Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 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. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 19, 2013, and 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 for 1 hour, 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; and that following morning business the Senate resume consideration of S. 1392, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. There being no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 240, which was submitted earlier today.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 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. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I wish we could do more, but I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the tragedy at the Navy Yard and those killed and those suffering from the wounds inflicted on that terrible day, yesterday, that occurred not far from the Capitol.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans controlling the second 30 minutes.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that at 11:30 a.m., the Senate proceed to executive session under the previous order to consider the Campbell-Smith and Kaplan nominations, both nominees to the Federal Claims Court; further, that following the disposition of those nominees, the Senate recess until 2:15 this afternoon to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; and, finally, that at 2:15, the Senate resume consideration of S. 1392, the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act.

Mr. REID. We are trying to come up with a finite list of amendments to move forward on that legislation. We hope that, in fact, can happen. It is my understanding Senator Vitter has an amendment he wants to offer. He has been on the floor a few times during the time we have been in session. We would have an amendment, or second-degree side-by- side, to his amendment. In order to do that, we have to have a finite list of amendments. We can't go on with unrelated amendments forever on this bill. So there will be one rollcall vote and we hope to vote on energy efficiency amendments whenever there is an agreement that can be made.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there are no words that can ease the pain of the rampage and certainly the deaths involving a dozen human beings who were killed yesterday at the Navy Yard. I hope it is some small comfort that this city, this institution, the U.S. Senate, and a whole Nation, mourn alongside them. To my knowledge, there is no explanation for the violence that occurred yesterday. My thoughts are with those who are suffering as a result of the loss of their loved ones as well as those people who are recovering from their wounds, and some of them are very serious. We wish them a speedy recovery. My heart goes out to all of the 16,000 military and civilian employees who work at the Navy Yard complex, as well as their friends and family members who were affected by this tragedy. It was only a few days ago--and the Presiding Officer was here on that occasion also--when we as Members of Congress marked the anniversary of September 11, 2001, during a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol. We had a moment of silence here in the Senate. Yesterday's shootings were the worst loss of life in the Capitol region since those September 11, 2011, attacks which were centered around the Pentagon. Last week's significant anniversary and yesterday's terrible violence are a reminder that life is fragile and precious. They are a reminder of the debt we owe to those who protect our freedom and our safety, whether they serve in the military or as first responders. The Sergeant at Arms, who is responsible for our safety, was certainly on the job yesterday. He is a dedicated police officer. That is his goal. I still refer to him as Chief Gainer. He was chief of the Capitol Police force before he took responsibility as the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate. He has been a street officer for a long time. He could have done other things--he has a law degree; he is a well-educated man--but his responsibility is to take care of the Senate, and he does that very well. I appreciate very much--I speak for the entire Senate--those dedicated police, fire, and rescue personnel who put their lives on the line to prevent a lot more loss of life on Monday. In particular, the city owes a debt of gratitude to a K-9 officer, a 24-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police force, a man by the name of Scott Williams who was hurt very badly in the shootings. I wish him a full recovery and thank him for his selflessness.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have to return to the business at hand. Since the moment President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, making it the law of the land and ensuring every American has access to quality health insurance at a price they can afford, Republicans have been on an absurd quest to undo this progress. Republican Members of Congress were horrified when the U.S. Supreme Court said the law we call ``ObamaCare''--the Affordable Care Act--is constitutional. That is what the Supreme Court said. In spite of this being the law of the land--and it is the law of the land--House Republicans alone have voted more than 40 times to repeal ObamaCare and are now threatening to shut down the entire government unless this Congress denies funding to implement this very constitutional law. Under ObamaCare, Members of Congress and their staffs will be covered by exactly the same plans that will extend health insurance to millions of Americans next year. Five hundred thirty-five Members of Congress and 16,000 staff members are treated the same as other employees across America under the law. They are treated that way under ObamaCare, and rightfully so. Just as 150 million other Americans who get their health insurance through their jobs; that is, their employer, the Federal Government will share a part of the cost of that health care for us, for the 16,000 who work in the Capitol complex--as it has for all Federal employees for many decades. These are the people in Carson City, NV, Reno, NV, and Las Vegas, NV, who answer the phones and help people with problems involving Social Security, veterans' benefits, whether they can be buried at the beautiful cemetery we have in Fernley for veterans or the one in Boulder City where every day we bury lots and lots of people who are veterans. These are the sorts of inquiries we get around the State of Nevada, and people work long hard hours to respond to those requests. They are dedicated public servants. That is to whom the junior Senator from Louisiana said, No thanks; they are not entitled to anything as far as being treated as everybody else is treated. Even more directly to the point, Members of Congress and our staffs will live by the same rules and get their health care from the same exchanges as other Americans. But the junior Senator from Louisiana, I repeat, and a number of other misguided Republicans want to force Members of Congress and their staffs to live by a different set of rules. Although Senator Vitter has happily allowed the Federal Government to pay for a portion of his health insurance for many years as a Member of the House of Representatives and as a Member of the Senate, now he wants these 16,000 congressional workers to cover the full cost of health insurance. With this background, one must ask: If Senator Vitter opposes the employer contribution for congressional staffers, does he oppose it also for the 150 million other Americans whose employers help pay their health insurance premiums? Does he want to discourage private employers from doing the right thing and providing their employees with affordable health insurance coverage? Is it what he wants, to do away with the insurance 150 million Americans have in America? Millions, I repeat, millions and millions of employers rely on this important benefit to attract the best and brightest and hardest working people they can find. Ending the employer contribution would effectively slap 150 million Americans with a big pay cut. Is that Senator Vitter's intention? If Republican Senators believe they should bear the full cost of their own health insurance, they can, without any change in the law, decline Federal Government support in contributions and pay their own way. They can even encourage their own staffs to do so. Why they would want to do that, I don't understand, but they could do it. But for Senator Vitter and his Republican allies to end the contribution for 16,000 hard-working Federal employees--even after years of accepting the subsidy themselves--is hypocritical and mean-spirited. In truth, this is only the latest Republican aim to derail the successful implementation of ObamaCare. Last November there was a big poll taken--it is called an election--where Americans overwhelmingly voted to reelect President Obama and to keep ObamaCare as the law of the land. That was the issue of the campaign. Who won that? The American people won, and President Obama won. As for ObamaCare--the constitutional law of the land--the American people said, Let's go ahead and do it. Americans have spoken very loudly and very clearly. It is time to move on to something else. It is the law and has been. On October 1, about 25 million Americans who have no health insurance will--for the first time, most of them in their entire lifetime--be able to get insurance. What we have found in New York alone is that the insurance is going to save 50 percent of what it did before--it is 50 percent cheaper. In Nevada it is cheaper. It is the way it is all over the country. According to the voters and according to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, ObamaCare is the law of the land. It is time for Republicans to mature--I guess you could say it a different way: to grow up--and recognize this is the law in America and has been for years. It is time for Republicans to stop denying reality. The Senate should be passing other legislation. We should be passing an energy efficiency bill that will save taxpayers money, creating good-paying jobs--we need that--rebuilding roads and bridges. I have said here before 70,000 bridges are in a state of disrepair. Yesterday a report came out that 8,000 of them are near collapse--8,000. We are not spending money to take care of that problem. Our highways, our roads, our dams need money. This is not money that goes to the Federal Government so you can have a truck that says: Federal Government building a road or fixing a dam. The money goes to the private sector. That is what we should be doing. For every $1 billion we spend doing something about the highways, bridges, roads, dams, water systems, sewer systems, we create 47,500 high-paying jobs, and thousands of other jobs spin off from that. That is what we should be doing. We should be facing the reality of climate change. Look what happened in Colorado. I talked to Senator Bennet yesterday. He said the floods were Biblical. In one part of Colorado, it rained 12 inches in 2 hours. I cannot imagine that. Fires all over the West. Climate change is here. I met with the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. They do not know what they are going to do with the rise of the sea which is taking place. In that country there is no high ground. It is that way all over the world. The Marshall Islands--a thousand islands make up the Marshall Islands--55,000 people live there. These islands are being washed away with the new waves they have never seen before. Climate change is here. We are doing nothing about it. They are spending all of our time, the American taxpayers' time, trying to repeal a law that has been in effect for 4 years. We should be doing something about immigration reform. They talk about wanting to do something for the economy. Try passing immigration reform. It creates to the positive $1 trillion. It would reduce our debt by $1 trillion. Let's do that. Let's fix our broken tax system. We should be doing those things, not relitigating 4-year-old policy battles. But instead of working with Democrats to effectively implement ObamaCare or to pass new laws that benefit middle-class families, Republicans are obsessed with fighting a real old battle, and they are doing it at taxpayer expense. Instead of standing with millions of Americans who are already benefiting from ObamaCare, Republicans are standing with insurance companies that would return us to a time when profits came before people. That is the way it works. Since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against children with preexisting conditions. That is a good deal. If you have a child with diabetes, that boy or girl cannot be denied insurance. If they have epilepsy, they cannot be denied insurance. And in a short few months all Americans will no longer be able to be denied insurance coverage because of a preexisting illness. They can no longer raise your rates for no reason. They can no longer drop your coverage if you get sick. That is the law today. Today children can no longer be denied insurance, as I have indicated, because they are born with a disease or a disability. And that, I repeat, will soon be extended to all Americans no matter their age. And listen to this one: Very soon being a woman will no longer be considered a preexisting condition, as it was before ObamaCare passed. In my relatively sparsely populated State of Nevada, tens of thousands of seniors have saved tens of millions of dollars on medicines because the Affordable Care Act has helped close the gap on prescription drug coverage. More than 3 million young people, including 33,000 young Nevadans, have been able to stay on their parents' health policies until they are 26 years old--3 million. Hundreds of thousands of businesses that already offer their employees health insurance are getting tax credits for doing the right thing. In a few months almost 130 million Americans with preexisting conditions--and what are some of these preexisting conditions; I talked about it generally a minute ago: high blood pressure, all kinds of things that happen as you get older--will have access to reasonably priced coverage, no matter their high blood pressure or their heart condition or whatever the situation might be. And 25 million Americans who cannot afford health insurance today will be offered health insurance through the exchanges. Republicans have been trying for years to erase these gains and force millions of American families once again to rely on the most expensive care in America today, which is where? It is emergency rooms. Hospitals hate it because their bad debt goes up, and all it does is drive up the cost of insurance. The care is not as good as it would be if they could go when they first get sick. They go there out of desperation, and that is what I assume the Republicans want everyone to do. Everyone can go to an emergency room, but it is so expensive and does not do the trick. So punishing hard-working congressional staff, who put in long hours because they believe in public service--that is, the work we do here in Congress--will not roll back the benefits of ObamaCare. Punishing congressional staffers will not prevent millions of Americans from gaining the health insurance they need and deserve next year. But it will hurt thousands of men and women, including Senator Vitter's colleagues and his own staff. Instead of willfully denying that ObamaCare is the law or purposely trying to derail its implementation, it is time for Senator Vitter to help us improve the law of the land and ensure every American has access to the kind of care Members of Congress enjoy already, as do 150 million other Americans who get health care through their employers.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Sergeant at Arms is here on the Senate floor. The Republican leader is here. When I was doing my exercise this morning, I heard there was an incident at the Navy Yard and traffic was tied up. I didn't know what it was. Of course, coming to the Capitol I knew something was up because I saw our police officers with their automatic weapons that they usually don't carry, at least in view of everybody on Constitution Avenue and other places. I was saddened to hear about the events here in Washington, alluded to in the prayer by the Chaplain, that occurred at the Navy Yard this morning, hearing that a number of people have been injured. I don't know all the details. We know at least there is one dead. I don't know all the details--I don't know a lot of the details of this tragedy or who the perpetrator or perpetrators may be. But according to the reports we have received, several people were killed and several were injured, including a Washington Metropolitan police officer and a military police officer. My sympathies are, of course, with those families who have loved ones who died, with those who have been injured, and my wishes go out to all of those who work in the Navy Yard complex which is a short distance from here and the surrounding neighborhood. As usual with these events, we have to recognize the first responders who rushed to the scene and their professionalism. I don't know all about it, but I am certain it was there. My thanks go to the brave law enforcement officials who are on the scene and who put their lives on the line. Today we realize that they do put their lives on the line to keep this Capitol complex safe and the city safe. I urge everyone in the area to follow law enforcement direction for their own safety, whether that be sheltering in place or simply avoiding the Navy Yard area today. The shooters, to my knowledge, have not been apprehended. I have been told they have their fixation on who one of them might be, but we will all continue to follow this situation as it develops. Based upon this, as I indicated, I have spoken with the Sergeant at Arms, and the Republican leader has been advised of everything I have said and what I am going to suggest. In light of the events at the Navy Yard, we have decided to recess the Senate until tomorrow morning. The vote scheduled for this evening will be rescheduled. We will have an announcement later on the time of those votes.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am sorry I didn't do that.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I appreciate very much my friend's statement. Earlier this morning I had in my office a Capitol Police officer. I said, what is the number on your badge? I don't remember exactly--3,600 and something. I said, look at my cabinet there, look at my badge. Mine was 363. So Senator McConnell is absolutely right, we take for granted the work these men and women do for us here. It is significant. They do everything they can to protect us and all of the thousands of people who work in this Capitol complex.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent, as if in executive session, that the order for consideration of the Campbell-Smith and Kaplan nominations be modified to be after consultation with Senator McConnell, with all of the provisions remaining in effect.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. 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. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, September 17; that following the prayer and the 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 noon, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the majority controlling the first 30 minutes and the Republicans the next 30 minutes; and following morning business the Senate return to consideration of S. 1392.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I can remember events 12 years ago so clearly. I was not far from here at the time. I was in S-219, which is a meeting room. That is where Leader Daschle held his leadership meetings every Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. I was the first one in the room. Senator John Breaux from Louisiana came in and said: Flip on the TV. There is something going on in New York. We turned on the TV, and it looked as though something happened in New York. We just thought an airplane had malfunctioned or something had gone wrong to cause the plane to hit that tower. So the meeting started and the TVs were off. We were doing our business of the day when suddenly a group of police officers came in and grabbed Senator Daschle and took him outside. He came back very quickly and said: There is an airplane headed for the Capitol. We have to get out of here. There was a lot of confusion, to say the least, as staff and Senators were ordered out of the buildings--plural. As we left S-219, we looked out the window toward the Pentagon, and smoke was billowing out of it. We could see it so very plainly. At that time we didn't know what was happening; we just knew we had been ordered to get out of the building. Of course, we all have memories of what took place that day. I was the assistant leader, as was Senator Nickles from Oklahoma. Senator Lott was the Republican leader, and Senator Daschle was the Democratic leader. We were taken in helicopters from the west front of the Capitol to a secure location. When I was taken to the west front of the Capitol, the scene was eerie to say the least. There were lots of people in black uniforms trying to create order out of confusion. Without going into a lot of detail, we went to a location, and the Vice President was there. He met with us and kept us informed as to what was going on with the President. We spent the day there and then came back to the west front of the Capitol, where all Members of Congress gathered. Barbara Mikulski, for lack of anyone having a better suggestion, said: We should sing ``God Bless America.'' She got the song started, and that was extremely memorable. We are going to have a ceremony in a few minutes out front, and I will talk a little bit there. The four leaders have been asked to talk out there. We did have a moment of silence regarding the more than 3,000 people who were killed in New York, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon. In addition to those 3,000 people who were taken from us permanently, thousands of other people were injured, some of them permanently injured. Some of them have missing legs, some are blind, and some suffer from paralysis. So we raise our voices today in celebration of America's spirit and perseverance. May we never forget 9/11. It is also worth mentioning that on this day we also honor what took place a year ago in Libya, where one of our stellar Ambassadors was murdered along with three of his brave colleagues. They were all killed in Libya. Our country remains committed to seeking justice for them and every American victim of terrorism, and that is what the debate of Syria is all about--terrorism. Before I began the caucus yesterday, when the President came, my introduction to the President was a film that was created by Senator Feinstein and others. It is about 12 or 13 minutes long, and it shows what went on in graphic detail with the brutal chemical weapons attack in Syria where these children were left to die. Remember, these poisons get the little kids first. Senator Durbin has a Palestinian on his staff. We all know Reema. She does the whip count for Senator Durbin and for me. I had her listen to the film. I watched it and she listened so she could give me some idea of what people were saying there. They were yelling. It was so sad. Mostly they were praying. It was very, very sad to see people holding little babies and saying: Breathe, breathe. They couldn't breathe. We could see the perspiration on some of them. They dumped water on them-- anything to give them some relief. The video showed rows of dead people. Hundreds of them were little children. Some of them were dressed in their play clothes, little fancy, colorful T-shirts. Even as we pay tribute to America's tradition of freedom for every citizen across the globe, an evil dictator denies its citizens not only their right to liberty but also their right to live. The Asad family is pretty good at killing people. The New York Times had an article over the last 24 hours about his dad, because of the failed assassination attempt, killing 30,000 people he thought needed to be killed--30,000. That country, Syria, denies its citizens the right to liberty, but even more significant the right to live. Yesterday I showed the video at the caucus. No one wanted to see it. I didn't want to see it again. It was all I could do to glance up. I had already seen it. Those visions will always be in my mind. I showed my Senators a video of this: little boys and girls and grown men with their eyes crusted, frothing from the mouth. It was such unspeakable scenery. They were convulsing, writhing, spasms from the poison gas he used to murder his victims. It was hard to watch, but it confirmed all of our conviction that the United States must not let the Syrian regime go unpunished for using something that is outlawed. Those weapons are not to be used in a war, let alone used on a bunch of innocent people. Yesterday the President spoke to two caucuses. He spoke last night and made a compelling case for military action against the Asad regime. As the President said, we have to send an explicit message not only to Syria but the rest of the world. Remember--who has more chemical weapons than Syria? Only one country--North Korea. Think about that. If they get away with this, what is North Korea going to do? Then are we going to have a marketplace for purchasing chemical weapons? The use of chemical weapons by anyone, any time, anywhere, including the battlefield, should not be tolerated. Preventing these weapons from being used is not only in our own national interests, but it is in the interests of the world. Diplomacy should always be the first choice. That is who we are as a country. So we have been asked to temporarily suspend consideration of the Syria resolution to allow for these conversations to take place around the world. Tomorrow our Secretary of State is meeting with the Russian Secretary of State, Mr. Lavrov, to explore in fact if this is a legitimate proposal. Talking and action are two separate things. So what the Republican leader and I have spoken about--and we will talk more about it today--is to see what we can do to give the President the time and space our country needs to pursue these international negotiations. We will report back at a later time. America must remain vigilant and ready to use force if necessary, and Congress should not take the threat of military action off the table. I want to spend a little time talking to Senator Menendez, the chair of the committee. I want to talk to other Senators who are trying to work something out on their own, and I will do that. Leaders in Damascus and Moscow should understand that Congress will be watching these negotiations very closely. If there is any indication this is not serious--that it is a ploy to delay, to obstruct, to divert--then I think we have to again give the President the authority to hold the Asad regime accountable. So it is our determination not to let Asad's atrocities go unanswered. How we answer is a question we will continue to pursue. But it is very clear that we wouldn't be where we are today--even my friend, the junior Senator from Kentucky, today said the reason we are having the possibility of a deal is because of the President threatening force. It is interesting. Asad has even denied, until just recent hours, ever even having had chemical weapons. So it is in Syria's power to avoid these strikes, but that will require swift and decisive action on the part of the Asad regime to relinquish these weapons. We need a diplomatic solution to succeed, but saying we want one doesn't mean it will happen. So he must quickly prove the offer to turn over Syria's chemical weapons is real and not an attempt to delay. All eyes are on the Russian President, President Putin. We all know he was formerly head of the KGB. We all know about the KGB. He is the President of that very big country. We are also grateful that even though relations aren't perfect with Russia, they are OK--so much better than they have been prior to the breakup of that massive country, the Soviet Union. We hope Russia is a productive partner in these negotiations. Any agreement must also assure it is possible to secure these chemical weapons in spite of the ongoing civil war, to keep those stockpiles out of the hands of terrorists. In short, I am happy we have some conversations going to see if this can be resolved diplomatically. I certainly hope so. I apologize to my counterpart, the Republican leader, for taking so much time. I yield the floor.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate be in a period of morning business until 2:30 p.m. this afternoon for debate only, with all other aspects of the previous order being in effect.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Republican leader and I have spoken, and we are working on a way forward based on the President's speech and what has happened over the last few days. He and I will confer shortly again, but right now we will be in a period of morning business. Senators may talk about whatever they want. It is my understanding that the time is equally divided between the two sides; is that right?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Following leader remarks, the time until 2:30 p.m. will be divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with Senators permitted to speak for 10 minutes each. There will be a remembrance ceremony on the east side of the Capitol. Members will gather in the rotunda at 10:45 a.m.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to proceed to S. 1392 be agreed to, that no amendments or motions be in order relative to Syria or the use of military force during the consideration of the legislation, and that the time until 6 p.m. tonight be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. I think it would certainly be appropriate that we have at this time statements from the chairman and the ranking member, that is, Senators Wyden and Murkowski, and Senators Shaheen and Portman, the sponsors of this legislation. Then I would hope at that time--how long does the chairman need for his statement?

Mr. REID. Twenty minutes. We will give Senator Murkowski the same amount of time.

Mr. REID. And 15 minutes for Senator Shaheen and 15 minutes for Senator Portman. When that time is expired, we will see if we can have some amendments. So that would be the case. Those four Senators will be recognized for the next 70 minutes. As I have indicated, it is for debate only.