mr. bingaman, proposes an amendment numbered 3344. mr. ingaman: i'd ask that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: madam president, this is an amendment offered by myself and cosponsored by senators webb and wyden. it would provide for the approval of an agreement between the united states and the republic of palau in response to super typhoon bofa. madam president, few people are aware that as hurricane sandy was making its landfall in the northeastern part of our country of the united states a super typhoon known as bofa was tracking a path of destruction across the western pacific. the republic of palau, one of our closest allies and which we are tied with the compact of appreciation, was struck by bofa on december 2 causing extensive damage. the president of palau issued a state of emergency and this massive storm went ton kill -- went on to kill over 1,000 people in the philippines. fortunately there were no deaths in palau but high winds and torrential rains caused

mr. bingaman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. bingaman: mr. president, i'd ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bingaman: in 181, in his first inaugural address, president reagan said -- quote -- "government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." i came to the senate two years later in 1983 with the firm belief that in most cases his statement was wrong. i believed then and i believe now that the federal government can be a constructive force for good in protecting and maintaining the civil liberties of all americans, in maintaining and strengthening our economy, in he can prosecuting our environment -- in protecting our environment and in helping americans live product tiffed and fulfilling lives. as i luke back over the last -- as i look back over the last 30 years, many of the arguments that have consumed our time here in the senate, whether on questions of spending or taxes or regulation or fiscal policy, those questions have divided between those who saw governm

mr. bingaman: so i congratulate him on the various issues he discussed and the various issues he has worked on. i have had the good fortune to work and support his efforts on many of those. mr. president, i wanted to take a few minutes to speak about what needs to be done before we leave town, before we shut down this session of the congress. in my view, congress needs to do five things before the end of the year to head off difficulties for our economy. first, the house, -- as many have said, the house needs to take up and pass the middle-class tax cut bill that was already passed here in the senate. that's the first item. that's been given a lot of attention. second, we need to -- both houses of congress need to head off most if not all of the scheduled sequester, and i hope we're able to do that. third, congress should pass the tax extenders bill that was reported out of the senate finance committee this summer, and that's going to be the subject of most of my comments here this morning. fourth, the congress should repeal the s.g.r. this is the law that governs the rates of reimbursement

mr. bingaman: are we in a quorum call, mr. president? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. bingaman: mr. president, earlier today, the senate voted to grant permanent normal trade relations to russia by a vote of 92-4 and i strongly supported that bill. to extend pntr to russia, we had to repeal an out-of-date policy that was adopted during the cold war. that is, the jackson-vanik amendment. i want to speak briefly on the senate floor this afternoon about another out-of-date policy of the cold war that i believe should be ended, and that is the trade embargo on cuba. i have spoken about this many times in the past, along with senator pell, senator dodd and many others. i argued against the helms-burton act in 1996. for the past 50 years, our country's policy toward cuba has been essentially stagnant. the core element of our policy, our foreign policy, which is the embargo, has authorized in a proclamation signed by president kennedy on february 3, 1962. that's 51 years ago. at that time, president kennedy justified the embargo by citing the -- quote -- "subversive, offensive

mr. bingaman: i give back all remaining time and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a tough time? there appears to be a sufficient second. there is a sufficient second. the question is on dpoirnlation of the shea nomination and the clerk will call the will call t. vote: vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, on this vote the ayes are 72, the nays are 23, and the nomination is confirmed. under the -- under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately informed of the senate's action, and the senate will resume legislative session. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: mr. president, the russia pntr bill is before us. it takes a long overdue action by ending the application of jackson-vanik sanctions to russia. jackson-vanik is no longer relevant to russia because russia no longer restricts the free emigration of its people. the soviet union began to relax its restrictions o

mr. bingaman for more than a decade on both committees. it is important you identify the renewable programs. they are essentially on a temporary status and a lot of the other programs and in effect they have acquired a more permanent kind of thing. the kind of programs if we don't have a more level playing field. nor do i think you git out the all of the above approach every senator says they are for. i don't see how you could be for that and not before a level playing field. i'm interested in your reaction, that being a bedrock principle to tax reform as we start to see a more extensive discussion. question andreat one that deserves a considerable amount of attention. one thing i would say is we should be making decisions based on the best information that is available and some of those are woefully inadequate. there's a lot of opportunity that allows their to be more thoughtful policy bill on quantifiable trends. it's difficult to know what's going to happen five years from now and even more difficult to know it's going to happen 10 year

mr. president, jeff bingaman has never been one to get hung up on titles or credits. if there were ever the conscience of this body, it's jeff bingaman, a man who has been called by others, including by ron dorgan, a -- including byron dorgan, a workhorse. that's really true. for three decades, he has quietly and with dignity fought for the people of new mexico and this country. american industrialist henry kaiser said with this bit of advice -- quote -- "when your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. ." that's jeff bingaman. that could have been written for jeff bingaman by henry kaiser. this has been jeff bingaman's both owe for the last 30 years. he is not one for flashy press conferences. he is really most of the time too busy getting things done. jeff learned humility in the small town of silver city, new mexico, where he tbriew up. his father was a professor. his mom a teacher. they instilled in him a love and appreciation for education, and that is an understatement. he got his bachelor's degree at harvard, his law degree from stanford. mr. president, those

senator bingaman takes his rightful place there. mr. president, for the last three decades in this body senator bingaman has been a tireless advocate for the people of new mexico, a determined champion for the future of clean and renewable energy for the united states. he's been an outstanding senator, a wonderful friend. i join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in wishing jeff and ann the very best in the years ahead. mr. president, with that, i yield the floor. and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mrs. gillibrand: i rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our efforts to come to the relief of millions of americans who are suffering in the wake of superstorm sandy. i want to thank my fellow senators from the northeast, especially senators lautenberg and menendez, and senator schumer for all of their leadership. we've been working in un

mr. president, another full committee chairman with whom i had the honor to serve these past two years, senator jeff bingaman of new mexico, chairman of the energy committee. simply one of the kindest, smartest, gentlest people i've ever met. it's been a great pleasure working with him on the energy and natural resources committee. i remember we were both speaking at a conference on advanced energy research this last year out at national harbor. thousands of scientists, investors and entrepreneurs were there. i pulled up in front of the massive convention hall and right out in front, prius with new mexico plates. sure enough, chairman jeff bingaman jumps out of the driver's seat -- no staff -- so here's the chairman of the senate energy committee, a senator for nearly 30 years, driving himself to a major policy speech in his prius. practicing what he preaches, prepared to deliver an important speech in a moment that showed his humility. as unassuming a man as senator bingaman is, when he speaks, you listen. he's living proof that the value of one's words can and should exceed their volume. that day at nation

mr. bingaman. thank you. mr. bingaman: as hurricane sandy was bearing down on our own east coast, causing tremendous damage, a super typhoon named bofa was also striking the small pacific nation of palau. the u.s. embassy there in palau issued a disaster declaration on december 5. in response to this emergency, palau has asked that the assistance agreement signed by the united states in 2010 be approved so that the funds already agreed to can become available for disaster recovery. palau is a strategic ally of ours in the western pacific near guam and the philippines and indonesia. last year our defense department wrote "failure to follow through on our commitments to palau as reflected in the proposed agreement would jeopardize our defense posture in the western pacific." it's important that the u.s. demonstrate its reliability as a strategic partner in the pacific by approving this 2010 agreement with palau and meeting our commitments. i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. the presiding officer: who yie