state that sees smaller fires but just catastrophic impact to your local economies. and i know that senator cantwell has articulated that very, very clearly within the committee. so we've got our work cut out in front of us. i had worked on a statement that included no shortage of fire puns and needing to put a damper on this ten-alarm fire that was out there, but i decided that the issue of fire was not a joke or a laughing matter for anybody. we've got a lot of work to do. i'm ready to do it. i'm rolling up my sleeves, and i'm looking forward to a lot of cooperation from colleagues as we address this very important priority. with that, mr. speaker, i yield the floor, and i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous

consent that h. con. res. 91 be indefinitely postponed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i now ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc -- calendar number 269, 433, 435, 436, 437. i ask consent that the senate vote en bloc without intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed, that following disposition of the nominations, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and no further motions be in order to any of the nominations, that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations. the clerk: nominations -- united states agency for international

development, thomas omelia of maryland to be assistant administrator, department of defense, gabrielle camarillo of texas, vice admiral kirk wz tidd to be admiral, -- national council of the arts. the presiding officer: if there is no further debate, the question is the vote on the nominations en bloc. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session and consider the following nomination under the privileged section of the executive calendar p.n. 892, that the senate vote on a nomination with no intervening action or debate, the motion to reconsider be considered made

and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nominations, that any related statements be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nominations. the clerk: department of commerce, steven michael harrow of virginia to be an assistant secretary. the presiding officer: the question is on the nominations. all those in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nominations are confirmed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 3831 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3831, an act to amend title 18 of the social security act to extend the annual comment period for payment rates under medicare advantage. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will

proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 315, s. 1616. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 315, s. 1616, a bill to provide for the identification and prevention of improper payments and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i further ask that the carper substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 320, s. res. 189. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 320,

s. res. 189, expressing the sense of the senate regarding the 25th anniversary of democracy in mongolia. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 321, s. res. 320. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 321, s. res. 320, congratulating the people of burma on their commitment to peaceful elections. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 322, s. res. 326. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 322,

s. res. 326, celebrating the 135th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the united states and romania. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble as amended be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i now ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 297, s. res. 310. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 297, s. res. 310, condemning the ongoing sexual violence against women and children from yaziti, christian sabak, turkman and other religious communities and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the lankford amendments to the resolution be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the preamble be

agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, i now ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. thursday, december 17. following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. further, following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business until 6:00 p.m., with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate is adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. pro tempor.

mr. hatch: i ask that the quorum call be dis missed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: i also ask that i be >> t >> bipartisan leadership of both the house and thele senate's with a procedural path forward the legislation will provide billions of american families and businesses with much needed tax relief. at comprehensive tax reform in the future. called protecting americans from tax hikes in 2015 as a temporary tax provisions permanent. but the tax extenders' exercise the plague congress

for decades to give greater certainty across the board there are no trees about a. and has quite a bit in common. with the crisis around the corner and riley should not do that anymore. end to end the practice to repeal and replace the medicare sustainable growth rate.

with though long-term funding for infrastructure projects. with a long term fixes. ended two reach out any new meaningful programs for also with the tactics dander's. to be characterized by partisan bickering as with deadlines approach with short-term extensions leaving no one, certainly not taxpayers. but with a highway funding bills to reach a bipartisan agreement to effectively end of this cycle. according to the joint committee 52 separate tax

provisions for what we refer to as extenders' expire at the end of 2014 with a separate provisions on a relatively frequent basis to require to reach agreement on further extensions. but a cigna began relief of the pressure. of many of those most consequential extenders of the of mentality. further relieving the pressure to function more effectively. adding more permanence to the tax code we will allow families and businesses and to adjust the tax and revenue base line more

favorable for a comprehensive tax reform in the future. most importantly passing this legislation making more urtext policy permanent with more relief for the hard working taxpayer military families or working portable disable or business hours and job creators. to increase growth and more american jobs. with more province in the tax code and the path will give just the kind of what we need. so to look at some of these key provisions i will start by talking about the priorities for the folks on the other side of the aisle.

remember the provisions for the biggest group of refundable tax credits including the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit. these are essentially additional cash payments made directly from the government to individuals were originally designed to be temporary and had to be extended a number of times over the years going into these negotiations that the enhancements with the tax credit for what we made permanent. not to have those that benefit from the credits to know that the refundable credits are susceptible.

these types of improper payments are well-documented where every year you -- will lose tens of billions of dollars from bureaucratic mistakes. but to make these credits permanent to allow the negotiations to move forward as the democrats have agreed a significant provisions to improve the program's integrity. . . fraud, and abuse in the tax code in nearly 20 years. so essentially this compromise in refundable credits was the very definition of a win-win situation. particularly whenne when you cor the other provisions have been included in this legislation as a result. and we never did this really

before. we all knew that there was fraud. with this bill, we'll be able to secure key incentives for economic growth. for example, the bill makes permanent section 179, small business expensing, which allows smalsmall businesses, the drivef american job creation, to grow and invest with more immediate tax benefits. this has been a top priority for many members of congress, not to mention virtually everyone in the business community. the path act will also improve and make permanent the research and development tax credit, a vital tax provision for industries and businesses that thrive in areas of research, areas where the u.s. continues to lead the world. and this has been something i've fought for every year, year after year after year. and we've always gotten it but it's never really worked as well as it should because there was no permanence to it. now we're going to have