mr. whitehouse: mr. president, are we presently in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call, senator. mr. whitehouse: may i ask that the quorum call be terminated? the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. i am very honored to have the chance to join my distinguished senior senator jack reed on the floor of the senate today to pay our respects to a friend of both of ours who has departed us. i will say a few words about our friend george peneches myself, and then my senior senator will say a few words in conclusion. tass great honor -- it is a great honor for me to be here with senator reed. one of the bonds that we have together is our tpreupb with -- friendship with the honorable george peneches. on march 2, the day of george peneches' funeral, the flags in the state were at half-mast in his honor. while george's family and friends are still in mourning, we would like to take this opportunity to share some of our memories in celebration of the life of a man who was really o

mr. whitehouse: mr.president, on behalf of senator baucus, i yield myself up to 20 minutes. and that senator brown be recognized for up to 10 minutes and that the time be charged against the bill. the presiding offic: is there objection? so ordered. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, on this historic day, i rise to speak, as i have many times before, about our historic opportunity to turn away from the path of physica fiscal toshetoward the difficult and vl work of bringing down the cost of health care. after the wild and unsustainable borrowing of bush era, we now face an era of limited resources in which every last dollar is needed to spur economic recovery, create jobs, and restore economic security for all. economists agree with virtual unanimity that the needless and excessive cost of health care is the heaviest weight dragging down america's economic growth. in 1955, the year i was born, the nation spent $12 billion annually on health care. last year we spent $2.5 trillio. $134 billion more than the pr

mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that all remaining time be yielded back. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloturesenars in accordae provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of barbara milano keenan of virginia to be the united states circuit judge for the fourth circuit signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is: is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of barbara milano keenan of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the fourth circuit shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber who wish to vote or to change a vote? if not, on this vote the yeas are 99, the nays are zero. three-fifths of

mr. whitehouse, proposes an amendment number 3354. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the amendment is withdrawn. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations on the executive calendar: calendar 560, the nomination of terry yonkers to be assistant secretary of the air force, kal ar 563, the nomination of frank kendle to be principal undersct of defense, calendar number 56 4-rbgs the nomination of erin connan, calendar 663, the nomination of paul usberg to be general council of department of the navy, calendar 664, the nomination of malcolm o'neil, calendar 665, the nomination of jacqueline to be assistant secretary of the navy. that the nominations be confirmed en bloc; the motions to be reconsidered be laid on the table en bloc, any statements related to the nominations be placed in the record floipt place as if read, the pre

mr. whitehouse, mr. leahy, and mrs. gillibrand. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. ride, for mr. sanders and others proposes an amendment numbered 3353 to amendment numbered 3336. mr. reid: i ask the reading of the amendment be waived, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i would ask the clerk call the roll. there appears not to be a quorum present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mcconnell: the republican leader is recognized. the presiding officer: are we in a quorum call? mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings on the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, most americans breathed a sigh of relief in january when it looked like the democrats' partisan plan for health care was done for. most people saw the outcome of the massachusetts senate race as an opportunity to start over on what they wanted, which is a step-by-step plan that would target costs without raising taxes or ins

mr. warner: i appreciate senator whitehouse's comments and pointing out one more example of the qualified nominee that needs toc needs to be votea aproved up or down. i now call on my colleague from illinois, senator burris. mr. burris: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. burris: it is a pleasure for me to join in this very, very important position in the united states senate. i'm proud to join my democratic colleagues on the floor this morning to discuss some of the obstructionism we're seeing from the other side on a number of presidential nominations. it is a duty of the senate to provide advise and consent for more than 2,000 government officials appointed by the president of the united states. these individuals range from cabinet-level officers to agency administrators, ambassadors, federal judges, and more. they are tasked with leading important agencies and offices like the transportation security administration, a and diplomatic missions and various law enforcement organizations. these nominees generally make it through the committee 0 on near un

mr. whitehouse: madam president, i would like to echo the remarks of my very distinguished colleague from maryland who i know feels so passionately about this and whose own state will suffer really dire individual consequences as the failure of unemployment insurance and cobra and other things begin to hit home in the personal lives of people in maryland, people in my home state of rhode island, people across this country. with so many americans struggling to pay their bills, why, why did thousands of the worst off, including hundreds of rhode islanders, have to wake up on monday morning to find that their unemployment benefits and cobra subsidies had expired? why are people being kicked out of these essential humane lifeline programs before the economic storm that put them in that predicament has passed? the answer is that we have failed to do what is right for the american public in part because one republican has chosen this time of great despair for millions of americans to make a political point. to make a political point about the deficit by hurting hard-working americans who are st

mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: i mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period -- the presiding officer: it is a quorum call. mr. whitehouse: may i ask that the quorum call be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: may i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed it a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:45 a.m. today. thursday, march 25. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the

whitehouse amendment 3365, to be modified. rockefeller amendment 3371, to be modified. and baucus technical amendment, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: mr. president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would ask the request be modified to allowed senator isakson to speak for 2 1/2 minutes following the agreement to this unanimous consent request and that i thereafter be recognized to offer a unanimous consent request regarding something on this bill. the presiding officer: is there objection? seeing and hearing none, so ordered. the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i want to thank the leader for his courtesy. i want to thank him for his help on this legislation. but in particular, chairman baucus and his staff, chairman grassley and his staff, and, in particular, my staff, ed egey, in particular, who did a great job of addressing the pension problems in this country. this amendment gives corporations two alternatives to accept to adopt to smooth their obligations on pensions. it will raise $3.5 billion against the debt. it will save the pension of many americans, and i just