mr. isakson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, this morning i got some very sad news. the state of georgia and the people of my state lost a giant in the health care industry. tim stack was my friend. he was also the president of the hospital that two years ago treated me and treated me well, which is why i'm standing here tamed he was a giant in health care not just in georgia but in america. so on behalf of myself and all the citizens in my state and the countless thousands of patients whose lives have been made better or even saved by tim, i want to send my condolences to his family. tim stag grew up in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, work being in the steel mills. and when the mills closed, he looked to find a job and he worked in the central supply at the eye and ear hospital of pennsylvania. he was working and studying to be a teacher and football coach. he became fascinated with th

mr. isakson: i thank the distinguished senator from mississippi. i rise to talk about something i know something about. i ran a small business for 22 years. i worked in a small business for 33 years. quite frankly, i think i understand small business as well as anyone who's done it. i was astounded, disappointed and perplexed with the president's statement last week that small business didn't owe its success to itself but it owed it to government. because it's the other way around. we would not exist as a senate were it not for the taxpayers of the united states of america. they under our cash flow, the money we invest to build ridges, broods and highways. it's an affront to those who have taken chances, succeeded and failed to build small businesses to employ american people to make this engine known as america to work. i want to go down the litany of what america does to make us exist as a congress and government. every january 15, april 15, june 15 and september 15 businesses pay their quarterly estimate on their taxes. so do independent contrac

mr. isakson: mr. president, i rise for a moment to express my sympathy and condolences to the people of ghana and to the family of her president, john adam mills. president mills died in a military hospital today in ghana of throat cancer. for hours after his death, the vice president was sworn in as the new president of ghana. a testimony to the democratization of that country and its leadership on the continent of africa. ghana has been one of the shining beacons of light in africa for the transition to business, trade, prosperity and economic development. john adam mills deserves the credit for taking ghana to the heights it's gone to today. senator coons from delaware and i traveled to ghana last year to meet with president mills. we saw firsthand how he's developed a large-scale oil-producing country in ghana, making that wealth come back to be reinvested in the people of that country. we visited the millennium challenge compact that ghana made with the united states of america to help her pineap

mr. isakson: mr. president, if the distinguished whip will remain on the floor for a second. as i was passing through listening to his speech, i wanted to add some meat to this bones on the business of pass-through income and the small businesses that will be affected dramatically by the president's announcement today. for 22 years, i ran a subchapter s corporation. a subchapter s corporation passes through its revenues to its investors who pay it at the ordinary income tax rate of an individual. $250,000 is not an inordinate number for somebody who have passed through to them in the ownership of a subchapter s corporation. i passed the money through and pay them back based on the investment they made in the company that i ran. when you raise the tax on the individual rate, then for a sub-s corporation and limited liability corporation or a limited partnership, you have two decisions to make as the runner of that operation. do you reduce your retained earning investment in your company to maintain the return to your investors at the same level, or do you continue to wind your

mr. isakson: i khafrpbg -- thank senator alexander for the recognition. i think back to what happened sunday night. my wife went to my son and his wife's house to cook out hamburgers on sunday night. three of my nine grandchildren were there. elizabeth, sarah catherine and lee. elizabeth had been to a birthday party the theme of which was dressing american dolls. she sat by me and said grandpa i want to talk to you about my american girl doll and some accessories that i want to buy. and so she went over to me how much money it would take to buy the accessories and how much money she made for her chores. we budgeted how many chores it's going to take to make the amount of money she needs to buy the american girl doll. riding home that night i commented to my wife, i just spent more time talking about budgeting and appropriating with my granddaughter than i've spent the entire year in the united states senate. this morning i was with bud peterson, the president of the georgia institute of technology. you can identify this as a former president of university

mr. hoyer, for sponsoring the house version of this legislation as well as senators boxer and isakson who sponsored the senate version that this house is considering today. for over 64 years since the united states recognized israel just 11 minutes after its creation, the democratic jewish state of israel has been one of our closest allies. our shared commitment to peace and to freedom have been the foundation of a special bond that has reinforced the safety and the security of both of our countries. we have forged a defense partnership that has yielded advanced technologies and policies that have benefited both of our nations and helped to keep our citizens secure. our faiths are tied together. a threat to one of our countries is a threat to both. and so as the yirneian regime races towards nuclear weapons and sponsor hamas and hezbollah, we must work together to counter this growing threat, mr. speaker and while the united states and israel are targeted by many of the same threats, israel's proximity to the iran-syria-hamas-hezbollah nexus leaves us no rule. our goal is to ensure that i

senator isakson, thanks for your patience. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you all for coming. good to have you here on what is today a historical day. i need to get a education of some of the things i heard an absence in absence of my having read the testimony. i apologize. mr. gerard i think you made a statement with regard to show. they had sent two ships recently out to washington to go there to first claim, is that correct? >> yes, they quoted the least five years ago to the processor permitting the ability to go out and actually start to drill a well. it has cost them $4 billion to this point, and we hope they will get final approval to drill those first wells this summer during the summer season, but that is how long this process takes. my simple point was, these are long-term investments and they are very significant. so we have got to know that we have got some rights intact before we commit to make those investments. >> who is granting a permit? >> the u.s. government. >> the u.s. government so it's on our current territorial waters? >> yes, we have 200-mile exclusive

mr. isakson: i thank the chair and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. harkin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: madam president, first, i ask unanimous consent that at lex shaner, kelsey smith-hart and ryan brennan be granted floor privileges for the duration of today's session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: madam president, two weeks ago, the supreme court did the right thing and settled once and for all the question of whether the affordable care act is constitutional. as i said on this floor at that -- two weeks ago, the fight is over, the law is constitutional and will stand. now, some have been saying that this is a great win for the president or for democrats. i just don't see it that way. i believe this is a great victory for the american people, for small businesses and for our economy. now is the time to move past the political distractions and focus on the task before us: implementing the law to bring quality, affordable health coverage to every american. unfortunately, madam president, the house of repr