[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the quorum call be rescinded.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

[[Page S3964]]

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

[[Page S3965]]

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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