Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I wish to praise a great Montanan, Dr. Joe McDonald. Dr. McDonald's life achievements, work history and professional honors are large and impressive. He is a father, husband and friend who will always be remembered as a community leader, tribal council member and college president. What I appreciate most about Joe, though, is his remarkable ability to bring people together to work toward a common goal. Whether it is to create an institution of higher education, lead his tribal council or raise a healthy family, Joe has been patient, respectful and productive. I look up to Joe and consider him a friend.

Dr. McDonald recently retired as president of the Salish and Kootenai College after a remarkable career and a lifetime of public service. Joe's career, indeed his entire life, is an inspiration not just to people living on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana, but also to thousands of students and others he touched over the years. As the local newspaper reported in a downbeat tone, ``Dr. McDonald retires. They say all good things must come to an end.''

Dr. McDonald, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, was born in St. Ignatius, MT. His good family gave him self- confidence and other tools to become a role model in an increasingly divided world. Western Montana College recognized Joe's potential early. They gave the gifted student athlete a scholarship to play football and baseball, and the platform to fly. Joe turned the opportunity into an associate degree in education in 1953, a bachelor's degree in education from the University of Montana in 1958, an M.S. degree from UM in 1965, and an Ed.D. in 1981. Higher education gave him the foundation to make history.

After college, Dr. McDonald mentored many reservation youths as coach, principal and superintendent at Ronan High School from 1968 through 1976. While there, Joe began to bridge a divide he saw between Indian and non-Indian students. Wanting to do more than just complain, he created the first Native American Studies program in Montana Public Schools. Today, all Montana public schools include a curriculum entitled ``Indian Education for All.'' Although many good people had a hand in it, we can thank Joe McDonald for leading the way.

Success as a teacher, coach and administrator gave him dreams of higher education on the Flathead Indian Reservation. In the 1970s, he began to lay the foundation for SKC. And in 1977, Congress passed the Tribal College Act. The new law opened the door for Dr. McDonald to create SKC, but didn't include any money to make it happen.

With no money, no classrooms, no teachers and no students, Joe became president of SKC and served for over three decades. Beginning with literally nothing, he built the institution from the ground up. Educators around the Nation now credit him for building SKC into one of the, if not the flagship tribal college in the United States. When he retired last year, the college had a 130-acre campus with modern infrastructure. Administrators can now thank him for growing the school's endowment from just $5 in 1978 to more than $8 million today. They can also thank him for the $26 million operational budget, 58 faculty members and more than 180 operational employees who educate 1,100 students. Remember, none of it existed before Dr. Joe McDonald took the initiative to create it.

And believe it or not, he did even more for his community. In addition to growing perhaps the most dynamic tribal college in the Nation, Dr. McDonald also served as an elected representative on the CSKT Tribal Council from 1974 to 1982. In terms of coaching, Joe is among the best. He has coached track, football and basketball-- mentoring high school and college students, at-risk kids and groomed college athletes. Not only did his athletes succeed in sports, but because of his lessons, they succeed in life, too.

Joe married Sherri, the love of his life, when he was 19 years old. During their remarkable time together, Joe and Sherri raised four children, nine grandkids and six great-grandkids. As an example of his keen perception about people, he recognized how valuable she was. Throughout the years, he

selflessly gave her credit for everything he accomplished.

Some of his career and personal highlights include: 1951, Montana Class C, All State Basketball Team; 1959, Montana Class C Basketball Coach of the Year; 1989, National Indian Educator of the Year, National Indian Education Association; 1996, Montana Governor's Humanity Award Recipient; 2000, Michael P. Malone, Educator of the Year Award of 2000; 2005, U of Montana's Highest Recognition, Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters; 2005, University of Montana Foundation, Selected as one of the 50 greatest Grizzlies; 2008, American Indian College Fund President of the Year; and 2008, Inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Gonzaga University in Washington State and Montana State University and was named distinguished alum of the University of Montana and Western Montana College.

Joe served on the Board of the American Indian College Fund, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors, and the Board of the American Indian Business Leaders.

In 2009, CSKT created the ``Dr. Joseph F. McDonald Educational Excellence Award'' so others may aspire to the greatness embodied by its namesake.

In 2010, in conjunction with his retirement event, CSKT designated the day officially as Joe McDonald Day.

I hope my colleagues will join me in acknowledging this fine man and wishing him the best of luck in a well-deserved retirement. Knowing his love of family, I am sure those great-grandkids will keep him happy for years to come. But knowing Joe, I bet we haven't seen the last of him. My bet is that his dedication to public service is just too strong for him to fade into the sunset.

We look forward to whatever challenges Dr. Joe McDonald decides to take on next. The world will be a better place because of it. It is already a better place because of him.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Common Sense in Consumer Product Safety Act of 2011 on behalf of the folks across America who are outdoor enthusiasts and budding sportsman and women. This bill will bring a common sense approach to restrictions we place upon access to children's products.

In 2008, in response to the high lead paint content found in a number of toys and products intended for children, the Congress passed legislation to limit children's access to these dangerous products. Many of these products were imports from China and other places where consumer protection is weak or non-existent. I supported this legislation, as did 78 of my colleagues.

Any product sold that is intended to be used by children up to the age of 12 must be tested and certified to not contain more than the allowable level of lead. However, it became clear that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has had some unintended consequences.

While the goal is admirable, it is important to inject a little common sense into the process. I want our kids and grandkids to be safe and protected from harmful toys, but we all know that most kids who are past the teething stage do not chew on their toys. It is important to strike a balance--to enact responsible safety requirements while at the same time recognizing that overzealous restrictions can interfere with a way of life enjoyed by not just Montanans, but outdoor enthusiasts across America.

As Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I am proud to stand up for Montana's outdoor heritage at every chance. The consumer protection law goes too far and limits younger Montanans' opportunities to participate in those traditions.

My bill will protect small businesses and allow families safer access to the outdoors.

The consumer protection law covers all products intended for the use of children through the age of 12. This includes ATVs, dirt bikes and other vehicles built specifically for the use of older kids and adults. However, because of the way the vehicles are built, parts that may include lead are not exclusively internal components and therefore don't pass the inaccessibility standard required by law. As a result of this requirement, a number of ATV sales and retail establishments have halted the sale of all ATVs for kids. In an abundance of caution, they have also refused to repair any equipment intended for kids use.

I have heard from many Montanans--consumers and retail sales people alike--expressing their concern about the impact of the legislation upon outdoor motor sports. A few years ago I worked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to successfully provide a two year waiver for child-sized motorized vehicles. However, that stay of enforcement expires this May. Therefore today, I am reintroducing this bill to provide a permanent exception for vehicles intended to be used by children between the ages of 6 and 12.

In addition to manufacturers and merchants, thrift stores, and other retail establishments are also implicated because of the wide-reaching scope of the legislation. It is possible that even holding a yard sale can lead folks astray from the new law. Therefore, my bill also removes liability for lead paint content in any product that is repaired or is resold by thrift stores, flea markets or at yard sales. The liability in place at the time of primary sale of these products is sufficient and it could cripple the profitability of the secondary merchants if they were to be liable for testing the products they resell or repair.

In this tough economy, second-hand resellers simply can't afford the third-party testing requirement put in place by the bill. At the same time, more and more of Montana's families are finding their budgets tighten and are relying upon thrift and resale stores for toys, children's clothing and other household goods. I want to make sure that laws intended to keep our kids safe end up doing more harm than good.

This a very important bill, bringing a dose of common sense to the very important goal of protecting our kids from lead paint and other substances that will harm their health. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Common Sense in Consumer Product Safety Act of 2011 on behalf of the folks across America who are outdoor enthusiasts and budding sportsman and women. This bill will bring a common sense approach to restrictions we place upon access to children's products.

In 2008, in response to the high lead paint content found in a number of toys and products intended for children, the Congress passed legislation to limit children's access to these dangerous products. Many of these products were imports from China and other places where consumer protection is weak or non-existent. I supported this legislation, as did 78 of my colleagues.

Any product sold that is intended to be used by children up to the age of 12 must be tested and certified to not contain more than the allowable level of lead. However, it became clear that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has had some unintended consequences.

While the goal is admirable, it is important to inject a little common sense into the process. I want our kids and grandkids to be safe and protected from harmful toys, but we all know that most kids who are past the teething stage do not chew on their toys. It is important to strike a balance--to enact responsible safety requirements while at the same time recognizing that overzealous restrictions can interfere with a way of life enjoyed by not just Montanans, but outdoor enthusiasts across America.

As Chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I am proud to stand up for Montana's outdoor heritage at every chance. The consumer protection law goes too far and limits younger Montanans' opportunities to participate in those traditions.

My bill will protect small businesses and allow families safer access to the outdoors.

The consumer protection law covers all products intended for the use of children through the age of 12. This includes ATVs, dirt bikes and other vehicles built specifically for the use of older kids and adults. However, because of the way the vehicles are built, parts that may include lead are not exclusively internal components and therefore don't pass the inaccessibility standard required by law. As a result of this requirement, a number of ATV sales and retail establishments have halted the sale of all ATVs for kids. In an abundance of caution, they have also refused to repair any equipment intended for kids use.

I have heard from many Montanans--consumers and retail sales people alike--expressing their concern about the impact of the legislation upon outdoor motor sports. A few years ago I worked with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to successfully provide a two year waiver for child-sized motorized vehicles. However, that stay of enforcement expires this May. Therefore today, I am reintroducing this bill to provide a permanent exception for vehicles intended to be used by children between the ages of 6 and 12.

In addition to manufacturers and merchants, thrift stores, and other retail establishments are also implicated because of the wide-reaching scope of the legislation. It is possible that even holding a yard sale can lead folks astray from the new law. Therefore, my bill also removes liability for lead paint content in any product that is repaired or is resold by thrift stores, flea markets or at yard sales. The liability in place at the time of primary sale of these products is sufficient and it could cripple the profitability of the secondary merchants if they were to be liable for testing the products they resell or repair.

In this tough economy, second-hand resellers simply can't afford the third-party testing requirement put in place by the bill. At the same time, more and more of Montana's families are finding their budgets tighten and are relying upon thrift and resale stores for toys, children's clothing and other household goods. I want to make sure that laws intended to keep our kids safe end up doing more harm than good.

This a very important bill, bringing a dose of common sense to the very important goal of protecting our kids from lead paint and other substances that will harm their health. I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort.

Mr. President, I rise today in honor of the Carroll College Fighting Saints--a tough-as-nails football team from Helena, MT, that won the NAIA championship last night.

It was one of those Saturday night games football fans live for. And before I say more about the Saints, I want to extend my congratulations to the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, which put up a heck of a fight, after a heck of a season.

But with last night's win, Carroll held a perfect season. They were undefeated every step of the way. And every step of the way, Montanans watched with pride as they showed us what it takes to work as a team. And to win.

Carroll's Fighting Saints are no stranger to making football history. This isn't the first year they have returned to Montana with a national trophy.

What does it take?

It takes hard work. Strong leadership--especially under Coach Mike Van Diest--and old-fashioned Montana grit.

Most importantly, it takes teamwork and trust. Place kicker Tom Yarekmo missed two field goals. But Coach Van Diest trusted Yarekmo to try again--and he made the winning field goal.

Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the team, the coaches and a whole lot of dedicated fans.

Their hard work and their victory is a warm reminder that hard work pays off.

We're already looking forward to next year.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to go into morning business.

Mr. President, before I talk about the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, I want to say, you never looked better, Mr. President. So I appreciate you being in the Chair today.

Mr. President, I want to talk a little bit about the omnibus bill that was pulled down 2 nights ago because there were not the votes from across the aisle to get the bill moving.

In that omnibus bill, there was a number of very important projects for every State in the Union. But there were a lot of very important projects for the State of Montana in that bill that I am afraid now will be put on the back burner.

Nonetheless, there was also some very important language in the omnibus bill. In my particular case, there was language in that bill that was going to help put people back to work, and that language was contained in a bill we call the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act.

What this bill does is create 660,000 acres of new wilderness. It creates 370,000 permanent acres in new recreation areas. It requires forest restoration and logging of 100,000 acres over 15 years.

It is important in Montana for several reasons. The first reason is, we have been attacked by beetles, the bark beetles that have killed a large percentage of our forests, and we need to give the Forest Service the tools they need to be able to treat that.

The second thing is that in the western part of Montana the economy has been hurt pretty badly. The unemployment rate there is the highest in our State. This bill will create jobs. Let me give you an example.

Over the last year, in Montana, 1,700 jobs were lost in the wood products industry alone. This bill would help get those folks back to work. How? Well, it would help the folks running the chain saws, doing the cutting in the woods, the mills that create dimension lumber and plywood, and those kinds of things, get back up running and employing people.

It would help provide the opportunity for biofuels with these trees, to be able to get a dependable supply, to be able to put the investment in to create biofuels, and move that industry along, to make this country more energy independent.

It would help save our timber infrastructure because, quite frankly, if you look at some of the States in the West, that timber infrastructure is gone, and our ability to manage those forests leaves us when that timber structure goes. That is not the case in Montana, but we are getting very close. It is why this bill needs to be passed. Unfortunately, it does not look as though it is going to happen at this point in time.

The other part about this bill--as I said, while there were so many projects in the omnibus, the CBO says this bill is deficit neutral, with no cost to the taxpayers. It is a bipartisan bill. It is a bill we have support for from both sides of the aisle, with Governors and Senators and Congressmen and local county commissioners, from both parties.

It is a bill that the Forest Service, through Secretary Vilsack, supports. It is popular with over 70 percent of Montanans.

As I said earlier, we are in dire need of it because our forest is dying, with

over 1 million acres of dead and dying trees. This bill has been the subject of intense public debate for the past year and a half since I dropped it in. We had a Senate hearing a year ago, a year ago yesterday, I believe it was. We have had townhall meetings, 11 in total, across Montana. We have had unprecedented transparency with this bill, with it being online and explaining and taking input and changing the bill as it has moved forward, making it a better bill. We have taken suggestions from the public, and where we have been able to address those concerns, we have been able to address them straight-up and move forward. It really is a new way of doing business for the Forest Service, for our forested lands, our government-owned forested lands in this country.

It has not been an easy go. This bill would not have happened 10 years ago. It absolutely would not have happened 20 years ago because for the last 30 years we have had gridlock in our forest industry. We have had conservationists and environmentalists and loggers and mill owners and recreationists all fighting with one another, and nothing has gotten done in the last 30 years.

Well, about 5 years ago these folks got together and they said: You know, we have all been losing. Nobody has been winning. We should set our differences aside--and this body should listen to this--set our differences aside, find a common ground, and move forward with solutions. They did exactly that. It was not easy, but they did exactly that--where everybody gives a little but gets a lot. They sat down at those tables and they met, and they met for years, and they came up with this proposal.

Shortly after I was elected, they came to me and said: Would you carry it?

I looked at it, and I said: You know what, this bill makes sense. It makes sense for Montana. It makes sense for the West.

We were on track to get this bill passed until the omnibus was pulled the other night because of a lack of support. Our No. 1 responsibility right now is jobs--jobs, jobs, jobs. This bill helped create jobs, helped put people to work in an industry that needs help.

Regardless of what happens from here, it is going to be critically important that we stay focused on jobs in this body. I will tell my colleagues that I think if we do that and we are successful in that, this country will be a better place. It will be a better place for our kids and our grandkids, and it will be a better place for people right now. Quite frankly, I haven't seen a lot of that working together in the last 4 years. When we have a piece of legislation that really isn't a Democratic piece of legislation or a Republican piece of legislation but, rather, a good piece of legislation, it gets caught up in the process.

I will continue to fight for jobs for everybody in this country, particularly in Montana. We will continue to work to get this bill passed and bills like this passed because it is good for the country and it gives the agencies--in this case, the Forest Service--the kinds of tools they need to manage our forests.

As I said before, I was going to ask unanimous consent for the passage of this bill. I have been informed that will be objected to, so there is no reason to go through that formality. But I will say we hope to bring it up again, and hopefully next time we will be successful because it is a good bill.

With that, I yield the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I appreciate the remarks of the good Senator from Idaho. I understand the Senator's concern as we have talked about the Mount Jefferson issue before. Overall in the bill, just for the record, we have added 370,000 acres of recreation area for exactly that--snowmobiles. That doesn't solve the problem on Mount Jefferson of the 4,400 acres, but we will continue to work with the Senator from Idaho and move forward to try to get something as close to what meets the needs of everybody as we can. As Vince Lombardi once said, the recipe for failure is trying to please everybody.

I thank the good Senator from Idaho.

One of the most important pieces of this puzzle is getting measures in place to achieve permanent, sustainable protections. Without that, Montanans will never be certain that we are not just an election away from a change in the conservation status of these lands north of the U.S. border. But, we are on the verge of a breakthrough, and I know that the committee is very supportive of these efforts.

To that end, we would like to confirm that if an international agreement is reached that includes measures to achieve permanent, sustainable protections for the North Fork of the Flathead River and the adjacent area of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park then the Secretary may use funds available to the National Park Service from the recreation enhancement fee program, to implement conservation measures, to include wildlife management and habitat restoration, where such activities have a direct benefit to Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park consistent with park purposes.

I thank the Senator. The North Fork of the Flathead is a true gem of Montana, and this clarification will help us cooperate with Canada to build upon the historic agreement between British Columbia and Montana, and establish permanent protections.

I thank Senator Wicker for his remarks, and I rise to share a few words also about the debt and about the bipartisan tax cut compromise we will vote on this evening. Before I get into these remarks, I wish to thank Senators Warner and Chambliss for their good work in putting together a group of Senators to help address this issue in a bipartisan way.

As far as the compromise tonight, I look forward to voting for this compromise. It is a matter of creating jobs and rebuilding the economy. I think the bill does that. Is it a compromise plan I would have written? No. But it does cut taxes for the folks who need tax relief the most--middle-class families, small businesses, family farmers and ranchers. They are the real job creators in this country, and aiming tax relief at them required compromise and working together, and it happened. It is a victory for all Montanans and especially all Americans.

I wish to point out another example of working together. Over the past few days, a number of my colleagues--Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, 22 in all--teamed up to put forth

the resolution we hope will be a part of this package we will vote on tonight. This resolution puts all of us on record expressing our deep concerns about the unsustainable path of this country's debt and showing our commitment to working together to dig ourselves out of the ditch we are in. To do that, any plan will have to have tax reform, spending cuts, and deficit reduction. It is not going to be an easy process. In order to have a serious debate about cutting our debt, we are going to need to make some tough decisions and not just pay lipservice or play political games.

Much like the report of the President's Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, there are a lot of things Members of this group and of this body are not going to like in any potential plan. But what is important here is that all of these Members are serious about putting this country on a sustainable path and are committed to devising and voting on a plan to do that within the next 12 months. It is that important an issue.

This is, hands down, the most important issue this Senate will deal with over the next few years--putting our Nation's economy on a sustainable path to control this country's debt and to offer opportunity for the future. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue, as I know they share my same commitment to getting something done.

The truth is, we are not going to be able to get anywhere unless we trust one another. This process isn't going to be pleasant for anyone, but we can be successful if we have a bipartisan effort. This bipartisan resolution is more than just lipservice; it is a plan to move forward together.

I yield the floor to my friend, the Senator from Nebraska, Mr. Johanns.

Mr. President, unfortunately, I was not able to be present to cast an important vote this evening due to a delayed flight. The vote was for cloture on the substitute food safety bill, which includes my amendment. After widespread foodborne illnesses have sickened millions of Americans throughout the country, including in Montana, this bill will help restore Americans' confidence in our food supply. With my amendment, it will also recognize that family-scale producers that have immediate relationships with their customers at a local level have not been at the root of our food safety problems, so they should not and cannot bear the same regulatory burden.

Had I been present, on vote No. 252, cloture on substitute amendment No. 4175 to S. 510, Food Safety Modernization Act, 60 vote threshold, I would have voted in the affirmative.

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

Madam President, I wish to make a brief statement about the food safety bill. I very much appreciate the opportunity now that this important legislation is shaping up to be a much better bill with the inclusion of my amendment for family-scale producers. It protects the jobs of family farmers and ranchers and processors. It is time to get this bill passed and strengthen food safety for all Americans.

There is little disagreement that the necessity of this bill is real. If you take a look at the impacts of recent E. coli outbreaks, of salmonella and those kinds of foodborne diseases out there, it is absolutely critical we get this bill passed. I had some concerns with this bill as it was originally introduced, on its impacts to family- sized growers and processors. The fact of the matter is, these are folks who help build this country, and undue regulation on them--and I do believe it would be undue regulation--would simply stop a movement in this country that has gone on since this country's inception, but more recently we have gone back to it with locally produced foods.

It is critically important my amendment be part of this bill. I appreciate everybody who worked to make that happen. Here is why. We deal with consolidation in our energy sector, we deal with consolidation in our banking sector--we have done it since I have gotten here, and before. We have consolidation in our food industry too. The fact is, we need to not encourage that consolidation. If we can get more locally grown food, if we get producers who connect up with consumers eyeball to eyeball, that is a positive thing. I don't want to diminish their ability to do that. My amendment protects the ability for farmers markets to flourish and provide food for people locally, without shipping it halfway around the world and back again. Yet this bill also puts regulations on the industrialized folks because, frankly, with the size of their operations and because they are highly mechanized, when a mistake is made it can affect hundreds of thousands of people in 10, 20, 30 States. So this bill is a win-win for consumers, both locally and consumers who deal with the more highly industrialized food suppliers.

People have asked me why do you think the small guys can even be regulated by the local and State regulators in this country? First of all, they are small and there is a pride of ownership there that is real. They raise food, they don't raise a commodity, as happens when operations get bigger and bigger. There is a direct customer relationship with that processor or that farmer that means a lot. If a mistake is made--which rarely happens--it doesn't impact hundreds of thousands of people. We know exactly where the problem was and we know exactly how to fix it. So the traceability of the outbreaks is immediate and is taken care of without impacting 20 or 30 States and hundreds of thousands of people.

As we move forward with this bill, I think it is incredibly important that we do things as we did in the last farm bill--move forward with locally grown food, move forward with that farmers market model that helps people get to know the people who produce and process their food. We don't want to throw undue paperwork on those folks. They don't have the ability to do it. It takes them out of the field to do that, and honestly, as they move forward, the consumer and the connection with that consumer makes it so that local entities can do that regulation much better than we can, anyway.

We have been over a pretty long road here over the last many months. I very much appreciate the work Representative Dingell has done, in the House, on this bill. I very much appreciate the work that was done on my amendment over here. Kay Hagan in particular, a great Senator from North Carolina, worked closely with me on this amendment and her input was incredibly valuable. I also thank Senator Merkley and the work he did on the amendment. I thank the consumers groups out there that I think found a commonsense solution to this issue, and many of the organizations we worked with over the last many months to make sure this bill meets the needs of the people, to make sure we do address the issue of foodborne illnesses and safe food but yet allows the little guys to grow, employ people, and allow that economy to get bigger and better as time goes on.

This is an important bill we need to get done. It makes sense for this country and it makes sense for people in agriculture.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the Wall Street reform conference report. The Senate will make history when we pass this legislation that finally holds Wall Street accountable and finally cleans up the schemes and abuses that nearly brought our entire economy to its knees. Most importantly, this bill ends once and for all taxpayer-funded bailouts of Wall Street banks and investment firms. It finally gets rid of any notion that any private company can somehow be ``too big to fail.''

I never bought that argument. In fact, I was the only Democrat in the Senate to vote against both the bailout of Wall Street and the auto industry. I do not believe in bailouts. But I do believe in making sure folks are playing by the same rules.

Our economy went belly up a year and a half ago because there were no referees on the field. With this bill, that is about to change. Big banks will be required to pay for their own liquidation should they fail, and taxpayers will never again be a part of that equation.

The bill also streamlines the regulation of Wall Street, providing the referees the tools they need to get the job done fairly and effectively.

It also ensures that everyone will now be playing by the same rules, and that unregulated entities offering financial products have to live up to the same standards as the community banks and credit unions that serve States such as Montana.

The bill has tough new rules to prevent the spread of risky and dangerous products such as subprime mortgages that torpedoed our Nation's entire financial industry.

My focus over the last several months has been to make sure this bill is right for Montana and right for rural America. After some hard work, I think we did just that. This Wall Street reform bill is good for Montana's community banks, and it benefits small businesses.

Even in this era of bitter partisanship, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment I offered to make sure banks only pay their fair share for Federal deposit insurance. Right now, smaller community banks are paying for 30 percent of this insurance, even though they account for only 20 percent of all bank assets. That does not make sense, and this bill fixes that problem.

This conference report also includes a provision I drafted requiring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to consider the impact of all rules on community banks and credit unions and the rural customers they serve before any of those rules are made.

The legislation ensures that community banks will not be punished for the bad behavior of the mortgage brokers who offer risky mortgages. Those banks will be able to maintain the community-based regulators they currently have, and in the case of State chartered banks, the same lending limits they currently have.

Additionally, this bill ensures that community banks will be able to continue to provide the same mortgage products--including those specific to farmers and rural Americans--to their customers.

For small businesses, this legislation makes it easier for investors to help get new small businesses up and running while protecting investors from schemers. It exempts small public companies from costly additional compliance and regulation under Sarbanes-Oxley.

This bill is a win for Main Street. It holds Wall Street accountable and preserves the critical role community banks have in strengthening communities, creating jobs, and building small businesses. That is important because Montana families rely on their community banks to finance and grow their businesses and farms, help pay their bills, and put their kids through school.

This is a strong bill. It ends taxpayer-funded bailouts. It begins a new era of strong commonsense regulation to put the sideboards on our fast-moving financial industry, without taking away the fundamental tools it needs for healthy competition and growth, which strengthens this economy.

Let me be clear. Our work on this legislation does not end today. I will continue to remain vigilant to ensure this legislation is implemented and enforced in the way it was intended. We simply cannot afford to do nothing and let our financial industry go by the wayside ever again.

With that, I thank you, Mr. President.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for 5 minutes.

Madam President, I have a short speech to give today about a giant of a man. I rise today out of deep respect for our colleague, Senator Robert C. Byrd. Sharla and I extend our condolences to the Byrd family and to all the people of West Virginia. We join you in mourning but also in a celebration of his life and his successes as a public servant.

Senator Byrd liked to call me ``the Mountain Man,'' and when somebody from the Mountain State calls you that, it is an incredible compliment.

Senator Byrd and I had a few things in common: We were both from very small towns, we both married our high school sweethearts, and we both made a living at one time as meat cutters. He must have had an eye for the butchering business because he liked to guess my weight. And wouldn't you know, he always came within 3 pounds. You could say Senator Byrd convinced me to spend a little more time in the gym.

Senator Byrd was elected to Congress 4 years before I was even born, and he always shared his wisdom with those of us who admired it. I am honored to call Senator Byrd a respected teacher and a trusted friend.

I was Presiding Officer on the day the farm bill came before the Senate. Instead of signing the farm bill himself, Senator Byrd let me sign the bill. Although it went unspoken, I know it was because he saw me as the farmer in the Senate. It was truly an honor for me to be able to do that.

Another thing Senator Byrd and I had in common was our upbringing in rural America. He was always proud to fight for folks making a living off the land and in the mountains and in the woods. He was a powerful advocate, and he represented West Virginia with tireless passion. He valued hard work and common sense. Those values are a matter of survival in America. They are values you take with you as you go to Congress, and Senator Byrd showed us that.

Madam President, we will miss Senator Byrd very much. His work over the decades on the Hill has made the entire country a better place for us and for our kids and grandkids.

Before I came to Capitol Hill 3\1/2\ years ago, many folks came up to me and said: You are going to have an experience of a lifetime. You will meet some incredible people.

And I will tell you that one of the most incredible men I have met since I have been here was Senator Byrd.

We miss you.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the time during the quorum call be equally divided.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.