Floor Statements

Mr. President, we have made good progress on this legislation today, the Ledbetter legislation. I am not filing cloture tonight. I am very confident we will be able to finish this bill tomorrow. If we do not, I will file cloture on it for a weekend cloture vote because we have to finish this bill this week. If people need more time, they want to have some more debate and amendments on Friday, that is fine with me too.

I think this legislation sets a good tone that we can legislate here, people can offer amendments, with no restrictions on the amendments. I think this is the way we need to move forward.

The simple fact that we have 58, 59 Senators should not in any way give us any idea that we can move through here without bipartisan support. So I hope we can do that. But we still have a schedule to maintain. If that cannot be done, we will do some things over the weekend.

Progress is being made with the nominations. I hope once we get some more reported out of the committees, we can move some of them out of here quickly.

We have so much work to do in just a short period of time. Four weeks, basically, is all we have left of this work period, and we are going to finish a number of items. I have announced what they would be. We are going to do that or we are not going to have our Presidents Day recess.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, 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.

Mr. President, we have just left the memorable inauguration of Barack Obama. But as President Obama said a few minutes ago, our minds are not on the events of today but for the fact that Senator Kennedy took ill during the lunch. Senator Kennedy is now in a Washington hospital.

He and I sat together at the inauguration. We had such a wonderful time visiting about where we were and where we are.

So I would ask all, within the sound of my voice, to pause for a brief moment with our thoughts and, for those who feel it appropriate, our prayers for Senator Kennedy and his lovely wife Vicki.

(Moment of silence.)

Mr. President, it is very cold in Washington today, but our Nation's heart is warm. From every corner of our country and the furthest crevices of the Earth, people came together at the apex of our democracy to be a part of an American renewal.

President Barack Obama's inaugural address appealed to our better angels, as Abraham Lincoln called them, and our best intentions. President Obama reminded us no matter how daunting our challenges may seem, America always answers the call of history.

The millions who came together, lining our National Mall for miles and miles, were not merely observers to this memorable day; they were participants, ready to work with our new President in service to a common cause.

Our great country is ready to join our new President to answer that call to service. That is why we are in session now, a few short hours after the swearing in. Faced with some of the great challenges of our lifetimes and challenges in the history of our country, there is no time to waste.

In the coming days, weeks, and months, we will work with President Obama and our Republican colleagues to revive our economy, protect homeowners and consumers, bring our country closer to energy independence, strengthen our national security, and improve access to health care and education for all Americans.

These challenges require a President with a full arsenal of tools and experts. President Obama has nominated a Cabinet of exceptionally bright and capable people, as indicated by support from all over America--Democrats and Republicans and Independents talking about these great Cabinet nominees. These Cabinet nominees represent a cross- section of our country, geographically and politically.

So it is up to us, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate, to confirm these worthy nominees quickly so they, along with our new President, can hit the ground running.

I express my appreciation to my distinguished counterpart, Senator McConnell, for working with us today to move on to some of these nominations. For those who are not going to be approved today, we are going to work to approve them shortly.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a document entitled ``Employment Guidelines for Potential Presidential Appointees in Subcabinet Positions'' be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider nominations received today: Steven Chu to be Secretary of Energy; Arne Duncan to be Secretary of Education; Janet Napolitano to be Secretary of Homeland Security; Peter Orszag to be Director of OMB; Kenneth Salazar to be Secretary of Interior; Eric Shinseki to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Thomas Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture. I ask consent that the Senate proceed to their consideration en bloc; that the nominations be confirmed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc; that no further motions be in order, and that any statements relating to the nominations be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Inaugural Ceremony proceedings be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I also express my appreciation to my Republican colleagues for the unanimous-consent request I am going to offer at this time, which has been approved, as I understand it, by the Republican leader and the other Senators.

Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that tomorrow, January 21, at the hour of 12 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State; that there be 3 hours of debate, with the time equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Senator Clinton; that upon confirmation, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that no other motions be in order; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Order For Recess

Mr. President, I further ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess for our usual party luncheons, and that the recess begin, if it is appropriate with the distinguished Republican leader, at 12:45 p.m., rather than at 12:30, so some debate can move forward.

Mr. President, I would be happy to.

Well, what I would like to do: We would stop at a quarter to 1 and come back at 2:15 to complete that debate at that time.

Mr. President, I express my appreciation to the distinguished Senator from Tennessee for his usual courtesies. He had to wait for me to get here, and I appreciate his withholding until the Republican leader and I got here. The Senator from Tennessee is always a gentleman, and even though he and I do not agree once in a while on political issues, we always agree he is a gentleman.

Mr. President, today the Senate will be in a period of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Senator Salazar will be recognized to speak up to whatever time he wishes to take.

At 11 o'clock today, Senator-appointee Ted Kaufman, will become a Senator, replacing Vice President-elect Biden, from the State of Delaware.

There will be no rollcall votes today. When the Senate convenes on Tuesday afternoon after the inauguration, we hope to clear a number of President Obama's nominations, but we do not expect any rollcall votes. If any nominations require votes, we will schedule them for the next day.

Yesterday, we were able to adopt the motion to proceed to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. We have one amendment pending to the bill. Additional amendments are expected to be offered and debated. We hope to finish the bill on Wednesday.

I have spoken to a number of Senators, both on the Democratic side and Republican side. We are not encouraging amendments, but certainly we are not discouraging amendments. As to anyone who cares to offer an amendment, they should be prepared to do that. We asked for people to be ready to offer some today, and we did not have any takers. But we would hope Wednesday people would be here bright and early to start offering amendments. There will be rollcall votes on Wednesday.

Mr. President, in a few minutes, Senator Salazar will rise to give his final speech on the floor of the Senate. Parting is with such sweet sorrow. I have such great respect for this man we call Ken Salazar.

I spoke yesterday regarding Senator Biden, who will become Vice President of the United States next Tuesday. I also spoke about Senator Clinton who, after her confirmation, will become Secretary of State. The accomplishments of Senators Biden and Clinton are well known--two great Americans. The accomplishments and life of Ken Salazar are less known but no less remarkable; in fact, in most instances more remarkable.

Kenneth Lee Salazar is a fifth-generation Coloradan and a twelfth- generation American. His family is a remarkable story about what America is all about. His family settled in New Mexico 400 years ago and moved to Colorado's San Luis Valley in the middle of the 19th century, claiming some of the region's first water rights.

Ken Salazar grew up farming and ranching the same Colorado land his ancestors had for hundreds of years. This is real rural America, 300 miles from Denver. The ranch did not have electricity until 1982--no telephone, no television. Senator Salazar and his seven brothers and sisters were born to two American patriots. His mom Emma traveled to Washington by herself as a 19-year-old girl to do her thing in World War II. She went to work in the War Department here in Washington, DC, while Ken's father Henry joined the military and became a staff sergeant. He was so proud of that service in the military that he asked, when

he passed away, to be buried in his staff sergeant uniform; his family complied with that.

Although Emma and Henry were not educated in the true sense of the word by having gone to colleges and universities, their love of education was so strong that all eight of the Salazar children have college educations, and some such as Ken, of course, have gone on to graduate from law school and other such things.

Ken Salazar farmed for more than 30 years; and he and his lovely wife Hope--who is such a nice, strong person--owned a number of businesses in Colorado. As I recall, I think one of them was a Dairy Queen and I think maybe a couple radio stations.

I had the good fortune of traveling to South America with Hope and Ken, and it was a remarkable trip--Bolivia, Peru, Machu Picchu. It was a wonderful trip, something I will always remember.

But later, after having practiced water and environmental law to protect the health of Coloradans and the beauty of that State--and anyone who has ever been to Colorado knows it is one of the great national treasures we have in our country. It is a beautiful State. But I think what I have learned about the Salazars, and Ken especially, is that if you look at their family, you learn a lot about them. They are a great American family.

When Ken decided to run for the Colorado State attorney general's office, his father Henry was with him all the time. In fact, he had a pickup truck, and he traveled the State with his son. All 64 counties in Colorado they visited. Senator Salazar did not do that just once, he has done it many times.

Henry Salazar was not alive long enough to see Ken elected to the Senate, but I can say with certainty that as proud as he was of his son already, his pride would overflow for the Senator who is going to become now a member of President Obama's Cabinet.

That election in 2004 was dramatic. All over the country, we Democrats were hoping to pick up seats. We lost just about everything, except Illinois and Colorado. Two great Senators, two great Americans were elected that year as Democrats: Barack Obama and Ken Salazar.

Ken's mother Emma, who is now almost 88 years old, is surely just as proud as her husband Henry was of her son, who will now serve this country as a Cabinet Secretary.

Senator Salazar's election, as I have indicated, was one of the few bright spots of 2004, a year that saw us defeated in the Presidential election and all the close congressional races.

Expectations were high for the new Senator from Colorado, and Ken Salazar met and exceeded every one of the expectations. While in the Senate, Senator Salazar has been a champion for a new defense and foreign policy that keeps us safe, restores our authority in the world, and honors the courageous service of our men and women in uniform. He has helped lead the fight for affordable health care, and to help broaden the State Children's Health Insurance Program. He serves on the Senate Energy Committee, Finance Committee, and Agriculture Committee, and these are tremendous assignments that he received as a young Senator.

He has done so well as a Senator in so many different capacities: as an advocate for clean, affordable, and renewable energy and for protecting our environment and natural resources.

Coloradans have rightly come to love Ken Salazar. He is now going to bring this remarkable experience and wisdom, as he leaves the Senate, upon confirmation, to begin a new adventure as President Obama's Secretary of the Interior.

All of us feel his time in the Senate is far too short, but I know his upcoming service to our Nation will in no way take away from the legacy he has left in the Senate. After having served as a Cabinet officer, it will be enhanced. His new role will enhance that.

Senator Salazar has a keen understanding of life and of the environmental concerns and needs of Western States such as Colorado and Nevada. He will be a great advocate for the people of both our States and the whole West and our country.

Barack Obama's Cabinet selections have been one of his most approved adventures in Government in a long time: Republicans, Democrats, Independents. I think his appointments to the Cabinet have been so significant. None has been more significant than Ken Salazar. To take this great Senator and convince him to be a Cabinet officer says it all. It shows how remarkable both Obama and Salazar are; classmates who came here together in 2004.

The most important attribute I have found about Ken Salazar, this relatively new Senator, was his ability to be a peacemaker, to reach out and bring us together. He was new here when we were going through the battle dealing with the nuclear option. But he stepped right in, understood what our Constitution was all about, why it was so important that matter be settled, and he was one of the leading advocates of working that out, which he did.

Immigration, a difficult issue. Who, of course, was the leader on that? Ken Salazar. Because he wanted a program that was comprehensive and fair to all sides.

As everyone knows, we had a situation with Senator Lieberman that was a unique situation, and it needed to be resolved. Who did that? Ken Salazar. Ken Salazar wrote in hand the resolution. He is the one who talked to Democrats and Republicans, recognizing we were headed in the right direction.

So he is a peacemaker, not bound by labels but only by his own integrity. Much of that integrity and moral grounding comes from his faith, which I have heard him discuss in personal conversations with me, downstairs every Wednesday with our Prayer Breakfast, and other places.

I have seen tears well up in his eyes as he talks about the beautiful mountains that surround his home in southern Colorado.

Ken tells the story of those mountains being named by a young priest who was dying. He wakes up delirious, with death close at hand, and looks out at those beautiful mountains, 14,000 foot mountain peaks, to see the Sun coming through those mountains. To the priest, they looked like the blood of Christ, and they were named ``Sangre de Cristo,'' the Blood of Christ, Mountains.

Senator Salazar, your abiding faith, your moral grounding, your lifelong love of our country, and your family are treasures that I will never forget, and that will serve you well in years to come. Your colleagues are proud of you, proud of your accomplishments, grateful for your service, and excited for the problems you will solve and the progress you will make for all Americans.

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

On behalf of all Senators, I congratulate and welcome our new colleague, Ted Kaufman, to the Senate. Senator Kaufman earned his bachelor's degree from Duke University, his MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He moved to Delaware to work for the DuPont Company, as many people have done over the years, working in finance, technical, and marketing positions.

When Joe Biden was elected at the age of 29, in 1973, Senator Biden asked Ted to take a leave from DuPont to help him set up his new office in Washington. Senator Biden asked Ted for 1 year, only 1 year. He, of course, has given him a lot more than that.

This is a remarkable tenure. It shows Ted Kaufman's extraordinary loyalty to the service of his country by working for Senator Biden.

There is only one Joe Biden. Senator Kaufman will replace him, but no one will ever fill the shoes of Joe Biden. As was said on this floor yesterday at great length, Joe Biden is a unique individual. But Senator Kaufman has known Senator Biden for a long time and worked with him, up real close. He

knows he has to be Ted Kaufman, not Joe Biden, and he will do that.

We who work in the Senate know of the strength of Joe Biden, but one of the reasons he has had the strength he has had over these years was because his back was always protected by Ted Kaufman.

In this time of great consequence, Senator Kaufman's decades of experience and the wisdom accumulated over those years will serve him well as he serves the people of Delaware and the country in the Senate.

Senator Kaufman, welcome to the Senate.

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

Mr. President, are we in a period of morning business?

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate to continue the hearing on the nomination of Eric H. Holder, Jr., to be Attorney General of the United States on Friday, January 16, 2009, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.