Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, November 17, 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 until 5:30 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each and with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; and that at 5:30 p.m. the Senate resume consideration of the motion to concur with respect to S. 1086 and vote on the motion, as provided for under the previous order.

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, there will be four rollcall votes at 5:30 p.m. on Monday on adoption of the motion to concur on the child care and development block grant bill and on cloture on the Adams, Cohen, and Ross nominations.

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. 467, S. 2609, the Marketplace Fairness Act.

Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 this evening. During that time, Senators will be permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees.

At 5:30 p.m. the Senate will proceed to cloture votes on the nominations of Randolph Moss and Leigh Martin May; one is from the District of Columbia and the other is from the State of Georgia.

Working Together

Mr. President, I have always believed it wise to follow Will Rogers' admonition: ``Don't let yesterday use up too much of today.''

We have a lot of work to do and no time to dwell on the past. With just a few weeks left in this Congress--the 113th--there are a number of important legislative matters before this body that must be finished.

I congratulate the Republican leader who will soon become the new majority leader. The senior Senator from Kentucky and I have known one another for a very long period of time. We have been whips together. He was minority leader. I was minority leader and majority leader. We have been back and forth, so we understand these jobs. I appreciate his devotion to the State of Kentucky, to our country, and to the Senate. He knows I hold him in the highest regard. I am ready to work with him in good faith to make this institution function again for the American people.

I saw firsthand how a strategy of obstruction was debilitating to our system. I have no desire to engage in that manner. I have been, as I mentioned before, and I mention again, the minority leader. I have been able to strike compromises with my Republican colleagues, and I am ready to do it again.

Regardless of how one may interpret last week's election results, it is clear the American people want us to join together to get things done for the middle class and all Americans, and we should be able to do that. After all, helping working families is not a partisan issue. Just last week we saw four very red States--Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota--vote to increase their minimum wages. Clearly, Republicans outside this building don't object to giving American workers a livable wage.

The minimum wage is just one example. There are other issues such as student debt relief for borrowers, pay equity for women, and a number of other issues that need to be addressed as well. There is absolutely no reason we can't work together on these issues and all issues so Democrats and Republicans can lend Americans the helping hand they so desperately need.

Although the desks in this great Chamber may move around and change, our duty to help working American families never will. Senate Democrats are ready to work in good faith with their Republican counterparts-- whether it is today, tomorrow, January, no matter when it is--to help the middle class, and when we do that, we help all of our citizenry.

Recognition of the Minority Leader

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

Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk that I ask to be reported.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. President, I now move to proceed to legislative session.

I send a cloture motion to the desk--in fact, it is already at the desk--and ask that it be reported.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

I now move to proceed to legislative session.

There is a cloture motion at the desk that I ask to be reported.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

I now move to proceed to legislative session.

I withdraw my motion to proceed to S. 2609.

I move to proceed to Calendar No. 499, S.2685.

I ask to have the cloture motion at the desk be reported.

I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 12, 2014, at 6:15 pm, to conduct a hearing entitled ``CLOSED/TS/SCI: Countering ISIL in Iraq and Syria.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 12, 2014, at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 12, 2014, at 4 p.m., in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 409, S. 2432.

Mr. President, following my remarks, the Senate will be in recess subject to the call of the Chair for the joint meeting with the President of Ukraine.

When the Senate reconvenes, it will be in a period of morning business until 1 p.m., with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. The Republicans will control the first half and the majority will control the final half.

At 1 p.m. the Senate will proceed to the consideration of H.J. Res. 124, the continuing resolution. There will be up to 4\1/2\ hours of debate prior to a series of rollcall votes followed by several voice votes on executive nominations. Senators should expect the votes to begin around 5 p.m.

Tribute to Jerry Linnell

Mr. President, in ancient Greece the keeping of history was considered so important that Clio, daughter of Zeus, was believed responsible for recording all that occurred on Earth--everything.

In the Senate we don't have Greek gods in charge of keeping our records, but we do rely on the superhuman efforts of a group of official reporters who transcribe every word we say. It is a hard, hard job. Official reporters have to accustom their ears to all sorts of accents from across our country, find ways to spell newly invented words, try to listen to what I don't say very loudly, and all the other issues they have to deal with, and they have to suffer through talking filibusters. In fact, they may be the only people who dislike filibusters more than I do.

Today I recognize just one of those hard-working official reporters-- the chief reporter of debates of the Senate Jerry Linnell, who is retiring at the end of this month. For 32 years Jerry has been a staple here in the Senate, ensuring that the words of Senators past and present are correctly recorded for the American people. While he has been here, he has witnessed many events. He has seen five different Presidents occupy the White House, worked with eight different majority leaders, transcribed speeches on everything from the Berlin Wall to Senator Byrd's legendary lectures on the history of the Senate.

I wish Jerry all the best in his well-deserved retirement. I have no doubt that he and his wife Jane will keep busy spending time with their 7 children and 11 grandchildren. And, of course, Jerry will have his Washington Nationals to follow.

It has been a pleasant respite for me to spend time with Jerry talking about baseball. He takes trips around the country that make me so envious--watching different teams in different stadiums. I think he has watched a baseball game in almost every Major League Baseball stadium in America, and I am very envious of that.

The Senate is a better place because of Jerry's 32 years here. I, along with every other Member of this body, thank Jerry for his many years of service.

Continuing Resolution

Mr. President, yesterday the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to keep our government from shutting down for the next 3 months. In addition to keeping the government operating, this measure includes provisions important to our national security, such as funding to combat ISIS--an evil organization--by training and equipping vetted Syrian opposition forces and aid to fight the spread of Ebola.

It is not perfect; that is for sure. But no legislation is. In this era of radical ideologies and endless obstruction, the funding resolution before us is infinitely better than the alternatives-- another shutdown of our government.

I think it speaks volumes that Speaker Boehner, Leader Pelosi, the

Republican leader, and I are supporting this legislation. That should say a lot to the American people. As every Senator knows, the funding bill we approve must first have passed the House of Representatives, and it did that. Breaking up the legislation the House sent us is not a viable option at this juncture. We need to complete our work on the House-passed resolution as soon as possible. We have an agreement in place to vote on this measure no later than 5:30 p.m. this evening. With the cooperation of Senators, we could vote even earlier today.

There is one final unanimous consent request.

Authorization To Appoint Escort Committee

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the President of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join with a like committee on the part of the House of Representatives to escort His Excellency Petro Poroshenko into the House Chamber for the joint meeting today.