Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I hope the Senator wasn't rushed completing his statement, because I was listening intently and appreciating all he said today. I haven't had the opportunity to express through the instruments of this floor how much I appreciate the Senator from Colorado. He has done such a terrific job. He has been one of the four Democrats. He hasn't sought a lot of press on this, but he has been a stalwart in getting this done for a couple reasons. One, his State of Colorado is a perfect example as to why we need this bill. The demographics have changed in that State remarkably, as they have in my State of Nevada. His quiet concern for what we need to do and then his quiet movement to make sure we get the things done we need to is evident in this immigration bill. Frankly, we had a discussion today in our caucus, as we have had on several occasions, about student loans. No one is better prepared to talk about that issue than the Senator from Colorado. He is not only concerned about what happens to students who are in college, but also he was a school superintendent, understanding what people who want to go to college have to deal with. So I appreciate very much the statements of the Senator from Colorado. He has done a remarkably good job, and the people of Colorado are so fortunate to have this good man in the Senate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to S. Res. 186.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26, 2013; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; and that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of S. 744, the comprehensive immigration reform bill, and the time until 11:30 a.m. be equally divided and controlled between the two managers or their designees; that the filing deadline for second-degree amendments to the committee-reported substitute and the bill be 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. There will be three rollcall votes in relation to the immigration bill, as announced earlier, starting at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following any leader remarks the Senate will resume consideration of the immigration bill. The filing deadline for second-degree amendments to the Leahy amendment No. 1183, as modified, is 4 p.m. today. At 5:30 p.m. there will be a cloture vote on the Leahy amendment, as modified.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have often said that Speaker Boehner has a hard job. That was obvious last week when the House Republican caucus revolted to defeat the Speaker's farm bill. Even though the Speaker took the unusual step of announcing his support for the measure ahead of the vote, this bill went down in flames. It was the first time the House of Representatives has defeated a farm bill since the program was created in the 1930s. I admit I was sorry to hear the House Republican leadership blame the bill's defeat on Democrats, but I was not surprised. They had to blame someone. They could not blame themselves, even though they should. It was no surprise that House Democrats opposed this mean-spirited bill. The legislation would cut $20 billion from the safety net that keeps millions of Americans, including millions of children, from going hungry every year. That is what it was about. The farm bill eliminated 8 billion meals for hungry American families and children. That is what the House bill did. So it is no surprise that Democrats did not vote for a bill that whacked America's most vulnerable citizens. We have seen this film before. The Speaker should have known he could not pass legislation that amounts to a partisan love note to the tea party. He will be forced to take up a more bipartisan measure. He should do it now. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The Senate has already done the work that was necessary to be done. We passed a good bipartisan bill. The Speaker should dispense with the drama and the delay and take up the Senate farm bill now. The bill passed on an overwhelming bipartisan vote in this Chamber. In fact, it did twice. We passed it last year. The Speaker refused to bring up the bill in the House. Passing the Senate farm bill will create jobs, will reduce the deficit by some $23 billion, and it will make important reforms to both farm and food stamp programs without balancing the budget on the backs of hungry Americans. I spoke over the weekend to Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture. We agreed that maintaining the status quo is not an option. Doing nothing means no reform, no deficit reduction, and no certainty for America's 16 million farm industry workers. I want everyone within the sound of my voice as well as my colleagues on the other side of the Capitol to know that the Senate will not pass another temporary farm bill extension. It is time for real reform that protects both rural farm communities and urban families who need help feeding their children. If the Speaker took up the Senate's bipartisan measure, it would easily pass the House with both Republican and Democratic votes. There is no shame in passing a bill that moderates in both parties support. We have seen time and time again that the tea party's ``my way or the highway'' approach to legislating does not work. The only way to pass a bill in either the House or the Senate is to do so with votes from both Democrats and Republicans. The Senate farm bill passed with 66 votes in this Chamber. It was a perfect example of a bipartisan bill. The Speaker should allow a vote on this measure in the House now--today. The immigration bill before the Senate is another example of bipartisan legislation. The immigration bill will pass this Chamber with Democratic and Republican votes. When the immigration bill passes, the Speaker should quickly bring it up for a vote in the House of Representatives. So I say, Mr. Speaker, rather than twisting the arms of tea party extremists, work with moderates in both parties to pass bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, rather than trying to force legislation designed to please only the right wing, you should take away the obstacles we have and take the easy way out, actually. Do the right thing. Seek votes from Democrats and Republicans. America deserves the commonsense approach. That is what we used to do. We should do it once again. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. REID. Madam President, what is the pending business?

Mr. REID. I would ask the Chair to close morning business and move to whatever the business of the day is.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I have a cloture motion at the desk, and I ask that it be reported.

Mr. REID. Madam President, there is a cloture motion at the desk.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum required under rule XXII be waived for these two cloture motions.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the time be divided equally.

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, with the exception of 15 minutes for Senator Portman and 20 minutes for Senator Inhofe, and the time count postcloture.

Mr. REID. Rearrange the time. Twenty minutes for the Senator Inhofe, Portman 15, and Inhofe goes first.

Mr. REID. I would say to my friend--I am sure he is ready to speak--I may have a little closing business that I may have to interrupt. If he would be good enough to allow me to do that, we would take only a minute or two.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent we now proceed to S. Res. 185.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this resolution concerns a pro se civil action filed in California Federal District Court against the Senate, the Vice President, and the Parliamentarian of the Senate. Plaintiff claims that the Senate cloture rule is unconstitutional. This lawsuit, like previous suits challenging the cloture rule, is subject to jurisdictional defenses requiring dismissal. This resolution would authorize the Senate Legal Counsel to represent the Senate, the Vice President, and the Senate Parliamentarian to seek dismissal of this suit. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25; that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business for 1 hour with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first half and the Republicans controlling the final; and that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of S. 744, the comprehensive immigration reform bill; that the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the committee-reported substitute and the bill be at 12 p.m. tomorrow; further, that the Senate recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings; and all time during adjournment, recess, morning business, and executive session count toward postcloture on the Leahy amendment, No. 1183, as modified.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order following the remarks of Mr. Portman.