[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 29, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S4902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--S. 896

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, 
April 30, following a period of morning business, the Senate proceed to 
the consideration of Calendar No. 52, S. 896, Helping Families Saves 
Their Homes; that immediately after the bill is reported, Senator 
Durbin be recognized to offer an amendment relating to ``cram-down''--
that is, bankruptcy; that there be 4 hours for debate with respect to 
the amendment and the time be equally divided and controlled between 
the leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of 
time, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to that amendment; that 
adoption of the amendment will require an affirmative 60-vote 
threshold; that if the threshold is achieved, the amendment be agreed 
to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; that if the 
amendment does not achieve that threshold, that it will be withdrawn; 
provided further that no amendment be in order to the amendment and 
that no further amendments on the subject of ``cram-down'' be in order 
during the pendency of S. 896; further, that upon disposition of the 
Durbin amendment, Senator Dodd be recognized to offer a Dodd-Shelby 
substitute amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, before we move on, there are times in the 
legislative process that you see someone who has invested a great deal 
of their personal time and passion on an issue. I came to Congress at 
the same time that Senator Durbin of Illinois came. He is a man, we all 
know, who is very articulate. He is a person who can express himself 
very well. He is a person who believes in the legislative process. He 
understands that legislation is the art of compromise. But that can be 
carried a little too far.
  Senator Durbin has done everything within his power to get an issue 
that he believes in very strongly. I agree with him. It is unbelievable 
to me that people can have their primary residence in Las Vegas and 
have a beach house in Laguna, CA, and a ski chalet in Brian Head, UT, 
or some other ski area in Utah, and they come upon hard times. The 
resorts they have at the beach and up in the mountains, they can go to 
bankruptcy court and get that readjusted. Their primary residence, they 
cannot. But a person who has a home in Las Vegas or some other place in 
Nevada who comes upon hard times, they cannot do a thing with their 
home. They cannot go to bankruptcy court. They are stuck with this 
horrible process, we found.
  I do not know how to summarize this other than to say that I hope the 
banks are proud of themselves. I hope they are proud of themselves, of 
what they have done--I add in that the financial institutions 
generally--what they have done to our country. And now they are 
standing in the way of our trying to help a little bit, trying to help 
people who have a home and they cannot get any relief. So the banks are 
going to wind up with a lot of peoples' homes because they are going to 
foreclosure upon them and the people have no alternative.
  On the morning news today, Phoenix, AZ, the price of the homes in the 
last year--at least the way I heard it on public radio today--the price 
of homes has dropped 50 percent. A home that was worth $500,000 last 
year is worth $250,000 now.
  Everyone knows that the assistant leader of the Senate is Senator 
Durbin. We work very closely together. And I help him whenever I can, 
as he helps me whenever he can. But I feel badly for the country. I am 
happy we got this agreement. Maybe we will be able to get very 
fortunate and pick up some votes. But I am very disappointed in the 
rope-a-dope that has been used on Senator Durbin. He has tried 
everything--everything--to try to get this done. Quite frankly, the 
amendment he is going to offer, I wish we would have one a little 
stronger than that.
  But I hope that there will be a night's rest and people will come in 
and say: I guess Durbin is right. Let's do this. But I want the record 
spread with the fact that the people of the State of Illinois are very 
fortunate to have someone of his caliber, his integrity, working to 
help them and in the process help our country.
  I ask unanimous consent that on Thursday, April 30, upon 
disposition--Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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