The Senate is convened.

• This Week --
  • We need to work on FISA, the supplemental appropriation bill, a tax extenders measure, the housing bill and medicare.
  • We hope to vote on confirmations for judges and FEC officials.
  • We would like to get to an FAA extension and PEPFAR legislation.
• Today --
  • We will resume consideration of the House Message to accompany the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • We will vote on cloture on the Dodd-Shelby Amendement to Agree with the House (Dodd Amdt. 4983) around 11:00 AM.
  • Amendments to the Dodd-Shelby substitute amendment must be filed by 10:30 AM.
  • We will recess for caucus luncheons from 12:30 PM to 2:15 PM.
  • Following luncheons we will vote on judicial nominations, covering at least two circuit court judges.
  • We will attempt to vote on FEC nominations today, pending Senator Feingold's meeting.
• Spoke on the FEC nominations.
  • SUMMARY "there's been some concern raised by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that the democrats want -- have set out to delay this f.e.c. being reconstituted so that democratic national committee's lawsuit against senator mccain may be heard in the court"
  • SUMMARY "if we truly wanted to help the d.n.c. suit, would we have made that offer? i don't think so. would we offer to waive both the hearing and the markup? the answer is no. as i've told my colleagues many times, democrats want a functional agency as soon as possible. that could have happen in may. it could happen today. but we want to do everything we can to reconstitute the f.e.c. it is extremely important to do that."

• Propounded a UC that today FEC nominees be confirmed immediately. (Reid objected)
  • SUMMARY "the majority leader, is correct that i was not inclined to reconstitute the f.e.c. with a 3-2 democratic majority. and that would have been, of course, the case had we gone forward on some but not all of the f.e.c. nominations back before memorial day. so it is a fact that in addition to objecting to republican nominees to the f.e.c. which has become something of a tradition around here, there was an additional attempt to gain a majority on the f.e.c. by acting prematurely before we could confirm a a full complement"
• Spoke on the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • SUMMARY "the democrats finally agreed last week to allow our input. as a result, we now have a bipartisan housing bill that addresses many of their concerns, but i think it could be made even better with some further amendments, which i'm hopeful we'll have an opportunity to do, even if cloture is invoked, because as much as i'd like to see this bill moved forward, there are some housing-related amendments that have been shut out of the process so far, and i'm hoping the majority leader and i can discuss how we might be able to dispose of those"

• Propounded UCs to call up his amendments (Crapo Amdts. 5009, 5010, 5002, 5003).  (objections heard)
  • SUMMARY "my preference would be that we strike this section until we identify the cost to businesses. the total cost of implementing this new reporting regime within the i.r.s. and the ability of the i.r.s. to use this information in a meaningful way to close the tax gap. if that amendment were allowed to be brought forward and defeated, the senate should provide an additional year at least to implement this system. but as i indicated, mr. president, we won't have an opportunity to vote on these amendments or other amendments that other senators want to bring because we have been stopped from calling up germane amendments"

• Propounded a UC to call up his clean energy extender amendment (Ensign Amdt. 5020). (objection heard)
  • SUMMARY "i just want to let the managers of this bill know that there are some procedural things that can go on that are going to take them a little more time to get this bill done than they would otherwise like to have done. and i just wanted to alert them that this senator will be exercising his full rights to try to get this renewable energy tax credit put on to this bill"

• Spoke on the Ensign amendment. (Ensign Amdt. 5020)
  • SUMMARY "the senator from nevada and i are trying to say to our colleagues that it is important not to have this energy legislation tied up in a larger bill that isn't currently moving before we adjourn for the july recess. that is because we have already seen jobs be canceled, projects be canceled, and people laid off, and generation not ready to be put on to the grid to assist in high energy costs."

• Spoke on his LIHEAP amendment. (Sanders Amdt. 4983)
  • SUMMARY "with the cost of home heating fuel soaring, electricity soaring, we have a moral obligation to significantly expand liheap funding and i will continue my best to make sure we finally get a vote on the floor of the senate to do just that"

• Spoke on the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • SUMMARY "what better gift on independence day could we give the american people than a sense that this, their congress of the united states, can come together, despite political differences, and craft legislation to make a difference for our country?"

The vote was 83-9, the motion to invoke cloture on the amendment to agree with the House,

Dodd Amendment #4983 to the House Message Accompanying H.R. 3221, is agreed to.

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

• Spoke on the procedure for H.R. 3221.
  • SUMMARY "i have spoken to the manager on our side on the housing legislation. he has spoken to the manager, senator shelby. i haven't had that opportunity. what we're trying to work out on that is that there are a number of senators have asked that there be consideration given by the managers to having a finite number of housing-related matters reviewed by the two managers. that's something we're going to do and see if we can work out something to speed up the work we're doing on the housing bill"

• Spoke on domestic oil reserves.
  • SUMMARY "part of the reason why it takes so long for companies to produce is because groups like the wilderness society keep throwing up roadblocks. they know it. we know it. today i'm going to tackle this idea that companies are choosing to sit on their leases, and i will debunk it once and for all."

• Spoke on the Housing Bill.
  • SUMMARY "loans that in many cases the lender made with no regard for the borrower's ability to repay. the congressional budget office estimates that 35% of these loans will default. placing a huge liability on the f.h.a. and ultimately the taxpayer for guaranteeing these loans. even f.h.a. commissioner brian montgomery believes this is a dangerous proposition."

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "an amendment to stop -- basically to stop or cut out the hope for homeowners act was defeated 69-12. the point i make with these votes is it is quite clear that this body, both democrats and republicans, believe it's important that we craft and move forward with a major housing bill"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "g.s.e.'s provide a lot of the mortgage funds. most of them today. but they do need to be well regulated. and they also need to be well capitalized, you know, considering their risk and so forth. the implicit guarantee of the federal government, as the presiding officer knows. i've been told recently that their debt -- that freddie mac and fannie mae's debt exceeds the united kingdom and france together. i don't know if that's exactly right, but if it is, that's over $5 trillion, mr. president. so we need to get this done."

The Senate stands in recess until 2:15 PM.

• Sent "Energy Speculation" legislation to the desk.
  • SUMMARY "it says this market is designed for normal hedging of risks between producers an consumers of a physical product. others, who are engaged in excess speculation, are going to be slapped with a higher margin, 25% margin requirement. that is quadrupled or more of the current requirement, between what is assessed between the 5% and 7% rate. it says essentially that the speculators, it will cost you more to speculate in this marketplace if you're one of those folks that wants to speculate to make a lot of money"

• Spoke on the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • SUMMARY "the vast global investment in g.s.e. securities and the 8,000 member banks that obtain liquidity and other services from the federal home loan bank system would also be significantly affected. now, mr. president, given this far-reaching and very significant impact of this part of the bill is very significant consolidation of three separate sis. i think that common sense would dictate that implementing that major change should be done with great care and over some reasonable time period."

• Spoke on offshore drilling.
  • SUMMARY "68 million acres of oil leases that's being held today by the oil companies. i say they should use it or lose it. and here we are people saying, oh, give them more, give them more. that's like saying to a kid who you're trying to get to do something, "i'll buy you an ice cream cone if you do x, y, z." z. "oh, i didn't realize she's holding two ice cream cones in her hand right now. this makes no sense."
  • SUMMARY "it seems to me the american people will understand that this so-called solution to high gas prices which the president's own energy department says will not save a penny is another phony solution. it's not real. you know, when we look at the long-term what we know is we have to pass global warming legislation, and when we do that and the private sector puts a price on carbon, we're going to see technologies erupt from america that are going to make us competitive"
• Spoke on the FISA Bill (H.R. 6304).
  • SUMMARY "i would support granting the telecommunication companies indemnification, having the government step in and be the party having to pay the price but this immunity provision that's in the bill blocks us from finding the truth. remember what i said when i started, the essence of justice is getting to the truth."

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "the bill we passed does not in any way give away any rights or protections. anybody who objects to the granting of this liability protection should know that we do not protect government officials or the government itself from lawsuits. you want to challenge it, file suit against the g. file suit against government officials but don't ruin the business reputation of those who, in good faith, as good citizens, provided the intelligence needed to keep our country safe and to keep our soldiers and marines -- like my son -- on the field, safe from battlefield attacks."
• Spoke on flooding in Missouri.
  • SUMMARY "usda, fema, and other agencies, i hope and i expect will provide emergency funds to clean up the disaster"

• Spoke on the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • SUMMARY "we anticipate there could be continued problems of more foreclosures. and it's very important that this congress act. we also know that it not only affects the individual whose home is in jeopardy; it affects the entire neighborhood. when you have a foreclosure in your neighborhood, the value of all the homes decline. local governments are seeing a dramatic reduction in property tax revenues as a result of the decline of property values."

• Spoke on McCain's proposed advanced battery prize program.
  • SUMMARY "germany has announced the great battery alliance which will invest over $650 million in advanced lithium ion batteries. it's specifically aimed at helping german car companies. south korea by 2010 will have spent $700 million on advanced batteries and developing hybrid vehicles. china has invested over $100 million in advanced battery research and development. over the next five years, japan will spend $230 million on advanced battery research. it's spending $278 million a year on hydrogen research for zero-emission fuel cell vehicles. these countries understand, mr. president, that we need -- they need to be stepping up to compete in a global economy and partnering with the automobile industry."
  • SUMMARY "the prize for us is a good-paying job and a strong middle class and keeping advanced manufacturing here in this country. and we do that by being serious and sustained and thoughtful, by providing dollars on the front end, by making sure that we understand the seriousness of the competition around the world and having a sense of urgency about american jobs."

• Spoke on an amendment (Nelson Amdt. 5029) he will offer to the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).
  • SUMMARY "normal retirement fund, you take money out of the retirement fund, you're going to have to pay income tax on it. if the purpose here is to get a ready source of cash to help them stay in their home under foreclosure, we want to give them that opportunity to get it back in their retirement fund and not have to pay income tax. and they have to do that -- it's another one of those parameters, mr. president -- within three years, they've got to get it back in"
• Spoke on futures markets.
  • SUMMARY "the bill i have filed takes us back to the status quo before the enron loophole was passed, which is the trading mechanisms attached to the united states have to be regulated if it is energy futures contracts. it's very simple. as a matter of fact, my bill is only two words. it inserts the words "or energy" in there to reregulate energy futures contracts."

• Spoke on the procedure for H.R. 3221.
  • SUMMARY "it is my intention shortly on a couple of amendments, both a democrat amendment and republican amendment where we have reached some agreement to compromise, to propose those and to agree to those. and then at some point my hope would be to at least propose a unanimous consent proposal here to accommodate those who insist upon floor votes, to accommodate those with time agreements so we can have some clarity as to how the rest of this bill will unfold. there are some complicated procedural hurdles we have to weave our way through. but i think most members, given the overwhelming vote this morning, 83-9 on cloture, that there is a strong bipartisan desire here to complete this housing measure."

• Propounded a UC to move to Executive Session to consider and vote on Executive Calander items 630, 631, and 632.  Propounded further that Thursday, notwithstanding Rule 22, the Senate again move to Executive Session to consider and vote on Executive Calander items 627 and 628. (without objection)
  • 630-- Nomination of Helene White to the Sixth Circuit Court
  • 631-- Nomination of Raymond Kethledge to the Sixth Circuit Court
  • 632-- Nomination of Stephen Murphy to District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • 627-- Nomination of William Lawrence to District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana
  • 628-- Nomination of G. Murray Snow to District Judge for District of Arizona

• Spoke on the nomination of Helene White.
  • SUMMARY "judge white's nomination should be a consensus nomination. judge white has been nominated by a democratic president and by a republican president. when the most partisan president in modern history, the one responsible for sending us so many divisive judicial nominations renominated a clinton nominee, that should actually send a signal but her nomination to criticism from the republican leader and opposition from republicans on our committee, after i expedited the hearing on the michigan nominees during the 10 years of waiting might have been enough, republicans objected that we're moving too fast."

• Spoke on nominations.
  • SUMMARY "it is my hope that with the agreements which have been reached here today to move ahead for the confirmation of three federal judges today and two more on thursday that perhaps we will see a return to at least some basic level of comity in the united states senate. we have moved a considerable distance from the tradition of confirmation of federal judges where in times gone by there was a review of academic standing, professional standing, trial practice"
  • SUMMARY "i will expedite my presentation and rely more on what i have in my statement for the record. i don't think i'm going to change a whole lot of votes in what i say. but i do think that it's important to have an understanding that voting against judge helene white is not a matter that is done lightly or without cause, and that there ought to be a statement as to why"

• Propounded a UC that the first vote be by roll call and the other two votes be by voice vote. (without objection)

• Spoke on the pending judicial nominations (Exec. Calender 630, 631, 632).
  • SUMMARY "for all they've done to make it possible that we can finally, hopefully resolve this michigan issue that has been stymieing the sixth circuit and the eastern district for far too long. this is a bipartisan resolution. the president has sent these three nominees with his full support to the u.s. senate and i hope that the senate will give an overwhelming vote to judge white but also then adopt a voice vote for the other two nominees and i yield the floor"

• Spoke on the pending judicial nominations (Exec. Calender 630, 631, 632).
  • SUMMARY "i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the president's nominees. we have worked hard in a bipartisan manner. it has taken a long time to get to this point but i'm very pleased that we are here together supporting these nominees for the sixth circuit court of appeals and the eastern district of michigan"

• Spoke on the pending judicial nominations (Exec. Calender 630, 631, 632).
  • SUMMARY "i would like to have people with more experience so that we can judge their qualifications. in judge white's case, we have that record and it's a great record. has she been reversed in her 4,000 opinions -- or decisions? yes, she has. that's why we have appellate courts. but she's never been challenged as far as her reasoning and her fairness and her demeanor. in fact, she has been rated by the american bar association as well qualified."

The vote was 63-32, Helene White is confirmed as

U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court.

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

By voice vote Raymond M. Kethledge is confirmed as

U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court.

By voice vote Stephen Murphy is confirmed as

U.S District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.

• Spoke on obstructionism.
  • There will be no more votes this evening.
  • Cloture time will run out at 5:30 PM tomorrow.
  • SUMMARY "there are two germane amendments that we know of and a couple more that are arguably germane, and we will see what the -- what is the will of the body here. it's my understanding that those two that are arguably germane, that the managers of the bill have worked something out on those. and if there would be no objection, they would accept those. the problem is, on the amendments they've worked occupy to this time, there's been an objection and we can't proceed on any of those amendments that dodd and shelby have worked out"
  • SUMMARY "if we can't get that senator to sign off on, this then we only have one alternative and that is we'll file cloture tomorrow on another arm of this housing legislation. we will have cloture on that two legislative days later and then we still have one more to do. now, that would mean we would have to be here over the weekend"
  • SUMMARY "we would like to do is have a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to that. well, we can't do that unless it's by consent. so, therefore, we're 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. and then we still have to do cloture on the bill."
  • SUMMARY "so there are two things we have to do before we go home for july 4th: housing and medicare. we do not have to do, 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 here after july 4th. so there are other things. we would like to do the f.a.a. extension for six 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 that should be worked out by tomorrow. but we can't do any of this as long as people are holding us up on this housing bill."

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "we do, indeed, need to do the housing bill, we do, indeed, need do the supplemental for the war in -- the wars in iraq and afghanistan. the fisa bill, the medicare fix. it is a complicated legislative tangle which the -- my good friend, the majority leader, has described and with which he is trying to deal as we move here through the week. but my goal is really the same as his"

• Responded.
  • SUMMARY "we could wind up all this good work being put off and it would be very anticlimactic the accomplishments we've made"

• Spoke on the 64th Anniversary of the G.I. Bill.

• Propounded a UC to move to Executive Session and consider the pending FEC nominations by voice vote. (without objection)
• FEC nominations were confirmed by voice vote.
• Sent a legislation to the desk on LIHEAP and on a Medicare Extension (H.R. 6331).

• Spoke on FISA.
  • SUMMARY "i have long fought against retroactive immunity because i believe quite simply it is an abandonment of the rule of law. i fought this with everything i have in me and i have this wage. i opposed retroactive immunity on the floor of this body. i spent 10 hours on this floor then and in january and february i came to the floor time and time again to discuss the dangers of granting retroactive immunity. along with my colleague and friend russ feingold of wisconsin who has shown remarkable leadership on this issue, i offered an amendment that would have stripped retroactive immunity from this brim"
  • SUMMARY "they see what i see in this debate, that by short circuiting the judicial process, we are sending a dangerous signal to future generations. they see us establishing a precedent that congress can and will provide immunity potential lawbreakers if they are important enough."
  • SUMMARY "retroactive immunity sends a message that is crystal clear: trust me. and the message comes straight from the mouth of an american trust me. what is the basis of that trust? classified documents, we are told, that prove the case for retroactive immunity beyond a shadow of a doubt. but we're not allowed to see them, of course. i've served in this body for 27 years and i'm not allowed to see them. neither are a majority of my colleagues. we're all left in the dark. i cannot speak for my colleagues, but i would never take the "trust me" for an answer, not even in the best of times, not even from a president, not even one on mount rushmore."
• Tomorrow --
  • We will convene at 9:30 AM.
  • We will resume consideration of the House Message to accompany the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221).

The Senate stands adjourned until 9:30 AM.