Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 112th

 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

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S6475 

Vol. 158 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012 No. 128 

Senate 

The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was 

called to order by the Honorable TOM

UDALL, a Senator from the State of 

New Mexico. 

PRAYER

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Today’s 

opening prayer will be offered by the 

Reverend Dr. Douglas Gerdts, Senior 

Pastor of First and Central Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE. 

The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer: 

Would you pray with me, please. 

Holy God, little can be said that 

doesn’t add to the cacophony of prayer 

that arises from humanity. Surely 

from this august Chamber the volume 

and intensity is at times deafening. 

Yet these, O God, are the servants of 

the people and of You. So like Solomon 

we pray, ‘‘Here’s what we want: Give us 

a God-listening heart so we can lead 

Your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who 

on their own is capable of leading Your 

good people?’’ 

Who indeed, O God. 

Our prayer this morning is quiet and 

simple: Instill wisdom and compassion, 

the quest for peace and the drive for 

justice, the humility to recognize our 

ignorance and the grace to welcome another’s point of view, and the awe of 

the responsibility conveyed upon us 

and the gratitude to relish our part in 

shaping the future. Most of all, let us 

never think that we travel this road 

alone, for who on their own is capable 

of leading Your good people? 

Amen. 

f 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

The Honorable TOM UDALL led the 

Pledge of Allegiance as follows: 

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. 

APPOINTMENT OF ACTING 

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will please read a communication 

to the Senate from the President pro 

tempore (Mr. INOUYE). 

The assistant legislative clerk read 

the following letter: 

U.S. SENATE, 

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, 

Washington, DC, September 20, 2012. 

To the Senate: 

Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby 

appoint the Honorable TOM UDALL, a Senator 

from the State of New Mexico, to perform 

the duties of the Chair. 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, 

President pro tempore. 

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico thereupon 

assumed the chair as Acting President 

pro tempore. 

f 

RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY 

LEADER 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader is recognized. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I yield to 

my friend from Delaware and ask that 

I be recognized when he finishes his remarks. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

The Senator from Delaware is recognized. 

f 

WELCOMING THE GUEST 

CHAPLAIN 

Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise 

today to express my gratitude to Leader REID and to Chaplain Black, to all of 

us in the Chamber, and my gratitude to 

the Reverend Dr. Douglas Gerdts. It is 

my honor and privilege to welcome him 

to our Chamber this morning as one of 

Delaware’s strongest and finest faith 

leaders. 

Reverend Gerdts leads the congregation at First and Central Presbyterian 

Church in Wilmington. Each time I 

join with him on Sunday mornings, I 

am uplifted by the stirring music, I am 

challenged by his passionate sermons, 

and I leave engaged for the week, rooted in my faith and moved forward by 

his words and by his leadership. 

But Reverend Gerdts’ leadership extends far beyond the walls of his 

church. It touches those most in need 

in our community. The church literally 

opens its doors every Saturday, welcoming in homeless Delawareans as 

well as welcoming in schoolchildren 

who need smaller class sizes and better 

instruction to succeed. 

I have had the pleasure of knowing 

Reverend Gerdts for more than a dozen 

years. In my own service in county 

government I knew him as chair of the 

Diversity Commission, and he helped 

lead the charge for equality and civil 

unions in Delaware last year. He has 

made a real and lasting contribution to 

our community. He and his wonderful 

wife Walle are part of what makes 

Delaware a great place. 

As he shared with us in his prayer, he 

is exactly the sort of person who, 

through a listening heart, has become 

a powerful and effective servant leader 

of faith in my home community. 

My thanks to the Chaplain for allowing guest Chaplains, and my thanks to 

Rev. Doug Gerdts for his friendship, his 

faith, and his leadership. 

I yield the floor. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader. 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senator 

from Delaware has been such a great 

addition to the Senate. He is well respected on both sides of the aisle, and 

he is a man of spiritual quality. Among 

his other attributes, he has a divinity 

degree from Yale University. Without 

elaborating, I am just so pleased he is 

my friend and a Member of the Senate. 


tjames on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with SENATE