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The clerk will please read a communication to the Senate from the President pro tempore (Mr. Inouye).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Vol. 158WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012No. 24

Without objection, it is so ordered.

The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

The clerk will call the roll.

Mr. President, we all know the inconvenience of a few potholes as we drive down the street. It is an inconvenience. But for companies that ship $10 trillion worth of ...

Under the previous order, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with ...

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour. The majority will control the first half, the Republicans will control the ...

The Senator from Colorado.

Mr. President, I listened carefully to the statement made by the Republican minority leader about deficits, and I think it is worthy to note that history suggests an opposite conclusion ...

Thank you, Mr. President.

The Senator from West Virginia.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I say to the Senator, I think my first thought is, the insight is not that difficult; it is just that we need to do our job. We ...

Mr. President, I thank the Senator for the opportunity.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Missouri. Like everyone, I have been perusing the numbers to try to figure out whether this gets us somewhere and whether it will ...

First of all, one of the things people have to accept--and it does not happen around here--is we do not have an income problem. We have a spending problem. All ...

Mr. President, I thank my colleagues for laying out what this budget is all about and the problems we are seeing.

Morning business is closed.

Mr. President, I am pleased to present the Banking Committee's public transportation bill to the Senate as an amendment to the surface and transportation legislation now before us. The transit ...

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, some Senators are concerned that I may be delaying a vote in the Senate. This is not true. I offered yesterday to vote on my amendment with 10 ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to speak in morning business.

Mr. President, our Nation is more than $15 trillion in debt. The President's budget will increase government spending by $47 trillion over the next decade. Included is the largest tax ...

Mr. President, I also ask unanimous consent that following my statement, the Banking Committee's ranking member be recognized, followed by Senator Menendez of New Jersey, and that all time they ...

The Senator from South Dakota.

Mr. President, I rise in support of legislation to reauthorize the surface transportation bill, and, in particular, the Federal Public Transportation Act of 2012, which is the transit amendment before ...

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize an important milestone in our Nation's history.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

The Senator from Connecticut.

The clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

The Senator from Arizona.

The Senator from Kentucky.

The assistant editor of the Daily Digest proceeded to call the roll.

The Senator's time has expired.

I thank my colleague from South Dakota as well as my colleague from Alabama, the ranking member of the Budget Committee. I was deeply troubled this morning, because I asked ...

Madam President, I rise to speak on the issue of energy security for our Nation. I have filed legislation which would approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. I filed our bill ...

The Senator from Kentucky.

Madam President, in response to that question, yes. The government owns the uranium. It has been sitting there for 50 years. It is my understanding that the Department of Energy ...

The Senator from New Hampshire.

Mr. President, I ask to speak as in morning business for up to 10 minutes.

I thank the Senator for his comments and his leadership on all these matters that relate fundamentally to job creation and economic growth. Tax increases do not facilitate economic growth. ...

Madam President, maybe if I could just be clear as to exactly what action the Senator from Kentucky is requesting of the Secretary--I know he indicated that he had contacted ...

Without objection, it is so ordered.

The Senator from South Dakota says ``directly impact.'' The way I read the Reinhart-Rogoff study and what I think I hear the Senator saying is that this isn't just that ...

Mr. President, I see Senator Thune is here, and he has been through a lot of these matters and a lot of hearings during his time as part of the ...

Madam President, let me just indicate to my colleague from Kentucky that I am encouraged to hear that this is an action that could be taken without any cost to ...

Madam President, reserving the right to object, I would like to accommodate the President and these nominees. I think the chairman, the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, has made very ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

If the Senator would yield on that point, in closing, I do think there will be a vote probably at some point. The House is going to pass a budget. ...

The Senator from New Mexico.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

The Senator from North Dakota.

Madam President, I want to talk about another subject; that is, five of the executive branch nominations that are pending before the Senate today.

Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a thriving and successful business in Kentucky, the K-I Lumber & Building Materials company, headquartered in Louisville. K-I Lumber was founded ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

The following bill was read the first time: S. 2105. A bill to enhance the security and resiliency of the cyber and communications infrastructure of the United States.

Messages from the President of the United States were communicated to the Senate by Mr. Thomas, one of his secretaries.

The following communications were laid before the Senate, together with accompanying papers, reports, and documents, and were referred as indicated: EC-4960. A communication from the Director of the Regulatory Management ...

Mr. President, for the Committee on Foreign Relations I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Record on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to ...

The following executive reports of nominations were submitted:

The following concurrent resolutions and Senate resolutions were read, and referred (or acted upon), as indicated: By Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Durbin): S. Res. ...

By Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mrs. Feinstein):

By Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Inhofe):

S. 2104. A bill to amend the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize grants for and require applied water supply research regarding the water resources research and technology ...

S. 2105. A bill to enhance the security and resiliency of the cyber and communications infrastructure of the United States; read the first time.

Mr. President, when most Americans think of cyber security, they conjure up an image of somebody having a credit card number stolen, for example, or a prankster using their Twitter ...

Mr. President, today, only 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 have jobs--the lowest employment rate for young people since this data was first collected in 1948. It is ...

Mr. President, I came to the floor to introduce the Cyber Security Act of 2012. I am here with Senator Susan Collins. I thank her for all the work we ...

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to: S. Res. 374 Whereas each year, approximately 19,000,000 individuals ...

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to: S. Res. 375 Whereas in 1787, Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance ...

SA 1569. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Wicker) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1813, to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 14, 2012, at 9:30 a.m.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet, during the session of the Senate, in order to conduct a ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration en bloc of the following resolutions which were submitted earlier today: S. Res. 373, S. Res. 374, ...

Without objection, it is so ordered.

Objection is heard. The bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day.

Without objection, it is so ordered.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, the first vote tomorrow will be at approximately noon on confirmation of the Jordan nomination. Additional votes in relation to amendments to the surface transportation bill are possible.

Mr. President, I understand that S. 2105, introduced earlier today by Senator Lieberman, is at the desk, and I ask for its first reading.

Executive nominations received by the Senate: OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION JAMES M. DEMERS, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT ...

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate adjourn until 9:30 on Wednesday, February 15, 2012; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to ...

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following communication from the Speaker: Washington, DC, February 14, 2012. I hereby appoint the Honorable Andy Harris to act as Speaker ...

The House met at noon and was called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Harris).

Vol. 158WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012No. 24

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

Will the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) come forward and lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance.

The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Harris) at 2 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Pursuant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair declares the House in recess until 2 p.m. today.

Pursuant to clause 8, rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President released his budget for 2013, which calls for a cut in defense spending, for the first time since 1998, by almost $500 billion. It is ...

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the 3 million seniors represented by the Alliance for Retired Americans, I rise with my Democratic colleagues to accept their valentine for our vote to ...

Mr. Speaker, the Supreme Court will soon take up the President's nationalized health care law. This case will go down in history as it affects every American. But unless every ...

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the housing crisis plunged our economy into a recession that we are still struggling to overcome. Homeownership is at the heart of the American Dream, and yet over ...

Mr. Speaker, today I want to acknowledge a colleague, a fellow Texan, a veteran, and a true American hero. Congressman Sam Johnson served in the United States Air Force for ...

(Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the President assured American seniors that under his health care package, their insurance plans would not be affected and that they would have the same health care choices ...

Mr. Speaker, it's interesting that our colleagues across the aisle are doing their best to hide the truth about the cuts to Medicare that came with ObamaCare and those that ...

The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following communication from the Clerk of the House of Representatives: Office of the Clerk, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, February 14, ...

Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, the Chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays ...

Pursuant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair declares the House in recess until approximately 4:45 p.m. today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

The text of the bill is as follows:

Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania?

Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each will control 20 minutes.

There was no objection.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3247) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1100 Town and Country ...

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3248) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 112 South 5th Street ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3248, a bill I introduced to honor the life of Drew W. Weaver by designating the post office in Saint ...

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. As a member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I'm pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration ...

Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

The question was taken.

There was no objection.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each will control 20 minutes.

The recess having expired, the House was called to order by the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Paulsen) at 6 o'clock and 30 minutes p.m.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 49, I was away from the Capitol due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BISHOP of New York changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''

The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 303, nays 89, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 40, as follows:

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably absent for votes in the House Chamber today. I would like the Record to show that, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' ...

Mr. Speaker, I missed the one rollcall vote for the day.

(Mr. SCHWEIKERT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)

Mr. Speaker, as many of you know, today is Arizona's 100th birthday. Think of this: 100 years ago there were only about 200,000 people in Arizona. Today there are about ...

Mr. Speaker, it's my privilege and honor to be recognized by you to address you here on the floor of the United States House of Representatives and to take up ...

I think before we leave this talk of manufacturing growth, both of you gentlemen held up tremendous charts that tell the story.

Let me just mention this. Last night, I spoke before the ERC, the research center at RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. They are well regarded for their development of scientists and ...

I did.

I wanted to transition into talking about the trade deficit that we're facing in this country. But before I did that, I wanted to close the loop with what Mr. ...

The gentleman has given me so much to work with here on community colleges, and then I will transition into transportation, as the gentleman would like to do.

Mr. Altmire, I was about to respond that, while the lighting at Rensselaer is obviously good, it's California where the light-emitting diode--the LED--is actually being manufactured by a new startup ...

Mr. Tonko, thank you. And you really hit one of those issues directly, particularly the education issue. And we ought not jump to transportation before we deal with the investment ...

Thank you very much for pointing out the eye of the eagle. We have to keep our eye on this particular prize, and that's rebuilding the American manufacturing sector.

Absolutely.

Sure. Absolutely.

What happened that you were talking about earlier?

Mr. Altmire, if you could wait just a moment. Now you've got me engaged in this, and you talked about your community college. We are going to be going to ...

It's a valid point. Where was that linear, where was that outreach, that extension into all of America with the good products we developed that would serve this Nation well? ...

Thank you, Mr. Tonko.

So it's not like one person or one institutional network working in a vacuum but, rather, a partnership that is fostered by this budget process, by the thinking here of ...

Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.

Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized for 30 minutes.

Pursuant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair declares the House in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 11 o'clock and 19 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at 10 a.m. for ...

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Under clause 2 of rule XIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker's table and referred as follows: 4985. A letter from the Director, Regulatory Management Division, Environmental Protection Agency, ...

Under clause 2 of rule XII, public bills and resolutions of the following titles were introduced and severally referred, as follows: By Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Mr. Rangel): H.R. ...

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions as follows: H.R. 140: Mr. Brady of Texas. H.R. 181: Mr. Rahall. H.R. 186: Mr. Holden. ...

Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect and sincere admiration that I rise to celebrate Black History Month and its 2012 theme--Black Women in American Culture and History. This year's ...

Mr. Speaker, I proudly pause to recognize Nathan Vincent Fagerstone. Nathan is a very special young man who has exemplified the finest qualities of citizenship and leadership by taking an ...

Mr. Speaker, I will introduce this week the following resolution to recognize Arizona on her Centennial birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a resolution recognizing the contributions of the World Affairs Council of Seattle as it marks the 61st anniversary of connecting the Seattle community ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the life of Ryan Rossi, an inspiring young man from my district who died too soon this past December.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to recognize the administration, teachers, coaches, and athletic training staff of Langley High School in McLean, Virginia for the care and compassion they showed in helping ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to solemnly remember and honor the life and dedicated service of Specialist Robert J. Tauteris Jr., a native son of Hamlet, Indiana, and a proud ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter a statement into the Record on behalf of the family of Bishop Barnett Karl Thoroughgood:

Mr. Speaker, I wish to clarify my position on a vote cast on February 9, 2012. The vote was on passage of S. 2038, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember and honor the life of John Fallon. John Fallon, whose integrity, love of politics and trusting eyes guided him through a successful career ...

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to rise today in celebration of the Kankakee County Farm Bureau, which is set to celebrate its 100th Annual meeting on March 15, 2012. ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute one of our nation's most prestigious and accomplished United States Marine Corps bands--the Albany Marine Band stationed at the Marine Corps Logistics Base ...

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize those men and women who have served this great Nation while conducting combat operations in Iraq over the past 9 years. From March ...

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I recognize Southlake Officer Nate Anderson for his unbelievable act of generosity by going above and beyond the call of duty to ...