[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 29, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7598-S7601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Superstorm Sandy

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the 1-
year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy's landfall in the Northeast and 
the destruction it brought on a ruinous path through Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. I will be joined today on the 
floor--and I ask unanimous consent that we be permitted to engage in a 
colloquy--by my colleague from New York, Senator Schumer, and from 
Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse, if there is no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I can scarcely capture in words the 
awesome, monstrous power of this storm as it hit the Northeast as I 
traveled there. I was near the coastline of Connecticut, traveling some 
of the roads in the midst of this storm as it ripped through my State, 
tearing apart communities along the coast, destroying homes and 
businesses, displacing families, and forever altering the shoreline 
itself. Anybody who questions the power of nature at its most 
destructive should have seen this storm as it unfolded and the damage 
it left in its wake--in fact, in Connecticut, $770 million in damages.
  What I remember from touring Connecticut is not only the size and 
magnitude of the destruction but also the resilience and strength of 
Connecticut's people as they struggled through the pain and anguish of 
coping with this devastation, wondering how they would ever rebuild. In 
fact, they have rebuilt with the courage and relentless strength and 
fortitude that have so marked the character of Connecticut and New 
England and New York as they rallied around one another and exhibited 
that sense of optimism and hope. It was as important as any material 
resources that were brought to bear. They rallied around each other 
with gratitude and with hope because they had each other, and they have 
succeeded in clearing the debris, reconstructing, rebuilding in a way 
that is inspiring.
  I only wish Congress's response was as effective and courageous as 
that of the citizens of Connecticut that I viewed in the storm's 
aftermath. The Senate was slow to act, but it was before the House in 
passing the $60 billion recovery package for the Northeast. The effort 
was stalled in the House, quite bluntly, with bipartisan politics of 
the worst kind and trivial obstruction.
  There are lessons to be learned. No. 1 is that partisanship and 
politics should have no role in our response to disasters, whether in 
Oklahoma or Colorado or Louisiana or the Northeast. We are all in this 
effort together when disaster strikes. We should rally around each 
other as the people of Connecticut rallied.
  Our response has to be quicker, smarter, stronger than it was in this 
institution. We owe it to ourselves as well as to the people who 
suffered the financial and emotional loss. For many of them, there were 
physical injuries as a result of this natural disaster.
  Those two lessons are reinforced by a third, which is that these 
superstorms have become a new normal. We can no longer regard the once-
in-a-century storm as once every hundred years. They are coming once 
every year because climate disruption is increasing their frequency and 
force in a way that is awesome and alarming and astonishing. So another 
lesson is that there has to be preparation to prevent damage and to 
mitigate the effects of these storms when they strike, and the 
investments--and they are investments--have to be smart and strong, 
with means such as storm barriers, breakers, better shoreline 
resilience.
  Eventually, the Federal Government provided aid, and Connecticut has 
put to good use the $200 million that was distributed through the 
National Flood Insurance Program to homeowners and business owners. 
Cities and towns around my State have used $42 million in FEMA 
assistance, and more than $10 million has gone toward health services 
and facilities. As our Governor announced yesterday, an additional $65 
million has been granted to the State to supplement the initial $72 
million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the 
form of community development block grants for disaster relief. These 
new Federal dollars are critical to the effort of rebuilding, and I 
will continue to fight not only for additional funds but also against 
the bureaucratic logjams and redtape that have prevented so many from 
receiving more timely aid.
  This aid has come too slowly, it has been too small, and it has been 
behind the efforts--in time and strength--of the people of Connecticut. 
I will continue to fight for increased aid, including from the $100 
million that was announced yesterday and today--today's announcement of 
the U.S. Department of Interior of $100 million in the coastline 
resiliency project. I will support all qualified applicants from 
Connecticut securing some of this competitive funding. We will fight 
for a fair allocation of this money to benefit the important work 
Connecticut is doing to strengthen our coastline so that we can prevent 
and reduce the effects of these storms in the future.
  I had the privilege to travel the State as a leader of a listening 
tour for the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force this past May, just 
over the half-year mark from the time Sandy hit.
  The progress made with this help from the Federal Government, 
combined with the good will, drive, and sense of responsibility toward 
one another--exemplified by the people of Connecticut--has been 
remarkable. We must resolve to do better at the Federal level, and I 
hope that not only the storm itself but the shortcomings of the relief 
effort will be a teaching moment for the Nation.
  The evidence is irrefutable that climate disruption is impacting our 
oceans and atmosphere and leading to an increasing number of severe 
weather storm events across the country that we cannot control. We will 
see more of such monstrous storms here and in other parts of the 
country.
  I thank my colleagues, Senator Whitehouse and Senator Schumer, who 
have been strong and steadfast leaders in this effort to recognize the 
effects of climate disruption and prepare for them.
  Connecticut is in the process of upgrading our infrastructure to 
strengthen our resiliency among the most vulnerable communities. We are 
investing in microgrids, often powered by hydrogen fuel cells 
manufactured in our State, to provide backup power for hospitals and 
senior communities in towns such as Preston and Franklin, which I 
visited in the aftermath of the storm.
  In Milford, residents are using HUD funding to elevate their homes so 
they can guard against these storm surges. Other coastal towns are 
employing green infrastructure with marsh grass to slow surging waters 
during storms.
  In Stamford, CT, my hometown, the city is using Federal aid to 
upgrade a 17-foot hurricane barrier by replacing manual pumps to ensure 
against damage to the city's communities in future storms. I visited 
the shoreline of Stamford, as I did up and down the coast of 
Connecticut, and I have since, to see how Connecticut is learning these 
lessons so we can reduce dollar costs as well as human costs. The 
improvements taking place across Connecticut speak volumes to our 
strength of will and mind and the determined character of our people in 
Connecticut.
  I express appreciation to colleagues, such as Senators Schumer and 
Whitehouse and others in this body, who helped us in a time of need. 
They came forth to provide encouragement and support. They assured the 
people of Connecticut that they are not alone.
  No one in the United States--whether it is in the Presiding Officer's 
State of West Virginia or in the western most part of Hawaii--should be 
alone after being struck by a natural disaster. We need to rally 
together.
  I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Before I join the colloquy with Senators Blumenthal 
and Schumer, I have two bits of housekeeping.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5 p.m. 
today all postcloture time on the Griffin nomination be yielded back, 
and

[[Page S7599]]

the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate; the 
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that 
any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume 
legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, this is my 48th trip to the floor to 
remind Congress that it is time to wake up to the threat of climate 
change.
  I am joined by Senators Blumenthal and Schumer because 1 year ago 
today Hurricane Sandy struck our States with frightening force. Now, a 
year later, communities across the Northeast have dug out and are 
rebuilding, but Sandy left a permanent mark on our coasts and on our 
consciousness.
  To be sure, we cannot say that this devastating storm was 
specifically caused by climate change. However, Sandy showed the many 
ways we are vulnerable to the undeniable effects of climate change, 
such as rising sea levels and warming oceans--effects that can in turn 
load the dice for more damaging storms.
  As evening fell on October 29, 2012, a storm surge from the largest 
Atlantic hurricane ever recorded swept against Rhode Island's shores 
about 5 feet above mean sea level. A few hours later, waters peaked 
around New York City--about 9 feet above mean sea level. A harrowing 
night followed for victims of Hurricane Sandy. It was a night that took 
more than 150 lives and caused $65 billion in physical damage and 
economic loss.
  Hurricane Sandy, or Superstorm Sandy as many remember it, hit 24 
States with direct effects. Floodwaters invaded homes and swept out 
roads. High winds knocked out power to 8.5 million homes and 
businesses, cutting a swath of darkness that could be seen from space. 
An entire New York neighborhood was gutted by fires that emergency 
personnel could not reach through the storm.
  Sandy flooded nearly the entire coastline with beaches and dunes 
driven down by the waves and wind. Displaced sand and stone covered 
roads like here on Atlantic Avenue in Misqaumicut, RI. Houses were 
swept off their foundations in Rhode Island's southern coast 
communities like Matunuck, shown in this photo. Here we see Governor 
Lincoln Chafee, a former Member of this body, surveying the damage to 
these homes.
  President Obama granted Governor Chafee's request for a Federal 
disaster declaration covering four of Rhode Island's five counties. 
More than 130,000 Rhode Islanders lost power. Eight cities and towns 
implemented evacuation actions. Nearly one-third of all Rhode Islanders 
were directly affected one way or another. In a close-knit State such 
as ours, nearly everyone was touched by Sandy.
  Rhode Islanders are resilient and we are recovering. Over $30 million 
has been paid out to Rhode Islanders for more than 1,000 Federal flood 
insurance claims. FEMA has approved more than 260 projects for 
reimbursement. Over $12 million has been put to repairing our State's 
parks, wildlife refuges, and historic sites. Individuals and families 
received more than $423,000 in grants to meet their immediate basic 
needs for housing and other essential disaster-related expenses.
  The Federal Government will always play a central role for 
communities such as ours, picking up after a disaster like Sandy. So it 
would make sense for the Federal Government to learn from these events 
and be smart as we plan for future risks.
  The Government Accountability Office recently reported on the risks 
to U.S. infrastructure posed by climate change. Roads, bridges, and 
water systems are designed to operate for 50 to 100 years. Well, 50 to 
100 years from now, our climate and our coastline will be very 
different. Sandy threw at Rhode Island's shores Atlantic seas that had 
risen almost 10 inches since the 1930s, against a shoreline that had 
already retreated more than 100 feet in some locations. As climate 
change progresses, more and more infrastructure will be exposed to more 
and more risk.
  Earlier this year GAO added to its High Risk List the United States 
financial exposure to climate change. GAO, our congressional watchdog, 
now warns that it is fiscally irresponsible to ignore the signs of 
climate change. The President's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, 
and his Climate Action Plan, both call for adaptation to this risk from 
climate change--particularly for better coastal resiliency and 
preparedness.
  Here is an example of doing it right. When hurricane Katrina hit the 
I-10 Twin Span Bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans, 
it twisted and toppled the bridge's 255-ton concrete bridge spans off 
their piers and into the lake. The bridge was rebuilt by using Federal 
Highway Administration funding, but they built it stronger, better 
engineered, and in some sections they built it more than 20 feet 
higher.
  It makes sense to make sure that our agencies repair American 
infrastructure to the commonsense standard that it is ready for future 
risks. Rebuilding to the specs that failed is not common sense. Being 
deliberately stupid in order to deny climate change is a losing 
proposition.
  Congress can do something smart right now. We could pass the Water 
Resources and Development Act with the resiliency and restoration 
provisions that were in the Senate-passed bipartisan bill. Congress 
could support the President's Climate Action Plan, using our wise 
Earth's natural protections for our coastal infrastructure.
  Of course, even robust climate adaptation won't let us off the hook 
in some places. New England can build levees and dams to hold the 
waters back, but the vast low areas of southeastern Florida are porous 
limestone. Even if you built a giant dike, the water would just seep in 
through the underlying limestone.
  A study last year found that 3 feet of sea level rise, which is what 
we presently expect, will hit more than 1.5 million Floridians, and 
nearly 900,000 Florida homes--almost double the effect on any other 
State in the Nation. So Florida should want to prevent as much climate 
as possible, and that means cutting carbon pollution.
  Ultimately, for the open market to work, we need to include the full 
cost of carbon pollution in the price of fossil fuels. Anything less is 
a subsidy to polluters. What Florida should want is for Congress to 
enact a carbon pollution fee to correct the market, and then return 
that fee to American families.
  Ultimately, inaction is irresponsible, and Americans get it. Eighty-
two percent of Americans believe we should start preparing now for 
rising sea levels and severe storms from climate change.
  Young Americans, in particular, see through the phony climate denial 
message. Three-quarters of independent young voters and more than half 
of Republican young voters would describe climate deniers as 
``ignorant,'' ``out of touch,'' or ``crazy.'' Let me repeat that. The 
majority of Republican voters under 35 would describe climate deniers 
as ``crazy,'' ``ignorant,'' or ``out of touch.'' Continuing the climate 
denial strategy is not a winning proposition for our friends on the 
other side. Even their own young voters see through it.
  Congress should wake up to the alarms that are ringing in nature and 
to the voices of the American people. One of the loudest alarm gongs 
was Hurricane Sandy. Voltaire said: ``Men argue, nature acts.'' Well, 
nature acted, driving epic winds and seas against our shores, and she 
will continue to act if we continue to tip her careful balances with 
reckless carbon pollution and shameless subsidies to the big polluters.
  We need to wake up as a Congress and take responsible action to 
protect our homes and communities. We need to remember Sandy and learn 
her lessons.
  I yield the floor for my distinguished colleague from New York.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the Senator from 
Rhode Island, for calling Senator Blumenthal and me and others together 
and for taking action on climate change. There has been no one in this 
body who has done more to sound the alarm about climate change.
  I have enjoyed his regular ``time to wake up'' speeches. I guess this 
is number 49--excuse me, 48. One of them was

[[Page S7600]]

so good I read it twice. He has been relentless on this issue in a 
positive, articulate, and superb way.
  There could not be a better day to talk about climate change than 
today because we are at the 1-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. 
Senators Whitehouse and Blumenthal and I remember it vividly. We each 
visited our communities on the days afterwards and saw the terrible 
blow that Sandy delivered to New York and the whole east coast. It 
created such damage and upheaval to communities and lives. Sandy was a 
horrible event, but the one silver lining in this large awful cloud is 
that people take climate change more seriously. I think most Americans 
agreed that climate change is real, but there was not a sense of 
urgency about climate change pre-Sandy. People said, well, it is 
happening 25 years from now or 50 years from now. Unlike Senator 
Whitehouse, who has a sense of passion and a sense of urgency daily and 
immediately about this, most people said we can let things wait.

  Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Senator from Rhode Island 
and others, our bodies are not doing enough on climate change. But when 
Sandy occurred, a sea change occurred. Americans understood--those of 
us in the Northeast probably more than anybody else--that we cannot 
afford to wait. It took 10 years to get the American people to accept 
the fact that climate change is real. It took one storm to get them to 
understand that we had to move immediately.
  Sandy was awful. In the days after the storm, I toured places such as 
the Rockaways and Long Beach, Staten Island, Lindenhurst. Whole 
neighborhoods were leveled and thousands of New Yorkers were homeless. 
To see an elderly gentleman, Mr. Romano, sitting in front of his lot in 
Great South Bay in Lindenhurst, his house totally destroyed, sitting in 
one of his few possessions left, a little lawn chair, was devastating. 
I asked Mr. Romano: Are you going to move?
  He said: Look at the view.
  Two days after Sandy, the skies were peaceful, the Sun was beautiful, 
and it was reflected off of Great South Bay. He said: Every year I have 
had 364 good days and 1 bad day. I am not moving.
  That story can be repeated, but the devastation was real. To drive 
down the streets in the Rockaways or the streets of Long Beach or of 
Staten Island, the South Shore of Staten Island, and see house after 
house with piles in front of the houses of not just furniture, although 
that was a problem--we all have our favorite chair, a favorite place to 
sit. But people's lives were out there: heirlooms that had been in the 
family for generations, pictures and albums gone, like that.
  This is an example of one of the places hurt the worst: Breezy Point, 
a hardy community of cops, firefighters, teachers, EMT workers; the 
heart of New York City's middle class. They are the very same people--
many did from Breezy Point--who rushed the towers on 9/11, and some 
lost their lives. They were the people who were devastated here. A fire 
erupted, 120 houses--it looked like Dresden after the bombings in World 
War II--and all that was left was this religious shrine. I will never 
forget that scene and having the local firefighters showing me what had 
happened.
  Of course, our local infrastructure was terribly damaged as well. 
Here we have the R train, which Secretary Fox and I just announced is 
going to be up and ready in 1 year. The tunnel had millions of gallons 
of water--brackish water, salty water--that not only ruined the 
infrastructure of the tunnels, but the signals that depended on 
electric functioning--gone. These scenes are repeated over and over.
  What Sandy did is make climate change real to New Yorkers in a 
horrible way. The same is now happening across the country. So what 
Sandy did was not alert us to the fact that climate change exists but 
alerted us that it was a call to action. While climate scientists try 
to avoid blaming any single weather event on climate change, we know 
that a warming planet can load the dice for more frequent and extreme 
storms. As sure as we all are sitting here, there will be other storms, 
unfortunately, and God forbid but in all likelihood, of Sandy's 
devastation that will affect different parts of the country. As I and 
others have said in the days after Sandy, we have had far too many 
events over the past 3 years in New York, including Irene, Lee, and 
then Sandy, to think we can ignore the impact of a warming planet and 
the impact that is having on our communities.
  Even if one denies the scientific reality of climate change, there is 
little dispute over the stark challenge facing our country. The weather 
is more dangerous than ever and threatens our economy. According to 
recent polling, Americans now support taking action on climate change 
to protect our children and grandchildren.
  So we need to do two things at once. We need to decrease our reliance 
on fossil fuels to slow down the warming of the planet, and we have to 
start investing in real climate adaptation projects in the most 
vulnerable parts of the country.
  My colleague from Rhode Island talked about the devastation in 
Florida. He is right. The Florida delegation should be up in arms. I 
know some of our colleagues--they tend to be on this side of the 
aisle--are, but we hear silence from the other side of the aisle on 
climate change. In just a generation, a good percentage of Florida will 
be out of commission. Miami, one of the largest cities in the country, 
is virtually unprotected when it comes to climate change.
  So we have to do both of these things. One year after Sandy, I am 
pleased we have made some progress.
  First, the Hurricane Sandy relief law we passed earlier this year 
provided an injection of billions of dollars into mitigation for the 
east coast. When we rebuild this subway line, the signals are going to 
be higher up so if, God forbid, there is another flood, they will not 
be out of commission. At the entrances to the various tunnels--hundreds 
of thousands of people take these every week--there will be gates or a 
certain kind of airbag that can instantaneously prevent the tunnel from 
being flooded. We are elevating homes and building new floodwalls and 
dunes to prevent damage from the next Sandy.
  So one thing we are doing is mitigation. Those of us--Senator 
Whitehouse, Senator Blumenthal, and others from New Jersey and Maryland 
and Pennsylvania and Delaware and New York and Connecticut, 
Massachusetts and Rhode Island delegations made sure in this 
legislation there is ample money for mitigation, so that if or when, 
God forbid, another storm such as Sandy occurs, we will be better 
protected.
  Second, the President took a bold and important step in releasing his 
climate action plan, a critical blueprint for reducing carbon 
pollution. The plan also lays out a framework for implementing new 
mitigation plans for Federal, State, and local governments by tying 
Federal funding to new standards on climate adaptation. We now know a 
simple economic truth from many years of investing in mitigation 
projects: They save money. According to research, for every $1 we 
invest in mitigation, we save $4 down the road because of what will be 
protected and taxpayers will not have to shell out the same dollars 
again and again and again.
  So it doesn't matter what side of the climate change debate one is on 
when it comes to investing in mitigation. Being promitigation makes 
good fiscal sense for the Federal Government.
  A recent study found that Federal taxpayers spent $136 billion on 
disaster relief in just the 3 years of 2011, 2012, and 2013--$400 per 
household. The only way we can shrink this burden for the American 
people over time is to make critical mitigation investments at the same 
time we fight climate change by cutting carbon pollution.

  I wish to specifically mention one piece of legislation which my 
colleague from Rhode Island also mentioned. He is on the EPW Committee 
and he has championed it with many of our colleagues. WRDA, the 
bipartisan Water Resources Development Act, got 83 votes in the Senate 
and will be a real boost for investment in climate adaptation.
  In this bill, there is a new program called WIFIA. The very 
successful TIFIA Program which, for instance, without the local 
taxpayers spending a nickel, will bring our subway system all the way 
over to the far west side. I look forward to opening it with the mayor 
soon. Modeled on that program is WIFIA. It helps local governments

[[Page S7601]]

invest in mitigation projects by providing low-interest loans and a new 
banking design to attract private investment into these projects.
  There are also new authorities that will allow the Army Corps to 
expedite and prioritize hurricane protection studies and project 
recommendations. I thank my colleagues, led by Senator Boxer, of the 
EPW Committee for working with us to draft some of this language.
  These new policies are very important for New York and the States 
affected by Sandy. I urge our colleagues in the House to work with us 
to include these items in the WRDA conference.
  We need to use the tragedy of Sandy to learn how to make our cities 
and towns stronger for the next storm. We know it is coming. We have to 
work at the local level in terms of mitigation. We have to work at the 
macro level to reduce the amount of carbon that has poured into our 
atmosphere that will just devastate the planet if we continue to sit on 
our hands.
  I will close my remarks by borrowing a simple refrain from my friend 
from Rhode Island. As his poster says, it is time to wake up. 
Superstorm Sandy was New York's wake-up call. Let's honor the thousands 
of victims of that event by investing in our future.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, before I depart the floor, and while 
Senator Schumer and Senator Blumenthal are still here, I wish to add a 
point that is a personal observation of mine as a Senator; that is, 
first the Senator from New York is widely and properly regarded as one 
of the more formidable presences in the Senate. Having witnessed the 
difficulties that Senator Blumenthal discussed at getting the Sandy 
disaster relief out and done, I will say we learned Senator Schumer has 
an even higher gear when it comes to the urgent needs of his home State 
and of his coast. When his New York City lies battered and drowned by 
storm, the work that he did to make sure a reluctant House passed this 
relief for us was an exercise in legislative craftsmanship and personal 
vigor that many of us will long remember.
  Of course, I have seen Senator Blumenthal fighting for his people in 
Connecticut, both after Hurricane Sandy and, of course, after the 
terrible tragedy that Connecticut experienced when a crazed gunman went 
into an elementary school and began to murder its children. So Senator 
Blumenthal, in responding to those cares, concerns, and crises of his 
home State of Connecticut, has been truly exemplary. It has been a 
privilege for me as a Senator to see these two Senators in action in 
their causes I just mentioned.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I yield the floor.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I am sure Senator Blumenthal joins me. I wish to say to 
my dear friend from Rhode Island--and he truly is a dear friend--that 
his generosity of word and spirit is only equaled by his intelligence, 
his diligence, and his foresightedness, not only on this issue but on 
so many other issues on which we are working. In fact, we are going to 
make a call in a few minutes--he and I and a few of our colleagues and 
I think Senator Blumenthal as well--to talk about another of his 
issues. He is just such an intelligent thinker, and he is thinking 
ahead of the curve on climate change. But delivery system reform in 
health care is another issue on which the Senator from Rhode Island has 
taken leadership.
  So I thank him for his kind words and just say ``right back at you, 
baby.''
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank both of my colleagues. I am 
not sure I can match their eloquence in describing their gifts and 
their contributions on this issue and so many others, but I hope they 
and others will join me in meeting with the present Sandy task force in 
seeking to remedy or correct perhaps some of the logjams and redtape 
and deficiencies in process that led the people of our States to wait 
for so long before they saw relief in practical terms.
  I thank them for their eloquence today and for their truly formidable 
contribution on the issue of climate change and global warming and to 
thank them also for the very powerful contributions they have made on 
the response to Superstorm Sandy that affected so many people in 
Connecticut.
  I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.