Floor Statements

Mr. President, I am proud that the Senate will have taken strong action tonight to help stop the genocide in Darfur. I would like to commend Senator Dodd for his hard work to get the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 passed. I would also like to congratulate Senator Durbin who was the lead cosponsor of the first legislation on this issue.

By passing this bill, the Senate is saying clearly to the government of Sudan that the American people do not want to fund genocide. We already have a wide range of sanctions against Sudan, but this bill closed an important loophole by targeting pension plans. The legislation would make sure that the money we put away each month for our retirement does not go to fund companies which support the genocidal regime in Sudan.

The House has already passed similar legislation with an overwhelming, and bipartisan, vote of 418-1. With Senate passage, we will hopefully be able to move quickly to turn this bill into the law of the land.

As we pass this legislation the crisis in Darfur continues, with nearly 2 million people displaced and an estimated 450,000 people killed. The real hope for the people of Darfur is a strong UN-AU peacekeeping force. But President Bashir is once again keeping that force from moving forward, putting a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes on the committee overseeing these peacekeepers. He also continues to put other roadblocks in front of the peacekeepers, who should be in place and operating by January 1.

This legislation sends a loud and a clear message to the Sudanese regime that they must stop standing in the way of full implementation of the AU-UN peacekeepers. I hope that President Bashir is listening and that we will see that AU-UN force operational by January 1 of next year. The U.S. Senate will be watching, the United Nations will be watching, and the eyes of the world are on President Bashir. We all have a moral obligation to end the genocide, stop the violence, and relieve the suffering of the people of Darfur.

Mr. President, there are three bills at the desk due for a second reading en bloc.

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

Mr. President, we will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with the time equally divided as usual, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the farm bill. There has been tremendously good movement on that. All the Republican amendments have been offered. Five Democratic amendments have been offered. We are going to set up a program for voting on these.

For example, some of the most controversial, the one we thought would be controversial that Senator Domenici has offered regarding the renewable fuel program, I think probably we can take that. So I think progress can be made.

We have Senator Coburn who has offered a number of amendments. Senator Gregg has offered a number of amendments. But we can set up a voting schedule for those. I think we have every indication that we can complete this bill before we leave and hopefully have it go to conference.

I have spoken to the Republican leader about the conference. We have an idea of how we can do a conference in this instance. While in some others it could not be done, I think in this instance there is a way we can have a real conference. I hope that is the case.

Under an order entered last night, the Senate will debate the Lugar- Lautenberg amendment for 3 hours. The vote in relation to that will occur sometime after the Senate returns from the caucus recess period today. That will be the first vote today. There could be other votes this afternoon. I will talk to the Republican leader about that. If we cannot schedule more votes this afternoon, we will schedule a load of them in the morning.

A lot of work remains to be done. Members can expect long days as we continue to work toward Christmas, which is 2 weeks from today.

The Senate will recess for the caucus lunch period from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m.

During the next 10 days, we have a lot of work to do. As I have indicated, we are going to try to finish the farm bill. We are going to try to make a significant effort to try to complete our intelligence legislation. We have the AMT which is still pending. Although we have passed it here, we understand the House is going to give us something dealing with that. We have to do our work on that.

We have energy legislation. We are trying to work through that, and we also have our spending. I have had a conversation with the Republican leader this morning on that, and while things do not appear as hopeful as I wish, I am kind of reminded of President Lincoln. If you go to the Lincoln Memorial, you see on the wall the carved words of his second inaugural address, which is so prophetic and so strong, where he talks about both sides are praying to the same God, praying for different results.

You know, I, of course, am confident we are trying to do the right thing on the farm bill, FISA, alternative minimum tax, our spending programs, but I am realistic enough to know there is hopefully some way in between to work all this out. Even though we are all hopeful that our side is right, I have come over the years to learn there is usually some way of working through these things, although this is pretty difficult duty we have now to complete our work in the next few days. I hope we can do that.

As the end of 2007 continues to draw near, we have, as I have indicated, a tremendously busy work period ahead of us. We hope to complete action on the appropriations process which will require the White House, along with House and Senate Republicans, to be responsible and reasonable in the pursuit of common ground.

We will work to complete the Energy bill with the bipartisan compromise that will take our country toward lower energy prices for consumers and a cleaner environment.

We will work to complete FISA legislation to ensure that we have the tools to fight terrorism with fair and, yes, constitutional tools, and pass legislation that will fund this Government. We know we are going to have to do a very short CR, continuing resolution, to keep the Government open. Hopefully that will be for a matter of days and certainly not multiple weeks.

I look forward to some bipartisan progress. I hope that can be done.

Mr. President, I wish to speak this morning about another issue that concerns not just Democrats but members of both parties and our entire country. It is often said that a man has nothing but his reputation, his honor, and his integrity. I believe that to be the case. This is true not just for men but for countries.

In a thousand years, in a hundred years, when historians write the story of these early days of America, they will, of course, write about our great cities, our military and, of course, our economy. But the real story will be of a young Nation, unique among its global peers, because it has stood for liberty and justice, not just with words but with deeds. The true measure of America is our moral authority. Over the past 7 years, that authority has been significantly damaged: the war in Iraq that did not have to be waged; a CIA agent exposed to harm for telling the truth, Valerie Plame; a Justice Department in shambles with Attorney General Gonzales; the treatment of prisoners held up to no standard except the daily whims of a few people, Abu Ghraib, water torture. But now the word is that the CIA destroyed tapes from some of these interrogations. It has been acknowledged that the interrogations were by using water torture, something that originated in 1492 by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand in the Inquisition. Here it is hundreds and hundreds of years later, and great America has reverted to what took place in the Inquisition.

The damage to our moral authority will matter to history books, but, more importantly, it matters right now. It puts our troops at greater risk if captured, impairs our relationship with nations that ought to be our allies, it impedes our ability to fight an effective war on terror, it creates terrorists.

This latest news of destroyed tapes raises far more questions than we have answers. For example, who is responsible for destroying these tapes? Why? Was something being covered up? The possibility of obstruction of justice is very real. The American people deserve a full accounting for what took place and answers for all of these questions.

Will that eradicate what has gone on over the last 7 years? Of course not. But it will help. Chairman Rockefeller has launched an investigation in the Senate Intelligence Committee. I am happy that the Intelligence Committee has been working on a bipartisan basis. That is good. Senator Bond

has been working with Senator Rockefeller, and they have done what has been good work. There has been very little infighting between them.

The Attorney General of the United States, newly selected, has said he will launch an inquiry. We will see what this inquiry will be. I expect both the Intelligence Committee and the Attorney General of the United States to investigate aggressively the answers to questions regarding this coverup.

But the CIA, the Justice Department, the Bush White House, every American should know that if these investigations encounter resistance or are unable to find the truth, I will not hesitate to add my voice to those calling for a special counsel. For example, this weekend, Joe Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, called for a special prosecutor. He may be right. I am willing to wait and see what develops before I join in that call.

We must take every step necessary to protect our country's integrity and defend this country's great moral responsibility and authority that we have.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that any cloture filed on Wednesday, December 12, with respect to H.R. 6, the Energy bill, be considered as having been filed on Tuesday, December 11.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote in relation to the Dorgan-Grassley amendment No. 3695 occur at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, December 13.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate resumes H.R. 2419 tomorrow, December 12, it proceed to vote in relation to the following two amendments in the order listed, with no amendments in order to the amendments prior to the votes, and that there be 2 minutes of debate prior to each vote, equally divided and controlled: Gregg amendments Nos. 3671 and 3672, with the second vote 10 minutes in duration; further, that on Wednesday, December 12, the following amendments be debated for the time limits specified, with all time equally divided and controlled in the usual form, with no amendments in order to any of the amendments covered under this agreement prior to a vote in relation to the amendment: Alexander amendments Nos. 3551 and 3353, with 30 minutes divided as follows: 10 minutes each for Senators Alexander, Bingaman, and Salazar; Cornyn amendment No. 3687, 30 minutes; Dorgan-Grassley amendment No. 3695, as modified, 2 hours; Klobuchar amendment No. 3810, 60 minutes; Gregg amendment No. 3673, 2 hours; Sessions amendment No. 3596, 40 minutes; Coburn amendments Nos. 3807, 3530, and 3632, a total of 90 minutes.

Mr. President, I will add, Senator Coburn, even though I get upset at him for offering all these amendments, some of which I think are not in the best interests of the Senate, is always very agreeable to work with. He is a very pleasant man. I like him a lot. Here is an indication on these amendments, about which he feels strongly. He agreed to a short period of time and rarely takes all his time. A little side comment.

Continuing the unanimous consent request, provided further, that the following amendments be subject to a 60-vote threshold, and that if the amendment achieves 60 votes, then it be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that if the amendment fails to achieve 60 votes, then it be withdrawn: Dorgan-Grassley amendment No. 3695, Gregg amendment No. 3673, and Klobuchar amendment No. 3810; further, that in any vote sequence, there be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote, and that after the first vote in any sequence, the remaining votes be limited to 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further consideration of

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statement relating to the bill be printed in the Record, without intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 317, S. 793.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the committee-reported substitute, as amended, be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be read a third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 9 a.m., Wednesday, December 12; that on Wednesday, December 12, following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour deemed expired, the time for the two leaders reserved for their use later in the day; that there then be a period of morning business for 3 hours, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees and Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first half under the control of the majority and the final half under the control of the Republicans; that at the close of morning business, the Senate then resume consideration of H.R. 2419, as provided for under a previous order.

Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

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

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

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

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the time for debate this morning be extended by 15 minutes; that time will be equally divided, with the final 20 minutes reserved for the two leaders, with the majority leader controlling the final 10 minutes.

Mr. President, this morning there will be, as we have indicated, a limited period of debate prior to a cloture vote on the motion to concur in the House amendments to the Senate amendments to H.R. 6, comprehensive energy legislation.

Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on H.R. 6.

Mr. President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I ask the mandatory quorum be waived.

Mr. President, I move to concur with the House on the message they have sent us.

Mr. President, we have worked very hard this year to accomplish goals. But it takes a lot of work because everything we have done has been after having filed cloture on sometimes multiple occasions, trying to terminate debate on the other side. My friend, the distinguished Republican leader, said, finally, we did the right thing on the farm bill. The only reason we were able to get agreement on the farm bill is because cloture likely would have been invoked this morning. The farm and ranching communities in America are up in arms that the Republicans have stalled the farm bill for months. I am satisfied where we are. It has been difficult to get where we are. We will work through the farm bill and finish it. But for people to indicate it was the result of how we handled the legislation that has taken so long to get there is without foundation.

This bill, the Energy bill, the vote we are going to take in a few minutes is a historic vote. We hear words all the time in the Senate about ``landmark'' and ``historic.'' These words are often used but occasionally appropriately. Now is the time to talk about historic. This is a historic vote. This Energy and Security Act will finally put America on the right track to solve our grave and growing energy crisis. No superlative is too strong to express how important this is to our country's future and, to a certain extent, the world's future, because we are the ones polluting the air more than any other nation in the world, by far. Today, America consumes 21 million barrels of oil; tomorrow, 21 million barrels plus a few more. It is not going down; it is going up. Most of this oil comes from very unstable regions of the world.

What did President Chavez say from Venezuela during the height of his recent constitutional crisis? He said: We will cut off oil supply to the United States.

Think about that. We are dependent on this tyrant for our oil. But he is not

the only tyrant we are depending on for oil. The most tyrannical governments in the world today exist in the Middle East, countries we ask for oil. Some say the war in the Middle East that is going on now is based on oil. I don't necessarily believe that, but people who do are not in any way without foundation and reason.

With the 21 million barrels of oil a day going to these nations that have these despotic governments, we send as a nation at least a billion dollars every day overseas to pay for our oil addiction. Those 21 million barrels we will use today and those we will use tomorrow have created a three-pronged crisis that threatens our economy. On my last trip to California, I saw prices on the pumps of more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline. Our national security, the example I gave for the dictator of Venezuela, is that affecting our security? Of course, it does. That is only one example. Our environment, does it affect our environment using 21 million barrels of oil a day, 65 percent of which is imported from these individuals and governments I talked about? What does this do to our environment? It pollutes it.

The cost of the pollution in our environment is affecting us from a health perspective. In June, the Senate took action to begin reversing these threats. We passed the Energy bill with a bipartisan vote of 65. It was a good vote. But the House has done even better than we did. They have sent their version to us with a strong majority. I urge all my colleagues to concur with the House bill and send this critical legislation to President Bush. As I have indicated, with gas prices all over the country, with a gallon of gasoline being more than $3 and working Americans spending more than ever to make their commute to work, the time to act is not tomorrow. It is now. With home heating prices at record highs and the cold winter months now upon us, the time to act is now. With the threat of global warming growing by the day-- and that is why there are more than 10,000 people assembled in Bali as we speak to talk about the global warming that is taking place--the time to act is now.

I so appreciate the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee and the work they are doing in that committee on the bipartisan measure reported out of that committee this week, Lieberman- Warner, led by the committee chair, Senator Boxer, to report out a global warming bill. The first global warming bill that meets the needs of our world was reported out of that committee this week. Now this bill adds to that. I appreciate very much the work of the chairmen who worked to get the bill out of the Senate and who worked to get the measure from the House to us: Senator Bingaman, Energy and Natural Resources; Senator Inouye, Commerce; Senator Boxer, Environment and Public Works. That is the bill we have before us.

The bill tackles each of the supply challenges by addressing both sides of the crisis--consumption and supply. On the consumption side, it increases fuel efficiency of cars and trucks for the first time in 30 years to 35 miles per gallon. That is significant. Think about it. What was America like with its automobiles 30 years ago? Think back to 1976. Cars didn't come with airbags. They were just getting cassette players. We had advanced past the invention of the eight-track stereo. We now have cassette players. The closest thing you could buy to the Global Positioning System we now have on a lot of vehicles was a map. You went to a service station and most of the time they gave you that map. You would look at the map. My wife, we used to joke, she was the navigator as we proceeded with the kids in the backseat yelling and screaming. That is how we found our way. The navigator was my wife. That is not the way it is now.

Things have changed in those 30 years. Today we have cars that were, in the past, science fiction, a hybrid electric car. My wife has one. It runs on a big battery and it runs on gasoline. She loves her car, but it is new. She bought it a few months ago. Ethanol cars, cars burning fuel produced from corn and other products, and electric cars, total electric cars--these things will add to the ability of Americans to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

But this bill we have now, with increasing the CAFE standards, will save American families at least $1,000 a year at the gas pump. For our country, it will save a total of $22 billion by 2020, $22 billion a year. It will also reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent--listen to this--of taking 28 million cars and trucks off the road. We take 28 million cars and trucks off the road by passing this legislation. That is pretty good. It will also reduce greenhouse gases in other ways. This increase to 35 miles per gallon is supported by the environmental community. Of course, it is.

If my time has expired, I will use leader time now.

The increase to 35 miles per gallon is supported by the environmental community. Of course, it is. But it is now supported by the automobile industry. As a result of that, the vote time will be extended, Mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that be the case.

Mr. President, I got a letter in my office this week from Ron Gettekfubger, president of the United Auto Workers Association, saying: Thanks for your work on the Energy bill. The automobile workers, Detroit favors this legislation. The environmental community, the unions, and the automobile industry, a pretty good deal. That wasn't the way it was a short time ago. That is the way it is now. The environmentalists support it because it will make our air cleaner and take one step on the long road to stem the tide of global warming. The automobile industry supports it because they know they can do it, and they know it will make them more competitive. It will make the American automobile industry more competitive.

It also saves Americans hundreds of billions of dollars through other things, new energy efficiency standards for appliances, lighting, and buildings. If you have a washing machine that consumes 40 gallons of water and another that does a good job with 10, we should save those 30 gallons. That is the principle we are working on. If one light bulb lasts as long as three light bulbs, we ought to save that electricity. It is common sense, and that is what this legislation does. But consumption is half the battle.

On the supply side, this Energy bill requires, for the first time, that 15 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources. That doesn't sound like anything that is too big of a hill to climb. What is more, this renewable energy portfolio rewards innovation by allowing States--lots of States but, for example, Nevada--that have already taken the initiative and are national leaders on alternative energy to sell their excess product to other States. I have heard some complain: Nevada has more wind and more Sun and more geothermal than other States. The news last week was, we are now, off the coast of Florida, going to be producing electricity with the current, with waves. Nevada doesn't have any currents or waves. So it all balances out. That is what this is all about. It rewards innovation. That is what America has been about since we were founded. This legislation makes an unprecedented commitment to American-grown biofuels by increasing the renewable fuels standard to 36 billion gallons by the year 2022, which will not just reduce our addiction to oil but create American jobs as well. It repeals billions and billions of dollars in tax giveaways to big oil that exports product from overseas and invests it instead in tax incentives to produce clean, renewable energy right here at home.

All across America, businesses, entrepreneurs, and local governments are taking the lead to solve this energy crisis. On my last trip to Silicon Valley, the discussion with these geniuses was on two topics: health care and energy. The great minds of America are focusing on this. They need some incentives. You can't invest unless there are some incentives in this new field. All they want is a tax credit here, a tax credit there. They deserve that. With these great minds, they will take us much further than we can imagine.

In California, for example, a professor is working on a new technology that can manufacture fuel out of simple plant material in any industrial park in America. In Pennsylvania, Amish farmers are charging their

buggy batteries with solar power. In Nevada, local governments are using solar energy at water pumping stations to move water uphill, something that in the past would have required tremendous nonrenewable power. That kind of innovation is exactly what America does best. But as of right now, the Federal Government is lagging, not leading. This must change, and today it can.

Our energy crisis will not be solved overnight, but this bill that is now before us is a crucial big, big first step. So let's take that step together. To do so, we cannot let procedural disputes get in the way of this much needed bill.

My Republican colleagues objected to this bill before going to conference. I wish we could have gone to conference. But that is their right. Even without a conference, we worked with Republicans, consulting on and sharing proposed language. And that is an understatement. Many provisions were removed and modified at the request of Republican Senate and House Members.

We have acted on this bill in good faith. Now it is time for Republicans and Democrats to put politics aside and unite behind a bill that will deliver a cleaner, safer energy future for all of America.

Mr. President, after this vote, there will be no more votes today. The next vote will be Tuesday morning. I have spoken to Senators Harkin and Chambliss. They are going to work on the farm bill this afternoon to try to have some amendments offered. I would hope those people who want to have 1 of the 20 amendments on each side will start offering these amendments. We are going to move through and finish the farm bill before we leave here, and we can complete some of that work today, and also Monday afternoon.

On Monday, as I have just indicated, there will be no votes, but we are going to come in Monday afternoon and work on the farm bill. We will get back to this bill on Tuesday. I will be conferring with the distinguished Republican leader and other Republicans to decide how we are going to proceed. I have an idea, but I want to make sure they are in tune with what we are doing.

I appreciate everyone's cooperation yesterday, and I hope we have a productive day today.

Cloture Motion