[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 27 (Friday, February 17, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S888-S892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senate will resume legislative 
session.
  The Senator from Montana.


           Tax Relief And Job Creation Act--Conference Report

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I assume the next business is the vote on 
the payroll bill. Before that, I will take 1 minute.
  As we vote on this bill and prepare to go home, I ask you to remember 
four numbers: No. 1, 160 million; that is the number of Americans who 
are helped by this bill. The next number is 1,000; that is $1,000 that 
each of those Americans is going to benefit by, by passage of the bill. 
The next number is 13 million, which is the number of Americans who are 
unemployed and would be dramatically helped by this bill. Finally, 48 
million, which is the number of seniors in America who have doctors 
take care of their health care needs.
  Remember those four numbers and vote for this bill. Remember, the 
other body passed this bill by a margin of 293 to 132, evenly split 
between Republicans and Democrats. I urge passage of the bill.
  Mr. President, there are a number of mistakes in the Joint 
Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference on H.R. 3630 
related to sections 7003 and 7004 and the current law description of 
those sections:
  No. 1, on page 36, in the paragraphs describing current law, the last 
clause of the last sentence of the third paragraph should read:

       A Senate point-of-order against emergency designations 
     under BBEDCA exists pursuant to section 511 of public law 112 
     78.

  No. 2, on page 37, in the paragraphs describing the conference 
substitute, the description of section 7003 should be deleted, and the 
paragraph labeled Section 7004 should be re-designated as section 
``Section 7003'' and should read:

       Paygo Scorecard Estimates--The budgetary effects of this 
     Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained 
     pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 
     of 2010.

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. On behalf of myself and Senator Baucus, I wish to 
state that title VI of the conference report to H.R. 3630, the Middle 
Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, contains landmark 
bipartisan legislation that more than 10 years after 9/11 will provide 
police, firefighters, and other first responders with a nationwide, 
interoperable wireless broadband network for public safety. This 
legislation will also help ease the Nation's growing spectrum shortage, 
through the auction of new spectrum to commercial providers. Revenues 
from these spectrum auctions will fund the public safety network--and 
contribute $15.2 billion to the unemployment compensation fund.
  Specifically, Title VI of the conference report provides $7 billion 
in spectrum auction proceeds as well as D-Block spectrum worth $2.75 
billion to develop a nationwide, interoperable wireless broadband 
network for public safety officials through a new First Responder 
Network Authority. The title also directs the Federal Communications 
Commission, FCC, to auction underutilized spectrum and provides the 
agency with authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions. These 
auctions are expected to raise more than $25 billion in revenue. In 
addition, the title authorizes the FCC to create guard bands in the 
broadcast spectrum that can be used for innovative new unlicensed uses 
like Super Wi-Fi. These efforts will help meet the growing spectrum 
demands of smartphones and tablets. Moreover, investment in the 
wireless economy is expected to create hundreds of thousands of new 
jobs.
  The title is based on bipartisan legislation developed by Senator 
Rockefeller and Senator Hutchison, S. 911, and a comparable House bill, 
H.R. 3630. The public safety provisions are based on the national model 
first developed in S. 911, with some changes to ensure flexibility for 
States. The spectrum auction provisions are based on the auction model 
in H.R. 3630, with some changes regarding unlicensed spectrum and FCC 
auction rules.
  As to public safety provisions, title VI of the conference report 
provides for the construction of a nationwide, interoperable public 
safety wireless broadband network. It does this using the D-Block 
spectrum, which is ideally located for fostering seamless communication 
among first responders. It will allow them to take full advantage of 
broadband functions in emergencies e.g., allowing firefighters to 
download floor plans to see inside buildings before they enter. It also 
will promote economies of scale and efficiencies from using the same 
spectrum nationwide.
  The title creates a First Responder Network Authority as an 
independent entity within the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, NTIA, and provides the Authority with $7 
billion and a license to use the D-Block to build the nationwide public 
safety network. To ensure efficiency, the title requires that the 
Authority leverage existing commercial networks in construction. To 
ensure national interoperability, the title also creates a technical 
advisory board at the FCC to develop initial interoperability 
standards. States that want to construct their own portion of the 
National public safety network have the option to apply for Federal 
grants to build and operate the radio access network in the State if 
they can demonstrate to the FCC that the network will meet the 
interoperability standards and to the NTIA that they have

[[Page S889]]

the resources and capability to provide comparable coverage and 
security and the ability to maintain ongoing interoperability.
  Unlike H.R. 3630, the title does not require public safety officials 
to return the important 700 MHz narrowband spectrum to the FCC for 
auction. Instead, it requires the return of a more limited amount of 
spectrum currently used by public safety. This return of a portion of 
the so-called ``T-Band'' spectrum occurs 11 years from the date of 
enactment, and public safety relocation costs will be reimbursed from 
any auction proceeds. This time frame provides an opportunity for 
continued assessment of the viability of this transition--and its 
impact on public safety communications.
  The title also authorizes up to $300 million for critical public 
safety research and development activities and promotes deployment of 
Next Generation 9 1-1 services, which will complement the advanced 
broadband capabilities of the public safety network by enabling the 
delivery of voice, text, video, and other data to 9 1-1 call centers.
  As to the spectrum auction provisions, the auction provisions in 
Title VI of the conference report are largely the same as those in H.R. 
3630, with two significant exceptions--the provisions relating to 
unlicensed spectrum and FCC auction authority.
  Unlicensed spectrum has been an engine of economic innovation and 
growth. Today, unlicensed uses include Wi-Fi connections for laptops, 
television remote controls, and cordless telephones. In the future, 
unlicensed spectrum is expected to enable new forms of communication, 
like Super Wi-Fi. The title advances this goal in three ways. First, it 
gives the FCC the authority to preserve existing television white 
spaces. Second, it gives the FCC the authority to optimize these white 
spaces for unlicensed use by consolidating them into more optimal 
configurations through band plans. Third, it gives the FCC the 
authority to use part of the spectrum relinquished by television 
broadcasters in the incentive auction to create nationwide guard bands 
that can be used for unlicensed use, including in high value markets 
that currently have little or no white spaces today. Nationwide, 
unlicensed access to guard bands will enable innovation, promote 
investment in new wireless services, and enhance the value of licensed 
spectrum by protecting against harmful interference and allowing 
carriers to off-load data to alleviate capacity concerns.
  Under current law, the FCC has broad authority to craft auction rules 
in the public interest. The agency has used this authority to ensure 
that communications markets remain competitive. H.R. 3630 would have 
restricted the FCC's future ability to limit participation in and set 
rules for spectrum auctions. Title VI of the conference report modifies 
this prohibition by expressly preserving the FCC's flexibility to 
protect competition in the awarding of licenses, and to adopt auction 
procedures and other rules of general applicability.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, Congress has taken an important step today 
to address the looming spectrum crunch that our country faces as well 
as provide first responders with the nationwide network that they 
undoubtedly need. From cell phones to WiFi to broadcast television and 
radio, spectrum fuels some of the most critical technologies of the 
modern age. Empowering the Federal Communications Commission to conduct 
voluntary auctions in order to recover potentially underutilized 
spectrum will ensure that the public airwaves are being put to the best 
possible use. I am particularly pleased to see that this provision 
contains language that will protect broadcast television stations along 
the Canadian border.
  A potential consequence of the spectrum auctions that Congress has 
been considering is that the Federal Communications Commission may need 
to ``repack'' or move certain television stations to new channels to 
appropriately free up spectrum. This type of repacking occurred 
following the transition to digital television and put some broadcast 
stations in Vermont in the position of having to reduce power to avoid 
interference with Canadian broadcast signals. Further repacking without 
appropriate protection could have serious consequences for stations in 
Vermont and elsewhere along the border. The language in the bill 
Congress has passed today makes sure that repacking along our borders 
is subject to international coordination with Canada and Mexico.
  In January, I joined with the other members of Vermont's 
Congressional delegation in sending a letter to Secretary of State 
Clinton requesting that the State Department explore a new spectrum 
coordination agreement with Canada. As Congress moves forward today 
with approving spectrum auctions, I once again call for a new agreement 
that will ensure adequate spectrum exists for repacking in Vermont and 
elsewhere along the border. Broadcast television is critically 
important to communities across this country, and the steps Congress 
has taken today will make sure that residents relying on this free 
service do not see significant disruptions due to a lack of 
international coordination.
  The voluntary spectrum auctions that Congress has approved today are 
an important step in freeing up the airwaves for new and innovative 
uses. The auction provision also ensures that public safety will 
finally have a nationwide broadband network at its disposal, which was 
a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. I am pleased that 
stakeholders came together to craft a compromise that will help to spur 
innovation, improve public safety, and preserve access to the free, 
over-the-air television that is so important our communities.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am pleased that today we can approve a 
full-year extension of the payroll tax cut, important tax relief that 
is focused on middle-class families who have suffered greatly during 
the Great Recession, tax relief that will help continue the economic 
recovery that appears to be under way and that we all hope will 
strengthen in the months to come.
  The controversy over how to offset the cost of this payroll tax 
relief has twice now nearly derailed this important middle class tax 
relief. I am glad that we have for the second time avoided such an 
outcome. But my strong preference would be for our colleagues across 
the aisle and across the Capitol to accept the reality that added 
revenue must eventually be a part of our strategy here. Democrats have 
offered common-sense solutions that would have allowed us to prevent a 
tax increase on American families without adding to the deficit and 
without damaging our economic recovery. Rather than take steps such as 
ask for a small contribution from the wealthiest Americans--those with 
annual incomes above $1 million--our Republican colleagues preferred to 
add to the deficit. That is an unfortunate choice.
  Just as important as the extension of middle-class tax relief in this 
bill is the extension of emergency unemployment benefits. It is good 
for Michigan and good for the Nation that we have rejected the approach 
advocated by some, which would have slashed these important benefits. 
Emergency jobless benefits have kept food on the table and shelter 
overhead for millions of families across the country coping with the 
loss of a job through no fault of their own. Beyond those families, 
this funding has been an economic lifeline to communities hard-hit by 
job losses, and it has been an important component in our economic 
recovery.
  I should note here that my own State cannot take full advantage of 
this extension unless it reverses the decision of the Governor and 
State Legislature to cut State benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks. 
Because of this decision, from March through May of this year, 
Michiganians who could be eligible for a total of 89 weeks of benefits 
will be limited to 69 weeks. For a relatively small investment on the 
State's part, we could make a major difference for Michigan families if 
we reverse the State's cuts. I hope the Governor and Legislature will 
reconsider their position.
  The extension of the so-called ``doc fix'' to prevent major cuts in 
Medicare reimbursements to health care providers is another important 
part of this legislation. Year after year we find ourselves toying with 
the idea of allowing drastic cuts to the providers who serve our 
nation's elderly and most vulnerable. I am glad we again avoided this 
outcome; however, we missed yet

[[Page S890]]

another important opportunity to fix this growing problem that becomes 
more expensive the longer we wait to act.
  In addition to supporting our nation's health care providers, this 
bill includes a short-term extension of hospital wage index 
reclassifications under Section 508 of the Medicare Modernization Act. 
While I am disappointed we were unable to provide a long-term extension 
of this provision--which helps remedy an inaccurate Medicare 
classification--at least we were able to include a retroactive 4-month 
extension for affected hospitals in my State. And while some of the 
health care cuts used to pay for these extensions will be very 
difficult to absorb, I am pleased we successfully pushed back against 
the most draconian cuts to important safety net providers that House 
Republican's included in their bill.
  The legislation also authorizes the Federal Communications Commission 
to hold incentive auctions to entice broadcasters to sell some of their 
unused or underused spectrum to free up spectrum to meet growing demand 
for wireless broadband technologies and also help public safety 
officials build a national broadband network to improve communications 
during emergencies.
  Securing adequate spectrum for and building out a nationwide 
interoperable public safety broadband network is an important public 
policy goal that is overdue to be implemented as a recommendation of 
the 9/11 Commission.
  One issue related to these auctions of particular interest to me is 
the uniqueness of our border states when it comes to spectrum signals. 
Broadcasters, including those in Detroit, Flint, Traverse City, Grand 
Rapids, and Lansing, have been concerned about potential interference 
of signals along the border if spectrum allocations were modified from 
the carefully negotiated existing signals. I am pleased that this has 
been addressed by requiring that any reassignments of channels be 
subject to special rules to avoid that interference.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am pleased that the conference committee 
was able to reach agreement to provide critical tax relief for American 
workers and to extend unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans.
  In a letter to conferees earlier this month, I urged the committee to 
include a permanent repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate, SGR, 
formula and offset the cost with savings from capping a portion of the 
spending for overseas contingency operations, OCO, below amounts in the 
Congressional Budget Office, CBO, baseline.
  Every Medicare expert knows that the SGR formula is irreparably 
flawed and needs to be repealed. If the conference committee was unable 
to reach agreement, doctors serving Medicare beneficiaries would face a 
27.4-percent cut on March 1.
  While I am disappointed that conference committee was unable to 
permanently repeal the SGR, I am grateful that they averted the latest 
crisis by including a 10-month fix, freezing payments to physicians 
through the end of the year.
  However, the latest Medicare physician payment fix comes at a great 
cost to hospitals, clinical laboratories, and preventive health 
initiatives.
  The conference report offsets the cost of the SGR with $9.6 billion 
in Medicare cuts, $4 billion in Medicaid cuts, and $7.5 billion in cuts 
from provisions in the Affordable Care Act, ACA.
  Massachusetts hospitals and skilled nursing facilities will be 
negatively impacted by the cuts to bad debt payments which reimburse 
providers for beneficiaries' unpaid coinsurance and deductible amounts 
after reasonable collection efforts. Because of this provision, 
Massachusetts hospitals will be cut by approximately $94 million over 
the next decade.
  Clinical laboratories in Massachusetts will also bear 
disproportionate cuts because of offsets in the conference report. They 
will see their Medicare payments reduced by 2 percent in 2013 and will 
see additional reductions in the future. There are over 630 medical 
laboratories in Massachusetts, and I am concerned that these cuts will 
delay or deny patient access to lifesaving and life-enhancing 
innovative diagnostic tests.
  The conference report substantially reduces funding for the 
Prevention and Public Health Fund created in the Affordable Care Act by 
$5 billion. Massachusetts supports public health funding solely from 
grants and has received over $24 million in grants from the prevention 
fund since enactment of health reform. Cuts to the prevention fund will 
jeopardize preventive care initiatives throughout the State, including 
a program by UMass School of Public Health and Health Sciences to 
provide diabetes care trainings throughout western Massachusetts.
  I am also disappointed that the conference report will eliminate the 
extension of funds for section 508 hospitals on April 1, 2012. This 
will cause approximately $4 to $7 million in annual cuts to Berkshire 
Medical Center, the only section 508 hospital in Massachusetts.
  However, I am supporting the conference report because it is 
imperative for Congress to pass tax relief, extend unemployment 
protections, and prevent damaging cuts to physicians. The Medicare 
physician payment fix is particularly important to the Massachusetts 
economy. One in five workers in Massachusetts is employed in health 
care. Nearly 15 percent of my State's economy is based on health care. 
This issue directly impacts 20,000 physicians, their 64,724 employees, 
and every health care constituency which depends on Medicare, including 
the 187,000 employees of Massachusetts hospitals.
  I am concerned about a provision that was included in the conference 
report that would increase by 2.3 percent retirement contributions for 
some Federal employees. This provision will reduce pay for Federal 
workers who have already been faced with a freeze in salary.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to permanently repealing 
the SGR later this year.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor today both volcanic 
and flabbergasted. I am volcanic that this bill is not fully paid for 
and that we are using permanent solutions to solve temporary problems. 
And, I am flabbergasted that Republicans are more willing to protect 
billionaires than keep our economy rolling and provide a safety net for 
those going through tough times.
  We are asked to make an impossible choice. I want to continue the 
payroll tax holiday. I want to continue unemployment insurance. And I 
want to stop a pay cut to doctors that care for the injured and infirm. 
But I will be darned if I agree to pay for it by cutting payments to 
hospitals that serve the poor and by asking civil servants to take it 
on the chin when billionaires do not have to contribute a dime.
  Republicans say they want to cut spending. They say they are serious 
about reducing the deficit. But the only thing they are serious about 
is protecting the pampered and prosperous. I will give you an example. 
Continuing the payroll tax holiday costs about $100 billion. I want to 
pay for it by cutting tax breaks for billionaires, tax breaks for oil 
companies, and tax breaks for big agriculture. But Republicans do not 
want to pay for it at all. The so-called party of fiscal discipline 
wants to add $100 billion to the deficit before asking billionaires to 
pay more. Some people might call that hypocrisy. I call it a sham.
  This bill would block a 27% pay cut to doctors that care for the 
injured and infirm. I support that but I would like to see a long-term 
fix to this payment problem and not just a 10-month patch. To pay for 
this temporary fix, the bill cuts $10 billion to hospitals that provide 
care to the poor and Medicare patients. We ask doctors and hospitals to 
care for the most vulnerable and then we say we would not pay the bill.
  The bill also cuts funds for health prevention activities. 
Republicans like to call it a ``slush fund.'' Since when did efforts to 
combat our Nation's highest cost disease and conditions like diabetes, 
Alzheimer's and heart disease become a ``slush fund''? The bill also 
cuts laboratory services that diagnose illness. We are cutting the 
``good-guy'' institutions to protect the checkbooks of the wealthy.
  The bill also sticks it to civil servants who are already operating 
under a 2-year pay freeze. Congress has already balanced the budget on 
their backs and saved $60 billion over 10 years by freezing their pay. 
Instead of asking billionaires to sacrifice once it asks more than 2 
million middle class civil servants to pay more again. It leaves the

[[Page S891]]

hedge fund managers alone and takes from the GS 5 earning $30,000 a 
year and the GS 7 earning $40,000.
  Across the country there are 2 million civil servants who work for 
300 million Americans every day with honesty, integrity and competency. 
They keep our food safe, our environment clean, our communities 
protected and our democracy stable. They are at our borders and 
airports protecting our safety and at Social Security offices helping 
seniors get their benefits. They are Nobel Prize winners, they create 
private sector opportunities and they are the economic engine of 
Maryland. Despite all of this, civil servants have been the target of 
unending attacks. They have been downsized, furloughed and shut down. 
They are enduring pay freezes and broken promises on retirement 
security. Every great democracy needs a civil service. We have one but 
we can not keep it if we keep up this toxic environment for our civil 
servants.
  I support a payroll tax holiday. I support extending Unemployment 
Insurance and I support a long-term doc fix. But these items must be 
paid for. We cannot let corporations and the wealthy walk away again 
when the middle class gets stuck with the bill.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, the average Rhode Islander remains worried 
about the economy and their future. There are some signs that offer 
hope in the economy, but for too many, good news still eludes them. 
Congress has the ability and the obligation to reinvigorate the 
recovery, boost demand, and create jobs. Unfortunately, because of 
Republican obstructionism, Congress has not been able to act and 
produce the kind of results the American people and Rhode Islanders are 
asking for, mainly more jobs. In fact, Republicans have manufactured 
crises. Last summer they jeopardized the full faith and credit of the 
United States by refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and in December, 
they threatened to cut off jobless benefits to millions of out-of-work 
Americans looking for a job and raised taxes on the middle class by not 
extending the payroll tax cut.
  Fortunately, this conference report avoids last-minute threats of 
financial calamity or economic ruin. This compromise will continue the 
payroll tax cut for 160 million working Americans and jobless benefits 
for millions of unemployed individuals looking for work all through 
2012.
  What I find most disconcerting in the debate preceding this 
conference report and the deal that we struck with Republicans is their 
view of the reasons why Americans are out of work. As economists have 
shown, Americans are out of work because of the weak economy and the 
unwillingness by many in this body to do something about it.
  Republicans believe that slashing the duration of unemployment 
benefits will yield jobs. This is a view that is harmful to many in my 
State. Republicans in the House would have cut benefits immediately 
from its current maximum of 99 weeks, targeted towards the hardest hit 
States, to 59 weeks. This would have hurt families and the economy. The 
relatively small weekly UI benefit can be the difference between paying 
rent and putting food on the table and ensuring the survival of local 
businesses.
  The White House, as part of a broad jobs plan, which was designed to 
appreciably reduce the unemployment rate, also proposed to reduce the 
maximum amount of jobless benefits from 99 to 79 weeks. This proposal 
made sense as part of a broad package that would help Americans get 
back to work. However, Republicans blocked that jobs package and 
cherry-picked the 79 weeks from the President's proposal and presented 
that as the Democratic starting point. I and my fellow Democrats during 
negotiations stressed that existing law is 99 weeks; and, in fact, 
under this conference report 99 weeks will continue for many States 
through April and May. Democrats were able to ensure that the ultimate 
reduction to 73 at the end of the year was gradual and that the maximum 
aid continued flowing to the highest unemployment States.
  Senate and House Democrats were also successful in including 
important and commonsense reforms to the unemployment insurance system 
that will bolster reemployment services for the unemployed. There is 
also a key provision to help prevent the loss of jobs in the first 
place. My work sharing legislation that was included in this bill will 
provide $500 million to enhance and expand the use of a proven 
initiative to help keep Americans on the job and provide employers with 
a practical alternative to layoffs that is good for business. This 
voluntary program has been very successful in Rhode Island, saving over 
10,000 jobs. Economist Mark Zandi estimates that temporary financing of 
work share offers a very high ``bang for the buck'' of $1.69. Work 
sharing allows businesses to retain skilled workers, temporarily cut 
costs, and maintain employee morale. It keeps people working while 
receiving a share of unemployment benefits to make up for lost wages 
and retaining health insurance and retirement benefits. This means 
workers can continue to pay their mortgages and bills, provide for 
their families, and support businesses in their local communities. More 
than 20 States have adopted work-sharing initiatives. By including this 
provision in the conference report, we are encouraging States with 
existing layoff prevention systems to utilize them more frequently and 
incentivizing States without work sharing to create them.
  This compromise also improves work search requirements and helps 
States recover benefit overpayments.
  Importantly, we prevented Republican UI proposals that would have 
required a GED to collect UI benefits; this proposal would have 
disproportionately and unfairly harmed older workers. And, it could 
have led to the denial of benefits, despite the efforts of the 
unemployed worker, because access to a GED program was unavailable. 
Republican efforts to cut adult education funding have and will 
continue to limit access to these education services.
  In addition, this conference report includes an agreement that will 
create a critically needed nationwide wireless communications network 
for public safety, while also allowing the Federal Government to 
auction off portions of the wireless spectrum that it no longer needs. 
I fought against language in the House bill that the Department of 
Defense stated would be damaging to our Nation's defense capabilities 
by forcing the Department to withdraw from certain portions of the 
wireless spectrum that it currently uses. I am pleased that the 
conference report does not include this language.
  The compromise also ensures approximately 181,000 Rhode Islanders on 
Medicare will continue to have access to health care services by 
preventing a 27-percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. And it 
provides over $7 million for Rhode Island to help an estimated 4,000 
parents and children every month through December retain their Medicaid 
coverage as they transition to employment and increase their earnings.
  While I am pleased that I helped prevent any benefit cuts to seniors 
on Medicare and other low-income individuals and families to pay for 
the extension of these health care programs, included in the proposal 
offered by Republicans in the House, I am disappointed that the 
compromise includes reductions in Medicare payments to hospitals, 
nursing facilities, and clinical laboratories.
  There was a better way to pay for this legislation. Congress could 
have closed egregious corporate subsidies and made our tax system 
fairer. Unfortunately, Republicans refused.
  But overall, this compromise continues important policies that help 
the middle class. But Congress still has much work to do to create jobs 
and restore economic opportunity and fairness. I will continue to press 
for passage of innovative job creation strategies to accelerate our 
economic recovery.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I yield back the time on this side.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding lack of receipt of the papers from the House with 
respect to the conference report to accompany H.R. 3630, the Senate 
proceed to vote on adoption of the conference report, as provided under 
the previous order.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

[[Page S892]]

  Mr. BAUCUS. I yield back all time.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. All time having been yielded back, 
the question is on agreeing to the conference report to accompany H.R. 
3630.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I request the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. 
Bingaman) is necessarily absent.
  Mr. KYL. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), the Senator from Kansas (Mr. Roberts), and 
the Senator from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Pryor). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 60, nays 36, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 22 Leg.]

                                YEAS--60

     Akaka
     Ayotte
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Boxer
     Brown (MA)
     Brown (OH)
     Cantwell
     Carper
     Casey
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Coons
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inouye
     Johnson (SD)
     Kerry
     Klobuchar
     Kohl
     Landrieu
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lieberman
     Lugar
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nelson (NE)
     Nelson (FL)
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Rockefeller
     Rubio
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Snowe
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Webb
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                                NAYS--36

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Cardin
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     DeMint
     Enzi
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (WI)
     Kyl
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Sanders
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Thune
     Toomey
     Warner

                             NOT VOTING--4

     Bingaman
     Kirk
     Roberts
     Vitter
  The conference report was agreed to.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. BAUCUS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

                          ____________________