and we insist on burning all 30 hours postcloture. we add 30 days to the cloture petition, and 90-3 vote an 90 hours wasted time postcloture. why? because somebody insisted upon it. so now, all of a sudden, we're on the bill. well, last thursday and friday, i worked and senator reid worked and many others worked to see, we're on the bill, now can we figure out what kind of amendments will be offered. we had a discussion in the middle of the aisle with senator mcconnell, senator reid, senator martinez, and others, and we agreed to begin with amendments on each side. perhaps we started three and two and five amendments on the republican side and three amendments to start the process. so can you give us a list of the amendments? yes. we got a list of the amendments. five amendments on what is called the tarp program, troubled asset relief program. having nothing to do with this bill. we said, that's fine. you want to have five debates and votes on tarp, ok. so here are our three amendments, two of which had to do with studies and the oth

if we're required to use the full 30 hours of postcloture debate time the senate would proceed to the bill at approximately 6:15 tomorrow evening as i stated previously we expect to turn the consideration supplemental conference report when it becomes available. if there is no further business to come before the senate this evening, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. how is c-span funded? >> i have no clue. >> maybe government grants. >> advertising for products. >> public money i am sure. >> my taxes? >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private business as a tiff, no government money. now today's pentagon briefing with spokesman jeff morale, he spoke about the release of a report on a bombing raid in afghanistan in may that reportedly killed several civilians and efforts to enforce sanctions against north korea. this is a half-hour. >> good afternoon, sorry rollaway, i think with good reason. i have nothing to star

merkley: i ask consent that any recess time or morning business time count postcloture. the presiding officer: is there an objection? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. madam president, i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: madam president, i ask that the quorum call vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: madam president, during these tough economic times, american families expect and deserve that we will do everything we can to get the economy moving again. and of course, that involves investing in our country, investing in our infrastructure, involves getting our financial system in order, involves getting the credit moving again. but we should not forget that one out of eight americans is employed in the travel industry. i chair the subcommittee of commerce that deals with tourism issues and i've cosp

for the weekly caucus luncheons and the time for the adjournment or recess be counted postcloture with the matter before the senate, the tobacco legislation. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: tomorrow the senate will resume consideration of the tobacco legislation. tomorrow we will continue work through amendments. we have indicated from the very beginning that those amendments that argermane to the -- germane to the bill, we will be happy to work on those. roll call votes could occur throughout the day. if we're able to reach an agreement on the burr-hagan substitute amendment. senators will be notified when the individual votes will be scheduled. if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it be adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until with the federal mandated transition to digital television coming next week we will get a status report on how the fcc has prepared viewers for the change. with the commission's william lake, congressman joe barton, weta television station manager kevin harr

president, it's my understanding we're postcloture speaking on the nomination of harold koh to be legal advisor for the department of state. is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. mr. durbin: thank you. earlier today the senate voted to move forward with this nomination. 65 senators recognized the extraordinary qualifications mr. koh will bring to the state department. in the last few weeks some senators on the other side of the aisle have done everything they can to slow down the work of the senate, even going so far as to delay the consideration of the bill to promote tourism in america. a noncontroversial bill with 11 republican cosponsors but a bill that could get only two republican senators to support it when we asked to move it forward. untphorpbl, the same thing is happening with the -- unfortunately the same thing is happening with the nomination of mr. koh. this is a nomination that is noncontroversial. 65 supported going forward. yet the republicans are insisting, as they have the right to do under senate rules, that we delay for maybe up to 30 hours before

there were some questions raised as to whether or not that amendment would be permissible under a postcloture environment, from a parliamentary standpoint. and as i told my friend from north carolina, senator burr, that even though i disagree with his amendment, that i would vote against a point of order if one were raised it so he'd have a chance to make his case. his state is going to be affected by this decision we're making. as i recall, i think he's told me that there are some 12,000 to 15,000 tobacco farmers in north carolina. and these are hard-working families, many of whom have been in the business for generations. this will have an impact on th them. it may not be as dramatic as some would suggest, but certainty i it will have a negative impact if, in fact, we're successful in reduce the amount of smoking and use of tobacco smoking, particularly by young children. so i'm pleased that my colleague from north carolina has had a chance to make his case along with his colleague from north carolina, senator hagan. but i must say, and now having said i support his right to be here to be h

said oh, by the way, you can't proceed to it because then we're going to insist on the 30 hours postcloturement so you've got to wait 30 more. total, complete, thorough delay. and so it doesn't sit well with me for anybody to come here and to have say that somebody's being obstructive. the presiding officer: the majorities that expired. mr. dorgan: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that unless a member of the minority comes to claim time that i be allowed to continue. and if a member of the minority does come to the floor, i certainly would relinquish the time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: madam president, it doesn't wash at all for somebody to suggest somehow they have to vote against cloture because they were denied their right. over on that aisle on thursday, we had a discussion, senator reid, senator mcconnell, myself, senator martinez, and then back and forth in the cloakrooms, we offered amendments back and forth that -- just to get started on the bill. there wasn't a list that said here's the end-all. it said, let's just try get started. and all five of th

-- even though we have no obligation to do that, we'll have those amendments during the 30-hour postcloture time and dispose of them. i don't understand what the deal is here, mr. president. we've had -- this will be the 18th time we've had to file cloture this year. 18th time. and in spite of that, we've been able to get a lot of work done. but i do encourage republicans to join with us in moving this legislation forward. it's important. it's important for -- mr. president, i look around the floor here. virginia, nevada, arizona senators here, very important. tourism is very important. it will create jobs. it will cut our deficit. that's not a bad combination. and so i would encourage republicans to join on this important travel promotion bill and to ultimately pass it so we can create jobs here at home, help our economy recover and prosper once again. we know if we can get past this procedural hurdle, where we need 60 votes, all democrats will vote to move forward. that is the right thing to do. shouldn't we get at least the sponsors of the bill to join in? we haven't stopped the amendmen

and specifically an amendment that though nongermane postcloture, the majority leader has agreed to hold a vote on it. to me this will be one of the most important votes members in this body cast this year. let me say this again. i believe this is one of the most important votes members in the united states senate will cast this year. now, let me try to say. why this is a debate about the regulation of tobacco. and to start with members need to be reminded that this is not an industry without regulation today. this is the current chart of federal regulation of the tobacco industry before we do anything. and i might point out that included in that regulation -- regulatory structure is the department of transportation, department of treasury, department of commerce, the department of justice, the office of the president, the department of health and human services, the department of education, the department of labor, general services administration, the department of veterans' affairs, the federal trade commission, the department of agriculture, the environmental protection agency, the u.

following morning business, the senate will resume the motion to proceed to the travel promotion act, postcloture. following adoption of that motion to proceed to travel bill later this afternoon we'll turn to the consideration of the emergency supplemental appropriations conference report. mr. president, i'm disappointed that we are again wasting time on a heavily bipartisan bill, the travel promotion act. wide support by both the democrats and republicans. but the republicans forced us to have a vote on cloture to allow us to get on the bill. all the republicans voted for it. they're filibustering things that they even agree with, just to stall for time. now, mr. president, this is 30 hours we could use on a lot of good things. i don't know what would be the rationale for wasting this time. maybe they don't want president obama to complete more legislation through us. it's beyond my ability to comprehend why we would waste this time. now, mr. president, it's been written and talked about that this is the most accomplished congress since the first year of the roosevelt administration. now, mr. p

is ultimately he will have the votes to be confirmed here, but we have an opportunity now in the postcloture period to talk a little bit about this nominee. and i have to say, mr. president, that, again, this is an important position. if confirmed for this position, mr. koh would be "the" top lawyer at the state department and would be involved in the negotiation, the drafting, and the interpretation of treaties in u.n. security council resolutions. he would also represent the united states in other international negotiations, at international organizations and before the international court of justice. to put it very simply, mr. president, he would be viewed as the top legal authority for the united states by the international community. now, similar to judge sotomayor, mr. koh highlights a trend which i think we see in some of president obama's nominees. they have impressive backgrounds, they're -- but when their records are examined in more detail, there are substantive questions about their understanding of the constitution. for example, mr. koh has said repeatedly, including at his conf

some here on so many different issues and having cloture votes on everything and then 30 hours postcloture while we all stand around with our hands in our pockets, shuffling our exphiewz so on, my hope is that perhaps this is issue, this is the one time, this is the occasion where everybody might say, do you know something, there is something we agree on, that is noncontroversial, that makes sense, that creates jobs, that expands the economy and represents the best of sending american values abroad and that is the travel promotion act. if, perhaps, next week we get to that point, i think the american people will have believed that we've done something good. so i'm really pleased to be the lead sponsor. this is the -- we did this in the last congress, did not get it passed. this congress i believe we will. my comment -- my commendation to the majority leader and thank you for -- thank him for putting this on the agenda. my thanks to senator ensign an and -- and as the lead cosponse other the republican side, but so many -- lead cosponsor on the republican side, but so many other republicans

the presiding officer: we're in postcloture which requires debate on the pending matter. mr. enzi: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent i be allowed to speak as if in morning business for such time as i might consume. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. enzi: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to speak on the need to reform our nation's health care system. if we're to be successful we must undertake this effort with the greatest of care and deliberation. when it comes to health care reform we've started down this road before. last congress i proposed legislation called ten steps to transform health care in america in an effort to provide a blueprint from which we could begin to address the challenge of improving our health care system. i might mention that the way that came about is that senator kennedy was the chairman of thee health, education, labor and pensions committee and i was ranking member and he and i worked together on a number of bills. in fact, have quite a record for being able to work in a bipartisan way to get bills completed. we

now we have 30 hours postcloture that we have to wait until we can then have another vote on the cloture -- whether we get to the bill and then have another cleche petition to fight cloture. it is the most unbelievable byzantine example of how this place has just sort of fallen off the rails, requiring cloture petitions to be filed on things that then get a 90-3 vote and then a requirement that we have to spend the next 30 hours waiting until we can actually get to the bill. unbelievable. but it's an example of what has happened here, and the minority is requiring this of every single piece of legislation. it is a way to require the senate to walk through wet cement and just make almost no progress at all, and i guess when you get nothing done and then be able to boast that nothing has happened. maybe some people feel good t doesn't make me feel very good. but having complained about this now, let me at least describe what this bill is and we will get to the bill this week. it'll take a difficult route to get there. judging by the 90-3 vote, i assume ultimately when the united states sen

we've wasted 60 hours on two postcloture time blocks. during that period of time we could have moved to appropriations bills. we could have moved to the many things -- i have senators come to me. there is a bipartisan bill. kerry has worked with senator kyl dealing with pakistan. it's essential that we do that. but because of what's going on here on the senate floor with republicans stalling, we can't get to that. i've been asked why democrats and republicans, to do something about drug re-importation. we don't have time to go to it because of the stalling. senate g.o.p. still just saying "no." they complain about the government being inefficient. the only inefficiency i see in washington today is the republican caucus in the house and the senate. again our health care system is in serious distress, and serious problems deserve serious efforts by serious legislators to develop serious solutions. that's why we're committed to lowering the high cost of health care, ensuring every american has access to quality, affordable care and letting

president, i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time be yielded back except for 30 minutes, and that tienl divided as follows: 10 minutes for senator kerry, if you count the time he's already used. you need more time? okay. i just have people -- you know how they call thursday afternoon wanting to leave. 10 minutes each: senator kerry, 10 minutes for senator cornyn, 010 minutes for senator coburn. each 10 minutes. or their designees. upon the united states or yielding back of time, the senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nomination. upon confirmation, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative sessionment. mr. president -- yes? the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. kerry: mr. president, reserving the right to objec object ... mr. reid: i would ask to modify the consent agreement. that until 10, 10, 10, senator kerry be given 15 minutes and senator cornyn be given 15 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that upo

consent to speak as if in morning business for up to 20 minutes, with the time counting towards the postcloture debate time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: madam president, i intend to speak on three subjects. one dealing with the metrorail tragedy that occurred on monday night. the second that dealed with the need to pass the matthew shepherd hate crime prevention act, and, third, to talk about health care reform. and i would ask that each of these statements appear separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the tragic collision of two metro trains this past monday evening. this accident, the most devastating by any measure in metro's history, has affected our entire region. my prayers are with those who lost their lives and my deepest sympathies are with their families, friends and all those loved ones that they touched. i also want to take a moment to praise the first responders who worked

the vast majority of the amendments would be germane postcloture and i've even indicated that those are arguably germane. that i would be willing to work with the person that offered the amendment to have a vote on it. but one senator has held this up. that's the way things can happen around here. it's unfortunate, but it does happen. we've worked for a couple of days to arrive at the point we are. and the sad part about it is that the senator that has held all of this up has an amendment that isn't remotelyier -- isn't remotely germane to this bill, but has lodged an objection to this agreement that is agreeable by all other senators. i would hope that the senator would reconsider this objection over the next few days. in the mean time, i've had conversations with the managers of the bill. i've spent a lot of time with senator dodd. this is an important piece of legislation. the presiding officer, i watched her offer her speech today. what a sad thing the man that you talked about -- a picture's worth a thousand words, the picture that you had in talking about this bill, how important