.

Mr. President, 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 10; that upon dissolution of the joint session, the Senate adjourn until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 26; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and following any leader remarks the Senate proceed to a period of morning business until 10:30 a.m. with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each during that time, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the second half; finally, that following morning business the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res 14, the resolution honoring the victims of the tragedy in Tucson, AZ, as provided under the previous order; finally, I ask that upon disposition of the resolution, the Senate resume morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, Senators should therefore expect a rollcall vote at approximately 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon on adoption of the Tucson resolution. I would also say that we have had a lot of good work today. We have not been on the floor a lot doing what appears to be a lot of substantive stuff. But what we have been able to accomplish, in the halls of the building and the various Senate office buildings, has been extremely important. I appreciate everyone's cooperation.

Senator McConnell and I have had occasions to speak, and we know how difficult it has been for everybody involved. But we think the result is going to be very good for the Senate.

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

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, following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. for our weekly caucus luncheons. I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Senate rules and committee assignments as I have for the last week or so.

At 9 o'clock tonight, the President will give his State of the Union Address to Congress from the House Chamber. Senators are asked to gather in the Senate Chamber at 8:30 so we can proceed as a body to the House of Representatives. We will leave about 8:40 or 8:45 this evening.

Madam President, in the 2 weeks we were away from Washington, all of us absorbed the numbing tragedy and horrific attack in Tucson, AZ. The Nation mourned the loss, thanked the heroes, and waited anxiously by a brave Congresswoman's hospital bedside. We continue to wish victims a full and speedy recovery and continue to keep their families in our thoughts.

In the days since the Senate last convened, the Nation also resumed a debate over the words, the tone, and the metaphors we use in the Senate, as well as along the campaign trail, on the Internet, and over the airwaves. The national conversation about our national conversation is not new. It happens every year. Candidates promise it in every election. But since the shooting in Tucson, calls for more careful language have been multiplied and amplified.

There is no evidence that partisan politics played any role in this monstrous attack. Even so, we should be more civil anyway. Being more mindful of the weight of our words always helps. We have much more to gain with civility and discretion.

In this new year, I hope we will return to the respect that has always been a hallmark of the Senate. I hope my colleagues will join in renewing our commitment to productive debate. Some may be inspired by the town hall meetings of two Augusts ago, others by the heated election debates. Some may be motivated by the conversations started after Tucson, AZ, and many will seek more civility simply because it is the right thing to do. Whatever the reason, I hope the return to more responsible rhetoric is more than empty rhetoric. I intend to do my part.

What I am talking about goes beyond inflammatory allegations or hate speech. It also means not questioning each other's motives or calling into

question the patriotism of a colleague who has been elected to serve his State and his country.

But it is even more than that. As we more carefully choose our words, we must also remember we do not have the luxury, as Senator Moynihan used to caution, to choose our own facts. If we are going to change the way we speak in the hope of changing the way we do business, we have to reintroduce truth into the public debate.

This doesn't mean just rephrasing an attack line from ``job-killing'' to ``job-destroying,'' as House Republicans have done in response to the shooting. It means if there is no proof that a policy takes away jobs--if in fact the evidence shows the opposite--we shouldn't pretend any differently. The nonpartisan referee we rely on for this data--the Congressional Budget Office--found that when it comes to health care reform--which is what the Republicans are talking about in this case-- the claim is simply not true. Changing our rhetoric requires us to debate facts, not invent them.

In the coming weeks, much of the discussion on the Senate floor will revolve around health care, the deficit, and debt limit--those three things. Each of these issues affects the No. 1 issue in America, jobs. Each issue is complex. If we are going to make the right decisions and point our economy back in the right direction, we have to start with a shared respect for the facts.

First, let's look at health care. Independent fact checkers examined all the political rhetoric of the last year. Given the intensity of the legislative debates and the election season, there was a lot from which to choose. But one claim stood out above all--the habit of those opposed to health care to call it a ``government takeover.''

One of those nonpartisan experts, factcheck.org, called it plainly ``false.'' Another, PolitiFact, a project of the St. Petersburg, FL Times, called it the ``Lie of the Year.'' So if we are going to have an honest debate about the health reform law we passed last year, retiring this scare tactic would be a good place to start.

The deficit: Madam President, my friends on the other side are quick to associate the current President with the current deficit as if it happened overnight and under his watch. But here is a brief review of the facts.

In the 1990s, we balanced the budget under the direction of President Clinton. At the beginning of the next century, America had a bigger surplus than ever in its history. Over the next decade, while our troops went into battle, the costs of two wars went off-budget. The richest took home giant tax breaks but nobody paid the bill. A massive prescription drug program wasn't paid for either.

President Clinton left President Bush a record surplus. President Bush left President Obama a record deficit. Those unpaid-for wars, tax breaks, and programs are the reason we are in a hole today. What we do next is fair game for debate. But facts, as President John Adams said, are stubborn things.

Finally, Madam President, the debt limit: We will soon debate the debt limit. Earlier this month, the Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, sent us each a letter as to what would happen if we don't raise that ceiling. It would be the first time in the history of America that our country would default on our legal obligations. He didn't share his partisan opinion in that letter; he simply laid out the facts. This is what he wrote:

Default would effectively impose a significant and long-

lasting tax on all Americans and all American businesses and

could lead to the loss of millions of American jobs. Even a

short-term or limited default would have catastrophic

economic consequences that would last for decades.

What are some of those consequences? Our troops and veterans would no longer get their paychecks. Our seniors would no longer get the Social Security and Medicare checks to which they are entitled. Student loans would simply stop. On a larger scale, the Secretary of the Treasury warned it would lead to a worse financial crisis than the one we are still recovering from.

There soon will be lots of time to debate what we will do about the debt limit, but these are the facts we must first acknowledge and consider.

Finally, the American people voted in November for a divided legislative branch of government, a Democratic Senate and Republican House. They didn't elect Houses led by competing political parties because they want us to compete; they did so because they want us to cooperate. We cannot cooperate without an honest debate and we cannot have an honest debate if we insist that fiction is fact.

Mark Twain, a great Nevadan, once said:

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.

He was right. Here is one thing every Senator should remember and never forget: Although there are many different points of view in this body, we all share the same reality.

I look forward to a productive Congress and we can do that by debating the facts.

Madam President, before I turn this over to my friend the Republican leader, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 10, which was received from the House and is at the desk, that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, that no intervening action or debate take place, and any statements be printed in the Record.

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

Mr. President, I have a resolution at the desk, and I ask that it now be considered.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the resolution was agreed to.

Mr. President, it is my understanding that the President pro tempore will now assume the presidency of the Senate.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.