Floor Statements

Mr. President, we are going to go back to work immediately on H.R. 1, the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Yesterday, we reached an agreement on a number of amendments, and that was certainly done. After we completed the voting last night, the managers of the bill moved a number of other pieces of legislation. Senator McCain is going to offer the first amendment today. This will be the 14th amendment that is pending, and I think we need to dispose of all or part of these amendments before we start adding more amendments. We are happy that was the agreement made last night--for Senator McCain to offer his amendment. It is an important amendment, one that needs to be debated, and we look forward to that.

However, I would tell Senators, I think we should dispose of some of these amendments before we start on any more after Senator McCain. There will be plenty of time to do that. Everyone has agreed to time agreements on these amendments, is what I am told, and I am confident that is right.

Mr. President, let me say a few words about the pending legislation. I hear comments all the time that this is the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. I have asked myself: Well, is this worse than the Depression that started in 1928? The answer is no. That situation was worse than what we find ourselves in today. In that period of time, the stock market dropped 89 percent, with more than 25 percent of the population without work, and there were millions of

others who were underemployed. It was an extremely difficult time in the history of our country. We do find ourselves in a very difficult position now, and we need to do what we can to work our way out of this situation so we don't have a depression but just a bad recession, and I am confident and hopeful we can do that.

Now, as I mentioned last night, we are going to work our very best to complete this legislation as soon as we can. But I was terribly disappointed to see in the newspaper this morning ``GOP Reconsiders Use of Filibuster.'' It is a long article, but among other things it says:

A number of Republicans say they believe leadership may

need to bring back the use of procedural filibusters.

Well, all filibusters are procedural, so I don't know what that means. Then, on the carryover page, the headline, ``Filibusters May Be Back on Menu.'' And among other things, it says:

Using a procedural vote muddies the issue for the public

and can allow Senators to stick with their party and block a

bill while still being able to say they didn't technically

vote against the legislation.

President Obama has given the Congress a charge: Help America work our way out of the economic downturn we find ourselves in. Now, there isn't a Senator, Democratic or Republican, who doesn't acknowledge we have a tremendous problem, but the question is, How are we going to work through this problem? Of course, every one of us might suggest we could write a better bill. We all have an ego, and so we think we could do a better job than President Obama and his people. But we are at a point now where we have, as I have indicated, 13 amendments pending-- soon we will have 14--and I have no problem with that--but there comes a time when we need to work to complete the legislation.

Now, I am not in a hurry to finish this legislation. However, I would like to get it done because we have to get to a conference report. I am a little troubled, I have to acknowledge, by seeing that a number of Republicans now are talking about the use of the filibuster. I can understand, when we were an evenly divided Senate, that people complained because they didn't have an opportunity to offer amendments. But no one can complain about that now. So I say to everyone who is reconsidering the use of the filibuster: What more in the world could we do to be cooperative than to try to move legislation through this body? We have not tried to use the power of numbers. We simply want to get this legislation completed.

I say to everyone within the sound of my voice there are only 58 Democrats. If they decide to have a filibuster on this or block it procedurally, we still need two Republicans, and I am hopeful and confident Republicans of good will recognize the hole we are in and will help us get out of this.

I feel pretty good about the work we are trying to do. There were some important amendments dealt with, as I indicated, last night, and I have been told more are going to be offered, one by the senior Senator from Arizona and another by the junior Senator from Nevada that are in keeping with the many statements the Republican leader has made dealing with fixing the housing problems in America today. So I don't know of more that we could do to try to make the Republicans feel a part of what is going on around here.

I do think most Republicans feel we are doing fine. But remember, it only takes a few to get started again and then we have to file cloture and have a cloture vote Saturday or Sunday. I think it would be a shame to do that and wait 30 hours, as we did about 100 times in the last Congress. I hope we don't need to go through all that. We have too much to do for this country that is so vitally important to get hung up on some procedural quagmire.

I only say this because I can read. I can read and I understand what appears to be coming at us on this legislation. I hope not because it would be a real shame, seeing what our problems are, but a few Republicans are bound and determined to throw a monkey wrench into President Obama's recovery plan. That would be too bad.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 4:30 this afternoon the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the amendments listed in this agreement and in the order listed; that no amendment be in order to any of the amendments covered under the agreement prior to a vote in relation thereto; that prior to each vote, there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that after the first vote in the sequence, the succeeding votes be limited to 10 minutes each: McCain amendment No. 364, and that the amendment be modified with the change at the desk; Dorgan amendment No. 200; Feingold-McCain amendment No. 140; Dodd amendment No. 354; DeMint amendment No. 189; Harkin amendment No. 338; Dodd amendment No. 145; McCaskill amendment No. 125; Ensign amendment No. 353; McCaskill amendment No. 236, as modified, and that a further modification be in order if cleared by the managers; Thune amendment No. 197; Boxer amendment No. 363, as amended; and Barrasso amendment No. 326.

Mr. President, there will be ample opportunity to offer amendments.

Yes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Dodd amendment No. 145 be taken out of this tranche. We will arrange another time, with the assistance of the Republicans, to determine when to vote on this. What we are trying to do, Senator Conrad wants to have another amendment go before this one, and Senator Dodd has consented to do that.

That is right.

I thank the Chair.

Amendment No. 338--Withdrawn

Mr. President, the vote has been reported?

Mr. President, for all Members, everyone should be advised we are going to be working late tonight. We have a lot of work to do. We are going to work to get a solution. We are going to work within the broad outline that President Obama has given us, a program that has the wide support of the American people.

If necessary, we are going to work through the night. I repeat, we are going to work until we get it done. There are a number of Senators working in good faith to try to come up with a proposal that will pick up a number of Republican votes. There are a number of Republicans working in that group--I do not know how many but as many as eight Republican Senators--trying to come up with a proposal they believe would improve this legislation.

As I have indicated to each of those Senators individually, we would be happy to take a look at this. If it is in keeping with what I believe everyone is trying to do; that is, to improve this legislation, of course we will take a look at it, and we will take a good positive look at it.

This legislation is very important. The reason we need to work through the night is, I cannot imagine what would happen to the financial markets tomorrow if it was reported that this bill would go down. This bill is not only important to our great country, it is important to the world. We are the largest economic machine in the world by far.

People a lot of times refer to Japan and the trouble they had in the 1990s. But, remember, their economy, even though theirs is the second largest economy in the world, it is a very small economy relatively speaking compared to ours. So around the world, everyone is looking at what we are going to do tonight.

I want to make sure everyone understands that everyone is working in good faith. This is a very large piece of legislation. I understand why people would want to change it, and certainly we are in the process of trying to do that with these multitude of amendments that have been offered.

We will finish this. We have about four votes left in this tranche. Then we will move on to others. On the Democratic side, we have more amendments lined up. I am sure the Republicans have more lined up on their side. But I would hope everyone would work in good faith to move forward on this legislation.

If at the end of the day people cannot vote for it, that is a decision people will have to make. But I want everyone

within the sound of my voice to understand that what we do here is extremely important not only to the people in Las Vegas, Reno, and Nevada but all over this country and the financial capitals of the world.

The small towns all around the world are looking to see what we do. It is not a pleasant picture to think what would happen if this legislation, which was put together--I have used the term before--in good faith by President Obama and his people, is, in effect, turned down.

Now, we have never said you have to rubberstamp what we have done. That is why we started on Monday a process of amending this legislation. A lot of amendments have been offered. A lot of them have not been accepted or approved, but a number of them have. A couple of them that were approved I really did not like very much. But this is what the legislative process is about. Legislation is the art of compromise, consensus building. That is where we are. So it is 6:15 tonight. I would hope in the next 12 hours we can have a piece of legislation that we can feel good about after having worked on it for these many hours that we have.

I failed to say one thing. I extend my apologies to my friend. One of the things I wanted to say is, Senator McConnell, the Republican leader, has been very open with me. We have had a number of meetings during today. He has been very understanding of some of the problems I have. I am understanding of some of the problems he has.

I want the Record to reflect he has been very cooperative. I appreciate that very much.

Mr. President, I am probably different than most every Senator. I wish we could outlaw polls. I think they are one of the things that hurt the body politic. I don't believe in them. I don't watch what they say. I don't care about them. But I can read them. We were all present at a meeting yesterday where in-depth polling has been done on this. The polling for President Obama's package, as of yesterday, was approved by nearly 70 percent of the American people. I don't know what the Gallup poll is, but it should underscore what I said about polls. Everybody forget about the polls. Forget about them. Do what we think is good for the American people based on what we are hearing from constituents, constituents rich and poor, big businesses and small businesses. If we listen to them, we have to come forward with a robust package in keeping with the needs of the country.

I appreciate the comments of my friend, the Republican leader. We are all working to do the best we can. We have some disagreement as to what the right thing to do is. I hope we will not be determining what we do based on a poll.

I have stated clearly and unequivocally that I believe those eight Republicans who are--I think that is the number; I haven't been in on the meetings--working very hard to try to come up with an alternate proposal, I appreciate that. Does that mean the other 33 Republican Senators aren't working in good faith? Of course they are. But I very much appreciate those Republicans who are openly trying to come up with something different. All of us are trying to do the right thing for the American people. There isn't a single Senator who has come to this floor who hasn't said that this economy is in deep trouble and we have to do something to fix it. My comment was, I hope we can do that. That is the reason I have said we have to work through the night. Because if we don't and the Friday financial markets look at us not having been able to accomplish anything, it is a bad day not only for America but the rest of the world.

Amendment No. 236, As Further Modified

Mr. President, I rise to discuss an amendment that I have filed to address some important renewable energy issues that should be resolved before the Congress sends the final economic recovery plan to the President.

I do not plan to force it to a vote because I have great confidence that we will be able to work out most, if not all, of these issues satisfactorily in conference and with the new administration. That is provided we can get enough votes to move this critical bill through the Senate.

As my colleagues know, the recession has hit every sector of the economy hard. The growing renewable energy industry is no exception. One recent headline was ``Dark Days for Green Energy.''

Solar, wind and even geothermal businesses are caught in the credit crunch. Installations have slowed, despite the extensions of important production and investment tax credits that we included in the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the promise of the new renewable and energy efficiency incentives and loan guarantee programs that we have included in the economic recovery legislation the Senate is debating now.

The number of investors for new renewable projects, like other industries, has dwindled due to the disruption in tax equity markets. So, to keep making progress toward a clean energy revolution, making our Nation and my home State of Nevada more energy independent and creating thousands of new jobs and sustainable economic growth, we need a temporary substitute for those tax credits and incentives.

My amendment is similar to the temporary DOE grant program included in the House-passed bill, which works in lieu of the investment tax credit. However, I have modified it to be certain that it also works for utility-scale solar and geothermal projects which take slightly longer than wind or other renewable energy production facilities to commence operation.

Clearly, this grant program will not and should not remove the strong preference of most project sponsors to use the traditional tax equity markets once those markets are reestablished and functioning. The grant option is less valuable to these investors than the investment or production tax credit because it does not fully replace other tax benefits such as accelerated depreciation. But the grant program is a necessity in today's troubled market

that will get renewable project developers through these difficult times, creating thousands of jobs in the course of months instead of years.

The amendment does a number of other things, including pushing and funding the Departments of Energy, Interior and other agencies to work together more constructively and more quickly to process renewable energy projects and related transmission permits on public lands. It also raises the cap to $2.5 billion on third-party financing for transmission capacity developments that the Western Area Power Administration and the Southwestern Power Administration are allowed to accept.

Lastly, the amendment includes a nod toward the problems faced by solar and other renewable technologies that might not easily fall into the two categories of guaranteed loan eligibility in the substitute, commercial vs. non-commercial. My amendment would add a new category of ``new or significantly improved'' technologies that would be eligible for the new loan guarantee program created in the underlying bill. This definition was part of the final rule for the title XVII loan guarantee program published in October 2007.

Nevadans and all Americans are eager to get back to work and clean energy investments are one of the best ways to ensure they can get back to work and prosper.

Nevadans pay billions of dollars every year in energy bills. Much of that money goes to other States or other countries in fuel costs and enriches them, but does not add equivalent and long-lasting value for Nevada or provide much help to diversify our economy or prepare for a safer and more affordable future.

Fortunately, this economic recovery plan, with the help of the new administration, is going to start the transformation of our national energy policy that Nevada needs to become a net exporter of clean renewable energy.

This bill will stimulate the economy in the short-term, but its energy spending will have long-term benefits for Nevada and the Nation.

The entire list of potential benefits to Nevada are too numerous to list, but at my and the President's strong urging, the economic recovery bill will, for example: accelerate renewable energy project and transmission line development; stimulate the growth of businesses making energy efficient and renewable energy products and services; improve energy efficiency of schools, hospitals, public buildings and low-income housing; maintain, repair and improve critical water supply and quality projects in urban and rural areas; promote conversion of vehicle fleets to clean and efficient alternative fuels to reduce oil consumption; and, enhance energy security at military installations through renewable energy and energy efficiency investments.

Some of the specific items currently in the bill and their benefits for Nevada:

A 3 year extension of the renewable energy production tax credit. The long-term extension of this tax credit are critical to ensure investment in Nevada's geothermal and wind energy potential. $3.25 billion in new borrowing authority for the Western Area Power Administration to finance and facilitate development of renewable energy transmission capacity. The new borrowing authority should facilitate access to Nevada's vast solar and geothermal resources. $22.1 million through the Weatherization Assistance Program, with changes to the income level percentage formula for determining the eligibility, an increase in the assistance level per dwelling unit, and an increase in the funding ceiling for worker training. $5.4 million through the State Energy Program for energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy projects. A new Advanced Energy Investment Credit for facilities that manufacture advanced energy property like solar cells or mirrors, wind turbines, technology that can access geothermal deposits, or energy storage systems for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles. $1.6 billion in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds that Nevada's cities, counties, and electric cooperatives will be able to compete for to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. A 2 year extension and expansion of the 10 percent energy efficiency tax credit for existing homes to 30 percent. Approximately $20 million for energy efficiency and conservation block grants for Nevada's communities. Hundreds of millions of dollars that will make military installations more energy efficient and more energy secure through greater use of renewable power and alternative fuel vehicles. $2 billion that Nevada's public housing agencies will be able to compete for so that they can invest in energy conservation. $1.6 billion that Nevada's hospitals and schools will be able to compete for so that they can invest in energy efficiency

I should note that nothing is final until the Senate has had a chance to pass and conference this bill with the House and President Obama has signed it. Many Senators have filed or are considering amendments to cut some of these important energy programs. So we will have to see what happens.

But I am committed to making sure that the renewable energy business in Nevada and elsewhere continues to grow through this legislative package, the next energy bill and beyond. The economic, energy, environmental and national security benefits are just too important to my State, to the Nation and the world.

Mr. President, although the housing crisis has devastated cities and towns across America, nowhere has been hit harder than Nevada.

Nearly 1 in 20 households has been affected by foreclosure, and that number goes up every single day.

Every time a home is lost, a family loses not just a place to live but a sense of security, financial stability and the promise of a brighter future.

Last evening, the Senate passed an amendment to the American recovery and reinvestment plan that doubles the tax credit for home buyers to $15,000. This legislation will also expand the credit to all purchasers, not just first-time buyers.

In Nevada, this incentive will help encourage those who continue to sit on the fence, hoping for further price declines, to jump into the market and buy a home. Despite the current uncertainty, many experts agree that for the long term, now is an excellent time to become a homeowner.

Nevadans know that this amendment will not solve our housing crisis, but it will help. If Democrats and Republicans keep working together with President Obama, putting partisanship aside to find commonsense solutions, we can stabilize our housing market and begin the long road to economic recovery.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, we have a lot of amendments still pending. I have made a decision in conjunction and in cooperation with the Republican leader

that we are going to stop legislating tonight and come back tomorrow, come in at 10 o'clock. We will go immediately to the bill. There are a number of amendments pending. Other Senators want to offer amendments.

The main reason I look forward to tomorrow is there are a number of Republican Senators working with Democratic Senators trying to come up with an alternative proposal. Now, I hope something works out. I know everyone is trying in good faith to move this ball down the court. But I think we need the night and some time tomorrow to see if we can do that. There is paper floating back and forth that is becoming filled with numbers, and we all need to take a look at this.

The work done by the negotiators, as I indicated earlier--about eight Republicans, about the same number of Democrats, trying to work toward making this a better piece of legislation--is ongoing. If, in fact, we find tomorrow that we are spinning our wheels, cannot get something done, then we will file cloture and have a Sunday cloture vote.

Now, Mr. President, I am optimistic we can get something done, and I hope that, in fact, is the case. Everyone is going to have to give a little and understand that this is a process where we have to move this ball down the court. The Republican leader has indicated to me that if we get this out of here, we should go to conference. I agree with him. That takes a little bit of time, and I would hope we could complete this legislation tomorrow. I have hopes, and I am cautiously optimistic we can do that.

So I wish I had all the answers, but the answers are not here tonight. I think the answers have been coming forth more rapidly in the last few days. I think staying here later tonight would not benefit us. We have a number of amendments we could dispose of, but I think we are waiting for the big amendment that has been worked on now for all this week.

I will be happy to.

Absolutely.

Yes. We will come in at 10 o'clock. The managers of the bill should be here. We will go directly to the legislation. There will be votes. We could have votes early in the morning because there are amendments right now pending that the manager on this side could move to table, setting up a string of votes. But the answer to the Republican leader is, yes, we will process amendments.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, we have four more votes tonight, and then we will have no more votes tonight after those four.

What I wanted to talk about a little bit is tomorrow. We started on this bill Monday evening. Everyone who has stood to give a speech on this--Democrat or Republican--has talked about the financial crisis our country is in. There are different ways of addressing it, and we understand that. I wanted to do everything I could to make sure there is an open process, and there has been. There have been no restrictions on amendments. There have been no complaints from us as to subject matter of amendments. However, the stark reality is we need to complete this bill. We have stated and the Speaker has stated that we need to finish this bill before the Presidents Day recess. To do that, to jump through all the hurdles, is very difficult.

In my last conversation with the Republican leader, he indicated that he would like to go to conference. I am not holding him to that. Something could go wrong the next couple of days or today or tomorrow, but that is our intention. If we don't go to conference, then we will do what we have done in the past: send something back over here. I would rather we did a conference. I think it would set a good tone. But conferences are sometimes slow and a little bit tedious. We have to get two different committees and maybe as many as three different committees represented in that conference. We have to get everybody together and have a series of meetings.

To solve the financial crisis we have in our country is going to take a lot of cooperation. We know this bill is imperfect. Democrats and Republicans acknowledge it is an imperfect piece of legislation.

Without belaboring the point, we are going to have votes again tomorrow. Now, my colleagues will note that the vast majority of the votes we have had have been Republican amendments. That is fine. We are happy with that. We want to make sure that people with concerns about this bill offer those amendments, but we are now arriving at a point where we are offering amendments upon amendments.

I understand there are two big amendments I know the Republicans have tomorrow. One of them is the Ensign-McConnell amendment dealing with housing. I understand my friend--the man I have been with now going on 27 years; we came to Washington together--John McCain has an important amendment. There are probably other amendments everybody thinks are important. I would at least note those two.

I hope we can look to finishing this legislation tomorrow. That doesn't mean at 5 o'clock. It may be later in the evening--and that is an understatement--but I think we should work to see if we can complete this legislation.

I know we are getting toward the end of amendments being offered because I have been told by my staff that now we are getting into amendments dealing with religious liberty and other things that don't have a lot to do, in my opinion, with this legislation, but we are setting no restriction or parameters on what amendments can be offered.

We all do acknowledge we have a crisis facing the American people. If someone isn't absolutely happy about this legislation, let's vote and move it on to the next program. If we do something in conference that is revolting to the minority, they can stop the conference report. So let's move on. Let's finish this. For us to finish this bill tomorrow or Friday is going to still take a lot of our work so that the President has a piece of legislation on his desk and so we can leave and do our Presidents Day recess.

Now, we don't have to take our recess, but we have responsibilities that are more than in Washington, DC. We have a constituency at home to whom we also have responsibilities. I doubt there is one of us who doesn't have a lot to do during the Presidents Day recess at home. We aren't often able to go home during the week, so there are things I know that I schedule during the breaks that I can't do any other time. Weekends don't do the trick.

So in light of the crisis facing the American people, there is no reason the American people shouldn't expect us to complete action on this bill tomorrow. If people need more time, I am a patient man. Now, we understand--we will take a 60-vote margin. We are happy to have this legislation require 60 votes. I hope we don't have to go through filing cloture and a cloture vote on Saturday or Sunday and 30 hours and all that stuff.

I just think the picture the people have here of the Senate is one where we have really tried these first few weeks, including the time during this legislation, to have the Senate work as it used to. I hope everyone feels--as we start getting the extraneous amendments dealing with matters I don't think conform with what the intention of this bill is, which is economic recovery--that we should be worried about people not having the opportunity to offer amendments. I think we have offered a number of amendments on housing. You name the subject, we have done multiple amendments. I am a patient person, as I have indicated, willing to work with everyone, but my goal is to get this legislation over to the House as soon as we can.

Madam President, it doesn't appear that Senator McConnell or I will give any opening statements today. Therefore, we will move immediately to the Economic Recovery Act, H.R. 1.

The Senate will recess today from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. for weekly caucus luncheons. There will be rollcall votes throughout the day and we hope into the night. We have a lot of work to do in the next few days. We need cooperation on both sides to make sure Senators have the opportunity to offer amendments they feel appropriate and to agree to a reasonable time on these.

The Republican leader and I are looking forward to a good debate and opportunities for people to offer amendments. At this stage, there appears to be no limit on the type of amendments offered. We hope people will be considerate of the rest of the Senators and move forward as quickly as we can. We have a lot to do in a little bit of time.

The Presidents Day recess is to begin a week from this Friday, and that recess will not begin unless President Obama has a bill on his desk to sign. I would hope everyone appreciates the fact that we not only have to complete the legislation but we have to work out some kind of arrangement with the House.

I have spoken last night to the Republican leader, and we intend to go to conference on this bill. I hope everyone keeps in mind the time concerns we have.

Can I make a parliamentary inquiry, please?

Mr. President, I say to my friends, it was my understanding--I just stepped on to the Senate floor--we had a Democratic amendment that was offered. Senator Coburn offered an amendment. What we are going to try to do is rotate back and forth. The next in line that we have is Senator Mikulski.

No. There was just an understanding between Senator McConnell and me that we would rotate back and forth. The Senator can decide on his side who goes next.

I was not aware a Coburn amendment had been laid down. I think it would be appropriate to have the Senator from Maryland lay down her amendment and go back to the Coburn amendment. People who wish to speak on that amendment should be able to do that before we have the speaking order of the Senator from Maryland. It is my understanding the Senator from Arizona wishes to speak on the Coburn amendment.

If I may interrupt my friend, all the Senator from Maryland wants to do is lay down her amendment so when we complete action on the Coburn amendment, we can move to her amendment.

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

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

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the yeas and nays be vitiated.

I ask unanimous consent that the point of order be vitiated.

Mr. President, that was the last rollcall vote tonight. There will be a number of amendments offered tonight. In fact, it is my understanding that Senator Feingold has an amendment he wants to offer regarding earmarks. The next Republican amendment will be an Isakson amendment regarding housing.

Tomorrow, we are going to be in session at 10:30 with no morning business. We will be in full operation. As some know, we have an appointment downtown. We will have the floor manned. There are a number of amendments already lined up to be offered tomorrow. We hope Senators will come aboard.

We have had a very good day. There have been some very good debates on various amendments. I hope tomorrow will be the same. We will work into tomorrow night. We are going to work Thursday, and, with a little bit of luck, we might be able to finish this bill this week.

I know there is a lot to do, but I hope people will understand where the votes are lined up. We have had a number of votes that have been not dominated by Republicans or Democrats, a lot of mixture. We hope that as the debate continues, people will only offer those amendments they think will really help the bill and will help us work toward finishing this legislation.

Remember, we have another big step. At this stage, unless something goes untoward, Senator McConnell and I think this matter should move to conference. We have two choices that we have done before. The House can send us a message, but that has created problems in the past. We hope we do have a conference. At this stage, unless something goes awry, that is what the Republican leader and I hope to do. We would appoint conferees when the bill is passed. We have to complete this legislation, including the conference, before we leave here for the Presidents Day recess. The mere fact we have a conference doesn't mean it is finished like that. This will be a conference where Democrats and Republicans will work toward what needs to be done.

I hope everyone will come tomorrow invigorated to proceed on this legislation. This legislation is extremely important. People have differing views as to what should be in it and what should not. That is what is going on now, to try to make that determination. The only ones who can decide that are us, the Senate. I would hope everyone would look toward when they want to get out of here, having done a decent job in completing this most important legislation.

Amendment No. 106 to Amendment No. 98

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will turn to consideration of H.R. 1, the Economic Recovery Act of 2009.

At 3:15 p.m. today, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Eric Holder to be United States Attorney General. The time until 6:15 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between Senator Leahy and Senator Specter or their designees. At 6:15 p.m. the Senate will vote on the Holder confirmation.

This week, Senators should expect long days with votes on numerous amendments as the Senate considers the economic recovery legislation.

I am going to make a few remarks on the Attorney General nomination, but let me say this. Senators Baucus and Inouye are going to be managing the bill, because it is equally divided between appropriations matters and finance matters. We are going to work, starting today, with them making statements--and I haven't finalized this with the Republican leader yet--but I think for tonight it will be debate only, after the Holder nomination, and then tomorrow we will move to amendments.

We are going to have as many amendments as people feel are appropriate on this legislation, without any prejudgment as to what amendments are good or bad. I have worked something out so that on Wednesday Senator Inouye has agreed to be here at the time when we are at our annual retreat, which is right close to Capitol Hill. We will come in about 10:30 and that will be over about 3 p.m., in the afternoon, but there is no reason why the Republicans can't offer amendments on Wednesday. So we should be able to move this along quite well.

We will try to be as understanding of everyone's schedules, especially the committees, so that, if necessary, we will try to stack some votes. I say to my distinguished Republican colleague that we are willing to have a number of amendments pending at a given time; we just have to be careful that we don't get so many pending it is unmanageable. But we will be happy to work on this.

Before I say anything about the Attorney General nomination, I wish to ask my friend if he has anything to say about the schedule.

Yes. We should tomorrow have a very long, hard day, and Wednesday, even though there are a few hours that a lot of Democrats

won't be in and we won't be able to have votes, in the evening we can have as many votes as we need. There is no reason we can't work into the night and then come back on Thursday.

There are some important things going on this weekend, and the Republican leader and I have talked about that. We will be as understanding as we can of everybody's schedule, but I do remind everyone that the Presidents Day recess is coming up. We have been here 6 weeks, and we not only have obligations here but we have obligations at home. There is work we have to do at home, but we are not going to be able to do that important work until we finish this economic recovery legislation. So we are going to be as thoughtful and as considerate on both sides as necessary.

I have to say, Mr. President, as far as the managers of this legislation, we are in the majority at this time, but it wasn't long ago that Senator Cochran and Senator Grassley were chairmen of those committees. These are four of the most respected, knowledgeable, and experienced managers we could have, the four people we have mentioned-- Inouye, Baucus, Specter, and Cochran. So there is no reason that these people, with the experience they have, can't help us move through this legislation.

I would be happy to have the Senator do that.

Mr. President, in the long and lurching march toward equality that in no small manner defines our progress as a nation, this moment in history will be remembered as a golden age. The election of Barack Obama fulfills a dream that seemed unimaginable a generation ago, or even a few years ago. A child born today will have every reason to believe the old adage that in America any boy or girl can grow up to be President.

To join him in governing our country, President Obama has chosen a brilliant, honorable, and exceptionally well qualified individual to serve as Attorney General of the United States. With historic challenges facing the Department of Justice, I urge all my colleagues to support the nomination of Eric Holder.

What began as a one-man, part-time office to represent the United States in Supreme Court trials, the Attorney General now has been transformed over the years to be the lead agency to fight terrorism, prosecute crime, and uphold the fundamental rights of every citizen.

In 1957, with the civil rights movement growing and conflicts bubbling in all regions of our country, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice was established. When Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and other legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, handicap, religion, or national origin, it was the Civil Rights Division that ensured they would be enforced; that is, the laws passed would be enforced.

In the fall of 1962, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy ordered U.S. Marshals to stand guard at the University of Mississippi so that James Meredith, the first African American accepted for admission, could enroll and attend classes peacefully amidst a violent mob of thousands.

In the summer of 1963, the Justice Department, led by Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, confronted Governor George Wallace as he physically blocked the admission of two African-American students to the University of Alabama. It took the federalization of the Alabama National Guard to force Governor Wallace to step aside and allow those students to enter.

These are only two of countless examples of the U.S. Department of Justice enforcing the laws of our country.

Although the parchment of our Constitution may be a little yellow and the ink faded somewhat, as long as the Justice Department stands behind the people's demands for liberty, the spirit of our Founders will never recede. I have no desire to rehash the many ways the Bush administration politicized and degraded the Justice Department away from its historic mission. While we must not fail to remember that sad chapter in our history, I am far more interested in looking toward a more hopeful future.

With President Obama in the White House and Eric Holder leading the Justice Department, that brighter future begins right now. The experience of this nominee is unquestioned. As a young lawyer, fresh out of Columbia Law School, one of the finest law schools in America, Eric Holder accepted a job at the Justice Department. He didn't want to see how much money he could make, he wanted to enter public service, and he did. The job he took at the Justice Department is now a department he stands ready to lead.

At the time he worked there, as a young new lawyer, he was charged with the unenviable task of prosecuting corrupt public officials who had violated the public trust. This kind of work can be thankless and politically sensitive, but from a young age Eric Holder showed the courage to stand for the public interest no matter the personal or political cost.

In 1988, Eric Holder was appointed by President Reagan to be a judge in the District of Columbia Superior Court. In this capacity he presided over countless trials involving violent crimes and murder, proving himself to be a fair and tough administrator of justice.

In 1993, President Clinton chose Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, where he focused on improving some of Washington, DC's most crime-ridden neighborhoods by locking up wrongdoers and involving communities in law enforcement.

As Deputy U.S. Attorney General starting in 1997, Holder showed fearlessness in prosecuting crimes against children, white-collar crimes, and crime in general. During his tenure as Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Holder was also faced with the difficult decision of how to advise Attorney General Janet Reno on the investigation that led to the impeachment of President Clinton. He chose to urge the Attorney General to expand the investigation to ensure that all facts would come to light. He was harshly criticized by members of his own party for causing political trouble for the President.

But in this decision, Eric Holder again showed the courage to uphold perhaps the most important principle for any Justice Department official: answering to the people first.

There is no question that a difficult job awaits our next Attorney General. He must strengthen the fight against terrorism, he must do more to keep our streets and boardrooms safe from crime, and rebuild the Justice Department to be once again a guardian of the common good. Eric Holder has proven that he has the courage and wisdom to do justice to this critical job.

Mr. President, on behalf of Senators Inouye and Baucus, I call up amendment 98 and ask unanimous consent that once the amendment is offered, no further amendments be in order during today's session of the Senate.

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

Mr. President, we are on the economic stimulus package. We are going to start on that early in the morning, 10 o'clock. The first amendment we are going to offer, I have already told the Republican leader, is going to be an amendment offered by Senators Murray, Feinstein, and others dealing with infrastructure.

We look forward to the next amendment. If the Republicans are ready, then they should be ready to offer their amendment. We will try to move through the process as quickly and as fairly as we can.

This is an extremely important piece of legislation. The problems we have economically in the country today are not the problems of Democrats or Republicans, they are problems that American people have. We together have to try to work through this bill. I hope we can have cooperation. There are many things that people have different responsibilities for. We have had a longstanding partial-day conference we are going to have, but we are going to have opportunities during the time we are there listening to Secretary Chu and Secretary Salazar and others to offer amendments here.

There will be a significant number of votes. We hope if the amendments are offered tomorrow and Wednesday, we will have a number of votes all day tomorrow. Starting about 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon we can do the amendments that have been offered that day. So we have lots of work to do, and it is important we do it as quickly, I repeat, and as fairly as we can.

I ask unanimous consent the following be recognized for the time specified: Udall of New Mexico, 15 minutes; Brownback, 10 minutes; Casey, 15 minutes; Snowe, 20 minutes, Kaufman, 15 minutes. This request is for these Senators to speak this evening.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that legislative fellows in the office of Senator Kennedy, Lauren Gilchrist, Craig Martinez, Stephanie Hammonds, Taryn Morrissey, Joe Hutter, and Elisabeth Jacobs be granted floor privileges during the consideration of H.R. 1.

Mr. President, we are going to be in a period for the transaction of morning business today. Senators will be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. There will be no rollcall votes today, as we announced last night. We will proceed to the consideration of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009 on Monday. Under a previous agreement, the Senate will debate and vote on the Holder nomination to be Attorney General of the United States. That will occur at 6:15 p.m. on Monday.

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 ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H.R. 1 at 2 p.m., Monday, February 2.