[Page S4074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  Pursuant to the order for February 29, 1960, the hour of 12 noon 
having arrived, the Senate having been in continuous session since 
yesterday, the Senate will suspend for a prayer by the Senate Chaplain.
  The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, offered the following prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Eternal, ever-blessed God, help our Senators to walk on Your path for 
the glory of Your Name. Help them to walk with humility so that they 
will strive to be servants of the people. Help them to walk with 
forgiveness, so that they will forgive as they desire to be forgiven. 
Help them to walk with courage, so that nothing will deflect them from 
the way they ought to take.
  Help them to walk with endurance, so that nothing may daunt or 
discourage them until they reach their goal.
  Lord, help them to walk with loyalty, so that nothing will ever 
seduce their hearts from their devotion to You.
  We pray in Your loving Name. Amen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Ricketts). The majority leader.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it has been a long road to get to today. 
More than a year ago, groups of Republican Senators and staff began 
meeting to lay the groundwork for extending tax relief for hard-working 
Americans if we were given the opportunity. Voters gave us that 
opportunity.
  Since we took office in January, Republicans have been laser-focused 
on achieving the bill before us today.
  Now we are here passing legislation that will permanently extend tax 
relief for hard-working Americans; that will spur economic growth and 
more jobs and opportunities for American workers; that will rebuild our 
military, secure our borders, unleash American energy, and cut waste, 
fraud, and abuse in Federal programs. With this legislation, we are 
fulfilling the mandate we were entrusted with last November and setting 
our country and the American people up to be safer, stronger, and more 
prosperous.
  No bill of this size comes together without a lot of very hard work, 
and I want to thank the committee members and the chairmen who worked 
so long on this legislation. I also want to thank the committee staff 
and the leadership staff and the Member staff who have put an 
incredible number of hours in putting this bill together. None of us 
would be where we are without our staffs. And nowhere is this more true 
than on this bill, which would not have come together without a lot of 
very late nights, early mornings, and long afternoons of tireless work 
from staffers. I hope that they take pride today in what they helped 
achieve for the American people.
  I also want to thank all the individuals who keep the Senate floor 
running and who worked overtime this weekend during consideration of 
the bill. That includes the cloakroom staff, the clerks, the 
doorkeepers, the Capitol Police, and the pages who stayed past the end 
of their session to help out. I am very, very grateful to all of them. 
I hope everyone manages to get some sleep.
  I look forward to the House taking up and passing this historic 
legislation and getting it to the President's desk.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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