Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. And remember what he is manufacturing in this huge facility is batteries. So I would think Elon Musk, who has been sending people and cargo into space, is going to come up with an idea to make better batteries. I would also suggest to my friend that the example of Packard and Kodak were very good examples. But more modern, I read a book a few months ago about Reed Hastings, the owner of Netflix, who had already been successful in another line of work when he went into Netflix. We all remember Blockbuster, where we would go to rent our movies. He went to Blockbuster and he said: I have an idea; here is what I would like to do. They said: No, that is just a niche business. We are not interested. Blockbuster is gone, and Netflix is every place. So the same thing is going to happen one way or another to these monopolies that have the power in our States. They should work something out to make sure they are ahead of the curve. Otherwise, they are going to be behind the curve--and fairly quickly. Would the Senator agree with that?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, in recent weeks the Nation has become concerned, afraid, and even outraged to learn that nearly 100,000 people who are residents of the city of Flint, MI, have been poisoned. About 9,000 of those poisoned are children under the age of 6 years. Two years ago, in an effort to pinch pennies, an unelected emergency manager appointed by Governor Rick Snyder switched the water supply from the city of Flint, MI, water source to the Flint River. Water from the Flint River is contaminated with lead, bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease, and lots of other bad things. As a result, the residents of Flint, MI, were forced to drink the water. There is no trick photography here. This is a person in Flint, MI. You could go to any house you wanted to go to. This is the water that they were drinking and bathing in. It is hard to comprehend that this went on for such a long time. Can you imagine taking a bath in this, brushing your teeth, or drinking it? How about bathing a new baby? This is your little bathtub. Through no fault of their own, the people of Flint, MI, are being forced to endure a public health crisis that could have been avoided. This is a manmade crisis. We will never know the full extent of the damage to the people who live in Flint, MI--especially to the children. They have been harmed because they have been poisoned by the acts of the leadership in the State of Michigan, especially the Governor of the State of Michigan. The reckless decision to switch to unsafe drinking water was forced upon 100,000 people. These people in Flint, MI, are now exposed to water with high levels of lead--frighteningly high levels of lead--among other things. This is not just lead. There is bacteria, and they haven't determined the full extent of it. It is established. I can remember when I first came to this body many, many years ago. I had the good fortune to chair a number of hearings in the environment committee dealing with lead poisoning. At the time that we studied it, lead poisoning was lead that children ingested--children who lived in developments where there were large amounts of lead-based paint. The children who ate this lead--not on purpose--were not what they could have been. It affected their brains. This lead in water, lead anyplace, affects the brain. It affects adults, too, but especially children. Lead causes serious problems for adults, as I mentioned, but it is especially dangerous for children, causing lifetime effects. You can't get well. They have a program where they try to take the blood out and run it through a purifier. It takes a long time, but there are no safe levels of lead for children. After the city made this wrong decision to switch its water source, it was really very quickly that the citizens of Flint complained that the water was discolored, and it also smelled. Everyone began to develop rashes. The response of State government was appalling. Rick Snyder, the Governor of Michigan, is one of those who berates government all the time. Emails released from his office just last week referred to a resident who said she was told by a State nurse in January 2015, a little over a year ago--she was complaining about her son's elevated blood levels. The nurse told this woman: It is just a few IQ points. It is not the end of the world. Can you imagine a health care worker telling someone: It is your baby, but it is just a few IQ points. No big deal. It is not the end of the world. This was a State nurse. The water was so poisonous that General Motors, the manufacturer of automobile parts there, stopped using the source for their Flint engine operations because the parts corroded during the manufacturing process. They had to stop using this water. People were still drinking this water and bathing in this water. Despite overwhelming evidence that a city in his State had lead poisoning, Governor Snyder failed to act and protect the people of Flint. This went on for a long time. As Flint struggles to recover from this terrible public health problem, an investigation will determine who exactly is to blame for this reckless decision. We know who caused the problem. This was a manmade disaster, as I said earlier, but now we must act to protect the residents of Flint. This protection should start with repairs to their water infrastructure. Like many cities--and there are quite a few in the Midwest--Flint has lead pipes, but the highly corrosive nature of the Flint River damaged them. It ate away at the insides of those pipes. Now these lead pipes are leaching into the clean water supply from Lake Huron. It will cost over $1 billion to replace Flint's corroded water infrastructure. The people in Flint, MI, are struggling. There has been money spent there. Flint had been doing quite well until this came along. There was a new vitality. But now people are afraid to eat in restaurants, and the businesses have been terribly damaged because people don't believe the water is pure. A lot of these restaurants, for example, put in their own water supply and water purification system, but people don't believe it. They are afraid. We need this done now. The State and Federal Government must cooperate now to end this crisis, which requires that we make investments. I repeat: now. President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Flint, MI, and given FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the authority to provide resources for the people of Flint. The problem is that right now they are just getting bottled water. The infrastructure is so bad. Governor Snyder has finally--finally--declared a state of emergency and finally apologized for his administration's slow response. The Governor's apology is too late. The residents of Flint have already been poisoned. It is too bad the people on that side of the aisle disparage the government all the time. It is too intrusive. It is too involved. It is detrimental to our society. The Governor of Michigan is one of the leading cheerleaders of that theory. He denigrates government every single chance he gets. But to whom does he turn when the State of Michigan is in trouble? To the Federal Government. When emergency strikes, the Federal Government steps in. That is one of the responsibilities we have to protect America. So I hope Senate Republicans will support our efforts to protect the people of Flint in this time of need. Senator Murkowski--the chair of that important committee that has jurisdiction of the bill that is before this body today--is working with Senator Cantwell. They are committed to doing something to help in this. Let's make sure we support them. Sadly, some of the same Republicans who have called for relief when their States faced natural disasters are disparaging government action in Flint. For example, last year, Texas was devastated with historic flooding. But who stepped in? It was the Federal Government that stepped in to provide disaster relief for the people of Texas. That is why I was disappointed to see the senior Senator from Texas say: ``While we all have sympathy for what's happened in Flint, this is primarily a local and state responsibility.'' He didn't say that when the flooding was taking place in Texas. Last year, as Florida was hit with extreme flooding, the junior Senator from Florida called for Federal disaster assistance. But when it comes to the children and families of Flint, the Senator, who finished third last night in the Iowa caucuses, cautions against any action. This is what he said about Flint: ``I believe the federal government's role in some of these things (is) largely limited unless it involves a federal jurisdictional issue.'' Well, the issue was that the State of Michigan didn't do what it was supposed to do. The junior Senator from Florida is not alone. Republican Senators routinely rush to the floor to demand Federal aid when trouble hits their backyard. That is the right thing to do. Americans help each other in times of crisis. This week the Senate has a chance to help the families suffering through a public health crisis. I hope Republicans who have had difficulties in the past and have requested Federal aid for their States won't turn their backs on the people of Michigan. If a Federal Government response is necessary for natural disasters, shouldn't the Federal Government help respond to these manmade disasters? The examples I gave in Texas and Florida were not manmade disasters; this is. We remain committed to giving the people of Flint, MI, what they need during this crisis--help from the Federal Government to restore clean, safe water. But the Federal Government cannot do it all. The people of Flint, MI, should understand that the Governor of Michigan is costing them a lot of money, and it is going to cost the taxpayers of Michigan a lot more because the Federal Government cannot do it all. Senator Stabenow and Senator Peters have proposed an amendment to the bill before us that provides emergency relief to address the Flint water crisis. I support that. The people of Flint have been poisoned. We owe our fellow citizens swift action to address this medical emergency. I urge my colleagues, especially my Republican friends, to support the Stabenow-Peters amendment to give the people of Flint the relief they so desperately need.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the President of the United States deserves the right to choose a team to carry out the work that is being done here, and the leader of that work to be done here is the President. It was the same way with President Bush, President Reagan, and President Clinton. They deserved a team--a team they chose--to help effectuate policies they saw as necessary for this country. The President of the United States deserves the right to choose a team to carry out his vision here at home and around the world--his vision. I am not alone in that belief. My friend, the senior Senator from Arizona, Mr. McCain, said: ``The President, in my view, has a clear right to put into place the team he believes will serve him best.'' Sadly, since President Obama was elected, Republicans have stopped at nothing to undermine the President's team--seeking to prevent progress by denying him the personnel he wants to carry out his agenda. Despite record obstruction, President Obama has achieved remarkable progress. I talked about some of that just a minute ago. Imagine what President Obama could have accomplished if Republicans took their constitutional duties seriously. Regrettably, during the Obama Presidency, Republicans have done everything within their power to block, obstruct, stonewall, hinder qualified public servants from serving. In the first year of Republican control, the Senate confirmed the fewest nominations of any first session in memory. This blatant strategy of obstruction is shameful and dangerous to our economy and the national security of our country. Headlines around the world remind us each day of the turmoil that exists in the global financial market and terrorism that threatens the world. Today we learned of multiple bombings yesterday and last night in Nigeria--lots of people killed. We can only wait and see where else that turmoil will arise. Most Americans agree that we need a full complement of appointees to address the challenges we face. Republicans are preventing our government from doing its job at home and around the world. According to the Congressional Research Service, the Senate banking committee has reported out at least one nomination every year for the past 50 years, but not last year--last year, not a single nominee. Currently, nominees to the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other important financial assignments are stalled in the banking committee. The committee has been operating under Republican leadership for the past 13 months, and they have yet to report a single nomination out of that committee. That is the definition of historic obstruction. If there is any nominee who deserves to be confirmed immediately, it is a man by the name of Adam Szubin, whom the President nominated to combat terrorism financing--think about that--terrorism financing. He is desperately needed at the Treasury Department. Jack Lew has called me on many occasions talking about how this man needs to fill this assignment. He has expressed to me the importance of his job in trying to slow ISIS and their financial network and other terrorism activities around the country. As Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Crimes, Szubin would lead a team that disrupts terrorist financing networks, cutting off money for terrorists so they can't finance their evil deeds. He has served as a career civil servant under both Republican and Democratic Presidents. Despite the importance of his work, Republicans are preventing a vote in the banking committee and thus preventing Adam Szubin from having a vote here on the Senate floor. He is currently acting--he is certainly acting in a role that is not permanent, which is why they call him an acting member of the Treasury Department. He lacks the stature that his counterparts have around the world. So he is not able to do all that should be done to disrupt terrorist financial networks throughout the world. In a September hearing on his nomination, the chairman of the banking committee, the senior Senator from Alabama said: ``Mr. Szubin is eminently qualified for this [position].'' Eminently qualified, not reported out of the banking committee, no vote here on the Senate floor--why are we holding up this critical nomination? We all know why. Powerful rightwing groups have announced that they are scoring votes on Presidential nominations. In fact, Heritage Action, which is a front group for the tea party and the Koch brothers, said the Senate should only confirm nominees they deem worthwhile--they deem, not Senators but this rightwing cabal. This comes at the expense of the American people and our national security. If the Republican leadership follows this weird plan, scores of Ambassadors charged with representing our interests around the world could be prevented from service. They have been prevented from service. We have several credible nominees currently awaiting floor votes. Ms. Azita Raji, who has been nominated to represent America in Sweden, is an accomplished businesswoman who has lived and worked in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. There has been more than 300 Swedish citizens who have left Sweden to fight with ISIS in either Syria or Iraq, making this nation the second largest country of origin per capita for foreign fighters coming from Europe to the Middle East. We need to get this done. It is not right for America to not be able to deal, on a daily basis, with the authority to help Sweden with their issues. The Swedish Government is on heightened alert for an attack. Yet we don't have a Senate-confirmed ambassador to represent us in Stockholm. She was first nominated to be Ambassador in October 2014. We are now in 2016. We don't have an ambassador to Sweden. We don't have an ambassador to Norway, and it has been that way for more than 2 years. President Obama nominated a person by the name of Samuel Heins, an accomplished lawyer and humanitarian from Minnesota. His nomination is not controversial. It is only controversial, I guess, to the Koch brothers, the tea party, and Heritage Action. He should be confirmed without delay, but it has been 2 years. Other State Department nominations have been blocked for partisan reasons by the junior Senator from Texas. Tom Shannon has been nominated to be Under Secretary of State. We don't have an ambassador to Mexico. Tom Shannon has been nominated to the fourth highest ranking position in the State Department. He would like to be serving. He would serve as the day-to-day manager of overall regional and bilateral policy issues and oversee State Department bureaus around the world. He is a career Foreign Service officer, having served under Presidents of both parties. If he is confirmed, he would be the highest ranking career diplomat in the State Department. John Kerry called me saying: How can I continue this job I have? I don't have people to do the work. He doesn't even have a lawyer. The State Department doesn't have a lawyer. We have tried to confirm Brian Egan starting back in September 2014, but he has been held up for months and months. Do you know what this is about? Clinton's emails--Secretary Clinton's emails. If the senior Senator from Iowa is interested in getting answers to his countless letters to the State Department, wouldn't a Senate-confirmed legal advisor be of some help? Eric Fanning, the President's nominee to be the next Secretary of the Army, is being blocked by the senior Senator from Kansas, even though the senior Senator from Kansas, Mr. Roberts, said: ``I think [Fanning's] a pretty good nominee.'' In spite of that, there is no vote on his nomination. The Army needs Mr. Fanning's leadership and responsibility for over a $200 billion budget for more than 1 million servicemembers. Right now they are making due at the Pentagon, but we should have a Secretary of the Army. Unless Republicans change course, these important vacancies will go unfilled for the rest of the Obama administration, and our diplomacy and relationships around the world will continue to suffer because of what is going on here. I do not understand what my Republican colleagues are doing. If Republicans had their way, they would stop confirming officials at just about every key agency. According to the Congressional Research Service, the Senate has confirmed an average of 351 nominations during the first session of the Congress. Last year the Senate didn't even get to half of what it normally does. The Republicans should get to work and schedule votes on the President's nominees. Valid concerns about the qualifications of these nominees should be brought forth. We haven't heard any, but denying a vote for partisan gain does nothing to strengthen America at home or around the world. The American people deserve better. This Senator says America is less safe because of what is going on with the Republicans in the Senate. We are not as secure as we should be. We have vacancies for Ambassadors all over the world that are not being filled. People within the State Department, the Treasury Department whose job is to deal with terrorism are being blocked. For the first time in 50 years we don't have anyone reported out of the banking committee. America is less safe because of what Republicans are doing to our country. I yield the floor, Mr. President.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have joined with the Republican leader over the last couple of days saying good things about the bill that is on the floor. But today my friend the Republican leader stated that nothing has happened with energy in this country since 2007. That simply is not right. It is not true. We have done a lot of stuff in the Senate under President Obama to do good things about energy. For example, the first major bill under President Obama was the so- called American Recovery Act, the stimulus bill. In that bill there was a lot of stuff to change the energy delivery system in this country to allow the creation of new power lines which were so badly needed all over America. For those of us who represent Nevada, we have a power line that now goes from northern Nevada to southern Nevada, and it would never have happened but for that legislation we passed. And there was an announcement made 2 weeks ago that that line is now going to be taken even farther to make it easier to transport power to California-- renewable energy power. I spoke to the owner of that line, who owns half of it with NV Energy, and soon they will be taking it clear to the Northwest. Of course, in the stimulus bill, it was the first time there has been major legislation allowed for tax credits, tax incentives for doing renewable energy. And the bill we just passed, the omnibus bill, the tax extenders--there is tremendous stuff in that bill for renewable energy and other electricity initiatives. So I like this bill that is on the floor. It is a good bill. But it simply is not valid to say that nothing has happened since 2007 because that is a gross understatement. I really hope we can pass the bill that is on the floor. The vast majority of this bill contains the Shaheen-Portman legislation that we tried valiantly to get done in the past. It was blocked by Republican filibusters. Sadly, the cosponsor of the bill twice voted against his own bill. The Senator from Ohio voted against his own legislation. I hope that doesn't happen again.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, there are some things I shouldn't joke about. I tried to be funny an hour ago at my weekly stakeout and I guess it wasn't very funny--at least I don't think so. The danger Donald Trump's candidacy poses to our country is not a joke. Since he launched his bid for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump has proven over and over again that he is a hateful demagogue who would do immeasurable damage to our country if elected. I have come to the Senate floor many times to decry his hateful comments. Donald Trump threatens to diminish the integrity of our democracy around the whole world. If he wins the nomination of the Republican Party to run for President of the United States, the Republican Party will never recover from the damage he will inflict on conservatism. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, Officer Alston was an exemplary police officer. If his death accomplishes nothing more than the fact that people need to be very aware of what happens during times of exertion--there were 18 people who died during the snowstorm from shoveling snow. Officer Alston was a picture of fitness. He was a weight lifter. He took care of himself as well as anybody could. It is such a shame that he is no longer going to be able to take care of his family. As Senator McConnell said, our hearts go out to him. But, as I said, if nothing else, please, everyone, focus on this: Be very careful. There is still lots of snow out there, and if there is not snow now, there will be at some subsequent time. Please be very careful. You may think that you are powerful and you lift weights and all of that stuff, but be careful because that snow is very hard to shovel. It is very heavy, and it can create problems. My condolences go out to the family of Officer Alston. He was a police officer, and we look out for our own. I am very sorry he passed away.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, on another matter, the island of Puerto Rico continues to face billions of dollars of debt. I don't know the number--$17 billion. We hear all kinds of numbers. Puerto Rico is part of America. We must work together to address the severe economic and fiscal crisis that has gripped our fellow citizens. I was in a meeting yesterday where I was told that on the island of Puerto Rico there is a shortage of suitcases--luggage--because people are leaving and most of them are coming to Florida. They are desperate. Many have said that the dire state of Puerto Rico's economy could become a humanitarian crisis, and that is really true. The time to act is now. I joined Senator Cantwell and all of my Democratic colleagues in calling on the Republican leader to advance legislation that gives Puerto Rico the protection it so desperately needs. We did send a letter to the Republican leader. Any solution that doesn't provide Puerto Rico the ability to restructure debt would be an abject failure. Legislation that empowers Puerto Rico to adjust a significant portion of its debt would not cost the Federal Government a single penny. This is far from a bailout. It would save U.S. taxpayers from the growing cost of inaction. Over 3 million Americans live on the island of Puerto Rico, and they are looking to Congress for help in their time of need. I spoke to the Speaker myself, and he has made a commitment to address the economic emergency in Puerto Rico before the end of March. This has to be more than a hearing. We need to have something done substantively to help that territory. Today Democrats call on the Republican leader to make the same commitment Paul Ryan has made to address the economic emergency in Puerto Rico soon. There is really no time to spare. Republicans should join us in our commitment to assist our fellow Americans. Earlier this month, I sent a letter separate and apart from the one all Democrats sent, outlining the steps the Senate can take to help Puerto Rico. If the Republican leader is unsure where to begin, he could heed what I have suggested and appoint a task force to find a bipartisan solution to this economic crisis. But as far as I am concerned, that is way down the list. I am not someone who favors task forces. I think the work should be done by committees and by our committee chairs and ranking members. I believe anything that one would try to do--that is, having another hearing, appointing a task force--is only an effort to stall the inevitable. Puerto Rico needs help. They need to be treated as other American citizens and be able to file bankruptcy. It would not apply to any State. It would apply only to this territory. We must act now to relieve the hardships facing these people and avoid additional costs to taxpayers because there will be additional costs if we don't resolve this now. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to announce the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, making America's clean energy future sustainable for our children and grandchildren has long been a priority for Senate Democrats. Today the Senate will begin consideration of a bipartisan bill that makes progress doable on this important goal. We have long sought to pass a number of priorities included in this bill. Through the stimulus package, we made one of the largest investments in clean energy in the entire history of the country. In fact, let me just say it this way: It is the largest investment in the history of the country in clean air energy. When Democrats were in the majority, we fought valiantly to pass a bipartisan piece of legislation called Shaheen-Portman. It was an innovative efficiency bill that would have reduced carbon emissions, would have saved families and businesses huge amounts of money, and supported 200,000 jobs in America. We tried to get this done. The Senator from Ohio came to me and said: We need to get this done. I said: I agree with you; so what do you need? He told me what he needed, and we agreed to that. But I am sorry to report that on at least two separate occasions, my Republican friends chose obstruction that prevented the Senate from passing this bipartisan piece of legislation. Then, even the Republican sponsor of the bill wouldn't vote for it--his own bill. He voted against it. Today we have another opportunity. This is the third or fourth time that we are moving to this. I hope we can get this done. I think there is no reason we shouldn't be able to, because we are a responsible minority. We want to get things done. We want to pass legislation. We don't want to obstruct everything. Senators Murkowski and Cantwell have worked very hard to pass this bill called the Energy Policy Modernization Act. They did it through the committee they are responsible for leading. I commend both Senators for their sound leadership. I am also happy--and I will just mention a few other things that this legislation addresses. Part of it includes permanent authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We did some very good things in the omnibus that we passed to take care of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We funded it for 3 years, and that is more than we have done in a long time. But my Republican colleagues allowed the authorization legislation to expire last year for 3 months before we were able to finally renew it. So I hope we can pass this part of the bill untouched. Most of the key provisions included in the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill are in this bill. That is really important. There is $40 billion in energy authorizations, including for basic research, home energy efficiency, and clean vehicles. Those are just a few of the items. Through these provisions, this legislation will save consumers as much as $60 billion. And not only that, it reduces a significant amount of carbon pollution generated by dirty fossil energy sources. It is estimated that passing the Energy Policy Modernization Act would reduce carbon emissions equal to taking every car and truck in the United States off the road for a year. That is a pretty big deal. Over the next 15 years, the energy sector will need to replace 2 million workers and hire an additional 1.5 million for new jobs. That is what this legislation will allow. This bill makes progress toward training a skilled workforce fully equipped to take advantage of high- paying job opportunities in the energy sector. The Senate works best when Democrats and Republicans, the majority and the minority, work together on behalf of the American people. As written, the Murkowski-Cantwell energy bill could win bipartisan approval on the Senate floor, and we can do it right now. As with all legislation, there is no question that the energy bill could be improved, and there will be efforts made to do that. I certainly solicit amendments, as did the Republican leader, but get them over here. It is my understanding the majority leader is now promising to allow amendments. That is what the Republican leader said a few minutes ago, and I am sure that is appropriate. Members of my caucus welcome opportunities to help strengthen the bill. However, we can't allow extreme Republican ideological amendments to poison this opportunity. The Murkowski-Cantwell energy bill must remain a bipartisan piece of legislation. Clean energy, infrastructure, and conservation are priorities of the middle class and all Americans. So I urge my Republican colleagues to recognize the good work of Senators Murkowski and Cantwell and work with Democrats to pass this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are 3 weeks into the new year, and already we are back to wasting the Senate's time to launch partisan attacks. Today my Republican colleagues have chosen to once again attack clean water protections that millions of Americans depend on. On Tuesday President Obama vetoed the Republican attempt to roll back the clean water rule--a rule that basically restores important safeguards to shield our water sources from pollution and contamination. There are special interest groups who have tried to raise money based on this. Some of the groups who have tried to raise money on this with fallacious information are farm groups. They have gone out and said that this is terrible for agriculture. Agriculture is exempted, so anyone saying this is horrible for agriculture is simply wrong. Under the specific language of the legislation, agriculture is exempted. The clean water rule resolves years of confusion and provides regulatory certainty for businesses, farmers, local governments, and communities. It creates no new permitting requirements and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions. Despite President Obama's veto, Republicans remain determined to undermine the environment. Safe water is critical to the health of our communities. One need go no further than Flint, MI, to find out that that is, in fact, the case. And it is important to our economy. At this very moment, as I have indicated, 100,000 people live in Flint, MI. All of those families--thousands of families--have been forced to worry about their children's health because of lead contamination in their drinking water. Their little brains are adversely affected by lead in the water. We have known that for a long time, but in an effort to save a buck, the Governor and others in Michigan decided they would try something else and in the process have really drastically damaged the lives of little boys and girls in Flint, MI. Our country is the wealthiest country in the world. No American should have to worry about whether they are drinking safe water in America. It is unconscionable to think that we would waste valuable time in the Senate attacking a rule dealing with clean water designed to keep our Nation's water safe. And while we are doing this--wasting time here in the Senate today--Flint, MI, is in a state of emergency. Republicans are so wedded to idealogical purity, they have lost touch with reality. They have somehow failed to recognize that clean water is a basic priority for all Americans. The reality is that the Federal funding and reasonable protections are necessary to ensure public health and safety. The Governor of the State of Michigan is an anti-government person. That is his mark. He especially wants Washington to stay out of Michigan's government. But what is the first thing he does when he finds out he and his whole government have messed up the State of Michigan? He calls Washington for help. He, along with many of my friends on the other side of the aisle, disparage the Federal Government every chance they get, but when a crisis strikes, whom do they call upon to help? The Federal Government. Rolling back clean water protections is the wrong thing to do, and Republicans should refocus their energy on solutions to keep America healthy and safe.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, a flood of dark money has engulfed the American political system and perverted our democracy. The voices of ordinary citizens are being drowned out by billionaires seeking to rig the system in their favor. Americans should know that Democrats are fighting to restore their voice, which is being overshadowed by the billions of dollars being spent to push the Republican Presidential nominees, and on every level of the government, this dark money is there drowning out the voices of average Americans. Over here, we stand united in our commitment to advance the interest of the middle-class and working families. It is important to remember how we got to this point. Yesterday I saw that the junior Senator from Florida and the former Governor of Florida have spent about $150 million so far running for President. One of them is at 10 percent in the national polls and the other is at 6 percent. But they have the money to slosh around and spend. We got here because 6 years ago today, the Supreme Court of our great country erased a century of sound government regulations that protect the fairness and integrity of elections. It was determined during the Republican reign of Teddy Roosevelt that there was too much corporate money in American politics, and so under his leadership, it was eliminated. But the Supreme Court changed that in a very narrow decision of 5 to 4. The disastrous Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates for these shadowy billionaires to influence our elections. Most of the spending is done in secret by special interest shell groups who refuse to disclose their donors to the American people. These billionaire donors stop at nothing to buy a government that favors them and their special interests. There are two brothers who I believe are determined to buy America, and we will find out come election time. Maybe they have been able to do that. Charles and David Koch are shrewd business people. Their wealth is nearly unmatched anyplace in the world. They have amassed a fortune from inherited wealth that they have magnified that has come from oil, chemicals, and a lot of different places. They originally inherited this from their dad and built it into a multinational corporation. No one really knows their net worth, but some say it is $100 billion, $150 billion. No one really knows. They have become two of the wealthiest men in the entire world. They seek more wealth, but that is not all they seek. A new book by Jane Myer--a dignified and renowned author and journalist--she reports in her book that immediately after the election of President Obama, the Koch brothers wanted to double down on what they had done before. They had been working on this for a while. They didn't like this man, Barack Obama, being President of the United States, so they gathered like- minded billionaires--it is in her book--and plotted to spend however much money it would take to get rid of him for a new term and basically undermine our democracy. You can't make up a story like this. These are the facts. Capitalizing on the Citizens United decision, the Koch brothers have poured over $1 billion into our political system to create a country that protects the wealthiest one-half of 1 percent. The America they envision is drastically different from the vision most Americans have for our country. I have a list of some of the things they have advocated for decades. It used to be just the fringe, but now we have people running for President who agree with him. They want to abolish Social Security, eliminate minimum wage laws, dismantle Medicare as we know it, dismantle our public education system, dismantle protections for clean air and water, create tax breaks for themselves, and they have done a pretty good job of that. They are prepared to use their enormous wealth to accomplish these goals. They really put their money where their mouth is. They spend it because they have it to spend. They have pledged to spend about $1 billion this cycle, not counting all the money they have spent in years past. They have been involved in years past to make sure the John Birch Society had a place in our society--the libertarians. They were libertarians for a while. The Supreme Court has paved the way for greedy robber barons--robber barons like the Koch brothers--to create a government that works for the richest of the rich. Democracy demands that every American has an equal opportunity to have his or her voice heard. It should not be dependent upon how much money one has. I am sorry to say our Supreme Court has determined that your voice is going to be much louder if you have a lot of money. A democratic system should give every American a fair shot, but every time we have tried to make an effort to fix our broken finance system, the Republicans have said no. We had a DISCLOSE Act. We brought it before this body. It would have passed the House at that time. There were 59 Democrats. We needed one Republican--one Republican--to make it more apparent so that the American people could see where this money was coming from. Not one Republican would join with us. Now, I came to the House of Representatives with the senior Senator from Arizona. I admire him. He is an American hero, despite what Donald Trump says. He proved himself in battle and in the prison system set up in Vietnam. I admire John McCain. I can remember him working with Russ Feingold, the Senator from Wisconsin, and they passed the McCain- Feingold legislation. It became the law of this country. It was a really good, strong step forward. Citizens United wiped that out. My friend, the senior Senator from Arizona, had an opportunity to help this bad financial system the Supreme Court has put forward, and he didn't step forward. He decided to take a pass on it. I am very disappointed. I have never forgotten what he didn't do or what he could have done with one vote. We only needed one vote. We had 59, and we only needed 1 more. Rather than secret political spending, we should have immediate disclosure--some disclosure. Rather than corporations buying influence, we should restore laws that limit the power of special interests. Rather than empowering the wealthy, we should encourage small contributions. We must make clear once and for all that the United States of America is not for sale. We criticized and complained about the Soviet Union and how it was. We were so happy when the Soviet Union fell and Russia became a ``democracy.'' Now people say that Russia is an oligarchy. What is an oligarchy? An oligarchy is a country run by a person who is controlled by wealth--the wealth of individuals and families. That is what we have in Russia, and that is what we are going to have in America if this is allowed to continue. The Koch brothers and a few other billionaires will be in concert with--we see this line of characters running for President on the Republican ticket--it will be with them. It will be an oligarchy first class. It will match what is going on in Russia today. We must make clear that the United States is not for sale. The Citizens United decision that we celebrate in a very adverse way today on its anniversary is bad for the country, and I hope the Supreme Court understands how bad it is for the country. It is one of the worst decisions in the history of the Supreme Court, if not the worst. Mr. President, would the Chair announce the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I ask unanimous consent that the time be charged equally between the majority and the minority.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I think we have the makings of an agreement here, at least the way I understood the Republican leader. We agree that refugees should go through a robust screening process. The bill we are talking about before the Senate, though, is stressing bureaucracy and paperwork. Each refugee who comes to this country--and there are about 100 a day--would have to be signed off by three Cabinet Secretaries. That is 300 personal signatures a day. We don't want more paperwork. What we have said is we want four amendments to change the underlying bill. We are not going to be demanding days of debate time. We would be happy--we would be very reasonable with whatever the leader felt appropriate. We believe we should move forward with real solutions, not paperwork. We are not saying we don't want to get on the bill. We are willing to get on the bill. We want four amendments. That is it, four amendments. I am sure the leader will look this over and get back to me at the appropriate time, but we are willing to work on this bill.

Mr. REID. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Republican leader has said that he is going to bring and, in fact, has brought to the floor the House-passed refugee bill, as he calls it. It is, of course, an immigration bill. Yesterday he said that the debate over the bill should be based on ``facts and common sense.'' I agree with that. The facts speak for themselves. Our enemy is clearly defined. ISIS is the defined organization. It is a terrorist organization that poses a threat to the United States, women, children, and families fleeing persecution. They are not the enemy; ISIS is the enemy. We should be focusing all of our efforts on defeating our real enemy, the brutal, evil ISIS. Yet the bill the Republican leader is bringing to the floor scapegoats refugees who are fleeing war and torture instead of creating real solutions to keep Americans safe. You don't have to take my word for it. The junior Senator from Arizona has said he will oppose the bill because it is ``intended to knock out all refugee entrants and I'm not there.'' So says the junior Senator from Arizona. National security experts from Democratic and Republican administrations have warned against advancing bills such as this. Former Secretary Gates is such a good person. I enjoyed working with him very much. Yesterday he said--in words much stronger than I am going to say right now--that the Republicans running for President don't understand the issue. He is much stronger and more firm in saying that what they are talking about is ridiculous. By the way, he is a Republican. President Obama has already made it very clear that he will veto this legislation. As written, this bill will not be signed into law. Some say it is a waste of our time. By advancing this bill, Republicans are creating a terrible distraction for the sake of embracing the hateful rhetoric, vitriol of the Republican Party's standard bearers, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. I guess this should come as no surprise to anyone. Over and over again Republicans remain committed to pledging loyalty to the divisive platform that has been built by the Republican people running for President, led by, at this stage, Donald Trump. We believe we must destroy ISIS. Everyone on this side of the aisle believes we should destroy ISIS and defend our Nation, but we believe we can accomplish this goal without compromising Americans' core principles. Sadly, many leading Republicans have proposed policies that compromise our fundamental values and threaten the identity of our great Nation. Democrats are committed to opposing the violent views of Donald Trump and providing the American people with solutions that make our Nation safer. We think it is way past time for the Senate to vote on these policies. My friend, the Republican leader, has pledged over and over again that when the Republicans lead the Senate, they will thrive under an open amendment process. For example, he said the following: ``I said at the beginning of my time as majority leader that the open amendment process was going to be the rule rather than the exception.'' My friend continued to say that tough votes should be expected, and I quote: ``We'll just take our chances. You know, we're big men and women. We're prepared to vote on proposals that are offered from both sides.'' If Senate Republicans are prepared to abide by this, Senate Democrats will seek to advance a limited number of amendments on this bill that is before this body. I am not talking about tons of amendments or scores of amendments, but four or five amendments. For example, we could have one that dramatically increases the funding for local police anti-terrorist efforts and airport security. That is one that we want. They are overworked and underresourced. We could close the terror gun loophole to prevent those on the no-fly list from being able to buy firearms, explosives, or radiological materials, as has been attempted. We would offer an amendment to denounce Donald Trump's reprehensible proposal to impose a religious test on admission to the United States. The Democratic ISIS security bill has been filed. It is a very important piece of legislation. It includes keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and stopping radicalization here in the United States. It includes active shooter training. As I have already indicated, we are going to move our airport security substitute forward so we can prevent dirty bombs and work abroad to take care of refugees who are over there. These are the amendments we feel confident about, based on the statements my friend has made. We are not asking for unlimited amendments. I have listed four amendments here. The Republican leader here in the Senate and the Republican Speaker have pledged their loyalty to Donald Trump and his disgraced policies. They have said that if he is the nominee, they will, of course, support him. As a frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Donald Trump and his proposals are leading the public debate in our country. Republicans who support these illogical plans should be prepared for the next logical step: voting on his vision of America. Over here, we believe that all of these measures are deserving of a vote. I talked about four of them. We are ready to vote on the proposals now--this week. If for any reason the Republican leader needs more time to discuss the proposals with his caucus, we are happy to reschedule the vote. Now, I know it is a big day in the Senate because during my news briefing on the way to work, I heard that the junior Senator from Florida is going to be here to vote--and the junior Senator from Texas. They will actually be in the Senate to vote. It is a big day. I know we have a tight schedule because they are going to be here for only an hour or two, but perhaps we could have a debate on the amendments we have suggested. I am sure that if we offer these amendments, the Republicans will offer amendments, and we could have some time here to deal with these amendments. But we will not allow Republicans to hijack the Senate floor to play politics with our Nation's security. The American people deserve better. I look forward to offering these amendments. I publicly want everyone to know that I did not try to jump ahead of my friend the Republican leader. I was told by staff that I should go first. If I had known the Senator was going to be here so quickly, I would have waited, so I am sorry about that.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. On another subject, Mr. President, this morning the Supreme Court announced its decision to review the Fifth Circuit Court's illogical ruling on President Obama's Executive actions on immigration. It was only a question of time as to when it would come up because the action of the appellate court was so out of line and unprecedented. I am pleased with the Supreme Court's decision to take a look at this case. The President's Executive actions rely on well-established constitutional authority, and I have full confidence the Constitution will rule that these programs can be implemented. While I was home recently, I met with undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Instead of having the peace of mind that comes with deferred action, these law-abiding men and women, young and old, continue to live in constant fear of being separated from their families. They must be allowed to vacate the shadows and fully contribute to the country they love and call home. Mr. President, what is the schedule of the Senate this afternoon?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I will have more to say tomorrow about the legislation about which the Republican leader just spoke. Tomorrow afternoon we will have a vote as to whether we should move to the bill. Along with the rest of the world, I was pleased to learn this weekend that five political prisoners were finally released from Iran and will soon be home with their families. These Americans were unjustly held, and I am glad they will soon be in the arms of their loved ones once again. Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is one of the most pressing security challenges of our generation. A nuclear-armed Iran is a threat to the national security of the United States, the State of Israel, and the world. Last summer I announced my support for the historic nuclear agreement the United States and the global community made with Iran. This agreement required Iran to take significant steps to ensure that its nuclear infrastructure could not be used to build a nuclear bomb. These steps include, among other things, dismantling thousands and thousands of centrifuges that are used to enrich uranium, removing from Iran its enriched uranium, thus reducing its stockpile and eliminating the core of its plutonium reactor. The end result of these steps is that Iran's breakout time--the time it takes to make enough fissile material to build a bomb--has been extended from a matter of a few months to a year, and some experts would say much, much longer. Over the weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran successfully implemented these initial requirements, an important next act in the implementation of the nuclear agreement. I applaud President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz, and Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for using America's diplomatic power to make the world a safer place. This diplomatic approach also avoids the significant costs and risks a military option would pose. One need only look at Iraq to find out what military options cost--trillions of dollars--because of the worst foreign policy decision in the history of our country: the invasion of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead, millions have been displaced, thousands of Americans are dead, and tens of thousands badly wounded. The diplomatic approach avoids the costs and risks the nuclear option poses. No one should think all of the components of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have been completed. They have not been. We are now at the beginning of a critical period where Iran must allow unprecedented inspections designed to allow the international community to know if Iran tries to break out and race toward building a nuclear weapon. We will know about it. Iran poses a threat to our Nation's most supportive ally in the Middle East, the State of Israel. Over my four decades in Congress, the safety and security of the Israeli people have been of the utmost importance to me and to this Congress generally, as you can see with the results of the last four decades. We must do everything and we must strive to protect the Israeli people, and that is why Iran must be held accountable for any action it takes that poses a threat to that small, little democracy. Iran must never obtain a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. I am pleased the administration announced it would impose sanctions on individuals and companies for providing support to Iran's ballistic missile program. These tests were in clear violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions. One thing is clear: Iran must continue to be monitored with intense scrutiny. I remain concerned about Iran's ongoing human rights abuses and political oppression. Iran also remains a state sponsor of terrorism, using its proxies against Israel and against our interests throughout the Middle East. Congress must accept the critical role we play in providing vigorous oversight of the Iran agreement and Iran's compliance with the agreement, addressing Iran's ballistic missile program and monitoring Iran's actions in the region. This past weekend marked a key step forward to ensuring Iran never gains access to a nuclear weapon. We should always remember that the Iran deal, as it has been called, was to stop Iran from having nuclear weapon capability, and that has been accomplished. I look forward to working with my colleagues to keep Iran accountable and preserving the national security of both this Nation and our ally, the State of Israel.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I see no one else on the floor, so I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, if this were a card game, which it is not, I guess what I would do is trump what the Republican leader has said. My friend lives in a world that doesn't exist. Let's talk about this person named Barack Obama. What has happened under his time in office, his 7 years, in spite of the unheard of, unrecognizable Senate that the Republicans have created--cloture had to be filed more than 500 times because they set out to block everything he wanted--in spite of that, the state of the Union now reflects the last 7 years. We have 14 million private sector jobs that have been created. During the Obama years, the economy has grown. The private sector created jobs for 70 straight months--the longest stretch in the history of our country. Unemployment is at 5 percent. When Barack Obama took office, in some States it was as much as 14 percent. During the years of Barack Obama, 17 million uninsured Americans have gained access to health care--17 million--and the number is climbing. Renewable energy production has increased significantly. You drive across America today and you see wind farms in the middle part of this country, and farmers make more money from producing energy on their farms than they do harvesting corn and soybeans because of what the President suggested and what we legislated in the so-called stimulus bill. Solar, wind, and geothermal has increased significantly, and it will continue to grow more because they have tax incentives now for as long as 7 additional years. You know what else we have done--not enough. The wealthiest Americans who don't mind paying more than their fair share-- the only people in America today who believe that these rich people shouldn't pay a little more are the Republicans in Congress, not Republicans around the country, so we made sure the wealthiest pay a little bit more. We have secured permanent tax relief that will help lift 16 million lower income, middle-income families out of poverty. The auto industry was on the brink of destruction. General Motors, this icon of American industry, was begging for help. Chrysler Motors was begging for help. The Republicans said no. We Democrats said yes. We were right. Republicans were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created in the auto industry. Last year more American cars and trucks were sold than any time in the history of our country. Why? Because of Barack Obama's leadership. Osama bin Laden is gone. He has been killed, and we destroyed and degraded terrorist organizations in our Nation. We have more to do. Of course we do. There have been historic agreements on climate change. We have stopped Iran from getting access to nuclear weapons. Within the last few days, Iran has shipped 12 tons of uranium out of Iran because of Barack Obama. While we have a lot more to do for America on behalf of the American people, we can't ignore the progress that has been made. My friend talks about the new Senate, and there is a new Senate because there is a constructive minority. We Democrats have been willing to work with them. The issues that we have been able to pass with rare exception have been issues that we should have passed years ago but we couldn't because Republicans filibustered and obstructed everything we tried to do. I repeat: We have a lot more to do for the American people. It is a wonderful country, and I am so pleased with the progress we have made during the 7 years of Barack Obama. Mr. President, I see no one on the floor. Please state the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, while the Chaplain is in the building, I wish to say a brief word. I have the good fortune--and have for many years--to come to the floor every day and listen to a prayer offered in sincerity by our Chaplain. The people who watch us on TV think that all he does is walk in here every day and give a little prayer. The fact is, I received information on the things he did this past year. He represented the Senate in 27 out-of-town speaking engagements. Those speaking engagements are tremendous. He has been in Nevada on a number of occasions. He is a tremendous presenter of what he does and what is good for the country. He delivered the invocation and/or benediction to 17 different ceremonies. He spoke at 10 different Senate functions. He visited with 20 different school groups who came to visit the Capitol. He delivered the invocation at 12 local events. He spoke at 26 local events. He hosted 11 guest Chaplains. He hosted three Jewish programs. He administered premarital and marriage-enrichment counseling. He mentored 20 Senate staffers in a recurring, 10-week spiritual mentoring program. He facilitated the Wednesday morning weekly Prayer Breakfast. He hosted two men's Prayer Breakfasts for Senate staff featuring Os Guinness and Michael Franzese as guest speakers. He hosted a special program at Easter, our 20th annual Thanksgiving service, and a holiday open house for the Senate community. He prayed on the Senate floor for the convening of most Senate sessions. He taught 44 Bible studies for approximately 150 Senate staff. He taught 44 Bible studies for approximately 15 staff in the Postal Square Building. He taught 40 Bible studies for the Senators in Senator Inhofe's Capitol office. He taught 44 Bible studies for 15 chiefs of staff. He engaged in hospital visitations on frequent occasions and gave weekly updates about the sick and injured at the Senate Prayer Breakfast. He delivered the eulogy for former Senator Edward Brook at the National Cathedral. He spoke at memorial services and funerals for various Senate staff members. He ministered to Senate office staff members during times of grief. He spoke to Senate staff during staff meetings. That is not all. In relation to his activities and duties, he hosted a ladies' small group Bible study every Monday, consisting of Senate staff. He had a small group of men consisting of Capitol police officers and other Senate staff for Bible study every Wednesday. Mr. President, everyone should know that he does more than give this prayer opening the Senate every day. In fact, if that was all he did, it would be well worth the functions of the Senate Chaplain, but he does much more. I congratulate him and express the appreciation of the entire Senate for the good work and good representations this fine man does representing our country. Remember, he is a retired admiral of the U.S. Navy.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, in less than 300 days, the American people will head to the polls to elect the President of the United States. An election year places the state of our Union under intense scrutiny. At this time it is important to remember just how far we have come through the leadership of President Barack Obama. I can remember the first time I heard Barack Obama's name. I was in the House gym, where I worked out for many years. Former Members have a little room in the back. Abner Mikva--long-time Congressman from Illinois, top lawyer for President Clinton, appellate court judge, and has had quite a remarkable career himself--was there. While we were getting dressed, he said to me: We have a Senate race in Illinois. And I asked: Well, whom are you supporting? He said: Barack Obama. I thought he was trying to be funny. Barack Obama? Come on. That is basically what I said to him, but I was wrong and he was right. This man with the unusual name was elected President of the United States. It is important to remember just how far we have come through his leadership. After 8 years of disaster under President Bush, the American people embraced President Obama's message of hope and change. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the first African-American President in the history of our country. Instead of working with the President to repair our economy, strengthen the middle class, and help working families, Republicans have chosen a path, for 7 years, of relentless obstruction. In fact, during the President's first term, the Republican leader publicly said: ``The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President.'' As we look back over 7 years of the Obama Presidency, one thing is clear: Republicans have failed in their radical crusade against him. President Obama inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression. He acted immediately to address the economic crisis and begin rebuilding our economy. Because of President Obama, our economy has fought back from the brink of destruction, which is what it really was. Last month, record car sales were announced for the year 2015. How did it come about? Because President Obama went against the Republicans every step of the way by saving Chrysler and GM and giving Ford a great boost. The most significant car and truck sales in the history of our country occurred last year. Millions of Americans now have health care. The President made sure he fulfilled his promise of getting Osama bin Laden, and he did. He was killed. The President has taken bold action to address our broken immigration system, doubled our country's production of renewable energy, and expanded access to higher education for millions of Americans. I have a lot of affection and admiration for President Obama and most everyone knows that. I have had the good fortune of working with him for the past 9 years in the Senate and as President. His rescuing the Nation from crisis, his bold legislative achievement, and his refusal to back down in the face of Republican obstruction have made him one of the best Presidents of all time. No State was hit harder by the recession and foreclosure crisis than Nevada. President Obama provided the resources necessary to stabilize the shattered housing markets, keep responsible borrowers in their homes, and reduce foreclosures. Through the efforts he made, the President and his administration were able to provide about $200 million to Nevada's hardest hit homes, and there were lots of them. It didn't take care of all the problems, but it certainly helped a great deal. These were programs that provided unemployed and underemployed homeowners financial assistance. Nevada's unemployment rate reached almost 14 percent. Across the country, the rate of unemployment was about 10 percent. Today we have seen over 70 consecutive months of job growth, and our economy has added more than 14 million private sector jobs during the Obama years. Keep in mind what was happening during the last months of the Bush administration. During the first 2 months after the President was elected but not sworn into office, 800,000 jobs were lost 2 months in a row. It is hard to comprehend that, but that is what happened. Now we have seen the evidence of our Nation's job market continuing to bounce back. Last week alone almost 300,000 jobs were announced in the preceding month of December. A recent report shows that businesses have added 5.6 million jobs in the last 2 years alone, the most since the end of the Clinton administration. This certainly wouldn't have been possible without President Obama's leadership. Nevada's unemployment rate, which I have already mentioned, was the worst in the Nation. We had an ongoing struggle with the State of Rhode Island for years as to which had the worst unemployment--Rhode Island or Nevada. Neither State wanted to win, but we both won on many occasions as to which had the highest unemployment rate. Thanks to President Obama's leadership, we are finally coming back in a very strong way. In December, the President signed a tax bill that includes one of the biggest anti-poverty tools in a generation. It will help lift 16 million modest- and low-income working families out of poverty, including 8 million children. Renewable energy is taking off like never before as a result of that legislation. President Obama and Senate Democrats have brought our economy back from the brink of destruction. I have already talked about the auto industry. We took on Wall Street to ensure that the greed and corruption which produced the great recession would never happen again. Republicans said no at every turn, but we succeeded in spite of their obstruction. Health care. Before President Obama took office, tens of millions of Americans were denied health insurance. Thanks to the hard work of President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, the Affordable Care Act has banned insurance company discrimination, requiring coverage without regard to preexisting conditions or health status. That is just a little bit of what has been done. Since the law took effect, 17 million uninsured Americans have now gained insurance coverage. The success of ObamaCare is undeniable and made health care available to millions, slowed the rate of health care cost growth, and it did not cause any of the horrible problems that were talked about, prophesied, and that were suggested would happen by Republicans. In effect, what they said was all wrong. Immigration. Immigration was a problem before President Obama took office, but he tried to do something about it, and of course Republicans blocked that also. At the State of the Union Address 2 years ago, he said: I worked with you. I have tried, I have pleaded, and I am tired of doing this. I will have to do things on my own now because you will not do it legislatively. And he has done that. We failed to pass the DREAM Act in 2010. President Obama acted to protect DREAMers, by announcing DACA, deferred action for childhood arrivals. To date, almost 700,000 young individuals have been protected from deportation. Since then, Democrats led the charge for comprehensive immigration reform to fix our Nation's broken immigration system. The Senate passed bipartisan immigration reform in 2013, which was important, but we now have people, such as the junior Senator from Florida, for example, who helped pass that legislation, but once he started running for national office decided that everything he did in bringing that bill to the Senate floor was wrong, and he has taken a 360-degree turn and said: I did all of that, but I guess I was wrong. We haven't been able to get it out of the House, and now we have people such as the junior Senator from Florida who is denigrating his own bill. President Obama acted within his legal Executive authority to unite American families and strengthen our immigration system, including protecting some adults with children in the United States from deportation. It is a longer story than that, but that is the short story. Energy and the environment. Climate change is one of the greatest, if not the greatest threat, the world has ever known. Because of President Obama's leadership, the world is on track to keep temperatures from rising and avoid the most catastrophic impact of climate change. By negotiating the historic Paris climate agreement, the President has crafted a version of clean energy and climate change for our country by establishing carbon emission standards on vehicles that help consumers save money on fuel for the first time by limiting carbon pollution from powerplants. He established or expanded 19 national monuments. Why? Because Republicans--bills we passed matter-of-factually here--always refused to allow us to have votes on them. So he moved forward, as he said he would do, with an Executive action for 19 national monuments. In Nevada, it includes the 750,000 acres of the Basin and Range National Monument, which is something that is great and all Americans can share. The President believes these lands belong to all Americans and that our children and grandchildren should be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of our country. Education. When President Obama took office, our Nation's education system was in desperate need of reform. No Child Left Behind crippled schools around the country and graduation rates were at historic lows. One of the most important actions President Obama took through the recovery act was nearly $100 billion in aid for K-12 and higher education. Today students across the country have made tremendous progress. More students have graduated than ever before, particularly low-income and minority students. President Obama also took historic steps to address extreme levels of student debt in this country. By working with Democrats, President Obama created new programs to help college graduates manage their student debt by capping their loan payments by 10 percent of their income. We wanted to do more, but obstruction raised its ugly head and Republicans refused to allow us to do even more. Guns. Mass murders have taken place all over, and Nevada is no exception. It has happened there also. From the time he was elected President, Republicans have tried every means possible by working arm in arm and hand in hand with the NRA to stop everything the President has tried to accomplish. Even though more than 80 percent of the American people said there should be background checks for people who are crazy and criminals, it is not good enough for Republicans. They have still stopped us. The President tried to work with Republicans and they have refused. This has brought about his new efforts to use Executive action. Last week he did just that. He addressed the epidemic of gun violence in this country through legal Executive action. Republicans have blocked this action, even in the wake of cold-blooded mass murders in schools, houses of worship, movie theaters, and many other places. Tomorrow the President will deliver his final State of the Union Address to the American people. I look forward to hearing ways in which he plans to continue and push our Nation forward during his last year in office. We will do everything in our power, as Democrats, to build on the strong legacy President Obama has established. We will continue to fight to strengthen the middle class and working families by addressing the mountain of student debt that saddles Americans' higher education. We will continue fighting to increase the minimum wage. We will not rest until wages of women match the wages of their male counterparts, and we will continue to keep Wall Street accountable by prioritizing Main Street and protecting the good work the Dodd-Frank legislation did. As we begin this legislative session, I hope we will find in our Republicans a willing partner to protect and strengthen our Nation. I hope it is not wishful thinking, but it probably is. We stand ready to work with our Republican colleagues to do what is right for the American people.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, on another subject, I had the good fortune yesterday to attend the funeral of Dale Bumpers in Little Rock, AR. The ceremony lasted almost 2 hours. It was a stunningly spiritual, humorous, and historical occasion. Dale Bumpers performed at that desk back there by the exit of this door. He had an extra long extension cord, and he traipsed around back there, walking back and forth, speaking only as he could do. It is what we do here in the Senate. Based on seniority, everyone moves forward. He served here for a quarter of a century, but he never wanted to leave that space back there because that was his place to inform the public about how he felt about different issues. Coming from the Presiding Officer's State, he was a man who didn't fit the mold necessarily of what a lot of people expected of a Senator, but he was a giant killer politically. He defeated Orval Faubus after he had been in a governorship in the State of Arkansas for many years-- a famous man; he beat him. Four years later, he beat William Fulbright, a longtime Member of the U.S. Senate and one of the most prominent, famous Senators in the history of the country. Then he started 24 years of service here in the Senate. I have great admiration for Dale Bumpers. The speeches and eulogies given yesterday were remarkable. His son Brent spoke for a short period of time. Former Senator David Pryor spoke for quite a while and talked about things they did together, the work they did on behalf of Arkansas. At the Pryor Center, they are doing a recorded history of how people feel about Senator Bumpers. I had the ability to give my view. I said that I did not know of a Senate delegation with more power than Bumpers and Pryor had for the State of Arkansas during my more than three decades of service here in the Capitol. I have never seen two people who had as much power and prestige for a State as Bumpers and Pryor had. I am very fortunate that Landra and I were able to attend that funeral and listen to the eulogies given by Pryor and then, of course, by President Bill Clinton. It is too bad that the entire service couldn't have been recorded because it was hilarious. He was an extremely funny man and a man who taught me a lot about the Senate. I have missed him for a long time, and I will always remember him for a number of reasons, not the least of which was his ability to speak.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, for years I have supported a responsible audit of the Federal Reserve System. The American people deserve an audit of one of the most vital parts of our government. In the wake of the financial crisis that crippled our Nation's economy, I came to more fully understand how important it is that any audit respects the independence of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is crucial to our economy recovering after the disastrous debacle on Wall Street. There were emergency provisions to address the catastrophes that only the Federal Reserve could respond to. They did it faster than the Congress could do it. Had the Federal Reserve not stepped in, the consequences of the great recession would have been tremendously worse. It would have been worse than the Great Depression. This Federal Reserve could act quickly to safeguard the national economy because of its independence, and it did just that. One of the lessons we learned from the great recession is that the Federal Reserve should not be hamstrung. It is a cornerstone of our global economy. We must maintain a Federal Reserve that is transparent, but we must also respect the independence of the Federal Reserve in order to maintain the well-being of the global economy, and that is why we included an amendment to responsibly audit the Federal Reserve while respecting its independence. The amendment passed unanimously. The bill which the Senate will vote on tomorrow, sponsored by the junior Senator from Kentucky, will critically undermine this delicate balance. Wall Street reform ensured that the Government Accountability Office could audit the Federal Reserve, and in accordance with the law, the Government Accountability Office has carried out those audits. In the year after the passage of Dodd-Frank, the Federal Reserve was audited 29 times. Since that time, the Federal Reserve has been audited 102 times. My colleagues don't have to take my word for it. The 102 audits of the Federal Reserve are available to everyone. All they have to do is look at the Federal Reserve Website. Proponents of this bill know that. Their calls for audits have been answered. So let's be clear. This bill is not about auditing the Federal Reserve. It is not about transparency or keeping the books for the Fed. The oversight already exists. This bill is about giving tea party Republicans and their billionaire donors the ability to control the economy of the United States. It is an attack on policies that are designed to stabilize the U.S. economy and help the middle class bounce back. Political parties should not and cannot run monetary policy at the Federal Reserve. That would be disastrous. I am disappointed the Senate will waste its time on another misguided partisan attack such as this one. The bill is an attack on the Federal Reserve mandate to create full employment. These attacks are partisan in nature, and it is unconscionable to think that the Republican leader will begin this year attacking policies that benefit the middle class. Some Republicans agree. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, said this of the audit the Fed bill: It's obvious to me that the Audit the Fed effort is to not address auditing the Fed because the Fed is audited. . . . to me it's an attempt to allow Congress to be able to put pressure on Fed members relative to monetary policy. And I would just advocate that that would not be a particularly good idea and it would cause us to put off tough decisions for the future, like we currently are doing with budgetary matters. I agree with Senator Corker. Injecting politics into the Federal Reserve is a bad idea. This bill is a sham. We should dispense with it quickly, and we should do it--if there is any word quicker than quick, let's do it that way. I will vote against the bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. Will the Chair announce the business of the day?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I apologize to my friend, the assistant leader, for taking so much time.