senator schatz. mr. schatz: mr. president? commonsense solutions to the threat of climate change are everywhere. we've been talking a lot about the risks of climate change, but let's talk a little bit about the opportunities. the opportunities to fight climate change, to transform how we produce and consume energy, and to grow a clean energy economy. we know what we need to do. we also know how to do it. congress may not enact comprehensive climate legislation this year but it can still take action to make a difference. as i see it, we have an opportunity for common ground in three areas: energy efficiency, tax incentives, and innovate financing structures to promote clean energy deployment. perhaps the greatest opportunity for compromise is in energy efficiency, the commonsense idea that we ought to save money and reduce pollution at the same time by simply consuming less energy to perform the same tasks. senators shaheen and portman have taken this up and are writing excellent legislation to improve and enhance energy effici

joining us now to discuss is paul schatz, he's president of heritage capital. good to have you with us. >> thanks for having me. >> a lot of the investment folks we've been talking to say now that the fed has signalled it may dial back on stimulus, the focus is going to shift more and more to business fundamentals. what companies are able to grow profits and revenues and which are not. do you agree with that? >> the answer is yes, i think it's a short term focus, tyler. first of all, there's really a vacuum of news right now, earnings are going to start next week. we're going to be focused on them until we're not. that's probably only a couple weeks at best. >> what can we expect out of this earnings season. what will ceo's be telling us about their earnings and revenues? >> i think it's really more of the same. people are craving for top line growth. they're not getting it, they're making the numbers on the bottom line, the top line growth is not there. i think that has somewhat of a longer drag on the market. i think it remains a long term drag. equities are

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable brian schatz, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of senator mcconnell, there will be a period of morning business until 11:00 a.m. with the first 30 minutes controlled by the majority and the second 30 by the republicans. following that morning business, senate will resume consideration of s. 1243, which is the transportation appropriations bill. senator murray will continue to work through the amendments with susan collins, the ranking member from maine. we hope to vote on confirmation of the west nomination today to be associate attorney general. senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. mr. president, about 80 years ago when president franklin roosevelt first proposed social security as an insurance against poverty in oldagers the idea was controversial. it was new, never been done before, no

senator leahy, senator wyden, senator whitehouse, senator gillibrand, senator blumenthal, senator schatz, senatorrer murphy and senator hirono for their support for this amendment. madam president, i also want to thank the largest educational organization in america, the national educational association, for their support of this amendment and thank the american federation of teachers for their support of this amendment. madam president, the truth of the matter is that if the bill on the floor is passed without amendment, it would be a disaster for the young people of our country who are looking forward to go to college and for the parents who are helping them pay their bills. the job of the united states congress, it seems to me, is to improve upon the dismal situation we face today in terms of student indebtedness and college affordability. these are major crises in this country. millions of kids leaving school deeply in debt. parents borrowing at high interest rates to send their kids to college. we have a crisis. this bill makes a bad situation worse, not better. madam president, i a

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable brian schatz,, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president, i move to proceed to calendar number 99 which is the transportation appropriations bill. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 99, s. 1243, a bill making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, tpoelg my remarks and -- following my remarks and those of republican leader there will be an hour of morning business with the majority controlling the first half and republicans the final half. following morning business the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of thomas perez to be secretary of labor. we hope to confirm both the perez and mccarthy nominations today. we're ready to move on this whenever my republican colle

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable brian schatz, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mada mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar number 124. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 124, s. 138, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks an those of the republican leader, the time until 12:30 today will be equally divided and controlled with the republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the next 30 minutes. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 for some caucus meetings that we are going to have. mr. president, last month the republican leader spent a great deal of time talking about the importance of keeping one's word. i agree without any question

joining us, paul schatz, president of heritage capital. economist at wells fargo. 2.44. that feels good, doesn't it? >> it certainly does. whenever you get below 250, it feels like perhaps maybe things are stabilizing here. and certainly don't expect this to go back to 2% anytime soon, unless the economy stalls out. if we remain in this 2.25, 2.50 trading range, that feels pretty good. >> does it say anything about friday's number, though? >> there is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now. the expectation for friday is, you know, somewhere around 160,000, that's okay. not real, real decent. ironically if we get a really strong prescriint, bond yields on that. >> we are globally interconnected now. there is problems everywhere else. that gives the fed cover too. it strengthens the dollar. that helps with our -- there is a flight to our bonds, our notes. >> yeah. certainly as long as there is uncertainty in the world, that keeps the fed, i guess, wanting to stay where they are right now. one thing they mentioned in the minutes of the l

murray, udall of new mexico, heinrich, sanders, white house, baucus, durbin, gillibrand, merkley and schatz. >> i ask the quorum under rule 22 be waived. >> is there objection? without objection. >> i move to proceed to legislative session. >> the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to individual. the ayes do individual. the motion is agreed. >> madam president? >> republican leader. >> madam are president, i have a consent that i think that would set up these votes in a much more expeditious way than the way the majority leader is proceeding but first let me just say, these are dark days in the history of the senate. i hate that we have come to this point. we have witnessed the majority leader break his word to the united states senate and now our requests for a joint meeting of all the senators have been set for monday night, a time when attendance around here is frequently quite spotty. in obvious effort to keep as many of his members from hearing the concerns and arguments of the other side as possible. it rema