Lord, cleanse the fountains of their hearts from all that defiles, so that they may be fit vessels to be used for your glory. Let your peace be within them, as your spirit inspires them to glorify you in their thoughts, words, and actions. We pray in your sacred name. Amen. The presiding officer please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The presiding officer the clerk will read a communication to the senate. The clerk washington d. C. , april 9, 2014. To the senate under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable edward j. Markey, a senator from the state of massachusetts, to perform the duties of the chair. Signed patrick j. Leahy, president pro tempore. Mr. Reid mr. President . The presiding officer the majority leader. Mr. Reid im told s. 2223 is due for a second reading. Is that right . The presiding officer the clerk will read the title of the bill for a second time. The clerk s. 2223, a bill to provide for an increase in the federal minimum wage, and so forth. Mr. Reid mr. President , i would object to any proceedings with respect to this legislation at this time. The presiding officer objection is heard. The bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Reid i move to proceed to calendar number 345, s. 23199, paycheck fairness. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk motion to proceed to calendar number 345, s. 2199, a bill to amend the fair labor standards act of 1938, and so forth and for other purposes. Mr. Reid mr. President , following leader remarks and those of senator mcconnell, the senate will the senate will be all time will be equally divided and controlled until 11 00 a. M. , and at that time there will be a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to legislation now before us. Excuse me. Additional votes are expected today on confirmation nominations. Floor staff is working to come up with convenient times for everyone in that regard. And well notify senators when we have those votes scheduled. Mr. President , today the senate will vote on whether to begin debate on the paycheck fairness legislation. It is muchneeded legislation that provides important protections for women in the workplace. The wage disparity, helping women negotiate for equal pay and it empowers workers to fight back against wage discrimination, women in particular. It is a good bill, an important bill. It helps american women in many different ways. But for reasons known only to them, Senate Republicans dont appear to be interested in closing the wage gap for working women. As my daughter, my grandchildren, your wife, your daughter, friends, neighbors, mr. President , four years ago the republicans filibustered this exact same legislation. Two years later the republicans filibustered this legislation. Now for a third time the paycheck fairness act is before us, and it appears it is going to be filibustered again. Theyve indicate that had theyll likely not let us begin work on this important piece of legislation, this debate. If they are ideologically opposed to ensuring equal pay for equal work, free to vote against passage of the paycheck fairness act or give speeches as to why it is such a bad deal but we have not heard that. Todays vote is to begin debate on the bill. Are this so repulsed by equal pay for hardworking women, theyll obstruct equal pay for equal work . Republicans have come to the floor and tried to offer amendments that have nothing to do with equal pay. Nothing. Im at a loss as to why anyone would decline to debate this important issue. Or if you dont like it, come and tell us why. Debate is what this institution is all about. Its the United States senate. Haoubt Hubert Humphrey said once quote freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion and debate. Thats what he said. We should debate this bill together. We can find a solution to this unfair wage disparity that will cost the average working woman 464,320 over an average lifetime. Thats average. American families want to us debate and pass this legislation. This legislation is overwhelmingly supported by the American People. People in support of the paycheck fairness act are calling on us to pass this legislation, are writing letters. Theyre posting on social media. Theyre attending equal pay rallies. Our constituents have made their feelings known, but the republicans have not gotten the message. Henry David Thoreau said quote it takes two to speak the truth. One to speak and another to listen. Senate democrats have heard the truth about giving women fair shot for equal pay for equal work. The truth is that working women make an average of 77 cents for every 1 their male colleagues make for doing the exact same work. Thats not fair. Today well see if republicans will give working women and their families a fair shot by voting to debate this important legislation. I along with millions of american women, men and women, everyone in america are hoping the third time will be the charm for Senate Republicans. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the republican leader. Mr. Mcconnell the obama economy has had a devastating impact on the people we represent. Its hurt millions in the middle class and people from every region of the country and almost every walk of life. And when you consider this weeks debate in the senate, a few statistics jump out in particular. Under this president s watch, more than 3. 7 million american women have fallen into poverty. The average American Woman now makes about 730 less than when the president took office. And if shes a College Graduate, shes actually seen her income shrink by about double that amount. In other words, when it comes to american women overall, what weve seen over the past five and a half years is less income and more poverty. Thats the story Senate Democrats dont want to talk about. Perhaps thats why for weeks now they blocked the efforts republicans have made to improve the picture. Senate democrats want to control this debate from start to finish, and basically do nothing to help with our efforts to expand opportunity and jobs for women and for men. It would appear, as some have put it, that they have no interest in solutions or any concern for the consequences of their actions. We see that in how uninterested they seem to be in the statistics that i just mentioned. And we can see it in some other policies they have been defending literally for months. Just take obamacares 30hour workweek rule, which is basically forcing employers to slash workers hours. Whos impacted the most by it . Well, as one study pointed out, its women. Nearly twothirds of those adversely impacted by this arbitrary provision of obamacare are women. But washington democrats dont seem to care about that. They dont seem to care about the ways the people we represent are being hurt by their policies. And i said as i said, they continue to block all the innovative ideas that republicans have been offering to turn the tide. Just look at what happened here on the senate floor just yesterday. I along with several republican colleagues offered a series of measures that would not only have helped improve the jobs picture in our country, it would have provided greater opportunities for men, women and families desperate to get ahead. Had Democratic Senators not blocked these ideas, they would have passed. Why did Senate Democrats object to senator collins proposal to restore the 40hour workweek . Do they think its fair that obamacares 30hour workweek discriminates against working women . Do democrats think its fair to protect a rule that disproportionately reduces their wages . Why did they object to Workplace Flexibility proposal that senator ayotte and i offered . Heres legislation that would have given working moms and dads the option to take time off to help them find a better work life balance, flexibility thats more critical than ever now that obamacares 30hour work rule is forcing people to pick up a second or third job just to scrape by. Why are democrats so opposed to a policy that a lot of working women say they want, a policy thats tailored to the needs of the modern workforce and that many Government Employees already enjoy . Why did Senate Democrats object to our jobcreation legislation, which includes so many smart ideas from so many different senators . Heres a bill that strikes right at the heart of what has ailed our country for five and a half years a lack of job and opportunity. Passing it should have been a nobrainer. But Senate Democrats blocked all of it, every last one of our proposals, just like they shut down the proworker legislation senator paul and i offered last week. Right to work is smart policy that promises to boost competitiveness while advancing workers rights, ensuring that they arent limited by the dictates of a union. Its similar to another bill im tproud cosponsor im proud to cosponsor, senator rubios raise act which would allow workers to get a raise even if aoupb bosses didnt want them to. Take for instance a worker who outperforms her colleagues and is then told by some union boss to accept less pay than she deserves. Not a dime more than the coworkers shes outperforming. Its completely and totally unfair, and workers like her shouldnt be penalized by some archaic union rule democratic up before the age of mad men. These are the ideas that everyone who claims to stand for Workplace Fairness should want to help us pass. And yet, washington democrats always seem to find some excuse not to. Maybe the big labor bosses they answer to are telling them they cant. Who knows. Or maybe its the trial lawyers they seem to be so attentive to these days. It makes sense when you consider what Senate Democrats have been talking about this week, a bill that even publications like the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune and the boston globe have said is bad policy. At a time when the obamacare economy is already hurting woman so much, this legislation would double down on job loss all while lining the pockets of trial lawyers. In other words, its just another democratic idea that threatens to hurt the very people that it claims to help. Well, its time for washington democrats to stop protecting trial lawyers and start focusing on actually helping the people we were sent here to represent. Weve already seen what five and a half years of Washington Democratic control has meant. More poverty and lower wages for women. So they need to stop blocking innovative ideas that would move us further along the path to opportunity, because look, the College Graduate who has seen her annual paycheck decline by 1,400 over the past several years, she is counting on Senate Democrats to change their game plan. And the parttime worker who cant imagine how shes going to make ends meet under obamacares 30hour work rule, shes counting on democrats to think outside the box. The American People are tired of washington democrats five and a half years of failed policies and all the political games that helped us get here in the first place. Americans actually want solutions, and they want them now. And we owe it to them to start passing the kinds of innovative ideas republicans are committed to pursuing, no matter how many times the majority tries to shut us down. Mr. President , i yield the floor. The presiding officer under the previous order, the time until 11 00 a. M. Will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. Under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. Mr. Mcconnell i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Barrasso mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from wyoming. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Barrasso thank you, mr. President. Mr. President , this week president obama has been holding what to me appear to be madefortv events to talk about the economy. Hes talked about the policies that he wants congress to enact, policies that he says will finally get americas economy going again. Well, president obama has been in the white house now for more than five years, so i think its fair to ask, what has this administration, the Obama Administration, been doing for the economy for the past five years . We know that the recession actually ended almost five years ago. Since then, our economy has not bounced back the way it should have or the way it typically does after a deep recession. The Obama Administration has spent a lot of money on failed ideas like the socalled stimulus package. Since the recession ended, washington has racked up more than 6 trillion worth of Additional DebtAdditional Debt and its not gotten us nearly the kind of growth that we should have added as a result of this spending. Now the president has come out with a budget in which hes asked for tax increases of over 1. 7 trillion, nearly 2 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade. Taxes are already too high. When i go home and talk to my constituents, as i would think most members of this body hear from their folks at home, taxes are already too high. So americans are now preparing to file their taxes. Income tax day is coming april 15. As americans prepare to file their taxes, theyre getting a remierpdz oareminder of just hof their hardearned money washington is taking from them. Next tuesday, april 15, the deadline for moves us to fill out the moves and send everything off to the Internal Revenue service, the ires. Americans will spend more on taxes this year than they spend on food, clothing, and housing combined. So we now know how much president obama is spending, but what kind of effect have his policies been having on our American Economy . Well, we know that the economy is still not producing the number of jobs we need tabor a Real Recovery we need for a Real Recovery. We know if we want to look for the reasons why that seems to be the case, we could talk about the 2 million jobs that democrats are blocking with the restrictive energy policies. We could talk about the minimumwage bill that democrats are pushing right now. The Congressional Budget Office says that that would reduce employment in the United States by half a million jobs. They say maybe as many as a million jobs. Yet the majority leader comes here and says its the best thing you can do for the commitment of but cos you can. The probably the largest, the most harmful thing the administration has done with regard not just to the economy but other factors, including the lives of the american public, is the president S Health Care law. This law is hitting people across the country, folks who are seeing their premiums go up, who are losing access to their doctor, who are getting cancellation notices from their insurance companies, and its also having an effect on our economy. We had today our usual wyoming wednesday where people from around the state of wyoming, who come to washington and meet with their two senators from wyoming, talking to people in the communities and what i heard about was another horror story related to the president S Health Care law. A family that had insurance that worked for them, worked for them for a long time, fit their budget, fit their needs as a family, but of course it was canceled as a result of the president S Health Care law, and the mandates where the president believes he has a better idea what works for their family than they do. They have a couple Young Children and a husband and life, and they lost their insurance. They tried and tried again to get reinsured through the exchanges. It took them months. They finally went with paper forms to apply. The stories go on and on, and its horrible to listen to what American Families have had to go through as a result of the president S Health Care law. This is a family that was hurt as a result of the president S Health Care law in terms of what theyre paying for snuns insuran terms of the deductibles that are now in place, and in terms of not being able to go to the doctor of of their choice. So we have the effect on the family and the effect on the economy. Now, according to the consequentlial budgecongressione Health Care Law is going to lead to 2. 5 million fewer people working over the next decade. Those are the Congressional Budget Office numbers, not mine. Because of the warped incentives that are built into this law, some people will have to choose between working more and getting higher wages or working less so they can collect government subsidies. Now, remember nancy pelosi, speaker of the house on the democratic side in the house when this law was jammed through down the throats of the American People, there she was saying, you have t first you have to pass it before you could to find out whats in it. I actually read the whee whole g and it continues to astonish me how few members actually read it but just took her word. But now what were seeing these unintended consequences to show up. Well, even s