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mrs. gillibrand: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: i rise today to give some brief remarks about the resolution that we are considering today. first and foremost, this resolution condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific attack that took place earlier this month in tucson, arizona, while my friend and colleague, gabrielle giffords, was giving time to her constituents through an event that many of us in the congress host for our constituents to come speak to us about issues that matter to them most. and during that attack, many lives were lost. we express our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families and the friends and the loved ones who lost their loved ones during that attack.

each of those who are honored today will be remembered for all that they gave to their communities and all that they've done, including a great judge, john roll, and community members dorothy morris, phyllis schneck, dorwan stoddard and gabe zimmerman. president obama took the time really talk about one life that was lost, that was about christina taylor green. the 9-year-old girl who went to learn about public service to see her congressman do her job, to hear what she had to say. that young girl and her life and the image that president obama talked about in his speech not only in tucson but in his speech last night i thought affected all of us because his speech was about the hope and the dreams that every child in america has for this country, for our

democracy, the true aspirations that christina had for this government, the expectations she had for us. and i believe that last night president obama gave a call to action to all of us about who we should be as americans, what this country stands for, why we are all public servants and why we are here today our jobs. and i think it's the image and the life of christina that gives us hope for the future about what we can be and what we can do together. and i think that's what last night's speech was really most about. and i want to take a moment to talk about my dear friend gabby, who -- whose courage and whose strength during this has been extraordinary and something that not only inspires me but i think

inspires every one of the young people here today and all of us in this country, because she is surviving, and she is determined to overcome this horrific attack against her and our democracy and against all of us. and every day that she recovers is one more day where her strength is there as a bright light for all of us, a as a reminder of what we're all capable of and a reminder of what's best in each of us. and so i'm going to go visit gabby this weekend and sit with her and give her the we will wishes and the prayers of all of us here. having her seat remain open last night was a stark reminder of what can be so easily lost and the importance of our presence in that chamber to do the people's business, that we are there not for ourselves, we are not there as democrats or republicans, but we are there as public servants, to do the will

of the american people, to do our jobs and to represent the people we are sent here to represent. and so on behalf of gaffey, her -- and so on behalf of gabby, her husband mark is helping her across the finish line, i just want to thank them for their courage and debted indication and to let them know that we'll continue to pray for their recovery. we'll continue to pray for all those who are injured and are recovering. and we pray for all the families who have lost their loved ones. with that, i suggest the absence of a quorum. i withhold. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the debate time on the resolution be extended until 2:30 p.m., that all provisions of the previous order remain in effect, and that the vote on adoption of the resolution occur at 2:30 p.m.

the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: i ask unanimous consent that all the quorum calls during the remainder of the debate on senate resolution 14 be charged equally to each side. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kyl: thank you, mr. president. yesterday, i spoke to the events of january 8 in tucson, arizona, specifically referencing the people who we are honoring by the resolution that is before us today. at 2:30 this afternoon, we'll have an opportunity to act as a body, democrats and republicans, from all parts of our country to recognize the people who were injured, the families of those who were killed, and, of course, the heroes of the tragic tucson shooting. on that morning of january 8, representative gabrielle giffords arrived at a tucson safeway store for her congress on your corner event. she was there to meet with constituents, which is something that she enjoyed doing very

much, and this was the first such event of the year. she had hosted others previously. she was joined by members of her staff. among them were pam simon, ron barber, gabe zimmerman and dan hernandez. they stood alongside giffords as individuals lined up to speak with her. one of those individuals was judge john roll, chief judge of the u.s. district court of arizona, a personal friend of mine. like most mornings, he had attended mass. then he decided to stop by the safeway to thank the congresswoman for her assistance in dealing with the court's overwhelming caseload. also attending the event was 9-year-old christina-taylor green, who, like congresswoman giffords, had recently won elective office. this third grader had recently been elected to the student council at mesa verde elementary

school. dorothy morris and her husband george, a retired marine, air force airline pilot, were attending the event together. phyllis schneck, a great grandmother who spent the winters in tucson but was actually from new jersey was there as well. as were dorothy and mattie stoddard. all of these were waiting to speak to congresswoman giffords as the gunman approached and shot the congresswoman in the head and shot the others in the line. gabrielle zimmerman, judge roll, christina-taylor green, dorothy morris, phyllis schneck and dorwan stoddard were all killed. george morris, and the congresswoman were injured, along with eight others. those who were killed had much more to offer in their lives. gabe, the congresswoman's

director of community outreach, was only 30 years old. he was engaged to be married. according to news reports, he was killed while rushing to assist others. he worked closely with my tucson staff. judge roll was not only a very distinguished and respected jurist but was known, most of all in the tucson community for his kindness and courtesy. he was killed as he tried to protect ron barber who had been shot just moments before. christina-taylor, as i mentioned, was only 9 years old, a third grader. dorothy morris was married for 50 years to george, and he was injured trying to protect his wife. the couple has two daughters. i met one of them when i visited with george in the facility in which he is recuperating, where i was last friday. phyllis, like others in this group, was a volunteer at her church. she was also known for her cooking.

dorwan stoddard, as i mentioned, was also a church volunteer. he, too, was shot as he dove to the ground to cover his wife who escaped with wounds to her legs. i had an opportunity to visit with her again friday as well. as we know, the gunman was prepared to take more lives. his plans for more bloodshed were thwarted by brave and selfless citizens. these stories have been documented in the media in the past few weeks. just a few of the historic acts are worth recounting here. after a bullet grazed his head and took him to the ground, bill badger, a retired army colonel, in pretty good shape, i might add, got up and he helped hold the gunman down until the police arrived. anna ballis was shopping at safeway. as she was leaving the store, the shooting began. according to reports, she rushed to the aid of mr. barber after a bullet hit an artery in his leg. anna is the mother of two u.s. marines who have been deployed

to iraq and afghanistan multiple times. and i mentioned yesterday visiting ron barber in the hospital, holding anna's hand, repeating over and over again how she had saved his life. such are the multiple acts of bravery and kindness. daniel hernandez, who was in the gallery at the state of the union speech last night, is a 21-year-old intern for congresswoman giffords. he rushed to her aid right after the incident and had some training in first aid, applied pressure to her wounds which helped her -- which prevented her from bleeding more than she did. he stayed with her even after emergency personnel arrived. 61-year-old patricia maisch grabbed the magazine that the gunman was hoping to reload in his weapon. steve rail, a doctor and former emergency room physician, helped subdue the gunman until law enforcement arrived and he helped care for the injured. as the gubman tried to reload

his weapon, roger salzebeger helped to tackle the shooter and mother ran from a nearby store when he heard the shots being fired and helped subdue the gunman, again until law enforcement officers arrived. we're obviously grateful for these acts of bravery. we're proud of the people i've mentioned but also all of the emergency workers who quickly arrived on the scene and provided life-saving aid and comfort to the injured in the very crucial moments following the attack. and i must mention also the incredible work of professionals, surgeons and other highly skilled personnel at university medical center. we're proud of that facility in southern arizona, and they certainly showed their competence in dealing with all of the wounded and some who died. it's now been more than two weeks since the tragedy, and the families who lost loved ones are

obviously still grieving. we all pray that they find comfort in the days ahead, and we hope and pray the wounded soon make full recoveries. in recent days, we have received some good news in that regard as those who are wounded are beginning to recover and leave the hospital, and our friend and colleague, gabby giffords, although she remains in serious condition, we are heartened to hear positive reports from her doctors, and we wish her the very best as she begins a new phase of her recovery in houston. mr. president, the tragedy in tucson was a shock to us all. it's difficult to comprehend that such horror could be visited upon such fine individuals and their families. in some respects, however, we see once again how it has brought out the best in good people. so in honor of the victims and the heroes of this tragic event, senator mccain and i asked our colleagues in the senate to pass

senate resolution 14. we can do little to bring solace to those who lost loved ones, but we can affirm that this body is united in its grief for the fallen, its admiration for the heroes and prayers for the injured. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

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mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. the leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, first i'd like to express my strong support for the resolution on the floor honoring the victims and the heroes of the tucson shooting. and i thank senators kyl and mccain for introducing it. and let me take this opportunity to express once again my

sympathy to the families of those who lost their lives that morning and to join with all those who are persevering in prayer for the injured, including congresswoman giffor giffords, whose condition thankfully still appears to be improving day by day. we will never forget the heroism of those who sacrificed their own safety that morning in tucson for the good of those around them. and no other dedication of those who attended to the wounded immediately after the shooting, both at the scene and in the hospital rooms in the days that followed. we thank all of them for giving us in the midst of this horrific event some reason for hope and a powerful example of service to follow. it's my hope that today's resolution will help in some way to preserve the memory of the dead, the injured, and the heroes of tucson. hopefully out of this terrible

national tragedy, the rest of us can draw strength and inspiration, grow in concern for those around us, and deepen our sense of purpose about the work we do here every day. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, on another matt matter. for two years, i have insisted again and again that the two parties can and should work together on legislation that would spur the economy, create an environment for good, private-sector jobs, and put our nation on a stronger footing for the future. last night, the president did the same. so this morning, i'd like to accept the president's offer to work together, just as i did after last year's state of the union. i agree with the president that we can and should work together to increase, without federal

mandates, production of more domestic sources of energy, including nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. on strengthening and protecting our borders and enforcing immigration laws, on increasing u.s. exports by completing free trade agreements with south korea, but also panama and colombia. on medical liability reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits, on finding a bipartisan solution to strengthen social security for future generations of americans, on finishing the job in iraq and afghanistan, and on simplifying the individual tax code and reducing our corporate tax rat rates, which are making it harder and harder for u.s. companies to compete around the world. working together in all these areas would help the economy by encouraging the creation of private-sector jobs, improve security, and help us keep our commitments to our children and to our parents.

and i take the president at his word when he says he's eager to cooperate with us on doing all of it. but achieving each of these things should be an end unto itself. it cannot be contingent on some cynical bargain whereby one party agrees to secure the border as long as the other party agrees to amnesty for illegal immigrants. where one side agrees to increase domestic energy exploration as long as the other side agrees to cripple the economy with higher fuel prices. where one side agrees to fight terror as long as the other side agrees to artificial time lines and preordained withdrawal dates. in other words, a bargain whereby the party offering to work together has no real intention of working together at all. and too often that's been the approach this president and his party have taken over the last two years. take health care. for more than a year, we offered to work with the white house and democrats on a bill that would prlt thincorporate the best thin

both sides. they refused every step of the way. and in the end, they got the bill they wanted -- a massive, government-driven system that creates a an unknowable number f endless bureaucratic entities and two massive new entitlements, which is already leading to people losing the care they lie, which u.s. doctors predict will lead to worse care and which is already causing struggling businesses to struggle even more with a mountain -- a mountain -- of new mandates and fees. it's only after this disastrous bill has become law that the president says he's now interested in making it better. even as he belittled the legislative concern so many americans continue to have about it. he's taken the same approach to spending and debt. two years ago, the president came to congress and told the country we needed to invest in the future through a trillion-dollar stimulus that was supposed to be a model of transparency and efficiency.

within a year, this bill, which was sold to us as the answer to our nation's economic woes, had become a national punch line, a tragic waste of money. and two years after that investment in our future was signed into law, what do we have? nearly $3.5 trillion more in debt and nearly 3 million more americans out of work. these out-of-work americans don't want to sit around and wait for the democratic vision of the future to appear compliments of the experts in washington. they're not particularly moved by someone's vision of what america could look like 40 years from now if only they hand over more of their paychecks or more of their freedoms now. they want a job. they want washington to stop trying to help them and let them help themselves. so the presidñ -- so the president talks a good game, but call us skeptical. because when all the applause is over and the speeches are

through, debt is higher, more and more wasteful spending, and job-stifling regulations come to light and millions of americans are still asking the same simple, persistent questions, mr. president, where are the jobs? the president made some good suggestions on areas where we could work together and we stand ready to do so just as we have in the past. but we've now seen enough to know that when the president says and what the president does are two very different things. he's called for investments in energy before, and we got the stimulus. he called for working with us on trade. we're still waiting. he said before we need to get serious about the debt, even as it reached dizzying new heights as a result of his policies. he speaks like one who recognizes that spending is out of control and yet his response is to propose that we lock in

spending levels we already know are completely unsustainable. mr. president, this isn't progress. this is an admission of defeat. americans don't want a spending freeze at unsustainable levels. they want cuts, dramatic cuts. and i hope the president will work with us on achieving them soon. put it simply, the president still sounds like he's trying to have it both ways. his tone may be changing, but based on past performance, we'll remain skeptical until we see actual results. republicans have pledged to the voters that we'll do everything we can to cut wasteful government spending, work to lower the debt, get government out of the way of economic growth, and to work to repeal the health care bill. even as we replace that health care bill with the kind of commonsense reforms people actually want. the president has shoans a

willing to talk about some of these things. let's hope he surprises us by showing a new willingness to do more than that. to actually work with us on achieving real results. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. reid: mr. president? officer the majority leader. mr. reid: is the senate? a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is. mr. reid: ask consent that it be withdrawn. the presiding officer: without objection, the leader is recognized. mr. reid: it is my understanding that all time has been used and that under the order that's now before the senate -- if it's not, let us pretend it has, and let's start the vote now. the presiding officer: without objection, the order for the vote will be changed to 2:25. mr. reid: and if people need some extra time, we have other times, but with the weather as it is, people want to vote. i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll.

vote:

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the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber who wish to change their vote or to vote? if not, on this resolution, the vote is 97 yeas, zero nays, the resolution is agreed and the preamble is agreed to. the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the -- the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. a senator: mr. president, i understand that we are in a quorum call. the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. pryor: i would ask that that be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. pryor: mr. president, today -- the presiding officer: the senate will resume morning business. mr. pryor: mr. president, today i have come to the floor to honor captain martin anthony riggin jr. and his wife nicole riggan. their journey on this earth was cut short, but it was one filled

with honor, purpose, and distinction. anthony was one of those individuals who everyone knew would grow up to be exceptional, and he did. i've known him since he was a small child. we went to church together. i think it was in maybe the seventh grade when he approached me the first time about going to the u.s. air force academy. i followed his path since he graduated from pulaski academy high school in little rock in 2003 where he served as class president, honor council president and was a representative on the varsity football leadership council. during this time, anthony received numerous awards for his character, service to others and hard work. and then he fulfilled his lifelong dream to attend the united states air force academy where he continued to receive accolades for performance and leadership. as a member of the board of visitors at the air force academy, i was able to visit the academy from time to time. i enjoyed seeing the facilities and visiting with the brass, but

honestly, i most enjoyed getting to visit with anthony in colorado. during these times, he reminded me about the true definition of selfless service. in his senior year, anthony was selected to be group one commander for the cadet wing overseeing 1,200 cadets and their activities. he was also named cadet colonel, the highest rank possible for a cadet at the academy. he shared with me how excited he was to be graduating and how proud he was to serve our nation in our military. i was proud of all he was achieving, and he was certainly representing arkansas well. following graduation, anthony began undergraduate pilot training in columbus, mississippi, flying the t-6 texan, the t-38 talon and the b-1-b lancer strategic bomber. he received the top gun award for formation flying and was

presented with the leadership award by the local air force association. classified as exceptionally qualified to pilot the b-1, anthony was scheduled to deploy this month to cutter. in life, anthony's favorite copilot was his wife nicole. she shared his strong faith and purpose. after graduating colorado's louis palmer high school as valedictorian, nicole participated in serteen, a volunteer program for teens in mission trips to peru and guatemala. she went on to study theater education at the university of northern colorado, graduating magna cum laude. she pursued her athlete career and continued roles in bible studies and youth groups. during this time, many of anthony and nicole's friends and family found guidance through the devotionals they sent regularly. today we continue to find encouragement and inspiration through the selfless lives that

they lived. i miss my friend anthony and his lovely wife nicole, and i look forward to the day when i will see them again. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. nelson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, i ask consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: mr. president, whenever a senator such as senator pryor from arkansas has to announce to the senate the loss of a dear personal friend, especially one that he has been friends with their parents for those years, it's always a

tremendous, tremendous loss, and we're coming up in a couple of days on the 25th anniversary of another great loss in this country when the space shuttle challenger exploded on our television screens 25 years ago on january 28, 1986. it was such a shock to the nation. it hit deep in our psyche because the symbol of america's technological prowess, which was the space shuttle in those early -- in the infancy of the program, and challenger was only the 25th flight of the space shuttle, that the nation witnessed in that rerun over and

over and over of the close-up view of those solid rocket boosters going off in different directions, ten miles high in the florida sky. and that was an extraordinary loss. i'll never forget at the memorial service in houston at the johnson space center, the president of the united states who often in times of grief becomes not the president of the united states but -- not the commander in chief but the comforter in chief. we saw that vividly illustrated just a few weeks ago as our president, president obama, delivered that ringing and highly emotional speech in

tucson, arizona. so, too, 25 years ago, as all the crews gathered there at the johnson space center, president reagan touched the nation as the comforter in chief and pointed out that despite that tragedy that they were doing what america has in our genes, and that is by nature we are explorers and adventurers, and we don't want to ever give that up. otherwise, we become a second-rate nation. you look at the history of america as explorers. remember the criticism that we read in our history books about president thomas jefferson when he wanted to spend a paltry couple of thousand dollars on an

expedition called the lewis and clark expedition? to see if they could find a passage to the pacific coast. and as a result of that mission, which miraculously they got there and then they got back and most of them were alive, and they brought back all the art facts of what this -- artifacts of what this broad land contained. well, it was that exploration. you remember when tom hanks played jim lovell in "apollo xiii." apollo xiii, that mission was one of the most successful american space ventures, not because they didn't land on the moon, because they couldn't.

most of the casey craft on the way to the moon blew up, and we thought we had three dead astronauts that were going to drift in space until they ran out of consumables. and it was that incredible story about how all of america's aerospace expertise, with the restaurant that had to stay behind because he had been training, but he was exposed to the measles and he was replaced, and then he was there with all that knowledge of training for the mission that he could go into the simulator and they could simulate real time how they were going to convert that motor of the lunar lander to get them kicked out of lunar orbit

on a trajectory back to earth. and remember, after they got back, tom hanks is playing in the movie jim lovell, the commander, and someone in an audience is asking the commander of the now safely returned crew of apollo 13, well, do we really have the money to continue to explore space? and lovell's answer is what would it have been like if columbus had returned from america and they never went back to follow in his footsteps as an explorer?

and so it's on this time of tragedy, of hearing an individual senator, senator pryor, talk about the loss of loved ones and family friends and young people with bright futures, the reflection in a day or so of the anniversary of the challenger tragedy and the loss of seven lives, including the teacher christa mcauliffe, who was going to teach that lesson plan, that classroom from space, that we are once again reminded that because we dare to venture, because we are by nature explorers, there are risks and sometimes there are prices to be paid and sometimes that is with human life, but that is not a

reason not to take that risk and to boldly venture forth. that's a good reminder for us as an american people as we face so many uncertainties, whether it be financial and our future of trying to get out of the recession or whether it be that we don't know what the future holds in afghanistan or pakistan or we don't know how that leadership of al qaeda is being morphed into other countries such as yemen or somalia, or we have this constant uncertainty of whether or not we will have a job tomorrow or whether or not we can retrain to the new kind of jobs that are coming online. a lot of uncertainties. the uncertainties of our energy future.

can we remain dependent on 70% of our daily consumption of oil coming from places like the persian gulf and nigeria and veterans'? no -- and venezuela? no. it's time for us to venture forth, explore new realms, develop new technologies, be creative. and, of course, as the president spoke last night, you can't do that unless you have an educated work force, that educated work force that is so necessary for us to be creative, and it is that creativity, that yankee ingenuity of americans that keep us competitive in the global marketplace today because we can outinsent, -- outinvent, we can outcreate. that's the change that america has. so as we reflect upon the tragedies, the individual

tragedies that we have, the collective tragedy that we have as a nation 25 years ago with challenger, several years ago with the loss of columbia, the losses that we had most recently that are seared into our heart in tucson, the hope that springs forth of those that are wounded that they would come back to lead normal lives. these are our challenges. keep at it. keep at it. i say this also because it's a time of uncertainty that a lot of pundits are having fun with what appears to be that nasa is in disarray. nasa shouldn't be in disarray. we have a blueprint.

we have a road map for the future in the nasa bill that passed this congress -- one of the few that passed in the congress before the lame-duck session -- and so it simply says let's continue to encourage the commercial companies to develop a service of taking astronauts and cargo to and from the space station and let's see if we can do that safely, as determined by nasa, but more efficiently and, therefore, more cheaply given the constraints of budgets. but at the same time to then allow nasa to do what it does best, which is go out and venture out and explore the heavens, and in so doing we are

going to build a new rocket that will take large components up and that will fulfill the president's goal which is to go to mars. the president specifically set a timetable of 2025 and land and return safely on an asteroid. that's no easy feat given the fact of how fast an asteroid flies through space, but it will give us new technologies as we develop to go to mars. you think of the unbelievable time that it would take us under conventional technology, ten months to get to mars, and then once you got to mars, you'd pretty well have to stay on the surface of mars for a year until the planets are realigned, revolving about the sun, so that mars comes in closer to the

earth for the ten-month trip back. that's why we need new technologies. and an astronaut that flew seven times, dr. franklin chain diaz, a plasma physicist from m.i.t., is developing a plasma rocket that will take us to mars in 39 days. then with that short time, flying at 400,000 miles per hour by plasma thrust, we could stay on the surface a month to return to earth without having to stay a year. these are exciting new technologies. a pilot project of that plasma rocket with the acronym "vasmr" is being developed to fly on the space station and provide a

continuous pulse that will keep the space station boosted instead of it having, in the degrading of its orbit, for conventional technology to keep boosting it. not only is the sky the limit, not only is the stratosphere the limit, the heavens are the lim limit. if we as americans will assume this can-do posture that is so typical of the personalities of explorers and adventurers -- in other words, the personalities of us -- we, the americans. mr. president, i yield the floor and i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the clerk will call the roll.

-- the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: quorum call:quorum

call: quorum call:

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a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. begich: i ask to have the quorum call vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. begich: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 366, which is at the table -- at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 366, an act to provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act and so forth and for other purposes. mr. begich: -- the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed. mr. begich: madam president, i further ask that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table without intervening action or debate and any

statements relating to the measure be printed at the appropriate place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. begich: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. resolution 26 which was inter -- which was introduced earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 26, recognizing the anniversary of the tragic earthquake in haiti on january 12, 2010, honoring those who lost their lives in that earthquake and expressing continued solidarity with the haitian people. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. begich: madam president, i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to the measure be printed in the record at the appropriate place. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. begich: i understand -- madam president, i understand that the senate -- senate 192 introduced earlier today by senator demint is at the desk and i ask for its reading.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 192, a bill to repeal the job killing health care law and health care-related provisions in the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010. mr. begich: i ask for a second reading and object to my own request. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. the bill will be read the second name the next legislative day. mr. begich: madam president, i understand the chair has an appointment to announce. the presiding officer: for the information of the senate the claire makes the following a -- the chair makes the following announcement, the president pro tem and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to section 201-a-2 have appointed dr. douglas w.elmdorf as director of the congressional budget office for the term expiring january 13 13, 2015.

mr. begich: i ask that the appointment at the desk be -- placed operately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. begich: i note the be a tene of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call in progress be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: madam president, i heard the trip bouts that were made today by senator john mccain and senator jon kyl about the role that was played by the very heroic judge who lost his live in the tragedy that took place in tucson. shortly after the tragedy. senators mccain and kyl offices reached out to my committee, the committee on which i'm the ranking member and senator boxer is the chairman and talked about how they could

go about honoring judge john roll by naming the new courthouse that will be constructed in yuma, arizona. many of us have come to know about the work of judge roll after the -- his tragic, heroic death in the recent shooting when he died protecting ron barber, congresswoman giffords' district director, sacrificing himself. but my office knew about it before, about judge roll's work on behalf of the judicial system in arizona. judge roll contacted my committee staff last year after a g.a.o. report criticizing the way that arizona was utilizing their courthouse space. and he wrote to us, and this is a quote, the letter from judge roll to us, he said, "on behalf of the district of arizona, i strongly disagree with many of the conclusions in the report, particularly as they relate to arizona and its attempts to cope with an ever burgeoning criminal caseload largely arising from worried about enforcement." and he hoped his response to the

report would be helpful to -- to us. and, of course, it was helpful to us and we've learned of the problems that they have in arizona on the border, something that they've never experienced before. and so it put their whole judicial system in -- in a -- in a real problem. and consequently, this judge was taking the -- the leadership role and reaching out to us to see what we -- you know, to let us know that the g.a.o. report was not accurate. so i would say that we've had a chance to talk to both senator mccain and senator kyl, and i sat down with senator boxer, who's the chairman of our committee, and talked about what we might be able to do in a very expeditious way. and i believe the decision to name the yuma, arizona, courthouse after judge roll is a fitting tribute to a man who served his state with distinction. the courthouse is a new courthouse, government

construction. it will help alleviate some of the overcrowding that is going on in arizona right now, primarily because of the problems that exist on the border. years -- so, i don't know of any time in the years that i've been here that a bill has been introduced and then discharged on the same day. we all feel strongly that this has to be hand this would way. it is the very least we can do. judge roll is highly regarded by his colleagues and took his job as judge seriously doing more than simply deciding on cases and going home. he was an active advocate for the judicial system in arizona. i believe that we would have had this courthouse named after him upon his retirement had his life not been tragically taken in that tragedy that took place. so today senators mccain and kyl introduce s. 188, and i'm happy to announce that senator boxer and i have discharged

s. 188 to the floor on this same day. anything else, i don't think, would have been appropriate. with that, i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: