ms. collins: mr. president, i have an amendment at the desk number 771, offered on behalf of myself and senator kaine and i would ask for its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: is there objection to laying aside the amendment? mr. wyden: reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: and, mr. president, i'm only doing it, i would advise my -- my colleagues, who i know feel strongly about it, chairman baucus wanted to be able to address this issue. so that -- that's the purpose of my reservation. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. baucus: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, let me express my frustration and dismay over the objection that has been lodged against considering a very reasonable amendment to this bill. this is a

ms. collins: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: madam president, i'm delighted that the senate has just passed a bipartisan bill to resolve a serious problem confronting the american traveling public and our economy. i want to thank the majority leader, senator reid; the minority leader, the republican leader, senator mcconnell; and all the staff who have worked so hard to make this half. i'm very pleased to be joined in sponsoring this bill by many of our colleagues, including senator rockefeller, senator thune, senator mark udall, senator risch, senator roberts, senator isaacson, senator mccaskill, senator hagan, the presiding officer, senator toomey, senator murkowski, senator warner, senator begich, senator nelson and senator heller. as the ranking member of the transportation appropriations committee, i've been very concerned about the serious delaying that have been caused by the f.a.a. furloughs of the air traffic controllers. in fact, secretary of transportation lahood and f.a.a. administrator heurta met with me thi

ms. collins: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to discuss the background check amendment proposed by our colleagues, senator manchin and senator toomey. madam president, i grew up in northern maine where responsible gun ownership is part of the heritage of virtually every family. in fact, i can't think of a family in my hometown of caribou that did not have firearms in their homes when i was growing up, and that includes my own family. i strongly support our second amendment rights and two recent supreme court decisions in district of columbia v. heller and mcdonald v. chicago make clear that those constitutional rights pertain to the individual. as we have studied this important issue during the past several months, i have met with countless people who hold a wide range of views. they include the sportsmen's alliance of maine, known as s.a.m., maine's law enforcement officials, the n.r.a., victims of gun violence, licensed gun dealers, firearms manufacturers, mental health professionals, and school s

ms. collins: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: madam president, i feel compelled to respond to the comments of my good friend and colleague from montana. and first let me say that i'm sorry to learn of his decision to leave the senate, to retire from the senate, because i have enjoyed working with him over the years. but i do want to make several points. senator mike enzi of wyoming, who came to the senate the same year that i did, in 1997, has been talking about this bill for at least a decade. at least a decade. he has introduced it many times before. there has been ample opportunity for there to be consideration by the committee and the committee just chose not to consider his bill. this is not a new concept in any way. it has been talked about and debated at length over the past decade. moreover, i would note that the amendment that i have offered, along with my colleague from maine, does not in any way change the basic thrust of this legislation. in fact, both senator king and i are cosponsors of the underlying bill.

ms. waters: thank you very much. i rise today in support of h.r. 360. the bill posthumously honored the lives of addie mae collins, denise mcnair, carole robertson, and cynthia wesley. who were tragically lost 50 years ago in the bombing of the 16th street baptist chump in birmingham, alabama. the horror of the senseless act of violence stunned the nation and served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement. i would like to thank my colleagues on the financial services committee, especially bachus woman sewell and for their work to ensure that these girls receive our highest civilian honor as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of their deaths. the 16th street church was not an accidental bombing target where the perpetrators, rather members of the ku klux klan distributely targeted the church, designing their attack to strike fear into the hearts of those seeking equal rights. the church was a known sanctuary for civil rights leaders, including dr. martin luther king, the southern christian leadership conference and the congress on racial equality which had become involved in a campaign to register african-ame

collins, cynthia wesley, carole robertson and denise mcnair. i also want to commend my two colleagues on the financial services committee, ms. sewell and her chairman emeritus, chairman bachus from alabama, for bringing this bill before the house. mr. speaker, i was a mere child when these innocents were murdered. i'm no longer a child. but i'm a father of two small children, a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old. i cannot imagine the unspeakable horror of knowing that my children were in church and one of the great acts of evil known in our nation's history could be perpetrated upon them. that act 50 years ago jarred millions in our nation to the realization that racial prejudice and hatred had just manifested itself in pure, unimaginable evil. an within a year this body had passed the 1964 civil rights act . in his eulogy for these four little girls, dr. marten luther king jr. said, quote, these children, unoffending, innocent and beautiful, were the victims of one of the most vicious, heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity. yet they died nobly. they are the martyred heroines of the holy crusade for freedom and human d