mr. president? the presiding officer: mr. majority. mr. reid: i ask that the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: at 11:00 today there will be a vote on the nomination of mr. koh, the attorney for the department of state. i tell all senators i had a conversation with the republican leader today. we're doing our best to move to a couple of appropriation bills. the first one online is the legislative branch appropriation bill. the next is homeland security. we hope we can get on those. the republican leader said he would do his best to help us to that. i hope that, in fact, is the case. we'll keep members advised as to what we're going to do for the rest of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the preefs order the senate will proceed to consider the following nomination with the -- which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination: department of state, harold koh of connecticut to be the legal adviser of the department of state. the pr

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. a senator: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johanns: mr. president, today i rise in solemn remembrance of the life of a fallen hero: sergeant justin j. duffey of the united states army's 82nd airborne division. justin died while serving his country in iraq on june 2 when his humvee was struck byn

mr. president. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, earlier this year the new administration proposed an economic stimulus bill that was meant to lift the economy at a time of massive job losses and widespread economic hardship. not only was the bill enormously complex, it was also one of the costliest piece of legislation ever proposed. and yet, those who put it together insisted that it be rushed to a vote. their reason, of course, the economic downturn was just too dire to wait. trust us, they said. it's responsible, it's needed, and it will work. and so this incredibly complex, enormously expensive bill which was introduced on january 26 was passed less than three weeks later, just 24 hours -- 24 hours, mr. president -- after all of its details had been disclosed to the public for review. at the time i argued that spending this much borrowed money in the middle of a recession on a bill that had been rushed to the floor was extremely irresponsible. at a time when millions are struggling just to make ends meet, washington h

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, i send a resolution to the desk and ask for its appropriate consideration to be placed on -- referred to the appropriate committee. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. mr. mccain: mr. president, the resolution that i, on behalf of myself, senator lieberman, and others, is exactly the same as has been introduced by congressman berman and pence in the house of representatives. it's the exact same resolution, expresses support for all iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law, and for other purposes. the resolution expresses its support for all iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law. it condemns the ongoing violence against demonstrators by the government of iran and

mr. president -- yes? the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. kerry: mr. president, reserving the right to objec object ... mr. reid: i would ask to modify the consent agreement. that until 10, 10, 10, senator kerry be given 15 minutes and senator cornyn be given 15 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that upon the disposition of the koh nominee flashings the senate resume legislative session, the senate then move to proceed to consideration of calendar number 84, h.r. 2 the 18, the legislative branch appropriations act; that the motion be agreed to, and once the bill is reported, the nelson of nebraska substitute amendment, which is at the desk being be called for consideration. further, that following -- that the following be the only first-degree amendments and motion in order: mccain, nebraska photo exhibit; coburn, onloon disclosure of senate spending; demint, visitors center inscription "in god we trust"; vitter, motion to recommit 2009 level, demint, audit

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: i ask consent that the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: i ask consent to speak in morning business for as much time as i may consume. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, as this country tries to pull itself out of a very significant economic crisis, in which millions of americans have loss their jobs, lost their homes, lost hope there are a number of things that we have to do that also threaten the future of this country in addition to trying to restore some economic health and those are health care, to be

the presiding officer: 16 minutes. mr. durbin: mr. president, i am going to ask consent for an additional five minutes on both sides in morning business and i will try to not use it, if i can. so i ask consent for an additional five minutes on both sides. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: thank you. mr. president -- and i ask unanimous consent that after my remarks the senator from oregon be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection, swithoutobjection, s. mr. mccain: mr. president, could i amend that unanimous consent request that i follow senator wyden. mr. durbin: absolutely. and i ask unanimous consent that on the republican side, for their morning business, senator mccain be recognized first. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: this morning the republican senate leader came to the floor to talk about health care. it is a timely conversation. among members of the senate about the future of this important issue and i know senator wyden of oregon is going to addr

mr. president, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mrs. lincoln: mr. president, i ask to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. linmrs. lincoln: thank you. i want to applaud my colleague from pennsylvania, talking about the jump-start bill, but, more importantly, not just our dreams but the things that are actively happening in our states, the great things, whether it is highway projects or for us in arkansas, the new market tax credits have been a -- we look at the s r s.b.a.-7-a loan, which has been tremendous for small businesses, education alone, i met with principals and administrators just last week when i was home talking about the opportunities for education and the infusion of resources coming from the recovery act along with water projects and broadband. the senator from pennsylvania did an excellent job in -- in mention those and, most importantly, focusing on the fact that this is what is going to help us get our country back o

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: i ask for recognized? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: i want to thank my colleague, senator shaheen, for her remarks and for her reminiscence of meeting with the judge and her -- once again, the judge showing how she perseveres in the face of adversity. i also wanted to talk a little bit more -- i was ending my last comments talking about how in fact this nominee would bring more federal judicial experience to the supreme court than any skwrufrts in 100 years. i -- justice in 100 years. i noted my exchange in the airport where someone wondered whether she was worthy of this, able to apply the facts and the law. when you compare her to any of these other nominees on the supreme court, she stands out. she stands out not only because of her unique background and she overcame obstacles to get here, but she stands out because of her experience. all those years as a prosecutor, all those years

mr. president, this current recession, the u.s. manufacturing sector has been in crisis. 40,000 american factories closed in the past decade. since 2000, the u.s. has lost more than 4 million manufacturing jobs, many in the presiding officer's home state of colorado. 200,000 manufacturing jobs in ohio. 2008 study by the economic policy institute found the u.s. has lost more than 2.3 million jobs since 2001. as a direct result of the u.s. trade deficit with china. we shouldn't let china profit from recession. it is not just the chinese pushing for the status quo. those who -- these are american investors, american companies actively support a regime that is trying to become a global competitor. no no boundaries, too often these companies leave their moral come pass at home. -- compass at home. the united states should stand up to rather than apologize for china's brutal regime. if china seeks to become a member of the international community, it should match its aspirations. china continued to deny its people basic freedoms of speech

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mrs. murray: mr. president, this morning i rise to remind all of us of a promise our government has made to the american people. it is an unspoken trust that certain things in our lives and communities are taking care of. that we don't have to think much about because we trust our government to keep us safe. mr. president, i think most americans turn on the tap each day and expect the water that they drink to be safe and they probably don't think a lot about it. we expect if there's an emergency, we'll be able to pick up the phone and dial 911, someone will answer and send help to us. well, mr. president, that's exactly what the people who lived in bellingham, washington, used to think about oil and gas pipelines, if they thought about them at all. but all of our sense of safety and innocence was shattered 10 years ago today when tragedy struck for three families in

the presiding officer: we're not. mr. casey: i ask consent that i be permitted to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: and i'd also ask consent i be permitted to speak for what i hope will be 20 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: finally, i'll have two subjects i'll cover, mr. president, separate subject matters but hope they -- i ask, i guess, they both be in the record as reflected in that way, that they're separate topics. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. casey: mr. president, thank you very much. i didn't plan on responding to my colleague from kansas and i won't today but i still think on health care we have a long way to go. there is still a lot of work to be done in the committee i'm a member of, the health, education, labor, pension committee and still a lot of work on the finance committee in health care. but if a general sense, i think what we're all trying to do -- i know my colleagues o

mr.? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. sanders: mr. president, i think virtually everybody in our country understands that the united states of america is the -- is in the midst of a major, major health care crisis. we have 46 million americans without any health insurance. we have even more who are under insured and we have, in addition to all of that we have some 60 million americans, 20% of our population, who do not have access to a doctor on a regular basis. the result of that particular fact is that we lose over 18,000 americans every year who die needlessly, who should not die because they don't go to the doctor when they should get the treatment that they need. that is six times every single year what we lost on 9/11. of people who died who should not die because they don't have access to a doctor. mr. president, in the midst of this horrendous lack of coverage, unique, i should mention among major nations on

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, today the "help" committee will meet to discuss another new government program that seeks and has advertised to promote prevention and wellness. while prevention and wellness is important, can lead to lower overall health care costs, we already have several programs focused on wellness and prevention. the h.h.s. appropriations request for prevention i is $700 million. in a recent omnibus appropriation bill, it wa was $22 million worth of earmarks for legislators pet projects for prevention and wellness and $310.5 million worth of earmarks under the health resources and services administration. yet the health care bill includes $80 billion new spending on new prevention programs without acknowledging the existing programs or suggesting improvements to them. in other words, wellness and fitness has become another trough to put both feet in for earmarks and pet projects of members. we already have a $1.8 trillion in federal debt. the majority keeps on spending on new government

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be recognized for 15 minutes. and after that the senator from illinois be recognized subsequently. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. menendez: thank you, mr. president. last wednesday, just a few blocks down the street, a neonazi opened fire at the holocaust museum. he murdered a security guard and terrorized the museum's visitors including schoolchildren who had come to learn, to express sympathy to pray. that evil act was the work of a killer who had made his hatred of other religious and ethnic groups well known. and it was a reminder that intolerance, ignorance and anti-semitism have not yet been defeated in our world. this tragedy reminds us of the need for sound understanding of one of the darkest episodes in the history of the world. far too many misrepresent the significance of the holocaust, especially in regards to the state of israel and her people. and far too many deny it happened altogether, out of bigotry,

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i commend my friend, the senator from -- the junior senator from vermont for his words about this critique of the health insurance system. you know, what's right about it and what's wrong with it, we know that for those with insurance, we can get good medical care in this country we know that many people don't have any insurance. we know that many others have inadequate insurance, and we know that so many americans are in a situation where they're just anxious about the future of their -- of their health -- the future of the quality of health care that they -- that they have. too many americans have seen their health care premiums go up, their deductibles go up, their co-pays go up. they end up with a private insurance company that finds ways to delay paying them, to, in many cases, to not reimburse them at all for their health care insurance. it is insurance that doesn't really deliver. that is really n

mr. president. but i asked the cabinet give me what they think is realistic, what's within their wheel house, what they can get done. as a consequence of all this we're also starting up a new web site today. it's www.whit www.whitehouse.gov/recovery. and this is going to have a little bit of interactive aspect. because what we want to they're watching this happen in neighborhoods, parks, whatever, we want them knowing that what we're doing is fully transparent. wee fully accountable. and we want them to watch us closely. we want their input. we want them to tell us whether they think it's working or not working and how it's affecting them. so mr. president, by the fall i think wee going to be much further down the road to recovery. and i can say in conclusion, mr. president, we made a lot of trips around the country. and i understand we got a lot of major major things you're dealing with here in washington and we're all dealing with. and it's of worldwide consequence. but i'm telling you, when we go

mr. president? mr. durbin: mr. president, i know there is controversy involved in the so called cash for clunkers, kind of a humorous name for a very serious proposal. let's be real honest about where we are in america today. we have seen the largest decline in automobile sales in 50 years, sales are down 29% and automobile production is down 46% from just 17 months ago. plummeting auto sales have reduced production and it has had a ripple effect across the economy forcing dealerships and factories to close. we have lost 280,000 american jobs in the automobile industry. that's what had is about -- 280,000 american jobs lost and more that will be lost if we do nothing. some would have us do nothing. while the automobile industry is roiling from job losses and declining production many consumers in the market for new cars are waiting, holding back. the purpose of this legislation is to put some movement into the purchasing of new automobiles. it is a targeted way to give incentives to americans to buy cars, gets them

mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. a senator: mr. president, i rise today to introduce a piece of legislation that i believe that the senate should consider immediately. mr. johanns: i believe this legislation is so important that it just can't wait. the legislation is called the free enterprise act of 2009, and its purpose an effect is very straightforward and very simple. a senator: with the senator from idaho allow me a brief interruption? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. johanns: yes. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent that the period for morning business be extended until 11:30 a.m. with senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: is there any objection? no objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: i thank my colleague from the state of idaho. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. johanns: the legislation that i introduced today, as i said, mr. president, is the free enterprise act of 2009. an

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to follow on some of the comments that were made by my colleagues who have come to the floor to talk about the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court of the united states, and i would start by saying, mr. president, that any confirmation the senate considers is important, but none more so than a lifetime appointment to the most distinguished judicial office in our nation now that the president has nominated judge sotomayor, it is the senate's job to give advice and consent. as alexander hamilton told the constitution convention, senators -- and i quote -- "cannot themselves choose, they can only ratify or reject the choice of the president." mr. president, i take this role very seriously, as do all of my senate colleagues. in fact, just 3 1/2 years ago, on this very floor, one of our colleagues in the senate at the time rose and gave the following views on a then pending supreme court nomination. and i want to quote for you, mr. president, what

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president, i thank senator mcconnell for his leadership in so many ways but particularly his concern that he has shown repeatedly on the united states judiciary. he's a member of the judiciary committee and he takes these issues seriously and i think it's important that we all do so. i have to say i'm disappointed this morning that we learned from media reports -- i did -- that the chairman of the judiciary committee, senator leahy, announced we would begin the hearings july 13 on judge sotomayor. i believe that's too early. i don't believe it's necessary. it's far more important we do this matter right than we do it quick. when the announcement was made president obama said that the time we should look to is october 1 when the new supreme court term starts. and i think that always was an achievable goal something i said i believe we could achieve and do in a right way. so the question is, can we get all this done in this rush-rush fashion? it will be the shortest confirmation time of

mr. president. mr. president, there is a disturbing pattern that is emerging in washington, d.c., which i don't think is being lost on the american people. we've seen since the beginning of this year with the new administration coming to power, the new congress taking control of the leadership in both the house and the senate, an enormous, unprecedented amount of spending, borrowing, and taxing and i think that the -- to bear that out, i guess this piece of information has been used before -- if you look at the numbers, you have to go back a long ways in american history, back to the foundation of our country, back to 1789 and take it up through today, 2009, 220 years of american history, the total amount of debt that has been accumulated over that period of time, literally since the presidency of george washington through the presidency of george bush will be equaled in the next five years. we will double the amount of federal debt, public debt, in this country in the next five years. mr. president, we

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order there will now be a period of morning business for up to one hour with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the majority controlling the first half, the republicans controlling the second half. the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i renew my that that request to speak in morning business for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: for the last month the republican leader from kentucky has come to the floor and argued that we should not move detainees currently in guantanamo, into the united states, even for trial. luckily, the president and the attorney general have the head of the joint military chiefs of staff have come to the conclusion that it's i

mr. president. we want to emphasize the 10 new major initiatives that will kick in in the next hundred days. the truth is, mr. president, recovery is not meant to be neatly divided into 100 days, it is about the cumulative impact of what the congress has passed and what you asked for. if you don't mind my using a sports metaphor again, it is about pace on the ball. everyone hundred days should produce more than the last 100 days, so the next 100 days, mr. president, we think we are going to grow the jobs by another 600,000. and this summer, i think we are going to achieve a number of things. i want to quickly go through the 10 major initiatives we are going to talk about. justice department, you will each year from each cabinet member. they believe they can put 5500 law enforcement officers on the street during the summer. health and human services. they will enable the state to create and build on 1129 health care centers in eight states, territories, providing service to approximately 300,000 addi

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. burr: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to an hour as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burr: i thank the president. mr. president, i came to the floor last week for north of 95 hours an spoke about the bill that -- -- and spoke about the bill that will be disposed of as this week goes on. and specifically an amendment that though nongermane postcloture, the majority leader has agreed to hold a vote on it. to me this will be one of the most important votes members in this body cast this year. let me say this again. i believe this is one of the most important votes members in the united states senate will cast this year. now, let me try to say. why this is a debate about the regulation of tobacco. and to start with members need to be reminded that this is not an industry without regulation today. this is the current chart of federal regulation of the tobacco industry before we do anything. and i might point out that included in

mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order there will now be a period of morning business for up to one hour with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their detainees with the republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the second half. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. a senator: mr. president, as we are confronted with the news this week of the first of what may be many deadly terrorists being transferred to american soil, i am still left to wonder what the administration's plan for the detention facility at guantanamo bay really is. mr. ensign: i recently had the privilege of visiting guantanamo bay. i went down there with senators barrasso, brownback and johanns. i would like to start out by saying how proud i am of the job of the men and women in uniform who are stati

mr. president. that's not the american peoplemenway.and actually my inn to their efforts note they doubly demonstrated why we should have a hearing as soon as possible. don't delay. let her respond. let her speak for herself. because so far they're the only ones trying to speak for her. and when they do, they say we're open finded, we're fair-minded and everything else, but we're going to vote against her. well, in fairness, knowing she's stick to the earlier opportunity to respond to their questions and concerns and answer their charges. as i said when i went the date after consulting with the ranking republican on the senate judiciary committee, i wanted that date to be fair and adequate. fair to the nominee and adequate to allow senators to prepare. to be fair, we needed to give her the earliest possibility to answer. we could have leaders of the republican party go on television almost immediately after seize nominated and one of them calling her the equivalent of the head of the ku klux klan, a

mr. president. we want to emphasize the 10 major initiatives that are going to kick in in the next 100 days, and the truth is, mr. president, that recovery is not meant to be neatly divided into 100 days here. it is about the cumulative impact of what the congress passed and what you asked for, and like i said, if you do not mean it -- my mind using a metaphor, is about pace on the ball. it should produce more than the last 100 days, and so the next 100 days, mr. president, we think we're going to grow jobs by another 600,000, and the summer, i think we're going to achieve a number of things. i want to quickly go through the 10 major missions we're going to talk about. justice department. you're going to hear from each of the cabinet members, and they believe they will be able to put 5500 law enforcement officers on the street in the summer. the and human services. they will enable us -- health and human services. building on over 100,000 health care centers in eight states and eight territories pro

mr. president? the presiding officer?if the se. mr. leahy: when i met with the distinguished senator from alabama last week, i suggested that it would be within the time frame of other judges, in-- other justices including justice roberts, i suggested that we have the hearing the week we cameack from our week-long break at the fourth of july. he had expressed, and i'll let him speak for himself, some concern about that -- that week after. and so i said, ok, we'll put it a week later. now, he, obviously, wanted to speak with his leadership. i said, that's fine. i had originally intended to speak about it on friday. but i understood that the republican leader had sent a letter to the majority leader, the majority leader told me, about that. they're well aware of the date. there was never a question on what date i intended to start. i had known that for some time. and this morning i had -- i told him i would do that. i told the president, advised him and advised judge sotomayor. the fact of the matter is the -- we're not doing something t

mr. president? mr. president? mr. sessions: mr. president? mr. burrismr. president?i see my colleague is here. i don't know whether we are in an alternating situation or not, i would like to speak about five minutes. as you -- would that be all right? mr. brown: yes. mr. sessions: i see my colleague, senator durbin -- the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: my colleague from illinois is such a fine lawyer and excellent senator. i just would respectfully talk about some of the ideas he respected. one, he raised a question of brown v. board of education where the supreme court held that separate was not equal. and that somehow this is a justification for a judge setting policy. they thought it wasn't good policy. but i would see it differently, mr. president. i would see brown v. board of education as the supreme court saying that the constitution of the united states guarantees every american equal protection of the laws and they found that in segregated schools, some people were told they must go to this school solely because of their race, som

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president, the piece of legislation that was just described by my colleague, the travel promotion act, is a piece of legislation i want to explain some. the travel promotion act is a bipartisan piece of legislation that i have introduced here in the united states senate with senator ensign, senator inouye, senator klobuchar, senator reid, senator martinez, and many, many others. i believe in the last session of congress when we introduced this we had over 50 cosponsors here in the united states senate. let me describe what the purpose is, travel promotion. who can be against travel promotion? except here is what happened with our country with respect to jobs and economic growth that comes with foreign travel and destination in the united states. we have had a significant impact on our travel, that is, the travel to the united states by foreign travelers as a result of measure that's were put in place quickly after the 2001 attack on 9/11. we obviously wanted to be very careful about wh

mr. reid: mr.r. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i was outside to meet some students from reno and las vegas and there is a lot of stuff blowing around and i got it this my eyes. i wanted to say to this personally but i will take the opportunity to say this now: the presentation you made on the senate floor today regarding health care was stupendous, terribly impressive. i'm going to take much of what the presiding officer said today and use it and information that i give to the people of the state of nevada and the presentation i make on the floor. it was very, very good. mr. president, as a health debate has heated up this week, republicans have once again rolled out one of their standard, stale talking points. they question the efficiency of our government. when all else fails they berate government. if republicans want to have an honest de

mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, this is the car czar award for wednesday, june 10, 2009. the award is a service to taxpayers from america's new automotive headquarters: washington, d.c. it's a second in a series of car czar awards to be confirmed, to be conferred upon washington meddlers who distinguish themselves by making it harder for auto companies your government owns to compete in the world marketplace. on monday i presented the first car czar award to the honorable barney frank of massachusetts for interfering in the operation of general motors. congressman frank, chairman of the house financial services committee, intervened last week to save a general motors distribution center in his massachusetts congressional district. the warehouse which employs some 90 people was slated for closing under g.m.'s restructuring plan, but mr. frank put in a call to the g.m. chief executive officer, fritz henderson, and lo and behold the facility has a new lease on life ac

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, as a young man, i got involved working with senior citizens as co-director of the oregon gray panthers. every day i got up back then and we said: we're going to make a difference. we're going to help people and particularly for senior citizens we're going to make it possible for them to have a better quality of life. mr. president, the distinguished president of the senate is, i think, close to my age, and i think we can recall back then that if a town had a lunch program for senior citizens, i was considered a really big deal there weren't a whole lot of discount programs, people didn't know, for example, about home and community-based health care services. and most of this country back then if a town had a lunch program for senior citizens, that was considered a full-fledged program for older people. and what struck me from those early days with the oregon gray panthers was the importance of good-quality, affordable health care. and i spent hours and hours back then watchi

mr. president. i'd be over there saying we want the united states to increase their energy taxes, we want a cap-and-trade bill, an aggressive one that's going to impose a tax. now it's -- it's expected to be m.i.t. had some figures far above the $350 billion a year. that's not a one-shot deal. i stood here on the senate floor objecting last october when we were voting on a $700 billion bailout. and i can't believe, you know, some of our republicans along with all the democrats, virtually most of them, anyway, voted for this thing, and i talked about how much $700 billion is. and if you do your math and take all the families that file tax returns, it comes out $5,000 a family. now, at least that's a one-shot deal. what we're talking about here is a tax of somewhere around $350 billion every year on the american people. and the bottom line is, china wants no restrictions for theirs. they want the highest reductions for the united states and they want foreign aid on top of that. and so for these reason

mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to discuss the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the united states supreme court. i've had the opportunity to meet with judge sotomayor two weeks ago. i was in the senate when she was previously before this body on the second circuit court nomination. i appreciate the chance to meet with her recently. i appreciate the chance to review her record in depth and also to hear my colleagues, actually, to speak about judge sotomayor because i think it represents the distinction that i think is very important to note here. my colleague from missouri just spoke and was talking about the wonderful qualifications of judge sotomayor and the background, the experiences she brings, and she has a very interesting, a very american story to be able to tell in her background. a compelling story, a daughter of immigrants, overcoming adversity to go to two of the nation's best universities. i admire that. and i admire the things that they pointed out in her presentation, in he

the presiding officer: the chair will do so. mr. inhofe: mr. president, on the 15th of june, the house passed a bill that we've been talking about here. i have concerned that have not been discussed here in the last few minutes. although the senate voted 90-6 on a bipartisan amendment to prohibit funding for the transfer of gitmo detainees to the united states, the supplemental appropriation conference deleted that language. now, that language came from an amendment that was authored by myself and my good friend fro from -- from hawaii, senator inouye. but they stripped that language out. the senate's bipartisan amendment would have effectively prevented the closing of the terrorist detention at gitmo. since president obama announced that he intended to close gitmo, it's become widely circulated that the -- these detainees could be transferred to american prisoners for prosecution in the u.s. criminal courts and potentially released in the united states. in february of this year, i led a delegation down -- i had been there several times -- the d

the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burr: i also ask unanimous consent that the senate be in morning business with members permitted to speak for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. burr: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be recognized for 30 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burr: mr. president, we're desperately working to try to make sure that we can move to amendments on h.r. 1256, a bill that attempts to consolidate the regulatory responsibility for tobacco products under the f.d.a. mr. president, this is being sold as a public health bill. i've been now to the floor for over three and a half hours the balance of this week suggesting that it doesn't meet that threshold. and that at some point today i would have the opportunity, along with senator hagan, my colleague, to give in some detail what's in the substitute amendment. i'm going to attempt to do that now, even though we haven't moved to the consideration of the other pending amendments. let me sta

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, today we are debating a bill that would allow the food and drug administration to regulate one of the most deadly substances for sale in america, tobacco. the substance responsible for 400,000 deaths, more than hiv-aids, for example, each year. more death thans illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and murders combined. the substance responsible for $100 billion in health care costs every single year. now, i'm glad that we finally reached this point. i hope that we can pass this with a strong bipartisan vote. this moment has been coming for 20 years. there are senators who deserve great credit for where we are today in coming to this moment in history. none more than senator ted kennedy. senator kennedy has been our leader on this issue. unfortunately, his personal health struggle prevents him from joining us regularly. and he may no

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. today in the "help" committee -- the presiding officer: senate is in a quorum call. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: thank you. today in the health and education and labor and pensions committee in the senate, after several days of discussions, we are beginning to work on the health reform legislation that was proposed by our chairman, senator kennedy. as we begin our work today, i want to suggest that we put aside the legislation that we're working on and that we start over, because the kennedy bill we're dealing with is so flawed and expensive that it cannot be fixed. and there are better proposals available for us to work on, proposals advanced by senator burr, by senator coburn. there's a bipartisan proposal that senator wyden and senator bennett have offered, and senator hatch, a former chairman of the committee, is working with a number of senators on a proposal tha

mr. president. mr. president, i rise this afternoon to speak about the president's announcement a few hours ago relative to pay-go. today the president said, and i'm quoting, paying for what you spend is basic common sense. perhaps that's why here in washington it's been so elusive. unquote. well, i could not agree more. but i must ask: where was that common sense when the president proposed to add $10 trillion to the national debt in the fiscal year 2010 budget mission is? where was -- submission? where was this basic common sense when he signed a bill earlier this year that adds adds $1 trillion in debt. when was this fiscal discipline when he proposed a massive universal health care proposal that is now turning out to be a government-run proposal with just a downpayment o of $650 billion? the president's announcement undoubtedly was meant to quell rising fears about the amount of spending and borrowing that his administration has undertaken. it was likely intended to calm the fierce of those who buy o

mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. president, i have one unanimous consent request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that this request be agreed to and that this request be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president, i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: on my behalf and that of the distinguished republican leader, mr. mcconnell, i send a resolution to the desk on the appointment of an impeachment trial committee. i ask for its consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: s. res. 203 to provide for the appointment of a committee to receive and to report evidence with respect to the articles of impeachment against judge samuel b. kent. the presiding officer: the question is on agreeing to the resolution. all those opposed to the resolution say aye. mr. reid: i move to agree to the vote by which the resolution was agreed. mr. mcconnell: i move to lay on the table. mr. reid: in accordance to the resolution, i recommend to the chair the appointment of senators mccaskill as chair, klobuchar, whitehouse, udall of new mexico, shaheen and kaufman. the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, in accordance with the resolution on the appointment of an i

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dodd: mr. president what is the business before the senate? the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 1256, the clerk will report. the clerk: an act to protect the public health by providing the food and drug administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products and is forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order the time until 2:30 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the senator from connecticut, mr. dodd, and the senator from wyoming, mr. enzi, or their designees. mr. dodd: i'm going to ask consent that a colloquy between senator mark warner of virginia and myself be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dodd: i see my good friend from ohio, senator brown, who has been a champion

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: mr. president, we are to report the pending legislation. the presiding officer: morning business -- excuse me. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of s. 1023, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 71, s. 1023, a bill to establish a nonprofit corporation to communicate the united states entry policies and otherwise promote leisure, business and scholarlily travel to the united states. the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: mr. president, the legislation that is now the business of the senate on which we will have a cloture vote at 5:30 today is legislation that probably demonstrates once and for all that agreement is near impossible in this body. if you can't agree on tourism, what can you agree on? tourism ought not be the subject of very substantial controversy, and yet it is. last week in "roll call" it says "senate g.o.p. still saying 'no.'" the quote is when they bring bills up, we're go

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: "washington post". mr. durbin: mr. president, the senate is considering many issues now of great importance, but none more important to the american people than the future of health care in this great nation. this weekend a new poll was released by "the new york times" and cbs, 5% of the people surveyed said -- said that it needs fundamental change or to be rebuilt 85%. people sense that though we have great hospitals and interests, there's something fundamentally flawed with our system and you can understand. why we're spending more money than any other country on earth and we're not getting the medical results that we want and there's real uncertainty that average people just won't be able to keep up with the cost of health, the battles with health insurance companies over coverage and w

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. a senator: when the founding fathers wrote the constitution and gave us our government, they did so out of a deep distrust of the power of government coming out of their experience with king george. and they created a government that limits the use of power deliberately setting up a system of checks and balances, a doctrine of separation of powers and so on with which we're all familiar. mr. bennett: out of that americans have become used to the idea that there are limits on governmental power. and one of the concerns that i hear when i visit with my constituents in utah is that they are afraid there are now no limits on government power. or at least there is certainly not enough limits on government power. i'm asked: where does it stop? the government can take over insurance companies. the government can take over financial institutions. the government can take over an automobile company. the government can dictate who gets to be chief executive and how much he or she will be paid. a

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. kyl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. kyl: i'd like to join the ranking member of the committee on which i sit, as well as the distinguished minority leader in asking the question of why we have to set a date right now on the hearing for judge sotomayor? there's no reason for us to do that because there's no way to know at this point whether we'll have our work done by that time. and historically -- and it's for good reason -- you want to have the review completed before you question the witness about the matters under review. that makes sense. so there's no reason to set that date today, and that is troublesome. we just don't know whether we'll be ready by the 13th or not, but there's a lot of history that suggests it's going to be very difficult to be ready at that time. the leader has just pointed out the fact that if you compare the work that was required to consider the nomination of the now-chief justice john roberts as opposed to this nominee, you've got more tha

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: mr. president -- mr. president, let me indicate that we're talking about a motion to waive less than 1% of this bill. it's an emergency bill. it's a supplemental. it's less than 1%. in terms of the overall scope of what's before us, it's small. but i can tell you in small towns and in cities all across america, this is a big deal. we have up to three million people that in some way work with our automobile industry. we have small businesses all across this country that are looking at this vote. we have had colleagues come to the floor. we have had hearings held, letters and press releases about helping dealers at this time. this is the moment. this is the moment and the vote

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i rise today to honor a proud son of almagordo, new mexico. army specialist chris kerth died on thursday, june 4, after his vehicle was struck by an antitank grenade. he was 23 years old. in iraq, chris was responsible for escorting convoys, but this job description conveys none of the risk or the courage involved in the job. the military can secure a town or a base, but somebody must still travel the roads that cannot be secured. christopher kerth was responsible for undertaking this act of courage. chris knew how dangerous this job could be when he began his last mission. he was on his second tour of duty, and he had just recovered from a neck wound that won him the purple heart. but for chris, success was defined by keeping his fellow soldiers safe, and that's what he died fighting to do. the values reflected in this duty are as important in peace as they are in war. his job was to protect his fellow soldiers to be a good friend, and the most difficult of times. by servin