mr. conrad: mr. president, i come to the floor to discuss the tax extension package before us. i support this package because it will provide, i believe, a significant boost to the economy next year. it is necessary because the alternative would be a significant tax increase on millions of middle-class families in just a matter of weeks. mr. president, i recognize that this package will increase the deficit over the next two years, but we need to distinguish between what is the right economic policy short term and longer term. short term i don't think there is any question that this economy remains weak, unemployment stubbornly high, and that means we need to do more to provide liquidity in the short term. that does not mean that we should ignore the growing debt that is all around us. that is a longer-term challenge, but it requires our urgent attention. mr. president, we need to put together a plan this year to deal with our deficits and debt. that's what the fiscal commission was all about that senator gregg and i pushed for, which was just recently concluded its work with 1

mr. conrad, aye. >> eight republicans joined democrats, a vote made easier because while some generals opposed repeal, the country's top military man and the defense secretary said it was time to end the policy. >> this can be done and it should be done without supposing a serious risk to military readiness. >> and as our poll showed just a week ago, 77% of americans believe homosexuals should be allowed to serve. discharged army lieutenant dan choi who with others chained himself to the white house fence in protest celebrated in a tweet. quote, today we stand taller, declaring, i am somebody. he told abc news he wants to re-enlist. so does mike. >> i look forward to wearing the uniform again of the united states air force. >> the white house says the president will sign the law next wiebe. that doesn't mean immediate repeal. all the law does is give the pentagon the ability to decide when it is ready to lift these restrictions. that could take several months. some say it could take up to a year. david. >>> david kerley tonight starting us off. and as he pointed out, this goes to the president

mr. conrad: this is a statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation for s. 3447 as amended. total budgetary effects of s. 3447 for the five-year statutory paygo score card net decrease in the deficit of $1 million. total budgetary effects of s. 3447 for the ten-year statutory paygo score card net decrease in the deficit of $734 million. also submitted for the record as part of the statement is a table prepared by the congressional budget office which provides additional information on budgetary effects of this act. mr. durbin: madam president, i ask consent the bill be passed and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 6278 which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 6278, an act to amend the national children's island act of 19

mr. conrad: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. conrad: mr. president, i've come to the floor today to speak in favor of the new start treaty and to do so pronto. first, let me say i've been listening to chairman kerry, senator lugar discuss this treaty. i think they have been clear and compelling with respect to the arguments that they have advanced. i think senator kerry has made abundantly clear why this treaty is entirely in the interest of the united states. this treaty simultaneously makes real steps towards reducing the number of nuclear arms in the world while also recognizing the important role these weapons play in our national defense. above all else, i believe this treaty is stabilize, which should be the goal of any action related to nuclear weapons. mr. president, i currently serve as chairman of the senate icbm coalition. north dakota proudly hosts the only air force base in the country that has two nuclear missions. minot air force base houses both icbms and nuclear bombers. as a result, north dakotans have a special appreciati

mr. conrad: mr. president, we have just heard from senator dorgan, an extraordinary senator, and even more extraordinary as a friend. he has served in the congress of the united states for 30 years. he has served in public office in my state for 40 years. more than 40 years. and it's been my privilege to call him my best friend for 42 years. i think we just heard the remarkable ability that he has -- really a gift to paint word pictures that communicate with people. that help us understand the consequences of the actions that we take here. in recent weeks i've become very interested in the universe and the vastness of what surrounds us. one of the things i found most striking is that one light year takes light one year it goes 5.8 trillion miles. and the universe is 12 billion to 15 billion light years across. this is a vastness that is hard for us to calculate. now, the scientists tell us that it all started with a big bang almost 14 billion years ago. now scientists are saying it may not be just on

mr. conrad: mr. president, i come to the floor to discuss the tax extension package before us. i support this package because it will provide, i believe, a significant boost to the economy next year. it is necessary because the alternative would be a significant tax increase on millions of middle-class families in just a matter of weeks. mr. president, i recognize that this package will increase the deficit over the next two years, but we need to distinguish between what is the right economic policy short term and longer term. short term i don't think there is any question that this economy remains weak, unemployment stubbornly high, and that means we need to do more to provide liquidity in the short term. that does not mean that we should ignore the growing debt that is all around us. that is a longer-term challenge, but it requires our urgent attention. mr. president, we need to put together a plan this year to deal with our deficits and debt. that's what the fiscal commission was all about that senator gregg and i pushed for, which was just recently concluded its work with 1

mr. conrad. >> i would first of all like to say that senator gregg is not here because of a long standingnk him, first of all, for partnering with me. we started this three years ago because we recognized that it was going to take some special process to bring to the attention of the nation the seriousness of the debt threat looming over the country. both of us are so proud of the two of you, because you took up this responsibility. neither of you had to answer this call. there in're out wyoming with your fantastic wife. many of us have long thought that she is a really special one in that relationship, but you are not so bead. you have just done a superb and courageous job. erskine, you did not have to take on this obligation. you had heavy responsibilities already, but you recognized that this is one of the key challenges facing the country. i truly believe that other than the terrorist threat to america, i believe this debt threat constitute the greatest challenge to our country going forward of any. i just want to say about senator gregg, he is a very good man. he is somebody that ful

mr. conrad, that is statement of budgetary effects of paygo legislation for h.r. 5871, as amend. total budgetary effects of h.r. 5281 for the five-year statutory paygo scorecard zero dollars. total budgetary effect of hfer 5281 zero dollars. also senator the record as part of that statement is a table prepared by the congressional budget office which provides additional information on the budgetary effects of this afnl afnlgt. mr. durbin: further, that the bim be pabbed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, any statements related to this measure printed nlt record at the appropriate lace as if read. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: mr. president, i understand there is a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 4006, a bill to provide for the use of unobligated discretionary stimulus dollars to address aids drug assistance program weight lists and other cost containment measures impacting state programs. mr. durbin: i no ask for the

whitehouse, pryor, reed of rhode island, menendez, begich, cardin, conrad, nelson of florida, klobuchar, murray, mikulski, dodd and lugar. mr. reid: i ask the mandatory quorum be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimoui askunanimous consent y committee be discharged from the nominations of -- presidential nomination 235, darrell james bell, and presidential nomination 2348, edwin sloan, one to be united states marshall in -- martial in monday mob and the other to be united states marshal in the district of columbia. that the senate proceed en bloc to the nominations, they be confirmed en bloc, and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table, that any statements relating to the nominations appear in the record at the appropriate place as if read and the president of the united states be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, for the benefit of all senators, we just sent to the house again the food safety legislation, extremely important legislation. i jus

whitehouse, pryor, casey, durbin, warner, shaheen, nelson of nebraska, bayh, dodd, conrad, webb, nelson of florida and klobuchar. mr. reid: i move to send it to the finance committee with instruction to report back with the following amendment. mr. reid: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message to the senate committee on finance with instructions to report back forth with with an amendment numbered 4755. mr. reid: i 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 my instructions that is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 4756 to the instructions to the motion to refer h.r. 4853. mr. reid: on that, mr. president, i 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 a second-degree amendment to my instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk wil

mr. chairman. he has been my lifelong friend for 28 years. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> he ha served this nation well. thank you. senator conrad?ngstanding family obligations there is no place that he would rather be than with us here today. i want to thank him for partnering with a. we started this three years ago. because we recognize that it would take some sort of special process to bring to the attention of the nation the seriousness of the death threats looming over the country. -- debt threat looming over the country. both of us are so proud of the two of you. neither of you had to enter this call. -- answer this call greg allen, you are out there in wyoming with your fantastic wife. many of us have long thought that a and it is the really special one in that relationship. allen is not so bad either. you have just done a superb and courageous job. erskine, you d not have to take on this obligation. you have heavy responsibilities back at home. you recognized that this is one of the key challges facing the country. other than a terrorist threat to america, i belve this debt rights constitutes the greatest challenge to our

conrad and gregg. it has been your epoch this and focus in helping us come together that has brought us to this point. >> thank you. i think that is absolutely true. mr. stern? >> i said at the first meeting that i do love this country and i happen to think that when the congressman says it is a gift, it has been a gift for me. i imagined my grandfather sitting at the table with all of these congressmen and senators. it is been a great honor. i want to say to people everywhere, including my own community, this has made me appreciate the precarious situation we face as a nation. our inability and waiting to act will only make the situation a lot worse. i do not normally get to sit at the table with all of these republicans. [laughter] but to them and to the others, i think this was a unique process. i got to understand and learn that people are serious about getting things done. i appreciate the environment you set. this may be a different process than some people have a chance to experience in washington, d.c. no matter what happens, the commission has been a success. we focused the views of the nation on a very serious problem, a very sobering probl

you have been working on this with senator conrad and others for a long time, as has senator begich of eafnlgt i thank you for that. mr. warner: will the senator yield far question? mr. durbin: happy to yeeltd. mr. warner: let me thank the senator from illinois for laying out the facts. but one additional fact. again, vis-a-vis the bush tax cuts. i think it has been absent from some of this debate. your efforts, herculean as it was to try to get to 11 out of 18 votes, and all of the painful choices you made in terms of spending cuts, raising revenues, opening up, as i think the senator appropriately sairkd the whole question of tax expenditures. if my memory is correct, over the next decade-plus, your plan, as program as it was and as controversial as it was, basically took out about $4 trillion. if we were to make permanent, as some on the other side of the aisle have stated, all of the bush tax cuts, that adds another $4 trillion to our deficit. is that not correct? mr. durbin: the senator from virginia is exactly right. and the point i'm trying to make, and he made it so well, ten months of work to find $4 trillion

conrad and gregg. it has been your epoch this and focus in helping us come together that has brought us to this point. >> thank you. i think that is absolutely true. mr. stern? >> i said at the first meeting that i do love this country and i happen to think that when the congressman says it is a gift, it has been a gift for me. i imagined my grandfather sitting at the table with all of these congressmen and senators. it is been a great honor. i want to say to people everywhere, including my own community, this has made me appreciate the precarious situation we face as a nation. our inability and waiting to act will only make the situation a lot worse. i do not normally get to sit at the table with all of these republicans. [laughter] but to them and to the others, i think this was a unique process. i got to understand and learn that people are serious about getting things done. i appreciate the environment you set. this may be a different process than som people have a chance to experience in washington, d.c. no matter what happens, the commission has been a success. we focused the views of the nation on a very serious problem, a very sobering proble

mr. chairman. he has been my lifelong friend for 28 years. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> he has served this nation well. thank you. senator conrad?ngstanding family obligations there is no place that he would rather be than with us here today. i want to thank him for partnering with a. we started this three years ago. because we recognize that it would take some sort of special process to bring to the attention of the nation the seriousness of the death threats looming over the country. -- debt threat looming over the country. both of us are so proud of the two of you. neither of you had to enter this call. -- answer this call greg allen, you are out there in wyoming with your fantastic wife. many of us have long thought that a and it is the really special one in that relationship. allen is not so bad either. you have just done a superb and courageous job. erskine, you did not have to take on this obligation. you have heavy responsibilities back at home. you recognized that this is one of the key challenges facing the country. other than a terrorist threat to america, i believe this debt rights constitutes the greatest challenge

mr. chairman. he has been my lifelong friend for 28 years. >> [inaudible] [laughter] >> he has served this nation well. thank you. senator conrad? >> i would like to say that the senator is not here because of a longstanding family obligations there is no place that he would rather be than with us here today. i want to thank him for partnering with a. we started this three years ago. because we recognize that it would take some sort of special process to bring to the attention of the nation the seriousness of the death threats looming over the country. -- debt threat looming over the country. both of us are so proud of the two of you. neither of you had to enter this call. -- answer this call greg allen, you are out there in wyoming with your fantastic wife. ny of us have long thought that a and it is the really special one in that relationship. allen not so bad either. you have just done a superb and courageous job. erskine, you did not have to take on this obligatn. you have heavy responsibilities back at home. you recognized that this is one of the key challenges facing the country. other than a terrorist threat to america, i