Floor Statements

Mr. President, I wish a happy baseball opening day to everyone. Actually, it started last night, not today, but it sounds better to do it during the daytime.

Although it is opening day for Major League Baseball, it also happens to be the last day for Americans to sign up for ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act.

To date there are over 10 million newly-insured Americans benefiting from the health care law now in effect, and there are millions more who have changed their insurance because of this legislation. So it is clear Americans are signing up for this quality health care in record numbers--and that is an understatement.

I also am very happy we have been able to come to an agreement on the Medicare physician payment system. It is a 12-month fix. We need to take action on this to ensure that Medicare patients will be able to see their doctors. But the fact remains this legislation is not perfect. It is not ideal. I wish we could have followed the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Wyden, who came in kind of late. Most of the work was done by Ambassador Baucus before he came in. But he worked really hard, and he wants to pay for it in a way I think is appropriate--to use the unspent money we have from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, called OCO, the Overseas Contingency Operations fund. But at this

stage it doesn't appear it is now going to happen.

This legislation wasn't some last-minute deal. Senator Baucus worked on this for months, and it is the basis for what we are going to do here today. There were tough negotiations. Unfortunately, the parties could not come to an agreement on what a permanent fix should be. I said that I believe a permanent fix should be what Chairman Wyden suggested and continues to suggest.

But House Republicans, though, chose to pass a partisan bill and increase the number of uninsured Americans and raised the cost of premiums. I believe we should repeal the defective payment system without increasing costs and without limiting access to quality health care. We need to restore sanity to the Medicare payment system without cutting benefits to seniors and without shifting the financial burden to hospital and other providers. We have done enough of that already. But right now we don't have the votes to do what would be the better thing to do.

So for millions of elderly Americans and their doctors, this fix is good news. It means the promise of accessible, quality health care to our Nation's seniors is being honored again--this time for another year. So while I am pleased with this temporary patch, I hope it is our last patch.

In the meantime, I extend my appreciation to Senator Wyden, the chairman of the Finance Committee, for his work to bring stability to the Medicare payment system. From the moment he assumed the gavel to become chairman of that committee, he hit the ground running on this issue, as well as reforming the entire Tax Code. As we speak he is also doing some good work on the so-called tax extenders. It is my understanding he is meeting with his committee members today.

Unemployment Extension

After confirming this long-awaited judge for the Ninth Circuit and approving a patch for the Medicare payment program, the Senate will turn to a long overdue extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed. This is a matter of really significant importance to millions of Americans. We have waited 3 months since Republicans first filibustered a bill to restore emergency benefits. More importantly, unemployed Americans have waited even longer. Since that filibuster, nearly 1 million more Americans have lost their benefits. That is 300,000 people a month who have been thrust into poverty not knowing how they will pay their bills.

I received a letter recently from a Nevadan named Jane who pleaded for Congress to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed. She is what we would call an older American, an older Nevadan. She didn't make the plea for herself. It was for her son. She said:

Please do all in your power to get this matter resolved. .

. . My son has been looking since May of last year. He held

his last job for 26 years and doesn't have a lot of

experience in other fields. I cannot continue to help him. I

lost my husband last July and lost his Social Security. I

only have mine now. Please do what you can to help those who

are in this position.

So imagine an elderly woman, a widow, so desperate to assist her middle-aged son that she is using her meager Social Security check to help him get by. Now her own financial situation is in jeopardy.

Jane and her son have already seen what happens when much-needed unemployment benefits don't get extended. For Nevadans struggling to pay their rent, to keep the lights on or to feed the kids, they have waited long enough. But we know why Republicans prefer to wait. For many of my colleagues across the aisle, waiting means doing nothing. So the fact is the majority of Republicans here in Congress are simply opposed to helping the long-term unemployed. Most won't say so, but that is the truth.

One GOP Congressman from California even said that an extension of unemployment benefits ``will encourage unemployment.'' That is a tough one to follow. This elected Congressman believes that the half million people in the State of California who had their unemployment benefits terminated actually prefer to be jobless. I don't think so.

Here in the Senate last Thursday only 10 out of 45 Republicans voted to help Democrats break the 3-month filibuster. In fact, the GOP Senators from the State with the third-highest population of eligible long-term unemployed--Texas--both voted to block an extension of benefits. It is as if they simply don't care that some of their own constituents are teetering on the verge of indigence.

Notwithstanding this opposition to extending unemployment benefits, I am confident we will pass this bipartisan legislation in the Senate this week here. Then, hopefully, the Republicans in the House will have soft hearts and strong minds and allow this to pass over there. It is in their hands.

We hope they will be considerate to the roughly 2.8 million long-term unemployed across the country. Perhaps then these struggling Americans will finally get the relief they deserve.

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

I would now suggest the absence of a quorum and have the time divided equally between both sides.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the next votes tonight be 10 minutes in duration.

Mr. President, we are going to have a vote now on SGR, and if all things work out as anticipated, that will be the last vote tonight.

Mr. President, I have a substitute amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment.

Mr. President, I have a first-degree amendment to the substitute. It is already at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment to the substitute which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to the bill at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I have a motion to commit H.R. 3979, but it also has instructions, and that is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that motion.

Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment.

Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk, and I ask that the Chair order it reported.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, on the matter before the body before the quorum call was ordered, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorums required under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 250, S. 1737, the Minimum Wage Fairness Act.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 333.

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

Mr. President, I have said often that people who work here in the Capitol are some of the most intelligent men and women anyplace in the world. They come here--as I explained to a group of people from Nevada this morning--dedicated to public service. They are not here to see how much money they can make. They are here to change people's lives. Today, the Senate is losing one of its brightest and most seasoned minds.

A lawyer by trade, Pete Robinson came to the Senate in 2002. I knew Pete because he had worked in the House previously, when I served over there. I knew him as someone I always admired--people who are good runners. I saw Pete out running and I was amazed at his gracefulness and speed. I did a lot of running. I wasn't very graceful and didn't have a lot of speed, but I did a lot of running. Pete was the captain of his high school cross-country team. He was a good athlete, which I admire very much.

From the moment he came to the Senate, the Office of Parliamentarian became a better place. He was as close to being indispensable as anyone. He has an incredible work ethic and tremendous experience-- having been the Parliamentarian in the House and here and having been in the private sector. He has a great memory and has made the Senate function as it should. Not many people can make that claim, especially today. So he will be missed. I will miss him personally.

I love to joke with him and talk to him about his running days, like I talk about my running days, as if we were both still out running. But that is what life is all about. We look back at the things that we did. I am sure, just as the Presiding Officer knows, things you do as a younger man become better every day, and that is the way I look back on my athletic endeavors in that regard. Of course, talking just about myself, maybe I wasn't as good as I thought I was, but that didn't matter at the time. It made me feel good, and that is what athletics is all about--trying to build character.

So Pete is going to be missed in his retirement, but he is going to have plenty to do. He has lots of hobbies: an avid gardener, a good cook--some say an amateur chef. I won't go that far, but he is a good cook, as I understand it. He can make his own furniture. So he is going to keep busy feeding and furnishing his wife Connie, their daughter Tara, son-in-law Ethan, and grandson Milo with the good things he has done.

We will truly miss him. I appreciate his courtesies all the time to me, and, as far as I know, to everyone else.

Schedule

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 10:30, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to H.R. 4152. At noon there will be up to three rollcall votes: the Menendez-Corker substitute, passage of the Ukraine bill, and confirmation of Maria Contreras-Sweet to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

Last night I filed cloture on John Owens to be a U.S. circuit judge, and on the motion to proceed to the legislative vehicle for the unemployment insurance bill. Under the rule the first cloture vote will be tomorrow morning.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today is an important day for Ukraine and for all nations supporting international law, democracy, and decency. Later today the Senate will pass a bipartisan bill that provides much needed aid to stabilize Ukraine's economy.

For those Russian leaders who have played a role in the destabilization of Ukraine, this legislation contains much needed repercussions against them. Remember, Russia is run by an oligarchy. One of the oligarchs is the President of that country--Putin. This bill is a reality check to him that the United States will not stand idly by while Russia plays the role of schoolyard bully.

It seems to me that President Putin does not understand the way the world works today. It is almost as if Putin yearns for the days of Joseph Stalin. Times have changed since Stalin was around, the world has changed since Stalin was around, and it has changed for the better. The Cold War is over, along with fixtures such as the Iron Curtain, dueling superpowers, and brinksmanship. Yet it is almost as if Putin is living in a time warp. Russia's place in the world has transformed. It does not wield the global power it once did. The rest of the world has changed since Stalin's era, with other countries in leading roles.

But the United States of America remains a beacon of hope to the whole world. Our economic, our military, our political power, and our influence are strong because we stand for freedom, democracy, and economic prosperity. Russia, on the other hand, led by this man who yearns for Stalin, is a nation of immense resources and potential for good. Yet they have chosen to wield its influence solely for self- interests.

Earlier this week President Obama said the following about Russia:

Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its

immediate neighbors--not out of strength, but out of

weakness. The fact that Russia felt compelled to go in

militarily and lay bare these violations of international law

indicates less influence, not more.

President Obama is absolutely correct. Instead of using its influence to bring stability to neighboring countries, Putin has instead played the role of an antagonist. Look at what has taken place in Crimea and the country of Georgia. For what does Russia stand? For what does President Putin stand?

As the world gets closer and closer to looking at Putin, it doesn't like what it sees. The product of Putin's two decades in leadership seems to be a disregard for national law, more corruption, and increased suppression of basic human rights. While countless of his own citizens have rallied in the streets pleading for more freedom, Putin and his cronies have concerned themselves with getting richer--not only with power but with money. These oligarchs have been ruthless in protecting their power and their money.

Inside and outside of Russia, the President of Russia has displayed a penchant for being a bully. He imprisons political rivals and locks them up. He seizes the wealth from Russians who have displeased him. If they don't say or do exactly what he wants, he puts them in jail and takes their wealth. He has singlehandedly rolled back years of progress on equality. He has endorsed the persecution of his own country's gay and lesbian community. And once again he has invaded and occupied a nation for choosing democracy. Are these acts of a statesman? No. They are acts of a bully.

As billions tuned in to the Olympics, I believe few were deluded by the fake veneer of Putin's Sochi show. In fact, all we saw was that Putin's Russia isn't working.

I say every time I get on the floor that if he so likes the vote that took place in Crimea, why doesn't he have a vote of the people in Chechnya? Everyone knows why.

I say to Mr. Putin: Operating by intimidation and belligerence will not work. In today's world, nations should work together through diplomacy and the rule of law.

He has a choice to come back into the international community and honor international law or to continue to isolate Russia.

Russian troops continue to mass at the border of Ukraine, but he should understand this: The consequences for his continued bullying will not end today and certainly not with this bill. His chest-thumping aggression is leading Russia only to isolation and irrelevance.

My colleagues and I will continue to work to strengthen Ukraine's Government and its 46 million people. The bill before the Senate today sanctions and further isolates Putin and his inner circle. What we are doing here today is just the beginning.

I support this legislation, and I am proud of my Senate colleagues who join in standing for the people of Ukraine. This is what we are doing.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Madam President, I am hopeful and confident the next two votes will be by voice. We expect to have the next vote around 1:45 p.m. today.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that at 1:45 p.m. today the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the Owens nomination--Calendar No. 573; that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination; that immediately following the cloture vote and notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate resume legislative session and proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on H.R. 3979; further, if cloture is invoked on the Owens nomination, all postcloture time be considered expired at 5:30 p.m., Monday, March 31, and the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the Owens nomination; that upon disposition of the Owens nomination, the Senate resume legislative session and, if cloture is invoked on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3979, then all postcloture time be considered expired and the Senate proceed to consideration of the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that following the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3979, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 700; that there be 2 minutes for debate, equally divided in the usual form prior to a vote on the nomination; that the motion 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 President Obama be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Madam President, for the knowledge of all Members, 20 minutes ago or so the House passed by voice vote the--

Twenty minutes ago the House passed by voice vote the 13- month patch of the SGR.

There was work done on a bipartisan basis by all Senators to get a permanent fix. We can only do what we can do. I have had a number of my Republican colleagues come to me and say: We will do this, but you have to get the assurance of the Speaker that he would accept this, and the Speaker would not accept what was being proposed. The original plan was my idea and I am very disappointed it didn't work out, but I have been trying to do it for 4 years, so I am not surprised. But it is no one's fault in the Senate.

We have a new chair of the Finance Committee. He has worked very hard on a bipartisan basis to come up with a way to get rid of this SGR once and for all. We weren't able to do that.

So the patch we have is imperfect, but it is something that will take care of things. I don't mean to be mean-spirited, but I am tired of people saying you are taking care of the doctors but no one else. We are taking care of patients for the next 13 months--patients--and I think that is extremely important. We have millions of people who have doctors who take Medicare patients. For us not to do this would have been truly unfortunate.

I am disappointed we aren't able to get a permanent fix, but we have been able to do that. We should be very happy we have been able to do as well as we have done. I personally am not overjoyed about what is in the bill, but I am satisfied with what is in the bill. I hope we can expeditiously move and get this done today.

I note the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order with respect to the motion to proceed to H.R. 3979 be modified so that when the postcloture time is expired the Senate proceed to a vote on the motion to proceed to the bill.

I ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on Monday, March 31, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 4302, which was received from the House and is at the desk; that there be no amendments or motions in order to the bill with the exception of budget points of order and the applicable motions to waive; that the time until 5 p.m. be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees for debate on the bill; that notwithstanding the previous order, following the vote on confirmation of the Owens nomination on Monday, March 31, the Senate resume consideration of H.R. 4302, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill; that the bill be subject to a 60-affirmative vote threshold; finally, that upon disposition of H.R. 4302, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3979, as provided under the previous order.

Madam President, I want everyone to understand there will be at least 3 hours of debate on H.R. 4302, and I want to make sure everyone understands I will be giving Senator Wyden the 1\1/2\ hours on our side.

Madam President, before Chairman Baucus became Ambassador to China, the Finance Committee, under his auspices, negotiated a bipartisan, bicameral bill with the House to repeal the flawed Medicare physician payment system. He worked on that for more than a year. But the committees didn't come to an agreement on the really hard part--how to pay for it.

Senator Wyden, the new chairman of the Finance Committee, has come up with a way to pay for it. I support repealing the payment system--the SGR--permanently. I have been in favor of that for a long time, and I appreciate the work done on that in the past period of time Senator Wyden has been chairman of that committee. I repeat, the work done on it for a year didn't have a way to pay for it. So I support repealing this permanently. I believe we should repeal it without pay-fors or by using reductions in the overseas contingency fund, called OCO.

The deadline is here. I spoke on the floor this morning, and I say it again. Everyone is saying, Well, why are you helping the doctors? Madam President, I am helping my Medicare recipients in Nevada. They need physicians. And for us to play around with this bill, as we do continually, isn't fair to the patients. Because doctors are unhappy that they do not have some degree of certainty, and that is what they need. So that is why I am for getting rid of this totally. We don't have that now.

The House passed a short time ago a patch of 12 or 13 months, which is good. So efforts will continue on the permanent repeal of the SGR, and I support Senator Wyden seeing what he can do to come up with some votes for a permanent repeal. He served a long time in the House and a long time in the Senate and he knows what he is doing. So let us hope he gets enough votes. Until then, we are left with a patch.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Kristopher Sharp, a fellow in Senator Murray's office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of today's session.

I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 333.

Mr. President, I will be happy to yield to my friend, the senior Senator from Iowa.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 11 a.m., with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to executive session. At 11 a.m. there will be a series of votes on U.S. District Court judges. We will have four votes before lunch, and we will have four more votes, or thereabout, starting at 2:30 on confirmation of these nominations.

We will debate the Ukraine bill during today's session and vote on that legislation tomorrow.

Measure Placed on the Calendar--S. 2157

Mr. President, S. 2157 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

I object to any further proceedings at this time on this legislation.

Mr. President, the Senate took a step in the right direction yesterday. In response to Russia's destabilizing actions in Ukraine, my colleagues and I came to an agreement to vote on the bipartisan Senate foreign relations bill tomorrow. This important measure not only aids Ukraine but it also punishes President Putin and his cronies for their unlawful aggression. It also sends this message to the world: We, the American people, stand with Ukraine.

I was happy to hear yesterday the assistant Republican leader--the whip--the senior Senator from Texas, talk about the need to do more. And I agree; we need to do more. I, of course, was a fan--as was Senator Menendez, the chair of the committee; the ranking member, Senator Corker; and our senior policy mentor around here, Senator McCain--of having IMF funding. So I hope we can move beyond what we are going to do tomorrow for the Ukrainian people. Based on what I heard on the Sunday shows, I believe we have bipartisan support to do more for Ukraine, so I invite my friend, the senior Senator from Texas, to work with Democrats to come up with a package of things we can do in the next few weeks to give the people of Ukraine the understanding and the basis for the fact that America will stand with them.

What President Putin did is wrong. It is a violation of international law. I think it is too bad he is homesick over the Soviet Union. He is one of the few who looks back with joy at what took place to build the Soviet Union. Tens of millions of Russians were killed--purposely--by the viciousness of the leaders prior to Putin. So let us hope he does not look back on all that as being good. We all know he was part of the KGB and we would hope he would return to having Russia become a civilized nation rather than what the Soviet Union used to be.

Unemployment Insurance

Mr. President, as the Senate finishes its work on the Ukrainian issue, we will soon have the opportunity to show millions of American families that we also stand by them. It is my sincere hope the bipartisan progress we have just made on the Ukraine legislation will also carry us over to work on unemployment insurance. Certainly we have a bipartisan bill that we have been working on for a long time.

President Lyndon Johnson once said:

The duty of government is to help people who are caught in

the tentacles of circumstance.

That is certainly what we have in Nevada with 26,000 people. Around the country more than 2 million people are caught in the circumstance of having lost their job--usually these people are a little bit above 50--and because of the recession they can't find a job. So they need help, and that is what this legislation is all about.

In our country today you will find no greater example of people at the mercy of unfortunate circumstances than the long-term unemployed. In the 3 months since the Republicans first filibustered a bill to restore emergency benefits, more than 1 million Americans have lost their benefits. Considering that in the time that was wasted by our Republican filibuster, almost 1 million people in America, in dire need of help, have been told that no help is coming, we are here to deliver a message on a bipartisan basis that help is coming. For people who have worked hard all their lives, worrying about how to pay their rent, put gas in the car, and buy groceries while they search for a new job can be demoralizing, especially when they see nothing good over the horizon. For the long-term unemployed, losing a $300-per-week employment benefit can be the difference between keeping a roof over their children's heads and, as we have heard--because I have read into the record on a number of occasions letters from Nevadans saying they are going to become homeless--going out of business as a family, literally.

Here is what one Nevada man wrote to me this month as he begged us to act. His wife had been out of work for months. With resources scarce, the family will be forced to choose between paying their rent or paying for cancer treatments for their 2-year-old son. But here is what he wrote:

We keep praying you will do everything in your power to

bring back emergency benefits to help us in our most

difficult time.

This man, and millions of Americans just like him, have waited too long for action. But the Senate has another opportunity to do our job and help those struggling Americans. In the upcoming days the Senate will consider an agreement, negotiated in good faith by a bipartisan group of Senators, including my colleague from Nevada Senator Heller. This agreement will restore benefits to millions of long-term unemployed Americans looking for work.

I urge all my colleagues to put philosophical differences aside and help struggling families get the support they need and deserve. All we have to do is work together, Democrats and Republicans, to do what is right for our constituents in their hour of need.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

Madam President, I yield back all time on the next three nominations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to use leader time for a few minutes.

Mr. President, the junior Senator from Wyoming has come to the floor several times recently talking about the fact that examples he and other Republicans have given dealing with ObamaCare, examples they think are bad, I call lies. That is simply untrue. I have never come to the floor, to my recollection, and said a word about any of the examples Republicans have given regarding ObamaCare and how it is not very good. But I have come to the floor--I think my friend, the junior Senator from Wyoming, must be getting mixed up about what I have said about the Koch brothers and what they have done regarding health care. But it is easy to get mixed up because I think it is hard to separate the Koch brothers from the Republican caucus, anyway.

Mr. President, I have asserted and I will continue to assert that the Koch brothers are trying to buy America, and they are doing it in a number of different ways. They don't believe in Social Security. They don't believe in minimum wage. They don't believe in benefits-- unemployment benefits. They don't believe in environmental laws. As you know and read in the paper, they have a chemical plant. They were fined about $400,000 over the last week or 10 days and ordered to pay about $50 million to bring it up to standard because it was deleterious to the health of people in the area.

The Koch brothers are running false and misleading ads all around the country against Democratic Senators dealing with health care. Do they care about health care? Of course not. These are false and misleading ads, and they have gone so far as to have actors there pretending they are from the States,

and they not only have done that in one State; they used the same actor in different States. So the record should be very clear. Yes, I have called many, if not most, of the anti-Obama ads by the Koch brothers false and misleading because they are.

Vote on Cooper Nomination

I yield back all time.

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

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.