Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 947 and the Senate now proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, and the motion 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. 1847.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I am told there are two bills at the desk and I ask for their first reading en bloc.

Mr. President, I now ask for a second reading en bloc, but I object to my own request en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 2251 and that the Senate proceed to its consideration and the consideration of H.R. 185 which was received from the House and is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bills be read three times and passed en bloc, 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 when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 18, 2013; that following the prayer and the pledge, 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 resume consideration of the motion to concur in the House message to accompany H.J. Res. 59, the bipartisan budget agreement, postcloture; further, that all time during the adjournment count postclouture on the motion to concur.

Mr. President, votes are possible throughout the day tomorrow. Senators will be notified when they are scheduled.

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

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 243, S. 1356.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in morning business until 5:30 this afternoon. At 5:30 the Senate will proceed to executive session. There will be at least 3 rollcall votes: Confirmation of the Patterson nomination, cloture on the Johnson nomination, and confirmation of the Johnson nomination.

Nominations

Mr. President, last week was difficult for the entire Senate community. When cooperation is lacking, as it was last week, completing the business before this body becomes much more difficult. Last week, though, the Senate confirmed four district court judges, two DC Circuit Court of Appeals judges, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner, the Secretary of the Air Force, a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board member, and a Deputy Secretary of State.

Although we accomplished a great deal, the process was neither easy nor pleasant. This week the Senate has just as much to achieve as it did last week. Without cooperation we will face another daunting vote schedule. But I am optimistic the same spirit of cooperation that made tonight's votes possible will last all week long.

Tonight the Senate will vote on Anne Patterson's nomination to be Assistant Secretary of State. We will also vote on cloture on the nomination of Jeh Johnson to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. If cloture is invoked, this body will immediately vote on Johnson's confirmation.

As General Counsel of the Defense Department from 2009 to 2012, Mr. Johnson served as the senior lawyer for the largest government agency in the world. He oversaw the work of more than 10,000 military and civilian lawyers. Prior to his work at the Defense Department, Mr. Johnson served as Assistant U.S. Attorney and spent nearly 2 decades in private legal practice. He is eminently qualified, and we all look forward to his confirmation.

The Budget

Tomorrow, the Senate will begin consideration of the budget measure passed by the House last week. Although neither side got everything it wanted from this agreement, the legislation should help break a terrible cycle of governing by crisis. It rolls back the painful and arbitrary cuts of the sequester, protects Social Security and Medicare benefits, and will help prevent another dangerous government shutdown in the new year.

On Wednesday, the Senate will turn to the Defense authorization measure, crucial legislation that safeguards our Nation, ensures our troops have the resources and training they need, and provides for the military families who support our fighting men and women.

The Senate must also confirm Janet Yellen to head the Federal Reserve, Alejandro Mayorkas to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and John Koskinen to head the Internal Revenue Service. The nominations of Robert Wilkins to be a member of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and Brian Davis of Florida to be a district court judge are also priorities for us. Mr. Davis' nomination has been pending for 2 years.

The Senate must also move quickly to confirm Sarah Sewall as Under Secretary of State, Jessica Wright to be Under Secretary for Readiness at the Defense Department, Sarah Bloom Raskin to be second in command at Treasury, and Mike Connor to be second in command at Interior, and Sloan Gibson to be deputy at the Veterans Affairs Department, and Rick Engler's nomination for the Chemical Safety Board.

Christmas is 1 week from Wednesday. We have a lot to do. We could complete all of our work by Thursday, by Friday, by Saturday, by Sunday, by Monday, or Tuesday, but finish it we must. I have outlined what we need to do. It is up to the minority to determine what, if anything, they are going to stop us from doing.

I am happy to work with them on time. But there are several items that I have indicated we have got to get done before Christmas.

Reservation of Leader Time

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono.) Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved.

Madam President, I would suggest the absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that the time be equally divided for all quorum calls.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remaining votes this evening be 10 minutes in duration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate resume legislative session.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I move to proceed to legislative session.

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Mr. President, I would ask the clerk to report a cloture motion under the direction of the Chair.