mr. portman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent for the quorum call to be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i thank you mr. president, and i'm here to talk about the legislation that's before us, has been before the senate today and likely to be before the senate tomorrow on economic development, but specifically to talk about in the interests of promoting economic development and job creation a couple of amendments that i plan to offer to help give american employers some relief from regulatory mandates that are stifling economic growth and job creation. i hear it all the time in ohio, and i'm sure my colleagues hear it in their states, which is employers saying that we'd like to expand and begin hiring again, but one of the concerns is that there is a regulation that affects us. almost every business i meet with in ohio -- and i was in ohio last week meeting with businesses in the area of energy both companies that produce energy and companies that use a lot of

mr. portman, reports en bloc amendments numbered 417 and 418. mr. portman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the amendments. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: today we're considering a bill intended to promote economic development, and i think it's only appropriate that we also talk about regulations, because unfortunately our regulatory mandates are stifling economic growth today and they are keeping us from creating the jobs that we so badly need. i hear all over the state -- and i'm sure my colleagues do as well -- companies are saying we would like to expand, we have a good idea, we have a business plan that works but we're deterred by the cost of complying. it's the red tape. it's also the uncertainty, so it's not just the bureaucracy and red tape that is adding cause. it's the future. regulatory burden on employers, by the way, is growing, and it's already a mess. there is a recent study by the small business administration and the obama administration which estimates that the annual toll now of fed

mr. portman: yo you're right. there are a number of things that can be done. there is no reason this can't be done on a bipartisan basis. i just left a hearing where we talked about regulations, its impact on the economy. today the cost of regulations to the economy, hitting particularly small businesses, is about $1.75 trillion. that's more than the i.r.s. collects in income taxes. and there were democrats and like talking about proposals, concerned about the administration's continued regulations. if you look at the facts there are more and more regulations that have a bigger and bigger impact. here in washington it's tough to get this under control without change the law, in my view. so we need to have a better process in the agencies to force them to look at cost-benefit analysis, to force them to use the least costly, least burdensome alternative. i talked about some legislation that we introduced in that area today. so there are some things we have to do. to your point about the impact of this debt and deficit on the job front, you're absolutely right. a

mr. hakki. >> yes, senator portman. the afghan first program is not something we are very familiar with. that is limited to afghan companies. we know is there and has been fairly successful, but i really cannot comment on that, because we have not really participated in that. that doesn't mean -- >> but the policy is to have contractors like you hire afghans. afghan companies, i believe, not us. >> the afghan first program is limited to afghan companies, if i am not mistaken. that doesn't mean we are excluding the afghans from our projects. like i said, we hire a lot of afghans in our projects, we train anthem -- >> but you do it just because it is a good idea and not because there is any direction in terms of the policy? >> correct. there is a clause in our contract that encourages engagement local labor and local companies, but it is not a requirement. we have taken that way over -- >> he would not have to do any hiring of afghan -- >> can actually speaking, at no -- contractually speaking, no. >> that is interesting.

portman amendment. may we have order in the chamber, please. mr. lieberman: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. lieberman: madam president, i support this -- i support this amendment and i'm prepared to yield back any additional time. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. lieberman: move for reconsideration be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. there will now be two minutes of debate prior to the demint amendment, number 511. mr. demint: madam president. madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. demint: thank you. the senate is not in order, madam president. the presiding officer: the senate needs to come to order. can senators take their conversations from the well. the senator from south carolina. mr. demint: thank you, madam president. this next amendment is about accountability and

mr. chairman. i ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a statement by our colleague, congressman kildee. >> thank you. i interpret. i ask to submit a letter from senator portman and a study done. thank you. >> thank you so much for holding the hearing. this is a chance to conduct oversight, and also a chance to take stock of a critical and successful government intervention. the federal government saved two companies, gm and chrysler, and probably an entire region of the country. i come from that region. there's a gm factory located east of cleveland called large down. in march 2009, the community of large town was profiled in this way. they said, quote, holding on for dear life. where 70% of the accounts tax base came from the gm plant according to the mayor. just last month, the cbs news story proviled the community in a completely different light. talk about it being jolted back to life by 4,000 pounds of steal. the large town gm plant was dead for a short period of time. without a single car being manufactured. but it's now alive and employees around 4500 people. those workers are using parts made down the road in my district, roughly 20 percent of the pa

mr. portman and others proposes amendment numbered 509. on page 76, after -- mr. portman: i ask that the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i rise to offer amendment number 509 to the underlying bill, the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining ablght of 2011. i am pleased to have senator tom udall and other cosponsors of this bipartisan amendment. the aim of the amendment is really very simple and straightforward t would preserve the senate-confirmed status of our major's chief financial officers. i appreciate very much the thoughtful effort behind the underlying legislation that's before us today. i want to particularly commend my colleague, senator collins, who is on the floor, senator lieberman, as well as senator alexander and senator schumer for their hard work in being sure that the nomination process is streamlined. having been through the process twice myself, it can use some streamlining, and i know that they will continue in their efforts and do even more to reduce some of the barriers to public