Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I recognize Eileen Corkery, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Eileen is a rising junior at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. Currently, she is majoring in finance with a concentration in accounting. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Eileen for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Stefan Diaz, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Stefan Diaz is a rising sophomore at Florida International University in Miami, FL. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Stefan for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Jacob Drucker, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my

staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Jacob is a rising sophomore at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Currently, he is studying economics and statistics. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Jacob for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Jose Gaudet, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Jose is a graduate of the Citadel and in 2010 enrolled in the Institute of World Politics, IWP, in Washington, DC, to receive a master's in international relations with a focus on the Middle East and South Asia. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Jose for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Krystofer Henry, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Krystofer is a rising sophomore at Brevard Community College in Florida. Currently, he is pursuing a degree in business administration with a minor in leadership. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Krystofer for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Stephanie Mendy, a 2012 legal extern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Stephanie is a graduate of Florida International University in Miami, FL. Currently, Stephanie is in her third year of law school at American University in Washington, DC. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Stephanie for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Alex Miehls, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Alex is a graduate of University of Canton in Canton, OH. Alex also served Ohio as the vice chairman of the Ohio College Republican Federation. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Alex for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Colin Milon, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Colin is a rising junior at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. Currently, he is majoring in political science and minoring in history. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Colin for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Audrey Paranka, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Audrey is a rising junior at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Currently, Audrey is majoring in politics. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Audrey for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Tatiana Pino, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Tatiana is a rising junior at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. Currently, she is majoring in international affairs and minoring in economics and psychology. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Tatiana for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Michelle Staton, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the people of the State of Florida.

Michelle is a senior at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL. Currently, she studies political science and international relations. She is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Michelle for all the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, today I recognize Michael Vazquez, a 2012 intern in my Washington, DC, office for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff and the people of the State of Florida.

Michael is a rising junior at Villanova University in Villanova, PA. Currently, he is a philosophy and humanities double major, enrolled in the Honors College. He is a dedicated and diligent worker who has been devoted to getting the most out of his internship experience.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Michael for all the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. President, as Senator Pryor points out, the clear intent of Congress in adopting the Limited Service Exclusion section of SAFETEA-LU was to ensure cost-conscious, budget-driven consumers will continue to have the option to choose low-cost moving services for their goods. Although I was not a member of Congress when SAFETEA-LU was passed, you can plainly see that Congress made it clear in another section of SAFETEA-LU that it was codifying and preserving decades of law developed and perpetuated at the FMCSA, its predecessor the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the courts that authorize general commodity motor carriers lacking household goods authority to transport household goods as long as they do not perform specialized household goods related services such as loading and unloading. Here is what Congress added to SAFETEA-LU, now codified at 49 U.S.C. Sec. 13102(12)(B):

The term [``household goods motor carrier''] includes any

person that is considered to be a household goods motor

carrier under regulations, determinations, and decisions of

the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that are in

effect on the date of enactment of the Household Goods Mover

Oversight Enforcement and Reform Act of 2005.

The definition of ``household goods motor carrier'' that Congress sought to preserve and perpetuate focuses on the nature of the services performed, not on the commodity itself. If the motor carrier provides specialized household goods related services--packing, loading, unloading, etc.--for the consumer, the carrier must be deemed a ``household goods motor carrier'' with respect to the goods it transports under a long line of court, FMCSA and ICC decisions and implementing regulations. Conversely, if the carrier (or its agent) does not perform those specialized services in conjunction with those household goods, it may transport them without being registered and regulated as a ``household goods carrier.'' This emphasis on the nature of the carrier services performed and not the nature of the commodity itself is also at the very heart of and reflected in the appropriately named ``Limited Service Exclusion.'' The interpretation that the traditional movers advocate would overturn, not preserve, agency precedent and arrive at a definition of ``household goods motor carrier'' that unlawfully contravenes the service-based exclusion codified in 49 U.S.C. Sec. 13102(12)(c).

Mr. President, as Senator Pryor has articulated, the FMCSA should not suppress competition in the moving industry, and my fear is that this would happen if the

agency eliminates an important moving option for do-it-yourself consumers. This would economically hurt the principal users of portable storage companies, namely the middle class, military, students and other price conscious consumers. For these reasons and the others mentioned by my colleague, it is my sincere hope that the FMCSA preserves the rights of consumers, as intended by Congress, to ready and unfettered access to lower cost options with respect to moving their household goods.

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

We are in morning business; is that correct?

Mr. President, before I begin today, I know there are millions of people around the world and in this country who are mourning the loss of a singer by the name of Jenni Rivera, who was a huge star, particularly in Latin America but also in the United States. She died yesterday evening in a plane crash in northern Mexico.

Jenni was a real American success story. She was born in California to immigrants from Mexico. She started working at her father's small record label in Long Beach, CA, and she recorded from there. She made a number of top hits that made all the charts around the world. She was recently in Florida to receive a Billboard Music Award and performed at the Billboard Music Awards. We saw that on TV. My mom was a huge fan of hers--and also kind of the equivalent of ``The Voice'' in Mexico on the Telemundo network. She passed away last night.

Her calling card was she was a singer in a genre of music that is largely dominated by males. Yet she brought a powerful voice to that genre where she sang frankly about her struggles to give her children a better life in this country. Her death at a young age is a real tragedy. I know there are millions of people across the country and around the world mourning her loss today. She is survived by her five children and two grandchildren.

Our prayers go out for her that God may grant her family the peace to deal with this difficult circumstance.