Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 566, H.R. 5140, and I send a motion to the desk, a cloture motion.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum be waived and the cloture vote occur at 5:30 on Monday, February 4.

I now withdraw the motion.

Finally, let me say, I appreciate the patience of my counterpart, Senator McConnell. On Tuesday, I can't really say this; we weren't that close. But all day Wednesday, all day today, we have been this close. We have had the FISA thing worked out so many different times, and each time--not each time but a number of those times I either sent a message to the distinguished Republican leader or actually called him, sent him a letter. I have really tried very hard to finish this. I want to do it because we have a February 15 cutoff date. I don't want to jam the minority, and I don't want to jam the House. I think we have an obligation as a body to get something over there as quickly as possible, ``over there'' meaning to the House. Because once that happens, I would like to think that then it is up to the House and the Senate to work this out. But we know how conferences work. The White House is going to be heavily involved in what the final product is because there is no need, at least in my estimation, to pass something that has ``veto'' written all over it. If it comes to that, then I can accept a veto. But at least we need to give the White House an opportunity, after we pass whatever we do here, and the House has already done their work, that when we do this conference, we know and have input from the White House. If the decision is made after that, we are going to just go forward anyway. That is what we do. But I want to make sure everyone understands, I am trying to do this as fairly as I can, recognizing there are heavy emotions on both sides of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act extension we are trying to do. There are divisions within the Democratic caucus. Not all Democrats agree how it should be handled. That is why we have worked so hard coming up with this agreement to move forward on it.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, it has been a long week, and our list of accomplishments--on paper--are not very much. But, hopefully, we are headed toward a real good week next week.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all pending amendments be withdrawn, except the substitute and the Feingold amendment No. 3909; that it be modified with the changes at the desk and then agreed to; and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; further, that the following be the only first-degree amendments remaining in order to the bill, with no second-degree amendments prior to a vote, except as specified in this agreement; that any time for debate with respect to amendments be equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that the following two amendments be modified with the changes that are at the desk, and then agreed to, as modified, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, en bloc:

Whitehouse amendment No. 3932; Kennedy amendment No. 3960; and that the Bond amendment No. 3945 be agreed to, without modification; further, that the following eight amendments be subject to a majority vote threshold, with a motion to table any of these eight amendments in order:

Bond amendment No. 3941, with a modification, 20 minutes; Bond amendment No. 3938, with a modification, 20 minutes; Feingold amendment No. 3907, 2 hours; Specter-Whitehouse amendment No. 3927, 2 hours; Feingold amendment No. 3913, 40 minutes; Feingold amendment No. 3912, 40 minutes; Feingold amendment No. 3915, 40 minutes; Feingold-Webb amendment regarding sequestration, 90 minutes; provided further, that the next 3 amendments listed be subject to a 60-affirmative vote threshold, and that if it does not achieve that threshold, then the amendment be withdrawn: Feinstein amendment No. 3919, 2 hours; Cardin amendment No. 3930, 60 minutes; Whitehouse amendment No. 3920, 60 minutes; finally, that the Feinstein amendment No. 3910 also be in order, without any debate limitation; provided further, that a managers' amendment be in order if cleared by the managers and the leaders; that upon disposition of all amendments, the substitute amendment, as amended, be agreed to, and the bill be read the third time; that the Senate then vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the bill; that upon passage of the bill, the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 517, H.R. 3773, and all after the enacting clause be stricken and the text of S. 2248, as amended, be inserted in lieu thereof, the bill be advanced to third reading, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that passage of S. 2248 be vitiated and then returned to the calendar.

Mr. President, let me express on the record my appreciation for so many people.

Specifically, I wish to mention Senator Rockefeller and Senator Bond. They and their staffs have spent days on this agreement. It is really good they have a relationship that allows them to be able to reach this agreement. But for that, it could not have been done.

I am not going to talk about Republican Senators, but I am sure there are a lot of unsung heroes. I cannot talk about them. But the Presiding Officer, Senator Whitehouse, has done a remarkably good job as a member of the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees in helping us resolve this matter so we can proceed to finish it. As I add up all this time, it is about 11 hours of debate, plus the votes.

Senator Kennedy is also always very easy to deal with. He believes fervently in what he believes, but he is always very understanding of my problems. I extend my appreciation to him.

Senator Feingold is a brilliant man, and he is someone who is always looking at every bit of verbiage in any piece of legislation. He has been very good to work with, as he always is. I express my appreciation to him.

Senator Cardin has been very patient in everything we have done.

Finally, I wish to talk about two people.

I spent a lot of time today with Senator Feinstein. She is a real believer as a member of that Intelligence Committee. She is the second ranking member on that committee. She spends days of her life in committee hearings, listening to what goes on and trying to figure out what is going on, which is not always easy. It is all done with all the Intelligence members away from the press. There is little recognition that members of the Intelligence Committees get, other than self- satisfaction that they are doing good things for the country and the world. I appreciate Senator Feinstein working with us so we could get to this final agreement.

Even though his name does not appear in any of the consent agreements I read, Senator Leahy is a person who is going to accomplish what he believes should be accomplished in this bill, but he has done it in a typical way. I had one Senator tell me--in fact, it was Senator Kent Conrad. He said that in his entire public service, he has never known a better negotiator than Senator Leahy. I think he probably is one of the best. He got a lot out of this even though his name does not appear anyplace.

We know the sincerity and the depth of feelings that Senator Dodd has on this legislation. He is somebody who has been heavily involved in everything we have done in this bill. I appreciate his willingness to work with us to a point here. He and I agree on what should happen in this legislation. Time will only tell whether we get what our druthers are, but at least we are joined to try to accomplish the same thing.

I appreciate everyone working as they have with this legislation. It hasn't been easy to get where we are, but this is where we are, and I appreciate everyone's attention and help.

Mr. President, I rise today, the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the Tet Offensive, to commemorate the valor and courageousness with which our Armed Forces fought to repel this massive attack.

Over the holiday recess, I was fortunate enough to spend a great deal of time in my home State of Nevada. While at home, I met with several veterans at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, VFW, Post 1753 in Las Vegas. After talking with them for quite a while, it was brought to my attention that we were only a few weeks away from the 40th anniversary of the onset of the Tet Offensive. In order to ensure that the heroism of our troops who fought in these arduous battles was not overlooked on this milestone anniversary, I told my friends at VFW Post 1753 that I would honor their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their fellow Nevadans and call attention to this important occasion on the floor of the Senate.

From a tactical standpoint, the Tet Offensive would result in one of America's most convincing victories over the combined forces of the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army, NVA. Yet few Americans recall the decisiveness with which our troops routed the surprise onslaught. Many mistakenly believe that Tet was a military defeat, significant for the enemy's ability to launch a large-scale attack on the United States and South Vietnamese forces. It is time to correct this mistaken impression and recognize the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in achieving victory during the Tet Offensive.

As many Hollywood films have since immortalized, the surprise attacks began in full during the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, the Vietnamese lunar New Year holiday known as Tet. A few months earlier, the Governments of North and South Vietnam had agreed to observe a 7- day truce from January 27 to February 3, 1968, in honor of the national holiday. With the Tet Truce abruptly violated, America's servicemembers regrouped to defend what would be the largest military operation conducted by either side up to that point in the conflict.

Withstanding major assaults at Hue, Khe Sanh, and Saigon, our Armed Forces quickly turned the tide on the surprise offensive and delivered major tactical blows to both the Viet Cong and NVA. Most of the attack had been successfully repelled by mid-February with few notable exceptions, such as fighting at the coastal port of Hue, which continued into early March. When the dust settled, tens of thousands of Communist troops had died during the massive ambush, while 1,536 U.S. and non-Vietnamese allies perished in the violence and over 7,700 others were wounded or declared missing.

Despite America's impressive tactical victories in the aftermath of the original attacks, the Tet Offensive forever altered the course of the Vietnam war. Although the Tet Offensive would serve as a major blow in the court of American public opinion, we must never forget the resolve and bravery of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, who fought a determined enemy and defended the freedoms of those who could not defend themselves.

During the difficult times of today, when America remains at war abroad against another committed enemy, I believe we must all remember to take the necessary time and pay our deepest respects to those servicemembers who have fallen in years past. I certainly will never forget the 151 Nevadans who died during the course of the entire Vietnam war, many of whom would meet their eventual fate defending the south during the Tet Offensive. To all of those valiant Americans who fought during this mightiest of struggles, our Nation is eternally grateful for your sacrifice in turning what could have been one of our darkest hours into yet another great victory in the annals of our Nation's rich military history.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the distinguished and respected career of Senate Librarian Greg Harness, who retires today.

Librarians serve as bridges, connecting information and resources with those who need it. They are charged not only as the keepers of knowledge but also as the distributors of it, and it is a duty that Greg has upheld in the most respectful, prompt, and accurate manner. Members of the Senate and their staff have come to rely on the vast resources that Greg oversees and know that each request for information, no matter how small it may seem, will be treated with the same courtesy and professionalism.

Greg came to the Senate Library as a reference librarian in 1975, intending to stay only 2 years. Instead, Greg found his niche in the Senate Library, where he has worked for 32 years. He served in a variety of capacities over his tenure, transitioning to an assistant librarian position in 1995 and finally to Senate Librarian in 1997. One of his most important contributions was moving the Senate Library from the Capitol Building to the Russell Senate Office Building in 1999. Greg not only helped facilitate the move, but he also oversaw the design of the new library.

It is also worth noting that over the course of Greg's career, the field of librarianship has been transformed by new technology. In 1975, the Senate Library was the first Secretary of the Senate office to receive computers, allowing researchers to access information more quickly. For the Senate Library, this necessitated the need for research librarians who are not only knowledgeable of traditional paper-based resources but are also masters of electronic resources. Greg understands this balance and has assembled a qualified staff to fulfill this need.

From personal experience I can attest that Greg's tenure has been a welcome addition to the Senate Library's distinguished tradition of providing legislative, historic, and general knowledge to all that it serves. The Senate has been privileged to have Greg's expansive wealth of intellect and wisdom. I thank him for all the services he has provided to me, to other Members of the Senate, and to Senate staff. His service will be truly missed, and I wish him the best in his new endeavors.

Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate a message from the House with respect to H.R. 4253, the small business veterans military reservist legislation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 2 p.m., Monday, February 4; 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 resume consideration of S. 2248, the FISA legislation.

Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate will resume consideration of the FISA legislation, and at 5:30 p.m., the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 5140, the Economic Stimulus bill. Senators should be aware that additional votes will occur following the 5:30 cloture vote. Those votes would be in relation to the FISA legislation.

I understand there may be some problems with Republicans wanting any votes that afternoon, but we will work on that Monday. At least we have agreement on this legislation, and I see no reason, if we can't take a big chunk out of it on Monday, which I think we can, we can finish it on Tuesday.

Mr. President, I thank everybody for all their good work this week.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate proceeds to morning business, there will be 1 hour equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the first 30 minutes under the control of the Republicans and the next 30 minutes under the control of the majority.

Mr. President, we were able late last night to work out something on FISA, a 15-day extension. There is a path forward. We are going to try very quickly to get an agreement so that we can move forward. I had a meeting in my office at 6 o'clock last night. Following that meeting, I called the Republican leader, and I think we have a way of moving forward on this legislation, one that would be agreed upon by Senators Bond, Rockefeller, Leahy, and Specter, so that we can complete that legislation. I think it will probably take a good long day to do that, but I think that would be all it would take.

I hope we can get that done very soon. I do not want to wait. Whatever we do, whether we do something or nothing, I do not want to wait until the last minute. This is something we need to do. I think it would be in everyone's interests to get it to the House as quickly as we can so that we can move forward on a conference to send something to the President that he can review.

Again, we have the stimulus package that we have to deal with, and we are going to do that. That is why I made the announcement last night that we are going to have to do some work on Monday. We are going to have votes on Monday. They won't be early in the day, but we will have votes on Monday. Whatever we are working on, we will try to work Monday so that we can have some votes Monday night, so there will likely be more than one vote Monday night.

Tuesday, we are going to have to work. We really do need to complete this work on the foreign intelligence legislation quickly. Whatever we do on

the stimulus, we also need to do that quickly. Again, whether we come up with our own package here in the Senate, whether we accept what the House has done, or do nothing, it is not fair to the American people, the other body, and the President not to take action that would be fairly quick, and we are going to attempt to do that, both dealing with the FISA legislation and the stimulus package.

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

Mr. President, there will be no rollcall votes tonight. We will see what we can do tomorrow to come to some conclusion on the stimulus package, at least get on the road to how we are going to have some votes. And we will have some votes; it is just a question of when we will have them.

On FISA, we thought we had it worked out a few minutes ago, but it came ``unworked.'' So we are going to continue to see what we can do. I have told Senator McConnell we are doing our very best to wrap that up so we can have agreement. But an agreement is two sided. It is not just us. We think we have a way to complete that so we can finish our work on it, but it is a work in progress. I thought we had it done a few minutes ago, but it didn't work out that way. So we will see what we can do tomorrow on these issues, but there will be no votes tonight.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a business meeting on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 11:30 a.m., in room SD366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. At this mark-up, the Committee will consider pending bills on its shortlist of agenda items.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 10 a.m., in Room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in order to hold a hearing entitled, ``Examining Threats and Protections for the Polar Bear.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Private Fee for Service Plans in Medicare Advantage: A Closer Look.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in order to consider an original bill entitled, ``The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008''; and to consider changes to the Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Finance.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 11 a.m. in order to hold a nomination hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 3:30 p.m. in order to hold an intelligence briefing on Afghanistan.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice'' on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 10 a.m. in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building.

Witness list

The Honorable Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney General of the United States, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Holding the Small Business Administration Accountable: Women's Contracting and Lender Oversight,'' on Wednesday, January 30, 2008, beginning at 10 a.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building.