Ted Cruz

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I rise in opposition to the deal that the Senate is getting ready to vote on. This is a terrible deal. This deal embodies everything about the Washington establishment that frustrates the American people. This deal kicks the can down the road. It allows yet more debt, more deficits, more spending, and it does absolutely nothing to provide relief for the millions of Americans who are hurting because of ObamaCare. To all the young people who are coming out of school right now and can't find a job because of ObamaCare, this deal does nothing for them. To all of the single moms who are struggling and being forced into part-time work, trying to feed their kids on 29 hours a week because of ObamaCare, this deal does nothing for them. To all of the hard-working families who are getting massive premium increases from their health insurance companies right now and trying to figure out how they are going to make ends meet with health insurance costs going up 200 to 300 percent because of ObamaCare, this deal does nothing for them. To all of the seniors and all the people with disabilities who are getting notifications in the mail right now telling them they are losing their health insurance because of ObamaCare, this deal does nothing for them. This fight was always about the American people who are hurting because of ObamaCare, and unfortunately today the Senate is saying: You don't have a voice in Washington. This is a terrible deal. I urge my colleagues to oppose it. None of us should be surprised that when the Senate votes, this deal is going to pass, and it is going to pass by a big margin. None of us should be surprised, but the outcome could have been different. I ask the Presiding Officer to imagine a different world. We saw in the last 2 months millions of Americans rise up, sign a national petition, light up the phones to the Capitol, and speak up against the enormous harms ObamaCare is visiting upon them. We saw the House of Representatives stand with courage and listen to the American people. I ask the Presiding Officer to imagine a world in which Senate Republicans united to support House Republicans. Imagine that one piece being different from what we saw. Imagine, after the House Republicans stood together with the American people, if all 46 Senate Republicans had stood together and said: We are united against the train wreck that is ObamaCare. We are united with the American people that if President Obama is going to give an exemption for big business and for Members of Congress, the American people deserve that very same exemption. I want you to imagine if Senate Republicans stood together and simply supported House Republicans and the American people. I want the Presiding Officer to imagine what would have happened if all 46 Senate Republicans had united and gone together and said: The House of Representatives has passed a bill funding the VA. We should fund the VA. The majority leader of the Senate refused to allow the Senate to even vote to fund the VA. I want you to imagine all 46 Senate Republicans, if we had stood together and simply supported the House Republicans in saying the House of Representatives has voted to reopen our national parks, to reopen our war memorials, and the majority leader of the Senate refused to allow the Senate to even vote. I want my colleagues to imagine simply that Senate Republicans stood together and said: We support the House Republicans in standing with the American people. If that had happened, I believe this result would have been very different. It is heartbreaking to the American people that Senate Republicans divided as they did and decided to direct their criticism, direct their attention, direct their cannon fire at House Republicans and at those standing with the American people. Yet, at the same time, to the millions of Americans who rose up in the last couple of months, I want to give a word of encouragement--a word of encouragement about the path forward. A couple of months ago the Washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the American people might rise up. That was viewed as silly, parochial, couldn't happen. A couple of months ago the Washington establishment scoffed at the notion that the House of Representatives would stand strong saying: We should fund every bit of the Federal Government, but we shouldn't fund ObamaCare. Yet what we have seen in the last 2 months has been extraordinary. Millions of Americans are speaking in overwhelming numbers saying ObamaCare isn't working. The unions are jumping ship. Democratic Members of the Senate and the House went to the President and said: We want to be exempted from ObamaCare. This law isn't working. And it is worth reflecting on how extraordinary it is to see the American people rise up in such incredible numbers and to see the House of Representatives engage in what I consider to be a profile in courage, standing with the American people. Now, a path forward--the way we are going to stop ObamaCare, the way we are going to stop the suffering, the harms being visited on millions of Americans--is the path we have seen these past couple of months--the American people rising up. The answers are not going to come from Washington. Washington is broken. But the answers are going to come from the American people. So today I am encouraged. I am encouraged by the millions of Americans who want to get back to our free market principles, get back to the Constitution, and stop this train wreck of a law that is the biggest job killer in this country, that is hurting people all across the country. It is sad that today the Senate is telling people all across this country who are struggling, who are trying to provide for their kids, and who are getting notifications in the mail that their health care has been dropped--maybe a person has an elderly parent and that health care policy is providing for the family. Maybe people have children facing debilitating diseases. Yet they are getting a notification in the mail that their health insurance has been dropped because of ObamaCare. It is sad that the Senate says we will do nothing to answer their plight. We created their plight, but we will do nothing. It is sad that when we have James Hoffa, the president of the Teamsters, saying ObamaCare is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women in this country and the families who depend upon them, that the Senate says: We are closed for business. The Washington establishment has exempted itself, so the problems, the suffering of working America is not the concern of the Washington establishment. That is sad. But at the same time, I am optimistic. I am inspired by the millions of Americans who have risen. And if the American people continue to rise up, I am confident that in time the Senate will follow the lead of the House of Representatives and listen to the American people. That is our job. That is our responsibility. This is a terrible deal today. It is a terrible deal for the American people. At the same time, the path forward--if the American people continue to rise up, we are going to turn this around. We are going to restore jobs. We are going to restore economic growth. We are going to restore the ability of people who are struggling to climb the economic ladder and to achieve the American dream, and we are going to stop the No. 1 job killer in this country; that is, ObamaCare. I rise in opposition to this deal that doesn't serve the best interests of the men and women each of us represent. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. I thank my friend from Michigan for that question. Yet again, the answer is yes. I believe we should fully fund the VA. The two questions I would promulgate----

Mr. CRUZ. I would note the majority leader seems not to want to engage in debate. So I object. I hope the majority leader will start negotiating.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object----

Mr. CRUZ. I thank my friend for that question. As I said, I would readily support legislation fully funding the VA, because the VA is a vital government system. It is a promise we have made. It is unrelated to ObamaCare. My principal complaint this past week has been that the Democratic majority in this body is holding programs unrelated to ObamaCare hostage in order to force ObamaCare on everyone. We agreed for active-duty military.

Mr. CRUZ. I am happy to yield to my friend for a question.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I would note the fact that there are some issues on which we have partisan disagreements does not mean there are not other issues on which we can come together.

Mr. CRUZ. I thank my friend from Illinois for that question. Indeed, I enthusiastically support the proposal that the House unanimously passed to give backpay to Federal workers. Indeed, I would ask a question of the assistant majority leader: whether the Senate will even vote on that proposal because there are eight bills funding the Federal Government that are sitting on the majority leader's desk. We have not been allowed to vote on any of them.

Mr. CRUZ. I would be happy to yield for a question.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I will note with regret that the majority leader objected to engaging in a discussion, to engaging in negotiations here on the Senate floor. I think that is unfortunate. So I will promulgate the questions I would have asked him directly, and he may choose whether he may wish to answer. The majority leader read from comments that Senator Murphy made on the Senate floor, suggesting that the House bill funding the VA was not broad enough. I would note, in my office we have drafted legislation that would fund the VA in its entirety. And if his objection is that it is not broad enough, I will readily offer that I would happily work with the majority leader to fund every bit of the VA as it is right now today, and we could introduce that bill. Indeed, I would be happy to have it labeled the Reid-Cruz bill and to give lead authorship to the majority leader.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, just a clarification: Was there objection to the request that we be able to engage in a colloquy? I was not clear as to what the majority leader was objecting to.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, was there----

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I ask unanimous consent that the majority leader and I be able to engage in a colloquy so that we may perhaps be able to, as the majority leader said, surprise the world by finding some avenues of bipartisan cooperation.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I want to again thank the majority leader for bringing the attention of this body to the tragedy of those servicemen who lost their lives and the fact that, unfortunately, their families had been notified improperly, I believe, that they will not be paid the tax-free death gratuity they are entitled to under law. This is wrong. Every Member of this body agrees this is wrong. Every Republican agrees this is wrong, and I am confident every Democrat agrees it is wrong as well. Indeed, the way this announcement that was made was highly troubling. The Department of Defense notified our military families via Twitter that those servicemembers who die in battle will not be paid their tax- free death gratuities due to the partial Federal Government shutdown. I think this is yet another pattern that we have seen distressingly from the Obama administration of politicizing this shutdown and playing partisan games to maximize the pain that is inflicted on Americans. It is part and parcel of the pattern we have seen, barricading the World War II memorial, barricading the parking lot at Mount Vernon, George Washington's home, even though Mount Vernon is privately operated, barricading the roads leaving Mount Rushmore, even though they are State roads and not Federal roads. The actions by the Department of Defense are also contrary to the statute that this body just passed. The military death gratuity is by statute a pay and personnel benefit. Accordingly, it is clearly funded by Public Law 113-39, the Pay Our Military Act that was passed in a bipartisan manner this week. We already acted to prevent this and, unfortunately, the Defense Department is declining to follow that law that we passed. The legislation this body already passed would immediately act to take the families of those soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines whose lives are tragically taken--to take them off the table and say: Regardless of what happens in a government shutdown, we are going to stand by the men and women fighting for America. Indeed, the House of Representatives has introduced a bipartisan bill to immediately fund death gratuity payments. When that bill is passed, the Senate should pass that bill immediately. Indeed, the Pentagon should abandon this policy to begin with and simply follow the law that was already passed. But if they do not, I call upon all 100 Senators to come together, to listen to the majority leader, who spoke powerfully about the need to stand by our service men and women whose lives are tragically taken. When the House passes that bill, which I am confident it will do so with considerable speed, I would call upon every Senator to listen to the majority leader's call and to stand with our service men and women. But there is something else we can do right here today to demonstrate that this body does not have to be locked in partisan gridlock, to demonstrate that bipartisan cooperation is possible, and to demonstrate that our veterans are truly not the subject of partisan dispute but are separate and deserve to be treated fairly, deserve to have the commitments, the promises we made to our veterans honored; that is, this body can stop blocking the legislation that the House of Representatives has already passed--bipartisan legislation to fund the VA, to fund disability payments--so we do not hold them hostage to what is happening in Washington. Accordingly, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.J. Res. 72, making continuing appropriations for veterans benefits for fiscal year 2014; that the measure be read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader for his impassioned remarks today, and all of us weep for those service men and women who have lost their lives in defense of this great Nation. I would note this Senate can right now, today, move to correct the problem the majority leader described. The House of Representatives has passed eight separate bills funding vital priorities of the government. All eight of those bills now sit on the majority leader's desk. This Senate has not voted on those bills. To date, the majority leader has not allowed the Senate to have even one vote on the bills that would fund vital government functions. One of those bills is a bill that funds the VA--funds the Department of Veterans Affairs. It seems to me we are going to have political differences, and those political differences are not going away anytime soon, but we ought to be able to say, regardless of what happens in the battle over the shutdown, that our veterans should be beyond politics. We should have bipartisan agreement on standing for our veterans. Right now veterans disability payments are not funded. The House has passed legislation to fund that. That was bipartisan legislation, with a number of Democrats in the House, and yet the majority leader has not allowed the Senate to vote on it. The only thing in the way of funding the VA today is the Senate voting to do so--is the objection the majority leader has raised to funding the VA. Let me note that the bill the House passed funding the VA is a clean CR on the VA. It doesn't mention ObamaCare. It doesn't say a word about ObamaCare. It simply says our veterans should be beyond partisan politics, regardless of the shutdown. Let me also note this body has already engaged in bipartisan cooperation. Earlier in the course of this debate, the House of Representatives passed a bill to fund the men and women of the military--to pay their paychecks. For weeks there had been politicians suggesting if there were a government shutdown the men and women of the military would not be paid. The House passed a bill, a clean CR, that said we will fund the men and women in the military. I commend my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle, and I commend the majority leader, because the 54 Democrats in this body made the right decision to act in a bipartisan way and cooperate with the Republicans in this body and with the House of Representatives, and in 24 hours the bill funding the men and women of our military became law, went to the President and was signed into law. That is the way we are supposed to operate. So I would ask: If we could work together in a bipartisan manner to say we are not going to hold the men and women of the military hostage, why can't we work together in a bipartisan manner to say we are not going to hold our veterans hostage; that regardless of what happens in the shutdown, let's fund the VA now? Likewise, the House of Representatives has passed a bill funding our parks and national memorials. We have seen day after day our World War II veterans coming to the World War II Memorial and facing barricades the administration has put up. The administration has expended money to keep them out. The House has passed a bill to fund our parks and our memorials. Let me suggest if the Senate would only vote, we could open every park and memorial in the country. The House has passed a bill to fund FEMA. If the Senate would only vote, FEMA could be funded. The House has passed a bill to fund the National Institutes of Health so we can provide vital cancer research. The majority leader spoke quite passionately just moments ago about the need to fund the National Institutes of Health. I agree with the majority leader, and I would ask the majority leader to withdraw the objection he has raised to funding the NIH. Let me note, some have disparaged the House's approach as a piecemeal approach. Yet that is the traditional means of appropriating and legislating that for centuries this body has done. The VA is usually funded--just the VA--not connected to anything else. Why would the Senate want to hold veterans hostage because of disagreements over ObamaCare? I don't think we should. I think we should fund the VA right now. Why would the Senate want to hold our parks and memorials hostage? Why would the Senate want to hold the National Institutes of Health hostage? Why would the Senate want to hold Federal workers hostage? On Saturday, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to provide back pay for Federal workers who had been furloughed. Every House Democrat who voted voted in favor of that. Yet the majority leader has not allowed this body to vote. I am going to say right now I agree with those House Democrats, and I urge that Senate Democrats stand with House Democrats who voted unanimously in favor of back pay for Federal workers. We can work together with bipartisan compromise, but we can only do so if both sides come to the table. Right now the House of Representatives is working constructively to fund vital priorities and, unfortunately, President Obama, the majority leader, and Senate Democrats are refusing to negotiate, refusing to compromise. That is not a reasonable approach. It is not a path that will lead to resolving this. I hope we come together, resolve this, fund our vital priorities and, at the same time, respond to the millions of people who are hurting because of ObamaCare--who are losing their jobs, who are pushed into part-time work, who are facing skyrocketing insurance premiums and who are losing their health insurance. We need to answer the call of our constituents. We need to answer the call of Teamsters president James Hoffa who put in writing that ObamaCare right now is destroying the health care of millions of working men and women. ``Destroying'' is the word Mr. Hoffa used. I think the Senate should respond to the concern Mr. Hoffa raised, and we should stand with millions of working men and women and we should protect their health care so the hundreds of millions of Americans who have health care right now don't lose it. People all across this country are getting letters in the mail telling them they are losing their health care because of ObamaCare. We need to listen to them. So let's fund our government, let's fund our vital priorities, and let's listen to the American people and stop the No. 1 job killer in this country that is ObamaCare. I urge this body to work together in a bipartisan manner to listen to the American people. I yield the floor.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Reserving the right to object, I thank my friend from Washington State. I know she talked about leaving no man or woman behind. I would note the continuing resolution the House has passed to fully fund the Veterans' Administration treats our veterans the same way the House and Senate have already treated active-duty military. Just a few days ago, this body unanimously passed a bill that said the men and women of the military would be paid. Unfortunately, it seems to be the position of the majority in this body that veterans should be treated not as well as our active-duty military and, in particular, that the full funding of the VA should be held hostage to every other priority the Democrats in this Chamber must have. I understand the Democrats in this Chamber are committed to ObamaCare with all of their hearts, minds, and souls, but the veterans of this Nation should not be held hostage to that commitment. It is likely, given the majority's refusal to negotiate, refusal to compromise, refusal even to talk to find a middle ground--it is likely that this shutdown, instigated by the Democratic majority, will continue for some time, and during that time we ought to be able to find common ground that, at the very minimum, our veterans shouldn't pay the price. If moments from now my friend from Washington simply does not object, by the end of the day the VA will be fully funded. If, as we all expect, she does object--if she repeats the objection her majority leader and her party have made throughout the course of this week--then much of the VA will remain shut down because of that objection. She has asked if we can reopen the entire Federal Government. If the request is not granted to refund every single priority in the Federal Government that the majority party wants, then the VA will remain without sufficient funds. I find that highly objectionable, and I object.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.J. Res. 72, making continuing appropriations for veterans' benefits for the fiscal year 2014, which was received from the House. I ask further consent that the measure be read three times and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, I intended to give remarks and then promulgate a series of unanimous consent requests. However, the majority leader requested, for purposes of scheduling, that I begin with the unanimous consent requests, which I am happy to do to accommodate his schedule. I ask that at the conclusion of these unanimous consent requests, I be given 20 minutes to speak to lay out the reasons why I believe the majority should cede to these unanimous consent requests.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, no one watching these proceedings should be confused. We are in a shutdown because President Obama and the majority leader of this body want a shutdown, because they believe it is in the partisan interests of their party to have a shutdown. Four times the House of Representatives has come to us, four times the House of Representatives has endeavored to meet a middle ground, and four times the majority leader and every Democrat in this body has said, No, we will not talk, we will not compromise, we will not have a middle ground, and 100 percent of the priorities of the Democrats in this body must be funded or they will insist on a shutdown. I thank my friend from Illinois for making clear that the members of the Reserve components of our Armed Forces, in his judgment, are not worthy of being paid during the shutdown that the Democrats have forced. I could not disagree with that judgment more strongly. Let us be clear. This bill that has passed the House doesn't mention ObamaCare; it has nothing to do with ObamaCare. It simply says the exact same thing my friend from Illinois already agreed to, which is that the active-duty men and women of the military would not be held hostage and would be paid if it so happened that the Democrats forced a shutdown. Apparently, the position of the majority of this body is that we have a double standard, that Reserve members are not treated as well as active-duty members; that Reserve members will not get their paychecks. Let's be clear that this bill could be on the President's desk for signature today if my friend from Illinois would simply withdraw his objection. Unfortunately, in a move I think reflects a level of cynicism not befitting of the responsibility all of us have, my friend is prepared to object and to say that not just veterans but Reserve members shall be held hostage in order to force ObamaCare on the American people; that that is the objective. I guess now the Democratic Party has become the party of ObamaCare, by ObamaCare, and for ObamaCare all of the time, and every other priority recedes. So veterans are told, Your concerns do not matter unless we can use you to force ObamaCare on the American people. Reserve military members are told, Your concerns do not matter unless we can use you as a hostage to force ObamaCare on the American people. That is cynical. We ought to take these individuals off the table. I note my friend from Illinois spoke of the great many Federal employees who have been furloughed. I would be very happy to work in a bipartisan manner to cooperate with my friend from Illinois to bring a great many of those Federal employees back to their vital responsibilities. But, unfortunately, the position the Democratic Party has taken is that not a one of them will be allowed to come back until this body agrees to force ObamaCare on the American people, despite the jobs lost, despite the people being forced into part-time work, despite the skyrocketing health insurance premiums, and despite the millions of people who are at risk of losing their health insurance. I find that highly objectionable and I object.

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, the second unanimous consent request I will promulgate: I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3230, making continuing appropriations during a government shutdown to provide pay allowances to members of the Reserve components of the Armed Forces, which was received from the House; I ask further unanimous consent that the measure be read three times and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Mr. President, the fourth unanimous consent request that I would promulgate: I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.J. Res. 73, making continuing appropriations for the National Institutes of Health for fiscal year 2014; I ask further consent that the measure be read three times and passed, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. CRUZ

Mr. CRUZ. Reserving the right to object, the modification that the Senator from New York has suggested is that he is unwilling to open our national parks, to open our memorials, unless every other aspect of the government is opened immediately and ObamaCare is forced upon the American people. That is, quite simply and directly, saying that the Senate will not respond to President Obama's priorities. President Obama gave a speech to this country saying we should open our parks, we should open our memorials. The House of Representatives said: Mr. President, we, the Republicans, will work with you to do that, and today the Democrats in the Senate are objecting and saying: No, we want every park closed, every memorial closed. All of that will be held hostage until ObamaCare is forced on every American. I find that highly objectionable, and I object.

Mr. CRUZ. The modification----

Mr. CRUZ. I thank the majority leader for his question. At his request I began with these unanimous consent requests. It was my intention to give my remarks at the end. But I would note, in each of the objections, my friends on the Democratic side of the aisle have chosen to stand and give their remarks. If remarks are to be given by the Democrats, then it is certainly appropriate that some response be given. So if the courtesy the majority leader was asking was that none of the remarks that his friends and colleagues make have any response, that was not a courtesy I was prepared to give. I was prepared and am prepared to work and cooperate on timing but not to allow only one side of the discussion to be presented.

Mr. CRUZ. I am happy to yield for a question from the majority leader.