Floor Statements

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 266.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 p.m., on Saturday, October 5; 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; and that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business for debate only until 4 p.m. with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam 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, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 2 p.m. this afternoon, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes. The first hour will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. The Republicans will control the first 30 minutes and the majority the second 30 minutes.

Mr. President, yesterday I made the Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner an offer I thought he could not refuse, but he did. House Republican leaders have demanded the Senate join them in a conference committee to work out budget differences. That seemed like a good idea to me. That is why Democrats yesterday asked consent to do exactly that, go to conference--on anything. You want to talk about spending; you want to talk about health care; you want to talk about agriculture; you want to talk about the post office, it does not matter. We are happy to do so. Our agreement that we proposed to them: whatever you want to talk about.

So I formally offered that, first in a letter to the Speaker. I talked to him. Then I came to the floor here and reiterated the offer. My only condition: that the conferees negotiate in the light of day while the government is open for business. That did not seem too unreasonable.

To my surprise, the Speaker refused and the Senate Republicans objected. House Republicans truly do not know what they want. They cannot take yes for an answer. We have agreed to their budget number, which we thought should be higher. We agreed to that. They want to go to conference. We agreed to that. But they have had trouble agreeing to anything for quite some time now.

This spring, after years of Republicans loudly longing for a budget passed by the Senate, despite already having a budget with the force of law, we decided: Let's give them their way. We worked hard, led by Senator Murray, to have a budget that we completed after 5 o'clock in the morning.

We voted on over 100 amendments. Then Senate Democrats, following what they said--they, the Republicans said they wanted, regular order. They said: Let's go to conference to work out the differences. They passed their budget; we passed ours. Guess what. After all of this haranguing about having a budget and regular order, they decided they did not like that so well.

It was really very difficult to comprehend. When Republicans finally got what they said they wanted, it turned out they did not want it after all. Yesterday, the same story. Republicans asked to go to conference on a budget. Democrats agreed. Republicans objected. Those tactics truly are back to

Orwellian. They believe that if you go east, you are really going west. If you are going north, you are really going south. You are not going down, you are going up. Whatever, obviously, they say does not really mean anything in reality.

But maybe they really do not know what they want. Maybe they do not have a game plan. It is becoming more apparent every day. One of the House Republican tea party leaders, a Congressman from Indiana by the name of Stutzman, admitted this to one of the Washington newspapers yesterday. Here is what he said. Listen to this:

We are not going to be disrespected. We have to get

something out of this.

Now listen to this, the last phrase of his statement:

But I don't know what that is.

If there is any way I disrespected him, or we disrespected

him, we do not want that to happen. We apologize. They want

to get something out of this. Well, let's consider that.

Except they do not know what they want. It is a little hard

to make a deal there.

Republicans should come to their senses and realize there is more than wounded pride on the line. The longer this Republican government shutdown persists, the harder it will be on our economy. I hope they can figure out what it is they want, before the damage to the economic recovery is even more irreversible than they have already created.

It is obvious the strain of the self-inflicted shutdown is beginning to wear on many Republicans. Pick up the papers today. Listen to the news. There were reports of vicious infighting from yesterday's Republican caucus meeting. This is what one Republican said after the meeting:

It was very evident to everyone in the room that the junior

Senator from Texas does not have a strategy. He never had a

strategy and could never answer questions about what the end

game was. Just like Stutzman from Indiana--that is the danger

of following the tea party, because you are following and you

are headed off the cliff. That is where we have been and that

is where we already are, trying to get off the cliff that

they put us over.

Tea party Republicans do not really want a way out of the government shutdown. I read here direct statements yesterday from one of their candidates--she is a Congressman. She ran for President. She said: Finally we've gotten what we want. We've shut down government.

So I think the statements I have made about their being anarchists are pretty valid. They are glad the government is shut down. They do not believe in government. A government shutdown is the end game for them, obviously. Tea party Republicans do not really want a way out of this government shutdown. They like it the way it is.

But in addition to the statement coming from the Republican Senate caucus, there are some rumblings over in the House. More than 20 reasonable Republicans in the House have said on the record that they are ready to pass a way to fund this government right now.

I was not a math major--far from it. But I can count. If those 20 reasonable Republicans unite with 200 House Democrats, that is a majority in the House of Representatives. That would end the shutdown now. So I have a message for my mainstream Republican colleagues: If you ever hope to get out of this mess to end this Republican government shutdown, get rid of the tea party direction. Work with us. Help us reopen the government. We can start negotiations today.

As everyone knows, I think, I had a meeting with Leader McConnell, Speaker Boehner, and Leader Pelosi last night at the White House. The Speaker said after the meeting--of course it was obvious during the meeting--the only thing that he cares about is ObamaCare. That is what this is all about. They do not care about anything else.

We know what this government shutdown has done to our country already. General Clapper, one of the leaders in our intelligence gathering information around the world, has stated that 72 percent of people who work in our intelligence agencies are home watching TV, reading a book. They are not at work, protecting us from the bad people around the world--and there are lots of them.

We have talked about our national parks here. It has really been bad for people coming to Nevada who want to recreate in our parks. But not only for them. It has hurt business in Nevada, as it has around the country.

NIH. We all understand how important it is that people who are sick and ill have the ability to have the best care in the world. If you are at the end of the line and you are fortunate enough to be able to say: Well, maybe there is still another chance; they are doing something back in Washington at one of the National Institutes of Health; maybe they can help.

Not now. They cannot do it now because of the Republicans.

The Centers for Disease Control is not a very glamorous sounding name, but that is what it is about, controlling disease. Most of them are furloughed. Senator Harkin came on the floor yesterday and talked about a real serious problem. They could not figure out what it was. People were sick and dying. The Centers for Disease Control figured it out. It was because of pomegranate seeds coming from some other country. They work on these scourges every day because things come up that make people sick. We are in flu season now. They are not working on that.

The second in command in the House of Representatives, Congressman Cantor, said yesterday: Well, that's okay. We know that there's a lot of problems around our country with the shutdown. But we are going to, one by one, reopen those agencies.

It is so obvious. It is so obvious. This is all directed toward President Obama's signature legislation, ObamaCare. They want to piecemeal this and wind up trying to hurt ObamaCare. Even Dr. Coburn who is a medical doctor, never known for being a shrinking violet, has said: This is not the way to go. ObamaCare is funded, except for maybe 10 percent.

We are willing to sit down and talk about anything they want to talk about in conference. But the government has to open first. It is time for my Republican friends to defy their tea party overlords.

Every day that passes the idea of shutting down the government in order to repeal ObamaCare is becoming so transparent and so bad for the country. No one--I mean, it was not very popular for them to do it anyway. Every day that goes by it is less popular. Considering that only a handful of Americans supported the strategy, as I said, to begin with, it is a bad sign for them, the Republicans.

Millions of Americans have visited Federal marketplace exchanges over the last 3 days. The demand is so high that on some of the Web sites, they crash. This is not unprecedented. Google, when they first started, they experienced the same challenges. State-based exchanges have flourished virtually everywhere. Take, for example, my friend the Republican leader's State of Kentucky. More than 100,000 people have already visited the State's health care exchange and Web site. More than 10,000 people have filled out applications for health coverage, and more than 3,000 Kentucky families have already enrolled in new coverage. This shows the hunger the American people have to sign up for affordable health care.

We have had Republicans come here and say: Oh, it is so bad for the job market. Throughout the press today--and I will only pick a few of them--for example, one out of the New York Times. Speaker Boehner said it is job killing; Ted Cruz, it is hurting the American people; Senator McConnell, it is a big reason we are turning into a nation of part-time workers.

I am not going to go through all the economists, but they all say the same thing--it doesn't hurt jobs at all. Mark Zandi, of Moody's Analytics--who, by the way, was John McCain's chief economic adviser when he ran for President--said: I don't see ObamaCare as impacting the job market. A man by the name of Gregory Mankiw, a Harvard economist who worked for President George W. Bush, when asked about how it affected the economy: Not a whole lot.

There are many more quotes, but we get the picture. When the history books are written--and they will be written--ObamaCare will be seen as the greatest single step since Medicare to provide fairness to all Americans. The more America learns about the affordable care provided in ObamaCare, the more they like it. And the Republicans

would be wise to abandon their impractical request to repeal it. It has been the law for 4 years.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I came to the floor--and I am happy to do that--but I was told there would be a unanimous consent request. If that is not the case, Senators can go ahead and do their colloquy, and when they want to do that I will come back.

Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, my friend notes that no one wants to shut down the government. Obviously, he didn't listen to my statement. We have people who have been saying for days now--Republicans saying--they are glad the government has shut down; they have been waiting for this for years. I have quoted the Congresswoman from Minnesota who said that. Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana tells us where the tea party is when he said: ``We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.''

So Republicans are throwing one crazy idea or another at the wall in the hope one will stick. They throw out one idea, then come up with another one. And then, I repeat, they hope something will stick on that wall, and they do not even know which wall they are throwing it on.

The latest plan came from the junior Senator from Texas, which is to cherry-pick parts of the government he likes. House Republican Leader Cantor admitted this strategy. According to the New York Times, this is what he said when asked: What about those cancer patients who need some help; what about the disadvantaged kids who want to return to their Head Start classes?

That's coming as well. We are going to take every issue

that has come up and put it on the floor.

He is following Senator Cruz's idea specifically. Senator Cruz is now joint Speaker. He lectures the House on occasion, as he does people over here.

We support veterans and parks and NIH and all these different elements of government that are closed, but we also are not going to choose between veterans, cancer research, disease control, highway safety, or the FBI, and we are not going to give a blank check

to the junior Senator from Texas to pick his favorite parts of the government on a daily basis. Today it is parks, tomorrow it is NIH, maybe later it will be something else.

I am happy to yield.

Mr. President, reserving the right to object, here is the situation. The junior Senator from Texas wants to fund everything else, just not ObamaCare. Here is what one columnist said today--Dana Milbank from the Washington Post--and I will be quick; I know Senators have a lot to talk about here:

House Republicans continued what might be called the

lifeboat strategy: deciding which government functions are

worth saving. In: veterans, the troops and tourist

attractions. Out: Poor children, pregnant women, and just

about every government function that regulates business or

requires people to pay taxes. Here are some of the functions

not boarding--

I will use leader time then, Mr. President.

So if they are afraid to listen to the things I have to say, they should listen, because the government is closed, and it is closed because they have helped close it. So let's not try to be technical here. I want to say something and I am going to say it.

Continuing the Milbank quote:

Here are some of the functions not boarding the GOP

lifeboats: market regulation, chemical spill investigations,

antitrust enforcement, work site immigration checks,

workplace safety inspections, the Environmental Protection

Agency . . . communications and trade regulation, nutrition

for 9 million children and pregnant women, flu monitoring and

other functions of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, and housing rental assistance for the poor.

Here is what else he wrote:

And that's quite a list that the Tea Party is throwing out

of the boat. We need to end the Government shutdown.

I say, without any reservation, that the key to opening the government still remains with the Senate-passed funding resolution that will open the government. We will talk about anything they want to talk about. We have said that.

I ask unanimous consent that their request be modified as follows: That an amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; that the joint resolution, as amended, be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

This amendment is the text that passed the Senate and is the clean continuing resolution for the entire government. It is something that is already over in the House and reportedly has the support of the majority of the Members of the House of Representatives, including at least 20 Republicans, and some report as many as 100.

I object to the previous consent.

Reserving the right to object, I ask unanimous consent that their request be modified as follows: That an amendment, which is at the desk, be agreed to; that the joint resolution, as amended, be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

I object.

Mr. President, I would ask the Senator from Illinois and the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense to respond.

Today was a sobering reminder of how Federal law enforcement officers keep all of us safe--not us, the Members of Congress, but the American people. We have millions of people who visit this Capitol every year, and they work so hard to protect this Capitol, this city, and the citizens of the United States from harm.

The brave men and women on the Capitol Police force are so well trained. The Capitol police officers put their lives on the line every day for us. I thank them for their service and their sacrifice--and it is a sacrifice. There was no better example of that than today. Chief Gainer and others will have more about the details.

I will only say this: I spoke just a few minutes ago to one of the police officers who was injured in this situation that took place. It was so inspiring to talk to this man. He has been hurt, but he said-- and I am paraphrasing but not much--I work every day to make sure you are safe. When he says ``me,'' he is not talking about me, he is talking about us. My thoughts are with him for a speedy recovery, and again my admiration goes to all Federal law enforcement but especially our Capitol Police.

Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I congratulate Bob Herbert on his recent promotion to Brigadier General in the United States Army National Guard. Today I had the honor to preside over his promotion ceremony in the Mansfield Room. Bob has been a loyal member of my staff for the past 14 years. But he had also given 38 years of loyal military service to Nevada and our Nation.

Bob Herbert grew up the son of a military man, retired MSG Robert W. Herbert. From an early age Bob had a great fascination with military aviation. Before he graduated from high school in Slinger, WI, Bob joined the Army to fly in a unique program known as ``High School to Flight School.'' Once he completed flight school, Bob was posted in Germany, where he flew patrols along the borders between East and West Germany during the Cold War era. After a successful 3-year tour in Germany, Bob completed his undergraduate work at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Shortly after graduation, he attended test pilot school and earned the title of Army test pilot.

As a test pilot, he flew both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, including helicopters, which we all know are important to both modern military missions and for fighting fires and responding to emergencies in the civilian world.

After 6 years of active duty with the Army, Bob moved to Reno, where he transitioned to the Nevada Army National Guard. As a member of the Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I had the opportunity to meet with Bob Herbert about the needs of the Nevada Guard. I quickly found that Bob was not only an outstanding military officer but was excellent with numbers and figures surrounding the Military's budget and equipment.

At my request, Bob arranged to come to Washington where he worked as a fellow with the Brookings Institution. During that time, he was assigned to me, and worked closely with my staff on Nevada military issues as well as national defense policy and appropriations. During his time as a fellow, Bob was promoted by the military and I had the privilege of pinning Bob with his Lieutenant Colonel insignia.

When his fellowship concluded, I asked Bob to join my staff here in Washington, D.C. Bob had become an important part of my office and his expertise would have been hard to replace. Over the years I have grown to depend on his judgment and advice, not just about military matters but about many other issues. He has always made sound decisions and is able to bring simple common sense to complex issues.

I was pleased when Bob decided to work for me full time on military and veterans' affairs, as well as transportation and technology issues. Throughout his time on my staff, Bob has also remained committed to the Army and continued to serve his National Guard unit in Nevada. While working full-time on my staff, Bob earned a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University, my alma mater.

After working in Washington D.C. for 4 years, I asked Bob to return to Nevada to work in one of my district offices. Bob had a nice home in Reno and I think he was excited to return to his house and his motorcycle. Little did he know, I needed him to work out of my Las Vegas office. But Bob never flinched and moved from Reno to Las Vegas.

After my elevation to the position of Democratic Leader, I once again asked Bob to return to Washington to help with my defense and military portfolio. I know that Bob was disappointed to leave Nevada, but he has more than made up for that disappointment by purchasing three additional motorcycles while working here in Washington, for a total of four motorcycles. His most recent motorcycle is a Harley-Davidson custom softail. Like a good parent he ensures that he spends quality time with each bike and enjoys riding nearly every weekend on the backroads of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He ultimately plans to have one BMW and one Harley-Davidson on each coast to optimize his motorcycle adventures.

For almost 38 years, Brigadier General Herbert has honorably served our Nation in the enlisted, warrant officer, and officer ranks. As Brigadier General he is currently assigned as the Assistant to the Adjutant General for the Nevada Army National Guard. And he has flown more than 7,000 hours as a pilot, splitting time between helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

I am very so grateful for Bob's service--for his service to his country, to the state of Nevada and to me. I appreciate his loyalty so much. Congratulations, General Herbert, on this well-deserved promotion.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar Nos. 188 and 198, resolutions relative to the authorization of committee funding.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, October 4; 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; and that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business for debate only until 2 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

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

Madam President, following my remarks and those of Senator McConnell, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for debate until noon, with the time equally divided and controlled, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.