Floor Statements

Mr. President, I wish to briefly comment on health care policy which we have been able to accomplish over the last several years.

As most people know, for 20 years before I entered politics, I devoted my life to healing and to helping people one-on-one through medicine, and now for 12 years in the Senate I have tried to focus on healing and helping people using public policy.

From the outset, I have worked hard to place medicine and health care at the center of our national agenda.

I had a meeting at the White House earlier this morning. I restated how important it is that we address what is a coming tsunami as our aging population incessantly is coming toward us similar to a big tidal wave. It will be here in a few years.

Health care affects our global competitiveness. It affects our $8.5 trillion debt, our deficit, and our State budgets. It is intensely personal. It affects all of us in a very direct way because we are all sick at one time or another.

I am very proud of the work we have been able to accomplish on the floor in this body on health care policy. Thanks to a new Medicare Part D drug benefit, millions of seniors today are receiving access to drugs they didn't have before--drugs that can prevent heart attack or can prevent a stroke or can prevent various kinds of maladies from which people suffer. People today who have this affordable access to drugs no longer have to worry about having an illness or serious illness hit them and being able to buy those drugs which they need to treat that illness.

In that prescription drug coverage legislation which we passed, all Americans gained better access to health care through what we put in as Health Savings Accounts, accounts that you own, that you can control, that you can take with you.

Over a 5-year period in this body, we had an initiative which was completed to double the NIH budget. That leads

to new cures today and new therapies tomorrow.

I am also particularly proud of this body passing the United States Leadership Against Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. As my colleagues know, respectively, 3 million people die of the first, 2 million of the second, and 1 million of the third of the disease I mentioned. Move than 5 million people die a year. These are three deadly infectious diseases that can be controlled.

We took a major step forward with that $15 billion commitment. There is a lot more to do to address our health care system today. I am a great advocate of aligning our values and our incentives on results and outcomes. I believe in that vision of a health care system that is centered around a patient, or ``the patient,'' that is provider friendly, that is driven by three things: 21st century information; second, by choice; and third, driven by some element of control. A consumer-driven system is that vision, that model, to which we should all strive.

We need to change the way we think about health care, we need to reign in those frivolous lawsuits. We tried again and again to do so in the Senate the last 4 years and have been unsuccessful. The frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost of your health care, my colleagues' health care, and the cost of health care of everyone in this country.

We also need to address quality of health care to make sure those medical errors are eliminated, those needless medical errors that are made in our health care system today.

I am proud of the contributions Congress has made. We have much more to do.

Mr. President, when I placed my hand on the Bible and took my oath of office on a cold morning in 1995, I did not know many things I know today. But I knew with certainty that medicine would play a major role in my career in the Senate.

I kept the letters M.D. beside my name in my Senate office. I kept a stethoscope on my desk. And I kept my mind on the work of healing--of helping.

For 20 years before I entered politics, I devoted my life to helping people one-on-one. I performed 150 major transplants and, I hope, did a little to advance the science of transplantation. For 12 years in the Senate, I focused on the needs and interests of the people of Tennessee, the nation and, and around the world.

And, throughout it, I have done my best to remember where I came from: medicine. At the onset of my Senate career, I began working to place medicine at the center of our national agenda and promote its role around the world. Health care, after all, affects all of us, at every stage of our lives. I've spent enormous time on health and I hope it has made a difference.

I am proud of the work I have done to improve Medicare and preserve its promise to America's seniors. Thanks to the new Medicare Part D drug benefit, millions of American seniors will no longer have to worry about how they will pay for their prescriptions. Just as importantly, the new Part D benefit serves as a template for the future of Medicare: it empowers consumers and lets them choose the plan that fits their needs best. Most seniors have more than 20 choices, satisfaction is high, and costs to consumers have been less than we projected. The plan is a success. And we did it without having to impose price controls or caps that would stifle innovation and dry up the supply of new medicines.

The changes we created with the historic Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 do not end with the drug benefit. Medicare has begun to change its focus as well: it includes a first-ever ``welcome to Medicare'' exam and new coverage for tests that will help us prevent and treat diseases before they become major problems. Under the same legislation, nearly all Americans also gained much broader access to a new type of health coverage--Health Savings Accounts that they own, control, and carry with them from job to job.

I believe my efforts with regard to the National Institutes of Health embody the same forward-looking spirit that led to improvements in Medicare. For years, NIH's budget grew only about as fast as our overall economy even though medicine became an increasingly important economic activity. My medical colleagues told me that necessary research could not always find funding--and the American people made it clear they wanted a stronger federal commitment to medical research.

Over a 5-year period, I helped lead a bipartisan effort to double NIH's budget. And it's paying off. Among other things, NIH research has discovered new triggers for childhood asthma, innovative new ways to prevent diabetes, treatments to reduce mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission, new treatments for stroke, and dozens of other innovative medical techniques. Thanks to NIH research, the miracle medicines of tomorrow have begun to arrive more quickly. NIH research has saved thousands of lives.

Our efforts to improve medicine have not stopped at America's shores. Health care can as a currency of peace. It can provide hope. It can give relief. And I'm proud of the way I have worked to improve it around the world.

I am particularly proud of the leadership role I played in the United States Leadership Against Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003. These three deadly infectious diseases kill over a million people each year in the underdeveloped world. These infectious diseases do the most damage to the world's health. AIDS, the World Health Organization reports, steals more years of healthy life than any other disease. TB and Malaria--although usually not fatal--do enormous damage to health throughout the underdeveloped world and cost some of the poorest countries billions of dollars. It's vital that we attack them, fight them, and win. And we're making progress. Water has improved, reducing malaria. More and more people in the underdeveloped world are getting anti-retrovirals to fight HIV/AIDS. Widespread education on the Abstain/Be Faithful/Use Condom ABC model has proven effective in limiting the spread of AIDS. In my own missionary work In Africa- trips--I've taken every couple years--I have seen what these diseases can do--and the devastation that they can cause. The result: we've slowed the progress of these diseases, and we've saved millions of lives.

We still have much work ahead of us. Enormous numbers of Americans still lack insurance. Through the State Children's Health Insurance Program SCHIP and HSAs we have made it easier for some Americans to get health insurance. But we haven't done enough. Over the next several years, I hope Congress will work to change our health care system so all Americans have affordable, reliable health coverage.

But simply expanding insurance coverage isn't enough. We need to change the way we think about health care so we focus on results and value for patients. Getting there isn't going to be easy. To do it, we need national, interoperable, privacy protected electronic medical records for all Americans who want them. We need to rethink the way we structure medical practices, and we need to do a better job monitoring quality.

We also need to reign in predatory trial lawyers who stand in the way of the doctor-patient relationship by encouraging doctors to care more about avoiding liability and less about providing high quality medical care. Medicare and Medicaid, too, need additional and sustained reforms to ensure our federal programs are in line with ever-changing realities.

American health care still faces enormous problems. We have tremendous work ahead of us. I am proud to have played a role in the health care reforms of the past 12 years, and I will continue to speak, think, and write about the vital importance of health care to our future as a nation. I entered this body as a physician and I will leave as one.

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

Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that if cloture is invoked this morning on the Jordan nomination, there be 2 hours of debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member and that following that time, the Senate proceed immediately to vote on the confirmation of the nomination with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. President, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6131 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the measure be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1674 received from the House.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, that completes one round of business we will be doing over the course of the day. We will be coming to the floor to take care of business as it is completed. There is a lot of activity between the House and the Senate, and as we continue to move on these unanimous consent requests we will bring them to the floor over the course of the day.

Mr. President, I come to the floor with several objectives. We will be voting later tonight. We are still waiting for the bills to come over from the House.

Mr. President, as we serve in a class of Senators, we have several roles. We wear several hats. Probably the most important one is to represent the people who elected us, and that is our constituents back home in our home States. That has been for me a real honor over the last 12 years, to serve the people of Tennessee.

In addition to that, of course, we serve America as 100 individuals representing this entire country. That is a real privilege. If you are elected to leadership, you have other responsibilities.

Twelve years ago, the people of Tennessee entrusted me with the responsibility to serve their interests in the Senate. I have done my best each and every day to meet the Volunteer State's needs and to serve the people of my home State with dignity and honor. What an honor it has been to follow in the footsteps of former Senators Howard Baker and Bill Brock. What a tremendous privilege it has been representing the interests of the people of Tennessee.

And serving along side true statesmen such as Fred Thompson and Lamar Alexander--men who have dedicated so much of their lives to the people of Tennessee--has been a remarkably rewarding experience.

When I first stood for election in 1994, I pledged to all Tennesseans that I would serve two terms in the Senate and then return to home to live under the laws I had helped enact.

I made that commitment because I believe strongly in the concept of the citizen legislator--spending years developing real world experience outside the political arena as I did in medicine and then bringing that expertise to the legislative process for a period of time . . . only to make way for the next citizen with his or her fresh perspectives and new ideas.

As the time comes to resume my private life in the Music City, I have spent countless hours reflecting on the milestones in my service to Tennessee from which I derive particular pride.

I think about accomplishments such as establishing a prescription drug benefit that provides quality, affordable coverage for more than 700,000 beneficiaries in Tennessee.

I think about the State sales tax deduction, which I hope we will soon extend for 2 more years. Enacting that provision corrected a 15 year inequity in the Tax Code by allowing Tennesseans to deduct their State sales tax expenses from Federal income tax returns--and it resulted in additional savings of nearly $500 in taxes for more than 530,000 families across the State.

I recall the hours spent combating methamphetamine, a drug epidemic that has plagued Tennessee and dozens of other States.

I helped develop minimum Federal standards restricting access to the ingredients that produce methamphetamine, the drug our Nation's local law enforcement officials have ranked as our greatest problem.

I also enjoyed working with other members of the Tennessee delegation to establish a statewide methamphetamine task force and develop a statewide crime tracking system--all in an effort to eradicate this devastating drug from our communities.

During my time as majority leader, we also enacted a tobacco buyout that ended an outdated quota system that hurt Tennessee's farmers by providing fair compensation that will bring a total of $767 million to tobacco communities in the State over the next decade.

And we passed my National Park Fee Equity Act, a law that provides the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with an additional $200,000 to $300,000 each year by allowing the park to keep 100 percent of the user fees it collects.

I was also pleased earlier this year when the Senate confirmed the final member of a TVA board modernized by legislation I nursed through the legislative process over a 9-year period--legislation that resulted in the first African-American board member, the first west Tennessee board member, and the first chief executive officer in TVA history.

In addition, we passed legislation I authored allowing TVA to refinance its debt at lower rates, thus saving roughly $100 million per year.

These reforms will help increase accountability and oversight at TVA, which benefits both the utility and its ratepayers.

I have also worked extensively with my colleagues on the HELP Committee to extended health care and support services to Nashville, Memphis, and other emerging metropolitan communities disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS through reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act.

The CARE Act provides funding for low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, but none of Tennessee's cities met the legislation's original criteria to receive support--a fact I knew we had to correct and one which we rightly remedied.

I have dedicated significant energy to strengthening Tennessee's research infrastructure, and bringing both the Spallation Neutron Source project and the National Leadership Computational Facility to Oak Ridge demonstrates our State's leadership in advanced science and technology.

I was also pleased to play a central role in the development of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation and the revitalization of the Central Medical District in Memphis by securing $8.1 million for these efforts.

And to ensure that we encourage the bright young men and women of our State to pursue an education in these fields that are vital to America's competitiveness in the 21st century's global economy, I also created the SMART Grant program--a $3.75 billion initiative that provides financial assistance to students seeking degrees in math, science, engineering, technology, and foreign languages critical to national security.

I have tried to encourage economic growth in other ways, however, working closely with communities throughout Tennessee to provide the Federal assistance that can often enable local governments to pursue opportunities that will benefit their citizens for generations.

I secured $100 million to construct sections of Interstate 69 in Tennessee from Dyersburg to Memphis--a highway that will one day serve as an economic engine for much of West Tennessee.

When community leaders in the Chattanooga area asked for assistance with the crumbling Chickamauga Lock and Dam, a structure providing access to hundreds of miles of waterway used for economic economy in East Tennessee, I helped ensure the authorization of a new 110 ft.-by- 600 ft. replacement lock.

Construction funding for the replacement structure has been successfully secured in each year since 2003, and after a long period of hard work and difficult discussion, the White House agreed to include the project in its most recent budget request.

Several years ago, violent tornados ravaged Jackson, and local leaders sought my assistance in rebuilding badly damaged neighborhoods and city infrastructure.

I was honored to secure almost $11 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to rebuild public housing lost as a result of the devastating storms and an additional $2.1 million for the city's police department to improve communications during such emergencies.

Nashville long sought a light rail system that could help alleviate the burden placed on its roadways and improve the flow of consumers into downtown--the heart of its economic marketplace.

So I went to work and eventually secured $24.6 million in funding necessary to start and complete the Music City Star East Corridor Commuter Rail Project, which allowed Tennessee's first commuter rail passenger service to begin between the Riverfront Station in downtown Nashvil1e and the city of Lebanon in Wilson County just 3 months ago.

And when the city of Memphis began redeveloping its riverfront, I lent my support to the cause and secured nearly $8.7 million for the Cobblestone Landing and Beale Street Landing projects.

To help advance this work, I facilitated an agreement that will allow the University of Memphis Cecil Humphreys School of Law to relocate to the Postal Service Front Street Station in downtown Memphis--a move that will act as a cornerstone of riverfront redevelopment and reshape the law school's future.

I have also tried at every turn to provide steadfast support for Tennessee's brave men and women in uniform as a sign of my gratitude and respect for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of our Nation.

Because they deserve only the best facilities, I secured $32 million to construct a new headquarters facility for the Tennessee Army National Guard in Nashville and an additional $31 million to consolidate personnel previously located in 22 different buildings into a single, state-of-the-art command headquarters for the 101st Airborne and other units at Fort Campbell.

Because they and their families deserve basic economic fairness, I helped secure passage of the Fort Campbell Tax Fairness Act, which now ensures Volunteer State residents working at Fort Campbell are spared from a State income tax like all other Tennesseans.

I could spend many hours on the Senate floor recalling the countless ways in which I have worked to meet Tennessee's needs during my 12 years as a Member of this body.

But instead, I would rather thank the people of Tennessee for the opportunity.

I will forever treasure the experience--and the many individuals I have had the privilege of befriending across our great State along the way.

Electing me to serve two terms in the Senate is the greatest honor the citizens of Tennessee could have ever given me.

No words could ever express my deep appreciation.

I look forward to returning home and continuing my efforts to repay their generosity in the years to come.

Mr. President, this week, among other agenda items, the Senate considered the nomination of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense. It puts me in mind of similar high-level nominations we considered earlier this year, and throughout the 109th Congress. Namely, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and a host of other judicial nominees and presidential appointees.

When I consider these nominees I am reminded of the progress we've have made--the remarkable strides we've taken--to ensure continued fulfillment of our constitutional duty as United States Senators. Whether we recognized it or not, the 109th Congress had the potential to become a pivotal turning point in our Nation's history--with repercussions reaching far into the future.

Over the past 30 years, the Senate's confirmation process has slowly but steadily deteriorated. We faced the confirmation of fewer and fewer judicial nominees. During the Carter and Reagan administrations, the Senate confirmed 9 out of 10 appeals court nominees. But in the first term of the current administration, the Senate blocked one out of every three appeals court nominees.

Those that were confirmed took longer and longer. In the Carter and Reagan administrations, the Senate took an average of about 60 days to confirm a Federal appeals court nominee. But in the first term of this administration, we took an average of nearly 300 days.

And as the judicial nominations process deteriorated, so too did the quality and civility of debates. Bitterness and acrimony seeped in, threatening to poison the Senate's legacy--and our nation's future.

The 108th Congress marked the low point. For the first time in history, a minority of Senators obstructed the principle of a fair up- or-down vote on judicial nominees. That was unprecedented. Never in 214 years of Senate history had a judicial nominee with majority support been denied an up-or-down vote.

Two years ago, I faced a decision. I could ignore the events of the 108th Congress. Through passivity, I could permit the active obstruction of Senate duties--and the active destruction of Senate traditions.

Or I could do something to halt the unchecked downward spiral. I could protect the Senate's history of fulfilling our constitutional duty. I could help restore our legacy.

At the beginning of this Congress--the 109th Congress--I made a decision. I chose to stand on principle. I came to this floor, and reminded my colleagues of the 14-word oath of office we each take: ``I do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States.''

Our first responsibility, above all else, is to do our constitutional duty. Yet in the 108th Congress, the Senate failed to perform an essential constitutional duty. It failed to offer advice and consent to the President by filibustering ten judicial nominees and threatening to filibuster another six.

So nearly 2 years ago, when the 109th Congress opened, I took a stand.

In the spirit of bipartisanship, I extended my hand across the aisle to the new Senate Democratic leadership. I held the sincere hope that we could move forward beyond the difficulties of the 108th Congress--to a future of cooperation.

I said:

If my Democratic colleagues exercise self-restraint and do

not filibuster judicial nominees, Senate traditions will be

restored. It

will then be unnecessary to change Senate procedures. . . .

But if my Democratic colleagues continue to filibuster

judicial nominees, the Senate will face this choice: Fail to

do its constitutional duty or reform itself and restore its

traditions, and do what the Framers intended.

And it was at that point I made it clear that if the obstruction of fulfilling our constitutional duty continued, I would enforce the constitutional option--what some of my colleagues took to calling the ``nuclear'' option.

The principle is simple. The U.S. Senate has a constitutional obligation of advice and consent on the President's nominees.

To consent--or not consent. To vote yea or nay.

That is our constitutional duty.

And nothing--not party, not ideology, not politics, and not even tradition--should interfere.

That is the principle.

The nomination process is a grueling experience. Even for those nominees with impeccable credentials, a spotless record, and unassailable positions--it's anything but pleasant.

We grill nominees. We scrutinize their every word--both written and spoken. We demand justifications for their every action and decision. We advertise their flaws, both real and imagined. And we posit hypothetical situations before them, to gauge their reactions.

It takes a certain amount of stamina--of endurance--to undergo the nomination process. It demands exposure of the nominees and their families to public slander and character assassination.

And yet we have the audacity to compound this grueling experience by forcing nominees to languish without benefit of a vote.

So the principle I outlined at the beginning of this Congress--that every nominee should have a fair up-or-down vote--is twofold. First, each vote is the fulfillment of our constitutional duty to offer advice and consent on each of the President's nominees. And second, each vote offers a measure of fairness to nominees. They have submitted to the grueling public scrutiny entailed by the nomination process. In return, they deserve a definitive answer--yea or nay--on whether they have passed muster.

Undoubtedly, we lose many qualified candidates because they choose not to endure the public scrutiny of being nominated. But how many more do we lose--needlessly--because they fear languishing without a vote?

That is why I made it clear--at the outset of this Congress--that I could not countenance the perpetuation of the travesties of the previous Congress.

Looking back, I firmly believe that without that firm stand--without the promise of the constitutional option--we would not be where we are today.

Without the promise of the constitutional option, we would not have seen the so-called Gang of 14.

Without the promise of the constitutional option, it's unlikely we would have confirmed two Supreme Court nominees with such timeliness.

Without the promise of the constitutional option, I have no doubt that future generations would look at the 109th Congress as a negative turning point for the Senate. A turning point in which, through our passivity, we allowed a laudable Senate tradition to trump Senate duty as defined in the Constitution.

We have, for the time being, protected our Senate legacy.

I recounted these events for a reason. There is purpose to my reminiscing.

This week we are wrapping up the business of the 109th Congress. We are preparing for a change in control of the Senate. Many of my colleagues will return for the 110th Congress. I would leave them with this challenge: continue the progress of the 109th Congress.

We have halted the deterioration of the nominations process. We have even turned it around, helping prevent numerous nominees from languishing indefinitely.

But despite these important strides, there have still been casualties.

Just yesterday, President Bush accepted John Bolton's resignation from his post as Ambassador to the United Nations. A man eminently qualified to articulate the position of the United States--and yet a minority of my colleagues refused to grant him an up-or-down vote.

They refused to take a decisive stand--yea or nay. And in so doing, they abdicated their constitutional duty of advice and consent.

And there are others. Ten circuit court nominees still await a definitive vote, as do 21 district court nominees. And some have waited years. Not months, and certainly not days: but years.

It is true that the number of nominees still languishing is smaller now than it was at the end of the 108th Congress. And I firmly believe that what progress we've realized is a direct result of standing on principle.

For more than 200 years, the Senate operated on the underlying assumption that every nominee deserved an up-or-down vote. In the 109th Congress, we were forced to defend that assumption. And we did so, by standing on principle.

We have made important strides. We have stopped the downward spiral, and started to regain lost ground. But the fact remains: we still have farther to go. We have made progress, but it hasn't been enough.

So let me reiterate: to the 110th Congress--to my returning colleagues, and to the new Members--I issue this challenge: continue that upward momentum. Continue the progress of the 109th Congress.

Fulfill your constitutional duty of a fair up-or-down vote on each nominee.

Fulfill your commitment to fairness by giving nominees a firm yea or nay.

And fulfill your place in history by helping preserve the Senate's legacy. Don't let history remember the 110th Congress as the one when the Senate turned rebel.

It comes down to this: You can build on the progress of the 109th Congress. Or you can abdicate your constitutional duty, and irreparably damage America.

Looking back, I can proudly say the Senate stood on principle during the 109th Congress. We made genuine progress. I hope I can say the same of future Congresses.

Mr. President, I came to the floor to recognize two individuals who have been very close to me and contributed significantly to the progress I have made here in this body and, indeed, the progress that we make as an institution.

I rise to pay tribute to Emily Reynolds, our magnificent Secretary of the Senate. Abraham Lincoln once said, ``I am a success today because I had a friend who believed in me, and I didn't have the heart to let him down.''

Looking back at the past 13 years, those words ring true. I know for a fact that successes and triumphs I have enjoyed throughout my years in office are largely attributable to family and friends and staff, people who have stood with me, people who hold me to a higher standard, people who compel me to meet that standard.

Today, I specifically speak about one such person who has been at the center of everything I have done over the past 13 years, Emily Reynolds. No one has believed in our mutual vision for the future of Tennessee and the country--that mutual vision that she has shared and I have shared, that we have shared for the people of Tennessee--nobody has articulated and stood behind that more than Emily Reynolds.

Most of my colleagues know Emily as the Secretary of the Senate. She is the woman who keeps the legislative machine well oiled, moving and running smoothly, no matter what the circumstances; the woman largely responsible for bringing us the Capitol Visitor Center, and the woman who signs our paychecks every other week.

Thirteen years ago this month, I came out of the operating room having made the decision to run for the Senate. I learned early on from my experiences in the operating room--part of the surgical team--how important it is to surround yourself with the best of the best. So I sought counsel from former Majority Leader Howard Baker, who very quickly introduced me to his former chief of staff Jim Cannon. They both within a few days steered me to a remarkable fellow Tennessean who has literally been with me every step of the way over the last 13 years, currently serving as Secretary of the Senate, Emily Reynolds. It should come as no surprise after meeting her that I wanted Emily on my team.

In that first campaign, I was a political novice. I was the underdog. I had no political experience whatsoever. The pundits said I didn't have a fighting chance. But Emily had faith in our vision. She moved from Washington back home to Tennessee to join our fledgling campaign. She believed in our mission.

When we set up our 24-hour-a-day campaign headquarters over a restaurant in Nashville, Emily was there almost 24 hours a day. When I opened my first official Senate office, she was there. And now, as I-- as we all--carry our last boxes out of our offices and out of this majority leader's suite, she is there standing with me.

She served as my deputy campaign director back in 1994, and as my state director at home in Tennessee, and as my campaign manager for my reelection campaign in 2000, as chief of staff of my Tennessee office here in Washington, and for the past 4 years, she has served all 100 Senators as the 31st Secretary of the Senate.

To this day, the range of Emily's capabilities astounds me. She is a genuine people person. People love her. People are attracted to her warm personality. She makes you smile. She makes you laugh.

And what versatility. She is comfortable shooting the breeze with farmers down in rural Tennessee. But she is just as comfortable walking the Halls of the Senate and the Congress with Senators, with diplomats and foreign heads of state. No matter what the situation, whether it is singing on the stage of the Grand Old Opry or standing on the floor of the Senate, Emily's passion for people shines through that warm smile.

But beyond possessing the rare capability of being able to set just about anybody at ease, Emily is a talented administrator. She juggles the demands of all 100 Senators, Democrat and Republican alike, and their staffs, a thankless task, while always wearing a friendly smile. She is loved and respected by Members on both sides of the aisle.

Under her direction, the Senate has benefited from an ambitious overhaul of our computer systems, bringing them up to date with the latest in modern technology.

Emily humbly describes her job as ``making the trains run on time.'' That is true. But it doesn't give the complete picture of who she is or what she does. Within the Senate, she has fostered a stable environment of mutual respect and mutual trust. Her supreme attention to detail has served the Senate and our Nation well. Whether she is collaborating with the Sergeant at Arms to develop crisis contingency plans, or working with the Senate Historian's Office to produce new publications that augment and preserve the Senate's history, Emily is a born leader. Her devotion is unmatched.

Emily comes from a very close family whom I have had the privilege to know. That is where her values come from. That is where her sunny smile comes from. That is where her work ethic comes from. I can only imagine how proud of her accomplishments her dad Clarence is, her sister Ellen, and her brother Ernie, and how proud her mother Josephine would be, too.

Clarence, you did good. You did well.

Emily's service to the Senate will surely be missed. As an institution, we can only hope that she again returns to our body as she did after her service to another Tennessee majority leader, Howard Baker. Yes. In fact, Emily Reynolds worked in the very Republican Leader's office which I now occupy, from 1980 to 1984, where she worked for then chief of staff Jim Cannon, chief of staff for Howard Baker.

I cannot tell you how thankful I am having had her at my side for the past 13 years. She is a true friend and a trusted adviser. I cannot think of anyone more fittingly described by Lincoln's words.

Great things lie ahead for Emily Reynolds. The sky is the limit. And while I don't know exactly what direction she will travel, I am certain that, as always, the people of Tennessee and the entire United States of America will benefit.

Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to one who is known as Mr. Budget of the Senate. When I stepped up to the position of majority leader 4 years ago, my first priority was to hire a staff of capable advisers. When I stepped up, it happened very quickly, so I knew I wanted the best of the best. I already had a wonderful staff devoted to help the people of Tennessee, but what I needed was a core group of people to help me with the larger picture, to set an aggressive agenda and help me get it through.

I knew immediately who I wanted to advise me on budget and appropriations. In an ideal world, I knew exactly who that would be. And, of course, that was Bill Hoagland. I had known Bill and worked with Bill as a freshman Senator when he was staff director of the Budget Committee, then chaired by Pete Domenici, and I relied on him through those early days again and again in private meetings and tutorials to show me and to introduce me and my budget staff at the time the budget ropes, the process. So when that Christmas Eve 4 years ago came, I picked up the phone and I called Bill Hoagland. I asked--I pleaded with him--to become a part of my team.

Bill came to the Senate Committee on the Budget in the early 1980s from the Department of Agriculture. He started as a group leader and senior analyst and worked his way up through the ranks to become staff director. After more than two decades on the Budget Committee under Senator Domenici, Bill was the acknowledged expert on Senate floor procedure for budget resolutions and appropriations measures. He was there during Gramm-Rudman-Hollings. He was staff director during the Balanced Budget Act of 1995. For 21 years, Bill had a voice in every major Senate budget and appropriations measure. I was certain his expertise would be a tremendous asset to my team. And, indeed, it has been.

Bill has proven his worth time and time again. While serving as my director of budget and appropriations, Bill has played critical roles in ushering forth the Deficit Reduction Act and the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2006, and many others.

During these negotiations, Bill's voice is often the voice of reason, practicality, of realism. His plain speaking only enhances credibility as the preeminent authority, the unquestioned preeminent authority on Senate budget and appropriations.

But Bill isn't all business. The Senate Committee on the Budget fondly remembers him for genuinely caring about his staff. They remember his informal Friday late-afternoon happy hours where staff could share stories about the past week and learn things

about activities in the weeks ahead. In fact, they were so fond of those informal get-togethers that the current Republican staff director installed a plaque naming the room after Bill Hoagland.

My own staff and I will always carry memories of Bill bringing the Kentucky Derby to the Capitol with mint juleps on the Dole balcony behind me. And I will never forget Bill's weekly economic reports which I share on a regular basis with my colleagues. They were as much an exercise in dry wit as a profound analysis of the economic outlook.

After some 25 years, Bill has led one of the most distinguished staff careers ever to grace the Senate. On behalf of this Senate, I thank Bill for his dedication as a public servant to this Nation. Never doubt for a moment how much we value your wise counsel, Bill.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I know a number of our colleagues are wondering what time bills are going to be arriving from the House. I believe in a little bit, in the next 30 minutes or so, things will pick up and we will begin voting. I will come back and address this issue once things become a little bit clearer.

Mr. President, I wish to pause for a moment to pay respect to one man, Eric Ueland, my chief of staff. Tucked away in a corner of Eric Ueland's office is a well-worn copy of the book ``Master of the Senate.'' This comes as no surprise to those of us who know him. In fact, my staff used to joke that he was reading his own biography.

Eric is gifted with a passion for history, a thirst for knowledge, and a high reverence for the Senate. These talents have made him a uniquely capable adviser and leader in the majority leader's office.

He contextualizes every Senate debate, recalls appropriate precedent, and draws parallels to moments in history. A nameplate is discretely displayed on his desk, and the name it bears: ``Information.''

As the press corps knows, information is his trade and the enigmatic quote his trademark. How do you pay tribute to a man who is the first to know of Britney Spear's pregnancy and Don Rumsfeld's resignation?

Eric delights in a secret and encyclopedic knowledge of popular culture. Copies of People magazine and the entertainment gossip columns are strewn in the back seat of his classic car. And he knows everything about the media. Yet he doesn't have home Internet access or even cable TV. How does he do that?

Eric finds unique and, some would say, unusual pleasure in memorizing the complex rules, the arcane precedents, and early history of the Senate. ``Chart 4--mere child's play.'' You would expect he would know that combining his customary bow ties and beards could be a violation of the Senate Code of Conduct.

But his extraordinary talents are not what I have come to respect most about Eric Ueland. He is a man of deep humility, a man of quiet faith, a man of sterling character. He is a person true to his convictions, both political and personal. He has maintained his integrity in the rough and tumble of politics. His standards are high.

I know of no staffer who has had a more profound regard for the institution, our institution, the institution of the Senate. And, in turn, Eric has earned the gratitude and respect of so many who have had the honor to serve here. Eric came to the Senate 17 years ago and worked for Senator Don Nickles at the Republican Policy Committee and then as his chief of staff in the assistant Republican leader's office.

Senator Nickles writes:

I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of

individuals throughout my Senate career and Eric stands out

in many ways. He is an exceptionally intelligent individual

with unequaled knowledge of the Senate. His knowledge of

Senate history, rules, process and customs, as well as the

individuals who have served in the body for the last couple

of decades, is remarkable. He has devoted much of his life to

the Senate and helped make the Senate function much more

effectively. He was a tremendous asset to me as well as a

valued friend.

Eric has a beautiful and patient wife Kathleen and three wonderful children--Stephen, 13; Brigid, 11; and Charlotte, 6. Eric, as we all know, puts in long hours in service to the Senate and it, again, as we all know, takes him away from his family. So I thank each of them for their service to his family, to their community and, thereby, to the country. But Eric is a devoted father and puts in many hours helping them with homework and could often be found keeping score at one of their basketball games. The children's manners, their politeness, their dress all reflect that Kathleen and Eric are great parents.

Perhaps the highest tribute I can pay to Eric is simply to say his work has honored the institution of the U.S. Senate, which he himself so highly honors. And in honoring the Senate and the democratic ideals it represents, he has, indeed, honored his country.

Well done, Eric, you have been a good and faithful servant of the Senate. You have been a good and faithful counselor and friend, and you have served this Nation with distinction.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 6164, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent the amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.

I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House of Representatives on H.R. 6111.

I move to concur in the amendment of the House, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I now move to concur in the amendment with an amendment which is at the desk.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion.

I send a second-degree amendment to the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that Senator Gregg be recognized in

order to make a point of order against the pending legislation; provided that Senator Grassley then be recognized in order to move to waive and that there then be 30 minutes equally divided, with the first 15 minutes by Senator Grassley and the next 15 minutes by Senator Gregg, for debate, equally divided in the usual form; provided further that following that debate, the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to waive and that if the motion to waive prevails, the Senate then proceed to a vote on the motion to invoke cloture, notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII; I further ask that if cloture is invoked, the motion to concur with an amendment be withdrawn and the Senate proceed immediately to a vote on the motion to concur in the amendment of the House, without further intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, what we have just done is laid out a procedure whereby a point of order will be made. Senator Grassley will make a motion to waive. We will have a vote on the motion to waive the point of order, a cloture vote, and ultimately passage. There will be three votes. The first vote will be at approximately 12:30, 12:35.

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

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. President, I say hello to her as I come to the office every morning. And I say goodbye to her after I have closed the Senate each evening. The ``her'' is Ramona Lessen, my gatekeeper, my jailer, a distinguished member of my staff.

Twelve years ago, I was a newly elected Senator, a brandnew Senator who got lost trying to find his way to this place called the Russell Building. My chief of staff was just as green, just as new as me. We were all learning the ropes of the Senate together. But one member of our staff at least was not new. She took us under her experienced wing, and we took off on what has been a magical flight.

That person is Ramona Lessen, my executive assistant, who became very quickly the geographic and operational commander and controller of the Frist office.

Little did I realize when I first brought Ramona onboard that she would sit right outside--right outside--my office door, for not the next year or 2 years or 3 years or 4 years, but for 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years. As many of my colleagues know, I am a pilot, and I have flown a long time. I love to fly. And nothing is more comforting when you are flying an airplane close to a thunderstorm, and you are there alone, but you are talking to an air traffic control tower, and the voice on the other end is somebody who is reassuring, somebody who is calm, somebody who gets the big picture, who knows what is at stake and ultimately can vector you right around that thunderstorm.

And that is Ramona. Ramona, who is the expert in terms of scheduling, in terms of that coordination, who keeps the flights landing safely and keeps those flights landing on time. She prioritizes literally hundreds of meeting requests with flexibility and efficiency. And when someone puts a last-minute kink in the schedule, which as we all know occurs all too often, she works hard to correct it. She handles it with perfect aplomb.

When other staff members are out traveling with me or at committee meetings or monitoring the floor, Ramona is back in that office holding down the fort. She is always working behind the scenes to make our lives run as smoothly as possible. It gets hectic. Everybody here knows that. Everybody wants something all the time. And I know there are many days when she is--and these are her words--``hanging on by her fingernails.'' But despite the intense pressures of her job, the stress of juggling that busy schedule and responding to untold invitations and meeting requests, not to mention working for a demanding--not so demanding, but a demanding--boss, Ramona not only maintains her cool, but she keeps the office upbeat and literally fun.

Her talents take many forms. She is a professional pianist, professional at least in my eyes. You will find her playing at our Christmas parties, at the Bible study groups we have here, at her church, and even in the studios in Music City USA, Nashville, TN.

She is a formidable athlete. She runs a little slow but a formidable athlete. She led the Frist staff softball team to winning seasons-- championship seasons really; but we will say winning seasons--for 4 consecutive years, pitching with a changeup that baffled even the most experienced batters.

She does have an infectious laugh, that endearing cackle that we all know and have come to love. She treats the staff to doughnuts on many a Friday. She keeps me posted on the whereabouts of former staff members, Members who worked with us 12 years ago and 10 years ago and 8 years ago. And if you go into her office back in the majority leader's office, she has a baby board with candid photos of our staff and their children.

She frequently carpools in with her beloved husband Joe, who is always at her side, who has also spent many a late night out front waiting for her, as we finished business. And most people know we finish fairly late.

She gave us daily updates when her son Robert was proudly serving in Iraq, representing freedom, and their son

Jonathan was proudly serving in Afghanistan--a family proudly serving this country.

Ramona is the glue of the Senate Frist staff family, and she is an extension of my own family. When we first moved to Washington, she reached out, she helped Karyn and me and our three boys, Bryan, Jonathan, and Harrison settle into a new city, a new city we had spent no time in at all. She has watched my three sons grow from three young boys to three young men.

Ramona, you have kept my life organized for 12 years. You have faithfully served your country in the Senate for 27 years--27\1/2\ years. And you have done a tremendous, tremendous job.

Thank you, Ramona, for sticking with us all these years. Thank you, and we love you.

I yield the floor.