E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 110 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 154 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2008 No. 102 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was APPOINTMENT OF ACTING THE GUEST CHAPLAIN called to order by the Honorable MARK PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE Mr. DODD. Mr. President, it is truly L. PRYOR, a Senator from the State of The PRESIDING OFFICER. The a privilege and pleasure this morning Arkansas. clerk will please read a communication to welcome to the Senate a remarkable to the Senate from the President pro individual who opened the Senate with PRAYER tempore (Mr. BYRD). a prayer this morning. He has lived an The assistant legislative clerk read equally remarkable life and today re- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Today’s the following letter: sides in the community of South- prayer will be offered by Rev. Ralph U.S. SENATE, ington, CT. Lord Roy of Southington, CT. PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, In the 80 years we have enjoyed the The guest Chaplain offered the fol- Washington, DC, June 19, 2008. fortune of having the Reverend Ralph lowing prayer: To the Senate: Lord Roy in our midst, he has been an Let us pray. Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, author and columnist, an activist, a of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby teacher, and a radio host, and, of Almighty God, creator of this mag- appoint the Honorable MARK L. PRYOR, a course, a pastor to some 12 different nificent universe and fount of all wis- Senator from the State of Arkansas, to per- churches and ministries in New York dom, we offer our thanks for life and form the duties of the Chair. and for some 36 years in Connecticut. liberty and for those many benefits ROBERT C. BYRD, At each stop along the way, he has that we too often take for granted. President pro tempore. spread the same message: one of justice Bless our beloved Nation that as one Mr. PRYOR thereupon assumed the and tolerance in the face of fear, re- people of many colors and creeds, we chair as Acting President pro tempore. sentment, anger, and prejudice. may dwell together in mutual respect f In 1961, as part of the Congress of Ra- and harmony. Be with fellow Ameri- RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY cial Equality, Reverend Roy was one of cans in distant places and especially LEADER the fabled ‘‘Freedom Fighters’’ who men and women serving our country The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- traveled to protest segregation policies overseas. Bless those around the world in the South, for which he was arrested who hunger and thirst, the sick and pore. The majority leader is recog- nized. in Tallahassee. sorrowful, and victims of natural disas- A year later, he led a prayer pilgrim- f ters, of prejudice and oppression. age to Albany, GA, at Martin Luther Guide this Senate, O Lord. Grant SCHEDULE King’s personal request. For his peace- that its Members and those who assist Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will yield ful protests there, praying for the them may be filled with prudence and in a brief minute to the distinguished cause of desegregation, Reverend Roy foresight as they confront the complex Senator from Connecticut so he can was also arrested. In leading the larg- challenges of our time. Bless all others say some words about the guest Chap- est group of clergy to be arrested in in high office, and let the light of free- lain and his thoughtful prayer this American history in Albany, GA, Rev- dom and the lamp of justice shine morning. erend Roy became the first Caucasian brightly here and around the globe. Following leader remarks—and it Methodist minister in our Nation to be Grant peace to our lives, to our homes, does not appear there will be any—the imprisoned for standing up for the civil to our communities, to our Nation, and Senate will resume consideration of rights of all Americans. The message to humankind everywhere. the motion to proceed to H.R. 6049, the he and his fellow clergy men and We ask this in Your Name. Amen. Renewable Energy and Job Creation women sent at that moment—some 75 Act, with Senators permitted to speak Jewish and Catholic laymen and cler- f for up to 10 minutes each, but we ex- ics, most of them White, standing pect to begin legislating on the housing peacefully in solidarity with Dr. Mar- tin Luther King on the sidewalk before PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE legislation today. Mr. President, what I would like to the Albany City Hall—reverberates to The Honorable MARK L. PRYOR led do is yield to the Senator from Con- this very day. It echoes in the books the Pledge of Allegiance, as follows: necticut so he can say some words and articles that Reverend Roy has I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the about our distinguished visiting guest penned on social and faith issues and in United States of America, and to the Repub- Chaplain. his powerful and personal accounts of lic for which it stands, one nation under God, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- his experiences with the slain civil indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. pore. The Senator from Connecticut. rights leader. It echoes as well in his ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5771 . VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:46 Sep 14, 2008 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD08\RECFILES\S19JN8.REC S19JN8 mmaher on PROD1PC76 with CONG-REC-ONLINE S5772 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 19, 2008 radio shows and travels across the closures when I first announced the have been adopted overwhelmingly by world. And today, of course, it echoes level of foreclosures that were occur- this body with 84 votes on the first bill in the Halls of the Senate. ring. The numbers from May have just and 90 votes on the second. A remarkable 80 years, making a sig- come in. The numbers are now close to On the matter that will be a part of nificant contribution to the improve- 8,500, or 1,500 more than they were even this bill, which has not been considered ment and the betterment of our great 1 month ago. So we are now approach- by the full Chamber, it passed our country. So it is truly an honor to wel- ing 9,000 filings of foreclosures on a Banking Committee 19 to 2 back on come Reverend Roy from Southington, daily basis in our country. May 20. So we come to this day having CT, who has opened our Senate session In light of these numbers, I hope no spent a great deal of time working with this morning with his wonderful, one will suggest the problem is not a our colleagues, listening and working thoughtful prayer. We wish him and his serious and growing one. We have not with the Members of the other body, as family the very best, and we thank him even hit July 1 yet when, of course, we well as those who bring unique and spe- for his wonderful contributions to our realize the resets on some of these ad- cial expertise to these very com- country. justable rate mortgages will begin to plicated issues. That is what we hope f kick in; and as they do, we are warned in the coming days to be able to com- by those following this issue almost on plete, send our product to the other RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME an hourly basis that the tidal wave of body, and hope they will endorse and The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- foreclosures will increase in the com- support it, and then send the bill to the pore. Under the previous order, the ing months, not decrease. President for his signature. leadership time is reserved. Obviously, with 1.5 million people With that as background, let me f who have already lost their homes, we share a few thoughts about what are in are talking about a problem that is these bills. As I mentioned already, RENEWABLE ENERGY AND JOB now spreading to commercial lending, most of what we are talking about has CREATION ACT OF 2008—MOTION municipal financing, student loans, and been voted on overwhelmingly by the TO PROCEED even having global implications as well Members of this body. On April 10, the The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- for those who purchased these mort- Senate passed the Foreclosure Preven- pore. Under the previous order, the gage-backed securities. This is not con- tion Act of 2008, and passed it by an Senate will resume consideration of fined to our own country. These were overwhelming majority. At that time, I the motion to proceed to H.R. 6049, being purchased across the globe. So shared my view of the legislation, and which the clerk will report. the problem begins with the fore- that it did not quite live up to the The legislative clerk read as follows: closure crisis, and yet the effects of it title. I told this body we had more Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 767, H.R. have spread far beyond the individual work to do to prevent foreclosures in 6049, an act to amend the Internal Revenue home, which is obviously the heart of this country and to strengthen the Code of 1986 to provide incentives for energy most people’s dreams in our country.