i thought i explained why senator isakson and i have a narrow bill. we're trying to fix a problem that we know exists. we feel very strongly that for the good of the senate, in particular because this is the body we serve in, we love it. we want to make it strong and appreciated and not deride it. that we had a scandal that touched this body. we had an investigation, thorough. it took a long time to get to the bottom of it. we uncovered the fact that country wide had a ask the sweetheart deal and they were aiming it at members of congress. we have crafted this amendment to respond to what we know is a problem. i'm not in the business of coming down here and legislating on things that i might guess are a problem. or, gee, maybe i can throw out a fishing net and cash everybody in it. -- and catch everybody in it. if there's a problem elsewhere, i'm happy to support my colleague if she would like to broaden this. i'm not against it. but i'm saying for senator isakson and for me, we have offered an amendment that cures a very simple problem, that ethics r

i want to get senator isakson. he's been waiting a long time to say something. >> thank you, senator. i just wanted to comment that under the current "no child left behind" law, we are on track for 100% ofr

senator isakson could not be more right. when we get paid, you can literally go to your paycheck stub and you can see the amount of money that is being withheld out of your paycheck throughout your life for social security benefits and for medicare benefits. when these programs were set up thereabouts, a group was put together, they are referred to as trustees, and they basically do a fair analysis of where these programs are at, where they are headed, and every year they put out a report. and we'll be getting another annual report here in the not-too-distant future, but i think we all know what the report is going to say. the report is going to say that in the vicinity of about 2024, if not a bit sooner, social security literally is going to be insolvent. it's also going to say that medicare is literally in a position where it will be upside-down financially sooner than that. the greatest challenge between the two, obviously, is medicare. now, what does that mean to people who are currently beneficiaries or fixing to retire

i want to get senator isakson. he's been waiting a long time to say something. >> thank you, senator. i just wanted to comment that under the current "no child left behind" law, we are on track for 100% of our schools to be held to federal sanctions. under the new law, it's 5%. so i think it finds the proper balance. i think it's also important to understand that states have the responsibility under the new law, states would have the responsibility to intervene for all schools. it's just the federal government is only

isakson, i've got a question for you. and i said, what's that? he said, last night my wife and i amended our budget that we established in december for this year because some things had not gone so well and we had to recast how we're spending our money so we wouldn't go any further in debt than we already are. why can't you'veall do that? talking about us? and a similar question was asked in south georgia by a chamber of commerce directer who just couldn't understand why the federal government and the commerce of the united states could not wrap its arm around fiscal responsibility, have a budget and have appropriations acts that come to the floor, they're debated, they're amended and the spending of the united states of america's government is spent like the households of the united states of america have to spend their money. so i want to commend you and senator pryor for bringing this to the floor and i want to commend our leaders for making affirmative statements about the desire to bring the 12 appropriations bills to the floor of the senate

one of the most striking things senator isakson and i saw in nigeria is the mobile phone revolution, made possible transparent elections in nigeria in just the same way they're making possible access to the marketplace and information for small farmers in ghana. how are we advancing that in africa? >> you're right to point out what technology has meant because we have invested in helping countries modernize their voting systems, making elections more transparent. we did a lot of work in kenya and the constitutional referendum there really demonstrated the impact that technology can have because we were able to get technology wide we distributed, get votes counted without going through a lot of hands. so we are emphasizing the use of technology to empower citizens to hold their governments more accountable to have elections that are free, fair and credible. we're also pushing very hard on how we interact with leaders in africa by supporting those who are legitimately elected, like president watara in cote d'ivoire. there was a case where there was a credible election, he was elected a

lastly, i'm going to going to senator isakson. >> thank you. three very quick points on testing, turn around and the urgency of passing the bill. on testing, senator paul brings up the point that in this country, there are schools and systems that have become too my yopcally focused on tests at the one indicator. we haven't seen a good organization drive progress without a set of measurable goals driving progress every day. we've gone too far in the direction of one test. this bill includes components to look at things like innot only high school completion rates and the percentage of kids going to college without remediation. that's one point. secondly, on turn arounds, i must say i think the -- i do think that from my perspective, the capacity to turn around low income schools is very limited in this country. i don't believe just from a practical perspective we've got the capacity to turn around more than a fairly low percentage of the most low achieving schools. while i agree with -- my concern is on the achievement gap schools. i was a publ

, portman -- boxer-isakson is 1489.n 1505, toomey toomey-mccaskill, 1472, inhofe 1500, mccain 1471, leahy-cornyn 1483, coburn 1473, demint, 1488, grassley 1493, brown of ohio 1481. as modified. that all other pending amendments be withdrawn from -- with the exception of a substitute amendment, that the time until 2:00 p.m. be for debate on the bill and amendments with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 2:00 p.m., the senate proceed to votes in relation to amendments in the order that i have just listed. there be no amendments or points of order to any of the amendments prior to the votes other than budget points of order. that the following amendments be subject to a 50-vote affirmative threshold -- paul 1487, collins collins -- following amendments be subject to a 60-vote affirmative vote threshold -- paul 1487, collins side by side to boxer 1489, boxer at 1489 as modified, blumenthal 1498, toomey-mccaskill, inhofe 1500, leahy 1483, demint 1488, grassley 1493, brown 1

isakson: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: on behalf of the minority side, we'd like to yield back the balance of our time. the presiding officer: all time is expired. under the previous order, the question occurs on the adoption of the conference report to accompany h.r. 658. the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: can i ask for the yeas and nays, please. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? hearing none, the yeas are 75, the nays are 20. on the conference report to accompany h.r. 658. the conference report is agreed to. mr. reid: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we now proceed to a period of morning business with senators yoid to -- allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. there will be no more votes tonight. the presiding offic

isakson: thank you, mr. president. i rise for a moment to echo, first of all, the words of the distinguished senator from kansas. he was right on target in every point that he made, but i also rise to pay tribute to the chairman, senator rockefeller, and the ranking member, kay bailey hutchison. mr. ray who have from west virginia in the house and chairman macah in the house who all did an outstanding job. i was thinking on the airplane flying up here -- it was an appropriate place to think; we're all on airplanes a lot -- i thought about the many bills i've been involved in this my 13, now 14 years almost in the congress of the united states. but i don't know if i've ever remembered a conference committee that was so far apart and so divided that came together finally in the best interests of the american people than one. senator rockefeller, i want to pay tribute also to the majority leader, harry reid, who played an instrumental role in finding common ground. speaker boehner in the house of representatives did the s

isakson just write a message? >> royte in message. >> you still have the eraser on. picture color.so you could do that? >> that's right. very good. >> bad penmanship i need to work on. now can i save this or send it to anybody? >> you can save it or send it to anybody want to send a picture to. where does it send? >> hit save. spec and then what do i do? >> your image is saved. >> i want to send it. >> tappet. >> and then what? >> there we go. >> is it commercially available yet? >> it will be commercially available through at&t. >> i need to spend time learning to use it. it's been a couple your artwork will be good. >> we have tablets that are 10.1 come 8.9, 7.7, 5.3 and a bridge between the 4.3. >> and this is for the retail on how much? >> the retail price -- >> we don't know. the at&t web site in a few weeks estimate into the community is serious from the consumer electronics show in las vegas continues next week. to watch this and past communicators online, go to c-span.org/communicators. >> we got started because there's a lot of conservative thinking that works across the i

senator warner, senator hagan, joined senator pryor, senator isakson, boozman and graham joined senator alexander. so it was a significant number of senators who talked about wanting to do the same thing and i can commend and applaud their work doing that. i'll be happy to yield. mr. mcconnell: we have negotiated the top line for the discretionary spending for this coming fiscal year. that process is normally done by the passage of a budget by the house, a budget by the senate and some reconciliation between the two bodies on the top line but we already have that number, and i want to second what my friend, the majority leader, said. there's no good reason for this institution not to move forward with an appropriations process that avoids what we have done so frequently under both parties for years and years, either continuing resolutions or omnibus appropriations. we have an opportunity to avoid that this year. it's the basic work of congress, and i just want to second what the majority leader said and congratulate senator alexander and senator pryor for their leadership on this issue.

gillibrand: on behalf of senator boxer, i ask unanimous consent that the boxer-isakson number 1489 be modified with the changes that are at the desk, that the order for a collins side-by-side amendment be vitiated, that the paul amendment 148 5b modified with the changes that are at the desk. further, that the order for the lieberman side-by-side amendment to the paul amendment be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: i ask consent to set aside the pndzing amendment so that i may call up on behalf of senator lieberman the side-by-side amendment to the shelby amendment number 1491 and on behalf of senator portman his amendment 1501. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand proposes for mr. lieberman amendment 1511. the senator from new york, mrs. gillibrand, for mr. portman, proposes an amendment numbered 1505. mrs. gillibrand: madam president, we here in the senate are so close to doing something so basic to begin to restore the faith and trust the american people have with this institution. i have encou