Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table en bloc, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to H. Con. Res. 93.

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I understand S. 2122 is due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. I object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I am told there are three bills at the desk and I ask for their first reading.

Mr. REID. Have all three titles been read, Madam President?

Mr. REID. I now ask for a second reading of each of the bills but object to my own request, en bloc.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to Calendar No. 325, S. Res. 376.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that during the adjournment or recess of the Senate from Thursday, March 13 through Monday, March 24, Senators King, Reed, Rockefeller, and Casey be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I have a brief statement that I know everyone is excited to hear, but everyone should be advised that when we return after next week, there is so much, so much to do. We need to pass the Ukrainian bill that Foreign Relations reported yesterday. We have a new bipartisan unemployment insurance compromise introduced today that was put together by a group of bipartisan Senators. We have the SGR, the so-called doc fix, to prevent a 24-percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors, which would be extremely hurtful to patients. We have to do that. We have a backlog of nominations we have to do. Everyone should understand--I hope it is not necessary--because of the enormous amount of work we have to do this month, Senators should be on notice--all Senators--that there is a high probability that we need to be in session on the weekend of March 29 and 30, before the end of the month.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn and convene for pro forma sessions only with no business conducted on the following dates and times; and that following each pro forma session, the Senate adjourn until the next pro forma session: Friday, March 14, at 10:30 a.m.; Tuesday, March 18, at 10:30 a.m.; and Friday, March 21, at 9 a.m.; and that the Senate adjourn on Friday, March 21 until 2 p.m. on Monday, March 24, 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; and that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to S. 2124; that at 5:30 p.m. the Senate vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 2124.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, the next rollcall vote will be on Monday, March 24, at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam 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. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming recess or adjournment of the Senate, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore, and the majority and minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two Houses, or by order of the Senate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 309, S. 1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 10:30 a.m., with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final half. Following morning business the Senate will proceed to executive session. At 10:30 a.m., there will be up to 6 rollcall votes on the confirmation of several executive nominations. Upon disposition of the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Senate will begin consideration of S. 1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act reauthorization bill. Measures Placed on the Calendar--S. 2110 and H.R. 4152

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there are two bills at the desk due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. I would object to anything at this time as to these two matters.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, in our great country we think of a college education as the key to unlock our children's success. But many families in this country struggle to afford child care, leaving no money whatsoever for higher education. In 2011, in most States, 1 year of daycare for an infant was more expensive than 1 year of tuition at a public university. Let me repeat that. In America, in almost every State, 1 year of daycare is more expensive than 1 year of tuition at a public university. It is no wonder that middle-class families are struggling with sticker shock, and for many low-income families childcare is simply out of reach. For millions of families in the United States, childcare is their single largest household expense at nearly $15,000 a year. In an economy where most families have two working parents, childcare isn't a luxury, it is a necessity. That is why President Bush signed the first Child Care and Development Block Grant Act into law in 1990. He did this to ensure working families have access to quality, affordable childcare. I thank HELP Committee Chairman Harkin and Senators Burr, Mikulski, and Alexander for their diligent bipartisan work to reauthorize this measure. The program serves more than 1.6 million children, including more than 7,300 in Nevada, making access to affordable, high-quality care possible. But the program serves only a fraction of the need. We should be doing more to guarantee every parent who wants to work can afford adequate supervision for their children and for every child, regardless of income, so that kids have a safe place to learn. This bipartisan measure is an investment in America's mothers, 65 percent of whom work outside the home. Yet women earn less and are less likely to go back to work after having children--than men--in part because of the shortage of safe, affordable daycare. This program is helping millions of parents, and especially mothers, get back to work to help support their families. In the two decades since this important program was last authorized, we have learned a great deal about the importance of early childhood education and high- quality childcare. This bipartisan measure builds on that knowledge, updates health and safety standards for childcare centers, and requires providers to undergo comprehensive background checks. This reauthorization is only the first step. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the larger effort to broaden access to quality early childhood education. We are going to take up this bill later today. As I have said before, and I will say again so everyone understands, this is a bipartisan bill. I hope the managers of this bill will do everything they can to move this expeditiously through this body. But we are going to finish-- not finish it this week, but I prefer finishing it, and I hope we can do that. Reservation of Leader Time

Mr. REID. Would the Chair announce the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back the remaining time.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, throughout this year, my home State will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its path to Statehood, on October 31, 1864. Next week, while I will be home visiting my family and constituents, the Battle Born State will celebrate the day that Congress passed and President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation paving the way for Nevada to become the 36th State. At that time Congress was in a rush to welcome Nevada into the Union. It was during the Civil War; it was raging. The only other State admitted to the Union during the war was West Virginia, which seceded from Virginia to remain part of the Union in 1863. Congress didn't want to wait until the next session to admit another new State--a new State that could swing the Presidential election in Lincoln's favor and provide crucial votes for the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery. Nevadans had already rejected one proposed State constitution, so there was no time to waste. On March 21, 1864, in the waning hours of the 38th Congress, a law was passed allowing Nevada to enter the Union whenever voters finally passed and President Lincoln approved a State constitution. It wasn't during the normal course of business, but this wasn't the normal course with the Civil War going on. Typically Congress would get the final word on admission of a new State to the Union. But these, as I have indicated, were certainly not normal times. Even today we acknowledge Nevada's unique path to Statehood on our State flag with the words: ``Battle Born.'' Throughout this year, we will celebrate Nevada's 150th birthday with events in every corner of the State. From my hometown of Searchlight to Virginia City to Elko, there is a 150th anniversary event to match every interest. Nevada is a very large State. Area wide it is the seventh largest in the country. It is a unique State with more mountains than any place other than Alaska. We have 314 separate mountain ranges. We have one mountain that is 14,000 feet high. We have 32 mountains over 11,000 feet high. We have wide-ranging land, and we have some of the coldest places in the Nation and some of the hottest places in the Nation. We have all kinds of wildlife. Theodore Roosevelt created an antelope range that is large and sparsely populated. We have not only the antelope, we also have desert bighorn sheep. In Nevada we have mountain goats; we have almost 3 million acres of wilderness. It is a very beautiful State. It is more than the bright lights of Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe--even though we are very proud of sharing the stewardship of Lake Tahoe with the State of California--as Mark Twain said: ``the fairest picture the whole earth affords.'' We will mark Nevada's second constitutional convention, the day Nevada voters finally approved its constitution and the day, Halloween, October 31, 1864, that Lincoln proclaimed Nevada's Statehood. The 150th anniversary of our admission to the Union provides a wonderful opportunity to study Nevada's history. It is also the birthday of my young brother, so it is easy to remember--admission day, Halloween, and my brother's birthday all occurred the same day. It is also a chance to reflect on Nevada's unique pioneer spirit--a spirit that continues to make our State very special.