Harry Reid

Mr. REID

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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, all postcloture time be expired and the vote on confirmation of Calendar No. 563 occur at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 12, 2014; further, that on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, at 11:30 a.m., the Senate proceed to vote on cloture on Executive Calendar Nos. 577, 578, 579, and 580; further, that if cloture is invoked on any of these nominations, notwithstanding rule XXII, all postcloture time be expired and the votes on confirmation of the nominations occur on Wednesday, March 12, following disposition of the McHugh nomination, in the order upon which cloture was invoked; further, that following Senate action on these nominations, the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of Calendar No. 512; further, that there be 2 minutes for debate prior to each vote and all rollcall votes after the first vote in each sequence be 10 minutes in length; further, that following disposition of Calendar No. 512, the Senate resume legislative session and proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 309, S. 1086, the childcare and development block grant bill.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Ayotte be recognized for up to 3 minutes to comment on the passage of S. 1917; further, that following her remarks, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business; that the time be controlled in alternating 45-minute blocks, with the majority controlling the first 45 minutes.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, just last week one of the world's most well- known spiritual leaders, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, visited the Capitol. He talked about the moral imperative to protect the planet we call home. The Dalai Lama spoke with passion and longing of his native Tibet, where mountain snows melt in spring to feed the rivers to provide Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan with water. The Himalayas are sometimes called the ``third pole'' because they contain nearly a third of the world's nonpolar ice. But in recent years, manmade climate change has caused milder winters, less snow, and less water for 1.3 billion people living downstream from Tibet. In the Western United States we face a similar problem. For more than a decade drought has plagued the Colorado River, both upstream and downstream--the lifeblood of a number of Western States, including Nevada, California, Arizona, and other States. During this period of time, we have had some so-called average snows in the Upper Colorado but none of it reaches the river. The climate has changed. Milder winters have meant less Rocky Mountain snowpack and less spring runoff to feed the river. Combined with more extreme summer heat and other issues connected with climate change, the shrinking western snowpack threatens the water source for more than 30 million people. Far more than 30 million people, because 38 million people in California are affected very adversely because of what is going on with the Colorado River. The seriousness of this climate problem is not lost on the average American. The vast majority of Americans believe climate change is real. They believe it is here. A quarter century ago the first President Bush promised to use ``the White House effect'' to combat the ``greenhouse effect.'' That is what President Bush said, but not much has happened, I am sorry to say. Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and overwhelming public opinion, climate change deniers still exist. There are lots of them. They exist in this country. They exist, I am sorry to say, in this Congress--in the House and in the Senate. So I am very grateful to Senator Schatz, Senator Whitehouse, and the chairman of the very important environmental committee, Senator Boxer, and many other Senators who will join this climate change debate and presentation tonight for standing up against the deniers. Climate change is real. It is here. It is time to stop acting as though those who ignore this crisis--for example, the oil baron Koch brothers and their allies in Congress--have a valid point. They don't. Climate change is here. Climate change has brought harsh and drastic situations all over our country. In the last few years alone, the Midwest has experienced the most punishing drought since the Great Depression. Wildfires have ravaged the West, with places burning which have never burned before. The mighty Mississippi nearly ran dry, and barge traffic had to be brought to a stop because the river wasn't deep enough for them to travel. While record droughts affected some parts of the United States, torrential rains and extreme thunderstorms struck others. Temperatures topped 60 degrees in Alaska in January. February brought a blanket of snow and ice to Atlanta, GA--the South. In other parts of the world, glaciers and ice sheets which have been frozen for tens of thousands of years are melting and melting quickly. Fires have consumed vast forests and monsoons and superfloods left millions homeless all over the world. Since this new year, the United Kingdom has had its wettest winter perhaps ever but far more than in the last 100 years. Tokyo, Japan, in a period of a little over 2 weeks, got 4 years' worth of snow. Australia experienced its hottest summer in the history of Australia. The vast majority of scientists say this is just the beginning of the ravages of our world changing. Dozens of reports from scientists around the globe link extreme weather to climate change, and the more extreme climate change gets, the more extreme the weather is going to get. Everyone has to understand that. It is easy to see the urgency to confront climate change, but this challenge is also an opportunity--and it truly is. We have the ability now to reduce our reliance on oil and other fossil fuels, increase our production of clean energy, and create good- paying jobs which can never be outsourced. We have the ability to choose the kind of world in which we live. We have that choice. In Nevada we have done some good things. We have chosen clean renewable energy as we retire older polluting powerplants. We only have one left. We imported millions of tons of coal. I remember I was in the House of Representatives and one powerplant was on its way out. Al Matteucci, attorney for Nevada Power, was telling me that little powerplant was importing 2 million tons of coal a year. I said: What are you talking about? I thought, 2 million tons of coal? But that is the way it was, just one relatively small powerplant. We are no longer doing that in Nevada. We have only one coal-fired plant left, and we have done this by going of course to some natural gas, but we have done so many good things with renewable energy. With geothermal we finally passed California. We are the most productive State in the Union with geothermal energy. We have done other things with renewable energy. This old plant I just talked about, where millions of tons of coal came in every year, why are we getting rid of that? For lots of reasons. But one reason is this polluting powerplant, built on Paiute Indian land in Moapa, NV, about 35 miles outside of Las Vegas, during the Johnson administration was closed. Next week, a week from this coming Friday, we are going to have a groundbreaking on the Moapa land, where they are going to have hundreds and hundreds of jobs because they are going to produce huge amounts of energy through solar, and that energy is going to go to California. We have huge amounts of solar energy all over the State of Nevada and we are shipping it to California because California did the right thing. They passed a law saying by a certain period of time one-third of all their power must come from renewable sources. This is a progressive State. It is important, and we are helping them meet those demands, but we are also doing a lot to produce our own energy. I talked about this powerplant. The powerplant, Moapa, at this Indian reservation, is the first solar project to be built on tribal lands-- certainly in Nevada and likely in the whole country. The largest solar plant in the world opened last month on the Nevada- California border, the largest one in the world. Dozens of geothermal wells on public lands power the cities of Reno and Sparks in northern Nevada. Because some of Nevada's best renewable energy resources are located in the rural areas, we recently completed a power line connecting renewable energy sources. It was part of the Obama program to help stimulate the economy, which certainly has done that all over the country, but it certainly has done it in Nevada. We have this power line connecting the northern part of the State and the southern State for the first time ever. What is being put into that power line? Renewable energy. Solar, wind, geothermal. This power line connecting renewable energy resources with the people and businesses that need them and making the electric grid more efficient is a part of what we used to talk about all the time, a smart grid. It is actually here. Nevada is the first place where we actually have Federal programs which got us the smart grid. We have permission to take this power line from northern Nevada to southern Nevada, now into the great Northwest. So we are doing some good work. This is what the smart grid is all about. Nevada has proven it is very easy to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, which is good for the economy and good for the environment. But as the Dalai Lama said: We have the capability and the responsibility to act. But we must do so before it is too late. He went on further to say: This . . . is not just a question of morality or ethics, but a question of our own survival. I believe him. I ask unanimous consent that following my opening remarks the following Senators be recognized for up to 90 seconds in the order listed: Durbin, Schumer, Murray, Boxer, Whitehouse, Schatz, Feinstein, Wyden, Nelson, Cantwell, Cardin, Klobuchar, Udall of Colorado, Udall of New Mexico, Shaheen, Merkley, Bennet, Franken, Coons, Blumenthal, Heinrich, King, Kaine, Warren, Markey, Booker, and Gillibrand.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Carly Robinson, a fellow in the office of Senator Mark Udall, be granted the privilege of the floor during the Senate's session of today, March 10, 2014.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Harsh Desai, a fellow in the office of Senator Feinstein, be granted the privilege of the floor during the duration of the overnight debate on climate change.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to welcome to the Senate his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. I know I speak for the entire Senate family when I express our gratitude for the prayer to open the Senate and his words of encouragement and his blessing. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is well known throughout the world as the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and for spreading the gospel of peace, compassion, and love to our fellow human beings. But it is the tradition when the Senate welcomes a guest Chaplain to say a few words about the honored guest. My friendship with His Holiness has roots from a good man from California by the name of Richard Blum who has done more, in my opinion, to help the Tibetan people and His Holiness than anyone else. His Holiness often says that he is only a simple monk born to a farming family in northeastern Tibet. To millions of people in Tibet and across the globe, he is much more. He is a source of hope and inspiration in a world that can sometimes seem very dark. When he was only 2 years old, His Holiness was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. Four years later, when he was a little boy, he began his monastic education. He studied logic, art, Tibetan culture, and Buddhist philosophy, among many other things. At age 23 he passed his exam with honors and was awarded what would be an equivalent of a Ph.D., a doctorate of Buddhist philosophy. For more than half a century, the Dalai Lama has been traveling the world raising awareness about the concerns of 6 million fellow Tibetans--as he would say: Making new friends around the world. In Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, the Dalai Lamas, all of them, are enlightened beings who have postponed their own nirvana, or liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, in order to serve humanity. This particular enlightened being has chosen to serve humanity by spreading a message of peace. He motivates countless people around the world, people of every faith, to practice compassion toward one another. His Holiness urges us all: ``Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.'' The Dalai Lama's teachings contain lessons from people around the world and certainly within this Chamber. His Holiness also advises us: ``The best way to resolve any problem in the human world is for all sides to sit down and talk.'' Pretty simple, but very true. It is advice that those of us fortunate enough to serve our country and our constituents in the Senate should take to heart and follow. The presence of His Holiness in this Chamber today inspires me as I hope it does all of us to renew our commitment to speak and act with a pure mind and to help dispel the misery of the world.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 309, S. 1086.

Mr. REID. Following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 10:30, with Republicans controlling the first half and the majority the final half. Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to executive session. At 11:20, there will be up to three rollcall votes on executive nominations. Following those votes, there will be 2 hours of debate on the military sexual assault bills. At about 2 p.m., there will be a series of rollcall votes in relation to the military sexual assault bills. We also expect to consider additional executive nominations which may require votes later in the day.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, with His Holiness here in the Senate Chamber, there are a number of Senators who would like to say hello to him. So based on that, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that following action on S. 1917, the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations: Nos. 504, 513, 640, and 547; that the Senate proceed to vote on confirmation of the nominations in the order listed; that there be 2 minutes for debate prior to each vote, equally divided in the usual form, and that the votes be 10 minutes in length; the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order to any of the nominations; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate resume legislative session.

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

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I yield back the remainder of our time.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order with respect to the consideration of S. 1752 and S. 1917 be modified so the debate time is equally divided between Senators McCaskill and Gillibrand or their designees, with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect.

Mr. REID. I have a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, when American men and women decide to defend our freedoms as members of the U.S. Armed Forces, they do so with full knowledge that they could make the ultimate sacrifice--the ultimate sacrifice--on behalf of our county. These are very courageous men and women. While we can't protect every member of our military from harm at the hands of America's enemies, we should at least guarantee them protection from harm at the hands of their fellow servicemembers. The need to address the problem of sexual assault is not lost on the military officers and officials with whom I have met. They acknowledge there is a problem. I believe they are working in good faith to fix it. The vast majority of U.S. military personnel are appalled by sexual assault in their ranks, as are their commanders. I applaud their dedication to this Nation and their fellow servicemembers. I applaud the action of those who have zero tolerance for these crimes, but I am convinced that Congress must act aggressively to eliminate a military culture that not only allows sexual assault to happen but too often punishes the victims when it does. We have already taken some action to combat the sexual assault in the Defense authorization bill. I am pleased today we will vote on two proposals for further action. Congress cannot stand idly by while the blight of sexual assault continues. Every military leader has the responsibility to take a stand with us for a zero tolerance approach to military sexual assault, to stand by the victims of sexual assault, and to stand with the good men and women they command.

Mr. REID. We are going to have two votes at 2 o'clock. I ask unanimous consent that the additional time until 2 p.m. be equally divided and controlled.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I now ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Executive Calendar Nos. 504, 513, 640, and 547, as provided under a previous order entered by this body.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back any time that is available.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back all time that is available.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back all time that is available.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I yield back any time that is available.