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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

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Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 157 WASHINGTON, MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2011 No. 190 Senate The Senate met at 2 p.m., and was the State of Delaware, to perform the vacancies because Republicans were in called to order by the Honorable CHRIS- duties of the Chair. the majority in that court. So they TOPHER A. COONS, a Senator from the DANIEL K. INOUYE, wanted to defeat this competent State of Delaware. President pro tempore. woman, and that is what they did with Mr. COONS thereupon assumed the these vacancies still there in that PRAYER chair as Acting President pro tempore. court. The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f They blocked the nomination of fered the following prayer: Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY Let us pray. Financial Protection Bureau, despite LEADER God, our King, You are clothed in his obviously deep qualifications for majesty and strength. Your throne has The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the job. He has a long history of pro- been established from the beginning pore. The majority leader is recog- tecting the middle class against unfair and You existed before time began. nized. practices by financial predators and he Help our lawmakers today to do their f would have been a great asset in our fight to protect Main Street from the work, striving to labor for Your glory. SCHEDULE Give them the purity of life and hon- kind of Wall Street greed that caused esty of purpose to walk in Your way. Mr. REID. Mr. President, following the 2008 financial crisis. Yet Repub- Lord, strengthen their heart and mind leader remarks, the Senate will be in a licans denied Mr. Cordray’s nomina- that they may worthily measure up to period of morning business until 4:30 tion—I should say confirmation—and the role You have ordained for them. this afternoon. Following morning all it does is weaken the agency he was Thus, may they fulfill their vocation to business, the Senate will be in execu- nominated to lead. the glory of Your Name and the ad- tive session to consider the nomina- I hope Republicans will not turn vancement of Your kingdom. tions of Norman Eisen to be Ambas- every confirmation process into a po- We pray in Your sacred Name. Amen. sador to the Czech Republic and Mari litical three-ring circus. The can- Aponte to be Ambassador to El Sal- didates today, Mr. Eisen and Ms. f vador. Aponte, have jumped through enough At 5:30 p.m. there will be at least two PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE hoops already. Ms. Aponte’s accom- rollcall votes in relation to the nomi- plished record as Ambassador to El The Honorable CHRISTOPHER A. COONS nations. Salvador over the past 15 months led the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: f speaks for itself. Experts in the region I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the from across the political spectrum sup- United States of America and to the Repub- NOMINATIONS port her confirmation. The same en- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the thusiasm is there for Ambassador indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Senate will vote on two nominations: Eisen. If Republicans block the con- f those of Norman Eisen to serve as Am- firmation of these excellent, qualified bassador to the Czech Republic and candidates, it will only be for nakedly APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Maria Carmen Aponte to serve as Am- partisan reasons. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE bassador to El Salvador. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The These two Ambassadors are in their f positions as we speak, having been clerk will please read a communication PAYROLL TAX CUT EXTENSION to the Senate from the President pro given recess appointments. These tempore (Mr. INOUYE). nominees are accomplished, qualified Mr. REID. Mr. President, also under The legislative clerk read the fol- public servants who will continue to partisan assault this month is a Demo- lowing letter: represent their Nation with distinc- cratic proposal to grant a $1,000-tax de- U.S. SENATE, tion. For my Republican colleagues, crease on working families. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, however, being qualified and dedicated Senate Republicans have blocked Washington, DC, December 12, 2011. doesn’t seem to be enough anymore. four proposals to protect middle-class To the Senate: Last week, they blocked the nomina- pocketbooks. Every hour they delay Under the provisions of rule I, para- tion of a brilliant legal mind, Caitlin and every day they filibuster is one graph 3, of the Standing Rules of the Halligan, to the U.S. Court of Appeals more the Senate, by necessity, will Senate, I hereby appoint the Honorable for the District of Columbia. Obvi- have to stay in Washington to get its CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, a Senator from ously, they don’t mind there are these work done. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S8469 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:27 Jan 22, 2013 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD11\RECFILES\DECEMBER\S12DE1.REC S12DE1 bjneal on DSK2TWX8P1PROD with S8470 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 12, 2011 Republicans have opposed our plan to ators will be able to extend the tem- pass it without any more theatrics. pay for this legislation with a tiny sur- porary tax relief working Americans Let’s pass this job-creating bill and tax on a tiny fraction of America’s continue to need nearly 3 years into give Americans the certainty and the highest earners. The tax would only this administration, prevent more job jobs they deserve. apply to the second or third or fourth losses in the middle of a jobs crisis by I yield the floor. million the wealthiest Americans blocking a new regulation on U.S. man- f make. But Republicans say the richest ufacturers, and facilitate the creation RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME of the rich in our country—even those of tens of thousands of new jobs who make millions every year— through the construction of the Key- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- shouldn’t contribute more to get our stone XL Pipeline. One vote, three ac- pore. Under the previous order, leader- economy back on track. They call our complishments. That is to say nothing ship time is reserved. plan, time after time, a tax on job cre- of the other things the bill would do f ators—and I say so-called job cre- such as the doc fix and unemployment MORNING BUSINESS ators—because every shred of evidence insurance. contradicts this red herring. My suggestion is that once this legis- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- For example, there have been many lation comes over from the House, we pore. Under the previous order, the outlets, but I will concentrate on one: pass it without delay. Based on the Senate will be in a period of morning National Public Radio went looking for merits of the bill, it should be a strong business until 4:30 p.m., with Senators one of these fictitious millionaire job bipartisan vote. Nothing could be more permitted to speak therein for up to 10 creators. A reporter reached out to bipartisan right now than preventing minutes each. business groups, the antitax lobby, and job loss or facilitating the creation of Mr. MCCONNELL. I suggest the ab- Republicans in Congress hoping to new private sector jobs. sence of a quorum. interview one of these millionaires. The President has said job creation is The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Days ticked by with no luck. Many of his top priority. Here is a bill that pore. The clerk will call the roll. our job creators are similar to uni- helps him achieve it without a dime of The legislative clerk proceeded to corns; they are impossible to find and taxpayer money. The President says he call the roll. don’t exist. That is because only a tiny wants to extend the payroll tax exten- Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask fraction of people making more than $1 sion. Here is a bill that does it. The unanimous consent that the order for million—probably less than 1 percent— President says he wants unemployment the quorum call be rescinded. are actually small business owners, and insurance extended. This bill does that. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- only a tiny fraction of that tiny frac- The President says he wants the two pore. Without objection, it is so or- tion is a traditional job creator. Most parties to compromise. This is it. dered. of these businesses are hedge fund man- There is no reason this legislation Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask agers or wealthy lawyers. They don’t shouldn’t have the President’s enthusi- unanimous consent to speak as in do much hiring and they don’t need astic support. morning business. more tax breaks. The only reason—the only reason— The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- One reporter looked for millionaire for Democrats to oppose this job-cre- pore. The Senate is in morning busi- job creators hiding on Facebook. This ating bill would be to gain some polit- ness. time they found a few, and they actu- ical advantage at a time when every f ally supported our plan. These people one of them says job creation is a top USE OF THE FILIBUSTER on Facebook actually supported our priority.
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