mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president, first, i know you care a lot about dr. agnes faris as well, so as soon as i speak i will take the chair so you may say a few words about her as well. i would like to say some words about a great american, a wonderful new yorker, a

mr. schumer will address that into a moment as to the jobs agenda we have. today we made sure america will pay its bills and make sure all americans can pay there's. senator durban? o 26, wethis vote, 74 ti have averted a crisis. america has averted defaulting for the first time in its history on our national debt. the fears and concerns of americans across the board were considered by this congress and as a result we have come together on a bipartisan basis. i did not vote for this with a great deal of enthusiasm, because the down payment on the deficit included in this bill comes primarily from working families and those struggling in america. if we are going to have to deficit reduction and address the debt, we have to put everything on the table and bring everyone to the table, for shared sacrifice. the joint committee has a particular responsibility and called on 1 trillion dollars up to 1.5 trillion dollars in savings. we want to make sure that's done in a fair and just manner for all the people in america. when we return, we shall address the number o

mr. secretary, are you on the phone with congressman micah and senator rockefeller and schumer and harry reid? when you look at where these small airports are that the republicans clearly were targeting harry reid, they were targeting jay rockefeller, you know, the house knew exactly what it was doing. everybody is playing the game here. are you on the phone with them behind the scenes to try to come up with an agreement short term or long term? >> absolutely. i was on the phone with senator reid on three or four occasions as late as 7:00 last evening. we're going to continue the conversations. frankly, senator reid is trying to be very, very helpful here. he gets it, even though his airport would be one that wouldn't receive the essential air service money. he says i want to get people back to work on building the to your at mccarran airport in las vegas. that means as much to him. getting people back to work, he really is putting the action where his words are. he's working very hard on this, and i have been in conversations with other members of congress. come back off your vacations

mr. chairman, and representatives at the time like representative schumer and urban as they were members of the house at that time did not support doma to express disapproval of gay and lesbian people. and neither did i. marriage is an institution that serves the same public purpose all over the world. to foster unions that can result in procreation. creates incentives for husbands and wives that support each other and their children. it exists more to benefit children than adults. although many marriages do not involve children. societies all over the world recognized by numerous reasons to extend special recognition to traditional marriage. i never thought that i would have to cover defend traditional marriage. it's been the foundation of societies for 6000 years. not only here, but around the world. and it is what civilizations have been built on. support for traditional marriage cannot be viewed in a vacuum. over the last 50 years, marriage has changed very dramatically. perhaps the divorce laws, inheritance laws, criminal laws of the kind needed reform. like many members of congress

mr. solmonese. i want to testify. i am committed to the co-sponsors and i'm hopeful that the remainder given there's a few minutes. i will yield the gavel and microphone to senator schumer who will close out today's note. >> when i recruit members, you'd be amaze how quickly you move around here up the ladder. i want to thank our witnesses on this panel and the previous two. i'm going to give an opening statement. i think the powerful testimony of the witnesses that we've heard today speaks volumes. so mr. chairman, i want to just say a few brief words about the importance of repealing doma. not long after this hearing concludes, in less than 100 hours, gay couples from across my home state of new york will be lining up courthouses and clerks officers to officially tie the not. many of those plan to say i do have been together for decades, they have raised children, battled illnesses, build loving, lasting lives together. on sunday, our state of new york will recognize that, that love, that life, that commitment until death do the part with the marriage license. personally i support marriage equality, i believe one the defining qualities of america has always been our d