Mark Pryor

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I rise in support of the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill. I know Senator Blunt, the ranking member, is on his way over. We were just in another subcommittee hearing and we were asking questions. Before I say anything else, I thank Senator Blunt because he has been a great partner to work with. He has been outstanding. He knows this stuff. He works hard. He knows how to work the system. He has been great. He is one of those guys we can trust, and he is very bipartisan. If we had more folks like Senator Blunt around here, we would get a lot more done. He is doing great work for the country by doing what he is doing. This is a commonsense and bipartisan bill. It did pass unanimously coming out of the full Appropriations Committee last month, and I am confident my colleagues will support it. When they have a chance to see it, they will like it. I heartily encourage everyone to take a good look at it and support it for final passage. Agriculture, as we know very well, is something America does better than anybody else in the world. We are the envy of the world when it comes to agriculture. We do it right. We are the gold standard. We are what every other nation in the world wants to be. It is of course rural America's No. 1 industry. So when we talk about agriculture and rural America, it is doing something we can be extremely proud of in this body and in this country because they do it better than anybody else. I learned a lesson 1 or 2 years ago when Senator Stabenow took over as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She told me everybody thinks of Michigan and they think of automobile manufacturing--heavy industry--as the No. 1 industry, and it is in Michigan, but agriculture is No. 2. If we were to go around a map of the United States, that is what we would see pretty much in almost every State. Agriculture is either the No. 1 industry or No. 2. In a few cases it is the No. 3 industry. I could go around to all 50 States, but in Arkansas, as an example, agriculture equals a full 25 percent of our State's economy. So 25 percent of our economy is agriculture or agra related. Again, if we look around the country, we will see numbers similar to that in many States. It contributes $17 billion in economic activity to Arkansas. It also supports thousands and thousands of jobs--in fact, about one in six jobs. We could put up a chart similar to this for any State in the Union. The numbers may change from State to State, but they will be generally the same. The Agriculture appropriations bill we are talking about builds on the strengths of our agricultural industry. It invests in the Farm Service Agency. It prohibits the closure of FSA offices, which provide vital services to our farmers and ranchers, and it provides funding for farm ownership loans. It also invests in the Agricultural Research Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service so America can continue to innovate and make our agricultural products more efficiently. This is another area America truly leads the world in, agricultural innovation. Agriculture is actually very science-based and very innovative. It doesn't always get credit for being high-tech, but it actually is. So much of that basic research and the things that make a difference out in the field happen in this legislation, but that is not all the bill does. It also makes smart investments to help improve job opportunities and quality of life for families in rural America. One thing we don't want to see is the old ``Tale of Two Americas,'' where urban and suburban get all the money, get the latest and the greatest and the best and the cutting edge and rural America is left behind. That can happen and it does happen in Washington, unfortunately, quite a bit--but not in this bill. This bill's primary emphasis is on rural America. It is one of the few bills we talk about in any given Congress that does focus on rural America. It makes smart investments there. It maintains funding for the Rural Development Water and Waste Disposal Program to help many of our very small communities obtain clean water and sanitary waste disposal systems. Here again, just because one lives in smalltown America doesn't mean they shouldn't have clean water. Everybody should have clean water. So this bill makes sure that happens. It increases funding for the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that our food and our drug supply remains the safest and the most reliable in the world. There again FDA is in this bill. Everybody in the world wants to be like FDA. Everybody wants the integrity we have in our system for our food and our drugs. We fund FDA here. It provides funding for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to keep our food supply safe, and it sustains the school meals equipment grants so our schools can continue to provide healthy meals for kids. We also included in this legislation money for disaster relief. Some people have asked me: Why? Why should we do that? I have a photograph recently taken in Arkansas. This is just one example of the devastating effects of a tornado. Here we look at what used to be someone's home. We have to remember these people worked all their lives to have this house, and in about 45 seconds this is what was left of it. It may be hard to see on the television, but right here is a motorcycle, a pickup truck, a power line lying in the yard, a few appliances, a few people hugging, but one thing we see is their pride in America, where they put up their flag. Even in the most adverse circumstances they came together and pulled together to make that happen. So we put disaster money into this legislation because our country needs disaster money. We need to make sure disasters are fully funded and we have those resources when our neighbors need it the most. In this storm lives were lost, homes were completely wiped out, and many communities were left in ruins. Arkansas is not unique. I wish I could say this didn't happen, but it does happen periodically around the country. This bill provides funding to help States respond when natural disaster strikes. My view is that supporting this legislation is a no-brainer. It is bipartisan. It is a good, commonsense, solid piece of legislation. It sustains our agricultural producers, our communities and our families, and it strengthens our economy and secures the future of our Nation. Before I turn it over to my colleague from Missouri--and I know we are all anxious to hear what he says--there has been a question, as I have talked to many of my colleagues both on the Democratic and the Republican side, about whether we will allow amendments. The answer is: Absolutely, yes; we would like to see amendments. I cannot speak for everyone in the Chamber, but from the members of the Appropriations Committee who are involved in this legislation, including the chairwoman and the ranking member, yes, we want to talk to Senators about their amendments. It is a little bit like the Statue of Liberty: ``Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.'' We want to see those amendments. We want to talk about them. We are hoping we will be able to put together managers' packages. We are hoping we will be able to find common ground and make this bill better as it goes through the process. Certainly we don't want a lot of funny business on that. We want real amendments, good amendments, amendments that are important to moving this forward. I know many of my colleagues have been frustrated, but we would like to talk to as many Members as possible about their amendments. I will be on the floor on and off most of the day, either on the floor or near the floor all day. So if anyone's office wants to talk to me about amendments or any Member wants to talk about amendments, I will be glad to do that. I yield the floor for my colleague from Missouri.

Mr. PRYOR. I have a few more comments after listening to my colleague from Missouri. I did want to mention a few. The first point is on exports. We all know we have a bad trade deficit. We all know that. But it would be horrendous if it were not for agriculture. Agriculture is really a huge net plus for us when it comes to exporters. You may ask yourself why that is. It is because we raise the safest, highest quality food in the world, and other people want it. There is no question that when that food shows up on shelves in foreign countries, if this says ``Made in the USA,'' sometimes they can charge a premium because they know the USDA seal of approval is of the highest quality you can find anywhere in the world. So exports are very important. We heard the President--not just this President but the previous President as well--talk about exports and how many jobs exports create. We need to get back in the exportation business, and agriculture is a great way to do that. Senator Blunt alluded to research. There are some tremendous numbers in research. For every dollar of research, you get a $20 return to the U.S. economy. That is a no-brainer. That is smart policy. That is the right thing to do. It is good for the economy. But also we both had an experience a few weeks ago where Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft, came in and talked to us about American agricultural research and how important it is in feeding the world. One aspect that struck me is here is a man--Bill Gates--who has been an economic revolutionary. He has changed the world with Microsoft and the digital revolution and the high-tech and all the efforts in which he has been involved. He has been at the cutting edge of so much of that change we have seen in our economy and the world's economy in the last 20-, 30-plus years. It is phenomenal. But here he is in the autumn of his life, and what does he come back to? Agriculture--something that is so basic that we take for granted, but because he has seen the work in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has seen the work around the world, he has seen the abject poverty, and he has seen the starvation, he knows that when they get their hands on American products such as seed, fertilizer--all the things we take for granted--that would be a life-changer for those people around the world. I think it was Senator Blunt who said his experience is that when people have been eating bad food all their lives, once they get a chance to eat good food, they don't want to go back to bad food. That is what Bill Gates is talking about, and that is where ag research comes in. That is how this piece of the puzzle fits. There is another point I want to make about rural America. Generally in this legislation we have provisions for rural water, rural housing, rural broadband, rural electricity. Again, we have to understand the economics of that. If you wanted to add broadband somewhere, if you wanted to do it, say, in suburban Washington, DC, obviously you have in many cases relatively high income levels and you have population density. You have what makes it economically feasible. But if you are out in rural America, you want those people to have access to broadband, but you get so many fewer customers per mile. That is why we help. This is sort of the premise of the old Universal Service Fund we have had for a long time in telephone to help expand that network to every single home in America. Now, of course, we have a lot of wireless technologies and whatnot. So we want to make that readily available to rural America. The last bit of substance I wanted to add to what Senator Blunt mentioned is the funding for the Food and Drug Administration. I am not sure there is an agency that is responsible for more innovation than the FDA. We need to keep the FDA stable. We need to keep them well funded. They need to be able to approve drugs and do the testing they need to do. One of the new frontiers they are dealing with is nanotechnology. We are seeing nano products enter the marketplace all over this economy, and there has been very little testing on that for human safety. So the FDA is doing that. We need to continue to fund them so they can do the job. We don't want them to be an obstacle to innovation; we want them to be a partner in innovation. Let these companies that come in and have these great products, whatever they are--cosmetics, food, whatever--let them innovate and do that and again create American jobs and enhance the marketplace. But in order for the FDA to do that, we need to fund them. Senator Blunt is right. We have the best system of government in the world, bar none. And the U.S. Senate always has its moments where it gets a few rough edges. This is democracy at its finest. People don't always agree. They fuss and fight and things get balled up here and there. But our system works, and it works great if we let it work. I think what the chairwoman and the ranking member of the full committee are saying is: We want the process to work. We want it to work. We want to talk about amendments. We want to have amendments. We want to have votes. We want to get back to regular order, whatever that means in the Senate. But most of us know what that means. It means getting back to where Senators can participate in the process, but it is also done in good will and good faith. With that, Madam President, I would yield the floor, but I would encourage my colleagues to look closely at and support this legislation.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Bob Ross and Nicole Pollard, detailees from the Department of Agriculture to the Committee on Appropriations, be granted floor privileges during the consideration of H.R. 4660.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, today I wish to recognize Golden Living for its 50 years of service to senior citizens. Golden Living is a family of companies that specializes in recovery care with its mission to help people recover health and improve quality of life through a network of health care services. The Golden Living family of companies includes Golden Living Centers, Aegis Therapies, AseraCare, and 360 Healthcare Staffing. Since the first facility opened its doors in 1964, Golden Living has helped to meet the health care needs of nearly 4 million patients and residents. Today that includes serving more than 60,000 patients per day. Golden Living has over 300 centers in 21 States and offers assisted living services in more than 40 locations. The 41,000 men and women employed by Golden Living provide quality health care day in and day out with passion, skill, commitment, and foresight. Golden Living has succeeded for five decades because of its commitment to innovation. When the company began, it focused only on providing skilled nursing care to seniors. Golden Living now serves people of all ages with complex medical needs as well as providing skilled nursing services for seniors. I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to Golden Living for its 50 years of service and wish them another 50 years of success.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, back in 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation designating the week of May 15 as National Police Week. Since then, law enforcement officials from all across our country have gathered together to honor to those killed in the line of duty. As part of National Police Week, today representatives of law enforcement agencies will gather at the U.S. Capitol for the 33rd Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service. I join our State in honoring the life and service of the Arkansans who last year paid the ultimate sacrifice: Conway Police Officer William Michael McGary, Sebastian County Deputy Sheriff Terry Wayne Johnson, Fifth Judicial District Drug Task Force Coordinator Larry D. Johnson, Faulkner County Deputy Sheriff Hans J. Fifer, Wildlife Officer Joel Lee Campora, and Scott County Sheriff Cody Don Carpenter. We can never thank our law enforcement officials enough for all they have done for us and our families, but we will always remember them and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers. To the families of Michael McGary, Terry Wayne Johnson, Larry D. Johnson, Hans J. Fifer, Joel Lee Campora, and Cody Don Carpenter, thank you for sharing these heroes with the world. To the Conway Police Department, Sebastian County Sheriff's Department, Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force, Faulkner County Sheriff's Department, Arkansas Department of Game and Fish, and Scott County Sheriff's Office, thank you for ensuring their legacies live on.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I thank my colleague who allowed me to jump in front of him in the line. I appreciate that. I am sorry for my voice today. I sound a little bit like Daffy Duck, but I have a cold, and I am working through that right now. I rise today to speak for a few minutes about something in this country we take for granted--and that is electricity. Ever since the Rural Electrification Act back in the 1930s passed, for the most part every person in this country has had access to electricity. I know there are a few exceptions, but basically that program has worked extremely well and continues to work. As the Presiding Officer, who comes from a rural State, knows, sometimes we have investor-owned facilities, sometimes we have these cooperative type utilities, and sometimes we have even municipalities. I rise today to focus on something the Arkansas electric cooperatives have been involved in, and I thank 25 power linemen in the 12 electric coops in Arkansas who recently completed a mission to electrify two remote Guatemalan villages. Combined with a 2013 project, Arkansas electric cooperative linemen have assisted in providing electric service to more than 770 rural Guatemalan residents who otherwise would not have electricity. This is the first time these people have ever had electricity in their lives. This rural electrification initiative is part of Arkansas's Operation Razorback-Guatemala that started in 2012 in cooperation with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International. After a year of planning, the linemen arrived in Guatemala on March 26 and then traveled approximately 9 hours to the remote villages of Las Flores and La Hacienda to ``light up'' the land. I commend them for giving their time, energy, and know-how to improve the lives of hundreds of Guatemalans who before this did not even know--because electricity is a critical element to improving the quality of life--the quality of health care, the quality of education, and some of the basics that, again, we often take for granted in this country--such as clean water and many other vital services. This area in Guatemala processes and exports coffee beans that end up at companies such as NESCAFE, McDonald's, Starbucks, and other coffee outlets. This new reliable access to electricity will help these villagers increase the quantity and quality of their locally grown coffee, resulting in economic prosperity and a better quality of life for present and future generations. So they will be even more connected with the global economy because of what these people from the Arkansas electric coops did to help these folks. Senator Boozman could not be here today; otherwise, he would be here sitting at his desk saying a few words. But he did pass on for me a brief statement he wanted me to read: We are proud of Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas's willingness to support people around the world who need safe, affordable and reliable electricity. Operation Razorback has been a real success that will result in improved economic prosperity, a higher quality of life and more opportunities for Guatemalans today and for future generations. Sharing our knowledge, expertise and technology will make a lasting impact. These Guatemalan villages will never be the same thanks to the progress made by the volunteers of Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. We have a few of those people with us today, and I wish to recognize them: Duane Highley, who is the CEO; Kirkley Thomas, who is the vice president of the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation in Arkansas; Mel Coleman, CEO of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative; Paul Garrison, one of the linemen who actually went on the trip. I asked him earlier: What is the first thing these people will get? He said: Lights. Naturally that is what they are going to try to get. Again, we appreciate them. And also, Jo Ann Emerson, a long-time friend and colleague on the House side, president and CEO of NRECA. In addition to donating their time and raising more than $100,000 to support this electrification effort, the group also trained local linemen, donated power infrastructure materials, and distributed humanitarian aid items to these local villages. I again thank the coops and acknowledge them for how they are making not only Arkansas better but also making the world better. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. I come to the floor with a psalm and a story. The psalm I want to read is one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture. In times such as this that Arkansas has been through, a lot of people go to Ecclesiastes or one of the gospels, but I want to read Psalms 23-- and I will tell you why in a moment. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Madam President, on Sunday, April 27, 2014, at about 7:06 p.m., a tornado touched down right on the Saline and Pulaski County lines, just west of Little Rock. It stayed on the ground for about an hour, crossed the Arkansas River, crossed right near a little town called Mayflower. The weather service now tells us it was an EF-4. That means it had a wind speed of up to 190 miles per hour--190 miles per hour. We lost 15 Arkansans, and we will never forget them. We love them and their families, and we will miss them. It is a great loss to each and every Arkansan and really each and every American: Paula Blakemore of El Paso; Mark Bradley of Mayflower; Jamye Collins of Vilonia; Helen Greer of Mayflower; Jeffrey Hunter of Vilonia; Dennis Lavergne of Vilonia; Glenna Lavergne of Vilonia; David Mallory of Vilonia; Robert Oliver of Mayflower; Cameron Smith of Vilonia; Tyler Smith of Vilonia; Rob Tittle of Paron; Rebekah Tittle of Paron; Tori Tittle of Paron; and Daniel Wassom of Vilonia. As you can see and hear from those names, a lot of these were family members and obviously members of a few communities in my State. I wish to thank my colleagues first because many called and reached out in various ways. Some covered meetings for me. In fact, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island actually covered a military promotion ceremony, which was really special for me--and for him to do--and special for everyone involved. So I thank him for that. Many of my colleagues have offered to help. We also had people from outside Arkansas who reached out. I know our Governor fielded calls from a number of other Governors from around the country. Our emergency management people have been contacted by other emergency management folks. Another phenomenon that has happened in our State--we neighbor several States that have gone through this before. One of those is Missouri, and I see my colleague from Missouri here in the Chamber today. People from Missouri came down to help. People from Oklahoma came down and helped. Of course, we helped those States in their time of need, so it was reassuring and so appreciated that those folks, those previous storm victims came to Arkansas and helped us. We really do mean that, and we appreciate it very much. Federal officials reached out. I was in the car with our Governor Mike Beebe when President Obama called him. That meant a lot. They were able to work through some of those Federal-State issues immediately, right there on the phone. That was great. Of course, Secretary Jay Johnson called the Governor, and I talked to him actually that same day. He is trying to come to Arkansas in the next few days, and I hope he will be able to make it. Craig Fugate, Director of FEMA, came in the very next day, and we appreciate Director Fugate and the resources FEMA brings and the attention to our State. One of the things we recognize is that the work is just beginning. I see my colleague from Louisiana, and I don't know of anyone in this Chamber who better understands about recovering from a widespread disaster. I thank and acknowledge the thousands of Arkansans who made a difference. One of the underappreciated groups I want to mention--they probably don't get enough notoriety, even though this may sound kind of silly-- is the TV weather people. As soon as the storms were in the area, they broke from their normal broadcasting and they went with wall-to-wall coverage. I talked to so many folks in Mayflower, Vilonia, and other areas who said: Hey, we watched on TV, and we could see exactly where that storm was, and that is what saved us because we knew it was coming. The sirens were going. I was at a dinner with some friends of mine in Little Rock, and we heard the sirens, we heard the weather radio go off, and sure enough we turned on the television and we watched it too, just like everyone else. The Department of Emergency Management has been off-the-charts good. There is a man there named David Maxwell who unfortunately has a lot of experience with this, but ADEM has been phenomenal. We have a system in Arkansas called Code Red, and that got activated and worked very well. The various elected officials--the county judges, et cetera--all came together. We also, obviously, had first responders who rolled in immediately, and that was great. General Wofford of the Arkansas National Guard activated 54 guardsmen. They showed up and did their duty. And it is so reassuring to the communities when they see those men and women in uniform. First, they know they have a lot of training and a lot of experience, and it stabilizes things. The other thing I noticed when I pulled up was that there were police cars and firetrucks and everything from what seemed like every jurisdiction in Arkansas. So it was really great to see that. Some of the unsung heroes in this are just everyday, ordinary Arkansans, just everyday citizens. They came and brought their chainsaws. They checked their kids out of school to go help, and they rolled out and really streamed in to help. There are really too many other folks to mention from some of the State agencies that are really underappreciated--the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; the Forestry Commission, which had people there clearing the way and knocking down things; the highway department; the utilities. As always, the utilities sprung into action. Even though power was down for a pretty good while--I think we had about 35,000 customers or so without power for a little while, but the utilities people got that taken care of. They got their folks from other States to come in, as we do. Entergy is our largest single electric utility in the State, and they brought people in from other States and got their contractors going. I noticed also the churches. The churches really are prepared for this. It is part of their mission. I did notice the State Baptist Convention has what they call a mobile mass feeding unit. In the first 3 days they fed 4,300 hot meals in Vilonia alone. I don't know what else they were doing in other places, but it was great for the volunteers who were helping and also the families there to be able to go and get a hot meal. Of course, the Salvation Army and Red Cross--all of them really rolled out and helped. Again, these two Senators who are here in the Chamber with me today have been through these tragedies before. They know the insurance industry rolls out and sets up temporary units. I saw lots of insurance folks with clipboards and cameras and all the things they needed. The wireless companies came and put up temporary towers because a lot of those were knocked down. There were charging stations for folks. Walmart is the largest company based in Arkansas, and they came with truckloads of water, diapers, snacks, various kinds of donations, baby wipes, batteries, and flashlights. Whatever people needed, it seemed as though Walmart was there with a truck to offload and really help people do what they needed to do. Tyson Foods is another of our great Arkansas companies. They have a program they call Meals that Matter, and they do three meals a day. I saw their trucks at the Mayflower school where they were set up. I saw this big Tyson truck just sitting there, and I knew everybody was scurrying around doing other things at other trucks, and I asked: What is that one for? And I heard that one was just full of ice. They have learned through these tragedies and other places they go that ice is in very short supply, and they know that keeping things cold and giving people something cool to drink is very important. I could talk about this for a long time, seeing those people and seeing what they have gone through. I was there the next morning with the Governor and the attorney general and a number of others, and it was very emotional. You talk to some folks, and they are grieving for the loss of their loved one or their next-door neighbor in one case. I talked to a man who had lost his mother. At the same time, others are rejoicing to be safe and to have their lives and the lives of their children. One man I talked to--I never even got his name, but I think he was stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base--said he looked out his front door and saw the storm bearing down on the house and there wasn't any way to avoid it. He grabbed his kids, threw them in the bathtub, got some blankets, covered them all up--including himself--in the bathtub. He said that for about 45 seconds it sounded as if they had an F-16 in their house. When it finally stopped, he took the blankets off, and at that point they weren't in the bathroom anymore, they were in the garage. The roof had collapsed and they couldn't get out. Before long, they heard some neighbors calling for them, and they were able to dig a tunnel and get those three girls out and then he got out. They came out of it with just scratches, but it is an amazing story of perseverance. There is a little hardware store in Mayflower called H&B True Value Hardware, and that building was really shaken to its foundation. It is a total wreck, but the merchandise was good. This man's entire career, his entire working life is right there in that building, that local hardware store he is going to turn over to his daughter one day. His daughter was there with her children, and they were getting their merchandise out and trying to get it into some sort of storage so it could be safe while they rebuild. That is a real-life matter for them, so we tried to help there. I remember standing out by the curb in front of what used to be a home. It was just a pile of rubble. At first, when you look at that, all you see is debris. Your eyes can't even focus on it. You don't even know what you are looking at. But when you sit and take a moment and look--I looked down and saw a ceiling fan motor. The blades were all gone, but there was a ceiling fan motor. And, gosh, right there I saw Legos mixed in the yard. There was an upside-down sink right there on the pavement. There was a family portrait--whether it was from this family, that family, or a family from a mile away, who knows, but nonetheless a family portrait, just a color photo lying there in the middle of the street. Another of the things I saw as I stood there looking at what used to be a house--there was the front door, the doorframe, the brick, and sort of a stoop with the steps going up to the house, but there was no house there. All that was left was that doorframe. You think about that. Think about those people, and their house is completely gone. They have to rebuild. I did hear a story--I didn't talk to the people, but a story was going around among some of the volunteers who were working about a family who survived and their dog survived. The way the dog survived is that as the tornado was hitting their home, they actually grabbed the dog by the collar. He was about to fly out the window or what was left of the house, and not only were they holding on for dear life, but they held on to the dog, and they all made it. A lot of times you would go up to where a house was and it would be just a concrete slab. That is all there was. You just look at that and think, how did anybody survive that? But they did, in most cases. I went to the farm of a friend of mine, a guy named Preston Scroggins, whom I have known a long time. He is a pillar-of-the- community kind of person there in Vilonia. I went to his home and saw that he had lost everything. He lost his home, lost all of his vehicles. He had a big farm shop--what we call a shop--which is a metal building with steel girders in it. And I have never seen this before with a tornado. When they built that metal building, of course they build these girders to hold it up, and then there is the siding type of stuff on the sides, the roofing, which is all metal. Of course the steel was twisted, and that is pretty bad, and it takes a lot of force to twist steel like that. But what I had never seen before is that the footings of the building, which were these huge concrete balls--they dug a hole, filled it with concrete, and stuck the steel girders in them to create the footings--these balls of concrete were actually picked up out of the Earth by that tornado. They were actually picked up and set down a few feet away from the big hole in the ground. That is an amazing amount of force, and that is what an EF-4 does. This tornado didn't just knock down buildings; it obliterated them. The beautiful thing about our people is that it did not obliterate their dreams. We talked to one woman who said: This was my dream house. But the amazing thing was--and a new phrase has been created out of this--we heard people saying over and over that they were Ark strong because people in our State are resilient. They are strong people. They are scrappers. And part of being strong is to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and dust yourself off and go out and do more that day to improve what you have and work for your family. But another element of being strong is neighbor helping neighbor, and we saw that in abundance in Arkansas. To sit there in your front yard with no worldly possessions left--your truck looks as though it has been beaten by 20 men coming at it with hammers and beating on it, your house is in ruins and there is nothing left--and then to look at me and say, ``Well, it is just stuff,'' it takes a strong person to do that. That is someone who has the right perspective. I saw the bravery, the selflessness, and the generosity, and now you know why I am so very proud to be the Senator for these amazing people. I am also proud of the Senate because it wasn't too long ago we voted for disaster relief in this body. We now have money sufficient to cover this and other disasters. I wish I could say this is going to be the last one for the year, but everyone knows it will not be. I will close with a psalm. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. There are green pastures as part of this, and our people have found those and will continue to be finding those as we go through this. He leads me beside the still waters. It is a very comforting thing, and they need to be comforted right now. He restores my soul. One thing I looked up is the definition of ``soul.'' According to Webster's, it is a nonphysical aspect of a person. It is a person's emotional and moral nature, where the most private thoughts and feelings are hidden, the complex of human attributes that manifest as consciousness, thought, feeling, and will. He restores my soul; he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death-- I can guarantee those people in Arkansas know they have walked through the valley of the shadow of death-- I will fear no evil; for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. The attitude of the people in my State is, even though it has been a difficult week, their cup is overflowing and those blessings continue to come. Surely, your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Having that eternal perspective is going to get people through. I thank the Presiding Officer and my colleagues for all the best wishes and the willingness to help and offers of assistance and all that makes up the Senate family. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. PRYOR

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

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to yield back all time.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. PRYOR. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I know others are waiting, so I will make some brief remarks about something that is very important to me. I rise today to discuss S. 2087, the Medicare Protection Act. Over the past few years one of the things we have witnessed in the Senate is, unfortunately, an irresponsible few who are trying to turn Medicare into a voucher system and raise the eligibility age for benefits. This would not only have a catastrophic effect on seniors' health but also on their financial security. It would force seniors to pay more for their doctor visits and for prescription drugs. People in my State have figured this out. In fact, I recently got a little note from Philip of Jonesboro who said: ``Raising the Medicare eligibility age would shift thousands of dollars in costs to seniors and drive up premium costs.'' He got it exactly right. That is what it will do. That is what pretty much every study I have seen, at least, says it will do. In Arkansas alone, we have well over 500,000 seniors who depend on Medicare. I encourage all of my colleagues to look at the numbers in their States. My guess is everyone has a large number of seniors in their State and the seniors understand how vitally important it is that we protect Medicare. Turning Medicare into a voucher system or fundamentally changing it in any way by using some sort of voucher--they call it premium supplement, I don't know; they have a different word for it sometimes-- or raising the eligibility age or cutting benefits would be very detrimental to the people in my State, and I am sure in all 50 States. As Rebecca from Fayetteville said: Raising the Medicare age would simply force seniors such as my mother and me to pay more out-of-pocket. We need responsible, common-sense solutions to keep Medicare strong . . . I agree with that. That is exactly what we need. We need these responsible commonsense solutions. Hopefully they are going to be bipartisan solutions. That is how we get things done in Washington, by working in a bipartisan way. I am hoping, over time, this Medicare Protection Act will become a great bipartisan vehicle for us to protect Medicare. It does two things, in a nutshell. First, it amends the Congressional Budget Act to define any provision in reconciliation legislation that makes changes to Medicare to reduce or eliminate guaranteed benefits or restrict eligibility criteria as extraneous and an improper use of the reconciliation process. I know that is technical and that is kind of getting down in the weeds, but that is a very smart way to do it, to use the Congressional Budget Act to protect Medicare. Secondly, it expresses the sense of the Senate that the Medicare eligibility age should not increase and that the Medicare Program should not be privatized or turned into a voucher system. Again, if we look back over the years, there have been attempts to do this, most of them originating in the House of Representatives, but we have had a few of those attempts here. As Hubert Humphrey once said: ``The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.'' The Medicare Protection Act is the right thing to do. I hope my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will look at this legislation, give it serious consideration, and join me in supporting this critical piece of legislation. It is a great way to protect our Medicare system. With that, I yield the floor.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, this next nominee, Timothy Brooks of the Western District of Arkansas, is excellent in every way. He basically has the support from plaintiffs', defendants', and criminal defendants' lawyers, prosecutors, Democrats and Republicans, businesses--everybody. They really like this nominee is the total consensus on him. He has been waiting for a long time. We tried to get this going last year and got caught up in end-of-the-year stuff. I ask all my colleagues to vote yes on the procedure and on confirming him.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there be 2 minutes equally divided in the usual form prior to the vote on the motion to waive; further, that the remaining votes in this sequence be 10 minute votes.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I wish to recognize Jeff Teague, president of Teague Auto Group in El Dorado, AR, who was named the 2014 Time Magazine Dealer of the Year. Awarded annually, the Time Magazine Dealer of the Year Award recognizes the auto dealer who demonstrates exceptional business performance and distinguished community service. Jeff was recognized for the positive impact he is making on the El Dorado community. In 1981, Jeff and his father opened their first dealership as partners, a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership, in Walnut Ridge, AR. He opened his current dealership in El Dorado in 1990, and through hard work and determination, Jeff built his dealership into a thriving business. His story is an Arkansas success story which I am proud to acknowledge. In addition to his business success, Jeff has been a licensed pilot for 26 years and frequently uses this skill to serve his community, including flying church members to charitable initiatives and serving as a standby pilot for a local liver transplant patient. He is a member of Rotary International, the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, the El Dorado Economic Development Board, the Batesville Chamber of Commerce, and since 2007, has served as chairman of the South Arkansas Regional Airport Commission. Jeff also currently serves on the board of directors for Citizens Bank of Batesville. Jeff and his wife, Sarah, are well known for their community involvement in El Dorado. They both are actively involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of El Dorado, the South Arkansas Arts Center, the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, MusicFest El Dorado, the Salvation Army, Union County 4-H, the South Arkansas Historical Foundation, and Arkansas Baptist Children's Homes and Family Ministries. I want to offer my congratulations to Jeff Teague on this well- deserved honor and thank him for his dedication and commitment to the community of El Dorado and to Arkansas.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, it is great to see my colleague from Arkansas. We know Senator Boozman tries hard to help our veterans. I thank him for his public service and for focusing on our men and women, whether they are in uniform now or who have served this country. In the last few weeks I have talked quite a bit about veterans. We have had the veterans retirement cost-of-living fix and a few others which have brought me to the floor to talk about this very important group of people. In my State of Arkansas we have nearly 255,000 veterans. They have put on the uniform and served their country. They have put their lives on hold for our country. They deserve to return home to a country which is going to honor the commitments we have made to them and a country which will keep the promises we have made, which is why I have been very supportive of these individuals, especially in the context of the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014, S. 1982. Many Senators are working to make this bill better and get it into a posture where it can pass the Senate. This is a commonsense bill which covers a broad range of topics which are important to our veterans, and a lot of work is going on here behind the scenes. Sometimes when the American people visit the Senate or tune in to C-SPAN 2, they sometimes see an empty Chamber. They aren't always aware of what is going on in the back rooms, here and in the hallways, with folks trying to work through a number of important issues, which is happening with this bill. I have an important provision in this bill which I have been working on for a while. I think it is going to have broad support on both sides of the aisle, as well as a number of military organizations around the country, called the Honor America's Guard and Reserve Retirees Act. It is kind of a long name, but it is a very simple premise. Under current law, the military definition of a veteran applies only to servicemembers who have served on Federal active duty under title X orders. This means that many of our servicemembers--most specifically our National Guard members--who have not been deployed under proper orders are falling short of this established criteria. To put this in perspective: I recently received a letter from an Arkansas veteran named Vincent. He served for more than 20 years in the National Guard. He has protected our families from natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. He served our country by protecting our borders in Operation Jump Start. He served our Nation in Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and in Iraqi Freedom. Yet he still doesn't meet the military definition of a veteran of the armed services. Vincent isn't the only one. There are 300,000 National Guard and Reserve servicemembers across the country who fall into this same category. My bill, the Honor America's Guard and Reserve Retirees Act, would fix this. It would amend the military definition of veteran to give Guard and Reserve retirees with 20 years of service the honor of being called a veteran. And it is an honor. It would allow these servicemembers to salute when the Star-Spangled Banner is played, to march in veterans' parades, and be recognized as veterans by other veterans. I know Members of this Chamber will ask, as they should: This is a cost-neutral bill. There is no cost with this. It is simple, it is cost neutral, and it is an overdue recognition of these individual servicemembers who served bravely for our country. It is time we pass this bill so Vincent and hundreds and thousands of others can receive the honor they deserve. Madam President, I yield the floor and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I wish to speak about a friend of mine and a Presidential nominee to be on the Federal bench in Arkansas. I will take 3 to 5 minutes. I know there are others who want to speak. Today I rise to support the nomination of Judge James Moody--whom in Arkansas we call Jay Moody--to be a Federal judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas. Jay has been a phenomenal judge and lawyer for a long time in Arkansas. One of the things this nomination illustrates to me and I think also brings home to people around the country is that this body should not play games with the third branch of government. We have our own issues. This body can be dysfunctional and highly partisan. Let's not export that to the judiciary. We have a fine man who has offered his services to be a Federal judge. If you look at what I like to look at, Is he well qualified? Yes, absolutely. Everyone agrees on that. Can he be fair and impartial? That is what you want in a judge. The answer is yes, he can be very fair and impartial. He has demonstrated that as a member of the Arkansas bench for a long time now. Also, especially in a district court position, does he have the right judicial temperament? I think every person who has ever dealt with Judge Jay Moody will say that he not only has the right temperament, but he meets and exceeds all of these criteria across the board. He is exactly the kind of judge we should all want. In fact, there is no reason why Judge Moody was not confirmed back in December. He should have been. But for the wrangling here in the Senate, but for the problems we have had in the Senate in the last several months, he would be a Federal judge today, and he should be a Federal judge today. In fact, 2 weeks ago I came to the floor and asked for consent that we go ahead and just confirm him by unanimous consent, but that was not granted. Since 2003 Jay Moody has served as a circuit judge--that is a trial court judge in Arkansas--for the Sixth Judicial District, which is the Little Rock area. He previously worked at the Wright, Lindsey & Jennings law firm, which is one of the most prestigious firms in the State. It is a very well-known law firm. It is highly professional, has a great reputation. He became a partner there in 1994, just a few years after he joined the firm. He also spent time as an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas Bowen School of Law, where he earned his J.D. He is also a member of a number of different lawyer groups and associations--at least he was before he entered the bench. I could spend 20 minutes talking about his qualifications, talking about what a fine nominee and fine selection Jay Moody is to be a district court judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas, but, honestly, this turns out to be a no-brainer, so I am not going to belabor his qualifications and why we should do this other than to say that I know I am tired--and I think people all over the country are also tired--of the gridlock here in Washington. They look at a State such as Arkansas where we have eight Federal district court judges and we have two vacancies. These vacancies should have been filled back in December. There is no reason why they should not. But they have been working under 75 percent horsepower now for months. We could have fixed that back in December, but because of the wrangling here in the Senate and in Washington, that was not done. Today is the day we can rectify that. Today is the day we can confirm Judge Moody to be on the Federal bench. I think we can all be very proud of this nomination. Again, he is exactly what we would all want in a Federal judge. That is confirmed by talking to lawyers in Arkansas. It does not matter if you are a criminal or civil lawyer; it does not matter if you are a plaintiff's lawyer or a defense lawyer; everybody agrees he will be a great Federal judge. One of his old law partners, the managing partner of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, Ed Lowther, told me one time--I said: How is Jay Moody on the bench? Of course, we all knew him as a lawyer. How is he on the bench? He paid one of the best compliments a lawyer can pay to a judge. He said, ``He gets his work done.'' Can we really ask for any more than that? He gets his work done. He takes care of it. In fact, it is almost uncanny when you look at the very difficult, high-profile, complicated cases that come to the trial court level in Pulaski County Circuit Court. Again, that is our trial court there in Little Rock. Almost always, he is the one who ends up with the case. Not only do the lawyers love him and appreciate him, but also his colleagues obviously have a lot of respect, and they often hand off the more difficult cases to Judge Moody. In fact, I heard a conversation here on the floor just 2 or 3 weeks ago. My colleague, Senator Boozman of Arkansas, is supportive of this nominee and has been helping push this nominee through the process. He went to the Judiciary Committee--by the way, this nomination has come through the Judiciary Committee not once but twice. Senator Boozman helped push him through the Judiciary Committee, helped get him to the floor, and has talked to his Republican colleagues. I overheard a conversation the other day where Senator Boozman was talking to Leader McConnell. John Boozman turned to Senator McConnell and said, ``Mitch, this guy is great.'' He said, ``You could not have picked someone better had you picked him yourself.'' That is really Jay Moody in a nutshell. With that, I would like to ask my colleagues to vote for this nomination today. I believe we will vote in about 30 to 45 minutes. I am not sure exactly what time we start. But I ask my colleagues to support this nomination. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 360, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. PRYOR. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25, 2014; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business until 11:05 a.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half; that at 11:05 a.m., the Senate resume executive session to consider the nomination of James M. Moody to be U.S. District Judge in Arkansas, with the time until 11:15 a.m. equally divided and controlled in the usual form; that following disposition of the Freeman nomination and the resumption of legislative session, the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; that at 2:15 p.m. there be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees prior to the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 1982, the veterans' benefits bill.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, there will be five votes at 11:15 a.m. tomorrow and a sixth vote at 3:15 p.m.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I rise to encourage my colleagues to support the nomination of James M. Moody to be a Federal judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas. He is highly qualified, completely noncontroversial, stellar across the board, and meets every criteria anyone could ever have. So when the times comes, I would appreciate a great vote for Judge Moody.

Mr. PRYOR

Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.