Opening Remarks

 
Senator McConnell: (10:03 AM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "The Democratic plan would not only raise taxes and slash Medicare, it would also raise health insurance premiums. This is not reform and it's certainly not what the American people were told they could expect. Republicans have proposed a different approach, one that responds to today's needs and one that respects the challenging economic environment we're in. We're for helping small businesses find affordable health insurance options for their employees. We're for providing individuals the same tax benefits for purchasing insurance that business gets. We're for protecting doctors from frivolous lawsuits that can focus on treating patients and lower their costs. We're for cracking down on the rampant waste and fraud that drive up the cost of health care. And we're for the kind of wellness and prevention programs that have worked at places like the Safeway grocery chain. Contrast that with the other side's plan: a reform that was meant to cut costs has been shown to increase them. As I've said repeatedly, that's not reform, but it's also not too late. It's not too late for the parties to get together and deliver the reforms Americans really want."

 
Senator Reid: (10:09 AM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, we have had during the last six months extended hearings on the need for health care reform. Every member of the Democratic caucus here in the United States Senate believes the present health care delivery system in America is in trouble. It's not fair to patients. It's not fair to physicians. It's not fair to doctors. And certain classes of people are really being damaged. Medicare recipients are hammered every day. What we're doing is presenting to the American people alternatives to the insurance industry running health care. We cannot continue the way we've been going, and that's what the Republican plan is. Continuing more of the same with the health insurance industry controlling everything, not professionals. We're going to continue working on this. The Congressional Budget Office now has, Mr. President, a plan that we have sent to them, different alternatives that they are to report back as to the numbers on that. And we will have in the near future a program that will be obvious to the American people that will show that's what we're doing."

·         Today --

·         The Senate will recess from 10:15-11:30 AM for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's address to a Joint Meeting of Congress in the Hall of the House.

·         Upon reconvening at 11:30 AM, the Senate will resume consideration of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548), post-cloture. It is uncertain if all post-cloture time will be used.

·         The Senate will recess from 12:30-2:15 PM for the weekly caucus luncheons.

The Senate stands in recess until 11:30 AM.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Cardin: (11:39 AM)

·         Spoke in favor of H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "It's critically important for the system to work, and that means we need to provide the safety net of unemployment compensation during these times, and we need to extend it to all states. And the bill that is before us will provide those additional 14 weeks in every state...But I want to talk also about the Leader's amendment that will extend the first-time home buyers' tax credit that would expire at the end of this month. I had introduced legislation with Senator Isakson to extend the credit for an additional six months, and I am pleased that that provision is included in the Leader's amendment that also expands the credit for an additional six months. According to the IRS, 1.4 million people used the credit as of September 2009. As many as 40% of all home buyers this year will qualify for the credit. It has clearly worked according to its intended purpose, and that is to get potential home buyers off of the sidelines into the market, buying a home."

 
Senator Barrasso: (11:49 AM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "Madam President, the House health reform bill is nearly 2,000 pages long. The Finance Committee bill is over 1,500. The HELP Committee bill is over 1,000. Now, some in Washington may believe that drafting a bill in secret and then rushing to enact it into law with little debate is the perfect way to avoid tough questions and public scrutiny. Well, the plan has not gone as intended. The American people are much too smart. As the American people began to understand the details, they began to ask the tough questions. They know what the Democrats in Congress and what the administration is trying to do. The American people are not buying it. They're not convinced that we should turn over the nation's private health care system to Washington, to bureaucrats in the federal government. Of course the American people want reasonable, commonsense health insurance reform. We need that. But the American people do not want a bill that limits their freedom and bankrupts the country. Fortunately, the American people see the numbers simply do not add up. They know if the reform bills we are debating become law, the health care costs are going to go up."

 
Senator Enzi: (12:08 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "The status quo on health care is unacceptable. Health care costs are skyrocketing. Insurance premiums are increasing. Too many small businesses can no longer afford to offer health insurance to their workers. While I agree that we need to change our current system, the approach reflected in the current health reform bills is the wrong answer. That's these bills. Quite a stack of paper. Very encompassing, very comprehensive. This is going to affect every single American. We have never had a bill that affected every single American. That's why it's so complicated, that's why it's so large, that's why it's so hard to deal with...Congress should pass a bill that decreases the cost of health care and reduces insurance premiums across the board, not just for the poor, not just for the uninsured. Unfortunately, the bills that Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid and President Obama are pushing through Congress will do little to address spiraling health care costs and will actually increase insurance premiums most Americans pay for their health care. Even worse, increases in premiums will come at a time of rising unemployment."

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Webb: (12:17 PM)

·         Spoke on the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009.

o    SUMMARY "Madam President, I rise today to give my colleagues a progress report on the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, the goal which is to create a blue-ribbon national commission to take a long overdue and comprehensive look at our criminal justice system. This week, the full Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider this bill and markup would not have taken place without the strong support of Chairman Leahy, Senators Hatch, Graham, Durbin and Specter, all of whom have championed this bill, and I would like to express my appreciation to them and to other members for all of the input and cooperation that they have given...This commission is designed to be bipartisan. It is to be composed of 13 members. The chairman, appointed by the president; four members coming from state and local governments, appointed by the president, in agreement with the Minority leaders, the Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House; two members appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, in consultation with the chairman of the committee on Judiciary; two members appointed by the Speaker of the House, with the same process; two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate; two members appointed by the Minority Leader of the House. It will be a 7-6 commission and I'm pleased to report that through the course of these many, many meetings, we found a solid consensus in support of a comprehensive review of this system."

 
Senator Bond: (12:30 PM)

·         Spoke on the war in Afghanistan.

o    SUMMARY "Yesterday, Afghanistan's independent election commission announced that a run-off election is no longer necessary, which means that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has secured a second term. Now, whatever your feelings about President Karzai, this peaceful resolution of Afghanistan's electoral mess should have brought a sigh of relief for anyone waiting with baited breath for our own administration's decision on whether to support General McChrystal's troop request or not, whether to support the president's plan for Afghanistan. After all, according to President Obama's decision was 'weeks away' because he was waiting to announce a decision until after the Afghan election was decided. Yesterday, I read in the New York Times that the White House press secretary said the president's announcement was once again weeks away. You know, this is beginning to sound a little bit like Charlie Brown and the football, only the game the White House is playing has deadly consequences...I call on President Obama to end this indecision, commit to his own strategy which he announced so powerfully last March, which I was proud to support on the floor. Show the American people and our allies the same resolve and determination I heard in his words this past spring. He said, and I quote, 'Our spirit is strong and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us. We will defeat you.' It's time that we delivered on that promise."

The Senate stands in recess until 2:15 PM.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Stabenow: (2:15 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "Let me speak for a moment about the amendment and then I want to again speak about the process, because the amendment would allow an extension of 14 weeks for anyone who is currently unemployed in their state or qualifies for unemployment insurance, and an additional six weeks, totaling 20 weeks for states like the people in my great state who have been hit for too long, too hard, Mr. President. And so we need to get this passed. There are other provisions that have been combined with this. One of the other successes, in fact, I'm proud as the original author of cash-for-clunkers to have had, continually, economists talking about cash-for-clunkers and the first-time homebuyers tax credit as being two things that went directly to the consumers and helped move the economy. And we know there is an expiration now coming for the first-time homebuyers' tax credit of $8,000, and so we extend that and there are some provisions in there as well. Very important for people."

o    SUMMARY "Everybody knows we have big problems, and we can have honest differences about how to address those. That's our job. But we are seeing over and over again a party of no, no, no, stop things. Heaven forbid that this president be successful or this Congress be successful. And that is a great concern to me in a state with the highest unemployment in the country, where we have people every day saying why in the world can't you act? Why can't you get things done? And the reason that we are finding ourselves in this position now is an effort to slow walk the entire year. It's amazing."

 
Senator Crapo: (2:27 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, I want to talk this afternoon about health care and in specific the impact of some of the proposals we have on the cost of health care insurance. But before I do so, I think that I must respond to some of the comments that were just made by the Senator from Michigan accusing the Republican Party of being the party of no. It seems that we are starting to get to a point here where bipartisanship is not being achieved, but it seems that the definition of bipartisanship is becoming either do it our way or you're the party of no. It seems to me that what we need to really do is to step back and take a couple of deep breaths and start working together on the legislation here."

o    SUMMARY "The effort that caused us to slow down for just a couple of days on this legislation was an effort to improve it. In fact, had we not slowed down, just a couple of days ago, the bill would have gone through and would have been passed, but it would not have the homebuyer credit on it, the homebuyer tax credit for purchases of homes. It would not have the net operating loss carryback provisions on it, both important provisions for creating jobs rather than simply providing the safety net for those who have lost their jobs."

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "One last point, Mr. President, and that is that often this proposal to have the federal government step in and create a government health care company, a government-run health care insurance company is promoted by saying we need something else for the private sector. Well, just last week, CBO released their score of the House bill which creates just such a government-run health care company. And their score shows that the new government plan would typically have premiums that are higher than the average premiums for private plans. Now, what is CBO saying? The CBO letter then states that although the government plan would likely have lower administrative costs than the private plans, which is one of the key arguments that is often made, the government plan would, and I'm quoting from CBO, 'Probably engage in less management of utilization by its enrollees and attract a less healthy pool of enrollees,' resulting in higher premium costs in the government plan."

 
Senator Alexander: (2:46 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "One of the ways to pay for this bill is to shift some of the costs, about $37 billion at least, to states, to governors who are Democratic and Republican, and are going to say, please don't do that to us. We can't afford that. We don't have the money for it. We have to balance our budget. And if Washington wants to expand Medicaid, Washington should pay for Medicaid. So, Mr. President, higher premiums, Medicare cuts, higher taxes, more debt, government-run plan, millions losing coverage, inevitable rationing, states complaining, some going bankrupt, a $2 trillion cost, that's not health care reform...We have been saying over and over again on the Senate floor and other places that we're going in the wrong direction, that we need to start over, that our goal should be to reduce costs, costs to each of us who pay premiums, costs to all of us who have to pay the federal government debt, and we should set a clear goal, reducing costs, and move step-by-step toward that goal of reducing costs to re-earn the trust of the American people."

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Reed: (3:02 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "It's already been a month since the House passed their legislation. We could have passed this, I believe. In fact, if you look at the record, the number of cloture votes and everything else, we just passed, just yesterday a cloture vote, a substitute amendment by 85-2. Typically, when we have 85-2 votes, we don't go through further procedural motions. We, by unanimous consent, take up the measure and pass it routinely. What's lacking here? Not the 60 votes for cloture. It's the unanimous consent, it is the consent of our Republican colleagues to move forward. They're not denying us, they're denying the American people. We should take this measure up immediately. 85-2 cloture votes. Eighty five people will come down, perhaps even all 100, and vote for this bill. But it will be a month after we should have accomplished this task. While we wait, our economy suffers and thousands of Americans do. So I would urge passage as quickly as possible."

 
Senator Ensign: (3:11 PM)

·         Spoke on the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009.

o    SUMMARY "I am proud to have led the effort to amend the Land Management Act in 2003 in order to guarantee funding for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act. The money comes from land auctions across southern Nevada. Great work has gone into protecting this national legacy, but we are not done. The Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2009 is our continued commitment to protecting this Nevada treasure, indeed, this American treasure for future generations. This effort is a collaboration between Senators Feinstein, Reid, Boxer, and myself, and it authorizes $415 million over eight years and provides money for fuel reduction, environmental improvement programs, storm water management, and watershed restoration...Unfortunately, there are many threats that face Lake Tahoe today. This legislation addresses each of those threats in a manner that is fiscally responsible with the most effective and efficient use of federal funds based on scientific research."

 
Senator Begich: (3:16 PM)

·         Spoke on the Alaska native population. 

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, the story of Alaska native people is one of great success, success against enormous odds. For me, this story is also personal, because I was born in Anchorage barely three years after Alaska became a state in 1959. In that era, the status of Alaska natives was bleak. Fewer than 20% had a high school diploma. Less than 1% a college degree. Half lived below the poverty line. Fifty percent of Alaska natives lived without indoor plumbing, collecting their waste in what we call a hone bucket. Two-thirds lack what we define as a job. Most hunted and fished and lived off the land to feed their families. Today, the lives and achievements of Alaska native people have improved dramatically...At the top of my Senate agenda are three specific areas focused to ensure Alaska's native people continue to flourish. First, we must make energy affordable for rural Alaskans...A second major issue facing Alaska native people is subsistence, a time honored practice of harvesting Alaska's rich fish and Alaska resources to put food on the table...Finally, a continuing major issue in rural Alaska is the lack of basic infrastructure. This includes water and sewer systems so Alaskans don't have to live in third-world conditions. It includes expanded broadband technology so Alaska children have equal access to the educational wonders of the internet."

 
Senator Kyl: (3:27 PM)

·         Spoke on H.R. 3548 PM.

o    SUMMARY "I voted for cloture to proceed to the substitute. I'm not holding anything up. But, the Majority Leader is not holding up his part of the bargain, which is to at least allow some amendments, a very small, I think it's what? Three amendments or four that the Republicans have offered? As I said, we can't even offer this amendment to offer an alternative way to pay for what almost all of us in this chamber want to do and will end up voting to do...When Republicans are not allowed to offer these kinds of amendments, then yes, we will insist upon a debate, a debate which points out the better idea for solving a problem that every one of us wants to solve, and the fact that we are not even being allowed to offer the amendment in order to have that debate and challenge our ideas from the other side to see whether they want to continue to support this program with a tax on workers or if they would like to find a better way. The way that the Republican Party has proposed."

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Durbin: (3:35 PM)

·         Spoke on the Marion VA Medical Center in Southern Illinois.

o    SUMMARY "I am deeply disappointed that yet another report identifies entrenched and serious problems at Marion. In the report that was finally released yesterday, the inspector general details appalling failures of quality management and patient safety standards. I've read this report. Some failures they found are the same ones they found two years ago...After two years to focus on bringing the Marion VA Center up to the basic standards that we should expect of every VA facility, those in the direct line of command at Marion have violated the public trust and should be relieved of their duties until serious questions about this management have been answered and resolved. The secretary called me on the phone last night and we had a lengthy conversation about Marion. I will tell you, Mr. President, when I first met the general and told him that I would support him because of his service to our country and his obvious leadership skills, I talked about the Marion VA Center. I told him this had to be high on his priority list. He said he was going to take the initial step of removing the Marion director and naming a replacement with a long and respected record of leadership. I wish this new director the best and offer all the help I can to provide and assure veterans in southern Illinois they'll receive the best possible care."

·         Spoke on H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, I just heard the Senator from Arizona come out here and talk about the unwillingness of the Democratic Majority to allow the Republicans to offer amendments. He used that as his reason to explain why for 26 days the Republicans have held up the extension of unemployment benefits to thousands of people across this country. During that 26-day period of time when the Republicans have stopped us from extending unemployment benefits, 180,000 Americans have seen their unemployment benefits end...The Senator from Arizona takes exception to the idea that we would use the insurance fund that is collected by employers and employees across America to extend unemployment benefits. Well, this is an insurance fund we all pay into in the unlikely event that we lose our job, so that we can get unemployment insurance. And now the Senator from Arizona says we shouldn't do that. It's unfair to collect that FUTA tax to fund unemployment benefits. I think it is perfectly fair. I've never used it once in my life. I don't mind paying into it. I think it is reasonable. If the day comes when I need it, it is there. And so to say that we should stop funding this kind of unemployment insurance benefit is in my mind to really jeopardize a safety net that many people count on across America."

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "The Senator from Tennessee was here earlier, and it appears now that the major Republican opposition to health care reform comes down to something very basic, which I never would have guessed. It turns out that the Republicans object to the length of the bill. It turns out that they are offended and are carrying that offense to an extreme because they believe that the Senate bill for health care reform is over 1,000 pages long. I don't know if the Republicans can help me understand this. Maybe there is a number of pages that they think would be appropriate. I don't know if it's 900. I don't know if it's 500. But, apparently in their mind, there is an appropriate number of pages for a bill. And when the bill goes beyond a certain number of pages, whatever it says is unacceptable. That apparently is the new approach being taken by the Republicans."

 
Senator Hutchison: (4:05 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "I heard the distinguished Senator from Illinois saying that the Republican complaint is how long the bill is. Well, of course, he acknowledged that there is no bill, that we actually don't have a bill that has been introduced yet in the Senate. So, I think what we're talking about is the length of the bills that have been put forward by the two committees and will be put together, and it can be 3,000 pages long if that's what it takes to cover this issue. The concern the Republicans have is, are we going to have time to read it? Are we going to have time for the public to read it so that we understand fully before we start debating, before we start amending what is in every line of the bill? The American people expect that we will know what we're voting on when we're talking about taking over one-sixth of our economy in this country. We're talking about the health care industry jobs, the doctors, the nurses, the nurse's aides, the hospital personnel, the doctors' office personnel. We're talking about a lot of the economy of our country. Most importantly, we're talking about the relationship between a patient and a doctor, which is the most personal, most important health care relationship that you can possibly have in every family. So, I think maybe the distinguished deputy leader on the Democratic side is mistaken. The complaints about how big the bill is with how long we have to read the big bill. That is the issue."

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Murray: (4:23 PM)

·         Spoke in favor of H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, this legislation will help families who need it most by providing every single unemployed worker who has exhausted now his or her benefits an additional 14 weeks of support, regardless of what state they live in. And it would extend unemployment to laid off workers in states that have been hardest hit by the job losses, including Washington state, by six weeks...You know, these men and women who are writing me and stopping me when I'm home didn't expect to have to ask for help. They had jobs. They felt secure. But now they are spending their days desperately looking for work that's not available. They're worrying about what will happen to them and they're worrying about their families when their savings are exhausted and their credit cards are maxed out and the banks won't wait any longer for a mortgage payment. Mr. President, we cannot continue to go hour after hour delaying this when our families are facing financial crisis that they didn't create, but they are paying for. So, we need to pass this legislation."

 
Senator Brown: (4:32 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "The public option will mean competition for insurance companies in southwest Ohio. Two companies have 85% of the insurance in that part of Ohio. It's the Cincinnati area. When two companies have 85%, you can bet, Mr. President, that they're getting lower quality, they're paying higher costs. Put the public option in there, compete with them. It's going to help to drive down costs, it's going to stabilize costs and it's going to mean better quality insurance. You don't have to choose the public option, but the fact is that it exists. The other thing the public option will do is it will keep these insurance companies much more honest. We're going to outlaw, no more pre-existing condition, no more discrimination based on your disability or based on your geography or based on gender or any of that."

 
Senator Sanders: (4:43 PM)

·         Spoke on the economic recession.

o    SUMMARY "Mr. President, as I think every American understands, we are in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. I find it interesting that there are some people out there, some economists, including the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Mr. Bernanke, who have told us, and I quote, 'The recession is very likely over.' End of quote. Well, I would suggest to go out on the street and ask people whether they think this recession is over, and they may say well, it may be over for the large banks who were bailed out by taxpayers, but it is not over for working families. In fact, according to the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, 82% of Americans disagree with Mr. Bernanke. The overwhelming majority of the American people do not believe that the recession is over. And, of course, they are right."

o    SUMMARY "Why is it that today people are losing their homes and their pensions and their life savings and their ability to send their kids to college? Clearly, short term, it is imperative that we investigate thoroughly and that we hold accountable those crooks on Wall Street who have done so much damage to the American people. It is simply not acceptable that they be allowed to continue the behavior that drove this country into the severe recession. We need to understand how it happened. We need to hold accountable those people who caused this crisis. And where there is illegal behavior, those people should learn what the penal system of this country is about."

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548)

 
Senator Franken: (5:10 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "Now, as we talk about reforming our health care system, I want to break that phrase 'health care system' apart for a second because we're really talking about two things. The truth is, we have some really great health care in this country and a really terrible system. We have dedicated, smart doctors and nurses and researchers and health professionals in this country. They do amazing things. And if you're a member of the Saudi Royal family, you can get on your private jet and come to my state for the best health care in the world. The Saudi Royal family is willing to travel 7,500 miles to Rochester, Minnesota, to get great care from the Mayo Clinic. For a woman in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and her adult son, both with diabetes, that same great care is less than 300 miles away, but it's really a world away. That's because if you're an American, you can get great health care too, but only if you make it through the terrible system. And only if you can afford it."

o    SUMMARY "Yes, this is complex stuff, and that's why it is particularly important that nobody here injects into this debate misinformation that engenders fear. There has been too much of that, and it hasn't resulted in anybody getting better care or moving us closer to a consensus. So let's remember that behind the numbers that we talk about are real people. Real people who urgently need our help. As the saying goes, 'statistics are people with the tears wiped off.' This is our chance to confront the biggest single threat to America's future and the greatest unmet moral obligation in our history all rolled up into one. That's what health care is."

 
Senator Kaufman: (5:57 PM)

·         Honored Dr. Stephen Anderson for his years of service at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Morning Business

 
Senator Durbin: (6:45 PM)

·         Spoke on health care reform.

o    SUMMARY "I've heard from the other side of the aisle today a litany of complaints they have about health care reform. Leading off in the complaints about health care reform is the number of pages in the bill. Now, the fact is, there is no Senate bill. It's in preparation at this moment. But the Republican side of the aisle, starting with Senator McConnell, the leader, through other senators, continues to come to the floor and bemoan the fact that this bill may actually reach 2,000 pages in length. I don't know that it will. I don't know that it won't. I don't know that it makes any difference. I don't think people back home really care if this is a short bill or a long bill as long as it's a good bill. As long as it does what needs to be done."

 
Senator Cardin: (6:50 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "I agree with the senator. If it takes 10 pages or 100 pages or 1,000 pages, we've got to make clear that insurance companies cannot do those types of practices against people in this nation. They can't underwrite based upon pre-existing conditions. That's why you get insurance. It seems like insurance companies want to write insurance policies where no one can make claims. We buy insurance to protect us and insurance needs to be there."

 
Senator Klobuchar: (6:51 PM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "I was thinking as the Senator from Illinois talked about the number of pages in bills, when we were in the middle of the country's worst economic crisis since the depression back under the Bush administration and people were trying to figure out what to do, and if you remember, the administration came forward with a bill that would have given nearly a trillion dollars out to banks and it was something like 25 pages long, if I remember. And I think the people of this country said hey, wait a minute, this is a major issue and 25 pages or 10 pages or 3 pages or a hundred pages isn't enough."

·         Spoke in favor of H.R. 3548.

o    SUMMARY "With each passing day without an extension, more and more Americans are losing the last lifeline that they have to keep their heads above water in this difficult, difficult economy. And one of the things I really like about the Senate bill, and I see the Senator from Illinois is back and I thank him for his leadership, and Senator Reid and Senator Shaheen and others that have worked on this, is the Senate bill doesn't just say okay, only certain states are going to be able to get an extension of unemployment benefits. The Senate bill says what the people of my state say. They say, you know, in my house, the unemployment rate in Minnesota might be 7.3% right now, but in my house, it's 100%."

 
Senator Durbin: (6:59 PM)

·         Propounded a UC that tomorrow, after a period of Morning Business, the Senate resume consideration of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3548), that all post-cloture time be considered used, that the substitute amendment be agreed to and the time until 12:15 PM be divided equally in the usual form. Further, that at 12:15 PM, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 3548 and that if cloture is invoked, post-cloture time be considered as if cloture was invoked at 11:45 PM on Tuesday (without objection).

·         Performed wrap up.

·         Tomorrow --

·         The Senate will convene at 9:30 AM and proceed to a period of Morning Business, for up to 2 hours, with senators permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each. The time will be equally divided and controlled with the Majority controlling the first 60 minutes and the Minority controlling the final 60 minutes.

·         Following Morning Business, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 3548 as provided for under the previous order.

The Senate stands adjourned until 9:30 AM tomorrow.