[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3963-S3965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RESTORING AMERICAN FINANCIAL STABILITY ACT OF 2010--Continued
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. 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. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. REID. Madam President, we have been trying now for many hours to
get a consent agreement to let us move forward on some of these
amendments, important amendments--some not so important but amendments.
I do not know if we will ever arrive at that now, so I think it would
be in the best interests of the body, both Democrats and Republicans,
to go ahead and have the cloture vote.
There is a commitment made by the chair of the Banking Committee--
and, of course, the Agriculture Committee, but most of the concern
right now is with the matters dealing with the Banking Committee
jurisdiction--that both the chairman and ranking member will continue.
We know what the consent agreement is. We will try to work through all
that. I think that is the best way to do it. We have the word
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of the two managers that is what they will do.
I think that when we get this cloture out of the way, the Republican
leader already told me yesterday he wanted to use some time
postcloture. We might have some people who will want to talk a little
postcloture, and we will continue working.
We have really worked hard together. I think there has been a show of
bipartisanship in this bill. We disagree on a number of very important
issues, but that doesn't mean we cannot work together, and we have
shown that is possible.
I ask that we move to the cloture vote.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Dodd substitute
amendment No. 3739 to S. 3217, the Restoring American
Financial Stability Act of 2010.
Harry Reid, Christopher J. Dodd, Tim Johnson, Jack Reed,
Jon Tester, Charles E. Schumer, Patty Murray, Daniel K.
Inouye, Kent Conrad, John F. Kerry, Roland W. Burris,
Mark R. Warner, Daniel K. Akaka, Sheldon Whitehouse,
John D. Rockefeller IV, Michael F. Bennet.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Madam President, 3 weeks ago I supported invoking
cloture on the motion to proceed to this bill. Proceeding to this
measure was essential to being able to debate, amend, and strengthen
it. But as I noted at that time, after 30 years of acquiescing to the
wishes of Wall Street lobbyists, it is essential that Congress get it
right this time, and finally enact tough reforms to prevent Wall Street
from driving our economy into the ditch again. In particular, that
means eliminating the risk posed to our economy by the massive
financial firms that are considered ``too big to fail.''
Over the last few weeks, this body has repeatedly rejected amendments
that address ``too big to fail.'' And perhaps the most important
amendment in this respect--one offered by the Senator from Washington,
Ms. Cantwell, to reinstate the protective firewalls of the Glass-
Steagall Act--may not be considered if we invoke cloture on the
underlying measure.
Three weeks ago, I said that for me the test for this legislation is
a simple one--whether or not it will prevent another financial crisis.
And central to that test is how this bill will address ``too big to
fail.'' Right now, this bill fails that test, and for that reason I
will not support ending debate on the measure.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call is waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
Dodd substitute amendment No. 3739 to S. 3217, the Restoring American
Financial Stability Act of 2010, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Specter) is necessarily absent.
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 57, nays 42, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 158 Leg.]
YEAS--57
Akaka
Baucus
Bayh
Begich
Bennet
Bingaman
Boxer
Brown (OH)
Burris
Byrd
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Conrad
Dodd
Dorgan
Durbin
Feinstein
Franken
Gillibrand
Hagan
Harkin
Inouye
Johnson
Kaufman
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
McCaskill
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Murray
Nelson (NE)
Nelson (FL)
Pryor
Reed
Rockefeller
Sanders
Schumer
Shaheen
Snowe
Stabenow
Tester
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--42
Alexander
Barrasso
Bennett
Bond
Brown (MA)
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Cantwell
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
DeMint
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Kyl
LeMieux
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Murkowski
Reid
Risch
Roberts
Sessions
Shelby
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Wicker
NOT VOTING--1
Specter
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 57, the nays are
42. Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The motion to reconsider is entered.
Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the bill
be withdrawn.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. REID. Madam President, I note the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Franken). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Amendment No. 3883
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to call up the Snowe
amendment No. 3883. It is already pending.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The
amendment is pending.
Is there further debate?
If not, the question is on agreeing to the amendment.
The amendment (No. 3883) was agreed to.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote and I move to
lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Walsh Nomination
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I will have a unanimous-consent request
that has been cleared on both sides. This is a unanimous-consent
request about a nomination that has been on the calendar since
September 27, which was reported out of the Armed Services Committee by
Senators Levin and McCain--reported out unanimously--for the promotion
of BG Michael J. Walsh.
On October 27, it was determined that the Armed Services Committee
agreed with the President for the recommended promotion for the second
star for this soldier. It has regrettably been held up; there has been
a hold on it since late last year. I have been to the floor several
times asking unanimous consent that this nomination for General Walsh
be approved.
Our colleague, Senator Vitter, from Louisiana, has been upset with
the Corps of Engineers for other reasons and has held this nomination
for a period of time now. It has been about 7 months. I have indicated
on the floor how unfair I think it is to hold the nomination of a
promotion of a soldier who has served this country for 30 years. He has
gone to war for this country. I know this soldier. He has done an
extraordinary job. On a unanimous vote, the Armed Services Committee
decided he should be promoted. But month after month, it has sat on
this calendar because of the objection of one Senator.
My understanding is now the Senator has released the hold as of
today. I indicated yesterday I would be on the floor today to ask
unanimous consent once again. This morning, it is my understanding that
the Senator from Louisiana released his hold.
Following yielding to Senator Levin, the chairman of the committee
that moved this nomination out--and, by the way, who has also been on
the floor and asked unanimous consent to move this nomination--if
appropriate, I
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would allow him to say a few words, and then I will ask unanimous
consent to move the nomination. I ask unanimous consent that Senator
Levin be recognized, following which I will move the nomination by
consent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Michigan is recognized.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from North Dakota. He
has been dogged in his determination to get this nomination before the
Senate. It is unconscionable that a military officer in the uniform of
the United States, who has put his life on the line for this country,
month after month after month, has had his promotion held up by one
Senator. It is only one Senator. All the Senators of the Armed Services
Committee on both sides wanted to confirm this general. But the rules
of the Senate permit one Senator to threaten a filibuster or a so-
called hold. In this case, it was an open hold, not a secret hold. He
was able to thwart the Senate because we cannot take 2 or 3 or 4 days
to take up every nomination of every soldier or civilian because we
would get even less done than we do now.
Those are the rules of the Senate. They should not be used this way.
We expressed that to Senator Vitter. That hold has been lifted. So a
well-qualified soldier is going to be promoted 6 months late by the
Senate. We can thank him for his service, but the best way we could
have thanked him would have been to have promptly promoted him. Short
of that, he knows he has, on a bipartisan basis, the support of the
Senate. It is very important to us as an institution that he knows
that. He also knows full well the power of one Senator. He should also
understand that when it comes to the defense of this country,
Republicans and Democrats are going to stand together.
I, again, thank the Senator from North Dakota for his determination.
He is kind of the 27th member of the Armed Services Committee, if my
memory is correct. I thank the Senator.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, again, Michael Walsh is a good soldier,
who served 30 years and has gone to war for this country. The demand
that existed and resulted in holding this nomination is a demand that
could not be met. He could not possibly do what he was asked to do. He
does a good job.
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