Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012 No. 164 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was BRAND, a Senator from the State of New this. It is very unfair to the millions of called to order by the Honorable York, to perform the duties of the Chair. people who are suffering as a result of KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND, a Senator from PATRICK J. LEAHY, this devastation. the State of New York. President pro tempore. We have had some devastating Mrs. GILLIBRAND thereupon as- wildfires in the West. They are terribly PRAYER sumed the chair as Acting President damaging to the environment and on The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- pro tempore. occasion there is lost life and often fered the following prayer: f there are property losses. But rel- Let us pray. atively speaking, compared to the mil- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY lions of people involved in this storm, O God of love, may Your presence fill LEADER our lawmakers with Your wisdom and we have to get our priorities right. It is unfair to those people who are suf- power. May Your wisdom lead them The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- fering. It is not only individual people, away from the pitfalls of delayed obe- pore. The majority leader is recog- but it is also businesses. I hope we can dience so that they will seek to nized. finalize this matter in the next day or promptly do Your will. Lord, make f two. them a source of strength. Direct their SCHEDULE actions; motivate their hearts, as they f seek to begin this day with an unre- Mr. REID. Madam President, fol- TRIBUTES TO DEPARTING served commitment to You. God, give lowing leader remarks, the Senate will SENATORS be in a period of morning business for them Your supernatural power, wis- KENT CONRAD dom, and guidance, for You know 1 hour; the Republicans will control the first half, the majority the second Mr. REID. Madam President, it is them, their needs, their motives, their often said a man is only as good as his hopes, and their fears. half. Following morning business, we will word. In this new world we live in, the We pray in Your merciful Name. same applies to women. This is a world resume consideration of the supple- Amen. we live in where men and women, as mental appropriations bill. I men- much as we can, are treated equally. A f tioned last night we are going to have good man is somebody who has his to move forward on this bill. I have PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE word that is good. A good woman is a been told the Republicans want to have The Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- person who has their word that is good. a substitute, and we look forward to BRAND led the Pledge of Allegiance, as I believe that is true. whatever that might be. We can set up follows: If that fact is true, then Mr. KENT a series of votes to satisfy those people I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the CONRAD, the Senior Senator from who want to change this bill in some North Dakota, is a good man, indeed. United States of America, and to the Repub- manner. lic for which it stands, one nation under God, When he was running for the Senate indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I would note that in the Northeast— the first time, he promised the people other States but principally New York of North Dakota he would not run for f and New Jersey—there are about reelection if the Nation’s budget deficit APPOINTMENT OF ACTING 700,000 people who have lost their was higher at the end of his term than PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE homes. Tens of thousands of those at the beginning of it. homes have been destroyed, and other We came to the Senate together. I The PRESIDING OFFICER. The people are still living in very difficult clerk will please read a communication can remember 27 years ago in the LBJ situations. Room where I first met KENT CONRAD— to the Senate from the President pro When we had the devastation in the we were running for the Senate—this tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Gulf, we got the aid to those States studious man, very intense. I can still The legislative clerk read the fol- very quickly. The population of those remember that. We have been friends lowing letter: States—Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala- now for all those many years. But U.S. SENATE, bama—is very sparse compared to New think what he did. He could have been PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, York and New Jersey. We have to make Washington, DC, December 19, 2012. reelected so easily and he probably To the Senate: a decision on this very important legis- could have figured out some way Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, lation before we leave this week, and around it: It was my intention to re- of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby we are going to do that. I hope every- duce the debt, but we weren’t able to appoint the Honorable KIRSTEN E. GILLI- one would cooperate, but we have to do do it. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S8155 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 05:56 Dec 20, 2012 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19DE6.000 S19DEPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with S8156 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 19, 2012 But he didn’t follow that path. He As I have indicated, no one cares mous for making sure people under- said: I am not running for reelection, more about addressing the national stand what he is talking about. He has and he didn’t. It is amazing what he debt than Senator CONRAD. But he also visual aids—we call them charts—that did. He takes the national debt person- understands the balance between fiscal explain all his numbers and make them ally. He takes it very seriously. Kent responsibility and funding our national understandable. In 2001, the Rules Com- announced he wouldn’t seek reelection. priorities. mittee gave him his own printer since I was stunned. KENT, how could you do KENT CONRAD has been bipartisan. he was producing more charts than all that? He said: I gave my word. But Sometimes some criticize him for the rest of the Senators combined—and fate, as we know—and we are feeling it being so bipartisan. He has never been that is the truth. He is famous for his today with these flowers here behind afraid to reach across the aisle to keep charts. me—fate is rarely anticipated. After our country on a responsible path. He He is renowned for his dog. He loves his first term was set to expire and he is a person who is not an ideologue. I that little dog named Dakota. It is a had announced he wasn’t running for could be wrong, but I think he was the fluffy white dog, a bijon frise. Every- reelection, Quentin Burdick, with first person to endorse Obama. Obama where KENT goes, Dakota is with him. whom I had the pleasure of serving, was a Senator who gave indication he They love that dog like only people can died, and so he ran for his seat and was wanted to run for President. I think love animals. I often question how—I elected. So he has held both Senate Senator CONRAD was the first to en- used to question; I don’t anymore. I seats in North Dakota. He ran in that dorse him. We know Senator Obama have a daughter. My oldest child is a special election to replace Senator didn’t sell very well in North Dakota, daughter. She is allergic to cats. Her Burdick and won. The Senate, the peo- but that didn’t stop KENT CONRAD. He husband, trying to be nice to her, ple of North Dakota, and every Amer- thought he was the best person to be bought her a cat that had no hair. ican who cares about controlling the President of the United States. Frankly, it was kind of an ugly little Federal debt have benefited from his The proposal I mentioned with Sen- animal, but my daughter loves that faithful service. ators CONRAD and Gregg was a blue- cat. They named the cat Olivia. The Every time we have done something print for what the Bowles-Simpson cat got out at night—they live in a dealing with the debt in the last 26 Commission then came up with. As I suburb here—and a racoon attacked years, KENT CONRAD has been at the have indicated, every bipartisan deficit the cat so the cat was never the same forefront. ObamaCare, he was on top of reduction since then—and some par- after that. But my daughter spent lots that. He was one of the Gang of 6, it tisan efforts—anytime there was in- of money on this cat. was called at the time, and took volvement with the debt, he was there. I finally said: Lana, why are you Although we have yet to reach a so- months and months. He came up, of spending money on the cat? course, with the magnificent idea, he lution or a conclusion to the very seri- She said: Dad, I love that animal.