ms. landrieu: thank you. mr. president, this senate is going to be not the same place without the senator from indiana. in fact, it will be a lesser place because he's been such an outstanding senator, and i want to just let him know that he will be very much missed. he contributed enormously in his very quiet and dignified but powerful way to many important issues, both domestic and international. we look forward to hearing a lot more from governor bayh and senator bayh in the years to come. i want to thank the leadership on both sides for giving me an opportunity in just a few minutes to have a portion of the time when it comes to the discussion of the bill that we're going to be voting on at noon. but i thought before i got to that time that i've been allotted in the unanimous consent agreement -- and i'm very grateful to the leadership on both sides for giving me that opportunity -- i'd take a minute to give a preview while there was no one on the floor asking for time now. mr. president, this massive tax

ms. landrieu: mr. president, may i ask consent of the first member on that list to speak for 30 seconds? thank you. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. ms. landrieu: thank you. mr. president, i was going to ask the minority leader, mitch mcconnell, who just insulted many of us by saying that we don't care about small business or the economy and as the chair of the small business committee, i was going to ask him this: since president obama has been in such good faith in the last couple of days negotiating with him this package, my question was, does he regret saying on national television that his number-one primary goal is to unseat the president? i was going to ask him how he felt about that. that's a tough place to start a negotiation, which is why some of us are interested in how these negotiations might be going with that as a startingpoint. but he ran off the floor and didn't answer that question. i will going to i am going to continue to ask it. thank you. l

ms. landrieu: i thank the senator. i thank the senator from vermont for his eloquent and passionate presentation for hours this morning, and he clearly has presented to this chamber and to the american people some stark realities that are unpleasant, some people might even find them hard to believe, but he has done his homework. he has documented what he has

ms. landrieu: i am. mr. sanders: people on the top are doing very well. senator landrieu is asking a simple question. millions of people are asking the same question. the wealthiest people are becoming much richer, middle class is declining, poverty is increasing. who decided? who are the people who have said that billionaires really need an extended tax break and a reduction in the estate tax? it is a very simple question that she is asking. it's a very profound question, because it speaks to what this country is all about. i didn't mean to interrupt the senator. ms. landrieu: no, and i thank the senator from vermont. i want to submit to the record this income and equality and great recession report from senator schumer and the joint economic committee. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. landrieu: thank you. but i want to go back to a point about this so that i'm not misunderstood. i guess no matter what i say, critics will take it and do what they will with it, but i am not against tax cuts. i voted for them in many times in my life. when we h

ms. landrieu: mr. president, may i ask consent of the first member on that list to speak for 30 seconds? thank you. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. ms. landrieu: thank you. mr. president, i was going to ask the minority leader, mitch mcconnell, who just insulted many of us by saying that we don't care about small business or the economy and as the chair of the small business committee, i was going to ask him this: since president obama has been in such good faith in the last couple of days negotiating with him this package, my question was, does he regret saying on national television that his number-one primary goal is to unseat the president? i was going to ask him how he felt about that. that's a tough place to start a negotiation, which is why some of us are interested in how these negotiations might be going with that as a startingpoint. but he ran off the floor and didn't answer that question. i will going to i am going to continue to ask it. thank you. l

ms. landrieu: mr. president, may i ask consent of the first member on that list to speak for 30 seconds? thank you. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. ms. landrieu: thank you. mr. president, i was going to ask the minority leader, mitch mcconnell, who just insulted many of us by saying that we don't care about small business or the economy and as the chair of the small business committee, i was going to ask him this: since president obama has been in such good faith in the last couple of days negotiating with him this package, my question was, does he regret saying on national television that his number-one primary goal is to unseat the president? i was going to ask him how he felt about that. that's a tough place to start a negotiation, which is why some of us are interested in how these negotiations might be going with that as a startingpoint. but he ran off the floor and didn't answer that question. i will going to i am going to continue to ask it. thank you. l

ms. landrieu: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: i see my good friend, senator demint, and i know he has time allocated to him. i also have eight and a half minutes left. i just want to make sure that i will be able to retain my eight and a half minutes. the presiding officer: the senator has seven minutes remaining. ms. landrieu: my seven minutes. i'd like to retain my seven minutes after senator demint speaks. mr. demint: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. demint: mr. president, i have an amendment at the desk, i believe. a motion -- a motion, excuse me. the presiding officer: the motion is pending. mr. demint: thank you, mr. president. in just a moment i'll move to suspend the rules for the purpose of offering my motion to permanently extend the current individual income tax rates, finally repeal the tax tax once and for all and permanently patch the alternative minimum tax. mr. president, i know a lot of work has gone into this tax compromise, and i appreciate the fact that both s