mr. durbin. >> good morning, mr. chairman, mr. chairman, members of the committee, and thank you for the invitation to testify this morning. as the title in place there's no question global energy markets are changing. one of the members continue to operate and investor of the world, there's growing recognition that a rebalancing of energy markets is occurring and that due to enormous new potential reserves both onshore and in the deep water, and deutsch to the geopolitical stability, the western hemisphere is quickly becoming a much bigger player on the global energy stage. for today's purposes, however, i will limit my comments to opportunities we have to enhance our energy and national security right here in north america. in some parts of the u.s., as has been notable become oil and natural development is booming. while total crude production is constant in 2010, gulf of mexico offshore, and alaskan production has dropped. this has been offset mainly by increased production on shore and north dakota and texas almost exclusivel

mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the help committee be discharged from further consideration of senate resolution 347 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 347, recognizing the 40th anniversary of the national cancer act of 1971, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be added as a cosponsor to this measure. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to the measure be printed in the record at the appropriate place in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i understand there is a bill at the desk.

mr. durbin: mr. durbin: mr. pre, we're all in holiday speared at least partially. mr. durbin: back home and around the country to celebrate this once a year holiday occurrence. but we know that we can't leave. we can't leave washington until we get our job done. and the job we have to do is to be mindful of important measures that need to be enacted into law before any of us can leave this town with a clear conscience. one is the payroll tax. currently, those working, 160 million americans, get a 2% reduction in their payroll tax that they pay every pay period. for the average family in illinois, which makes about $53,000 a year, the amount of that payroll tax deduction has been calculated to be somewhere in the range of $1,600 a year. now, that means about $125 a week for families that are working and enjoying this payroll tax cut. i know what's happening about that money. it's being spent and spent quickly by many working families who have a job but are struggling from paycheck to paycheck. if gasoline prices go up, if utility bills are higher than expected, then the

mr. durbin, canada is not waiting around. wonder if you share my concerns, and i would ask how accessible is canada's alberta oil markets and to the chinese market? >> mr. chairman, thank you for the question. i'm not sure i can give you a clear answer on the access of devotee of china to the market other than to say as you pointed out they've made significant investments in the oil sands. i don't think it is a surprise. it's been pointed out canada has an enormous resource that they are sitting on top of the will find a way to get this to market. our focus and certainly at api we share the disappointment to the delay of the pipeline, but we are today utilizing oil sands in the canadian energy resources to a great extent and i think it is in our national interest, our energy interest, our security interest to enhance that even more. there is no question that canada will find outlets for the oil sands crude and we believe there are too many benefits from the job creation economic growth energy and national security to bypass th

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i hope we're drawing to a close here. we're not certain. there are still some unresolved issues. but the omnibus appropriations bill is moving forward, and it will fund our government for the remainder of this fiscal year. it's been a long and arrested whitehouse process. -- and arrest -- arduous process. we called three appropriations bills in the senate and when we tried to call the next three we ran into opposition. the appropriations committee had to craft nine spending bills and put them together in one. it was a long, involved and difficult process with the financial services subcommittee which i chair. included in that committee jurisdiction are the securities and exchange commissi

mr. durbin: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. um call: the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: would the chair announce morning business, please. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will thousand be in a period of morning business for one hour with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled by the leaders or their designees with the majority controlling the first half and the republicans controlling the final half. mr. reid: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar 413. i send a cloture motion to the desk. in fact it is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: bureau of consumer and financial protection. richard core drai -- cordray of ohio. we the undersigned senators hereby move to bring to a close the debate o

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader is recognized. mr. durbin: on behalf of the leader, i ask unanimous consent that the time until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees for debate on the reid motion to proceed to calendar number 251, s. 1944, that at 2:30 p.m., the senate vote son the motion to proceed to s. 1944, that upon disposition of the reid notion proceed be in order for the republican leader or his designee to move to proceed to calendar number 244, s. 1931, that thereby two minutes debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees prior to the vote, that both motions to proceed be subject to a 60 affirmative vote pleasure tholed, finally, the motion to proceed to s. 1944 be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i have 10 unanimous consent request for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unan

mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: madam president, it's been ten years since i introduced the dream act, legislation that would allow a select group of immigration students with great potential to contribute to america. the dream act would give these students a chance to become legal in america. they came to the united states as children. they have to be long-term residents of our country. they have good moral character, graduate from high school, and fleet two years of college or -- complete two years of college or military service in good standing. those are the basic standards which we apply and i think if we enacted the dream act, as i've required to for many years, it would make america a stronger country, giving these talented young immigrants a chance to serve in our military and make us a stronger nation. tens of thousands of highly qualified,

mr. durbin, canada is not waiting around. sk how accessible is canada's alberta oil market to the chinese market? >> mr. chairman thanks for the question and i'm not sure i can give you a clear answer on accessibility of china to the canadian market other than to say as you pointed out, they have made significant investment in the oil sands. i don't think that is in a surprise. it has been pointed out that canada has an enormous resource they are sitting on top of. they're going to find a way to get this to market. i think our focus and certainly at api, we share your disappointment with the decision to delay the pipeline but we are today utilizing oil sands and canadian energy resources to a great extent and i think it is in our national interest, our energy interests, our security interest to enhance that even more, so there is no question that canada is going to find outlets for their oil sands, their oil sands crude and we just believe there are too many benefits from a job creation economic growth and energy and national

mr. durbin: and i ask consent as well, mr. president, that a press report from "politico" that was released today relative to the testimony of director robert mueller of the f.b.i., which i referenced in my speech, also be added to the record so that his statement as it was reported will be reported more fully at this point. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, i yield the floor. mrs. feinstein: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. feinstein: i want to thank the senator from illinois for his very eloquent remarks. also the senator from colorado, senator udall, i had the pleasure of hearing from my office. i think they have encapsulated the situation we find ourselves in very well. i want to follow up on the detention authorities in this bill and to clearly state that citizens apprehended in the united states shall not be indefinitely detained by the military. today in a separate action, a group of us will be introducing new legislation called the due process gu

mr. durbin: mr. president, in the school year 2009 and 2010, the u.s. department of education provided $132 billion in grants and loans to students. that was up from $49 billion in 2001, a dramatic increase in federal aid to education. a large part of this increase can be traced to one particular type of school, enrollment at for-profit colleges. that has grown faster than any other sector. currently about 10% of the students pursuing education after high school attend for-profit schools, for-profit colleges, and different training schools that offer certification in certain skills and certain professions. 10%. but that 10% portion of students in america account for 25% of all the federal aid to education. in other words, dramatically more money is going to those students than those attending other schools after high school. and when it comes to the student loan defaults where college students borrow money to go to school and then fail to pay it back, for-profit school students account for 44% of the student loan defaults in america. 10% of the students

durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant majority leader is recognized. mr. durbin: mr. president, i thank my colleague from missouri and i certainly concur with his comments about our american military. we have the best in the world. these men and women serve us well, with courage and honor every day. and we are fortunate to have them a. tboarnt, those of us that enjoy the blessings and liberty and the safety of this nation, to have men and women willing to risk their lives for america. this underlying bill, this department of defense authorization bill, is a bill that authorizes the continued operations of our military and every year we pass this bill, as we should, in a timely manner. i have supported it consistently over the years with very few exceptions and believe that the work product brought to us by senators levin and mccain is excellent, bipartisan and moves us in a direction toward an even safer america. and i thank them for all the work they've put into it. but the

mr. durbin: mr. president, i thank the senator from texas. i know that her objection was on behalf of the republican senate leader. i would appeal to him and all republicans on that side of the aisle. let's get down to the business of extending this payroll tax cut for working families and maintaining the unemployment insurance to help millions of americans, and let's get it done before we even consider leaving for this holiday season, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mrs. hutchison: mr. president, at a time when our economy is staggering, global unrest making long-term energy supplies uncertain, we are going to eventually be able to take up a bill that has been passed by the house that would bypass the president's decision to postpone until 2013 after the elections next year a domestic infrastructure project that promises 20,000 immediate jobs and 118,000 spinoff jobs and provides a stable energy source from our trusted neighbor canada. after three years of unprecedented reviews by state and federal agenc

mr. durbin: mr. president, there are very few things which members of congress agree on but one of the things that binds us and unites us is a common oath we take to uphold and defend this document. this document is not just another resolution, another law. it is the constitution of the united states. for more than 220 years, this document has guided our nation and inspired other nations toward democracy. i think it is fitting that we swear an oath to uphold and defend it. but i think we also have to look at this document not just with respect but with humility. humility because we know that the words contained have managed to guide our nation so successfully for so many decades and centuries. and those who are bold enough to suggest that they would change the wording of this document really have to expect to have hard questions asked as to whether or not it is appropriate and whether what they are setting out to do is consistent with this great document and the needs of our nation. i can recall when

mr. durbin, the minority whip and the majority whip in the senate. let me say to the gentleman, with respect to small business, nobody wants to put taxes on small business. as a matter of fact, we want to reduce taxes for small business. we offered that on the floor in the united states senate yesterday. every democrat but one voted for that yesterday. and unfortunately it did not pass. your side, as you know, offered an alternative, alternative which didn't even enjoy the support of a majority of your party. so that we need to get to bipartisan support. i wish the gentleman would, when we talk about trying to ask some of the wealthiest people in america to pay a little more, not a lot more, but a little more, to meet the obligations so our country is fiscally sound, would not keep putting forth this, what i believe to be a windmill of small business. we are for small business. this tax cut would reduce substantially taxes on small business. your party, the majority voted against it in the united states senate. it hasn't been brought to the floor. we

mr. durbin. >> good morning, mr.irman, members of the committee and thank you for the opportunity to testify. as the title implies there's no question global markets are changing curb the u.k. members operate an investor on the world is growing like nations at a rebalancing of energy markets is occurring and enormous new potential reserves both on short and deepwater entry geopolitical stability the western hemisphere is quickly becoming a bigger player in the global energy stage. for today's purposes all that my comments to opportunities we have to enhance our energy and national security right here in north america. in some parts of the u.s. as has been noted already, oil and natural gas development is booming. a total u.s. crude oil production remains constant is 2010, gulf of mexico offshore and alaskan reduction has dropped. this has been on that mean that they increase production on short north dakota and texas, almost exclusively and not federally. the increase in domestic onshore production with an overall dr

mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. last week the highlight of the united states senate were two republican filibusters. those are efforts by the republicans to demand 60 votes for the senate to take action. used to be rare. in fact, so rare that jimmy stewart made a movie about it, "mr. smith goes to washington." you may remember it. it wasn't this chamber, he was if the back row because he was a freshman senator and he literally spoke until he dropped physically. but he won the argument. won the day. great triumph in washington. he used the filibuster effectively to stop what he thought was a greedy move, a selfish move by his colleagues. that's the movies. what's real life? reife i when a republican senator said i declare a filibuster and i'll see you later. i'm going out to dinner. that's how it works around here. if we had a few more jimmy stewart moments on the floor where those who are pushing for a filibuster an exceptional, extraordinary, 60-vote margin had to stick on the floor and argue their point, i think t

mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed -- resume legislative, proceed to a period of morning business until 6:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, so ordered. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. republicans said they plan to block mr. cordray's nomination. the senate is in recess so each party can hold the weekly party meeting with senators. they will recone screen at 2:15 eastern. we'll have live coverage here on c-span2. tomorrow morning -- >> pay dollar now for your labor. have no health care, that is the most expensive single element. no environmental controls, no pollution controls and no retirement. and you don't care about anything but making money, there will be a giant sucking sound going south. >> part of the point of the book is to change the way we think about change and to make us much more aware than i think we are instinctively of the

mr. hoyer. senator reid, senator durbin, senator schumer, we need to extend these poll he's fo policies for a year the road because it's near christmas is not the right thing for the american people. jenna: it calls for a two month extension instead. >> this is not about politics. it's not even about policy. it's about trying to make sure that bad things don't happen to good people ten days from now. jenna: just a reminder, this is not major tax reform, so we joke a little bit $40 here, $40 there, what you can keep in your pay check. this was a tax holiday that was temporary. we will bring you comments coming from the president live when they do happen. jon: well, the latest gallop poll has congressional approval at an all time low of just 13%. with numbers like these many of us would expect that incumbents would be shown the door come november. many of them were last time around, but some political experts say, do not hold your breath. they point to what is called the anti-incumbent election myth, one of those experts larry back stow, director of the center of politics at the university of virgin

mr. speaker, to my colleague in illinois, senator dick durbin. he's the whip over in the senate, and i asked him and i asked the senate to just, you know what, let's have an up or down vote on the keystone pipeline. let's stop the parliamentary parlor tricks and have an up or down vote on the keystone pipeline. you know, the interesting thing is they are not going to do it right now because they're afraid it might pass, because i think it would. the american people desperately need jobs, so let me ask you specifically, what does this mean for the midwest? for the midwest we are talking about 20,000 construction jobs. we're talking for the country about 800,000 barrels of oil a day from our friends to the north, and that means less oil from places like middle east, venezuela and nigeria. $5.2 billion in property taxes to state and local governments that are basically bankrupt today. and how much will this cost the taxpayers? any guess? the answer is zero. this is free. in fact, it saves the taxpayers a lot of money because ultimately fuel is going

mr. president, what is a fair share? pick a number. tell me how much you want to take in taxes at the t ra. pick a number a let's see if it works. >> senator durbin? it's all politi. >> what is the nunuer? >> david, let me just say that the president has tried for three straight years to work directly with the republicans to solve the problems of this country. even this year, on three dierent occasions, he has met with speaker boehner, and with the republican leader kantor to try to work on a deficit and eachimehey walked out on him. this week, ine united states -- this last week in the ited states senate, as an illustration on two separate occasions, republicans use the libuster, something that said they wouldn't do except under extraordinary circumstances, to stop appointment of a woman -- a unanimously well-qualified woman to the u.s. district court in the district of columbia, and to stop the appointment of former ohio attorney geral richard cordray to head the consumer financial protection bureau. for the president now to say, listen, you have a clear oice, the republans will not cooperate to work to methis economy forward, we ve got to focu

they are meeting in durbin to try to find ways of issuing mandates to the people of the world in the name of stopping global warming. mr. speaker, i would suggest to the people of the united states they pay close to this. eisenhower isn't here to protect us anymore. the fact is our freedom is at stake and the globalalists would like to control the people of the united states and up to us to defend our freedom. the patriots will win if we stand together. and i now yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the chair recognizes the very distinguished gentleman from florida, mr. west. . mr. west: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. west: as we draw to the close of the first session of the 112th congress that we come back and do what i think is a yearly review on assessment. mr. speaker, today the 8th of december was the target adjournment day that the leadership of the new majority of the united states house of representatives hoped would mark the

woman fall, senator whitehouse, senator durbin, senator lee, senator grassley, senator sessions and myself that there is a big interest in this, and i am one to believe mr. goodstein pointed out this would be best if the supreme court made the decision. hopefully they are watching c-span and they see all of us here in the arguments instead of having it legislative but one of the reasons that we are focused as senator specter point about it has been 25 years and waiting. the idea is likely to senator sessions talked about the importance of the dignity of the court and the majesty of the court which i think we all can understand. on the other hand, we want other people to be able to see that besides the 250 people that are crammed into a room to watch the people that justice katie's home state should be able to tune in and watch this and watch important issues of the data i believe while senator sessions pointed out we have a lot of things going on. a lot of those things and that in the supreme court in one way or another, and i think that is what this is about giving it understanding that we want to respect the decision making process not given to the pr

mr. president, i'd like to explain what has happened this long afternoon. originally some of us -- namely, senators leahy, durbin, udall of colorado, kirk, lee, harkin, webb, wyden, merkley, and myself -- realized that there was a fundamental flaw in section 1031 of the bill, and there is a difference of opinion as to whether there is this fundamental flaw or not. we believe that the current bill essentially updates and restates the authorization for use of military force that was passed on september 18, 2001, and despite my support for a general detention authority, the provision in the original bill, in our view, went too far. that the bill before us would allow the government to detain u.s. citizens without charge until the end of hostilities. we have had long discussions on this. the distinguished chairman, the distinguished ranking member, the senator from north carolina believe that was not their intent. and these discussions went on and on. and they resulted in two amendments: our original amendment which covers only u.s. citizens, which says that they cannot be held without charge or trial, and a comprom