Floor Statements

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business until 4:20 today, with Senators to be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

We moved the vote to 5:20 for a couple of Senators. No one will miss the vote. We will act as if the vote started at 5:30 rather than 5:20.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. At 5:20, there will be a vote on cloture in relation to that legislation. Under an agreement we reached on Thursday, if cloture is invoked all pending amendments will be disposed of and the vote on passage of the bill will occur at noon tomorrow. All pending amendments are not germane to the bill and therefore all fall under rule XXII, if cloture is invoked.

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

Mr. President, I object to further proceedings with respect to these bills, en bloc.

Mr. President, every day brings more bad news for American homeowners. In Las Vegas alone, 1 in every 22 families received a foreclosure notice between January and March. That is seven times the national average. All across the country, the numbers have skyrocketed since the beginning of the year. As foreclosures menace more and more hard-working homeowners, they become more desperate for help. Unfortunately, schemers, swindlers, and scam artists are all too happy to pounce. Just today it was announced that the Justice Department charged five people in Maryland with orchestrating a massive and complex mortgage fraud scheme. The company cheated more than 1,000 people out of more than $70 million. There would be more of these cases filed if the authorities had more resources to do so.

This week, we are going to vote on the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. This bill provides critical funding and new tools to let law enforcement prosecute and punish those responsible for the mortgage and corporate frauds that have hurt countless hard-working Americans and led to the worst financial crisis in decades. Passing this bill

will be a crucial step toward deterring the types of financial fraud and illegal manipulation of markets that are the root cause of the current economic crisis.

Law enforcement agencies charged with protecting the American people from financial fraud are chronically understaffed. These agencies are in desperate need of personnel to help them because these schemes, such as the one I mentioned in Maryland, are ones where people have to be involved. You just can't do this working out of some office. We need investigators, we need prosecutors, we need personnel with specialized knowledge who can investigate and prosecute complicated money- laundering schemes, mortgage fraud, and conspiracies to manipulate derivatives. The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act will give the FBI, the Department of Justice, and other Federal agencies the resources to hire the help they need to protect American investments. It will also close several legal loopholes that otherwise may allow individuals guilty of criminal conduct to evade prosecution. Individuals who have engaged in corruption or deliberate criminal behavior should not be able to escape punishment on a technicality.

This bill would update Federal fraud statutes to include mortgage lending businesses that are not directly regulated or insured by the Federal Government. Although these companies were responsible for nearly half of the residential mortgage market before the economic collapse, they have remained largely unregulated. It would also protect the funds provided under the economic recovery plan and the Troubled Asset Relief Program and swiftly punish anyone who would attempt to misuse this money.

Finally, this bill will strengthen the False Claims Act, one of the most important civil tools we have for rooting out fraud in Government. In the last few months, we have taken strong steps to steer the American economy toward recovery, but we must do more. We must ensure that the money we are spending to get our economy back on track is used in the manner in which we intended it.

The American people are depending on us to act quickly to ensure that those whose criminal behavior caused the current financial crisis are brought to justice and to ensure law enforcement has the tools and resources to deter such conduct in the future. We cannot allow con artists to cheat working families who play by the rules. We cannot allow them to deceive those who make an honest living. We cannot let them steal from people who seek nothing more than their fair share of the American dream.

I would like to spread across the record here what terrific work Senator Leahy, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has done--and members on his committee. This is important legislation. The wise nature of Senator Leahy and his experience have allowed this bill to be reported out of that big committee, and it is going to pass tomorrow. I commend and applaud Senator Leahy for his good work. It is something the country has badly needed. It is long overdue, but it is certainly ripe for passage now.

I urge my colleagues to support the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act and protect struggling homeowners at the time they need it the most.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, if there be any, there will be a period of morning business with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. There will be no rollcall votes today. The next vote will occur at 5:30 on Monday. That vote will be on the motion to invoke cloture on the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act.

We have a few matters of business today. I am going to rule XIV a housing bill. I have spoken with the Republican leader as to how we are going to move forward on that, and I think that has been fairly well determined. We will do that as soon as we get rid of the fraud enforcement legislation and a nomination or two. We should be able to move to this on Wednesday or so of next week. It is something we have been wanting to go get to for some time. There will be a vote on the bankruptcy aspect of housing--the so-called cramdown language. Senator McConnell and I have spoken about how to proceed on that and the rest of the bill.

Next week should be an interesting week. Wednesday, sometime, we will interrupt whatever we are doing to complete the conference report on the budget. Senators Gregg, Conrad, and Murray were appointed as conferees on that, and they will be working over the weekend. Most issues have been resolved, but there are some that have not.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I assume the Chair would want to announce the morning business hour.

Mr. President, today I rise in honor of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, as we mark the 94th anniversary of this horrific tragedy.

On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire began a campaign of forced deportation against the Armenians. Around 2 million Armenian men, women, and children were driven from their homeland, 1.5 million of whom were killed. Hundreds of thousands were massacred outright, while others perished from forced marches, deliberate starvation, and epidemics that ravaged through concentration camps. Yet despite an outcry of condemnation by Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States, no action was taken against the Ottoman Empire, as the first genocide of the 20th century continued.

Today, the thriving, vibrant Armenian community in the United States is a testament to their endurance and strength. Yet we can never forget the loss and sacrifice of previous generations. Earlier this week, we also paid tribute to those killed in the Holocaust, and together, these anniversaries mark this week as a solemn reminder of what can occur when prejudice and hatred go unchecked. Just as we cherish the memories and stories of the Armenians persecuted by the Ottoman Empire and their survivors, so must we also honor them by recommitting ourselves to combat intolerance in all its forms.

In my own home State of Nevada, I am proud to represent thousands of Armenian-Americans, many of whom gathered to commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this past weekend in Las Vegas. I congratulate the Armenian American Cultural Society of Las Vegas for yet again organizing such a successful and meaningful event. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Armenian-American community and their supporters to come together in our State, which I am pleased is one of at least 40 other States who have recognized the Armenian Genocide.

I extend my best wishes to the Nevadan Armenian-American community back home and thank them for their many contributions to our great State.

I thank the Chair, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I understand there are two bills at the desk, and I ask for their first reading, en bloc.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading en bloc, and I object to my own request en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order with respect to the cloture vote on Monday, April 27, be modified to provide that the vote occur at 5:20 p.m., with rule XII, paragraph 4, waived, and that the hour for debate prior to the vote begin at 4:20 p.m., with all other provisions remaining in effect. We will act as if the vote started at 5:30.

The ACTING PRESDIENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H.R. 586.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, April 27; that following the prayer and 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 there then be a period for the transaction of morning business until 4:20 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. I also ask unanimous consent that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement Act, and all orders previously made remain in effect.

Mr. President, under the previous order, the time from 4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. on Monday will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. At 5:20 p.m., the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the fraud legislation.

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

Madam President, it is my belief that H.R. 1664 is due for a second reading and is at the desk.

Madam President, I object to any further proceedings at this time.

Madam President, following leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 386, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. There are currently six amendments pending. One of those amendments is a second-degree amendment.

When the Senate resumes consideration of this bill this morning--I assume there will be no morning business, so whenever Senator McConnell and I finish--Senator Leahy will be here to work with the manager on the Republican side and Republicans and Democrats on a time to vote on pending amendments. Those votes, we hope, will occur this morning.

As I announced earlier, we are going to turn to the House message with respect to the budget resolution, which is basically an apparatus to get us to conference on this matter, and we will do that sometime this afternoon. Senator McConnell and I have to go to the White House this afternoon, so we will have all that worked out before we go down there. Senators should be prepared for votes in relation to the motions to instruct conferees this afternoon.

Madam President, at this time, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 56, the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland to be Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife; that the nomination be confirmed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that no further motions be in order; that any statements relating to this nomination be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Madam President, we understood that the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee--the committee that reported this--was the individual holding this up, so I talked to Senator Inhofe.

We had a good conversation. I called him back and he said he had no problem with Mr. Strickland. Obviously, this has been rolling around and somebody else has put a snag on it.

I would now ask my friend, the Republican leader, if I ask unanimous consent for 4 hours of debate on this individual, would there be an objection to this?

Madam President, that is very unfortunate, but I understand.

I now ask unanimous consent, as in executive session, that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, following consultation with the Republican leader, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 62, the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of Health and Human Services; that there be 5 hours of debate with respect to this nomination, with the time equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to a vote on confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius; that upon confirmation, the normal procedure of the Senate be followed and that following that we resume legislative session.

Madam President, we need not quibble on the time. It came out Tuesday or Wednesday, and I understand people may want to look at this more closely. That is fine. It appears to me it wouldn't do me any good or the Senate any good to ask for more time at this time. No matter what time I set aside, the Republican leader couldn't agree now?

Madam President, we have another individual who we feel should be approved, David Hayes, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior. I would ask my friend, the Republican leader, if we suggested 3 hours of debate under the conditions I outlined for the other two, is the Republican leader in a position to agree to have this nomination?