mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the armed services committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 139 -- i'm sorry. 1339. we now proceed to this matter. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 1339, an act to designate the city of salem, massachusetts, as the birthplace of the national guard of the united states. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: i further ask the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be considered phaeupbd laid on the table, with no intervening or debate and statements related to the measure be printed in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the committee on commerce be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 4212 and we now proceed to this matter. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4212, an act to prevent the introducti

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that a time determined by the majority leader with the concurrence of the republican leader, the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 502, h.r. 8. the presiding officer: is there objection to the request? without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on sunday, december 30, the senate proceed to executive session and consider calendar numbered 518 under the previous order. further, that the use or yielding back of the time, we would proceed to consideration of calendar number 909 and proceed to vote on calendar number 909 and calendar number 518. that there be two minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form prior to each vote, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, no further motion in order be in order to the nominations, any statement to the nominations be printed in the record, that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the sena

mr. reid: and i would, mr. president -- i think we all at a subsequent time will -- may i just talk to his wife, who walked out here. and i will have some more formal remarks at a later time. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i, too, am going to address the remarkable life of senator inouye at a later time, but i did want to make some observations here just for a few moments at the time of his passing. he was a man who, as we all know, rarely called attention to himself but who lived a remarkable american life filled with dignity and grace of the true hero that he was. only 17 when he heard the sirens over honolulu and saw the great planes flying overhead. at the time he dreamed of being a surgeon. a few years later a medic would be taking care of him after his heroic actions in the italian mountains for which he would one day receive our nation's most prestigious award for military valor. dan inouye's dream of being a surgeon was not realized, but there

mr. reid: i ask the senate proceed to a period of morning business, mr.president, during that period of time senators be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i filed cloture on the substitute amendment and the bill itself. i have had a conversation with the republican leader earlier this evening. i am hopeful that we can get an agreement on a list of, short list of amendments and a path to complete work on this important bill as soon as possible. with the fisa bill, something we have to do before we leave here -- i've said that several times this week -- i've had a number of conversations with interested members, and i'm hopeful we can get an agreement to complete action on this matter tomorrow. the d.o.d. authorization conference report, they've completed that work. it's been tedious and very hard. senator mccain, senator levin have worked very, very hard. we're hopeful we can lock an agreement to vote on that tomorrow. we also have to confirm three district court judges. we hope

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times, passed en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table on the two bills be laid upon the table enblock, with no intervening action or debate, any related statements to these matters be placed in the record at the appropriate place as if given. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 534. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar numbered 534, h.r. 2467, an act to take certain federal lands in monroe county, california, to the trust for the benefit of the bridge port indian colony. the presiding officer: is there okay? without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask the bill be read a third time, passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, that there be no intervening action or debate, that any statements relating to this be placed in the record at the appropriate place

mr. reid: you're filing a first-degree amendment? mr. coburn: i am. mr. reid: one more couldn't do much damage. mr. coburn: i have five i was going to place pending and i'll be happy to work with the managers. mr. reid: i say to my friend again through you, mr. president, i'm happy to do one, but i'm not going -- the managers i haven't talked to them in the last couple hours. i'm not agreed to five amendments. i have no idea what's in them. if you want to lay down one of the amendments tonight that's fine but until we have managers on the floor, i'm not going to agree to that. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: i ask unanimous consent the pending amendment be set aside and that amendment number 3371 be called up. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma mr. coburn for himself and mr. mccain proposes amendment number 3371 -- mr. coburn: i ask unanimous consent the amendment be considered as read. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. reid: on monday then, mr. president, we'll begin consideration of the supplemental appropriation bill. there will be a 5:30 vote on confirmation of the nomination. if there is no further business to come before the senate, ski that we adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> the u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice, withdrew consideration to be secretary of state in president obama's second term. a group of republican senators said they would oppose her if nominated because of the comment made on the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. she said it was, quote, spontaneously reaction to an anti-islam video. in a letter withdrawing consideration, see san said, quote, if nominated, i'm convinced the confirmation process would be lengthy and costly to you and our most pressing priorities. read the entire letter to the on c-span.org. more on that attack in benghazi next week. secretary of state, hillary clinton, testified before the house florida affa

signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 also be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as provided under the previous order, at 4:00 p.m. today, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider calendars number 762 and 829. for the information of the senate, we expect at least one roll call vote on the nomination of john e.dowell for the northern district of oklahoma and jesus g.bernal of california at about 4:30 today. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, some things never change in the united states senate. for more than 200 years, our practice of extended debate has been the single most defining characteristic of the senate. for more than 200 years, extended debate has

please ask mr. reid to not to be such an obstructionist and

mr. reid: madam president, this morning senator mcconnell, as we do a lot of the time, came to the floor. senator mcconnell made a serious offer dealing with the debt ceiling of this country, one of the most important issues facing the country. it's a serious offer. i personally haven't read it. my staff has looked at it. and it's important enough that i would like to have a vote on it this afternoon, but we have to -- i need to have a caucus, explain to my troops what this is all about. and i'd like to do that. so everyone here, if we can work something out with senator mcconnell, i'd like to have a vote sometime this afternoon. i do need to have a caucus. i set that for 1:30. we have another vote right now. and if my republican colleagues think there's not a chance of having the vote this afternoon, i can only do it by unanimous consent, and if someone is going to object to it, they should do it now, and we'll arrange another time to address this issue. so the issue is, everybody, senator mo

mr. reid: mr. president, it's tradition here in this body to have flowers on the desk of the departed. we have flying in from hawaii now a lei that would be more hawaiian than these roses. i would ask unanimous consent that we now have a moment of silence in honor of our departed friend, dan inouye. the presiding officer: the senate will observe a moment of silence. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business, the majority will control the first 30 minutes, the republicans the second 30 minutes. mr. president, we're in a unique time in history here. the presiding officer, senator coons, from delaware, is the president pro tempore until 11:30 today as a result of his being given this charge yesterday morning, this spills over until today. senator biden is going to come here today to swear in senator leahy as the president pro tempore of the senate. all things in life are interesting. senator biden, as some know, lost his wife when

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the president pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i have here in my hands a letter from brian schatz, the lieutenant governor of the state of hawaii, and that letter is a resignation letter. i ask unanimous consent that the senator-designee schatz resignation letter be printed in the record. the president pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. it will be printed in the record. the vice president: the chair liz before the senate a certificate of appointment to fill a vacancy presented by the death of the late senator daniel inouye of hawaii. the certificate, the chair is advised is in a form suggested by the senate. if there is no objection, the reading of the certificate will be waived and it will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-designee will submit himself to the desk the chair will administer the oath of office. the vice president : do you solemnly swear th

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent at a time to be concerned by the majority leader, after consultation with the republican leader, the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations, calendar number 834, 835 and 877. that there be 30 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form ux that following the use or yielding back of that time, the senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on calendar number 834, 835 and 877 in that order. the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate and that no further motions be in order and that any related statements be printed in the record and that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the republican l

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to h.r. 6516, which is the russia moll did a have a trade agreement. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 552, h.r. 6156, an act to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment, normal trade relations treatment, to products of the russian federation and moldova and to require reports on the compliance of the russian federation with its obligations as a member of the world trade organization and for other purposes. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from -- mr. mccain: i thank the -- the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i would like to thank the majority leader for his patience in allowing this legislation to be completed. i would note that there was 145 amendments, and many recorded votes and good debate and discussion over very important issues, and i thank the majority leader

mr. reid: mr. president -- mr. reid: shall be placed -- the presiding officer: shall be placed on the calendar. the presiding officer: on behalf of senator tim johnson i ask consent that jeanette quick be granted floor privileges during duration of s. 3637. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: last week the country received more good economic news. the private sector created 150,000 new jobs. once again the unemployment rate fell. unemployment is at its lowest level since 2008. while too many families across the nation are still struggling, especially in nevada, there is no doubt our country is headed in the right direction. america is poised for rebound this year if a few good things happen. the last thing we can afford is yet another crisis manufactured by republicans in congress just as the economy finally gains some momentum. if republicans force a $2,200 tax increase on 98% of american families and 97% of small businesses to protect the richest of the rich, the economy will suffer gre

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: reserving the right to object. i'm sorry. reserving the right to object, mr. president. i've been thinking how best to describe what's going on here on capitol hill in the last couple of weeks. every morning i get up, the first thing i read is the sports page. i'm disappointed in the sports page in "the washington post" is not nearly as good as it used to be and "the new york times" is not good either. but i read them. there's always some good news on the sports page. then i go to the front page and get some of the bad news. but i follow sports, no matter what it is: basketball, football, baseball. whatever it is. and i've watched very closely. it's not one of my favorite teams but it's really fun to watch, and that's the new york jets. new york jets, yes. new york jets. coach ryan, he's got a problem. he has three quarterbacks. sanchez. he's got tim tebow. he's got a guy named mcelroy. he can't decide who their quarterback is going to be. that's the same problem the republicans

it was handed to mr. reid, mr. obama starting the warfare about taxing the rich. reid sat on the bill. why didn't he bring it up for a vote? why didn't it get fair debate? mr. reid hasn't passed a budget and we going to believe they're serious about the fiscal problems? let's go offense the cliff. >> we have two cameras outside the white house right now. that one i believe is perched on pennsylvania avenue and we have another camera which is perched facing the side entrance. those are the suvs that likely boehner, mcconnell, pelosi and reid will come out of. let's talk about the deal. what if there's a deal, craig, for, i don't know, say 4 hr $500,000 the threshold of who gets taxes and who keeps -- everybody under that number keeps their tax cuts. everyone over pays more and there's spending cuts. is that a bad deal? >> yeah. i think it is. let me tell you why. because you can't get everything out of this deal that you want and frankly, all we're doing is kicking the can down the road. you know as well as i do this does nothing to deal with the $1 trillion plus de

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the disabilities trite. the time until noon will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at noon there will be a roll call vote on the resolution of advise and consent to the convention on rights of persons with disabilities. we don't do treaties often and there are requests from both --m senators on both sides of the aisle. i think the they're right, becae this is a treaty, the votes will take place from our desks today. everybody should be on notice. following the vote, mr. president, the senate will recess to allow for our weekly caucus meetings. additional votes in resolution to the national defense authorization act are expected during today's session. i'm told that h.r. 6429 is due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6429, an act to amend the immigration and nationality act to promote inn

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent -- there's -- a quorum is not being called, is that true? the presiding officer: we are in a corum call. mr. reid: i ask that it be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, at 5:00 p.m. today, the senate will proceed to calendar number 676. for the information all senators, we expect a roll call vote on the nomination of michael shea at about 5:30 we'll go into executive session at 5:00 and move toward that. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that no amendments be in order to h.r. 6156. following the reporting of the bill, there be up to five hours of debate, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. during today's session. then on tomorrow, thursday, december 6, th at a time to be determined by the majority leader after visiting with and consulting with the republican leader, there be up to ten minutes of debate equally dividedly divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees and

boehner who failed with his party, the expectation was mr. reid would have something positive to say the tape sent a clear message to washington, you got it wrong and if you continue to do this. ashley: daniel, what struck you about today's session? >> it is all the nonsense in washington pushing around as your previous guest said. you can't make a decision. what is interesting this the third crisis we've had in our government over the past three years. we push, push it, push it to the brink and come up with something. i'm not sure we'll come up with something now. there is let more flexing. congress meeting on monday is a help thulful thing. if they come up it will be minor framework of what we see next year. we'll see where it goes from there. ashley: very good point. mike, from the nymex, what about oil today. what have we seen in the action of the oil trade? >> it is more or less follow the leader after we came out with that little stock market rally there i'm looking at the board here we're pushing highs at 91.25. it is more like a vooleyball

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: and, please. mr. reid: mr. president, we're going to have two more votes tonight. they will both be ten minutes in duration, in addition to the debate time that's already been established. then we're going to move in a very direct way to complete as much of the debate time on the amendments on the supplemental. it's extremely important we get this debate completed tonight so we can start voting in the morning. we have already set up, we're going to have some votes in the morning. we're going to come in probably about 9:30 and start voting. we have a lot to do. it would really be good if people who have amendments on the supplemental, use your debate time tonight. we're going to have no more votes tonight but tomorrow there's going to be limited amount of debate time. so senators -- senator mikulski will be here tonight. senator schumer will be here tonight. senator menendez will be here tonight to help move this, in in addition to, of course, the manager of the bill on the other side. so we hope that people wil

mr. reid: could i ask my friend to yield for unanimous consent request and he could have the floor as soon as i finish? mr. merkley: absolutely. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate receives the papers with respect to h.r. 4310, the senate's passage of h.r. 4310 as amended be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: and further, i ask unanimous consent that the adoption of the senate amendment be vitiated and that the amendment, the text of s. 3425 as amended by the senate be modified with the changes that are at the desk, that no other amendments be in order and the senate proceed to vote in relation to the amendment as modified, that if the substitute amendment as modified is agreed to, h.r. 4310 as amended be read a third time and passed. finally, that the previous request with respect to the senate's request for conference including the appointment of conferees be agreed to with all above occurring

mr. reid: there will be an hour of debate on the galante nomination. at 2:00 p.m. there will be two roll call votes on confirmations of the nomination of carol greant to be assistant secretary at h.u.d. following those he votes thrib there will be a recess to allow for caucus meetings and the majority's meeting will begin at 3:00 today. would the chair announce the business of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations, department of housing and urban development, carol j. galante of california to be an assistant secretary of housing and urban development. the judiciary, department of justice, william joseph bare of maryland to be an assistant attorney general. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be 60 minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form on the galante nomination. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs.

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we proceed to a period of morning business until 1:45 today. the presiding officer: may we have order in the chamber, please. mr. reid: i'll are start over again, madam president. i ask unanimous consent that on thursday, that's today, december 13, at a quarter till 2:00 the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations, calendar numbers number 830, 832, there be 0 minutes for dwaid debate equally divided in the usual form, upon the use or yielding back of that time the senate hat proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on calendar number number 830 and 832 in that order. that the motion to proceed be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate and there would be no further motions in order. and any statements related to this matter be printed in the are appropriate place as if given and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative ses

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: both senator mcconnell and i have approved committees meeting during today's session. i ask consent these requests be agreed to and be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, we hope shortly after the caucuses are ended today that we will have a vote on final passage of the defense authorization bill. the managers have a few more amendments they are going to try to clear, but i think very quickly after the caucus we'll have a vote. now, very quickly around here is kind of a relative term, as you know, but we hope to do it as soon as we can. i lay that on the table, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, will you take us out? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate >>> we have had these explosions of knowledge in madison, but we have not coordinated care and there's all these services that we have that in that having so many cracks that the cr

. >> thank you, mr. reid. >>> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is nick penn. i am with [speaker not understood] south of market employment center. we've been working in san francisco community for over 40 years to create opportunities for san francisco residents in the construction industry and we see this opportunity here with the warriors dam and the momentous occasion, you have the buy-in from the developer, you have the buy-in from the general contractor to do a work force plan that is going to be successful. we're excited for the new entry opportunities for folks and we're really excited about the opportunity for better and higher. been siting and hearing the public comment. we understand the concerns of the community. we hope that this process will work its way forward, you know, through the community advisory committee or citizens advisory committee or any other forms, mission south of market employment center hopes to be a collaborater in coming together with community, with labor, with city governments to create a plan that moves this project forward

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will be in a period of morning business until 11:30 this morning. republicans will control the first 30 minutes, majority controlling the second 30 minutes. following morning business we'll resume consideration of s. 3637. the filing deadline for second-degree amendments to that legislation is 10:30 today. at noon there will be up to two roll call votes, first on the motion to waive the budget act if a point of order is raised. if the motion is successful there will be a second roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the bill. i'm confident there will be additional votes this afternoon on judicial nominations. we'll keep everyone advised as to the time. mr. president, a poll this morning in the "wall street journal" which case it was -- which indicates it was done by the "wall street journal" and nbc news, indicates clearly where we should be headed with this fiscal cliff business. but until the republicans realize this, are willing t

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're going to have to decide, my friend says, how we're going to move forward on a bipartisan basis. even on the sunday shows we just completed, in the fox -- with fox network, chris wallace pushed one of the republican leaders very hard, would you filibuster something the democrats brought to the floor? he refused to answer the question. he would not say. and he kept being pressed. mr. president, we're in the same situation we have been in for a long time here. we can't -- we can't negotiate with ourselves because that's all we're doing. unless we get a signoff from the republicans in the house and the republican leader here, we can't get anything done. and so for them to talk about the bipartisan arrangement, we have -- we have done that. the president has given them one, given them two, given them three, and we can't get past grover norquist. we try hard but when there is no revenue as part of the package, it makes it really hard. john boehner could not even pass a tax propos

mr. reidpresident? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now ask that the united states senate observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the andy hook elementary -- of the sandy hook elementary school tragedy. [moment of silence] >> people kill people. that is the bottom line. weapons are for a reason. >> the second amendment was put into place. you had a six-shooter at the most. i am sure the four fathers of this country were not thinking about assault weapons brigid assault weapons. -- or not thinking about assault weapons. -- we're not thinking about assault weapons. -- with our -- were not thinking about assault weapons. >> i saw ronald reagan close all the hospitals in california. there is just not enough done for the mentally ill. >> i am getting rid of my guns. my husband was a police officer. i am getting rid of all of the guns. i do not have the need for them. i do not think it worked out very well for mrs. lanzy. >> the whole problem is being misdirecte

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that not withstanding -- the presiding officer: order in the senate, please. order in the senate. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that not withstanding the previous order with respect to treaty document 112-7, the vote on ratification occur at 2:15, tuesday, tomorrow, december 4, with all the provisions of the previous order remaining in effect. what this does, mr. president, is have the vote at noon on the disability treaty, would have it after our caucus. the presiding officer: any objection? a senator: mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid on the table. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. levin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. order in the senate, please. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: we hope that cloture will be voted now. we've disposed of 119 a

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks we'll be in a haoerd of morning business for an hour. the majority will control the first half. republicans the final half. following morning business we'll resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 3637. the senate will recess as we normally do on tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:15 to allow for our weekly caucus meetings. at 2:15 there will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to s. 3637. there could be additional votes today. mr. president, i would note the presiding officer today, i have have -- i had the good fortune to come to the floor last week and talk about the presiding officer's tenure in the senate, some six years and talk about some of the accomplishments in that relatively short period of time as we call senate time. but i'm reminded again having spent on friday about an hour with bob kerrey. bob kerrey and i reflected back on his experience here in the senate and one memor

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the clerks be authorized to modify the instruction lines on amendments proposed to the substitute amendment number 3395. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: following leader remarks, mr. president, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 1, which is the legislative vehicle for the supplemental appropriation bill involving the terrible storm that struck new england. the filing deadline for the first-degree amendments is 1:00 p.m. today. we will work on an agreement for amendments in order to complete action on the bill. we're also hopeful that we can complete the extremely important defense authorization bill today, and we're moving forward on fisa today. we're going to move forward one way or the other. i hope that we can get an agreement to move forward on it. if not, we will go forward without an agreement. we will need everyone to pay attention, as they always do, but maybe more so today, because a lot of things are goin

mr. boehner and reid in washington. do you think that's having any impact on the type of people who buy your products? >> you know, i think any time when there's a lot of talk about what the future may hold for government, for taxation, for financing, that's going to give some people some trepidation about spending. if there's word about the fact that you are going to have higher taxes come the new year, won't have as much to spend, maybe you hold back a little bit. what we like about our business is, it's a relatively low barriers to entry. consumers can buy the luxury of our beauty for $17, $18, $25, $30. this is not a huge investment. and so we're finding a lot of consumers are finding their way into beauty because they don't want to spend $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 on very luxurious, larger items like a handbag or a new car, for example. so beauty has its frequency shoppers. but that being said, overall, if the consumer is not certain she has the disposal income, perhaps she holds back a little bit. >> sir, one of my

mr. reid: new year's eve is fast approaching and for decades and decades the american people have watched the ball drop in times square. it's the countdown to midnight, the start of a new year. but this year, mr. president, the american people are waiting for the ball to drop but it's not going to be a good drop. because americans' taxes are approaching the wrong direction. come the first of this year, americans will have less income than they have today. if we go over the cliff, and it looks like that's where we're headed, mr. president, the house of representatives as we speak with four days left after today before the first of the year aren't here with the speaker having told them they'll give them 48 hours' notice. i can't imagine their consciences. they're out wherever they are, around the country, and we're here trying to get something done. they are not in washington, d.c. the house of representatives are not here. they couldn't even get the leadership together yesterday. they had to do

mr. reid, go to work. you've had years to lead this senate. go to work on that.rincipled leadership. >> i agree. >> often timesn0 i'm worried and the real issue is spending. it's a spending problem. the issue just came up. >> right. >> so where do we go from here? congressmanvbñn gomer? it's been put in the senate in their hands wex heard from hairy red today. moving forward. i understand the president is reac republicans in the senate. but they don't have the rightbw to originate constitutionally spending bills from there. where do we go from here? >> well, either the senate will do their constit/2ajal duty of taking a bill that originated in the house, and dealing with the issue and pass their version of it. then it would go a conference committee where compromise gets worked out.sqç hairy reid is becoming the cliff diver here by saying we're not going toq#éy let our house, senate'>pzg house, funct. we're going to dive off the cliff and blame the republicans and every ledge down the way. >> gentlemen. good to see you. we're going to continue to monitor this. h

mr. reid: mr. president, we're going to come in at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. we'll have further announcements perhaps at 11:00 in the morning. i certainly hope so. the presiding officer: the senior senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. mr. president, i guess the good news is that i'm rising today not to speak about the fiscal cliff, but what i'm speaking about is not good news because it deals with the tragic events that occurred in benghazi, libya, on september 11 when terrorists took the lives of our ambassador chris stevens and three other brave americans who were serving us there. mr. president, i rise today along with the ranking member of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, senator collins, to submit for the record the report that she and i have been working on with our staffs and other members of the committee following those events in libya. we called this report flashing red, a specialist report on the terrorist attack in benghazi. flashing red was a term that was used in conversation with us b

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now ask that the united states senate observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the andy hook elementary -- of the sandy hook elementary school tragedy. [moment of silence] mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 3:00 p.m. today. following that morning business, we'll be in consideration of h.r. 1, the legislative vehicle for supplemental appropriations bill. that bill will be managed by senator pat leahy. at 5:00 p.m., the is that the will proceed to executive session to consider the olguin and gerkuin nominations. there will be a roll call vote on the gerquin nomination and a voice vote on the nomination of olguin. two 6-year-old boyce are being buried this week. nominate oah turned six last month, even though he was only six, jack was a new york giants fan. in the days to come, many of the classmates will also be laid to rest, victims of this

i think what you might be seeing out of mr. reid and others across the aisle, they're not interested in doing something on the tax rates and not that interested in the tax rates and staying down with the interest and what they can get as part after deal. you saw the president asked for 50 billion dollars in stimulus and extension of unemployment insurance and the question what leverage can they get, not whether or not they're interested in the tax rates staying where they are. >> i'm curious, a little like shopping on christmas eve and the stores are about to close. do you get the gift and get everybody out of harm's way? >> we'd like to get as many out of harm's way as they can. of course the house cannot do things by itself. said this for two years, since i've gotten to washington we thought they were inaction and sat on the senate desk, and the senate didn't take up for a vote. so, unfortunately, it looks like what we're going through tonight is more of the same and the senate from what you've told me sound like they're not inter

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate recess subject to call of the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess >> lawmakers taking a break now that they've completed their legislative work having taken care of two executive nominations. they're heading off to attend party caucus meetings as leaders continue to work on an agreement to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. and c-span's cameras are trained outside those meeting rooms in case lawmakers or staff talk to the press. we're also standing by in the house meeting rooms and the rules committee is poised to consider any agreement. we'll have updates as they become available. and as a reminder, we have a special web page set up with access to video of related briefings and hearings, a twitter feed from reporters and members and our resource area which features documents and articles all available at c-span.org/fiscalcliff. >>> we're going to turn now back to our regular weekend programs here on booktv, and we'll take you back to the senate if and whe

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i rise today to honor a woman by the name of janice shelton. for her friendship, and 32 years of dedication as an employee of this body, the united states senate. 25 of those years janice worked as my executive assistant. she's demonstrated a sincere dedication to me, my office, my family, and this body, the united states senate. it's an understatement to say that she will be sorely missed. she will be. she's always been kind and thoughtful to me, to my wife landra, all my children, and to everyone that she comes in contact. if there's a problem, everyone knows, go to janice. no one has my ear the past 25 years like janice shelton has. she has been a professional career creating order where there could easily be chaos. over the course of her productive career with the army, the white house, and the senate, have been each -- each benefited from her unique expertise and professionalism and hard work. she began her profes

you saw the news this morning after mr. reid spoke and the market continued to sell off pretty strongly because of that pessimistic view. as soon as there was optimism coming out, the meeting on sunday, had the rally. everyone has their cards off the table. when they hear the news, throwing little pieces pack in and that's driving the market >> the market has been whipsawed. the comment from harry reid you referred to. he said it looked like we'd go over the cliff early on, but we've had so many conflicting events. here's mitch mcconnell, here's what he's having to say. >> it's harry reid i'm told. >> as soon as the votes are over and start debating those amendments tonight. we would really like to get as many, much of that debate out of the night tonight as possible so we can start voting at a reasonably early time tomorrow. the debate today has been stimulating and very thorough and good and we hope,ation understand it, there are three amendments we'll vote on tonight. that will still leave senator wyden's amendment that we'll

the truth of the matter is this and mr. reidsident did well through the south. but the truth of the matter is this -- take away this president's skin color and take away the race card that is played so often with this president and there's really no reason for black people to vote for him or latinos in that frame as well. because when you look at the unemployment rate among those two demographics, when you look at the poverty rate among young white females, there is no reason for anybody to have real elected this president in those demographics, accepts f demographics, except for the emotional issue of race. this is what we say in our movie, the democrat party, the progressive liberals, have been very successful in co opting the emotional issues of the day. the truth of the matter is those very issues have led the same group of people who voted this president and voted for him religiously into a mindset and to a culture of bondage. >> mayor reid, i want to give you the last word. >> i think that those are consistent with mitt ro

mr. reid: following leader remarks, we'll be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to tufplts ten minutes each. discussions continue today on a plan to protect middle-class families from a tax increase tomorrow. there are a number of issues on which the two sides are still apart. but negotiations are continuing as i speak. we really are running out of time. americans are threatened with a tax hike in just a few hours. i hope we can keep in mind our single-most important goal is to protect middle-class families. whether or not we reach agreement in the short time we have left we'll need agreement from both sides from taxes going up tomorrow for every family in america. there are still some issues that need to be resolved before we can bring legislation to the floor. the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 12:00 noon. it's for debate only. senators are permitted to speak therein for up to

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. eid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for an hour. republicans will control the first half, the majority the second half. following morning business, we'll resume consideration of the supplemental appropriation bill. i mentioned last night, madam president, that we're going to have to move forward on this bill. i have been told that the republicans want to have a substitute, and we look forward to whatever that might be, that we can set up a series of votes to satisfy those people who want to change this bill in some manner. i would just note that the people in the northeast, other states but principally new york and new jersey, there are 700,000 people who have lost their homes and are still -- tens of thousands of those homes have been destroyed. other people are still living in very, very difficult situations. when we had this devastation we had in new orleans, we got the aid to those states very quickly. the population of those states, lo

mr. reid: mr. president, if this weren't such a serious situation we face ourselves, it would be laughable. can you imagine saying that we should defeat a bill that we have already defeated? we voted, we voted on the proposal at the same time we voted to pass that protecting middle-class americans. that passed the senate. one to give the richest of the rich a tax continuation of the breaks they get. as i caid, the proposal they had, about another $50,000 for each of them, was defeated here. it was defeated in the senate. so my friend -- and he is my friend -- the republican leader is struggling to try to find a way to blame democrats, and it's a struggle. trying to blame us for the failure of the house to pass the speaker's bill. the house is led by the republicans. their margin narrowed. it will be better for the country after the first of the year, but right now he controls the house by a wide margin. i served in the house. the speaker is all powerful in the house. to blame us for that travesty t

mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for up to four hours. the reason for that is we've been on the defense bill for a considerable number of days, and people haven't been able to come and express their views on a number of different issues, so we're going to extend that morning business for a longer time thank normal. following morning business, about 2:00, we'll begin consideration of h.r. 6156, the russia trade bill. we hope to complete action on this that bill today. madam president, across the country, americans are lamenting that lack of progress in negotiations to avoid a massive tax increase on middle-class families -- and i really share that frustration. consider yesterday's failure, the disabilities convention at the hands of the tea party. this shouldn't have been a battle, but extreme elements of the republican party picked a fight where there was nothing to fight about. 38 republicans voted against the convention, including several

mr. reid: madam president, following leader remarks the senate will be in a period of morning business until 2:00 today. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the majority the final 30 minutes. the time from 11:30 till 2:00 p.m. will be for remarks by retiring senators. following morning business we'll resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 3637, the tag extension legislation. the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to that legislation is 1:00 p.m. today. madam president, the headline news for the last many weeks has been the fiscal cliff. in speaking with the president six months before the election, a few weeks before the election, a few days before the election and immediately after the election, he indicated that we needed to get our financial house in order and that his goal was to do just that. but to do that, because of past experiences, he laid out what he wanted, and that's very simple. the rates for those who have been blessed with economic securi