Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. President, I come before this august body with a very heavy heart this afternoon. Last Friday night, just a few blocks from my home in Chicago, a terrible act of violence claimed the life of a young police officer. Thomas Wortham IV was a distinguished Chicago police officer. He was off duty on Wednesday night, so he went to visit his parents in a nice neighborhood called Chatham--in which I live only 2\1/2\ blocks away--to show them his new motorcycle.

Officer Wortham was used to putting his life on the line. In addition to being one of Chicago's finest, he recently served two tours in Iraq. He devoted himself to his community and to his country. He exhibited the same courage, valor, and selfless dedication wherever he went.

Thomas Wortham was a true American hero. He was the kind of person who keeps us safe and makes it possible for the rest of us to go about our lives free from fear; the kind of person who serves as an example to those around him and inspires others to give back.

But last Wednesday night, as he sat on his brandnew motorcycle outside of his parents' home, this remarkable young man was violently taken from us. After two tours in Iraq and endless hours patrolling the mean streets, Officer Wortham was struck down practically in his own backyard. Several young men tried to rob him, and he was shot in the struggle. His father, who is also a military veteran and retired police sergeant, heroically rushed to his defense and returned fire on those who attacked his son. But it was too late. Gun violence had already claimed Officer Wortham's life.

For all his heroism, for all the good he did for his community and his country, in the end Thomas Wortham IV was tragically killed where he should have been perfectly safe. There is no justice in this; there is no silver lining. This is just major outrage. It was a despicable, senseless act committed by dangerous people, all of whom must suffer the full consequences of the law.

Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in mourning Thomas Wortham IV, who was taken from us far before his time. Let us remember his selfless devotion to his community and to his country. Let us celebrate his heroism and honor his memory by living out his values in our daily lives.

I extend my deepest condolences to his family, whose pain far exceeds even the deep sense of loss felt by others in the Chicago community. This Nation stands with them today, just as their son stood with us in the sands of Iraq and the streets of Chicago.

As we lay this fallen hero to rest, let us do more than remember. Let us take action. This tragic murder reminds us of the gun violence pandemic that holds cities and towns across America in a vice grip. It can strike anywhere at any time, and it is tearing apart families, communities, and our own sense of security.

It is time to reclaim our future. It is time to stop the shooting and start to invest in education, violence prevention, and afterschool programs so we can keep guns out of the hands of criminals and keep kids from turning down the wrong path in the first place. This means creating jobs and cracking down on those who should not be able to buy guns. It means challenging our young people to aspire to a better life and giving them the tools to make the right choices so they do not end up on the road to violence.

This is not a political issue or a matter of dollars and cents. This is about the place where we live, work, and go to church, the places where our children play and go to school. Officer Wortham lived and died for these folks, for his friends and his neighbors and his countrymen. Even in a moment of tragedy, as we grieve this devastating loss, I believe we must summon the courage to walk in this young man's footsteps, to take up his cause as our own and lift up his noble example.

As I advised the parents when I met with them, let us take back our streets, our schools, our churches, and our children's future. Where Thomas Wortham IV fell, let us all rise in his place to confront this challenge and end the scourge of gun violence once and for all. Let us do that.

His family is also in mourning because retired Sergeant Wortham killed one of the offenders and shot the second one, who is now in critical condition in the hospital. Thank goodness for the Chicago Police Department and good detective work because the other two offenders are now in custody.

What we must do is stand and be counted when it comes to guns and

young people with guns in their hands and no jobs and no future and no hope. That is what we experience. In this legislation that is before this body, there is money that has to be provided for summer jobs for our youth.

Patrolman Wortham would not be the last person to expire through gun violence on our streets. I ask my colleagues to look at what we are doing and what we have to do and make sure we do our part to provide the resources and opportunity for our youth in these urban areas to have some hope, some direction, something on which to rely.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

On this vote, the yeas are 60, the nays are 40. Three- fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.

The majority leader.

Mr. President, I am proud to join my colleagues on the floor of this Chamber today.

Here, in our Nation's Capital, we gather to confront shared challenges. We celebrate our great leaders, and mourn fallen heroes. Here, we carry out the hard work of self-government. We try to make this union a little more perfect every day. It is messy. It is difficult. We make mistakes, and at times we fall short.

In any other country, these flaws and missteps might be fatal--but not in the United States of America. Here, we are defined by our ability to correct injustice to confront problems and move ahead peacefully, with respect for the rule of law even when those problems are great.

Mr. President, much of our history has been written right here in this city. But in some ways, the city itself tells two divergent stories:

More than two centuries ago, the foundation of this country was laid by a group of American patriots, who chose this land for their new Capitol.

They fought--and many died--for principles of freedom and equality. They framed the greatest, most progressive system of government in the history of the world.

And then, in an irony both tragic and unjust, the foundation of this very building the heart of our democracy was laid by enslaved African Americans.

So, from the very beginning, our Nation has struggled to live up to its highest ideals.

But, in many ways, I believe that is where our greatness truly lies: in our ability to determine our own course, and correct the mistakes of the past.

That is why the American civil rights movement is perhaps one of the greatest periods in our history.

During the 1950s and the 1960s, citizens and activists joined together with lawmakers to overturn policies of hatred and discrimination that created a powerful nonviolent movement for civil rights under the rule of law which brought about one of the most significant social and cultural changes in our Nation's history.

Earlier today, I spoke before the Subcommittee on National Parks, chaired by my friend, the distinguished Senator from Colorado, Mr. Udall, to advocate for a piece of legislation that is very important to me. I am proud to sponsor the United States Civil Rights Trail Special Resource Study Act, S. 1802, a bill that will help identify and preserve the history of the people and places that defined the civil rights movement. This bill joins a bipartisan companion measure from the House of Representatives, H.R. 685, which passed unanimously last September.

It will honor folks who forever changed the landscape of this Nation. Their stories deserve to be told. In any other country, this kind of progress would have been impossible, but not in America. We have the capacity for sweeping change woven into our very identity, and that is what my bill would recognize, celebrate, and preserve.

This Capitol Building was constructed under slavery. Yet it embodies a system of government that allows subsequent generations to correct this terrible wrong. During the civil rights movement, thanks to ordinary people with extraordinary vision, we witnessed a revolution of values and ideas that changed this Nation forever.

I come to this floor today in celebration of the pioneers who made these changes possible. My bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to identify the places, the resources, and the themes associated with this movement and consider adding them to the National Trails System. This would include the sites of the famous march in Selma and Montgomery, AL, the Greensboro sit-in, and the Montgomery bus boycotts. We would commemorate these places where peaceful protesters demonstrated for equal rights, and even in some places where violence broke out and lives were lost in the cause of freedom.

My bill would also recognize folks such as the citizens and elected leaders

of Savannah, GA, who were ahead of the rest of the country and took peaceful action to desegregate local communities well before Federal laws were passed.

We need to make sure the next generation learns and does not forget the story of the civil rights movement and the ideals it strove to achieve. That is why this legislation is so important.

This bill, with the companion bill in the House, would highlight this powerful legacy. Yes, these injustices were great and they must never be forgotten, but it would be a mistake to dwell exclusively on the errors of our past. Instead, I believe we should celebrate the progress we have made. We accomplished what many other countries find impossible. We corrected the greatest mistakes of our history. We encountered obstacles and overcame them. We took control of our shared destiny and redefined it.

Our Union remains far from perfect, but challenges persist, and it will be up to future generations to address these challenges. But there is no denying we have come a very long way.

Two centuries ago, my ancestors would not have been allowed in this building except as laborers. Today I stand on the floor of the Senate as a Member of the highest ranking body in this land. That is a powerful affirmation of what this country stands for.

Let's preserve this history and pass it on to the next generation.

I thank Chairman Udall, Ranking Member Burr, and other members of the Subcommittee on National Parks for allowing me to offer a statement earlier today.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill before the full committee and the full Senate so we can send it to the President's desk.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, as I take the floor today, my colleagues and I are caught up in a momentous debate over the shape of our Wall Street reform bill.

This legislation will not only help secure America's continuing economic recovery, it will also help prevent this kind of economic crisis from happening again in the future.

It would create commonsense regulations designed to keep major institutions from gambling with America's economic stability, and it would extend a helping hand to the underserved populations that are currently suffering the most especially minority individuals and the elderly.

I believe when the history of this economic crisis is written, we will judge that its most damaging legacy was the harm it did to people's savings and investments.

It wiped out stock portfolios and 401(K)s. It forced many fixed- income retirees to go back to work, and it undermined the hard-earned retirement security of an entire generation of Americans. So it is time to take action.

We need to do everything we can to protect people's savings, investments, and retirement security.

In a broad sense, this means limiting the risk that big firms can pose to the economy as a whole, and shoring up our overall financial stability. But it also means we need to guard against fraud and abuse.

We need to prevent scam artists and people like Bernie Madoff from taking advantage of hard-working Americans, so folks can breathe a bit easier, so people know that their money is safe.

Today, many Americans--including 39 percent of minority households-- invest in the financial markets.

Most of these folks expect their portfolio to be there for them when they retire.

But when big companies sell risky investment packages, and then bet against those investments--when companies have no incentive to be honest about high-risk opportunities--regular folks are bound to get the short end of the stick.

That is why we need to institute basic rules of the road--to cut down on fraud and misrepresentation, and make sure financial institutions are operating fairly.

That is why our Wall Street reform bill includes a number of key protections for American investors.

Our legislation would create a new program at the Securities and Exchange Commission which would mandate an annual assessment of all internal supervisory controls, and encourage folks to report violations.

It would establish a new Office of Credit Rating Agencies to strengthen regulation, expose hidden risks, and make sure a warning system is in place so we are never caught off guard again.

Our bill would also require companies that sell mortgage-backed securities to hold on to at least 5 percent of the credit risk--or meet underlying loan standards--so their performance is tied to the products they are distributing.

It would require these companies to be more transparent about the assets that underlie these securities, and more straightforward in their quality analysis.

Finally, our legislation would give a company's shareholders the right to a nonbinding vote on executive pay so pay can be brought in line with performance, and these folks can make their voices heard.

Together these measures would help to bring transparency and stability back to the financial markets.

This would bolster the integrity of people's investments, and would help ensure that their retirement savings are secure.

There will always be risk associated with making investments, and that is exactly as it should be.

That is how our free market system is designed to work.

But we need to eliminate the possibility that fraud and abuse can undermine the security of our entire economy.

We need to pass rules of the road that will keep financial institutions honest, so ordinary Americans will be protected from serious harm at the hands of those they entrust with their savings.

I yield the floor, suggest the absence of quorum, and ask unanimous consent that the time under the quorum be charged equally to both sides.

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

Mr. President, in 1933, a 16-year-old girl named Lena Horne joined the chorus at a famous nightclub in Harlem known as the Cotton Club.

This young woman was passionate about performing so she jumped in with both feet.

And she never looked back.

The following year, Lena Horne made her debut on Broadway. And not long after, she became the first African American performer to sign a long-term contract with a big Hollywood studio, MGM.

She blazed a trail. She knew that her talent could outshine the ugliness of racial prejudice so, in the 1940s, she became a major movie star.

But despite her success, Lena Horne never forgot her roots or the plight of those who were subjected to hatred and bigotry on a daily basis.

She knew that she was a role model and an authority figure--and she used her fame as a platform to raise these issues, and to fight against intolerance.

She partnered with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to pass anti-lynching legislation. After the Second World War, she worked with Japanese Americans who had suffered internment and discrimination.

And all the while, her star was on the rise.

In 1957, she recorded ``Lena Horne at the Waldorf-Astoria'' a record that would become the best-selling album by a female singer in the history of RCA.

During the civil rights movement, she stood with leaders like Dr. King at the famous march on Washington.

She spoke out for racial equality, and became involved with the NAACP and other groups.

And she never stopped doing what she loved: performing.

In 1981, she returned to Broadway in a one-woman show, which won a Tony Award, two Grammies, and endless critical acclaim.

And she kept creating original material well into the next decade.

Mr. President, Lena Horne departed this life only a few days ago on May 9 at the age of 92.

As a performer, her legacy is unsurpassed.

She rose to become one of the most successful entertainers of the last century, and blazed a trail for countless other minority performers to follow.

Her personal legacy is no less remarkable. She consistently lived out her values, and did not shy away from opportunities to stand up for what she believed in.

She embraced every chance to make a positive difference in the lives of others and that, more than anything, is what she will be remembered for.

Lena Horne left an indelible mark on this Nation. And that is why I am proud to join Senator Gillibrand in sponsoring a resolution in her honor.

I ask my colleagues to stand with us in celebrating the life of this remarkable woman--a trailblazer who achieved great success in the face of tall odds, and then used that success to better the lives of others.

Lena Horne is gone.

But in her classic recordings--in the lives she touched, the movies she made, and the change she helped to bring about she will always be with us.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, in recent days, since the Chamber opened debate on Chairman Dodd's financial reform bill, we have all heard a lot of talk about the irresponsible behavior on Wall Street. We have heard about the recklessness that cost this country trillions of dollars in lost savings, not to mention 8 million American jobs. We have heard about the consumers, especially minority populations and the elderly, who have suffered a great deal as a result of this economic crisis.

I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for joining in the debate about how to address these issues, and I am confident we can reach and find common ground.

Just yesterday, I came to the floor to voice my strong support for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would be created under Chairman Dodd's bill. I believe this bureau should be at the heart of any reform legislation--to end abusive practices, serve as an advocate for ordinary Americans, and make sure everybody can get a fair deal. It would even help to prevent a similar financial crisis from taking place in the future.

But we need to make sure our bill is about more than prevention. We need to be proactive about finding solutions for millions of Americans--especially minority individuals--who are hurting right now. We need to start by expanding access to credit.

Under the Dodd bill, the Secretary of the Treasury will be authorized to establish a multiyear program of cooperative agreements, financial agency agreements, and grants--all designed to make credit more available to low- and middle-income Americans. For the first time in years, our legislation would give ordinary consumers access to mainstream financial institutions and provide alternatives to those payday loan operations. It would help defray the costs of programs that make small loans so folks could find it easier to get the resources they need without incurring unnecessary risks.

Our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would also play a significant role in making credit more available. Currently, 16 percent of minority households do not have bank accounts, compared with only 4 percent of White households. As a result, African Americans and other minorities are more likely to use payday lending services, some of which are questionable practices, to take advantage of their customers.

That is why our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would have the authority to supervise large, nonbank financial companies to cut down on abusive tactics. It would also help enforce fair credit card laws, rein in automatic overdraft programs, and clarify the complex web of rate charges.

In short, this legislation would reduce or eliminate many of the factors that keep people away from banks. It would help raise financial literacy and establish reasonable terms and conditions for loans. At its core, it would significantly expand access to credit--especially among those who continue to feel the worst effects of this economic crisis.

That is why I am proud to support the Wall Street reform bill that has been introduced by my good friend, the distinguished Senator from Connecticut, Chairman Dodd. I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this important legislation.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I am pleased to join the distinguished Senator from Louisiana in supporting this small business legislation. There is a growing chorus in Washington of national leaders and advocacy groups, concerned citizens who have all come together to call for financial reform. Across America, folks are demanding a return to accountability, commonsense regulations, and fair business practices.

Each of us has been touched by this economic recession. Every Member of this body has heard from countless businesses and families back home who have had to tighten their belts and brace for the worst. We have all seen the raw numbers. We have heard the statistics over and over. Too often, we forget what is behind the numbers--real folks experiencing real pain. This economic crisis is far from abstract. It has touched millions of American lives. It has made people wonder when or even if our economic future will be secure again. It has shaken us to the core.

Things are finally starting to look a bit better. Thanks to bold steps taken at the national level, America is back on the road to recovery. Key economic indicators are turning around. But we are not out of the woods yet. The national unemployment rate stands at almost 10 percent. Our economy is growing but more slowly than we had hoped. Some people, especially the elderly and racial and ethnic minorities, remain especially vulnerable. Their pain is real. That is why, as the Senate considers financial reform legislation, we need to make sure they are protected. We need to make sure recovery continues along the right path and, at the same time, to stand up for these folks and prevent this from happening again.

That is why we need to create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a strong advocate standing squarely on the side of the ordinary American, defending them from abuse at the hands of large corporations. This new bureau must be at the center of the financial reform package. It must be empowered to set and enforce strict consumer protection rules.

We should start with the mortgage industry. For years, banks have been allowed to relax their standards. They have made bad loans to people who were never able to make the payments. As a result, foreclosures skyrocketed.

Almost no community in America was immune to the subprime lending crisis, but minority populations were hit the hardest. At the height of the subprime boom, 54 percent of the loans made to African Americans were high-priced loans. The recession has caused these borrowers to come under severe stress, and as a result the Black home ownership rate has decreased.

We need to stop this kind of predatory lending and restore basic principles of fair play to the mortgage industry. That is why our Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would take a hard look at the way the mortgage brokers operate. It would ensure borrowers have access to loans they can afford. It would shut down scam operations, end abusive practices, and keep all brokers honest.

But it doesn't stop there. I believe we should extend many of these same protections to the student loan industry.

Today's young people represent the best America has to offer. They are our future, and we need to invest in their education, so we can make sure they have the tools that will help them succeed in the global marketplace. That is why our Consumer Protection Bureau would have the authority to set basic rules of the road, to make sure students are empowered to make smart choices.

The bureau would provide assistance to borrowers and institutions alike, increasing the flow of information and breathing transparency back into this complicated system. This would provide significant benefits to young people across America. But it would have the strongest impact on minority households, 49 percent of which currently have installment loans, including student loans.

Finally, we must task our new bureau with increasing financial literacy among consumers. Today, far too many Americans get caught up in the fine print, trapped by the deceptive practices of major financial institutions. So if we pass financial reform that includes a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, these folks will have access to clear information in plain English. If they are still confused, they will be able to call a consumer hotline. This will connect them directly with experts at an office of financial literacy, so they can get their questions answered and make sure they are getting a fair deal.

This will empower consumers to make smart choices and will prevent big financial institutions from taking advantage of ordinary Americans. It would ensure that we stay on the road to recovery and extend a helping hand to regular folks who need it--especially the disadvantaged communities that have felt the worst effects of this crisis.

Most importantly, a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will help prevent this kind of crisis from ever happening again. We must never forget that cold statistics and Wall Street balance sheets do not tell the complete story of this financial meltdown. It is important to think of the real human beings--individuals and families--who are behind these numbers: the ordinary folks who continue to suffer.

I believe it is time to stand up for these folks. That is why I am glad a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is at the center of our Wall Street reform bill.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, roughly 2 years ago, the American economy stood on the verge of collapse. After years of growth and seemingly endless prosperity, the honeymoon was suddenly over. The bubble burst. The world was plunged into recession. Banks began to fail, foreclosures skyrocketed, businesses struggled, and many Americans lost their jobs. Working families saw their hard-earned economic security evaporate almost overnight. Some of our largest and most respected financial institutions were forced to close their doors and others were in imminent danger.

In Washington, policymakers found themselves face to face with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. They took action. They were forced to make some difficult decisions, but they stopped the bleeding and set America back on the road to recovery.

It is well known that reckless actions by large Wall Street firms helped get us into this economic mess. These companies skirted rules and regulations. They gambled with the securities of the entire financial system, and they lost.

But my colleagues knew that if these large institutions collapsed, they would bring down the rest of our economy with them. They had become, as we say on this floor, too big to fail.

In the face of the potential catastrophe, many of my colleagues summoned the kind of political courage that is rare in this town. They bit the bullet and voted to bail out these large firms, not because the firms deserved government help but because it was the only way to stop this recession from turning into a depression.

It must have been a painful decision, but it provided stability at a volatile moment. It propped up ailing markets all over the world and helped pull this country out of an economic tailspin.

Today, our recovery remains fragile, but we are moving in the right direction. Too many Americans remain unemployed, but the economy is starting to grow again. Key indicators are finally turning around.

As this Chamber considers Wall Street reform, I believe it is time to make sure this can never happen again. Let's protect our financial system from the kind of recklessness and abuse that has cost us so much. Let's make sure we never again will be forced to prop up big banks or risk total collapse. Let us end too big to fail.

As a former banker, I have a deep understanding of the role our financial institutions play. Banks help direct investment to local communities. They provide credit to small businesses and security to working families. When they make bad decisions, they deserve to suffer the consequences of those decisions. That is how our free market system works.

When big banks try to get around these responsibilities, when they package these risk investments and sell off the risk to someone else, that is not banking, that is gambling. Without commonsense regulations and vigorous oversight, Wall Street becomes a casino. I heard my distinguished colleague from Nevada mention that Nevada is the gambling capital of the world. But Nevada would not even buy some of these odds in which some of these banks are involved.

Sometimes these companies get lucky and their bets may pay off. But other times they are not so lucky. That is when they look to working families to either bail them out or suffer a second Great Depression.

We need to make sure Americans never have to face this choice again. We have to prevent firms from growing so large and reckless that they threaten our entire economy. That is why I support the bill introduced by Chairman Dodd and say that it is a good bill, it is a strong bill which will end taxpayer bailouts, restore oversight, and set basic rules of the road so we can make sure too big to fail is a thing of the past.

This bill will institute the Volcker rule, which will both restore and modernize some of the key protections of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. I am also cosponsor of an amendment that is coming forward in this regard. I really support us going back to Glass-Steagall, having been a banker during those days when you couldn't invest in insurance companies, you couldn't invest in mortgage banking activity, and you had to be a commercial bank that took in the lending and the security of people's assets and made loans in that regard. So this would help prevent fraud, discourage conflict of interest, and keep banks from growing so large they threaten our economic security.

The bill would also give us the tools to monitor big banks for risky behavior so that we could crack down on the irresponsible practices that caused this mess in the first place.

I urge my colleagues to pass this bill as it will be amended, and I call upon them to join my good friend Senator Boxer in passing her amendment, which will help us bring down large unstable institutions without taxpayer bailouts. Taxpayers aren't going to take it anymore. We aren't going to be bailing out these big institutions only to have them turn around and pay huge bonuses to their top officials.

Over the past 2 years, we have made great strides in helping to turn our economy around. In the last Congress, Members of both parties did what was necessary to stop the recession from deepening. Then, a little more than a year ago, I was proud to join many Members of this body in passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act--a landmark bill that continues to bring prosperity back to communities all across this country. As a result of these bold actions, our economy is finally on the right track.

So let us in this body, at this time, finish this job. Let's pass this Wall Street reform bill, as amended, so that we can establish the basic rules of the road and allow our free markets to thrive again. Let's end too big to fail so no large bank will be able to gamble away our economic security. Let's do it now because the time is now.

I yield the floor.

Passing of Ernie Harwell

Mr. President, as I am sure many of my colleagues are aware, today is National Teachers Day, and this week is Teacher Appreciation week--an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the enormous contributions made by America's educators at every level.

The work they do--and the impact they have--can hardly be overstated.

Teachers are charged with helping to shape young minds, and providing our students with the tools and inspiration that will lead them to success at every level of our global society.

This work could not be more important. Our educators truly impact eternity.

But, as I address this Chamber today, they face a climate that is increasingly inhospitable to their work, and their goals.

Studies show that today's teachers are more experienced and more educated than ever.

Almost half of all public school teachers hold at least a master's degree, and more than 75 percent regularly participate in professional development programs.

Yet every single year we ask these dedicated professionals to work longer hours for less pay.

And in some cases we even expect them to spend their own hard-earned money to provide school supplies for their students.

This is unacceptable. We can--and we must--do better.

At every stage in my career, I have raised my voice on behalf of America's students and educators.

Today, on National Teachers Day, I urge my colleagues to join me in this call to action.

We need to step up our investment in America's future, and provide our educators with the support they need.

We need to meet competence and dedication with gratitude, fair pay, and adequate classroom resources.

And we need to do so without delay.

Because, if we fail to keep these commitments, if we fail to provide the support our educators need, we will lose quality educators and the invaluable services they provide.

In my home State of Illinois, roughly 9,000 public school teachers have received layoff notices this year.

And as many as 300,000 will lose their jobs nationwide.

This will result in more crowded classrooms, less individual attention for students who need it, reduced access to extracurricular programs, and a school faculty and staff that is increasingly stretched thin.

I invite my colleagues to consider the impact these massive layoffs will have on our students.

I invite them to think of the consequences for America's future.

We cannot let this stand.

That is why I am proud to be an original cosponsor of S. 3206--the Keep Our Educators Working Act, which I have introduced with my good friend Senator Harkin.

This legislation would create a $23 billion Education Jobs Fund, which would help provide resources to states and local districts that are finding it hard to make ends meet.

This money would be used to retain current educators, hire new ones, and provide important on-the-job training activities to those in education-related careers.

It would keep good teachers where they belong: in the classroom--and would help to close the budget gap that currently threatens to leave many school districts high and dry.

So I urge my colleagues in this Chamber to support this bill, and make education a priority again.

Let us give teachers and students the support they need--so we can recruit the best teachers, fund afterschool programs, and keep more schools open.

I applaud President Obama for his unwavering commitment to our education system. And today, I call upon him to follow through on that commitment.

To work with my colleagues and I, on both sides of the aisle, to pass the Education Jobs Fund Act, reinvest in our schools, and make sure that America's future is secure.

And I would ask that they join with me in celebrating the dedication and hard work of our teachers--without whom none of us would be where we are today.

Mr. President, my colleagues and I here in Washington are here to fulfill a sacred public trust, a commitment we made the moment we raised our hands and swore the oath of office. Whether we swore that oath 30 days ago or 30 years ago, that commitment remains very real. We are here to fight for the citizens of our respective States, to represent their concerns and to make sure their voice rings out in the committee hearings and on the floor of this Chamber. That is the obligation we took upon ourselves the moment we entered public service. I know it is something all of us take very seriously.

I call upon my colleagues to rise to the challenge of this pivotal moment. It is time to live up to the promise we made. It is time to stand up for the people we came here to represent, from all 50 States of this Union. It is time to take action on Wall Street reform so we can restore accountability to a system that has spiraled out of control, and cost billions in taxpayers' dollars.

The U.S. Constitution makes it clear that my colleagues and I are accountable to the American people we came here to serve. But because we enjoy a thriving free market system, Wall Street bankers are bound by no such accountability. That is why we used to have strict regulations in place, such as basic capital standards and lending requirements, that laid out the rules of the road by which all financial institutions must operate--not to interfere with the market but to assure that business practices were free and fair.

It used to be that banks, large and small, based their security on the quality of their investments. I worked at a very large bank in those days. The

lending decisions were driven by confidence in the local businesses. Financial institutions sank or swam as a result of the choices they made. This encouraged responsible choices and ensured that banks made smart investments. It kept them accountable to the communities they served and to the businesses in those communities.

I said a moment ago I served as a banker for many years. I helped secure loans for small and large businesses. I fought to keep investing in the local economy because I knew we had a responsibility to those who worked with us. We helped enrich the people with whom we did business. The bank's responsibility is to keep capital and cash flowing.

The bank's responsibility is to keep capital and cash flowing. So we were accountable to our customers. That is what banking used to be. But not anymore. Gradually over the past few decades, tough standards were relaxed, regulations were rolled back, and rules were bent or ignored by some of the country's largest and most trusted financial institutions. Greed replaced accountability as the driving force behind many transactions. Banks made bad loans and then repackaged them with other loans and sold off the risk. They created new types of securities and invented ways to place high-stake bets on investments. These activities have no value of their own. They have nothing to do with our free market economy. They are designed to make easy money for big banks, which pass the risk on to someone else. But they contribute absolutely nothing to the economy. There is no product, no investment in private enterprise that will benefit local communities.

So Wall Street has basically turned into a casino, and it has done so at our expense. These fat-cat bankers were gambling not just with our money but with our economic future. They placed our entire economy at risk, and about 2 years ago their recklessness caught up with them. The bottom fell out. The whole massive scheme began to unravel. The American economy fell apart like a house of cards because that is exactly what Wall Street had become--a giant pile of empty investments that had been passed around between big banks, packaged and repackaged to the point where these investments were supported by little more than the paper on which they were written. These large investment banks tried to make something from nothing, and in their wild pursuit of bigger and bigger profits, they gambled the stability of our entire economy. So it is no wonder these systems came crashing down.

Wall Street dropped the ball, and now they are trying to pass the buck. I refuse to let them do that. I refuse to stand by as these big firms try to take the government bailout money and escape the consequences of their action. What they did was irresponsible and unethical.

My colleagues and I were forced to make difficult decisions to prevent a complete economic collapse. We did what was necessary to stop the bleeding and get America back on the road to recovery.

Now it is time to make sure this can never happen again. It is time we pass financial reform that will make Wall Street accountable again so they cannot make decisions that undermine our economic security. That is why I strongly support the bill introduced by my good friend, the distinguished Senator from Connecticut, Chairman Dodd.

I thank my Republican friends for allowing us to bring it up for debate. I said on this floor yesterday that the ball game had another inning, and it did. I am grateful to our Republican friends who said: Yes, let's put this on the floor and let's debate it.

Let's not debate to debate and then not get on with the business of average American citizens. As we discuss this legislation in this Chamber in front of the American people, I hope to work with my colleagues in both parties to hammer out a comprehensive, bipartisan bill, a bill that ends the days of the Wall Street casino and safeguards every American from the kind of reckless behavior that led to this crisis in the first place. This is the difficult work we swore to do when we came to this Senate. As we take up the issue of Wall Street reform, I intend to work with my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to see that it gets done.

As I said to the Senator from Rhode Island, I am very interested in his piece of legislation that deals with the credit card interest.

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

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

Madam President, we just witnessed a few moments ago the third attempt to try to do something about financial reform legislation in this body, and for the third time, it went down. I am an old baseball player. I played a lot of baseball in my young days, and there is a rule in baseball that says three strikes and you are out. Well, we have had three tries at this financial reform, and I will tell my distinguished colleagues on the other side of the aisle: We are not out. We are just beginning to fight under the circumstances we are confronted with because we are fighting on behalf of the American people.

Earlier this week, our distinguished majority leader called for a vote to open the debate on major financial reform. We have seen well- designed proposals from the Senator from Connecticut, Chairman Dodd. This bill reflects the priorities articulated by President Obama and supported by an overwhelming majority of the American people. It will end the so-called ``too big to fail'' and prevent massive banks from making risky decisions that threaten the entire American economy. It will eliminate the need for government bailouts, and it will institute commonsense regulations so companies cannot create investments that are designed to fail and then bet against them.

In short, this legislation is a good starting point. As a matter of fact, we have heard Chairman Dodd say time and time again we have to get it on the Senate floor so we can improve this legislation. I know I am supportive of a couple of amendments that would be beneficial to improve the legislation. It may not be the complete Wall Street reform package in its final form, but it contains a number of good provisions, and it is worth debating. So I am asking my colleagues, let's stop debating to debate.

The majority leader scheduled a vote to bring this bill to the floor so Members of both parties could offer amendments and make improvements. This was not a vote on the legislation itself. Leader Reid was not asking the Senate to pass the bill without debate or without amendment. He simply wanted to start the process. He wanted to begin deliberations on the floor of this Chamber in front of C-SPAN cameras and in front of the American people. But when the roll was called and my colleagues and I came to the Chamber, every single one of my Republican friends voted to block the debate, plus one of ours.

So we will try again, I hope, this afternoon, if not tomorrow, but we are not playing baseball on the floor of the Senate. This is not the all-American game, but it is the all-American future.

There was a second vote to start debate--to move ahead this process and take up the consideration of financial reform. But for a third time, my Republican friends stood in the way. They know they will have plenty of opportunity to try and defeat the bill once it

is on the Senate floor, but they decided to drag their feet anyway.

We have seen this kind of thing before. This is the same Republican playbook we saw with health care reform, the same obstructionism, the same tired politics. In the past, they have been able to use this strategy to score political points. This time, I would respectfully suggest that my Republican friends have miscalculated. The issue of health care reform was complicated, so when it came time for debate, it was easy to distract and delay and to spread misinformation.

It was easy to muddy the waters so they could gain traction and delay President Obama's agenda. When the health care debate was over, good policy won out over good politics, and we passed the bill--but not before my friends on the other side had scored some political points.

This time it is different. Financial reform itself is very complex. That is why it is so easy for big banks to take advantage of consumers. That is why it is difficult to apply the kind of oversight we should have seen in the years leading up to the recent collapse.

The issue itself is hard. This time around, the tactics of distraction and delay will not work. That is because Americans are smarter than that. They know who the bad guys are.

About 2 years ago, Lehman brothers was one of the first dominoes to fall. Next came Bernie Madoff. Then a handful of other Ponzi schemes came crashing down. Most recently--just yesterday--we witnessed Goldman Sachs, one of the largest and most respected firms on Wall Street, was charged with fraud.

When it comes to financial reform, we know where the problem lies. My Republican friends can try to distract and obstruct all they want, but they will not succeed in confusing the American people. Ordinary folks have had their pocketbooks bled dry by this financial crisis. They have seen their hard-earned savings disappear and their future become dramatically less secure, and they know exactly who to blame.

For far too long, Wall Street banks have been subject to relaxed oversight. As a result, the focus of their business has changed. It stopped being about lending money to businesses, making smart investments, and encouraging free enterprise. When I was in the banking business, that is what we did. I was at the biggest bank in Illinois, the seventh largest bank in America, where we worked with companies, made loans, collected interest, and took the people's deposits in and paid them interest. And we kept the economy going.

Instead, Wall Street has basically turned into a casino. Look at the derivatives market. Here you essentially have an object that is being traded that has no value of its own. It has no ties to the actual economy. There is no product, no business idea, and no actual investment. It is just a high-stakes bet.

Without intelligent risk management, capital standards, and basic rules of the road, these bets have the potential to undermine the strength of our entire economy. Wall Street is a casino gone wild, and they are gambling with our money not theirs. They are making money off of our money.

The American people know this. They can see through the distractions and political posturing. They recognize the need to reform Wall Street so we can end bailouts, put commonsense rules in place, and make sure we never experience this kind of economic crisis ever again.

I am not sure what my Republican friends hope to gain by blocking our debate on this bill. They say they want to improve it, but that is exactly what we would be able to do once it is on the floor. Maybe they believe they can water down our reform package by dragging out this process. Maybe they would like the chance to hold some more Wall Street fundraisers before they have to take a vote on the legislation itself. Maybe they simply don't have an alternative plan, and they know they cannot win this argument on the floor of the Senate, with the eyes of the Nation on them.

I am not sure what they hope to gain by stalling financial reform. I urge my distinguished colleagues on the other side to please let us move ahead with this process. I urge them to set aside these political tactics and bring their ideas to the table so we can strengthen this bill and make sure our economic future is safe.

I call upon them to join us in debating, amending, and improving this important legislation rather than dragging their feet on a bill that has so much public support.

When we pass this into law, after extensive discussion, it will be a victory for the American people. If my Republican friends join us in this effort, it can be a victory for both political parties, as well. We will all benefit. The American people will benefit.

This legislation deserves to be debated in open session. I ask my Republican friends to let us move ahead. But if they will not, and they continue to delay and obstruct, then I challenge them to come to the floor and explain. I challenge any one of my distinguished colleagues on the other side of the aisle to walk into the Senate Chamber today and seek recognition from the Chair. I challenge them to stand before the American people and tell them why American families should be asked to fund Wall Street's recklessness and greed.

I want them to explain that, Mr. President. I believe we need to end these practices. I believe we need to take up the issue of financial reform without delay. If my friends on the other side disagree, it is their privilege to do so. But I believe they owe the American people an explanation. I am pretty sure it will be very difficult to explain to them why they are holding up this important piece of legislation.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, for years at big corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Wall Street bankers packaged bad mortgages and sold them to investors. They knew these investment vehicles would inevitably fail so they turned around and bet against them. They bet against the American people. That is what they did when they put these packages together. They sought to make a profit off the misfortunes of their own customers.

Tonight we stand at the brink of a real debate on this topic, but our Republican colleagues will not even agree to let us move forward. We have to debate whether we are going to debate. Main Street suffered the most challenging economic situation in a generation. It has been made clear tonight who the Republicans stand with--they stand with Wall Street--because we are debating to debate.

After the breathtaking scope of the economic crisis that America is only now coming to terms with, how can we simply refuse to move forward, refuse to debate this critical legislation? We are debating to debate--unbelievable. We have to debate to debate about fair, meaningful reform while Wall Street continues to pose a systemic threat to the American financial system.

I know a little bit about the financial system. I am probably the only one here who is a banker. I spent my early years in the biggest bank of the State of Illinois, selling money for a living. I know about banking and I knew what Glass-Steagall would do at the time. It prevented us from getting into the insurance business, the investment banking business, and banks were still able to grow and to make loans to the various entities that needed the loans. That is what we were there for, to assist businesses to grow and provide capital and make sure they would be successful and repay their loans.

As a matter of fact, I financed some of the most difficult businesses in the State of Illinois. We had a government-guaranteed loan section for startup businesses. I loaned $1 million to a church-owned hospital, the first Black church-owned hospital in America. I financed that in 1969 with a $1 million loan. Guess what. The hospital paid every penny of that money back to our bank, plus we made interest on it. It wasn't a giveaway; it was not any type of charity; it was a business transaction to help the community. That is what banks ought to be doing. That is why we need to pass strong financial reform, to prevent bad behavior on Wall Street from sinking ordinary folk on Main Street. I know a little bit about Main Street because that is where I financed those businesses.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the reform legislation introduced by Senator Dodd, the distinguished Senator who put his life into this business, trying to make sure we have some type of financial security for the people and not a bunch of people who are going around ripping off folk and getting rich off of the work of other people. This bill would have prevented Goldman Sachs and other companies from getting into this mess in the first place and it can help ensure that we will never end up in this position again.

I hope so, but we don't know what will come up. I heard Senator Warner on the floor today. Senator Warner was saying he might not know what will happen and probably won't. But I hope when we get this legislation to debate--the legislation we are debating to debate--it will never happen again. But first we need to agree to debate the bill on the floor.

I ask my colleagues on the right to simply talk and debate about the ideas on this bill. I want Glass-Steagall. I am cosponsor of the amendment for the Glass-Steagall Act to come back. This legislation will create a consumer protection bureau designed to shield ordinary Americans from unfair, deceptive, and abusive business practices. As a former attorney general, I know what it is, in so many of these financial situations, mistreating our consumers. I defended those consumers tremendously during my years as Attorney General of the State of Illinois. I want the bill to establish an oversight task force to keep an eye on emerging risks so we will not be taken by surprise again. It will end too big to fail, protect taxpayers from unnecessary risk, and eliminate the need for future bailouts.

This bill would also increase transparency and accountability for banks, hedge funds, and the derivative market. Some people don't even know what they are doing about it, so big companies such as Goldman Sachs won't be able to get away with fraud anymore. These basic reforms will establish clear rules of the road for the financial service industry so we can keep the market free and fair without risking another economic collapse.

But if we fail to take action, if we do not pass this reform legislation, if we even fail to move forward on this simple procedural motion on the debate to debate, then we will be right back where we started--no safeguards against this kind of deception and abuse in the future.

I call on my colleagues to join me in supporting moving on to Senator Dodd's bill. Let's move on to it and get on with the business of debating the bill and not debating to debate. I ask my friends on both sides of the aisle to stand with me on the side of the American people. Let's move to debate this financial reform legislation without delay.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, in early 1933, just after Franklin Roosevelt was sworn in as President, the Great Depression was at its worst. The American economy had been shaken to its core. Financial institutions had closed, people's life savings had evaporated, and no one knew where to turn. That is when the unthinkable happened: Much of the American commercial banking system collapsed.

President Roosevelt and his colleagues in the House and Senate sprang into action. Congressman Henry Steagall and Senator Carter Glass, both Democrats, worked with the President to write sweeping reform legislation. They set out to get the economy back on the road to recovery. The resulting law--known as the Glass-Steagall Act of 1934-- helped to lay the foundation for sensible bank regulation in this country. It would come to define America's financial landscape in the decades that followed the Depression.

Mr. President, it is in this spirit that I ask my colleagues to join me today in supporting major financial reform and making sure that the Volcker rule is included in our financial legislation. If we pass the bill that has been introduced by Senator Dodd, we can help prevent another economic crisis and reinstate some of the basic protections included in Glass-Steagall.

Almost 80 years ago, this legislation established the FDIC, which still insures bank deposits--and it drew a sharp distinction between commercial banks and investment banks. In the wake of economic collapse, Congress recognized that these dueling roles often came with massive conflicts of interest. In some cases, this resulted in risky behavior. In others, fraud.

So Glass and Steagall designed their bill to set up a barrier between commercial banks and investment banks. The law prevented these two activities from mixing and kept financial professionals honest and accountable. For much of the next half century--as our economy recovered from the Great Depression and prosperity returned to America--the system worked just as it was intended.

As a former banker, I can personally speak to the significance of the Glass-Steagall Act in helping to keep our financial system on an even keel. This important law was essential to the stability of our economy--right up to the moment when my Republican friends repealed it--a little more than a decade ago.

In 1999, the Republican Congress decided there was no longer a need to keep commercial and investment banks separate, so they passed a bill that rolled back key portions of the Glass-Steagall Act. Unfortunately, President Clinton signed it into law, and with the stroke of a pen, the walls between commercial banks and investment banks were torn down.

Almost overnight, commercial institutions started to move into this fresh territory. They started to underwrite CDOs and mortgage-backed securities. Then they began to trade them. Commercial lenders even created new investment vehicles, which bought these very same securities. Without the Glass-Steagall Act, it was a free-for-all.

As soon as the regulations were removed, big banks swooped in without regard to responsible lending practices. Conflicts of interest sprang up everywhere. Fraud was allegedly committed by some of our largest and most respected institutions. Then, 2 years ago, our economy went into a massive downward spiral--a great recession from which we are still trying to recover.

The repeal of Glass-Steagall certainly did not cause this financial crisis on its own. But many believe it was a contributing factor, and unless we can take action to close this regulatory gap, the absence of Glass-Steagall could expose our economy to major systemic risk in the future.

So, today, as the Senate stands on the verge of considering major financial reform, I would urge my colleagues to reinstate some of these protections. We must prevent big banks from engaging in these irresponsible practices ever again. That is why I am proud to support the Volcker rule, which my friend, Senator Dodd, has included in his financial reform bill.

This provision will prevent traditional banks from making private equity investments. It will stop them from running hedge funds. It will help keep them from placing bets on the market. As a key part of Senator Dodd's bill, the Volcker rule will essentially serve as a modernized version of the Glass-Steagall Act.

It would stop short of reinstating the old law of 1933, but it would help to prevent fraud, discourage conflicts of interest, and keep large banks from engaging in reckless behavior. It would also allow us to help regulate mergers among our biggest banks so we can prevent the market from becoming too concentrated or incurring systemic risk.

Mr. President, I believe each of these key components is a necessary part of any financial reform bill. That is why I am proud to join Senator Dodd, as well as President Obama, in supporting the Volcker rule. Colleagues, let's learn from the events of history. Let's impose fair and reasonable regulations so a handful of banks would not be able to undermine the American economy with a few foolish decisions. Let's pass a financial reform bill that includes the Volcker rule.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. in room G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

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 April 21, 2010, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The Lessons and Implications of the Christmas Day Attack: Securing the Visa Process.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``The FY2011 budget Request for the Small Business Administration.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010. The Committee will meet in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office building beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 10 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 21, 2010, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate to conduct a hearing on April 21, 2010, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, when I came to Washington over a year ago, this country faced an economic crisis greater than anything we have seen in generations. So my colleagues and I set out to work. Under President Obama's strong leadership, we passed a landmark stimulus package that stopped the bleeding. We did what was necessary to prevent a complete economic collapse and set America back on the road to recovery.

Since that time, we have come a long way. Many key economic indicators have started to turn around, but we are not out of the woods yet. The economy has started to grow again, but unemployment is still too high, and rampant foreclosures continue to threaten families in my home State and across the country. During the first 3 months of this year, almost 15,000 homeowners went into foreclosure in Illinois alone. Despite our best efforts to modify mortgages to make them more affordable, that is twice as many foreclosures as we saw during the same period last year. This is unacceptable. We are making progress, but it simply isn't enough.

Today, America no longer stands at the brink of disaster, but we are still vulnerable to the same recklessness that led to this crisis in the first place. For years, at big corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Wall Street bankers packaged bad mortgages together and sold them to investors. They knew these investment vehicles would inevitably fail, so they turned around and bet against them. They bet against the American people. They sought to make a profit off of the misfortunes of their own customers. They allegedly committed fraud, and that is why they are currently being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of the American people. As a former banker, I understand the seriousness of this misconduct. I know it continues to pose a dramatic threat to the American financial system.

That is why we need to pass strong financial reform to prevent bad behavior on Wall Street from sinking ordinary folks on Main Street. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the reform legislation introduced by Senator Dodd. This bill would prevent Goldman Sachs and other companies from getting us into a mess in the first place, and it can help ensure that we will never end up in this position again.

This legislation creates a consumer protection bureau designed to shield ordinary Americans from unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial practices. It would establish an oversight council tasked with keeping a close eye on emerging risks so that we are never taken by surprise again. It would end so-called too big to fail, protect taxpayers from unnecessary risks, and eliminate the need for future bailouts.

This bill would also increase transparency and accountability for banks, hedge funds, and the derivative market, so a big company such as Goldman Sachs would not be able to get away with their alleged fraud anymore.

These basic reforms will establish clear rules of the road for the financial services industry so we can keep the market free and fair without risking another economic collapse. But if we fail to take action, if we do not pass this reform bill, then we will be right back where we started, with no safeguards against this kind of deception and abuse in the future. I call upon my colleagues to join me in supporting Senator Dodd's bill when it comes to the floor this week. I ask my friends on both sides of the aisle to stand with me on the side of the American people. Let us pass financial reform legislation, and let's do it without delay.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, here, in our Nation's Capital, we stand for justice, for fairness and opportunity and for the rule of law.

On the floor of this Senate and in the Oval Office, we shape national policy, and guide the course of a Nation.

In the chambers of the Supreme Court, the principles of justice laid down in our Constitution are translated into the real world.

Our system of government, embodied in this city, stands as an example for all others around the world.

And yet today we are met with a certain irony.

As I address this chamber, the DC Superior Court has been paralyzed, and our justice system has ground to a halt, thanks to my Republican colleagues.

My good friend, the junior Senator from South Carolina, has chosen to obstruct an eminently qualified judicial nominee and current DC magistrate judge, named Marisa Demeo.

When the President of the United States appoints a judge to the Superior Court here in Washington, these nominations are generally approved by the Senate without delay or controversy.

But this time, my Republican friends have decided to play politics with our judicial system.

They have stalled Judge Demeo's nomination for 8 months, and have turned a routine vote into the longest confirmation battle of the Obama Presidency.

As a result, DC government officials have warned that their ability to administer justice is being tested.

As a former attorney general of Illinois, I understand how dire this situation is. I understand how this obstructionism is crippling the Superior Court system.

And for what reason? My colleagues and I have asked our Republican friends to name their objections, but no one can get a straight answer.

No Republican has cast any doubt on Judge Demeo's qualifications, which are superb.

She has served as a magistrate judge since 2007. Before that, she worked at the Department of Justice, in the Civil Rights Division and as an assistant U.S. attorney.

She has degrees from Princeton and New York University. Her legal training and experience are more than adequate for the post of Superior Court Judge, and yet, for unspecified political reasons, the junior Senator from South Carolina continues to hold up this important nomination.

He said he has concerns that Judge Demeo may not be fair and balanced in her approach. But there is nothing in her record to suggest anything of the sort.

In fact, not a single Republican even took the time to ask a question at Judge Demeo's confirmation hearings.

So I cannot imagine what they find objectionable.

The court system in our Nation's Capital is strained to the breaking point, and my friend from South Carolina doesn't seem to mind.

I believe this is simply unacceptable.

This is why the American people are frustrated with their government: because petty political battles and Republican obstructionism are impeding our ability to govern.

My friends on the other side are certainly entitled to play political games if they like, but I would urge them to save politics for the campaign trail, and stop holding up the course of justice and the important business of the American people.

We simply do not have time for this. This is not about politics, this is about people's lives.

This is about the functioning of the American justice system, right here in the Capital of the United States.

This is about the constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial, a right which has been denied to DC residents by Republican political games.

The American people have had enough.

So I urge my friends on the other side to abandon this kind of obstructionism and take their political games elsewhere.

Let us stand up for the ideals of fairness and justice that are embodied here, in this system of government.

And let us make sure that every American, including the residents of our Nation's Capital, can avail themselves of this system.

I ask my colleague from South Carolina to drop his hold on this eminently qualified nominee, so this Senate can hold a vote, and then we can move forward in a bipartisan manner to address the challenges we face.