Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate in order to conduct a hearing on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. For further information please contact David Berick at (202) 224- 2209, Megan Brewster (202) 224-6689 or Brian Hughes, (202) 224-7555.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at 10:00 a.m.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Judicial Nominations.''

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. in order to conduct a hearing entitled ``Examining the Use and Abuse of Administratively Uncontrollable Overtime at the Department of Homeland Security.''

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Rose Mutiso, a fellow in Senator Coons's office, be given floor privileges for Wednesday, January 29, 2014.

Mrs. MURRAY

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 I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent to speak as in morning business.

Mrs. MURRAY. As the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee leaves, I thank the Senator for her tremendous leadership. I thank the Senator for her leadership in getting this bill to the floor. I come to the floor today to talk about another topic, and that is the 1.4 million Americans who have lost their unemployment benefits and the over 70,000 people who continue to lose them each week. The Senate has found itself in an all-too-familiar place. Once again, some Republicans are refusing to be able to say yes even to the most reasonable of offers, and it is a problem we have seen in this body too many times. Over the course of the 16-day shutdown last October, we tried time and time again to find compromises to end that manufactured crisis, return Federal workers to their jobs, and reopen our Federal parks and buildings. But for too long Republicans refused to listen to the American people and embrace compromise. Instead, they were standing firmly in a partisan corner--and it is a pattern of what we saw last year in our efforts to pass a budget. In March of the past year--as every Senator, I am sure, will remember--we spent a week on the Senate floor in a very open process debating and voting on amendment after amendment until the very wee hours of the morning. On March 23 we finally passed our budget after the House had passed theirs the day earlier. I thought at that time the next step would be to start a conference as quickly as possible. I thought it was a no-brainer. This is what the American people were expecting, the two sides to get in a room, work out our differences, and avoid another crisis. Every time we tried to start that budget conference--21 times in the Senate-- a Senate Republican stood up and said no. They no longer wanted to go to conference, they no longer wanted to follow regular order, they only wanted to obstruct. That took us to a government shutdown, a debt limit crisis, and a lot of pain for families and communities across the country before we could get them in a room with us in a budget conference and agree to a deal the American people expected. That has been sort of the Republican playbook in the Senate. They say no for as long as they can, they play politics for as long as they can, they hold out and obstruct as long as they can, until the pressure from angry Americans finally reaches a fever pitch, and then, when it is far too late, hopefully come to their senses. It is getting to be far too late for every single American who lost their unemployment benefits. In fact, as last week's unemployment report showed, nearly \1/2\ million Americans recently gave up entirely. Those who haven't given up spent every single day desperately working to get on a job. Unemployment benefits make all the difference for them and their families while they scour the want ads, pound the pavement, and send out resume after resume. In fact, I have heard from many people in my home State of Washington, story after story from men and women. One of those was from a man named Gary who lives in Spokane. Gary wrote to me about his wife Linda and how at ``56 years young'' with a degree in accounting and an MBA in finance Linda is still unable to find work. After exhausting her unemployment benefits, Gary and Linda are now forced to live off of his Social Security disability insurance. They are now facing monthly medical expenses and rent of over $1,000 just to stay healthy and keep a roof over their heads. Gary's benefits cover about $900 of those expenses. With each passing day this Congress fails to act Gary and Linda find themselves further and further behind. Gary concluded in his note to me in a simple plea, written in all capital letters, that said: ``PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP!'' I also recently heard from a woman who was laid off from her job at a plant in Keyport, WA. She said: This year, I have applied for over 200 jobs and, in spite of a stellar resume, have only gotten 4 phone interviews. I have lowered my standards throughout the year and applied for jobs far below my pay grade to no avail . . . my husband and I have had to claim bankruptcy . . . [and] I truly worry about losing my home and displacing my children. These are real people, as the Presiding Officer well knows. I have heard from Traci, a former executive assistant with 20 years of experience, in Everett, WA. After taking time off from work because she had to care for her dying mother and a daughter who was suffering from bipolar disorder and drug addiction, Traci found herself without a job. After her mother passed away, Traci fell ill, and it made it very hard for her to look for work. While Traci was receiving unemployment benefits that were barely enough to cover the care her daughter required, she was just barely making it. She told me that now she cannot afford food and has lost over 50 pounds. She spends every day searching high and low for one break. She said: ``I just need time for someone to give me a chance.'' A chance. That is all she is asking us for. That is all they are asking, all of these people. They don't want a handout, they don't want to be a burden. They need support while they get back on their feet and on the job. We in the Senate need Republican support to do that. We are ready and willing to move forward. We have worked to find compromise. When Republicans wanted this extension to be paid for, even though it has been extended time and time again without pay-fors under Republican Congresses and Republican Presidents, we said OK, we will try and find that. That wasn't enough. When Republicans signaled that they didn't want to pay for an extension by closing tax loopholes for the wealthiest Americans, we again looked to find a compromise. When we put forward savings from policies that have either been agreed to by both sides or have been taken from proposals championed by Republicans, they once again said it wasn't good enough. When they asked for amendments, we offered amendments. They again said no. Unfortunately, Republicans have now reverted once again to pure politics aimed not at the vast majority of American people who want to see this extended, but instead squarely at their most conservative audience possible. Nowhere is that more evident than in the pay-fors they have offered--whether it is the minority leader's amendment that predictably seeks to undercut health care reform or the Ayotte amendment, which is a very disturbing signal in that after joining us in passing comprehensive immigration legislation, Republicans are now doing a complete 180 on immigration in an election year. With that amendment, Senate Republicans are indicating that they are actually going to begin targeting U.S. citizens, children who are U.S. citizens, simply because they were born to undocumented workers. I think that is shameful, and I am shocked that we have reached this point. These policies aren't going anywhere. Republicans know that. In the end, all they amount to is nothing more than delaying tactics while American families' lives are hanging in the balance. Make no mistake, families across the country are teetering on the brink today. In fact, nowhere is that more clear than the last heartbreaking story I came to the floor to share with you. I received this yesterday from a woman named Shiela, who for the last 13 years has worked a middle-management job at a national corporation in my State. She started her letter by saying: ``I've never written to any government official, but I'm compelled to do so today.'' Then she told me how she, her husband, and two children had lived a fairly comfortable life, but all of that changed last year when her employer decided to downsize, and she was one of the many Americans who was laid off. Her husband, who works in real estate, was struggling in a very weak market, as we all know. Suddenly, Shiela's family of four found themselves relying on just over $500 a week in unemployment assistance. Having graduated from college and business school, Sheila--like so many others--found herself in need of these benefits, and she said never in a million years did she think she would be in that spot. These are her words: I've worked for so many years, paid my taxes, did the right thing for others . . . and now I need help. In October, Sheila's family lost their house. They are now renting. They do not know if their daughter will still qualify for the student loans she is currently receiving. Sheila's checking account is now overdrawn. Her car payments are past due. She started getting notices from her utility companies. And as my staff talked with her yesterday, she said she was headed out the door to apply for food stamps. Because of the Republicans' refusal to work with us, we will once again be going home to constituents such as Sheila to explain why this extension hasn't gotten done. I know I will be pointing out the fact that we have compromised time and time again to try to get something done here; that we have all but begged Republicans from the start to work with us on this effort, but I can't help but wonder how Republicans are going to explain their actions. While I normally don't come to the floor to give advice to my friends on the other side of the aisle, I would certainly like to suggest they do not stare into the eyes of someone who just had to apply for food stamps for the very first time in their life and explain that they can't act until ObamaCare is destroyed. And I hope they do not tell those who are about to lose their home they can't help them until they find a way to cut childcare credits for U.S. children. And I hope they do not tell Americans who spend their days working hard and applying for jobs that pay a fraction of what they have been making they will only be willing to help them if all of their political demands are met. And I especially hope they do not think making arguments about procedure or amendments or arcane rules of the Senate that only people here in DC pay attention to is an excuse for walking away from 1.4 million Americans at a time when all they want to see is results. What I do hope is that the experiences they have coming face-to-face with these families will change their tone when they come back here in a week. I hope the stories, such as the ones I shared here today, will once again be the pressure that Republicans have required over and over to finally act. And I hope that soon they will join us in passing our nonpartisan, commonsense bill and finally delivering some certainty and some security for struggling Americans who deserve it.

Mrs. MURRAY. Yes, I will.

Mrs. MURRAY. Let me respond to the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. President. I came to the floor today to talk about the millions of Americans who are in need of extended unemployment benefits, but I would tell my colleague that everyone I have ever talked to on unemployment would much rather have a job. As to the question the Senator has asked me in relation to my role as chair of the subcommittee on transportation and housing and the bill we are about to pass here in the Senate, it will have an impact on creating jobs and building that infrastructure so people will have that job certainty. It is extremely important. On the transportation side of my appropriations bill, the TIGER grant program the Senator has described will bring not only jobs to communities but real projects that will help build a foundation for future economic growth. There is no one who questions that transportation infrastructure brings jobs today, provides economic development for the future, and is absolutely the way people get to work and home in a timely manner, bringing certainty for so many families we know. That is a critical part of my subcommittee. The other part of my subcommittee, as the Senator mentioned, is housing. Those issues are so important. I think most people forget if you don't have a place to live it is pretty hard to go to work. Providing some of these programs we do, such as section 8, and some of the reforms we have put in here, is absolutely critical for so many Americans to be able to have the stability and to get out and get a job, so that we don't have to be arguing over unemployment extension here but actually how we can make the investments so this country can work and survive. I hope we can provide those extensions today, as we struggle to get back on our feet, but meanwhile pass this critical bill the Senator has authored so we can provide jobs and economic support, which is what people want.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I wish to start by thanking my friend, the distinguished Senator from Maryland, as well as her counterpart in the House, Chairman Rogers. They have shown great leadership in working across the aisle to accomplish this mammoth task we had given them on a very tight timeline, and I appreciate their efforts. I am here today to talk about why it is important we pass this Omnibus appropriations bill and continue to build on the bipartisan steps we have taken so far. Last week I spoke at a press conference on youth unemployment with a young man who was present. His name was James. Listening to James, it was pretty clear he was hard-working and ambitious. But he explained to me, as old as he is, in his twenties, he is still living at home with his parents because despite a lot of searching he has not been able to find a job. What was clear to me from James' story and from a lot of others across the country is that even though the economy has made progress, far too many Americans still aren't feeling the benefits. Too many of them are working more hours and earning less or wondering whether they can afford to send their kids to college or worrying that they won't be able to save enough to retire. Those are the kinds of problems we need to be thinking about here and solving. I hope our work this session, this year, will be entirely focused on doing everything we can to create more jobs and more opportunities for all Americans, especially those who are struggling in what is still a very tough economy. There is a lot we need to get done. If one lesson came out of the constant crises last year, it is that in a divided government the only way to get things done is through compromise and bipartisanship. The budget deal Chairman Ryan and I worked together on and reached is a good example. It wasn't the bill I would have written on my own. It wasn't the bill Chairman Ryan would have written on his own either. But after hearing from families and communities in my home State of Washington, I knew we needed to do more to restore the critical investments that were being lost as a result of sequestration, and we needed to break out of the constant crises which have caused so much gridlock and dysfunction over the last several years. So I worked with Chairman Ryan to reach a compromise. I am pleased that our agreement rolled back some of those automatic across- the-board cuts to priorities important to all of us, such as education, infrastructure, and research. We did that in a balanced way, without relying on spending cuts alone. Importantly, in reaching that deal we were able to lay some groundwork so Chairman Mikulski and Chairman Rogers could move forward on the important work of funding the government. Families and communities across the country will be better off as the result of their leadership. Their legislation invests in starting our children off strongly by expanding access to early Head Start for infants and families. It expands access to Pell grants to help more of our young adults today afford higher education. It supports other important priorities such as medical research, which help create jobs and spur innovation. In my home State of Washington, I know all of these investments, as well as others, such as funding for the Columbia River Crossing Project, for repairs and improvements at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, are going to make a huge difference. I wish to spend a few moments as chair of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development to talk about some of the important parts of that bill within this Omnibus. That bill addresses critical challenges on everything from homelessness, affordable housing, to traffic congestion, and transportation safety. This bill represents a very firm commitment to providing housing and supporting services to families in need. It actually increases funding for the section 8 program which provides housing for our low-income families in this country. If funding had remained at the sequester level, more than 100,000 families today would be at risk of losing that assistance and becoming homeless. Under our bill, that will not happen. I am also very proud that the bill includes $75 million for vouchers for the joint HUD-Veterans Affairs supportive housing program. As a result of that funding, an additional 10,000 homeless veterans and their families will have access to housing and supportive services. Our housing and transportation bill prioritizes job creation and economic growth by investing in transportation. It includes $600 million in TIGER funding, which supports projects that improve transportation safety and reduce traffic congestion. That, by the way, is in addition to the $41 billion in much-needed funding to repair our Nation's roads and bridges. But our bill isn't just about roads and bridges. Americans are increasingly relying on public transit, so I am especially pleased our bill provides more than $10.7 billion to support our public transit system. Also, last year across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration forced the Federal Aviation Administration to enact a hiring freeze, which meant when employees such as our air traffic controllers left the agency, no one was hired to replace them. So our bipartisan bill ensures the FAA has the resources it needs to end that hiring freeze and hire and train new employees who can help our air travel be safe. This bill fully funds the Essential Air Service and contract tower programs on which so many of our communities depend. We also include reforms to improve the programs we fund--for example, important section 8 reforms to reduce costs and create efficiencies. In short, I am very pleased with what my colleagues and I in the Senate and House have been able to accomplish together on housing and transportation investments in this bill. I wish to take a moment and especially thank my colleague on the Senate transportation and housing appropriations bill, Senator Collins, for all of her great work and support during this entire process. I am very proud to be part of the tireless effort of Chairwoman Mikulski. She has worked very hard to make sure we have a full appropriations bill and act considered, and not just another continuing resolution. Just like Chairman Ryan and I said when we finished our deal, I am pretty sure Chairwoman Mikulski and Chairman Rogers would each agree this package is not perfect. Each of them probably would have done certainly different things on their own. But because they were willing to compromise, they are delivering far more for the American people than either could have done if they had refused to work together. If this legislation is passed into law--which I strongly believe it will be--we will have a choice to make: We can build on the bipartisan work which has been done so far and continue reaching agreements through compromises, as people across this country do every day, or we can see more of the all-or-nothing approach which caused so much damage last year. I was in fact really disappointed that yesterday my colleagues rejected a good-faith offer to provide relief to workers and families who are still struggling in this country to get back on their feet, even after Democrats time and time again offered compromises to try to get a deal. We tried hard to reach a fair agreement that both sides could support, and we are going to keep trying. I hope today our Republican colleagues will think of the many families out there who need this lifeline and look at the great bipartisan work done on the appropriations bill, and I hope they will reconsider their return to all-or-nothing political tactics. I know there are fundamental differences here between the two parties. I know compromise is never easy. But we can't afford to let those challenges get in the way of delivering for the families and communities we serve. And we don't have to. The legislation Chairwoman Mikulski and Chairman Rogers just completed is proof that there is a much better way to get things done. If both sides are willing to continue to make some tough choices, there is much more we can do together to create jobs, strengthen the recovery, and build the foundation for stronger, broader growth in the future. I thank Chairwoman Mikulski and Chairman Rogers again for their leadership. I hope we can all build on their bipartisan step forward by choosing to work together, and find opportunities for compromise and continue to deliver for the American people. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Ms. MURRAY

Ms. MURRAY. Mr. President, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which Congress passed last month, provides relief to families and the economy from the harmful effects of sequestration, more than offsetting the costs of providing that relief with savings elsewhere in the Federal budget. In addition to those changes, the Bipartisan Budget Act also establishes a congressional budget for 2014 and, if necessary, for 2015, authorizing the Chairmen of the Senate and House Budget Committees to file allocations, aggregates, and levels in the Senate and the House for budget year 2014. Specifically, to provide for continued enforcement in the Senate, section 111 requires the chairman of the Budget Committee to file: No. 1, an allocation for fiscal year 2014 for the Committee on Appropriations; No. 2, allocations for fiscal years 2014, 2014 through 2018, and 2014 through 2023 for committees other than the Committee on Appropriations; No. 3, aggregate spending levels for fiscal year 2014; No. 4, aggregate revenue levels for fiscal years 2014, 2014 through 2018, and 2014 through 2023; and No. 5, aggregate levels of outlays and revenue for fiscal years 2014, 2014 through 2018, and 2014 through 2023 for Social Security. In the case of the Committee on Appropriations for 2014, the allocation shall be set consistent with the discretionary spending limits set forth in the Bipartisan Budget Act, which imposes limits on the amount of budget authority that can be provided under both the revised security category and the revised nonsecurity category. Both the discretionary spending limits and the allocation to the Committee on Appropriations can be revised for certain adjustments specifically authorized under the Budget Control Act of 2011. H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, which the Senate will soon consider, includes several such adjustments. Consistent with the funding levels included in H.R. 3547, I am incorporating into the allocation to the Committee on Appropriations adjustments for overseas contingency operations and the global war on terrorism, disaster funding, and the program integrity initiative in the area of continuing disability reviews. I am also adjusting for a change in outlays previously designated as an emergency requirement. These adjustments are authorized by section 251 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as modified by section 101 of the Budget Control Act, and by section 314(a) of the Congressional Budget Act. In the case of allocations for committees other than the Committee on Appropriations and for the revenue and Social Security aggregates, the levels shall be set consistent with the Congressional Budget Office's May 2013 baseline, adjusted to account for the budgetary effects of the Bipartisan Budget Act and other legislation enacted since the release of the May 2013 baseline. In other words, in these instances, the new allocations and levels are set equal to the updated May baseline. In the case of the spending aggregates for 2014, the levels shall be set in accordance with the allocation for the Committee on Appropriations and the allocations for committees other than the Committee on Appropriations, as described previously. Section 114 directs the chairman of the Budget Committee also to reset the Senate pay-as-you-go scorecard to zero for all fiscal years. Pursuant to section 114, those revisions occurred immediately upon enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act. I am now notifying the Senate and including the revised scorecard as part of the submission on revised enforcement for budget year 2014. Finally, section 112 of the Bipartisan Budget Act establishes a point of order in the Senate against appropriations bills that provide advance appropriations. That act includes limited exceptions to this prohibition including up to $28.852 billion in advance appropriations for programs, projects, activities, or accounts included in a statement submitted by the chairman of the Budget Committee in the Congressional Record. Pursuant to section 112, the list of allowable advance appropriations subject to the limit is as follows. Accounts Identified for Advance Appropriations. Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: Employment and Training Administration; Job Corps; education for the disadvantaged; school improvement; special education; and career, technical, and adult education. Financial Services and General Government: payment to Postal Service. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development: tenant-based rental assistance and project-based rental assistance. My counterpart, the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Congressman Ryan, similarly is filing allocations, aggregates, and levels in the House. The two filings will allow the House and the Senate to extend budget enforcement measures for 2014, an important principle of the bipartisan deal that Chairman Ryan and I agreed to last month. I ask unanimous consent that the following tables detailing enforcement in the Senate for budget year 2014, including new committee allocations, budgetary and Social Security aggregates, as well as adjustments to those levels, and the pay-as-you-go scorecard, be printed in the Record.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor this afternoon to talk about the fact that 50 years ago today President Lyndon Johnson made his first State of the Union Address. He used that date--January 8, 1964--to chart a new agenda for the country and to declare that America would take on an unconditional war on poverty. With that directive, Congress worked on some of the most successful programs in the history of our country: Medicare, Head Start, Pell grants, and expansions to Social Security. President Johnson knew that the devastation of poverty went deeper than just the lack of a job or the lack of basic needs. Americans in poverty didn't even have a fair chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. Now, since 1964, economists estimate the poverty rate has now fallen by 10 percent when accounting for social safety net programs. So we are moving in the right direction, but we have a lot more work to do to give everyone the fair chance they need to succeed in this country. For too many people today, the war on poverty is a daily battle just to make ends meet. More than 46 million people in our country live in poverty--46 million people. That is according to the Census Bureau. More than 20 percent--that is one in five of our kids in this country-- live in poverty. So to win this fight, we need to strengthen the programs that support those in need. Without question, one of the reasons we have seen a decline in poverty is because of the programs that provide a safety net for our most vulnerable Americans. In 1964 Congress created the food stamp program for those struggling to feed their families. Today it is known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or better known as SNAP. In 2012 alone the program lifted 4.9 million people out of poverty, according to the Center on the Budget and Policy Priorities. We have also worked to make sure preschoolers from low-income areas have the building blocks they need to start kindergarten ready to learn. Since the mid-1960s Head Start has provided early childhood learning and health services to more than 30 million children and their families. That is the kind of progress we have to continue. Those programs and many like them have provided economic security and opportunity to millions across the country. Yet even with the successes we have had in fighting hunger and ending unemployment, there are those today here in Congress who want to slash the very assistance that gives so many Americans today an opportunity to make better lives for themselves and their families. We can't waver in the fight to give all Americans a fair chance--a fair chance to get ahead. We have to expand opportunities for young learners by investing in universal pre-K. We have to ensure that workers can earn enough to put food on the table by raising the minimum wage. We have to keep fighting, and we have to win the war on poverty. I know personally how vital these programs are. When I was just 15 years old, my dad, who fought in World War II and was a veteran, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Within just a few years he couldn't work anymore. My mom found a job. She stayed home to raise seven kids. The job she found wasn't enough to support seven kids, and my dad had a growing stack of medical bills. All of a sudden, my family, without any warning, had fallen on hard times. This country at that time didn't turn its back on us. For several months my family relied on food stamps. It wasn't much, but it helped us get by. With the help of a government program--a government program--my mom was fortunate to attend Lake Washington Vocational Technical School and got the training she needed to get a better job so she could support her family. My older brother, my twin sister, and I were able to stay in college because of student loans and support from what we now call Pell grants--all from this government. Even through those hard times, none of us lost hope. With a lot of hard work--and we had help from our government--we were able to get to where we are today. That is why I believe so strongly that here in Congress today, we have to expand that hope I had as a young girl to many more families and Americans who are struggling today. Fifty years ago President Johnson recognized that poverty is a national problem, and that is why he made it a national priority. So I think we ought to rededicate ourselves today to that national priority. Let's work together here to support the men and women across the country who hope for their chance at the American dream. Let's not just commemorate this anniversary; let's begin to use and have a renewed energy to winning the war on poverty in our country once and for all. Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, this new year represents an opportunity for us to refocus and plan for our year ahead. Unfortunately, for millions of Americans their focus will be on trying to stay afloat over the next year while they search for work. All of us here know there is no more important issue for middle-class families across America right now than jobs and the economy. This is what they want their elected officials to be focused on, and it is exactly what I think we ought to be working on every day. By reaching a bipartisan agreement last month, we did a number of things to work toward that goal. First of all and importantly, we showed the American people that Members of Congress can work together, that we can listen to each other, and that we can get into a room and talk frankly without trying to hurt each other politically. Second, by breaking through that partisanship, we finally ended that seemingly never-ending cycle of lurching from crisis to crisis. Third, we showed that ``compromise'' isn't a dirty word and that there is a big coalition that is ready to make some sacrifices politically to get things done. Finally and importantly, for our efforts to continue to grow our economy, we gave American families and businesses the certainty they need to grow. Of course, there is much more to do. As much as we are heartened by the headlines that predict a strong economy this year, we understand just how fragile our recovery still is, with millions of Americans still out of work. Now is the time to redouble our efforts, not shrink from the challenges we face, because the truth is that all the economic predictions in the world mean nothing if we don't continue to support policies that help our middle class. That work absolutely starts with extending unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who have been losing their benefits since December 28. Because unemployment assistance goes right back into the economies of communities large and small, nonpartisan economists have found it is one of the most effective ways to build a recovery that lasts. Those same economists have said that failure to continue these benefits will cost us over 200,000 jobs. And renewing these benefits is simply the right thing to do at a time when millions of American families continue to teeter on the brink in States where unemployment remains stubbornly high. I have come to the Senate floor today with the hope that we can continue with the bipartisan momentum we saw with today's cloture vote and that we have seen over the last few weeks and take a final vote to provide a lifeline for millions of Americans. This should be an easy issue. It would be simply wrong to cut off the support while our economy continues to struggle and so many workers are really having difficulty finding work. Right now, in fact, there are three unemployed workers for every single job opening. If every opening were filled tomorrow, we would still have more than 7 million American workers across the country without a job to even apply for. More than one-third of all unemployed workers have been out of a job for 6 months or longer--above historic averages and higher than in past recoveries. Millions of Americans are unemployed today not because they do not want to work, not because they do not have valuable skills, but simply because they found themselves in an economy that isn't creating jobs as quickly as needed. These unemployed workers are desperate to get back on the job, and unemployment benefits make all the difference for them and their families while they scour the want ads, pound the pavement, and send out resume after resume. I have received story after story from workers and families across my home State of Washington about what unemployment benefits have meant to them and what losing them would mean for their future. These men and women can't afford to have the rug pulled out from under them and are now struggling with each day that passes. One of these stories came from a woman named Carol from Puyallup in my home State. She is a nurse. She was laid off from her job. She decided that in order to make ends meet she would start her own legal nurse consulting business, so she enrolled in classes to help her hone her entrepreneurial skills. While taking those classes, Carol relied on her unemployment benefits to get by. Then, not only were her benefits slashed significantly due to sequestration, but Carol just found out she was one of the 25,000 people in Washington State whose benefits were completely cut off on December 28. As a leader in the classroom, Carol has spoken to many other soon-to- be business owners who are suffering. In the face of unexpected job loss, they now feel as if they are being punished for deciding to chart a new course in their lives. They are creating work for themselves and potentially others but now have to decide whether they can continue following that dream without the critical support unemployment benefits provide them. Carol is not alone. I heard from a woman who was laid off from her job at a plant in Keyport, WA, early last year. She told me: Living in Kitsap County, we are geographically isolated, and finding work with so many qualified applicants right now is much more difficult. This year, I have applied for over 200 jobs and in spite of a stellar resume, have only gotten four phone interviews. I have lowered my standards throughout the year and applied for jobs far below my pay grade to no avail . . . my husband and I have had to claim bankruptcy . . . and I truly worry about losing my home and displacing my children. Madam President, that is what people are facing today. Finally, there is Traci, a woman from Everett. She is a former executive assistant with 20 years of experience. After taking time off from work to care for her dying mother and a daughter who was suffering from bipolar disorder and drug addiction, Traci found herself without a job. Shortly after her mother passed, Traci fell ill, making it difficult for her to look for work. While Traci was receiving unemployment benefits, they were barely enough to cover the care her daughter required. Traci told me that she now can't afford food and has lost over 50 pounds. She even asked that I send her a video of the speech I am making right here as she won't be able to tune in today because she had to get rid of her television in the process of finding savings. Like so many others, Traci is searching high and low for that one break, and she told me, ``I just need time for someone to give me a chance.'' For Traci, unemployment benefits are not the solution. A job is what she wants. But they provide her with some critical support while she takes care of her family and tries to find that work. Those are just a few of the stories I have heard, but there are a lot like them. Millions of people across America, including an almost additional 28,000 in my State, stand to lose the benefits they count on if Congress doesn't act soon. These workers are not looking for a handout. They do not want to be a burden. But they need support while they work to get back on their feet and back on the job. In this struggling economy, renewing these benefits is truly crucial. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that renewing unemployment benefits is one of the most effective policy tools we have to boost the economy and get money in the pockets of consumers. So I am really hopeful the Senate will act quickly, without political games, because failure to do so wouldn't just be devastating for the families who count on this, it would also hurt many small businesses and communities to have the billions of dollars pulled away from consumers who spend it every month on food and rent and clothing. Last month's budget deal provided us with a glimmer of bipartisan hope coming into this new year. However, we have to continue working together to focus on improving the economy for middle-class Americans. We cannot afford to allow this lifeline to be cut off. The stories I shared today, like so many others, are heartbreaking, but they also show the fierce determination exhibited by so many who are out of work in the struggle to get back on their feet. They are the stories of people who are applying for work far below their own qualifications, going back to school to earn the skills needed to change careers or waking up every day to scour for jobs in their communities that all too often lack opportunity. I believe it is Congress that needs to match their determination and grit. We took an important first step today, and I know unemployed workers I have heard from are watching. Today's vote is a glimmer of hope for them. We can't let it fade. We need to move on and pass this extension quickly, and the House needs to follow suit. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I rise to enter into a colloquy with the Senator from Ohio, Mr. Portman, to discuss section 114(c) of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, which establishes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to replace sequestration. Before I turn to Senator Portman for his questions, I would like to note that the Senate has relied on reserve funds for nearly 30 years to help it carry out its priorities as part of the annual budget process. In fact, during debate on the 2014 budget resolution, the Senate considered or filed over 300 reserve funds. These included multiple amendments from Members of both parties to create new reserve funds. This particular reserve fund, section 114(c), was included and voted on as part of both the Senate Budget Committee-reported resolution and the Senate-passed budget resolution. I would now like to turn to my colleague for his questions.

Mrs. MURRAY. Yes, the bipartisan budget agreement reached between the House and Senate replaces some of the sequester cuts that otherwise would occur in 2014 and 2015. By avoiding sequestration and reaching agreement on bipartisan funding levels for 2014 and 2015, this agreement will provide relief to our families, servicemembers, and the economy. Sequestration, however, continues to remain in place, unmodified, for fiscal years 2016 through 2021. Assuming legislation met the necessary requirements specified in section 114(c), this reserve fund would be available to further address the harmful effects of sequestration.

Mrs. MURRAY. I thank the Senator for his question. No, that concern is not accurate. While a useful tool to help the Senate carry out its priorities under the budget process, a reserve fund is limited in what it allows me to do, in my capacity as chairman of the Budget Committee. In general, for legislation that meets the required criteria, reserve funds allow me to revise the levels adopted in a budget resolution and enforced in the Senate, such as committee allocations and the budgetary aggregates. A reserve fund, however, does not have any impact on the standing rules of the Senate, including the cloture process and the need for 60 votes to end debate. Nothing in the Bipartisan Budget Act would change that process. A reserve fund also does not waive budget points of order. I can use a reserve fund to revise the committee allocations and budgetary aggregates, such that legislation that meets the criteria of the reserve fund, including deficit neutrality, can be brought into compliance with the allocations and aggregates. But, it does not allow me to waive budget points of order that still may lie against the legislation following the reserve fund adjustment. Budget points of order generally can only be waived by unanimous consent or with 60 votes. Nothing in the Bipartisan Budget Act would change that. Further, the Senator from Ohio proposed the specific hypothetical example of legislation that would increase the statutory limits on discretionary spending and offset some or all of those costs with new revenue. Recognizing this is a hypothetical scenario, I believe in that situation the legislation would be subject to a 60-vote point of order for violating section 306 of the Congressional Budget Act, which creates a point of order against legislation dealing with matters within the jurisdiction of the Budget Committee that has not been reported out of the Budget Committee. Ultimately, the Parliamentarian of the Senate determines whether points of order under section 306 lie against legislation, but legislation to alter the statutory limits in discretionary spending has historically been within the jurisdiction of the Budget Committee. A reserve fund would have no impact on a section 306 point of order and nothing in the Bipartisan Budget Act would change that. In addition, legislation increasing the statutory caps on discretionary spending above the existing levels, as the Senator from Ohio outlines in his question, would also violate section 312(b) of the Congressional Budget Act, which prohibits consideration of legislation that would exceed any of the statutory limits on discretionary spending. The reserve fund in 114(c), like other reserve funds, deals only with Senate enforcement and would have no impact on that point of order. Again, nothing in the Bipartisan Budget Act would change that. Finally, I would suggest to my colleague that legislation originating in the Senate rather than in the House of Representatives that raises revenue would likely be subject to a ``blue slip'' and returned back to the Senate by the House of Representatives. Again, nothing in the Bipartisan Budget Act would change that process.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, the Senator from Arizona is correct. The Simpson-Bowles Commission, in their report, asked for an elimination of the entire COLA, as the Senator outlined in his opening remarks today. The budget bill before us took a different approach, and I appreciate the Senator reminding all of us that is out there.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, the Senator from Arizona is entirely correct. There is no other legislation that can be brought before us at this time to prevent a government shutdown. As we know, the House of Representatives has gone home for the year. We know without the bipartisan agreement before us, the impacts across the country would be untenable. We have kind of been there. On top of that, if we do not have this budget agreement, the military itself will take another $20 billion hit, so those very military personnel whom all of us passionately care about would be facing layoffs, would be facing uncertainty, would be facing furloughs, would be facing tremendous hardship to themselves and to their families. So, yes, the Senator from Arizona is absolutely correct.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, the Senator from Arizona is correct. I have heard from every single branch of our military services that the impact in 2014, a few weeks from now, would be devastating if the current sequester continues to take place. I would add to the Senator from Arizona, coming from a State where we have a number of military bases, I have heard from the families of those soldiers and airmen and sailors that they are deeply worried about their loved ones and their lives if we do not replace the sequester. I want to personally thank the Senator for his hard work and his support behind the scenes to help us get to where we are today, because without the Senator's voice in this, it would have been extremely difficult. I carry his voice and many voices into that conference room to take some very tough choices forward so those families, all the way up to those top generals, do not have to enact the further cuts of sequestration.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I would agree with the Senator from Arizona. In fact, the often-touted and quoted Simpson-Bowles Commission report even in this debate over the last day is much more egregious in what they are seeking. Secondly, I agree with everything he said except for one thing. The Senator from Arizona mentioned that we have 1 year to look at the commission report. It is actually 2 years before this goes into effect. Congress will have time to act. The Senate Armed Services Committee will be looking at the commission report. We will have an opportunity to look at this in its entirety before it is implemented. I truly want to thank the Senator for speaking up for our military, because I know more than any one of us on this floor that when the Senator speaks for the military, he understands the consequences of not enacting legislation today.

Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I again want to thank the Senator from Arizona for his remarks. I appreciate his help and support.