Floor Statements

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, January 22; 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; I further ask that the Senate then be in a period of morning business for up to 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the Democrats controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half; and that following morning business, the Senate then resume consideration of S. 1.

We were able to process several amendments to the Keystone bill today, and there are now seven more in the queue and pending. Senators should expect votes related to amendments to this bill throughout the day tomorrow.

If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Whitehouse for up to 15 minutes.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, today the Senate is continuing to consider S. 1, a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Chairman Murkowski and Senator Cantwell are here this morning to manage debate, and there are several amendments pending. We will begin voting on those and any other amendments in the queue shortly after lunch today.

Senators also should begin gathering in the Chamber at 8:20 this evening so that we can proceed as a body to the House for the State of the Union Address.

I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for a second reading.

Mr. President, in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

Mr. President, tonight we will welcome President Obama to the Capitol. We look forward to hearing what he has to say.

We are looking forward to Senator Ernst's address, as well. Joni Ernst understands the concerns of hard-working families in a way much of Washington has not. That is why the people of her State sent her here--to fight for them. She will explain the commitment of this new Congress to work for policies aimed at the good jobs and better wages Americans deserve.

Tonight is a big moment for the President--and for our country. The tone he strikes and the issues he highlights will tell us a lot about what to expect in his Presidency's final act. There is a lot riding on it, and we will be listening closely.

One option is the path he has been on for so many years. I sincerely hope he makes a different choice. The American people just spoke in clear terms about this direction. They called for a new one. We should work together to make Washington focus on their concerns.

Working with the new Congress for positive change--that is the second option for President Obama. It is the one struggling families and serious policymakers urge him to choose. The new Congress has already started to take up smart, bipartisan ideas focused on jobs and reform. But when we have asked the White House for constructive engagement, what we have seen, at least so far, has been pretty discouraging. We need to change this dynamic. We need to turn the page. The State of the Union offers that opportunity.

The American people aren't demanding talking point proposals designed to excite the base but not designed to pass. What they said they are hungry for is substance and accomplishment. They want Washington to get back to work and focus on a serious jobs and reform agenda. They said they are ready to see more constructive cooperation, especially on bipartisan jobs initiatives--bipartisan jobs initiatives such as the Keystone infrastructure bill. Keystone has support in both parties. It is an important piece of infrastructure for our country. According to what the Obama administration's own State Department has said previously, constructing a pipeline would support literally thousands of jobs. It has already passed the House. We are currently working to pass it through the Senate. It will be on the President's desk before long. We see no reason for him to veto these jobs.

But whatever he decides, we are going to keep working for positive, middle-class jobs ideas here in Congress. As I have said before, we are not here to protect the President from a good idea. If the President is willing to work with us, there is much we can get accomplished for the American people.

We have already identified several areas of potential cooperation, such as tearing down trade barriers in places such as Europe and the Pacific, building jobs with comprehensive progrowth tax simplification, and working to prevent cyber attacks. On each of these issues, the President has previously sent some positive signals. Now we need some constructive engagement.

We will be looking for signs of that in the speech he delivers tonight.

What I hope is that he presents some positive, bipartisan ideas of his own that can pass the Congress Americans just voted for. Give us new ideas to prevent Iran from becoming a country with nuclear weapons or to confront the threats posed by terrorism or to remove regulations that hurt struggling coal families. Challenge us with truly serious, realistic reforms that focus on growth and raising middle-class incomes--reforms that don't just spend more money we don't have. And if the President is ready for a new beginning beyond canceled health plans and partisan executive overreach, work with us to pursue an achievement that history will actually remember. Reach across the aisle to allow us to save and strengthen Medicare. Cooperate with both parties to save Social Security. The President should tell America his plan for responsible reforms that aim to balance the budget and not just more tired tax hikes.

Achieving important reforms such as these would represent a win for hard-working families. It would deliver the kind of commonsense progress Americans deserve.

So we welcome the President tonight. We look to his address with interest. If the President is ready to play offense, then we urge him to join the new Congress in playing offense on behalf of the American people.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 29, submitted earlier today.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 30, which was submitted earlier today.

Madam President, 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.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 8:25 p.m. tonight and upon reconvening proceed as a body to the Hall of the House of Representatives for the joint session of Congress provided under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 7; that upon the dissolution of the joint session, the Senate adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, January 21; I ask that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; I further ask that the Senate then be in a period of morning business for up to 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the Democrats controlling the final half; that following morning business the Senate then resume consideration of S. 1.

We were able to process several amendments to the Keystone bill today. There are now six more in the queue and pending. I would encourage all Senators who have amendments to file them and to work with Chairman Murkowski and Senator Cantwell to get them pending.

Senators should expect votes related to amendments to the bill throughout the day tomorrow.

Madam President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand in recess under the previous order.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk that is due for its second reading.

In order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further proceedings.

Mr. President, today the Senate is continuing to consider S. 1, a bill to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Chairman Murkowski and Senator Cantwell are here this morning to manage debate, and there are several amendments pending. We will begin voting on those--and any amendments in the queue--around 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.

I encourage all Senators who have not already done so to talk to the bill managers about scheduling a time to come down and offer their amendments.

It has taken a while to get going on this bill, and the last thing we need at this point is for Members who have been saying they want to have amendments to be reluctant to offer them.

Mr. President, we are looking forward to welcoming President Obama to the Capitol on Tuesday. The State of the Union is a unique opportunity, not just for the President but for our entire country. If he lays out an agenda that corresponds to the message the voters delivered in November, it could signal a truly productive moment for our country.

In November the American people told us they are tired of Washington's dysfunction. They told us they are tired of Washington's prioritizing the concerns of powerful special interests over their own. They called for a Congress that functions again, and that is just what we have been working toward. They called for Congress to focus on jobs and reform, and that is what we have been doing.

They also called for President Obama to cooperate with Congress to enact a different and better reform agenda for the middle class. On that front, we have some distance to cover, but Tuesday can be a new day. This can be the moment the President pivots to a positive posture. This can be a day he promotes realistic reforms that focus on economic growth instead of spending more money than we have. We are eager for him to do so.

There is much we can accomplish for the American people if the President is willing to work with us. We will be looking for signs of that in the speech he delivers Tuesday night.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.