Floor Statements

Thank you, Mr. President.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following my remarks the Senator from Texas, Mr. Cornyn, be recognized.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alaska, Mr. Begich, for coming and joining me today because I know he is deeply committed to strengthening and protecting Social Security for current and future seniors. So I was very pleased to join him today in introducing the RAISE Act, which will be a very critical step forward in this effort.

Over the last several decades, middle class families have been increasingly squeezed by rising prices for everything from college tuition to health care. Wages have stayed flat--or even declined for some people--and fewer companies today are offering the kinds of generous pension plans that used to help so many workers stay financially secure.

With all that in mind, it is not surprising that, as families have struggled to stretch their dollars further and further in order to get the bills paid and raise their children, it has become harder and harder to save for retirement.

In fact, a recent study showed that more than a third of today's workers have been unable to save even a dollar for retirement, and even those who do have savings do not have very much. The same study found that 60 percent of respondents had less than $25,000 in total assets and investments, excluding their home.

The numbers are even more pronounced when you look at women in the workforce. Because women, on average, earn less than men, they accumulate less in savings, they receive smaller pensions, and nearly 3 in 10 women over 65 depend only on Social Security for income in their later years.

It is clear that now more than ever Social Security is a lifeline for millions of seniors. So it is especially important for us to make sure this critical system is meeting the needs of today's beneficiaries.

For 75 years our Social Security system has offered millions of seniors and

their families a foundation of financial security. But a lot has changed in those 75 years. Today, most families have two earners. Because Social Security was actually designed for single-earner families, surviving spouses in families where both adults worked may receive less in benefits than they deserve.

Social Security also supports children whose parents retired, became disabled or passed away--but those benefits end at the age 18 or 19. That is right. When young adults should be thinking about continuing their education--a necessity in today's economy--they are worried about having nowhere to go.

At a time when Social Security is an increasingly critical source of support for so many, the RAISE Act would make some commonsense updates to ensure our Social Security system is doing everything possible to help today's seniors and their families.

As the Senator from Alaska described, the RAISE Act would establish a new alternative benefit to make sure widows and widowers from two- earner families do not receive less in survivor benefits than those from single-earner families.

The RAISE Act would enable spouses who were married for less than 10 years to receive spousal and survivor benefits. It would extend benefits for young adults under 23 who are enrolled in school full time.

Crucially, to help ensure Social Security is there for future generations, the RAISE Act would shore up the Social Security trust fund in a fiscally responsible way that protects middle-class families. I believe strengthening and protecting Social Security benefits through the RAISE Act would do an enormous amount of help to our workers and families and their ability to stay financially secure.

But I also want to note there is a much broader challenge. There is not just one solution. We should absolutely make these critical changes to help make sure our Social Security system is meeting the needs of today's workers and families, but we also have to look at ways for workers to save for retirement and encourage companies to offer higher retirement plans.

That is not all. We need to make sure women get equal pay for equal work so they will have the same shot at a secure retirement as their male coworkers.

We do need to invest in education and training and get college costs down so our workers are prepared to compete for high-wage, high-skilled jobs.

We need to continue to fight to strengthen and protect programs such as Medicare which senior women and men rely on.

Democrats care deeply about taking these steps and many others to make sure our workers have the secure, dignified retirement they deserve. There is absolutely no reason why, after working hard all of her life, a retiree should have to worry about how she and her family will make ends meet.

I believe we can do better. I know Senator Begich does as well. I urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a close look at our RAISE Act. I hope we can pass it to offer seniors and their families some additional relief. Then I hope we can build on this with other policies to create more opportunity and more financial security for our workers.

Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Alaska, Mr. Begich, for coming and joining me today because I know he is deeply committed to strengthening and protecting Social Security for current and future seniors. So I was very pleased to join him today in introducing the RAISE Act, which will be a very critical step forward in this effort.

Over the last several decades, middle class families have been increasingly squeezed by rising prices for everything from college tuition to health care. Wages have stayed flat--or even declined for some people--and fewer companies today are offering the kinds of generous pension plans that used to help so many workers stay financially secure.

With all that in mind, it is not surprising that, as families have struggled to stretch their dollars further and further in order to get the bills paid and raise their children, it has become harder and harder to save for retirement.

In fact, a recent study showed that more than a third of today's workers have been unable to save even a dollar for retirement, and even those who do have savings do not have very much. The same study found that 60 percent of respondents had less than $25,000 in total assets and investments, excluding their home.

The numbers are even more pronounced when you look at women in the workforce. Because women, on average, earn less than men, they accumulate less in savings, they receive smaller pensions, and nearly 3 in 10 women over 65 depend only on Social Security for income in their later years.

It is clear that now more than ever Social Security is a lifeline for millions of seniors. So it is especially important for us to make sure this critical system is meeting the needs of today's beneficiaries.

For 75 years our Social Security system has offered millions of seniors and

their families a foundation of financial security. But a lot has changed in those 75 years. Today, most families have two earners. Because Social Security was actually designed for single-earner families, surviving spouses in families where both adults worked may receive less in benefits than they deserve.

Social Security also supports children whose parents retired, became disabled or passed away--but those benefits end at the age 18 or 19. That is right. When young adults should be thinking about continuing their education--a necessity in today's economy--they are worried about having nowhere to go.

At a time when Social Security is an increasingly critical source of support for so many, the RAISE Act would make some commonsense updates to ensure our Social Security system is doing everything possible to help today's seniors and their families.

As the Senator from Alaska described, the RAISE Act would establish a new alternative benefit to make sure widows and widowers from two- earner families do not receive less in survivor benefits than those from single-earner families.

The RAISE Act would enable spouses who were married for less than 10 years to receive spousal and survivor benefits. It would extend benefits for young adults under 23 who are enrolled in school full time.

Crucially, to help ensure Social Security is there for future generations, the RAISE Act would shore up the Social Security trust fund in a fiscally responsible way that protects middle-class families. I believe strengthening and protecting Social Security benefits through the RAISE Act would do an enormous amount of help to our workers and families and their ability to stay financially secure.

But I also want to note there is a much broader challenge. There is not just one solution. We should absolutely make these critical changes to help make sure our Social Security system is meeting the needs of today's workers and families, but we also have to look at ways for workers to save for retirement and encourage companies to offer higher retirement plans.

That is not all. We need to make sure women get equal pay for equal work so they will have the same shot at a secure retirement as their male coworkers.

We do need to invest in education and training and get college costs down so our workers are prepared to compete for high-wage, high-skilled jobs.

We need to continue to fight to strengthen and protect programs such as Medicare which senior women and men rely on.

Democrats care deeply about taking these steps and many others to make sure our workers have the secure, dignified retirement they deserve. There is absolutely no reason why, after working hard all of her life, a retiree should have to worry about how she and her family will make ends meet.

I believe we can do better. I know Senator Begich does as well. I urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a close look at our RAISE Act. I hope we can pass it to offer seniors and their families some additional relief. Then I hope we can build on this with other policies to create more opportunity and more financial security for our workers.

Madam President, I wish to pay tribute to a devoted public servant as he retires from a career at the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Navy. Matthew S. McCormick has dedicated 32 years in service to our Nation, including 11 years--the last 4 as manager--at the Richland Operations Office at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in my home State of Washington.

A graduate of Montana State University, Mr. McCormick began his civil career as a nuclear engineer for the U.S. Navy. After he worked on the Naval Reactor's Program, Mr. McCormick moved to the Department of Energy serving in multiple different capacities in the Office of Environmental Management and with the Savanah River Site and Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. His time there taught him the value of environmental cleanup, and was critical to his next job as assistant manager for the Central Plateau in the Richland Operations Office. He proved himself in this role, and was named manager of the Richland Operations Office in 2010.

It is clear to me that Washington State has benefitted from Mr. McCormick's leadership. As a part of the Manhattan Project, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation produced plutonium from 1944 until 1987. The people of the Tri-Cities sacrificed for the strength and safety of our Nation, and cleanup of the Hanford site is an ongoing challenge. Mr. McCormick has shown tremendous dedication to this task, and has helped ensure that the cleanup efforts at Hanford continue to move forward in a meaningful and timely fashion.

Mr. McCormick was part of the team that set forward a path to protect the Columbia River and reduce the active footprint of the Hanford site by focusing on cleanup projects along the shoreline under the 2015 Vision. During his tenure, the remaining plutonium left in the Plutonium Finishing Plant after the Cold War was stabilized, packaged, and shipped offsite and out of the State of Washington. Cleanup was completed at the first reactor area--F Reactor, and a total of seven of nine nuclear reactors were placed in interim safe storage. Significant progress has been made in protecting the Columbia River from contaminated groundwater through the construction of the 200 West Pump and Treat Facility in the Central Plateau and three new pump and treat facilities along the Columbia River. Most importantly, Mr. McCormick has strived to ensure that local communities, tribal nations, and stakeholders know their voices are being heard.

Mr. McCormick's success in carrying out the cleanup mission at Hanford was aided by his ability to build relationships, including with me and members of my staff. When he was made manager almost 4 years ago, I knew that the Tri-Cities community and Washington State as a whole could count on his leadership. Today I join with others throughout the Pacific Northwest in thanking him for his years of service. I congratulate Mr. McCormick on his retirement, and wish him the best of luck in moving forward.

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

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business, followed by the Senator from Georgia.

Madam President, I came to the floor today to take a few minutes and talk about a piece of legislation I have been working on, along with seven of my colleagues from this Chamber and from the House of Representatives. That legislation is called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. This is a long-overdue bill

that will reauthorize and improve the Workforce Investment Act--or WIA, as we call it--which includes dozens of critical workforce development programs in all 50 of our States.

This is an issue I have been working on for more than a decade. For several years now I have been very proud to work here in the Senate to reauthorize WIA, so I am very glad we are finally on a strong bipartisan path to get this done for families and businesses in Washington State and across the country who have been telling me how important effective workforce programs are for them and their communities.

The reason we were able to introduce such a strong bill this morning--and a bill that I think has a real chance to become law--is the incredible bipartisan process we have had over the last few months to reach a compromise between both parties and both Chambers. So I would like to thank each of the Members who helped me introduce the legislation this morning by name: in the House of Representatives, Representative John Kline, Republican from Minnesota; Representative George Miller, Democrat from California; Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican from North Carolina; and Representative Rubeen Hinojosa, Democrat from Texas; and here in the Senate, Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat from Iowa and the great chairman of our HELP Committee; Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican from Tennessee; and finally my close partner and cohort in this process, who is here with me today, Senator Johnny Isakson from Georgia.

None of us got everything we wanted in the bill we introduced this morning, but all of us got legislation we believe in. It is a bill that will help our workers, and it will help our businesses and the economy for years to come.

I am as strong a supporter of our Federal workforce development program as anyone. I have seen firsthand in my home State of Washington workers who were laid off and who were able to get new training and new skills and new jobs. I have seen many of our Washington State businesses, from aerospace companies to video game design firms, that were able to access workers with the new skills they needed to grow and compete.

But the fact is that we have been relying on Federal workforce development programs that were written in the 1990s, and with millions of new jobs that will require postsecondary education and advanced skills in the coming years, we will fall behind in the world if we do not modernize our workforce development now. We have to make sure that when high-tech jobs of the 21st century are created, Americans are ready to fill them. That is what we have done in this bill. We have doubled down on the programs that work, we have improved the programs that have become outdated, and we have created a workforce system that is more nimble and adaptable and better aligned with what businesses need and more accountable so we can continue to make it better. That is what we were sent here to do--work with our colleagues across the aisle for the American people. We had a House proposal and we had a Senate proposal and we met in the middle.

I can't count how many times Senator Isakson, my Republican colleague, and I have talked about the importance of getting this done. His office happens to be right next door to mine. So whether we were at a committee hearing or on a train to the Capitol, we were always focused on how we could work together and find a path to a deal.

We are not done yet. I am going to be working with my colleagues in the Senate--Democrats and Republicans--to get their support for this compromise, and our colleagues will be doing the same in the House of Representatives.

This is an all-too-rare opportunity for all of us to get behind a strong, bipartisan, bicameral bill that will help our workers and get our economy back on track. I am very proud of the work that went into this.

I yield to my colleague, Senator Isakson. This would not be on the floor today without his tremendous work and his work ethic and his willingness to work across the aisle to get this done. I sincerely thank him.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I would like to extend a gracious thank you to staff from my office, senior advisor Scott Cheney; my chief of staff Mike Spahn; my Budget Committee staff director Evan Schatz; Stacy Rich and Emma Fulkerson from my floor and leadership staff; my communications team, especially Eli Zupnick and Sean Coit; and everyone else from my team, who have all worked very hard to move this bill forward.

I would like to thank the wonderful staff from Senator Isakson's office: Tommy Nguyen, staff director of the HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety; as well as Brett Layson and Michael Black.

I thank Chairman Harkin's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee team: senior education policy advisor Crystal Bridgeman; chief education counsel Mildred Otero; disability policy staff director Michael Gamel-McCormick; disability policy advisor Lee Perselay; Derek Miller, staff director of the HELP Committee; deputy staff director of the HELP committee Lauren McFerren; and labor policy advisor Liz Weiss; and many more who have helped.

I also thank the staff for Senator Alexander: senior education policy advisor Patrick Murray; education policy director Peter Oppenheim; Bill Knudsen; and HELP Committee staff director David Cleary.

Finally I would be remiss if I didn't thank the professionals in the Senate Legislative Counsel's office, specially Liz King, Amy Gaynor, Kristin Romero, and Katie Grendon.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

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

Mr. President, I know that many students across the country are waiting on the edge of their seats and looking forward to school letting out shortly for their summer break. But for many of those kids who participate in school meal programs, the summer can be a pretty uncertain time--not knowing when or where they are going to get their next meal. It can be a stressful time for those kids' parents as well, who have to stretch every dollar they have to feed their family today.

That is a struggle Nicole, a single mom from my home State of Washington, knows all too well. She has been unemployed now for about a year. She has two kids. She has a daughter who is finishing kindergarten and a son who is just finishing fifth grade. They have relied on SNAP benefits to help pay for their groceries and school meals to get help during the school year. But Nicole says that last summer, without school-provided meals, it was particularly difficult to put enough food on the table to feed her kids.

Today I am here introducing a bill that will help families like Nicole's and many across the country. It is a bill to make sure more children can get the nutrition they need during the summer break. When school is in session, millions of kids from low-income families can get free or reduced-price meals through our National School Lunch Program. But during the summer, hunger goes up in this country about 34 percent for families with school-aged kids, according to a study.

Right now we do have a Federal congregate summer meals program, of which I have long been supportive. It is called the Summer Food Service Program. It is very successful in some areas of our country. I always look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen and expand that program to make sure it is reaching as many children as possible.

But in a study from 2012, summer congregate meals programs only reached about 14 percent of the students who qualified for free or reduced-priced meals during the school year. That adds up to tens of millions of kids across our country who do not have access to meal programs in the summer.

In my home State of Washington, just 9.8 percent of those kids participated in 2012. That means those kids are more likely to deal with hunger or food insecurity. That is unacceptable to me. When it comes to ensuring that our kids grow up with the nutrition they need to learn and to thrive, there are no excuses.

We have to do more to fight summer hunger. That is why I am here today introducing legislation called the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act. The bill is pretty simple. It provides families with an EBT card that will help them afford groceries during the summer months to replace the meals those kids would otherwise have gotten at school. It is based on a very successful pilot program that has proven now to decrease hunger by 33 percent. Some of the demonstration projects had participation rates as high as 90 percent. Scaling up that program with the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act will help more children get the nutrition they need in the summer months.

The bill is fully paid for. We do that by closing a tax loophole that actually encourages U.S. companies to shift our jobs and profits offshore. From my perspective, that is a pretty fair trade. It will encourage companies to keep jobs and profits here in America. At the same time, it will help kids get the nutrition they need during the summer.

Fighting hunger, especially among kids, is an issue that is extremely important to me. I have told this body before that when I was just a teenager--15 years old--my dad, who fought in World War II, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Within a few years he could not work any longer. My mom had to go to work and find a job. It did not pay anywhere near enough to support seven kids and a husband who had a growing stack of medical bills. So for several months when I was young, we had to rely on food stamps. It was not much, but I remember it helping to get my family by during a very tough time. So I know how hard it is for families who are struggling to put food on the table.

As adults, I believe it is our moral responsibility to take care of our children, to make sure they can grow up healthy and to make sure they have every opportunity to thrive and learn. I hope we can live up to this responsibility by tackling this problem and helping more kids get the nutrition they need to live healthy lives. I hope this body can work with me to make sure that kids who are now looking forward to their summer break can enjoy it free from hunger.

Mr. President, I know that many students across the country are waiting on the edge of their seats and looking forward to school letting out shortly for their summer break. But for many of those kids who participate in school meal programs, the summer can be a pretty uncertain time--not knowing when or where they are going to get their next meal. It can be a stressful time for those kids' parents as well, who have to stretch every dollar they have to feed their family today.

That is a struggle Nicole, a single mom from my home State of Washington, knows all too well. She has been unemployed now for about a year. She has two kids. She has a daughter who is finishing kindergarten and a son who is just finishing fifth grade. They have relied on SNAP benefits to help pay for their groceries and school meals to get help during the school year. But Nicole says that last summer, without school-provided meals, it was particularly difficult to put enough food on the table to feed her kids.

Today I am here introducing a bill that will help families like Nicole's and many across the country. It is a bill to make sure more children can get the nutrition they need during the summer break. When school is in session, millions of kids from low-income families can get free or reduced-price meals through our National School Lunch Program. But during the summer, hunger goes up in this country about 34 percent for families with school-aged kids, according to a study.

Right now we do have a Federal congregate summer meals program, of which I have long been supportive. It is called the Summer Food Service Program. It is very successful in some areas of our country. I always look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen and expand that program to make sure it is reaching as many children as possible.

But in a study from 2012, summer congregate meals programs only reached about 14 percent of the students who qualified for free or reduced-priced meals during the school year. That adds up to tens of millions of kids across our country who do not have access to meal programs in the summer.

In my home State of Washington, just 9.8 percent of those kids participated in 2012. That means those kids are more likely to deal with hunger or food insecurity. That is unacceptable to me. When it comes to ensuring that our kids grow up with the nutrition they need to learn and to thrive, there are no excuses.

We have to do more to fight summer hunger. That is why I am here today introducing legislation called the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act. The bill is pretty simple. It provides families with an EBT card that will help them afford groceries during the summer months to replace the meals those kids would otherwise have gotten at school. It is based on a very successful pilot program that has proven now to decrease hunger by 33 percent. Some of the demonstration projects had participation rates as high as 90 percent. Scaling up that program with the Stop Child Summer Hunger Act will help more children get the nutrition they need in the summer months.

The bill is fully paid for. We do that by closing a tax loophole that actually encourages U.S. companies to shift our jobs and profits offshore. From my perspective, that is a pretty fair trade. It will encourage companies to keep jobs and profits here in America. At the same time, it will help kids get the nutrition they need during the summer.

Fighting hunger, especially among kids, is an issue that is extremely important to me. I have told this body before that when I was just a teenager--15 years old--my dad, who fought in World War II, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Within a few years he could not work any longer. My mom had to go to work and find a job. It did not pay anywhere near enough to support seven kids and a husband who had a growing stack of medical bills. So for several months when I was young, we had to rely on food stamps. It was not much, but I remember it helping to get my family by during a very tough time. So I know how hard it is for families who are struggling to put food on the table.

As adults, I believe it is our moral responsibility to take care of our children, to make sure they can grow up healthy and to make sure they have every opportunity to thrive and learn. I hope we can live up to this responsibility by tackling this problem and helping more kids get the nutrition they need to live healthy lives. I hope this body can work with me to make sure that kids who are now looking forward to their summer break can enjoy it free from hunger.

We yield back all time.

Madam President, I rise along with my colleague, the ranking member of the Budget Committee, Senator Sessions, to pay tribute to Edward Blau, who is retiring at the end of this month after more than 32 years of distinguished service to the Congress at the Congressional Budget Office.

Since joining CBO's Scorekeeping Unit in 1982, Mr. Blau has worked side by side with the Budget Committee, helping us keep track of the status of legislation and committee allocations. As an all around expert on budget process and the Congress, Mr. Blau has been invaluable in helping the Budget Committee execute our responsibilities to the Senate.

Mr. Blau is well-regarded by both Democrats and Republicans for his tireless and diligent work--as well as his patient and easygoing manner. His attention to detail includes reviewing each and every Congressional Record to ensure that the database he maintains to help us with managing the Senate budget process is up-to-date at all times. It is an incredibly important task and one that we are grateful to Mr. Blau for his help in overseeing the past three decades.

In short, Mr. Blau exemplifies CBO's high standard of professionalism, objectivity, and nonpartisanship. In fact, he twice has received the CBO Director's Award, the agency's highest recognition for outstanding performance.

As chairman, I greatly appreciate the sacrifice that Mr. Blau has made in assisting the Budget Committee and the Congress. I wish him well in his future endeavors, including, as I understand it, a plan to spend more time following in person his beloved Nationals--the other Washington baseball team.

I would like to now turn to my colleague, Senator Sessions, for his remarks.

Madam President, on May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Court declared segregation of public schools unconstitutional under the equal protection guaranteed by the 14th amendment. In delivering the opinion, Chief Justice Warren stated that ``in the field of public education the doctrine of `separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.'' May 17, 2014, marks the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision. This historic ruling began our great Nation down a path toward providing all children with equal access to education.

Education is a basic human right, and all students deserve equal access to education. I would like to acknowledge the courageous students who attended desegregated schools during the years following the ruling on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. African- American students in the South endured verbal and physical abuse just for attending school. Their actions to attend desegregated schools not only demonstrate their remarkable bravery but also the importance of education.

Equal protection under the law is a fundamental right in our country. No one should suffer discrimination because of their race, religion, national origin, age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Whether applying for a job, finding a home, eating in a restaurant, or attending school, we must ensure all citizens are treated fairly and equally. To me, the fight for equality is a fight for what it means to be American. That is why the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decision is so important. May 17, 1954, was a momentous day for the civil rights movement and moved America a step closer toward justice and equality for all.

Sixty years later, thanks to the Supreme Court's decision, students from all walks of life are guaranteed equal access to public schools. Yet there is still more work to be done. Although 60 years have passed since the Court declared separate is never equal, many schools across our country remain divided by race and socioeconomic status. A child's access to a world-class education should not be determined by their ZIP code or parents' income. So, as our country reflects on the historic importance of the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, we must also look to the future, to continue the fight to ensure all children, regardless of race, have equal access to high quality education.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back on both nominations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 10 a.m.

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 May 15, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. in room SR-253 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Local Perspectives on Moving America''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. in room SD-406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

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 May 15, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Progress and Challenges: The State of Tobacco Use and Regulations in the U.S.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SD-106, of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``The State of VA Health Care.''

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 May 15, 2014, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Online Advertising and Hidden Hazards to Consumer Security and Data Privacy.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 15, 2014, at 10 a.m., to hold an African Affairs subcommittee hearing entitled, ``#BringBackOurGirls: Addressing the Threat of Boko Haram.''

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.

Mr. President, I ask to speak as in morning business.

Mr. President, first of all, I wish to thank my colleague Senator Warren, who is joining me on the floor. We are here together to talk about a question that could not be more critical to family budgets and to our economy as a whole; that is, what can we do to break down the barriers that women still face in our workforce and make sure women and their families have the fair shot they deserve. This is a question I know Senator Warren cares very deeply about. She has brought an enormous amount of leadership and focus to this debate. I am very appreciative that she is here to speak. So I would yield to her first and then I will finish speaking when she gets done.

I thank the Senator from Massachusetts again for all of her extremely hard and important work to expand economic opportunity and security for women and their families.

She has been an extremely important voice in this debate, and I am delighted she is joining us today.

Yesterday I held a hearing on this topic in the Senate Budget Committee. We invited a working mother, whose name was AnnMarie Duchon, to testify about some of the challenges that she had faced. AnnMarie told us that she loves her job at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst, but since the day that she started, she made a lower salary than her male counterpart who was doing the exact same job. They had the exact same responsibilities. Both of them had taken a pay cut to accept that job, and they both graduated from the same university in the same year.

When AnnMarie found out that he was making more than she was--even though they had the exact same resume, qualifications, and years of graduation--she went in and asked for a raise. She was told that she couldn't have one.

She stayed on that job and continued to work hard. It wasn't until her husband's job was at risk that she started thinking about how much those lost wages meant to her and her family.

She ran the numbers, and she found out that over the years she had missed out on more than $12,000 in wages compared to her male counterpart who was doing the exact same work.

AnnMarie and her husband are first generation college graduates. They have a 5-year-old daughter who is in full-time daycare because both AnnMarie and her husband have to work.

AnnMarie told us yesterday that when she realized her lost income amounted to 1 year's worth of child care or 10 months of payments on their mortgage or student loans, she said that was heartbreaking. AnnMarie was ultimately able to go back and convince her employers--by showing them the math--to give her equal pay.

But as we know, unfortunately, most women are not able to do that and many don't even know that they are

earning an unfair wage. That is a real loss, both for our families and for our economy as a whole.

We heard what $12,000 could have meant for AnnMarie's household budget, but women's contributions in the workforce have also made a huge difference to our overall economic strength.

As working families have felt more and more strained by the rising costs for everything from college tuition to childcare and health care, and an economy in which the gap between those at the top and everyone else seems to be getting wider and wider, women's economic contributions have helped ease the burden.

Economist Heather Boushey, who also testified yesterday at our hearing, found in a recent study that between 1979 and 2012 the U.S. economy grew by almost 11 percent as a result of women joining our labor force. As we think today about ways to support growth in the 21st century, it is absolutely clear our country's economic success and that of our middle-class families go hand-in-hand with women's economic success.

So we have a lot more work to do because despite all the progress we have made and all the glass ceilings that have been broken, women still face barriers that are holding them, their families, and our economy back.

Stories such as AnnMarie's--stories of women who received lower wages for the same exact work as men--are still far too common. Because women are more likely to be the primary caregiver in a family, the lack of paid leave at most jobs means women today experience higher turnover, lost earnings, and are more likely to be passed over for promotions that would help them advance.

In addition, our outdated Tax Code works against married women who choose to go back to work as a second earner because their earnings are counted on top of their spouse's. They can actually be taxed at a higher rate, and that deters some mothers from choosing to re-enter the workforce, especially when you consider the high cost and lack of access to high-quality childcare.

Those kinds of challenges are especially pronounced for women and, in particular, mothers, who are struggling today to make ends meet. We know that two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women. Their jobs are disproportionately unlikely to offer any flexibility when, for example, a child gets sick or needs to be picked up early from school. And their earnings are quickly swallowed by costs associated with work, such as childcare or transportation.

It is also important to note that our outdated policies disproportionately affect women when it comes to their retirement security because, on average, women earn less than men, accumulate less in savings, and receive smaller pensions. Today nearly 3 in 10 women over 65 depend on Social Security for their only income in their later years.

All of my colleagues and I should be alarmed that the average Social Security benefit for women over 65 is just $13,100 per year. Imagine living on that. That is not enough to feel financially secure.

The impact of these barriers is increasingly clear. Over the last decade the share of women in the labor force has actually stalled, even as other countries have continued to see more women choosing to go to work. Experts believe that a major reason for that is that, unlike in many other countries, in the United States we have not updated our policies to reflect our 21st century workforce and help today's two- earner families succeed.

At a time when we need to be doing everything we can to grow our economy and strengthen our middle class, that is not acceptable. Women have to have an equal shot at success. First and foremost, that means we need to end unfair practices that set women back financially.

We took a very good step forward with the Affordable Care Act, which prevents insurance companies today from charging women more than men for coverage--which they did before that Act. But we need to do more to make sure women are getting equal pay for equal work.

My good friend and colleague Chairman Mikulski has led the way on the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would provide women with more tools to fight paycheck discrimination. Giving the millions of women earning the minimum wage a raise--as Senator Warren just talked about--would also go a long way toward that effort. Of course, we have to update our Tax Code so that mothers who are returning to the workforce do not face a marriage penalty.

In addition to expanding the earned income tax credit for childless workers, the 21th Century Worker Tax Cut Act that I introduced would provide a 20-percent deduction on the second earner's income for working families with young children to help them keep more of what they earned.

As we get rid of these discriminatory practices, we should also recognize the challenges that working parents face, and we should put in place a set of policies that help them at work and at home. A big part of that is investing in expanded access to affordable, high- quality childcare. When parents go to work, they deserve to know that their child is safe and thriving while they are at work. There are many steps that this Congress could and should take through our Tax Code and by building on successful programs, such as Head Start, to help give working parents the peace of mind they deserve.

Finally, we need to build on and strengthen Social Security with policies that make it easier for women and their families to build a secure retirement. There is, of course, a lot more that we can do in addition, but I believe any one of those changes would have a real impact.

As the Presiding Officer knows from our Budget Committee hearing yesterday, AnnMarie testified and told us that she hopes when her daughter enters the workforce, pay inequity will be just as much of a relic as the days before the iPhone.

I could not agree more.

Acting to expand economic opportunity for women is the right thing to do. It is part of our ongoing work to uphold our country's most fundamental values. But as our country's recent history shows, it is also an economic necessity--both for our families and for our broader economy.

That is why it is so disappointing to see that when it comes to issues affecting women. Some of our Republican colleagues are laser- focused on turning back the clock. We saw this just yesterday when the senior Senator from South Carolina came to the floor and tried to pass an extreme bill that would severely limit women's reproductive rights.

Women today would much rather see Congress focusing on expanding opportunity and helping working families than on getting in between a woman and her doctor.

Over the next few months, we are going to see Democrats continuing to fight for goals such as achieving pay equity, providing access to affordable childcare, and raising the minimum wage--all of which would move women, families, and our economy forward not backward.

I hope that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will be willing to join us in this very important effort.

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