Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday,

March 31; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first hour equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the second 30 minutes.

Mr. President, I apologize to everyone, including the Presiding Officer, for having to wait, but there was an important meeting with a number of Senators going on in the Vice President's office, and I had to have those Senators there before I could determine that we were not to do anything more tonight. So I apologize to everyone for the downtime.

Mr. President, we are working to reach an agreement regarding amendments to the small business jobs bill. Senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. I spoke to Senator McConnell earlier today. We know we have some problems to work through, and we will continue to try to do that tomorrow.

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

Madam President, following any leader remarks, there will be a period of morning business for an hour, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half.

Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 493, the small business jobs bill. The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 to allow for weekly caucus meetings. Rollcall votes in relation to amendments to the small business jobs bill are possible today. Senators will be notified when votes are scheduled.

We have 10 amendments now pending. I spoke yesterday afternoon to the Republican leader, and I think we are in good shape now to hopefully resolve the 1099 matter this afternoon. We are looking forward to having a consent agreement we can vote on. I think we are at a point where, in the morning, we can vote on the McConnell amendment dealing with EPA and a couple other amendments relating to EPA to get rid of that issue one way or the other.

There are other matters with the bill we would like to set up votes on, and if people are willing to allow us to do that, we could do some of those this afternoon. But we are making progress on this very important bill. With all the amendments being offered, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that this bill, which has been led by Senators Landrieu and Snowe, is an extremely important bill for creating jobs with small businesses. It is an innovation bill, and the programs this bill covers have done some tremendously important things for the country.

With the CR, I spoke with the White House this morning, and there are conversations going on with the White House and the Republican leadership in the House, and I think this matter, with a little bit of good fortune, could move down the road in the next day or two to get us to a point where we could have something done so there doesn't have to be a government shutdown. I certainly hope that is the case.

Madam President, America's favorite people are pioneers. We are a nation that celebrates those who first touched the moon, discovered the technologies that changed the world, and fought for what is right before everyone else.

We believe in the brave and admire those who believe in their own dreams--those who pursue them fearlessly, who leave a trail for the rest of us to follow and a legacy to emulate.

This week, America honors a woman we will always remember for breaking one of the highest glass ceilings in history. For two centuries, in election after election, Americans went into voting booths and saw lots of Williams and Johns and Jameses on the ballot. Then, in 1984, they saw the name Geraldine.

As the first woman on a major Presidential ticket, Geraldine Ferraro continued America's proud pioneer tradition. It wasn't the first time she led the way. Congresswoman Ferraro worked her way through law school at a time when few women did so. When the people of Queens, NY, elected her to the House of Representatives she was 1 of only 16 women Members. There was only one at the time serving in the Senate. Today there are 76 women serving in the House--one of whom was the first woman Speaker of the House--and 17 in the Senate.

I served in the House of Representatives with Congresswoman Ferraro and am deeply saddened by her death. She was an inspiration to my daughter and nine granddaughters, and to all of us who believe in our Nation's eternal pursuit of equality. On behalf of the people of Nevada--a State settled, built, and strengthen by pioneers--I honor the memory of my friend, Geraldine Ferraro.

Mr. President, first, I welcome you and everyone back after the break we had doing work at home. I hope everyone had a productive week.

The past week was a productive one for the most crucial and closely watched discussion in Congress--our negotiations to keep the country running with a responsible budget for the rest of the fiscal year.

Though the Senate and House Chambers have been dark, Senators and Members of Congress worked together every day last week--me, my staff, the White House, and the House of Representatives, members of both parties, members of the congressional leadership, and members of the Appropriations Committees--we have all been in contact. We have worked hard to make progress and pursue an agreement and a budget that best serves the American people. Democrats' priorities and goals have not changed from day one. We are committed to a long-term budget based in reality, not ideology. We are committed to keeping the country running, not using the American people as political pawns or to score political points.

We are more than willing to make smart cuts, but we are unwilling to do so on the backs of hard-working, middle-class families and the jobs on which they depend. We are ready to make tough choices that strengthen our country and strengthen our economy but will not make arbitrary or careless cuts that weaken it.

Let me briefly update the Senate on the progress of these talks and how far we have yet to go.

On our side of the negotiating table, we have made a proposal. That proposal makes significant cuts but will not hurt our fragile economy. We are also honest with ourselves and the country: We readily recognize that in the end, we will not get everything we want. That is true of any fair and reasonable negotiation. We recognize sacrifices are the cost consensus, and we believe they are worth it.

But on the other side, Republicans refuse to negotiate on a final number. That is because the biggest gap in this negotiation is not between Republicans and Democrats; it is between Republicans and Republicans.

The infighting between the tea party and the rest of the Republican Party--

including the Republican leadership in Congress--is keeping our negotiating partner from the negotiating table, and it is pretty hard to negotiate without someone on the other side of the table to talk to.

Republicans have to resolve their own deep disagreements before we can find middle ground between the two parties. We have tried to wait patiently for them to do that, but our patience and the patience of the American people is wearing very thin.

We have only 2 weeks before the current temporary budget expires. Time is not on our side. It is time, I say to my Republican colleagues, to get to work. Work out your differences.

I, once again, remind the Senate that our willingness to compromise is in recognition of reality. We have already voted on a Democratic proposal and a Republican proposal. We have seen in practice--not just theory--that neither plan can pass unless it is adjusted. We all know neither party can pass a bill without the other party and neither Chamber can send that bill to the President without the other Chamber.

Democrats have long ago acknowledged that we need Republicans to pass a bill. But Republicans still have not admitted to themselves they need Democrats to pass a bill. Cooperation and compromise are not just good ideas. They are not political slogans. They are essential to the endgame. With a cooperative spirit and willingness to compromise, we can move the country forward. Without them, we cannot. It is as simple as that.

I can only speak for my Democrats when I say we are ready to negotiate and legislate. We are ready to do our jobs. But we cannot negotiate with ourselves, and we will not negotiate through the media. Once the Republicans settle their own internal disagreements and decide for what they stand, we will get this done. Until that happens, the country waits, watches, and worries.

Mr. President, following any remarks of Senator McConnell, if he does wish to speak, there will be a period for the transaction of morning business until 3 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. At 3 p.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the small business jobs bill. There are currently 10 amendments pending. We will continue to work through them in order to complete action on this bill this week.

At 4:30 p.m. today, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 40, the nomination of Mae D'Agostino, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of New York. At 5:30 p.m., the Senate will vote on that judgeship that needs to be filled.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Boozman be recognized at 2:30 p.m. for up to 20 minutes to make his maiden speech to the Senate.

Will the Chair announce morning business, please.

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

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

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

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

Mr. President, when I was a little boy growing up, we used to have chickens, and every morning the roosters we had would make the most noise, unbelievable noise they would make. Maybe those roosters thought that when they crowed, the Sun would come up, but it had nothing to do with that. I have been places where roosters do not crow and the Sun still comes up.

My friend from Tennessee is using the rooster analogy and has about as much factual foundation as the analogy I just gave about the Sun coming up when the rooster crows.

I was at a breakfast this morning. One of my friends, a former chief of staff to one of the Senators here, said to me: Passing the health care bill was a miracle in the lives of him and his family. Those are his words, not mine. They have a child who developed diabetes. They could not find insurance for that child. Because of the health care bill, that child is fully insured now. That is what the health care bill is about.

For my friend to complain about the health insurance costs going up, a little bit of facts would make a lot of difference in that argument.

The health care bill does not go into effect until 2014. Parts of it do, but the main impetus of the health care bill to cover the 50 million people who have no health insurance does not kick in until 2014. The insurance costs have gone up because insurance companies raised the premiums, as they always do. One of the reasons we did the health care bill is to rein in the health care companies around the country that are really bankrupting our country.

Let's talk about what is in effect with the health care bill and what will be in effect. I did not come here to debate the health care bill, but when something is so without foundation and fact, I have to respond.

People, such as my friend Bob, have had miracles in their lives all over America during the past year because of that health care bill having passed because a child under 18 who has a preexisting illness cannot be denied insurance. Not only does it apply to children, every State in the Union has now set up programs for people who have long- term disabilities. Now they cannot be denied insurance. Not everybody gets that. You have to be uninsured for 6 months and other certain requirements, and it is not as good as for children under age 18, but it is pretty good.

I will also say this: Hundreds of thousands of students in college today have health insurance because their parents have health insurance. That is what we did in the law. We raised the bar on that so children can stay under their parents' health insurance for longer periods of time.

I am going to do an event next week in Nevada where we are going to have a number of businesses come together. People who employ fewer than 10 people whose average salary is less than $25,000 can have health insurance for the employees, and they get a 35-percent deduction in their premiums. That is because of the health care bill we passed. Mr. President, last year the IRS sent notices to 4.4 million small businesses in America to let them know that they may qualify for reduced premiums.

The health care bill is a very important bill. It is a milestone in the history of this country. We are setting up the exchanges now so everyone can have the same insurance I have. That is what it is all about. Millions of Federal employees have not perfect insurance but good insurance, as I have. My insurance is the same that an FBI agent has. Our goal is to make sure everyone in America has an opportunity to have insurance similar to ours.

The Presiding Officer may have a different health care plan than I have because every year--we are part of an exchange that we are going to set up for the 50 million people who have no health insurance. Every year, we get quotes from insurance companies, and we can buy different insurance. We can buy a Cadillac policy or maybe a Ford policy. We have a range of insurance we can buy. That is what we are trying and we have allowed America to have. Those exchanges are being set up in Nevada and other places around the country.

For people to talk about ObamaCare and let's get rid of it, get rid of it for what? Do we want my friend to go back to where he cannot get insurance for his child from these insurance companies whose interest is one thing--money, how much money they make? We have had to rein in those costs.

We keep talking about the cost of the health care bill. The Congressional Budget Office said it will reduce the debt of this country by $1.3 trillion. That is not some number I made up; it is the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

I am convinced my friend was right. In his family's life, it was a miracle this past year because they had the ability to get insurance for their sick child.

Mr. President, following any leader remarks, there will be a period for the transaction of morning business until 10:30 this morning, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. The Republicans will control the first half and the majority will control the final half.

At 10:30 a.m., the Senate will resume consideration of S. 493, which is the small business jobs bill. We have been working through amendments on that legislation. Virtually every one of the amendments is not germane to the bill. That is OK. We are in the Senate, and that is how things work here. We have had scores of amendments filed. I am not going to file cloture on this bill today. We will work through the amendments, and maybe we can get a finite list of amendments when we come back. I hope we do not have to

file cloture on this bill. As I said, this is an extremely important bill.

Senator Landrieu was on a nationwide TV program today, and one of the commentaries--who, by the way, is a Republican, a former Member of Congress--said, and I am paraphrasing: Why would the Republicans want to hold up a jobs bill?

This is a jobs bill. The small business matter now before the Senate is a jobs bill, just as we did with the patent bill, just as we did with the FAA bill. It is a jobs bill. We should move on. We should have the amendments focused on how to improve a jobs bill and not do all this other extraneous stuff that virtually, without exception, has nothing to do with this bill.

At 12 noon, the Senate will proceed to consideration of H.J. Res. 48, the 3-week continuing resolution. There will be up to 3 hours of debate on that matter prior to a vote on passage of the joint resolution.

Following the CR, there will be 2 minutes of debate prior to a vote on the confirmation of Calendar No. 11, the nomination of Amy Berman Jackson, of the District of Columbia, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia.

We are going to have a briefing this afternoon for Senators at 2 o'clock dealing with the situation in the Middle East. That will be a classified briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time used by my friend--he is my friend; I have the greatest respect for Senator Alexander; he is a true gentleman--that the time he used in his speech be deducted from the Republican's time in morning business this morning. They have the first run at morning business.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote on the continuing resolution start at 2:45. The time will run as if it started at 3 o'clock. There are some problems with a few Senators, so I ask consent that the vote start at 2:45.

Mr. President, I further ask that the time until 2:45 be divided equally between the Democrats and Republicans.

I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, we yield back all time on this matter.

The chairman is here.