. >> >> thank you, senator cantwell and senator shaheen for questions and then we'll move to the second you, madam chairman and i will be very brief. if you have already responded to this question, i apologize, but one of the things that we've heard from some folks in new hampshire about the funds that were in the recovery act that are going out now, across the country in grants, is that there has been duplication from the rus and ntia for some of those grant awards, and that they have funded projects that are competing with providers who are already on the ground. does anybody want to comment on i suppose that would be you, mr. strickling. >> we've heard the criticism at rus. speaking for our. pa, i think those are not serious objections. our projects are designed to reach unser evidence and underserved parts of the country. we focus on where we can bring the most benefits. and underserved area by definition is an area that has a certain amount of service, but we look to see how widespread the service is, what the speeds are of the service, many places that may see fairly slow consumer

shaheen: thank you very much, madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i'm here to join my colleagues to raise our concerns about what is undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to keep president obama's nominees from getting through the senate and taking over their jobs regardless of whether they're court justices or whether they're from -- the director of the office of violence against women. i was on this floor a couple of months ago because the director of the office of violence against women who was from new hampshire had been held up for two months after she was unanimously approved in the committee. she was held up not because it had anything to do with her qualifications but because somebody objected to something else, who knows what, because the the person who objected never had to tell why they were objecting. and that's the situation that we're in now. we've got 94 nominees being held up by the other side of the aisle, and they're not telling us why they're holding up these nominees

shaheen: thank you, mr. president. i'm really pleased, but it's unfortunate that we have to be here on the floor this afternoon to talk about so many of the nominees who we need to do the work of this country who are being held up and being held up by people who are not willing to identify themselves or say what their issue is with these nominees. so i'm pleased to join my colleagues. i'm glad we're mounting this effort. i think we need to get rid of the secret holds. but i think it's unfortunate that we're where we are. and i understand why people are frustrated with what -- what's happening here. because people want to see things get done. they understand we have significant challenges facing the country and they want to see action on those challenges. well, it's clear that one of the areas where there's a problem is with the 80 or so people who are nominated who have been held up. some of them for months and months because somebody has an issue not with the person who's being held up, usually. but as my colleague fr

shaheen: thank you, madam president. i rise today to join so many of my colleagues in urging that we pass critical extensions of federal unemployment benefits, the cobra health insurance subsidy, flood insurance and other vital programs that expired at the end of march. now, i want to applaud my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who, despite opposition from their leadership, have joined us in moving this legislation forward. but despite the progress that we seem to be making, these extensions have been held up too frequently for too long and the american people deserve better. sadly, twice this year, individual senators have blocked extensions of federal unemployment benefits right as the programs were about to expire. those actions have put struggling families at risk and already this month, over 200,000 americans have lost their benefits and another 30,000 lose their benefits every day until we pass an extension. and what's of particular concern is that we've continued to deal with filibusters and delays and ob

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jeanne shaheen, a senator from the stae of new hampshire, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: today in the senate there will be a period morning business for an hour. senators will be allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. majority will control the first 30 minutes and the republicans will control the final 30 minutes. following that, morning business, the senate will proceed to h.r. 4851, the extension act. we'll recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. today for our caucus luncheon. by previous consent agreement, at 2:15 all postcloture time will be yielded back and the senate will adopt the motion to proceed. the bill will then be open to amendments an senators should expect roll call votes this afternoon. -- and senators should expect roll call votes this afternoon. madam president, i'm told s. 3194 is at the desk and due for a second reading is that true? the presiding of

senator klobuchar, jeanne shaheen of new hampshire as well; i thank her. and senator burris of illinois. the presiding officer, sheldon whitehouse, a good friend who's been invaluable in these debates and worked together on the health care matters in weeks and months over last year. mark udall of colorado, senator merkley of oregon, al franken and of course senator mccaskill i talked about as well. quite a group here, these new members. their first or second terms in the united states senate. i hope my other colleagues were listening this evening. it wasn't just eloquence. it was common sense. people who -- while we all may t agree, i can't say every amendment is one that i supported. but i fundamentally believe every united states senator has equal status in this chamber, whether you're a chairman or a new member, you're a united states senator and you deserve, you deserve the courtesies of this institution. you deserve the history of this institution, to be heard and respected for your ideas and to be given the time to present them, to debate them and to

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jeanne shaheen, a senator from the state of new hampshire, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority lder. mr. reid: america today lost a civil rights icon. dorothy heigt died early this morning. she helped transform our country as considerably and as courageously as anyone, dedicated her life to fulfill our nation's promise for equality. for decades, she fought tirelessly for the rights of women and african-americans and help lead a national dialogue about gender and racial equality. she was the trusted council of every white house since franklin roosevelt's administration. generation after generation relied on her vision and her tenacity. our country is better because so many sought her help. her legacy is in a fairer and more equal america in which she died and we live today. but she knew her work was not done and she never stopped pushing her country forward until the last days of her 98 years, dorothy height was still f

shaheen: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, i'm here tonight to join my colleagues. because, like them, i am deeply disappointed that 41 senators tonight voted to stop us from even beginning to doe bait on -- to debate on legislation to rein in the reckless an risky wall street conduct that brought this economy to its knees. rather than make this case out in the open on the floor of the senate to the changes they want to the wall street reform bill, these 41 senators who voted to block debate are, instead, saying they want changes worked out behind closed doors. they're actually saying they will prethe vent -- they will prevent debate and hold this wall street reform bill until they are accomodated behind closed doors. now, i bet a lot of senators -- we heard senator kaufman say there are amendments he wants to the bill. there are amendments that i would like to see in the bill. for example, i think we need to strengthen the provisions in the bill to prevent financial institutions that are supposed to be helping amer