committee. it was a great honor for me to serve the two years on the senate with him and to listen to him fight. there has been no greater senator on the judiciary committee to fight on behalf of civi rights than senator kennedy. he was clearly the conscience of the senate to make sure that we used every opportunity to advance the rights of all americans so they could achve their best. he was legislator's legislator. he had a gift. he had the ability to work across party lines to get work done. he believed in progress and doing the right thing. he had a voice that cared through the halls of the senate with such passion and yet with such grace. senator kennedy once said, "you ow the few tour will outlife all of us but i believe that all of us will live in the future we

make." senator kenne stood and fought for a better america even when it was nothe popular thing to do. senator kennedy stayed true to his principles throghout his entire life. with great loss and much sadness, i give thanks to his service, friendship and dedication. senator edward kennedy will never be forgotten. i thank my dear friend for the contributions that senator kennedy made to this instition, the united states senate,here i now have the great honor of serving the people of maryland. senator kennedy's legacy will live forever, and we thank him for his service to our nation. with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. a senator: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be able to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: the senate's in a quorum cal a senator: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: i ask further unanimous consent that i be able to speak in morning business. the presiding ficer: without

objection. mr. isakson: last night the president of the united states, in his address, in the pre to his address on health care, addressed our economy and current state of affairs. i think he made a very accurate assessment that we had hit the bottom and we were on the bottom. the question that lies before us is how we move from the bottom in thi economic time back to a period of prosperity. although unemployment applications for benefits are down, they are still extrrdinily high. in my state of georgia, unemploynt is 10.3%. in the united states of america, the average home in ameri, 47% of them, are worth less than what is owed upon the house. that is a very bad situation which over a protracted period of time will continue to suppress consumer confidence and keep us at a low point in our economy. there are many, many ideas about what should be done, but i want to talk about tonight two things. one, something that has already been done by this senate and the house and signed by the

president and somhing tha i hope between now and november 30 the senate, the house, and the president can do. first, in terms of what we have done,enator conrad onorth dakota joined with me in intrucing a piece of legislation known as the financial markets crisis commission. i enjoyed a lot of support from that incding the distinguished senator from rhode island. the appointees have been me. it's a bipartisa commission, has a budget of $ million, has subpoena powers. everything the 9/11 commission had. and has an unpry tkeld charge -- unbridled charge to investite every aspect of the financial markets, whether it's the rating agencies, the investment bankers, the regular bankers and traditional bankers, the g.s.e.'s like freddie mac and fannieae, every compnent and report back to us next year after the midterm election on what it finds caused the economic collapse that began last september and continued to mushroom until late march of this year. there are some that are talking

of a rush to judgment in terms of financial regulation, but i hope we'll take a pause, give this commission time to act,et us find o wt a forensic audit tells us of what happened in america and our financial markets, and let's respond to that after we have allhe facts. i think a rush to regulatory judgment under what one might think for the best of intentis caused the problem cost unintended consequence of having a more difficult impact on the economy than it should. i think this body and the house acted wisely. i appreciate the president's having signed it expeditiously. and i commend the majority leader, the minority leader, the banking committee chairman, the ranking member, the speaker of the house, the republican leader in theouse, and the majority leader of the house for making outstanding appointments. the appointees to this commission could not be eleed officials and they could not work for the governmt. they have to be people knowledgeable t field of nance and they are ten of the

brightest minds in our country. i have my ideas. i'm sure the presiding officer has his ideas. i think every memr of the senate has ideas about what did go wrong last year and what we need to do to correct it, but let's get all the facts on the table. t's get a forensic audit so when we move, we move with knowledge and in due course. the biggest mistake in sarbanes-oxley a number ofears ago was a rush to judgment in reaction to bernie evers and ken lay. d sarbanes-oxley although needed reached further than it should in a number of cases. the same potential lies again in terms of financial refm if we move too quickly or precipitously or without all of the information. so in the interest of our economy, let's wait for this report to come back before we rush to judgment. secondly, on the 30th of vember, the first time hom buyer tax credit that passed this body last july and was amended in february, expires. the first-time home buer credit

is a by-product of a original bill that i introduced with a number of members of the senate to provide a $15,000 credit to ybody buying and occupying a home in america as their principal residence. it got parsed down and finally in negotiations became a first-time home buyer credit only. means-tested for incomes of $150,000 or less. it has had a positive impact on the market. but, mr. president, america doesn't have a first-time home buyer problem. america has a move-up crisis problem. right now no one who is in a house in the mdle of the market, from $200,000 to $600,000 can sell their house. transferees from georgia to the state of washington, from rhode island to florida are frozen. they can't sell in rhode island to buy in florida. they can't sell in atlanta to buy in washington. the housing markets literly at gridlock. the majority of sales being made in the last fuel months are short sales -- few months are

short sales and foreclosures which is depressing further the value of housing. and the few direct arms length sales taking place are spurn on at the lower end of the market. i ask the senate to think for a second. what happens on december 1 of this year when that credit goes away to the housing market? i'll tell you, i used to be in that market. the worst month of the year is december to begin with. housing purchases are stpholal in the -- seasonal in the winter. you take away the single impetus that exists and what do y have? there's nothing more than short sales and foreclosures and a continuing decline in equities and values. but if before that expiration take place the senate could take a legitimate look at what's in the best interest of moving our economy off the anowledged bottom where we are today, it's fixing the one thing that led us into our difficulty, and that was the collapse of the housing market. i would submit if we tookhe

$8,000 housing tax credit for first-time home buyers, extended it to $10,000, mad it eligible to anybody who bout and occupied a house as their principal residence, whether it was their first purchase or their tenth purchase, we would move more real estatend more impetus to the housing market than it has seen in the past 24 months. as we do that, equity and values come back and the borrowing power of the public comes back and economy comes back. failure to do that and we are in the quagmire where we are today: no legitilate sales, declining values, loss o equity a ntinued high unemployment rate and continuedepressed marketplace. as we come back from our august break, as we look forward, as we look at the end of the year and those things that are terminating, those that need to be considered, let's pau for a second and realize the good the tax credit has done so far, as limited as it was and make it

better, extend it to july 1 and make it $10,000 and take the means test off and give an impetus to the moveup marke if we do, values will return, unemployment will go down, our ecwill turn and consumer price confidence will go up. i would submit, mr. president, it's part of theain solution we need to take an enomy that's on the bottom and move it back toward prosperity for america. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the senator from wasngton. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: mr. president, we are in morning business, are we not? the presiding officer: we are i morning business. mr. rockefeller: i thank the presiding officer. i ask the statement i'm about to make about senator kennedy be placed in the record along with the other statements made about himo it can be a grouping. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. rockefeller: thank you. mr. president, i rise today to remember and celebrate sell cele edward moore kennedy. as so often happens in history

with historic figures pegple don't know what they had when they had it and when they no longer have it they discover how great that person really was, if he deserved t be so identified and surely ted kennedy did. the cause of justice lost one of its bravest and boldest champions. i lost a very, very close friend. i met ted kennedy back about 1961 which is quite a long time ago, up in hyannis port, his family invited me to come up there for the weekend. he was still recovering from the back injury. he had bran his back in 12 places. he was one of those old-fashioned circle things where they turned you so you would not get bedsores and we had a nice conversation and he wrote me and thanked me ith his hand for comin to see him. obviously, i have and will always be thinking about vicki,

incredible wife, his children, and the entire kennedy family which operate as a one unit. because of ted all of us, i thin are better. i know i am. i think we're stronger, more inclusive as a nation. he caused us to be that way. for 46 years he was a legislative lion as they say who gave voice to the voiceless. that is not a cliche an extraordary and power will dope fact from the junior senator from t state of west virginia and the people of west virginia were given voice. ted kennedyave us that voice. he fought for civil rights rights and health car for all, transformed lives of seniors, colorsf all as, everyone was part of his sphere and responsibility. in the private life he worked

tirelessly to touch so many people with endss human acts of kindness that came naturally to him. he had to do it. i don't think he chose to do these things, he just had to do it and, therefore, did do it. people will forget that who didn't know about what he did but he never stopped reaping oug out to top people. ted and his family reached amazing heights and inspired a nation. each and every day of his life he honored the fallen hers we cherish. ted traveled to st virginia often. i was personally very grateful for that. it's a small state. not unlike that of the presiding officer. and our state haslways had a very, very close communication with the kennedy family. we are them, they are us. you know, we put them over the

top, we feel, in the 1960 election and we did. when president kennedy returned to west virginia he at thetate senator testatesenator ten yells not all shine in west virginia but the people always do, a sentiment i have held near to my heart. that he and his brothers felt the way they did about west virginia vament i remember a picture of bobby kennedy sitting on a slag heat, a pile of coal in southern west virginia, just, sort of thinking. home wasn't shaking handse was doing a typical bobby kennedy-type thing deep in thought, wondring what to do in the world. over the last four decades ted's

frequent vits strengthened west virginia's bond with him and the kennedy family but he also provided enormous color, interest and fun. him at political rallies in west virginia when a politician was going on and on. iave an album of photographs taken at different phases of the very long, large speakers, long and large speech, and he's this way, wiping his brow and he enjoyed all of it. it was the kennedy courthouse. he loved it. wher he went he found common ground, and listened, and spoke eloquently. he didn't hesitate to plunge into the crowd or jump uin the back of a pickup truck. ined, the american worker knew a strong friend in ted kennedy. that much was clear in the tireless work he did as an advocate for our minders our ou.

we had a min seval years ago and johnny isakson speaking not long ago was there, as were members, several members of the "help" cmittee, health, education, labor and pensions committee. we had a contai cave in, a lowut sago. he came down and sat with the families and i watched him, tched his hurt resonating against their hurt and the words he spoke to them had deep comfort to them. the deep voice. as a result, it resulted in the first major overhaul of min safety laws at the federal level since 1957. he was driving that committee. and was senator johnny isakson and mike enzi.

people liked ted drawn to his energy and his fundamental belief that america's best days were always ahead. love that attitude. you can always pick out -- did a division thing and much was asking about the person who spoke out last night, interrupted the president, said something rather unusual, and the president just went right on ahead, had bigger things to do. ted was that way. he had hard par of his personal life and his family life. he was the father of eles numbers of nieces and nephews and nothing ever stopped him. people wanted to work with him. he never, ever, talked about his own achievements, the incredible thing about him. as a result of the plane accident he broke his back in 12 places. that's a lot of places to break a back. he never spent another day the rest of his life, he once told me, fairly recently, without

beg in pain, and you could see him walking across the floor of the senate, he was always bent and he walked quickly to sort of bconsciously to coverup the fact he was hurting b he infer said anything about it. never said anything about himself, it was always, whas going on in your lif what is happening with y? what are your thoughts? what do you think we should be doing on such and such? he refused to be slowed. he brought that iron will to everhing he did. he never quit. he never gave up. he was a happy fighter. he loved life. he loved the battle. driven not out of anger but passion for people and the individual parts of the lives that he wanted to improve, it just drove him he didn't do it out of duty he did it because he had to, the natural leader. for ted everythg was new. every day was new. everything could be madeetter through hard work and dedication. now nearly every piece of

legislation isassed in this body bore his -- bears i see imperhaps and reflected his commitment to making life better for every american. it has been my honor to lock arms with him on a lot of the efforts, the children's health insurance program. we just found this, senator kennedy called it the most far-reaching step that congress has ever taken to help the nation's children and the most far-reachi advance in health care since enactment of medicaid d medicare a generation ago and now we're in the finance committee trying to decide whether we're going to cast it into thementing pot alon the men children's health care is at stake. his work with the highe education act of 1965 to protect federal student loans. but, again, let me get back to

the personal side. i have a daughter, we only have one daughter, three sons. and she is a too mucher and trained in special ed and she teaches -- she did teach at jackie robinson junior high school in harlem. ted was in new york and his chief of staff at that time was my daughter's best friend and she said, you know, jay rock feller's daughter tches there. and ted saidet's go in. so here is my dghter, teaching class, in junior high school, and in walks ted kennedy. and, of course, the whole place falls apart with happiness. he loved doing it. he doe it in the district of columbia, he does it in massachusetts, he is always interacting with students, reads with them and talks with them

andearns fm them. the principal ge my daughter a very hard time and he said don't u ever bring a united states senator to my school without telling me in advance. but that is the but thety, no way he could have because he did it as a natural act of ted kennedy. and it was that commitment to service we celebrated just this springhen the president signed the serve america act which unexpires young peoe to serve their country through publi service. there ae aot of ways to remake america but people, as the presiding officer has been in a variety of situaons, peopleone abroad, people meeting other people who are unlike them, living with them, eating with them, sharing with em, coming to know them, coming to have very strong feelings about them, it's that kind of thing which makes people want to get into public service and so he doubles the peace kowrps, doubles legal aid, doubles all of those programs,

teach for america. a lot of which were down, run by s brother-in-law, sergeant shriver one of the great men of america who is never discussed. he is a kennedy but does not bear that as a last name. he changed my life, the kennedy family did, and when i went to west virginia as a vista volunteer i wasrying to figure out what i was goi to do in life and i kind of wanted to be a foreign service officer, frankly, i wanted to be an ambassador for china, and i studied chinese for a year and i thought i was on the way but vista starts and sergeant shriver said come work for me at the peace corps and i did and i went to southern west virginia as a vista volunteer and told me what i wanted to do in life, this part of your gut knows within you a doing something that is meaningful to you and is

something you want to dedicate your life to and that's the effect of the kennedys. so ted kennedy was a giant. there was not and never will be thianyone like him in american history. he shaped this ps constitute for decades by awaying its hisry and pushing us forward to be a better institution. now that he is gone his legacy and inspition make him a giant, greater still, moving us to reach across the aisle, hopefully, and make a difference in people's lives. mr. president, he was a great friend. we are all forever grateful for his service and his kind heart and we'll miss him very dearly and now he belongs to the ages. i thank theresiding officer. and i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: .

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: senator from new hampshire. a senator: i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: thank you. mr. president, i'm here and i'm honored to be here to add my voice to so many of those w today have eloquently remembered senator ted kendy. mrs. shaheen: like so many who have spoken today, i was the beneciary of so many psonal kindnesses from senator kennedy. i actually first m him on the campaign trail and in 1980, i was actually on the other side in new hampshire when he was ruing against jimmy carte and despite the fact that that was a very hard-fought campaign

and we won and he was -- he lost when i ran a winning campaign four years later in t new hampshire primary, senator kennedy was one of the first people toall and congratulate me. and after that, i had the opportunity to campaign over the years with senator kennedy. there was no one who could fire up a crowd like he could. in 2000, remember he was there for al gore when times wer tough in new hampshire, he was there for john kerry in 2004. and i had the opportunityo travel around the country with him in support of joh kerry, his very good friend. but i really got to see the differce that he made in so many lives when i worked with him at the institute of politics at the kennedy school of govement at harvard i had opportunity to be chosen

to be the director there. and senator kennedy was one of those people who helpedake that decision and make tha happenor me. and what was so impressive was that it didn't matter how busy he was with the work in washington, with what he was doing in massachusetts, he never missed a meeting. and his first concern was always what are the students doing? what is going to excite them? what's going to get them involved in politics and public service. that was the mission of the institute of politics. it was one of two memorls that was established by the kennedy family to remember his brother, president john kennedy. and it was always amazing to me to see someone who was so busy, so prominent in national life who never missed an

opportunity to talk to the freshman stude who was there who wasn't quite sure what they wanted to do, to talk to and encourage the young people who were involved at the institute to get involved in politics, in government, in public service. and i know that senator kennedy will be remembered by so many of the kindnesses that he provided to people. he'll be rembered by the tens of thousands of people whose lives he touched. but i think one of his most significant legacies will be those young people who are encouraged to get involved in politics, who appreciate that blic service and government is an honorable prossion because ofis leadersp andhe work that he did. and i fl very honored and privileged to have worked with

him and to have hadhe opportunity to serve witim, however briefly here in the senate. so thank you very much, mr. president. i know that we will all rememr for future generations what senator kennedy has done. and i note the absence of quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quum call: the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr whitehouse: i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimou consent tha the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of senate resolution 245 and the senate proceed to its immediate

consideration. the presiding office the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolutio 245 recognizing september 11 as a national day of service and rembrance. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed with the measure. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that an amendment to theesolution which is at the desk be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, that an amendment to the title which is at t desk be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that any statements related to the resolutione placed i the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mrwhitehouse: m presadent, i ask unimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further considerion of senate resolution 247, and the senate oceed to its iediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 247 designating september 26, 2009as national estuaries day.

the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the tions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements related to the resolution be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presing officer: without objectio mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proce to the consideration of senate solution 259 which was submitted earlier today. the pesiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 259 designating september 13, 2009, as national celiac disease awareness day. the presidg officer: without objection the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider laid upon

the table. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of senate resolution 260. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: designating september 16, 2009, as the american legion day. the presiding officer: witho objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion t reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immedia consideration of senate resolution 261 subcommitteed earlier today. -- submitted earlier today. the clerk: senate resolution 261 designating september 12, 2009, as national day of encouragement. the esiding officer: without objection the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the resolution be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the esiding officer: without

objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the tributes to senators kennedy and martinez in the "congressional record" be printed as separate senate docents and that senators be permitted to submit statements for inclusion until friday, october 9, 2009. the priding officer: without objection. mr. whiteuse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: whitehouse mr. president, may i -- mr. whitehouse: mr. president, may i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar numbers 405, 419 and 420, that the nominations be confirmed en

bl, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bc, that no further motions be in order, that any statements relating to the nominations appear at the appropriate place in the record as if read, that the president be immediately notied of the senate's action and that the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. senator: mr. president, this would be a particularly -- the presiding officer: we're in a quorum call. mr. whitehouse: may i ask the quorum call be suspended? thpresiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thiwould be a particularly opportune time for me to say a word about our friend, senator kennedy. i had not planned on doing so at this particular juncture, but it is very important to him and in a very different way to me -- someone important to him and in a very different way to me is now in the gallery, so i will

speak very, very briefly. but i do want to, as i've said before, thank senator knedy for his kindness to me as a very senior and distinguished senator, a person with a national, indeed international reputation, a person whose standi in this body was unmatcd, whose legislative prowess and capability was unmatched. he did not need to pay any attention to a new united states senator of no particular seniority, clout or renown from rhode island. and, y he did. in large part, i think, due to at new senator from rhode island's friendship with his son, a very talented and able member of the house of representatives who is senio to me in our rhode island delegation and who represents rhode island with exceptional

distinction over in the house of representatives. forhat reason and for the reason, i think, of a number of other fily friendships, he was particularly kind to me. and i appreciate that more than he could have imagined. it is a bit dauntg to come here as a new senator, not knowinghether you'll find your way here, not knowing whether you will even have any effect, not knowing whether indeed you'll be very welcome. you just have to fight your way through that stuff as a new senator. he was extremely reassuring. i can remember when i was presiding where the distinguished skwr-s from alaska -- junior senator from alaska is now sitting. and a colleague of ours was

giving a speech of some length. senator kennedy was waiting to speak, and he sent a note up to me inquiring whether i felt that the standards of the speech that weere then being treated to met the high standards of our coon alma mater, the university of virginia school of law. and i couldn't help but smile back and return the note saying, no, i don't thinko, but that's okay because i'm waiting for a great speech from you. there is one particular kindness that i wanted to mention. senator kennedy was very, very important to rhode island. he was important to rhode island not just because of his son patrick, but because rhode island pays a lotf attention to massachusetts, and there's a lot of overlap in the constituencies of massachusetts anrhode island, and rhode islanders have long admired

senator kennedy when he came on half of candidates, on behalf of his son, on behalf of me, on behalf of others,here was always an atmosphere of celebration around him and aroundhevent that he attended. other speakers have spoken of his ability to rev up a crowd and get people fired up and enthusiastic, and he was really remarkable in that respect. and we never tired of his visits, and rhode island always welcomed him, i think, with real open arms. and he had a special place for rhode island, and in particular he had a special place for somebody who was very dear both to congressman kennedy and to myself, and that is a predecessor of mine here in the united states senate from rhode island, senator claiborne pell. senator pell was a political lend in rhode island, in many ways an improbable candidate. senator kennedy's brother, president kennedy, at one point

said publicly enough that it became a matter of common discussion in rhode island that claiborne pell was theeast elecble candidate he had ever seen. so when claiborne pell ran ahead of president kennedy in rhode island in the election, it was matter of great pride to claiborne pell and one that he was fond of reminding all kennedys about. and it was, i guess, as they would say in casa blanca, in many respects, the beginning of a butiful friendship. the friendship began back then. it continued long after senator pell had left the senate. it continued long after senator pell had lost his ability to walk around and became confined to a wheelchair. it continued even long after senator pel had lost his ability to speak and could

barely speakecause of the consequences of his illness. and one of the ways that it manifested itself is that every year senator kennedy would take the trouble to sail his sailboat, the mya, from wherever it was in new england to newport, rhode island, and there take claiborne pell out sailing. and i had the pasure to be on that last sail. and you can just imagine the scene at the dock with the heaving dock and the heaving boat and senator pell in his wheelchair and a rather hazardous and impromptu loading senator pell into the sailboat, and then, of course, it got underway. because senator pell was having such trouble speaking, he really couldn't contribute much to a conversation, but senator kennedy had the gift of being

able to handle both sides of a conversation and have everybody feel that a wonderful time was being had. and so he carried on in a full roaring dialogue with senator pell, essentially providing both sides of that dialogue. and senator pell was smiling from ear to ear. and it said a lot about what i appreciate so much about senator kennedy. first of all, rhode island mattered to him as it matters to patrick kennedy as it matters to me. second of all, as powful as he was a as important as he was, friendship mattered more than authority or clout or power. there was nothing any longer that senator pell couldo for senator kennedy. there was nothing that coulde done to advance his legislative

interests or his political interests or his fund-raising interests or any other asration he have had. but it mattered to him to do this becau he was loyal and cause friendship counted. and in a body in which opportunism and self-promotio and self-advancement are not unknown, it was remarkable of senator kennedy to give so much of his tim to this particula pursuit, to this particular sit, to taking his old friend, his now disabled friend, out for a sail and give him so much pleasure, with no hope or hint of reward or return to senator kennedy himself. so, i will conclude with that.

i guess i'll cojclude with one other thing. he lovedobert frost. and on his desk here right now is a poem from robert frost. "the road no taken." i know he was fond of frost's work, i particular and i keep a little book of poems and things that matter to me, saying, quotations. one of them have a poem by robert frost. it is not "the road not taken," the petroleum on senator kennedy's desk but i read it. "agained with thacquainted with" i have walked out in rain and back in rain in the night. i have outwalked the furthest

city light. i have lood down the saddest city lane. i have passed by the watchman on his beat and drpped my eyes, unwilling to explain. i have stood still and stopped the sound the feet when far away an interrupted cryame from another street but not to call me back or say goodbye. further, still, an unearthl height, o clock against the sky, proceed claim the time was neither wrong nor right. i have bee one acquainted with the night i tnk the chair. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: if the senator will withdraw his request.

mr. whitehouse: i am pleased to withdraw my request. the priding offhcer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: thank you, mr. president. mrpresident, i ask unanimo consent to speak as if in morning business and my statement appear with other tributes toenor kennedy in the recd. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. menendez: mr. president, once again we mourn another kennedy, the last brother, friend, colleue, a senator's senator, larger than life, even if death. certainly the most effective legislator of our time and arguably the most effective member of this body in the whole ofmerican history. across this nation a across the political divide we have seen the impact of his life and work in the tearful eyes of millions of americans. each faced a challenge to continue his long and lasting legacy of hard won battles for

hard-working families. his is a legacy of hope for t unemployed, the dispossessed, the down trodden,he undereducated, the uninsured and legacy of home for spanish american, asian-americans, all americans who come to this country often with little more than the clothes on their back and the glorious dream for a better life. ted kennedy will be remembed by my generation as more than the last brother, more than the end of an era. he will be remembered as america's peminent leader on fair, responsle, humane immigration policy that always, always put people first. for all of us, he was the standard bearer of camelot days, of intellectual vitality, political energy and a deep and

abiding commitment to public rvice and to this beloved senate. he taught us through actions and deeds, in times of great personal pain, the per of the human spirit to endure and prevail. he symbolized the best of an era of progressive, compassionate leadership in this country and a deep belief, a deep belief, that we must always ask what we can do for the country, a torch unexpectedly passed to him which he carried with dignity and humility through great tragedy as well as gre triumph. he understood our personal struggle however profound, made it stronger in broken places as hemmingway said. for every hispanic-american and every american across the nation whose fame came here to find a better life, whatever their ethnicity or political views,

ted kennedy was a leader. his deep and abiding concern for the struggles of hard-working people was not political. it w a matter of simply part of the kennedy d.n.a. i remember the image of his brother, bobby kennedy in 1967, 6,000 people surrounding him on the flat bad truck that held a severely weakened chavez and bobby kennedy shared food with him and the crowd cheered. they grabbed at him and he stood in front of the crowd and said "the world must know that the migrant farm workers is coming into his own rights, winning a special kind of citizenship. no one is doing it for you. you are doing it yoursves, and, therefores no one can ever take it away."

well, fast forward to washington, d.c., 2006, walking in his brother'sootsteps, ted kennedy stood in front of hundreds of thousands of marchers on the same gunned that his brothers had stood upon decades earlier. he sod with immigrants and faith leaders and organizers and coacall for immigtion reform and thousands roared and he roared back "yes, we can." now he's again. having fought his last battle with courage, and dignity as he fought all others. let t memors remain. remember first coming to the senate, sitting down with him, his presence, as commanding as i thought it would be. i looked to him to learn all i could for him about the senate and, frank, there was no more

patient or willing teacher. when i first sought to come to the senate the one member of the senate who gave me the post time and gave me the most encouragement and the greatest opportunity to understand how to be successful in the senate was a person i could do the least for. it was ted kennedy. and i'll never forget his kindness. we worked together to protect the senate restaurant employees when their jobs were privatized. and i learned what made him such an effective legislature, because even as he was dealing with the most incredible issues the country was facing and leading on many of them, he had time to remember the importance of that little person, the people in the senate restaurant who might have been unemployed. we all know that none can belt

out an irish ballad quite like ted kennedy. a favorite memory was of him and i in new jersey in a campaign where we sang irish ballads togeer and i learned them, what made him the unique person he s i will nev forget the sound of the voice or the warmth of that heart. heap of us has had our own -- each of us have had our own memories of the man and our o deep emotions when we heard of his death. the editorial cartoonist said when his wife heard that ted kennedy had lost his battle with cancer, she pulled out one of her old buttons that her mother had wn during the presidential campaignn 1960. that day, the cartoonist drew a cartoon of a much younger ted kennedy.

it's caption "viva kennedy." so as i sat in boston with our colleagues lt week, i thought of all ted kennedy did to better the lives of so many americans and i thought of those two wor words -- those two words over d over again -- "viva kennedy." he was a man who truly believed in the idea and ideal that is america and though we may have come from different backgrounds, different places, different cultures, though we may speak different languages, we are one nation, indivisible, forged from shared values and common

principles, each of us united in our differences working for the betterment of all of us and no one worked harder for the betterment of all of us thated kennedy. so it's my my scere belief in his passing he has once again worked his magic, given us an opportunity to come togetr united in a deep and profound feeling of loss and. ness as we are even at this day. it would be like him to be lookg down upon these tributes today nodding his head and smiling but he would beaying don't way for my memorials to be laid, he would say, don't wait for my words to be chiseled in marble at arlington, don't wait for some bronze statute in walk or a bdge named after me in boston. stand u do what's right for the american people now. do what is right for hard-working families in your states, for hard-workg families in my state, in new

bedford, in fall river, and elsewhere. i can see him standing over there where he always stood, committed, in form, imposing, unding on his deck, shouting at the top of his lungs, you could hear it from when you were outsidof the chamb when he was in one of those moments. those families don't have time to wait for a decent job and wages. they don't have time to waitor a better job. they don't have time to wait for decent, affordable, quality care that is a rig and not a privilege. at billionin booming voice woulo through this chamber and i think it will echo through the chamber through eternity. when it comes to it we are his legacy, we in the united states senate of his memoria we are the burning candles and

he would tell us have them burn brightly, stan against the wind, snd against the storm, stand against the odds, f it is up to us, now, to light the world, as he did. in this past week, i think we have all found new meaning in those filiar wor of escales when h said "even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget, drop by drop upo the heart and in our own despair comes wisdom to us the grace of god." today in our despair let wisdom come and honor the memory of senar edward moore kennedy by not only remembering the man but byontinuing the good work he

has done. with that, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. menendez: with that mr. president, let me ask unanimous consent when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, friday, september 11; that following the prayer and the pledge the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the rning hour be deemed expired, the timeor the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, there then be a moment of silence in commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the september 11th attacks and, further, foowing the moment of silence, the senate preed to a period of morning business until 10:30 a.m. with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each

and finally, i ask that following morning business the senate resume conderation of calendar number 153, h.r. 3288, transportation, h.u.d., and related ageies appropriations bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nendez: mr. presidentã there will be no roll call votes during friday's session of the senate. i ask unanimous consent following theemarks of senator capper and senator bennet of colorado, th senate adjourn underhe previous order. the esiding officer: without obction. mr. menendez: mr. president, i observe the lack of a quorum. the presiding officer: t clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: