reid, why don't you just quit that dean did not know harry reid's character. underestimating the man, hardship forged a steel and harry. a fighting spirit that explains his success in the boxing ring despite being significantly undersized. he liked to talk about his boxing. you know barack? he wasn't a great athlete, wasn't big and strong like the guys i went up against. i had two things going for me. i could punch, i never gave up. about right. that same determination marked harry reid's political career. lost his first senate race by 600 votes. six months later he ran for mayor of this town and lost in a landslide.e. but harrybu did not give up. got himself a seat in the house and the senate and finally became senate majority leader and let's face it, he enjoyed every minute of proving doubters wrong again and again and again. sometimes the people motivate us the most, harry would later say, are the ones who believe in us the least. so yes, being tough, being a fighter is one of harry's singular characteristics. apparently once a staffer handed him some draf

to lose harry reid is like losing track of the north star. there are many in this chamber who got to where they are because of him. next wednesday, january 12, harry will make his final return to the u.s. capitol where he'll lie in state under the rotunda. as we honor his life and legacy, i'll have more to say in the coming days. but for now i can only say that harry was my leader, my mentor, one of my dearest friends. when you lose someone who is as close to us as harry was, they're never truly gone. they'll always stay with us, as we gavel in today i take comfort knowing that harry is with us in spirit. walking alongside us as we continue to work, to continue the work he dedicated himself to for so many years. to harry's family, to his wife landra, to all the children and grandchildren, i offer my prayers and my condolences. now, mr. president, the senate gavels in on this icy january morning to mark the beginning of a new year, and there's much -- and there is much we must accomplish. at the start of 2020, few could have foreseen the awful

harry reid also understood nevada's landscapes. from the desert outside of searchlight that so many of us have heard about to the snowy peeks of the ruby mountains in winter to the glistening waters of lake tahoe. he was a dedicated environmentalist who helped conserve nevada's abundant national treasures keeping our state beautiful for future generations and protecting outdoor recreation that fuels our state's economy. and we all know he would not back down from a fight, especially when it involved nevada. whether that was blocking every effort to dump nuclear waste at yucca mountain without nevada's agreement or advocating for federal funding to help upgrade nevada's schools, airport, roads, and bridges. he was relentless in his push to get our state the resources that we deserve. harry reid was a diligent -- was as diligent in supporting nevada's rural and tribal communities as he was in building up our world class cities. he helped create nevada's booming clean energy economy and make the state a destination for those looking t

and, lord, we thank you for the legacies of former senators johnny isakson and harry reid. we pray in your great name, amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., january 3, 2022. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tammy baldwin, a senator from the state of wisconsin, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up it ten minutes each. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. leahy: madam president? the presiding offi

but i heard harry reid say the most remarkable thing is they followed it. they did. have guns or riots. or stone throwing and i then say to say i did the stanford students i was talking to and said i know when i say that at least 20% maybe 30% of you. are thinking well too bad. there were a few riots. too bad there weren't a few stones thrown and so forth. i said before you come to that conclusion. i would like you. to look on television or elsewhere of what happens in places and times in countries where they decide there are differences that way. because rule the rule of law is not an absolute. and it is only one small part. of this country's values embedded in this document the constitution, but it is an important part. and that's all that's all i want them to do. it's called comparison and i believe though i'm biased because i'm a judge perhaps on biased. i don't think so. i believe that it is important for us. to maintain that respect for a rule of law that ever since andrew jackson refused. to carry out john marsh's opinion saying northern georgia belongs to che

i'm thinking last night, a wes watched harry reid -- as we watched harry reid leave the senate for the final time, and harry, we miss you, but we know you're still here to guide us. thank you. okay, on defending democracy. something -- excuse me. on defending democracy, something leader reid would have been passionate about, if he were still with us here, and he's telling us that now, over the next few days the united states senate will face a critical and unavoidable question -- are its members going to act to protect our democracy and protect voting rights, or will its members choose the path of obstruction, inaction, and side with the big lie overtaking our precious experiment in self-rule? we had two professors come to us two days ago, the authors of "how democracies die" and one of the main ways that democracies die is when one political party refuses to accept the results of an election that was run freely and fairly. that's what's happening here. they showed how important this is and how there is unfortunate historical precedence -- precedent in doing what we did. and earlier th

to watch the rest of harry reid's interview and to find other programs featuring the late senator visit book tv.org and use the search box at the top of the page. on a recent episode of our author interview program afterwards journalist. lizzie johnson discussed her new book paradise, which looks at the root causes of california's 2018 campfire. she was interviewed by terry baker ceo of the society of american foresters. here's a portion of their discussion. so i think there were decades of decision-making that went into play where people were planning for the fires that they had known in the past and those fires never burned all the way through town. they were always stopped and so with that came a false sense of security and so, you know, there were decisions they could have made that would have again, it's like impossible to know without looking in a crystal ball, but it seems like they would have made the evacuation efforts during the campfire a little easier and a little smoother. but again, you know, they had these other concerns to look at too and i think paradise is just so embl

of course that simply followed what the former senate democratic leader harry reid did in 2013 on the executive calendar. that happened in february or march -- this is 2017. this letter was written in april of 2017. but if there's no more extended debate on this question -- i would invite the senator from virginia, through the chair. mr. kaine: mr. president, if i might respond. senator cotton, what angus said and i'm so glad senator lankford stayed in the room because you said we changed our position. i'm glad you put it up, because others were saying that without it. we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of noams engage in extended debate when bills are on the senate floof. we couldn't even debate this bill. you guys wouldn't let us. you kept using the 60-vote block on the motion to proceed so we couldn't get on the bill. in the five years since 2017, many of us have come to realize this is what we want, but the current abuse of senate rules is blocking us from having discussions about voting rights or about matters that you think are important. this is -- this

to watch the rest of harry reid's interview and to find other programs featuring the late senator visit book tv.org and use the search box at the top of the page. weekends on c-span 2 are an intellectual feast every saturday american history tv documents america's story and on sundays book tv brings you the latest in nonfiction books and authors funding for c-span 2 comes from these television companies and more including cox. cox is committed to providing eligible families access to affordable internet through the connect to compete program bridging the digital divide one connected and engaged student at a time cox bringing us closer cox along with these television companies support c-span, 2 as a public service. seeking educational excellence executive director charles love recently argued that black lives matter and the 1619 project are a danger to the future of american democracy. the cincy 1619 project was founded to reimagine the founding of america. framing it around when the first black africans were brought here slaves. and what they say is slavery and anti-black racism is ende

a lot about judicial philosophies in 2013 harry reid broke senate rules to change senate rules to set the threshold for confirmation at 51. i said at the time you may be sorry you did this. neither of those moves played out as colleagues intended neither did the disgraceful firestorm that would visit upon justice thomas and jenny back in 1991. i'm not going to dwell on that episode tonight. there's no reason to we all know what the people behind the smear campaign revealed actually about themselves. but i'll say this i was inspired then and i'm still inspired today by the courage. the resilience in the faith with justice thomas endured those months and emerged with an appetite for service. still intact the very same grit that carried clarence through pinpoint. and savannah the same stubborn faithfulness that led him ultimately to keep faith. in both his church and his country even after they both let him down. in ugly ways as a young like man the same commitment to principle that compelled clarence to blaze and uncomfortable trail in washington. disrupting everybody's expectations all

reid lowered the vote threshold for presidential appointments other than supreme court nominees, to 51. in 2017, the republicans turned around and lowered the standards to 51 for supreme court nominees. based on that the left may call our opposition now hypocritical, but there is a big difference between legislation and nominations. including policy and our budget and nominees. debating legislation should include input from all senators and be subject to compromise through the amendment process in order to be made better. nominees' qualification are not subject to input or change. voting on a nominee is a, take it or leave it vote. you can't change their background or qualifications with more debate or more amendments. that's why they moved the vote to 50. but the filibuster on legislation portion forces the majority to take into account the minority's position and to make the changes necessary to earn their support. so now that the democrats seem to be changing their tune on the legislative filibuster, it might be worth asking, what has caused the democrats to flip-flop? and why no

reid and followed up by then-majority leader mitch mcconnell. if that's not the best indicator of what will happen to this body, nothing is. remember when senator reid said we're just going to carve out a little bit of the executive calendar to make it easier for district judges to get elected. that's all we're going to do. why on earth does anybody believe that that carve-out wasn't going to result in the ultimate nuclear option for the executive calendar? that's why you have justice gorsuch, justice kavanaugh, and justice barrett. that's why you have them. it's through political physics here. for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. and if you vote to nuke the legislative filibuster, you might as as well build a wall straight down this body. because any time democrats or republicans hit the trifecta and we have the white house and we have the senate and we have the house, the minority's voice will count for nothing. and even worse, the voices of the vocal minority at either end of the political spectrum will have a disproporti

in 20 is 13 -- in 2013, then-senator harry reid lauder it on nomination. in 2017, the republicans turned around and lowered the standard to 51 for supreme court nominees. based on that, the left may call our opposition now hip critical. -- hypocritical. but there is a gig difference between legislation and nominations. including policy in our budget and nominees. debating legislation should include input from all senators and be subject to compromise through the amendment process in order to be made better. a nominee's qualification are not subject to input or change. voting on a nominee is a take-it-or-leave-it vote. you can't change their background or qualifications with more debate or more amendments. that's why they move the vote to 50. but the filibuster on legislation forces the majority to take into account the minority's position and to make the changes necessary to earn their support. so now that the democrats seem to be changing their tune on the legislative filibuster, it might be worth asking, what has caused the democrats to flip-flop, and wh

in 20 is 13 -- in 2013, then-senator harry reid lauder it on nomination. in 2017, the republicans turned around and lowered the standard to 51 for supreme court nominees. based on that, the left may call our opposition now hip critical. -- hypocritical. but there is a gig difference between legislation and nominations. including policy in our budget and nominees. debating legislation should include input from all senators and be subject to compromise through the amendment process in order to be made better. a nominee's qualification are not subject to input or change. voting on a nominee is a take-it-or-leave-it vote. you can't change their background or qualifications with more debate or more amendments. that's why they move the vote to 50. but the filibuster on legislation forces the majority to take into account the minority's position and to make the changes necessary to earn their support. so now that the democrats seem to be changing their tune on the legislative filibuster, it might be worth asking, what has caused the democrats to flip-flop, and wh

of course that simply followed what the former senate democratic leader harry reid did in 2013 on the executive calendar. that happened in february or march -- this is 2017. this letter was written in april of 2017. but if there's no more extended debate on this question -- i would invite the senator from virginia, through the chair. mr. kaine: mr. president, if i might respond. senator cotton, what angus said and i'm so glad senator lankford stayed in the room because you said we changed our position. i'm glad you put it up, because others were saying that without it. we are united in our determination to preserve the ability of noams engage in extended debate when bills are on the senate floof. we couldn't even debate this bill. you guys wouldn't let us. you kept using the 60-vote block on the motion to proceed so we couldn't get on the bill. in the five years since 2017, many of us have come to realize this is what we want, but the current abuse of senate rules is blocking us from having discussions about voting rights or about matters that you think are important. this is -- this

reid international airport. so certainly appreciate the central role that aviation place in the economy of las vegas and nevada. with regard to the aviation consumer protection role, it's been a major focus of my time as deputy general counsel. right now serving addressing the concerns we are hearing from the wave of complaints related to recalls. so ensuring where addressing those complaints, ensuring that we are pushing through with the 18 active investigations we have related to the failure for recalls. looking at some of the rulemaking discussed by chair cantwell this morning, and ensuring that we're really looking forward to making sure that consumers have the right information and are protected correctly by the airlines. in addition, on the safety front, working with the federal aviation administration to ensure that the safety related rules our top priority for the department and we do everything we can to support those efforts. >> thank you. i appreciate it. see my time is just about up so i have a quest

mason reid jr., a senator from the state of nevada. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. murphy: madam president, i'd ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: next i would ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. con res. 26 which was received today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate concurrent resolution 26 providing for the use of the catafalque situated in exhibition hall of the capitol visitors center in connection with memorial services to be conducted in the rotunda of the capitol for the honorable harry mason reid jr., a senator from the state of nevada. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. murphy: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the moti

the clerk: senate resolution 485 relating to the death of the honorable harry mason reid, jr., former senator for the state of nevada. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12:00 noon friday, january 7, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day and morning business be closed, that upon the conclusion of morning business, the senate proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the bose nomination. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. cortez masto: if there is no further business to come before the senate,

harry reid. two or three times a day for 12 years, official working days, sometimes saturday and sunday but anyway, even if we had conversations, harry, this. problem, this. timing, this. look, look. sometimes i would call him back and say harry, i was singing your praises, thanking you for the job you did in legislation, i don't want to hear it. click. [laughter] i even said to him as he was announcing, i want to have a dinner and invite all of your friends you've served in the house, in the senate and the rest, i don't want to do it. for them to sing your praises, i don't want to do it. save the money, feed the poor. harry reid. his modesty made him unique, you might say in politics but his humility was rooted from a humbled childhood, rising from torchlight to the spotlight and becoming one of the most celebrated consequential senate leaders in history. yet throughout more than four decades of public service and even at the highest level, he never forgot his north start, to fight for working f

and as my friend bryan greenspun wrote the other day in the las vegas sun to harry reid, the greatest accomplishment was his family. but anyway, in senator reid's living room, landra told me and my husband how she juggled being the mom of not one, not to, not three, not four -- five kids while harry was working as a capitol police officer to put himself through law school, while running tough campaigns and while serving long days and nights in washington. needless to say, there's not much that can top that. and so the reids provided my family with the inspiration i needed as i was considering what a life and the -- in the public view would look like. their love for each other, their adjourn any and ability to make it work over six decades, raising kids, keeping their love strong, it showed me how important it was to have a strong family. of course, and friends as the foundation for this work of public service. you know, we spend a lot of time here in washington talking about politics every day. but it's the personal things at the end of the day we all know really matter. and that's th