to the senator. the secretary will note the names of the senators who have been sworn and will present to them for signing a book which will be the senate's permanent record of the administration of oath. i remind all senators who were administered this oath that they must now sign the oath book which is at the desk before leaving the chamber. on behalf of myself and the distinguished republican leader, mr. mcconnell, i send to the desk a resolution that provides for the issuance of a summons to judge samuel b. kent, for judge kent's answer to the articles of impeachment against himself and for a replication by the house, and ask for its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: senate res. 202, to provide for issuance of a summons and for related procedures concerning the articles of impeachment against samuel b. kent. the presiding officer: the question is on agreeing to the resolution. all those in favor say aye. opposed nay. the ayes have it.

at arms, the secretary of the senate, and other agencies that support the operation of the senate. the bill includes $331 million for the ca capitol police, an 8% increase over current year including $15.4 million to fully implement the merger of the library of congress police with the capitol police providing seamless security throughout the entire capitol complex. the bill also provides for ten additional civilian positions to help resolve management issues including the constant increase in the demand for overtime. the committee did not provide the 76 new officers requested in fiscal year 2010 but does direct g.a.o. to work with the watch toll police to ensure they're getting the most efficient use of their nearly 1,800 officers currently on board, by far the biggest this force has ever been. the architect of the capitol is funded at $445 million. that is a decrease of $18 million or 4% below current year. the amount includes $48 million in deferred maintenance projects including $16.8 million for continued work on asbestos abatement and structure repairs in the utility tunnels.

i ask furtsz area that the senate -- further that the senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. 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.

the senate agreed to it unanimously. the conclusion was arrived at because of the extraordinary statements of general petraeus and general odierno about the effect of the release of these photographs. and how they might endanger the lives of servicemen and women. the language of those two commanding officers was filed by president obama in his brief in the second circuit court of appeals in new york in support of his position that these shouldn't be released. the words that general petraeus used were further endanger the lives of soldiers, marines, airmen, sailors, civilians and contractors serving there. general odierno used similar words, it will put u.s. forces, civilians and iraqi partners at risk of being severely injured, killed or kidnapped that got the attention of democratic senators and republican senators. these generals spoke to secretary gates who i understand had a different position at first, changed his mind, talked to the president and what we were told was that if we did not enact this legislation in thi

the presiding officer: the senator has the floor. mrs. shaheen: madam president, yesterday, along with senators boxer, senator klobuchar and 43 other senators, i introduced senate resolution 187, a resolution condemning the use of violence against providers of reproductive health care services to women. and expressing sympathy for the family, friends and patients of dr. george tiller. unfortunately, the murder of dr. tiller was not an isolated incident. our country has a history of violence against reproductive health care providers. since 1993, eight clinic workers have been murdered and there have been hundreds of additional attempted murders, bombings, death threats, and kidnappings. since 1977, there have been more than 5,800 -- 5,800 -- reported acts of violence against providers and clinics. my own state has been touched by such acts of violence. in december 1994, a man from new hampshire killed two workers at clinics in massachusetts, including a nurse from salem, new hampshire. almost nine years ago, the feminist health center in c

the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 1350 to amendment numbered 1349. mr. reid: i send a cloture petition to the desk. does the chair have it? thank you. 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, do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on s. 1023, the travel promotion act of 2009. signed by 17 senators as follo follows -- mr. reid: i would ask further reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now have a motion to recommit with instructions that are -- that motion is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, news of recommit the bill to the committee on commerce, science, and transportation to report back forthwith with an amendment numbered 1351. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that motion. the p

audit of the federal reserve. senator vitter has an amendment related i believe related to our pay raises as well as a motion to recommit the, i -- i guess someone is going to have to explain that one to me. senator coburn has a transparency of senate expenses amendment as well as an -- something about enumerated powers. so -- mr. reid: minority powers? mr. demint: enumerated powers of the constitution. these are our amendments an if we can just get an agreement now that these can be included, we would be glad to proceed. mr. reid: i say to my friend, and i served as chairman of this subcommittee for a number of years an enjoyed it very, very much. it appears that the g.a.o. from the little knowledge i have, would be within the confines of this bill very clearly. let's see what else. the c.v.c., the capitol visitors center, looking at senator nelson, the capitol visitors center would be with keeping in this bill. without going into detail at this time, everything that is not something that is subject to a rule 16 or some

in the senate -- in the senate, senator lieberman and senator graham offered an amendment. i believe it was accepted without dissent. there is an overwhelming view in the senate that these photographs should not be released. consequently, i'm perplexed that it appears as if there's some sentiment on the other side of the capitol, maybe even majority sentiment, given the nature of the markup to this point, that the amendment be deleted. i would like for you to have the opportunity to hear from the chairman of the senate intelligence committee, who also happens to be a member of this committee, and is sitting right down the table, to further underscore the bipartisan nature of support for the amendment guaranteing that our troops not be endangered by this sort of gratuitous act of releasing detainee photographs that none of the people leading our troops feel would do anything other than endanger the lives of our soldiers. i don't know if i have the ability to yield to the senator from california, but i'd like to suggest that she be called upon for a few moments. >> thank you.

capitol as the senate convenes. we expect general topic speeches this afternoon and a measure to encourage foreign travelers to visit the u.s.. senators plan a vote on moving forward with an amendment to the bill at 5:30 p.m. eastern time. five senate coverage on c-span 2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we come to you today because we need you. we can't work well without your help and blessings. guide our lawmakers. give them the wisdom to listen to your voice and follow your leading. lord, remind them that no one knows what a day might bring, so they must not put things off until a tomorrow that may never come. help them to use their lives wisely and not foolishly, generously and not selfishly. as they labor, may they remember that one day they shall give an account of their work to you. to that end, empower them to live for your honor. we pray in your matchless name. amen. the presiding offi

in the senate, why would it not be a good standard when the democrats were the majority in the senate? we're talking about the same supreme court. we're talking about the same lifetime appointments that senator sessions was referring to. the chairman of the judiciary committee today said back then, we need to consider this nomination as thoroughly and carefully as the american people deserve. it's going to take time. he also said it makes sense that we take time to do it right. i think the american people deserve nothing less. he also said we want to do it right and don't want to do it fast. that was the standard a few years ago when republicans are in the majority. i don't know why it wouldn't be the standard today. i don't know what our friends on the majority are fear fearful of. this nominee has already been confirmed by the senate twice. she has an extensive record, which is the reason why it takes a while to go for 3,600 cases. in the case of the chief justice, there were only 327 cases. he had only been on the circuit court for a couple of years. she has been on one court or

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: i just want to confirm and agrgr with the majority leader and our chairman in terms of what they said. bottom line here: this is a nomination that should be easy to study up on. the record is public. the record has been ailable from the day her name was nominated. and there are not thousands and thousands of pages that we given to us at the end of the day, as i kno my colleague, the chairman, has said. i'd like to make one other point here. i know that my colleague, our ranking minority member, mr. sessions said, alito took some 90 days. that is true. but that included both the thanksgiving and christmas breaks. if you look at the actual working days, it was much shorter as it has been for every other justice. and let me just repeat, if we were to do what the minority ader asked and not vote on this nominatn until well after the september break, it would be the longest nomination proceeding that we've had for the most public, most available, most conci record. this is not some

the senate, mr. president, functions on comity and cooperation, and the majority leader and i are a big part of that every day, trying to respect each other's needs and try to make the senate function appropriately. here the democratic majority is proceeding, in my view, in a heavy-handed fashion, completely unnecessary, and is basically being dismissive of the minority's legitimate concerns for a fair and thorough process. there's no point in this. it serves no purpose other than to run the risk of destroying the kind of comity and cooperation that we expect of each other here in the senate, all of which was granted in the case of chief justice roberts and justice alito. so let me be clear, mr. president, because of what our democratic colleagues are doing and the way they are doing it, it will now be much more difficult to achieve the kind of comity and cooperation on this and other matters that we need and expect around here as we try to deal with the nation's business. i would hope they'd reconsid

quorum call: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: madam president, what is the parliamentary situation? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. leahy: madam president, i ask consent that the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, for the sake of my colleagues, i want to talk about the time of the hearing of the sonia sotomayor nomination. i talked with the distinguished ranking member last week on this -- on this schedule and i would note the concerns he had raised. but i'm announcing today that the senate judiciary committee will hold the confirmation hearing on the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to be associate justice of the united states supreme court on july 13th. that's a reasonable schedule. it will be the middle of next month. it's in line with past experience. it's going to allow several more weeks for committee members to prepare for the hearing. several more weeks that if i held the hearing this month, and there's no reason t

the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i renew my that that request to speak in morning business for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. durbin: for the last month the republican leader from kentucky has come to the floor and argued that we should not move detainees currently in guantanamo, into the united states, even for trial. luckily, the president and the attorney general have the head of the joint military chiefs of staff have come to the conclusion that it's in the best interests of the united states' safety and security that one of these notorious terrorists be brought to the united states for trial. and so it has been announced today that mr. ahmaz ghalani is being brought to the united states, to new york, for trial. luckily this administration is not following the advice and counsel of senator mcconnell and some on his side. it is time for this man to face a trial. what is he being charged with? he's being charged as one of those involved in the 1998 embassy attacks in af

the senator from oklahoma, senator inhofe, has made some comments on the floor of the senate that are either wrong on facts or, i think, wrong in terms of the judgment politically. and i want to say up front, as my colleague has said, i enjoy my conversations and my relationship with the senator enormously. we're both pilots. he flies often, much more frequently than i do these days, but we both share a passion for flight and for different types of airplanes, and i love talking to him about them. i wish he were really up to state-of-the-art with respect to the science on global climate change. he made a number of comments on the floor of the senate which senator boxer and i just have to set the record straight on. number one, suggesting that the science is somehow divided -- that is -- that's myth. it's wishful thinking, perhaps, on the part of some people. and i suppose if your definition of "divided" is that you got 5,000 people over here and two people over here who want to put together a point of view that is usually encouraged and in fact paid for by a particular industry or some

i have said in the senate oftentimes on the floor of this great body, that we senators should be the conscience of the nation. as we were called upon to do. and there have been occasions when this senate, republicans and democrats alike, united have shown they can be the conscience of the nation. i would say this is one time we should rise above partisanship and be that conscience when i met with judge sotomayor last week, i asked her about her approach to the law. she answered that, of course, one's life experience shapes who you are. but ultimately and completely her words: as a judge you follow the law. there is not one law from -- for one race or another, there is not 1 color for one or another, there is not one law for those who belong to one political party or the other. there's one law for all americans. she made it very emphatic there's a judge -- as a judge you follow that one law. there is only one law. we all know that. she said ultimately and completely a judge has to follow the law no matter what their upbringing has been. that is the kind of fair and impartial judging t

cornyn and the distinguished ranking member of the committee, senator sessions. that i expect judge sotomayor to be treated with much greater respect and care by our side than a number of our nominees to the supreme court and major circuits courts of appeal than the way they were treated and nobody here has a desire to misuse the process in an offensive way. but these are very important questions. and at least the four of us here today, and i have to say i think a vast majority of the senate are really concerned about -- well, impromptu discussions about the second amendment in cases of law that weren't necessary in deciding the case. and especially when they fly in the face of what we believe the law really is. so these are matters of great concern. and i suspect by raising this in advance, it will help judge sotomayor during the hearings which is a lot more than they did for our nominees. >> thank you. >> thanks. if [inaudible conversations >> last week, the house voted to impeach texas federal judge samuel kent. yesterday, the house impeachment managers brought

and that her voice adds so much texture to the senate. in a very plain spoken way, as is her way, senator shaheen has told us that regardless of where we stand on this contentious issue of a woman's right to choose, we should be able to come together when there's violence of any sort from any quarter, right, left, or center, there is no place for violence in any of our debates. that's what makes this such a great country. we debate here. we have had difficult debates here on the issue of a woman's right to choose. yes, we have. but we decide those issues in this chamber, in the house, at the white house, and across the street at the supreme court. madam president, the supreme court has ruled very clearly in 1973 in roe vs. wade that it is legal, legal, for a woman in the early stages of her pregnancy to make this tough choice and get the health care she needs. and, yes, later in the pregnancy, if her health is threatened, if her life is threatened, yes, a doctor can help her in that type of a circumstance. and here we have many cases where

the senate passed the resolution apologizing for lynching in an attempt to acknowledge the senate's past failure to address the prevalence of those despicable acts and to allow for some national healing. it is my hope that the slavery apology resolution before us can serve a similar purpose. we're fortunate to live in a time that is not blighted by slavery in this country or segregation under the law. but we live with the legacy of the practice of slavery, and it is our responsibility and our duty to continue to examine that history in order to improve the present and the future. this apology is part of carrying out that responsibility. and doing so in the presence of visitors who are descendants of slaves adds to the meaning of our action. i yield the floor and again thank the cosponsors of the resolution. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. harkin: madam president, i know other speakers a

the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. vitter: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. vitter: thank you, madam president. madam president, today i rise to speak on two crucial issues which i had hoped we would not only be debating in the context of this f.d.a. bill currently before the senate, but actually acting on in that context. and so i have to say, madam president, as i speak about these two issues, i'm really disappointed we're not taking this obvious major opportunity of acting on a major f.d.a. bill to, again, not only have me speak, but all of us act together on the crucial issues of, number one, the re-importation of prescription drugs. and, number two, meaningful generic drug reform so that we get generics to market sooner as a lower cost alternative for american consumers. i want to touch on each of these in turn, madam president. madam president, i was glad to support my friend, the distinguished senator fr

reid: i ask the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask now that we proceed to a period of monk business, senators allowed to speak -- of morning business, senators allowed to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: madam president, let me just say a brief word on the cloture that was not invoked on the travel bill. i hope that everyone understands what obstructionism is. this is obstructionism at its best, and it goes along with what the republicans said they wanted to do and that is stop everything. as indicated in "roll call" newspaper last week. this is a bill that saves the government money, almost a half a billion dollars over ten years. it would create in the first year of the -- after passage of the bill 40,000 jobs. the republicans just killed th this. over the most fictitious amount of reasoning. they said they weren't allowed to offer amendments. that, madam president, is absolutely false. in fact, we had -- we had an agreement that they could offer amendments. the

>> senator from connecticut. >> let me thank the colleagues -- >> let's have order in the senate. >> but we express gratitude to the colleagues on both sides of the divide. this was a bipartisan effort to allow us to get to the votes. i promised my friend if i have to vote against a point of order to make sure he gets up his amendment i will do so and tomorrow morning we will set a time for that. but all the germane amendments in the leadership will describe how that's going to amendments can be considered full and we will get to a final passage after that. but i'm very grateful to my colleagues. on both sides that made this possible. it's ten years waiting to get this bill that allows us to finally deal with the marketing of tobacco to children. that is a significant decrease in the country. 4,000 deaths a year, 4,000 kids start smoking every day. this bill for the first time will allow us to step up and require fda regulation of tobacco products. that is a great accomplishment for the people of the country and i'm grateful to the colleagues. madam president, i know the absence of a

the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mr. gregg: how much sometime remaining? 1*6r 15 minutes and 36 seconds. mr. gregg: and on the other side? the presiding officer: two minutes. mr. gregg: did the chairman have a request, i was told? i thought the chairman had a request. mr. president, i am going to yield to the senator from oklahoma. but before die, i want to take just 30 seconds to respond quickly to the senator from michigan. the idea that we haven't done anything for the automobile industry is really hard to accept. $83 billion has been spent for the automobile industry. the idea that a billion dollars is just a small amount of money is also very hard to accept. a billion dollars in new debt is a billion dollars that our children are going to have to pay. and it's want a small amount of money. and it compounds. and the idea that we would fly in the face of the procedures which the democratic leadership set up around here to have pay-go and to also have the open and honest leadership act, we fly in the face of that by put

without objection, the senate will proceed. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and any statements related to this resolution be placed in the record in the appropriate place, as if read. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. and i thank my senate colleagues and i remind all of us as americans we have to be vigilant about what's around us and when we are we can make a difference in the lives of a number of people. the trnl difficult that occurred ten years ago will remain with me always. and the families of bellingham but if we did our work and fund the office of pipeline safety and insist on strong protections we can protect families in the future. that's what's important about today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mrs. murray: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call

fair to the nominee, but also adequate to the united states senate to prepare for the hearing and senate consideration. there's no reason to indulge in needless and unrepublican delay. unreasonable delay. and i say it's an historic nomination, madam president, because it should unite and not divide the american people in the senate. hers is a distinctly american story. whether you're from the south bronx or the south side of chicago or south burlington, vermont, the american dream inspires all of us. her life story is the american dream. and so i might add is the journey of the president who nominated her. she deserves a fair hearing. not trial by attack and assaults about her character. and let us proceed to give her that fair hearing without an unnecessary delay. i have said over my 35 years here in the senate oftentimes on the floor of this great body that we senators should be the conscious of the nation as we were called upon to do. and there have been occasions when this senate, republicans and democrats alike united, have shown they can be the conscious of the nation. i would say

the secretary of the senate: do you, terrance w. gainer, solemnly swear that the return made by you upon the process issued on the 24th of june, 2009, by the senate of the united states, against samuel b. kent, is truly made, and that you have performed such service as therein described: so help you god? the sergeant at arms: i do. madam president, i send to the desk the return of service i executed upon service of the summons upon judge samuel b. kent yesterday, june 24, 2009, at 4:30 p.m., at devens federal medical center, ayers, massachusetts, accompanied by a statement of resignation executed by judge samuel b. kent following service of the summons, and to be effective june 30, 2009. the presiding officer: the return of service and accompanying statement of resignation will be spread upon the journal and printed in the record. the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the secretary of the senate be directed to deliver the original statement of resignation executed by judge samuel b. kent on june 24

the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dodd: mr. president what is the business before the senate? the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 1256, the clerk will report. the clerk: an act to protect the public health by providing the food and drug administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products and is forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order the time until 2:30 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the senator from connecticut, mr. dodd, and the senator from wyoming, mr. enzi, or their designees. mr. dodd: i'm going to ask consent that a colloquy between senator mark warner of virginia and myself be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. dodd: i see my good friend from ohio, senator brown, who has been a champion

a lot of words that have in the yet been received. senators are working very hard and we'll do our best to make sure we have the best hearings we've ever had for a supreme court nominee. mr. president, i see my colleague, senator hatch, here, who is a fabulous constitutional lawyer, former chairman of this judiciary committee, and i was honored to work for him, serve under him when he was our leader, and i know he -- whatever he says on these subjects is something that the american people need to listen to, because he loves this country, he loves our constitution, and he understands it. i thank the chair, would yield the floor. mr. hatch: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah is recognized. mr. hatch: i thank my colleague. he is so nice in his comments. i am so proud that he is the republican leader on the judiciary committee. he'll do a terrific job and has been doing a terrific job ever since he took over. now, considering that a supreme court nominee is one of this body's most important responsibilities, i come at this

barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious god, ruler of all nature, protect our senators from the seductive influences of power and prestige. today, deliver them from the delusion of self-importance which their position and status subtly nurture. remind them of the example of the greatest man who ever lived and said, "he that would be greatest must be servant of all." in disagreement and confrontation, help them to respect and esteem each other, as they struggle together for the resolution of complex issues. lord, give them the humility to know that no one has a monoply on your truth and that all need oefp other to discover your guidance together. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the cler

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, the standing rules of the senate i hereby appoint the honorable mark r. warner, a senator from the commonwealth of virginia, to perform the duties of the chair signed probt c. byrd president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president, following leader remarks the senate will be in phorbg with -- will be in morning business. following morning business the senate will resume consideration of the tobacco legislation. and immediately proceed to a cloture vote on the dodd substitute amendment. senators should expect the first vote to occur at 5:30 p.m. today. the filing deadline for first-degree amendments is 3:00 today. filing deadline for second-degree amendments is 4:30 p.m. today. i ask consent that the time from 5:00 until 5:30 be equally divided and controlled between senators dodd and enzi or their designees. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, at 5:30 today we're going to have an extremely important vote. it's on whether or not this body will invoke cloture on the tobacco legislation. sunday -- yes

now to the senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, in whom we live and move and have our being, we need you every hour, in joy and in pain, in prosperity and in adversity, in success and in failure, in the moment of prayer and in the hours of toil. to the human strivings of our senators, add your divine strength. restrain and correct them when they do wrong, and confirm and strengthen them when they do right. guide them by your spirit and support them by your grace. then in quietness and confidence may they leave the consequences to your unairing judgment, remembering that your judgments are "true and righteous altogether." we pray in your wonderful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: last week, there was a disturbing occurrence on the other side of the capitol that i believe needs to be brought to the attention of my colleagues in the senate on tuesday june 9. the subcommittee on energy and environment of the house energy and commerce committee held a hearing on allowance allocation policies in the waxman-markey climate change bill. one of the witnesses who volunteered to testify before the subcommittee was david solkal chairman of mid-america holdings company based in my state of iowa in the capital city of des moines. we're all very well aware that there are very divergent opinions on the so-called cap and trade program advocated by chairman waxman and subcommittee chairman markey. hearing witnesses are typically invited to share different positions and offer different perspectives on prospective policies. that was the case with the mid-america c.e.o. his company supports the cap on emission reductions in the bill but strongly opposes the trading compon

senator bennett of utah and i, cosponsored by the republican leader and senator kyl, the whip, we have a bill we call the auto stock for every taxpayer legislation amendment. we'd like to offer it this week and get a vote on it. it would say that the treasury can't put any more tarp funds to bail out general motors or chrysler. that while the government has stock in these companies, the secretary of the treasury or his designee has a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer to get a return on that investment. and most importantly, it says that in the year after general motors comes out of the bankruptcy, that the government should distribute its stock to the 120 million americans who pay taxes on april 15. in other words, let's have a big stock distribution the same way procter & gamble did when it distributed clorox or other companies do every year. we've got a core business -- the car company -- that has nothing to do with the owner -- us -- and we should give it to the owners, the 120 million people who pay taxes. that's what we ought to do. and the rationale is i paid for it, i sho

i'm going to ask the senator to lead the debate on this and we recognize her. >> thank you very much, senator dodd. good morning to all my colleagues. this morning we're taking up title 2, the quality section, and after that i believe senator dodd wants to proceed on prevention. these two titles go hand in hand and even interface with each other. much of the conversation we've had over the last several days has been related to the cost of health care and there is no doubt that it is skyrocketing. we see, as do all public health policy experts, that the issues are quality and prevention could, in the long term, actually reduce the cost of health care while it increases health. in my area we focused on those issues, five big issues that were readily agreed upon by all as drivers, the reduction of administrative errors, the administrative simplification, preventing hospital readmission within 30 days, and also better management of chronic disease as well as creating a quality infrastructure that would be appropriate in data collection. we've moved in those directions. i'm going to offer

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. 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 nomin

i think a vast majority of the senate were really concerned. when they lie in the face of what we believe -- these are matters of great concern. i suspect that raising this in advance will be helpful. >> thank you. >> also yesterday, republican senator came to the senate floor to talk about the nomination of sotomayor. his remarks about 10 minutes. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> i would start by saying that any confirmation the senate considers important but none more so than a lifetime appointment for the most distinguished judicial office in our nation. the president has nominated judge sotomayor. it is the senate's job to give . constitution convention, senators -- and i quote -- "cannot themselves choose, they can only ratify or reject the choice of the president." i take this role very seriously as do all of my other colleagues. one of our colleagues in the senate at the time gave the following views on a then a pending supreme court nomination. i want to t

koh, the attorney for the department of state. i tell all senators i had a conversation with the republican leader today. we're doing our best to move to a couple of appropriation bills. the first one online is the legislative branch appropriation bill. the next is homeland security. we hope we can get on those. the republican leader said he would do his best to help us to that. i hope that, in fact, is the case. we'll keep members advised as to what we're going to do for the rest of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the preefs order the senate will proceed to consider the following nomination with the -- which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination: department of state, harold koh of connecticut to be the legal adviser of the department of state. the presiding officer: under the previous order the time until 11:00 a.m. the time will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senato

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. burris: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be suspended. i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. burris: mr. president, i'd like to speak for about three or four minutes. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. burris: thank you, mr. president. before too long, this nation's broken health care system has limped along badly and in need of serious reform. many in washington have lacked either the foresight or the political will to take on this issue. for those would have tried, it's been almost impossible to get anywhere. even today the president's health care proposal is under attack to both right and left. i think we need to do better. controversy should not drown out conservation. the time has come to cast aside, and strengths of partisanship, stop bickering and start talking about real change. the american people have had enough. it's time to get to work. in fact, the facts are pl

the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. bond: madam president, i rise today to express my strong opposition to the nomination of mr. harold koh to be the legal advisor to the department of state. my concerns with mr. koh arise primarily from his own statements, writings and testimony before congress. in my opinion, he seems more comfortable basing his legal conclusions on partisan political opinions and trendy arguments rather than the facts and the law. we don't need more legal clerics in government. we need more legal realists in government, someone who pays attention to the hard work that we do in this body to pass laws. the department of state and the country deserve better than that kind of advice. let me provide a few quick examples. on september 16, 2008, mr. koh testified before the senate judiciary subcommittee on the constitution. his written testimony included the following statement -- quote -- "a compliant congress repeatedly blessed unsound executive policies by enacting nominal loophole-ridden bans on torture

the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i thank my friend from north dakota on his efforts on the important issue of tourism but for consistently standing up for consumers sick and tired of paying artificially high prices at the gas pumps. i want to take this moment, if i might, just to explain what my amendment is about. mr. dorgan: madam president, rather than yield for a question let me yield the floor and ask him to explain the amendment and then get the floor back. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. sanders: this amendment enjoys widespread supports from a very diverse coalition of organizations throughout this country who shared the common concern that the price of gas and oil is soaring and they don't understand request. but what they do know, it is hurting consumers especially in rural areas like north dakota, vermont, throughout this country, and it is hurting business groups throughout this country. these groups, among others, include the poem markets association of america, it inclu

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable kirsten gillibrand, a senator from the state of new york, 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: madam president, with the senate chaplain, admiral black, standing by, we all listened to the prayer of one of our jewish brethren from las vegas, rabbi harlig. the chaplain, i'm sure, was pleased with the prayer. those of us here were pleased with the prayer. it was a wonderful, meaningful prayer. i want to welcome rabbi harlig for helping us open the senate and for the beautiful prayer that he uttered. rabbi harlig and his wife dina opened a center in their living room in 1990. it was -- it has grown dramatically since then, and successfully grown. there are now five such community centers in southern nevada. the organizing rabbi harlig and his friends -- i'm sorry. the organization rabbi harlig founded has taught many children and many adults

the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: and ask consent to sneak morning businessment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: madam president, after the closure of morning business, we will return to the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act. this is a piece of legislation that has been in the making for two decades or more that would finally say that tobacco is going to be regulated as it should have been a long time ago. for the longest time, the tobacco lobby was the most powerful lobby on capitol hill. and they managed to create an exemption in virtually every law so that no federal agency could take a look at them and regulate them and basically know what we know about every product and service offered in america. they said, well, the food and drug administration shouldn't have any authority. the tobacco lobby argued, we're not really a food and we're not really a drug. and so they managed

the senate will proceed. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and the preamble program and any statements related to the motion be placed in the record in the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent when the senate completes its business today at 2:00 p.m. on monday, june 8 and the journal of proceedings be approved tjournal of proceeding, the morning hour be deemed expired, the team for the two leaders reserved for their use later in the day and there be a period of morning business until 5:30 with senators permitted to speak for ten minutes and following morning business the senate resume consideration of calendar number 47, h.r. 1256, the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. shesh mr. president, as a reminder the filing deadlines are 3:00 monday for first degree amendments and 4 p.m. for second-degree and the next vo

by the senate coverage here on c-span 2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. creator and upholder of our lives, we can't escape from your presence or control, nor do we desire to do so. we stand in awe of your power, mercy, and majesty. our thoughts of your goodness banish our fears. today, give to the members of the senate a high sense of the common purpose that unites them. deliver them from that stubborn pride that imputes to itself infallibility and that pits partisanship against national interest. father of all, guide our lawmakers through discussion, debate, and confrontation to the solutions so desperately needed in our land. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a commu

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: and indeed the distinguished senator from tennessee is a great gentleman, and he's a pleasure to work with. madam president, the legislation that's on the floor is the travel promotion act. this is an important piece of legislation that will help our economy because it promotes travel to the u.s. and it promotes travel to areas not traditionally visited, which will highlight the united states as a premier travel designation. -- destination. the bill initiates a nationally coordinated travel promotion campaign established in a public-private partnership to increase international travel to the united states. and it also creates a corporation for travel promotion, an independent nonprofit corporation to run the travel promotion campaign. the program will be funded equally by a small fee paid by foreign travelers coming into the u.s. and by matching contributions from the travel industry. it's interesting that the department of commerce announced that 3.8 million international visi

and in the senate, the primary sponsor of the photo amendment, senator lieberman and senator graham, seem as though now they may not try to block the bill. senator lieberman is really looking for obama to sign the executive order. and what that would do is that would classify the photographs so that they couldn't be released. >> on another item, the $5 billion for the international monetary fund, did that make the fible cut? >> that's still in there. and that's why house republicans now are not as likely to vote for the bill as before. when this bill first passed in the house in may it had overwhelming republican support. but after conferees were said willing to take this i.m.f. amendment from the senate, that's when house republican leader boehner and others said they weren't going to vote for this supplemental any more. >> when it first passed the house it also was at $84 billion. it's now at nearly $106 billion. >> that's what congressman lewis, the ranking member of house propes said. he said it's $106 billion. and that's a lot more money than obama requested and it's far above th

it hasn't mattered which party controls the white house or the senate. the paybacks and the bickering have been thoroughly bipartisan. republicans are still seething about the way judge bork and justice thomas were treated. democrats are still seething about the way the republican-controlled senate blocked or delayed some of president clinton's judiciary nominees. republicans complain that the democrats seeking revenge oppose mainstream and well-qualified judiciary nominees of president bush. i will tell you as an independent observer that both parties are right. i think president obama and the democrats who now control the senate should recognize that excessive partisanship can fuel fire. it certainly has in the past. and republicans also need to recognize that fact. i think it's time for democrats and republicans alike to join with administration and try to stop this war. an impartial federal judiciary should be the goal of both political parties. the appointment of the most qualified nominees available should be the goal of all americans. the long dela

host: how much harder is it in the senate now that john ensign has stepped down as the lead senator ofhe campaign committee? guest: from the policy committee. they had another guy who is a rising star, so i'm not sure they will lose a lot. obviously, though, they did take a hit at least image-wise for republicans. guest: across the board, if you look at poll some of obama is more trusted than those gop, even with tourism and deficit control. he is still broadly more trusted than the house and senate gop's. there is a fundamental problem there. my fellow blocker has indicated that they often target though gop as a problem for obama. it is not the case. it is a problem for the gop that they are stuck on these critical issues, losing to obama, having very little trust in the american public. going into future elections opposes a major problem only for them. host: myrtle beach, south carolina, good morning. caller: i would like to take issue politely. mr. faiz shakir, i hope to be embarrassed about not trying to bring certain things to lead. the media as far as i am concerned it is totally