Floor Statements

Mr. President, I understand S. 3576, introduced earlier today by Senator Paul, is at the desk. I believe it is due for its first reading.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 20; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that the majority leader be recognized and the first 2 hours be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half; that at 2:00 p.m., all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 117, the continuing resolution, be considered expired and the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 117; and that following that vote the majority leader be recognized.

Mr. President, we will begin consideration of the continuing resolution tomorrow. We hope to reach an agreement to move up several votes and avoid being in session this weekend in order to get our work completed.

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. 499, S. 3521.

Mr. President, I yield to my friend from Vermont.

Mr. President, last night cloture was filed on the substitute amendment and the underlying bill, the veterans jobs bill. If we are unable to reach an agreement to move up the timing of the cloture vote, then we will have to have these votes as early as we can under rule XXII. Under such a scenario, the first rollcall vote on cloture

on the substitute amendment would occur shortly after 1 a.m. Friday morning, and that is tonight. If there are 60 votes to cut off the filibuster on the substitute amendment, then there will be up to 30 hours postcloture on the substitute amendment prior to a vote on its adoption which would occur at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Immediately following the vote on the adoption of the substitute amendment, the Senate will proceed to the cloture vote on the underlying bill as amended. If cloture is invoked on the bill as amended, then there will be up to 30 hours postcloture prior to a vote on passage of the bill as amended. The vote on passage would occur about 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

That is for the information of all Senators. Until we get this worked out, everybody better stay right where they are and not go places because we will have votes every day. We will then be able to finish this work on Sunday sometime late in the afternoon, and then, of course, with the Jewish holidays on Monday and Tuesday, we would come back and work on the CR and a couple of other things beginning Wednesday.

Schedule

Mr. President, in the next hour, after I finish my remarks and Senator McConnell finishes his remarks, the majority will control the first half and the Republicans will control the final half. It will be 1 hour that will be equally divided.

Veterans Jobs Corps Act

Mr. President, as we know, it is Thursday, which means Republicans have once again forced the Senate to waste the better part of a week jumping through procedural hoops that do not do have one positive outcome for our country. This week the Senate waited out yet another filibuster. It was the 380th filibuster in the 6 years I have been the leader in the Senate. This time the Republicans are not just obstructing a measure that would create jobs, which they have done many times, they are obstructing the measure that would create jobs for the men and women who risked their lives over the past 11 years to protect our freedom.

Each year 200,000 servicemembers reenter the workforce. The Veterans Jobs Corps Act, which is before this body, would invest in those returning veterans, easing the transition back to civilian life with job-training programs and priority hiring for first responder positions. If young veterans want to continue their service to country and community by becoming police officers, firefighters, or rescue workers, we should do everything we can to help them achieve that goal. This legislation would also create jobs for veterans restoring forests, parks, coasts, and public lands. The least we can do for those who have fought for this country abroad is to ensure they never have to fight for a job when they come home.

The legislation that is before this body should sail through the Senate with bipartisan support. Remember, the substitute amendment is a bipartisan measure worked on by Senator Burr and others on the Republican side, but this worthy legislation has met one Republican stall tactic after another. Not only has this bill faced a strong series of procedural hurdles, the Republicans have larded it up with unrelated ideological amendments. That is what they want to do anyway. While some of these amendments are certainly important, they don't belong in any jobs measure, let alone a jobs measure that would assist returning veterans.

Unfortunately, I am not surprised to see the Grand Old Party blocking a jobs bill. After all, that has been their tactic all this Congress. It has really been their tactic for 4 years. Republican leader Mitch McConnell said so himself. During the darkest days of the great recession, he said his No. 1 goal was to defeat President Obama--not to create jobs, not to do anything to boost the economy, but to defeat President Obama. Obviously, it is still true today. I am dismayed to see them blocking a jobs bill aimed at protecting those who protect this great Nation. This is really a new low for the Republicans. At a time when 175,000 post-9/11 veterans are out of work, and many of them are homeless, we can't afford to waste time with election-year politics.

Less than 3 weeks before his death, President John F. Kennedy wrote:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget the

highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by

them.

It is time that the Senate show its gratitude to a new generation of veterans with deeds. It is my hope that my Republican colleagues will find it in themselves to put American veterans first and political aspirations second.

This bill could pass today and we could send it to the House and have the President sign it within a matter of days. It is a shame if that doesn't happen. I have gone over the schedule with everyone within the sound of my voice, and I hope we can move forward.

Mr. President, will you announce the schedule of the day.

Reservation of Leader Time

Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and that the time be equally charged.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that on Wednesday, September 19, following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of S. 3457, and notwithstanding rule XXII, it be in order for Senator McConnell or his designee to raise a budget point of order against the substitute amendment No. 2789; that if a budget point of order is raised, the majority leader or his designee be recognized for a motion to waive the applicable budget points of order; that the time until 12 noon be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees on the motion to waive; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to waive; that if the motion to waive the applicable budget points of order is not agreed to, the cloture motions with respect to the substitute and the underlying bill be withdrawn and the bill be returned to the calendar and the majority leader then be recognized; that if the motion to waive is agreed to, at a time to be determined by the majority leader, after consultation with the Republican leader and notwithstanding rule XXII, the motion to commit be withdrawn; that all pending amendments be withdrawn with the exception of the pending substitute amendment No. 2789; that there be 30 minutes of debate, equally divided between the two leaders or their designees; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment No. 2789; if cloture is invoked, the remaining postcloture time be yielded back and the Senate then proceed to vote in relation to the substitute amendment No. 2789; that following that vote, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on S. 3457, as amended, if amended; and if cloture is invoked, the postcloture time be yielded back, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill as amended, if amended, and following the vote on passage, the majority leader be recognized; if cloture is not invoked on the substitute amendment No. 2789, the cloture motion on the underlying bill be withdrawn and the bill be returned to the calendar; further, that no amendments, motions or points of order be in order to the substitute amendment or the bill other than those listed in this agreement; finally, that when the Senate receives H.J. Res. 117, the continuing resolution for fiscal year 2013, it be placed on the calendar; that on Wednesday, September 19, it be in order for the majority leader to move to proceed to H.J. Res. 117 and file cloture on the motion to proceed; finally, that if a cloture motion is filed, notwithstanding rule XXII, the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 117 occur at 2:15 p.m., on Wednesday, September 19.

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

Madam President, the Senate will now consider the motion to proceed to S. 3547, the Veterans Jobs Corps Act. Seventy minutes will be equally divided this morning between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half.

We will begin consideration of the Veterans Jobs Corps bill today. It is unfortunate that we are having to go through another couple of filibusters on this bill, but that is what we have been through.

I mentioned yesterday on the floor that for the 6 years we have had a Democratic majority, there have been 380--this makes now 381-- filibusters. During the time of Lyndon Johnson, 6 years, the same period of time, there was 1 filibuster--381 to 1. That is the kind of obstruction that has taken place in this body by the Republicans, and it is untoward by any stretch of the imagination. There has never been anything close to this.

I was disturbed and saddened to learn late last night of the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other personnel in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. I would be happy to talk by name about them, but their names have not been released at this stage. It doesn't take away from how important the jobs are of these Foreign Service officers.

I join President Obama in condemning these senseless acts of violence. My thoughts are with the families of those who were killed in this horrible attack. It is too often forgotten that American diplomats risk their lives on a daily basis.

I had the good fortune in my days on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House to travel the world. I always make sure, wherever I go, to visit with the Foreign Service personnel. They are everyplace. There is no group of people--and I tell them this every time I have the opportunity to visit with them--who do more for our country in a positive sense than these Foreign Service officers. They work so hard, and most of the time their duty stations are very difficult.

For example, take this good man, Ambassador Stevens, who was just confirmed a few months ago. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco. He taught English there. He was fluent in Arabic, French, and English. He served in the Foreign Service in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Saudi Arabia. He was the Staff Assistant of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. He had an education that was really unbelievably strong and powerful. He graduated from Berkeley. He had a law degree from Hastings, one of the premier law schools in the country. He had a master's degree from the National War College. What a loss to our country.

Madam President, Henry Ward Beecher, the famous abolitionist, once said, ``A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life.'' I agree. Our Founding Fathers also agreed, and that is why we have the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress was initially the library of Thomas Jefferson. That is what started the Library of Congress. It was established in 1800. It was this country's first Federal cultural institution. It is the largest library in the world. There are 35 million books and 838 miles of bookshelves. The numbers are staggering. Almost 10,000 new items are added every day.

For 25 years the Librarian of Congress has been Dr. James Billington. He has been a faithful and effective leader. I first got to know Dr. Billington in 1986 when I came to the Senate. There was a little squabble between a couple of the more senior Senators, which was a wonderful opportunity for me because one of the very senior Senators thought that maybe he deserved more than being the chair of the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch. I grabbed that. I was happy to do that. I loved that experience. I learned a lot about what goes on here and how we pay for things. At that time it was an effort to really hurt the Library of Congress, so I had that opportunity to stand for the Library of Congress. Every time we had a vote, we won and they were not able to damage the Library of Congress.

I got to know Dr. Billington. I had the good fortune to travel once with him to Russia. Dr. Billington, before coming to the Library of Congress, was one of the foremost scholars on the former Soviet Union. He knew everything about that land. He still writes about the new Russia. He is a very stalwart academic. When he took over the Library of Congress in 1987, computers were a scarcity, but he had a vision of what the future should be, and he thought it would be important to digitize the Library's collections and make them available on the Internet. There was a little pushback at first, but, of course, now that is history. That is what happened.

I have such admiration for him as a person. He is a good person not only from an academic standing but as an administrator. I am glad they were unable to slash the Library's budget as they tried, and as a result, people came to a better understanding of what the Library of Congress was all about. I am glad I was able to play a part in that. He has always ensured that the Library of Congress would remain an unmatched resource for knowledge and enlightenment. So it is with pleasure that I congratulate my friend Dr. Billington on 25 years--a quarter of a century--of dedicated service at the Library of Congress.

Very quickly, Madam President, I was very disappointed to hear Speaker Boehner say yesterday that he was giving up on reaching a bipartisan agreement to avoid huge cuts to both domestic and defense programs. I don't feel that way. I can assure everyone within the sound of my voice that I have not given up on finding a reasonable and balanced approach to reducing our debt and avoiding these difficult cuts. Democrats agree that across-the-board cuts are not the best way to solve the problems. Sequestration is a bitter pill, but we did that on purpose. That was no accident. That is why there was overwhelming support for the budget deficit reduction act to have sequestration. The sequestration was engineered to be hard to take, so it forced us to compromise. It was designed to be tough enough to force the two sides to reach a balanced deal. That is why there was widespread bipartisan support for this.

I hope Speaker Boehner will reconsider. I believe it is much too early to give up. I urge my Republican colleagues not to give up on themselves because I am not going to give up on them. It is time for them to stop rooting for the economy to fail and root for Congress to succeed and reach common ground. Remember, the markets are watching our every move, with Moody's saying yesterday that they were thinking of downgrading our debt standing credit rating. This is not the right time to say there is no hope in getting things done. I disagree. I say that the glass is half full, not half empty.

The Speaker's statement came an hour after that reminder from Moody's came forward. We are willing to work. I say that to my friend John Boehner and to everyone else. We are willing to negotiate, we are willing to cooperate, we are willing to consider the difficult cuts to programs we hold dear, and I think the Republicans should do the same. So far they have refused. Due to the orders of their leader Grover Norquist, they have refused to raise even a penny of new revenue. They have refused to ask millionaires to contribute their fair share to help reduce the debt and the deficit. And Democrats won't agree to a one- sided solution that lets the superwealthy off the hook while forcing the middle class and those in greatest need to bear all the hardship. I repeat, we are willing to consider difficult cuts to programs we believe are extremely important.

The sequestration is not a perfect legislative tool, but rarely do we do anything legislatively that is perfect. That is the way it has been for generations. But at least it has the benefit of being a balanced approach, and it has the power of law.

Republicans, including Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan, would do well to remember that they voted for the sequestration.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Murray, I call up the substitute amendment, No. 2789.

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

Mr. President, I have a first-degree perfecting amendment which is 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 on the substitute amendment which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk to the language proposed to be stricken.

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 the bill with instructions which is at the desk.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the 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 to the bill, which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived on the cloture motion just filed.

Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 499,

Mr. President, now that the Senate has finally adopted the motion to proceed to the veterans jobs bill, we have brought to a close the 380th filibuster during my time as majority leader--less than 6 years. And just now, to start to bring debate to close on the veterans jobs bill itself, I have had to file the 381st cloture motion during my 5\1/2\ years as leader. That is 381 cloture motions filed in just 6 years. Actually, it is less than that.

For comparison, in the 6 years that Lyndon Johnson was majority leader, he had to file one cloture motion. This has become outrageous. The peoples' time is being wasted. We just finished 30 hours of nothing. We are now starting our next 30 hours of nothing, just standing around looking at each other.

Filibusters have increased in recent years, but this is really unbelievable what has happened. The level of Republican obstruction has increased dramatically. It has increased dramatically just in the last few years.

We do not have to fight over everything. A veterans jobs bill, does that deserve a fight? When we were in recess subject to the call of the Chair, an Afghan veteran was brought out here. He is missing one leg. He is 25 years old. He is an Army veteran. He is trying to hang on to his other leg. The pages who are in here, I called them up and introduced them to this young man. I wanted them to see what all of this talk is about, of people who sacrifice for our country. Hopefully this man will be well enough after some more rehabilitation time that he can go out and look for a job. He will have at least one artificial limb.

This is a veterans jobs bill that is being held up for what reason? I do not know--or do I know? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there are about 200,000 unemployed post-9/11 veterans, approaching a quarter of a million. And as our Nation appropriately winds down our military commitments abroad, we can expect increased numbers of newly separated veterans to enter the workforce.

The veterans jobs bill is a $1 billion investment in our veterans. This bill would increase training and hiring opportunities for veterans. It would help to create jobs for veterans.

I commend Senator Nelson of Florida and the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Murray, for their hard work on this bill. Unfortunately, I have already received word that the Republican Senators are simply unwilling to pass this measure. One Republican Senator, for example, is insisting on a vote on something related to Pakistan.

Another Senator has filed a right-to-work amendment. Yet another Republican Senator has filed the Department of Defense authorization bill as an amendment to this bill. As important as Pakistan and many other issues are, the Senate ought to be able to focus on this young man who was here in the well this evening. We ought to be focusing on creating jobs for veterans.

Now, we all know what is happening over here. The Republican leader, you have to admire him, he stuck to it. His No. 1 goal is to defeat President Obama, and that is why we have not been able to legislate. Everything has been stopped. Everything. We have been able to push through a few things but not many.

As always, I will do everything I can to work with Senators to get consent agreements to provide for consideration of this legislation. Hopefully we can reach such agreement. I do not have much hope, but I am always, I guess, hopeful. But in the meantime, I will do what I need to do to ensure that the Senate can vote on this important measure. I will do what I can to help create jobs for America's veterans. We need to do it for everyone, but could we just not agree on veterans?

I know we are now 30 hours postcloture. We all know the drill. Scores and scores of times--the Presiding Officer is a new Member of this Senate, relatively new. He has served going on two Congresses. But he is an expert at watching this. The Senator from Oregon has watched this, and he understands what is going on, and it is not very good.

So the time will run out on this 30 hours from whenever the vote was turned in. First of all, we just--it is easy to get--especially when I am used to the Ryan math mixed up on numbers a little bit. So let's go back where we were.

We just completed and wasted 30 hours. I had to file cloture now on the underlying bill. I have done that. Now we have to wait 2 days for this to ripen. The 2 days is going to expire on Friday.

Now, we are going to vote on Friday, but it is not going to be at a time convenient to everybody. We are going to come in shortly after midnight tomorrow night, and we are going to vote on this. Then the 30 hours can start running, and then we will vote Saturday generally.

If people cannot work together to help veterans, then we are going to make sure the American public knows what is going on here. So we will not vote tomorrow night, but we will vote--it has to be anytime 2 days from now. We can do that tomorrow night or actually Friday morning early, a little after midnight.

I am sorry I got a little mixed up on 30 hours, 2 days for something to ripen. Then, as I said, I have been very confused because of the Ryan math. It has been difficult for me to accept all of that.

I object.

Mr. President, the Senator from Kentucky says there is no input from the minority, but, in fact, the substitute amendment we are going to vote on in the next day or two which is now pending before us has numerous provisions authored by Senate Republicans.

I respect the interest of the Senator from Kentucky in relation to Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, but every now and then the Senate should be able to focus on a small good thing. To veterans this is a big thing. I like helping them. So I understand my friend's tenacity. But I also understand how the Senate operates.

I just think my friend from Kentucky maybe should have run for Secretary of State rather than the Senate.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

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.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 6336.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 551.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 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, that all Senators be added as cosponsors to the resolution, and all statements related to the resolution be printed in the Record.