Floor Statements

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 11.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 27.

Mr. President, before I ask unanimous consent to pass this, I would just say it is extremely important this be brought to the attention of the Senate. Around the country we have about 1 school counselor for every 1,400 students. The Presiding Officer and I attended a number of meetings in the last couple days and that is the information we got there.

That is terribly troubling, with all the problems we have with these boys and girls, to think they would have to win some kind of lottery before they could see a counselor. We know class sizes are too big, and we need to do something about that, but we truly should do something about mandating more counselors for our schools.

I ask unanimous consent that 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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be printed as a Senate document a compilation of materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to the retiring Members of the 112th Congress.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m., Monday, February 11, 2013; 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 resume consideration of S. 47, the Violence Against Women Act, under the previous order.

Mr. President, I haven't had an opportunity to speak to the Republican leader, but we are going to have votes, and we could have as many as seven rollcall votes on Monday. I am of the mind, after speaking to the Republican leader, that we may have a couple of those votes and put the other votes over until sometime on Tuesday or some reasonable time. I think that would probably be better, with some of the things I can see on the horizon.

Everyone will need to be here for Monday votes, but we may not have all those votes Monday night. We may try to put some of them over until the next day.

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

Mr. President, I am going to have to get used to the President pro tempore presiding over the Senate. That is not the script we have followed for quite a few years. I am very happy to see him here, as usual.

Following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5 p.m. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 47, the Violence Against Women Act. At 5:30, the Senate will vote on the motion to proceed to the bill.

Mr. President, there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. President, with these two bills, I would object to any further proceedings.

Mr. President, in the two decades since the Violence Against Women Act passed--it passed with a very strong vote, a bipartisan vote here in the Senate, and then in the House at the time-- incidents of domestic violence have fallen by more than half, by as much as 53 percent. The law has helped millions of women and children escape their attackers and get the justice they deserve. It is a landmark piece of legislation. That is why Congress twice reauthorized this legislation without a hint of controversy or a moment of delay.

But despite the overwhelming evidence this legislation saves lives and protects women, House Republicans used every procedural trick known to Congress to block its reauthorization last Congress. Despite strong bipartisan support here in the Senate, Republicans in the House refused to join the effort to renew our national commitment to ending domestic violence.

Allowing partisan delays to put women's lives at risk is simply shameful. If House Republicans believe domestic violence is no longer a problem in this country, they are wrong. Every day three women in America die at the hands of their abusers. Every day many women escape with their lives but with the physical and emotional scars of the abuse that exists.

More than one-third of women in this country have been victims of violence, sexual assault, or stalking by a partner--one-third of the women in this country have been victims of violence, sexual assault, or stalking by a partner. It is in our power to help, and it is unthinkable that Republicans in the House would prevent us from taking action and again refuse to do anything, as they did last Congress.

Victims of violence and law enforcement officials who support them have already waited too long for Congress to act. This week, the Senate will pass a strong bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. This is something that was put forward by the chairman of that committee, the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy. He has worked hard on it. He did everything possible last Congress to get this done. Because of the House's intransigence, they refused to do anything in spite of his work.

I thank Chairman Leahy, Senator Murray, and the women of the Senate for their leadership on this issue. I am pleased so many of my Senate colleagues have expressed support for swift action on this legislation, and especially so many Senate Republicans have supported this legislation. The Senate will not allow women to be denied the protection they need and deserve.

We must ensure law enforcement has the means to stop these horrible crimes. We must guarantee communities have the resources to support victims regardless of sexual orientation, immigration status, or where they live, as they heal. Every victim of domestic violence deserves the same vigorous protections under the law. Because of the unique nature of the crime, combating domestic violence and protecting those affected also requires unique tools. Reauthorizing this act would help law enforcement continue to develop effective strategies to prosecute cases involving violent crimes against women. It would provide funding for shelters and transitional housing programs for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and help victims become independent. It would make legal assistance available to victims of violence and safeguard children and youth affected by dating violence and stalking.

Although the Violence Against Women Act expired in 2011, many of the programs established under the law have been funded by continuing resolutions. But not everything. A full reauthorization of this law is necessary to ensure authorities have all the resources they need to fight domestic violence. So I hope the Senate's bipartisan action this week will send a strong message to House Republican leaders that further partisan delay is unacceptable.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will begin consideration of H.R. 325, the debt limit legislation. The time until 12:15 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled. At 12:15 p.m., there will be a rollcall vote in relation to a Portman amendment. Following that vote, the Senate will recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for caucus meetings. At 2:15 p.m., there will be as many as five additional rollcall votes.

Mr. President, just a brief comment on the statement of my friend, the Republican leader.

He continues bad-mouthing the recovery. We are in a recovery. The moral of the fourth quarter is a repudiation of the Republican playbook. Growth went down in the fourth quarter because of reduced government spending and a reticence of the private sector, as Congress fought over the fiscal cliff. That fight came as a result of the Republicans being so unreasonable. When we were finally able to work something out that was a compromise, it was good for the economy. The economy was rejecting the austerity and brinksmanship.

So let's hope the Republicans will understand that we have to move forward, that the Republican playbook of continually complaining about spending is something--we know we have to do something with spending. We understand that. But there is more to making our economy recover than just continually harping on what is going on with spending.

Everyone recognizes we have to do something with spending, but we also have to do something to have a fair program. Is it fair that to this point all spending cuts have come from nondefense spending? The answer is no. Is it fair that the Republicans continue to want to go after Social Security, Medicare, even food stamps that hits the poorest of the poor?

Let's start talking about fairness. Even Presidential nominee Romney said he had all these tax loopholes that he believed should be closed. We agree with Mitt Romney, and we would hope the Republicans would agree with their nominee for President. That is where we should be looking--to have a fair approach to what we do with sequestration and balancing the budget.

The Debt Limit

Mr. President, later today the Senate will vote on the House-passed legislation to suspend the debt ceiling until this summer and remove the specter of default hanging over the Nation's economy. I expect this legislation will pass on a strong bipartisan vote, sending the message loudly and clearly that while we are willing to negotiate, we will not engage in another irresponsible debate over whether the U.S. Government should pay its bills.

I would remind my Republican colleagues that most of them voted to incur the debts now coming due. Suspending the debt limit will not authorize a penny of new spending, but it will ensure we pay the bills we have already incurred.

What are some of those bills we have incurred?

We have had two wars going on that have been unpaid for with real money. We borrowed the money. Every Republican voted for these wars. So we should pay our bills.

I was reassured by the House Republicans' decision last week to back off their reckless threat to hold the debt ceiling hostage. Suspending the debt limit will not authorize a penny of new spending, but it will ensure we pay the bills we have already incurred.

The legislation before the Senate sets an important precedent that the full faith and credit of the United States will no longer be used as a pawn to extract painful cuts to Medicare, Social Security, or other initiatives that benefit the middle class. A clean debt ceiling increase that allows the United States to meet its existing obligations should be the standard.

Congress will continue to work to reduce the deficit but will do it without the threat of default. We have already made $2\1/2\ trillion in historic, bipartisan deficit reduction--$2\1/2\ trillion. Democrats believe we should do more. It is critical that we use a balanced approach that couples smart spending cuts with revenue from the wealthiest Americans and from closing the wasteful tax loopholes I have just talked about.

Obviously, Democrats would prefer a longer suspension of the debt ceiling, which would provide additional economic security and stability as we continue to find ways to decrease the deficit. Raising the possibility that the United States could default on its obligations every few months is not an ideal way to run government. But a short- term solution is better than another imminent manufactured crisis.

Every Republican admits that default would rock our financial system to its core. However, injecting uncertainty into the system every few months also has a chilling effect on the economy. This insecurity does not just affect big investment banks or wealthy investors, it costs jobs. All around the country, ordinary Americans with 401(k)s and college savings accounts are affected. I am glad Republicans set aside their plan to gamble with default. It was bad politics and even worse policy.

Middle-class Americans remember the last time the Republicans put us through a protracted fight over the debt ceiling in an effort to force deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and other programs important to the middle class. Middle-class Americans remember how the tea party- driven Republicans forced the Nation to the brink of default in 2011, sending the stock market into a tailspin and prompting a historic downgrade of America's credit rating. Middle-class Americans remember how the economy suffered and our bottom line suffered

with it. Middle-class Americans remember the consequences of the Republicans' willingness to threaten a national default. I am relived that this time Congress was able to reach a compromise and avert a fight so middle-class families can get the certainty they badly need.

Madam President, we have four more votes. They have all been ordered, just like this one was, as 10-minute votes. We are going to stick with that. If people are not here--whether you have been here for 30 years or 3 days--we are going to close

the vote. People have a lot of important things to do this afternoon. We cannot delay these votes. This vote was 10, 15 minutes over what it should be. We are not going to do that this afternoon. The next vote will be 10 minutes, plus the 5-minute penalty period. That is it.

Amendment No. 8

Mr. President, I know that some have raised questions about whether Section 2 of the bill is constitutional under the 27th Amendment, though the legislation does not lower pay but rather withholds it temporarily. Of course, as members of the House knew by the time they passed the bill, Section 2 is largely moot since the Senate leadership previously announced our intention to take up a budget resolution, regardless of whether H.R. 325 is enacted.

In any event, does my colleague agree with me that even if the law is challenged in court and Section 2 is found to be unconstitutional for any reason, the first section would remain in force? That is, does he agree that, in such a circumstance, Section 2 should be severed from the rest of the legislation, leaving the debt limit suspension unaffected?

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

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

Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 1, S. 47.