Bill Nelson

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, with what we went through in the State of Florida in the attempts to suppress voters, you would think that with the experience of people having stood in line in order to vote for 5 to 7 hours, it would have put this issue to rest. But they are back at it again, this time in a very subtle way. The Governor's office, through his appointed secretary of state, who is the chief elections officer, has now interpreted a statute that in a municipal election students at the University of Florida cannot early vote on campus at their student center prior to the election. The interpretation was made that it is an educational facility and does not qualify, according to the statute, on a technical reason: that it is not a government-owned conference facility, when, indeed, it is owned by the State of Florida through the university, and it is a conference facility for many conferences for outside groups as well as student groups. No, what it is is an attempt, in the runup to the November election, to try to make it more difficult and less convenient for students to vote. As it turns out, in this particular municipal election coming up shortly, students would have to go across town to some other location some 3 miles away, and, of course, as busy as students are, that is going to discourage them. If they end up doing this for this special election in March, a municipal election, they are, of course, going to try to do it for the November election when we have a statewide election for the Governor and the cabinet. Why? Well, an attempt to suppress student voters who may not be voting for the people in power who are trying to suppress their votes. It is all the more of interest because on the ballot there will be a proposed constitutional amendment to change the State constitution to allow, by doctors, the prescription of medical marijuana, which is something that has generated interest in all sectors of society but particularly among students--another reason they want to come out to vote. The whole idea of early voting is to try to make it more convenient for people to be able to vote, that they might not be able to vote because of a babysitter problem or a work problem on election day. But early voting, as we saw in the experience of the 2012 election--the days were shortened from 14 to 8. They cut out the Sunday before the Tuesday election. Professor Dan Smith, in doing a study at the University of Florida, found that those who availed themselves of Sunday voting were primarily Hispanics and African Americans. Indeed, attempts were made to limit the number of early voting locations within a county, and then, of those early vote locations, having a facility that was small so that you could not get in a lot of voting machines. This was another way--very subtle--of trying to suppress the vote. So the people of Florida, naturally, were outraged, particularly when they heard stories of the 101-year-old lady who had to stay 3\1/2\ hours in order to cast her vote and the others who stayed 5 and 7 hours. They were not going to have their vote taken away from them. They stood in line. So the people were outraged. There was an attempt to pass a new law. I will close with this. With this new law now as being interpreted, the very same suppression efforts are occurring again. We are simply not going to let this happen even if we have to call in the Justice Department.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. I am here to support Senator Pryor's bill. I am a cosponsor. We were about to have a press conference, and the bottom line is there is no way to fully repay someone who puts their life on the line for our country, but we can do what we can, and this legislation ensures that we continue to do all we can. That is a summary of the whole thing. I have the privilege of being a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, and from day one one of the things we recognize is that we want to keep our promises to the men and women of our military. The strength of the military will always be the people, and they commit their lives to the service of the country. During that commitment there is a lot of sacrifice: overseas deployments, they miss births, birthdays, and countless other hardships. A retiree has spent years earning the benefits they looked forward to and those were some of the reasons they made the sacrifices when they took the oath of office and put on the uniform. When that servicemember joins the military, they look at the retirement system in place at the time, and they began to build their life and their plans around those specific retirement benefits. Those who choose to devote long years and the retirement period of 20 years of service--and then happen to retire and pursue a second career--it gives them the flexibility to move back to a location where they can help out a family member or finally become a full-time part of a family business, whatever it is. Those folks shouldn't be penalized because they are not yet 62 years old. They have already done 20 years of service, if not more. They are choosing to innovate to serve their community or to finally start that small business they had always dreamed about, and so it is unfair to penalize them when others are not. Why in the world would we want to make a difference between those who had retired from the military? So safeguarding the benefits servicemembers have earned not only protects the all-volunteer force, but it also attracts and will continue to attract the best talent and encourage somebody to make the military a career. For the career soldier, sailor, airman or marine, what they give back over those 20-plus years is immeasurable. We have bipartisan agreement that restricting military benefits in this way is not the correct path to address defense cuts and the debt. We must restore this full cost-of-living adjustment for military retirees. With that vote yesterday, zero against it, why are we out here having to spend all this time? Why don't we just take it up and pass it, because the votes are obviously here. I am hoping that is what the Senate is going to do in the next few hours. I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I rise today to congratulate Senator Max Baucus for his confirmation as Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve with him for several years in the Senate and on the Finance Committee, which he chairs. Max's entire life has been dedicated to public service. He was a member of the Montana House early in his career, before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and then the Senate in 1978. Few people have served as long in the Senate as Max and led such an illustrious career here. Max has been behind many landmark pieces of legislation that will benefit people's lives and the country for years to come. As chairman of the Finance Committee, he has influenced so many issues that have an impact on American families every day, from tax policy to pensions, health care, and education. What is more, I have seen firsthand Max's unique desire to work with people across the political spectrum. Max's commonsense approach and collegial nature, learned from growing up on a ranch in Montana, has played a significant role in his ability to get things done. I hope that all Senators will learn from his example. In fact, I believe it is what we must do to best serve the people who elected us. On behalf of all Floridians, I want to thank Max for serving his country in the Senate for more than 3 decades. And I wish him well as he follows in the footsteps of his mentor, Senator Mike Mansfield, in becoming Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, today we will pass the final conference report for the farm bill, called the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. This important bipartisan bill protects jobs and identifies new reforms that will ensure the long-term success of our Nation's agricultural industry. I would like to thank Chairman Stabenow for her leadership and commitment to getting this bill passed. In addition, I would like to thank Senator Cochran for his work on this bipartisan bill. The U.S. citrus industry is facing a devastating disease called greening, for which we know no cure and which kills the citrus tree within 5 years. The disease is spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. Citrus greening spreads quickly and, because of its dormancy period, has often already destroyed surrounding groves once it has been discovered. In a 2012 report, University of Florida researchers found that the disease cost Florida's economy $4.5 billion and 8,000 jobs between 2006 and 2012. Florida was ground zero, but the disease is spreading to every citrus-producing State, including Texas, California, and Arizona. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has already affirmed this emergency with the citrus quarantine for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Mississippi as well as parts of California, South Carolina, and Arizona in October 2012. If we don't do something, soon we won't have a domestic citrus industry. The farm bill sets up a new research initiative especially for the citrus industry within the existing Special Crop Research Initiative, which is called the Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program. The primary goal of this program is to help fund research to find a cure to citrus greening and save the U.S. citrus industry. The new Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program will ensure the close collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the citrus industry stakeholders, and the relevant entities engaged in scientific research under this program. The farm bill directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consult closely and regularly with the industry stakeholders in the formulation, consideration, and approval of research projects and grants performed under this program and will give great weight to input from these stakeholders. This close coordination will ensure the research program will advance the research for citrus greening and other threats to the U.S. citrus industry. Because of the devastating nature of the citrus greening disease, I worked to make sure the citrus program established guaranteed funding in the farm bill. Senator Stabenow agreed and worked with other members of the farm bill conference to include $125 million in mandatory funding for the citrus research program. Money in this grant program will go toward scientific research aimed at addressing diseases, domestic and invasive pests, and other challenges to the U.S. citrus industry, helping to also disseminate the research findings to growers. In this age of economic uncertainty, Congress should be doing everything it can to improve our economic situation. In this case, we are doing just that by saving an industry that is vital to not only Florida's economy but to Texas, California, Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, and the Nation as a whole.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, first of all, I thank my coleader of the committee, the great Senator from the State of Maine, who has been not only a great leader but also a terrific copartner as we try to offer leadership to the Special Committee on Aging. We are literally trying to make bipartisanship work. It is only because of folks such as Senator Collins that this is working and, as a result, we have a terrific committee. The members participate, they come, they are engaged, they ask the questions of the witnesses. As Senator Collins said, as a result of one of these hearings, under her leadership, she suggested putting together this important piece of legislation. Our committee held a hearing last fall called ``The State of the American Senior.'' We wanted to look at the financial security of the average senior in retirement. We didn't like what we heard. Fewer than half of the workers even have access to a retirement plan, and those numbers shrink when we talk about employees who work for small businesses. One-third of the private sector employees work at small businesses, and nearly 72 percent of businesses with under 100 employees offer no savings plan. I will repeat that: Of businesses under 100 employees, 72 percent do not offer a savings plan. So what do seniors then end up with? They rely on Social Security to get by in retirement, and that is simply not enough money to pay for housing and medical care and other expenses. Take, for example, my State of Florida, where more than three in five people get half of their retirement income from Social Security. Here is a shocker: One- third of Floridians only receive Social Security income--one-third of all of the 20 million people in Florida receive Social Security income. That is all they receive is their Social Security. So there is a problem that needs to be fixed. Too many people are getting by with too little. So Senator Collins and I have come together on this legislation aimed at increasing access to savings plans and creating more opportunities for those in retirement, to put more money aside ahead of their retirement. Senator Collins explained it: We are going to try to pool all the small businesses together with their resources to take advantage of the economies of scale to create one plan, and it increases safe harbors for things such as automatic enrollment and escalation contributions, which have been shown as ways to get people to save more. This is commonsense legislation. It is bipartisan. It is a great privilege for me to work with Senator Collins on this legislation and on our committee work.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I yield the floor, and if no one else is seeking recognition, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I am here to say hallelujah, that it looks as if we are finally coming to the point at which we can grant the homeowners and businesses of America some relief from the huge, gargantuan--tenfold sometimes--increases in flood insurance premiums. We are going to be able to pass this legislation today, with a vote cutting off debate yesterday of over 80 votes. I mean, there were times we were just hoping to get to 60 votes. I think that overwhelming number finally tells the story Senator Landrieu has told. She has told this story from the housetops, from the basements, from the riverbanks, and from the gulf shores: Enough. She has told this story along with Senator Menendez, who has shouted it from Cape May, NJ, all the way to the Port of New Jersey at the mouth of the Hudson. This Senator has shouted this from the State with the longest coastline of any State-- save for Alaska--a State whose highest point in the entire State is about 350 feet, along riverbanks and lakes, as well as the coastal waters. Therefore, naturally, it is something we have to be concerned with, the flood protection, and therefore protecting the financial assets of folks--their homes and their businesses. They simply cannot take a tenfold increase all at once. Now we are going to pass it. Unfortunately, there are still some folks who are trying to do us in. They are trying to do us in with subtle amendments that are going to try to seduce some Senators: Oh, doesn't this sound good? But they are going to cut the heart out of it, and we have to reject those amendments. At the end of the day, we will have the votes here in the Senate and we will pass it. The question is, What will happen down there at the other end of the Capitol? Let's just get a real big vote here, and that will send a message to our colleagues in the House of Representatives that this is ``no fooling'' time, that these rate increases are already in effect as of January 1, and we need to stop the rate increases in order to have time for FEMA to do the affordability study and therefore to see what is consumable among consumers, homeowners, business owners, and then have that be a consideration along with the actuarial soundness. I will conclude my remarks, before I thank Senator Landrieu, by saying that one of the toughest jobs I have ever had in public service--and I have been blessed with a lifetime of public service--was the elected insurance commissioner of Florida. I learned something about insurance during those years. This thing called actuarial soundness is a mathematical proposition whereby the expected risk and the expected loss--you want to charge enough, if you are an insurance company, to handle that. That is the theory of actuarial soundness. We know that part of the angst here about the Federal Flood Insurance Program is that it, in essence, has been subsidized by American taxpayers because it was never charging enough. But the question is: What is the real risk? The 2005 flood losses in the Flood Insurance Program as a result of Katrina--which was not the garden variety category 3 hurricane because the counterclockwise winds came on to Mississippi, not on to Louisiana. The back end of the hurricane on the counterclockwise rotation came across Lake Pontchartrain and filled the canals in New Orleans. The water pressure became so great as the water level rose, and what you had were some faulty dikes. When the dikes were breached, part of New Orleans flooded, which caused massive financial loss. The other unusual event, which Senator Menendez can tell you about, happened 1 year ago as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Again, that was a very unusual occurrence. We could talk about climate change, but that is an issue for another day. It is very unusual for a category 1 hurricane to hit the northeast coast of the United States in the late months when it is cold. Because the water is cold, it is not hot enough to fuel a hurricane, but this one did. The northeastern coast is not exactly as accustomed to hurricanes as we are in Florida, and as a result we saw massive losses not so much from the wind but from floods. The damage was not just along the coast. Look at what happened on the inland areas all the way through New England. So those were two unusual climatic events which resulted in huge losses. As you are calculating the actuarial soundness in order to adjust a flood insurance premium, should those be considered in what ordinary people--over 2 million policies just in my State alone, 40 percent of all the flood insurance policies in the State of Florida. That is why we also need that recalibrated and calculated so we can find out what is affordable in the affordability study. Finally, I can't say enough about Senator Landrieu. This would not have happened without her. She has been dogged in her determination. She has been unyielding in her attempts to get this to where we are actually going to pass it in the Senate. I just want to express my personal appreciation for Senator Landrieu on behalf of the people of Florida, and, indeed, on behalf of the people of the United States. I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, first of all, I thank my coleader of the committee, the great Senator from the State of Maine, who has been not only a great leader but also a terrific copartner as we try to offer leadership to the Special Committee on Aging. We are literally trying to make bipartisanship work. It is only because of folks such as Senator Collins that this is working and, as a result, we have a terrific committee. The members participate, they come, they are engaged, they ask the questions of the witnesses. As Senator Collins said, as a result of one of these hearings, under her leadership, she suggested putting together this important piece of legislation. Our committee held a hearing last fall called ``The State of the American Senior.'' We wanted to look at the financial security of the average senior in retirement. We didn't like what we heard. Fewer than half of the workers even have access to a retirement plan, and those numbers shrink when we talk about employees who work for small businesses. One-third of the private sector employees work at small businesses, and nearly 72 percent of businesses with under 100 employees offer no savings plan. I will repeat that: Of businesses under 100 employees, 72 percent do not offer a savings plan. So what do seniors then end up with? They rely on Social Security to get by in retirement, and that is simply not enough money to pay for housing and medical care and other expenses. Take, for example, my State of Florida, where more than three in five people get half of their retirement income from Social Security. Here is a shocker: One- third of Floridians only receive Social Security income--one-third of all of the 20 million people in Florida receive Social Security income. That is all they receive is their Social Security. So there is a problem that needs to be fixed. Too many people are getting by with too little. So Senator Collins and I have come together on this legislation aimed at increasing access to savings plans and creating more opportunities for those in retirement, to put more money aside ahead of their retirement. Senator Collins explained it: We are going to try to pool all the small businesses together with their resources to take advantage of the economies of scale to create one plan, and it increases safe harbors for things such as automatic enrollment and escalation contributions, which have been shown as ways to get people to save more. This is commonsense legislation. It is bipartisan. It is a great privilege for me to work with Senator Collins on this legislation and on our committee work.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, today I wish to call attention to the ACTIVE, or Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly, study on mental exercises for seniors. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions, showed that older adults who receive cognitive training can significantly improve their reasoning and mental processing skills. Elderly patients were coached and assessed in memory, reasoning, and processing speed at baseline. The study participants were then reassessed at intervals of 2, 3, 5, and 10 years. The result was that participants who received cognitive training reported significantly less difficulty with activities of daily living. Most patients achieved improved reasoning and mental processing speed at the end of the study, the results of which may be found in the January 13 online issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. These results echo findings from Senate Special Committee on Aging in its recent work on improving quality of life for seniors who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia. The Committee's 2012 report, entitled ``Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: A Comparison of International Approaches,'' stated that ``individuals who are cognitively active-- such as individuals who regularly read or do crossword puzzles--are at a lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI)--an early symptom of dementia and AD, Alzheimer's disease--because they have increased cognitive reserve.'' The Senate Special Committee on Aging is also committed to embracing innovative brain health care advances for seniors. During our committee's recent Healthy Aging Forum, various groups invested in senior health care shared novel ideas for better mental health care and quality of life. These included research and medical technology devices that sharpen senior memory, thinking, and cognitive processing skills. Among these were Microsoft Kinect software, which uses cognitive and mental diagnostic, rehabilitative, and routine mental game-based exercises to help improve senior brain health and fine motor skills. Loneliness, which adversely impacts brain health and increases risk for dementia in seniors, can be minimized by engaging seniors with the Gerijoy avatar--also showcased at the Healthy Aging Forum--an interactive virtual pet companion that strengthens seniors' mental capabilities by providing opportunities for meaningful interaction. The University of Florida Institute on Aging, another invited exhibitor at the Senate Health Aging Forum, is currently conducting a LIFE, Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders, study in which the effect of physical activity and/or aging health education on senior mobility and independence are being assessed. Cognitive function and impairment are also being examined as a part of the study. The Senate Special Committee on Aging has conducted numerous hearings on Alzheimer's in recent years, coinciding with my cosponsorship of the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act, S.709/H.R.1507, which will improve diagnosis and care planning services for patients with Alzheimer's. A panel of witnesses from the government, academia, and the Alzheimer's Association discussed recent advancements in these areas in an April 2013 hearing entitled, ``The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease: Are We On Track to 2025?'' An updated 2013 version of the national plan also highlights anticipated milestones in prevention of the disease. Lifestyle modifications and identification of Alzheimer's and dementia risk factors are included as part of the plan. I have long been a tireless advocate in the fight against Alzheimer's and dementia. As the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I am committed to doing whatever I can to ensure the health and well- being of our seniors. Although much progress has been made, we still have a long way to go in ensuring the best possible quality of life for Americans in their later years.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Ryan Orgera, a Sea Grant fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the duration of the flood insurance bill.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I want to speak about the flood insurance bill. I am speaking with a smile on my face because I believe we have the 60 votes to break the filibuster so we can get to the bill. I would hope that if we exceed that 60-vote threshold, indeed those who have been trying to torpedo this bill would then, instead of stringing us out all week, making us go through all of the parliamentarian procedures when we have the votes, would let us get it passed. The problem is going to be down at the other end of that hallway because the Speaker of the House has already said that he does not like it. But what he is going to find out that he does not like is that a lot of Members of the House of Representatives have constituents who are facing 10-fold increases in their flood insurance because of something that was tacked onto a transportation bill. That was a year ago, Biggert-Waters, the sponsors in the House for this law which is now causing these unforeseen and never-expected huge increases. We can rectify that today. At 5:30 we are going to have the vote on the motion for cloture to cut off debate so that we can get to the bill. What does this bill do? It is really easy. It delays these giant rate hikes for 4 years, and it mandates on FEMA an affordability study so that we can see. I mean, you can say you want rates to go up and be actuarially sound. But if what happens is what has been happening, that people cannot afford it because it is 10 times as much, or that because it is so high it completely dries up the real estate market, that is not helping anybody. That is hurting a lot of people. It is hurting our economic recovery just at the moment in which the real estate market is coming back all along the coasts of America, as well as along the rivers and lakes, the very places that flood insurance is necessary for a homeowner or a business. I might say that today, as I was in Florida, the temperature was in the 60s, moving to the 70s. I got off the plane here, and it was in the 30s. But the chilling winds of Biggert-Waters, with the gargantuan flood insurance rate hikes--those chilling winds are not only killing real estate sales, they are killing commerce, and it is putting an impossible financial burden on our people. We can take care of this at 5:30. Some have opposed us the whole way as we have tried a handful of times to bring up this legislation, asking unanimous consent. Finally, thanks to the leader, who has forced the issue, we are going to vote on cutting off debate today. I have several documented cases along Florida's gulf coast where the premiums for flood insurance have gone up by 10 times. In one particular case in Pinellas County, chronicled by the Tampa Bay Times, the premium was $4,500, and it has gone to $45,000. No homeowner can endure and afford that kind of increase. In another case, a $1,400 flood insurance premium has gone to $14,000. It is the same. We should be around here promoting home ownership. But if the poor homeowner has a mortgage because they have gotten a loan from the bank, what is the bank going to do to require some security for their loan? They are going to require flood insurance. So how can we expect a homeowner to have to go through this. You can say this is a subsidized program. It is. But the big losses in the program have been because of very unusual climatic events. In the first place, it was Hurricane Katrina. That was an ordinary, garden-variety category 3 Hurricane. Those of us in Florida understand hurricanes. But what happened with this hurricane? It went to the east of New Orleans, so the counter clockwise winds were not coming directly from the gulf. They were coming in over New Orleans, over Lake Pontchartrain. It caused the lake to rise, it filled up the canals. The water rose in the canals. The water pressure against the side of the canals increased. There were faulty canal dikes, and they breached in a couple of places, and then all of the water flooded into parts of New Orleans and filled up the bowl of New Orleans. That was a huge loss to the Federal Flood Insurance Program. Then there was another extraordinary event. This was just a year ago. This was a category 1 storm, and it was extraordinary because it hit in the winter. Where did it hit? It hit the highly urbanized coasts of New Jersey, New York, and parts of New England. As a result, there were huge losses there and people were desperate to have assistance. Look at what those folks are facing with regard to the flood insurance hikes. We can take care of all of this at 5:30 p.m. this afternoon as we start the process of getting on the bill. I urge all of our Senators-- because sooner or later somebody in your State is going to face a flood, and they are going to get remapped. They may not be paying those rates now, but they are going to get remapped because of those floods, and then they are going to get hit with these unaffordable, gargantuan rate hikes on the premiums of Federal flood insurance--this is the right thing to do. I see my colleague from Utah. The Senator used to tell me they don't ever have floods there, but I will bet they do. Even though Utah is a dry State, I know Utah has water because it supports a population which is represented by my most distinguished and dear personal friend Senator Hatch. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I just want to take this opportunity to thank the two Senators who are present. In America's space program, which was potentially on a downward slope, the two Senators have crafted an appropriation that will keep us with a very robust American space program, including the first ``A'' in NASA, which is aeronautics. From science to the new big rocket, its capsule Orion, to the commercial, to the unmanned program exploring the heavens, the chairwoman and the ranking member have it right. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my profound thanks. The Senators are continuing the dream that we built on 3 years ago.

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, would the Senator yield?

Mr. NELSON. The Senators are doing it.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I wish to speak on another matter pending in front of the Senate, the flood insurance bill. I wish to say that Senator Landrieu has been a real champion here. We are still insisting that we be able to bring up the bipartisan bill to delay for several years the flood insurance hikes. In my State, where 40 percent of the policies are, we have seen spikes by tenfold of the rate on the flood insurance policies. Thank goodness there was in this omnibus appropriations a provision which would provide some partial relief for some homeowners facing huge rate hikes. The estimate is it would only cover less than a quarter of all the flood insurance policies being affected by the huge rate hikes. That is why we need to move forward with passing the broad bipartisan bill which will delay these hikes for several years while FEMA does an affordability study. I told Senator Landrieu earlier that I wanted to come in and support her in comments she made earlier today. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. This Senator is wearing a garnet and gold tie. I noticed the Senator from Alabama is wearing a crimson tie, but certainly his allegiance is orange and blue, I take it?

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, this resolution awaits unanimous consent by the Senate, which I assume will occur today. We tried it for last Thursday night before the Senate adjourned, but I think everything has been cleared now. The resolution will commemorate the fact that Florida State is now the BCS champion. Senator Rubio and I have submitted the resolution. It commends the university for the 34-to-31 championship game, which the Senator from Alabama and I have just talked about. It caps a remarkable season of 14 and 0 for the Seminoles, led by head coach Jimbo Fisher and his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston. This Senator will concede to the Senator from Alabama that he is originally from Hueytown, AL--which is not too far north of the Florida line. So, for all the players, the coaches, the students, the staff and indeed the fans--all of those of Florida State have made the university and the entire State of Florida very proud by winning this game in such an exciting, hard-fought and well-fought game. I am grateful to our Senate colleagues for helping to agree to this resolution today.

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I am going to take advantage of the fact that the Senator from Alabama is here, because we are bringing forth today a resolution which will pass by unanimous consent, if the Senators from Alabama will so agree. The fact is that it was a marvelous national championship game. Whichever won, it was obvious that one was going to be No. 1 and the other one, as it turned out, was going to be No. 2, as it should have been, in the entire national collegiate football program. I want to tell the Senator how much I admire his university, Auburn University, and that it is my privilege to speak on behalf of Florida State University, and there is no question, I knew that whoever ended up with the score by the end of the game, they were the national championship team and, lo and behold, did that score go back and forth. With a little over a minute left, Florida State, led by their Heisman Trophy winning-quarterback, took it down the entire length of the field. It was a sight to behold. I just wanted to say those words while the Senator from Alabama was here.

Mr. NELSON. I concede that.

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, while my colleague from Alabama is still here, I want to talk about a certain national championship game which just occurred. Before I do, I want to say that a lot of the frustration my colleague has expressed is frustration which is shared by this Senator--not the specifics, but the fact that the Senate is not working as it should. Indeed, the Congress is not working as it should. But I would remind anyone who is listening to these words the old adage: It takes two to tango. And if anything is going to get done, there is going to have to be a meeting of the minds between the parties, recognizing that you can't have it all one way--your way. There are legitimate grievances in what has led to the dysfunction of the U.S. Congress, and we can speak here today with regard to the Senate. Authorization committees, which have been so important in the history of this country and the functioning of the Congress, at times are irrelevant in that they have not only been overtaken but the appropriations process has been overtaken as well. When we cobble together these huge appropriations bills that are nothing but a continuation of the previous year's appropriations with some tweaks, where is the input of Members? In the past, it has been Mount Olympus which has come together at the last minute in an emergency situation to cobble together something to keep the government functioning. That is not rational decisionmaking. It is not what we call around here regular order. It certainly isn't the authorization of bills. And it certainly isn't appropriations of the government, according to that authorization for appropriations. As we get on down the line, I want to continue to work with my colleague, whom I have had the pleasure and privilege of working with, as we have worked on very thorny issues in the past on the Strategic Forces Subcommittee of Armed Services on national missile defense. The Senator from Alabama and this Senator have been able to come together in agreement on those thorny issues years ago. But times have changed, and this place is not functioning. It is going to take an extra special effort on both sides of that aisle which has become too big of a dividing line in our ability to get work done. I empathize with the Senator's frustration and let him know there is frustration on this Senator's part as well. (The further remarks of Mr. Nelson and Mr. Sessions are printed in today's Record under ``Morning Business.'') Haiti Earthquake

Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, yesterday marks the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. The U.S. Geological Survey said that precisely at 4:53 p.m. local time, the Caribbean and North American plates moved, resulting in a major earthquake of a 7.0 magnitude, with aftershocks greater than 5.0 that continued for months afterward. It has been described as the largest urban disaster in modern history because in just 30 seconds more than 10 million cubic meters of rubble were created, enough to fill dump trucks parked bumper to bumper, all the way from Key West, FL, to the northern tip of the State of the Presiding Officer, Maine, and then back again. That is how much rubble was created. We remember today 230,000 victims of the earthquake, one of the deadliest in history. The earthquake also resulted in over 300,000 injuries and left 1\1/2\ million people homeless. I went to Haiti immediately after the earthquake. It was a horrifying aftermath. During the last 4 years the path to recovery for Haiti has been very slow and arduous, particularly because that poor country has also faced so many other plagues: Rainstorms, the edges of hurricanes, a vicious outbreak of cholera, and many other tropical storms. Long- term reconstruction and rehabilitation is going to take years, but the Haitian government, with the support of the United States and the international community, hopefully, is going to keep the country moving forward. This past year I visited with President Martelly and his officials. They are making progress. The international community has stepped up. But nobody has stepped up like the United States. We have led an unprecedented recovery effort, $3.5 billion for initial humanitarian needs and long-term assistance in health, infrastructure, rule of law, food, and economic security. In this last visit this past August, I saw many of those reconstruction efforts already completed and others that are well underway, and others that are showing notable progress. But there is so much to be done. The Haitian people are incredible; they are resilient; they are resourceful; they are a proud people; and they have utilized the support they have received from around the world, including the Haitian Diaspora. A lot of that Diaspora community is in Florida, and they have utilized that. We all want Haiti to succeed and to continue to rebuild. So 4 years after such unbelievable devastation, let's pause to think about Haiti and reaffirm our commitment to her. We also congratulate the Haitian people as they celebrate their country's 210th anniversary of independence that is this year. It is a tough subject. Haiti is the poorest country in the entire Western Hemisphere. There is a certain special responsibility that those countries, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, that are more fortunate--a certain responsibility that we have to help that little country rebuild. I yield the floor

Mr. NELSON

Mr. NELSON. Madam President, the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act makes essential improvements for the well-being of the men and women serving in our armed services. It also seeks to ease the transition from active duty to veteran status for servicemembers by calling on the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans' Affairs to fix the lack of communication between their electronic health records. This provision and countless others are why I was pleased to see this legislation pass last night with overwhelming bipartisan support. Unfortunately I was unable to record my vote but had I been in the Chamber I would have voted in favor of this important piece of legislation. I supported this legislation when it was reported out of the Armed Services Committee. I would also like to thank Senator Levin and Senator Inhofe for their tireless efforts to complete this bill and fulfill our commitments to the men and women serving our country.