[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10] [Senate] [Pages 13599-13602] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]AMERICAN HOUSING RESCUE AND FORECLOSURE PREVENTION ACT OF 2008-- Continued Mr. REID. Mr. President, there will be no more votes this evening. If I could, though, have the attention of Senators who are here. Mr. President, first of all, let me say on this package of judges, we have been working on these for 5 or 6 years. That is how long it has taken. So this is really a step forward. Everyone has cooperated. I appreciate very much the help of the entire Republican caucus. Senator Kyl was especially helpful to work through what we have done. We are going to approve two more judges the day after tomorrow, and then we will see where we go from there on judges. What I wanted to tell everyone here is we wanted to finish the housing bill tonight. Senator Dodd and Senator Shelby have worked very hard to craft [[Page 13600]] a bill that doesn't go back to the House, but when the House signs off on---- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader will suspend. The Senate will come to order. Mr. REID. I apologize, it was hard to concentrate on what I wanted to say. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized. Mr. REID. Senators Dodd and Shelby are crafting a bill that can go directly to the President. That is what we are trying to do, craft something on which there has been general agreement with the counterparts of Shelby and Dodd in the House, and it would go immediately to the President. As you know, they can do things very quickly in the House that we cannot do here. That is the goal with housing. We are going to get there eventually. The problem is the way this is sent to us from the House, the format in which it was sent to us, we are now under cloture. That cloture will run out at approximately 5:45 tomorrow evening. At that time there are two germane amendments that we know of. There are a couple more that are arguably germane. We will see what is the will of the body. It is my understanding that on those two that are arguably germane, the managers of the bill have worked something out. If there would be no objection, they would accept those. The problem is on the amendments they have worked on up to this time, there has been an objection and we cannot proceed on any of those amendments that Dodd and Shelby have worked out. Automatically, after the 30 hours is up, we would vote on the germane amendments. No one can stop us from adopting or rejecting those amendments. If we cannot get permission from everyone here as of now--I know of only one holdup on our being able to complete the housing legislation. If we can't get that Senator to sign off on this, then we only have one alternative; that is, we will file cloture on another arm of this housing legislation. We will have cloture on that 2 legislative days later, and then we still have one more to do. That would mean we would have to be here over the weekend. It was not anticipated that we would do that. In the meantime, having done that, it will hold up our being able to do FISA. We wanted to do a consent agreement on that tonight. I was told that would not be possible. On that, there are people who do not like the FISA legislation. I recognize that the majority of the Senate does, but some people do not like it. But, in spite of that, I have found the two people who speak out mostly against that--but there are others--are Senator Feingold and Senator Dodd who have been very diligent in their opposition to the legislation. But, of course, they understand the Senate very well. So what we would like to do is have a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to that, but we cannot do that unless it is by consent. Therefore, we are going to have to do cloture on the motion to proceed to FISA at some later time, and then that only allows us to proceed to the bill. Then we still have to do cloture on the bill. FISA is a product of the administration. It has passed the House, and that is fine. But we are not going to stop people from going home for the Fourth of July recess over FISA. If people do not want to do it, then we are not going to do it. It is not because we are holding it up over here, is what I am saying. It is being held up by the minority. We are going to proceed, and we are going to stay here and finish this housing bill. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index registered the largest decline in home prices in that index's history. That is more than 40 years. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. So we are going to finish the housing bill. It may knock a few people out of parades on July 4, or whatever--however long it takes us to do this. The other product we have that we want to finish before we go home is the supplemental appropriations bill. Again, there has been a delicately crafted piece of legislation that has come from the House. They worked very hard to get the House leadership to approve that, Democratic and Republican. The President of the United States has signed off on it. Is it everything that I want? Is it everything we want over here? The answer is no. But I think it is something that will pass with a very large margin over here. But we cannot get to it unless people allow us to get to it. So that, too, would have to wait until we get back after the July 4 recess. I think that would be a shame. We have been told that the Pentagon can pay the bills until about the middle of February. Then they are out of money. I want the President and all of his people to hear what I am saying. We are not holding up the supplemental. We, the Democrats, are not holding it up. We, the Democrats, are not holding up FISA. We also have a matter that we need to complete, and that is the Medicare fix. It is the doctors fix. That is what we call it. But, again, today the House passed that by a 350-some-odd margin to whatever makes up 435--passed that overwhelmingly, again, with the sponsorship and leadership of the House leadership, Democrats and Republicans. We are going to take that up before we go. We have to. Not only that, if we do not pass that legislation before we go, we do not have the doctors fix taken care of, but that has a snowballing effect. What it does is all insurance companies base their reimbursement on what the Medicare Program is. There are two things we have to do before we go home for July 4: Housing and Medicare. We do not have to do it if the Republicans don't want to do it--we don't have to do FISA, and we don't have to do the supplemental. We can do it the week we get back after July 4. There are other things we would like to do--the FAA extension for 6 months. I tried to move to that yesterday. It was objected to. We want the President and others who have worked so hard on this global AIDS bill--we would like to get that passed. I was told by Senator Biden today that should be worked out tomorrow. But we can't do any of this as long as people are holding us up on this housing bill. One Senator I talked to tonight who I thought was holding up the housing bill--which is true--did not object to our going to FISA. But others have. I do not know how much more direct I can be. I want to pass the supplemental. I want to pass FISA. I want to pass the Medicare fix. I want to pass housing. I do not particularly like FISA, and I am going to vote against FISA. But I have an obligation as the majority leader to move legislation that the majority of the body wants to go forward. The majority of Republicans and a significant number of Democrats want FISA to pass. But I am not going to ask people to stay here next week because there is someone over here holding up the President's bill. I am pointing to the Republicans. I am willing to be as reasonable as I can. I think we showed that on the housing bill when I brought up a piece of legislation that Senator DeMint and others wanted to move forward on--and Senator Bunning. We did that to show good faith in reporting this housing bill. But with home prices continuing to fall, foreclosures continuing to rise, 8,800 foreclosures a day--a day--the time to act is now. I have said on this floor many times, the housing bill is bipartisan. Dodd and Shelby have done a remarkably good job. I hope those people who are trying--I don't know what their message is. To show the power of a Senator? I acknowledge, one Senator has a lot of power. But I think they should recognize they are holding up a lot of stuff. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized. Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, let me say on this occasion I almost entirely agree with the majority leader about what needs to be accomplished this week. We do indeed need to do the housing bill. We do indeed need to do the supplemental for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The FISA bill, the Medicare fix--it is a complicated legislative tangle which my good friend, the majority leader, has described, and [[Page 13601]] with which he is trying to deal as we move through the week. But my goal is really the same as his, and we are going to continue talking to each other, continue to sort of run the traps and hopefully clear the traps in such a way that we can have a highly successful week before the recess. That is my goal. It is the same as his goal. I will be working with him to see if we can get all of those things done in the next few days. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would say one final thing. There is a time when we need to work together. The Republican leader recognizes that; I recognize that. This is the time. We need to figure out a way to get from here to there. We are going to do our very best. I think our messages--we don't need to worry about those next week. We can come back and do that after the break. We really need to try to get this done for the American people. It would be good for the American people if we could do something on one of the major crises we have faced in our country, and that is this housing debacle. It is very difficult. Everyone knows that I do not throw a lot of bouquets to the administration, but I throw them a bouquet on their willingness to work with us on the supplemental because they were willing to bend a little bit here and there. I repeat, was it everything that I wanted, that we wanted? No, but a tremendous step forward. I compliment and I applaud the President and the people who worked with us to get to the point where we are. I would be ashamed to have to wait until after the Fourth of July to do this bill; that is, the supplemental appropriations bill, because even though what we are going to be voting on only deals with the GI bill of rights and the unemployment compensation and those other things, if we do not act, the war funding doesn't go forward. We do not have to vote on war funding. We have already done that. As I said, I appreciate the work we have been able to accomplish with the administration on this supplemental appropriations bill. Even though, as I have indicated, I am not going to vote for the FISA bill, there are people who have worked on this FISA matter for 3 months or more. Again, the administration worked with them. Did they, on the FISA bill, move enough to make me vote for the bill? The answer is no. But they moved enough to get a lot of people to vote for this bill, and I appreciate that also. But we could wind up with all this good work being put off. It will be very anticlimactic, the accomplishments that we have made. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll. Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. Mr. BROWN. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The Senator from Ohio is recognized. 64th Anniversary of the Gi Bill of Rights Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, on Sunday, June 22, we marked an anniversary. On June 22, 1944, President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act into law. I come to the floor today to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the passage of this profoundly important bill, better known as the GI bill of rights. World War II was the largest, most deadly, most terrible war in world history. Before it was over, Americans fought on the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Over 16 million American men and women, including my father, answered the call to serve. Since joining this body, I have held about 100 roundtables across my home State of Ohio, and through these discussions I have had the opportunity and privilege to meet with a number of Ohio veterans from World War II. Getting to know those remarkable men and women has reaffirmed my profound respect for their decision to serve our country. Their service and their sacrifice produced both a stronger nation and a safer world. The ``greatest generation'' earned this Nation's enduring gratitude. They earned the benefits the GI bill provided and used them to propel this country into a time of unprecedented prosperity. The GI bill was more than a payment to the veterans for their service to our country; it was also a very smart, very pragmatic investment in the social fabric and economic potential of our Nation. The GI bill was designed to help smooth the transition from military service into civilian life. And it did that for millions of men and women who served. It paid for veterans' tuition, books, fees, a monthly stipend, and other training costs. It also provided veterans low-interest mortgages and unemployment insurance. The GI bill provided veterans in Ohio and the rest of the country the opportunity to realize the American dream. The number of degrees awarded by colleges and universities more than doubled between 1940, the last full year before the war, and 1950. Veterans were responsible for buying 20 percent of all new homes after the war. The investment in the middle class drove the development and economic expansion of an entire generation. I yield to the Senator from Montana. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana. Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I yield my hour post cloture to Senator Dodd. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island. Mr. REED. I too yield my postcloture hour to Senator Dodd. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Senators have that right. The time is yielded to Senator Dodd. The Senator from Ohio. Mr. BROWN. When you think about what happened to the GI bill, it was not only providing opportunity individually to millions of men and women who served, and in that sense a payment they earned; it also created a huge, unprecedented, and unsurpassed sense of prosperity for the country. When all of these men and women came home and were given the opportunity to go to college, regardless of their income or their family status or their wealth or their positions, they were given that opportunity which they earned from World War II. In recognition of that important anniversary honoring the service men and women, giving them the opportunity and creating the prosperity of millions of newly educated men and women in our country, I call on Congress to renew its commitment to our veterans to recognize this anniversary. It is our responsibility, our privilege, to uphold the promises our Nation has made to veterans. It is our responsibility and our privilege to advance our Nation's economic goals. Passing the updated GI bill into law is the right way to fulfill both responsibilities. I urge every Member of this body to support that. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader. FEC Nominations Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am very pleased that I am finally able to say we are going to restore the Federal Election Commission to a fully functioning six-member body. The FEC lost a functioning quorum last January when three recess appointments to the Commission expired, leaving only two FEC commissioners. It takes four to conduct official business, so there was no way to conduct business. When the FEC went dark in January, it meant our Nation's campaign finance watchdog was off the beat. It also meant that important provisions of the Democrats' Honest Leadership and Open Government Act would not be implemented. Most notably, the building of this Federal Election Commission is so very important. I would be remiss to not say that the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act passed on a bipartisan basis. For example, the bundling rules we worked so hard to enact into law were put into limbo. But now with the FEC within a few minutes going to be reestablished, that will not be the case. [[Page 13602]] Since even before the Commission lost its quorum, I began offering my Republican colleagues votes on the pending FEC nominees, but those efforts were rejected. Democrats have been united in their desire to have the FEC restored to full power. I am pleased we can finally come together with our Republican colleagues tonight on the nominations. I would be remiss if I did not speak very briefly about my two Democratic nominees, Steven Walther and Cynthia Bauerly, both outstanding lawyers. I can tell you even more than that. They are outstanding people and public servants. Steven Walther is from Nevada. He is one of those people who is in public service because he wants to do something to help his country. He has been very active for many years in State bar activities, very involved in the ABA activities, and he gave up a lucrative law practice to come here. He was a senior partner in a major law firm in Nevada. He did this for the right reason. Both Cynthia and Steven are patient individuals. Steve Walther was first recommended to the President by me for this position on July 6, 2005. That is almost 3 years ago. He waited almost 3 years for the full Senate to confirm him. I recommended Ms. Bauerly to the President in July 2007. She has waited for confirmation over 11 months. I cannot say enough nice things about Steven Walther. I want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand what a man of integrity he is. He is not even a Democrat. He is an Independent. But I have such confidence in his fairness that it did not matter what his party affiliation is. He is a fine individual, has a wonderful family, a son Wyatt who is getting used to the big city of Washington, DC. I so appreciate Steve waiting since January with basically no job. He has had no paycheck. There has been no FEC. Some people dropped off because they couldn't afford to not have a job. But fortunately, for the FEC and our country, Steven Walther could afford to be unemployed for 6 months. Again, I want the record spread with my appreciation for Steven Walther's public service and his friendship to me. These two individuals, Bauerly and Walther, have shown exceptional patience which will be an asset to them in their work as Commissioners. I wish them and the FEC very well. ____________________