Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 378, which was submitted earlier.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the

preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 379, which was submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 380, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, on S. Res. 380, I ask unanimous consent that I be added as a cosponsor, if I am not currently one.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk. I ask for its first reading.

Mr. President, I ask for a second reading, and in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XXIV, I object to my own request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 10 a.m., Friday, February 17. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and that Senator Salazar then be recognized to deliver George Washington's Farewell Address, as under the previous order. I further ask that following the address, the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair, and that when the Senate reconvenes, there be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, today, by a vote of 96 to 3, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to proceed to the PATRIOT Act Amendments Act. I am disappointed that the other side of the aisle has forced us to spend these extra days, several extra days to get on to this bill.

Under the agreement that was reached last night, I want to remind my colleagues that a cloture vote on the bill will occur at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, and then we will have a vote on final passage at 10 a.m., March 1.

Tomorrow we will be in session, but there will be no rollcall votes. We have some outstanding legislative items to complete before the Presidents Day recess next week, so we will be in session and working tomorrow, Friday.

In Senate tradition tomorrow, we will also hear Washington's Farewell Address which will be read by Senator Salazar when the Senate convenes.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. President, today we will have a 30-minute period of morning business which will be equally divided between the aisles. After that time we will begin debate on the motion to proceed to the USA PATRIOT Act. Last night there was an objection from the Democratic side to my unanimous consent request to begin consideration of that bill and, because of that objection from the other side of the aisle and expected filibuster, I was forced to file cloture on the motion to proceed. That motion is debatable, and I will alert my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that they will need to remain on the floor during this motion.

We only have a few days remaining before the Presidents Day recess, and we need to get to the substance of the underlying bill, the PATRIOT Act. Members have a right to filibuster proceeding to that measure, but I believe we will be able to invoke cloture by a wide margin, again, showing wide support for this important piece of legislation. I will announce the exact timing of the cloture vote when we have that locked in, but it could be as early as 1 o'clock in the morning when we could hold that vote. We will be in discussions with the Democratic leader in terms of the time of that vote and we will be able to announce that later today.

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

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

Mr. President, we are at a continuation of a sequence of events which has resulted in a lot of delay, a lot of postponement, really reflecting these insufferable attempts to put off the Nation's business with obstruction and stalling. It is disturbing to me because we have so many issues to address in securing America's future, securing America's future in terms of security, securing America's future when it comes to looking at health care issues, education issues, securing America's prosperity as we look at competition and innovation and things we can do to invest in math and science education, and making us more competitive and creating jobs with respect to China and India.

There are so many issues, many of which were outlined by the President of the United States in the State of the Union Address. Yet we are going through this stall ball, which is reflected now on the PATRIOT Act, where we have the PATRIOT Act reauthorization being filibustered by the Democrats, which started in December when we had a filibuster on the reauthorization, and the filibuster now on the motion to proceed. Now, with that continued postponement and filibuster, there is no way to complete this reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act before we go on recess. There is no way to do it using the tools of the Senate, using the tools of the filibuster.

And a filibuster I can understand if you are shaping the bill or if the outcome is not absolutely predetermined. But the outcome here is absolutely predetermined. There will be overwhelming support in this body for this bill. It is important to the safety and security of the American people. It breaks down barriers between the intelligence community and our law enforcement community, and it does so protecting the civil liberties of Americans.

There is overwhelming support. The outcome is determined. Yet we have been in a quorum call for most of the day, and using the rules of the Senate. Again, people say: Well, if it is a filibuster, why aren't people talking all the time? With the rules of the Senate, you do not have to be talking, but you control the Senate in terms of time. With that, we are able to file cloture motions, and then you wait another 30 hours, and it is a series of cloture motions, which stretches the time out, again, really wasting precious time on the floor of the Senate when we should be governing, answering, responding to the problems of everyday Americans, the challenges of everyday Americans.

Looking at what we have gone through recently, for example, the pensions bill, we passed the pensions bill on November 16, 2005, with a vote of 97 to 2, overwhelming support. I asked the Democrats to appoint conferees on December 15 of last year. I asked them to appoint conferees again, renewing that request on February 1. I have been in continued conversation and discussions with the Democratic leadership. Again: Not yet, postponement. We know the issues pertaining to the pensions bill. We can't respond until we can get to conference. The House is ready with conferees, but we can't go to conference until we appoint conferees. Yet once again, those names are not given.

I have been in discussion with the Democratic leader. I understand we will be able to appoint conferees in the next 24 hours or so. But it is the pattern of postponement, delay, obstruction, and stopping the Nation's business that disturbs me.

The asbestos bill, I said long ago that we would spend this period on asbestos. We were forced by the other side of the aisle to file cloture on the motion to proceed just to get on that bill, a bill that does address victims who are suffering from asbestos-related disease and who are not being compensated fairly. We voted in favor of cloture 98 to 1. Then we had delayed consideration of the bill by 3 days by forcing cloture, and then we had insistence on a day of debate only--again, postponement.

The Alito nomination ended up being successful; the advice and consent was carried out. But once again, there was a week delay beyond which we had worked out a time line before we could bring the Alito nomination to the floor.

Earlier this week and over the last couple of weeks, we have had to deal with the tax reconciliation bill to go to conference. The Democrats forced the Senate to consider the bill three separate times just to get to conference. We had 20 hours of debate the first time, with 17 rollcall votes, and then we had another 20-hour limitation, with 7 more rollcall votes. Then we had a series of votes yesterday morning on motions to instruct before we get to conference. All of that didn't change the bill at all. These are nonbinding motions to instruct--but again, another manifestation of stalling, postponing, delaying.

It is frustrating because whether it is the tax relief bill or the Alito nomination or the asbestos bill or the pensions bill or, now, the PATRIOT Act, it is a pattern that, if we are going to be working together in the Nation's interest, we cannot continue over the course of the year; otherwise, we will not get anything done when we do have challenging problems with health care costs too high, things that we can do on education in terms of math and science, making our country and our students more competitive in the future, addressing issues surrounding funding our military.

So with that, I plead to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to make progress. Let's be doing what we are supposed to be

doing and that is governing in the Nation's interest.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the pending motion to proceed occur at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow with the mandatory quorum waived; provided further that if cloture is invoked, notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed immediately to the bill; I further ask consent that if a cloture motion is filed on the bill during Thursday's session, then that cloture vote occur at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28; provided further that if cloture is invoked on the bill, then at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on the bill with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 32 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Specter substitute at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, and that any statements thereon be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar No. 229, S. 1777.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 16. I further ask that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the Journal of the proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved, and the Senate then begin a period of morning business for up to 30 minutes, with the first 15 minutes under the control of the Democratic leader or his designee, and the second 15 minutes under the control of the majority leader or his designee; provided further, that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2271, as under the previous order. I further ask that the time until the cloture vote at 10:30 a.m. be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees.

Let me finish my comments before we close.

Mr. President, tomorrow--to explain what we did--following morning business, the Senate will resume debate on the motion to proceed to the PATRIOT Act amendments act. The cloture vote on that motion to proceed will occur at 10:30 in the morning. Under the agreement, once cloture has been invoked on the motion to proceed, we will proceed immediately to the bill, and a cloture vote on the bill itself will occur at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, with a vote on final passage at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, March 1.

Mr. President, I find my colleague's comments in response to my statement that the problem is that we are seeing this whole pattern of obstruction and postponement--it is not just one bill, it is this whole series of bills--I find his comments responsive to several of the things I said but not really responsive to this pattern. I really just want to make that a comment and not get into a long debate about it. But I do want to point out that pattern of the things that I mentioned, like the PATRIOT Act as my colleague pointed out, it is time to bring this to a close.

This thing is going to pass overwhelmingly, and that is exactly right. I rejected options to continue to amend this forever. The problem, in part, that got us to this point is every time we come to an agreement which is a bill that, as written, will have overwhelming support in this body, somebody will come forward and say: One more amendment, one more amendment, one more amendment.

It is exactly right. It is time to bring this to a close. This will pass with overwhelming support--not today, as it should have, or tomorrow or Monday or Tuesday, but on Wednesday morning. It is going to pass with overwhelming support.

My point is this whole delay, this postponement, is stopping the Nation's business as we have to address other important issues--whether it is our budgetary issues, whether issues on health care or education or LIHEAP, flood insurance or lobbying reform. All these issues get put off another 4 or 5 days--yes, using the rights we have on this floor. I respect that. But to no avail. It is hurting the American people, not helping the American people.

Asbestos--this is a complicated bill. It is a bill many of us have been working on for 3 years. We started the bill, not Tuesday or Monday of this week and not Friday of last week or Thursday or Tuesday, but I think it was Monday morning that we said: Let's talk about this bill, let's debate this bill and have unlimited debate. As I pointed out, they said: No, we are not going to go to the bill. We are not going to go to a bill which is an important bill which has to be addressed.

We have 700,000 individuals who have filed claims for their illnesses, and 300,000 of those claims are still pending in the courts. Tragically, as I mentioned earlier, some of the most ill among those are among the worst served because of the delay in having the cases considered, and then, once considered, even if they get compensation for every dollar that is spent, 60 cents goes to the system and the trial lawyers and only 40 cents goes to the patient.

Yet, because of this mentality of Democrats, obstructing--they say you are not going to go to the bill. You are going to have to file a motion to proceed and cloture on that motion to proceed to the bill, which is a waste of 2 days. Then the vote was either 98 to 2 or 98 to 1. So once we got to the vote, they said: We will be with you, let's go ahead and consider it. And then to hear my colleagues say: We didn't have an opportunity to debate, when it was a request from your side of the aisle that we take a whole day, that we not have amendments but just to talk about it again--I am not sure why--but then to complain that we did not have time to offer amendments when it came to that first day--I think it was Wednesday; no amendments today--it is a little bit disingenuous, especially as it fits this larger pattern I laid out of the tax relief bill just to get to conference requiring three separate considerations on this floor, 17 rollcall votes for the first 20-hour limitation, the second 20-hour limitation requiring seven more rollcall votes, motions to instruct here all yesterday morning, nonbinding motions.

The pensions bill, I still do not fully understand why there is delay in getting the pensions bill to conference, when the first request was made in December and the second one earlier this year, and then now, on an important bill, when people are out there saying we have to address the pension bill--it passed the Senate, passed the House of Representatives--we have to get it to conference so we can come up with a final product for the President to sign.

Instead of arguing each of these individual bills, I just wanted to make the point that it is a pattern that we cannot continue. We have to work together in the Nation's interest, in the interests of the American people. Unless things are changed, we are not going to be delivering what we are responsible to do.

Anyway, that is a little bit out of my frustration with the other side of the aisle in terms of the way they have conducted business, and I believe we can work together in a civil way to address these important issues in the coming days.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.