detention center officials informed officials he had died from a rupture of his abdominal membrane and toxic shock. that that same day, although detention center facilities had said abdominal membrane and toxic shock, the official cause of his death was changed to heart failure. indeed. two requests by his family for an independent autopsy were rejected by russian authorities. a week after mr. magnitsky's death, senior russian interior officials publicly craimed that magnitsky was not -- claimed that magnitsky was not sick at all in detention. seven months after his death, interior ministry officials claimed that they were not aware of magnitsky's complaints and requests for medical assistance.

ten months after his death, the russian state investigative committee claimed that magnitsky was not pressured and tortured but died naturally of heart disease. his death, the committee claimed, was -- quote -- "nobody's fault." unquote. nearly two years after magnitsky's death, not a single person has been prosecuted for his false arrest, for his torture, for his murder in custody or for the $230 million theft he exposed. now, some may question the facts that i have outlined today. are they in dispute? i would point out that on november 23, 2009, one week after mr. magnitsky's death, the chair of president medvedev's human rights council publicly raised magnitsky's death with

president medvedev. the next day, the general prosecutor and the justice minister of russia were ordered to investigate the death. the investigation was limited and did not result in any criminal prosecutions. however, on december 28, 2009, the moscow public oversight commission, an independent watchdog, mandated under russian law to monitor human rights abuses in moscow prisons and detention centers issued its conclusions on the magnitsky case. the report stated that in detention, magnitsky had been subjected to torturous conditions, physical and psychological pressure and was denied medical care. moreover, the members of this courageous commission concluded that his right to life had been

violated by the russian state, by the russian state. these conclusions were sent to the russian general prosecutor's office, the russian state investigative committee, the russian ministry of justice, the presidential administration and the federal penitentiary service. none of the government agencies responded to any of the report's conclusions. then on july 5, 2011, this year, mr. president, the russian president's human rights council issued its independent expert findings on the magnitsky case. the report found the following -- that mr. magnitsky was arrested on trumped up charges, in breach of russian law and the european human rights convention. that his prosecution was unlawful, that he was

systematically denied medical care, that he was beaten in custody, which was the proximate cause of his death, that his medical records were falsified and that there is an ongoing cover-up and resistance by all government bodies to investigate thank heaven for the intrepid members of the russian president's human rights council. while little has been done inside russia regarding this case, action has been taken here in the united states. in may, 2011, i joined senator ben cardin in introducing the sur gay -- the sergei magnitsky rule of law accountability act. it extends sanctions to the officials in the magnitsky case and in other cases of gross human rights abuses. the legislation currently has 23 sponsors, and i urge all of my

colleagues to consider joining us on this bill. join us on this bill today. on september 16, 2011, 15 leading human rights activists and representatives of the russian civil society issued an open letter urgently calling on this congress to pass this legislation. the letter states -- quote -- "sergei magnitsky has become a victim of the inhumane russian justice system. many russian citizens are unlawfully deprived of liberty due to the travesties of this system. the impunity of those who have fabricated the case against magnitsky and persecuted him opens the door for other officials who have enriched themselves with stolen property and targeted political opponents of the regime."

the letter goes on to say the consistent application of international pressure on corrupt members of the ruling establishment would significantly support our civil society and those honest individuals inside the russian power structure who are trying to revamp and reform the existing government institutions. the letter con cliewdz, we urge you -- they urge us, the members of congress -- we urge you to adopt the sergei magnitsky rule of law accountability act of 2011 without any delay. mr. president, we in the senate should be standing in support of the printed, -- principled, fearless russian citizens who have the courage to expose these corrupt abuses, to expose the brutality and thuggery of their

own russian government. i urge president obama, i urge secretary clinton to make human rights and rule of law in russia a central part of our efforts to reset bilateral relations. without commitment to these basic principles, our efforts to find common ground on other issues of mutual concern will continue to be undermined. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

ms. ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the snoer from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: i ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: thank you. mr. president, i rise today to discuss senate joint resolution 27, a resolution of disapproval of the cross-state air pollution rule. i appreciate my friend, the senator from kentucky, for bringing his concerns forward through this resolution. however, this is an issue that i have been extensively involved in as new hampshire's attorney general, and i believe this resolution is misguided. this issue requires a balanced

approach and when looking at environmental regulations, we must review each on a case-by-case basis, and in that vein, i cannot support this resolution. the cross-state air pollution rule is designed to control emissions of air pollution that cause air quality problems in downwind states. and new hampshire is a downwind state. and it's estimated to reduce power plant sulfur dioxide emissions by 73% and emissions from nitrogen oxides by 54% from 2005 levels. it is important to note that similar pollution standards have been in place for six years, first implemented by the bush administration in 2005 and many utilities have already taken steps to comply with the rule. the rule encourages the use of the best technology available so downwind states such as new

hampshire will be able to achieve national clean air standards. without this rule in place, new hampshire will be unable to achieve national clean air standards due to air pollution that is outside the state's regulatory control and comes from other states. in new hampshire, we have a long bipartisan tradition of working to advance commonsense, balanced environmental regulations. that's the perspective from which i approach this resolution. from my time as a state's attorney general, i understand well that new hampshire is one of several downwind states in what is infamously known as america's tailpipe. for far too long, air pollution generated by midwest coal-fired power plants have been allowed to flow into the jetstream

unabated and to settle in new england leading to diminished air quality in my home state of new hampshire. as attorney general, i worked to protect granite staters and our environment from air pollutants generated by midwest coal-fired power plants. the reality is that air pollution does not stop at state borders. and new hampshire should not be the tailpipe for pollutants from out-of-state power plants. it is a matter of common sense to ensure that our one state's emission of pollutants does not pollute the air in mother state or unduly harm another state's air quality. i would urge my colleagues to oppose the resolution of disapproval. and, mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call: