[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15789-15790]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HOUSING AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT OF 2008

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate a 
message from the House with respect to H.R. 3221, which is the housing 
legislation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message:

       Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the 
     Senate to the amendments of the House to the amendment of the 
     Senate to the bill (H.R. 3221) entitled ``An Act moving the 
     United States toward greater energy independence and 
     security, developing innovative new technologies, reducing 
     carbon emissions, creating green jobs, protecting consumers, 
     increasing clean renewable energy production, and modernizing 
     our energy infrastructure, and to amend the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for the production of 
     renewable energy and energy conservation'', with an 
     amendment.

  Mr. REID. I move to concur with the amendment of the House to the 
Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.


                             cloture motion

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to report the cloture motion.
  The 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 motion to 
     concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the 
     House amendments to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, the 
     Foreclosure Prevention Act.
         Harry Reid, Christopher J. Dodd, Debbie Stabenow, Maria 
           Cantwell, Barbara A. Mikulski, Frank R. Lautenberg, 
           Robert Menendez, Patty Murray, Bill Nelson, Daniel K. 
           Akaka, Jeff Bingaman, Ron Wyden, Ken Salazar, Charles 
           E. Schumer, Daniel K. Inouye, Jon Tester, Patrick J. 
           Leahy.

  Mr. REID. I ask the mandatory quorum call be waived.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                            motion to concur

  Mr. REID. I now move to concur in the amendment of the House to the 
Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, with an amendment which is at the desk.


                           amendment no. 5103

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] moves to concur in the 
     amendment of the House to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3221, 
     with an amendment numbered 5103.

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end of the amendment add the following:
       The provisions of this act shall become effective 2 days 
     after enactment.

  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to 
be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                Amendment No. 5104 to Amendment No. 5103

  Mr. REID. I have a second-degree amendment at the desk. I ask for its 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 5104 to amendment No. 5103.

  The amendment is as follows:

       In the amendment, strike ``2'' and insert ``1''.

  Mr. REID. I ask that no motion to refer be in order during the 
pendency of this message.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. DeMINT. Reserving the right to object, if I might ask the leader 
a question, the filing of the cloture motion on the housing bill at 
this point means there will be a Saturday vote?
  Mr. REID. I say to my friend, you are the one who pretty well 
determines when we vote on these things. It will probably be--it will 
be Friday.
  Mr. DeMINT. Friday, if all the time is used. I would like to make the 
Senator aware that I believe we could arrange a unanimous consent to 
shorten the time, if you would allow one amendment that would prohibit 
Fannie May and Freddie Mack or organizations from lobbying during this 
time of taxpayer-secured funding. So we are prepared to shorten the 
time, if you are willing to allow that unanimous consent.
  Mr. REID. I say to my friend, the Senator from South Carolina, that 
this bill is so important. We have filed--I kind of lost track, but 
because of your side we have had to have four cloture motions. This 
will be the fifth on this most important piece of legislation, a piece 
of legislation that has been promoted and the administration has 
prodded us to get this done weeks ago.
  Of course, if your amendment is made part of what we are going to do 
here and this legislation is changed, it goes back to the House again. 
Then we have a process that seems never ending.
  I have no problem with the intent of the Senator from South Carolina. 
I think there would be, perhaps, support on both sides of the aisle for 
your amendment.
  That being the case, I think it would be a real travesty at this 
time. I don't know if there is a day that has gone by this week--it is 
only Wednesday, so probably not--a day that has gone by this week that 
I haven't received a call from someone in the White House, including on 
several occasions the Secretary of Treasury, saying please do not hold 
this up at all. This has to be done.
  So I say to my friend again, in no way denigrating the intent of the 
offer because I think the intent is sincere, I hope you would not force 
us to do this.
  Speaking on behalf of President Bush--and I don't do that very 
often--I don't think we should do this. I don't think we should send 
this back to the House. I think we should complete it here.
  I will be happy to consider joining the Senator in a letter to the 
two entities regarding some way to make sure they are transparent in 
any lobbying they do. I would be happy to do something on this. But I 
feel constrained not to slow this very important legislation, which is 
well over a month overdue at this time. Every day that we do not do 
something--every day there are 8,500 people who get foreclosure 
notices; 8,500.
  It may not seem like much, but if we send this back to the House, we 
would complete it sometime late next week. During that period of time, 
we would probably have about 45,000 people who

[[Page 15790]]

would have entered foreclosure proceedings, when this legislation will 
allow, some say, up to 1 million people to be able to save their homes.
  I hope the Senator would not press us on that. I suggest the absence 
of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). The clerk will call the roll.
  The 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. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. I offered a unanimous consent request, the last one I 
offered, and my friend from South Carolina reserved the right to 
object, so I withdraw that.

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