Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to

Calendar No. 230, S. 1302; that the committee-reported substitute be considered; the Harkin-Roberts substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to; the committee-reported substitute, as amended, be agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; further, that if the Senate receives a bill from the House that is identical to the text of S. 1302 as passed by the Senate, then the House bill be read three times and passed with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the HELP Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 334.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

I ask unanimous consent the Presiding Officer of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join a like committee on the part of the House to escort President Obama into the House Chamber for the joint session to be held tonight at 9 p.m.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 8:25 p.m. tonight and, upon reconvening, proceed as a body to the Hall of the House of Representatives for the joint session of Congress provided under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 75; and that upon dissolution of the joint session, the Senate adjourn until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 29, 2014; that following

the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each and the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 1926, the flood insurance bill, postcloture, with the time until noon equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, and that at noon all postcloture time be deemed expired.

The President of the United States will deliver the State of the Union Address at 9 p.m. this evening. The Senate will begin gathering in the Senate Chamber at 8:20 p.m., depart from the Senate Chamber at 8:30 p.m., and proceed as a body to the House.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it recess under the previous order.

I ask unanimous consent that following morning business on Wednesday, January 29, all postcloture time be yielded back and the motion to proceed to S. 1926 be agreed to; that after the bill is reported, the following amendments be agreed to: Hagan, No. 2702; Rubio, No. 2704; King, No. 2705; Blunt, No. 2698; and the amended text be considered as original text for the purposes of further amendment; that the only other amendments in order be the following: Reed of Rhode Island, No. 2703; Coburn, No. 2697; Merkley, No. 2709; Heller, No. 2700; Whitehouse, No. 2706; Toomey, No. 2707--which is a substitute; Gillibrand, No. 2708; that no second-degree amendments be in order to any of these amendments prior to votes in relation to the amendments; that it be in order for Senator Toomey to modify his amendment with the text of Rubio No. 2704 and Hagan No. 2702; that there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided on each amendment or motion to waive a budget point of order, if made; that there be up to 1 hour of general debate on the bill equally divided between the proponents and opponents; that amendments in this agreement must be offered prior to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29, that is tomorrow; that it be in order for Senator Crapo or designee to raise a budget point of order against the bill; that if such a point of order is raised, Senator Menendez or designee be recognized to move to waive the point of order; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to the vote on the motion to waive, if made; that if the motion to waive is agreed to, the Senate proceed to votes in relation to the amendments in the order listed; that upon disposition of the amendments, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill, as amended.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 294.

Mr. President, at 5:30 p.m. there will be a rollcall vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill.

Measure Placed on the Calendar--S. 1950

Mr. President, I am told that S. 1950 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

I would object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill at this time.

Mr. President, as I announced earlier, today the Senate will vote at 5:30 to advance legislation which will protect millions of homeowners and small businesses from drastic increases in flood insurance premiums. This bipartisan measure will save many homeowners thousands of dollars a year and protect America's recovering housing market.

Since higher premiums would kick in whenever a home is sold, still struggling housing markets across the country could stumble if Congress allows flood insurance rates to skyrocket. That will happen if we don't move this legislation.

The bill before the Senate will preserve current rates until the Federal Emergency Management Agency submits a plan to keep premiums reasonable and provide stability to home and business owners.

I wish to thank Senators Menendez and Landrieu, as well as Senator Isakson, for their leadership on this issue. Their bill will cut through the red tape and give consumers better, cheaper options when they shop for insurance.

So I hope the Senate can wrap up work quickly on this measure. We have tried for weeks to get agreement to move forward on it, but we are never quite there. Always there are requests to give a little more time. That time has run out. Homeowners deserve certainty, and the Senate faces a substantial workload over the next 3 weeks.

Tomorrow, President Obama will address Congress and the Nation in his annual State of the Union address. I, like the American people, look forward to hearing the President's vision to create an economy in which the middle class grows and prospers, because every individual should have a fair shot at success.

The Senate must also consider a number of critical national security and judicial nominations in the coming weeks. With the help of my Republican colleagues, we could process these nominations swiftly and painlessly--without late night or weekend votes.

As always, it will depend upon the level of cooperation we receive from the Republicans.

This work period the Senate will also consider a farm bill conference report. This legislation is a compromise that was reached thanks to the leadership of Chairwoman Stabenow, and it will reduce the deficit and cut waste and fraud, all while protecting hungry children and families.

The Senate will also debate legislation to effectively prevent and punish sexual assault in the Nation's Armed Forces, and we have competing views of this with Senator McCaskill and Senator Gillibrand.

Democrats will continue our fight to restore benefits to 1.6 million Americans looking for work during difficult economic times. In the last 2 weeks since Republicans filibustered a bill to restore this important lifeline, an additional 150,000 Americans have lost their emergency unemployment benefits. For many families already suffering through hard times, the loss of $300 a week has meant going without food, turning down the heat on freezing days or staring down homelessness.

One Nevada woman--a Vietnam veteran in her sixties who has worked all her life and raised a family--said she is afraid she will end up on the streets if Washington doesn't restore her emergency benefits. This is what she wrote to me:

It is not that I don't want to work. It is that I am unable

to procure job . . . I do feel that it might be my age, but I

am more energetic than some young people I know. Please

continue to [work to] get this passed, as I am fearful that I

will end up homeless.

Her situation is not unique. Nationwide, thousands upon thousands of veterans looking for work have been kicked off unemployment. In Nevada, where unemployment is still almost 9 percent, 21,000 people struggling to find jobs have been cut off from these benefits. In fact, unemployment actually ticked up slightly in Las Vegas last month. As long as there are three job seekers for every available position, we owe it to Americans to lend a helping hand during this emergency.

Reservation of Leader Time

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today we honor the hard work and accomplishments of Ms. Diane Skvarla, who is retiring after 20 years of service as the Senate curator.

In the 27 years that I have served Nevadans in the Senate, I have never lost my appreciation for the rich history, works of fine art, and craftsmanship along the halls of the Senate. The Capitol and Senate office buildings are treasures and symbols of our democracy.

An enduring institution, the Senate is passed down from generation to generation as Senators and visitors come and go. Just as we have a responsibility to preserve the traditions and history of the Senate, we also have a responsibility to preserve the buildings and furnishings. Former majority leader Mike Mansfield understood the need to conserve these adornments of American democracy and advocated for the creation of the U.S. Senate Commission on Art and the Office of Senate Curator to fulfill this objective. Curators usually oversee museums and private collections. The Senate, on the other hand, is a working building. Maintaining a balance between conservation and the considerations of working life for Members and staff is a unique task. In her role as Senate curator, Diane has worked fiercely to successfully strike this balance every day.

Diane began working for the curator's office in 1979 as a staff member following graduation from Colgate University. After she earned her master's degree in museum studies from George Washington University in 1987, Diane took on more responsibility, including work on the Senate's bicentennial celebration in 1989. After a short break from the office, Diane was asked to return in 1994 as the curator to follow Jim Ketchum.

Throughout her tenure as curator, Diane has remained a steadfast advocate for the preservation of the Senate. Diane worked to publish the Catalogue of Fine Art and Catalogue of Graphic Art, both comprehensively documenting the decorative treasures of the Senate. Diane also worked to acquire the large portrait of Henry Clay that was previously unknown and now hangs in the Brumidi Corridor just off of the Senate floor. In addition, Diane spearheaded restoration efforts of the Old Senate Chamber in 2011-2012 and ongoing restoration and research in the Brumidi Corridor. She has been instrumental in the forthcoming publication of a book detailing the discoveries of the Brumidi Corridor in the Senate.

Among her many achievements are projects close to my heart. Diane worked hard to discover, catalogue, and restore articles of historic furniture such as the Russell barrel-back chairs and rosewood writing desk now used in my office. She also managed the restoration of a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart that hangs in the entrance to my office.

Managing the working considerations of the Senate can be a challenge, especially following recent emergencies such as September 11 and the anthrax attacks in 2001. Following the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon new emergency measures and plans were implemented throughout the Federal Government. Diane has been instrumental in developing emergency disaster plans for the Senate's artistic and cultural artifacts. Creating and rehearsing evacuation plans for staff, producing protocols for handling artwork, and coordinating with first- responder agencies to ensure safe access and communication following disasters and emergencies, Diane leaves the Senate more prepared than ever.

I join my colleagues in thanking Diane for her hard work and extend congratulations on her well-earned retirement. I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 294, the flood insurance legislation.

Mr. President, on this issue alone we have been trying for months to move this vote. On our side we have heard constantly, persistently, and always from Senator Landrieu indicating how important this is to her State and to our country. So I would hope we can finally have a pathway forward on this today with a consent agreement.

It is my understanding Senator Isakson of Georgia is going to come to the floor soon and we will try to do that. I just want to alert everyone to the fact if that isn't going to work out, we are not going to delay this any more. We will file cloture and move on it when we get back from our next work period.

Schedule

Following my remarks, Mr. President, and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will resume consideration of the House message to accompany H.R. 3547, which is the legislative vehicle for the Omnibus appropriations bill.

The filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the House message is 1 p.m. today. Under the rule, the cloture vote on the motion to concur in the House message to accompany the omnibus will be an hour after we come in tomorrow morning. There have been requests by both Democrats and Republicans to move the vote forward, and if that is possible--I am happy to cooperate with all Senators, if the majority of the Senators would like to do this early--I will be happy to see if we can get a consent agreement to do that.

We are also working, as I have indicated, on the flood insurance bill and we will continue to work on that.

Measure Placed on the Calendar--S. 1931

Mr. President, S. 1931 is due for a second reading, I am told.

I object to any further proceedings with respect to this legislation.

Mr. President, I spend long periods of time on the floor compared to most Senators. That is my job. In doing so, I get to know people more than probably a lot of people. Over these many years, I have talked about a Senate family, and it really is a Senate family and, for me, it really is my family. I know I am being way too protective, and a lot of people say it isn't my business, but that is how I feel. When people leave, I really feel badly because you get to know people and you feel comfortable with the people you know.

The reason I mention this today is because one of the people I have learned to really admire and appreciate and joke with and have a good time with is one of the Republican staff members who is leaving. His name is Patrick Kilcur. I have no idea whether I pronounced his name right, K-I-L-C-U-R. I really don't know the name very well, but I have known him for a long time. We call him Patrick. He is a Republican floor assistant. If I have an issue and there is not a Democratic floor person around, I go to him, and he always gives me the answer that is honest and truthful. That is how we are so well served by these people who fill these spots in this wonderful, historic Chamber.

Patrick came to the Senate from Pennsylvania. He is from Pennsylvania. He worked for a famous Pennsylvania Senator, Arlen Specter. He spent time working with him and worked his way here to the cloakroom and became a floor assistant as he is now. He is going to leave to go to work with one of my dear personal friends--Chris Dodd.

I asked Patrick to come spend a few minutes with me this week before he left and we had a nice visit. I talked about my relationship with Chris Dodd. I said what a good opportunity to be working for one of the great orators we have had during the time I have been in the Senate and one of the nicest people a person could get to know--Chris Dodd.

So Patrick will be missed here. I will miss him. I wish him the very best. He is always--I have to be very careful; I don't want to bring him any bad luck. He is engaged now. He is going to have a job. He can afford it. So I really wish him well. I will miss him, but I will say this: At least he has a first name. The people he works with, they don't even call him by his first name. They call him Duncan.

So, anyway, enough of that. I really will miss you. You have had such a

positive effect here. You are always happy, in spite of the pressure placed on you from people in the well: How should I vote? How much longer? Trying to get people here to go late--how much longer is it going to be? So thank you very much. You have been great, and I look forward to visiting with you and, hopefully, you and Dodd will let me watch one of those movies some time, because Chris Dodd is the leader of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Thanking the Pages

Mr. President, another short thing I wish to say. Over the years I have come to admire so very much our pages. They sacrifice to come here. It is not easy for them to come here and go to school for a semester, but they do. This school they go to is no soft school. It is hard. They start school at 6 a.m.--I think it is 6 o'clock--and they go for a couple of hours. I know they are supposed to get up around 5. It is such a good environment. We have gone out of our way to have a pleasant place for them to live, the so-called dorm. They have monitors who watch them so very closely. Their parents don't have to worry about them. It is a good experience. They see what happens on a daily basis in the bowels of government, the Senate, and they all go different ways. They are all juniors in high school. They will go back to their high school and then go on to college, but in their entire life they will never forget their experience here.

I went just for a few days when I was a junior in high school--maybe I was a senior; it was right after my junior year--to Boys State, and I made friends during the five days we spent there, and they are my friends even today, after all those many years ago, and that is the relationship these pages have developed.

So I say to them, thank you very much for the work you do.

I was walking out, as I do, this back door the last night or two, and I see one of the pages. They have a door open, and I see this list of stuff on the wall. So I say: What is that? What they have to know, among other things--each of us can be pretty--what is the right word-- demanding, although I don't know if that is the right word. Senator McConnell and I have these podiums here all the time, but we are the only two. So when a Senator comes to speak, they need a podium. But they have to get the right podium and the pages have to know, when a Senator wants to speak, what podium to get. Is it going to be a low one, middle-sized, half middle-sized, or a big one? Anyway, they have to know that. They have a big chart up there to make sure they don't make mistakes.

They make sure we have water. I don't like warm water. I don't like cold water. I don't like ice. The pages have learned we all have our demands for water--sparkling, half sparkling, half regular, half tap. Anyway, I am so grateful they took the time to leave their homes to come here to go to school, to be students in the Senate.

Flood Insurance

Mr. President, finally, we are going to have a vote when we come back on flood insurance. Senators Menendez, Landrieu, and Isakson have worked on this for a long time. Senator Landrieu has been--what is the right word--persistent, and that is an understatement. She has been on this as she can get on something and never get off of it. We have come, over the last several months, within just inches, we thought, of being able to have an agreement and move it to the floor. But she and Senator Isakson have worked hard to get a unanimous consent request to bring it to the floor, and they are always just a little bit short. So I am filing cloture in just a few minutes on a motion to proceed on this matter, and that will be the vote when we get back. If they are able to work out an agreement, then we can always modify having that vote and move forward. As I understand it, there are five or ten amendments they want to have to that bill, and we have all agreed that is OK. So I hope we can do that when we come back, and I thank those Senators for their good work.

Mr. President, could I ask what the pending business is before the Senate.

I have a cloture motion at the desk relative to that measure.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum required under Rule XXII also be waived; and the vote on the motion to invoke cloture occur at 5:30 p.m. on January 27.

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 the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 335.

Mr. President, 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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 336.

Mr. President, 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.

Mr. President, I am told that S. 1950 is at the desk and I ask for its first reading.

Mr. President, I ask for its second reading but object to my own request.