Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20141213

Employees. We work very hard on a variety of issues. One of which, of course, has been has been the way we wanted to serve our veterans one of our greatest accomplishments in this bill is what we do for them. Veterans Services Organizations came to me and many of the members right here this evening and said, we not only need funding to implement the reforms that were passed by the congress, but we also want you to do this year and a year in advance. We said, we dont do that. They said, you have got to do that. We are concerned with the dysfunction and delay as a strategy in washington that creates chaos for veterans and their survivors. Guess what . We were able to do it. For the First Time Ever we provided funding for this year and one year in advance veterans veterans can count on the disability check, their pension check, a check to help fund the g. I. Bill and that their health care we will be paid for. We also deal with the incredible problem of veterans backlog and put in the money to be able to do that. We have over 2. 5 billion, adding another 40 million to do that. I have been horrified in my own home state of maryland that the claims backlog took more than 125 days. We are doing our reform. The United States senate, senator tom harkin, is retiring. But during these years that he has served, hes never let up in championing the little guy and the little gal to make sure we had access to health care, access to education, and really looking out for our constituen constituents. I am so proud that working with i am so proud that working with i am so proud that we were able to find this plan which passed the senate overwhelmingly. By adding over 75 million more, that means that they will be able to ensure that thousands of children will be able to qualify for daycare and it will be safe and it will be affordable. And i will talk about College Affordability as well. This includes senator harkin and myself and many members of the senate. We will increase this by 100, reforming this to get a chance to go to college and get their ged and for many single mothers this has been a tremendous problem. They now know they have to learn and in order to go to the Community College they have to have their ged and they were not eligible. It also restores the Community College efforts to be able to Fund Scholarships from their own endowments. And i would like to take a moment to speak about jobs. We need to create jobs in the United States of america. And what we did focusing on jobs is that we funded infrastructure. And we are putting money in the federal checkbook with the Highway Trust Fund it with the harvard Maintenance Fund and bed and my own home state we funded the metro and made a big down payment with the purple line and in the red lines. This includes the job structure that is absolutely crucial. I know there are others that want to speak, mr. President , and we have to show that we want to fund it jobs and infrastructure and i will talk about what we did in the commerce committee. We came up with a way to end the backlog and there were over 400,000 patents pending and we wanted to make sure that if you invent something that you get to protect your ideas so you can move into the marketplace. We also funded these Regional Innovation centers and promoted 3d manufacturing making it local and many of the states where we lost it, we have major advances and i will talk more about it. But i know that my colleagues, senator udall is on the floor and i will yield the time to him. Mr. President , i yield the order. The senator from new mexico. Thank you, mr. President. And thank you chairwoman mikulski. Let me just say a few things about the chairwoman. First of all, i am completely honored to serve on the Appropriations Committee. For the last couple of years i have served as the chairman of the subcommittee on Financial Services and general government and with her guidance and work it has been a fulfilling task and i just want to thank her for the last two years and she is taking over putting us on track in terms of having a good and solid appropriations process where we make every effort and attempt to get the appropriations bill through the senate and also in place. At the beginning of the budget year that can make a real difference for veterans and jobs and all of the agencies and in particular in my state, the national laboratory, the premier national laboratory, lost almost and others. The three air force bases and the National Parks and monuments and there is so much that is a part of this appropriations bill that is just so very important to my state. We have a lot of work to do today and i would like to speak for just a few minutes on some of the issues important to my state and also to my country. I would like to start off on a positive note that the senate recently passed a Defense Authorization bill in which it is critical to the nations security and troops at home and abroad who deserve our support and also our respect. In addition this year it also includes landmark conservation measures to protect some of the most beloved landscapes. These are measures that we have worked on for many years since the senator was in the office. And they are the result of many years of dogged hard work by a Diverse Group of sportsmen and conservationists and local Business People and others. And with this bill we are designating the wilderness and giving permanent congressional production to this special area and increasing Public Access to devise by transferring management to the National Park service. This includes showing financials stability for one of the best places in new mexico for hiking and hunting and fishing. Dedicating a Manhattan Project and a National Park that will include los alamos and mexico where americans can learn about the complicated cold war history. This bill protects the special and important places and increases tourism and creates jobs. We also renewed a Pilot Program to improve upon the permitting process for the oil and gas industry which is critical to Energy Development in new mexico and other west and straight graded and ensures that we have the resources to do all parts of its job including managing land water conservation, and raising and permitting for oil and Gas Development and i want to thank my colleague, senator heinrich who serves on the Energy Committee and National Resources committee for being a Strong Partner in getting these measures passed. Now the senate has another important duty pending before the forest. Passing an appropriations bill to fund the federal government including many vital programs in my home state of new mexico. We have not had regular spending bills in recent years. Here we are at the 11th hour with a bill at of a last minute. The fact that we have a bill is due in great part to leadership of chairwoman barbara mikulski. I am glad to be part of her team on the Appropriations Committee. The alternative to this bill as a shortterm cr or one that a couple of them for the whole year. And i think that that is an unacceptable way to do business. It would cost jobs and it would hurt our economy in the the new mexico area. They need certainty to keep our nation safe and communities in my homestay rely upon funding in lieu of taxes Payment Program to provide basic Services Like schools and Public Safety and i know that the chairwoman understands this program and has worked hard to make sure that the program is funded in the bill and its greatly appreciated in the rural parts of the west. So let me just say again that continuing resolutions are disruptive or if they are inefficient and they lock in place for programs that prevent us from evaluating what is working and what is not. They keep us rooting out wasteful spending. Trying to move a huge ominous bill at the end of the year is like trying to move this its far from ideal. And there was a time when having to pass this was a sign that work had broken down and today it is the best possible option and i am extremely happy to have them and i credit the chairwoman to get us to this point. It hasnt been easy. But the American People deserve better than this broken process and they deserve a congress that works and that is open. Not the lastminute deals and gimmicks for special interests. The duty is to the American People and not wall street billionaires and bankers and i will continue to do all that i can as a member of the Appropriations Committee to get back to the regular order and we cannot keep getting this just under the wire. In that respect the colleagues in the house have to start have to stop sending all of these writers. We had more than 100 writers sent from the house as the chairman knows that this is not a way to legislate on an appropriations bill. You are not supposed to be putting writers like this in there. They sent more than 100 of these over from the house of representatives. And she took them on and was able to work through them and get a decent and good final project. I am going to continue to do all that i can to make sure that we get back to the regular order. And now i would like to talk to you about why this does important and why it is important to pass this bill. First of all, it is critical for my state of new mexico. New mexico has to find National Laboratories and three air force bases end and number of National Parks and other areas. When they are funded on a regular basis at the beginning of the fiscal year its a much better to had the situation for everyone. This includes schools and Law Enforcement and anything that they feel is important in their county. They can rely upon those funds. At this point my state is in severe drought and we have water projects that cannot keep waiting. There is money in the bill to keep that project going. Communities cannot just put their knees down, they cannot stop the fact that we need clean water. Every day we delay situations that get worse. That is true of so many products are funded by the federal government including community and businesses who have to plan and the needs do not go away. So lets get this done. Finally today i would like to talk a little bit about the authorization of force which is produced under the Foreign Relations committee and i would urge the congress to address another important issue of the authorization of force because we need to update this for the military in light of changing involvement in a variety of middle eastern conflicts most notably isis. We are failing the American People if we do this. Shirking our constitutional duties and our troops. Manu ginobli a brutal group, we must stop them, we must continue to work for the allies to use Strategic Force and to stop them. I am proud that the senate Foreign Relations committee recognizes our central duty into finding the parameters. This is the first step. But the constitution requires the full congress to authorize war. This is a matter that deserves debate and it should not be taken lightly. The last 13 years illustrate this including why it is so important to be thoughtful and delivered it about war and i urge my colleagues to stay until the work is done and we give them consideration by the full senate. This is not easy but this is not a normal situation. Manu ginobli a rapidly growing terrorist group recruiting young people from the west. Spanning two countries with ambitions and they have very expensive ambitions and we must defeat them and we cannot allow we cannot allow another openended war that will yet again strained communities across the country and put us in a situation in which we cannot pay for. Since the month of july have received 1100 letters and hundreds of phone calls from my constituents who are clear and i would also like to be equally as clear that congress should rise to its constitutional oversight of the nations war powers. This is a solemn responsibility and one that i have taken very serious we throughout my time in congress. I voted for the 2001 authorization for the war in afghanistan and i voted again with the 2002 war in iraq. I believe that the newly situation is strong, that we prohibit in limited circumstances in those circumstances such as rescuing Service Members or u. S. Citizens are specified in the text of the resolution. It also talks about the 2002 repeal and sets a threeyear timeline for the 2001, which is currently supporting military engagements around the world that we never intended when we originally passed it. And i would still caution that we must be watchful so that this engagement does not vastly change in scope without the approval of congress or the support from our constituents. I would like to provide congress with a stronger role including a amendment to limit authorization for one year. I also cosponsored a proposal with senator rand paul to rip wire new authorization from congress if u. S. Forces were to be deployed outside of iraq and syria. We need this authorization to pass as the conflict has been ongoing for months. But we also must continue to be very watchful. It should not just the charge to a credit card for costs. Lets make sure that we have a real conversation on how the generation that has decided to go to war will pay for it. Again, i urge congress to honor responsibility and to stay and finish this critical duty. And now i would like to just wrap up once again and say to my chairwoman that you have taken on a very difficult task in terms of looking at what was sent to us by the house of representatives and that includes all sorts of things trying to dismantle the Affordable Care act and trying to tackle and get into the irs and diminish their ability to carry out this responsibility. And on and on. She has worked through these amendments and worked through them diligently and come up with a good product. This is much better than struggling through continuing resolutions two or three months at a time and then coming back again. This gives certainty and the government gives certainty to businesses and shows that we are trying to react responsibly to this situation before us. So i applaud her and it is an honor to work with her on the Appropriations Committee and i yield the floor. The senator from washington. I am delighted to be on the floor this evening to take a minute to thank my good friend and mentor chairman mikulski. Like all of us we want to get something done and in order to get something done in congress you have to be willing to compromise. You have to fight hard for the principles and what you believe in and at the end of the day it is a giveandtake. And it is never easy and you never end up with a bill that you have written on your own. But the chairwoman deserves so much credit for what is in this bill. Putting our country on a better track. This is a principle that she always speaks to and she fought for in this bill. And this includes so much that has been thrown at her. I have talked with her time and time again and she has tried to say what can i draw a line on the sand on and what can i take in here in order to make sure that i am doing what is right for my country. So its not easy to do bad and she fought off many that all of us would have found extremely difficult in this includes what the chairman and i agreed upon last year. It was very hard to do if she is trying to put together bills that fund our government across the board from defense to agriculture to transportation and so many areas that people take for granted every day until our government shuts down and then they remember how much they rely upon research and investment in the protections that are so important in our Homeland Security. She worked hard under strict requirements that we supported and maintained that image as well. Critically her work avoids another Government Shutdown, we know that this hurts our economy and our family and certainly it hurts the stature of the United States senate. So for her to put this together and have this bill before us tonight is truly a remarkable accomplishment and it is proof of the woman that she is and i would really love to commend her for that. Mr. President , i am grateful that she put so much into this legislation it really helps our average middleclass families who are struggling so hard in this country and it really lays down a Strong Foundation for longterm broadbased economic growth. She did not forget that principle at all and that is embedded within legislation. There are provisions for mass but anyone of us can pull out and i certainly have some provisions in your that i do not agree with either. I am truly disheartened that the House Republicans demanded a permission. I am very concerned that some of the republican provisions could increase Health Care Premiums for the families and our businesses and i strongly oppose the policy change that could lead to a reduction in tensions for many of us retirees. And i share the concerns of many on this side in this legislation. But it is such a compromised piece of legislation and we have had to swallow the consequences. At the end of the day we do not want to run the country and continuing resolution and in Crisis Management every 30 days or 60 days for the next two years. And that is why we have to say that we need to look to the greater good of this bill and i am so pleased with some really significant pieces of legislation because we have worked so hard with the senator who is my partner in transportation and housing subcommittee. The senator and i worked very hard to find compromise that makes significant investments in our transportation infrastructure to help. The investments i want my colleagues in on the side of the aisle that we have this in public transit, airport improvements, which are critical for all of our communities, im going to vote yes to all of us tonight. The bill makes it possible for them to keep sufficient numbers on the job. This is a key safety issue that i will be supporting in this bill. And this includes new targeted investments to help the department of transportation to do Everything Possible to keep our communities safe as the number of Oil Shipments continues to increase in the country. I am especially proud in the legislation that we continue to support the very successful Tiger Program with so many members who have come up to me and say that they really appreciate this bill because it allows investments in critical pieces of transportation infrastructure in the home states that helped to create jobs and boost the regional economy. I know that this has been important in my state and i know that the demand is very high and we were not able to have the number that we would like. We did have to reduce it but it remains in the bill as a strong investment in our communities and i will be proud to be supporting that in this bill. On the housing side we maintained Housing Assistance for lowincome families that is important today. But they have their support while they get on their feet. Cannot pass this bill tonight means that we have put a lot of people who are struggling today at risk in their communities to have the very homes that are important to their family stability and i am especially proud that we were able to continue funding as so many members have told me it is important for them to take the important step of expanding this to those that are homeless or at risk living on legislations. We also increase as on those that can be part of the rental assistance demonstration that allows the Public Housing authorities to make Capital Improvements more than 100,000 Additional Units of affordable housing. We worked hard to make sure that this bill continues to support local housing and economic projects through this program. As your president , i would say that every member of the senate has said that we need to maintain this program and how important it is to the local communities to make decisions and the funding which is absolutely critical. This isnt just about spending, our legislation continues with a number of reforms improving government in saving the taxpayer dollars. And that includes voting to save taxpayer dollars because we improve the process to administering Emergency Preparedness grants and Property Owners are also held accountable if they felt to take care of housing funded with taxpayer resources and we include a provision that improves the coordination between Domestic Violence and Housing Systems to make sure that our Domestic Violence is helping to get the care they deserve. Much has been made of the provisions of people dont like and i share that. But i think it is so important that as adults we stand up to the responsibility that we have had in the United States senate and in congress to pass this funding bill through the next year and to make sure that we dont have gridlock and dysfunction running this economy again. The alternative to a compromising spending bill is just another shortterm continuing resolution. And we cannot do this by crisis or shortterm resolution. That is an irresponsible approach and we would really cut off our ability as United States senators to make decisions about how the government operates. So again i would like to thank my colleagues and my mentors and my senator from maryland, the chairwoman of this committee, for the work that she has done and the drive she has, never losing sight of what her goal is despite some difficult negotiations and to remind all of us that tonight hopefully well we will be voting on a compromise. I know personally that in this country what everybody does it say that we are tired of the partisan bickering and were wanting you to compromise. We want our country to Work Together and i urge our colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Lee mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from utah. Mr. Lee mr. President , i rise in opposition to the spending bill before us today. I rise in opposition to the cynical substance of the legislation. I rise in opposition to the unrepublican and undemocratic process by which a small collection of political and economic insiders crafted it to benefit each other at everyone elses expense. And finally, i rise in particular opposition to the signals that this socalled cromnibus sends, the signal it sends to political insiders at both ends of pennsylvania avenue in washington, the signals it sends to special interest cronies on wall street and on k street and the signal is k street and the signal is signals to special interest cronies on wall street and on k street, struggling on main street across this country who been been waiting for a decade to start putting them first. And those problems do not even speak to its greatest weakness, its failure to correct the flawless executive amnesty. If since last night when it was taken up in the house of representatives supporters of the crown the bills have couched their support in the language of compromise. This is not the perfect bill , but it is perfect. As a representation of everything that is wrong with washington dc, the kind of unfair, on legislative that triggered success of bipartisan condemnation, the crown of us is not perfect, nor did members of my party have the luxury. No. This one is on us. This kind of thing, and unread thousand plus page bill written in secret while funding the lawlessness of an outofcontrol president. Americans looking for that change wont find it in this bill. Rather, they will find that it started revolution found at the end of George Orwells classic, the creatures outside looked from pig to man and from man to pig and from pig to man again. Already it was was impossible to say which was which. Mr. President , americans across our country are facing this new and unnatural squeeze. This opportunity deficit is not simply the result of globalization for technology for free trade. Number it is the is the result of politicians creating a welfare system that traps poor families in poverty, sometimes for generations at a time and logs lower skilled workers out of potential jobs, and education an Education System that traps poor kids in bad schools and College Students into a lifetime of debt, Health Care System that locks the poor. A tax system that unfairly discourages saving, investment, marriage, children. Government policies today unfairly protect the privileges of those who have already climbed the ladder of success while putting that letter out of reach. On wall street corporate profits continue to soar. But almost everywhere else takehome pay is flat, jobs remain scarce, Small Businesses struggle to grow well big businesses are struggling. More and more today people work hard and play by the rules and are being forced. Big business and special interest to created this toxic environment. Only government can rig the system. Only government can carve out a regulatory exception for certain big banks while intensifying its regulatory squeeze on Smaller Banks for tweak accounting rules or create new taxpayer subsidies. All of the above as fundamental, take it or leave it, take it or shut down the government proposition as this bill does. We wonder we wonder why the American People mistrust the government. We wonder why the principal grassroots of both political parties, conservatives and progressives are up in arms against the washington establishments over this bill. The American People do not trust congress because as we are proving once again today congress is not trustworthy. This, mr. President , as rotten as the crown of those before us is, this week leaves me with nothing but optimism about the prospects that we have for real reform and revival in the coming years. The miserable process we witness this week represents the last gasp of discredited washington status quo. Ten years ago this bill would not have been controversial. Five years ago a majority would have been purchased with earmarks. It barely made it over the finish line. Change comes slowly, and it comes most slowly to those institutions that make the rules. Written and secret for a process that includes lobbyists but excludes the American People. The era of Big Government rigging the rules for big business and special interest while leaving everyone else behind is coming to an end. A new era is coming and which washington will once again be forced to work for the American People instead of the other way around. To those americans who have watched with dismay what congress did and did not do, who made their voices heard by flooding both sides of the aisle with phone calls and emails, my message is simple, take heart. It may not look like it today, but you are winning. America is winning. The beltway establishments of both parties are exhausted, out of ideas, and running out of time. Next year and new, unified congress as an opportunity, a real a real open opportunity to reshape the national face, to challenge washingtons failing status quo and its failed champion in the oval office. We can finally begin the work from the grips of government dysfunction, wrestling our healthcare system, reviving our economic system, ending specialinterest manipulation of our tax system and leveling the Playing Field for small and new businesses. We can begin to craft a knew reform agenda. An agenda that grows the economy and increases takehome pay, an agenda that restores mobility and opportunity to working families and communities, putting political and corporate elite back to work for everyone else. And we can look to our own house of congress to reform the way congress conducts the peoples business. Embarrassments might become relics of the past. We can do this. We must do this, and we we will. For too long the working families have been fighting and all too lonely battle to keep up and to get ahead. And for too long washington has been an obstacle, even an opponent. Despite will remain uphill, but the the first time in a long time there is hope, a real chance that site may get a little less steep and that it might get a little less lonely. Help, you see, is on the way i no it is hard to see it right now. It is hard hard to see it in washington, but change is coming. A new congress is on the way with new ideas and a new, renew, reform sense of purpose. Temporary setbacks like this bill should not discourage us and will not deter us. The only ways, but america is ready to fix it, no matter how long it takes, no matter how much washington resists it. All opportunities to finally begin that work is almost here. We just have to no where to look for. When daylight comes, in front the sun climbed so but westward look, the land is bright. I yield the floor. The senator from vermont. Mr. President , first off i commend the distinguished senator. To not respond. I just want to say what a pleasure it is as a fellow new englander to serve with him in the United States senate. Feels like your graveyard shift on a friday night provides. After decades it is extremely important to have somebody of his integrity, ability and experience to make every senator, both republican and democratic. Mr. President , after latenight theatrics in the house yesterday i hope the senate we will soon vote on the fiscal year 2015 omnibus appropriations bill. The midnight deadline. I support this comprehensive spending package. Chairwoman mikulski has done an outstanding job. She she has been a giant of the appropriations process. She should be congratulated for her perseverance and bringing us to this. I spoke yesterday about the funds included in the bill. I commended members of my office. More funding for the environment, treatment for the United Nations peacekeeping, for emergency funding for ebola, protect ebola, protect us security, humanitarian and economic interest around the world. Also funds the priorities that face budget cuts. The people in our state depend upon from Law Enforcement, protecting our National Parks. Mr. President , this congress and the past congress voted to spend two or 3 trillion on the war in iraq we should not have been involved in. As a result we did not fund our transportation, healthcare, National Parks were decaying bridges and roads in america. Americans would think it might be good to take care of some of those things. This omnibus started carrying us back to the needs of the United States, includes critical investments in our rivers and lakes, including an increase in funding as done through the epa geographic program. Lake champlain is a great treasure to this country. Outside of the great lakes. It borders vermont, new york , and canada as well as quebec. Some parts are hundreds of feet deep. It is especially important to me. My wife my wife and i first met on the shores of lake champlain. I want i want to thank senator jack reed for his assistance and protecting the funding for all the geographics programs, not just lake champlain, but all of them. Critical investments to address the crisis. You know, we think of rural estates. Not affected by what happened. The heroin crisis has had a devastating effect on communities, small and rural states. Senator mikulski supported funding for antiheroine taskforces to provide federal assistance to Law Enforcement efforts to investigate, ensuring the portion. Unacceptable. Americans faced a waiting list for sitting out recovering from addiction. This legislation provides crucial funding, fee for services. Once again, we have problems in the United States we should be facing. Providing funding to increase access to college educations, the pell grant program, increasing funding, firstgeneration to get a college education. Mr. President , you and i know that our children were able to have funding for college. We have a lot of firstgeneration students. For this program they have not. Think how much better this country would be a generation from now because they do. Provides 30. 3 billion from the National Institutes of health, a treasure in this country, and funding for the development of vaccines against a bowl of. I would like to see somebody be opposed to funding a vaccine against a bowl of. It raises the of the Crime Victims Fund to an historic 2. 3 billion. More money for victims assistance. Mr. Pres. , this is a a program i pushed from my early days here in this congress, the senate, and i would complement the presiding officer in the Judiciary Committee to help the victims of crime. Like. Like me, he knows from past experience as a prosecutor. Without without money to go after those that break the law we have to start worrying about the people. And the compromise and investing vesting in house for veterans and seniors supports grants to help schools purchase critical attention. It provides funding for new food safety outreach programs. The fda work with farmers and Small Businesses to understand complex food safety laws. The bill protects our nation through a strong investment, the forced Legacy Program going from the state that values its force. It obviously as i praise the chair of the community and what she has done, i do intend to support this bill. Lastminute negotiations, several controversial writers which has been a lot worse if she had not stood her ground. Nothing to do. She knew there was a choice between shutting down the government and the benefit of offering amendments. There is no doubt that congress has to do something we all agree on that. The 11th hour provision by republicans in the house of representatives to reduce benefits is shameful. For decades these retirees have worked hard and contributed and understand the benefits. Period i could not but think i wonder how the republicans in the house to push this provision, their pensions. Meanwhile this legislation goes back and important provision, protects taxpayers. We know that elections have consequences. I worry this is the pattern we can expect to see, protecting the rich on wall street. I i stand with the hardworking people on main street, the people i feel comfortable with, the people i know, the people when i walk down the streets, those are the people who call me by my first name, the people i know. Those are the people that represent businesses like the one my mother and father ran. The spending package includes campaignfinance law. One health campaign, protecting everyone at the ballot box, not just those who paid to have their voices heard. It is unfortunate. When we have a chance to do, after the citizens united, a new democrat, new senate voted to restore the provisions of mccainfeingold. Every single republican, every single republican voted to gut mccainfeingold bio onevote margin. The omnibus bill, fund most of the government through fiscal year 2015. Programs and agencies to the department of Homeland Security were funded through february 2015. Yet for months the House Republican leaders refused to bring to a vote the bipartisan reform bill. We passed the bill. The in the senate on immigration. Hundreds of hours of hearings and debate on this floor. Two thirds of the Senate Republicans and democrats joined together to pass the immigration bill that came out of the senate Judiciary Committee, and now the hypocrisy of the other side, look what pres. Obama obama is doing on immigration, they had a law. Refused to even vote on it because they are afraid it would pass. They want to talk about it. They want to talk about immigration. But they never want to vote one way or the other. No one can ever. Beyond the rhetoric and say, here is what you did. We stood up here in the senate, democrats and republicans in the senate, passed an immigration bill. They refused to even vote on it so that they could talk about what was wrong area that is not responsibility. Some might use the word cowardice. I will let others use that word. Word. I would say, however, this political hypocrisy is worse no bill is perfect, especially one the size, but size, but this bill moves us away from governing by autopilot, takes off the table the threatened months of yet another Government Shutdown. Senator mikulski and those on the Appropriations Committee kept us from a Government Shutdown. Is there anybody in this country that can honestly and logically say we benefit by a Government Shutdown . Any resolution decisions into next year puts a greater risk. The senator opposes this bill, to remember the continuing resolution, omnibus spending bill passed next year will contain many more. Chairwoman mikulski has done a road job of getting us to this point. I. I hope we can build on this progress next year. From, the Appropriations Committee chairman, return to the american debate. People know there is a big difference between rhetoric and reality. The American People and the real consequence of shutting down the government. The chairwoman, everything anyone of us would like no, but its a heck a heck of a lot better than shutting down the government. I will support it. Ideal the floor. Lex mr. Pres. , i am back on the floor to talk about a dangerous provision that was slipped into a must pass spending bill at the last minute solely to benefit wall street. The title the title of the rule, prohibition against federal government bailout. On wednesday i came to the floor to talk to democrats asking them to strip this provision out of the omnibus bill. On thursday i came to the floor to talk to republicans. Republicans say they dont like bailouts either. I asked them to vote the way they talk. If they dont like bailouts than they could take off this provision that puts taxpayers right back on the hook for bailing out big banks. Today i am coming to the floor not to talk about the democrats or republicans, but to talk about a third a third group that also wields tremendous power in washington, citigroup. Mr. President , in recent years many wall street institutions have exerted extraordinary influence. But has risen above the others. Its grip over Economic Policy is unprecedented. Consider just a few examples three of three of the last four treasury secretaries have had close ties. The cbo position. The vice chair of the Federal Reserve a alone. The undersecretary for International Affairs is a alone. The us trade representative and the person nominated to be his deputy is currently an assistant secretary of treasury, alums. A recent chairman of the National Economic council at the white house was a alum. Another chairman of the office of management and budget went to immediately after leaving the white house. Another recent chairman of the office of budget and management is also a alone. I i double counted because he is now the secretary of the treasury. That that is lot of powerful people. But they are not the only way that exercises power. Over the years the company has spent millions of dollars on lobbying congress and funding political campaigns of its friends in the house and senate. Has also spent millions trying to influence the political process in ways that are far more subtle and hidden from public view. Last year i went to and other big banks asking them to disclose the amount of shareholder money that has been diverted to think tanks the the response to my letter, stonewalling. A year has gone by, by, and did not even acknowledge receiving my letter. As a lot of money. It spends a lot of money, and it uses that money to grow and consolidate power. It pays off. Consider a couple of things. Fact. Fact one, during the financial crisis when all the support is added up, city received nearly half a trillion dollars in bailouts half a trillion. That is almost 140 billion more than the next biggest bank got. Fact number two, during dog frank there was an amendment introduced by my colleague that would have broken up and the other largest banks. Banks. That amendment had bipartisan support, and it might have passed them about it ran into powerful opposition from an alliance between wall street is on wall street and wall street is to help powerful government jobs. They teamed up and block the move to break up the bank. Now it is larger than ever. The the role that senior officials played from the Treasury Department and killing the amendment was not subtle. A senior treasury official acknowledges that the time in the background interview with new york magazine. The official from treasury said it probably would have happened. Mr. Pres. , democrats dont like wall street bailouts. Republicans dont like wall street bailouts. Here we are, five years after dodd frank with congress on the verge of ramming through a provision that would do nothing for the middle class, do nothing for community banks, do nothing but raise the risk that taxpayers will have to bail out the biggest banks once again. You know, there is lot of talk lately about how dog frank is not perfect. A lot of talk coming from about how dog frank is not perfect. Perfect. So let me say this to anyone who is listening. I agree with you. Dog frank is not perfect. It should have broken you and the pieces. If this congress is going to open up dog Frank Dodd Frank in the months ahead, lets open it up to get tougher, not to create more bailout opportunities. If we are going to open up dodd frank, lets open it up so that once and for all we and too big to fail, and, i mean, really ended. Instead of passing laws that create new bailout opportunities for too big to fail banks, lets pass the bipartisan 21stcentury glasssteagall act, a a bill proposed with john mccain. Lets pass something to help break up these giant banks. A century ago Teddy Roosevelt was americas trust buster. He buster. He went after the giant trusts and monopolies in this country. A lot a lot of people talk about how they deserve to be broken up because they had too much economic power. Teddy roosevelt said, we should break them up because they had too much political power. He said, break them up because all that concentrated power threatens the very foundation of our democratic system. And now Congress Passes yet another provision, the biggest recipient of bailout money in the history of this country, and it is attached to a a bill that needs to pass the entire federal government will grind to a halt. Think about that kind of power. A a Financial Institution has become so big and so powerful that it can hold the entire country hostage. That hostage. That alone is reason enough to break them up. Enough is enough. Enough is enough. Wall street insiders get key position after key position, position, and the kind of cronyism we have seen. Enough is enough with passing the 11th hour deregulatory provisions, but nobody takes ownership. Enough is enough. Washington already works really well for the billionaires and the big corporations and the lawyers and the lobbyists, but what about the families who lost their homes or their jobs or their Retirement Savings the last time city bet big on derivatives and lost, what about the families who are living paycheck to paycheck and saw there tax dollars go to bail out just six years ago . We were sent here to fight for those families, families, and it is time, it is past time for washington to start working for them. Thank you, mr. Pres. I. Ideals. Mr. President. The senator from south carolina. Thank you very much. Supporting this bill. I will gladly support it even though i am not pleased with every aspect of it, but let me respond to my good friend from massachusetts. You are tired, frustrated, upset about a bill you dont like that takes the country down the wrong road. You have every right to be upset, every vote to cut every right to vote no and to argue to bring the bill down. A lot of people on our side are tired of the president changing the law whenever he would like, taking obama care and changing it unilaterally to fit the political needs of the president and his party, by executive action turning the obama care statute upside down. People on my side are tired of the president that looks like he is more of a king than a president , unilaterally reaching out and conferring legal status on four to 5,000,000 people without coming to the congress because he is frustrated. Ive been working on immigration since 2006. I put my frustration up against yours, mr. Pres. You can be frustrated president. You can be frustrated all you like, but their are rules to play by. The people on my side, side, mr. President , who want me to bring this bill down because they have had enough of pres. Obama going it on his own, taking the laws that we passed, ignoring some, rewriting others, and executive action is the straw that broke the camels back. It is one thing to do for. It is another thing to reach out to four or 5 Million People and say, you now have legal status. That should scare everyone. People on my side think this is an outrage, and we should shut this government down and defund all of the parts of the government, Legal Executive amnesty. I understand where they are coming from, and i understood a year ago when people in my party said, obama care is bad for the country, and we need to stop it. I am willing to shut the entire government down for at least that part of the government that depends on funding obama care. Because i am upset with this law. I i have been on the side of listening to this and understanding the frustrations but always rejecting that temptation because we do have a country to run. As much as i am upset about the executive actions, i actions, i am not going to heed the call of not passing this bill because i am mad because within this bill we have money to fight. In this bill we have Infrastructure Improvements that god knows our longoverdue. So, to my good friend, there is something in here you dont like, welcome to democracy. You have absolutely a same right as people over here on my side. I hope that some of us or most of us will listen to your concern and not follow your lead, and listen to what the senator from massachusetts said when the shoe was on the other foot. People on my side or willing to take it all down because they were mad. I i was one of a handful that said no, i would like to repeal and replace obama care, but i dont believe defunding the government will make the president repeal his signature issue. It takes a long time to say that, and the people that i was responding to were mad and emotional because they thought they were wrong. I understood that they were mad, emotional, but i thought i had a duty beyond just worrying about me. Now, if you follow the lead of the senator from massachusetts and bring this bill down, i tell you what comes your way, people are not going to believe you are mature enough. 70 of the the democrats in the house voted against this bill, and three out of four republicans voted to get it over here. Well done. To the 70 percent of the democrats i i am sure you we will be well thought of. You will have your moment. I can promise you this, there are people on our side that are having their moment on other channels, but one third resisted the temptation, and i know how they feel. Some of them get a a primary. I have six. I am glad i did not follow the lead of people who are were trying to get me to shut down the government because i felt i was wrong. That is not the way to run a country. Here is what the senator said. These rightwing minority, those who cannot cope with the realities of our democracy, the time has come to get out of the way. What you are offering, there are plenty of people on our side the surveyed up, take one part of a complicated bill and try to convince people throughout the country that some horrible wrong has been done and the rest of us, my advice, dont follow her lead. We will address the executive amnesty action in a responsible way next year. We will not deny our troops the money that they need to fight the war. We will not deny those who are working to contain disease and doing other things the money they need to protect us all. We will not deny the Infrastructure Improvements that have long been overdue. To my democratic colleagues, welcome to my world. It may seem tempting to go the route of least resistance, but you we will regret it. It hurt our party. It will hurt yours. If you do what is best for the country over time it will work out for you. To my colleagues on the side , remember last year. Did we learn anything . I hope so. I make a prediction. The voices on my side say burn it down, blow it up, start all over again because they are mad at president obamas executive amnesty. The voices coming from the side mainly through the senator from massachusetts saying blow it up because we have done something for wall street that we shouldnt have done. Most of us will put this in context. Most of us will understand there are things in this bill we dont like, but we do have an overriding duty to our country to govern. I hope next year we can do appropriations process in the normal course of business and dont find ourselves in these masses, masses, but all i can say about democracy, it is messy, it is emotional, it requires giveandtake. It requires some people not to follow the hottest person in the room. There will always be somebody running hot. So about democracy, as bad as it is, i is, i cant think of a better idea. I have seen the other way in the mideast and throughout the world. I certainly dont want any part of that. Tonight and tomorrow, whenever that day comes, comes, to my democratic colleagues to put this bill together, i applaud you. I will vote for your efforts to the people on my side who want us to tear this down, that is not the way to do business. To people on the other side you want to have the same result for Different Reasons , dont follow their lead. Mr. President , i will now speak very briefly about my retiring colleagues and turn it over to the senator from florida. Everybody will face retirement voluntarily or involuntarily. There will be a last vote to cast in the last speech to make, and only god knows when that day comes. To the retiring members, i have had the pleasure of serving with you. I no you all, and you did what you thought was best for our country and your state. What more could anyone ask . My good friend to try to find common ground, to mary landrieu, would drill under the capitol if she thought it would help American Energy independence. We have good friends on the other side, and i will miss you, and, and i wish you well. I would like very briefly to speak about four, Saxby Chambliss and the family have become my own. If you are lucky and politics you we will make a few friends. I have been very lucky. I have made lifelong friends saxby represents the best. He looks the part, acts the part. To the people of georgia he works very hard on there behalf. He protected our country against terrorism, did everything he knew how to do to serve the people of georgia, and i will miss my friend. He introduced me to bono. Dont follow music that much, but i did. He introduced me to africa. The sec. Of agriculture for the bush administration, a passion for the developing world, and through him i got to no the one foundation for to mike and stephanie had been to africa many times, you represent the best in our country, absolutely wonderful people. You will be missed. My way to repay you is to stay involved. To tom coburn, when i grow up i want to be like tom. I dont see that happening anytime soon, me growing up. He has been at this for 20 years. We came in together. He was one of the first people i met in the freshman class of 1995 to 94. Full of ideas and determination from the first day i met him until the very last day. I cannot tell you how proud i am i am to call you my friend. Become dear friends, and, and you, my friend, have changed his body for the better. You have you have an awesome staff and will be missed, but what you contributed to the senate will last long after i am gone, and we we will all be the better. Last person is carla then. If i had to describe to somebody from a foreign country what a good senator was like, like, i would pick carl. Karl understands the details , very, very studious. He was chairman of the Armed Services committee and ran it evenhandedly, had a disposition that i dont know how he held onto it, but he was a gentleman, and i can promise you we both resisted the temptation to go down some very dangerous roads. All i can tell the men and women in uniform and the people of michigan, you never had a better friend. To all to all of you, godspeed, i wish you nothing but the best, and, and i am fortunate enough to go into my third term. To my colleagues as we go into the next congress, lets try to do better. I no that that we can, and if we do all those right. Not voting for the bill. I am frustrated. We have gone through now eight years of domination by the majority leader and the senate denying even simple amendments to be allowed to be voted on. The the entire funding of the discretionary accounts of the United States of america. Over a trillion dollars in spending, not one amendment, refusing to bring out the bills individually, as they should have been, refusing to pass the bills by september 30 when the fiscal year ends and appropriations should be done. Before that date to find the next fiscal year. What do we do . We dont want to vote because an election is coming up. They they did not want to vote the previous year. I guess 18 months later. There is always some excuse. Excuse. The fundamental thing that has occurred in the senate is the majority leader through the device of filling the three places him in control, in, in a position to block amendments for any bill. That is what he has done to a a degree never before been done in the United States senate. Chairman mikulski looks forward to getting on a better path next year under republican lead. A more regular process. Maybe the republicans will allow Minority Democratic Party next time to have rights that have been denied us for all these years. This is fact. You can spin it any way you want to. I have been here 18 years, and i know what is happening we have demolished the collegiality in the senate, and it has caused the kind of frustration and tension that has resulted in these failures to pass bills. What do they do . The entire funding of the United States together in one omnibus bill, bring it up at the last minute and say, if you dont agree to vote it out without getting any amendments, we we will accuse you of shedding the government down. We will accuse you of shedding the government down it is all your fault. For some reason our friends in the media seem to think that is true. If anyone has the gumption to stand up and object to this abuse will process they are shutting the government down. What planet are we on . Dont we no what really has happened . I have an amendment. It would simply say that congress is going to find the United States of america, fund the entire discretionary account of this country, but we are not going to provide money to allow the president of the United States to execute an unlawful, illegal. He is already established a building across the river in crystal city, and they have pads out to hire 1,000 people, salaries up to 150,000. They are going to process people who are here unlawfully, give them a photo id, Social Security number, and the Work Authorization and allow them to participate in Social Security and medicare and allow them their incomes are low, entitled the child tax credits of the thousand dollars per child and entitled to earn income tax credits. Combine the reason article said that is almost 5,000 if you are a working person with a family of four hundred 40,000 40,000 a year, up to 40,000 year entitled to a direct a direct check. A tax credit is not a tax deduction. An average of nearly 5,000. It it is a stunning thing that should not be happening an amendment that fund the government, allows the country to go forward. Say to the president , we dont authorize any funding for this. It it can easily be done, has been done hundreds of times. That is why guantanamo prison, where the terrorists are being held, that is why it has not been closed. Congress has told the president who wants to close it, we it, were not going to allow you to spend a dime to close the prison. It has been successful because the president cant spend money not authorized by congress, not congress, not appropriated by congress. He cannot spend that money. It is wrong. A criminal offense to spend money. Anyone that pretends to represent the United States government and spends money not appropriated by the congress of the United States, not authorized by the congress to be spent violates a law because the congress has the power of the purse. We dont have to Fund Everything the pres. Asks for. We dont dont have to Fund Programs that we think are bad and unworthy of funding. What is congress for . A rubber stamp. Cant make an independent judgment. And we absolutely have a duty not to fund a responsibility not to Fund Programs that violate law, violate the constitution, allow the president to eviscerate and failed to enforce huge chunks of our Immigration Law and that the same time allow him to create an entirely new scheme of Immigration Law. So the president s executive amnesty, executive means by his act. He says, i am not going to enforce the law with regard to 5 Million People. And not only that, the law says, if you are here unlawfully you cant work. If your a business person are a business person you cannot hire somebody who is here unlawfully. I am not going to enforce that either. In either. In fact, i will go even further. I will get an office in crystal city and bring in a thousand people, and we will give the people that are here unlawfully as defined by the American People, i am going to give them a certificate, and id, a photo id that says, you are lawfully here. Despite the fact that your not supposed to work if you are here unlawfully, i am going to give you the right to work. Using that Social Security number, if your income falls in this range 20,000 up to 40,000 you can get a tax credit and a child tax credit. And for people making a typical family of 44,000 and down with two children will not owe any income tax. Theyre not going to pay any income tax. What theyre going to do is file their return and wait for their their return and wait for their and wait for their 5,000 check from uncle sam. Im on the bug committee. Ranking republican at this time on the budget committee. And we are going broke. The last thing we need to do is put Social Security and medicare in worse condition. The last thing we need the countries to do is for our Treasury Department to be sending out bills of dollars in tax credits to people who have come to the country unlawfully. We have to borrow money, do we not know . We borrow money every day, in huge amounts to keep this government afloat, and all this is going to do is add more. Im not happy about it. I dont think the American People are happy about it. Poll after poll, election after election. In november, people said they were going to come to washington and do better. People who have been. Com missitious in this activity wont be here next year. So Congress Needs to listen to the American People. What is wrong with what theyre telling us . What wrong with them saying, we want a lawful system of immigration immigration. We dont charity big business want, what special activist groups want elm ability a lawful system of immigration that is farley applied, that we can be proud of and that serves our interest. That helps my child, my husband, me, have a job, wed like to see wages rise. And we expect you in congress to look after us. Not people who violate our laws. Let me share some thoughts with you colleagues that i believe are important. A lot of people are ignoring this theyve dont want to hear about it. They dont believe it. They just have taken the view theyre going to dismiss it. I want my colleagues to be aware of this, and i intend to continue to press this issue. The United States department of commerce, informs us that, quote, the days typical 18 to 30yearold earns about 2,000 less per year adjusted for inflation and thats the way you should score it that a counterpart in 1980. So, a young adult today, starting out to work, College Graduate or noncollege grad want their incomes are 2,000 less than in 1980. This is not good. I would submit. And its a painful and sharp decline for young americans. What has happened to the labor market since 1980 . Data from the u. S. Census bureau offers this insight. Quote im quoting the Census Bureau from 1930 to 1950, foreignborn population of the United States declined from 14. 2 million to 10. 3 million. But since 1970, the foreignborn population of the United States has increased rapidly due to large scale immigration. Let me just stop here and say, america has been generous in its immigration policies. We have the largest number of people enter our country on a lawful immigrant status than any country in the world by far. What i want you to do colleagues, is to understand we need to ask yourselves how many people the United States can absorb without damaging the wages and job prospects of unemployed, underemployed americans. So the United States Census Bureau statistics report that in 1980, the foreignborn population stood at 14. 1 million. But from 1980 through 2013, the immigrant population tripled from 14 million to more than 41 million. The large increase in the size of the immigrant population is a direct product of policies in washington. Creating both an expanded lawful system and an expanded unlawful system. So, ilLegal Immigration in the 1980s averaged 600,000 people a year. 600,000. But since 1990, through today, it is averaged about a million annually. Meaning the annual rate almost doubled. The sustained largescale flow of Legal Immigration overwhelmingly this group are lower wage and lower skilled persons coming to america. It has placed substantial downward pressure on wages. I dont think theres any doubt another about that. Some try to ignore it, talk around, but the facts are clear. We have right now a very slack labor market with more job seekers than jobs. The white house has itself estimated that there are three unemployed americans today for each one job opening. We dont have a shortage of workers. We have a shortam of jobs. The Economic Policy institute estimates that in the construction industry, there are fun enemployed persons for each available job opening. Huge. And some of the construction people say they need more foreign workers. This largescale immigration flow, paired with the force office globalization and automation and mechanization and robotics, has made it ever more difficult for American Workers to earn a label that can actually support a family. Consider this report just published in the New York Times. I quote now. Working in america is in decline. The share of prime age men both 25 to 54, who are not working, has more than tripled since the late 1960s. To 16 . More recently, since the turn of the century, the share of women without paying jobs has been rising, too. The United States, which had one of the highest employment rates among developed nations as recently as 2000, has fallen toward the bottom of the list. Continuing the quote from the New York Times. At the same time, it has become harder for men to find higher paying jobs. Foreign competition, technological advances, have a him nateed many of the jobs in which high school graduates, like mr. Walsh, could earned 30 an hour or more. Close quote. Thats what the New York Times is telling us, and its not a recent thing. A torched some years. Since the end of the 1960s, the time frame identified by the article, since the 60s, during the period we have seen this decline, the share of the United States population that is foreignborn has increased from less than five percent to more than 13 . As a total number the size of the foreignborn population has quadrupled over the last four decades. So, these figures are only going to rise. The Congressional Research service, our search, for the congress, estimates that the foreignborn population could reach as high is as 58 million within a decade bases on recent trends. Well, again, lets be frank and talk honestly here. Prime minister David Cameron in the u. K. , unite kingdom, recently said, look, its not wrong to talk about this. A nation needs to talk about the wages of its people, the financial status of its people, and its all right proper to ask the request whether immigration can impact that in an adverse way. I just say that to say, im not being antiimmigrant. People here are good people who want to come to america. Im not denying that. Im just saying at this point in history its pretty clear we dont have jobs nor immigrants who just came. We dont have a job for american nativeborn. Now were bringing in millions more . We need to ask yourselves honestly, is this a good policy for the republic we are supposed to serve in only a change in policy will change this directory, just at policy was changed in the 20th century to allow labor markets to be restored and dwightened and wages go up. So this is an issue that affects all residents, our foreignborn that are here today, and the u. S. Born. In fact among those most affected by the size of these large immigrant flows are the new immigrants themselves, who want to get a good job that pays a good salary. By continuing to admit these large numbers over such a sustained period of time, many immigrants themselves are unable to find jobs. For instance, less than half the immigrants who entered california since 2010 are participating in the labor force. Theyre not finding jobs. Theyre not enough jobs. So, half the entire number of immigrants who enter the country in california since 2010 are not working, according to the los angeles times. And in los angeles, where four in ten residents are immigrants, a third of them are live in poverty. So we have an obligation to those we lawfully admit, not to create a circumstance by admitting more than can find jobs. Not to admit so many that wages are pulled down. A sound immigration policy must serve the needs of people who are lawfully here, and people who are nativeborn. That has got to be the primary focus of what were doing. This discussion has got to be had, colleagues. We cant ignore this. We cant make like we can absorb an unlimited number of workers. What we dont have jobs for the workers we have. Immigrants and navetiveborn workers are competing for the large flow of temporary guest workers, in addition. Temporary guest workers are brought into the United States from abroad for the explicit purpose of taking a job, not only a path to green card and citizenship. They come just to work for a limited period of time. Each year the u. S. Admits roughly 700,000 guest workers to fill jobs that otherwise might go to people here. Of those 700,000 guest workers, roughly about 10 or in agricultural work. A lot of people think the guest workers are all working on a farm somewhere. Thats not so. Only 10 are. The 90 take jobs in almost every industry in america, from goodpaying construction jobs to coveted positions at Technology Firms and silicon valley. So the pressures on the middle class pocketbook are great. You have a large flow of permanent immigration and temporary workers. The elimination of many goodpaying jobs in factories and plants due to advances in robotics. The shedding of manufacturing jobs due to overseas competition. A sluggish and overregulate economy that is growing too slowly to keep pace with population growth, and the high cost of energy, health care, and household goods. Policymakers in washington need to be reducing the burdens on working families, not making their lives more difficult. Thats exactly what we have been doing. Harvard professor george borhoff, preponderances a premiere student of economic matters as he has worked on them for decades. Estimates that high immigration flows from 1980 to 2000, based on data, reduced the wages of lowerskilled American Workers by 7. 4 . 20,000, that is 130 a month. As a direct result of the size and flow of immigration from 1980 to 2000. Dont i dont think its defensible, colleagues, for people to say that it will help wages to bring in more people. In fact, the cbo scored, if immigration bill that cleared the senate but died in the house, had become law, wages would be down for a decade. Professor estimates that current immigration rates produce a net loss, current rate, of 402 bill for American Workers who compete with foreign labor. 402 billion. Furthermore as documented by the center for immigration studiys, relying exclusionsively on government data, all net employment gains among working to working age since the year 2000, gone to immigrant workers. Net gains when you look at how many came in and how many jobs were created, and how many jobs were taken, the number of people that came in matches the number of jobs that have been created. This remarkable trend occurred even as the number of working age native americans increased by nearly 17 million. So, 17 million is a dramatic figure. So its not a decline of native workers. Some businesses try to say. We have a demographic decline. We have to deal with it. Were still growing in the working ages. 17 million since 2000 have increased in the age group. So, here are few more statistics. These are not temporary trends but prolonged trends. Nearly one in four americans in their prime working years, 25 to 54, are not working. Real earnings are lower today than in the year 2000. Median Family Income is down 4,000 since november of 2007. Our wages for families have declined dramatically. 4,000 is what, 350 a month . So its in this context that we must consider the economic fallout from the president s constitutional executive amnesty. In plain violation of law, and the express will of the American People, the president has ordered five million work permits to be issued to those illegally here. These illegal workers will now be able to compete for any job in america. People say, well, theyre already working. Theyre already in the labor force. Well, many of them are not. Many of them are working parttime. And in los angeles we found that half more than half of those who entered since 2010 are unemployed. One reason may be, they arent lawfully here. And they cant gate good job at the power company, the county commission, city hall. Working at construction companies, good paying jobs out there. The president s order will give Illegal Immigrants the unfettered access to any job in america. Presumably if theyre not hired at city hall, because to the mayor thinks the shouldnt hire somebody who entered the country illegally, they can file a lawsuit and demand to be hired. Theyve been given lawful status by the president of the United States, and an i. D. Card with a Social Security and a Work Authorization. Theyll be participating in Social Security and medicare, weakening those programs which are already in deep financial trouble. So this illegal amnesty is part of a broader Immigration Division from the president , a legislation he endlessly championed. The bill written behind closed doors with billionaire activists, and open border enthusiasts and immigration activists, it surges immigration rates every year. Thats his vision. After four decaded of record immigration, the president reside bill, supported unanimously by our Senate Democrats, stopped in the House Republican house, triples the issuance of permanent residency cards over ten years. And the next ten year if that bill head, it would have tripled the number of people given permanent legal status in america. The center for Immigration Studies explains the legislation would in a mere six years from today increase the percentage of the u. S. Population born abroad to a level never before reached in american history. By 2003, nearly one in six residents under this plan would be foreign born. This is dramatic and historic change in our immigration policy. Unsurprisingly, the Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office project that the result of such legislation would be lower wages, higher unemployment, and reduced per capita gdp. All of this begs a simple question. Who is looking out for American Workers . Who is looking out for their interests, fighting to help them get a better job . And better pay. Or working to help their communities climb out of poverty. Who is looking out for their interests . Immigration debate in our nations capitol is always centered, it seems to me, on the needs of Illegal Immigrants. Foreign workers. A large employer. Isnt it time, after decades of open immigration, that we focus on what we can do to help americans restore growth in their wages and job prospects . So, after 40 years, we have seen declining wages and hire and hire unemployment. Is it not the sensible and rational thing to just slow down a little bit, allow wages to begin to rise some. Assimilation to occur more effectively. And help those that are here today, foreign immigrants who have come to america, two are struggling to rise into the middle class, wont this help them be more successful, more prosperous and flourish better the america . The American People have begged and pleaded for a lawful system of immigration. It serves a national interest. Not special interests. But the politics have refused, refused, refused. This summer alone the white house met 20 times, it was reported, in the white house, with business leaders, amnesty lobbyists, immigration activists, craft their orders to deal with and legalize people here unlawfully. Actually, been meeting for years with these groups, actually, these groups have raided 1. 5 billion, according to one independent group to spend on this activity, to promote this legislation. But you know, who wasnt invited into the room . You werent invited into that room. You, the american citizen, were not there. Do you not gate say in these secret meetings . We had a meeting two days ago with sheriffs from all over america. The said, do not allow this unlawful amnesty to occur. So the superelites in washington and wall street, they dream of a World Without borders, a paradise, i guess, where pesky Little Things like law and rules and National Boundaries are not a problem. Dont get the way of their wild economy or their vision. The only challenge these great global citizens face are these pesky people, called the voters. Who cling the oldfarced idea of a nation as a home Old Fashioned idea of a nation as a home and a border as Something Real and worth protecting. These elites, you see no better. I youre worried about your jobs or becames, if you are if you are concerned that the pace of immigration into under community is too fast, and too large, if you feel like your needs being considered, well, youre just a nativist, you see. Youre selfish. Were making more money in the business level. Profits are up. Your wakes are down . You think its caused by immigration . Its not. We know better than you. Not the only factor in wage decline. But its a factor. So, when an election happens, and the people rebel against this open borders agenda, theres really one thing for these wise elites to do. They just impose their own laws. How Congress Answers this challenge will shape the future of this republic. Will we defend and protect the people who sent us here, their laws, duly passed, the constitution, their communities . Are we just once again abandoning them, give them lip service but no real action. So i pose that question to the body, and i suggest that there is no purpose to our being here if it is not to serve and protect and defend the loyal people who sent us here on their behalf. Its time for us to get busy. I am deeply disappointed that the majority leader is blocking an amendment that would deal with this matter. And the United States senate, senator from any state, should be able to have an department that deals with the crises of our time and were being blocked once again. Denies accountability and its wrong and its improper and i think the American People are getting tired of it and those who facilitate it in the future may fine theyll speak out even more clearly in the future. I thank the chair and would yield the floor. Anyone watching congress right now . Would have little reason to think that an historic election occurred only 0 a few weeks ago. Washington, dc sadly continues to remain deaf to the American People. Washington, dc continues to refuse to listen to the American People. Even though millions of voters rose up, just one month ago to protest our president obama and the Senate Democrats were running washington, business as usual is continuing inside the marble halls of the United States congress. What is happening here . Last night, we saw chaos in the u. S. House of representatives. As they were there until late in the night, voting on a bill that the vast majority of the members had never even sat down to read. Yet somehow, at the last minute, just in the nick of time, with an arm twisted here and a nudge there, it passed the house. And now its here in the United States senate. Before the senate today is a 1. 1 trillion bill full of christmas presents for the lobbyists and special interests here in washington. I know its christmastime, mr. President. But its not our job to be playing santa to k street. This bill is not designed to help working americans. It is designed to pay off all the promises made to lobbyists who funded campaigns over the past year. Its designed to make sure that a whole lot of folks can fly home, sure that more Campaign Dollars will be coming. In coming weeks. Before the United States senate is a bill that continues to fund the train wreck that is obamacare. And does nothing to provide relief to the millions of men and women who are hurting, suffering, who lost their jobs, lost their health care, because of this disaster. And before the United States senate is a bill that does nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop president obamas illegal and unconstitutional amnesty. Thats why i rise to speak here today. The president s executive amnesty is lawless, and unconstitutional. And to be clear, the dispute over executive am in the cities is not a dispute between president obama and republicans in congress. It is a dispute between president obama and the American People. In this last election, president obama said something that was absolutely correct. He said his policies were in the on the ballot all across the country. The president was right. This election was a referendum on amnesty. Mr. President , i spent roughly two months on the road campaigning for Senate Candidates all over the country, one after the other after the other in race after race after race, front and center, was if you elect republicans well stop president obamas amnesty. The American Peoples verdict on that referendum was not ambiguous. Over and over and over again, voters in states across the country decided not to send back the incumbent democrat but to elect a new republican. Mr. President , i recall two years ago when you and i were freshmen, there were just nine there were nine democratic freshmen that year, and just three republicans. Today there are 12 republican freshmen. 12 new senators, a quarter of the republican conference, elected as the result of a referendum on amnesty the people have spoken loudly. Been repudiated by the voters and theres a way president s typically respond to that. They react with humility. They react acknowledging the American People trying to course correct. But sadly, president obama didnt do that. Instead, he came out angry and defiant. He came out and declared to the American People it doesnt matter in his view what the American People say, and it doesnt matter in his view