Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 5859, which is at the desk.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and the Senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Levin be authorized to sign the enrollment of H.R. 3979.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Monday, December 15, 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; and that following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to executive session as provided under the previous order.

Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, there will be up to four rollcall votes at 5:30 p.m. on Monday on cloture on Murthy, if cloture is invoked, on confirmation of Murthy, and cloture on the Santos and Rose nominations.

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

Madam President, I rise today to speak to this body and my fellow Montanans about service.

In preparing to leave the Senate, I add my voice to the voices of many other departing Members who have called for a return to civility in Washington, DC. Politics today is too full of pettiness. Public servants--you and I, as well as those elected to serve in the next Congress--should set the standard with better words and better actions, but we should also lead from the front. I am not saying anything that hasn't already been said, but more of us need to say it. If we are lucky, which we are, we are even blessed to stand in this room and do what we do on behalf of our fellow citizens.

Everyone in this Chamber has a unique story about their roots and their path to public service. Mine began in Butte, MT. I was the son of a union pipefitter in a struggling blue-collar town, and my path led to the military. I enlisted out of high school in the Montana National Guard and soon found a career serving my neighbors and family.

The National Guard--the great citizen wing of our Armed Forces--was a home for me. Leading my fellow soldiers into combat in Iraq in 2004- 2005 was a defining experience in my life. Overseeing two successful elections for the Iraqis added a new perspective to my view on democracy. Fighting insurgents drove home how fortunate we are to live in the United States of America and to enjoy the freedoms we often take for granted.

The men of Task Force GRIZ who unfortunately didn't come home with me and the men and women who came back with visible and invisible wounds have truly defined the cost of war for me, and they remind me every single day of the cost of public servants getting it wrong when it comes to our national defense. I have devoted much of my professional life since returning home to accounting for the true cost of war.

Today, from my perspective, the debts are stacked against the democratic process in America in many ways. There is too much money, too much noise, and too little commitment to finding common ground. Anonymous money masquerading as free speech can poison campaigns. It silences the voices of the majority of American citizens. The concentration of wealth in fewer hands is bad for our society, just as the ability for a handful of the wealthy to carry the loudest megaphones in our elections is bad for our democracy. Elections are starting to look much like auctions. Dark money and circus politics shouldn't prevent the U.S. Senate from honorably living up to the power we have been given.

Growing up in a little house that shook twice a day from the dynamite

blasts at the copper mine nearby, I never thought I would be involved in public service. I aspired to have a decent job. I aspired to get an education. I aspired to having the time to fish the lakes and streams I fished with my father. Just the normal stuff. And that normal stuff is what I think most Americans still want today and too often can't achieve.

Public service--becoming a soldier--was my ticket to a better life: a job and a college education. After only a small taste, I discovered that I loved public service. I loved being devoted to something bigger than myself.

We should all remember that Congress can always use more Americans from more walks of life who have discovered public service through unlikely means.

It is the privilege of my life to serve the people of Montana in the seat of Senators Lee Metcalf and Max Baucus. Lee, along with Mike Mansfield, was my Senator while I was growing up in Butte, MT. The great citizen conservationist Cecil Garland said:

It was typical of Lee to fight to give the little guy a

voice in government decisions.

In my time in this Chamber, I have tried to follow Lee's example.

The people who need a voice in this Chamber are the ranchers and hardware store owners like Cecil in towns like Lincoln and Dillon. The person who needs a voice in this Chamber is the mother in Troy, MT, who became the primary bread winner when her husband lost his job cutting timber. The person who needs a voice here is the young woman in Shelby, MT, who has done everything right--studied hard and earned her degree-- only to be squeezed by too much student debt and too few opportunities. The people who need voices are the servicemembers from Laurel and Great Falls, MT, who returned from the war in Afghanistan and Iraq with delayed onset PTSD and have fallen through the cracks at the VA. They are the entrepreneurs in Big Fork and Bozeman, MT, who have opened small distilleries and faced the tangle of redtape. They are the committed couples across Montana--your neighbors, my family, my friends--who are treated like second-class citizens because of whom they love.

So today I urge my colleagues to lend people like this in each of your States your voice as a Senator in this Chamber.

I am humbled by the number of challenges that face the next Congress. I urge my colleagues to continue to fight to protect Americans' civil liberties. I leave the Senate dismayed by the scope of government surveillance in our everyday life. Congress must always--and I emphasize always--protect the privacy of our citizens.

I remain deeply concerned about the National Security Agency's unconstitutional spying on Americans' communications, the secret backdoors into the Department of Commerce encryption standards, and the gag orders under the FBI national security letter program.

I urge my colleagues to continue fighting for rural America. We need stronger voting rights and more jobs in Indian Country to promote tribal sovereignty and prosperity. We need to keep our farm safety net strong and address brucellosis to protect the livestock industry. We need a stronger commitment to fund and reform the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program and its sister programs. Small county budgets, schools, and roads depend on them. These same rural communities need better management of our national forests--something Congress and the Forest Service need to focus on.

We need an honest conversation and urgent solutions to the incredible challenge posed by climate change. As I said earlier from this same podium, we cannot put our heads in the sand and continue with business as usual.

Members of Congress should be taking responsibility and upholding the oaths we all swore. We should agree with science--climate change is a clear enemy, and Congress must take steps to stop it.

The next Congress should be thoughtful about women and families--from health care decisions to paycheck fairness.

Finally, I implore all of Congress, all of you, to redouble your attention to the crisis of suicide among our veterans. Yesterday the House of Representatives passed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. That bill now sits before this body, and we have an opportunity to act. We have an opportunity to pass it. I mentioned the invisible wounds of war already, but if this country were losing 22 servicemembers a day on the battlefield, Americans would be on the streets protesting. Congress would be demanding action. But that is exactly the number of veterans who die by suicide each and every day from across our country. Veteran suicide is an urgent crisis facing our communities, and congressional action is long overdue.

I believe extending the eligibility for combat veterans at the VA is one essential way to address delayed-onset PTSD and reduce the suicide rate among our veterans. This simple fix and other solutions that improve access to mental health for veterans should continue to be a top priority for the next Congress.

It is fitting that in the last days of the 113th Congress, the Senate is sending the President a bill that carries on the public lands legacy of Senators Lee Metcalf and Max Baucus and the thousands of Montanans who worked together to find common ground.

In the words of Randolph Jennings, Senator Rockefeller's predecessor from West Virginia, Lee ``was a tireless champion of preserving and protecting our nation's natural heritage for succeeding generations to use and enjoy.''

After Lee's death, Max and the rest of the Montana delegation carried on his legacy by passing wilderness designations for the Absaroka- Beartooth, Great Bear, and the Lee Metcalf wilderness areas. In the same spirit, I am honored to join Senator Jon Tester and Senator-elect Steve Daines in carrying on their legacy by passing the North Fork Watershed Protection Act and the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act. We took a page from Montanans. We sat down together, and we worked out an agreement that protected almost 700,000 acres of the Crown of the Continent. This is how democracy should work.

Forty-two years after the first citizen-driven wilderness, this week Congress is expanding the Scapegoat and Bob Marshall Wilderness areas in Montana. Thirty-eight years after the Flathead River was protected from schemes to dam it and divert it, this week Congress is protecting the Flathead and Glacier National Park forever from efforts to mine it and drill it. Montanans came together. Farmers, ranchers, small business owners, conservationists, hunters, anglers--all worked together to find common ground. Montanans went there first, and their representatives in Congress followed.

When Congress rewards the work of citizens who collaborate, when we finally reach the critical mass in this Chamber to be responsive, that is the day we earn the title of ``public servant.'' Montanans can be hopeful today that government by them and for them still works. They can still effect change. The Senate still listens and serves.

When President Eisenhower left office in 1961, Congress passed legislation at his request that restored his military title. He wanted to be remembered as a career soldier rather than the Commander in Chief.

My 33 years in uniform defined my life. I will always be a soldier. As a soldier, as a husband to my wonderful wife Janet, who has been my partner for 31 years, and as the proud dad of Michael and Taylor, as the father-in-law to my wonderful daughter-in-law April, and as the grandfather of a little girl named Kennedy, who will inherit this great Nation, I will return to civilian life with great hope for the United States Senate and for the United States of America.

I, along with millions of others, will be watching closely and imploring Members in this Chamber to check politics at the door and instead focus on the future. Honor veterans and their families who sacrifice so much. Honor seniors who have heard promises from you. Honor the most vulnerable amongst us. They are who we always should fight for.

Madam President, I am forever grateful to have served the people of Montana in this building standing side by side with each and every one of you. God bless each and every one of you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the previous order be modified so that the following nomination be added following Executive Calendar No. 962: Calendar No. 1008, with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SR- 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Examining Takata Airbag Defects and the Vehicle Recall Process.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, at 10 a.m., in room SD- 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, at 1 p.m., in room SD- 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Why Are Some Generic Drugs Skyrocketing in Price?''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on November 20, 2014, at 10 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be

authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, in room S-216 of the Capitol, immediately following the floor vote at 2 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Wall Street Bank Involvement With Physical Commodities.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on November 20, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I rise today in support of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a critical infrastructure project that has been delayed by political games for far too long. Just recently the American people have said they are tired of political games. They want action in Washington, DC.

The Keystone Pipeline will provide good-paying construction jobs to Americans--including hard-working Montanans--at no cost to the American taxpayer. As the Bakken region continues to boom, this pipeline will provide an important onramp for Montana oil which will boost local economies.

This year the Bakken formation produced its billionth barrel of crude oil. That means hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in local economies to support good-paying jobs in the United States instead of being sent abroad. It also means 1 billion barrels of oil did not come from places such as Iran and Russia.

A few weeks ago, I got to see firsthand the remarkable development that is happening in eastern Montana and the work that is being done to help secure our energy independence. I have seen firsthand the costs of dependence on oil from hostile places.

During the Iraq war, I commanded the largest deployment of Montanans to war since World War II. In World War II, our strategic interest in the Middle East has been oil. Our dependence on foreign oil should never again be a reason for war.

By carrying Canadian and American oil to American refineries, the Keystone XL Pipeline will play a vital role in making us more energy secure and prosperous while insulating our economy from price shocks caused by foreign conflicts.

The continued delay in approving and building the pipeline is also costing Montana and other States along the route millions in lost tax dollars each year. I say again, millions of lost tax dollars each year to those States where that pipeline is going to come through. As responsible domestic energy production continues to boom, we must also address the serious infrastructure limitations to safely transporting American oil to the marketplace.

In March, I commissioned a report from the Government Accountability Office to study recent rail traffic trends, especially those patterns associated with the oil boom in the Bakken. The report identified several safety concerns as a result of rail traffic. The increase in rail congestion has also impacted Montana's farmers who rely on rail to bring their crops to the market.

These challenges are not going to go away. In fact, the Department of Transportation expects freight traffic to rise by 51 percent between 2007 and 2040, in part due to limited oil pipeline capacity. Any further delays in approving this project present serious threats to the health and safety of our people, as well as our economy.

By building this pipeline with proper precautions taken to guarantee pipeline safety and reliability, we can provide energy producers with the infrastructure they need to deliver their products to consumers in a safe and efficient manner.

I wish to make clear that building this pipeline does not distract from our responsibility to address climate change across our economy. Coming from a State such as Montana, where we cherish our clean air, our clean water, and our beautiful public lands, it is very important to maintain our environment. But we won't solve global problems by stopping individual projects. We need more comprehensive solutions that transition us toward a cleaner economy.

The excessive delays in approving this project is another example of how Washington is broken. The State Department has finished the environmental impact study required before approving the Keystone XL Pipeline. This project enjoys strong bipartisan support here in Congress, and the American people have spoken that they want bipartisan support and they want action from the representatives they send to Washington, DC. This is our opportunity to act on behalf of the American people.

It is time to build this pipeline, and build it right, with the best possible materials, while preserving protections for landowners and implementing effective energy response plans. We can do it, and we can do it safely. Today we have an opportunity to show the American people that Congress is still capable of meaningful action to promote a strong and stable economy while reducing our reliance on countries who wish to do harm to us.

Today, I encourage all of my colleagues to vote yes on this vital project.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I was born during the baby boom in Butte, MT. It was a boom time for our economy. Millions of kids such as me grew up expecting the boom years to go on forever. Things weren't always easy, especially in a tough blue-collar town like Butte. But it was still easier in those days to believe that the American dream was within your grasp. Put in your time and you can earn a good living. Work hard and you can play hard.

Unfortunately, I am less confident in the American dream for today's young people unless politicians can put their partisanship aside and put the interests of this country ahead of their own. I am hopeful that this Congress can once again behave like statesmen from half a century ago, when the boom times of the 1960s also produced restraint. I grew up in the morning shadow of the continental divide. Butte was

surrounded by some of the best fly fishing in North America and huge areas of land known as primitive areas.

Some of those blue-ribbon streams were separated by the smallest of divides from the most polluted waters in America. Some of those primitive areas shared borders with the most valuable hard rock mines and timber cuts in the country. Those same resources continue to support thousands of jobs in Montana. But the boom times of the 1960s proved how wasteful and damaging unlimited production can be.

Today I applaud the lessons of restraint. This month is the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act. Senators on this same floor in 1964 turned the primitive areas and administrative wilderness areas of Montana and 12 other States into permanent protected areas.

That same year they also passed the visionary Land and Water Conservation Fund. Several of the original wilderness areas are in Montana, including one of the largest, the Bob Marshall Wilderness. In Montana we just call it the Bob. Imagine a Congress with the foresight to create a whole category of restraint. Anyone that says the American dream is gone for good has never visited the Bob.

Last month I had the opportunity to hike with a local group of Montanans up 2,000 feet to Headquarters Pass on the Rocky Mountain Front. On the trail, we met a herd of mountain goats. When we got to the pass, we stood under the windy shoulder of Rocky Mountain peaks and looked into the Bob.

Today I am the proud sponsor of an important made-in-Montana bill that would keep this land the way it is and add to the legacy of 1964. The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, first introduced three years ago, would protect almost 300,000 acres of public land. Today I urge my colleagues to move a public lands package forward this year in order to reward the collective efforts of so many Americans who work so hard on bills like the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act.

The American dream today has a new challenge because of the Wilderness Act. A small portion of our public lands has been set aside and made available forever for all Americans to enjoy in Montana. We call this our outdoor heritage. Despite news stories about the perennial and terrible idea of giving away this heritage, support for public lands in Montana remains deep and wide. The reason goes to the heart of what it means to be American. The American dream isn't just about having a job. It is about where we live and how we live.

In Montana, our public lands to support trout or elk or whatever adventure Montanans seek are part of that dream, whether they are a boilermaker, a teacher or an outfitter.

It doesn't hurt that tourism has become a huge part of our economy in Montana. Today outdoor recreation supports 64,000 jobs in our State and almost $6 billion in revenue each and every year. Like many Montanans, I am frustrated with how long it takes to conduct a timber sale or complete an environmental analysis on potential projects.

We need to get our forests healthy and working again, creating good jobs and making our forests more resilient to wildfires. Even simple projects get tied up in redtape and our rural communities and the land itself suffer for it. But this frustration should not blind us to our incredible heritage of untrampled public land owned by you and me and every American.

Rather than government shutdowns and public land selloffs, I urge this Congress to find the same wisdom to look ahead 50 years from today. We need to support local collaboration and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Bills such as the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, the North Fork Watershed Protection Act, the East Rosebud Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act deserve every Senator's support.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to remember September 11, 2001.

We all know the changes that came out of that terrible day. I watched the events unfold with my colleagues at the Montana National Guard, and we all knew it would change the course of America's long-term military strategy. That is what I want to talk about today, the victories, the consequences, and the true costs of sending America's men and women to defend our country.

In the 13 years that have passed since that awful day, we have experienced more tragedy and adversity. What hasn't changed is how as a nation we triumph over adversity. Throughout our history, Americans have united to face our biggest challenges.

Past and present, the need to work together to support each other, to lift each other, and to inspire each other is what makes the United States a nation that triumphs over adversity.

Our Nation is not living up to the promises we made to the men and women we sent to war following the attacks of 13 years ago. The President and Congress have stepped up to provide more direction and more resources to the VA and to the Defense Department. We are addressing the unacceptable waiting times, and we have taken steps to improve the services our veterans have earned.

But when it comes to the health care of our Nation's veterans, we still have a long way to go. Twenty-two veterans die each day by suicide. Let me say that again. Twenty-two veterans die each day by suicide. It is simply intolerable. Imagine. If 22 servicemembers were dying each day on the battlefield, our Nation would act.

Too many veterans have returned to their homes, to their families, to their communities changed people. They are suffering from the unseen wounds of war: PTSD, traumatic brain injury, and post-concussion syndrome. As the only Member of this body who has fought in Iraq, I can state these unseen wounds are real.

Our Nation's veterans and their families are crying out for help. They are suffering, many of them in silence and isolation, and we must provide them with the support they have earned from the grateful Nation they fought to protect.

One of the first bills I introduced when I came to the Senate was the Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, the SAV Act. With the partnership from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the bill now has bipartisan support in the Senate and a companion bipartisan bill in the House.

Veterans who suffer from unseen wounds of war need access to specialized mental health care in order to be properly treated. In Montana, many veterans live in rural or frontier areas where access to mental health care means long journeys and long wait times.

In August, President Obama unveiled an important Executive order to tackle the challenge of helping our Nation's veterans better adjust to civilian life so that no veteran ever feels as if they are left alone. The President's action was a win for veterans and their families. This action included several elements of the SAV Act, including better standardization between the Department of Defense and the VA with regard to prescription medication, improved health record sharing between agencies, greater training to identify veterans at risk of suicide, a new focus on recruiting more mental health care providers to help our veterans and servicemembers, and important accountability measures to track the success of the VA's mental health care programs.

Recently, Secretary Hagel announced that the Department of Defense will more fully consider service-related PTSD when evaluating a veteran's petition to upgrade his or her discharge status.

All of these are the right steps in the right direction. But even with the President's important actions, there is still more we need to do to prevent suicide among our veterans. One essential component of the SAV Act addresses the need to extend combat eligibility.

PTSD can take years to manifest. We owe it to the men and women who return from combat to give them more time to come forward to receive treatment. Under this bill, veterans who have returned from conflicts can seek treatment for PTSD up to 15 years after returning home. I am committed to lengthening this eligibility time, which is currently only 5 years.

The SAV Act would also require the review of wrongful discharges for troops who struggle with mental health issues. Behavioral health issues are often caused by invisible wounds, and troops who have service- connected mental health problems may have been discharged incorrectly or cut off from the benefits and support they need to heal.

As we observe National Suicide Prevention Week and the horrific events of 9/11, we must remember our men and women who served our Nation so honorably. We must remember the sacrifice they made to defend us, and for many of them the sacrifices they continue to make after their return to civilian life. Our veterans deserve our support and we have a responsibility as a country to provide it.

Today I ask my colleagues to join me in the fight to live up to the promises this country has made to our veterans.

I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I rise to speak in support of S.J. Res. 19, a constitutional amendment that would give both States and Congress the power to undo the damage caused by Citizens United and restore our Democratic traditions.

Passing this amendment is vital if we are going to begin to roll back the coercive influence of money in our democracy. Because of the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, political power has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of corporations and modern-day copper kings. In fact, less than 1 percent of Americans provide over two-thirds of the money spent on elections. The voices of everyday Americans are simply being silenced.

In Montana we have seen firsthand the damage to the process. Turn-of- the-century mining companies made rich off the copper seams in Butte, MT, my hometown, bought up the State press and bought off the State legislature. In response to these abuses, Montana banned corporate political spending by citizen initiative over 100 years ago. However, the recent Supreme Court's Citizens United decision overturned this century-old protection in an instant, silencing Montanans' voices with dark, secretive money and corporate political spending.

Montana's experience with the Butte copper kings shows that corporate political spending, even if it is supposedly independent, corrupts the political process. We cannot let anonymous, unaccountable corporate spending drown out the voices of everyday Americans. When the voices of individual voters become less relevant to politicians, policy decisions are divorced from the folks they impact.

We simply cannot allow a dysfunctional system of campaign finance to eliminate our government's responsiveness to its citizens or its ability to tax our most pressing issues. Montana's history should be learned from, and it is our responsibility to ensure it never happens again.

That is why this amendment is so important to the American people. In 2012 Montana voters overwhelmingly directed the congressional delegation to work to overturn Citizens United to get corporate money out of politics. I have heard from thousands of Montanans that they want Congress to refocus on issues that are important to them, to come together and to do our jobs. Passing this amendment will help us do just that.

Thank you. I yield the floor.

Madam President, I wish to recognize Helena, MT, on the occasion of its 150th birthday. Our capital city, which I am privileged to call home, continues to contribute to the State of Montana and our Nation.

Four prospectors came to Montana territory looking for gold in the 1860s, and they struck it rich when they discovered gold in the creek that now runs under Helena's main street. They named the area Last Chance Gulch. When news of the site spread, thousands of other migrants flooded the area, hoping to find success. To care for the growing mining population, shops, hotels, and saloons sprang up, and a small city began to grow.

That settlement was officially named Helena on October 30, 1864.

Unlike other mining towns, Helena prospered after the gold rush ended. Since it was near major roads and surrounded by fertile farmland, Helena continued to thrive throughout the 20th century.

Helena has been an integral part of our State since before Montana became part of the United States--the city was named the capital of Montana territory in 1875, 14 years before Montana joined the Union.

The very first special forces unit of our Nation's military was based at Fort Harrison, just outside of Helena.

Today, Helena continues to flourish. Thousands of visitors come each year to hike scenic paths, tackle nationally-rated mountain bike trails, ski the slopes in Great Divide Ski area, enjoy the view of the Sleeping Giant, and drink great local beers.

As Montana's capital, Helena is the center of the State government, and public servants continue to tackle today's tough issues and work to create a better Montana and country for all of us.

I want to congratulate Helena for its contributions to our State and our Nation. We look forward to the next 150 years being as exciting as the last.

I note the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I rise today to thank my Senate colleagues for joining with American workers and voting overwhelmingly to consider the Bring Jobs Home Act. I want to particularly thank my colleague from Michigan, Senator Stabenow, for her tremendous leadership and work on behalf of America's working families.

The vote last week was a procedural vote, but it was an important signal that job creation here at home can be a bipartisan issue. I am a strong believer in reaching across the aisle to promote good ideas. We are not here to represent our parties, we are here to represent our constituents. I made a promise to Montanans that I will support good ideas from anyone and any party as long as they grow our economy and create jobs.

Unfortunately, since I joined the Senate 5 months ago, what I have mostly seen in Washington is the opposite. What I have seen in Washington are people playing games. Washington is not broken because there are not good ideas out there; Washington is broken because not enough people reach across the aisle to find common ground. I have insisted from the start that the Bring Jobs Home Act is a bill that both Republicans and Democrats can get behind. We must not let partisan politics and gamesmanship jam up the process.

The American economy is recovering from the long and deep recession. Many Americans are still out of work and are desperately seeking the stability and security that comes with a job and a reliable paycheck. I am committed to leveling the playing field for American workers.

It is time for us to come together and show American workers we are fighting for them, for their jobs, for their families, and for a better economy.

I have heard from some of my colleagues who have commented on the floor that we should only consider the Bring Jobs Home Act in the context of comprehensive tax reform. That is not good enough. The answer to disagreements is not to do nothing, the answer is to start with manageable, commonsense reforms that everyone can get behind.

Montanans understand this. They know it is wrong that American workers subsidize corporations' decisions to pack up businesses in the United States and send our jobs packing. Imagine an American worker whose final task before being laid off is to help shut down operations so his job or her job can be sent overseas. That is baloney. If Congress cannot come together to end that subsidy, then we deserve the low approval ratings we are receiving.

Millions of American jobs have been sent overseas in recent decades. Too many large corporations have opened factories in countries such as China or Mexico while closing factories right here in the United States. We need to do what we can to stem the tide and reward companies that bring jobs back to America.

The Bring Jobs Home Act will help do that. My bill closes the loophole that some multinational corporations use to claim a tax deduction for the cost of moving jobs overseas. It also creates a new 20-percent tax credit for companies that bring jobs back to the United States. These two parts complement each other. The first ends the incentive for shipping jobs overseas. The second encourages the return of jobs we have already lost.

Our Tax Code should not reward outsourcing. What we need is more insourcing. Many companies are considering bringing jobs back home today. This is especially true in the manufacturing sector. The Bring Jobs Home Act could make a difference for some of those companies to reinvest in America and American workers. So today I urge my colleagues to stand with America's workers and pass this bill. Now is the time for leadership to embrace good ideas that help create jobs in Montana and all across America.

I yield the floor.

Cloture Motion