mr. lautenberg: mr. president, i ask that i speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. lautenberg: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that calling of the roll be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be able to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: mr. president, we're here now deciding on what kind of a country america might be in the future, whether it will be a place that we look back at and remember when everybody was -- had a chance at success. it's hard to believe that when we look at the vote that we just had. it confirmed where the republicans are on the issue of whether middle-class families should get a tax break. the republican answer, surprisingly -- no, strike that. not at all surprisingly. they have been consistent in their views. the answer that they gave on middle-class family tax breaks was absolutely no, no,

mr. lautenberg: thank you, mr. president. and i ask unanimous consent to be able to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: as if in morning business. mr. president, we're at a time in the calendar that usually is a time of excellent anticipation. christmas is coming, holidays are coming, people are trying to get their families in order and do the shopping and all the things that you have to do. and it would seem that this is a moment of fairly happy days. and the holiday season is here, but these aren't happy times for many americans. across our country, families are fighting to keep their heads above water. some parents don't know how they're going to put food on the table tonight, much less presents under the christmas tree or during the hanukkah holidays. and that's why our side of the aisle is fighting to continue and expand a tax cut that has benefited millions of working families this year. this is a tax cut for people who really need it, families who depend on a paycheck. w

mr. lautenberg: thank you. thank you, mr. -- the presiding officer: the senior snr from new jersey. mr. lautenberg: thank you, mr. president. thank you, mr. leader for your kind words and the help that you have given me to make some of the decisions that we labored with. my colleague, bobman nen des, who has worked very hard do his share in moving legislation and doing the right thing by the people in our state and our country. and one of the things that is, to me, pretty important was when i said to my mother in 1982, i said, mom, i'm going to run for the united states senate. i think there's an opportunity there. and i was running ad.p., quite a good company at the time, and so she said, frank, what do you need it for? i said, mom, i don't need it. and the night of the election we were gathered at my house in new jersey, and my mother was then committed to a wheelchair, and she had tears running down her face. i said, mom, you asked me why i need it. so i said, why are you crying? she said, because i always wanted you to win. and the people in new jersey were very kind over these years