Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Commerce Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3150, the Access to Air Travel Act, that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to this matter appear at the appropriate place in the Record as if given.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 7112, which is at the desk; that the Dodd-Shelby amendment which is also at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

I want the record to reflect that this is very important legislation to impose sanctions with respect to Iran, to provide for the divestment of assets in Iran by State and local governments and other entities, and to identify locations of concern with respect to transshipment, reexportation, or diversion of certain sensitive items to Iran. We have tried to get this done. It is very important. There has been objection by the Republicans. That is unfortunate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, on behalf of Senator Landrieu and others, that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3644, a bill to provide crop disaster assistance, and the Senate proceed to its consideration, that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and that any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, the news from Nevada about those unemployed is that it is going up every day. Nevada now has an extremely high unemployment rate, over 7 percent. But Nevada is not the most unemployed State. Michigan is over 9 percent. We Democrats are deeply concerned with the continued rise in unemployment and the fact that many unemployed workers have exhausted or soon will exhaust their benefits. We hope our Republican colleagues will allow the Senate to move legislation forward and extend unemployment compensation benefits and do it now before we recess.

I ask unanimous consent that the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 3507 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that the Reed of Rhode Island amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and there be no intervening action or debate.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor Joseph A. Ryan, a former Postmaster from Las Vegas, NV. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which will designate the U.S. Post Office at 5070 Vegas Valley Drive in Las Vegas, NV, in his name.

Joseph ``Joe'' Ryan was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 19, 1927. He attended the College of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota, and went on to do post-graduate work at UCLA, Duke University, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, Mr. Ryan honorably served our country in the United States Coast Guard, and he later went on to work for Northwest Airlines before joining the United States Postal Service. Prior to serving as the Postmaster for Las Vegas, Mr. Ryan worked as the Postal Service's General Manager of Customer Programs for the Western Region.

Mr. Ryan was appointed Postmaster of Las Vegas in May of 1983 and retired in October of 1992. As Postmaster, Mr. Ryan was responsible for overseeing the many post offices in the Las Vegas valley. The 1980s and early 1990s was a time of tremendous growth in southern Nevada, and under his leadership, eight new post offices opened throughout the community, including the stunning main facility on Sunset Road. During his tenure, Joe was known for his exceptional dedication to customer service and was greatly admired by the

local Postal Service employees. His work as Las Vegas Postmaster was recognized in 1988 by the Direct Marketing Association, which awarded him the National Postmaster of the Year Award. In 1991, I was happy to join my friend and colleague Senator Richard Bryan in honoring Postmaster Ryan with the U.S. Senate Productivity Award.

Beyond his work with the Postal Service, Mr. Ryan has been an active member of the Las Vegas community and has given his time and efforts to improve this fast-growing city. He worked with the Nevada Development Authority, served on the board of the United Way of Southern Nevada, and was a member of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Leadership Group.

Joe and his wife Pamelia have been married for over 50 years and have four children and three grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are especially proud that all four of their children are college graduates. Joe Ryan has served the Postal Service admirably and has contributed greatly to our community, so it is fitting that the Congress recognize his hard work by naming a post office in his honor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no ojbection, the text of the bill was ordered to be

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and honor Joseph A. Ryan, a former Postmaster from Las Vegas, NV. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which will designate the U.S. Post Office at 5070 Vegas Valley Drive in Las Vegas, NV, in his name.

Joseph ``Joe'' Ryan was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 19, 1927. He attended the College of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota, and went on to do post-graduate work at UCLA, Duke University, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, Mr. Ryan honorably served our country in the United States Coast Guard, and he later went on to work for Northwest Airlines before joining the United States Postal Service. Prior to serving as the Postmaster for Las Vegas, Mr. Ryan worked as the Postal Service's General Manager of Customer Programs for the Western Region.

Mr. Ryan was appointed Postmaster of Las Vegas in May of 1983 and retired in October of 1992. As Postmaster, Mr. Ryan was responsible for overseeing the many post offices in the Las Vegas valley. The 1980s and early 1990s was a time of tremendous growth in southern Nevada, and under his leadership, eight new post offices opened throughout the community, including the stunning main facility on Sunset Road. During his tenure, Joe was known for his exceptional dedication to customer service and was greatly admired by the

local Postal Service employees. His work as Las Vegas Postmaster was recognized in 1988 by the Direct Marketing Association, which awarded him the National Postmaster of the Year Award. In 1991, I was happy to join my friend and colleague Senator Richard Bryan in honoring Postmaster Ryan with the U.S. Senate Productivity Award.

Beyond his work with the Postal Service, Mr. Ryan has been an active member of the Las Vegas community and has given his time and efforts to improve this fast-growing city. He worked with the Nevada Development Authority, served on the board of the United Way of Southern Nevada, and was a member of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Leadership Group.

Joe and his wife Pamelia have been married for over 50 years and have four children and three grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are especially proud that all four of their children are college graduates. Joe Ryan has served the Postal Service admirably and has contributed greatly to our community, so it is fitting that the Congress recognize his hard work by naming a post office in his honor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no ojbection, the text of the bill was ordered to be

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar Nos. 695, 758, 759, 762, 763, 764, 767 to and including 770, 776, 777, 778, 785, 786, 787, 788, 789, 790 to and including 804, 807 to and including 812, all nominations on the Secretary's Desk in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy; that the Commerce Committee be discharged of PN2090, Coast Guard promotions; that the HELP Committee be discharged of the following: for membership on the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission: PN1828, Mary Lucille Jordan, and PN1976 Michael Young; for membership on the National Council on Disability: PN1503 Katherine O. McCary; PN1509 Chad Colley; PN1510 Victoria Ray Carlson; PN1511 Tony J. Williams; PN1512 John R. Vaughn; PN1761 Marlyn Andrea Howe; PN1762 Lonnie C. Moore; PN1763 Heather McCallum; for membership on the Board of Trustees of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation: PN1687 John J. Faso; PN1688 Joe Manchin III; PN1689 Harvey M. Tettlebaum; for membership on the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation: PN1977 Dave Heineman; for membership on the National Science Board, National Science Foundation: PN2023 Esin Gulari; PN2025 Diane Souvaine; for membership on the National Council on the Arts: PN2102 JoAnn Falletta and PN2103 Lee Greenwood; that the Finance Committee be discharged of PN2017, Edwin Eck, Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board; that the Foreign Relations Committee be discharged of the following: to serve as a U.S. Representative to the U.N. General Assembly: PN2055 Anthony H. Gioia and PN2056 Karen Elliott House; PN1751 James Franklin Jeffrey to be Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service; for various foreign service officers, consular officers and career members of the senior foreign service: PN1991, PN1998, PN1999 and PN2000; that the Judiciary Committee be discharged of PN1703 Dennis Michael Klein; that the Senate proceed to their consideration, en bloc; that the nominations be confirmed, en bloc; 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; provided further that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate return to legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that if the Senate receives from the House a correcting resolution to correct the enrollment of S. 3001 that is identical to the matter which is currently at the desk, then it be considered to have been agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that if the House concurrent resolution is not identical, then this order be vitiated.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.J. Res. 100, convening of the 111th Congress.

I ask unanimous consent the joint resolution be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

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

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will consider H.R. 7081, the United States-India nuclear agreement. This is an issue that has been worked on long and hard for months and months. Finally, we are having the opportunity to get to it. Senators Dorgan and Bingaman have amendments to the bill that will be debated this morning. Under an agreement reached yesterday, there will be up to 60 minutes for debate on the bill and 60 minutes on each amendment.

Following the debate on the United States-India nuclear legislation, the Senate will proceed to consider H.R. 1424, the legislative vehicle used for the economic rescue legislation. The only amendments in order are a Sanders amendment regarding high-income individuals and a Dodd amendment regarding economic stabilization. The Sanders amendment has 60 minutes for debate, and the Dodd amendment has 90 minutes for debate.

The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 for the caucus luncheons.

At 7 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the House message with respect to the rail safety-Amtrak legislation, H.R. 2095.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., the Senate will proceed to a series of up to seven rollcall votes in relation to Amtrak-rail safety, the United States-India nuclear agreement, and the economic rescue package. The Sanders amendment will be determined by voice vote. Votes will be in relation to the following items: motion to concur with respect to H.R. 2095, Amtrak; the Dorgan amendment regarding clarifying the policy in the event of an Indian nuclear test; the Bingaman amendment reporting requirement in the event of an Indian nuclear test; passage of H.R. 7081, the India-United States nuclear agreement, which has a 60-vote threshold--as do the two amendments, the Sanders amendment

regarding tax on high-income individuals and the Dodd amendment regarding economic stabilization, which is a 60-vote threshold--and passage of H.R. 1424, and there is a 60-vote threshold there.

Mr. President, yesterday Senator McConnell and I came to the floor to discuss the way forward on the financial rescue package. We agreed that now is not the time for politics or partisanship. Every Member of this Senate could probably write a better bill than we have here, but this was a jointly agreed upon bill. When I say jointly, I mean the House and Senate working with people from the administration. We agreed that now--I repeat--now is not the time for partisanship. Literally, the security and well-being of the American people are at risk, and we have to work together to solve this crisis. So last night, Democrats and Republicans gave consent to move to a vote later today on a package of bills that will stabilize our economy, restore confidence among consumers and businesses, and create new jobs and economic growth.

This package of bills will include the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, which will increase Federal coverage of bank deposits to $250,000. It will have the Senate-passed tax extenders, along with other things in it, including long-overdue legislation to honor Senator Wellstone and Senator Domenici, who worked for more than a decade--Senator Wellstone, of course, was killed in that unfortunate airplane crash, but this has been going on for years while Senator Wellstone served here in the Senate working with Senator Domenici. As Senator Domenici leaves this body, he will now finally be able to claim the ownership he deserves on this legislation to provide parity in health care coverage for Americans who suffer from mental health illness.

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act is vastly improved over the version we received initially from Secretary Paulson. We have worked together, Democrats and Republicans, by adding significant oversight in how public funds are spent, we have stopped golden parachutes for executives at taxpayer expense, we have provided taxpayers with a greater likelihood of a return on the funds spent and help for homeowners facing foreclosure.

To this bedrock plan we added an increase in FDIC insurance for bank account deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, which will give consumers renewed confidence that the safety of their savings is ironclad. This is especially important for community-owned banks, for small banks, and rural America.

We include tax extenders to lower taxes for middle-class families, businesses, and for private sector entrepreneurs and producing clean, renewable, alternative energy sources. These tax cuts will create hundreds of thousands of jobs here in America, spark investment in the economy by small businesses and large businesses, and help chart our course away from imported oil toward the homegrown fuels of tomorrow.

There are a few people in the House who would rather we did this some other way, and we have tried other ways. I say to my friends in the House of Representatives, we have to get this done. We cannot leave Washington without doing the financial rescue package and this tax extenders bill. People are waiting. People have been laid off.

Senator Durbin and I had a man come to us--an immigrant from the Ukraine--who has been extremely successful in America. He is an American citizen, of course. He came to us and said: If you don't pass the tax extenders, I am going to lose my business; people will be laid off. Hundreds of people will be laid off. He had loans for developing these businesses, and if the tax extenders did not come forward, they wouldn't loan him the money. They would call back the loans, is what he told us.

So legislation is never perfect, but we have done our best, and these tax extenders are so important for the American people. It would not be good for us to leave here--it would be a blight on this Congress--and not pass these tax extenders. These aren't for the wealthy, they are for people who are working for a living and trying to keep a job. And jobs will be created. I repeat, tens of thousands of jobs will be created.

I believe every part of this bill enjoys bipartisan support. Every part is aimed directly at the heart of our financial crisis. No one is happy about paying for this dramatic and expensive step with the bailout. No one is glad we have reached this critical point. Senator Obama said yesterday that there will be plenty of time to assign blame. Now is our time to work--not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as guardians of the public trust--to forge a better way ahead.

So I am hopeful that tonight we will see a strong vote in support of this plan and that the bipartisanship shown here in the Senate today will spark the House of Representatives to do the same.

Mr. President, the Founding Fathers were very visionary in setting up this unique system we have here--the legislative system. We have three separate but equal branches of Government. But the legislative branch was set up by our Founding Fathers so that there would be internal strife. That is the way they set it up. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for 2-year terms, we have 6-year terms, and a lot of the time there is envy and jealousy as to how we do what in each body. But in the end, we need to work together. We get a lot of stuff from the House that we don't like in the way they have written it, but that is who they are. They do not like what we send them, and they probably think they could do a better job than we have--and maybe they could have--but this is what we are going to send them.

I hope, as soon as the House can move, they will move quickly--maybe tomorrow--so that by this weekend rolling around we will have done what we need to do for the American people. I repeat, this isn't for Lower Manhattan, this is for people in Elkhorn, NV, in Reno, NV, and in Las Vegas, NV. This is so people can keep their jobs and be able to buy cars and get a loan to take care of that car. It is so a car dealer will be able to do as they have done for decades and borrow money to buy cars so they have cars to sell. Right now, they can't do that. I got a call yesterday from a car dealer in Las Vegas saying that he can't buy any cars and that he needs to have inventory. He said if somebody tries to buy a car, most people can't get a loan. And it is going to get worse, not better, unless we do something.

Mr. President, I appreciate the opportunity to speak in support of H.R. 7081, the United States-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act.

I had the privilege to be serving as the Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate in late 2006 when, on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis, we passed the Henry J. Hyde United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act, which laid out the specific steps that needed to be taken in order for our country to achieve a civilian nuclear agreement with the nation of India. At the time, I felt it was important for the Congress to pass the Hyde Act as a critical step in further strengthening the growing political, economic, and security partnership between the United States and India. Today, 2 years later, the Indian government has acted to meet the guidelines set forth in that piece of legislation, allowing us to consider H.R. 7081.

After our two countries reached a consensus on the text of the nuclear cooperation pact this past July, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh faced a tough domestic battle to approve the agreement. However, his government worked diligently to form a coalition of supporters for the nuclear deal, and it eventually passed the Indian Parliament. On Saturday, in the House, Democrats and Republicans approved H.R. 7081 by a landslide: 298 to 117. Now, we are here today to take the next step in approving this agreement and sending it to the President.

As I did back in late 2006, I would like to remind my fellow Senators how important it is that we approve this measure to expand civilian nuclear cooperation with India. For much of the cold war, America's relationship with India--a leader in the movement of nonaligned countries--was too often characterized by ambivalence on both sides. But in the nearly 20 years since the walls that separated East from West have come down, our two countries have enjoyed an unprecedented level of engagement with one another that has proven truly beneficial for both parties. And the citizens of our two countries are increasingly interconnected through business, educational, and social linkages.

India has emerged as one of the world's most important leaders of the 21st century. India has experienced significant growth in the technological and service sectors, foreign investment has ballooned, and India has become a global center for cultural and artistic expression. The entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian people, coupled with their strong commitment to democratic values, has formed the backbone of a society whose potential for growth knows few boundaries.

By voting for this agreement, the Senate will cement the gains that we have achieved in our bilateral relationship and open two of the world's top scientific communities to the type of civilian nuclear cooperation befitting our strong alliance.

I would like to thank my colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who, in conjunction with the Department of State, took the time to examine this agreement over the past 2 weeks. I am equally grateful to Senators Dorgan and Bingaman for their willingness to work with the Senate leadership on this important bill. As these two Senators, and others, have pointed out, we cannot undermine the nuclear nonproliferation regime's decades of successes, and I appreciate the goals of the Dorgan-Bingaman amendment to ensure the strength of our continued commitments to the nonproliferation regime. I certainly understand the concerns expressed in their amendment, but I believe that this historic agreement provides the necessary safeguards and oversight to ensure that our nonproliferation objectives will be respected.

I also am heartened by the repeated public and private commitments by officials of the U.S. Government to upholding nonproliferation. Because of Senator Dorgan and Bingaman's work, the Secretary of State stated in a letter to me today, which has been entered into the record, a clear commitment in the event of a nuclear test. Secretary Rice's letter states: ``We've been very clear with the Indians . . . should India test, as it has agreed not

to do, or should India in any way violate the IAEA safeguard[s] agreements to which it would be adhering, the deal, from our point of view, would at that point be off.'' With this commitment in hand, I am reluctant to vote for an amendment that I feel might jeopardize the important progress we have made over the past few years in securing this deal with the Government of India. The strong and growing partnership between India and the United States must move forward, and I am proud that Senate passage of H.R. 7081 tonight will further deepen this partnership.

In closing, I would like to remind my friends in the Chamber that the United States is the proud home to a large and vibrant community of Indian-Americans--my State of Nevada being no exception. America is a country that was built on the strength of our immigrants, and the contributions of the nearly 3 million Indian Americans currently living in the United States have enriched our society immeasurably. We in the Senate have a tremendous opportunity to show them our commitment to improving relations with the country of their ancestry. With that, I urge my colleagues to support this landmark agreement and vote to expand civilian nuclear cooperation between our great country and the world's largest democracy.

I would like to ask the chairman of the Committee, Senator Dodd, a question about the elements of this bill that deal with foreclosure prevention. I know this has been a priority for the Senator from Connecticut. I wonder if he could review the provisions of the legislation that will help more Americans keep their homes.

I want to thank my colleague for laying out these important points. The Senator has been one of the earliest and strongest voices raising the alarm about the danger of increased foreclosures. I thank him for his leadership.