the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that we return to legislative session from executive session we're now in. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 74, h.r. 2751. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 74, h.r. 2751, an act to accelerate motor fuel savings nationwide and provide incentives to registered owners and so forth. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask consent that the text at 510 pass the senate and modified with the changes at the -- the bill as amended be read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: is a question on passage of the bill? the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. mr. reid: aye. the presiding officer: all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. , the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. reid: i ask consent that the title amendment at the desk be considered agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the ta

reid: mr. president, i ask consent that the text at 510 pass the senate and modified with the changes at the -- the bill as amended be read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: is a question on passage of the bill? the presiding officer: all those in favor say aye. mr. reid: aye. the presiding officer: all those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. , the ayes do have it.

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask -- first of all, if we could have order. the presiding officer: the members of the senate please take their seats, clear the aisles. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: all consent agreements that i've been involved in over the years have been imperfect but this is the best we could do and i think it's a pretty good one. so i would ask unanimous consent that at 3:00 p.m. today, all postcloture time be considered expired and the reid motion to concur with the amendments be withdrawn and that no further amendments or motions be in order and without further intervening action or debate, the senate proceed to vote on the reid motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 2965. that upon disposition of the house message, the senate then resume executive session and the start treaty -- resume executive session on the start treaty and

the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 662, s. 3991, public safety employer and kpwhr employer cooperation act -- employer cooperation act. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance of the provisions of rule 22, hereby move to bring to a close debate on calendar number 662, s. 3991, the public safety employer-employee cooperation act of 2009. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i now withdraw that motion. the presiding officer: the motion is withdrawn. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 695, s. 395, emergency senior citizens relief act and i have a cloture motion at the desk referencing that matter. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we t

reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, we were under the -- members on both sides anticipated tonight my filing cloture on the spending bill that would take us through next year. everyone knows we're operating under a continuing resolution now that expires saturday night. midnight. senator inouye has worked so very, very hard for the entire year, working on a bipartisan agreement and a bipartisan -- in a bipartisan manner to put together a bill that will responsibly fund our government for the next fiscal year. he hasn't done this as king. he's done it working with democrats and republicans. senator cochran has been in all the efforts that senator inouye has made. the product was filed a few days ago. the overall spending level on that bill was suspected by 40 republicans earlier this year. in addition, the bill contains priorities for members,

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: could the chair advise me how long was taken in this last quorum call? the presiding officer: seven minutes. mr. reid: i would ask unanimous consent that the time for debate continue to be 45 minutes on each side, and the vote as to the previous order would begin as outlined in the previous order, but the time that i took speaking to -- what i had to speak to would not count against the 90 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent to resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that prior to any of the succeeding votes, there be two minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form. further, that the first vote and succeeding votes be limited to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the senate is now in a period of morning business, with senators permitted to speak for periods of up to ten minutes ea

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 4853 with an amendment, and that amendment is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment with an amendment numbered 4727. mr. reid: mr. president, on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: thank you. i have a cloture motion which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to h.r. 4853, the airport, airway extension act of 2010, with an amendment, signed by 17 senators. mr. reid: mr. president, i apol

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: mr. majority leader. reid: following morning business -- i'm sorry. following any leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the house message to h.r. 4853, which is the legislative vehicle for the tax cut extensions. under a time agreement there, up to two hours of debate prior to a cloture vote on the motion to conditioconcur on the baucus am. if the cloture is not invoked, the senate will proceed to a cloture vet on the schumer amendment. senators should expect the cloture vote to occur at 10:30 to amendment. senator schumer will control the time on his amendment. senator baucus will control the time on his amendment. they will each have 30 minutes. mr. president, s. 4006 is at the desk. it's due for its second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 4006, a bill to provide the for the use of unobligated discretionary stimulus dollars to address aids drug assistance program, waiting list and other cost containment measures, impact and state adep programs. mr. re

mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on the motion to proceed to h.r. 847. the presiding officer: the motion is entered. mr. reid: madam president, for the benefit of senators, we're working through -- i've had a number of discussions with the republican leader. we hope that we can very quickly lay down the tax bill. mr. mcconnell: in that regard, it's my understanding it's complete and ready and actually -- we could move to that very soon in the next hour or so. mr. reid: madam president, the chairman of the armed services committee gave a speech here on the floor. i have such admiration and respect for senator levin. he does a wonderful job of protecting america in so many different ways, not only chairman of that important committee on armed services, but the committee on investigations and the other things he does. but he gave a speech here today saying if we don't get on the defense bill today, we won't get it done this year. so in the nex

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we're going to have one more vote tonight on -- the presiding officer: the senate would be in order for the majority leader. mr. reid: we're going to have one more vote tonight on the circuit judge. it's my understanding the district judge would go by voice. tomorrow we're going to -- first of all, tonight anyone that wants to work on the start treaty, the two managers of the bill, senator kerry and senator lugar, have said they're here as long as people want to work on this. we're going to come in at 10:00 in the morning. we'll work from 10:00 until 2:00 here on the start treaty and then the -- a number of senators want to have a closed session. we'll do that in the old senate chamber. that place has already been cleared by the security folks. so we'll start that at 2:00 and go as long as necessary there and come back tomorrow evening and continue working on the start treaty. we have very few things left to do. the republican leader and i and our staffs have worked throughout th

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: senators should be prepared to be in the chamber throughout the day on the impeachment of -- impeachment trial of g. thomas porteous jr. at 12:30 the senate will proceed to morning business with senator lemieux permitted to speak up to 15 minutes. following his remark senate will recess until 2:30 p.m. for caucus. there may be another live quorum at 5:30 to begin the closed session deliberations. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. inouye: the quorum is present. under the previous order, the hour of 10:12 having arrived and a quorum having been established, the senate will resume its consideration of the articles of impeachment against judge g. thomas porteous jr. the house managers and judge porteous and counsel will please make their entry before the proclamati

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks there will be a period of morning business. senators will be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each during that time. republicans will control the first 30 minutes. the majority will control the final 30 minutes. we're going to recess from 12:30 until 3:30 today to allow for a caucus the democrats are having. mr. president, there are two bills at the desk due for second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 3991, a bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or their political subdivisions. s. 3992, a bill to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term united states residents and who entered the united states as children, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i would object to any further proceedings with respect to these two bills. the pre

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the leader. mr. reid: i would ask unanimous consent that we go into a period of morning business until 6:30 tonight, that senators be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. pryor: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: and i ask unanimous consent to address the house for up to five minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i -- i just stand here amazed at what just happened in the united states senate, although i probably shouldn't be. i stand here amazed because in this economic times -- in these economic times when senior citizens from -

the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: part of that agreement is today will be for debate only. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: is there objection? the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: reserving the right to object and i'm certainly not going to object. there was some suggestion that some on this side of the aisle wanted to read the treaty. our view is that is not essential. we encourage our members, i know that senator lugar is here, senator kyl who has been deeplile involved in this issue, we would encourage them to begin the debate on the treaty. mr. reid: mr. president, also, if i could respond to my friend, i know that senator lugar has spent lots of time on this treaty, as has senator kyl, as has senator kerry and others, and everyone will be very generous with time. if senator lugar, who is one of the wiz regards of foreign -- wizards of foreign policy in the history of our country, he needs more time. no one will

quorum call: the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorl be terminated. is every without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i move to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 4853 with the reid-mcconnell amendment number 4753 and that amendment be considered read. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada moves to condition occur in the house amendment to the senate amendment with an amendment numbered 4753 to h.r. 4853. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that, mr. president. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered4754 to amendment numbered 4753. mr. reid: i ask the reading be waived of that amendment.

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. reid: mr. president, i'll use leader time. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, i say to people in the united states senate and to the american public, to hear my friend, the distinguished republican leader, talk about our having done things procedurally brings a big yawn to the american people. everyone knows how we have been stymied, stopped and stunned by the procedural roadblocks of this republican minority. so, mr. president, we're where we are today. we're where we are today. number one, we

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: mr. majority leader. mr. reid: we have a piece of legislation that passed last night in the house of representatives. i received a call last night, i guess it was around 9:30, 10:00, from both the majority leader and the speaker that the so-called dream act had passed in the house. that changes things over here. it changes things because we had been toiling on this for a long time and it -- now that it's passed the house, the way to proceed would be to have a vote on that matter because if we're able to pass it, it goes directly to the president. having said that, i think it would be really futile for us to have a vote on a motion to invoke cloture on a bill that we know won't matter. so what we'll do is i'm going to ask consent to vitiate the vote and to schedule it for 11:00 on the dream act and that just to alert everyone we have not given up on the dream act. quite the opposite. it having passed the house, gives us more energy to move forward on this most important piece of legislation

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, if any, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the new start treaty. the treaty is open to amendments. senators are encouraged to come to the floor to offer and debate their amendments, or to make statements regarding this most important piece of legislation. i'd like to begin today on having votes on the amendments amendments -- amendment that has been filed. as a reminder, last night, i filed cloture with respect to the house messages on the "dream" act and the don't ask, don't tell repeal. the first cloture vote will occur tomorrow morning fairly early. if cloture is not invoked on the "dream" act, the senate would proceed immediately to a cloture vote on the don't ask, don't tell repeal. senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled. mr. president, i have a matter that i believe is at the desk, s.j. res. 42. i think it's due for a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s.

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i'm meeting and having conversation with the republican leader to see if we can come to an agreement on the c.r. there are a few issues but nothing that we shouldn't be able to work through. following any leader remarks, the senate will resume executive session to resume consideration of the new start treaty. we have three hours of debate with respect to the risch amendment, the time divided, one hour under the control of senator kerry or his designee, two hours under the control of senator risch or his designee. no amendments in order to this amendment. at approximately 3:00 p.m. today, the senate will proceed to a series of three roll call votes. the risch amendment will be voted on. that's amendment number 4839. confirmation of a circuit court judge for the second circuit, raymond j.laher, and confirmation of a district judge in mississippi, carlton refuses. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. the clerk will call the roll. quor

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks there will be a period of morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. last night i filed cloture votes on two tax cuts amendments. those votes are expected to occur tomorrow. senators will be notified as to when these votes will be scheduled. i have not had the opportunity to meet with the republican leader. we'll do that and try to set up votes for as convenient a time as possible. mr. president, i hoped we would be able todom an agreement with republicans -- to come to an agreement to hold votes today on taxes for middle-class families. but the republicans wouldn't agree. democrats priorities are very clear, protecting middle-class families every way we can. tomorrow's votes will show where the republican priorities are and where ours are. those votes will clearly demonstrate who supports the middle class, and that includes every senator. the minority can spin any way that want what's taken place the last 24 hours. th

mr. reid: we need to stay here until we finish. mr. mcconnell: yeah. mr. president? mr. reid: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: over the past few years, the american people have been engaged in a great national debate about the proper role of government. this debate is as old as our nation itself, but it has re-emerged with new intensity amidst a prolonged economic downturn that continues to affect millions of americans. on the one side are those who argue that the solution to our present troubles lies in giving more to washington. they say that if only washington had more power, we could have averted these challenges altogether, and that the only way to get us out of this and to put us on stronger economic footing is to hand over more of our freedoms and more of our paychecks to washington. on the other side of this debate are those who say that in order for individuals to prosper and move up the economic ladder, they must be free to take risks, they must be free to fail. they argue for government limits and restraint and for making as many decisions as possible clos

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we proceed to a pored of morning business. promise without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent on wednesday december 8, upon the conclusion of the impeachment trial senate stand in recess upon call of the chair. the senate then proceed to calendar number 661 and the time until 12:30 be controlled between the leaders or their designees. at 12:30 senate stand in recess until 3:30 p.m. upon reconvening there be an additional 30 minutes of debate divided as specified upon. upon the use or yielding back of time the senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to calendar number 6616789 further -- 661. if there are back to back votes, there will be four minutes of debate divided and controlled in the usual form prior to each vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent we now proceed to calendar number 673. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the cle

reid: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: without objection, the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: we're in a position now, we don't have the consent agreement completely fixed, but we know what we're going to do. we're going to have three votes, three different amendments. it will be a half-hour debate on each amendment. so we likely will have another series of votes at 8:15 or thereabouts tonight. we'll have -- senator kerry will offer a consent agreement to that effect very shortly. in the meantime, we can start debating one of the amendments. mr. kerry: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: mr. president, i understand there will be three amendments that we'll proceed with. two will be by senator kyl and one by senator wicker. i believe senator wicker is prepared to call up his amendment at this point. i think we're going to proceed -- i would ask unanimous consent that on each amendment there be a half-hour equally divided -- no, hold it. okay. mr. pr

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? he presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we'll continue on the tax bill, h.r. 4853. postcloture time will expire tonight at 12:30 a.m. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 today for weekly caucus luncheons. we also have a number of senators organized today to give their final speeches. we look forward to hearing from senator bond at 11:30 today to deliver his farewell speech. senator judd gregg will deliver his speech at 2:15 p.m. senator harkin will be speaking at 3:15 p.m. for up to 45 minutes. senator kirk will deliver his maiden speech at 5:00 p.m. today. senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled. i have spoken to the republican leader and we're going to try to work this out so we don't have to be in until 12:30 today and can move to other matters. we will keep senators advised as to what the exact schedule will be. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume conside

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: there be no amendments amendments -- mr. kyl: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader has the floor. mr. reid: let me finish my consent agreement here. if some don't like it, we can worry about that. i ask consent that we're going to vote on thune. that will be a 10-minute vote. that's number 4841. that following that, we consider the lemieux amendment number 4847. prior to the vote, there be four minutes of debate equally divided and controlled in the usual form. that is, of course, with the thune amendment and the lemieux amendment. that upon the use or yielding back of the time, the senate then proceed to vote in relation to the lemieux amendment with no amendment in order to the amendment prior to the vote. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. reid: i would also say, madam president, that that will very likely be the last vote tonight. i have had a conversation with senator kyl and senator kerry. they are going to meet early in the morning to see if there is a way that we can work through som

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. reid: mr. president, i'll use leader time. the presiding officer: the majority leader i recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, i say to people in the united states senate and to the american public, to hear my friend, the distinguished republican leader, talk about our having done things procedurally brings a big yawn to the american people. everyone knows how we have been stymied, stopped and stunned by the procedural roadblocks of this republican minority. so, mr. president, we're where we are today. we're where we are today. number one, we have, nearing the end of this congressional session there is a continuing resolution that's been prepared by senator inouye and senator cochran, something that i don't re like, but it's been done because we have to do this. and we'll finish that in the immediate future. mr. president, i'm going to speak just briefly on don't ask, don't tell. but to suggest that there hasn't been hearings, adequate hearings on this is just simply nonsensical. senator levin has held two days of hearings in the

reid: mr. president? mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: could we have order, please. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. if we could clear the aisles and any conversation into the back. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: if i could have the attention of the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: as always happens, there's always bumps in the road here in the senate, most of which we don't foresee. we have scheduled now four votes. we're going to move to the next one as soon as we can. the house of representatives is in the process of voting on their don't ask -- sorry. wrong problem. on the "dream" act. and they're going to do that, but they may not get to it for a couple of hours. i need to have them finish their vote before we vote over here. so, having said that, we may be in a little down time here after we finish this vote for a couple of hours, or whenever we can get to it, but i have to have that vote complete

mr. president. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, i have, on many occasions, spoken of my afection of my friend chris dodd. that the caucus today, the presiding officer was there, i indicated that very few people have had the opportunity and the challenges in a single congress as chris dodd has. he found himself chairman of the banking committee at a time when the country was collapsing and the banks were collapsing but yet he led the way, to working with a republican president to do the so-called tarp. it was something that was done on a bipartisan basis. there was never a better example in my entire government career of a more cooperative group of senators, democrats and republicans, house and the senate working together to create something that was badly needed. and then we had -- of course there are many other issues dealing with wall street reform -- and then to complicate his life and add to the challenges in his life, the best friend a man could ever have was chris dod

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: would my friend yield for a unanimous consent request? mr. harkin: absolutely. always glad to yield to my leader. mr. reid: skilled that the record not show the intription -- i would ask that the report not show the interruption. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time be considered expired when the senate resumes consideration of the house message with respect to h.r. 4853 on wednesday, december 15. except for the time provided for under this agreement. the senate resume the house message at 11:00 a.m. wednesday and there be one hour remaining for debate divided as follows: 10 minutes for the majority -- under the control of the majority and republican leaders or their designees, senator demint, coburn, landrieu and sanders, that the following be -- that the following be the only motions to suspend the rules in order during the duration of this agreement: coburn motion to suspend with respect to amendment number 4765, demint motion to suspend with respec

reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the leader -- mr. schumer: i yield to my leader. mr. reid: would my friend, the distinguished senator from new york, allow an interruption for a unanimous consent request. mr. schumer: without any objection from. reid riled scw that his statement not p interrupted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i have been in touch with senator mcconnell and i know that he is asking this unanimous consent agreement. i ask that at 10:30 tomorrow morning, the senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the reid amendment with the baucus amendment number 4727 with the time until -- with the time from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the leaders h.r. other designees. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president, this is a time that virtually no one is happy with. someone wanted it late, someone wanted it earlly. as i indicated to lula davis, we split it in half. this is the best we can do. we're going to make as many people happy as we can. so

mr. president, i yield back the balance of my time. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: mr. majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the call. quorum be terminated. officer without objection. mr. reid: i have three statements that i am going to make, one regarding senator speck tearings one blanche lincoln and i'm going to do another one regarding russ feingold and i ask unanimous consent that they appear separately in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: thank you very much. ask anyone in this body for one word to vims allen specter, i think the word that would come up most often is he is real estate a real fighter. he fought to defend our nation in korea. he fought crime in the streets of philadelphia as the district attorney. he's fought cancer and won three times. and he's fought for pennsylvania every day he served with us here in the united states senate. senator specter has witnessed three decades of progress in washington. he's a man who has risen above party lines to demonstrate his

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks there will be a period of morning business for senators. they'll be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the majority will control the first 30 minutes. republicans will control the next 30 minutes. we'll be in recess again today from 12:30 until 3:30 to allow for a democratic caucus. yesterday the house sent awes two-week continuation resolution. we need to act on that funding bill before the current continuing resolution expires on tomorrow. i'll continue to work with the republican leader on a time for its consideration. we have other matters. i have touched with my caucus, the republican leader and the white house to try to move toward completing business here before business. would the chair announce morning business? the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, there will now be a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each w

mr. reid: thank you again, mr. president. rule xi provides that the senate's receipt of evidence reported by the committee is subject to the senate's right to determine competency, relevancy and materiality. further, rule xi explicitly provides that nothing in it prevents the senate from sending for any witness and hearing that witness's testimony in open senate, or by order of the senate having the entire trial before the full senate. i would ask the presiding officer advise the senate whether, following the report of the committee, any motions have been filed asking that any witnesses be heard in open senate? the president pro tempore: in response to the majority leader, neither party, following the report of the committee, ha moved that any witnesses be called in open senate and the senate may now proceed to hear final arguments on the basis of the record reported by its committee. and the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, the parties have filed their final written briefs, and the senate is now ready

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following the remarks of senator mcconnell and myself, we'll be in a period of morning business until 11:00 a.m., with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. at 10:00 this morning, senator bayh will deliver his farewell remarks to the senate. at 10:30 a.m., senator voinovich will deliver his. mr. president, i spoke yesterday about senator bayh, what an outstanding person he is and how much we'll miss him. i will have something to say in a few minutes about senator voinovich. at 11:00 a.m. today, the senate will resume consideration of the house message with respect to h.r. 4853, the vehicle for the tax compromise. there will be one hour for debate prior to a series of up to four roll call votes. there will be votes on three motion toss suspend the rule 22, and the last vote will be on a motion to concur with the reed-mcconnell amendment. following a series of votes, the senate will resume morning busin

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks if any the senate will return to a period of morning business with senator sanders of vermont to be recognized for -- to speak for whatever time he feels appropriate. there will be no roll call votes during today's session of senate. the next vote will be at 3:00 p.m. on the motion to invoke cloture. as i announced last night that will be held open longer for usual to allow senators to make that most important vote. i have nothing further, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. the senate will now be in a period of morning business. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from the commonwealth of pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, this month the obama administration will submit its review of the war in afganistan. i expect, and i think a number of members of congress expect that this review will provide answers to the key questions before us. t

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, if any, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider a new start treaty. roll call votes are expected to occur throughout the day in relation to amendments to the treaty. the two managers of this bill, senator kerry and senator lugar, are some of the most experienced members, and they will do an outstanding job of managing this legislation. the current continuing resolution expires saturday at midnight, so we need to take action to consider a funding resolution sometime in the next few days. just an update on the schedule. the tax package which we passed yesterday is now in the house. they're going to consider that very likely today. we have the omnibus or the continuing resolution that we have to deal with in the near future, because as i have indicated the funding expires before -- at midnight on saturday. the "dream" act is something we need to work on. it's an extremely important piece of le

the president pro tempore: do you have anymore questions? the chair recognizes the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i move that pursuant to impeachment rule xx the senate now close its doors to commence deliberations on the motions and impeachment articles and ask unanimous consent that floor privileges during the closed session be granted to the individuals listed on the document i now send to the desk. [list] the president pro tempore: without objection, the senate will now close its doors and only members and staff granted floor privileges may remain. the sergeant at arms will ensure the chamber, the galleries, and the adjoining corridors are cleared of unauthorized persons? >>> welcome back this afternoon to the center of american progress and welcome this afternoon's program on the u.s.-china dialogue. a view of the senate foreign relations committee. our featured speaker, senator john kerry of massachusetts will be formally introduced in just a moment. today's program with senator kerry is the third in a public series on u.s.-china relations that included the deputy secretary

inouye, president pro tempore. ao mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks the senate will proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the new start treaty. we have two amendments now pending to the treaty, the thune amendment regarding delivery vehicles and the inhofe amendment dealing with inspections. we hope to vote in relation to the thune amendment between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m. today and dispose of the inhofe amendment later this afternoon. at 1:30 the senate will recess and reconvene at 2:00 p.m. in closed session in the old senate chamber. following closed session the senate will reconvene in open session in the senate chamber. we are going to be out of session for that one half-hour period of time, mr. president, to allow this, final sweeps so this will be completed. as a reminder last night, cloture was filed on the continuing resolution and the start treaty. a cloture vote on the continuing resolution will occur at a time to be determined tomorrow morning. we

the president pro tempore: do you have anymore questions? the chair recognizes the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i move that pursuant to impeachment rule xx the senate now close its doors to commence deliberations on the motions and impeachment articles and ask unanimous consent that floor privileges during the closed session be granted to the individuals listed on the document i now send to the desk. [list] the president pro tempore: without objection, the senate will now close its doors and only members and staff granted floor privileges may remain. the sergeant at arms will ensure the chamber, the galleries, and the adjoining corridors are the adjoining corridors are >> we're going to show you part of judge porteuos's trial shortly. senate majority leader harry reed said the deal to expand the tax cuts is something that's not done yet and said it needs more work. he spoke for 5 minutes following the senate lunch for party senators. >> this is not an arrangement, but we understand the president is negotiating and are ready to risk everything to secure tax cuts for the wealthies

the president pro tempore: do you have anymore questions? the chair recognizes the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i move that pursuant to impeachment rule xx the senate now close its doors to commence deliberations on the motions and impeachment articles and ask unanimous consent that floor privileges during the closed session be granted to the individuals listed on the document i now send to the desk. [list] the president pro tempore: without objection, the senate will now close its doors and only members and staff granted floor privileges may remain. the sergeant at arms will ensure the chamber, the galleries, and the adjoining corridors are cleared of unauthorized persons. >> he became acting president of poland this is the first visit to washington as president. it has already been a success. this has become a positive meeting. i want to give the stage to him. thank you for coming to gmf and deliver the first address. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen. it is always so nice to be welcomed in such a way we believe many times, we have been able to achieve the post popular goals

the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i ask now, mr. resident, as if in legislative session that we end in morning business. i ask consent the committee on commerce be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 81 and we proceed to it right now. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 81, an act to amend the high seas driftnet fishing moratorium protection act and the magnuson-stevens fishery conservation and management act to improve the conservation of sharks. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed with act. mr. reid: that being the case, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the kerry-snowe amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. that any statements relate to go this matter appear at the appropriate place in the record as if given. the presiding officer: without objection. it is so ordered. mr. reid: it is my understanding, mr. president, the hour o

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. following leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business, there will be no roll call votes during today's session. senators are inkiewrnlgd to be on the -- encouraged to be on the floor tomorrow for a live quorum for an impeachment trial of judge g. thomas porteous. mr. president, as far as lame-duck sessions, our agenda is rather ambitious and the session itself is relatively long. it didn't have to be this way. we've tried many ways in this congress to tackle each of the priorities on our agenda. each time we tried the majority has tried to shut down the senate. republicans have ground the senate to a halt with hours of endless inactivity. that's why we were here on saturday. thank goodness it wasn't on sunday. that's why we'll be here another few weeks. we have a long to-do list. these are not leftovers, they're critical to our economy, national security, to our families and our country's future and we will resolve them before we adjourn. we have to give first responder

mr. president, mr. president, mr. vice-president, leaders reidll, bishop grove, so many friends of senator byrd who are gathered here, i am so pleased to join my colleagues from west virginia. mr. rahall, who is a chairman and a great leader in the congress that the united states. congressman alan mollohan, who is a chairman as well. shelley moore capito. i am pleased to be with them, as well as our delegation and the house of representatives, led by our leader steny hoyer in the house. [applause] i bring, as speaker of the house, i sadly have the privilege of bringing the condolences of the house of representatives to marjorie and to mona and the entire out byrd family. as a friend of senator byrd, i do so with great sadness. but happily, thanks to the byrd family, some of us had the opportunity to sing senator byrd's praises in his presence in december, when he became the longest serving member of congress in american history. [cheers and applause] i noticed it then that senator byrd's congressional service began in the house of representatives

reid had gone to the white house. the president said we've got a deal. we've got the 60th vote for health care. we just have to do a trigger. harry reid said, i can get it, mrnt, rolled his eyes and let him go. of course that blew up. in this case you've got the president telling democrats we're going to pass the tax cut. you get the feeling he told harry reid last night to back off the $1.1 trillion bill. it seems like this white house is firmly taking control of the reins in washington. finally. >> it's a two-way street. congressional democrats are going ahead and almost ceding the turf. you're right about the bill. they didn't want to sign it. yesterday it was interesting theater, secretary gates and clinton up there doing a briefing on the afghanistan rerue. there was a question about the spending bill, the so-called omnibus, apology for the washington speak there. robert gibbs said let me let secretary gates take this question. gates makes this passionate plea for them to pass this bill saying it's going to hurt the defense department. a continuing resolution is not good, will cost them money in the long run, does all of this. but you're right, behind

presiding officer: is there objection? mr. barrasso: i would be happy, mr. president, to read the entire letter that was sent to senator reid if there is some question as to exactly what was in that letter. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: my question is very simple. you said you wanted to prevent a tax hike on every american. hypothetically, if we prevented a tax hike on every american except the small number whose income was over a million dollars last year, would my colleague and his colleagues continue to block efforts to do any other piece of legislation? mr. barrasso: mr. president, i'm not going to answer a hypothetical. what i will tell you is that we did send a letter to -- to leader reid, and i would be happy to go through the entire letter at this point. it said "dear leader reid, the nation's unemployment level stuck near 10% is unacceptable to americans. senate republicans have been urging congress to make private sector job creation a priority all year. president obama in his first speech after the november election said we owe it to the american people to focus on those issues that affec

mr. president, with that i'd like to ask unanimous consent that the letter to senator reid that i just referenced appear in the record at this point. the presiding officer: without ms. stabenow: thank you. mr. president, as we come to the end of the year and the end of the session, i want to talk about what is really happening here for the american people, for small businesses, what's happening here in terms of the senate and what's really at stake as we come to the end of the year for american families, folks that are struggling every day, people trying to keep in the middle class, get into the middle class, small businesses trying to keep their heads above water, as well as our manufacturerses and so on. and it is exstriewmly concerning to me that -- and it is extremely concerning to me that colleagues on the other side of the aisle -- they've written a letter to the leader today -- they are willing to risk everything in order to get a bonus round of tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. they are literally willing to stop everything, risk everything in the economy in order to get an extra

president obama are getting some much needed r and r. mr. obama has landed in hawaii this morning to be with his family. cbs news chief white house correspondent chip reideling with the president has the latest. good morning, chip. >> good morning, betty. they call it a lame-duck session of congress, and the president was expected to limp through it. in fact, though, he raised through it with a series of legislative victories, then celebrated with a victory lap. >> this has been a season of progress for the american people. >> reporter: the president reveled in the accomplishments of the so-called lame duck congress that turned out to be anything but lame. >> i think it's fair to say that this has been the most productive post-election period we've had in decades. and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we've had in generations. >> reporter: he praised the senate for ratifying the s.t.a.r.t. nuclear arms, 13 republicans despite fierce opposition of republican leaders. >> the strong bipartisan vote in the senate sends a powerful signal to the world that republicans and democrats stand together on behalf of our security. >> reporte

fight as hard as i can against president obama on these earmarks and my republican colleagues who hate to vote for them but love to get them. >> this before air tonight. mr. reid blinked, as we told you earlier. said he wouldcconnell on a temporary spending extension. joining us now, howard fine man, senior political editor of the huffington post. the continuing resolution they'll work on essentially means the new congress, the republican house and almost republican senate get to write the 2011 budget. is that correct? what are the implications? >> that is correct. the main headline is that the tea party's in control, at least for now in the senate. what happened here is that they took down the bill with all the earmarks in it. harry reid can wave the copy of the constitution. mitch mcconnell can defend him or not defend him. because the republican leadership was blind-sided by tea party anger about the tax bill, they were determined to get out ahead of this. mitch mcconnell who could have cut a deal with harry reid couldn't deliver the votes this time. reid said the nine republicans who promised to vote in a way which allowed that omnibus bill which contained