Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. in room SR- 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Protecting Personal Consumer Information from Cyber Attacks and Data Breaches.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014 at 10 a.m., in room SD-406 of the Dirksen Senate office building, to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Oversight Hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``Syria After Geneva: Next Steps for U.S. Policy.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships to Reduce Cyber Risks to Our Nation's Critical Infrastructure.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, in room SD-628 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``The President's Fiscal Year 2015 Budget for Tribal Programs.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SD-G50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, in room SD-562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 1:45 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Preventing Medicare Fraud: How Can We Best Protect Seniors and Taxpayers?''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Are Alternative Financial Products Serving Consumers?''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 26, 2014, at 10 a.m.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1827 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Thursday, March 27, 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 10:30 a.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each and the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half; and that following morning business, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 4152, the Ukraine bill; that notwithstanding the previous order, the time until noon be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees and all other provisions of the previous order remain in effect.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. There will be a series of rollcall votes at noon tomorrow. Additional votes are possible during tomorrow's session. Senators will be notified when they are scheduled.

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 the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 387.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour. The majority will control the first half, the Republicans the final half. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2124, the Ukraine act. That will be postcloture time. Order of Procedure I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings and that the time during the recess count postcloture on the Ukraine bill.

Mr. REID. Very, very soon we hope to work out an agreement to begin consideration of the bill. Senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. I have spoken this morning to Senator Menendez, chairman of the committee, and I spoke last night to Senator Corker and Senator McCain. I talked to Senator McCain this morning, and he was going to talk to Senator Corker. Hopefully, we will move forward very quickly on this legislation.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I am told S. 2149 is due for its second reading and is at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings with respect to this legislation.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, last night the Senate took the first steps in supporting the people of Ukraine, sending a clear message to Russia. I am pleased the Senate voted overwhelmingly in a bipartisan fashion to consider this bipartisan bill that was reported to the Senate floor. The measure includes a number of provisions: a loan guarantee, sanctions, and security assistance. This certainly is a step in the right direction. It is not everything, but I certainly applaud the efforts of the Members from both sides of the aisle who have labored diligently to get us this far. I hope the bipartisan support will continue so we can finish the bill this week and provide the people of Ukraine with the critical support they need while imposing strong sanctions against those in Russia and Ukraine who created this crisis. There is no reason why we can't pass the bill today. According to all reports, the situation regarding Ukraine is getting worse, not better. Russian troops are seizing facilities in the Crimea. All they have to do is make a phone call. They didn't need to have all the brute force, knocking down doors and injuring people in the process. They have done this throughout Crimea. The Government of Russia looks foolish. The world community understands that. They are levying foolish retaliatory sanctions, mocking the efforts of the international community to bring about a peaceful and fair resolution to the illegal invasion and the annexation of Crimea. Yesterday President Obama and other European leaders meeting in The Hague formed a strong, united front in denouncing Russia's unlawful actions against the people of Ukraine. Under President Obama's leadership, the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom took further action by suspending Russia from the G8--as of today it is the G7--and canceling the planned summit in Sochi this summer. I mentioned those seven countries, but over in Europe yesterday, the President was there with some 42 other nations, all of them looking with an eye toward what Russia had done that was totally contrary to international law. By excluding Russia from the G8, President Obama and our allies have sent the message loudly and clearly that bullying behavior and rhetoric will not go unchallenged. I applaud the efforts of our allies to take a stand against Russia's aggression and welcome their further commitment to hold accountable President Putin and his cronies--and they really are his cronies. If there were ever a thugocracy, this is it. This is a government that is corrupt, and they need to be held accountable for violating international law. This cannot go unnoticed and unretaliated against. As for action here in the Senate, I look forward to stabilizing Ukraine and imposing new sanctions against Russia by passing the bill that is before us. We should do that today. One way or the other, we need to get it done as quickly as possible. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

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