Senate Opening

The Senate is convened.

Opening Remarks

 
Senator Reid: (10:32 AM)

·         Today --

o    We will have morning business until 12:30 PM.

o    From 12:30 PM to 2:15 PM we will stand in recess.

·         Spoke on the auto bailout bill.

o    SUMMARY "i understand, in fairness, that all parties -- democrats and republicans -- deserve the opportunity to study this bill. it's about 25 pages long, as i understand it. but even though we have some speed readers in the senate, they still need time to study this. in speaking with various senators today, it appears pretty clear that the minority, the republicans, are not going to move forward on this unless there's a lot of opportunity to study this legislation. therefore, it appears unlikely that we'll be able to have a vote on this today"

o    SUMMARY "i will have it here. we will file the necessary motions on that, which would mean that we would have a cloture vote on friday on a motion to proceed to it"

o    SUMMARY "we would have that cloture vote early friday morning, maybe as early as 9:00. if we did that, then the second vote would not take place until saturday afternoon at about 3:00, give or take a little bit of time. and then everyone can do the math just as well as i can, the next vote would probably take place around 9:00 on saturday"

 
Senator McConnell: (10:37 AM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout bill.

o    SUMMARY "we haven't been able to get a copy of the bill that we believe represents an agreement that's been reached between congressional democrats and the white house on the automobile package. until we get the actual bill and can read it, it's unrealistic to expect -- i can ask my members to advance consideration of the bill forward -- until we know what's in it. so as soon as we can have a look at it, wile a be having a conference today"

 
Senator Reid: (10:40 AM)

·         Responded.

o    SUMMARY "i totally understand what the republican leader is saying. if i were in his place, i would do the same thing. it's not fair to ask that we move forward on this legislation without people having the opportunity to read it and study it and talk to others about what's in it. i would hope, though, after we get the legislation that we can work something out to expedite the procedural matters in this"

Opening Remarks

 
Senator Dole: (10:42 AM)

·         Spoke on her departure from the United States Senate.

 
Senator Vitter: (10:53 AM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout bill.

o    SUMMARY "i cannot support this proposed bailout of the three u.s. auto manufacturers. and, second, because i believe this proposal actually dooms those companies to failure -- doesn't save them from it -- i will use every procedural tool available to demand an amendment process on the floor of the senate and to delay and block the measure as it presently stands."

o    SUMMARY "so, we give them significant amounts of money -- $15 billion -- so that they go through that process, so that they start that discussion, so that they come back to us months later with a detailed restructuring plan. well, my reaction to that is pretty simple. i think the average american would say, what? isn't that putting the cart before the horse? isn't that, to use a common phrase, just ass backwards? $15 billion, and then later after that's out the door, we'll see a detailed restructuring plan?"

o    SUMMARY "i have no confidence, absolutely no confidence in the present management of these three companies. but let me also say, mr. president, if there's a way for that to go from bad to worse, it is by injecting into the process politics and a political appointee like this so-called car czar."

 
Senator Casey: (11:02 AM)

·         Spoke in honor of American military families.

Morning Business

 
Senator Tester: (11:16 PM)

·         Spoke on a fire in high school in Montana.

 
Senator Stabenow: (11:36 AM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout.

o    SUMMARY "we make things and we grow things. and i know the distinguished chair from pennsylvania understands that, coming from a great state that makes things, grows things, adds value to it. people who work hard every day."

o    SUMMARY "i know people that are mad at industry for making the hummer. i understand colleagues who think workers get paid too much. i don't agree with them, but i understand. there's all kinds of perspectives that have come together actually to make this an incredibly difficult issue to deal with. but what is unfortunately lost in all of this is the real story of today's auto industry. this is not your fearnlings factory. this is not your father's factory. these are people producing the marquis vehicles and quality, competing, winning awards, highly productive, the envy of the world in productivity."

o    SUMMARY "this is about a global credit crisis. and the question is: does it matter if we have an american auto industry? is it important to make cars in america, trucks in america, tanks, the striker? is it important to make airplanes? or as long as you can buy them, it doesn't matter. i hope the question is, yes, that we need an american manufacturing base and auto industry."

 
Senator Dorgan: (12:05 PM)

·         Spoke on the economy.

o    SUMMARY "the question is how many how many more will lose their jobs before we find a way to provide a foundation for building this economy back to an economy of strength and opportunity once again?"

o    SUMMARY "i am perfectly understanding of those who need to take and want to take emergency action to try to provide opportunities for recovery for this economy. i understand that. i've studied economics. i taught economics briefly. i understand having studied what happened in the great depression, the the need to take aggressive action. but no one in my judgment has ever suggest thed that the need to take aggressive action should somehow obliterate the requirement for oversight and for accountability"

o    SUMMARY "what i suggest we do is this: i'm going to introduce legislation that would propose that the conditions that exist for the tarp program -- troubled asset relief program -- that those conditions be applied to all of the other lending activities so that we have conditions attached to all of these activities and some accountability and transparency"

o    SUMMARY "i'm going to propose a piece of legislation called the financial reform commission, creating a commission that would, a high-level commission, report back to the congress in six months about how we reform our system of finance in this country. we can't continue this. i mean, the fact is what happened through this -- threw this country's economy into the ditch. it caused an enormous wreck. we're going to keep doing it? i don't think so."

o    SUMMARY "i'm going to introduce legislation calling aid for a national financial crimes task force. there needs to be accountability here. i'm not suggesting all of it is criminal or even a major part is criminal. but some of it undoubtedly represents criminal behavior"

Morning Business

 
Senator Brown: (3:03 PM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout.

o    SUMMARY "this legislation means hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers in ohio, in missouri, in indiana, in pennsylvania, in michigan, all over this country, that hundreds of thousands of middle-class workers in my state will be able to keep their jobs. it means car dealerships all over the -- in all 50 states, it means suppliers in all 50 st states, it means auto assembly plants, it means auto stamping plants and engine plants and n all of those states that i mention. it means communities won't suffer yet another blow from massive job loss."

o    SUMMARY "they never produced a plan on how they will spend the money nor have they been for one by -- been asked for one by the congress or the bush administration. they didn't have to testify about why they built and manufactured structured investment vehicles, but we've heard plenty of debate about the building and marketing of sport utility vehicles. the argument that secretary paulson and chairman bernanke made before the cobehalf of the banking industry what that is needed patient capital that only the federal government can proivment banking industry, secretary paulson and chairman bernanke told us, the banking industry was in peril but given federal support and a few years time, it would be back on its feet. i don't quarrel with the need to help the banking industry, though i have plenty of concerns for the way that we are proceeding."

 
Senator Specter: (4:00 PM)

·         Spoke on the upcoming confirmation hearing of Eric Holder.

o    SUMMARY "in looking toward the hearing process, i am looking for a very constructive engagedment to determine the qualifications of mr. holder. there is no intent on my part or part of -- the part of any of my colleagues on the republican side of the aisle to engage in partisan sniping and we intend, as i say, to be constructive and not destructive, and we are looking to strengthen the department of justice. the position of attorney general is an extraordinarily important position."

o    SUMMARY "there are questions which have to be inquired to fairly as already noted in the commentaries in the media on the editorial pages. there has been considerable publicity about the pardon of mark riche, and there was a case involving mr. riche, who was a fugitive. who had given substantial sums of money to entities connected to the president. and the regular procedures for a pardon were bypassed. the department of justice was -- was not consulted. the attorneys -- the attorneys of the southern district of new york, which were handling the rich case, were opposed to the pardon. from my own days as district attorney of philadelphia, where i dealt with celebrated cases involving people who were fugitives who had fled, that is about as serious a matter as you can -- as you can find. and hardly one where there would be an expectation of leniency or pardon to wipe out the charge, eliminate the matter"

o    SUMMARY "i think that we be sure that the attorney general of the united states does not bend his views to aa-- accommodate his appointor. that the attorney general does not bend his views in any way that is partisan or political, to serve any interest other than the interest of justice."

o    SUMMARY "it seems to me not realistic or fair to begin hearings before january the 26th. the week of january 19 is going to be occupied with the inauguration, and to have an adequate time to prepare seems to me that needs to be done."

Morning Business

 
Senator Lautenberg: (5:34 PM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout.

o    SUMMARY "instead of modernize, they chose another path. they chose to spend millions of dollars on high-priced lobbyists to come visit with us in our offices asking congress not to push them on fuel efficiency and not -- not to urge that they move ahead with more efficient cars. and now, now they're here begging for our help. unfortunately, the disaster facing the big three is not an isolated problem. it has implications for every american. if the big three go under, millions of jobs could go with them. my state alone, new jersey, the auto industry employs more than 43,000 people. thousands of manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, insurance companies and small businesses would likely be imperiled if the automakers fall."

o    SUMMARY "i saw several of our colleagues on c-span today, press conference, talking about why they didn't see this as something of value. mr. president, something of value is evident when we -- when work is being done, when the public is hearing a debate about this, when the public isn't just not getting information because the other side of the aisle is stubborn and they don't want to give the democrats or whoever an advantage by pulling these companies out of the holes that they're in, saving those jobs and restoring america's leadership in the automobile industry."

 
Senator Nelson-NE: (5:47 PM)

·         Spoke in honor of Senator Hagel.

 
Senator Reid: (6:07 PM)

·         Moved to proceed to H.R. 7005.

·         Filed cloture on H.R. 7005.

Morning Business

 
Senator Harkin: (6:19 PM)

·         Spoke on the auto bailout.

o    SUMMARY "so here is a small businessman couldn't get his own company out of bankruptcy, but a private-equity firm could and they both had the same banker: bank of america. if this is what's happening with that tarp money, count me out. no more. i voted for that so-called bailout. the more i look at it, the more i wonder if i did the right thing. and i just wonder where that money is going. what is it doing to help anyone? quite frankly, at that time i had suggested that what we really ought to do is extend the federal deposit insurance corporation ceilings on independent banks from $100,000 to $1 million or to $2 million."

o    SUMMARY "we are going to provide to low-income americans something like almost like a voucher -- i'll explain that in a minute -- where they can go buy a new car. why don't we just give a lot of people in america $10,000 and say, here, go buy a car. put it in at the bottom rather than the top. and so i'm working on legislation which i'll be introducing shortly which will do that."

 
Senator Durbin: (6:41 PM)

·         Performed wrap-up.

·         Tomorrow --

o    We will convene at 10:00 AM

o    We will have one hour of morning business.

o    Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R. 7005.

The Senate stands in recess until 10:00 AM.