Floor Statements

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Con. Res. 2, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 23, submitted earlier today.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and 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 the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 24.

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.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Friday, January 9, 2015; 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; following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

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 S. 1.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 26, the House-passed TRIA bill; further, that the only amendment in order be an amendment to be proposed by Senator Warren, which is at the desk, with the time until 1:45 p.m. equally divided in the usual form. I further ask that no other amendments or motions be in order, aside from budget points of order, if applicable, and that if a point of order is raised, the motion to waive be considered made. I further ask that following the use or yielding back of time and the disposition of any pending motions to waive, the Senate vote on adoption of the Warren amendment, the bill then be read a third time, followed by a vote on passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; and the votes on the Warren amendment and passage of the bill, as amended, if amended, be at a 60-vote affirmative threshold.

Mr. President, with this agreement we are able to complete some unfinished business from last Congress and reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. These votes will occur this afternoon at 1:45. The Energy Committee is meeting this morning to report out the Keystone bill. We will begin processing that bill next week. Those with amendments to Keystone should be working with Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Cantwell to schedule a time to come and offer them. I hope that our colleagues on the Democratic side will allow us to get on the bill and start with a fair and open amendment process on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

Keystone XL Pipeline

Mr. President, the new Republican majority has pledged to run the Senate differently and to stop protecting the President from good ideas. That is why we look forward to the Senate beginning consideration of a bipartisan job-creating infrastructure project, the Keystone XL Pipeline. Right now the Keystone jobs bill is being considered by the committee. The Keystone jobs bill will then be subject to real debate and amendment on the floor of the Senate. Then we plan to send the Senate Keystone jobs bill to the President's desk with bipartisan support.

That may be a departure from what Senators have become used to, but for Members on both sides, I think the change will certainly be welcome. I think Senators in both parties are ready to have their voices and the voices of their constituents heard in the Senate. Senators understand that Keystone presents a real opportunity for Washington to finally prove to America that it can prioritize jobs for them over the demand of powerful special interests. That is what the voters told us they wanted just last November, and that is just exactly what Washington should aim for now by passing this bipartisan, job- creating infrastructure project.

As we consider the Keystone jobs bill, let's keep focused on the real issues at hand, such as jobs for the middle class and reliable energy costs for families. Let's also acknowledge that this is not really a debate about the environment. President Obama's own State Department has previously said that Keystone's impact on the environment would basically be negligible. So let's maintain our focus. Let's keep the voters in mind who sent us here and let's remember what they told us just last November.

One of the things they told us is they would like to see more team work across the aisle. So for a President who

said he would like to see more bipartisan cooperation, this, my colleagues, is a perfect opportunity.

A number of the many Democratic supporters of this bill have already written to the President urging him to choose jobs, economic development, and American energy security and approve this pipeline. We are asking the President again today to do that by working with us to end the gridlock and get this job-creating infrastructure project moving. Keystone has been studied endlessly from almost every possible angle, and the same basic conclusion seems to be coming back. The conclusion is: Build it. Build it. Keystone construction could support thousands of jobs. It could invest billions in our economy. That is why Democrats say build it, Republicans say build it, prominent labor unions say build it, and most importantly, the American people say build it.

The President has called for Congress to send him infrastructure projects to sign. Keystone is the largest shovel-ready infrastructure project in the country that makes sense. So we are going to send it to him, and we hope he will sign it. He may ultimately veto an infrastructure project that would increase workers' wages by $2 billion, a project whose construction alone could, according to the President's own State Department, support many thousands of jobs. He may. Or he may decide to try and make divided government work. Either way, this Congress is determined to do what we can to pass bipartisan jobs legislation. That is what the American people asked us to do, and that is just what we are going to do.

Recognition of the Acting Minority Leader

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 2 p.m. on Monday, January 12, the motion to proceed to the consideration of S. 1, a bill to approve the Keystone Pipeline, be agreed to, and that Senator Murkowski be recognized to offer a substitute amendment that is the text of the committee-reported bill.

Before the Chair rules, for the information of all Senators, it is the intention of the chairman and the leadership on this side of the aisle to ask that the two bill managers or their designees offer amendments in an alternating fashion to allow for an open amendment process.

Mr. President, what is the pending business?

I send a cloture motion to the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that, notwithstanding the provisions of rule XXII, the mandatory quorum be waived and the vote on the motion to invoke cloture occur at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, January 12.

Now, Mr. President, we had hoped to begin working on the bipartisan Hoeven Keystone jobs and infrastructure bill today. We had hoped to continue offering amendments tomorrow. Unfortunately, some of our colleagues across the aisle objected to proceeding to this bipartisan legislation so that forces a few changes to the schedule.

First, it means we will have to file cloture on the motion to proceed, which I just did; and then, as a result, it means under the rules of the Senate we won't be able to begin offering amendments until next week.

Frankly, it is unfortunate. Many Senators on both sides had hoped to use tomorrow to work on the bill, and I did as well. But we will work through this because we are determined to get bipartisan jobs legislation on the President's desk as soon as we can.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and 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 permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk which 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, I ask unanimous consent that the time between 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. be controlled by Senator Hoeven and the time from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. be controlled by the Democratic leader or his designee.

This morning the Senate will be in a period of morning business while we continue to organize for the new Congress. We will need to pass a resolution making committee appointments later today so they can begin their work on the Keystone Pipeline bill and other important priorities.

As we announced last month, the bipartisan keystone energy bill will be on the floor and it will be open for amendment next week. The House is also sending over a reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program today, and we will need to take action on that quickly as well.

Yesterday we inaugurated the 114th Senate of the Congress. We welcomed back many dedicated Members and swore in many new ones. I have high hopes for our new colleagues. They share the resolve of my conference to restore the Senate to a place of high purpose, and they are determined to make a positive difference in the lives of the people who sent them.

The men and women we have just sworn in have inaugurated one significant change already; that is, the majority we seated yesterday. I look to this new beginning with optimism and a profound sense of purpose, and I look to my colleagues with gratitude for their trust. Next to serving the people of Kentucky, this is the highest of honors. I recognize the serious expectations of the American people and I know they are counting on us--and I do mean all of us--every single Member of this body.

We are in a moment of great anxiety as a nation. The people we represent have lost faith in their government. They no longer trust Washington to do the right thing. Many face the reality of losing health plans after being told otherwise. Many struggle with rising medical costs after Washington officials repeatedly said they would be lowered. Confidence in the American dream has plunged. Anxiety about the type of country we leave to the next generation is widespread. For many it has never seemed more difficult just to get by.

When Americans look overseas they see a world filled with chaos: instability roiling the Middle East, terrorists pressing an aggressive agenda, and autocrats scoffing at a superpower that doesn't seem to have a real plan.

At home they see a government that is either uninterested in or incapable of addressing their concerns, a government that seems to be working for itself instead of them. Whether it is Washington's dysfunction or a bureaucracy that has grown so Byzantine and unaccountable, it tried to muzzle political opponents and ignore the needs of veterans.

The American people have simply had enough, and this past November

they had their say. The message they sent was clear. If voters hit the brakes 4 years ago, this time they have spun the wheel. They said they want the administration to change course and move to the middle. They said they want Congress to send legislation to the President that addresses their concerns. This November the American people didn't ask for a government that tries to do everything and fails, and they didn't demand a government that aims to do nothing and succeeds. They asked simply for a government that works.

They want a government of the 21st century, one that functions with efficiency and accountability, competence and purpose. They want a Washington that is more interested in modernizing and streamlining government than adding more layers to it, and they want more jobs, more opportunity for the middle class, and more flexibility in a complex age with complex demands.

That is why we plan to pursue commonsense jobs ideas, including those with bipartisan support: measures such as reforming a broken tax system to make it simpler and friendlier to job creation, opening more markets to American-made products so we can create more jobs at home, and moving forward with bipartisan infrastructure projects such as the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Americans are challenging this Congress and this President to work for them. They are challenging lawmakers in Washington to work for jobs for Americans, not just jobs for themselves. It seems simple enough. But in the end, in the era of divided government control, we are going to have to work hard to meet expectations and we are going to have to work together.

Step No. 1 is getting Congress functioning again. That means fixing the Senate. Last session the House sent over countless commonsense bipartisan bills. Too many of them died right here without so much as a hearing, and Senators from both parties with ideas for jobs and growth were routinely stopped.

So it is time to change the business model. We need to return to regular order. We need to get committees working again. We need to recommit to a rational, functioning appropriations process. We need to open the legislative process in a way that allows more amendments from both sides.

Sometimes it is going to mean actually working late, but restoring the Senate is the right and practical thing to do because we are only going to pass meaningful legislation if Members of both parties are given a stake in the outcome. That is the genius of regular order. That is the genius of the Senate.

I am reminded of this every time I walk into my office. On the wall are portraits of John Sherman Cooper, a Republican, and Alben Barkley, a Democrat. Keeping watch from below is a bust of Henry Clay. Each of these Senators--each of these Kentuckians--came from a different political party. Each viewed the world through a different ideological lens, but all of them believed in the Senate and all of them left behind important lessons for today: Clay, about putting country first and pursuing principled compromises; Cooper, about choosing when to make a stand and making it; and Barkley, about having the courage to think differently from a President of the same political party he had served dutifully for years.

These lessons echo into the present and they help point the way toward a better functioning government. A Senate and a Congress that function again will help move us past an era of government by crisis. It doesn't mean everything will be perfect, it doesn't mean we will never come up against a deadline, and it doesn't mean we will always agree, but together we can commit to changing the way Washington operates. This can be done. It can be done.

This Senate has seemed imperfect at moments, but it has been proven to be a place of high purpose at many other times, a place where our country has come together to confront great challenges and advance solutions that once seemed completely out of reach. That is the Senate I saw when I saw Senator Cooper whip votes for the Civil Rights Act many believed would never pass, that is the Senate I saw when President Reagan worked with Democratic leaders to pass major reforms to taxes and Social Security, and that is the Senate I saw when a Republican Congress worked with President Clinton to pass historic welfare reform.

The promise of the Senate is real. Time and time again it has been an engine for bipartisan achievement to which both parties can assume either credit or blame, and that is how we should view it today.

So, yes, the American people elected divided government, but that doesn't mean they don't want us to accomplish anything. If there is a will to do so, we can come together to achieve great things. If President Obama is interested in a historic achievement of his own, this can be his time as well.

The President has already indicated a willingness to work with us on trade and infrastructure and comprehensive tax reform. These efforts are going to require a lot of work. Navigating the political pitfalls will not be easy, but passing these types of measures will represent a win for the American people--wins we could all be proud of. The truth is we could work for bigger things too. We could work together to save and strengthen Medicare, to protect Social Security for future generations, to balance the budget and put our growing national debt on a path to elimination. But bipartisan reform can only be achieved if President Obama is interested in it. The President is the only one who can bring his party on board. He is the only one, obviously, who can sign something that Congress sends him. I assure you, threatening to veto a jobs and infrastructure bill within minutes of a new Congress taking the oath of office--a bill with strong bipartisan support--is anything but productive.

I appreciate that bipartisan compromise may not come easily for the President--not his first inclination. The President's supporters are pressing for militancy, not compromise. They are demanding the comforts of purity over the duties of progress.

From DC to Montpelier, they see the limits of an exhausted 20th century mindset asserting itself, even when nearly every lever of power has been in hand. Across the Atlantic, they see the Sun setting on the social democratic idea. They see the tragic legacies of welfare states--empty promises and fear of the future. It is understandable why the President's supporters might want to retreat to past comforts, but now is the time to accept reality. Now is the time to actually move forward.

Americans know that democracy is not about what you can get away with, it is about what you can achieve together. Many in this body, on both sides of the aisle, understand that. I have talked to many colleagues on the other side of the aisle who understand this fully.

We are calling on the President to ignore the voices of reaction and to join us. Whatever he decides, though, this Congress is going to function again. Let's pass legislation that focuses on jobs and the real concerns of the middle class.

After so many years of sluggish growth, we are finally starting to see some economic data that can provide a glimmer of hope. The uptick appears to coincide with the biggest political change of the Obama administration's long tenure in Washington--the expectation of a new Republican Congress. This is precisely the time to advance a positive, progrowth agenda.

Some of the measures the new Congress will pass may seem significant; others may seem modest. That is OK. As we have seen in recent years, a bigger bill does not always mean a better bill.

While we are always going to search for areas where we can agree, the President may not be enamored of every bill we pass, and that is OK too. It is not our job to protect the President from good ideas. A little creative tension between the Executive and the legislature can be pretty healthy in a democracy such as ours. Presidents and Congresses have disagreed before. They have confronted challenges that eclipse the ones we see today. What is important to remember is that the Senate has always endured--always. We have a duty to restore it now so we can meet the mandate of the people who sent us here.

Former majority leader Howard Baker once noted that making the Senate work is like ``trying to make 99

independent souls act in concert under rules that encourage polite anarchy.'' Yet he also reminded us that ``it doesn't take Clays and Websters and Calhouns to make the Senate work.'' It simply takes men and women of honor working in a spirit of good faith.

It may be difficult, but it has been done before and it can be done again, and if we are going to get there, it helps to recall in whose footsteps we walk today. This is the same Chamber where Dirksen and Mansfield allied for historic progress. This is where Byrd drew from antiquity to rouse colleagues to present challenges and where in later years he would critique successors on the finer points of procedure. This is where Mitchell honed the skills he needed to help bring warring communities together, enemies who responded to critics not just with floor speeches or press conferences but actually live ammunition. This is where Dole shared war stories with Inouye, and with a fateful tap on the shoulder, he would partner with Moynihan in their effort to reform Social Security.

The names of many Senators who came before us are etched into the desks we sit at today. The men and women who precede us include future Presidents and Vice Presidents. They include former athletes, veterans, and astronauts. We have forgotten some, we remember others, but their legacies live on.

Here is how Senator Claude Pepper put it:

The Senate is inefficient, unwieldy [and] inconsistent; it

has foibles, its vanities, its members who are great . . .

and those who think they are great. But like democracy . . .

it is strong . . . it has survived many changes, it has saved

the country [from] many catastrophes, [and] it is a safeguard

against any form of tyranny.

In the last analysis, Pepper noted, the Senate ``is probably the price we in America have to pay for liberty.'' For everything Senator Pepper and I may not have agreed on, we certainly agreed on that.

In the same way, each of us here may not agree on every issue. We may be Republican, we may be Democrat, but we are all Americans. We each have a responsibility to make the Senate function, and we each have a duty to work for the people who sent us here in serious times to get serious results.

Let's restore the Senate we love. Let's look for areas of agreement when we can. Above all, let's make Washington work again for the people we serve.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with Senator Durbin on behalf of the Democratic leader.

Mr. President, in the 112th Congress the Senate adopted a new funding allocation for Senate committees. This approach has served the Senate for the past two Congresses when the Democrats controlled the majority. I believe this approach will continue to serve the interests of the Senate and the public, regardless of which party is in the majority, by helping to retain core committee staff with institutional knowledge. This funding allocation is based on the party division of the Senate, with 10 percent of the total majority and minority salary baseline going to the majority for administrative expenses. However, regardless of the party division of the Senate, the minority share of the majority and minority salary baseline will not be less than 40 percent, and the majority share will not exceed 60 percent. It is my intent that this approach will continue to serve the Senate for this Congress and future Congresses.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a joint leadership letter be printed in the Record.