Floor Statements

Mr. President, I will need about 12 minutes.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from California for accommodating all of us.

I wish to join my colleagues who have spoken on the floor and express my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost someone in Monday's tragic shooting. I know the thoughts and prayers of the Nation are with those who are still recovering.

I know I speak for my constituents in Washington State in thanking the law enforcement community here in Washington, DC. They put their lives on the line every day to protect our families and workers in the Nation's capital. We don't have all the answers to the many questions a tragedy such as this raises, but those questions will continue to be asked, and I am hopeful the answers will help our Nation heal and guide our continued work to prevent these kinds of tragedies in the future.

I am here today because, like many of my colleagues, I spent this past August traveling around my home State and meeting with my constituents. I heard from Washington State families about a wide range of issues facing our Nation, but the one sentiment I heard over and over from every part of my State was they were sick and tired of the constant lurching from crisis to crisis.

They told me how disappointed and disgusted they were that every time they turned on their televisions over the past few years they would see another story about Congress hurtling toward another official deadline, hurting our economy and causing more uncertainty for our businesses. They told me they want Congress to work together; they want us to focus on the economy; they want us to put our country and the families we represent before partisanship and political gains.

I couldn't agree more. Like them, I am frustrated that we seem to be once again headed toward another completely avoidable, completely unnecessary, self-inflicted crisis.

It has now been 179 days since this Senate and the House passed our budgets. When the Senate budget passed, I was optimistic that because both Republicans and Democrats said they wanted to return to regular order, we might be able to get back to a responsible process. At that time we had 192 days to reach a bipartisan budget agreement and I thought the next step would be a budget conference where the two sides would get in a room, hash out our differences, and work together toward a deal. But as we all know, some of our Republican colleagues had other ideas. They immediately seemed to regret their push for a Senate budget and started running away from a debate as quickly as they could.

I came to the Senate floor with my colleagues a total of 18 times to ask for consent to start a budget conference with the House, but every time we tried a member of the tea party here in the Senate, backed by Republican leaders, stood up and blocked us. Instead of using the months we had to work out a compromise, Republicans seemed to think it was in their best interest somehow to stall as long as possible under some misguided theory that a crisis would give them more leverage.

I had hoped my Republican colleagues spent their time back home talking to their constituents and would be ready to come back to DC so we could get to work on a balanced and bipartisan budget deal, but, sadly, the opposite has happened. While I believe the majority of Republicans are interested in working with us as Democrats to get to a fair budget deal, a few of my Republican colleagues spent the summer riling up the tea party and making them promises they could not keep.

Since Republican leaders know they need to find a way to avoid another crisis that would be blamed on them, a full-scale civil war has broken out within the Republican Party. They are in disarray. They are having trouble figuring out how to pull themselves out of the hole they have climbed into. And while we wait for Republicans to join us at the table, the tea party is pushing our country closer and closer to a government shutdown and closer to what would be a catastrophic default on our laws.

Why are they doing this? It is not because they are concerned about the budget, not because they are interested in jobs or economic growth. To them it seems it is all about ObamaCare. Everything they are doing now they are doing in order to cut off health care coverage for 25 million people, to end access to free preventive health care, to cause seniors to pay more for their prescriptions, to cut off young adults from their coverage, to bring back lifetime coverage caps and let patients with preexisting conditions be denied care, put the insurance companies back in charge of our health care system, and so much more.

These political games might play well with the tea party base, but here is the reality: ObamaCare is the law of the land. It passed through this Senate with a supermajority. It passed through the House. The President signed it into law. This Supreme Court upheld it. It is already helping millions of Americans stay healthy and financially secure, and it is on track to help millions more.

When I see some of my colleagues working so hard to defund ObamaCare, I have to wonder whether they have taken the time to meet some of their own constituents who are already benefiting from this law.

This last month I was home in Washington State, and I met an incredible woman named Nikki Mackey who lives in Seattle. On September 16 of 2010, Nikki was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer. She was 36 years old and terrified of what this disease would do to her. To make matters worse, instead of focusing on her treatment, she had to worry about her coverage, and that is because a few months before her diagnosis, in the midst of the recession, Nikki had been laid off from her job. So there she was, with her coverage at risk and years of treatment ahead of her. But thanks to ObamaCare, a law some of my colleagues want to undermine at any cost,

Nikki will never have to worry about reaching a lifetime cap. She will never have to worry about not getting coverage due to her now preexisting condition. That is why we have worked so hard to pass this law because it says now in America: You shouldn't go broke because you get sick, and you shouldn't be denied care simply because you cannot afford it.

Let's be clear about what is happening here and the political calculation some of my colleagues have made. They have decided they are willing to play politics with Americans' health care, they have decided it is better for them to sabotage this law rather than improve it, and they have decided that beyond all that, they are also willing to devastate our Nation's economy to kill this law. Well, we are not going to let that happen.

Nikki told me when she turns on her TV and sees Members of Congress using every trick in the book to kill this law, she feels her ``own well-being is under attack.''

I want to be clear: Democrats are not going to defund or delay health care reform. It is not going to happen. We should all be working together right now to make sure it is implemented in the best possible way for our families, our businesses, and our communities. We are certainly very interested in hearing from anyone, Democrat or Republican, who has good ideas about how the law could be improved. We are not going to allow the health care of Nikki or millions of other Americans to be used as a pawn in a political game. We are not going to let this law get sabotaged as it continues to benefit millions of families and small business owners. The sooner Republicans realize this, the sooner we can get to work diffusing this latest artificial crisis.

We know the families we represent don't support the Republicans' sabotage tactics. Recent polls show that fewer than 1 in 4 people supports efforts to make health care reform fail. A majority of people believe we in Congress should be trying to make the law work. It is also clear that Americans would rightly blame Republicans if the law shuts down--especially over an issue such as this--and a lot of Republicans know that.

My colleague Senator Johanns said these defunding and delaying efforts have ``zero chance of being successful.'' Senator Burr said ``the dumbest idea I've ever heard of.'' House Republicans know this too. That is why they introduced a bill last week that would allow a government funding bill to pass while giving House Republicans a vote to defund health care that has no chance of becoming law. As we now know, the tea party is not interested in that. They don't want a showboat, they want a shutdown, and they are going to keep fighting until they get it.

We now have less than 2 weeks before the end of this fiscal year and a potential government shutdown. It is a shame that we have gotten to this point, but we are here. We owe it to the American people to come together and find a solution and a path forward that is good for our economy and fair for our middle class.

My goal has been and will continue to be a long-term budget agreement that replaces sequestration, tackles our debt and deficit responsibly, and invests in our workers and our economy. But since it seems clear that the House won't be able to get its act together in the next few weeks, the least they should be able to do is send us a clean, short- term extension of the current budget levels so the government doesn't shut down while we continue to negotiate on this longer term budget deal.

I want to be clear: Democrats are not going to negotiate over whether Congress should allow the Federal Government to pay its bills. As Speaker Boehner said in the past, default would be ``a financial disaster, not just for us, but for the worldwide economy.'' Republicans need to take those words to heart and stop threatening the economic recovery with their saber rattling and brinkmanship.

We went through this earlier in the year. Back then--after spending months saying they wouldn't raise the debt limit unless they got dollar-for-dollar spending cuts, Republicans dropped their demands, dropped the so-called Boehner rule, and allowed the debt ceiling to be increased. Going back now to that reckless approach of 2011 and drumming up this uncertainty again is nothing but a huge and harmful waste of time.

It is ridiculous that we find ourselves on the brink of an artificial crisis again. We should be doing everything possible to support the economic recovery and help our workers get back on the job. We should be spending time finding common ground to tackle our long-term fiscal challenges responsibly, and we should be working together to build on the Affordable Care Act to continue improving our health care system for all of our families and small business owners. As we know, we are now mired in the muck of perpetual partisanship and constant crises. The American people deserve better. Nikki and the millions of families such as hers deserve better.

I am hopeful that the Republican leadership stops focusing so much on their extreme party minority and comes to the table with us to work on a balanced and bipartisan deal the vast majority of Americans want. I hope they don't make us reach a crisis to get to that point.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise to discuss legislation that Senator Cantwell and I are introducing today to strengthen our maritime economy and protect American jobs.

Over the past decade, we have seen increasing competition for the market share of U.S.-bound maritime goods from ports beyond our border to the north and to the south. In fact, among the 25 largest North American ports, the fastest growing in 2012 were the Port of Prince Rupert in Canada and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico. Instead of U.S.-bound cargo creating economic growth here at home by entering at U.S. ports, we are witnessing it being diverted through Canadian and Mexican ports. This loss of cargo shipments leads to decreased activity and capacity at American ports. In our home State alone, more than 200,000 jobs are tied to the activities at the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. With nearly 27 percent of international container cargo potentially at risk of moving to Canada from four West Coast ports, this trend could result in significant job losses.

One of the main reasons for cargo diversion is the Harbor Maintenance Tax, HMT. The HMT is a levy on imports designed to fund the operation and maintenance of America's large and small ports, which drives job creation and strengthens America's trade economy. Unfortunately, shippers have been able to avoid the Harbor Maintenance Tax by shipping goods through ports in Canada and Mexico and then transporting those goods into the United States via truck and rail. This growing cargo diversion reduces the funds available to keep our ports in operating condition.

The loss of revenue from cargo diversion is only part of the problem. Equally concerning is the fact that only half of the tax revenue collected is being spent, even though ports across the country are in desperate need of additional maintenance funding. As of 2011,

the balance of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, HMTF, which is funded by the HMT, had a surplus of more than $6.4 billion, and it continues to grow. Furthermore, of the funds allocated through the HMTF, the balance is rarely spent on operations and maintenance at West Coast ports, where a significant amount of the tax revenue is generated. Our two largest ports in Washington--Seattle and Tacoma--generate, on average, close to seven percent of the funding for the HMTF, but each received just over a penny for every dollar collected from shippers who pay the HMT in Seattle and Tacoma. We believe that we must work to address the issue of cargo diversion as well as ensure that the funds collected are allocated fully and more equitably to meet our nationwide harbor and waterway needs.

To remain competitive in an international marketplace, we need a long-term plan to grow and support infrastructure development, and reforming the Harbor Maintenance Tax is a commonsense place to start. That is why we are proud to introduce the Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century. The legislation addresses threats to America's maritime economy by repealing the Harbor Maintenance Tax and replacing it with the Maritime Goods Movement User Fee. The proceeds of which would be fully available to Congress to provide for port operation and maintenance. This would nearly double the amount of funds available for American ports, which will help our economy thrive.

The bill ensures that shippers cannot avoid the Maritime Goods Movement User Fee by using ports in Canada and Mexico.

The legislation sets aside a portion of the user fee for critical low-use ports that are at a competitive disadvantage for Federal funding compared to large ports.

Lastly, the bill creates a competitive grant program using a percentage of the proceeds of the user fee to help make improvements to the intermodal transportation system of the United States so that goods can more efficiently reach their intended destinations.

The HMT simply is not being collected or spent in a way that ensures American ports can continue to compete on a level playing field. Our legislation works to address these inequalities and enhance our economic competitiveness abroad while supporting good jobs here in the United States.

Mr. President, I rise to discuss legislation that Senator Cantwell and I are introducing today to strengthen our maritime economy and protect American jobs.

Over the past decade, we have seen increasing competition for the market share of U.S.-bound maritime goods from ports beyond our border to the north and to the south. In fact, among the 25 largest North American ports, the fastest growing in 2012 were the Port of Prince Rupert in Canada and the Port of Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico. Instead of U.S.-bound cargo creating economic growth here at home by entering at U.S. ports, we are witnessing it being diverted through Canadian and Mexican ports. This loss of cargo shipments leads to decreased activity and capacity at American ports. In our home State alone, more than 200,000 jobs are tied to the activities at the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma. With nearly 27 percent of international container cargo potentially at risk of moving to Canada from four West Coast ports, this trend could result in significant job losses.

One of the main reasons for cargo diversion is the Harbor Maintenance Tax, HMT. The HMT is a levy on imports designed to fund the operation and maintenance of America's large and small ports, which drives job creation and strengthens America's trade economy. Unfortunately, shippers have been able to avoid the Harbor Maintenance Tax by shipping goods through ports in Canada and Mexico and then transporting those goods into the United States via truck and rail. This growing cargo diversion reduces the funds available to keep our ports in operating condition.

The loss of revenue from cargo diversion is only part of the problem. Equally concerning is the fact that only half of the tax revenue collected is being spent, even though ports across the country are in desperate need of additional maintenance funding. As of 2011,

the balance of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, HMTF, which is funded by the HMT, had a surplus of more than $6.4 billion, and it continues to grow. Furthermore, of the funds allocated through the HMTF, the balance is rarely spent on operations and maintenance at West Coast ports, where a significant amount of the tax revenue is generated. Our two largest ports in Washington--Seattle and Tacoma--generate, on average, close to seven percent of the funding for the HMTF, but each received just over a penny for every dollar collected from shippers who pay the HMT in Seattle and Tacoma. We believe that we must work to address the issue of cargo diversion as well as ensure that the funds collected are allocated fully and more equitably to meet our nationwide harbor and waterway needs.

To remain competitive in an international marketplace, we need a long-term plan to grow and support infrastructure development, and reforming the Harbor Maintenance Tax is a commonsense place to start. That is why we are proud to introduce the Maritime Goods Movement Act for the 21st Century. The legislation addresses threats to America's maritime economy by repealing the Harbor Maintenance Tax and replacing it with the Maritime Goods Movement User Fee. The proceeds of which would be fully available to Congress to provide for port operation and maintenance. This would nearly double the amount of funds available for American ports, which will help our economy thrive.

The bill ensures that shippers cannot avoid the Maritime Goods Movement User Fee by using ports in Canada and Mexico.

The legislation sets aside a portion of the user fee for critical low-use ports that are at a competitive disadvantage for Federal funding compared to large ports.

Lastly, the bill creates a competitive grant program using a percentage of the proceeds of the user fee to help make improvements to the intermodal transportation system of the United States so that goods can more efficiently reach their intended destinations.

The HMT simply is not being collected or spent in a way that ensures American ports can continue to compete on a level playing field. Our legislation works to address these inequalities and enhance our economic competitiveness abroad while supporting good jobs here in the United States.

Mr. President, we have spent the last 2 weeks here on the Senate floor talking about our bipartisan transportation and housing bill. This is a bill that is all about creating jobs, investing in our families and in our communities, and laying down a strong foundation for a long-term and broad-based economic growth. This bill is not exactly a bill I would have written on my own. I know it is not exactly a bill Senator Collins would have written on her own. But it is a compromise bill that reflects the deep cuts we made when we set spending levels in the Budget Control Act as well as the best ideas from both sides of the aisle of ways we can improve and reform our transportation and housing investment.

The transportation and housing investments in this bill have a direct impact on the families and communities we represent, from improving our roads, to reducing traffic and helping Main Street businesses, to making sure our bridges are safe so we do not see more collapses like the one back home in my State of Washington, to supporting our most vulnerable families, seniors, and veterans with a roof over their heads when they need it the most and making investments in our communities that mayors across our country use to create local jobs in their hometowns and so much more.

Senator Collins and I worked very hard together to write a bipartisan bill to invest in programs that should not be partisan. I think we succeeded. Six Republicans voted for this bill in committee; 73 Senators voted to bring this bill to the floor for a debate. That debate was a full and open one, with amendments and votes from Democrats and Republicans.

I wish to personally thank Senator Collins for her hard work on this bill, and I also thank all of our staff on the appropriations subcommittee: Alex Keenan, Dabney Hegg, Meaghan McCarthy, Rachel Milberg, and Dan Broder; as well as the staff of Senator Collins, who spent endless hours: Heideh Shahmoradi, Kenneth Altman, Jason Woolwine, and Rajat Mathur--all of whom worked so hard and put in so many hours and late nights on this strong bipartisan bill.

After 2 weeks of debate and discussion and a bipartisan bill before us, we are now going to move very shortly to a final vote. I want to be clear. This bill has the support of the majority of the caucus. In the House of Representatives, what did we see happen yesterday? They pulled their transportation and housing bill off the floor. The Republican leadership would not even allow a vote on their bill because they did not have a majority in their caucus. The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee said that showed that sequestration is unworkable and needs to be replaced. That is the House Republican chairman. But here in the Senate we have a majority, and we should move to pass this bill.

The only thing that can block the passage of this bill, the only way a bipartisan bill with the support of the majority could be stopped is if Republican leaders whip their own Members into filibustering a jobs and infrastructure bill that many of those Republicans actually support. That is the only way.

The choice before us is clear, and I urge my colleagues to make the right one. This vote is not about whether you support this exact bill or agree with the exact spending level. As Senator Collins has made clear again and again, you can think the spending level is too high and still support this process in which we pass a bill in the Senate and work with the House bill on a compromise. You can certainly disagree with the bill and not think it should be subjected to a filibuster.

The bottom line is that a vote to wrap up and vote on this bill is a vote for jobs and the economy and for bipartisan solutions to the problems facing our Nation. A vote to filibuster this bill is a vote for more gridlock, more obstruction, more partisanship, and more political games.

I know when I go home to Washington State I want to be able to tell my constituents that Democrats and Republicans worked together to solve some problems, help them, and grow the economy. I know there are many Democrats and Republicans here today who want to be able to say the same to their constituents, and I hope they will stand with me and Senator Collins and vote against a filibuster of our bipartisan bill.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, the Senate is not in order.

Madam President, I wish to echo what my good friend and partner on this bill Senator Collins just said. Similar to all of us, when I go home to my State of Washington, I do not hear a lot from my constituents about partisan politics. They do not ask me which party is up or which party is down. They do not care about the political games and certainly not who is winning or losing them.

The vast majority of people I talk to when I go home ask me what we are doing in Congress to create jobs and get this economy going again. They ask me what we are doing to break through this gridlock and the constant manufactured crises and make sure this country, this economy, is working for them and their families.

They tell me they want Democrats and Republicans working together. They want us to get into a room and put politics aside and put our country first and find some common ground and get something done. That kind of work is far too rare these days, though many of us are fighting to change that. I am very proud the Transportation bill we are about to vote on does just that.

The bill is not exactly what I would have written had I done it on our own or what Senator Collins would have done on her own.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 30 additional seconds.

This is a bill that is a compromise that reflect the deep cuts we have set in the spending levels of the Budget Control Act. It reflects the best ideas of both sides. So I urge my colleagues to move past the obstruction, get over the gridlock. Let's show the American people we can work for them.

I am pleased to fund the Surface Transportation Board. I agree with my colleague from California that this agency needs funding in order to comply with its governing statute, which directs the Board to support the growth of rail in the United States.

I share your concern that some opponents of a single project in California are trying to limit the ability of the Surface Transportation Board to operate under its statute. The appropriations bill before us provides the Surface Transportation Board with the resources necessary to facilitate California high-speed rail, not stand in its way.

This bill in no way limits the ability of the Board to oversee projects under its jurisdiction and facilitate their construction.

As my colleagues know, California has a grant agreement with the Department of Transportation, and California has spent funds consistent with that agreement. I was extremely careful to draft the Senate bill to ensure that California will be able to be reimbursed for their expenses.

Madam President, I would like to speak briefly about how the immigration reform bill affects access to health insurance coverage. In particular, I am pleased that the Senate-passed legislation preserves the ability for States to cover lawfully residing pregnant women and children under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program CHIP. Importantly, States may extend full benefits under these programs to individuals who gain legal status as a result of the bill, including those granted Registered Provisional Immigrant RPI, Blue Card, and V-visa status.

My home State of Washington is one of 27 that have decided to exercise the option to extend these health care benefits to children or pregnant women. We do this because we know that when women have access to prenatal care, children are born healthier. We all benefit when children receive the immunizations they need and are able to see a doctor when they are sick.

During the debate on S. 744, two of my colleagues, Chairman Leahy and Senator Rockefeller, came to the floor to discuss this issue. I join them in support of preserving States' rights to extend Medicaid and CHIP benefits to lawfully residing noncitizen children and pregnant women. I thank my colleagues for addressing an issue that is critical to my home State and I echo their comments on the intention of the Senate with regard to this issue.

Madam President, I would also like to speak today about the need for comprehensive immigration reform by highlighting the work of one of my constituents.

I was touched when I read a poem written by 10-year-old Erin Stark of Bellevue, WA. I met Erin last month at a welcoming ceremony for new immigrants in my home State of Washington. She told me about her passion for writing and explained that she won a national writing contest with the submission of her poem on immigration. I think her words exemplify the diversity and extraordinary contributions made by immigrants to this country.

``What Would You Miss About Immigrants, If They Didn't Come to

America?''

Would you miss the food?

The pot stickers, sushi, and dumplings,

Pizza, spaghetti, curry, or crepes?

Just think about it for a minute or two,

Could you survive eating fish at every meal? Could you?

Immigrants are coming every day,

Variety is what they bring with them in every way.

Would you miss the holidays?

Day of the Dead, and Chinese New Year,

Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Ramadan too?

Why did the Christians travel the distance,

Was it to share their beliefs and Christmas?

Immigrants are coming every day,

Variety is what they bring with them in every way.

Would you miss their art,

Painting, literature, and music,

Plays, sculpture, and design?

Life would be dull without art,

People might become sad and would get broken hearts.

Immigrants are coming every day,

Variety is what they bring with them in every way.

Would you miss the things they made?

Railroads, canals, communities, and skyscrapers,

Schoolhouses, highways, churches, and businesses?

What would kids do without schools?

We might turn into fools!

Immigrants are coming every day,

Variety is what they bring with them in every way.

Immigrants are coming every day.

They bring recipes, celebrations, talents, and skills.

Variety is what they bring with them in every way.

USA would be bland without immigrants,

Now our nation is colorful and the joy is infinite.

--Erin Stark

Mr. President, I would like to extend a special welcome to Erin Stark. I look forward to seeing all that she will accomplish in the years to come.

Madam President, I would like to pay tribute to a dedicated community leader, compassionate public servant, and advocate from the State of Washington, Kip Tokuda.

I am proud to recognize Kip as the kind of civic champion who did so much for all of the communities he touched, especially for children and families in need.

Mr. Tokuda was born in Seattle in 1946 and eventually served his home district in the Washington State House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002. Through his work on behalf of his constituents and Washington State, he earned a reputation as a deeply principled legislator and respect from both sides of the aisle.

In addition to his service as an elected official, Kip also cofounded the Asian Pacific Islander Community Leadership Foundation, an organization that empowers young people from Asian Pacific Islander communities to seek leadership positions in government and nonprofit organizations. He helped start the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Washington and last year was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan for his work to build and maintain strong ties between the United States and Japan. Most recently, he was appointed to the city of Seattle's Community Police Commission, where he worked to create a more diverse police force.

But most importantly, he was a dedicated father, husband, friend, and mentor to many.

People respected Kip because he respected them, and even though he accomplished so much in his life and earned a position of influence, you could always count on Kip to listen.

As a longtime Seattle resident, his kindness and passion inspired all who knew him.

Kip passed away on July 13, 2013 from a heart attack at the age of 66.

Kip is survived by his wife Barb and their two children, Molly and Pei-Ming.

He will be missed by many, but his legacy of service will live on through the organizations he founded and the lives he touched.

Mr. President, I would like to ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Kip Tokuda. He lived a full life and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time of great and sudden loss.

Madam President, I thank the Senator. Senator Isakson has been absolutely great to work with. We have been spending a lot of time on this.

Let me make a few remarks.

Over the past several weeks and months, we have spent a lot of time in the Senate debating everything from the Federal budget to separate spending bills, and throughout those debates Members of both parties have agreed it is absolutely critical that we are working to write laws and policies that put hardworking Americans back to work, help our businesses grow and invest, and position our economy to compete and win in the 21st century.

We have had some disagreement on how to achieve those goals, but as our Nation now recovers from the recession, our first priority has to be getting Americans back on the job. So I wish to join with Senator Isakson to talk about the tremendous progress we have made in the HELP Committee; that is, the work to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act--and to do just that: put Americans back to work.

Before I get to the importance of the bill itself, I do wish to take some time to talk about the bipartisan process we have had at the committee level to move this forward.

From the very beginning of this process I have worked very closely with my Republican cosponsor Senator Isakson, whom you just heard from, and though I know we represent very different States with different industries and different issues, we have each remained very committed to writing a bill that works for all American businesses and workers.

This process has never been about scoring political points or pitting interests against each other. I think it has been a rare and needed example of true bipartisan legislating, and I thank my friend Senator Isakson, again, for his hard work and commitment throughout this process.

I also wish to thank our committee chairman and ranking member-- Senator Harkin and Senator Alexander--who have both worked extensively on this legislation and have now signed on as cosponsors as well.

It has been 15 years since we first passed the Workforce Investment Act or WIA. But perhaps more important, it has been a full decade since the legislation was due to be reauthorized. So this law--which was first written in the late 1990s--was designed to be changed and updated back in 2003. Since then, as we all know, our country and our economy have changed a lot.

In the late 1990s, the Internet was changing the way we do business and driving our economy, and the housing sector was as strong as ever. But as we all know, unfortunately, both of these industries went bust.

But back then, we in Congress were willing to take the long view and make meaningful commitments to and investments in our workforce development systems. So back in 1998, we wrote and passed the Workforce Investment Act to help our workers and educators and businesses respond to an economy that was changing faster than ever before.

Lately, we have not done much of that, but I am very optimistic that by improving and reauthorizing WIA, we can get back on track. This is the very law that was written to help us respond to a changing economy and provide the framework for our Nation's workforce development system. But it is still written to address the issues we faced more than 10 years ago.

So working with Senators from both sides of the aisle and the business, labor, and education communities, we are bringing to our committee tomorrow a very strong reauthorization bill that brings WIA into the 21st century.

This bill puts more than a decade of experience and data to use by doing a few things. It requires a single unified workforce plan in each State and replaces all the overlap and confusion between separate State agencies.

It recognizes that we need data and analysis to understand which workforce programs are working well, what makes them work well and how to improve them and, just as important, which programs are underperforming, why, and how to fix them. It makes changes to align our workforce systems with regional economic development and labor markets.

This bill is focused on using real-world data to measure the returns we get on our workforce investments, and getting good return on the Federal dollars we invest is exactly what Americans are calling for today.

So while we are making important changes to the existing version of WIA, I wish to finish my remarks with an example of the incredible success this law has already had in helping our economy.

Last year, the WIA adult and dislocated worker programs produced some remarkable statistics. Over 1 million adults and dislocated workers were placed in jobs. Those workers earned more than $12 billion over just the first 6 months of their employment. In that same period, WIA funds spent on those programs came to about $2 billion.

Let me say that again. In just 6 months, an investment of $2 billion yielded a return of more than $12 billion. So the investments we make through WIA programs are having an incredible impact on our economy. The important point is we can do more.

That is why a lot of organizations across the country have called for a modernized 21st century version of the Workforce Investment Act-- organizations such as the National Business Roundtable, the National Metropolitan Business Alliance, labor and education leaders, and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce in my home State. All of these organizations are supporting the efforts we have put together.

We are here today to announce to our colleagues that tomorrow we are going to begin marking up our reauthorization bill in committee, and I look forward to continuing working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle.

In a time when bipartisan legislation has become difficult to achieve, I hope we can set an example of what we are still capable of doing together to strengthen our country and our economy.

I again want to thank Senator Isakson and all those who have worked very hard to put this bill together. I am proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to working with him as we move through this process.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, what is the pending business?

I ask unanimous consent the following amendments be made in order and the Senate proceed to their consideration en bloc: Flake amendment No. 1818, Flake amendment No. 1772, McCaskill-Blunt amendment No. 1800, Blumenthal amendment No. 1809, Menendez amendment No. 1812, and Cochran amendment No. 1814.

Madam President, 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 want to notify all of our colleagues that Senator Collins and I have been working together with many of our colleagues on amendments to the transportation and housing bill over the past week. I want to be very clear--that work is continuing. The majority leader has made clear that we are going to keep working on amendments

on that bill, so everybody should be prepared for more votes.

I urge all of my colleagues to continue talking to me and to Senator Collins, and we will keep working to get as many amendments as possible.

Many of you have approached us already with your plans and thoughts. I urge the rest of you not to wait until the last minute. Senator Collins and I are working with the floor staff to line up votes.

I know everyone is anxious to have the August recess occur. We are as well. The sooner we can get the amendments and get this bill completed, the sooner all of us will be able to accomplish that.

I know a number of our colleagues on the floor have noted that this has been an open process. That is what Senator Collins and I set out to do, and we are going to make sure that continues.

This is a bipartisan bill. I will remind all of us that it got 6 Republican votes in committee and 73 votes to proceed to the open debate we have had this past week. That debate, again, is going to continue. I am hopeful we can move to a bipartisan finish on a good bill that reflects great ideas from both sides of the aisle.

I again want to thank Senator Collins for her work on this, and we are ready to move forward.

I yield the floor to her at this time.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that morning business be extended until 11:30 a.m., and at 11:30 a.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 186, as provided under the previous order.

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

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

Mr. President, as the House and Senate have begun debating our separate appropriations bills for the coming year, we have been forced to take a very hard look at the numbers and exactly what so many important programs and services will look like next year under cuts that are forced by sequestration. I am here to tell you, it is not pretty.

As chair of the Budget Committee, it has only served as a reminder to me of just how important it is to fully replace the across-the-board cuts that sequestration has forced us to make, because it is only getting worse.

Some of my Republican colleagues in the Senate, and most of them in the House, it seems, don't believe sequestration has had a real impact on families, their communities, and our military.

I wish to take a few minutes to talk about what I have already seen in my home State of Washington, where the impacts of sequestration have been very severe.

Washington State has a proud history of supporting our Nation's Armed Forces. From Fairchild Air Force Base in eastern Washington to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the Puget Sound region, our State is home to thousands of military families.

In addition to those active-duty servicemembers, Washington State is also home to thousands of civilian defense employees who work at these various military installations. Under sequestration, these men and women have borne the brunt of these across-the-board budget cuts. This month, weekly furloughs began for nearly 10,000 of these civilian employees in my home State of Washington. So now, once every week, they can't go to work. That amounts to a pay cut for them of 20 percent.

These are men and women--many of them veterans--with mortgages and medical bills and tuition costs, just like the rest of us. And thanks to the gridlock here in Congress, their lives have become 20-percent tougher. One of those people who is impacted is Will Silva. He lives in Tacoma, WA, and he works at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. We call it JBLM. Will is a former marine, he is an amputee, and he is a fire inspector at the base. Thanks to sequestration, he is one of 6,700 people in that community who won't be going to work tomorrow because Friday is furlough day at JBLM.

So tomorrow, Friday, in my home State of Washington, the 911 call center and fire departments will be understaffed, air fields will be shuttered except for emergencies, the military personnel office and the substance abuse center will be closed, the Madigan Army Medical Center will be forced to close clinics, and even the wound care clinic is going to be understaffed. All of this is because of the cuts we all agree are hurting our country.

Jennifer-Cari Green is another person who won't be going to work at JBLM tomorrow. Jennifer happens to be a single mother of a 6-year-old boy. She works at the Madigan Army Medical Center in the neurosurgery department. Her job is to care for servicemembers, many of whom are undergoing serious brain operations.

Jennifer was here in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to testify at our Budget Committee hearing about the impacts of sequestration. It is impossible to forget her story. Jennifer works very hard. She started there as a volunteer in the surgery center but has worked her way up. She doesn't make much money to support herself and her young son, and so she budgets every month right down to the dollar. She has no luxuries, and in her only spare time she cares for her son and works toward an associate degree at the community college.

Jennifer told me that because of these furloughs her take-home pay will be almost exactly $1,000 a month--$1,000 a month. That isn't enough for her to pay her most basic expenses. But even with all of the challenges she faces, Jennifer came here to talk about what those cuts will mean for others, for the people she cares for at the army hospital where she works.

Because she has been furloughed--by the way, along with doctors and technicians and other employees at the hospital--servicemembers and veterans aren't going to get the care they need. These furloughs mean that everything from routine checkups to brain surgeries is being delayed for these men and women who served our country. Let me repeat that: brain surgeries at military hospitals are being delayed because of cuts from sequestration. That is unacceptable and, unfortunately, it is very real.

The impacts on our civilian defense employees are just the tip of this iceberg. Sequestration has resulted in dramatic cuts to countless other programs throughout our country. Head Start facilities have been forced to shut their doors, Meals-on-Wheels Programs--vital to our Nation's seniors--are serving less needy seniors, and even our judicial system has been forced to let go of prosecutors and public defenders. The cuts are clear and they are, across the board, impacting so many people in this country in our communities and in our families.

I understand many of us have different opinions here on how to address our Nation's financial challenges, but before we do that, all of us have to understand the devastating impact sequestration has already had on our Nation. I want to remind all my colleagues that it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be this way. It is now 124 days since the Senate passed a budget that fully replaced the sequestration, and 17 times my colleagues and I have stood here and asked to go to conference with the House to fix these ridiculous cuts. But 17 times now our Republican colleagues have said no. They have refused.

So I am here today absolutely committed to replacing sequestration. If some of my colleagues think this is about politics or this is some kind of game, I would ask them to talk to Will or Jennifer or any of the thousands of families who suddenly today can't pay their bills, because, for them, these cuts are very real and they need a solution now.

I hope other Members of the Senate will come and talk about these cuts. We can fix this. We can replace sequestration. We can manage our country responsibly. We can be much smarter about what we are doing, but we need the will of the Senate to allow us to go to conference to fix this and move forward and tell Will and Jennifer we, as a country, can work for them.

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.