Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming recess or adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses, or by order of the Senate.

Mr. President, one reason we waited until 20 till 8 tonight to try to complete the work of the Senate is that I had a number of conversations today with my staff trying to work out nominations, and we worked something out. I spoke with the President's Chief of Staff, Josh Bolten. I have always found him to be a very pleasant man to work with.

We arrived at an agreement we would approve, for example, ambassadors to 18 different countries; we would approve a man to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Senator Dodd went to a great deal of trouble to clear this nomination. In fact, he held a special meeting to get this nomination done. We were going to agree to a number of people, Republicans in nature: Stephen Krasner for the Institute of Peace; J. Robinson West for the Corporation for National Community Service--I am reading the Republicans because there are so few Democrats it is hardly worth mentioning--Eric Tannenblatt, Corporation for National and Community Service; Layshae Ward; Hyepin Christine Im. We have a number of military officers we agreed to, some 50 in number. In exchange for this, the Democrats were going to get three or four people.

I have always thought, in my dealings around here, when we work something out, that is the agreement. But at the last minute, somebody steps in and says that isn't quite good enough. That is unfortunate because the arrangement was negotiated with staff and Mr. Bolten in good faith.

Everyone should understand that people complain about the White House not having sufficient staff. Why don't you approve some of these nominations? Tonight, we had about 80 we were going to approve-- military, ambassadors, a Cabinet Secretary. We got an objection about some inconsequential appointment in comparison to all these, important to the person involved, I am sure. That is not the way we should be doing business.

So here we are going into a recess. These people are not going to have their jobs. There is no fault on behalf of the Democrats. This was all done. So I want the President's Chief of Staff and the President to understand they are missing one Cabinet Secretary that Chairman Dodd went through great trouble to approve.

The sad part about this is we rushed through this because we wanted one Democrat approved. It was personally important to one of our Senators. That is the way it is. But let this Record reflect there are military commissions that will not be granted and advanced. There will be a Cabinet Secretary not approved, there will be 18 ambassador positions which would not be filled, all because of the Republican minority.

Is it any wonder they have lost three special elections-- congressional seats--in heavily Republican districts? Even the Republicans out there are understanding that this is the wrong way to run a country. Seven and a half years of division, not unification.

I am going to do my very best in the next 7 months in my position to do everything I can to work with the White House to try to get things done, but this is an example of what we get--no cooperation, no ability to try to unify us.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in recess until 10 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, May 23, for a pro forma session only, with no action or debate; that following the pro forma session, the Senate recess until 9:15 a.m., Tuesday, May 27, for a pro forma session with no intervening action or debate, and that following the pro forma session the Senate recess until 9 a.m., Thursday, May 29, for a pro forma session only, with no intervening action or debate; that following the pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until 2 p.m., Monday, June 2; 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 for up to 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, and that following morning business, the Senate resume the motion to proceed to calendar No. 742, S. 3036, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.

Mr. President, at about 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 2, the Senate will proceed to a rollcall vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the climate security legislation. Under a previous order, the time from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

I failed to remind everyone that on Tuesday, the week we get back, all Senators should be dressed in their finest. We are going to have our Senate picture taken. So I would hope everyone will remember that and make sure they wear the right clothes for posterity when we have our picture taken. That will be Tuesday. It is scheduled for a time if somebody wears the wrong clothes, we can send them home and have them dress properly.

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

Mr. President, following the use of leader time, there will be a period of morning business until 12 noon, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans the next 30 minutes. The time from 11 a.m. until 12 noon today is reserved for tributes to former President Lyndon B. Johnson, commemorating the centennial of his birth. This afternoon, we expect to resume consideration of the House message with respect to the emergency supplemental appropriations bill. The speaking order during the time reserved for LBJ tributes will alternate between the majority and the minority.

As a reminder, cloture was filed last night on amendment No. 4803 related to domestic funding. Under rule XXII, the filing deadline for second-degree amendments is 1 hour prior to the cloture vote tomorrow.

Mr. President, we have second readings. But before getting to that, we also are trying to work out a time agreement, even today. Under the rule, the budget cannot be brought up until tomorrow afternoon at about 4 o'clock. But we can, by unanimous consent, move it to today. If we can work something out with the Republicans today, we will do that.

Last night, Senator Conrad said he was going to confer with Senator Judd Gregg, the ranking member of that committee, to see if there is a way we can move to that and shorten the hours. Statutorily, it is a 10- hour time limit. If we start on that tomorrow, the 10 hours would run into the next day.

We know Senator Inouye and Senator Stevens are not going to be here Friday. They are going to Senator Inouye's wedding. Senator Inouye is getting married. Senator Stevens is his best man. So we need to try to finish that before Friday morning.

In addition to that, we have the veto override on the farm bill we need to complete. Now, on that there is no time limit. People can talk however long they want. I would hope we would not have to spend a lot of time on that bill. That bill has been debated about as much as anything needs to be debated. It had 81 votes when it left this Chamber. We would hope everyone would recognize we need to dispose of this as quickly as possible. I hope we can get those two matters going.

I have also made a suggestion to the Republican leader--I spoke to the floor staff last night, together with my floor staff--and there will be a decision made by the majority and the Republicans, through Senator McConnell and me, today to see if we can arrive at some way to proceed reasonably to this emergency supplemental.

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

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

I think we could probably do that.

Mr. President, it is my understanding that the time between now and noon is set aside for remarks regarding President Johnson; is that right?

Mr. President, in the summer of 1908, a man named Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., rode through the Texas hill country, announcing to whomever happened to pass by, ``A United States Senator was born this morning!''

The name of his grandson--Lyndon Baines Johnson.

I am pleased today to mark the beginning of the celebration for the 100th birthday of that boy from Texas who would not only be Senator, but Senate majority leader, Vice-President, and President of the United States.

There is a tradition on the floor of the Senate of which our colleagues but few Americans are aware.

If you open any of the desks in the Senate Chamber, you will find carved the names of each Senator who was assigned the desk in years past.

Among the names carved in my desk is Lyndon Baines Johnson.

America and the world know Lyndon Johnson as the President with a steady hand that guided our country through a deeply troubled era--and was the guiding hand in creating the Great Society.

But those of us in the Senate--and his family and dear friends who join us here today--know that it was this Senate Chamber--this Capitol Building--that was his home.

Born in the Hill Country of Texas, Lyndon Baines Johnson came to the Senate in 1948 after prevailing in one of the closest Senate contests in American history.

As my colleagues well know, most rookie Senators arrive in Washington resigned to spending a few years getting to know the rules and traditions of this body--biding their time and gaining seniority.

Not Lyndon Johnson. His rise to power was laser-fast.

He was appointed to the powerful Armed Services Committee within his first 2 years, and was elected assistant democratic leader--or majority whip--in 1951.

No Senator ever rose to the leadership of the Senate faster.

But Lyndon Johnson had good timing as well as talent as his allies.

In the 1952 election, Dwight Eisenhower was elected in a landslide, sweeping Republicans into power in both the House and Senate.

Among the defeated Democrats was Majority Leader Ernest McFarland of Arizona.

With just 4 years tenure, 4 years in the U.S. Senate, Lyndon Johnson became the Democratic leader of the Senate.

At the time, the positions of majority and minority leader took a backseat to the powerful committee chairmanships.

Lyndon Johnson had a different vision, and it is no exaggeration to say that he singlehandedly made the job of leader what it is today.

After establishing himself as the legislative and political leader of the Senate Democrats, Johnson was uniquely well-positioned in 1954, when Democrats regained the majority and he became majority leader.

What followed is the stuff of legend.

Based upon his philosophy that ``The only real power available to the leader is the power of persuasion,'' Lyndon Baines Johnson used that power to the fullest.

In just 1 day in 1956, Lyndon Johnson's Senate confirmed two appointments and passed 90 bills a record that may stand for all time.

The quantity of Johnson's Senate work was impressive, but so was the quality.

As an exhibit at the LBJ library says:

By working to find common ground uniting liberals and

conservatives alike, LBJ's Senate passed legislation to

increase the minimum wage, extend social security benefits,

increase public housing construction, create an interstate

highway system, create a national space agency and enact the

first civil rights legislation since 1875. The majority

leader's inspiration was the prophet Isaiah, who preached

``Come now, and let us reason together,'' a philosophy--and a

result--that unquestionably and dramatically improved the

lives of all Americans.

On behalf of my colleagues, I welcome members of Lyndon Johnson's family, his former staff, and friends of the Johnson family to the U.S. Senate to mark his 100th birthday and honor his life.

This celebration is tinged with sadness that his beloved wife Lady Bird passed away last year and is not with us today.

As President, Lyndon Johnson once said--``This nation, this generation, in this hour has man's first chance to build a Great Society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor.''

Lyndon Baines Johnson's pursuit of a Great Society is a legacy that changed America forever and will last as long as our Republic stands.

Madam President, I am sorry to interrupt my friend from North Dakota, but we are not going to have any more votes tonight. We expect votes early in the morning, as early as 9:30. They will go on throughout the day. So everyone should be aware we are not going to have a vote tonight on the budget or the farm bill, but we will do the budget the first vote tomorrow, and after that we will move to the farm bill.

Madam President, if I may thank the Senator from North Dakota but also say there isn't anything that I agree to out here that doesn't have the full consent of the Republican leader. So even though Senator McConnell and I in public kick and bite and scratch and all those things, I have the ability to work with him on issues, which makes it possible for us to get business done outside the press and a lot of times Senators.

I really appreciate my friend from North Dakota. He and I came to the Senate together. I can remember the first time I saw Kent Conrad. It was in the LBJ Room. It wasn't named the LBJ Room at the time. We were there for the purpose of indoctrination--I don't know the right word-- but we were nominees of our parties. We were running for the Senate in 1986. Neither one of us was expected to get elected. We were both long shots. He was running against an incumbent Senator. I was running against President Reagan and Paul Laxalt. But we surprised them; we won.

We have such a warm relationship. I love Lucy, his wife. When we first came here, a lot of people mixed up Landra and Lucy because they are both short, somewhat dark complected, but we don't mix them up.

I say to the people watching C-SPAN, the only Senators in this Chamber are Senator Conrad, Senator Reid, and Senator Stabenow. Senator Stabenow has indicated in a meeting we just completed that she said the right thing at the right time to help us get to where we are today.

I am embarrassed with the kind words of my friend from North Dakota, but I thank him very much.

Mr. President, first of all, let me express my appreciation to you for your patience and, of course, all the staff. We have been trying to get where we are. It has been a long night. Hopefully, this is pointing us in the right direction.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following any leader time on Thursday, May 22, the Senate then resume consideration of the House message on H.R. 2642, and there be 2 hours of debate equally divided and controlled between the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the cloture motion with respect to the Reid motion to concur in House amendment No. 2 with an amendment be withdrawn, and the Reid second-degree amendment be withdrawn; that the Senate then proceed to vote on adoption of the motion to concur in House amendment No. 2 with an amendment; that the motion to concur be subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold, that if the motion achieves that threshold, it be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that if the motion to concur fails to achieve 60 votes, it be withdrawn, and Senator Reid be recognized to move to concur in House amendment No. 2 with an amendment which is the Webb GI bill; that the motion be subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold; and that if it achieves that threshold, the motion to concur be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table: that if it fails to achieve 60 affirmative votes, it be withdrawn, and the Senate disagree to House amendment No. 2; that upon disposition of House amendment No. 2, Senator Reid be recognized to move to concur in House amendment No. 1 with an amendment which is the text of the committee-reported amendments Nos. 2 and 3 on funding and Iraq policy; that Senator Sanders then be recognized to make a rule XVI point of order against section 11312 of the Reid motion; that if the point of order is sustained, Senator Reid be recognized to move to concur in House amendment No. 1 with an amendment which is the text of committee amendments Nos. 2 and 3 minus section 11312; that it be subject to a 60 affirmative vote threshold, and that if it achieves that threshold, it be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that if it fails to achieve the 60-vote threshold, it be withdrawn, and Senator Reid be recognized to move to concur in House amendment No. 1 with an amendment which is the text of the committee amendment No. 2 minus section 11312; that the motion be subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold; and that if the motion achieves that threshold, it be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; if it fails to achieve that threshold, then it be withdrawn, and the Senate disagree to House amendment No. 1; that no further points of order be in order, with no intervening action or debate.

Thank you, Mr. President, very much.

I would now note for everyone within the sound of my voice, we are still having some problems with the farm bill because of the enrolling not having been done, as we understand it, in the House. They failed to enroll one section of the 15 sections. But we are going to deal with that tomorrow in some detail. And because of that, we will have to hold up doing the budget until we try to work something out tomorrow or at some later time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from consideration of S. Res. 541 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

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 that any statements related to this matter be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 573.