Floor Statements

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee on armed services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 15, 2009, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate to conduct a hearing on September 15, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 15, 2009 at 10 a.m., in room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 15, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law, be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on September 15, 2009, at 10 a.m. in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Human Rights at Home: Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons and Jails.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 15, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 15, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Security Clearance Reform: Moving Forward on Modernization.''

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, we are again here on Monday afternoon talking about a very important bill that came to the floor last Thursday. That is the investment in infrastructure, transportation, and housing across the country. We have many issues important to many Members who want to get this bill passed and to the President as quickly as possible so we can move forward. My colleague from Missouri and I have worked very hard to put the bill together. We are here this afternoon ready and waiting for our colleagues to offer amendments so we can get to final passage. I know the majority leader wishes us to finish this fairly quickly. We have a number of appropriations bills we want to complete before the end of September deadline. So we ask our colleagues to get their amendments up, and we will move through them as quickly as we can.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5:30 p.m. today, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the Johanns amendment No. 2355, as modified; that no amendment be in order to the amendment prior to the vote; and that there be 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote in relation to the amendment, with the time equally divided and controlled in the usual form.

Madam President, with that, there will be a vote at 5:30 this afternoon, and if any other Senators wish to come to the floor to speak to their amendments, we are here ready and waiting for them to do that.

With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Vote Explanation

Madam President, my counterpart, Senator Bond, and I have been on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, Thursday evening, Friday, and this afternoon and into the evening today. We are waiting for Members to bring their amendments to the floor.

For the information of all Senators, there will not be votes after 3 o'clock tomorrow, as everybody knows. We intend to finish this bill by Wednesday. So there is not a lot of floor time tomorrow.

If anyone has an amendment, offer it tonight. We will set up the vote for tomorrow or Wednesday. Again, we intend to finish this bill by Wednesday. So do not expect that your amendments will have time after that.

Again, I ask Members who have amendments to bring them to the floor and offer them so we can get them considered and up for a vote.

Again, it is going to be a short week. We need to get the bill done by Wednesday. We ask everybody to please consider that and come and offer their amendments so we can get this bill moving.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on September 14, 2009, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Cyber Attacks: Protecting Industry Against Growing Threats.''

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business.

Mr. President, like all Americans, I will never forget where I was on September 11, 2001, and I will never forget the way our country responded. In the face of great tragedy,

Americans came together with courage and unity.

Eight years later, we continue to face great challenges. As a government--and as a nation--we are working to improve our safety and tackle the many difficulties facing us today. The safety of all Americans remains priority No. 1 for everyone in government. We still have troops working hard to protect and defend our Nation. At the same time, we continue to recognize that our diversity is also America's greatest strength. Despite our many differences, in times of need we are always one nation united.

This year, for the first time, 9/11 has been designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance. It is with a heavy heart that I stand on the floor of the Senate today marking this day with a cloak and white roses on the desk of our departed colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy.

Ted worked to designate this day as one of service, and in April the President signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act making that goal a reality. Ted would be proud of each and every American who took up that call.

The mission of this new designation is:

[T]o honor the victims of 9/11 and those who rose to

service in response to the attacks by encouraging all

Americans and others throughout the world to pledge to

voluntarily perform at least one good deed, or another

service activity on 9/11 each year. In this way we hope to

create a lasting and forward-looking legacy--annually

rekindling the spirit of service, tolerance, and compassion

that unified America and the world in the immediate aftermath

of the 9/11 attacks.

I cannot think of a better way to honor the memory of those who were lost than by taking a moment today to remember, and then performing a good deed or act of service.

September 11 is not just a day of national loss but of personal loss. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who lost a friend or loved one. Your loss is our loss, and you are forever in our hearts.

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

Mr. President, we are now on the floor considering the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. This is an extremely important measure to everyone here and to the country, with important investments in our roads, bridges, highways, airports, housing, and infrastructure across the country. My ranking member, Senator Bond, and I are here ready to go and ready to work. We are waiting for our colleagues to come to the floor to offer their amendments, and I encourage them to do so.

The majority leader has asked us to move this bill as expeditiously as possible. We need to finish all of our appropriations bills by October 1 of this year in order to make sure people have the funding they need and so they know where we are going.

So we again ask our colleagues to come to the floor, and if they do have amendments, offer them, or if they do not, allow us to continue to finish this bill.

If there are no Members here seeking recognition at this point, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I withhold.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period for the transaction of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, when I was young, Ted Kennedy was larger than life. I was just 12 years old when he was first elected to the Senate as the youngest son of a political dynasty that seemed to dominate the television each night in my house and the newspapers every day.

At first, he served in the shadow of his older brothers. But as I grew up, the youngest brother of the Kennedy family did, too--in front of the entire Nation.

For me and so many others, Ted Kennedy became a symbol of perseverance over tragedy--from his walk down Pennsylvania Avenue at the side of Jacqueline Kennedy, to the heart-breaking speech he delivered at his brother Bobby's funeral, to his pledge to carry on the causes of those who had championed his bid for the Presidency.

Ted Kennedy routinely appeared before the American people with great courage at the most trying times. And all the while, he was also standing in this Chamber each day with that same grit and determination to fight for the people of Massachusetts and the Nation.

On issues from protecting the environment, civil rights, increasing the minimum wage, and health care, he was a passionate and unmatched advocate and leader.

So it was with a lifetime of watching Senator Kennedy with admiration from afar that I arrived here as a freshman Senator in 1993. By the time I was elected, Ted was already on his way to becoming one of the most powerful and influential Senators of all time. So I couldn't believe it when I first walked out onto this floor and he walked over to personally welcome me. For me, that would have been enough--the lion of the Senate reaching out to a rookie--but to Ted Kennedy it wasn't.

Through calls to my office, discussions on the floor, and by taking me under his wing on the HELP Committee, he became a friend, a mentor, and sooner than I could have ever imagined a courageous partner on legislation that I cared deeply about.

As a State senator in Washington, I had worked very hard before I got here to successfully change the State laws in Washington on family and medical leave. It was an issue that was extremely personal to me. My father had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was very young. Since that time, my mother had always been his primary caregiver. But a few years before I ran and became a Senator, my mother had a heart attack and had to undergo bypass surgery.

Suddenly, my six brothers and sisters and I were faced with the question of who was going to take time off to care for the people we loved the most, the people who cared for us for so long.

A family leave policy would have allowed any of us just a few weeks necessary to see them through their medical crisis. But at the time, none was available.

So after running and winning and coming to the Senate, the Family and Medical Leave Act was a bill I wanted to stand and fight for. As it turned out, it was the first bill we considered.

Senator Kennedy was here managing that bill on the Senate floor, and I found out that he, too, had a personal connection to that bill.

I well remember one day when Senator Kennedy pulled me aside to tell me about how he had spent a lot of time with his own son in the hospital fighting cancer and how he met so many people at that time who could not afford to take time off to care for their loved ones and how some were forced to quit their jobs to take care of somebody they loved because they were sick. He told me that, together, we were going to work hard and get this bill passed. Then he showed this rookie how to do it.

Week after week, he fought against bad amendments to get the votes we needed to pass it.

He blended the right mix of patience and passion. He spoke out loudly in speeches when he needed to, and he whispered into the ears of colleagues when that was called for. A few days after Senator Kennedy pledged to me we would get it done, we did.

Through that effort, and many more battles on this floor, I learned so much from him and so have all of us because, more than almost anyone, Senator Kennedy knew the Senate. He knew how to make personal friends, even with those he didn't agree with politically. He knew how to reach out and find ways to work with people to get them to compromise for the greater good. He knew when not to give up. He knew when to change the pace or turn the page to get things done. He knew when to go sit down next to you or pick up the phone and call you. He knew how to legislate. Because of that, he built an incredible legacy.

It is a legacy that will not only live on in the Senate Chamber, where he was so well loved and respected; it is a legacy that will live on in the classrooms across America, where kids from Head Start to college have benefited from his commitment to opportunities in education; on manufacturing floors, where he fought for landmark worker safety protection; in our hospitals, where medical research that he championed is saving lives every day; in courtrooms, where the legacy of discrimination was dealt a blow by his years of service on the Judiciary Committee; in voting booths, where he fought for our most basic rights in a democracy to be protected and expanded for decades; and in so many other places that were touched by his service, his passion and his giant heart.

Senator Kennedy fought for and won so many great battles. But for many of us who worked with him every day, it may be the small moments that will be remembered the most--the personal touch he brought, not only to legislating but to life.

As I mentioned a moment ago, my mom had to take care of my dad for most of his life. His multiple sclerosis confined him to a wheelchair and she could not ever leave his side. One of the few and maybe the only time she did leave my dad is when I was elected to the Senate and she flew all the way from Washington State to Washington, DC, to see me be sworn in.

To my mom, Ted Kennedy and his family were amazing individuals whom she followed closely throughout their lives, through their triumphs and, of course, through tragedy. After I was sworn in, and my mother was up in the gallery watching, we walked back through the Halls of Congress to my office. Shortly after that, we had a visitor. Senator Kennedy unexpectedly came over to my office and gave my mom a huge hug. I will never forget the look on her face, the tears in her eyes,

the clear disbelief that she had met Ted Kennedy, and it was overpowering. It was a moment with my mom I will never forget, and it is certainly a moment I will never forget with my friend Ted Kennedy.

I am going to miss him. I know our country is going to miss him. But as he reminded us in his courageous speech that he delivered last summer in Denver, the torch has been passed to a new generation, and the work begins anew.

So today, as we honor all of his contributions to the Senate and the Nation, we must also remember to heed that brave final call and continue his fight for all of those who cannot fight for themselves.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I am very pleased that the Senate is now considering the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill for the coming year.

I will be making my opening remarks here, as I believe Senator Bond will as well, and I know a number of Senators have been talking about amendments to this bill. I wish to ask our colleagues if they do have amendments to get them to the floor this afternoon and at least get them filed to help us work with them and to begin to consider them. As we know, we have had the last vote today, but we wish to have some of these amendments offered over Friday and Monday so that we can move expeditiously to this important appropriations bill and be moving quickly by Monday afternoon. I do know some Senators on both sides have some amendments, which they have talked to us about. Again, although this is the last vote, I would ask Senators who do have amendments to help us work through this process by getting your amendments to the floor.

As we begin consideration of this important bill, it is important to note

that it has already been supported by broad bipartisan majorities. The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee has 20 Members. That is one-fifth of the Senate. It is one of the largest subcommittees in the Senate. But despite the diversity of issues of our very large subcommittee, back on July 29 we voted unanimously to report the bill to the full Appropriations Committee, and the next day, the members of the committee voted unanimously to report the bill to the Senate.

This bill does have broad bipartisan support because it addresses the very real housing and transportation needs of American families across all regions of the Nation. It has bipartisan support because it touches the lives of all of our constituents in ways that they can appreciate each day--whether it is a parent who commutes every day and needs safe roads or new public transportation options so they can spend more time with their families, or a young family searching for safe and affordable communities to raise their children, or perhaps a recently laid-off worker who needs help to afford their rent or stay off the street. This bill has real impact on American families that are struggling in these troubling economic times--the hard-working Americans who are not only losing their jobs but also their homes and their financial security.

Six months ago, this Congress passed a recovery package. It is now creating jobs and rebuilding infrastructure and laying a strong foundation for our long-term economic growth. It is a good start. The bill before us now builds on that and strengthens that effort. It makes needed and very serious investments in our transportation infrastructure as well as in housing and services to support our Nation's most vulnerable. It also ensures that the Federal agencies that so many communities count on have the resources they need to keep our commuters safe and keep communities moving and prospering.

Our bill takes a very balanced approach. It addresses the most critical needs we face in both transportation and housing while remaining financially responsible and staying within the constraints of our budget resolution.

I have been very fortunate to be joined by my ranking member, Senator Bond, in crafting this package. Senator Bond's very long service on the Appropriations Committee, as well as his work on the Public Works Committee, has made him one of our leading experts in the areas of both transportation and housing. Throughout his career, Senator Bond has demonstrated tireless leadership and a commitment to the mission of HUD. I couldn't have a better or more experienced partner in this effort, and I want to take a moment of time from the Senate to thank Senator Bond for his years of partnership and for being here with me on the floor this afternoon as we present our bill to the Senate.

This bill provides over $75 billion in budgetary resources for the Department of Transportation to support continued investment in transportation infrastructure, including our bridges and our ports, our public transportation, our airports, our rail, and the Nation's highway system. It provides $11 billion to support and expand public transit, which continues to see record growth in ridership, as well as $1.2 billion to invest in intercity and high-speed rail so that we can expand options for our commuters and ease congestion on our roads and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It also includes $1.1 billion to continue the highly competitive surface grants program that was initiated earlier this year as part of our recovery package. That program, which provides matching funds to projects making a significant impact on communities and regions, generated tremendous interest from our State and local authorities.

The bill also supports the FAA's efforts to develop its next generation air transportation system to support projected growth in air travel in the coming year, and it invests $3.5 billion in capital improvements at all of our airports across the country.

This bill also includes targeted increases to address critical problems with our transportation safety. It has an increase above the President's budget to hire 236 more air safety inspectors and 50 more air traffic controllers.

At present, our FAA inspectors cannot spend enough time out in the field directly observing air carrier operations firsthand. These new positions that are in this bill will help correct that problem and improve FAA oversight.

The bill also includes $50 million for a new program in railroad safety technology, including Positive Train Control, as well as $150 million for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to make sure tragedies like the one we saw earlier this summer never happen again.

In addition to those important investments in transportation, the bill we now have before us represents a very firm commitment to providing critical housing and support services to families who have been affected by this economic crisis. This bill provides nearly $46 billion in budgetary resources for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including $100 million for HUD's housing counseling program to help our families in this country make responsible decisions when they purchase a home, to help them avoid the scams and aggressive lending tactics we have seen, and to help families facing foreclosure stay in their homes.

These funds are going to be an important tool in our efforts to counter foreclosures. This counseling will help us avoid problems in the future by preparing homeowners for the changing housing market.

The bill also provides more than $18 billion for tenant-based rental assistance or section 8, including an increase of over $1 billion for the renewal of section 8 vouchers. The bill also provides an increased funding for the operation of public housing for a total level of $4.75 billion. These funds will help ensure our Nation's low-income families, who are always among the hardest hit during tough economic times, continue to have access to safe and affordable housing.

Senator Bond and I are particularly proud that this bill includes $5 million for vouchers for the joint HUD-Veterans Affairs supportive housing program. That will provide an additional 10,000 homeless veterans and their families with housing and supportive services.

While this program has helped contribute to an overall reduction in homelessness among our veterans, we have seen disturbing increases over the past several years in the number of homeless female veterans, many of whom have children. To me, that is unacceptable. So the new funding in this bill will provide help to make sure those who have already given so much to their country through their military service are now not forced to live on the street.

In addition to supporting our Nation's heroes, this bill also addresses the needs of some of our most vulnerable citizens by providing increased funding to support housing for the elderly, disabled, those suffering from AIDS, youth who are aging out of our foster care, and the Nation's homeless.

The bill also focuses on strengthening communities at a time when the economy threatens programs that are at the backbone of many of our towns and cities. We provide almost $4 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program. That will help support investments in public infrastructure, housing rehabilitation, construction, and public services. That is assistance that is very critical to our States and our local governments right now.

The bill also supports innovative approaches to revitalize the Nation's public housing. The new Choice Neighborhoods Program included in this bill builds on the success of HOPE VI, for which my colleagues, Senator Bond and Senator Mikulski, deserve a great deal of credit.

In summary, this bill provides assistance to those who need it most, and it directs resources in a responsible and fiscally prudent way. It is a bill that truly addresses the needs of families in every region of this country. These are families who are looking for us at the Federal level to step up and provide solutions to everything from congestion to transportation safety to foreclosures to affordable housing. That is why it is a bill that has attracted widespread bipartisan support. It helps commuters, homeowners, the most vulnerable in our society, and our economy, so I urge all Senators to support this bill, and I urge them to help us move it rapidly to final passage.

Again, I ask our colleagues, if you have an amendment please get it to the

floor this afternoon, get it filed and help us bring it up so we can move this bill along, get to conference with the House, and get this bill to the President so these investments can truly help our families.

I thank my colleagues and yield the floor to my partner, Senator Bond.

Mr. President, I thank Senator Bond, who has been, as I said, a good partner working with me on this critical bill.

Again, we are on the floor this afternoon. We are ready and able to go to work if our colleagues would come and file their amendments. I think Senator Bond and I would be happy to move to third reading and pass the bill if nobody comes.

I assure my colleagues the Senator gets grouchier the longer he is out here.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Joanne Waszczak and Dedre Goodman, detailees from the Department of Transportation to the Committee on Appropriations, be granted unlimited privileges of the floor during consideration of the Transportation-HUD appropriations bill.

Madam President, at this time, I object. I think at some point we will be able to yield back much of the time, but at this time, we need to talk with our Members to make sure Members have had a chance to say their piece.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I would just let all Senators know that we are working to probably move to the votes fairly shortly, as soon as we get a unanimous consent agreement. So at this time I would suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. GREGG addressed the Chair.

I withhold.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote sequence with respect to the pending amendments be the following, and commence once this agreement is entered, with no further debate except as specified below:

Harkin amendment No. 2300, Kyl amendment No. 2301, Gregg amendment No. 2302, Coburn amendment No. 2304, Vitter amendment No. 2303, and Isakson amendment No. 2306; that the previous order with respect to 2 minutes of debate, equally divided and controlled in the usual form, prior to each vote, and vote time limitation, after the first vote remaining in effect; further that upon disposition of the pending amendments, the bill, as amended, if amended, be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill.

Madam President, I believe the pending amendment is the Harkin amendment, and he has 1 minute.

Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Madam President, I believe the Kyl amendment is in order.

Madam President, have the yeas and nays been ordered on this amendment?

Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote, and to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Amendment No. 2302

Madam President I believe that the Gregg amendment is in order.

Madam President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment violates section 306 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that motion on the table.

Madam President, I believe the Coburn amendment is the next in order.

Madam President, I raise a point of order that the pending amendment violates section 201 of S. Con. Res. 21, the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2008.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I believe the final amendment is now in order, the Isakson amendment.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I move to waive the applicable section of the Budget Act and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.