ms. collins: thank you. i believe that the sponsor of this amendment is completely sincere, and i want to make that clear. but this issue has become a sad example of election year politics. i believe that a good compromise could have been reached -- and should have been worked out. for example, in maine, state law requiring contraception coverage includes a specific exemption for religious employers, such as churches, schools, and hospitals. surely we could have reached a similar accommodation. and, unfortunately, what we're left with is an issue that's important and that too many people, including this administration, are playing politics with. since i could not and did not receive a straightforward answer to my question about protecting self-insured faith-based organizations, i feel that i have to vote for senator blunt's amendment, with the hope that its scope will be further narrowed and refined as the legislative process proceeds and recognizing that state laws will not be preempted. i do this with -- w

ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, if this amendment is not adopted and the current regulations go into effect, the estimates are that they will cost manufacturers $14 billion to comply and that we will lose 200,000 manufacturing jobs at a time when we can least afford it. all we're asking is for more time to get these regulations right. i yield back the remainder of the time and urge support for the amendment. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: mr. president, could we have order. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: colleagues, what we do here makes a difference in people's lives cht and we have peer-reviewed studies that show that if the collins amendment passes and we go back to square one, we will see 8,100 premature deaths per year, 5,100 heart attacks per year, and talk about jobs -- 400,000 lost workdays per year. why is it? because what the e.p.a. is trying to do under the clean air act is make sure we don't have too much arsenic in the air, mak

ms. collins: mr. president, i call up my amendment, number 1660, which is at the desk and ask that it be reported by number. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from maine, ms. collins force herself and others proposes answer amendment numbered 1660. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to offer the regulatory relief act which is amendment 1660 to the highway reauthorization bill. i'm very pleased to have senator alexander, senator pryor, senator toomey, senator landrieu, and senator mccaskill joining me as cosponsors of this amendment. mr. president, last year i introduced the legislation very similar to this amendment to provide the e.p.a. with the time that the agency itself says that it needed to rewrite the proposed boiler mact rules, to better serve the public interest and protect vulnerable manufacturing jobs. the legislation had the support of 41 of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and an identical bill, nearly identical b

ms. collins: mr.itted to proceed for up to 20 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the majority leader has indicated that the senate may soon turn to legislation to reform a much-needed, much-beloved american institution: the united states postal service. mr. president, the postal service is nearly as old as our nation itself. our founding fathers recognized the importance of having a postal service. article 1, section 8, of the constitution gives congress the power to establish post offices. this is the same section that allows congress to declare war, to coin money, to borrow money on the credit of the united states, to collect taxes, et cetera. so, clearly, the post office was viewed from the very beginning of our nation as being essential to our economic well-being and to bringing together our country. the postal service is also required by law to provide as nearly as practicable the entire population of the united states with ade

ms. collins: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to proceed as if in morning business for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, during the past week, the supreme court heard arguments on the constitutionality of president obama's health care law. this week also marks the two-year anniversary of the president's signing that law. now, mr. president, there is no question that our health care system required and still requires significant reform. in passing this law, however, congress failed to follow the hippocratic oath of first do no harm. the new law increases health care costs, hurts our seniors and health care providers and imposes billions of dollars in new taxes, fees and senlts. this in turn will lead to fewer choices and higher insurance costs for many middle-income american families and most small businesses. the opposite of what real health care reform should do. i find it particularly disturbing

ms. collins? are you ready? does the clerk of the amendment at the desk since it got shuffled want to make sure that it is actually at the desk. amendment number 25 at the desk? >> offered by ms. mccaul one relating to public schools. >> recognized for two minutes. >> thank you. the average public school building is 40-years-old. conservative estimates of the school maintenance and appear nationwide that at at least $250 billion. this amendment increases funding to go towards repairs at $40 billion. this investment will allow for approximately 55,000 public-school to the improved triet in proved any way that will help offset an unfunded mandate that the federal government still hasn't lived up to as 88. many of our schools are still struggling to comply with the 88 compliance. we cannot expect the students come of our students to succeed utter infrastructure if it is failing them. to compete and succeed, we need high lead content of global economies, our students need state spaces in which to live that virtually

ms. caitlin durkovich. dr. robert rosenwasser. dr. deborah august. mr. timothy gill. miller.t mr. bradford collins. ms. barbara walsh. mr.mark alderman. mrs. sue ellen alderman. >> [inaudible] [inaudible] the honorable neal wolin. ms. nicole elkon. [inaudible] [inaudible] the honorable alan krueger. mrs. lisa krueger. mrs leilani brown. mr. stanton brown. mr. don hinkle. ms. mimi graham. ms. debra lee. mr. londell mcmillan. ms. gwen ifill. mr. wendell pierce. ms. gillian tett. mr. richard philip mcgregor. [inaudible] mr. james macgilvray. mrs. janet macgilvray. ms. elizabeth lee mcgovern. mr. simon adam curtis. >> [inaudible] da men [inaudible] >> paul tash. mrs. karyn tash. n.. jim corw mrs. paulamr. simon wilson. mrs. wilson. [unintelligible] mr. stewart taylor ii mrs. ivan taylor. >> hi, how are you? >> i am very excited. >> mr. stephen gilbert. mr. oliver dowden mrs. lauren mann. mrs. smalls. mr. samuel hines. mrs. stacy mills. mrs. denise lewis. >> i am delighted to be here. [inaudible] i cannot begin to put it into words. i am filled with anticipation. [inaudible] i do not think so. the challenge is on. >> the hono

one business of note, the corner is to bully and the next is john collins, a very successful after work watering hole. at the behest of ms. cain, we were going to hire epic security but after talking to her, we decided that given the narrowness of that alley, we would have the same security company. that is top flight and we will consult with mike spearman. this is a multimillion dollar bill out. it will create 15 to 20 jobs. it will not cause much of a problem in the neighborhood because lucky enough, there are no neighbors. the neighborhood outreach, we have met with tracey irwin of business solutions. we contacted the yerbe buena benefits district and see if there are other stakeholders. we have spoken to every business in the neighborhood. they're excited about gloria moving her place down the street. the menu will be lobster, macaroni, grilled tacos, she sticks, al-marri. there is a plan we are going to open for late night dining, but has not come to fruition. we are requesting a conditional grant. anpresident newlin: is there any members of the public who want to address this issue? seeing none, do you want to add

ms. collins: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. i would ask to be notified after one minute. the presiding officer: the senator will be notified. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. madam president, let me begin by commending senator scott brown, senator lieberman, and senator gillibrand for their leadership on this bill. i want to point out that my colleague from massachusetts introduced the first bill on this topic in the senate. the stock act is intended to affirm that members of congress are not exempt from our laws and regulations prohibiting insider trading. it is important to send a very clear message that members of congress are not exempt from these laws and that is exactly what this bill does. at a time when public confidence in congress is at an all-time low, we need to send a strong message that -- the presiding officer: the senator has consumed one minute. ms. collins: -- that elective office is a place for public service and not private gain. i yield the remainder of my time to