mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the 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 the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations. calendar number 102, 120, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 1 -9d 1, 192, 193, 195, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 2707, 208, 213, 215, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 227, 228, 229, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, and anonymouses placed on the secretary's desk in the air force, army, coast guard, foreign service and navy. the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and no further motion be in order to any of the nominations, any statements in relation to any of the nominations be printed in the record and the president be

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the following pending amendments be agreed to. cochran number 512 as modified with the changes at the desk, carper 517 and paul 503, a manager's amendment at the desk be agreed to. that at 11:00 a.m. on wednesday, june 29, the senate proceed to vote in relation to the remaining amendments to s. 679 in the following order -- demint 501, portman-udall, udall of new mexico, cornyn, that's three senators as modified with the changes that are at the desk. demint number 511, toomey number 514. further, the cornyn amendment number 04, mccain and the paul amendment 502 be withdrawn, that no amendments be in order to any of the amendments prior to the votes. upon disposition of the amendments, the bill be read a third time and the senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill as amended. that there be no motions or points of order in order. the bill or any of the amendments other than the budget points of order and applicable motion toss waive. finally, that

mr. reid: mr. president. senator mcconnell and i have discussed what we should do the rest of the day. we have a number of senators who have come to both of us wanting to offer amendments. we think is that we need to have people offer amendments so we can find the universe of the amendments, so we can work through these and try to come up with some reasonable way to proceed forward. having said that, i want people to offer amendments on my side. senator mcconnell, i think, feels the same way on his side. and then we'll make a determination later today as to how we will proceed on this next week. i think it would be fruitless at this stage to have a bunch of votes -- well, we'd have to have consent to have the votes. i don't think there will be any votes this afternoon.

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be entertainment natured. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to h.r. 2279. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2279, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times, passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate, any statements relating to this bill be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask consent that we proceed to calendar number 57, s. con. res. 15. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 57, s. con. res. 15, concurrent res

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the leader. mr. reid: i ask consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that at 10:00 a.m. tuesday, june 29, 2011, the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc. calendars number 62, 110 and 145 with all the provisions of the previous unanimous consent agreement remaining in effect. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to s. res. 215. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 215, designating the month of june, 2011, as national cytomegalovirus awareness month. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. 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, there being no intervening action or debate and any statements relating

mr. reid: mr. president, yesterday, my friends, the chairman of the foreign relations committee and the ranking member of the armed services committee, introduced a resolution supporting the united states involvement in the nato action in libya. i commend my friends who have introduced a strong bipartisan resolution with an impressive list of cosponsors, including senators mccain, levin, durbin, kyl, feinstein, graham, lieberman, blunt, cardin and others. this bill should have overwhelming support as i'm confident it will. some republicans in the house of representatives and on the campaign trail have expressed concern over our involvement in this conflict. they have clearly decided to use the war powers resolution as a political bludgeon to pursue a partisan agenda. i also believe there is a larger question we must ask ourselves as senators as we consider this military action. as our participation in the national effort to stop mass murder and chaos in libya a just decision? i'm confident it was.

mr. reid: notwithstanding the previous order, i ask unanimous consent -- has the bill been reported, mr. president? the presiding officer: and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions and the senate -- the majority leader? mr. reid: mr. president, notwithstanding the previous order, i ask unanimous consent that there be five minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between the proponents and opponents of the coburn amendment number 436 as modified prior to a cloture vote on the coburn amendment. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: and, mr. president -- the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: and, mr. president, that would be for debate only. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: that debate would come after the recess. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. recess: >> members can attend their weekly party lunch meetings. when senator return at 2:15 east

mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in executive session to consider the cole, monaco, and seitz nomination. i'm hopeful that the monaco and seitz nominations can be adopted by voice vote. following that the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for the weekly caucus meetings. following the recess, the senate will resume consideration of s. 679. madam president, h.r. 1249 is due for a second reading. i would ask the clerk will report. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title for the second time. the clerk: an ablght to amend title 39, united states code to provide for patent reform. mr. reid: i would now object to any further proceedings to this bill at this time. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will be placed on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14. mr. reid: madam president, yesterday i sat down with the president to talk about thousand avoid a default crisis. it would be a black mark on this country's reputation for generations to c

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: if i call for regular order, which i am, that means the snowe amendment would be pending; is that right? the presiding officer: the amendment is now pending. mr. reid: mr. president, first of all, i appreciate the cooperation of senator snowe, senator coburn and others. it's important we move pal long with this legislation. so for the next three hours we will be able to debate the snowe amendment. the time will be equally divided during that period of time. we have a number of amendments others want to offer. we already have four in addition to hers that have been offered. we have time agreements on those. i appreciate everyone's help in moving forward in this regard. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the time until 2:15 be equally divided between senators snowe and boxer or their designees, and at 2:15 the senate proceed to vote in relation to the snowe amendment. no amendments or points of order be in order to the snowe amendment prior to the vote other than a budget point

mr. reid: mr. president, would my friend yield for me to make statement? mr. carper: happy to yield. mr. reid: mr. president, we are -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: we're trying to arrive at an end to this legislation. we're not there yet. we hope there will be no more votes today. we're -- i feel fairly positive there won't be, but we're not ready to make that decision right now. but we should within the next hour. mr. carper: mr. president? mr. president, i'd like to begin my remarks this afternoon, really, to congratulate several our colleagues who've worked long and hard on this legislation and their staffs who've worked equally long and hard. senator schumer and senator alexander -- i see senator collins is on the floor -- senator lieberman, our leaders, democrat and republican leaders, senator pried and senator mcconnell. anyone watching this debate from across america on c-span might be wondering why is this important? why are we spending several days in

mr. reid: mr. president, i have a cloture motion -- the presiding officer: the motion to proceed is resumed. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk and ask the clerk to report the same. the presiding 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 hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 75, s. 679, the presidential appoint efficiency and streamlining act of 2011, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask consent that the names not be read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i'm disappointed that we had to file cloture again. i would hope, though, in the ensuing days that the republicans on the other side will just let us get on this bill. this is a bill that senator mcconnell and i started working on when we were both whips many years ago. the purpose of

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're in a quorum call is that correct? we're in a quorum call. mr. reid: i ask consent that that be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: on behalf of senator snowe and coburn, i ask unanimous consent to temporarily set aside the pending amendment so that i may call up my amendment number 390 which is at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the readying of the amendment be dispense with. the clerk: mr. mccome for ms. snowe introduces amendment 309. mr. reid: we're going to vote on the amendment now? the presiding officer: the senator's correct. there a sufficient second? -- is there a sufficient second? it's already been called. durbin amendment is withdrawn. the clerk will call the roll on the tester amendment. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar 38, s. 782. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion, proceed to calendar 38, s. 78 2, a bill to amend the public works and economic development act of 1965, to reauthorize that act, and for other purposes. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion and ask that it be reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. 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 38, s. 782, a bill to amend the public works and economic development act of 1965 to reauthorize that act and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators as follows. reid of nevada, boxer, conrad, kerry, whitehouse, klobuchar, cardin, binge minimum -- bingaman, merkley, menendez, shaheen, sanders, lautenberg, reed of rh

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to s. res. 207. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 207, supporting national men's health week. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that on tuesday, june 14, following the 2:15 cloture vote on the coburn amendment number 436 as modified, senator up to 20 minue purpose of giving his maiden speech in the senate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. reid: mr. president,k consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. on tuesda

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: there will be no more roll call votes this week. we'll work on next week's schedule later today. i would ask unanimous consent that the senators from massachusetts, senator kerry and brown be recognized for up to ten minutes each. following that time, i be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kerry: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: before mayor manino accused the duck boats for the victory parade on saturday, i want to take a moment with my colleague here on the senate floor to celebrate an extraordinary victory by the boston bruins. after a grueling 39 years of so many ups and downs, heartbreaking misses and almosts, the stanley cup is coming back to boston. that is thanks to the extraordinary grit of a special hockey team, a team that had really remarkable character. i have to say, and i say this i hope cautiously because i know pride comes before a fall, but nevertheless we in massachusetts are blessed with a

mr. reid: mr. president, i want to express my appreciation to senators durbin and tester for their warm relationship and to every senator here on this most difficult issue for allowing us to get this done tomorrow expeditiously. it's something that had to be done and it's the right thing to do and we'll move forward upon completing this to try to do other things on this very important piece of legislation. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent when the senate when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until tomorrow, wednesday, june 8 at 9:30 a.m. after the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour deemed expired the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day that following any leader remarks, the senate proceed to a period of morning business for an hour with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each during that time, that the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees,

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. e presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i came to the floor to call on democrats in washington to wake up and open their eyes to the signs we see all around us that the policies of the past years are make our economy worse. home values are still falling, manufacturers are showing the weakest growth in nearly two years, nearly 14 million americans are looking for jobs and can't find them. for many there is the nagging feeling that things will actually get worse before they get better, and who can blame them. over the past two months, two ratings agencies have come out with dire warnings over the status of america's stellar credit ratings over fear that we won't get our fiscal house in order. one has already put our rating under review and the other has threatened to do so if we don't do something in a matter of weeks, literally wee

mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. i ask that we now proceed to a period of morning business until 6:00 p.m. this evening. that's an hour and ten minutes from now. senators will be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each during this period of time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: if the senator would withhold his request. mr. sanders: mr. president, i would ask -- the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated and i speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. sanders: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, today i want to say a word about a critical issue for the state of vermont and for my state's energy future. and that deals with the vermont -- the presiding officer: the senator will yield. the senate is not in order. the senate is not i

mr. reid: note the absence of a quorum. a senator: mr. president? mr. reid: there will be no -- mr.president, prior to the chair calling for the quorum there, will be -- i've conferred with my friend, the republican leader, and there will be no more votes today or tomorrow. the first vote will be next tuesday. note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. reid: i ask consent that be terminated. i ask unanimous consent to proceed for a period of morning business for debate only until 6:00 p.m. tonight with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each during that period of time. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i -- i regret that our colleagues have objected to consent to go to some of the most critical issues the country are facing, to have the finance committee meet on trade agreements that could expand markets and ultimately cre

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would 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 unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in morning business until 11:00 a.m. today. the republicans will control the first half, the majority controlling the final half. i would ask at this time, mr. president, that the morning business hour be a full hour, not stop at 11:00. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: the filing deadline for second-degree amendments is s. 2 s 782, the e.d.a. bill is at 11:00 a.m. this morning. following morning business, the senate will be in executive session to consider the nomination of michael simon to be united states district judge in oregon. at noon, there will be a vote on confirmation of the simon nomination. following that vote, the senate will recess

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're in a quorum call, is that true? the presiding officer: we are. mr. reid: i ask that be vitiated. i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to the motion to proceed to s. 782, the economic development act, be withdrawn and the senate adopt the motion to proceed to s. 782. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. further, that after the clerk reports the bill, the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered as original text for the purpose of amendments, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and that senator tester be recognized to offer an amendment followed by senator durbin to be recognized to offer an amendment. following that, senator boxer and inhofe be allowed to give their opening statements on this legislation. mrs. boxer: reserving the right to

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. nate will be in a period of morning business until 4:30 today. following morning business, the senate will be in executive session to consider the nomination of donald b. verrilli, to be solicitor general of the united states. unless an agreement is reached, at approximately 5:30, the senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the verrilli nomination. s. 1125 is a the desk and due for its second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title. the clerk: s. 1125, a bill to improve national security letters, the authorities under the foreign intelligence surveillance act of 1978 and for other purposes. mr. reid: i would object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. reid: mr. president, i welcome back my colleagues for -- the presiding officer: excuse me. the bill will be placed on the calendar subject to the provisions of rule 14. mr. reid: sorry about that, mr. president. i welcome back my colleagues f

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. id: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of s. 782, which is the economic development act. there's four hours of debate on the feinstein and mccain amendments. at about 2:00 p.m. there will be two roll call votes in relation to the feinstein and mccain amendments. each amendment will have a 60-vote threshold. mr. president, i'm happy to see republicans opening up to what democrats have been saying all along. cutting wasteful subsidies to big oil should be on the fable we're going to reduce the deficit. yesterday my friend, the senior senator from tennessee, said he would consider ending taxpayer subsidies for oil companies making record profits. i congratulate my friend, the senior senator from tennessee. democrats agree, handouts like these to companies that make $36 billion in the first quarter of this year alone must be part of the discussion as we get to -- if we're going to get our fiscal house in order. as we decide where to cut, we'll need to make some

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business. the first hour will be under the control of the majority, the republicans will control the second hour. following morning business, the senate will be in executive session to consider the nomination of david patraeus, the director of the central intelligence agency. about 2:00 p.m. there will be a vote on confirmation of david petraeus. additional roll call votes are possible during today's session of the senate. mr. president, this weekend we'll celebrate independence day, and 235 years of this country's very, very proud history. this nation was founded on the notion of liberty and justice for all. as we celebrate, we should remember that the pursuit of liberty is not just a journey with a des din nation, but rather a quest to which we must strive for every single day. we must commit justice fully and firmly to the idea that the liberty and justice should be truly for all. mr. president, it is ofte

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business. senators will be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. there will be no roll call votes today. the next roll call will be at about noon tomorrow, in confirmation of the simon nomination. further, following the weekly caucus meetings on tuesday, the senate should expect up to three additional roll call votes on confirmation of the panetta nomination, cloture on the economic development act. if cloture is not invoked, cloture on the motion to proceed to the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining act. mr. president, this congress convened in january with a single mandate from the american people, create jobs. so democrats have brought to the senate floor bill after bill aimed at helping american business innovate, grow and hire. these were good pieces of legislation with proven track records of creating jobs. take the latest, economics development and administration reauthorization

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 11:30 today, with the majority controlling the first half, republicans controlling the final half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining act, with 30 minutes of debate on the vitter amendment regarding czars and the demint amendment regarding bureau of justice statistics. at approximately 12:00 p.m., there will be two roll call votes in relation to the vitter and demint amendments. we're looking at that now. a number of senators have a problem with two votes. we may only have one. we don't have that worked out yet. we'll notify all senators when we do. we'll have a number of roll call votes right after the noon hour today. starting around 2:00. some other votes are expected. mr. president, for the last month or six weeks, the vice president of the united states, joe biden, served in this body for 36 years and

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in morning business until 11:00 a.m. this morning. the majority will control the first half. the republicans will control the final half. at 11:00 the senate will be in executive session to consider the cecchi and salas nominations. following votes on this there will be recess for weekly caucus meetings until 2:15 p.m. at 2:15 there will be an additional roll call vote on the coburn amendment regarding ethanol. on the cloture vote senator rubio will be recognized to give his maiden speech to the senate. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the morning business consistent of -- consist of one full hour equally divided rather than ending at 11:00. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, on this side of the aisle for democrats, protect the seniors on medicare is our top priority. i heard our friend, the ranking member on the budget com

mr. reid: i ask consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business from now until 6:30 this evening with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. that at 6:30 p.m., the majority leader be recognized and this work we're going to do for this next hour and a half be for debate only. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: madam president, just to wrap up, senator coats and i are going to come to the floor in the weeks ahead to outline some of the most outlandish examples of how broken our tax system is. we thought it was appropriate to start with the alternative minimum tax because it really is the poster child for how out of whack the tax system has become in america, and i think we have highlighted a number of our big concerns, but i just want senators to pick up on the last point that senator coats has made, and that is the country can't afford the status quo. the idea that you would just go out and pass what's called a patch, a

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will be in morning business until 2:00 p.m. today with the first hour equally divided and controlled -rblgs the republicans will -- the republicans will control the first half. the majority will control the second half. we continue to work through amendments on s. 782. mr. president, americans have been very clear about where they stand on the republicans' budget proposal. they reject it soundly, and for many reasons. but the most glaring is the effort to change medicare as we know it. no one -- a successful program that saved seniors for decades. millions of them. their program is nothing more than an ideological program to shift the burden to seniors, an effort to put the insurance companies between senior patients and their doctors. with all due respect, the ranking member of the budget committee here in the united states senate pointing the finger at democrats as he has done will not erase the fact that they plan to end the medicare program

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: after leader remarks, the senate will be in morning business for an hour. the republicans will control the first half, the majority the final half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining act. at 11:00 there will be up to five votes on several amendments and passage of s. 679. we are hopeful that some of the amendments will be disposed of by voice vote. following that, the senate will begin consideration of s. res. 16, which comes out of the rules committee. additional roll call votes on amendments and the resolution are expected today. madam president, often very good ideas, no matter how important, take time to ripen. even when they are ripened -- when they are ripe, they need dedicated advocates to make them a reality. let me give you one example. president harry truman once said, "millions of our citizens do not now have the full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health. millio

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chip reid with mr.'s message about the recent economic slowdown. >> economic data that in better times would pass without comment. now suddenly people wonder, well are we going to go back to this terrible crisis? all that affects business confidence and consumer confidence. it affects the capital markets and so our task is to not panic. >> even mentioning the word panic is a stark contrast to the president's message on the economy over the past few months. during february, march, and april, jobs growth was fairly robust and the president's tone was consistently positive and confident. here's how the president spoke about the recovery just last month. >> we're moving in the right direction. the fact that the economy is growing is a good thing. >> so what happened to make the president lose that confident tone? the white house advisers say primarily it was the dismal jobs report for the month of may and the president says it is still not clear if that was just one month of bad news or the beginning of a l

the gentleman from new york, mr. reid, is recognized. mr. reed: mr. speaker, i will reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: reserve. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. ellison: mr. speaker, we should be creating jobs, not destroying medicare. we should be preserving what has made america great, which is a basic sense that we're all in this thing together, yes, it's absolutely true, people should go out into the private sector, put -- try their luck in the free market, skill, ingenuity, all, that but america has always had a strong public sector which has been essential to the survival and the success of that private sector. good infrastructure, good jobs, times where america, like during the depression, like during the time that ines hour led to us build and -- that eisenhower led us to build and create infrastructure, and in 1968 when we created medicare, this country has been at its best. yes, the private sector but also a strong, vibrant public sector. we are at a point in american history today where at least the rep

mr. reid: madam president, following any leader remarks the senate will be in a period of morning business for one howmple the majority will control the first half. the republicans will control the final half. following that morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the economic development act, with the time until 2:00 p.m. equally divided between the opponents and proponents of the tester amendment. at approximately 2:00 p.m. then, there will be a roll call vote with relation to the tester amendment regarding swipe fees, with a 60-vote threshold. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour with senators permitted to speak therein 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 and the republicans controlling the second half. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illin

speaker, i'd like to thank my friend first of all from new york, mr. reid, and all -- reed, and also a rules committee member i serve with for the opportunity to support this rule and support the underlying legislation, h.r. 2017, which appropriates funds for our nation's homeland security operations for 2012. just a comment, i thought that's what you were you were -- what we were here to talk about. so we're going to go back on track in regards to where we should be. as a member of the rules committee i'm proud of this rule. it is the first open rule in four years, mr. speaker. and that's because of you. it's a continuation of our promise to the american people that we're committed to bringing openness and free-flowing debate to this chamber as a service to the american public. it's just like the rules that keep our promises to the american people, so does the underlying legislation, it keeps our promise to reduce spending, to narrow the size and scope of the federal government, it also keeps our promise to provide those men and women who work day in and d

mr. reid: following morning business, the senate will be in morning business. senator sanders will be recognize the in morning business for up to 90 minutes at 4:00 p.m. there will be no roll call votes today. the first vote will they ca tom. we hope to confirm petraeus tray to be director of the c.i.a. this week. mr. president, we have an idea of what we need to get done this week but it is up to members as to when we get it done. it is not magic that we don't finish thursday night. we should be able to finish thursday. if we don't, we're going to have to have this bill over until friday. if not, we'll finish the presidential appointment efficiency act. we need to do that. we have a number of nominee neighs we have to -- we have a number of nominations we have to vote on. we have to do petraeus tray. we'll need the cooperation of senators to get it done. mr. president, last thursday democrats sat down with the chief executives of successful corporations. the companies that are responsible for the jobs and livellivelihoods of about 100,00 american workers. one

> president obama met with senate majority harry reid this morning and is said to meet with senate is republican leader mitch mcconnell this afternoon. mr. obama is steping in after talks with joe biden broke down last week. democrats want to close loopholes. republicans are rejecting tax increases and say they want to focus on cutting spending. the government is set to hit its $14.3 trillion on august 2nd unless congress acts. british researchers studied 11 people who developed diabetes later in life. they were put on a diet of 600 calories a day for eight weeks. the patients averaged 620 calorie as day. and by the end of it, they had lost 33 pounds and had no signs of diabetes. >>> you can get screened for diabetes today. the santa clara health department is offering this at two locations in san jose. the crane center on lindsen until 5:00 p.m. and at a mobile clinic at saint jame's park -- st. james' park. >>> a report says the white house wants u.s. automakers to almost double fuel efficiency. the paper says the obama administration is pushing fuel economy to nearly 56 miles a gallon by 2020 -- da by 2025. that would raise car price

mr. hencealing supported it, it would have had 14 out of 18... let me continue. which would have meant then, both senator reid and then speaker pelosi had pledged if they got the 14 out of 18 votes, they would have put it on the floor. was it perfect? nothing's perfect. but it certainly serves as a basis, i think, for bipartisan agreement. >> schieffer: let's see. >> what happened was that the president disavowed his own commission. he put out a budget that did nothing to fix the problem. republicans, since we didn't like all the details in the commission, we took a dozen or so ideas from the commission, put it in our budget. we passed a budget to fix this problem, to pay off the debt, grow the economy, save medicare, fix the social safety net. we put our plan out there. then, the president just launched another commission, the biden commission, which is now underway. we need real leadership on this. steny has exercised leadership, but not every democrat is steny hoyer in the white house and the in the senate. >> schieffer: mr. ryan, tell me this. what is one thing you could say that republicans are willing t

mr. obama won the state in a squeaker by 3 tenths of one percentage point. now unemployment in north carolina is 9.7%. our lead today is jobs. we have four correspondents on the beat. chip reid traveled with the president to north carolina. >> reporter: scott, in this critical swing state, there are dramatic differences in how people see their future. >> got hot dogs here! >> reporter: in durham north carolina some fans of the durham bulls are feeling pretty bullish about the economy. take andrew lewis who works in the booming financial industry. >> the entrepreneur spirit here in raleigh-durham is still alive. there's more new jobs and more new companies starting every day here than i think anywhere in the country. >> reporter: lewis is the kind of educated independent voter who turned out in large numbers in this affluent area and helped candidate obama squeak out a victory in what was only recently a heavily republican state. >> hello, north carolina! >> reporter: you voted for obama in 2008? >> yes. >> reporter: and you'll vote for him again? >> i definitely will. >> reporter: but 15 miles away in raleigh jeannie mccarraher has a very different view of the economy. her b

mr. obama and vice president biden meet monday with democratic senate leaders harry reid and republican leader mitch mcconnell. last week the gain they had, john boehner says he'll oppose any deal that included a tax hike during the game. and the two sides have five weeks to raise the debt limit or the federal government could default on its loans. >>> planned parenthood of indiana says it expects to resume offering services to medicaid today after the state cut funning to the group. governor mitch daniels signed a law cutting more than $1 million in funning making indiana the first state to deny the organization medicaid funds. a judge ruled yesterday the state is not allowed to eliminate general health services because it also provides abortions. >>> just one more thing. that was the signature phrase for actor peter falk in his television series "columbo," he died thursday at his california home. he had been suffering from alzheimer's disease. he was 83 years old. now russ and rebecca. >>> it's now about 21 minutes past the hour. mr. lonnie quinn is here with our first check of the weather.

mr. obama's election three years ago, a state he won by a razor thin margin. the sluggish economy may be turning off voters there. chip reid is in durham, north carolina. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, chris. when president obama won north carolina back in 2008 he did it in large part by winning over independent voters with a message of hope and change. well now those voters have lost a lot of that hope and still waiting for the change. when anna bunya graduated from north carolina's elan law school last year her job prospects seemed bright. >> i thought this should be okay. >> reporter: with the north carolina unemployment rate stuck at 9.1%, more than a year later, she's still looking for work as a lawyer. >> we have all these new graduates who are going to college, going to grad school, going to law school because they think it's going to help them in the job market and it really doesn't. >> i know this, north carolina, the time for change has come. >> reporter: during law school in 2008, she became swept up in the excitement of the presidential campaign of candidate barack obama. >> when you're in law school

mr. president, i want to note again the bipartisan nature of these proposals. in january, majority leader reid and minority leader mcconnell decided that the nomination and confirmation process had become too slow and cumbersome. that's in january, of course, of this year. they established a working group on executive nominations and asked leaders schumer and sal san tker to be in charge -- schumer and alexander to be in charge of that. senator collins and i were also privileged to be part of that group. the reforms proposed by senators schumer and alexander and our group have been carefully crafted, and i can't thank them enough both for their legislative intellectual work on this, but also for sticking with it right to this moment. they introduced their legislation on march 30. that's schumer and alexander, with a bipartisan group of 15 cosponsors. and on april 13, our homeland security governmental affairs committee, again on a bipartisan vote, reported the bill favorably to the senate. senators schumer and alexander are also proposing an important senate resolution, s. res 116, that would

mr. speaker. there's something that i'll personally never forget and that occurred in april of 2007. and i'll get to why that is something i'll never forget in a second. that's when majority leader, senator harry reid, said of iraq, quote, i believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense -- and you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows, he said, is that this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in iraq. as in 2007, harry reid was a rush to the exits in iraq and a rush to declare a win had been lost. i had been in a nation by afghanistan getting ready to fly a kc-1 aircraft, and while i was on the thread mill exercising i found what the fourth most powerful guy in politics said and i felt it in my soul, i felt anger. i knew there was celebrating in the caves in iraq and the caves in afghanistan because the united states said we were going to lose. well, guess what? it took the brave leadership of somebody to say we will not lose in iraq, and we're on the verge of victory, and we had a surge in iraq and today it appears to be a more stabilizing situation and hopefully in 10 years iraq will be an example

reid decision. it is time for them to get around and negotiate the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. the gentlelady will suspend. the house will be in order. the gentlelady may proceed. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, i do not support a complete u.s. withdrawal from nato's operation unified protector. i believe that it is necessary for u.s. armed forces to remain engaged in a limited capacity. however, i cannot support an authorization which constitutes our current level of engagement for an entire year. this is what is proposed in h.j.res. 68 offered by my friend from florida, mr. hastings, and i therefore must rise in opposition to his resolution. this resolution not only authorizes u.s. military engagement in libya, far beyond even the 90-day nato extension, but it justifies u.s. military engagement in libya as undertaken to enforce a united nationsecurity council resolution and at the request of the transitional national council the gulf -- national coun

mr. speaker. there's something that i'll personally never forget and that occurred in april of 2007. and i'll get to why that is something i'll never forget in a second. that's when majority leader, senator harry reid, said of iraq, quote, i believe myself that the secretary of state, secretary of defense -- and you have to make your own decisions as to what the president knows, he said, is that this war is lost and the surge is not accomplishing anything as indicated by the extreme violence in iraq. as in 2007, harry reid was a rush to the exits in iraq and a rush to declare a win had been lost. i had been in a nation by afghanistan getting ready to fly a kc-1 aircraft, and while i was on the thread mill exercising i found what the fourth most powerful guy in politics said and i felt it in my soul, i felt anger. i knew there was celebrating in the caves in iraq and the caves in afghanistan because the united states said we were going to lose. well, guess what? it took the brave leadership of somebody to say we will not lose in iraq, and we're on the verge of victory, and we had a surge in iraq and today it appears to be a more stabilizing situation and hopefully in 10 years iraq will be an example

mr. president. the latest unemployment numbers represent that more than 7.7% of arkansans are unemployed. this is higher than when the so-called stimulus passed that president obama and senate majority leader reid promised would produce jobs for the hardworking americans. although this rate is below the national average, the numbers show that out-of-work arkansans continue to struggle to find gainful employment. what's more alarming is that the president and the majority here in the senate are resisting real change and insisting on more of the same borrow, spend, and tax policies that have given us record unemployment and a sluggish economy. in november, americans gave a clear sign that job creation needs to be a priority. unfortunately, the senate majority and president obama have failed to prove this at the top of the agenda. time and time again, the senate and our president add to the uncertainty that is stifling job creation. commonsense legislation that would create the conditions for job growth is not brought to the floor. it's not because the senate has more pressing issues. there's no excuse as to why this chamber avoids voting on legislative and policy items that will provide real reli

mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that my name be added as a cosponsor of this important legislation. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: tom lantos i served with in the house of representatives, one of the finest orators i have ever heard. academic, he had a ph.d. in economics. he was a wonderful member of congress. he was a survivor of the holocaust, as was his wife, a courageous man. he was captured by the nazis as a teenager on multiple occasions, escaped, came back. his blond hair kind of gave him away, but he was just a wonderful, wonderful human being, and i still miss him a great deal. i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate, any statements relating to this matter be placed in the record as if read. would the chair grant my unanimous consent request? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent that the sena

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the cal of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: what is the pending business? the presiding officer: the clerkt will report the pending business. mr. reid: morning business is closed then, is that right? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. the clerk: s. 782, a bill to amend the public works and economic development act of 1965 to reauthorize that act and for other purposes. mr. reid: i ask consent to set aside the pending allot and call up amendment 476 on behalf of senator feinstein. the presiding officer: without objection, shall the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: mr. reid for mrs. feinstein proposes amendment numbered 476. at the end, added following: title -- ethanol subsidies and tariff repeal. section 1 -- short title. this title my be cited as the ethanol subsidy and tariff repeal afnlgt section 2 -- repeal of veetc, elim