Floor Statements

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, Senators should expect a series of up to three or four rollcall votes beginning at 10:30 this morning or thereabouts. The first vote will be on cloture with respect to the DREAM Act. If cloture is not invoked on the DREAM Act, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote with respect to the don't ask, don't tell repeal.

Following the cloture votes, the Senate will proceed to vote on two confirmations: Albert Diaz, of North Carolina, to be a U.S. circuit judge, and Ellen Hollander from Maryland to be a U.S. district judge.

I note the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Could the Chair advise me how long was taken in this last quorum call.

I ask unanimous consent that the time for debate continue to be 45 minutes on each side, with the time to begin as outlined in the previous order, but the time that I took speaking to whom I had to speak not count against the 90 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that prior to any of the succeeding votes, there be 2 minutes of debate, equally divided and controlled in the usual form; further, that after the first vote, the succeeding votes be limited to 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I will use leader time.

I say to the people in the Senate and the American public, to hear my friend, the distinguished Republican leader, talk about our having done things procedurally brings a big yawn to the American people. Everyone knows how we have been stymied, stopped, and stunned by the procedural roadblocks of this Republican minority. So we are where we are today. No. 1, we are nearing the end of this congressional session. There is a continuing resolution that has been prepared by Senator Inouye and Senator Cochran. It has some things I don't like, but it has been done because we have to do this, and we will finish that in the immediate future.

I am going to speak just briefly on don't ask, don't tell. But to suggest there haven't been adequate hearings on this is simply nonsensical. Senator Levin has held 2 days of hearings in the last 30 days. There have been hearings held, reports done by the military. My Republican friends have said: Well, this is something we probably should do, but why don't we have a study by the military and see what the Pentagon thinks. They did that. More than 70 percent of people who have served in the Armed Forces believe it doesn't matter at all.

This is exemplified in a story that appears in the Las Vegas Sun newspaper today, and I will just read two paragraphs from the story:

The Pentagon's report is done, and it concluded that

repealing the law would do little to affect troop readiness.

In fact, most of the troops interviewed for the report

indicated they didn't think it would be a problem. The

majority of them said they had served with someone who they

believed to be gay or lesbian and it didn't bother them or

affect their units' effectiveness.

Mr. President, listen to this. For example, the report quotes a special operations soldier, who said, ``We have a gay guy in the unit. He's big, he's mean, and he kills lots of bad guys. No one cares that he's gay.'' That says it all. As Barry Goldwater said, you don't have to be straight to shoot straight.

Mr. President, the DREAM Act. I first must say to everybody within the sound of my voice that I came to Washington in 1982 to serve in the House of Representatives. One of the people who came in that large Democratic class we had was Dick Durbin from Illinois. I have gotten to know him extremely well. He is very good. We all know he has the ability to express himself extremely well. I have known him for all these 28 years. We have worked very closely together. He is now the assistant leader of the Senate. I have never known him to feel so strongly about an issue as he does this DREAM Act. He worked on it for more than a decade. He has shed tears while talking to me about some of the people with whom he visits. We saw the emotion he felt here today. I so admire and appreciate him for the work he has done.

I am committed to passing the DREAM Act. As we work toward a comprehensive approach to reform our country's broken immigration policy, one thing we can do now is ensure that the next generation can contribute to our economy and to our society.

The DREAM Act applies to a very specific group of talented, motivated young people who already call America home. This is their home. It applies only to those who came here at age 15 or younger and have been here at least 5 years. Even then, in order to have a chance at permanent legal residency, they would have to graduate from high school, pass strict criminal background checks, and attend college or serve in the military for at least 2 years.

I have said on this floor before--but I will repeat it--when I first became aware of the problem we had in our country, I was in Smith Valley, NV, an agricultural community in the northeastern part of our State. I was a relatively new Senator. They had gotten all the students there in a very small high school together. I made a presentation to them. When I finished, I could tell there was a girl who wanted to talk to me. She was there; I could see her and feel her presence. I knew she was embarrassed to talk to me, so I said, ``Do you want to talk to me?'' And she said, ``Yes.'' She alone said to me:

Senator, I am the smartest kid in my class. I have the best

grades. But I can't go to college. My parents came here

illegally. What am I supposed to do with my life?

At that time, I didn't know that this brilliant, young, beautiful woman of Hispanic origin could not go to college, but she could not. That is what this is all about. I don't know where that young woman is now, whether she has completed college or whether she working in the onion and garlic farms up there--I just don't know. I have thought about that many times.

When we jeopardize our education, we jeopardize our economy. The Congressional Budget Office found that letting these men and women contribute to our society will reduce the deficit by more than $1 billion. A UCLA study found that the DREAM Act would add as much as $3.5 trillion to our economy--that is trillion with a ``t.'' That comes from the University of California at Los Angeles. This bill is not only the right thing to do, it is also a very good investment.

The Defense Department also knows it is good for national security. The Pentagon has said it will help it meet the recruitment goals of our All-Volunteer Force. That is why our military made it part of its 2010 to 2012 strategic plan. That is in their plan, the Pentagon's plan.

Some Republicans are trying to demonize these young men and women, who love this country and want to contribute to it and fight for it. The real faces of the DREAM Act are the dreamers.

I was welcomed to Washington on Thursday. There was a beautiful child there with a graduation hat on, a four-cornered hat. She was a dreamer. She wants to be able to go to college. That is all she wants. And we have others who want to be able to join the military.

The real faces belong to people such as Astrid Silva, who wrote to me from Nevada to tell me this--and I have visited her on many occasions:

I am 22 and have never even stolen a piece of gum from a 7-

11; yet, I feel as though my forehead says ``felon.''

Ricardo Cornejo wrote to me from Las Vegas to tell me that young men like him ``would love to fight and give our entire lives for our country.''

Opponents use the word ``amnesty,'' hoping to trick people into thinking this bill is something it is not. They are trying to play to people's worst fears.

One Senator said in the presence of one of these dreamers that he could not vote for it because that law said one didn't need to serve. All you need to do is sign up. I say to this U.S. Senator and anyone else suggesting such an absurdity: Read the bill. It takes 2 years of service in the military. It will be longer than 2 years because you have to sign up for more than 2 years. We certainly get our money's worth in that regard. The DREAM Act could not be further from amnesty. It is an opportunity that gives nothing for free and demands a great deal of those who earn legal residency. It is not granting citizenship immediately; it puts them on the pathway to citizenship. It gives nobody incentives to break the law but to contribute to our Nation and its economy.

When it passes--Mr. President, I hope it passes, as my friend Senator Durbin said today, but it is going to pass--millions of children who grew up in America as Americans will be able to get the education they need to contribute to our economy. Many who have volunteered to defend our country will no longer have to fear being deported.

Democrats know this is good policy. Republicans know it too. That is why Senator Orrin Hatch coauthored it 10 years ago, and that is why the Wall Street Journal's very conservative editorial board called it a worthy immigration bill within the last few weeks. The only question is whether we will let good policy inform our votes or let partisan politics get in the way of so many futures--not just of these children but our own.

Mr. President, all consent agreements that I have been involved

in over the years have been imperfect, but this is the best we could do. I think it is a pretty good one.

I ask unanimous consent that at 3 p.m. today all postcloture time be considered expired and the Reid motion to concur with amendments be withdrawn; that no further amendments or motions be in order, and without further intervening action or debate the Senate proceed to vote on the Reid motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment on H.R. 2965; that upon disposition of the House message, the Senate then resume executive session and the START treaty and there be 4 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation to the McCain amendment, No. 4814, with the time equally divided and controlled between Senators Kerry and McCain or their designees; that upon disposition of the McCain amendment, Senator Risch be recognized to offer an amendment, with any debate time prior to disposition of the House message with respect to H.R. 2965 equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees.

Mr. President, I say through the Chair to my friend, the Senator from Arizona, I agree. So tell me what time you think would be appropriate. It does not matter.

At 3 o'clock.

I think that is totally appropriate. I would just add and say to my friend while the Chair is considering the consent request, one of the reasons we were able to get this agreement is we have worked pretty hard in the last few days, and people felt we should have the afternoon off after we finish this information. As far as I am concerned, I will be in my office. If people want more time, that is fine. But that was one of the conditions that some people wanted on your side, and that is fine with me.

We will come in about midday tomorrow to resume consideration of the START treaty.

I would ask, Mr. President, that the request be modified to the effect here as has been indicated.

I have spoken to the Republican leader. We are going to come in tomorrow around noon. I have spoken to Senator Risch, who has an important amendment to offer on the START treaty. He has indicated he would need about 2 hours of debate. We would hope at or near 2 o'clock to have a series of at least three votes. And today, as we indicated earlier, we are basically through except for the wrap-up. We do have another vote.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that two additional staff members from Senator Lieberman's office be granted floor privileges for the duration of the debate on the vote to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2965.

We do not need their names. You are entitled to two and he wants to be able to have four. So I ask that consent.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, if any, the Senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the New START treaty. The treaty is open to amendments. Senators are encouraged to come to the floor to offer and debate their amendments or make statements regarding this most important piece of legislation.

I would like to begin today having votes on the amendment that has been filed. As a reminder, last night I filed cloture with respect to the House messages on the DREAM Act and the don't ask, don't tell repeal.

The first cloture vote will occur tomorrow morning fairly early. If cloture is not invoked on the DREAM Act, the Senate will proceed immediately to a cloture vote on the don't ask, don't tell repeal. Senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled.

Mr. President, I have a matter I believe is at the desk, S.J. Res. 42. I think it is due for a second reading.

I object to any further proceedings with respect to this joint resolution.

Mr. President, the path is clear that we can finish our work relatively soon. As I indicated earlier, we are going to have two votes in the morning. Even if cloture is invoked on one or both of those matters, there is no reason we couldn't complete that work tomorrow. There is no reason we would have to extend that into Sunday. We will be happy to do that because we are going to work every day-- every day--until we finish this legislative session.

If we get those two things out of the way, we have minimal things left to do. We have to do the health care as it relates to 9/11. Of course, we have to complete the funding for the government. We know what happened last night, so we are looking forward to doing the CR. It is a tremendous disappointment as to what it doesn't do for our country, but that is where we are. The Republicans made that choice, and the American people need to understand that.

I was told 6 or 7 days are needed to debate the START treaty. That is easy to do. We can complete that very quickly. It all depends on our friends on the other side of the aisle, whether they want to continue, as they have this whole Congress, throwing roadblocks in front of everything we do to move forward to a culmination of this debate. We have done some very important things during this Congress, but there is nothing--nothing--more important than the START treaty because it has ramifications far greater than our own country. So I hope everyone will be patient. We know this is the holiday season, but this is something we are going to complete before we leave. I have had conversations with a number of my Republican friends, and they understand the seriousness of this matter.

As I indicated yesterday, the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, has been an advocate for this for a long time. We know our chairman, Senator Kerry, believes fervently in this legislation. So I am going to do everything I can to expedite the other matters, and that is the reason cloture was filed on these two issues last night.

I repeat, there is no reason we can't complete everything by tomorrow in the evening. Leaving the days we have spent on this already, which are three in number, we could do Sunday, Monday, Tuesday; that is 6, 7 days. We are set to complete this very quickly. It is all up to people who believe in this to come down and make their statements and to support amendments for the strengthening of this and oppose those that don't. So I hope everyone would understand the importance of the work we have.

The issues dealing with the DREAM Act, I have given many speeches on this floor dealing with the importance of that. It is legislation supported by our Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. They know how important it is to have quality people in the military. They know we are taking into the military today people who have been convicted of crimes, people who have not graduated from high school, and this would certainly be a way of bringing into the military people who really want to serve their country. So I hope we can get that done.

Don't ask, don't tell is another issue that is certainly ripe for completion. I appreciate the work of the House in completing that. There is no reason, no matter how they may dislike that legislation, to stand in the way of the START treaty. The don't ask, don't tell, as we all have seen from reading the press, we have enough votes to pass that. It passed in the House for the second time. It picked up 45 votes from the first time they voted on it, so it is gaining strength.

The one reason I think it is so important to do that, to complete the repeal of don't ask, don't tell, one of the problems we have had with the issue of abortion around the country is that it has been determined by the courts not the legislature. There have been numerous articles written about how that is one problem that has caused so much consternation with the abortion issue--because it should have been handled by the legislature. I feel the same way about don't ask, don't tell. We can see the courts moving in on this. We should have the courage to do what is right for the American people and do it legislatively, not leave it to the courts.

The only thing I didn't mention is we have a lot of nominations I am working with the Republican leader on to complete. One person we are concerned about is Jim Cole, the Deputy Attorney General. That is the No. 2 person at the Justice Department. It is a shame it has taken so long to complete.

Madam President, following leader remarks, if any, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the New START treaty. Rollcall votes are expected to occur throughout the day in relation to amendments to the treaty. The managers of this bill, Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar, are two of our most experienced Members, and they will do an outstanding job of managing this legislation.

The current continuing resolution expires Saturday at midnight, so we need to take action to consider a funding resolution sometime in the next few days.

Just an update on the schedule: The tax package which we passed yesterday is now in the House. They are going to consider that very likely today. We have the omnibus or the continuing resolution we have to deal with in the near future because, as I have indicated, the funding expires at midnight on Saturday.

The DREAM Act is something we need to work on. It is an extremely important piece of legislation allowing young men and women to join the military. If they serve 2 years in the military, they would be eligible to get their green cards. It also allows them to continue their education. It is an extremely important piece of legislation.

We have the 9/11 health matter; we need to reconsider that. We hope we can move forward on that matter. There are thousands of people who are desperately ill who need to be helped as a result of the terrorist attack that took place on 9/11.

Yesterday the House passed don't ask, don't tell, and we are going to have to deal with that in some way.

We have nominations, including that of Jim Cole, the Deputy Attorney General, we have been trying for several months now to get cleared-- that second ranking person in the entire Justice Department. It seems to me we are having trouble getting even a vote on this individual. So that is going to have to be resolved before we leave. It is extremely important we do that.

Mr. President, we have done a lot of important work this year. We have reformed our health care system to give families more options and more control. We have brought accountability to Wall Street; and reigned in the reckless behavior that led to the economic crisis. We have given relief to millions of Americans hurting because of the economy. Now, it is time for us to protect the national security of the United States.

First of all I want to say that I was pleased that we were able to move forward and start debate on the treaty today. I hope we can continue to have a process that allows for real discussion and debate.

This treaty is critical to the national security of the United States. We know that one of the greatest security threats America faces is a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist. A nuclear-armed terrorist would not be constrained by doctrines of deterrence or mutually assured destruction but could attack and destroy one of our cities without warning. By ratifying this treaty, we can help stop that tragedy from happening.

This treaty would secure nuclear stockpiles by taking nearly 1,500 U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons--weapons that now sit pointed at cities like Washington and Moscow, Chicago and St. Petersburg--and put them on ice. It has been more than a year since American inspectors were on the ground monitoring the Russian nuclear weapons arsenal. It is critical that we ratify this treaty so we can get that window into exactly what the Russians are, or are not, doing.

This treaty preserves a strong U.S. nuclear arsenal. As treaty negotiations were underway, U.S. Military leaders provided analysis and determined the number of nuclear weapons we needed to retain to keep us safe here at home.

With the United States and Russia controlling over 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, we need the stability and transparency this treaty would provide.

We aren't ratifying this treaty because we want to be Russia's best friend. But we do need to work together with Russia to stop the most dangerous nuclear threats from around the world, including Iran and North Korea.

By ratifying the START treaty, we will increase our ability to work with other countries to reduce nuclear weapons around the world and to make sure that those weapons are kept safe and secure.

Given the obvious advantages of this treaty to our national security, I hope we will be able to continue this institution's tradition of bipartisan support for arms control. The START treaty builds on a long history of bipartisan support for treaties which limit the strategic offensive weapons of the United States and Russia.

The Senate, as well, has a long history of broad bipartisan support for these types of treaties.

Continuing that tradition, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee overwhelmingly approved the resolution of ratification of the START treaty with a bipartisan vote of 14 to 4.

The U.S. military leadership unanimously supports the treaty, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen have spoken in favor of the treaty in their testimony before the Senate.

Secretaries of State from the last five Republican Presidents support the treaty because they know, in their words, the world is safer today because of the decades-long effort to reduce its supply of nuclear weapons.

A wide range of Republican and Democratic national security leaders have come out in support of the treaty, including former President George H.W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Madeleine K. Albright, LTG Brent Scowcroft, James Schlesinger, Stephen Hadley, Sam Senator Nunn, and Senator John Warner.

As we enter this historic debate, we want to ensure that all voices are heard. We plan to allow our Republican colleagues the opportunity to express their views and concerns about the treaty and to have a reasonable number of germane and relevant amendments.

Republicans have been included in the process from the beginning--the resolution recommended by the Foreign Relations Committee that we will debate was, at the urging of Senator Kerry, crafted by Senator Lugar to reflect the views of Republican colleagues, and the Foreign Relations Committee then adopted in its markup two additional Republican amendments.

Senator Kyl raised legitimate concerns about the state of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, and the administration responded with a commitment of $85 billion to upgrade that complex over the next 10 years.

But there is a difference between legitimate policy concerns and those who simply wish to use procedural tricks to keep the treaty moving forward.

We can easily complete this treaty with a reasonable amount of time, as the Senate has in the past. We can continue our institution's long history of bipartisan support for arms control. And we can take 1,500 nuclear weapons off their launchpads and make the future far safer for the children of America and the world.

With that, I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, Members on both sides anticipated my filing cloture tonight on the spending bill that would take us through next year. Everyone knows we are operating under a continuing resolution that expires Saturday night at midnight. Senator Inouye has worked so very hard for the entire year, working on a bipartisan agreement and in a bipartisan manner, to put together a bill that will responsibly fund the government for the next fiscal year. He has not done this as king. He has done it working with Democrats and Republicans. Senator Cochran has been in on all the efforts Senator Inouye has made. The product was filed a few days ago. The overall spending level was supported by 40 Republicans earlier this year.

In addition, the bill contains priorities for Members, Democrats and Republicans. Although some of my Republican colleagues in recent days have publicly distanced themselves from the idea that Members have a role to play in the appropriations process, all of them did nothing privately to withdraw their priorities from this bill.

I will not take a long time tonight, but I will say a few things about this. It is no surprise because I have said it before. I, like everyone here, support the Constitution of the United States. I don't carry this with me every day but nearly every day. I don't read it every day, but I have a pretty good idea what is in it. One of the things I understand and support is that the Founding Fathers decided we should have a unique form of government, with three separate and equal branches. I believe, as one of the legislators here in the framework of the government set up by the Founding Fathers, that I have a number of responsibilities. One of those responsibilities set forth in that Constitution is to make sure that the executive branch of government does not take power away from us. Three separate, equal branches of government, not three branches of government with one stronger than the other. I think my Republican friends are giving up so much to the executive branch of government in doing away with congressionally directed spending.

It wouldn't matter if George Bush the first, George Bush the second, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, President Clinton, or Barack Obama were President. I don't like this grab of power. That is what it is. I don't know why people in this branch of government are willing to give that power up.

This bill, put together by Senator Inouye and Senator Cochran, is a good bill. It is an important piece of legislation. It has priorities that are so vitally important to children.

Mr. President, 300,000 children in America, as a result of our not moving forward, are going to be treated much differently. The Head Start Program has been proven to be something that is vital to the country, and 300,000 children will not be eligible for Head Start because of this. Programs in our schools will be much less than they should be. Senior citizens will be significantly harmed. We have in this legislation programs that will create jobs, jobs through developing infrastructure that is so desperately needed. This action taken by my friends on the other side of the aisle is going to cause people to lose their jobs.

Military construction. I have important bases vital to the security of this Nation in Nevada. They are all going to be damaged as a result of what has happened here. One reason I feel so put upon, which is probably a word that people don't much care whether I am put upon, but I tried to make this something that was good for the Congress. I was elated that one of my Republican friends said: Here is who is going to support you. Here is who is going to support you, up to nine.

I have talked to a number of those Senators. I will not identify them. I know who they are. I have it right here. I won't tonight or any time publicly ever say anything about who they are, but they know who they are. In the last 24 hours they have walked away from the ability for us to complete this legislation. I was told within the last 24 hours that we had bipartisan support to pass this bill. ``Many'' is a word that is too large, but a number of Republican Senators told me they would like to see it passed, and they couldn't vote for it.

Those nine Senators--I have called some of them tonight and visited with them--will not support this legislation. We now have a simple choice. Are we going to help the people in America--I have listed some of the people who desperately need this help, and it appears that the answer will be no--or will we wind up passing a short-term CR to keep government running. In reality, we only have one choice, and that is a short-term CR.

I asked my friend Senator McConnell if I should file cloture on the CR we got from the House. He said no. And one thing about Senator McConnell, I have found that he levels with me on issues. There is no need to go through that procedure. It is not worth it to anybody. We will not get a vote on that.

So in the next 24 hours or so, Senator McConnell and I will work to try to come up with a CR to fund the government for a certain period of time. That is where we are right now. I am sorry and disappointed.

Yes. I am going to file cloture tonight on the DREAM Act. We will have a cloture vote on that Saturday morning fairly early. I am going to file cloture on don't ask, don't tell tonight. So those will be sequenced for Saturday or whenever we get to them. But we have to move this along. Following that I was told by a number of Republican Senators that they needed 6 or 7 days to debate and offer amendments on the START treaty. That will certainly be available. We will finish, if the math works out the way I believe it will, early Monday morning.

First of all, tomorrow we can debate START to everyone's heart's content. They can offer as many amendments as they want, and then Monday we can go to that again. This would be 3 days already completed on that, 3 or 4 days, whatever is appropriate next week to complete the START treaty. We would wind this up by taking care of the nominations that Senator McConnell and I have been working on. That is the range of things we have to do. I have told the two Senators from New York that I will move to reconsider their vote at some time, but that is going to happen fairly quickly.

Mr. President, it doesn't take a person with a PhD to understand that I differ with what my friend, the senior Senator from Kentucky, said, things that don't indicate what history is in the Senate. We have been facing 87 filibusters this Congress. For anyone to suggest that the reason the work of Senators Inouye and Cochran was not completed is because we didn't do the appropriations bills is farfetched. Senators Inouye and Cochran, in good faith, worked toward what they were told the Democrats and Republicans wanted to do; that is, have a bill that took in the priorities of Democrats and Republicans. The bill that we are talking about isn't a bill that is a Democratic bill. It is a Democratic and Republican bill.

I yield to the Senator from Illinois.

Yes, and it satisfied what we had debated here on a number of occasions and voted on, the so-called Sessions-McCaskill number. So we did that. This is not a big balloon that we just threw up to see how it would work out. Senator McConnell, who has had a longstanding association with the Appropriations Committee, that was a number he told us we should work with.

I am happy to.

Yes. To Senator Cochran's credit, there were things he thought should not be in the bill that Senator Inouye was putting together. Senator Inouye, to his credit, said: OK, it does not go in. Everything people wanted in this bill--in addition to the work that went on on the subcommittee level, the full committee level--anything that was added at a later time had to be approved by both Senator Inouye and Senator Cochran.

That is right.

Yes. And things that Senator Cochran did not want in, Senator Inouye, being the gentleman he is, said: OK. That is what I will tell my caucus.

Yes, I will yield for a question, and, of course, I maintain the floor.

Go ahead.

I am aware of it. But my friend, the Republican leader, wants to ask a question or make some statement. But I would say this to my friend from Washington, remember, this bill, which is 1,900 pages long, consists of the work of 12 subcommittees.

It is work that has been done over the last year, or more in some instances, to come up with a product. So if you break it down per subcommittee, it is certainly a reasonable number of pages on each subcommittee. Remember, there are 12 subcommittees that are a part of it.

I would be happy to yield, without losing the floor, to my friend, the Republican leader.

That is fine.

I hope the court reporter will take down the smile I have on my face because the answer to the question is kind of easy. We have had to file cloture 87 times in this Congress because, on everything we have tried to do, we have been obstructed. So that is the reason.

Everyone knows we have had some very big issues. When President Obama was elected, we found ourselves in a deep, deep hole. It was so deep, so deep. During the prior administration, we lost 8 million jobs. The month that President Obama and President Bush shared the Presidency, in January--that month--we lost 800,000 jobs. So we had a lot to do.

Now, I know people criticize our doing health care for various reasons. There is criticism we did the bank reform bill, Wall Street reform. We did housing reform. We had a very, very busy Congress to try to dig ourselves out of the hole.

So I say to my friend, who, like me, has been on the Appropriations Committee--I am not on it now but he is--the Appropriations Committee is a wonderful committee. Everyone here knows why we did not have the individual appropriations bills. I say to my friend, I hope next year we can get them done. But I think there is more of a chance next year because we have gotten a lot done to help get ourselves out of the hole we found ourselves in because of the previous 8 years which created the big hole we had to kind of dig out of.

Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate a message from the House with respect to H.R. 5281.

Yes, I will.

Thank you, Mr. President.