Senate Opening

The Senate is Convened.

Opening Remarks

 
Senator Reid: (10:32 AM)

·         Today --

·         Following Leader remarks there will be a period of Morning Business where Senators will be allowed to speak up to 10 minutes each.

·         All senators are invited to gather in the Senate Chamber at 12:45 p.m. to proceed to the House for the counting of the Electoral Ballots.

·         Spoke on S. Res. 10, A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirm in the United States strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

o    SUMMARY "When we pass this resolution, the United States Senate will strengthen our historic bond with the state of Israel by reaffirming Israel's inalienable right to defend against attacks from Gaza as well as our support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process."

 
Senator McConnell: (10:42 AM)

·         Responded

o    SUMMARY "This resolution in support of the state of Israel has strong bipartisan support. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It clearly started this current conflict by launching rockets onto civilian sites in Israel. The Israelis, as the Majority Leader has indicated, are responding exactly the same way we would if rockets were being launched into the United States from Canada or Mexico, or some situation like that. The Israelis have every right to defend themselves against these acts of terrorism, so I enthusiastically support this."

Morning Business

 
Senator Inhofe: (11:21 AM)

·         Spoke on the passing of Steven Zibosnik while fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

o    SUMMARY "The pride is now in Steven, this young Oklahoman, who enthusiastically joined the military at age 17, and was willing to lose 90 pounds in order to serve his country. He sacrificed his life in order to provide us with the precious freedom that we enjoy each day, and his life embodies what it means to be a hero. So we remember you today, Steven, your sense of humor, your commitment to your family and to the Lord."

 
Senator Gregg: (11:28 AM)

·         Spoke on the Economic Stimulus Package.

o    SUMMARY "A deficit means that we're running up debt that our children are going to have to pay for. So, it has a real affect on the next generation and generations after that, and their ability to be prosperous. Not only does C.B.O. tell us that the deficit will be $1.2 trillion, but they also tell us the stimulus package that is being proposed and the package that is being talked about, is in the range of $700 to $800 billion. When you throw that spending on top of the deficit, you're talking about a deficit that will be closing in on $2 trillion. That will be almost four times larger than the largest deficit we have run since World War II."

o    SUMMARY "It is obvious that we need a robust stimulus package right now, and it is very obvious that we need to have it sooner rather than later. From my standpoint, as a member of the Republican Party, which is in opposition here arguably, I want to work with the other side of the aisle and with the President-Elect to accomplish it, because I don't think we can afford partisan politics at this time. We need to govern."

 
Senator Durbin: (11:43 AM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "The fact is that yesterday in America, 22,000 Americans lost their jobs. If the latest projections are true, 22,000 more native Americans will lose their jobs today and 22,000 more Americans will lose their jobs tomorrow. That is the state of the economy. Instead of creating employment, we are losing jobs at a pace which sobers all of us."

o    SUMMARY "We're going to have to come up with the money to turn this economy around. It will mean more debt in the short term, but if the economy starts moving forward again, it, frankly, is the only thing that we can look to in the long term for America's future. I urge my colleagues in the Senate, Democrats and Republicans, to try to find that common ground where we can work together."

 
Senator Tester: (11:58 PM)

·         Spoke on the Montana National Guard.

o    SUMMARY "They say Montana is just a small town with a lot of long streets, and that means when 229 guardsmen deploy over seas, it impacts a great deal of the state. Cities and towns lose cops, firefighters, doctors and other professionals in the community. And most importantly of all, families have an empty seat at the dinner table. Family schedules get changed. Mothers and fathers become single parents for awhile. Americans will never forget the sacrifices of the National Guard families they make at home. Charlotte and I join all Montanans in sending our thoughts and prayers to all these men and women as they're completing their mission."

 
Senator Menendez: (12:09 PM)

·         Spoke on S. Res. 10, A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirm in the United States strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

o    SUMMARY "Today the Senate must stand in support of the state of Israel, stand in support of its right to defend itself against terrorists, stand in support of its right to exist. Having said all of this, of course we urge Israel, as it defends its sovereignty and its people, to use every option it can to limit the loss of innocent life. So let us vote for a resolution that demonstrates our commitment to one of the strongest allies the United States of America has in the world, and let us do all we can to make it a peaceful 2009."

Morning Business

The Senate stands in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Morning Business

 
Senator Kyl: (2:30 PM)

·         Spoke on Spoke on S. Res. 10, A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirm in the United States strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

o    SUMMARY "This resolution expresses strong support for Israeli. It reminds us all why Israel was forced to act. It makes the point that there is no equivalency between the action of the Israel and the terrorist action of Hamas, which deliberately seeks to harm civilians. And finally speaks to the question of a cease-fire noting that the position of the United States is correctly that a cease-fire could only be supported if it is durable and sustainable."

·         Spoke on the Economic Stimulus Package.

o    SUMMARY "If we apply the right kind of tests and they are sensible, I think it will better help us evaluate the kind of an economic stimulus package that we can actually support here in the Senate. And it'll be the kind of analysis that our tax-paying constituents expect of us when in view of all the other things that have been done to bail out various aspects of our economy here, and with the kind of $1 trillion-plus economic deficit we're looking at, they want us to be prudent. They've had their fill of wasteful Washington spending. They want us to be very careful about the things we do with their money in the future."

 
Senator Chambliss: (2:56 PM)

·         Spoke on the passing of Griffin Bell.

o    SUMMARY "He took the role of being a lawyer and transformed it into a legend. It is remarkable that every man and woman who spent even a brief period with Judge Bell would cling to him and claim him as their hero forever. That's how legends are made, and legends last forever. And that will be the case with the great Griffin Bell."

·         Spoke on S. Res. 10, A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirm in the United States strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

o    SUMMARY "The United States and Israel share common principles and a strong commitment to eradicate terrorism and secure a better future for the world. Israel has been a steadfast ally of the United States and I assure you that the United States will stand ready to assist our friends, the Israelis, to promote peace and defeat terrorism and prevent hostile countries that sponsor terrorism from obtaining nuclear weapons."

 
Senator Whitehouse: (3:15 PM)

·         Spoke on the nomination of former Senator Tom Daschle's nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

o    SUMMARY "We know that every American deserves health care he or she can afford. Senator Daschle knows that we need basic, systemic reform that will improve the way health care is delivered in this country. Senator Daschle has already brought forward ideas like the creation of a Federal Health Board that have contributed enormously to the health care reform debate, and I hope very much he will pursue those ideas further at H.H.S. His nomination and President-Elect Obama's creation of a new White House Office of Health Care Reform, emphasizes their serious commitment to solving this bedeviling problem. Senator Daschle will bring distinguished, thoughtful leadership to the crisis in our nation's health care system."

·         Spoke on the health care system in the United States.

o    SUMMARY "We all know the system is broken. The evidence lies all around us. In my state of Rhode Island and across the country, when a lost job is frightening, not just because it means lost income, but because it means lost health care, our health care system is broken. When sudden illness strikes and insurance won't cover the costs, our health care system is broken. When families have to wait to see a doctor until it's too late because they have no health insurance to pay for it, our health care system is broken."

 
Senator Conrad: (3:29 PM)

·         Spoke on the C.B.O. Report on the Fiscal Outlook.

o    SUMMARY "It is truly jaw-dropping. $1.2 trillion deficit for this year before any economic recovery package is passed. If one factors in an economic recovery plan, we could be looking at an increase to the debt of $2 trillion this year alone. To put that in context, we have a gross debt in the United States, of $10.6 trillion roughly today. So I think it is imperative that while we put together an economic recovery plan which we must, that we also are cognizant of the very serious long-term fiscal condition we face as a nation."

·         Colloquy (Senators Whitehouse and Conrad)

·         Spoke on the U.S. deficit.

 
Senator Whitehouse:

o    SUMMARY "At the time that the current Administration that is now leaving office came into office eight years ago, my understanding is that the situation of America was rather different. It's my understanding that at that time, we were looking actually at surpluses in our country, and that the $10 trillion deficit is very largely the responsibility of the policies that have been followed over the past eight years."

 
Senator Conrad:

o    SUMMARY "The Senator is exactly right. The debt of the country at the beginning of the last Administration was about $5 trillion. They've more than approximately doubled the debt of the country on their watch, dramatically more than doubled foreign holdings of U.S. debt. So the current Administration has left the incoming Administration in a very, very deep hole."

Morning Business

 
Senator Inhofe: (4:54 PM)

·         Spoke on U.S. Environmental Policy and Global Warming.

o    SUMMARY "I hope that the Senate this year will embrace my cause for objectivity and transparency in science and modeling. As policymakers, it's our duty to ensure that the models developed by agencies and used in policy are useful for their intended purpose, articulate major assumptions and uncertainties, and separate scientific conclusions from policy judgments. However, with global warming science, this has not been the case."

o    SUMMARY "Americans are suspicious for the need to solutions for global warming. A Gallup Poll released on Earth Day 2008 revealed that the American public's concern about man-made global warming has remained unchanged since 1989. According to Gallup, "Despite the enormous attention paid to global warming over the past several years, the average American is in some ways no more worried about it than they were in years past. In other words, after all of the money, all of the hype, all of the media bias over the past few years, the people haven't moved in that direction."

Senator Shaheen: (5:44 PM)

·         Spoke on the economic challenges in the United States.

o    SUMMARY "More and more, families across the country are losing their homes to foreclosure, and too many Americans have watched their retirement savings evaporate last year. It is no exaggeration to say the 111th Congress and President-Elect Obama will face some of the most difficult challenges in our country's history. These problems were created over many years and they will not be solved quickly."

o    SUMMARY "We've seen firsthand how investment in clean energy creates good jobs up and down the economic ladder: advanced manufacturing jobs, highly skilled construction jobs, jobs installing solar panels and energy efficiency systems, jobs selling and delivering new fuels. These are good jobs. They're jobs that cannot be outsourced overseas."

 
Senator Reid: (5:50 PM)

·         Spoke on Senator Shaheen's first floor statement as a United States Senator.

o    SUMMARY "I have had such admiration for her for such a long time. We all watched as she presided over the state of New Hampshire as a Governor. She did a remarkably good job. And when I learned that she wanted to run for the Senate, I was excited, because this great statesperson with this engaging smile, the ability to work hard that everyone knows about in the Senate. I say to my friend from New Hampshire, the Junior Senator from New Hampshire, I appreciate your running for the Senate. The people of the state of New Hampshire are going to reap great benefits from her decision for many years to come."

Morning Business

 
Senator Reid: (6:29 PM)

·         Performed wrap up.

·         Senators are reminded that a vote is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Sunday.

The Senate stands adjourned until 10:00 AM tomorrow.