The Senate is convened.

• Today --
  • We will have one hour of morning business.
  • Following morning business, we will proceed to the motion to proceed to HR 6049.
  • We will recess from 12:30 PM to 2:15 PM for party luncheons.
  • We will vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to HR 6049 at 2:15 PM, following luncheons.
  • Propounded a UC that the Senate proceed to HR 5749. (Kyl objected).
• Spoke on Tiger Woods winning the US Open.
• Spoke on the Democrat Tax Bill.
  • SUMMARY "so it's not as if, mr. president, that we're trying to ramrod some vicious tax increase to the american middle-class. in fact, that's not the case. we can't let this legislation fail. as the republicans are going to let it fail -- unless we get cloture on this legislation. not only does this legislation do good things for renewable energy and job creation, but it also expands the child tax credit for families"

• Spoke on energy prices.
  • SUMMARY "americans need an energy policy befitting america, and that means using the natural resources we have here at home to bring down prices in the short term while pursuing a long-term strategy for energy independence through clean technologies. we can do both and we should do both."

• Spoke on energy supplies.
  • SUMMARY "we should be investing more money here in america to increase our domestic energy production, create jobs right here in america, as we work to diversify our energy mix and pursue alternative energy so sources. unfortunately, we send american dollars to foreign nations and energy cartels like venezuela and iran, nations that openly condemn the united states and the principles for which we stand"
  • SUMMARY "the longer we sit and do nothing to increase our domestic energy production the more money we ship overseas and the more likely it is to empower the threatening actions of some of america's staunchest enemies."

• Spoke on cloture motions.
  • SUMMARY "i think it is a little disingenuous to talk about a filibuster on a tax bill when the definition of a public filibuster is when a cloture motion is filed. it's filed by the majority party, not by the minority party."
• Spoke on the Democrat Tax Bill.
  • SUMMARY "if the democratic leadership cares about the millions of taxpayers, they will slow this truck down. they will not drive over the cliff. they will stop the truck and work with the senate in the bipartisan way that is the only way to get things done in the senate to finally get this bill passed, a bill that will be signed into law"

• Spoke on unemployment benefits.
  • SUMMARY "given that the economic situation is significantly harsher now than at the start of the last recession, the need to extend unemployment insurance benefits is clear. in doing so, also we can start to stimulate the economy. we have virtually no growth, we have a foreclosure crisis with escalating gasoline, food prices. if we want to get this country moving again, we've got to stimulate the economy."

• Spoke on unemployment benefits.
  • SUMMARY "there are two reasons to do this. one is the individual and the humane to help the people who need help. of course that's first and foremost. but the second is to give a real shot in the arm to the economy. there is no better way when an economy is in recession, going slow, to give it a shot in the arm than unemployment benefits."

• Spoke on unemployment benefits.
  • SUMMARY "the emergency extended unemployment compensation act would help. it would temporarily extend unemployment benefits 13 weeks beyond the ordinary 26-week elgibility period. in states like rhode island where people have been hardest hit, jobless workers who receive an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation"

• Spoke on the Democrat Tax Bill.
  • SUMMARY "i know a lot of my colleagues in congress will be voting to extend the credits before the year ends but waiting until the last minute is just as bad as letting them expire. right now wind developers are working out financing for future projects. you cannot move the projects forward without certainty"

• Spoke on the Democrat Tax Bill.
  • SUMMARY "there is a veto threat, a very crystal clear veto threat, from president bush. that's for substantive reasons, significant objections to the bill -- i share most of them -- with what is included in this package. things like a huge earmark to build a train in new york, a new tax break for trial lawyers, and expansion of the davis-bacon act and $55 billion of taxes. but, mr. president, the point isn't the substancement whether you agree with the substance or not, the point is, this bill is going nowhere, and, therefore, to call it up again and again and to posture and to make speeches is just a political exercise and a waste of time"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "if the senate lets us proceed, including the senator from louisiana, lets us proceed i will offer a substitute and presumably we will be on the substitute. i thought that it was not only the prerogative of the senate but the opportunity for senators to debate amendments and for senators to offer amendments, to offer amendments to strike certain provisions or to add certain provisions. that's called legislating"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "i would be very open to that path forward if there was assurance from the majority leader that there would be that full opportunity for amendments, particularly on the crucial objectionable items that i outlined. unfortunately, to date, there has been absolutely no assurance in that regard and, in fact, the majority leader, through his actions, has taken the opposite course time after time after time, as the distinguished senator knows by filling up the tree"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "sometimes amendments are blocked because they're not good-faith amendments -- perhaps on abortion but they are political amendments. the senate, unfortunately, has come to the point where because they are often political amendments, have nothing to do with the issue at hand, the majority leader sometimes is forced into a situation to do the senate business to set up a procedure to minimize the possibility of the occurrence of the political amendments"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "if the majority leader were to come to the floor and guarantee amendments on the substance of the bill, on the train in new york, on the davis-bacon provision, down the line in terms of all those highly objectionable issues that i outlined a minute ago which, of course, go to the substance of the bill, i would be all ears. unfortunately, that has not been his practice on prior issues or in this situation but i thank the distinguished senator."

• Spoke on the Democrat Tax Bill.
  • SUMMARY "this week the senate is faced with a choice, a choice that in my opinion is easy. if we can get to 6049, if the senate will vote to get to the bill, we can take up my substitute amendment. that will include the provisions that i talked about and a one-year a.m.t. patch, making sure people do not have to pay a.m.t. next taxable year and extending that patch without offsets."

• We will recess until 2:15 PM for luncheons.

The Senate stands in recess until 2:15 PM.

• Propounded a UC to allow the Judiciary Committee to meet. (McConnell objected)

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "the commitments in this body are not kept and comity breaks down, and if that occurs, the minority will not routinely grant to those or grant consent to those matters that we usually do. in this case, we have unfulfilled commitments with respect to treating circuit court judges fairly. it is the middle of june. the senate has only confirmed eight circuit court nominees. this is less than half the number the majority leader and i agreed to at the beginning of the congress"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "he and i said that we would do our very -- we would do our utmost by the memorial day break to confirm three more circuit court judges. i think it was three. i don't remember the number. we did our utmost. senator leahy did his utmost. but it was slow-walked by the republicans on the judiciary committee."

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "i would ask the distinguished leader, is he aware of the fact that this hearing was being held after one, two, three, four senior members of the republican caucus asked me to have the hearing?"

The vote was 52-44, the motion to invoke cloture on the

motion to proceed to H.R. 6049 fails.

(Vote results will be posted here within an hour.)

• Spoke on the cyclones in Burma (Myanmar).

• Spoke on the Unemployment Extension Bill (HR 5749).
  • SUMMARY "what we can do immediately is to help the ohio families and louisiana families and other families with unemployment insurance. it really is the only economic life line that so many families have. and when you think about it, this is -- unemployment compensation is an insurance, it is called unemployment insurance. it is not a givaway, it's not welfare"

• Spoke on awarding fuel tanker contracts to Airbus.

• Tomorrow --
  • We will convene at 10:00 AM.
  • We will resume consideration to the motion to proceed to H.R. 6049.
  • At 2:30 PM we will have two hours of morning business.
  • We expect to be in a position to turn to the consideration of the House message to accompany the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 321).

The Senate stands adjourned until 10:00 AM tomorrow.