Floor Statements

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 250.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 3979, the legislative vehicle for the unemployment insurance extension legislation.

The Senate will recess, as we do every Tuesday, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., to allow for our weekly caucus meetings.

Koch Brothers

Mr. President, as I went about my business in the Senate yesterday, I was informed the Koch brothers are at it again. We know they are at it, but now they are at it in Nevada, among other places.

I am told one of their puppet organizations is going to run commercials against me in Nevada. That is quite interesting. As I understand it, they had focused on places where there is an election. They may not know it, but I am not running for anything for a few years, until my 6-year term is up.

What issues will they raise in those ads they say they are going to run in Nevada? That by my criticizing the Koch brothers, I have attacked their freedom of speech. The gall of these two brothers is staggering.

Keep in mind, they are the fifth richest people not in whatever State they live in--they have lots of different homes in America--but they are the fifth richest people in the world. These two mogul multibillionaires are so eager to force their will on the American people that they will do it even in the face of their own hypocrisy, which we have already established some time ago.

I am beginning to think April Fools' Day arrived 1 day early. See, it is a fool's errand for the Koch brothers to think they can use their money to frighten me or to brainwash Nevadans or the rest of the country. They are spending lots of money to try to do that. People of this Nation trace their freedom of speech back to the Constitution, not a bank account which has lots and lots of zeros at the end.

The Koch brothers are trying to use their immense wealth to buy their way around the laws and regulations of this Nation to make themselves even richer. Everything they do is so selfish, so self-centered in an effort to make them--I guess the sixth richest is not good enough, the fifth richest isn't good enough. They want to be the richest because they are into making money and as much as they can. There is nothing wrong with that, except what they are doing with their money.

I know they say: Well, we gave money in--I think--New York City to cancer research. But what they have done to damage the National Institutes of Health is not possible to measure.

Here are the rules the multibillionaire Koch brothers want to play by: They should be allowed to say false and misleading statements about the Affordable Care Act, but we are not allowed to criticize them for it.

Just listening to the news, and I haven't heard anything from the White House directly, but I am told that yesterday, in 1 day, more people signed up for ObamaCare than the previous 3 months. People are anxious to have health insurance. They are anxious to have health insurance. I have been very satisfied that I and Members of my caucus and people around the country have been standing up to these moguls and their false, misleading, fearmongering ways.

It should be no surprise that these multimillionaire, billionaires, very, very rich, fifth richest people in the world have decided: What we will do is

try to frighten Reid. There have been times in my life when I have been a little afraid, but I am not afraid of them. I understand they have spent $30,000. Let them spend $300,000 in Nevada. I don't care--and I truly don't.

These oil barons have commissioned a group--one of their many organizations. As I have said on the floor, most of the ads we see we think have come from Americans for Prosperity. That is their name. But they funnel money through many organizations--the chamber of commerce. What does the chamber do with those ads? Run ads against Democratic Senators because the chamber of commerce is a Republican-oriented organization, and it is good to get money from the Koch brothers because they can hide under the chamber of commerce.

This organization they are now floating around that is going to run these ads, against me I am told, is called American Encore. It was previously called the Center to Protect Patient Rights. I guess that didn't work so well, as well more than 10 million people have now signed up for ObamaCare, people who didn't have the opportunity before. I guess they decided running ads against me is more important than protecting patients' rights, so now they came up with another catchy name, American Encore.

No matter what they call their organization or the myriad of organizations, they all have one stated purpose, to make these oil barons even richer. If anyone needs further proof--and I am not sure anyone does--take a look at the legislation they have influenced with their money. In recent years, the tea party-driven House of Representatives has never missed a chance to funnel more tax cuts to the wealthy by raising taxes on the middle class.

The vast majority of wealthy people in America are willing to do more. They have spoken to my friend the Presiding Officer. There are a lot of rich people in the State of New Jersey. Even though the Presiding Officer has worked with people who are badly in need of help, people in New Jersey have walked up to the Presiding Officer and said: I am willing to pay more--and the same in Nevada. But every time we try to do something to get a few more resources to build roads, bridges, highways, dams, water systems, sewer systems, Republicans in the Congress say no.

The Republicans in Congress do not represent mainstream Republicans in America today. They don't even represent mainstream rich Republicans around the country. They are driven by and they are afraid of the tea party.

We have a budget proposal coming out today from the House of Representatives. The person who ran for Vice President the last go- around on the Republican ticket is the chairman of the Budget Committee and he is coming out with a budget. It is a blueprint for a modern ``Kochtopia.'' In fact, call it whatever one wants. We might as well call it the Koch budget because that is whom they are protecting, the Koch brothers.

I am fascinated by this. These proposals are called the Path to Prosperity. It is a path to prosperity for some people--the rich-- because that budget would end Medicare as we know it. Similar to the last budget the chairman of the Budget Committee in the House came out with, it would slash education funding while expanding tax loopholes for the megarich.

Whose prosperity is being plotted in these schemes? Today, as we get closer to the new Ryan budget, we will have to see how much of the Koch brothers' agenda is reflected in this year's budget. We don't have to be a fortune teller to know the similarities are extensive.

To any and all groups that wish to attack me on behalf of multibillionaires, fire away. I am very happy--I am even proud--to be targeted by those attacks and will gladly endure them in order to call attention to the unscrupulous acts of these two barons. But don't expect Americans to go along with their attempt to rig our democracy and hand it over to a couple of power-hungry tycoons--I guess from Kansas. I know they have homes in New York, and one of them lives near here.

The country will be watching but not fooled by the Koch brothers' attempts to purchase influence for whom--for the Koch brothers.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that today at 2:15 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar Nos. 532 and 683; that there be 15 minutes for debate equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on the nominations in the order listed, with 2 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form between the votes; that all after the first vote be 10 minutes in length; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to the nominations; that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Madam President, we also hope to reach agreement on another

nomination, and hopefully we can do that during the break we are going to have now.

I have nothing further.

Madam President, we hope this is the last vote of the day-- at least the next vote we hope will be by voice. There could be other votes procedural in nature this afternoon. We hope not, but you never know. I am not going to agree to anything.

I yield back our time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators allowed to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at a time to be determined by me, in consultation with Senator McConnell, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: 520, 679, 705; that there be 2 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the Senate proceed to vote on the nominations in the order listed; that all rollcall votes after the first be 10 minutes in length; that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate resume legislative session.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 371 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Menendez amendment to the resolution, which is at the desk, be agreed to, the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the Menendez amendment to the title, which is at the desk, be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 408.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.; that following the prayer and the pledge, the morning hour 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; that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 3979, which is the vehicle for the unemployment insurance extension, with the time until 10 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; and that the filing deadline for second-degree amendments be 9:30 tomorrow morning.

There are two bills at the desk due for their first reading.

I ask for a second reading for both bills but object to my own request.

The first rollcall vote will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment to the unemployment bill. Additional votes are possible.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, we will proceed to H.R. 4302, Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, with the time until 5 p.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

At 5 p.m. the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of John Owens to be U.S. circuit judge for the Ninth Circuit, postcloture.

At 5:30 p.m. there could be up to four rollcall votes: First, on confirmation of the Owens nomination; then, if a Budget Act point of order is raised on the SGR bill, there will be a vote on the motion to waive the point of order; then passage of the SGR bill; and finally, on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3979, the legislative vehicle for the unemployment insurance bill.