mr. schumer: okay. i'll speak for a minute or two rather than go into quorum call, unless you'd like to speak a little longer. mr. grassley: are you saying you don't want to use any time, your side to speak? mr. schumer: well, if you have more time that you'd like to use, that's fine. otherwise, i will. mr. grassley: i don't want to eat into my colleagues' time. mr. schumer: okay. then i will speak for a few minutes. the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: this debate is very simple, and that is, do we believe -- everyone here believes, in all good faith, that we ought to extend permanently tax breaks for the middle class. the question that is on the floor today is: do we want to extend those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires at a time of huge deficit? mr. schumer: i would argue vociferously, no. i would argue most economists agree that shouldn't happen. i would argue that the american people by 26% to 74% are against giving new tax breaks to millionaires. why? it's ver

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i'll be very brief, and we'll be staying on the floor for a little while to make one point, and i say this to the american people. we have an economy that needs improvement. and our colleagues have said they will not let anything happen, whether it be tax credits for employers who hire the unemployed, which i am talking about, help for the energy industry, tax credits to help manufacturers hire people, unemployment insurance. all of those will be put on hold until we give tax breaks to the millionaires and billionaires who, god bless them, they're wonderful, they're part of the american dream. but they are the one group who's done well. and it seems to me, as we will talk about for the next little while, that it is absolutely absurd to say that should be the linchpin of our economic policy. and we will ask unanimous consent to bring proposals that we think will do far more to get people back to work and help the

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: thank you. i want to thank my colleague from missouri for her downstanding words. let's take three facts. first, over the last decade middle class incomes have declined for the first time since world war ii. second, over the last decade, if you made over $1 million you did just great. number three, we've had a deficit -- we went from 2001 when george bush took over until today, we went from a surplus of $300 million to a huge deficit. and one of my -- and what do my colleagues suggest we do? that we hold up the entire government until we get tax breaks for the wealthy? the people who have done well, the people who have plenty of money, the people who when they get a tax break don't rush out to the grocery store or to the clothing store because they haven't had enough money to buy things. that's what they want to do. it is hard to believe -- it's hard to believe politics aren't at stake. there there aren't a group very wealthy people who believe they made all their money all by themselves and the

mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. over the last few days the senate's finally to vote on judicial nomination that have been waiting on the executive calendar for months. there are currently three judicial emergency vacancies on the u.s. court of appeals for the second circuit and the judiciary committee has reported qualified nominees to fill each one with the consideration of ray lohier's nomination, the senate will finally fill one of those for the people of vermont, connecconnecticut and new york. he has served as a federal prosecutor in the southern district of new york and special counsel to the u.s. attorney. he previous served as the chief and deputy chief of both the securities and commodities task force which investigates and prosecutes offenses on wall street and the narcotics unit he has the strong support of senator gillibrand and myself. the judiciary committee unanimously reported his nomination on may 13th, and i move the nomination. the presiding officer: who yields time? the presiding officer: the que

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: today we vote on two very important votes in the great, long and often difficult march that america has made towards equality. that is one of the greatnesses of this country, mr. president, that we inexorably move to equality. sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's difficult, sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back, but as the great scholar de tocqueville wrote when he visited america in the 1830's, the thing that separates america from all the other countries of the world is equality always prevails. we are dealing with equality on two scores today, in two areas. one, in the military. one of the great things about our military, number one, is they defend us and risk their lives for our freedom, but the second is that it always has been an integrating, positive force in america. and any policy that says you can't serve even though you want to be an american, you are an american, is wrong, bad for our military service and bad for the country. and second, we speak

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, i rise to speak on a bill that you, madam president, have spearheaded the charge for and done it with such hard work and determination and commitment and vigor, and that is the bill to provide health care for our 9/11 heroes, those men and women who at a time of war rushed to danger to save lives and protect our freedom. we have met with these brave men and women repeatedly. some of them are suffering already, with cancers they acquired for their act of bravery. others know it is an almost certainty that they will come down with similar diseases and illnesses that are extremely costly to fight. and, madam president, we have had a grand tradition in america. those who risk their lives to protect us and volunteer to do it under no compunction, we remember them when they get hurt in that brave endeavor. we do it for our veterans. we should be doi

mr. schumer: i yield to my leader. mr. reid: would my friend, the distinguished senator from new york, allow an interruption for a unanimous consent request. mr. schumer: without any objection from. reid riled scw that his statement not p interrupted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i have been in touch with senator mcconnell and i know that he is asking this unanimous consent agreement. i ask that at 10:30 tomorrow morning, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the reid amendment with the baucus amendment number 4727 with the time until -- with the time from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders h.r. other designees. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, this is a time that virtually no one is happy with. someone wanted it late, someone wanted it earlly. as i indicated to lula davis, we split it in half. this is the best we can do. we're going to make as many people happy as we can. s

mr. schumer: i want to thank my colleague, the chairman, for his leadership on this issue. mr. president, today we stand at a crossroads. we have two vital issues facing this country. one is an economy that is moving too slowly. the second is a large deficit looming around the corner. how do we solve that problem? the best way to solve that problem, in my judgment, is to give tax breaks to the people who will spend it, the middle class. and to make sure that the highest income people who have done very well over the last decade, instead of getting a tax break, make sure that money goes to deficit reduction. most economists who would look from 10,000 feet up who are not ideological would say that is the solution. so why then do our colleagues on the other side of the aisle make the linchpin of their economic policy tax breaks for the wealthiest among us? it can't be because it's needed to stimulate the economy. economic statistics show that very little of the dollar we give them in tax breaks will go to stimulate the economy. it can't be on the purpose of fairness. the highest i

mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: today we vote on two very important votes in the great, long and often difficult march that america has made towards equality. that is one of the greatnesses of this country, mr. president, that we inexorably move to equality. sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's difficult sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back, but as the great scholar de tocqueville wrote when he visited america in the 1830's, the thing tt separates america from all the other countries of the world is equality always prevails. we are dealing with equality on two scores today, in two areas. one, in the military. one of the great things about our military, number one, is they defend us and risk their lives for our freedom, but the second is that it always has been an integrating, posite force in america. and any policy that says you can't serve even though you want to be an american, you are an american, is wrong, bad for our military service and bad for the couny. and second, we speak of the

mr. schumer: okay. then i will speak for a few minutes. the presiding officer:he senator fr new york. mr. schumer: this debate is very simple, and that is, do we believe -- everyone here believes, in all good faith, that we oht to extend permanently tax breaks for the middle class. the question that is on the floor today is: do we want to extend those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires at a time of huge deficit? mr. schumer: i would argue vociferously, no. i would argue most economists agree that shouldn't happen. i would argue that the american people by 26% to 74% are against giving new tax breaks to millionaires. why? it's very sime. it's not that we are against millionaires. god bless them. most of them made their money the hard way. they worked hard, they made the american dream. every one of us would like to have done that, or most of us. so this is not aimed at being critical of them. but it, rather, says we have two economic realities. one, we have an economy that, under the bush tax cuts right now -- my colleague mentioned unemployment went up to 9.8%. th's under th

mr. schumer: i would argue vociferously, no. i would argue most economists agree that shouldn't happen. i would argue that the american people by 26% to 74% are against giving new tax breaks to millionaires. why? it's very simple. it's not that we are against millionaires. god bless them. most of them made their money the hard way. they worked hard, they made the american dream. every one of us would like to have done that, or most of us. so this is not aimed at being critical of them. but it, rather, says we have two economic realities. one, we have an economy that, under the bush tax cuts right now -- my colleague mentioned unemployment went up to 9.8%. that's under these tax cuts. when the rates were a little higher under president clinton, we never had unemployment that high. but we would argue, so the middle class needs to continue that break for two reasons. one, it stimulates the economy. and, number two, middle-class incomes have declined over the last decade. first decade under the bush tax cuts, middle-class incomes declined. first decade since world war ii. under the clinton

mr. schumer: mr. president, i rise today in strong support of the 9/11 health and compensation afnlgt now, yesterday we observed pearl harbor day, marked the 69th anniversary of that tragic attack on american soil. nine years ago our nation was attacked once again. september 11, 2001, was a day of indescribable horror, not only for new york, the city i'm proud to call home, but for the entire nation. in the mince, hours, and days after the twin towers collapsed, thousands of first responders rushed to lower manhattan to dig through the rubble. first they searched for survivors. we all remember the horrible -- i -- i -- i -- this is vivid in my mind, mr. president. the signed people were holding. have you seen this person? it is my husband, my wife, my child, my parent. because no one knew where everyone was amidst the rubble. and we thought, unfortunately we were disappointed deeply, that there were survivors amidst the rubble. and time was of the essence. and time was of the essence to find them. the

mr. schumer: well, thank you, mr. president. first, i want to commend my colleague from massachusetts, and so many, including our president, for making this the high priority that it is. we know -- we know how righ vitl this is for somebody like myself who is so concerned about iran going nuclear and the cooperation of the russians being so essential, the bottom line is that this treaty is essential. it's not just better, it's essential. i must rise because of a comment my colleague from arizona made. and, first, let me preface by saying my enormous respect for him. nobody has done more to serve his country -- this country in this chamber than the senator from arizona. he's a veteran, a serviceman, he served his country well. it's something that i and every other member of this chamber greatly respect. but, unfortunately, i heard him say words before in his desire to get this treaty fully debated. he said -- quote -- "after all of the fooling around on new york city. after all of the fooling around on new york city" referring to

mr. schumer has is playing offense against this issue. >> do you think it will make a difference to the republicans50,000? >> well, they would have a incredibly hard time defending the position of the $1 million and the $250,000. and that is a huge distinction. >> does it make a difference, hillary? >> well, it does make a difference to the republican, and they don't bother. $250,000 only affects 2% of the people in country, and $1 million seems like a nice compromise, but the republicans have vowed to control this gain for wealthy people, and keep the unemployed poor for as long as possible, and this is a big problem. >> let's get to another issue, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy before congress right now. we heard more testimony today from the chiefs of the various branchs of the u.s. armed forces, and senator mccain is taking the lead in terms of lead in the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and listen to what he said, and i will play this clip. >> no one came up to me and said, gee, please, senator mccain, get to work on the don't ask don't tell, and in fact, every place i went members of the

mr. schumer and others proposes an amendment numbered 4728 to amend numbered 4727. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate not require the reading of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion at the desk. 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, the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close debate on the second-degree amendment number 4728, signed by 16 senators. mr. reid: i ask that the reading of the names be waived, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i also ask the mandatory quorums required under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, -- mr. president, i have a motion to refer, and with that are instructions at the deswik. nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message to the senate committee on finance with instructions to report back forthwith, being amendment number 4729. mr. reid:

mr. schumer: i too rise -- i'll speak briefly -- in honor of my friend and our colleague, the senior senator from connecticut. and i have watched him from date i came here. we knew each other a little bit when i was in the house. he left the house to go to the senate, but we had many of the same friends when i came to the house and always marveled at his abilities. you know, for those of us who have served here, i've only been here 12 years, we know the joys and difficulties of legislating here in the senate. we know it's not easy and we know how satisfying it is. there are very few who reach the acme of how to do it and who devote their lives to it. and i guess they're given a title -- i don't know if it's official, but probably not -- they're men and women of the senate. we've had two leave us in the last year, senator robert byrd and senator ted kennedy. they were truly men of the senate. and it's not a title bestowed easily or lightly or frequently. chris dodd is a man of the senate in the category of ted kennedy and robert byrd in terms of his abilities to get things done, his ability a

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that a schumer substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate and any statements related to the bill be placed in the record in the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kerry: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the homeland security and governmental affairs committee be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 1746, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 1746, an act to amend the robert t. stafford disaster relief and emergency assistance act to reauthorize the predisaster mitigation program of the federal emergency management agency. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? if not, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. kerry: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the lieberman substitute amendment, which is at desk be

i would like to thank senator schumer and the senior house republican member, mr. brady. this is the last hearing. i will be issuing at least one more report before the end of the year. as the first chair of the joint economic committee, i have asked the majority staff to prepare a comprehensive overview of women and the economy. i have asked the staff to focus on a how unleasing wittman's economic activity will fuel our economic-- women's activity will fuel our economy. thank you. this meeting is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] conversations] >> a live picture from afghanistan where we are expecting remarks from president obama. he is his team troops act bagram airbase. we will have live coverage when that starts here on c-span. ♪ >> while we wait for the president, we will go to the swanee's "washington journal." unemployment is up to 9.8%. host: we have asked our guest to tie a ribbon around the that the commission and to comment on the unemployment numbers. it looks like they'r

i would like to especially thank vice chairman schumer, ranking member brownback and senior republican house member, mr. brady. thank you. while this is the last jec hearing of the 111th congress, i will be issuing at least one more report before the end of the year. as the first woman chair of the joint economic committee, i have asked the majority staff to prepare a comprehensive overview of women and the economy. i have asked the staff to focus on how unleashing women's economic potential will help fuel a recovery. i look forward to releasing that report before i hand over the gavel to the next chair. again, i thank while the members of this committee and thank you very much dr. hall. this meeting is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> these are racial statues tube perpetuates the bonds of slavery. that is not a permissible state action. president obama made a surprise visit to afghanistan today, where he addressed u.s. troops at log rum airfield. he also met with commanding general david petraeus. rough weather forced the president to cancel a scheduled meeting with pr

i would like to thank senator schumer and the senior house republican member, mr. brady.t before the end of the year. as the first chair of the joint economic committee, i have asked the majority staff to prepare a comprehensive overview of women and the economy. i have asked the staff to focus on a how unleasing wittman's economic activity will fuel our economy -- women's economic activity will fuel our economy. thank you. this meeting is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] vice-president biden met at the white house wet tim geithner on the status of negotiations with congressional leaders, and extending the bush era tax cuts. before the meeting, he commented on the jobs report that said on employment increased in november from 9.6% to 9.8%, another reason says the vice president why congress should extend jobless benefits. this is about five minutes. >> good morning. i am here with the director to discuss the ongoing debate of the ta

we will also hear from senators chuck schumer of new york and orrin hatch of utah. this is just over an hour. >> mr. president, the provision of economics is about scarcity. for example, these principles of economics, president bush's chief economic adviser, gregoryc wrote this, quote, economics did the study of how society manages its scarce resources, in the ofe quote.about fis about fiscal polfiicy.sc how fiscal policy is about howment, society, acting through its government, chooses to allocate scarce resources. there is not an endless supply e of money. we have to make choices. every time that we put together a budget, we have to make choices. every time that we formulate thv nation's tax policye, we have to so wn make choices. so when it comes to whether to e extend the 2001 tax cut, once again, we have to make choices. it's a question of priorities.ut the debate over what to do aboue the 2001, 2003 tax cuts for a those with the highest incomes is a debate about priorities. be are we better off devoting resoc scarce resources to a larger tax cut than those of the very top? taat or are we bett

i would like to thank senator schumer and the senior house republican member, mr. brady.t before the end of the year. as the first chair of the joint economic committee, i have asked the majority staff to prepare a comprehensive overview of women and the economy. i have asked the staff to focus on a how unleasing wittman's economic activity will fuel our economy -- women's economic activity will fuel our economy. thank you. this meeting is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> vice-president joe biden met with timothy gardner on the status of negotiations with congressional leaders on extending the bush era tax cuts. before the meeting, he commented on the jobs report that says the unemployment increase in november from 9.6 to 9.8%, another reason, says the vice president, what congress should extend unemployment benefits. he speaks for just over five minutes. >> good morning, everyone. we are here to discuss [unintelligible] and efforts to ensure that taxes do not go up for middle-cl

mr. president i listened with great attention to the speech just given by my friend from new york. senator schumer is right on target when he's talking about who are we fighting for here. what are we here in the senate for? what are we here to do? who are we fighting for? i've often said the one thing about the very wealthy in our country, you know, they're pretty good taking care of themselves. obviously they wouldn't be rich if they weren't. but what about the people that don't have much? who's fighting for them? this is a -- what i want to spend some time talking about and that's the unemployed in this country. last week we went home for thanksgiving. i hope everyone had a good time with their families. now we're looking at the upcoming holidays with anticipation as we do every year, to be with our families. buy some presents, exchange presents; kids, grandkids. a festive time. what about all those people that are out of work, have no money whorbgs right now are -- no money, who right now are being cut off of the only lifeline they have, which are unemployment insurance benefits. losing them da

joint economic committee, represented by -- or led by charles schumer, did -- senator schumer, did you quote from this? mr. sanders: we quoted from a number of studies but not that one, senator. ms. landrieu: well, i'd like to add in our colloquy if he was aware, that according to this report that just came out september of this year, it says, "income inequality has skyrocketed. economists concur that income equality has risen dramatically over the past three decades. middle-class incomes stagnated under president bush during the recovery of the 1990's under president clinton, middle-class incomes grew at a healthy pace. however, during the jobless recovery of the 2000's under president bush, that trend has reversed course. middle-class incomes continue to fall well into the recovery, never regained their highs of 2001." the report goes on to say, which is frightening, which is why i have been raising my voice in opposition so strongly to some parts of this package, is that this report says, senator, "high levels of income inequity may precipitate economic crisis." in other words, if the middle class can'

follows: reid of nevada, gillibrand, schumer, casey, murray, franken, bingaman, cardin, inouye, bennet of colorado, shaheen, menendez, boxer, lautenberg, dodd and durbin. mr. reid: mr. president, regarding the h.r. 847, the zagroda legislation, have we stated that motion and have i asked that the reading of the names be waived? the presiding officer: the motion has been state and the names have been read. mr. reid: mr. president, i now ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to calendar number 662, s. 3991 our upon the conclusion of the impeachment proceedings and the senate resume legislative session. and that the senate then resume the motion to proceed to calendar number 662 and the mandatory quorum required under rule 22 as it relates to all these matters and i filed cloture on be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume consideration of the articles of impeachment against judge g. thomas porteous -- let's try this again. his name is judge g. thomas porteous jr. the district of louis

mr. king, ms. maloney, congressman nadler, soon chairman king to-be and the leadership of this house and the united states senate and i think senator gillibrand and senator schumerll as senator reid and the republican leadership in the senate for affording us this opportunity to be -- extend our patriotic appreciation to those whose love of our country, whose care and commitment to their fellow person, who unquestionably made sacrifices and now almost 9 1/2 years later, more than nine years later, we finally are doing the right thing for them. every day our firefighters, police officers, first respond leave their home to risk their lives. little did they know on that day, many of them would not return home. how can we ever repay their sacrifice and their courage? so today, we do so, certainly it's not enough, but as a token of our appreciation for what they have done to strengthen our country. with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. again, thanking all of those who made this legislation possible. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: a message from the senate. the secretary: madam

mr. lungren: today the house considers s. 3998, the criminal history background checks pilot extension act of 2010. this bill was introduced by senator schumer of new york and recently passed the senate by unanimous consent. i might just say it makes me feel good that i finally found a bill sponsored by the gentleman from new york that i could support. this bill extends the child safety pilot program which provides background checks -- background checks for volunteer organizations that work with children for an additional year. it originally created as the gentleman from virginia said in 2002, under the protect act. the child safety pilot program has proven itself to be an effective research for protecting our children. through the pilot project, nonprofit organizations that provide youth-based care may request criminal history background checks from the f.b.i. on applicants for positions that involve working with children. a study by the national center for missing and exploited children provided data that underscores the importance of the prilet program. the national center found that almost 90,000 background checks performed throughout th

mr. president, i always enjoy listening to my colleague from new york. he's one the brightest and toughest colleagues here. he's been a good friend over the years. the schumer-hatch bill is now law. it was a good step in the right direction as far as gaining jobs, but also i want to point out that 56% of all capital gains that create jobs are paid for by people who earn over $500,000 a year, and i also would care to point out that i will absolutely guarantee to everybody watching us here today that if there were these tax increases, and i think the thing senator knows is that suggestion polls very well is that the reason why we should do it? no, but i guarantee you, and i don't think anybody can doubt this guarantee, that if his approach wins, the democrats will take every dime of that and spend it. in fact, the president's budget spends more towards the end than it does now, i mean, a lot more, and that's one of the problems here. we know that a good 50% of small business would be affected, the ones who really create jobs. there's 25% employees and 50% of small businesses would be affected if we do what the democrats would like to do. be that as it may, th