Senate Opening

The Senate Convened.

Opening Remarks

 
Senator Reid: (9:32 AM)

·         Today --

·         The Senate will resume consideration of S. 22, The Public Lands Bill, until 10:30 AM.

·         Time will be equally divided and controlled.

·         The deadline for filing second degree amendments is 10:00 AM.

·         The Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on S. 22, The Public Lands Bill, at 10:30 AM.

 
Senator McConnell: (9:33 AM)

·         Spoke on the state of the U.S. economy.

o    SUMMARY "While I feel strongly that we must continue to stabilize the economy, I would find it exceedingly difficult to support additional taxpayer funds without serious assurances from the incoming Administration that the taxpayers will be protected."

S. 22, The Public Lands Bill (Cloture Motion)

 
Senator Coburn: (9:59 AM)

·         Spoke against S. 22, The Public Lands Bill.

o    SUMMARY "I don't understand why we're doing it now. I understand the politics of it. I understand the way the Senate works. I understand the reason that Members want to get things done for their states. But, right now in our nation we ought to be thinking about the good of the nation as a whole. The long term good of the nation as a whole. Confidence is what Americans don't have today. They're not confident in their future. They're not confident in the economics of maintaining their family and their lifestyle."

 
Senator Bingaman: (10:12 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of S. 22, The Public Lands Bill.

o    SUMMARY "This legislation contains over 160 separate public land and related bills with roughly an equal number of provisions sponsored by Democrats and by Republican Senators. Apart from the bipartisan makeup of the package, almost all of these bills were considered in the Energy Committee and were reported in our Committee after amendment. And I should emphasize that. There was a an extensive process of amending these bills in our Committee."

 
Senator Murkowski: (10:21 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of S. 22, The Public Lands Bill.

o    SUMMARY "I believe that overall, what we have before us today is a package that will improve our nation's management of its public lands and parks and will be a long-term benefit to our nation. And, therefore, Mr. President, I respectfully request my fellow members' support for passage of this legislation."

 
Senator Coburn: (10:25 AM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "Let me clear up the Wyoming Range. It is said there is only 1.5 trillion cubic feet according to the U.S. Geologic Survey but you haven't read the complete report. The letter is new. The data used by them is older than the data used by the Bureau of Land Management. It wasn't based on the latest topographic and geological studies. That is the first problem with it. The second thing they say in the report they lacked an official map. So, it's their best guess."

S. 22, The Public Lands Bill (Cloture Motion)

The vote result was 68-24.

The motion to invoke cloture on S. 22, The Public Lands Bill, is agreed to.

The vote results will be posted here within an hour.

Morning Business

 
Senator Mikulski: (2:01 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Fair Pay Restoration Act (Ledbetter bill).

o    SUMMARY "What this legislation will do is to overturn the Supreme Court decision that essentially mitigated the ability to file lawsuits for equal pay or for equal work. "

o    SUMMARY "The Supreme Court decision was so outrageous that our beloved and esteemed Justice Ginsburg took the unusual position of reading her dissent from the bench. Usually justices don't do that. She said in her dissenting opinion that the Court didn't get it, that they do not understand the realities of the workplace that would prohibit women from knowing exactly when the discrimination started. She called upon Congress to fix it, and that's what this bill does. Our bill restores the original language that existed before Ledbetter."

 
Senator Murray: (2:19 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Fair Pay Restoration Act (Ledbetter bill).

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, with its May 2007 decision, Ledbetter vs. Goodyear, the Supreme Court reversed years of progress in the fight for fairness in the workplace. Their decision made it almost impossible for workers who suffered discrimination to seek justice. It went against Congress's intent, and it set us back 40 years in the fight for equal opportunity in the workplace. The decision was wrong, and we in this body need to take action before it weakens our civil rights laws even further. So today as we begin this new Congress and a new Administration, I am urging all of our colleagues to support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to reverse Ledbetter vs. Goodyear and ensure that our workers again have a fair shot at fighting discrimination."

 
Senator Enzi: (2:27 PM)

·         Spoke on the Fair Pay Restoration Act (Ledbetter bill).

o    SUMMARY "The Majority brought this legislation directly to the Floor of the Senate and in doing so, circumvented the legislative process. This legislation has not been brought before the jury of jurisdiction in the Senate and as a consequence, has not been subject to the scrutiny, open debate, an amendment which is an intergal part of the Senate deliberative process. Mr. President, this is not a legislative process that our Founding Fathers created. It is an affront to the members of the American public. You cannot have a good legislation with a bad process."

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, I intend to speak further with respect to the substance of the legislation, but don't wish to dilute my concerns about the way this legislation is being handled with my concerns about the bill."

 
Senator Mikulski: (2:37 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "When this bill moves forward, there is an agreement between both leaders, the Majority and Minority, the Democrat and Republican leaders that there will be amendments. And, in fact, one of the premier amendments will be offered by the Gentle Lady from Texas who has an alternative view. So she'll have an opportunity to offer her amendment. And, as I understand, there is no restriction on the amendments. "

 
Senator Enzi: (2:41 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "I would still suggest on bills that if they go through the Committee process, the Committee markup process, that we have a better idea of the intensity from each of the Members on the Committee. We have a better idea of alternate solutions or alternate wording."

 
Senator Cantwell: (2:42 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Fair Pay Restoration Act (Ledbetter bill).

o    SUMMARY "But this bill, as my colleagues have already discussed, will allow workers to file pay discrimination claims as long as the discrimination continues. A worker's ability to challenge unequal pay should continue as long as the discrimination is there. And so it is their most recent discriminatory paycheck that will be the trigger for allowing them to file this case."

 
Senator Klobuchar: (2:50 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of the Fair Pay Restoration Act (Ledbetter bill).

o    SUMMARY "Women cannot be expected to challenge practices they do not know are happening. By passing this law, women will be able to take those four months back, those extra months it takes them, to catch up with their male counterparts. This legislation is critical in the fight for equality for women in the workplace, but there is still a long way to go."

The Public Lands Bill (S. 22) Post Cloture

 
Senator Inhofe: (4:23 PM)

·         Spoke on the Administration's request for the second $350 billion in TARP funds.

o    SUMMARY "I still think historians will look back and say that was the most outrageous vote that's ever been taken. First of all, the largest single vote of expenditure in the history of this country. Second, it gave an unelected bureaucrat the total power, usurping our powers of making all decisions over $700 billion with no oversight whatever."

o    SUMMARY "It's difficult for the American people, and for me, to really appreciate how much money is $700 billion. So what I normally do when we deal with large numbers, I take the total number of families in America that file tax returns and I do the math. This turns out to $5,000 a family. When I say it in those terms, it is a wake-up call to the American people, people do understand."

·         Spoke on the legacy of President George W. Bush.

o    SUMMARY "What this Administration has accomplished in the last five years is phenomenal in the aftermath of 9/11. He brought us together as a nation, prevented our enemies from striking again and captured many who would have tried. President Bush woke the nation so that we could begin to deal aggressively with the threats that were facing us. Because of President Bush, we no longer treat terrorists like common criminals, but as enemy combatants. We no longer turn a blind eye to nuclear proliferation by negotiating without the real threat of military action...We have removed threatened regimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, freeing 50 million people. We have weakened the Al-Qaeda network and its affiliates. We have disrupted terrorist plots and built a coalition of more than 90 nations to fight terrorism. And we have transformed our approach to combating terrorism after the 9/11 attacks."

The Public Lands Bill (S. 22) Post Cloture

 
Senator Bond: (5:17 PM)

·         Spoke on the Limitations on Interrogation Techniques Act of 2009.

o    SUMMARY "Rather than authorizing intelligence agencies to use only those techniques that are allowed under the Army Field Manual, the A.F.M., I believe that if any change needs to be made in the current law, the better approach is to preclude the use of specific techniques that are prohibited under the A.F.M."

o    SUMMARY "Let me assure you that there are many techniques which are similar in degree of duress to those permitted in the Army Field Manual. And the reason to be able to use others, the most important part of any interrogation technique is the unknown. When the detainee does not know what techniques are permitted, then the detainee does not know what to expect."

 
Senator Hatch: (5:24 PM)

·         Spoke on the legacy of President George W. Bush.

o    SUMMARY "President Bush knows that it is tough to lead if you follow the polls. As he said in an interview last month, he did not compromise his soul to be a popular guy. George W. Bush is not leaving the presidency with chapped fingers from holding them up to the political wind. His critics spin that as stubbornness, saying he wants to go it alone. I fully expect that many of those same Bush critics will praise the next President for the very same thing."

o    SUMMARY "I believe that for these tumultuous times, we've had the right President for the right times. I believe that President Bush and the First Lady have been tremendous examples for all of us, and I believe history is going to speak well of both of them and speak well of our country."

The Public Lands Bill (S. 22) Post Cloture

 
Senator Thune: (7:27 PM)

·         Congratulated Don Meyer, the men's basketball coach at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, for his 903rd career coaching victory.

 
Senator Reid: (8:30 PM)

·         Performed wrap up.

·         Tomorrow --

·         The Senate will convene at 10:00 AM with Senators able to speak up to 10 minutes each in Morning Business.

·         At 12:00 PM, all post cloture time will be yielded back, except for 10 minutes that will be equally divided and controlled.

·         At 12:10 PM, a roll call vote is expected on final passage of The Public Lands Bill (S. 22).

·         Following that vote, a roll call vote is expected on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the Fair Pay Act (S. 181).

·         The Senate is then expected to move into debate on the Economic Stabilization Act.

(Note: Senator Joe Biden will deliver his farewell address at 10:00 AM, followed by Senator Clinton at 11:00 AM. Senate Designate Roland Burris will take the oath of office at 2:00 PM.)

The Senate stands adjourned until 10:00 AM tomorrow.