[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 11752-11753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRATULATING THE LAWLESSES

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I wish to take a moment to congratulate 
two long-time friends.
  Sixteen years ago, after moving to America, Billy Lawless and Anne 
O'Toole Lawless today became citizens of the United States of America. 
This is a cause for celebration, not just for Billy and Anne but for 
the entire city of Chicago. You see, the Lawless family is part of the 
restaurant royalty in Chicago.
  Billy and Anne and their four grown children--Billy, Jr., Amy, John 
Paul, and Clodagh--own and operate three of the best-loved--and my 
favorite--restaurants and pubs in Chicago. They are going to open 
another set very soon. Good food, good fun, great people, that is what 
the Lawless restaurants are all about. Billy Lawless is also a tireless 
and eloquent advocate for immigration reform.

[[Page 11753]]

  One of the great heroes of Irish mythology is a benevolent giant by 
the name of Finn McCool, a great defender of Ireland.
  In his younger days, Billy Lawless was a championship rower. At 6-
foot-2, with a broad rower's chest and strong arms, he looks a little 
bit like Finn McCool. And he is chairman of the group called Chicago 
Celts for Immigration Reform.
  But it is not just Irish immigrants Billy cares about. Billy Lawless 
understands that America's history of welcoming immigrants from across 
the globe--and he knows; he is part of it--is what makes our Nation 
great. He is a great defender not just of the rights of Irish 
immigrants but all immigrants. So it was perfect that he and Anne swore 
their citizenship oaths today with 137 other new Americans from 39 
different countries and 5 continents.
  Billy grew up on a dairy farm in Galway, a city in the west of 
Ireland. In the late 1970s, he sold the farm and went into the pub 
business. Over the next 20 years, Billy and Anne had four children, and 
they owned and operated several well-known pubs and restaurants in 
Galway. Life was good.
  Then their daughter Amy--an excellent athlete herself in rowing--won 
a full college scholarship to Amherst College in Massachusetts.
  For years, it had been Billy's dream to open a business in America. 
At the age of 48, when his daughter headed off to America, he decided 
to give it a shot. His friends thought he was crazy. Anne waited 
several months before she followed Billy to the States for this 
venture. She wanted to make sure this wild idea had a possibility of 
success.
  Billy looked at opportunities in Boston and Philadelphia. But on 
December 31, 1997, New Year's Eve, Billy arrived in Chicago. He knew he 
had found a new home.
  Today, Chicago is home to Billy and Anne Lawless, all four of their 
children, and their seven American-born grandchildren. As Billy says:

       I can think of no other place in the world where our family 
     could have achieved what it has in America.

  Billy and Anne, thank you and all your family for what you have given 
to Chicago, to Illinois, and to our Nation. You have waited a long time 
and worked hard for this day. Now it is here. I am proud to call you 
not only my friends but my fellow Americans. Congratulations on 
becoming citizens of the United States.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and 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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                  Unanimous Consent Agreement--S. 2244

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be 
determined by me, after consultation with Senator McConnell, the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 438, S. 2244; that the 
committee-reported amendments be agreed to; that the bill, as amended, 
be considered original text for the purposes of further amendment; that 
the only amendments in order to the bill be the following: Coburn No. 
3549, Vitter No. 3550, Flake No. 3551, and Tester No. 3552; that each 
amendment have 1 hour of debate, equally divided between the proponents 
and opponents; that there be 1 hour of general debate on the bill, 
equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon 
the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to votes in 
relation to the amendments in the order listed; that there be no 
second-degree amendments in order to any of the amendments prior to the 
votes; that upon disposition of the Tester amendment, the bill be read 
a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as 
amended.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. So, Mr. President, we understand that in getting this 
agreement, Senators should expect a rollcall vote in relation to the 
Coburn amendment and another rollcall vote on passage of the bill, as 
amended. The other amendments in this agreement are expected to be 
subject to voice votes.
  Mr. President, we have whipped right through this very quickly, but 
it is an extremely important piece of work that was done on a 
bipartisan basis on a very, very important piece of legislation. We 
have to do this, this terrorism insurance. With all the things going on 
in the world, if we do not finish this, there will be no construction 
in America. We went through this a number of years ago. Construction 
came to a screeching halt. It was bad enough, but with this not being 
able to be done, it made it even worse. So we are very fortunate we 
will complete it next week--with this UC agreement.

                          ____________________