Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise in honor of Korean American Day, a time we set aside to commemorate the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States, more than 100 years ago. Since those original 102 immigrants set foot on our shores on January 13, 1903, the population of Korean Americans has grown to almost 2 million, bringing a wealth of talent, rich cultural heritage, and innovation to our Nation. In particular, Korean Americans have demonstrated tremendous bravery and skill in our country's armed forces, serving with distinction during both World Wars and the conflict in Korea.

Around 12,000 Korean Americans live in our own great State of Nevada, where they form a substantial part of Nevada's growing Asian community--in fact, Nevada's percentage of Asian Americans is now nearly 2 percent greater than the national average. Their entrepreneurial spirit has especially made significant contributions to Nevada's business sector, and I personally greatly admire and share their emphasis on the importance of strong family ties. As someone whose own life was transformed by education, I also commend the drive to academic excellence and pursuit of higher education which has led many Korean Americans to our country. As the Nevadan Korean-American community continues to increase, they enrich our state with this emphasis on close-knit families, a focus on cooperation, and a strong work ethic that has contributed to so much of their success.

Beyond our borders, the United States and South Korea share a long- standing, harmonious friendship. Our strategic partnership has brought substantial benefits to both our countries, and I look forward to a continued future of mutual cooperation.

I add my congratulations to all those joining together at events and ceremonies across our country to recognize and honor Korean Americans' vibrant role in our society. The United States and Nevada have benefited greatly from their contributions, and I look forward to continuing to serve my Korea-American constituents as the senior Senator from Nevada.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005; further, that the bill be read three times, passed, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, and that there be no intervening action or debate.

To more specifically define the bill, it is for the consideration of the Rockefeller bill which is at the desk, a bill to delay the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 until June 13 of 2009.

Mr. President, we alerted the minority that we were going to offer this, and because there are some problems with time, I understand there would be an objection to this request. As a result, I will withdraw my request and renew it probably on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 15.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that we proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 16.

Mr. President, I know the day is late, but I can't help but comment on this legislation. One of the big problems we have in America today is a total shortage of counselors. Most of our elementary schools have no counselors and high schools have just a few.

Speaking personally, I went to a relatively small high school in Henderson, NV, when I was a boy, and we had a part-time counselor in my high school. Her name was Mrs. Robinson. She taught government and also counseled. Mrs. Robinson called me out of class--I was a junior in high school--and she said: We have looked at all your records, and you should go to law school. Well, Mr. President, I had never met a lawyer, never been to a courthouse, and I knew nothing about lawyers and all that stuff, but because Mrs. Robinson told me that is what I should do, from that minute that was what I was going to be.

That is how important counselors are. I think this resolution is so indicative of some of the problems we have in education today. We know all the problems that teachers have. Their job would be made so much easier if schools had adequate numbers of counselors to help teachers, parents, and children work through the problems that kids have growing up.

So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed to S. Res. 17.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 3 p.m., Tuesday, January 20; 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 the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, it is nice to see the Presiding Officer. I know presiding over the Senate is a unique experience. This is his first time. But having had legislative experience in the State of Oregon, being in a legislative chamber is not new to the Senator. He has an exemplary record in the State of Oregon, working his way through the system, becoming Speaker of the Assembly. The State of Oregon and the country is very fortunate to have the Senator now representing the State of Oregon and the country in the Senate.

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

Mr. President, Senator Biden is here to give his farewell address to the U.S. Senate. Over the many decades he has served in the Senate, he has given many speeches in the Senate. We all look forward to his final remarks, recognizing the loss of his service in the Senate is significant. However, being Vice President, he will still be President of the Senate.

I will always remember Senator Biden telling me, after the time he had been selected to be Vice President: I am a Senate guy. I will always be a Senate guy.

Mr. President, the Senate will be in a period of morning business. We will start that after the distinguished Republican leader and I have finished our remarks. Following Senator Biden's statement, which he will give as soon as we finish our remarks, Senator Clinton will come and give her farewell address. In addition, Senator Salazar intends to give his farewell speech sometime, as soon as there is clearance on the calendar. But it will be today.

At noon, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 22, the public lands bill. There will be up to 10 minutes for debate equality divided between Senators Bingaman and Coburn. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will consider any managers' amendments cleared by both leaders, and we will proceed to a rollcall vote on passage of the bill. Upon disposition of the lands bill, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Therefore, Senators should expect two rollcall votes beginning at approximately 12:10 p.m. today.

Also, at 2 p.m. today, Senator-appointee Burris will take the oath of office to be a U.S. Senator. At 11 a.m. tomorrow, Senator-appointee Kaufman will be sworn in to replace Senator Biden of Delaware.

With respect to the resolution of disapproval regarding the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the TARP legislation, yesterday we proposed a unanimous-consent request to our Republican colleagues for a limited amount of debate and a vote on the joint resolution at around 4 o'clock today. We hope to be able to lock that agreement in shortly.

Mr. President, just a couple of brief remarks.

With all the challenges our country faces, I think we all agree on the importance of this Congress getting off to a fast and effective start. In many ways, I believe we are on that track.

Today, we will likely pass a major wilderness bill that will preserve our environment for the enjoyment of generations to come. The press reports it is the most significant environmental bill that will be passed in more than a quarter century.

We are making progress on confirmation hearings so President Obama will have his team hit the ground running on January 20. We have seated new Members and announced new committee assignments for the 111th Congress.

Today, we vote on stopping a filibuster on a motion to proceed to the Lilly Ledbetter legislation--legislation that ensures pay fairness in the workplace. This should not be necessary. It is really a waste of time--our country's time. After at least 2 legislative days to get the bill before the Senate to have this vote today, we must wait another 30 hours until we can start offering amendments on the bill. That is a waste of time. That is 4 days at least of wasted time and unnecessary delay. I hope in the future we can just go to the bill, avoid the cloture filing on a motion to proceed. Instead of forcing cloture motions that only waste time and delay progress, I urge my Republican colleagues to offer amendments. If they object to parts of this bill, the Lilly Ledbetter bill, then let's work on a list of amendments and get through them. I do not approve the amendments. The Republican leader does not approve them. Senators will have that opportunity to vote on amendments, up or down, and it does not get any fairer than that. There may be motions to table, but at least they will have the right to offer those amendments.

I think we have the opportunity to get this Congress off on the right foot. I want all to know there is no attempt by Democrats to jam legislation through without Republican involvement. So I ask my Republican colleagues to accept my offer to work with us rather than revert to the old path of obstruction that served neither party nor the American people well.

So I would hope that as soon as this vote takes place today, we would not have to wait 30 hours or 5 hours or any amount of hours. Let's just start legislating on the bill. People could offer amendments today, after we get these votes out of the way. We could offer amendments tomorrow. I hope we can do that. As we have done in the past, if there is a series of amendments, we can always stack those votes to vote at a more convenient time for everyone. But I hope we can do that.

Mr. President, finally, let me say about Vice President- elect Joe Biden, Senator Joe Biden, Joe Biden: Everyone knows about his courage, his wonderful family, his remarkable career in the U.S. Senate. We know he overcame a tremendously difficult personal tragedy during the first few days after his election. I am not sure many could have had the strength he had to conquer this tragedy. Then, of course, he got sick many years later and fought back. It was when Tim Johnson was in the hospital in a coma that Joe Biden visited him and his family and talked to him about the fact that there will be times when, as he is recovering, he may be embarrassed by his inability to speak very well. Joe Biden is one of the great orators in the history of the country. No one would have ever known he had a problem very similar to what happened to Tim Johnson. He was such a role model to build Tim's confidence to be able to come back to the Senate.

We here in the Senate know his wonderful family, and now, because of his exposure to America, our country has been introduced to this great family. We know he is now in his seventh term in the Senate, in which time he has served as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and that he is a champion of rights for women, the environment, a strong military, and the rule of law.

When I think of Joe Biden--I have known him here since I came to the Congress in 1982. I came to the Senate a few years later. But in all of this time, the picture in my mind is during the heat of the Presidential campaign. I am driving down through the capital of the State of Nevada, Carson City, and I look out on a corner there, and there is Joe Biden in Carson City, NV, campaigning. He had a number of people around him. I stopped the car, got out, and gave Joe a handshake and a big hug. It was so Joe Biden to be there. He was there pressing the flesh and talking to voters.

The people of Nevada have come to know and love Joe Biden for that very reason. He is kind of a regular guy; whether it is at one of the sandwich shops which came from Delaware to Nevada, Capriotti's--now they are all over Nevada--they all have a picture of Joe Biden in them because it was a Delaware-based sandwich shop. He is just a regular kind of guy who shows up on a street corner just to talk to people.

I will always remember with gratitude the kindness he showed when I first arrived in the Senate in 1986. I will be forever grateful that he was one of the very first colleagues to support my candidacy for Democratic whip. I can remember. I was in his office. He called in his secretary, and I do not remember her name, but he said: I take no more calls on this. Reid's my man.

Well, I have always been his. I am a Senate guy, just like Joe Biden. We cannot get that out of our blood. I wish him well. He is going to be a great representative of our country, and I am very proud to be able to say to Joe Biden: You are my friend.

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

Mr. President, the regular order is that Hillary Clinton was to be recognized at 11 o'clock. There are a lot of people who want to say some things about Senator Biden and Hillary Clinton. We have votes scheduled at noon. So I would ask the Chair, under the order, to recognize the Senator from New York, Mrs. Clinton.

Mr. President. I have known Hillary Clinton for many years, but for the past 8 years I have had the pleasure of working with her as a colleague in the U.S. Senate.

People on all points of the political spectrum agree that Senator Clinton is one of the brightest, most highly accomplished U.S. Senators.

Born in the hometown of our President-elect--Chicago--Hillary Clinton graduated from Wellesley College, where she was the first student in the school's history to deliver her own commencement address--not a Governor, a U.S. Senator, dean, or the university president.

She then attended Yale Law School, where she met her future husband and our future President, Bill Clinton.

After law school, she worked for the Children's Defense Fund and served as a member of the Watergate inquiry staff in the House of Representatives.

When the Clintons moved to Arkansas, Hillary became a successful attorney in private practice and served as the State's First Lady.

We all know that she was a remarkable First Lady, leading the way on health care reform, helping create the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the Violence Against Women Act.

We also know that she was not just a leader for domestic policy, but also became an admired and effective diplomat throughout the world, especially in her call for human rights.

When Senator Clinton came to the Senate 8 years ago, some expected her to have trouble fitting in. Those concerns quickly disappeared--she was a natural. She has proven in her time here to be exceptionally adept at the give-and-take of the legislative process.

As a result, in just 8 years, she has left an indelible mark, especially through her seats on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Special Committee on Aging and the Armed Services Committee.

As with Senator Biden, the departure of Senator Clinton is bittersweet. She brought a wealth of knowledge, skill and wisdom here, and she will be sorely missed.

But after the last 8 years--with so much work ahead to repair our country's once-lofty stature in the world, I can think of no one better suited for the challenges ahead than the Senator from New York, Hillary Clinton, our next Secretary of State.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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

Madam President, I had a conversation with the distinguished

Republican leader, and based on that conversation, I am going to propound the following unanimous consent request.

I ask unanimous consent that immediately following the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 181, regardless of the outcome, the Senate proceed to the consideration of calendar No. 16, S. J. Res. 5, the disapproval resolution relating to Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and that the vote on passage of the joint resolution occur at 4:30 p.m., notwithstanding rule XII, paragraph 4; that the time be divided as provided for under the statute; that at 2 p.m. the consideration and debate be interrupted for the swearing in of Senator-appointee Burris and that the time utilized be charged against the majority; and that at 4:30 p.m. today, the Senate proceed to vote on the joint resolution, with no further intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that prior to the second vote on cloture, there be 4 minutes equally divided and controlled between Senators Mikulski and Enzi or their designees, and that the second vote in the sequence be 10 minutes in duration.

I suggest this is the so-called Lilly Ledbetter legislation about which we have been talking.