Harry Reid

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order with respect to sequester legislation be modified to permit the Republican leader to introduce a bill on Wednesday, February 27, which consists of the language which is at the desk and that all the provisions under the previous order remain in effect.

Mr. REID

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 5 o'clock today. At 5 o'clock the Senate will proceed to the nomination of Robert Bacharach, of Oklahoma, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Tenth Circuit. At 5:30 we will vote on his nomination. We expect to reconsider the cloture vote on the Hagel nomination to be Secretary of Defense tomorrow. We also expect to consider the nomination of Jack Lew to be Treasury Secretary and the sequestration legislation before the end of the week.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Has the Chair announced the business of the day?

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Senate has a great deal to accomplish, including the long-delayed confirmation of former Senator Chuck Hagel to lead the Defense Department. This week the Senate will also consider two plans to avert devastating across-the-board cuts to military spending as well as domestic initiatives that keep our American families and businesses strong. To give our economy a foundation for growth, Congress must replace these cuts--the so-called sequester--with a balanced approach to deficit reduction. Democrats would temporarily replace this harsh austerity with a combination of smart spending reductions and measures that close corporate tax loopholes, end wasteful subsidies, and ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit more, and it would avoid harmful cuts that will hurt American families, harm military readiness, and hinder our economic recovery. Families and businesses in every State of the Nation--in red States and blue States--are at risk because of these haphazard cuts. In the Presiding Officer's home State of Virginia, 170 teachers who work with disabled children could lose their jobs. That doesn't count any other teachers. Thousands of children will go without lifesaving vaccines--they will go without lifesaving vaccines--and 90,000 Pentagon employees will be furloughed. It is easy to talk about furloughs unless you are one of those people being furloughed. We don't know how many days a week it will be, how many days a month it will be, but it will be days. In Nevada 120 teachers could lose their jobs. Local law enforcement agencies will lose essential funding to prosecute crime, and thousands of Defense Department employees will be furloughed, losing wages that support their families and our State's economy. Residents of the Republican leader's home State would also suffer. Kentucky will lose Federal funding that helps police catch and punish domestic abusers, buys meals for needy seniors and keeps at-risk children in Head Start programs, and more than 11,000 Kentuckians who work for the Defense Department will be furloughed. Nationwide, sequester cuts will cost more than 750,000 jobs. More than 70,000 boys and girls will be kicked out of their Head Start programs. Meat inspectors, air traffic controllers, FBI officers, and Border Patrol agents will be furloughed. Small businesses, which create two-thirds of all new jobs in this country, will lose access to crucial Federal loans. Thousands of researchers working to cure cancer, diabetes, and scores of other life-threatening diseases will lose their jobs. But Congress has the power to prevent these self-inflicted wounds. We have the power to turn off the sequester, protect American families and businesses, and ensure our national defense. In the House and in the Senate, Republicans and Democrats voted to impose these cuts. It will take Republicans and Democrats working together to avert them. Twenty-eight Republicans in the Senate and 174 Republicans in the House voted to impose these painful cuts. To say this is President Obama's sequester is absolutely wrong: 174 Republicans in the House voted for these cuts--that is more than 70 percent--and in the Senate more than 60 percent of the Republicans voted for the sequester. So it is unfair to say it is the President's sequester. We did this together. This would not have passed but for the overwhelming vote of the Republicans in the House and in the Senate. If those same Republicans would work with Democrats to find a balanced way to reduce the deficit, Congress could avert the delayed sequester today--now. Unfortunately, Republicans would rather let the deficit cuts go into effect than close a single wasteful tax loophole. They would rather cut Medicare, education, and medical research than ask a single millionaire to pay a single dollar more in taxes. The overwhelming majority of Americans wants us to compromise before their neighbors, friends, and family members get pink slips or notices that they can only work a few days this week or this month. The overwhelming majority of Americans--including 56 percent of Republicans--supports Democrats' balanced approach. It is all over the country. All over the country Americans favor this approach, a balanced approach, by a large margin, including 56 percent of Republicans. So once again the only Republicans in the entire country rejecting a reasonable, balanced compromise are Republicans in this building-- Republicans in Congress.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the important work of Michael J. Mulligan, who retired February 1, 2013. Mr. Mulligan demonstrated great dedication to enhancing the safety and security of the United States Senate, staff, and visitors. Beginning his career as a combat engineer officer in the U.S. Army, Mr. Mulligan served a 15-year tour at Fort Ritchie, MD, as the Chief of Engineering and Plans. During this time, he directed the largest expansion of facilities, infrastructure, and community planning in the installation's history. While on temporary assignment to the Army Corps of Engineers in Kuwait, Mr. Mulligan led technical advisors to provide engineering assistance to restore two war damaged air bases. Mr. Mulligan went on to serve as Director of Facilities at the Alternate Joint Communications Center-Site R. He directed operations to sustain facility excellence in engineering, contingency planning, life support, and logistics in support of Continuity of Operations for the senior DOD leadership--a mission which he ably executed on September 11, 2001. Mr. Mulligan was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2011. As a senior leader in the National Security Agency, Mr. Mulligan provided invaluable stewardship of an important classified program that supported the National Security Emergency Preparedness program. Furthermore, Mr. Mulligan has authored several writings on public administration and leadership and received numerous service medals and commendations for exceptional public service. I, along with my colleagues in the Senate, congratulate Mr. Mulligan on his well-earned retirement and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Following my remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the nomination of Senator Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. Yesterday I filed cloture on the Hagel nomination. That vote will occur tomorrow morning.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, in less than 2 hours our country will be without a Secretary of Defense at a time when we have a war going on in Afghanistan and about 70,000 troops there. We have a nuclear weapon which was detonated in North Korea a few days ago. They are threatening, as they have publicly on other occasions, but after this bomb was set off, that they are doing it to attack us. We have this situation in Iran with all their very militaristic statements against us. All over the world America is involved in matters dealing with our military. I met the night before last in my office with the man who killed Osama bin Laden. I talked to him about his 16-year career as a SEAL and the places he went around the world protecting the interests of the United States. It wasn't just in Afghanistan, not only in Pakistan, but all over the world. To think we have now in the Senate a situation where we are going to wind up without a Secretary of Defense at this time. We had all the talk--you know, we have some questions about Senator Hagel. Keep in mind he is a Republican. They say: We have some questions to ask. But publicly a significant number of Republican Senators have said they would not filibuster. Remember, there has never in the history of the country been a filibuster of a Defense Secretary nominee--never. I needed to file cloture. Not all the shows, but a number of shows, attacked me last night. They said: We told Reid and all these people we shouldn't have agreed to the rules changes because this is what we have going on. I am ignoring that, but it is shocking that my Republican colleagues would leave the Nation without a fully empowered Secretary of Defense during all the things we have going on in the world, including a war. Several of my colleagues requested a letter from the President. A letter was sent at their request to the chairman of the committee, which is standard procedure, with Senator Levin answering all their questions. They said: We need that letter so we may vote. One stall after another. I am told now that the letter was sent to the chairman of the committee, and that is not good enough. They want it sent to individual Senators. This isn't high school getting ready for a football game or some play that is being produced at high school, we are trying to confirm somebody to run the defense of our country, the military of our country. That letter was received yesterday about 4 o'clock, and now they have indicated they want something else. A committee of jurisdiction, the Armed Services Committee, has extensive information on Chuck Hagel. They have as much information that is available on the Benghazi situation: testimony from administration officials, from multiple committees, and from an independent review board. Secretary Clinton testified; Secretary Panetta, who is going to be leaving his job in less than 2 hours; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Martin Dempsey; and others have all testified regarding the attack that claimed four American lives. Chuck Hagel had nothing to do with the attack in Benghazi. Stating the administration hasn't been forthcoming is outlandish. There are serious consequences to this delay, consequences that are occurring right now. The President is making some important decisions about Afghanistan. He announced to the world just a day or two ago that 34,000 troops will be coming home during the next year from Afghanistan. We are negotiating with the Afghan Government regarding how we will support them beyond 2014. Negotiations are going on right now. I heard today from former Senator John Kerry that he is headed for the Middle East. Why? Syria. That is something else the Secretary of Defense has to be concerned about. Next week while we are on recess--while we are on recess--they are having a NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels about what to do to coordinate our approach on Afghanistan and the rest of our obligations as members of NATO. It is going to be somewhat unusual that the United States isn't represented by the Secretary of Defense. We will not have one if we don't get this done this week. I am sure they are going to focus on how to end the war responsibly in Afghanistan, how our alliance will work together through the time of transition, and how we can ensure Afghanistan doesn't become a safe haven for al-Qaida again. We need a Secretary of Defense at that meeting. It sends a terrible signal to the hundreds of thousands of troops we have around the world and the military personnel in the United States that we are not going to have a Secretary of Defense. Republicans are telling our troops: Well, you may have a leader later. What is going on in Europe, the Brussels conference, doesn't really matter. It sends a terrible signal not only to our military personnel but to the world. He has answered exhaustive questions about his record. He has the support of the President of the United States. I heard a lot of speeches from the other side saying the President should have the right to choose whomever he wants. He has the support of this body, the majority vote in this body, and this democracy. We are a nation at war. We are, whether we like it or not, the world's indispensable leader. We are. For the sake of our national security it is time to put aside this political theater, and that is what it is. People are worried about primary elections. We know how the tea party goes after Republicans when they aren't conservative enough. Is that something they need to have on their resume: I filibustered one of the President's nominees? Is that what they want? The filibuster of Senator Hagel's nomination is unprecedented. I repeat, not a single nominee for Secretary of Defense of our country has ever been filibustered--never, ever. As we all know, in a matter of days across-the-board cuts are going to take place, and it will affect defense to the tune of $600 billion. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a Secretary of Defense to work things out? Leon Panetta, after more than 30 years of service to this country-- Congress, chairman of the Budget Committee, OMB, the President's Chief of Staff, head of the CIA, Secretary of Defense--after all these years has gone home to his farm, his family in California. We do not have, as of 12 o'clock today, a Secretary of Defense. These across-the-board cuts are going to be very difficult. The Pentagon needs a leader to oversee and manage historic cuts and ensure they are made in a responsible way. A moment about Hagel. He was an enlisted man in the Vietnam war. He didn't have to go; he enlisted. The story of Senator Hagel is not a legend, it is true. He was a heroic warrior. He was an infantryman. He saved his brother's life. When he was a Senator here the picture he had was of him and his brother in Vietnam on a personnel carrier. He is proud of his service. He should be. He was wounded two times, an infantry squad leader, and a man of integrity and dedication who has a deep understanding of our national security establishment. This came not only from his military service but as a Senator, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, and a member of the Intelligence Committee. He has been a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board. At a time when America faces so many threats--I have outlined just a few of them--all across the world our Nation needs a man of Senator Hagel's combination of strategic and personal knowledge. We need a Secretary of Defense. It is tragic that they have decided to filibuster this qualified nominee. It is really unfortunate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, at the request of the Republicans, I ask unanimous consent that at 4:15 today, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Hagel nomination; that the time until 4:15 be equally divided between the two leaders or their designees. My designee is Senator Levin.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this will be the last vote of the day. We will have a vote Monday night and we will vote again on this matter Tuesday morning--a week from Monday and Tuesday. I regret that Republican Senators, except the valiant four, chose to filibuster the nomination of President Obama's nominee to be Secretary of Defense. The Republicans have made an unfortunate choice to ratchet up the level of obstruction in Washington. Just when you thought things could not get worse, it gets worse. We need to have this vote today. Why? You know, in times like this, it is nice to have a Secretary of Defense, not a lameduck. We have a war going on in Afghanistan. The war has been going on for 10 years. The President announced on Tuesday that half the troops are going to be coming home. North Korea earlier this week tested a nuclear weapon. Just a couple months ago, they tested a missile to deliver a warhead. They have said publicly and very openly they want to make sure they can reach the United States. We have a conflict going on in Syria. It is a serious conflict. The Middle East is still in turmoil. Iran is threatening everyone, including us. We have a few things going on. There is a NATO defense meeting next week, where NATO Defense Ministers, including someone from the United States, whom we hoped would have been the Secretary of Defense, would attend that meeting. A couple of my Republican colleagues said: That does not matter. Just have somebody else attend. What does that do to our standing in the world community? We need a Secretary of Defense on the job. No one, no one knows, especially any Senator, what foreign challenge we will face in this country, perhaps within the next 10 days. It would be nice if we had a Secretary of Defense. There is nothing that is going to change in the next 10 days about the qualifications of Chuck Hagel. I served with Chuck Hagel. He is a conservative Republican representing the ultraliberal State of Nebraska. He served with distinction in the Senate as a Senator. He served on the Foreign Relations Committee, Armed Services Committee, and Intelligence Committee. He is a man of quality and of courage, not just being able to come and give a speech on the Senate floor. During the Vietnam war, he volunteered to go into combat. That is what he chose to do because he thought it was the patriotic thing to do for his country, our country. His family felt that way. He and his brother went together. They didn't go to push pencils, they carried rifles; strapped to their sides, grenades. He was wounded twice. He was an enlisted man. He didn't walk around ordering people to do things. People were ordering him what to do-- except when it came to his brother. He saved his brother's life in combat in Vietnam. They are filibustering him. That is what they are doing. I am going to call Chuck Hagel when I finish and say I am sorry, sorry this is happening. I am sorry for the President and I am sorry for the country and I am sorry for you. We are not going to give up on you. We are going to vote, as I said, Tuesday, when we get back, in the morning. I hope, I truly do hope nothing happens during the next 10 days we will not have a Secretary of Defense. We are not going to have one, and I hope nothing goes wrong and we will rue the day--more than just embarrassing the President, the Senate, and the country--in not confirming the President's nomination of this good man from Nebraska.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this is not a filibuster. This is not a filibuster. I would like to see what a filibuster is. This is the first time in the history of our country that a Secretary of Defense has been filibustered, filibustered successfully and probably ever filibustered, and for all this, the statement from my friend from Texas on a rant to make sure he is OK on Israel. He wants to make sure he is OK on Iran on this. We had hearings, not singularly but plural. The Secretary of State came, the Secretary of Defense. This has gone to the absurd. We were told by a number of Senators they would like a letter from the President's White House talking about what he did following Benghazi. Remember, Benghazi was debated at length in the Presidential election. That is over, we thought. No, it is not over. The President said, OK, and he adhered to what he wanted and wrote in detail about calls he made right after the terrible occurrence in Benghazi and sent it to the chairman of the committee. We received reports back some of the Senators were offended because the letter was sent to the chairman and not to them. This is all foolishness. People may say whatever they want to say, but we still have a Secretary of Defense. Leon Panetta gave his final closing, ending; it was all over with his speech yesterday. I am friendly with Leon Panetta. I have known him for 31 years. No one in the country has served with more distinction than a Member of Congress, chairman of the Budget Committee, head of the Office of Management and Budget, the President's Chief of Staff, head of the CIA, Secretary of Defense. He wants to go tomorrow, and yesterday he told everybody he was going home. Yes, we have a Secretary of Defense. It is about as lame as a duck can be. How do you think the people in NATO feel when, I don't know who will go, I guess Ash Carter or somebody will go, but we don't have a Secretary of Defense. I can't imagine--as I said this morning, I will just repeat, I guess to be able to run for the Senate as a Republican in most places in the country, you need to have a resume that says: I helped filibuster one of the President's nominees. Maybe that helps. Maybe that keeps a tea party guy from running against you. But this should not be politics. This should be substance, and there is nothing wrong with Chuck Hagel.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that on Monday, February 25, 2013, at 5:00 p.m., the Senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 7; that there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 21 and that the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the Lautenberg amendment to the resolution, which is at the desk, be agreed to; the resolution, as amended, be agreed to; the preamble be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 35, which was submitted earlier today.