mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. id: we're in a quorum call, is that true? the vice president: that's correct. mr. reid: i ask that it be virkted. the vice president: without objection, it is vitiated. mr. reid: mr. president, what is the business before the senate? the vice president: the swearing in of the senator from massachusetts. the chair laser before the senate a certificate of election to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of senator john f. kerry of massachusetts. the certificate the chair is advised is in the form suggested by the senate. if there's no objection, the reading of the certificate will be waived and will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-elect will now present himself -- mr. reid: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i know a lot of people want to say some real nice things about this good man. but they're going to have do it later. we have a lot of things to do here. and as he will learn, the senate is not always as punctual as the house. so all those who have t

mr. alexander: no. i'll wait until the majority leader finishes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: my friend, the republican leader, continues to ignore his words. that he would process nominations consistent with the senate. please. please. that's just ignored by him? if anyone thinks since the first of this year that the norms and traditions of the senate have been followed by the republican leader, they're living in gaga land. mr. president, he agreed that we should not have filibusters in except is in the case of extraordinary circumstances. he agreed with that. he ignores that. mr. president, i think it's also worth talking a little bit here about what the republican leader complains that people don't like the two top reasons outdistance all others. they don't like congress because of gridlock and not getting anything done. is that our fault? no. surveying the years that president obama has been in office, one can see time after time when democrats reach ou

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: it's my understanding a motion to proceed to s. 1238 is now pending. is that correct? the presiding officer: narc. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk. ifer officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 14, s. 1238, a bill to rammed the higher education act of 1965 to extend the current reduced interest rate for undergraduate federal direct stafford loans for one year, to modify required distribution rules for pension plans, and for other purposes, signed by 18 senators as follows: reid of nevada, harkin, reed of rhode island, gillibrand, leahy, klobuchar, udall of new mexico, whitehouse, wyden, cardin, blumenthal, coons, brown, casey, warren, franken, durbin, stabenow. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum required under r

mr. reid: will the senator yield? mr. udall: i would be happy to. mr. reid: i ask that the senator's statement not be interrupted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask that at a time to be determined by me ands the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 220, thr that there be two hours for debate equally divided between the proponents and opponents. the senate proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on the nominations the motions to reconsider motion to reconsider with no intervening action or debate, no further amendments be in order. that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: i -- is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. udall: madam president, as i was saying, we have a unique opportunity to engage in an important discussion and debate about the power of the federal government to put in place the vast dragnet of americans' phone records under section 215 of the patriot ac

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. and under the previous order, the senate will resume legislative session. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to s. res. 200. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 200, designating july 26, 2013, as united states intelligence professionals day. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent 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. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, the senate proceed to s. res. 201. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 201, designating the first wednesday in september 2013 as national polycistic kidney disease awareness day and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection.

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, just a brief word or two about the presiding officer. when he took the oath to become a senator, we had a lot of things going here. i didn't have the opportunity to say as much about him as i would like because we were in some, the middle of a real battle here that we seem to have resolved. i don't know if there is anyone in my 31 years of congress that has been better prepared to be a senator than the senator from massachusetts, who now is the presiding officer. a stunning record has already been established with his work in the senate. i have from afar admired this good man, and for four years up close when i served in the house with him. the work for the environment has been unparalleled, and one of the rare voices that has for many years understood the dangers of nuclear waste and been aware of the benefits of nuclear power but also the dangers. there's a long resume that this presiding officer has, and i want the record to reflect that i am terribly impressed with the

mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? 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: i ask unanimous consent that at at a time to be determined by me after consultation with senator mcconnell the senate proceed to consideration of calendar number 139, h.r. 11, h.r. 1911, that the only first degree in order to the bill be the manchin-burr amendment, the only second-degree amendments to the manchin-pw-r amendments be the following, the text of each is at the desk. reed of rhode island and warren and sanders. one hour of debate equally divided, three hours of debate equally divided between the chair and ranking member or their designees, senator boxer controlling 30 minutes of the democratic time, senator reid controlling 15 minutes of the democratic time, that no points of order or motions be in order other than budget points of order and the applicable motions to waive, that upon the use or yielding back

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i appreciate my friend from minnesota as courteous as she always is. i would scn unanimou unanimous r statement not appear interrupted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session and it be in order to file cloture on executive calendars numbered 201 and 221. further, that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. finally, that if this request is granted, the senate resume legislative session after the final cloture motion is reported, pursuant to this order. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: it's under rule 22. i said rule 20. it's under rule 22 is how we're proceeding on this. okay, we're going to -- hang on, mr. president. let's start over. because these numbers i read them backward. should have been going frontward. i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to comparative effectiveness exif session and it be in order to file cloture on executive calendars number 201,

mr. reid: mr. president, i move to proceed to calendar number 99 which is the transportation appropriations bill. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 99, s. 1243, a bill making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, tpoelg my remarks and -- following my remarks and those of republican leader there will be an hour of morning business with the majority controlling the first half and republicans the final half. following morning business the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of thomas perez to be secretary of labor. we hope to confirm both the perez and mccarthy nominations today. we're ready to move on this whenever my republican colleagues say that they want to , but probably the right thing to do would be to vote on perez this morning and vote on the cloture petition

mr. reid: i ask the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask the 3457bd tri quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 98. the presiding officer: all in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination environmental protection agency, regina mccarthy of massachusetts to be administrator. mr. reid: i send a cloasks to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloasks, we the undersigned senators in accordance with rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of reg

mr. speaker, and also my good friends, mr. reid and mr. mcconnell. you have honored me greatly. thank you for your kindness. you have brought goodness and kindness into my life. thank you for that. my very special friend, mr. hoyer. and mr. cantor, thank you for your kindness. and to the esteemed members of the president's cabinet, i'm delighted to be with you, particularly madam secretary. we have worked together on so many things. i want to say i am probably the luckiest man. i am proud mostly of the friends that i have made. that has been the most important thing in my life. i have a wonderful wife. i want to tell her how much i love her today and how much she means to me and why. i was looking at some books and i found in the proverbs in the bible a set of verses, 31:10. if you will take a look at that, you will see why debra is so important and dear to me. i will endear her more to you. i have been blessed with a wonderful family. a father who was an inspiration to me and a mother whose goodness was cherished by all who knew her. i'm proud that my daughter is with me today.

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: with my friend's permission, i would ask -- i would suggest the absence of a quorum because i need to talk to him about something that deals with the consent agreement i have here. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, i know that my intend has the floor. here's a brief unanimous consent request. and i'm going to proceed as follows, i ask unanimous consent that the cloture on calendar number 208 be withdrawn, the senate proceed to vote on the confirmation of the nomination at 5:30. how much long -- we'll vote at 5:35. that will give my friend time to finish his statement. the motion to reconsider made and laid on the table -- the motion to reconsider made and laid on the table be considered made and laid on table, no intervening action or debate, no further

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the morning hour deemed manned -- manned tower quorum be waived and when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until monday, july 15, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for use later in the day and that i be recognized and following the remarks of the two leaders the time until 5:30 be divided equally between the two leaders or their designees, with senators permitted during that time to speak for up to ten minutes. further at 5:30 i will be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, then there will be roll call vote at 5:30 p.m. on monday. there will also be an all-senators joint conference at 6:00 p.m. on monday in the old senate chamber. if there is no further business to come before the senate i ask it adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands

mr. reid co-authored the book with historian william manchester who while in failing health asked mr. reid to finish the third and final volume on winston churchill. mr. manchester passed away in 2004. [applause] >> thank you very much and thank you all for turning out on a sunday morning for this event. i'm excited to be here with paul reid. we met before and we have talked before and we are both churchill buff so it's a pleasure to see them again and paul thank you for coming out to chicago. we are going to talk for maybe 40 minutes and there will be plenty time for questions so i hope you can keep that in mind and we will hear from as many people as possible. paul will be signing books so feel free to talk to him after. paul is really a wonderful guy. on top of that he is a journalist who got his start in journalism after a career manufacturing

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. eid: are we having a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. reid: i would ask it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the vote on the confirmation of hochberg occur at 3:40 today, that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider made and laid on the table, be with no intervening action or debate and no further motion be in order, that any related statement be printed in the record and president obama immediately notified of the senate's action. what time do we have today? what time is it right now? the presiding officer: 3:33 p.m. mr. reid: why don't we -- modify this, 3:35. the presiding officer: is there objection to the request? without objection. mr. reid: 3:35. the senators then, mr. president, confirming that request, should expect two votes. the vote on confirmation of hochberg, for export-import bank and the motion to invoke cloture on perez. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question o

mr. reid: if there are quorum calls, mr. ident, during this time, i would ask that they equally divided. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, i ask that the quorum be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection, the quorum call be lifted. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i rise to speak about the consumer financial protection bureau and the renomination of rich cordray to serve as its director. years ago i began working on the idea for a consumer finance agency because our consumer credit system watts badly broken. the laws were inconsistent, they were often arbitrary. the basic rules changed for the same kind of product like a mortgage depending on what kind of company sold it. people got cheated. and as we know, in 2008 reckless and dangerous mortgage lenders and wall street trad

mr. reid: i would now object to further proceedings at this time, mr. president. the president pro tempore: objection is heard. the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate is poised to consider nominations of the national labor national labor relations board. this board is an important safeguard for workers in america regardless of whether their employees are union or nonunion. without the work of the nlrb employees would have no entity to address the wrongs. union elections would remain to employers and employees. i'm glad the senate is moving forward as agreed to confirm five nominees to the nlrb, two republicans and three democrats. the senate will consider three democratic nominees and two republican nominees today. once confirmed the nlrb will have five senate confirmed nominees for the first time in a decade. they are eminently qualified. mark pearce served on the national labor relations board for three years. he was the founding partner of a buffalo, new york, law firm where he practiced employment law. he received his bache

mr. president. mr. reid: mr. president, even though i disagree with my three friends, i appreciate their sincerity, their advocacy. they are all three very intelligent men, good senators. but i'm going to move on to another subject. i ask unanimous consent that following senator coburn's remarks which are 15 minutes senior senator i understand it, and all postcloture time on calendar 223 be yielded back and the senate proceed to vote on the confirmation of the nomination with no intervening action or debate, further that disposition of calendar number 223, the senate proceed to consideration of 224, 104, 102 and 103. further there be two minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form prior to cloture votes on calendar number number 224 and 104, that if cloture is invoked on the nomination all postcloture time be yielded back and the senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination with no intervening action or debate, further that if calendar number number 223, 224 and 104 are confirmed that the sena

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: could we have order. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: colleagues, we'll likely have one more vote tonight and then we'll have senator murray and senator collins determine what's going to happen on the appropriations bill before us. i rise now, mr. president, to honor our colleague, orrin hatch. the next vote cast will be orrin hatch's 13,000th vote. 13,000. this is a tremendous accomplishment. and it speaks to his dedication to the state of utah, his constituents, and the united states senate and our country. he's the republicans' most senior member. he's now serving in his seventh term in the united states senate. before running for the senate, senator hatch received a bachelor's degree from brigham and young university, a law degree from university of pittsburgh, and worked in -- was in private practice for a number of years. he's the ranking member on the finance committee today. as we know, he made a great reputation for himself when he was chair of the judiciary committee.

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask the chair to lay before the senate a message from the house with respect to h.r. 588. the presiding officer: the clerk reads about the senate the following message. the clerk: resolved that the house agree to the amendment of the senate to the bill h.r. 588 entitled an act to provide for donor contribution acknowledgements to be displayed at the vietnam veterans memorial center with the following house amendment to senate amendment. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate concur on the house amendment to the senate amendment and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the senate proceed to calendar number 85. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 58, h.r. 251

mr. reid: is the senate in the process of having a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. reid: what is the business -- i ask consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: what is the matter before the senate? the presiding officer: the motion to proceed to s. 1243. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk. i would ask the chair to report that, please, order it reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 99, s. 1243, a bill making appropriations for the department of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2014, and for other purposes, signed by 18 senators as follows -- mr. reid: madam president, i ask consent that the names be waived -- reading of the names be waived, not the people. the presiding officer: without o

mr. reid: lp? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i returned from nevada this sund sunday. on saturday i had a briefing by the head of the forest service in nevada. and we thought things were going really well with the fires in nevada, and they were. progress was being made. limited, but progress was being made. but since then the fires have gotten much worse. not everyone can see this, mr. president, but i have here a picture that i -- of course i didn't get this until earlier this morning, didn't have chance to blow this up so we could put it on an easel. but, mr. president, this is the beginning of the las vegas strip. this is downtown las vegas. and i.t. calle it's called the r fire. you can see it burning. it is only about 10 miles from las vegas, maybe 12 at the most. you can see these -- mt. charleston is a 12,000-foot mountain. the names are shooting way above that. the smoke -- we don't get many clouds in southern nevada, but the smoke cloud here is intense. one of my staff indicated that where she lives it's rain

mr. reid: mr.president, following my remarks and those of the republican leader, the time until noon will be equally divided and controlled. at noon there will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to s. 1243. if cloture is invoked, all postcloture time will be yielded back and we'll vote on the adoption of the moaghts motion to proceed. -- on the adoption of the motion to proceed. we hope that will be a voice vote and we can begin consideration of the bill immediately following the vote at noon. the senate will recess until 12:30 -- recess from 12:30 to 2:15 today for our weekly caucus meetings. i ask unanimous consent that the senator chiesa be recognized for up to 15 minutes at 2:15 today to deliver his maiden speech. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, so happy to see the presiding officer. you could have presided before, but i haven't been able to witness that. so i'm very happy to have you here. we're so fortunate to have you here with your wide

mr. bennet: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. excuse me. will senators suspend. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. leader. mr. reid: i -- i'm 95% certain there will be no more votes today. the question i'm not as certain about is what happens on monday. we'll know before the day is out whether we'll have to have a monday vote or votes. so we'll keep that in mind the. everyone should keep that in mind. i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate and no further motions be in order and the senate -- and president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. bennet: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president. i'd ask to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: thank you, madam president. on saturday, july 20, colorado will commemorate a solemn anniversary because a year ago almost exactly to th

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of senator mcconnell, there will be a period of morning business until 11:00 a.m. with the first 30 minutes controlled by the majority and the second 30 by the republicans. following that morning business, senate will resume consideration of s. 1243, which is the transportation appropriations bill. senator murray will continue to work through the amendments with susan collins, the ranking member from maine. we hope to vote on confirmation of the west nomination today to be associate attorney general. senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. mr. president, about 80 years ago when president franklin roosevelt first proposed social security as an insurance against poverty in oldagers the idea was controversial. it was new, never been done before, nothing like it. but in 1935, 97 republicans joined democrats in congress to create one of the most successful social programs in history, if not "the most" successful social program in our country

mr. president. i yield back my time. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: did my friend from idaho suggest the absence of a quorum? the presiding officer: no, he didn't, sir. mr. reid: mr. president, i'm going to talk just for a minute about the national labor relations nominees. the nlrb has helped to protect the rights and safety of workers for about 80 years. it is a vitally important watch-dog for working americans. it's also important for employers. it also protects employers. but unless we act before the senate recesses in august, the nlrb will lose its ability to operate and will fail to have a quorum, it can't work, it can't -- it can't be effective. so the nomination of the full membership of the nlrb is really a priority. i understand that republican senators are frustrated by president obama's recess appointment to two members of the nlrb. i accept that. so no one has raised any questions, however, about these two good people, griffin and block. they're really fine public servants and the record should be spread with that fact. however, republicans have insisted on the president's nominating new people and he's done that. it's a right they had and

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, there willing an hour of morning business. the first half is controlled by republicans. the second half is controlled by the majority. following morning business, the sna the will resume consideration of the transportation appropriations bill. senator murray and collins have done good work on this. we hope to wrap this bill up in the next 24 hours. we hope to vote in relation to the portman amendment this morning sometime. we also expect to consider the student loan legislation today. mr. president, we have, under the orders that have been entered here, we have the rights -- the ability to vote on the student loan bill, which is so important. there are several hours of debate -- four hours plus other time on various amendments. so i would think members should consider our having the ability to vote on this at about 4:00 this afternoon or thereabouts. we could have a series of votes. we also have other nominations that are subject to votes, so we should h

mr. levitt has to say. host: joseph from boston. caller: good morning. mr. reid and mr. mcconnell were going back on whether it was a bill or a law. i know a law is something that has been established. a bill is something in the works. how could the supreme court rule on a law that is still being written. we do not understand. could we be assured that anything, any law that is passed will not be susceptible to the when it comes to assuming that something is passed. sure ii am not understand the question. i do not know if he was talking about a specific law or bill. were you able to pick up the context? host: we can take another call. charles from west virginia. caller: i have two quick questions. tax, ibamacare is a thought it was under article one, section seven that any tax has to come from the house first and didn't obamacare start in the senate? guest: that has to do with the parliamentarian mechanics that we have in congress. all spending that and taxing measures have to begin in the house. the senateed was took a bill that was unrelated to obamacare and stuff their

mr. stutzman: nau, mr. speaker. i'd -- thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank my friend from georgia for yielding and for his hard work on this very important issue. mr. speaker, mr. harry reid might have said that obamacare is wonderful for america but hoosiers back home ancht buying the spin -- aren't buying the spin. obamacare was sold as a benefit to hardworking americans, but it is increasingly clear on both sides of the aisle that obamacare is hurting the very people it was sbeppeded to help. there is nothing -- intended to help. there is nothing wonderful about the situation hardworking americans face. fewer hours, more taxes, soaring premiums and smaller paychecks. just trust the bureaucrats, is what democrats said when they forced this mess on the american people. three years later they're asking for more time. by unilaterally delaying the employer mandate for a year, the white house admitted that -- what hoosiers already know. if they're willing to accept business, shouldn't every hardworking family get an exemption as well? let's delay both obamacare mandates and continue to work toward fully repealing a failed law that is hurting hoosiers and americans across the

mr. reid: mr. president, 5:00 p.m. today, the senate will proceed to ciewftion to provide the consideration of nomination of gregory phillips of wyoming for united states district judge for the tenth circuit. there will be a roll call vote on the confirmation of the phillips nomination. mr. president, i certainly welcome back the presiding officer, the president pro tem of the senate. i hope that he and all my colleagues had a restful and productive week, with our in-state work that we did during the ten days that we were gone. it was a pleasure to spend time with my constituents in nevada toafer break and with my family. i had a wonderful time with my family, four of my children were there, actually five were there for a short period of time, all five of them. we had a wonderful fourth of july at one of my sons' home, everyone was there, neighbors, it was a great party, my grandson set off the fireworks, i'm not going to ask where he got them but there were a lot of fireworks, a lot of fun. it was a real celebration.

mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, senate majority leader harry reid stated, if we do nothing, student loan rates go to 6.8%. as reported by politico. in case you forgot, interest rates doubled to .8% last week. the house acted to prevent it. the senate did not. today "the washington post" editorial board writes, i quote, the senate is set to consider on wednesday the keep student loans affordable act in what could be the chamber's only reaction to the recent doubling of a low student loan interest rate. lawmakers should reject this pathetic, nonsolution. end of quote. the editorial continues, and i quote, with the president and the house in near alignment on student loan issue, the senate has no excuse to fail. mr. obama should press democrats hard and work with republicans to strike a deal. not to vote for dead end policy. again, end of quotes. unfortunately rather than solve problems, the senate is wasting the american people's time and moving forward with another dead end policy. what today's post refers to as another campaign gimmick. the people d

mr. cordray to the financial protection bureau under the, under the dodd-frank act. the thing is, if mr. reid -- who i asked personally, i asked one of his aides if he believed in the constitution -- if he does believe in the constitution, then the senate's responsibility is add view and consent -- advise and consent on all nominees. the thing is, that involves having to reach the point where they decide that they are going to close down any further discussion about the nominees, and they're going to vote cloture. >> host: okay, bob, thanks for the call from kentucky. again, you're seeing some movement in the area known as the ohio clock. we know from our brief conversation with ed o'keefe at least two senators have departed the peating, menendez and rand paul, republican freshman of kentucky. not sure if others have left as well. but the reporters are standing by. the senate is in recess for the night, so they won't be back until tomorrow morning, but the podium is there if senate leaders decide to speak to reporters to explain exactly what happened in this two-hour-plus meeting in the old s

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader smed. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 124, the student loan -- the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 124, s. 128, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965, to extend the current reduced interest rate on undergraduate stafford loans for one year and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of my republican counterpart, the time until 11:00 will be equally divide you had and controlled with the majority controlling the first half, the republicans the final half. at 11:00, the senate proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of jennifer dorsey. at noon there will be a roll call vote on confirmation of the dorsey nomination. i would also add that the chairman of the judiciary committee has asked that i -- that we hold that vote open until 12:30 today, because they're having a confirmation hearing on the new director of the f.b.i., mr. comey. so we will do that. so the vote wi

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid on the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session and proceed to a period of morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from ohio. mr. brown: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that senator stabenow be recognized for up to 3 minutes and that i be recognized for up to 5. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. ms. stabenow: thank you, madam president. i appreciate my friend from ohio yielding for just a moment. i just wanted to indicate as it relates to moving forward on the farm bill, i want to congratulate the house for sending their version of the farm bill to us this morning, so we now have it. and tomorrow it would be our intent, senator cochran and i, to go through the motions that it takes to be able to send back our farm bill and ask for a conference committee. so i just wanted to let all the members know that. if there is a co

reid. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. and let me join senator corker, mr.e to the nation. i witnessed your innovative, improvisational and thoughtful approach to problems that were potentially devastating to the economy. i think through your service we avoided a much worse situation and i thank you for that. one of the things reflecting back though is the 20/20 hindsight. there were a if yfew governors the fed that were talking about the housing bubble as the next great crisis but it didn't get the traction. in a similar vein you ever some colleagues talking about the huge growing student debt that is -- could have macroeconomic effects, slowing down home purchases, slowing down sort of what we assume was the normal course, that by your late 20s, you buy the home, you settle down, et cetera, and also i think in a way underscoring another huge problem in the economy which is the growing inequality of the income. our sort of american solution to inequality is education. we have reports from georgetown university, that there's already a 5 million projected gap

mr president he still has three and a half years to go on his term of office. yes the republican leader says there's no problem here. and then mr turtle. has the audacity to actually threaten harry reid. as senator alexander noted no majority leader wants written on his terms to all that he presided over the end of the senate well if this majority leader caved to the fringes and let this happen i'm afraid that's exactly what they're all right because in his own words on the son of a majority leaders all wards breaking the rules to change the rules on america. his words not. threat which was not in that clip but he went on to say it was you know these guys do this they're going to grant you so what do you think i mean a word we're not talking about doing away with the filibuster with regard to legislation just with appointments number one and number two they're not doing away with the filibuster as long as somebody wants to keep talking and listen to how it is just about ten years ago now as a project for the american way went up with five million dollars in advertising to stop the republicans from doing this exact thing that harry reid's attempting to do right now at the time the lef

mr. reid: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: ms. mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be vacated. the presiding officer: under the previous order the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of fred p. hochberg of new york to be president of the he he ex-sportt bank of the united states. the presiding officer: the question is is it the sense of f the senate that the nomination of fred p. hochberg shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are manned tower under the rule -- are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if nottings on this vote, the yeas are 82, the nays are 18. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen

mr. reid: i enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked. the presiding officer: the motion is entered. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president. i ask to be recognized to speak --. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. udall: i ask to vitiate the quorum call, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you. last week, 40,000 students --. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: last week, mr. president, 40,000 students in my state got some very bad news. the rates on new stafford student loans doubled and today these students got bad news again. today, our nation's students are once again, they wait in vain for relief. these students work hard, they're ambitious, they know how important a college education is, they know what it means to their future and to our nation's future. they expected more o

mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. reid of new york. page 25 -- reed of new york. $18,956,000.ease page 28, line 10, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by $9,478,000. page 3 1, line 1, after the second dollar amount, insert, reduced by $9,478,000. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for five minutes. mr. reed: thank you, mr. chair. mr. chair, i rise today in support of my amendment involving the nondefense environmental cleanup programs for america. what i seek to do with this amendment is increase this line by $19 million. i recognize the hard work of the subcommittee and the subcommittee chairman in addressing the fiscal needs of our country and reducing the overall spending in this appropriations bill. but in regards to this line in particular, this line is presently scheduled as proposed to be reduced $42 million. and i recognize the fiscal crisis that we face in america. but this amendment re-establishes $19 million to that line because it is a wise investment. it is a wise investment because of sites such as that in my district, the west valley demonstration facility, that is dealing with the issue of nondefense environmental waste cleanup. and by re-establishing this $19 million, it's been reported to our office that what essentially we will save in the long-term is approximat

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business, senators be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each during this morning business hour. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, august 21, the senate proceed to executive session to consider now -- consider nomination number 96, that there be 60 minutes for debathe equally divided -- debate equally divided in the usual form, the senate the then proceed to vote o on the nomination, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, no further motions be in order, any related statements be printed in the record and that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: the record should -- i said tomorrow but let's just make sure it's august 1. the presiding officer: without objection. m