Floor Statements

I am happy to respond to my friend, Majority Leader Reid.

These tax provisions certainly are important to millions of American families and businesses, and I would expect that Congress would act on these sooner rather than later. The uncertainty that follows when we allow these to expire and don't allow families, small businesses, and job creators generally to properly plan is unacceptable and damaging to our economy.

That said, there are a number of members of my conference who have serious questions about some of the provisions that were voted on today. For a number of years Congress has reflexively extended all of these measures without any meaningful review or oversight. I know that the Republican members of the Finance Committee would gladly join in a bipartisan effort to conduct a much needed critical review of these measures and recommend to the Senate which should be dropped, which need modification and which are worthy of support as currently constructed. The repeated expiration and renewal of these various targeted tax credits and the fact our corporate tax rate will soon be the highest among our major trading partners underscores the need for Congress to take on corporate tax reform at the earliest possible date.

So while I join the majority leader in welcoming the opportunity to work together to find a path forward, I would hope that both bodies of Congress would have the opportunity to look carefully at what is in this package and see if we can't come to an agreement on what is best for the country.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to someone

who has given so much back to the great Commonwealth of Kentucky-- someone who has taken it upon himself to make an investment in the betterment of his community, county, and State for generations to come. I am speaking of Mr. Jim Booth of Inez, KY.

Mr. Booth has kept the town of Inez, located in Martin County, close to his heart his entire life. In this town he graduated from high school, met his wife, Linda, and paid his way through Morehead State University by working part-time in the region's coal mines. So many milestones in Jim Booth's life have taken place in this eastern Kentucky town, it is no surprise that he is so devoted to giving something back to the place that's given him and his family so much.

Jim Booth combined a business administration degree, love for his community and its residents, and hard work to stimulate the local economy across the board. It has been said that there isn't a single growth project in Martin County that doesn't have Jim and Linda Booth's fingerprints all over it. The couple manages a coal company, a Ford dealership, real-estate agencies, convenience stores, hotels, insurance agencies, and a building supply store.

With so many successful projects in so many industries, it may seem that Jim Booth has a lot to brag about. But Jim is a man of modesty and humility. He makes it a point not to boast about his own accomplishments, but the accomplishments others have made from the little push that he gave them. Jim has helped to bring over 2,000 jobs to the area, and he is grateful for the exceptional employees that he has been so blessed with.

Booth's story is one of success in the free market, and a testimony to what can happen when a small business is given room to take root and grow. Mr. Booth bought his first coal mine when he was just 25 years old. At the time, the tax rate was 70 percent, and he remembers having to borrow against his own income for the next year just to pay the business's taxes. ``Then, when Reagan became President and taxes went down--BOOM. We're the best story you'll find for how success comes from tax relief,'' says Jim.

Over the next few years, the business experienced tremendous growth and success. Jim went on to start a building supply company, and from this he put into effect his most important piece of business advice--be your own best customer. Mr. Booth made the necessary purchases from the building supply store to assist in building numerous hotels, convenience stores, and other various buildings and business over the years.

Mr. Booth has a vision of renovating and remodeling virtually the entire city of Inez's local infrastructure at some time or another. He is almost halfway through this process, as he has already made headway providing new facilities for the Martin County Board of Education and the Martin County Economic Development Board, of which he is the chairman.

The most prized accomplishment of Mr. Booth is the Roy F. Collier Community Center, named in honor of Jim's late friend and business partner who passed away in 2005. The facility houses a movie theater, indoor track, fitness center, arcade, and large meeting rooms available for reservation. The versatile community center provides entertainment to over 200,000 residents of Kentucky from across the state annually.

Along with all of these major improvements to his local community, Jim has also sponsored a local basketball tournament, provided the chance for anyone who is interested to become a certified coal miner, and headed up a campaign that helps combat youth obesity called ``Martin County on the Move'' with United States Representative Hal Rogers. While it may seem like Jim has a lot to celebrate, he stays focused on what all of his hard work is really about.

``This is home, Linda and I decided to stay here; build here and improve our community for the next generation,'' Jim says. Jim is determined to providing as much inspiration and as many opportunities as he can to those individuals who share with him the same ``home'' of Martin County, KY.

Mr. President, at this time I would like to ask my Senate colleagues to join me in commemorating the accomplishments of this treasured citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

In 2011, an article was included in a publication released by the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that featured the many accomplishments that Jim Booth has been able to generate throughout his life thus far. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record that article.

Mr. President, later today the Senate is likely to finish the highway bill, and once we do--I listened carefully to the majority leader's remarks--once we finish the highway bill, we ought to immediately turn to the bipartisan jobs bill that passed the House last Thursday. The vote was 390 to 23. Let me say that again. The vote in the House was 390 to 23. The President also indicated that he would sign the House bill. So it strikes me that with the jobs emergency we have in this country with 8.3 percent unemployment--many more millions of Americans having given up trying to get in the workforce--the thing to do is to pocket this broad bipartisan bill and try to create jobs immediately.

I heard my friend the majority leader indicate that he wants to have a different version of it, to kind of recraft it. All that will do is slow down the process and make it more difficult to get this important jobs legislation to the President's desk rapidly. So I hope the majority leader will reconsider whether we need to kind of reinvent the wheel here. This is already a broadly supported bipartisan bill that the President has said he will sign as soon as we send it to him. I don't know why in the Senate we would want to make something that ought to be pretty simple extraordinarily complicated.

The Democratic-controlled Senate turns to something contentious instead of doing something that almost all of us agree on--certainly in the House--and the President agrees on that would focus on jobs and actually do some good. The American people think we have spent a lot of time spinning our wheels around here. Rather than trying to sort of manufacture gridlock and create the illusion of conflict where none should exist, why don't we demonstrate that we can actually get something done together? In a moment when millions of Americans are looking for work and millions more are

struggling with the high price of gas, we have the opportunity to really do something together right now. As soon as we finish this highway bill, we can take up this jobs bill and send a small but important signal to job creators and innovators that we want to help make it easier for them to hire.

Later today we will have another chance to move forward on the Keystone Pipeline. Despite the President's continued stubborn opposition to it, we will have another vote offered by Senator Pat Roberts.

The House-passed jobs bill isn't just important for what it does but for what it also represents. It is a rare and welcomed signal that lawmakers in Washington still value the risk-takers and the entrepreneurs who have always been so vital to our Nation's greatness. After 3 years of policies that undermine free enterprise through the picking of winners and losers, this legislation sends an entirely different signal. It is a welcome step back in the right direction.

By clearing away redtape, it should encourage the kind of entrepreneurship that not only leads to new pockets of industry and the jobs that come with them but which also helps people fulfill their dreams--and without adding to the deficit. This bill doesn't add anything to the Federal deficit.

This is precisely what we should be doing right here in Washington. It is the message we should send. We don't need fewer Apples or Microsofts or Facebooks; we need more of them. We need them for the value they add to our lives, the edge they give us in the world economy, the jobs they provide to hundreds of thousands of American workers, and for the satisfaction they bring to those who help turn them from an idea into a reality.

So let's send this important signal that we still believe in opportunity, we still believe in innovation, and that when a common good is in sight--when we can see a common good right before us--we can still work together to actually achieve it.

This is so crucial that I want to renew what my colleague Jon Kyl did last night, which is to offer a unanimous consent request--I have told the majority leader I am going to do this--to turn to this important piece of bipartisan legislation, passed overwhelmingly in the House and supported by the President of the United States, immediately after we finish the highway bill.

Let me say again, there is no purpose served by manufacturing controversy here in the Senate--manufacturing controversy when none should exist. We have an important piece of jobs legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House, supported by the President. The highway bill will clear here later this afternoon or tomorrow. I think most Senators would rather be working on that which the American people believe would actually help create jobs than to see the Senate embroiled in another controversy which I fear my good friend the majority leader is seeking to precipitate as soon as the highway bill is concluded.

Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 3606

I ask unanimous consent, notwithstanding any other rule of the Senate, that immediately following the disposition of the pending transportation bill, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 3606, a bill received from the House, which would increase American job creation and economic growth by improving access to public capital markets for emerging growth companies; I further ask unanimous consent that the bill remain the pending business to the exclusion of all other business until disposed of.

Mr. President, not to continue the debate interminably, but it is a question of priorities. We can agree that we ought to pass this jobs bill. Certainly if it were called up, it would be open for amendment and the majority leader could offer the Ex-Im Bank amendment if he chose, and other Senators could as well. But it is a question of priorities: Do we want to have a big fight in the Senate over procedure--and we have had some procedural differences which I will address not right now but later--relating to the confirmation of judges, which is the responsibility of the Senate under the Constitution of the United States, or do we want to turn immediately to a jobs bill that we overwhelmingly agree to, as the majority leader has conceded in his remarks?

It is a question of priorities. Do we want to have the Senate in a big fight over procedure after we finish the highway bill or do we want to turn to an overwhelmingly bipartisan jobs bill supported by the President and passed by the House? It is a question of priorities. What do we want to do next for the American people?

Mr. President, I think that colloquy underscores my point. My friends on the other side are concerned that the jobs of 17 individuals may be delayed for a few months. I doubt if any of them is unemployed at the moment. It is highly unlikely that any of these individuals will not be confirmed in an orderly process as we have been engaged in this year.

The issue is a question of priorities. What is more important, getting these 17 individuals into a job a little bit quicker than the majority has experienced so far or turning to a measure overwhelmingly supported by Republicans and Democrats in the House and supported by the President of the United States and that might create, in the very near future, hundreds of thousands of jobs? So it is a question of priorities. That is why I say this is a manufactured dispute.

I will have much more to say, in great detail, about the judges issue. But for the moment, the point is this, quite simply: What are our priorities? Do we want to pass an overwhelmingly bipartisan jobs bill the President supports as soon as possible--certainly open for any amendment the majority leader might seek to offer--or do we want to create a controversy over judges who are almost never denied confirmation when we have been confirming judges all along?

I don't know that there is much point to continuing this discussion any longer this morning. I will have a lot more to say about how we ended up in a situation where the majority leader is seeking to manufacture a crisis that shouldn't--a conflict or a crisis that doesn't exist.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I am sorry.

We have been discussing--this is not the best time for the debate on the judges, but the point is this: We have been processing judges. It is highly unlikely any of these district judges are not going to be confirmed. We have done a number of them this year. We have done seven this year. District judges are almost never defeated.

This is a very transparent attempt to try to slam-dunk the minority and make them look as though they are obstructing things they aren't obstructing. We object to that. We don't think that meets the standard of civility that should be expected in the Senate. So any effort to make the minority look bad or to slam-dunk them that is sort of manufactured, as this is, is going to, of course, be greeted with resistance. It could be that that is precisely what my friend the majority leader has in mind, to try to make the Senate look as though it is embroiled in controversy where no controversy exists.

So my suggestion is why don't we do first things first. First things first. And it strikes me that an overwhelming bipartisan jobs bill clearing the House would be something the American people would applaud. It is supported by the President. Why don't we take that up? The majority leader or any of us can offer any amendments we think are appropriate and move it toward passage, because that is the kind of thing people expect of us.

Madam President, I come to the floor again today to resume a conversation with my colleagues about the incredible wave of destructive storms and tornadoes that ripped through my home State of Kentucky, along with several other States in the Midwest, on Friday March 2.

As I have already stated on this floor, these were very severe tornadoes, with at least 11 funnel clouds confirmed to have touched down in the Bluegrass State by the National Weather Service, blowing at wind speeds up to 125 miles per hour.

We now know that these deadly storms claimed 23 lives in Kentucky, and more than 300 were injured. We have heard stories like that of Stephanie Decker, currently in stable condition at the University Hospital of Louisville, who raced home during the storm just in time to hurry her 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter into the basement of their three-story, brick-and-stone house.

She covered their tiny bodies with her own as the tornado crashed the house down on top of them. Stephanie has lost one leg above the knee and the other above the ankle, but her children survived without a scratch.

The weekend immediately after the storms I visited the part of Kentucky that was arguably hardest hit by them, the town of West Liberty. The town is home to just 3,400 people--and all 3,400 lives have been thrown into chaos, as virtually the entire population had to be evacuated.

Churches, homes, schools, and businesses are reduced to rubble. The town courthouse and city hall are both in ruins. Basically, this once- thriving,

happy little community is now barely there.

Scenes from West Liberty are replicated across the State in places like Magoffin, Menifee, Kenton, Morgan, Laurel, Lawrence, Martin, Pulaski, Johnson, and Trimble counties, which are among the hardest hit.

And too many Kentucky families are mourning what was taken from them by the storms that can never be replaced.

In Lawrence County, Joyce Chaffins, 65, and her granddaughter, 14- year-old Samantha Wood, died when a tornado struck their home. Samantha was a ninth-grader at Lawrence County High School, where she played in the band and was a member of the National Junior Honor Society.

The storm has also claimed James Gregory Brooks, 48, Donald L. Beemon, 78, and Linda Beemon, 73, of Kenton County.

In Johnson County, in Middle Fork, a tornado ripped the home of Gregory Perry, 20, right off its foundation and carried it over a 25- foot embankment into rushing creek rapids, where, according to the county coroner, the house ``just disintegrated.''

Gregory was killed, along with Sean Shepherd, a 16-year-old boy from Prestonsburg who had the misfortune of visiting Gregory at the time.

More lives taken by this destructive force of nature include Sherman DeWayne Allen, 49, Debbie Allen, 49; Wilburn Pitman, 81, Virginia Pitman, 73, and Ethel Pruitt, 64, all of Laurel County.

In Morgan County, husband and wife Charles and Betty Sue Endicott, both in their early 50s, were caring for Charles's mother, Elizabeth Endicott, 72, after her recovery from a stroke.

A tornado struck their trailer home, killing all three of them. Charles's sister, Marita Moore, surveyed the scene of destruction and said this: ``There's not even a memory left down there.''

More Kentucky families who do not deserve such a painful loss include the families of Beverly Bowman, 47, Anita Smith, 53, and Vershal Brown, 79, all of Menifee County; and Alex Clayton Dulin, 86, Emma Dean Cecil, 87, and Wilmer Cecil, 90, all of Morgan County.

In Pulaski County, 74-year-old Helen Placke was found dead in her home. She had sought shelter from the storms inside a closet--but to no avail.

In Kenton County, in the town of Falmouth, Courtney Stephenson died when her car was suddenly lifted and catapulted across six lanes of traffic on I 75. She was 42 years old.

It is sobering and humbling, to think about the many wondrous technologies and abilities we have in this great country--from the medical advances that can place tiny tools into the smallest human capillaries, to our scientific discoveries that enable us to send cameras to the outermost edges of the solar system and actually take pictures of other planets and send them back to Earth.

And yet human life is still so fragile when confronted with the powerful forces of the natural world.

I would be remiss, if I did not conclude my remarks with a note of gratitude--and that is gratitude for the many brave and heroic first responders and other Kentuckians who have rushed to the aid of those hardest hit by these storms.

Over the last week, my office has been contacted by people throughout the country asking how they can help. We have pointed them to various places in the Commonwealth where the people on the ground have coordinated incredible assistance to those in need.

Volunteers from the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association, the United Way, and the business community have come together to provide food, blood, resources, and shelter to those in need. Many churches and civic organizations have taken up collection drives.

And many Kentuckians of good heart, without any prodding, have on their own simply loaded up their cars with bottled water, food, and whatever else they can spare and driven to scenes of tornado wreckage to ask, ``How can I help?''

Government has a key role to play as well. FEMA is on the case. And my friend Senator Paul and I have sent a letter to the President urging him to approve Governor Steve Beshear's request for federal assistance.

The Kentucky State Police have played a vital role in collecting water, food, clothing, and other resources, and distributing them to the communities that need them.

And as always, the Kentucky National Guard is in the foreground of disaster relief. More than 220 members of the Kentucky National Guard and Air Guard were mobilized and deployed to 10 counties after Governor Steve Beshear declared a statewide emergency.

Even in the face of such tragedy, the burden on our hearts is eased by the good will and good works of so many Kentuckians willing to serve and come to the aid of their neighbors. It makes me proud to represent the people of Kentucky in this United States Senate.

Madam President, today I wish to pay tribute to a man who spent his life working to strengthen his local community and helping the citizens who reside there along the way. Mr. Jimmy Lee Vance of Corbin, KY, encompassed every aspect of a tried and true entrepreneur, and he had the special quality of a generous heart.

Mr. Vance was a religious man who cherished the words of the ``red letters'' in the Bible, words spoken by Jesus Christ. Those who knew him believe he exemplified the attributes that those letters described, and that it was a creed of love, forgiveness, and grace by which he lived. Sadly, Jimmy Lee Vance left this world on December 20, 2011, due to complications from cancer. He was 70 years old.

Originally from Hart County, KY, Mr. Vance held an array of jobs before settling down in Corbin permanently. He served his country in the U.S. Navy, and later received a degree in accounting from Western Kentucky University on the GI bill. Jimmy took a job with the Internal Revenue Service's office in Louisville, KY, and then purchased a Corbin CPA firm, which he spent the next few years building up before eventually selling it to Ms. Mary Lynn Long. Next, Jimmy set his sights on the areas of real estate and business management, and in these fields he would make his greatest contribution to the Commonwealth.

Jimmy honed in on the area surrounding Interstate 75 near Corbin. He and his friends put a major effort into breaking new ground and building from the ground up. After years of planning and construction lead by Mr. Vance, Corbin's Exit 25 has become one of the most popular stops on I 75. The restaurants, movie theaters, shopping centers, and hotels just off of the exit bring in thousands of travelers each year, courtesy of Jimmy and his innovation and hard work.

Next came the billboards. Mr. Vance knew that in order to entice travelers to enter the city of Corbin, he had to let them know what was waiting for them. Jimmy was really the first man in the area to get into the billboard business. The billboards undeniably led to massive tourism in the area, and Jimmy knew this. It is amazing that advertising in its simplest form, along with Jimmy's innovative imagination and hard work could combine for such a home-run success for the area's economy.

Mr. Vance was instrumental in virtually every field of business in Corbin. He had help in large part from his wife Donna Barton, who was one of his best business assets. Together they owned and operated the Landmark Inn, and Donna was notorious for catering to the needs of all the Landmark Inn's guests. The couple's customer service was unmatched, and the family atmosphere they provided was an experience unlike any other to the people who would stay the night while traveling on I 75.

Along with hotels, Jimmy was responsible for bringing many different businesses to the area, which resulted in hundreds of new jobs for the residents of Corbin. But what truly stood out about Jimmy to the locals was his remarkable character. One Corbin-area leader said, ``Sometimes when Jimmy and I had lunch, someone would come up needing money for a meal or pay bills, and Jimmy without any fanfare gave them help. Those were things about Jimmy you didn't read in the papers.''

Jimmy Lee Vance was a humble servant of God, a beloved family man, and

a dear friend to many. All of us could learn a thing or two from Jimmy. His moral code and business skills were an inspiration to young entrepreneurs of all types. He lit a fire inside them, and that is what true leadership is all about. Jimmy's life may have come to an end, but his legacy will continue to live on; he inspired others to do great things.

At this time I would like to ask my colleagues in the Senate to join me in commemorating the life and times of Mr. Jimmy Lee Vance, a true American entrepreneur and philanthropist.

A news article was recently published in Corbin, Kentucky's own Times-Tribune newspaper, recognizing the achievements Mr. Vance made throughout his lifetime. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, last night the two parties reached an agreement on amendments to the highway bill. As the majority leader will indicate shortly, or may already have before I came to the floor, we will be able to move forward on that later today.

I am also happy to report there are a number of strong, very strong, job-creating measures in the mix. One that stands out is Senator Hoeven's amendment on the Keystone XL Pipeline, that massive private sector project that will create 20,000 jobs almost immediately.

Most Americans strongly support building the pipeline and, of course, the significant number of construction jobs that would come along with it. It is incomprehensible to me that the President of the United States, as I read, is actually lobbying against the Keystone Pipeline amendment. There is a report this morning that the President is personally making phone calls to Democratic Senators he thinks might vote for the amendment, asking them not to. Frankly, it is hard to comprehend how completely out of touch he is on this issue.

Think about it. At a moment when millions are out of work, gas prices are

literally skyrocketing, and the Middle East is in turmoil, we have a President who is up making phone calls trying to block a pipeline here at home. It is almost unbelievable. What we are seeing in Congress this week is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, you have a Republican- controlled House that is about to pass a bipartisan jobs bill that would help entrepreneurs and innovators by getting Washington out of the way, and today we have a Democratic-controlled Senate trying to line up votes against an amendment that would create jobs, and a Democratic President lobbying against the biggest private sector job creation project in our country.

We have an opportunity to work together to create jobs. We can do that with these amendments and we can do that by taking up the bipartisan jobs bill the House will pass later today.

Let me say a word about that. The bipartisan jobs bill the House will pass later today is supported by the President. It is ready to go. I hope that once it gets over to the Senate we will simply take it up and pass it. It is an example of a measure supported by Republicans and Democrats and the President that we believe will clear the House with a very large majority. I think the sooner we pass that here in the Senate and send it down to the President for signature, the better.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who has spent his life working to help build a better Kentucky and a better United States of America. Mr. Donald E. Girdler of Pulaski County, KY, better known as simply ``Donnie,'' recently passed away. He was 63 years old.

Mr. Girdler was passionate about politics, and he made it his life's work. He entered the political arena when he first worked on the campaign of my good friend Congressman Hal Rogers of Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District. Mr. Girdler had worked for Hal as a detective for 5 years before Hal, then a Commonwealth's attorney, decided to make a run at the U.S. House of Representatives. The political savvy and direction that Mr. Girdler would bring to the table would propel Hal Rogers to victory.

There was a definite sense of gratitude from the Congressman for his trustworthy friend, Donnie Girdler. Mr. Girdler was at home in the world of politics and made connections in Washington, DC, that included becoming personally acquainted with five different Presidents of the United States and becoming personal friends with President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush.

Donnie went on to work for over a quarter of a century for Rogers before finally retiring and returning to offer his much sought after insight in local politics. He made friends in several southeastern Kentucky counties and helped many of them get elected to public office. Mr. Girdler became a distinguished political consultant for the Commonwealth of Kentucky because of his years of experience and, most importantly, his absolute love of public service.

Donald Girdler made an everlasting contribution to the world of Kentucky politics, and his motivation and innovation paved the way for others to get involved in their own way by bringing opportunities and jobs to the Pulaski County area. Donnie loved working in politics. He loved serving the public, but he was happiest when he was at his farmhouse in Nancy, KY, and he could fix up a pot of coffee and talk politics with his friends that would drop by from time to time.

At this time I would like to ask my colleagues in the Senate to join me in commemorating Donald E. Girdler, an individual whose hard work and upstanding character, combined with his talents and passion, have forever changed the climate of politics in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

A news story highlighting the eventful life of Donnie Girdler was recently published in the Somerset, KY, area publication, the Commonwealth Journal.

I ask unanimous consent that said story be printed in the Record.

Madam President, last week I came to the Senate floor to speak out on an issue that is on the minds of a lot of Americans these days: the rising cost of gas at the pump and how the administration's policies are actually making matters worse.

The President may try to take credit for production gains that are entirely the work of others, but more to the point is the fact that production is up on private lands and down on Federal lands. The property the President and the Interior Secretary actually manage is the property upon which production is down.

In fact, when it comes to the rising cost of gas at the pump, it is my view that the administration's policies are actually designed to a purpose: to bring about higher gas prices. That is a view which should not be the least bit controversial given the fact that the President's own Energy Secretary has suggested on a couple of occasions now that his goal certainly is not to drive gas prices down.

For the President's part, he often says that Americans should judge him not only by his words but on his deeds. So when it comes to gas prices, I have pointed out that the President continues to limit offshore areas to energy production and is granting fewer leases on public land for oil drilling, has encouraged countries such as Brazil to move forward with their own offshore drilling projects, continues to impose burdensome regulations on the domestic energy sector that will further drive up the cost of gasoline for the consumer, has repeatedly proposed raising taxes on the energy sector, which we all know would only drive gas prices even higher, and, finally, has flatly rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline.

All of these help drive up the cost of gas and increase our dependence on foreign oil. So the President simply cannot claim to have a comprehensive approach to energy because he doesn't--he simply doesn't--and anytime he says he does, the American people should remember one word: Keystone. Keystone.

Another thing they might want to do is play a clip of the press conference the President held just yesterday. Asked about whether he actually wants gas prices to go up, the President's facetious attempt to deflect the question only served to confirm the premise. But it was the President's admission that rising gas prices hurt the economy that really betrayed the administration's attempt to have it both ways on this issue, because if higher gas prices hurt the economy, then why in the world is the administration calling for higher taxes on energy manufacturers? We know these taxes would drive up the price at the pump and send jobs overseas. The Congressional Research Service said that. If the President wants to drive prices down, he should stop calling for these increases in taxes.

Look, if the President wants Americans to think he is serious about lower gas prices, he has to do more than simply say--and this is what he said yesterday--``No President would want higher gas prices in an election year.'' ``No President would want higher gas prices in an election year.'' What about other years? Would they want them in other years? It is only in election years that it is a problem? He has to get serious about changing his policies, and he might want to consider an Energy Secretary who is more committed to helping the American people than in helping the administration's buddies in the solar panel business--and that brings me to a larger point.

The President likes to talk a lot about fairness. We have heard a lot about fairness, but when it comes to rising gas prices, the American people don't think it is particularly fair that at a time when they are struggling to fill the tank, their own tax dollars are being used to subsidize failing solar companies of the President's choosing, not to mention the bonuses executives at these companies keep getting. I think most Americans are tired of reading about all the goodies this administration's allies are getting on their dime even as the President goes around lecturing everybody about fairness.

I will tell you what is not fair. What is not fair is that it costs about $40 more to fill a 20-gallon tank with gasoline than it did when this President took office. That is not fair. Yet this administration continues to pursue policies that would make it even worse.

Earlier this year the White House launched a campaign in support of the payroll tax holiday, asking Americans what $40 a month would mean to them. Yet, now, when it comes to gas prices, they are doubling down on policies that are taking away that $40 a month given by the payroll tax holiday to fill the gas tank. Once again, they are trying to have it both ways, and, frankly, the American people have had it.

Madam President, I would like to pay tribute today to a friend of many decades, a Kentuckian who is a hero to many and a personal hero of mine for his work on behalf of children that has had a national impact. In his 28 years of service with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, John Rabun has saved literally thousands of lives and averted tragedy for thousands of families.

As the very first employee of the national center since its creation back in 1984, he has been the heart and the soul of that organization. His dedication and passion for the issue will continue to shape the national center long after he leaves it. Frankly, for John, saving children was not just a job, it was his mission. That is why it is such a blow that after 28 years of service, John Rabun will retire from his work at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children this Friday, March 9. I cannot say enough how much this man will be missed.

John and I have a history that stretches back almost four decades, dating to his time as a social worker in Jefferson County, KY. Of course, Jefferson County contains the city of Louisville, my hometown, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I served as the judge-executive for Jefferson County. What that is, I say to the Presiding Officer from New York, is like the county executive for the county. It was in this capacity that I got to know John Rabun.

John earned his bachelor's degree from Mercer University in Macon, GA, and his master of science in social work from the University of Louisville. As a social worker, John managed the company's group home for kids and was one of the first in town to identify

the growing crisis of child abduction and sexual exploitation. Working in those foster homes, John saw the problem firsthand and saw what local police and social services were not seeing. He saw that information between social service workers and law enforcement was not being shared as it should have been. He realized a lot more could be done.

So John, along with a friend and fellow social worker, Kerry Rice, approached Ernie Allen, who at the time was the director of the Louisville-Jefferson County Crime Commission. Ernie is now known as the director and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which he helped build alongside John. But way back then, the issue of missing and exploited children had yet to receive the national focus it deserved.

It was John who proposed to Ernie that the county create a special unit bridging the traditional barriers between social services and law enforcement to try to combat this serious problem. They came to me--as the CEO of the county--with this idea, and together we created what I believe to be the first police-social services team in the Nation dedicated to working child abduction and sexual exploitation cases. Eventually, we created Jefferson County's first exploited and missing child unit, with John as its manager. Under John's leadership, almost immediately the unit began to solve cases, rescue victims, and put some very good news on the front pages.

John became famous nationwide as a leading expert on missing and exploited child cases. In 1980, the U.S. Department of Justice asked me to send John and Ernie to Atlanta to consult on a grisly child murder case. John is now so recognized as a leader in this field that he has provided expert testimony to Congress seven times on child abduction cases and has instructed for the FBI Law Enforcement Satellite Training Network. John has provided consultation at nearly 1,000 hospitals and for over 62,000 personnel in America, Canada, and the United Kingdom on the abduction of newborns in hospitals. He is the author of the book ``For Healthcare Professionals: Guidelines on Prevention of and Response to Infant Abductions.'' Thanks in large measure to his efforts, what was once a recurring problem is now all but eliminated.

John has been recognized by the FBI as 1 of only 27 investigators nationwide with the highest expertise in the investigation of cases concerning missing and exploited children. He has appeared on television shows such as ``20/20,'' ``Primetime,'' ``Good Morning America,'' ``Larry King Live,'' and, of course, ``America's Most Wanted'' with his friend and my friend, John Walsh.

In 1984, John signed the lease for office space for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children right here in Washington. He began working as that organization's executive vice president and chief operating officer. It is a post he has held ever since. As the National Center's executive vice president and COO, John manages a staff of 350 and a budget of $42 million a year. He is the hub of the wheel for all interagency communication between the center, the Justice Department, the State Department, the Secret Service, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, as well as State governments.

When I say John Rabun has a great passion and drive on this issue that has animated his entire career, I mean it. He is absolutely dedicated to rescuing children who would otherwise fall through the cracks.

Back when he was running the Jefferson County Crime Unit, John led the effort to successfully identify and prosecute the pastor of a major local church for sexually abusing over one dozen children in his congregation. After this pastor's conviction, the judge shockingly sentenced him merely to probation with a community service requirement. John leapt from the prosecutor's table and cried: ``Your Honor, will you at least stipulate that this community service not be with children?'' The judge held John in contempt of court. Luckily, the prosecutor quickly scurried John out through a side door before he could be taken into custody and after a few days the heat died down. But this story goes to illustrate how John will stop at literally nothing to see justice is done for those who are weakest among us, our children.

John's lifetime of service to children has directly led to the rescue of over 80,000 kids. Let me share with my colleagues just one success story. About 1 year ago, a Los Angeles police detective contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for information on a 10-year-old boy who had been missing for many years. In 2004, the child's parents separated, and although the mother received custody, her son was abducted from their home. A search began for the boy and his father, which continued for 7 years. Law enforcement had no leads on the child's whereabouts, suspecting the father may have abducted him back to his native country of Guatemala. Upon receiving the call from that Los Angeles detective, the National Center's case management team began coordinating the center's resources with the child's mother and detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department. A missing child poster was created and disseminated around California, and detectives were provided with detailed public database searches throughout the National Center's case analysis division.

Just a little over 1 month ago, the center received a lead from a school official who believed he had recognized the boy as a fifth grader at a Los Angeles elementary school. This official had searched the center's Web site, saw the missing child's poster, and contacted the center's 24-hour hot line. The center passed this lead along to police, and I am pleased to say that on January 31 of this year, 8 years after his abduction, this boy was reunited with his mother, and his father was arrested.

Imagine that mother's relief and then multiply that feeling by literally thousands. Only then can we begin to appreciate the immense service John Rabun has done for his country. So that is why we are all going to miss John so much. No one can say he could have done more; however, neither could anyone say his retirement is not extremely well deserved. I am sure he is looking forward to being able to spend more time with his lovely wife Betsy, a retired schoolteacher, and their two children and five grandchildren.

A national movement on behalf of America's most precious resource, our children, was launched because one social worker in Louisville, KY, saw that too many children were at risk and not enough was being done. If every family impacted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's work could thank John Rabun personally, it might take another 28 years, and he would never get to retire. But on behalf of a grateful and safer America, I hope the recognition of this Senate and the thanks and friendship of this Senator will suffice instead. So thank you very much, John Rabun.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, as the majority leader indicated, we have had a number of very constructive conversations about reaching an agreement on voting on both germane and nongermane amendments to this bill. I think we are very close to getting there. My concern is that if cloture is invoked right now, we would not get an agreement, and amendments that we are very close to agreeing to have considered on both sides--the amendments that are sought to be offered are not just on the Republican side but on the Democratic side as well--will end up being shut out.

If we were not so close, I might have a different view, but we are very close to getting an agreement. If we invoke cloture right now, that agreement will not come together.

So I would encourage a ``no'' vote--not to stop the bill. This is a bill that is not going to be stopped. It has broad bipartisan support. Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe have worked very hard on this legislation, and we anticipate being able to wrap it up.

But just to underscore where we are, I have indicated I would like to offer a unanimous consent agreement that kind of summarizes where I think we are.

I would ask unanimous consent that the pending Reid amendment be withdrawn, that it be in order to offer a new perfecting amendment cleared by both leaders which contains the three titles; further, that the following nonrelevant amendments be in order to S. 1813, and they be subject to the 60-vote affirmative threshold; Senator Collins No. 1660, Boiler MACT; Senator Vitter No. 1535, OCS; Wyden side-by-side relevant to Hoeven No. 1537; Hoeven No. 1537 related to the Keystone Pipeline; Levin amendment on offshore tax havens; McConnell or designee relevant to Levin amendment; a Cantwell amendment on energy tax extenders; a McConnell or designee amendment relevant to the Cantwell amendment; Menendez amendment on natural gas; and a Coburn amendment, No. 1738, on duplication.

I further ask unanimous consent that the following highway-related amendments also be in order: DeMint No. 1756; Coats No. 1517; Blunt No. 1540; Paul No. 1556; Portman No. 1736; Portman No. 1742; Corker No. 1785; Corker, on highway trust fund, No. 1786; Hutchison No. 1568; McCain No. 1669; and 10 highway-related amendments to be offered by the majority leader or his designee.

I further ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of the above-listed amendments and the managers' package of amendments to be cleared by both managers of the bill, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended.

Finally, I ask unanimous consent that following passage of S. 1813, the bill be held at the desk and that when the Senate receives the companion measure from the House, the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, all after the enacting clause be stricken, the text of S. 1813 as passed be inserted in lieu thereof; that the bill then be read three times and passed, the Senate insist on its amendment, request a conference with the House, and

the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate with a ratio agreed to with the concurrence of both leaders.

Mr. President, not to continue to debate much further, but I would point out that there are demands for amendments on both sides here. We are very close to getting an agreement. I think a ``no'' vote on cloture is not the end of this bill but the beginning. It gives us an opportunity to go on and wrap up discussions that have been going on entirely too long, it seems to me, and I know the majority leader has been frustrated by it, and so have I. But we are very close to getting agreement on a list of amendments, and we should be able to finish this bill by the end of the week.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an individual who worked tirelessly to strengthen Kentucky's economy through his contributions to the coal and the banking industries. James Lawrence ``Jim'' Rose of Lexington, KY, passed away on December 19, 2011. He was 73 years old. Although Mr. Lawrence may not be with us today, the legacy he has forged throughout his lifetime will carry on for many years to come.

Jim Lawrence was born in Clay County, KY, but received his education in the small town of Berea, where he graduated from the Berea Foundation High School and Berea College before completing his education at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Jim was passionate about education and made it a priority for himself, and he set out to make it one for the youth of the Commonwealth as well. He was in large part responsible for the project to construct Lexington Christian Academy's 75-acre ``Rose Campus'' in Lexington, KY.

Although Mr. Rose was involved in all sorts of different business aspects, his most noted business accomplishments were those in the banking and coal industries. Mr. Rose returned to Clay County and started a small coal company in 1959. Over the next three decades, his business would receive numerous national awards for conducting the best mining rescues and operating the safest mines in the United States, and the company would eventually grow to be one of the top three producers of coal in the State of Kentucky upon his retirement in 1993.

Mr. Rose made tremendous strides in the world of banking as well. He formed a bank holding company in his hometown of Manchester, KY; the town served as the site where Jim would also open his first bank in 1978. He went on to open seven more banks throughout central and southern Kentucky. Mr. Rose was an exceptional consultant and manager, and under him the many banks he had acquired flourished.

We are all undoubtedly aware that Mr. Rose made a permanent mark on the economy of Kentucky, but let us not forget today that Jim was first and foremost a devout man of God and a beloved family man. Mr. Rose was a husband and a father who is survived by his wife of 49 years, Judy Sizemore Rose, and by his son James F. Rose and by his daughter Sonya Rose Hiler. Jim also leaves behind eight grandchildren and three step- grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his son, Dwayne Scott Rose.

The legacy left by Mr. Rose is one that will not be easily forgotten. He was able to give so much to the business world, working tirelessly for the people of Kentucky, and he was also able to pour his heart into building relationships with his employees and his family members. Mr. Rose led a life that one could be nothing but proud of.

I would like to ask my colleagues in the United States Senate to join me in commemorating the life and works of Mr. James Lawrence Rose, an innovative, committed and truly genuine entrepreneur.

There was an article recently printed in the Laurel County-area publication the Sentinel Echo on the accomplished life of Mr. James Lawrence ``Jim'' Rose. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, last Friday evening tornadoes hit several counties across Kentucky, including Magoffin, Menifee, Morgan, Laurel, Martin, Johnson, and Trimble. I might say these were not just tornadoes, these were very severe tornadoes all over the southern and midwestern part of our country leaving an incredible trail of devastation across many of our States.

In my State the storm caused at least 20 fatalities and more than 300

people in Kentucky were injured. Forty-eight Kentucky counties suffered damage from the storms and tornadoes Friday evening. I am told that about 19,000 people were without power yesterday. This morning my colleague Senator Paul and I sent a letter to the President urging him to approve Gov. Steven Beshear's request for Federal assistance.

Yesterday I had a chance to visit arguably the hardest hit of our communities, West Liberty, KY. It was a scene of total devastation. The whole community has either been evacuated or is in the process of being evacuated. The county judge--in our State the county judge is like the county executive in a number of States--Tim Conley, and Mayor Rupe, the mayor of West Liberty, and I toured, frankly, what little is left of the community. I ran into the county attorney there. Not only had her home been wiped out, her office had been wiped out.

The most poignant story of the day was when one of the local residents came up to one of my assistants and said: Here, I found $70. It doesn't belong to me. I want you to take it and see to it that it is used for the community.

My assistant said: No one knows where the $70 came from or who it belongs to and you are wiped out. Why don't you keep it?

This citizen of West Liberty, KY, said: ``I just wouldn't feel right about it.''

``I just wouldn't feel right about it.'' Those are the kind of people who are in West Liberty, KY. Those are the kind of people today who are homeless, who have lost friends and relatives. Of course, in a town that is devastated there are no jobs. Where do people go to work when their place of business has been wiped out?

FEMA is on the ground, and we will do everything we can to try to help these good folks rebuild their lives. Similar stories are the case in a number of other Kentucky counties, but West Liberty I singled out because it was probably the most devastated of any of our communities.

I applaud the work of the first responders. There were people from all over my State who immediately came to the site, some of them with some official responsibility--they were with the Red Cross or they were with the National Guard. In fact, there were 400 National Guard troops mobilized across the State in these severely hit areas. But many of the people I ran into in West Liberty, KY, were simply people who got in their cars, loaded them up with bottled water and whatever food they could come up with, and went there to be helpful.

There was one restaurant in another town that sent in a very large number of barbecue sandwiches just to try to feed the people who were there trying to help get started. I went to the command center. Of course, one of the biggest questions in a situation such as that is, what do you do first? Obviously, the first effort to get the power back on. The AEP, the power company, was there trying to get the power up and running. Then they had a priority chart: What do you do second? What do you do third?

I want to express to them and say again on the Senate floor today, we are going to be there for these good folks not only in West Liberty but in the other counties that were hit in our State. That is why FEMA exists. They do a good job. Hopefully, it will not require any additional funding for us to have to appropriate. Hopefully, they will have enough funds in their budget to take care of this, but if there is a shortfall we will be there to be helpful.

I wanted to share with my colleagues today the devastation to which we were subjected last weekend. It is reminiscent of a tornado that hit Kentucky in the 1970s. I remember it went into my mother and father's neighborhood. The house next door to them was obliterated. The houses across the street were obliterated. Amazingly enough, my mothers and father's house seemed largely untouched. There were very few homes in West Liberty, KY, yesterday or Friday night that were untouched. It came through there with a stunning force.

I heard one story I will also relate. The county judge was in a building and literally grabbed somebody by the leg and pulled him inside the building as the storm was attempting to suck him out into the street. He was able to save that person. So the incredible force of these massive tornadoes is truly destructive, and we will help local residents get their lives back together as soon as we possibly can.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I have spent a lot of time in my Senate career defending the first amendment. Most of that time, I focused on the part that deals with free speech. But recent actions by the Obama administration related to the President's health care law have prompted many of us here and many across the country to stand in defense of another freedom that is covered in the first amendment; that is, religious freedom.

Let me say at the outset that most of us didn't expect we would ever have to defend this right in a body in which every one of us is sworn to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution. Most of us probably assumed that if religious liberty were ever seriously challenged in this country, we could always expect a robust, bipartisan defense of it--at least from within the Congress itself. But, unfortunately, that is not the situation in which we find ourselves.

Democrats have evidently decided they would rather defend a President of their own party regardless of the impact of his policies. So rather than defend the first amendment in this particular case, they have decided to engage in a campaign of distraction as a way of obscuring the larger issue which is at stake.

If Democrats no longer see the value in defending the first amendment because they don't think it is politically expedient to do so or because they want to protect the President, then Republicans will have to do it for them. And we are happy to do that because this is an issue that is greater than any short-term political gain; it gets right at the heart of who we are as a people, and we welcome the opportunity to affirm what this country is all about.

What makes America unique in the world is the fact that it was established on the basis of an idea, the idea that all of us have been endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights--in other words, rights that are conferred not by a King or a President or certainly a Congress but by the Creator Himself. The State protects these rights, but it does not grant them, and what the State doesn't grant, the State can't take away.

The first of these rights, according to the men who wrote the U.S. Constitution, is the right to have one's religious beliefs protected from government interference. The first amendment couldn't be clearer on this point. The government can neither establish religion nor can it prevent its free exercise. And if the free-exercise-of-religion clause of the first amendment means anything at all, it means it is not within the power of the Federal Government to tell anybody what to believe or to punish them for practicing those beliefs. Yet that is precisely what the Obama administration is trying to do through the President's health care law.

We all remember then-Speaker Pelosi saying that we would have to pass the health care bill to find out what was in it. Well, this is one of the things we found: It empowers bureaucrats here in Washington to decide which tenets religious institutions can and can't adhere to. If they don't get in line, they will be penalized.

According to congressional testimony delivered this week by Asma Uddin of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, this is not only unprecedented in Federal law but broader in scope and narrower in its exemption than the 28 State mandates that some have pointed to in the administration's defense.

Moreover, even in States with the strictest mandates, religious institutions can still either opt out of State-level mandate or self- insure. But if they try that now, they run into this new Federal mandate, making it impossible for the first time for religious institutions to avoid punishment for practicing what they preach.

Some of the proponents of this mandate say that in this case, we should just ignore the first amendment. That is what the proponents are saying--in this particular instance, just ignore the first amendment. They say that certain religious beliefs in question aren't particularly popular, so they don't really deserve first amendment protection. But isn't that the entire point of the first amendment--to protect rights regardless of who or how many people hold them? Isn't that the reason people came to this country in the first place, as a refuge from governments that said they had to toe the majority line?

Some of the proponents of this mandate have also said they are willing to offer a so-called compromise that would respect what they call the core mission of religious institutions. But here is the catch: They want to be the ones to tell these religious institutions what their core mission is. The government telling the religious institution what the core mission is--that isn't a compromise; that is another government takeover, only this time it isn't the banks or the car companies, it is religion.

Who do you think has a better grasp of the mission of the Catholic church, the cardinal archbishop of New York or the President's campaign manager? Who are you going to listen to on the question of whether this mandate violates freedom of religion, the president of one of the largest seminaries on the planet, R. Albert Mohler, or some bureaucrat in Washington? The question answers itself.

Look, this is precisely the kind of thing the Founders feared. It was precisely because of the danger of a government intrusion into religion, like this one, that they left us the first amendment in the first place, so that we could always point to it and say: No government--no government, no President has that right. Religious institutions are free to decide what they believe. And the government must respect their right to do so.

And remember: as many of us said during the debate on the President's health care bill, this is just the beginning. If the government is allowed to compel people to buy health care, it won't stop there. Now, it is telling people what their religious beliefs are and what their religious practices ought to be. I wonder What is next?

Let's be clear: this is not about any one particular religion.

It is about the right of Americans of any religion to live out their faith without the government picking and choosing which doctrines they are allowed to follow. When one religion is threatened, all religions are threatened. And allowing this particular infringement would surely ease the way for others.

This is something my constituents understood immediately in this debate.

I have received a lot of letters from religious leaders and concerned citizens who know that an attack on the beliefs of one religion is an attack on the beliefs of any religion. And many of them make the case a lot better than I can. So I'd like to just share for a moment some thoughts from my constituents on this issue.

I will start with the Catholic Archbishop of Louisville, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz. Here's what he wrote:

The federal government, which claims to be ``of, by, and

for the people,'' has just dealt a heavy blow to almost a

quarter of those people--the Catholic population--and to the

millions more who are served by the Catholic faithful. In so

ruling, the Administration has cast aside the First Amendment

to the Constitution of the United States, denying to

Catholics our nation's first and most fundamental freedom,

that of religious liberty. We cannot--we will not--comply

with this unjust law. People of faith cannot be made second

class citizens.

Here's Bishop Ronald Gainer of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington:

Civil law and civil structures should recognize and protect

the Church's right and obligation to participate in society

without expecting us or forcing us to abandon or compromise

our fundamental moral convictions. If we have an obligation

to teach and give witness to the moral values that should

shape our lives and inspire our society, then there is a

corresponding obligation that we be allowed to follow and

express freely those religious values. Anything short of

government protection of that freedom represents an

unwarranted threat of government interference. . . .

Here is the President of the University of the Cumberlands, Jim Taylor:

The intrusion of the administration into the right of the

free exercise of religion is disappointing. The choice to

interfere with religious hospitals, charities and schools

with a mandate violating their religious views is

disconcerting and will, in all probability, be totally

counterproductive, further polarizing this nation.

And, finally, I want to read a letter from Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. I mentioned him earlier. He is the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world. I am going to quote it in full.

I write to express my deepest concern regarding the recent

policy announced by the Department of Health and Human

Services that will require religious institutions to provide

mandated contraceptive and abortifacient services to

employees.

This policy, announced by Secretary Sebelius, tramples upon

the religious liberty of American Christians, who are now

informed that our colleges, schools, hospitals, and other

service organizations must violate conscience in order to

comply with the Affordable Care Act. The religious exemption

announced by the Obama Administration is so intentionally

narrow that it will cover only congregations and religious

institutions that employ and serve only members of our own

faiths.

This exemption deliberately excludes Christian institutions

that have served this nation and its people through

education, social services, and heath care. The new policy

effectively tells Christian institutions that, if we want to

remain true to our convictions and consciences, we will have

to cease serving the public. This is a policy that will

either require millions upon millions of Americans to accept

a gross and deliberate violation of religious liberty, or to

accept the total secularization of all education and social

services.

Christians of conscience are now informed by our own

government that we must violate our convictions on a matter

of grave theological and moral significance. This is not a

Catholic issue. The inclusion of abortifacient forms of birth

control such as so-called emergency contraceptives will

violate the deepest beliefs of millions upon millions of

Christians, along with Americans of other faiths who share

these convictions. The religious objections to this policy

are rooted in centuries of teaching, belief, and moral

instruction.

This policy is an outrage that violates our deepest

constitutional principles and tramples religious liberty

under the feet of deliberate government policy. As many

religious leaders have already indicated, we cannot comply

with this policy. The one-year extension offered by the Obama

Administration is a further insult, providing a year in which

we are, by government mandate, to prepare to sacrifice our

religious liberties and violate conscience.

I, along with millions of other Americans, humbly request

that the Congress of the United States provide an immediate

and effective remedy to this intolerable violation of

religious liberty. Please do not allow this abominable policy

to stand. The protection of our most basic and fundamental

liberties now rests in your hands.

I will conclude with this: if there is one good thing about this debate, it is that it has given all of us an opportunity to reaffirm what we believe as Americans. It gives us an opportunity to stand together and to say, this is what we are all about. This is what makes America unique, and this is what makes it great.

That is why I will be voting in favor of the Blunt amendment.

And that is why it is my sincere hope that the President and those in his administration come around to this view too--that they come to realize from the outpouring we have seen over the past several weeks from across the country that the free and diverse exercise of religion in this country has always been one of our nation's greatest assets and one of the things that truly sets us apart. As I said at the outset of this debate, I hope the President reconsiders this deeply misguided policy and reverses it. It crosses a dangerous line. It must be reversed. But if he doesn't, either Congress or the courts will surely act.