a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. coburn: and i ask unanimous consent to speak for at least five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: first of all, i'd like to spend a few minutes just talking about my colleague and chairman of the homeland security and the government affairs committee. the last two years has been a real pleasure on my part and grown to have a great friendship with the chairman of the committee. and i can truly say in our committee, we have done a lot of great work. we've both compromised on a lot of issues to try to move the country forward, and to him i am thankful for that. and i don't think either of us have had to break on any principles that we had to be

able to do that. i think it's been a model -- our committee's been a model in terms of doing bipartisan bills and bipartisan approval of nominees. and for him, i would just say i appreciate his leadership this past year. he has the unfortunate attribute of having the same initials that i do so it's somewhat confusing on our committee, but maybe that's why we've been successful as we have. i'd also like to recognize the hard work of so many of the staff members on both sides and the work that they put in and the informed and cooperative nature under which they have worked. we have before us a bill that we're trying to clear. it's called the taxpayers' right-to-know act. and it's actually a continuation of a bill that senator carper and myself and several others, including the president, started when we started the transparency

act back in 2009. and this follows on with the data act, which has been passed this year. and what this bill does, it says the american people ought to know where their money's being spent. and so it says the agencies are going to list the programs that they have. and it's done in a step-wised fashion so it doesn't put too much burden on o.m.b. as they try to implement it. and i believe at this time we're waiting to make sure that we have a clearance for this before we ask for unanimous consent. and i would yield my remaining time to the chairman of the committee, senator carper. mr. carper: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: thank you. i want to say to my colleague, ted kennedy said to me when i first got here a number of years ago talking about compromise and that sort of thing. he always said, i'm willing to compromise on policy, not on principle. and i think if you look at what we've accomplished in the last two years, that's exactly what we've done. and i want to thank my colleague

for being a great leader, not just of his caucus but of our body and for being my friend. and with that, i would just say on the legislation that's before us, as he suggested, the taxpayer right-to-know act, does build on previous legislation reported out of our committee. the data act and some others have been signed into law with bipartisan support, including by the current president. the taxpayer right-to-know act is a good-government bill that will provide better and more detailed information to congress and the american people about federal spending. congress has passed federal years in the past several years to improve transparency of government spending and to get this information on-line. unfortunately this information has not always been provided in the detail the taxpayers and a number of our colleagues would prefer. this bill builds on the bill passed in 2010 that i coauthored with senator warner and akaka and it works who agencies to

create a list of all federal programs that can be assessed on a single web site. unfortunately there's been no consistency whatsoever across the government in how agencies define the term "program." the g.a.o. has agreed that the current program list isn't giving us the kind. transparency we want because agencies took different approaches in defining their programs. the taxpayer right-to-know act addresses this problem by defining the term "program." g.a.o. has also noted that the current program inventory does not allow congress and the g.a.o. to compare similar programs which is an obstacle to measuring government performance. and additionally, budget and cost informations are not available for all programs. finally, this bill will ensure that agencies provide a full list of their programs along with important information of their programs and for grants and other types of assistance, will provide information on how many people a program serves and how many people it takes to run it. finally, a complete inventory of federal programs, along with budget and financial information at the program level will allow congress to compare similar

programs and identify overlap and duplication. the bill had strong bipartisan support in our committee and was worked out without any dissent when we reported the bill out. good legislation and we are -- i'm pleased to yield back, madam president, to our colleague from oklahoma for a unanimous consent request. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 531, s. 2113. i ask that the committee-reported substitute be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: madam president, on behalf of -- the presiding officer: mr. leader. mr. reid: i don't like this bill. the white house doesn't like the bill. i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume executive session to consider the lodge and walter nominations. under the previous --

under the previous order, there will be two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the lodge nomination. without objection, all time is yielded back and the question occurs on the lodge nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or change a vote? if not, the ayes are 86, the

nays are 12. the nomination is confirmed. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader p. mr. reid: this will be the last recorded vote, the next one will be the last recorded vote. i now ask unanimous consent following the vote on confirmation of executive calendar number 1095 the senate consider calendar numbers 800 and 801, the there be two minutes for 2008 prior to each vote, upon the use or yielding back of that time the senate proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed, any roll call votes following the first be 10 minutes in length, any nominations confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid other than the table, there be no intervening action or debate, no statements related to the nomination printed in the record and president obama immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection.

mr. reid: we expect the nominations to be considered by voice vote. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the walter nomination. is there objection i? no objection. all time is yielded back. the the question occurs on the nomination. is there a sufficient second? the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 86, the nays are 12, and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations, department of state, peter michael mckinley of virginia to be ambassador to the islamic republic of afghanistan. richard raul verma to be ambassador to the republic of india. postal regulatory commission, tony hammond of missouri to be a

commissioner. nancy e.langley of hawaii to be a commissioner. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the question occurs on the mckinley nomination. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the question occurs on the verma nomination. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the

question occurs on the hammond nomination. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the question occurs on the langley nomination. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table, the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask the chair to lay before the senate a message from the house with respect to h.r. 3979. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: resolved that the house agree to the amendment of the senate to the bill h.r. 3979, entitled an act to amend

the internal revenue code of 1986 to ensure that emergency services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the patient protection and affordable care act, with an amendment. mr. reid: i move to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3979. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to concur. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3979. mr. reid: there's a cloture motion at the desk, mr. president, i would ask the chair report that -- order it reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3979. signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to condition

occur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3979 with a further amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment with an amendment numbered 3984. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i have an amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3985 to amendment numbered 3984. mr. reid: i have a motion to refer to the house message -- i have a motion to refer the house message with respect to h.r. 3979 with instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to refer. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message on h.r. 3979 to the committee on armed services with instructions to report back forthwith with

amendment numbered 3986. mr. reid: mr. president, on that, i'd ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have an amendment to the instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3987 to the instructions of the motion to refer the house message. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3988 to amendment numbered 3987. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, i would like to take a few moments to

salute my colleagues who are departing the senate the end of this year with the conclusion of the 113th congress, mark begich of alaska, saxby chambliss of georgia, tom coburn of oklahoma, kay hagan of north carolina, tom harkin of iowa, mike johanns of nebraska, tim johnson of south dakota, mary landrieu of louisiana, carl levin of michigan, mark pryor of arkansas, jay rockefeller of west virginia, mark udall of colorado, and george walsh of montana. they have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their energy and considerable time in service to their constituents, their home states and our country. and i want to thank them for their service and for their kindness to me over many, many years in so many cases. and in particular say a few words about these colleagues. mark begich and i worked together to address the challenges facing the fishing industry, which is vital to both our states, and he's continually fought to ensure access to the

unique challenges facing alaskans and particularly with respect to access to v.a. health care and i salute him and wish him the best. i've served with saxby chambliss on the armed services committee and joined him in his efforts to support the national infantry museum and soldier center because saxby has been a strong supporter of our men and women in uniform. and he's also been a leader on homeland security and intelligence and i wish him well. tom coburn has always been passionate for the issues he cares about. we've engaged in vigorous debate, demonstrating, i hope, that principled disagreement can lead ultimately to principled progress. and my thoughts are with him and particularly as he battles a health issue, the cancer, and i hope and wish him success and much happiness as he moves forward. i've served with kay hagan on the banking committee and the armed services committee and we've worked together on a number of initiatives, including efforts to keep student interest rates low.

we traveled together to iraq, afghanistan and pakistan in 20 2010. she has been a tremendous advocate especially for our military families and for small businesses. tom harkin has been a great friend, a longtime advocate for students, for workers, for individuals with disabilities. and as chairman of the health, education, labor and pensions committee, he's worked to end the logjam and pass reauthorization of our child care programs and the work force investment system and recently worked with me to pass a bipartisan bill i helped author to ensure the consumer has access to the safe he is, most -- safest most effective sunscreens available. he's been a steadfaste advocate for increasing money for research at n.i.h. an extraordinary senator. we have so much to thank him for, every american. and his legacy is going to be so profound, it's hard to pick one. but his efforts along with arlen

specter to double n.i.h. funding was a landmark in terms of not only successful investment in programs that matter to americans and the world but bipartisan efforts to lead the country forward. i've been proud to work with mike johanns, an extraordinary senator and an extraordinary gentleman on a number of issues. we were particularly happy, both of us, when the haven act was incorporated into the pending version of the national defense authorization act. this legislation will allow disabled and low-income veterans the ability to finance improvements to their homes, to make their housing more healthy, to reduce lead hazards. this is consistent with so many things he's done, particularly with respect to veterans. and, again, i wish him the best as he goes forward. tim johnson and i served in the house of representatives together. we came to the senate together in 1997. and as chairman of the banking committee, he's been an extraordinary leader. he has dedicated himself particularly to community banks, to rural housing, which is is

resonant and consistent with the interests of his constituents in south dakota. he's worked to build bipartisan compromise on issues like tria and f.h.a. reform among so many other matters. and as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs, he's been a tireless advocate for our military personnel. i thank him. mary landrieu and i also came to the senate together in 1997. we served together on the appropriations committee where she's been an extraordinary advocate for louisiana, particularly after hurricane katrina. in fact, her efforts have been so profoundly influential in her home state. she is one where we all looked to as a model for what it is to be an advocate for your constituents and she's done it so well. mark pryor and i have worked together on the appropriations committee and the we've worked together on a number of initiatives. and i want to thank him particularly for his role in

helping rhode island being included in the commodity supplemental food program. i thank mark for that. and i offer him my firmest wishes. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. all conversations, please take off the floor. the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. today we are recognizing the work of jay rockefeller as chairman of the intelligence committee along with senator feinstein, but he has been such a stalwart in so many different areas. as chairman of the commerce committee, someone who's championed the children's health insurance program, someone who has been in the lead with respect to advocacy for the e-rate, which helps bring broadband connectivity to all of our libraries. i could go on and on and on. a remarkable career by a remarkable individual, a real gentleman, someone who i'm proud to call a friend and deeply

indebted to his friendship. mark udall and i served together on the armed services committee. and i'm grateful to have traveled with him also to afghanistan and pakistan in 20 2011. again, committed to our troops, committed to our national security, committed to his home state. he's been an advocate for clean energy, for natural resources, for things that will be a legacy for generations to come in colorado and throughout the united states. john walsh, a friend that i met and served with over the last several years, and i want to salute him not only as a senator but as a combat veteran. he's had the greatest privilege that i believe any american have, the privilege to lead american soldiers and he did it well. and i thank him for that. but let me say especially a few words about my dear, dear friend, carl levin. for 18 years, carl levin has either been chairman or ranking member of the armed services committee. the united states military, the

most powerful and professional force in the world, has in countless ways been shaped because carl levin repeatedly helped form a new common ground -- to move us forward as a nation for the benefit of our men and women in uniform and for the benefit of us all. carl and i have traveled many times together. bosnia, kosovo, iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, israel, syria, colombia. we were there to visit with commanders and local leaders but especially to see our troops and to thank them. and in the face of those troops, i saw the trust and respect that they felt, some to their own surprise, when they met the chairman, the powerful chairman of the armed services committee. and he was there. he had traveled across the globe to listen to them, to work for them, and to thank them. it was profoundly moving to me to see this. inspiring, indeed. as the chairman of one of his

other major committees, the permanent subcommittee on investigations, he has pursued the powerful on behalf of the powerless. on behalf of the people. he has not only uncovered abuse but he has sent a powerful message to an increasingly discouraged america that there is someone who will fight for them, who understands that everyone deserves a fair chance at a better future. carl levin has been a friend, a role model. i'll miss working with him. and along with all my other colleagues who are leaving us at the conclusion of the 113th congress let me thank them for their service, their dedication to improving the lives of americans, and at a very personal level, for their friendship and i wish them all well. but let me conclude on a slightly different topic, mr. president, and that is to commend senator rockefeller again and senator feinstein for their extraordinary leadership today in bringing forward to the

american public the intelligence committee reports on the c.i.a.'s interrogation program. but i particularly want to commend and thank senator mccain. for many years, senator mccain has spoken out and many times alone against the despicable and heinous actions that has been illustrated today, and he has led our efforts, no one has led them more vigorously and more intensely and more successfully than john mccain to prohibit the use of torture and abusive methods by the united states of america. to remind us that our highest ideals require us to do something else, something better, and also to remind us that what is at stake very much at stake is the lives and the health of our soldiers.

because we cannot expect others to follow the law if we do not, and we cannot expect our forces to be treated according to the conventions and laws that govern civilized society if we depart from them. and it's a powerful message and it is no surprise. coming from someone whose personal experience, whose personal courage lends incredible credibility, incredible support to these efforts. to these three colleagues, i extend my thanks. mr. president, with that i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: this week it seems that the senate is finally ready to take up and pass a tax extenders bill. congress' procrastination on tax extenders has been causing a lot of headaches and indigestion of

many of my constituents back home in iowa. small business owners and farmers want to know whether the enhanced expensing rules under section 179 will be extended so that they can invest in new machinery. retirees want to know whether they can make a charitable donation from their i.r.a. to meet their required minimum distribution. the renewable energy sector wants to know what investments they should make to increase production. the senate could have made strides towards answering these questions just this past spring. the finance committee acted in a bipartisan fashion to report an extenders package to the floor that would have extended all expiring provisions for two years. by all accounts, this passage could have been passed by the senate with broad support of

both sides of the aisle. unfortunately, movement of this package in the senate stalled in may due to procedural maneuvering on the senate floor. that maneuvering was meant to prevent votes on all amendments, even those with broad bipartisan support. with the senate failing to take action, the hopes of getting extenders done in a timely fashion faded last spring. however, there were high hopes that a bipartisan deal could be worked out with the house that could provide individuals and businesses much-needed tax certainty. before thanksgiving house and senate negotiators were making real headway towards a bipartisan agreement that would have extended most provisions for two years and made several provisions permanent. the president then thwarted negotiations by threatening to

veto that package before it was even finalized. why the president would threaten to veto a package that by all accounts recognized bipartisan priorities as well as priorities of the administration is beyond me. the president's stated complaint is that the deal was geared too heavily toward business. from an administration that has regularly been advocating business only tax reform, this complaint rings hollow. however, all of the business provisions that would have been made permanent under the proposed deal have long had strong support from both sides of the aisle here in the senate, but as well from the white house. for instance, the president's fiscal package, 2015, that was

in the 2015 budget, calls for both the research and development tax credit and the enhanced expensing rules under section 179 to be made permanent. now, the bipartisan deal would have accomplished this. the proposed deal also included priorities specific to president obama, and many of my democratic colleagues. for instance, the american opportunity tax credit enacted as part of the president's 2009 surplus bill would have been made permanent. the president's other main priorities were the enhanced refundable tax credit and earned income credit but it was the president's own actions on immigration, using presidential edict, that made their inclusion a very tough sell.

many on my side of the aisle have longlong had concerns about fraud and abuse in both of these credits. the president's executive action only served to enhance these concerns and added fuel to the fire by eroding established policy that prohibits undocumented immigrants from receiving their earned income credit. the president may have -- may have a phone and a pen. he says he has it, and seems like he's always using it. but the last time i checked, congress is still a co-equal branch of government under the constitution. when the president acts unilaterally, it should not surprise him when congress responds. so it is true the deal did not include everything the president would have wanted, but it didn't include everything that republicans would have wanted, either. nobody ever gets everything they

want in bipartisan negotiations. the point of negotiating is to get something the majority of us can support. by cutting off negotiations, the white house has left us with voting on something that's barely better than nothing for individuals and industries. this includes industries that the president claims to be a priority of his, such as the renewable energy sector, as it's very much a high priority for me. forward policy guidance is critically important to the renewable energy sector. the proposed deal would have provided certainty to wind energy through the multiyear phaseout that would have provided a glide path to self-sustain ability. other provisions would have extended for two years.

instead, congress is now faced with settling for a one-year report extension -- retroactive extension that fails to provide any meaningful incentive for the further development of renewable energy. it also fails to provides certainty to other businesses, and individuals as well, and these are provisions that will once again expire almost as soon as they go into law. i think we all agree that making tax law one year at a time in retroactive fashion is not the way to do business yet that is the reality we currently face because of this administration's refusal to compromise. while i would prefer longer extensions of these provisions, that is no longer a viable option as we close down this congress. as a result, i intend to support the house package.

my only hope is that in the new congress we can make strides towards putting some certainty back into the tax code. i yield. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: i ask unanimous consent alison mueller of the small business committee be authorized for floor privileges for december 9, 2014. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cantwell: i rise to speak about a important piece of legislation that's going to be before the senate shortly that will help women entrepreneurs across the country break a glass ceiling. earlier this year as chairwoman of the senate committee on small business and entrepreneurship, i released a report entitled "21st century barriers to women entrepreneurship in the united states." these barriers according to our report show that women entrepreneurs were not getting a fair shot at access to capital, not getting a fair shot at competing for federal contracts, needed more programs

tailored specifically to their needs and certainly needed more access to capital and smaller amounts of money. though sew this chart shows the various things that were relevant from that report, equal access to federal contracts, access to capital, and relevant business training. we heard an earful from women entrepreneurs all across america, but to find out that women's access to capital in the united states through both the s.b.a. and through conventional banking loans to small businesses were such a small percentage of the u.s. economy, it spurred us to take action on that report and to make major changes. that is why we introduced legislation called the small business women entrepreneurship act, and this legislation did three things. it said let's focus on sole-source contracting authority for women-owned businesses when they're working with the federal government, let's improve the counseling to

women and let's make sure that they get the access to capital that they deserve. additionally, that issue of sole-source contracting was taken up by two of my colleagues, senator shaheen and senator eligible, and i should -- gillibrand and i should say my predecessor to the committee, senator landrieu had worked on this issue of access to capital for women for a long time and we applaud all of her leadership as the chairwoman of the small business committee. so this sole sourcing contract provision is in legislation that is coming over from the house of representatives and will be part of the defense bill that we're going to be taking up shortly. i want to thank all my colleagues for working on this issue. as i said, senator shaheen, senator gillibrand, senator landrieu and also the s.b.a. administrator, maria contraira sweet for her support in how we get more access for capital nor women.

their eight men and women women-owned businesses in the united states but only a tiny percent, 4% get federal contracts. i think we have a second chart that shows a little bit, describing this problem. we have a federal goal of making sure that small businesses get access by each federal agency sore we're doing all we can to grow small businesses in america. if you think about it they have the technological expertise to do the work but they don't -- what they don't have is the manpower to navigate months and months and months of contracting various things they have to leap through for working with the federal government. so sole-sourcing contract agriculture louse topping to streamline the procurement process when selecting a company and allows them to work with smaller contract amounts. this can be beneficial to small businesses that have as i said the technical expertise to do the goods and services for the taxpayers but don't have the ability to wade through these

lengthy federal contracts. so we want to make sure that this is changed and the fyndaa legislation will do just that. 20 years ago congress established the goal of awarding 5% of contracts to women-owned businesses but we did not make sure there was fair representation in the marketplace. so last year the department of defense provided 68% of the federal procurement opportunities for these small businesses throughout federal contracting, yet the department of defense only issued 3.6% of those contracts to women-owned small businesses. in my state the state of washington, we received only one -- 1.67% of these federal contracts, and we heard from women across america as they came to testify before the small business committee exactly how challenging this process is. so i want to put up a last chart

that just shows the percentage of women-owned small businesses in the united states at 28% which we certainly want to increase. we want to increase part of our challenge economically is we want to take various groups and make sure that they are getting access to capital, getting the job training, getting into the economy by being small business people and so we want to grow the 28% number but we can see over here that the percentage of women-owned businesses who are getting access to these contracts is minuscule. so we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help these women. one woman from the state of washington said at the hearing, "i can tell you that the access to the federal marketplace is a huge issue. ab in technologies has generated $8.1 million. sole sourcing contracting would help millions of women break through the barriers of accessing these contracts."

digital hands in tampa, florida, a company that is owned by a woman charlotte baker, provides services in i.t. to the government. her company is developing new innovation solutions to deter cyber threats. so that's a service that we need. but she may never win a contract through the regular process. so i want to encourage my colleagues to support this legislation that's coming over from the house and particularly support this provision that was included in the legislation. there are other things that we will be talking about later in the week, as it relates to the other challenges of providing the tools for women entrepreneurs to grow in america, but this one, making shiewsh that they get fair access to the federal marketplace, so they can get access to federal contracts, are going to help women entrepreneurs who are delivering great products and services, delivers their products in the federal marketplace. i thank the president and yield.

mr. mccain:man, i ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i want to offer a few word of tribute to my departing colleague, senator carl levin, a model of serious purpose, firm principle, and personal decency and whose example oughte ought o inspire the service of new and returning senators. we could not aspire to better service than he has given our country. charl and i hav i have served tr for the better part of three decades. he is my senior by eight years and has been my chairman for more than ten years in total. it's been a privilege to serve under his very able, honorable, and fair leadership. carl and i sit on opposite sides of the aisle. the difference is quite obvious on any number of issues. but i hope it's also obvious how much i admire and respect my friend from michigan. we've had our moments on the

committee. debate there can get a little passionate from time to time, perhaps a little more passionate on my part than karls. but that is surely my problem, not carl's. wcarl's we are proud of the committee's tradition of bipartisan cooperation which carl has worked to preserve and strengthen. we both know how important that tradition is to faithfully discharging our responsibilities, to help maintain the defense of this country, and do right by the men and women of the united states armed forces. we both feel their example of selfless sacrifice would shame us if we let the committee descend into the partisan posturing it often makes it hard to get important work done in congress. when members disagree in committee, often heatedly, it's because we feel passionately about whatever issue is in dispute. even then, we try to behave

civilly and respectfully to each other and we do not let our disagreements prevent us from completing the committee's impis. carl won't let us. we'l.he has kept the committee focused on its duties and not on the next election or the latest rush to the impairicaids partisan quarrel. -- barricades partisan quawmple. i does so in a calm, patient, and thoughtful mearchlt he seems to be calmer and more patient the more heated our disagreements reform as members' temperatures rise, carl's composure and focus is a calming influence that brings our attention back to the business at hand. you could safely say, he and i have slightly different leadership styles. i'm gentler and less confrontational. but carl's style seems to work for him.

it works well for the committee, too, for the armed services, and for the country. the committee has a heavy workload every year and carl manages to keep us all in harness and working together at a good pace and with a constructive results-oriented approach that is the envy of the dozen or so lesser committees of the senate. our principal responsibility is to produce the defense authorization bill, one of the most important and comprehensive pieces of legislation the senate considers on an annual basis. the committee has never failed to report the bill and the senate has never failed to pass it. that's not an accomplishment that some of the lesser committees i just referred to can claim every year, and no one deserves more of the credit than carl levin. when carl levin first joined the committee, he explained his reasoning for seeking the assignment this way: quote -- "i had never served and

i thought there was a big gap in terms of my background and, frankly, felt it was a way of providing service." he might have never served in the military, but he has surely served the military well. and he has served the national trinterest our armed services protect in an exemplary manner that the rest of us would be wise to emulate. most recently i've had the honor and privilege of serving along carl on the permanent subcommittee on investigations. his tireless efforts and steadfast dedication to exposing misconduct and abuse by financial institutions and government regulators have set a new standard for thoughtful and thorough congressional investigations. whether the topic was the 2008 financial crisis, swiss banking secrecy, or j.p. morgan's london whale di debacle, the public at

large and professionals newts that they could count on carl leaf to inget to the bottom of it with authoritative reports and hearings. carl's tenacity in uncovering wrongdoing sparked significant changes in the financial sector. i also commend carl on zealously and effectively pursuing his investigations in a way that has furthered the committee's long-standing bipartisanship. while carl and i may have had our disagreements, we never let them get in the way of finding common ground where we could. while carl's retirement may come as a relief to some of those on wall street, his patience, thoughtfulness and commitment to bipartisanship will be deeply missed on the subcommittee and in the senate. indeed, from carl levin's long and distinguished service in the senate, carl has obtained the respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. we all listen to him and we

listen chosest to him on the occasion l -- closest to him on the occasions when we disagree with him. that is a great compliment from one senator to another. it is a tribute paid to only the most respected members. of course, the greatest compliment one senator can pay another is to credit him or her as a person who keeps his or her word. that's become too rare in washington, but not so in my experiences with carl levin. he has never broken his word to me. he has never backed out of a deal, even when doing so would have been personally and politically advantageous. when we are in agreement on an issue, carl usually argues more effectively than i can, and when we disagree, we usually find a way to settle the dispute without abandoning our responsibilities. carl levin deserves most of the credit for that, too. one of the great satisfactions

in life is to fight for a common cause with someone you haven't always agreed with, someone whose background, views, and personality are different from yours. and yet you discover that despite your differences, you have always been on the same side on the big things. thank you, carl, for the privilege and for your friendship and example. the committee is going to miss you, the senate is going to miss you, the men and women of the united states armed forces are going to miss you, and i will miss you a lot. mr. chairman, i -- mr. president, i ask unanimous consent -- i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

>> the senate is still in call while they are in session. when the senate recesses for the day the program coming up here is a house oversight and investigations -- committee hearing on the affordable care act where they questioned

jonathan gruber and he apologized about this comment on calling voters stupid. while we wait for the senators to come to the floor, cory booker from new jersey testified on policing policy and protest on numerous shootings on unarmed blackmail. you can see this anytime online.