Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20140521

James walter green, who has been nominated by the president to serve as u. S. Attorney for the middle district in louisiana. I was very pleased to recommend mr. Green to the president for his consideration. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote with me to confirm him today. He has served our country in a variety of capacities, most notably 20 years in military service. He has been involved in multiple deployments as the recipient of numerous military awards, including Defense Meritorious Service award, navymarine corps commendation medal, and the Iraq Campaign medal. Not only is he a strong patriot and Extraordinary Service to our country, but in addition, he has also served for 15 years in a variety of capacities in this office, supporting their work through republican and democratic administrations. He comes highly recommended by a broad Cross Section of individuals in my state, and im just really pleased the caliber of person that i was able to recommend, this kind of caliber, highcaliber person, to continue to serve now in the full capacity as u. S. Attorney. So ill submit the rest of my statement for the record but, again, senator durbin, thank you for your courtesies and i just wanted to put in a strong word to all of my colleagues, he is supported both by senator vitter and myself and hope that well get a strong vote on him today. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. Im sorry. The time will be equally divided time between the majority and minority. And suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Grassley before we vote on the barron amendment, i want to make sure my colleagues know the white house continues to keep the senate in the dark. Yesterday i called on the white house to state once and for all whether it has provided to the senate any and all materials written by this nominee on the Drone Program. The white house refuses to answer that simple question. One hour after i spoke, the White House Press secretary refused for a third time to confirm that the senate has been provided all of this nominees writings on the Drone Program. Why is that . Why wont this white house give us a simple, straightforward answer . We still dont know how much more is out there on this subject that this nominees been involved with. So after this vote, my colleagues cant tell their constituents that the white house has provided all of this nominees materials on the Drone Program because we simply dont know that that is true. Finally, i want to emphasize one more point about this court that court order requiring the administration to make a redacted copy of one memo public. Senators should know that the court also ordered the trial court to take a second look at the other additional secret documents to see whether any of those additional documents should be made public and in redacted form. If some of these documents were written by this nominee and if the court orders them to be made public, your constituents are going to ask why you didnt stand up today to get that information. Your constituents are going to ask why you didnt stand up to this white house and demand to see any and all memos this nominee wrote on this subject before this vote. I yield the floor. A senator madam president . The presiding officer all time has expired. Mr. Paul madam president , could i ask unanimous consent for five minutes . The presiding officer without objection. The senator from kentucky. Mr. Paul i rise today to oppose the nomination of anyone who advocates for the executive branch killing american citizens not involved in combat without trial. I strongly believe that any nominee who rubber stamps and grants such power to the president is not worthy of being placed one step away from the supreme court. It isnt about seeing the memos, its about what they say and how they disrespect the bill of rights. Due process cant exist in secret. Checks and balances cant exist in one branch of government. Whether it be upon the advice of one lawyer or 10,000 lawyers, if they all work for one man, the president , how can that be anything but a verdict outside the law . A verdict that could conceivably be subject to the emotions of prejudice and fear, a verdict that could be wrong. The nomination before us is about a nominee who supports killing american citizens not engaged in combat without a trial. These memos dont limit drone executions to one individual, they become historic precedent for killing citizens abroad. Barrons arguments for extrajudicial killing of american citizens challenge over a thousand years of jurisprudence. Its actually quite simple. An accusation is different from a conviction. Due process is different from internal deliberations. The executive can accuse, it cannot try. It cannot convict someone. Critics will argue that these are evil people who plot against and plot to kill americans. I understand that. My first instinct is like most americans to immediately want to punish these traitors. The question is how do we decide guilt . Arent we in a way betraying our countrys principles when we relinquish the right to trial by jury . Due process cant exist in secret. Checks and balances cant exist within one branch of government. If we cant defend the right to a trial by jury, for the most heinous crimes, then where will the slippery slope lead us . Critics say how will we try these people when theyre overseas . The constitution holds the answer. They should be tried for treason. If they refuse to return home they should be tried in be a sten sh. The method of punishment is not the issue. The issue is and always has been the right to a trial. The presumption of innocence and the guarantee of due process to everyone, no matter how heinous the rhyme criem. For these reasons i cannot support david barron. I cannot and will not support a lifetime appointment for someone who believes it is okay to kill american citizens not involved in combat without a trial. Thank you, madam president. I yield back my time. The presiding officer the presiding officer the clerk will the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. The clerk we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of david barron of massachusetts to be United States circuit judge for the First Circuit, signed by 17 senators. The presiding officer by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. The question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of David Jeremiah barron of massachusetts to be United States Circuit Court judge for the First Circuit shall be brought to a close . The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators wishing to vote or change their votes . If not, the yeas are 52, the nays are 43, and the motion to invoke cloture is agreed to. The clerk will report the nomination. The clerk david barron of massachusetts to be United States circuit judge for the First Circuit. The presiding officer under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the following nominations which the clerk will report. The clerk privacy and Civil Liberties oversight board, elizabeth Elisebeth Collins cook of virginia to be a member of the Civil Liberties oversight board. Department of justice, james Walter Frazer green of louisiana to be United States attorney for the middle district. Deteriorate ra m. Daly of connecticut to be United States attorney. Dierdre m. Daly of connecticut to be United States attorney. Damon Paul Martinez of new mexico to be United States attorney. The presiding officer under the previous order, there are two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the cook nomination. Without objection all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All opposed, nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. There are now two minutes of debate equally divided prior to a vote on the green nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. All opposed say nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. Now two minutes of debate equally divided on the daly nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is confirmed. There are now two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the martinez nomination. Without objection, all time is yielded back. The question is on the nomination. All those in favor say aye. All opposed nay. The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. The nomination is agreed to. Confirmed and agreed to. Under the previous order, the motions to reconsider are considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senates action. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from new jersey. Mr. Menendez madam president , a year ago, the Senate Judiciary committee reported out a piece of legislation that would do more than increase the Gross Domestic Product, do more than reduce the deficit, do more than promote prosperity and do more than create jobs. It passed legislation that would take 11 Million People out of the shadows in america, prevent anyone from becoming a secondclass citizen in this country, and finally establish comprehensive, commonsense Immigration Reform, and today one year later it sits languishing in the house of representatives and 11 Million People wait and wait and wait. And while they wait, while they hope that we come to our senses in government as we should, the toll from inaction compounds. Families suffer. Children suffer. Deportations continue and injustice prevails. Madam president , there is a cost to our inaction, a cost that those in the house of representatives who are forcing upon us as we wait for them to act accrues every day. They claim they offer fiscal responsibility, and yet their inaction is costing us each year on average 80 billion of real g. D. P. , 40 billion in higher deficits, 40,000 stem grads who earn masters or ph. D. In stem fields from u. S. Universities, 50 billion in the Social Security trust fund, almost 50,000 fewer jobs and 13. 5 billion in lost revenue. Now, i hope that our republican colleagues in the house understand exactly what the cost of inaction is. I hope they understand that every minute that we waste passing commonsense Immigration Reform is costing american taxpayers more and more and the cost is on them and the losses i view as republican losses. The fact is republicans are acting as if nothing is at stake, as if there is no cost, as if the lives of people and families are not in the balance and they could not be more wrong. Beside the Economic Cost of inaction, there is a very real human cost. Franklin roosevelt once said, citing dante, that better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference. Let us not be frozen in the ice of our own indifference. Let us act, let us govern. I call on my republican colleagues to warm their hearts and think about the costs of inaction, not only in dollars and cents but in the lives of families and the future of this nation. The legislation that we are waiting for is a comprehensive way to tackle our immigration problem. We are on the verge of historic change. Im proud to have been part of the gang of eight that hammered out a strong bipartisan effort, that passed this institution with 67 votes. Thats not usual these days for questions of great controversy. And now i say to my friends in the other body do the right thing for america, and by the way for your own party. Find common ground. Lean away from the extreme. Opt for reason and govern with us. In my view, the leadership in the other body has a chance to be american heroes, a chance to bring both sides together in an alliance that will ensure passage of this bill, and i believe based upon poll after poll that a vast majority of americans want Immigration Reform to pass will thank them for doing the right thing, and i hope that they have the political will, i hope they have the political courage to unite the nation and send this bill to the president s desk. I hope that they will pass pass a bill that will increase the Gross Domestic Product, reduce the deficit, promote prosperity and create jobs. Now, as i have pointed out on this floor many times, this chart shows cumulative economic gains of the legalization process over ten years after passage of this legislation. Fixing the broken immigration system would increase americas Gross Domestic Product by over 800 billion over the next ten years. It would increase the wages of all americans by 470 billion over ten years and increase jobs by 121,000 per year for ten years. Thats over 1. 2 million jobs. Now, what do we ever get to do here that increases the Gross Domestic Product, reduces the deficit and raises the wages of all americans and creates 120,000plus jobs per year . Very little. This legislation does that, not just simply because i say it but because the Congressional Budget Office said many of these figures were, in fact, the reality. Immigrants will start Small Businesses, they will create jobs for american workers, and its time to harness that economic power. The c. B. O. Report also tells us that we reduce direct spending and the deficit by 158 billion over the next decade and by another 685 billion more from 20242033. Lets remember were talking about almost 1 trillion in deficit spending that we can lift off the backs of the next generation. Exactly what our republican friends demand, and yet they are balking in the face of achieving one of their very fundamental principles. What other single piece of legislation increases g. D. P. , growth, increases wages, increases jobs and lowers the deficit . The center for American Progress found that fixing the broken immigration system would increase wages of all americans by 470 billion over ten years and increase jobs by 121,000 per year. What we realize now and what the numbers tell us is that giving 11 Million People a clear and defined earned pathway to citizenship is in effect an Economic Growth strategy that lowers the deficit and creates jobs, and thats exactly what were looking to do to move this economy forward. New americans who follow this pathway we lay out will have to play by the rules, will have to pass criminal background checks. They will have to pay a fine. They will have to pay their taxes. But if they do, there will be no obstacle they cannot overcome to the day when they raise their right hand and pledge allegiance to the United States and become a naturalized citizen. Now, too many families have waited too long for that day. Too many have waited too long to say those words that will change their lives forever. They changed my mothers life and in turn gave me a chance to stand here today and vote for a pathway to citizenship that changed the lives that can change the lives of millions of others. But its not just the economics of the legislation that creates the urgency of now. Its the human toll, the toll of millions living in the shadows. Madam president , that can be pretty dark and frightening. Last year, over 150,000 people were deported just for paperwork, paperwork violations. Hundreds of thousands have been deported despite having u. S. Citizen children. They are not criminals. They are hardworking families trying to make ends meet. For many years, i have asked the administration to stop deporting fathers and mothers, stop separating families, stop taking away parents from their u. S. Citizen resident child. Let me tell you about one of these cases, the case of Carlos Oliva Guillen who was about to be deported away from his three u. S. Citizen children including his 7 month old infant son who is suffering from a lifethreatening disorder. The baby was on the verge of a coma and facing potential brain damage while his dad was in detention, about to be deported. The doctors needed to do a blood test on carlos, the babys dad, to see if the babys illness is genetic. Now, thank god that carlos was released and brought back to new jersey so that doctors could pursue these lifesaving tests and treatment. These tragedies continue as long as we do not have comprehensive Immigration Reform. With all of these economic benefits and the tremendous human suffering at stake, what are we waiting for . Were waiting for the house leadership to stand up to a minority, to a minority. Were waiting for Speaker Boehner to schedule a vote. Were waiting for reason to prevail for our republican friends in the other body to once and for all do whats right and think about the cost of inaction, not only in dollars and cents but in the lives of the families and the future of this nation. Were waiting for the speaker to stop letting the most radical voices like steven king dictate the future of Immigration Reform. Speaker boehner himself has publicly denounced congressman king for his, and i quote, hateful language, yet the only, the only immigrationrelated votes of the speaker of the houe of representatives has allowed in the last year was for radical proposals to end daca and support our nations dreamers. Its time for Speaker Boehner to stand up for the majority of the Republican Party and of the congress and of the house of representatives and remove steven kings undeserved Carte Blanche on immigration policy. Madam president , we had a vote in the house. The senate bill as if we had a vote in the house, the senate bill as passed would pass today, and it would pass with both democratic and republican votes. We have the votes in the house to pass the senate bill. We just need the will of the Republican Leadership behind a bill that reduces the deficit, increases the g. D. P. , creates jobs, and i cant understand for the life of me why they cannot break this stranglehold by a few against the will of the many. Considering that there are enough votes in the house to pass the senate bill and send it to the president , we deserve action. 11 Million People deserve at the very least the political courage to face down the extreme minority and do what is right and govern from a commonsense center. Now, time is not on our side. There is a limited window of opportunity. We only have about another two months, at most, for the speaker to act, so its in the speakers hands. Does he want reform or doesnt he . I know i hear him say he does. I want to believe that. I will be the first to applaud it. Speaker boehner, however, on the one side he says he wants to get Immigration Reform. The next thing i hear is that he questioned the president s commitment to enforce the law as the reason why they arent moving forward on Immigration Reform. Even as this president is deporting more people than the bush administration. This administration has deported almost two Million People. Now i dont understand when the speaker says we cant trust the president to enforce the law, it seems to me that what hes calling for is even greater deportations than the greatest deportations that have taken place over the last republican administration. So saying the president isnt enforcing enough, the speaker is really arguing for more deportations and has done nothing to stop those deportations. The only conclusion we can draw is that my friends on the other side support the current dysfunctional system. They do it at the cost of the country. They do so at a cost to families. And i also believe beyond all the policy arguments that ive talked about here the g. D. P. , the reduction in the deficit, the creation of jobs, the raising of wages, helping our Agricultural Industry through the ag job provision, helping the hightech industry through the provisions of the legislation, and so many others that not only do they risk all of that and risk the families; i believe they risk their political futures. The road to the white house goes through aboutab as congressman guiterrez says. Look at those who look at this as the civil rights issue of their times. You cannot win the electoral votes of those states if you cannot find a way towards commonsense Immigration Reform. So their own futures politically speaking are at risk. But i think more importantly than that Political Risk is our countries at risk, a risk that will hinder our own Economic Growth and leave millions in the shadows as second class citizens, a risk that deportations will continue to tear parents away from their infants despite the parents desperately seeking to register, get right with the law and pay their taxes. I thought that so many of my colleagues talk about the family values. Well, family values isnt about ripping families asunder. Family values isnt about ultimately saying if someone has a paperwork violation, so you rip them apart from their three american children. A risk that we wont address, one of the greatest civil rights issues of our time. You know, madam president , i have cases in my office of United States citizens and legal permanent residents of the United States unlawfully detained in immigration raids because of the happenstance of where they live or what they look like or how they speak. And who among us who have the privilege of serving in this institution are ready to become secondclass citizens because of the happenstance of where you live, what you look like or how you speak, when you are a u. S. Citizen or a legal permanent resident, including among others, in one case an iraq war veteran who was detained while his status was determined. My first and foremost focus is im getting the house Republican Leadership, after a year of this body having passed an immigration bill, to either consider the Senate Legislation or their own comprehensive version. That is the ultimate solution. Everything else is a bandaid. But let me be clear, there is a limited window of opportunity that we have open to us until the end of july. If republicans do not act, they will have forced the president to ultimately use his executive powers on enforcement questions and on deportation relief. Madam president , either they are tonedeaf to the priorities of the nations fastest and largestgrowing minority or they are ignoring the will and interests of their own party and acting against their own stated goal of reducing the deficit. They can keep finding excuses for inaction, but there are no more excuses. Enough is enough. And the Community Across the country is rivetted in their attention as to what is going to happen in the house of representatives. I hope that that attention will ultimately be a joyful one if the house acts. But if it does not, it will reap the wrath of a community who sees this as the critical civil rights issue of their time, and the consequences will be longstanding. I hope they meet the better angels that are within them and ultimately produce the comprehensive Immigration Reform the nation needs for its security, for its economy, for doing the right thing as a nation of immigrants and to do right things by those families. With that, madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Roberts madam president . The presiding officer the senator from kansas. Mr. Roberts thank you, madam president. Today, as the Ranking Member of the rules committee, i take no pleasure in making these remarks, but the circumstances have given me absolutely no choice. Our distinguished majority leader recently came to this floor and declared that his minority colleagues that would be us on this side of the aisle, republicans were, quote addicted to koch. To those who regularly watch our proceedings, i think it is clear who is suffering from this addiction. Practically every morning our leader starts this session by giving a spaoefpg personally attack speech personally attacking the Koch Brothers and their families. As distasteful as that is, it is apparently no longer sufficient. The problem with addiction, of course, is that as a tolerance develops, more and more of the drug is needed to satisfy the craving. So now we have learned not only does the majority leader spend his mornings attacking the kochs, he spends his evenings doing so as well. Last night the majority leader attended an event in the capitol visitors center, the c. V. C. , in the Capitol Building to promote a movie attacking the kochs. Never mind that regulations prohibit prohibit the use of the c. V. C. Space for any quote campaign, promotional or profitmaking purpose. Unquote. As House Administration Committee Chairwoman Candice Miller said, we cannot hold partisan political rallies or fundraisers on the grounds of the capitol or within its walls. Our work in this hallowed building must be solely in the interest of the American People, and not in the interest of any political cause. This event is just the latest demonstration of an apparent belief that the rules do not apply to the democratic leadership. We now have another new president , a majority leader appearing in and then promoting a movie in the United States capitol. It further demonstrates the hypocrisy of the majoritys quest to stifle dissent. They celebrate and attack films that stifle their opponent but want to outlaw films that criticize the majority members. The irony of promoting a film to advance their campaign to restrict speech is apparently lost on the majority. So it is worth reminding them what the Citizens United case was really all about. It was about a movie. Hillary mute have the movio be precise. It was made in the wake of farenheit 9 11. Anyone who saw farenheit 9 11 knows it was to show people george w. Bush was not worthy of the presidency and should not be given a second term. Anyone who saw hillary the movie nose knows it depicted Hillary Clinton should not be elected president of the United States. I suspect many of the people who saw the movie in the c. V. C. Last night thought farenheit 9 11 was great and hillary was terrible. The point of the case was it really doesnt matter. It doesnt matter which film a majority in Congress Might prefer. The producers have to write to make and distribute each one and they can raise the money necessary to do so as they see fit, not subject to any restrictions or limitations imposed by the congress. And theyre guaranteed that right by the First Amendment to the constitution of the United States. And this congress cannot take that away. Now is that too difficult a concept to grasp . Isnt it obvious . Of course it is. Yet the majority has spent last four years misrepresenting it, and now it wants to amend the constitution to reverse t. Now thats just incredible. In a press release announcing an upcoming hearing on the majoritys amendment to the First Amendment it was noted to build support in support of the constitution to ensure all americans can exercise their First Amendment rights. End of quote. Madam president , it is not necessary to amend the First Amendment to ensure that all americans can exercise their First Amendment rights. Those rights are already guaranteed by the First Amendment as written. The amendment the majority wants to impose would allow them to once again curtail those rights. Why cant we just be honest about this . Because of the Citizens United decision, people of all points of view now have the opportunity to make their views widely known, even people who disagree with the majority here in the senate have that right. And we should all be very grateful for that. Now, i know the majority preferred a system where those who wished to criticize them were restrained in their ability to do so. They want to reimpose those restraints. I do not think they will sked, sked, succeed but we should make clear what they want to do. In their view, a corporation that happens to own a network, like nbc or cnn, should be able to broadcast the movie they promoted last night as much as they want. If the networks wanted to show the movie every night of the week for two hours, that would be just fine with the majority. But if somebody wanted to buy a 30second ad during the airing of the movie to present an alternative point of view, that would be unacceptable. A twohour movie . No problem. A 30second ad . Terrible, cant be allowed. That is simply absurd. But that was the reality before Citizens United decision. Media corporations could do or say whatever they wanted. Other corporations, however, could not. Citizens united ended that ridiculous distinction and the majority has been trying to reinstate it ever since. The majority claims theyre concerned about wealthy donors. No, theyre not. They are concerned about wealthy conservative donors. According to the los angeles times, the very film they promoted last night received financing from foundations, large individual donations. But those donation wrs okay. I suppose because they went to support a cause the majority supports, again attacking the koch family. Likewise, billionaires who support the causes of the majority are not targeted. Billionaire former Hedge Fund Manager tom steyer has indicated he intends to spend over 100 million to influence the midterm elections. Does the majority have any problem with that . Of course not. Spending huge amounts of money on politics only concerns them if it is spent against them or on behalf of their opponents. If it is spent on the majority and their agenda no problem. The majority leader seeks to convince the rest of us that the kochs are somehow unique, that the Koch Brothers present some kind of evil threat, if you will, that other billionaires with different points of view do not post. He seems to think that for everything bad that happens, the kochs are to blame. Recently he claimed that they were one of the main causes of climate change. He said and i quote not a cause. One of the main causes. What to make of such a statement, madam president . Could anything be more absurd . There are over seven billion people on earth, but our majority leader believes two men charles and david koch are a main cause of climate change. What . What is that all about . Just yesterday the majority leader blamed the kochs for the whaoeuld fires in california. The wildfires in california. The wildfires in california. Whats next . Maybe the kochs are to blame for the planes lost in the bermuda triangle. How about volcanic eruption at pompey years back . Even the futility of the chicago cubs. That has to be the koch family. The majority leader convinces himself that their political involvement is motivated only by their own financial interests. It is inconceivable to him that people might exist who simply disagree with him and his agenda, and want to see the country take a different path. The reality is there are millions of americans who want to see this country take a different path, and the koch family proudly supports that goal and has made donations to help achieve just that. Youll never hear it from the majority leader, but it is time someone presented the rest of the story about the koch family. This family has pledged or contributed more than 1 billion to Cancer Research, medical centers, education, the arts, and to assist Public Policy organizations. 1 billion, madam president. Is that the act of a family motivated solely by financial interest . I dont think so. Of course not. Just consider a few of these gifts 100 million as a prime contributor for Cancer Research at m. I. T. 100 million to the New York Presbyterian Hospital to build a new ambulatory care center, plus 28 million to other research causes. 20 million to Johns Hopkins university for a Cancer Research center. 30 million to the memorial shown the questio themembersloan new york. 26 million to the hospital for special surgery in new york city for building on Success Campaign and other causes. And 35 million to the Smithsonian National museum of Natural History to renovate whats called dine sour hall which will include one of the largest trex spes mince in the world. 20 million to the museum of Natural History. 65 million to the metropolitan museum of art. Likewise, the david h. Koch Charitable Foundation gave 100 million for the preservation and renovation at lincoln center, home to the new York City Ballet and the new york city opera. Madam president , all these acts of extraordinary generosity are completely ignored by the majority leader. They are ignored because the koch family has committed one unforgivable sin they have opposed him and the democrat majoritmajority and president o. They present a threat to democrats hold on power, and thats why theyre being demonized. Thats why theyre being attacked. Thats why theyre being vilified. That is why they have become his obsession. They have had the temerity to challenge the agenda of this majority and its leader, and the leader is not happy about it, and he wants it to stop. And it looks like he will do anything tok makanything he can, up to and including amending the constitution of the United States. I think thats a disgrace. It has demeaned this institution. It should stop. The First Amendment doesnt exist to protect those of us in this body. It exists to protect the people. It is there to prevent us from silencing our critics, and thank god for that. I just wish the majority would recognize that they do not have the power to silence their critics. The First Amendment denies them that power. I wish the majority leader would stop engaging in character assassination against citizens who choose to exercise their First Amendment rights, and i wish he would stop acting like he is the only person ol on earh who can say what he wants. We all have the right to the express ourselves all of us, from Michael Moore to Citizens United, from tom steyer to the koch family. All of us have that right, madam president , all of us. Lets stop trying to deny it. Lets stop trying to change it. It is beneath us. It demeans this body. And it is wrong. I yield the floor. Madam president , it would appear to me that we are in the need of having a quorum call. There is no quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call the presiding officer the senator from washington. Mrs. Murray i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Murray madam president , i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business followed by the senator from georgia. As if in morning business. The presiding officer without objection. Mrs. Murray madam president , i just came to the floor today to take a few minutes to talk about a piece of legislation that we introduced this morning along with seven of our colleagues from this chamber and from the house of representatives, and that legislation is called the workforce innovation and opportunity act. It is a long overdue bill that will reauthorize and improve the workforce investment act, or wia, as we call it which includes dozens of workforce programs in all 50 of our state. This is an issue that i have been working on for more than decade and for several years now you have been very proud to work here in the senate to reauthorize wia. So i am very glad that we are finally on a strong, bipartisan path to get this done for families and businesses in Washington State and across the country whove been telling me how important effective workforce programs are for them and their communities. The reason that we were able to introduce such a strong bill this morning and a bill that i think has a real chance to become law is the incredible bipartisan process we have had over the last few months to reach a compromise between both parties and both chambers. So, madam president , i want to thank each of the members who helped me introduce the legislation this morning by name. In the house of representatives, representative john klein, republican from minnesota; representative george miller, democrat from california; representative virginia fox, republican from north carolina; and representative ruben hin hossa, democrat from texas. Here . The senate, senator harkin, senator lamar alexander, and finally my close partner and cohort who is here with me today, senator Johnny Isakson from georgia. Madam president , none of us got everything we wanted in the bill we introduced this morning, but all of us got legislation that we believe in. It is a bill that will help our workers. It will help our businesses. And the economy for years to covmencome. Madam president , i am as strong of a supporter of our federal Workforce Development programs as anyone. I have seen firsthand in my home state of washington workers who were laid off, who were able to get new training and new skills and new jobs. And ive seen so many of our Washington State businesses from Aerospace Companies to design firms who were able to access workers with new skills. But the fact is we have been relying on federal Workforce Development programs that were written in the 1990s. And with millions of new jobs that will require pos postsecony education and advance skills in the coming years, we will fall behind in the world if we do not modernize our Workforce Development now. We have to make sure that when hightech jobs of the 21st century are created, americans are ready to fill them. And that is what we have done in this bill. Weve doubled down on the programs that work, weve improved the programs that have become outdate and weve created a workforce system thats nor nimble and adaptable and better aligned with what businesses need and more accountable so we can continue to make it better. Because, madam president , thats what we were sent here to do work with our colleagues across the aisle for the American People. We had a house proposal and Senate Proposal and we met in the middle. Madam president , i cant count how many times senator isakson, my republican colleague, and i have talked about the importance of getting this done. His office happens to be right nextdoor it mine and whether we were at a Committee Hearing or on a train here to the capitol, we were always focused on how we could Work Together and find a path to a deal. Were not done yet. Im going to be working with coulworking with mycolleagues i, democrats and republicans to get their support for this compromise and our colleagues will be doing the same in the house of representatives. This is really an alltirerare opportunity for all of us to get behind strong bipartisan, bicameral bill that will help our workers and get our economy back on track. So im very proud of the work that went into. This and madam president , i want to yield to my into this. And, madam president , i want on yield to my colleague, senator isakson, and this would not be on the floor today without his tremendous work and willingness to work across the aisle to get this done. So i sincerely want to thank him. I yield the floor. Mr. Isakson i want to thank the senator from washington for her overly kind remarks with regard to my participation but to reiterate and underline what is, in fact, true and that is we were a team. In fact, we were a team for eight years when we both chaired and were Ranking Member of the subcommittee on labor and Occupational Safety in the help committee. We time and again got to a point where we thought we could pass it and everything fell apart. We were at a huge divide and chasm beginning of this year, the house had passed a skills act, we passed an act. They didnt think we did anything and we thought they did too much and it was thought to be a chasm too far to bridge. But because of the work of senator murray, my office, the senato, shecame to the table wie sat down on one floor below this building below this floor right now, we sat down around a long table and we started talking about what the art of the possible, not the art of the impossible. But here are the high points i want to focus o. First of all, consolidation of programs that were not working, to empower programs that were working. Thats number one. Flexibility for governors, both on what they can do with their onetopshops, as well as their ability to transfer money, 100 transferability on behalf of governors. 15 total flexibility on the appropriations that come to them through the w. I. A. , Work Force Investment act and the Work Force Investment program. We skinny down the boards so you dont have these huge boards. Instead you have boards that can work. We reduced their size by about 61 . We included management as a majority but labor at the table to make sure all facets of work were there. And most importantly we empowered the states to write the kind of curriculum for the kind of training their state needed. You know, we have 4 million unfilled jobs in america. We sometimes talk about all the unemployment and we all hate the unemployment, but we have some underqualified people who are underemployed who could take better and bigger jobs that are available in america right now today if we train them for those jobs. So this new Work Force Innovation and opportunity act is just what it portends, its an innovation in the w. I. A. Program and its an opportunity for millions of americans to find the training and the skills necessary to find a job and keep a job. Which is, in turn, good for our economy and good for our country. But this is something that happened because people of goodwill on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of the capitol got together and said, lets figure out what we can do rather than argue about what we cant do. And chairman klein and Ranking Member miller in the house, whom i served with on that Committee Years ago, did a tremendous job. Virginia fox was very willing to work. Tim scott, the senator from south carolina, who was the author of the skills version of virginias bill in the United States senate, chairman harkin deserves a lot of credit, particularly on his focus on those with disabilities and we preserve the programs that make sense for people with disabilities and retraining them and giving them the training they need to have meaningful and skillful employment in the future. But most importantly of all, lamar alexander, the Ranking Member, kind of steered the ship. He was the rudder in the water that helped guide us to the point we got to today. I am pleased that both the senate and the House Republican the house and Senate Republican conferences have all had presentations. The feedback we have gotten to date is extremely favorable. We hope this is going to be one of those rare occasions in 2014 where republicans and democrats come together for the benefit of the American People to address the numberone problem we face in america and thats unemployment and underemployment and empower people through innovation and opportunity for jobs in the 21st century. And i again want to end where i began. It would not have happened without senator murray. Im grateful for her help and her assistance. Im proud to be her partner. And i yield back. The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Isakson would the gentleman yield . Senator murray, we both forgot to talk about our staff for one second. Tommy newins on the floor. Hes behind me right here. I could not have done what i did on this bill if it wasnt for tommy newin and senator murray has had an outstanding staff that coordinated and worked with us all the way. I want it on the record the tremendous work staff did that both of us received and the committee received. Mrs. Murray i ask unanimous consent to put a list into the record of staffs on both sides, because they spent enumerable hours putting into effect what we told them were our mandates and they figured out how to make it work. But on their own as well worked across the niel a really good aisle in a really good bipartisan way to find common ground. And i want to thank all of them on both sides for their tremendous work as well. Thank you. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Durbin madam president . The presiding officer the democratic whip. Mr. Durbin madam president , im honored to represent the 12 1 2 Million People living in the state of illinois and its a special honor to represent 745,000 veterans that live in my state. These men and women have served their country honorably. They have come home, many of them are leading great lives and making great contributions to our state. Some are struggling, returning from war with wounds, physical and invisible. I come here today to speak to the issue involving the socalled v. A. Scandal at the arizona hospital. What ive been told is troubling. What ive been told is that there were secret waiting lists of veterans who were being delayed, unnecessarily delayed when they needed critical medical care. The allegations suggest that some of them some of them may have died while on the waiting list. That is as cruel an allegation as anyone could make about anybody and particularly cruel when it applies to our veterans. Were trying to investigate th this, as we should. The president said, one of the members of his personal staff to arizona today, rob neighbors, a person i know. But were not going to stop with that. We are going to do everything we can to make sure that every veterans facility across america is serving our veterans in a timely, professional way. And that includes, of course, those that are in the state of illinois. Tomorrow ill be meeting with general shinseki in my office. Hes the head of the Veterans Administration. And were going to focus on illinois. Because in illinois, we have five v. A. Medical centers, 30 Outpatient Clinics and 11 Veterans Centers in my state. I want to make certain that there are no secret waiting lists at any of those facilities and i want to make certain that were doing everything in our power to serve these veterans in a timely, professional way. We know the stories. The stories that have come out of these wars that we are concluding now, the war in afghanistan is winding to a close, iraq was over just a few months ago, maybe a year ago. But despite the end of these wars, its not the end of the war for many veterans. They come home with needs, serious needs, posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, amputations, Serious Problems that will haunt them for some time. We promised these men and women if they would volunteer to serve our nation, if they were willing to serve and even die for our nation, we would never quit on them. That when they came home, we would stand by them. We passed a g. I. Bill here on the floor of the Senate Several years ago. Jim webb was the senator from virginia, a veteran himself, marine corps veteran of the vietnam war. He brought in a modern g. I. Bill for those men and women currently serving and it passed overwhelmingly with both Political Parties supporting it, as they should. In a place where we dont agree on much, we sure agreed on that. When it comes to veterans and g. I. Bill, we stood together. Weve got to do it again on a bipartisan basis. I read the comments from president obama this morning and i thought they were unsparing in terms of his personal concern over what has been reported. I know that we all honor the contribution made to america by general shinseki, a disabled veteran himself from the vietnam war. Hes an extraordinarily good m man. The question is whether or not he can fix this problem if one exists. I dont know about the arizona situation. Well wait until those facts come together. But this much i do know our Veterans Administration has been overwhelmed by disability claims that are coming in at rates that surpass this countrys experience in any previous war. Almost half, almost 50 of iraq and afghanistan veterans are filing for disability benefits when they come home. The backlog at the v. A. Is 300,000 cases, applications for disability. Theyve been pending for more than 125 days, four months. Some have been in the process for more than a year. Its an improvement, 300,000 from 611,000, which was the case last year, but not good enough. Illinois has cut its backlog in half as well. But when i read you some of the delay times in making a decision at the v. A. , youll understand why we find this still unacceptable. Seven years ago, the average processing time for an illinois veteran claim was one year, maybe 18 months. Appeals sometimes took two years. Today, veterans tell us the claim will easily take two years to process, maybe longer. And an appeal may take three or four years. Compared to the numbers of seven years ago, the numbers are much worse today. Now, i understand there are more veterans that are applying, but it just means we need to put the resources in place to serve this surge of veterans looking for help. The veterans who call my office are just asking for updates and Accurate Information about their claims and medical care. They want to know if somebody, anybody at the v. A. Is taking a look at their application. They get conflicting information from the v. A. Sometimes the v. A. Calls them back and says, youve got to send such and such document and the veteran says, ive already sent it. That kind of frustration for someone who is coping with illness or problems is unacceptable and certainly unacceptable when it comes to our veterans. Even when classes are processed, there are mistakes of mistaken identities, bad leads, cancellations of checks and it takes months to fix it. Im trying to help. As chair of the defense appropriations subcommittee, i put 3. 6 million in the Defense Department to speed up the program that allows Service Members records to be transferred to the v. A. Electronically so we can have at least a quicker response from the v. A. I directed the d. O. D. Inspector general in my bill to work with the v. A. Inspector general to streamline the transfer of records between the departments. Another way we tried to step up support for veterans is by creating the Caregivers Program at the Veterans Administration. Ill be the first to tell you this was not my idea. It was the idea of senator Hillary Clinton of new york. She used to sit back then there and she came up with an idea. She said, if members of a disabled veterans family will stay home with them and help them get through, we ought to help those members of the fami family. She called it the caregivers act. It didnt pass while she was here but when she left, i liked it enough to call her and say to the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, do you mind if i steal your idea and try to pass it . She invited me to be her guest and i did, with the support of danny akaka, senator patty murray and others, we made the caregivers act the law of the lantd. Anthe land. Now across america. Hundreds of spouses and parents who care for disabled veterans are getting a helping hand. We provide them medical traini training, nurses training so that they can take care of their veteran. We give them respite care of up to two weeks a year so that they can have some time off, a vacation to recharge their batteries. And if they have a financial hardship, we provide a modest amount of money to help them get by. Its the right thing to do. These veterans get to stay home with families that love them. Thats where they want to be. From our point of view as a government, just to put it down to dollars and cents, its a lot cheaper when they stay home. So we do well and the veterans do well. Thats a great outcome. Weve got to expand the reach of caregivers assistance through the v. A. So that at every veterans center, there is a source of information to tell that veteran and the veterans family the Caregivers Program is there if you want to stay home. We want to help you stay home and be healthy as you do it. I think thats a good thing to offer veterans. The ones ive met, some Amazing Stories in chicago, really warm your heart. To know that those veterans, after what theyve been through, can stay home with their families and be there with the people that they love and love them too. Theres another area i want to mention to you. Our committee has pushed the Veterans Administration to focus on the sustainability of or thod orthodics and prosthetics. Were worried about the professional work force that deals with these important parts of restoring a veterans life. 20 of the orthodics and prosthetics work force, about 7,000 clinicians, are going to retire over the next five years. Weve never needed these specialists more than we need them today. 1,715 Service Members lost limbs in iraq and afghanistan. 1,715. Many have lost multiple limbs. The United States has five five quadruple amputees and 40 triple amputees from these wars. The v. A. Serves 40,000 people with limb loss every year. Thats why ive focused on this, to get the professionals and the orthotics and prosthetics fields of medicine to be trained and ready to help these veterans in the years to come while others are retiring. 745,000 veterans in my state. Not a single one of them should be deceived about what they can receive for their service, nor delayed when it comes to seeing a doctor or having their claims processed. Not a one of them should wait two years before they start getting disability benefits. At all of our v. A. Medical centers, all five of them, Outpatient Clinics, 0 of them and 11 veteranser Centers Across yilt we have to be there to serve in a timely way. None of these facilities has the right to mislead or lie to the veterans. They serve about what doctors they see and what services they can receive. The senate just added 5 million to the budget of the Inspector General at the Veterans Administration and the Inspector General is now investigating 26 facilities. Madam president , one of the toughest votes a member of congress is called on to cast is whether we should go to war. Its happened a few times in my career. You dont sleep well the night before. Wondering how youre going to vote. Knowing at the end of the day that even if this is a just war, and necessary a necessary war, innocent people will die including innocent americans. And when what ive come to learn over the years it just isnt a matter of that simple decision to go to war. Its the cost of war. The cost in human lives over 4,000 who have died in the war in iraq, over 2,000 the war in afghanistan. Its the thousands and thousands that come home with injuries as well. And, of course, the expenses, the budget costs that come along with each and every one of these conflicts. It really helps when you make these decisions and reflect on them to also be aware and honest about the real costs of war. The real costs of war in human life and human suffering cant be calculated, but we did make a promise that those who would stand for our country in those wars would have our help when they came home. The scandal thats been reported in arizona, the problems the v. A. Centers, unacceptable in a nation as great as america. We owe it to these veterans and their families to stand by them. I promise i will, not just for veterans facilities in illinois, my first priority, but for those across the United States. Madam president , i yield the floor. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Enzi madam president , i want to thank the senator from illinois for his comments about a problem that were just seeing how extensive it is across the United States. I dont think theres a senator that probably isnt looking into that and wanting to make sure something is done. I looked at the resources that have been allocated and noticed weve increased the resources 60 in the last five years. I think theres a severe management problem and from some of the emails ive seen im very concerned about that. But i want to talk on a little different topic today. Because recent headline from a capitol hill newspaper declared that our Current Congress could be the worst ever. Another said negotiating political agreements is a lost art. The whole country knows something is wrong with our government. The problem is that senators are being prevented from doing their job. Common sense is ignored because bills are being made in a political vacuum. This results in more lengthy, complex, incomprehensible laws that defy logic. Former House Speaker nancy pelosi famously said that congress would first have to pass a bill in order to find out what was in it. Thats a problem. Legislation is often hundreds if not thousands of pages long, one bill could contain provisions affecting everything from health care to housing and increase the debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. I recently introduced a bill with senator john barrasso, also from wyoming, that would take a page from wyomings state legislatures handbook. In order to stop congress from passing bills with countless unrelated measures, Senate Resolution 351 would require any legislation considered by the senate to be limited to a single issue. One topic per bill helps you to get things done. It means more understandable and manageable bills. This isnt a flashy concept. But ive found people of both parties are receptive to it. It makes sense to them. Change is hard and those who control the senate now like the system we have. Most members of congress have no opportunity to weigh in and neither does the public directly or indirectly. This is a very tidy arrangement for those who are in power now especially in the senate. Nothing is approved unless the majority leader allows it to come up. Dissenting opinions are rarely considered. The majority leader uses procedural tactics to prohibit amendments to improve bills in order to control the legislation and to prevent his party from taking politically difficult votes. Hes done this more than any other majority leader, perhaps more than all previous leaders. Political motivations and consolidation of power should not be used to deny senators from either party the right to represent their people. Last week, the majority leader used procedural tactics to prevent us from voting on tax amendments important to wyoming. Like a permanent state and local sales Tax Deduction amendment that was offered by my friend from the other side of the aisle, the senator from washington. We were also prevented from voting on amendments that would be important to all of us, preventing waste of taxpayers dollars by stopping the i. R. S. From giving bonuses to the employees who havent paid their taxes. Amendments were filed by members from across the country by my count, more than 60 amendments to the tax package were filed by senators from the other side of the aisle. Nobody is being represented by amendments. At some point we need to actually vote on the issues important to our constituents, and the members on both sides of the aisle who support these amendments need to insist on that. Last week, politicos huddle claimed senate g. O. P. Filibusters 85 billion tax extenders. But theres really no opportunity to filibuster when debate is cut off before it begins. Thats what the majority leader did by filing cloture on the tax extenders pax. Cloture is a political tactic designed to bring debate to a close after a supermajority of the senate is satisfied that a manner matter has received adequate consideration. In recent years, this majority leader has often filed a cloture petition immediately before any debate or amendments. Not after adequate consideration. The number of sameday cloture filings has more than doubled compared 20 to when republicans last controlled the senate. We arent even being given a chance to debate, much less offer amendments. Thats why ive joined senator grassley, republican from iowa, in cosponsoring the end cloture abuse resolution. It would amend the senate rules to prohibit filing cloture until at least 24 hours of debate happen. Another telling statistic is the number of amendments the tiewrnt majority has blocked from being considered in the senate. As this chart shows, in 2005 and 2006, the senate voted on almost 700 amendments on the senate floor. Since the senate has been controlled by the current majority, the number has dwindled. In 2011 and 2012, was about 350. Since july of last year, the majority leader has allowed votes on only nine Senate Republican amendments. In in the house where debate is very limbed limited, very controlled by the majority, they had 132 votes on democrat minority amendments. The minority here had nine where its supposed to be an open debate, the cooling saucer for the country. In the house, always controlled by the majority in a very strict way with the rules committee, they got 132 democrat minority votes on amendments. This majority preventing waste of taxpayers dollars by stopping the i. R. S. From giving bonuses doesnt get to come up. Thats just one example of many, many things that happened on this. The leader has used a tactic called filling the amendment tree to prevent amendments. In the last eight years, hes used this tactic 86 times. And were still counting, of course. Thats in comparison to the last six majority leaders combined who only filled the tree 40 times. Whats filling the tree . Its that political tactic of setting up a few amendments that cannot be taken down, have to be voted on before bill the bill can be done and filing cloture so even those cant be done. 86 times and still counting, six previous leaders, 40 times. Now, filling the amendment tree has become a routine way to prevent any senator, majority or minority, from exercising their right to offer an amendment because once the tree is filled, no senator can offer an amendment. Almost half of the senate has been here less than six years. Yes, 45 of the 100 senators are in their first term. They dont realize that theres a better way. They havent seen how it could work, how it could work, how it should work. I know how this can hurt. I once had a bill that would have been the first step of ten for solving health care in this country. And it was Small Business health plans. It would have allowed Small Businesses across the country to join together through their association to get a big enough bloc to effectively negotiate with their insurance company, or probably to set up their own insurance, selfinsurance pool. Now, the majority leader when that was willing to bring it up and then filled the tree, filed cloture. I had two people that would have made the 60 votes necessary to get that over that each had one amendment to the bill that would have been good amendments, and they werent allowed to do their amendments, and consequently i wound up just short of being able to pass a very important bill that would have brought down Health Care Costs for this country, and might have encouraged people to do the other nine steps in the plan that senator kennedy and i had put together, and provided more in the way of insurance than what weve got now and it would have been paid for. But committees should have the first opportunity to shape legislation. Its there that members are able to iron out unintended consequences and craft better legislation before it goes to the floor. Yes, theres a lot of flexibility in the committee process. Used to sit down and go through all of the amendments, there might be 200 on the bill we were working on and put them into piles according to what they covered and then wed look and see who was involved in that particular pile and send that Bipartisan Group off to come up with a solution to these multiple solutions that had been presented. And they were usually able to craft something out of that. And bring it back as another amendment that would make the bill better, eliminate unintended consequences and perform a real service for our country. Most of the bills now dont go to committee first. But after after a bill goes to committee, then it would come to the floor, they come to the floor now, but all 100 members of the senate should have an opportunity to improve the legislation. The reason we have so many people in congress, 100 here and 435 on the other end of the building, is so that we have 535 different backgrounds that can suggest improvements to bills. That know something from their background about something that the others may not have noticed. Thats why we do amendments. Rarely is that happening in todays senate. More often than not, committees are ignored and massive legislation is the result of a few people behind closed doors dealingmaking for the more than 535 members of congress. We need to get away from dealmaking and start legislating again. Thats apparent especially in our spending. Congress job is to decide how much federal government should spend and on what priorities. That isnt being done under the senates current management. Deals are made. In fact, last january the one we voted on was a deal between one member of the house and one member of the senate. You know how many amendments we got on that . Nobody got an amendment to it. The debate was really limited. It was 1. 1 trillion spent on one vote. Put together by two people. Thats dealmaking. Thats not legislating. Thats whats costing this country so much money. Thats what stifles things. A couple of weeks ago, we had a bill that would actually was allowed amendments and in two days we covered the amendments and passed the bill almost unanimously because it had been improved significantly. Thats what we need to get back to. We spend more time negotiating to not have amendments than it would take to vote on 75 amendments on a bill. Yes, a lot of them would fail. Thats typical. But at least the senator can feel that his constituents have been heard. He just didnt have the votes for it. But they have been heard, and thats what were missing right now. We are not getting to cover the amendments, and they can be covered relatively quickly. So deals are made, then spending bills are all packaged into one massive take it or leave it bill, and the deficits increased. In 2013, the senate didnt pass a single appropriations bill. There are