Floor Statements

Madam President, I thank the Senator from Connecticut.

Last week marked the 41st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, which affirmed that women have the right to make their own personal health care decisions and to have access to safe and legal reproductive care.

The anniversary of Roe should commemorate how far our country has progressed in the last 40 years in safeguarding women's reproductive freedoms and access to quality health care. But today I rise to recognize that history has been made in another way; that is, turning back the clock.

Americans across the country expect to have access to high-quality, dependable health care when they and their families need it. Unfortunately, for women across this country, this access has come under attack.

As my colleagues and I have worked to reform our health care system, to expand access to quality, affordable health care, too many States have enacted record numbers of laws that restrict a woman's access to comprehensive reproductive health services and the freedom to make her own health care decisions. In the past 3 years, States across the country have enacted a total of 205 provisions that restrict women's access to safe abortion services. In 2013 alone, States enacted 70 of these measures.

In my home State of Wisconsin, we are now ranked as one of the worst States when it comes to a woman's reproductive rights, thanks to our Republican Governor and legislature. Wisconsin women, families, and their doctors are facing a slew of new and radical restrictions to health services mandated by one-party--Republican--rule in my State.

Most recently, our Governor has enacted four new restrictions on women's access to safe and legal abortion care in our State. For one, he signed a law that not only forces women to undergo unnecessary medical procedures but also imposes unreasonable requirements on doctors who deliver care to women.

I recently heard from a mother in Middleton, WI. She found out her baby had severe fetal anomalies and would not survive delivery. She had to undergo an emergency termination, and a clinic in Milwaukee was the only place that would do the procedure. But because the Governor was set to sign this law imposing unreasonable requirements on providers, the clinic was preparing to close its doors and wouldn't schedule her for an appointment. She and her husband were forced to find childcare for their two sons and leave the State and travel to Minnesota just to get the medical care she needed. If not for a Federal court order blocking the law shortly after the Governor signed it, the admitting privileges provision would have reduced women's access to safe and legal abortions in Wisconsin by 66 percent, closing several health care clinics and leaving women out in the cold. But unfortunately for this woman in Middleton, the court order did not come fast enough and the Governor's law disrupted her family during a deeply personal and trying time.

The threat in Wisconsin and in States across the country is clear. Politicians are doing this because they think they know better than women and their doctors. The fact is they don't. It is not the job of politicians to play doctor and to dictate how these professionals practice medicine, nor is it their job to intrude in the private lives and important health decisions of American families.

That is why I am proud to stand with my colleagues, including my good friend from Connecticut and my good friend from Washington State, and challenge these attacks on women's freedoms. I am proud to have introduced the Women's Health Protection Act because every American woman deserves the freedom to exercise her constitutional rights by making personal health decisions for herself and for her family with a trusted doctor and without political interference.

Our bill makes it clear that States can no longer enact laws that unduly limit access to reproductive health care and that do nothing to further women's health or safety. The Women's Health Protection Act creates Federal protections against State restrictions that fail to ensure women's health and intrude upon personal decisionmaking. It promotes and protects a woman's individual constitutional rights and guarantees that she can make her own responsible health care decisions no matter where she lives.

Elected officials should not put politics before women's health and women's safety. Women are more than capable of making their own personal medical decisions without consulting their legislator. Every woman in America deserves the freedom to plan her own family, to make her own health care decisions, and to have access to essential and quality women's health care services. We need to act now to guarantee that women will continue to have that freedom.

Today I stand with 33 of my Senate colleagues and 99 Members of the House of Representatives to move our country forward with the Women's Health Protection Act and to safeguard women's constitutional rights under Roe. We need to act now to protect a woman's access to care and her constitutional rights, no matter where she lives, by enacting the Women's Health Protection Act.

Again, I thank my colleagues, in particular my good friend from Connecticut, in leading us in this discussion on the Senate floor but also with the introduction of the bill.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I rise this morning to speak about this year's national defense authorization legislation and the important reforms that are a part of the underlying bill to improve our military's response to sexual assault within its ranks.

The men and women in our Armed Services serve with courage in defense of our freedom every single day. In my eyes their service needs to be respected by taking decisive action to address the ongoing crisis--in fact, you can call it an epidemic--of sexual assault in the military. We know the system is broken, and it is long past time we fix it.

I wish to share just one story from a remarkable and brave woman named Rachel who lives in LaCrosse, WI.

Rachel joined the Army in 2004. She was sexually assaulted that same year while she was stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland for advanced individual training. After reporting her assault to her commanding officer, Rachel was interrogated for hours over numerous days and ultimately forced to drop the charge. She was written up for fraternization, and her assailant was not charged with any crime.

As you can imagine, Rachel was deeply affected by the trauma of this crime and continues to face struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. But Rachel is a survivor and a true inspiration. She has turned her pain and courage into a platform for advocacy and service to her community, working through her organization Survivors Empowered Through Art to raise awareness about military sexual assault through the power of art and storytelling.

Rachel's story is a reminder that she is not alone and that we must do everything that we can to make sure that all victims of sexual assault have the support they deserve. That is why I am heartened by the many important reforms included in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and very grateful to the bipartisan coalition, in particular of women Senators who have worked so diligently to make this change happen. In particular, Senators Gillibrand and McCaskill have led the fight to make these improvements. Their efforts will make a real difference in the lives of countless Americans by preventing sexual assault in the military and greatly improving our support to victims.

However, I believe more must be done to help victims of sexual assault. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of Senator Gillibrand's amendment, which would improve on these important reforms by removing the prosecution of major crimes from the military chain of command. Instead, military prosecutors would determine whether to move a case forward, which would eliminate inherent bias and conflicts of interest which currently deter victims from reporting sexual assault crimes in the first place.

I am also filing an amendment to ensure we are including ROTC programs in our conversations about military sexual assault. Just like we must ensure our new officers from service academies meet our highest standards, we must do the same of those commissioned in ROTC programs across America.

I think the important improvements in this year's Defense authorization show the great promise of what can be achieved if we work together in a bipartisan way to get work done for the American people.

It is a tremendous privilege to be a public servant. It is a special privilege to be the first woman elected from my State to the U.S. Senate. One of the best parts for me is that I get to be a woman in the Senate at a time when there are so many incredible other women in the Senate to work with, to learn from, and to look up to. I expressly thank my Senate colleagues who serve on the Armed Services Committee-- Senators McCaskill, Hagan, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Hirono, Ayotte, and Fischer. I thank them for their work in guiding this process through their committee in such an effective and bipartisan way. And my thanks of course goes as well to Senators Levin and Inhofe for their stewardship of these important provisions.

I thank Senators Mikulski and Collins for organizing today's floor speeches. The cumulative total of those changes represents true progress in eliminating the tragedy and scourge of sexual assault in our military. I once again thank my colleagues for their bipartisan work.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the Senator from Arizona for his very thoughtful and careful approach to considering this legislation. I enjoyed working with the Senator during our days in the House of Representatives and remember well the vote the Senator cast back in 2007 after great study and reflection.

I think we find ourselves in the position we are in right now, with an expanded bill that has protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity, because of the leadership of the Senator from Oregon.

To the point of the concerns that have been raised in this colloquy, there has been a really exhaustive amount of research done on those States that have passed similar pieces of legislation at the State level and how they chose to move forward on employment protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. I have discussed with the Senator from Oregon on numerous occasions the approach most States have taken and the success these bills have had in helping to keep all of our employment decisions based on work ethic, character, and loyalty, and the subjects on which they should be focused.

I look forward to working on this measure in the future, and I thank both the Senators from Arizona and the Senator from Oregon for their focus on ENDA.

Mr. President, the bill before us today, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, contains a very carefully negotiated bipartisan religious exemption provision. The amendment before us right now significantly expands that provision, and I rise to share why I believe it would be unwise to do so and urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

Religious organizations are not touched by this legislation. They can use an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity in their employment decisions if they choose to. ENDA does apply, however, to businesses and entities that are not primarily religious in purpose and character.

Just as with other civil rights legislation and in laws protecting individuals from discrimination on the bases of race, sex, national origin, religion, age, and disability, a capable employee in a nonreligious business should not be fired--or not hired--because of his or her boss's religious beliefs.

The amendment offered by Senator Toomey would broaden this exemption to allow an employer to be exempt from ENDA if it is affiliated with a particular religious organization, even if it engages primarily in secular activities. Allowing this type of exemption could be interpreted so broadly that it could negate the bill and its important protections for American workers.

The provision of this bill that this amendment seeks to modify is the product of a long and significant bipartisan negotiation and compromise.

I ask unanimous consent for 2 additional minutes.

I am a former Member of the House of Representatives, and I worked very closely with faith groups and civil rights advocates over the months leading up to consideration of ENDA in 2007 to arrive at the religious exemption compromise in the bill we are considering today. In fact, this current language in the bill before us passed the House of Representatives on a broad bipartisan basis of 402 to 25 as a floor amendment during our consideration of ENDA in 2007. It is a bipartisan compromise supported by many religious organizations, including the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, and the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism.

Over 40 religious organizations wrote to endorse this bill with a letter that reads:

Any claims that ENDA harms religious liberty are misplaced.

ENDA broadly exempts from its scope houses of worship as well

as religiously affiliated organizations. This exemption--

which covers the same religious organizations already

exempted from religious discrimination provisions of title

VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964--should ensure that

religious freedom concerns don't hinder the passage of this

critical legislation.

I ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment and then join together on a historic day to vote in support of the Employment Non- Discrimination Act.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following my remarks, the Senator from Rhode Island Mr. Whitehouse be recognized.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor again to talk about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, known as ENDA. This is a bipartisan effort to advance uniquely American values: freedom, fairness, and opportunity. It is about freedom--the freedom to realize our founding beliefs that all Americans are created equal under the law. It is about fairness, about whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans deserve to be treated just like their families, their friends, their neighbors, and their fellow workers. It is about opportunity, about whether every American gets to dream the same dreams and chase the same ambitions and have the same shot at success.

On Monday this week 61 Senators, including 7 Republicans, voted to support opportunity and fairness. Today we agreed to a Republican amendment that would strengthen the bill. Bipartisan support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is growing as we head toward a vote on passage tomorrow. I would urge all of my colleagues to join us and vote for this important legislation.

I have seen firsthand the progress we have made in recognizing that fairness and opportunity are not partisan issues; they are core American values. When I served in the House of Representatives, I worked with Congressman Barney Frank on the Employment Non- Discrimination Act. We had many conversations with Members with varying political, personal, and religious beliefs. At times it was a difficult debate. There were many disagreements. However, the tone of the debate here on the Senate floor has been remarkably dignified and cordial. This has been true throughout the Senate debate. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised as a member of the HELP Committee that the committee markup of this bill took only a little over 5 minutes. I had been prepared to be in our markup for hours. This dignified tone of today's debate in committee and here on the floor reflects the progress our Nation has made in recognition of fairness and equality.

My home State of Wisconsin was the first State in the Nation to add sexual orientation to its antidiscrimination statute. At the time, back in 1982, only 41 municipalities and 8 counties in the entire United States offered limited protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Wisconsin's efforts pass the Nation's first sexual orientation antidiscrimination law was supported by a broad spectrum of supporters and advocates. It was a bipartisan coalition including members of the clergy, various religious denominations, medical groups, professional groups. The measure was signed into law in Wisconsin by a Republican Governor, Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who based his decision to support the measure on the success of municipal ordinances providing similar protections against discrimination.

Since Wisconsin passed its statute back in 1982, 20 States and the District of Columbia, representing nearly 45 percent of the population of the United States of America, have passed similar antidiscrimination measures. Sixteen States and the District of Columbia also protect their citizens on the basis of gender identity.

However, 76 million American workers have to contend with a very ugly reality. It is the reality that in more than two dozen States it is legal to discriminate against LGBT employees. That is simply wrong. This legislation seeks to right that wrong. We do not just want to live in a country where our rights are respected under the law; we want to live in a country where we are respected for who we are, where we enjoy freedom and opportunity because that is who we are as Americans.

The change in law that we work for this week and today can add up to incredible progress in our lifetime. This generation can be the one in which we fulfill the promise of freedom and equality for all, in which America finally becomes a place where everyone's rights are respected at work and every family's love and commitment can be recognized and respected and rewarded under the law.

Finally, I would like to recognize my Senate colleagues, the ones with whom I have worked to advance this bill, the Employment Non- Discrimination Act.

Senator Merkley, Senator Kirk, Chairman Harkin, and Senator Collins' tireless efforts have led us this close to the finish line with regard to this bill.

Without naming all of them, I also would like to thank my colleagues who have taken the time to join in our effort to bring cloture and bring this debate before the body, the ones who have taken the time to sit down with me and my colleagues and talk through this issue so that we might answer their questions and move it ahead. It means a great deal. This is an important place we have reached.

As we prepare for the final vote tomorrow, I wish every Senator would stand with us and vote for fairness and opportunity. While we might not meet that high mark, I do hope it is a very strong vote. Passing this bill with a strong majority will show America that the Senate believes in a future that is more equal, not less, for all Americans.

I yield the floor.

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

Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to talk about a bipartisan effort to advance uniquely American values: freedom, fairness, and opportunity. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, has at its foundation these core values. It is about freedom, the freedom to realize our founding belief that all Americans are created equal under the law. It is about fairness, about whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans deserve to be treated just as their family members, their friends, their neighbors, and fellow workers. It is about opportunity, about whether every American gets to dream the same dreams, chase the same ambitions, and have the same shot at success.

One year ago this week the people of Wisconsin elected me to the Senate. The citizens of Wisconsin made history, electing our State's first woman to the U.S. Senate, and electing the first out gay or lesbian person to the U.S. Senate in the history of our great Nation. But I didn't run to make history, I ran to make a difference, a difference that would give everyone a fair shot at achieving their dreams.

I couldn't be more proud of the bipartisan effort to make a difference with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. I thank and recognize my colleagues Senators Mark Kirk, Jeff Merkley, Susan Collins, and Tom Harkin for their leadership working across party lines and moving this legislation forward. I take great pride at being a part of this effort. I think it shows great promise of what can be achieved if we work together in a bipartisan way to get work done for the American people.

I also want to take the time to recognize the 55 cosponsors of this bill, both Democrats and Republicans, who made a commitment to ending discrimination against our fellow citizens simply because of who they are and who they love. I realize that for some this is not an easy vote. I understand for some they may believe it is not good politics. But I want to say that I have a deep respect for those who choose to stand on the side of progress for our country this week. For those who stand this week and answer the call for courage, I can say with confidence your courage will be respected and remembered when the history of this struggle is written.

In June I had the opportunity to speak at the Department of Justice during its Pride Month observations. It was fitting that we gathered in a building that bears the name of Robert F. Kennedy. He became Attorney General at a time of rapid progress in the area of civil rights, progress that thrilled many Americans and frightened others. Kennedy knew, however, that America should be on the side of progress. He traveled to Georgia, at the time unfriendly territory for a civil rights reformer, to make his first formal speech at the University of Georgia law school. He did not shy away from the Kennedy administration's commitment to equal opportunity, ``For on this generation of Americans,'' he explained, ``falls the full burden of proving to the world that we really mean it when we say that all men are created free and equal before the law.''

He backed his words with actions, not only by vigorously enforcing the laws and court orders that advanced the cause of civil rights but by holding the Kennedy administration itself accountable, demanding that the Justice Department and other government entities prioritize diversity in the workplace. Of course, as much progress as that generation made in fulfilling the promises America makes about fairness and equality, there was plenty to do for the generations that have followed.

Today we continue that work, guided by the belief that everyone deserves a fair shot at the American dream and that our LGBT family members, friends, and neighbors deserve to be treated as everyone else in the United States. Every American deserves the freedom to work free of discrimination. Passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act strengthens this freedom by recognizing the right to be judged based on your skills, talents, loyalty, character, integrity, and work ethic.

My home State of Wisconsin was the first State in the Nation to add sexual orientation to its antidiscrimination laws. At the time, back in 1982, only 41 municipalities and 8 counties in the United States offered limited protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Wisconsin's efforts to pass the Nation's first sexual orientation antidiscrimination statute were supported by a broad and bipartisan coalition, including members of the clergy, various religious denominations, medical and professional groups. The measure was signed into law by our Republican Governor, Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who based his decision to support the measure on the success of municipal ordinances providing similar protections against discrimination.

Since Wisconsin passed its statute in 1982, 20 States and the District of Columbia, representing nearly 45 percent of our Nation's population, have passed similar antidiscrimination measures. Sixteen States and the District of Columbia also protect their citizens on the basis of gender identity. However, 76 million American workers have to contend with the ugly reality that in over two dozen States it is legal to discriminate against LGBT employees. That is simply wrong and this legislation seeks to right that wrong.

The business community understands this. That is why a majority of Fortune 500 companies have sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination policies in place, and more than 100 companies have endorsed this bill. It is time to level the playing field and extend these protections to all Americans. But we don't just want to live in a country where our rights are respected under the law; we want to live in a country where we are respected for who we are, where we enjoy freedom and opportunity because that is who we are as Americans.

More than 5 years after he spoke at the University of Georgia law school, half a world away at Cape Town University, in South Africa, Robert F. Kennedy said, ``Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events and then the total--all of these acts--will be written in the history of this generation.''

The change we work for today can add up to incredible progress in our lifetime. This generation can be the one in which we fulfill the promises of freedom and equality for all, in which America finally becomes a place where everyone's rights are respected at work and every family's love and commitment can be recognized and respected and rewarded under the law.

I am hopeful that we can now move this Employment Non-Discrimination Act forward, to build a tomorrow that is more equal, not less, for all Americans.

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

Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and service of Sgt. Benjamin C. Edinger, USMC, on the occasion of the dedication of a city trail in the city of Green Bay, in my home State of Wisconsin.

On Saturday, October 19, 2013, a portion of the Westside Trail in Green Bay will be named in honor of Sgt. Benjamin C. Edinger. Sergeant Edinger grew up in Green Bay, riding his bike across the city and playing ball in the city parks. He graduated in 1999 from West High School, and joined the Marine Corps in 2000.

Sergeant Edinger began his career in the Marine Corps as a small computer systems specialist, later passing through rigorous trials to join Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, the Marine Corps' most elite unit. He was part of the initial invasion of Iraq, and was on his second tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company. Sergeant Edinger participated in 61 combat missions as a gunner. On November 14, 2004, in Al Anbar Province, he suffered shrapnel wounds as a result of enemy combat. He later died from his injuries on November 23, 2004.

Sergeant Edinger is remembered by his family, friends, and fellow marines as a kind and considerate person, and a tough and courageous marine.

I am proud that Sergeant Edinger will be honored with this trail dedication in the city he called home, and in the State and country he loved and served.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to deliver a message from the people of Wisconsin. They are fed up with the political games that are being played here in Washington. They have had enough. On Tuesday, Congress failed the American people and our government shut down because the tea party faction in the House put their own personal agendas and partisan politics ahead of progress for the American people.

The Republican leadership in the House could end this shutdown by simply letting the House vote on the Senate-passed bill to fund the government. Instead, the Speaker of the House has, for over a week, prevented the House from voting on a clean funding bill that would open the entire Federal Government.

In my home State of Wisconsin, we believe in hard work. We believe that hard work should be respected and rewarded.

Every day people get up and go to work to build a better life for themselves and their families. They trust in the promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will get ahead.

They are right to expect that both parties in Washington work together to help keep that promise. They are right to expect that both parties in Washington work together to respect the hard work of Americans who have helped lift this country up from the worst recession since the Great Depression. They are right to expect that both parties in Washington work together to reward the hard work of families and small business owners who, through sheer grit and determination, have been moving our economy and our country forward.

In my home State of Wisconsin, our State motto is one word: Forward. The people of Wisconsin live up to that motto every single day, and I would say all Americans do as well.

As I stand here today, in the midst of the fifth day of a government shutdown, I can't say that Congress has. Instead of working together to move our economy and our country forward, the Republican leadership in the House has offered day after day of political games and brinkmanship.

Here is the price: In Wisconsin, more than 800 workers in the National Guard are off the job--hard-working people who have committed themselves to public service, to something bigger than themselves. They get up every day and work for our common good. They deserve to have a Congress that does the same.

These are particularly tough times for my State. Even as the national economy is rebuilding and rebounding, my State's economy has lagged behind the rest of the Nation. Our economy cannot afford to have the tea party extremists in the House making it harder for small business owners to create jobs.

Their shutdown has blocked small business loans and investments in Wisconsin and that threatens our ``made in Wisconsin'' economy and tradition, our work ethic, and our entrepreneurial spirit.

Due to this tea party shutdown, Wisconsin's small businesses are missing out on about $3.5 million in SBA-supported loans every day. That means Wisconsin's small businesses have been denied access to critical loans since this shutdown began.

We know the majority of new jobs in the United States are created by startups, and small businesses are engines of our economy, creating two out of every three new jobs. Our economy needs to have a Congress that is supporting and strengthening small business efforts, not a Congress that steers from one manufactured crisis to another.

Groundbreaking research, supported by the National Institutes of Health, adds more than $800 million a year to Wisconsin's economy. We should all be able to agree, both parties in the House and the Senate, that in order for America to outinnovate the rest of the world we must protect and strengthen our investments in research, science, and innovation.

The failure of the House leadership to step up and actually lead has put in place a shutdown that is threatening Wisconsin's leadership on bioenergy research and on biomedical research. This failure in leadership in the House means new patients are being turned away from the benefits of cancer research being done at the University of Wisconsin.

On a broader scale, our NIH Director, Dr. Francis Collins, told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that as long as the government is shut down, the National Institutes of Health says it will turn away roughly 200 patients each week from its clinical research center, including children with cancer. He said:

We've had to tell people ``I'm sorry, you can't come

here.''

This is the price extracted by a small tea party group in the House who can't

see past their own political agenda to defund, delay, or repeal the Affordable Care Act. It is reckless and it is irresponsible. But it doesn't have to be that way. It is time. It is time the House leadership steps up and actually leads.

More than 1 week ago the Senate passed a clean bill that funds the government, ends the shutdown, and that opens the Federal Government for business again. They have obstructed that measure from going to the House floor for a simple up-or-down vote. The House Republicans need to end these politics. It is time for the House to have an up-or-down vote to end this shutdown.

House Republicans need to break with their divisive threats. They need to start governing and pass a responsible budget that invests in the middle class and strengthens our economy. It is time. It is time for the House to have an up-or-down vote to open our government for business.

House Republicans need to stop standing in the way of progress. They need to start working to build a better and stronger future for our country. It is time. It is time for the House to have an up-or-down vote to end this gridlock and to move our country forward.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I have come to the floor today to speak about the divisive and irresponsible path down which some Members of Congress wish to take our country.

Last week my former Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives continued to put their own personal partisan politics ahead of progress for the American people. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle here in the Senate have voiced support for a responsible approach and rejected this path. For that, I applaud their independence. But some here in the Senate are committed to playing the same political games offered by the House, and here are the rules of the games they are playing: crisis-to-crisis governing; uncertainty for our economy; and for families and businesses, economic insecurity.

Instead of working together across the party aisle to create jobs and move our economy forward, a minority of extremists are intent on threatening our economic recovery with brinkmanship meant to appeal to a narrow political interests--namely, their own. Instead of working together to pass a responsible budget that invests in the middle class, this political game calls for locking in the sequester cuts and putting up a roadblock to economic growth. Instead of working together to do what is best for middle-class families, moving health care reform forward, this political game of drama and division insists on shutting down the government unless health care is repealed for millions of Americans. And instead of working together to do what is best for businesses and the economy, they are creating yet another manufactured crisis that threatens the full faith and credit of America with a government default, knowing full well that would hurt economic growth and the families and businesses who are working so hard to move our recovery forward. Let's be clear about how they would like to see their game end.

According to independent economists, the damaging cuts from the sequester are slowing down the economy and killing jobs. Locking in these devastating sequester cuts would gut investments in economic development, innovation, and education.

The House Republican budget would cut the National Institutes of Health by $8 billion compared to the Senate budget, so it would cost 25,000 jobs, compromising the next generation of research in our country and holding back the development of treatments for cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and other chronic diseases.

Repealing the Affordable Care Act would mean children with preexisting conditions can be denied health care by insurance companies. Repealing America's new health law would mean many young people would not have health insurance coverage because they could no longer stay on their parents' health insurance until they are 26 years old. Repealing ObamaCare would mean women will no longer have free preventive health care and we will go back to the day when women could be charged more than men for their health coverage.

They will shut down the government unless we agree to increase the out-of-pocket costs for seniors on their prescription drugs and deny them wellness programs.

They are threatening a government default which would weaken our economy when we should be doing everything we can to strengthen it. They don't seem to care that even the hint of defaulting on our obligations by a minority of Republicans in Congress had severe consequences for our economy when it last happened in the summer of 2011. The stock market plummeted, and the U.S. credit rating was downgraded for the first time in our Nation's history. Businesses froze hiring in August of 2011, and that was one of the lowest months of job growth over the last 2 years. Consumer confidence dropped, and widespread uncertainty was created for middle-class families.

What we don't need right now is more political games. The last thing we need right now is to create another self-inflicted economic wound in Washington that will hurt middle-class families, small businesses, and those who are working so hard to get ahead. We need to create jobs. We need to invest in the middle class and build an economy that produces shared prosperity.

Instead of protecting tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans and tax loopholes for big corporations, it is time for Republicans to join our efforts and ask those at the top to pay their fair share. It is time for Republicans to join our efforts to continue making smart spending cuts that reduce the deficit without shortchanging our future. It is time for Republicans to join with us in passing a responsible budget that strengthens the middle class while also giving American businesses the certainty they need to grow our economy. It is time to break this destructive pattern of bringing the country to the brink and instead return to making Washington work for the American people.

Chairwoman Mikulski has called for a return to regular order so that Congress can pass individual appropriations bills every year, and she is 100 percent correct. I support her efforts because regular order allows us to prioritize key investments that support the middle class and avoid these annual shutdown showdowns.

As I have traveled the State, Wisconsinites have told me that the powerful and well-connected seem to get to write their own rules in Washington while the concerns and struggles of middle-class families go unnoticed here. They feel that our economic system is tilted toward those at the very top, that our political system exists to protect those unfair advantages instead of to make sure everybody gets a fair shot.

Last week an economic report was released showing that income equality has been worsening and expanding, with almost all--in fact, 95 percent--of the income gains since our economic collapse 5 years ago going to the top 1 percent of income earners. The American people would be right to expect that both parties work together to offer solutions that address the challenge of closing this gap, but it has been ignored by those playing the game of threats and ``divided we stand'' politics. They are wrong to ignore the gap between the economic security Americans work so hard to achieve and the economic uncertainty they are asked to settle for. They are wrong because if we can't close that gap, we might someday talk about the middle class as something we used to have as opposed to something to which every generation can aspire.

Unfortunately, the ``divided we stand'' crowd in Congress refuses to be governing partners committed to meeting this challenge and advancing our common good. Worse yet, the threats of a government shutdown and a government default are immensely disrespectful to the hard work of people who get up every day and through their sheer grit and determination have helped to move our country forward.

The American people deserve better. They deserve to have their hard work respected. Our economy demands better. It demands that hard work is rewarded.

Senate Democrats have a plan to keep the government running while ensuring that millions of Americans do not lose access to affordable health care. Republicans should join us so that we end this shutdown crisis and the irresponsible political game of division.

It is my hope that those who choose divisive politics over progress for America's economy reconsider and begin to join us on this bill and work with us to once and for all end the drift from one crisis to the next. This is not a political game, and those who continue to play these games need to stop and get to work, get to work with us to move our economy forward.

I yield the floor.

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

Madam President, I come to speak to the important debate we are having about the most sobering issue I face as a Senator, as a Wisconsinite, and as an American--the issue of military action by the United States.

Let me start by saying that the Asad regime's use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people is morally reprehensible and a serious violation of longstanding international law. The various treaties and conventions addressing these issues have been ratified by most of the world's nations. There is a reason why almost the entire world has gathered under the Chemical Weapons Convention to ban these weapons. It is because chemical weapons are truly barbaric in nature. They are a global threat, and they therefore require a global response.

The President has made the right choice to seek congressional authorization for any potential military action in Syria. The gravity of these issues before us is significant and they deserve a full debate. President Obama should be praised for understanding and appreciating that fact. We must demand that all Presidents--not just this President--come to Congress to get approval before taking military action in another country in instances where we are not facing an imminent threat. I have made that case with both Democratic and Republican Presidents.

I strongly believe our response to this situation must not be a unilateral military action. This is not America's responsibility alone, and it is not in our interest to set the precedent that it is our responsibility alone.

Syria violated international laws and should be held accountable by the international community. America must not act alone. The use of chemical weapons is a global atrocity that demands a global response, and that is why I oppose going to war in Syria and I oppose authorizing military involvement in Syria's civil war--not for 1 day, not for 60 days, not for a decade. I do not believe we should involve ourselves militarily in the middle of a brutal years-long civil war. That would not strengthen America's national security. But the answer is not to do nothing. The answer, rather, is to create a situation where these violations of humanitarian norms and crimes against humanity can be dealt with effectively by the U.N. and other international institutions.

We must continue to focus on building a global coalition to support the encouraging developments in the past few days and to resolve this crisis without the use of unilateral military engagement in Syria. By working through the United Nations and its institutions, we strengthen international frameworks that can help resolve the conflict in Syria and build a safer and stronger international community moving forward.

I firmly believe that the recent potential for progress in today's U.N. discussions is a testament to American democracy. By President Obama fulfilling his constitutional duties to come to Congress and by our serious debate here on Capitol Hill, I believe America has helped drive a more constructive international debate and engagement on Asad's regime's atrocities. We must now give the opportunity of a path forward without military involvement in Syria a chance to succeed.

Madam President, I yield back my time and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague for convening us and for giving us an opportunity to discuss the important topic of delivery system reform and to highlight some of the innovations that are occurring in our own States.

I heard Senator Whitehouse talking about moving forward. It is actually the motto of the State of Wisconsin. One simple word: ``Forward.'' Throughout our State's history, that motto has well represented our leadership in extending high-quality and affordable health care.

Our health care providers and payers have pioneered forward-looking reforms that improve the quality of care and lower costs for families and for businesses. We are home to world-class, highly integrated health care systems. We make quality and outcomes data widely accessible to providers so they can measure their success against their peers. We stand at the forefront of using and advancing health care information technology. All of this affords some of the highest quality care in the country at a competitive cost.

Congress has a lot to learn from Wisconsin's health care delivery systems. A recent Institute of Medicine report reinforced what we have known for a long time: that geographic variation in health care spending and utilization is real and that variations in health care spending are not consistently related to health care quality. For every State such as Wisconsin with higher quality outcomes and lower costs, there are five other States faring worse. Even within States, the regional variation in health care spending and quality is troublesome.

Unfortunately, instead of advancing and fostering forward-thinking innovations such as those working in Wisconsin, far too many of my fellow lawmakers are looking backward when it comes to health care. In the House of Representatives, the Republican leadership has scheduled votes to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act almost 40 times. Some State governments--including, unfortunately, my own--have refused to move forward with America's new health care law and are undermining its effectiveness at every chance possible. Now some of my colleagues in the Senate are threatening to shut down the government if investments in our health care system are not stripped out of our budget entirely.

Families and businesses in Wisconsin and across the country are tired of these political games. For as long as some of my colleagues and some of the Governors across this country remain glued to the past, waging political fights based on pure ideology, we lose golden opportunities to move health care reforms in our country forward. We should all be focused on building a smarter and more affordable health care system, not trying to tear down the law of the land.

That is why I am so proud to stand on the floor with my colleagues tonight, committed to moving our Nation's health care system forward. By building on the best reforms to our health care delivery system that are embedded within the Affordable Care Act and making new improvements to how we deliver care in our country, we will lower health care costs, improve quality and strengthen our economic security and reduce the deficit. Better yet, we will have more States with health care systems such as Wisconsin's, and Wisconsin's system will be improved as well.

The possibilities are exciting. I think one of the things Senator Whitehouse just mentioned bears repeating: There is widespread agreement that significant savings can be achieved in our health care system without compromising the quality of care. The figures he cited bear repeating: The Lewin Group and the former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill have estimated that we could save $1 trillion per year without affecting health care outcomes by enacting smart, targeted health care delivery reforms. The New England Health Care Institute pegged that number at $850 billion annually, the Institute of Medicine estimated this number to be $750 billion, and the President's Council of Economic Advisers foresees savings at $700 billion a year. No matter the exact figure, these are impressive savings that would strengthen our entire Nation.

The Affordable Care Act has sparked this hard work of transforming health care delivery. The law provides health care practitioners with incentives to better integrate care, increase quality, and lower costs. These efforts are producing impressive results in Wisconsin. For example, the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Program has offered financial incentives to meet quality and Medicare savings benchmarks. Bellin-ThedaCare Healthcare Partners in northeast Wisconsin has excelled with this program. In its first year of participation, Bellin- ThedaCare earned $5.3 million in shared savings and lowered costs for its 20,000 Medicare patients by an average of 4.6 percent. While not every pioneer ACO has been as successful, the CMS Office of the Actuary believes this program could save Medicare up to $1.1 billion over 5 years by simply better coordinating care.

Wisconsin boasts six additional health care providers participating in the law's traditional Accountable Care Organization Program which the Department of Health and Human Services estimates could save up to $940 million over 4 years. Wisconsin health care providers are also taking part in

the Affordable Care Act's Partnership for Patients to improve health care quality. This public-private partnership engages hospitals, businesses, and consumer groups with the goal of preventing injuries and complications in patient care--including hospital-acquired conditions. The administration estimates that reducing medical errors and preventing conditions will save up to $35 billion in health care costs.

Another public-private partnership--the Affordable Care Act's Million Hearts Initiative--is preventing heart attack and stroke. Cardiovascular disease costs this country $440 billion per year in medical costs and lost productivity. The initiative seeks to deliver better preventive care to stop 1 million strokes and heart attacks by the year 2017--in part by utilizing innovative technology. Wisconsin's own Marshfield Clinic designed a winning mobile application for the initiative. The app will encourage patients to get their blood pressure and cholesterol checked and to work with their health care providers to improve their heart health.

Finally, the Affordable Care Act has empowered the CMS Innovation Center to develop new ideas to improve health care quality and lower costs for people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program. A number of the center's projects are currently underway in Wisconsin. For example, the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Aurora HealthCare, and the Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare system have created a model to decrease emergency room visits for children. The estimated 3-year savings of that project is almost $3 million. In addition, the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin is utilizing a provision in the Affordable Care Act to better integrate pharmacists into clinical care teams. That initiative is set to save over $20 million in 3 years.

This represents a small sampling of the delivery innovations being promoted through the Affordable Care Act that are saving us money right now. These parts of the law are empowering Wisconsin health care providers to provide higher quality care at reduced costs. Public officials who advocate for repealing the Affordable Care Act would end these impressive initiatives as well. Instead, we must build on these delivery reforms, as so much more can be done.

To name two priorities, Wisconsin cardiologists have developed an innovative integrated network called SMARTCare to deliver better more efficient care for a vulnerable patient population. The Department of Health and Human Services should encourage this coordinated care model by investing in it and measuring its results.

We should improve the law to increase access to Medicare claims data. The Wisconsin Health Information Organization currently holds over 65 percent of health insurance claims data in the State--from private insurers and from Medicaid. The organization shares that data with health care providers so doctors can compare their performance--in terms of quality and cost--against their peers. This data-sharing promotes competition and it lowers cost. But due to current law, the organization cannot access Medicare data. If we open Medicare claims data, we will further improve quality and we will lower costs.

Lawmakers have a clear choice: Go backward and try for the 40th time to repeal the Affordable Care Act or put progress in our country ahead of politics. We welcome our colleagues to join us in moving our country and our health care delivery system forward.

I now yield for Senator Murphy.

Mr. President, 2013 is the 11th year in which summer interns working in Congressional offices have benefitted from a program run by the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Leadership. This 6-week program is designed to enhance their internship experience by giving them an inside look at how Congress works and a deeper appreciation for the role that Congress plays in our democracy. Each week, the interns meet with senior congressional staff and other experts to discuss issues such as the legislative process, power of the purse, balancing governing and campaigning, political polarization, foreign affairs, and more.

Interns are selected for this program based on their college record, community service experience, and interest in a career in public service. This year, 29 outstanding interns, most of them juniors and seniors in college who are working in Republican and Democratic offices in both the House and Senate have taken part.

I congratulate the interns for their participation in this valuable program and I thank the Stennis Center and the Senior Stennis Fellows for providing such a meaningful experience for these interns and for encouraging them to consider a future career in public service.

I ask unanimous consent that a list of 2013 Stennis Congressional Interns and the offices in which they work be printed in the Record.

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

I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Making college affordable is one of the most important steps we can take toward completing our economic recovery and ensuring a path to the middle class for all Americans. As a Nation, we are still working to recover from the largest economic downturn since the Great Depression. Access to student loans at affordable interest rates represents an incredibly important piece of this vital recovery.

I often use a quote of President Obama that he included in his State of the Union Address a couple of years ago. It says to win the future, we must outeducate, outinnovate, and outbuild the rest of the world. I believe we do this best by supporting our students and investing in their future.

Unfortunately, the Student Loan Certainty Act on the floor today is a step in the wrong direction. A college education should be a path to prosperity, a path to the middle class, not a path to indebtedness.

As many of my colleagues have described, the bill before us today offers students and families lower student loan interest rates in the near term, but we can fully expect higher student loan interest rates in the years to come.

For families with multiple children who are college bound, their children's education becomes more expensive in each ensuing year. This means that under this plan, a current freshman in college may get a decent student loan interest rate for a few years, but a current freshman in high school will end up with rates much higher than the cap contained in current U.S. law.

Not only does this legislation raise long-term interest rate loans for students, it fails to close tax loopholes. It does not ask the wealthy to pay their fair share, and it burdens students who can least afford it with deficit reduction.

The bill before us lacks a true vision for outeducating the rest of the world. It doesn't ask our country to invest in the future, nor does it offer a comprehensive solution to college affordability. Rather, it offers a poor permanent fix and slaps students and their families with the bill.

I remind my colleagues that there were multiple alternative solutions proposed before Congress slumped over the July 1 deadline that doubled the interest rates on student loans. I supported two measures offered by my colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Reed, that would have paid for lower interest rates for students by closing tax loopholes for the very wealthy in our country. The Senate twice voted on Senator Reed's proposals and they received a majority vote each time.

We are also making a good-faith effort to address the shortcomings of the bill before us to work toward a deal that would be a true win for students and their families. The Reed-Warren amendment, which I proudly cosponsor, would impose a lower cap to protect student borrowers. Why on Earth would we wish to expose our students to higher rates?

Senator Sanders' amendment would sunset the current deal in 2 years and allow for a return to regular order so Congress can rightly deal with interest rates and a host of other issues that affect college costs. These amendments are sound improvements to the underlying bill that would allow us to invest in students and families, rather than obfuscate the student loan and debt problem. I am disappointed that we have reached the point where debates about the future of college affordability are less about the lives of students and their families and more about protecting loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.

It wasn't always this way. In 1944, starting with the compact to returning soldiers from World War II made through the GI bill, our Nation made a commitment to future progress by investing in education. Between 1944 and 1951, 8 million veterans received education benefits, including many former distinguished Members of this body.

In 1958, President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, signed the National Defense Education Act, providing loans for college students and funds to encourage young people to enter teaching careers, the precursor to our current program for student loans.

President Lyndon Johnson built upon this legacy. A cornerstone of the Great Society was a path to the middle class through a college education. The Higher Education Act of 1965 gave us the Federal student loan program, known today as the Stafford Loan Program, and the Educational Opportunity Grant Program, known today as the Pell Grant Program. This generation of American lawmakers lived in trying times-- winning a war, fulfilling the dream of the civil rights movement--yet they still had the foresight to make the hard choices, the choices necessary to invest in the future--our future.

Legislation I supported as a Member of the House of Representatives built on this investment and lowered the subsidized Stafford loan rate to 3.4 percent, which was the rate at which students borrowed until July 1. We recognized that investing in students is important, and lowering rates is a part of that investment.

The fact that State investment in higher education has declined significantly over the past decades has exacerbated the problem. Particularly as States struggle to balance their budgets in these tough economic times, their investments in students have decreased, meaning higher tuition, fewer grants, and fewer scholarships.

I hear regularly from Wisconsin students that the cost of higher education in my State puts college out of reach for some. Thirty years ago undergraduate tuition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was about $1,000. Today it is well over $8,000. And it is not just my home State of Wisconsin. Across the country tuition at public 4-year colleges has tripled. This means more students are borrowing through Federal student loan programs to cover the higher cost of higher education. For students at the University of Wisconsin System, unmet needs after grants and scholarships is over $9,000--nearly doubling in the last decade. Yet the Federal Government limits on subsidized loans have remained relatively stagnant over the past 30 years. In many cases the limits on what a student can borrow through the Stafford Loan Program means their loans will not even cover the cost of their tuition.

This is what it all comes down to--a series of choices. Are we going to sacrifice the progress of our next generation because we are unwilling to do the hard work and make those tough choices now? Are we going to gradually chip away at the ladders of opportunity put in place by the generations before to lift Americans into the middle class and out of poverty; do we ask the wealthy to pay a little bit more; do we ask corporations to pay their fair share. Or do we say to students: You are on your own; sink or swim.

I say to students across Wisconsin and this great country: We should all be in this together. We must continue this compact from one generation to the next. The veteran who was educated on the GI bill wants to see his neighbor's children able to afford college. The teacher who earned her education through the Pell Grant Program wants the same opportunity for her students. The mother who attended college through the Stafford Loan Program does not want to see her savings for retirement depleted or her children sapped with debt.

I reject sacrificing the progress of the next generation because we are unwilling to do the hard work and make the hard choices now. I reject shortchanging the next generation of young Americans by making college more expensive and then using the profits from their high interest rates to pay down the deficit, particularly when we ask the wealthiest to contribute nothing.

If we are to win the future, we must make the hard important choices now. For this reason and for the hard-working people of Wisconsin, I oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

I yield the floor.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business for as much time as I may consume.

Madam President, as I make my first remarks on the Senate floor, I have the honor of occupying the same Senate seat, and in fact occupying the very Senate desk, once used by Senator Robert M. LaFollette, Sr. ``Fighting Bob LaFollette,'' as he was known, was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin a century ago who is credited as the founder of the Progressive Party and progressive movement in this Nation. I admire Fighting Bob's legacy in many ways. But I wish to assure my colleagues who are present in the Chamber at this moment that I will not emulate his maiden speech, which went on for 3 successive days.

Bob LaFollette ran for this office because he was concerned that while corporate interests were being well served in Washington, ordinary people weren't even being heard. He traveled all around the State of Wisconsin, literally speaking from makeshift stages of soap boxes and hay wagons at county fairs. His message came to define my State's progressive tradition. The things he talked about in that day still ring true.

As I have traveled the State Wisconsinites have told me that the powerful and well-connected seem still to write their own rules while the concerns and struggles of middle-class families go unnoticed in Washington. They believe our economic system is tilted toward those at the top and that our political system exists to protect those unfair advantages instead of making sure everybody gets a fair shot.

They see Washington happy to let Wall Street write their own rules but unable to help students pull themselves out of debt. They see Washington working to protect big tax breaks for powerful corporations but unwilling to protect small manufacturers from getting ripped off by China's cheating.

They see Washington bouncing from one manufactured fiscal crisis to the next but never addressing the real and ongoing crisis of our disappearing middle class.

The truth is, while we hear a lot about the wide distance between Democrats and Republicans, the widest and most important distance in our political system is between the content of the debate in Washington and the concerns of hard-working people in places such as Wisconsin. That distance parallels the large and growing gaps between rich and poor, between rising costs and the stagnant incomes, between our Nation and our competitors when it comes to education and innovation--and it is truly hurting people.

When my grandparents were raising me, I learned that if you worked hard and played by the rules, one can get ahead. The Wisconsinites I talked to grew up learning that very same thing. They are working as hard as ever to get ahead, but many are finding they are hardly getting by. People are still working for that middle-class dream: a job that pays the bills, health coverage they can rely on, a home they can call their own, a chance to save for their kid's college education, and a secure retirement. But, instead, too many are finding that even two jobs are not enough to make ends meet, and those jobs are hard to find and hard to keep. They are finding the homes they worked so hard to own are not even worth what still remains on their mortgage. They are finding that the cost of college is going up, and they are worried they might never be able to retire comfortably.

That is the biggest gap of all, the gap between the economic security Wisconsinites worked so hard to achieve and the economic uncertainty they are asked to settle for.

If we cannot close that gap, we might someday talk about the middle class as something we used to have, not something each generation can aspire to. We all get it. We all see this happening. While Wisconsinites do not agree about what we should do, they want to see us working together to find a solution, even if it takes some spirited debate.

But when they look across that yawning divide to Washington, they see us advancing talking points and playing politics instead of putting our varying experiences and talents to work solving these problems.

But I am optimistic. I did not run for the Senate just because I agree with those complaints. I ran for the Senate because I think we can do better. I know I have a great example to follow in the people of Wisconsin. These are particularly tough times for my State. Even as the National economy is rebounding, businesses in Wisconsin and middle- class families in my State remain stuck in neutral.

The manufacturing sector that sustained our prosperity for generations has taken a lot of hits--some that could have been prevented and others that are simply a factor of our changing economy and our changing world. But we do not see Wisconsin workers and business owners wallowing in crisis or looking for someone to blame. Our State motto is one word, ``Forward.'' That is the only thing we know.

In the short time I have been here, I have made it my mission to fight to make sure Wisconsinites have the tools and skills they need to succeed in a ``Made in Wisconsin'' economy that revitalizes our manufacturing sector and rebuilds our prosperity--and this means respecting our labor.

It means investing in regional hubs of collaborative research and development, supporting the technical colleges that are working to provide a skilled workforce, and encouraging public and private partnerships to revitalize our manufacturing sector. But it all relies on the talent of individuals who are working hard to help our communities move forward.

Years ago John Miller, a disabled Marine Corps veteran who lives near Milwaukee, invented a new kind of motorcycle windshield that uses LED lights embedded in acrylic. For years he has been working hard to find investors to bring his idea to market. He has been testing different acrylics, showing off his work at trade shows, and spending months trying to get approvals from the Department of Transportation. Investors are lining up at John's door. Harley-Davidson even wanted to buy his patent. But he doesn't just want to make a profit, he wants to make a difference. He is holding out until he knows that everything in his product will be made and manufactured in the United States-- hopefully by other disabled veterans, who often have a hard time finding work when they come home.

Wisconsin is full of John Millers--ordinary people with ingenuity, determination, and civic spirit to become not just successful but engines of economic opportunity for their whole communities, committed to the common good.

I am so proud of all the remarkable potential I have seen in Wisconsin: the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, which will open this summer as an incubator for water technology businesses; the partnership of Johnson Controls and UW-Milwaukee for the Innovation Campus research park in Wauwatosa; the advances in energy-efficiency technology being realized at Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc, WI; the work on sustainable biofuels at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center in Madison; and small business incubators at technical colleges across our State helping to build the dreams of entrepreneurs.

These stories of innovation and cooperation and these exciting opportunities to build an economy made to last are happening all over our country.

I am going to let people in on a little secret. We here in the Senate can be innovative too. We can cooperate. We can get excited by these opportunities. It is true of Democrats and Republicans alike because none of us came here just to audition for cable news or to win our next election before the bumper stickers from the last one even come off the cars.

I have already had the great joy of working with colleagues from both parties, and I know neither party has a monopoly on compassion or common sense. There is nothing liberal or conservative about wanting to help our manufacturers compete and win on the world stage. There is not a Senator in this body whose heart has not broken when listening to a constituent who cannot seem to get ahead. We cannot fix all of those gaps in our economy with one bill. Not even ``Fighting Bob'' La Follette could close that divide in our political system with one speech.

I am using this speech, my first here on the Senate floor, to say that I am ready to work hard and work with anyone to make progress on these challenges and help move this great country forward.

I yield the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Carolyn Foster for her service to Fair Wisconsin, and by extension, all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Wisconsinites.

Fair Wisconsin is the statewide advocacy organization for LGBT individuals and families. Its mission is to advance, achieve, and protect equality for all LGBT citizens of Wisconsin. Ms. Foster joined the Fair Wisconsin staff in 2009 as the organization's accountant, at a challenging time for the organization.

She has ably assisted the organization in bringing order, stability, and consistency to its financial recordkeeping, policies, and procedures, which has made a critical difference in the overall management of the organization. She has been key to good financial management and stewardship of the organization's resources.

In the face of dealing with a terminal illness, Ms. Foster brings a strong sense of responsibility and an incredible work ethic to her work, as well as a quick wit and warm regard for her co-workers. The boards of directors and the staff of Fair Wisconsin are in awe of her tenacity, her dedication, and conscientiousness, and her strong and positive spirit. She is an invaluable and deeply valued member of the Fair Wisconsin team.

As a founder of Fair Wisconsin, I wish to extend my deep appreciation to Carolyn Foster for her service to the organization and the cause of equality for LGBT Wisconsinites. I wish her all the best.