mr. murray in the hallway. >> okay. then i think we've covered the bridge. let me go to earlier in the day. i think i've filled in the chronology questions i had. you came on duty around 5:30 or 6:00 and you saw -- >> that's correct. >> you saw a discussion between a number of people regarding negative tests, right? >> that's correct. >> was that the first negative test? >> that was the first negative test. >> and was the conclusion reached by the crew at the time that the first negative test had been passed successfully? i'll be more specific. was the conclusion that you heard at the time reached by the transocean crew was that the first negative test passed successfully? >> what i heard was bob say that according to the apd that we didn't get a negative test. he was going to talk to don about it. >> he wanted another negative test done, is that right? >> i don't know ife wanted another one or not. all i know, he said according to apd we didn't achievehe results. >> from your observation did the transocean crew appear to conclude that the first negative tes

mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent for eight minutes. the presiding officer: order in the chamber. the senate is not in orderment mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent for eight minutes equally divided between myself and senator cantwell in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. without objection. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to commemorate and celebrate the lives of seven police officers from my home state of washington who lost their lives in service to their communities last year. mr. president, the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: the senate is not in order. please take your conversations outside the well. mrs. murray murray: thank you, mr. president. i am very proud t to join today with senator cantwell during national police week to introduce the washington state national law enforcement resolution to

mr. murray in the hallway. >> okay. then i think we've covered the bridge. let me go to earlier in the day. i thi i've filled in the chronology questions i had. you came on duty around 5:30 or 6:00 and you saw -- >> that's correct. >>ou saw a discussion between a number of people regarding negative tests, right? that's correct. >> was that the first negative test? >> that was the first negative test. >> and was the conclusion reached by t crew at the time at the first negative test had been passed ccessfully? i'll be more specific. was the conclusion that you heard at the time reached by the transocean crew was that the first negative test passed successfully? >> what i heard was bob say that according to the apd that we didn't get a negative test. he was going to talk to don about it. >> he wanted another negative test done, is that right? >> i don't know if he wanted another one or not. all i know, he said according to apd we didn't achieve the results. >> from your observation did the transocean crew appear to conclude that the first negative test had bee

senators schumer, knell , brown, whitehouse, murray in supporting this essential reform to restore integrity to the credit rating agency system. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor. mr. franken: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: i ask the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: thank you. mr. president, i had not intended to speak tonight, but having heard my friend, the senator from minnesota, speak about the problems with the rating agencies, i thought i would rise to -- to say that in very many respects, the senator from minnesota is correct. mr. wicker: and it's my understanding that the underlying bill as yet has no provision whatsoever dealing with the rating agencies. i think -- i think certainly if that remains, it will be a major flaw in the legislation. i don't know the details of the amendment that the senator from minnesota was referring to but i certainly would welcome a debate about the rating agencies to make sure that they're accurate, to acknowledge so many mistakes that have been made by those

murray joined our amendment last night. i know we have a number of sponsors. thank you very much. mrs. hutchison: thank you, senator klobuchar. and, madam president, i appreciate the bipartisan nature of this amendment. i think when people look at this amendment, both sides of the aisle, that it will be clear that the community banks need this amendment to keep a level playing field and to assure that there is no concept left in this country of too-big-to-fail. and i thank my colleague from minnesota, senator klobuchar, and yield the floor. mr. shelby: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama is recognized. mr. shelby: mr. president, as drafted, the bill before us we're considering this week, allows for bailouts, i believe. as a result, what my friends on the other side like to call "wall street reform" is actually a wall street dream and a main street nightmare for all of us. i have over the last several weeks clearly articulated what needs to be changed in the underlying bill because we must do everything that we can to create a credible resolution regime, mr. p

murray for joining us. thank you, madam president, and i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: madam president, i rise today to discuss the amendment that i have offered on behalf of the republicans to greatly improve consumer financial protection. the amendment recognizes that our existing financial regulatory system fails to adequately provide consumer protection. our system is broke and it needs fixing. we realize that. madam president, the recent financial crisis has revealed that our financial regulators were asleep at the switch and had neglected to uphold their basic responsibilities for consumer protection. far too often, our regulators were more concerned about pleasing the entities that they regulated than looking out for consumers. it's clear that we need to refocus the priorities of our financial regulators and to ensure that consumer protection gets the attention that it rightly deserves. make no mistake, republicans here want to strengthen consumer protection. we are all consumers in america. we need to make sure that consumers get clear and understandable