vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators who have not voted or who wish to change their vote? if not, on this vote the ayes are 89. the nays are 10. the amendment is agreed to.

under the previous order, the clerk will read the bill for the third time. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. the clerk: calendar number 257, h.r. 3630, an act to provide incentives for the creation of jobs and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i have an amendment to the title which is at the desk. i ask unanimous consent it be agreed to. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. mr. reid: mr. president, i got ahead of myself. we've got to get the bill done first. the presiding officer: under the previous order, h.r. 3630 as amended is passed. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i have an amendment to the title. it's at the desk and i ask consent, unanimous consent it be agreed to. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration are the conference report to accompany h.r. 2055 which the clerk will report. the clerk: the committee on conference and the disagreeing

votes of the two houses on the amendment of the senate to the bill h.r. 2055 making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes, having met have agreed that the house recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the senate and agree to the same with an amendment and the senate agree to the same. signed by a majority of the conferees on the part of both houses. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be 15 minutes of debate with 5 minutes each for the senator from hawaii, mr. inouye; senator mississippi, mr. cochran; the senator from arizona, mr. mccain. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? we have -- the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we have three of the finest senators this body has ever had wanting to speak. i would appreciate it, and everyone else would, if they

were to sit down and be quiet. i ask for order in the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the senator from hawaii. mr. inouye: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate will please come to order. mr. inouye: mr. president? the omnibus bill the senate considers this morning represents a victory for a compromise, a victory for american taxpayers, and a victory for the appropriations process. the measure before us funds everything for our men and women in uniform, students who strive to improve their future through higher education, from environmental protection to protecting our children from harmful products and from homeland security to the securities and exchange

commission. with the exception of the department of defense, all of these agencies have been running on a continuing resolution for well over a year. and, mr. president, this must stop. because it is no way to run a government, particularly the one that must learn to do more with less. how can an agency be more efficient when it is operating on the budget plans that were developed two or even years ago? mr. president, the last year the congress enacted only one appropriations measure: the defense bill. this year we have passed a minibus containing three bills and we're now considering the final package incorporating the nine remaining bills. while it is true that we again fall short of regular order, it is also true that if the senate passes this measure and the

president signs it into law, we will have succeeded in enacting each of our bills prior to the end of the calendar year for the first time since 2009. mr. president, i would note for my colleagues that in the senate the appropriations committee reported 11 bills. nine of them with overwhelming bipartisan support, and by that i mean 30-0 or 29-1. we moved four of our bills across the senate floor -- the presiding officer: excuse me. the senate will come to order. mr. inouye: -- with an opportunity for every senator to provide amendments. we accomplish all of this at a time when partisanship is high and the desire by some to delay even the most innocuous of bills has made it difficult to get any measure to the president.

mr. president, as chairman of the defense subcommittee, i would like to take a few minutes to discuss this matter. the omnibus appropriations bill includes $633.3 billion for the department of defense. this amount includes $20.8 billion reduction on the president's request from the defense budget and a reduction of $2.5 billion from the overseas contingency operations' request. although these substantial reductions in the defense budget mean that many tough decisions have to be made, i wish to assure my colleagues that all the recommendations in the defense bill were made in a fully bipartisan, bicameral matter. most importantly, let me assure my colleagues that this agreement takes care of our men

and women in uniform and their families and fully supports military readiness, protects the forces and maintains our technological edge. it compiles with the earmark moratorium and contains no congressionally directed spending items. at the same time it reins in defense spending and takes important steps to improve the department's fiscal accountability. this conference agreement recommends 775 reductions to individual programs, primarily due to program termination or delays, changes to policies of programs since the submission of the budget ten months ago. mr. president, as the chairman of the full committee, i'm proud of the work done on these nine bills by the appropriations apps

committee, its pheplts, its -- members, its staff, each whom have worked diligently late into the night for many months to arrive to this point. all of the subcommittee chair and the ranking members should be recognized for their leadership and achievement in completing these nine remaining bills. i also wish to recognize the dedicated staff on both sides of the aisle for their months of effort and their commitment to completing the individual bills. mr. president, this is a strong bipartisan bill. and, mr. president, i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote "yes" and send it to the president for his signature. i yield the floor, mr. president. the presiding officer: who yields time? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi.

mr. cochran: mr. president, let me say that i'm pleased to join the chairman of the committee, the distinguished senator from hawaii, in urging approval of the omnibus appropriations bill as well as the bill to provide funds for disaster relief. these bills fully comply with the requirements of the budget control act. the process for reviewing requests for provisions in this bill were held in open public hearings. senators testified before our committee. others from around the country came to washington to express their views. we have appropriations bills that have already been enacted. the omnibus brings appropriations for the basic operations of our government to $1.043 trillion. the disaster bill provides an additional $8 billion for disaster relief in response to

damages incurred from floods, tornadoes, hurricanes that have plagued much of the country during the spring and summer months. these funds are within the limits established in the budget control act, specifically for disaster relief. total discretionary spending carried in all of the fiscal year 2012 appropriations bills will be $31 billion below last year's levels. i have to say that our committee opened our committee hearing rooms to those who wanted to express views on the funding levels of all of the programs that were important throughout our federal budget process. there are some dramatic

reductions in spending. the independent payment advisory board, the co-op program created in the health care bill, we zeroed out funding in some of the energy credit subsidy provisions of this bill. that was hard to do. but savings were needed, and the committee responded to those needs. it eliminated 22 programs in the labor-h.h.s. chapter for a savings of over $225 million. we don't hear about that. people don't brag about reducing funding, but this committee did that because it was the responsible thing in our judgment to do. i'm very pleased to have had the honor of working closely with the chairman of the committee, one of our finest members of this senate. and we urge the approval of this legislation. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: my friend from arizona speaks, i ask unanimous

consent the next three votes in order be ten minutes in duration. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i'd like to yield 2 minutes of my 5 minutes to the senator from oklahoma. here we are again, a bill 1,221 pages long. not one member of this committee has read of -- of this body has read. 1,221 pages representing $915 billion of the taxpayers' money. and here we are with not an amendment -- we do have minutes of debate. we have 15 minutes to consider a document 1,221 pages long, representing $915 billion of the taxpayers' money, filled with unauthorized, unrequested money. i haven't had a chance, like the

rest of my colleagues, to look at all of this 1,200 page bill, but we have looked at the defense -- there's $3.5 billion of unrequested, unauthorized by the authorizing committee, projects. projects like for guam. you thought the bridge to nowhere was bad? this is 53 civilian school buses and 53 repair kits for $10.7 million. $12.7 million for a cultural artifacts repository. that's in the name of defense. that's in the name of defense. school buses, repository, cultural artifact repository, $100 million for the next-generation bomber which the air force says they don't want and they don't need. some cockamamie outfit like the combat dragon which will be crop-dustingers equipped with weapons.

c-17's, $225 million, additional c-17's that long ago the military said they did not need. $3.5 billion just in the d.o.d. provisions alone. it's outrageous. it's outrageous. i have amendments to save the taxpayers billions of dollars as associated with this bill. but never mind because we're going to go home for christmas. well, all i can tell you, i'm going home to a state where they don't have enough in the food banks to take care of the homeless this year. i'm going home to a state where half of the homes are under water. and what have we done? we've just wasted billions and billions and billions of the taxpayers' money on projects that are neither unneeded -- that are either unneeded, unwanted, unrequested. and this system is broken. this system is broken. we should have taken up these

bills one by one with amendments, with debate and discussion. i want to tell the majority leader and the republican leader, next year we will have a plan, a group of us, to say that we must do that. we owe it to the taxpayers of america. i yield to the senator from oklahoma. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: i have a question for my colleague. are we proud of this process? have we fulfilled the responsibility to the citizens of this country with this process? nobody can answer with yes to that. yet nothing seems to change. you know, $3.5 billion worth of funding earmarks totally puts an earmark ban on its head. the idea that parochialism trumps our nation's vital interest puts our responsibility

and our oath on its head. i know the hearts of everybody here. they're great. the intentions are great. with this bill, we have failed america. we've failed america in the process, we've failed america in our oath, and at a time this next year is going to be much more difficult than anybody can anticipate, at a time when we're facing our national survival, business as usual occurs. that's a reflection of lousy leadership by all of us, including me. it means i didn't make my case big enough about what the priorities should be in our country. it's a great time for reflection. we're going to go home, we're going to pass this bill, far less than what the country needs

in terms of its integrity and its actions. hopefully, we will think and return with a renewed spirit to fix the ship of state, and do what is in the best interest of the nation, not is what in the best interest of our parochial political careers. with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the conference report is temporarily set aside and the senate will proceed to the consideration of h.r. 3672. and house congressional resolution 94 en bloc, which the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 94, concurrent resolution directing the clerk of the house of representatives to make corrections in the enrollment of h.r. 3672. mr. reid: mr. president is there any time remaining? the presiding officer: there are two minutes, equally divided.

mr. reid: i yield back on this side. the presiding officer: who yields time? mr. reid: ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, the vote is the ayes are

72. the nays are 27. h.r. 3672 is passed. there are now two minutes of debate prior to a vote on house concurrent resolution 94. the senate will be in order. there are two minutes of debate prior to a vote on house concurrent resolution 94. mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask consent that the senator from louisiana be given two minutes and the same on the other side. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. ms. landrieu: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: mr. president, i'll be as brief as i can, but i ask the members to reject the house resolution that is before us. and i ask republicans and democrats to reject the amendment that is before us.

it is unnecessary and it violates the budget control act. we just had a very strong vote. 72 members that voted to fund victims of disaster. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. ms. landrieu: as we struggle to rebuild communities in vermont to missouri to the west coast that have been devastated by unprecedented disasters. the weather service just indicated we had over 12 disasters this year of over $1 billion each. defeat the resolution, it violates the budget act and it sets a disruptive and dangerous precedent for having -- forcing us to fund disasters in the years they occur. it will cut education, transportation and discretionary programs unnecessarily and in violation of the control act. i thank the members. please vote "no." the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. who yields time?

is there no time in opposition? if all time is yielded back, the question is on the concurrent resolution. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, on this vote, the yeas are 43, the nays are 56. the senate will come to order. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: senator whitehouse. the presiding officer: under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this concurrent resolution, the concurrent resolution is not agreed to. mr. whitehouse: thank you, leader. mr. president, in the senate, we

come at the war in iraq from many different points of view, but in one respectable we are united and unanimous and that is an appreciation of our troops who fought -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. whitehouse: -- in appreciation of our troops who fought and bled and died in iraq. so before we return to our home state, i ask unanimous consent that we proceed to the immediate consideration of senate resolution 349, a resolution commemorating and honoring the service and sacrifice of members of the united states armed forces who served in iraq and their families and that we do so as a unified senate. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 349, commemorating and honoring the service and sacrifice of members of the united states armed forces and their families as the official combat mission in iraq draws to a close.

the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the matter? without objection. mr. baucus: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate will proceed. mr. baucus: mr. president, i wonder if i could add my name as a cosponsor to the resolution. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: may i be heard? mr. president, i want to thank my colleague from rhode island for bringing forward this resolution. as the proud wife of an iraq war veteran, this is an appropriate time that we thanks our troops for what we have done in iraq, thank them for their courage, for their sacrifice and for allowing iraq an opportunity to forge a democracy moving forward. we also remember and honor the thousands who have lost their lives for us and for our freedom and we thank all of them at this time of year. so i rise in support of this resolution, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there further debate?

if not, all in favor say aye. any opposed? the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the resolution is agreed to. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: there are now two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the conference report to accompany house resolution 2055. mr. inouye: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. inouye: mr. president, this bill represents a -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senator from iowa. mr. inouye: this measure represents a victory for compromise, a victory for american taxpayers and a victory for bipartisanship. it is fiscally responsible, provides necessary guidance to our agencies, it meets every requirement of the budget control act, and 149 democrats,

147 republicans voted in favor of this bill yesterday. clearly it's a strong, bipartisan bill and i urge a "yes" vote. the presiding officer: who yields time? [inaudible] mr. reid: mr. president, this will be the last roll call vote of this year. have a happy holiday, everyone. the presiding officer: the question is on the adoption of the conference report to accompany h.r. 2055. a senator: 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: