Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 13, 2013, at 10 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 13, 2013, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing entitled ``Solutions to the Crisis Facing the U.S. Postal Service.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on February 13, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., in room SH-216 of the Hart Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Comprehensive Immigration Reform.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on February 13, 2013, at 3:15 p.m., in room SD-226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Judicial Nominations.''

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 13, 2013, at 10 a.m.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 13, 2013, at 4 p.m. in room 432 of the Russell Senate Office building.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, and the motion 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 S. Res. 29.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Following leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 47, the Violence Against Women Act. Time until 11 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. At 11 a.m. there will be up to six rollcall votes in order to complete action on this legislation. Following disposition of VAWA, the Violence Against Women Act, we will recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. The State of the Union Address is this evening. Senators will gather at 8:20 p.m. tonight in this Chamber in order to proceed as a body to the House of Representatives, where the speech will be given. There are up to six rollcall votes remaining: the Leahy amendment dealing with sex trafficking, the Portman amendment dealing with sex trafficking, the Murkowski amendment dealing with tribal protections, the Coburn amendment dealing with consolidation of DOJ rape programs, the Coburn amendment dealing with notice to victims and, most importantly, final passage of this legislation. We are still working on some committee hearings that are creating some conflict, and we are going to see if we can work something out. At this stage we have not done that. Unless we ask the Senate to change the voting order, we will have those votes starting at 11 o'clock today. State of the Union Four years ago, as newly elected President of the United States, Barack Obama prepared to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress. The country at that time was in the midst of a grave crisis. Our economy had been shaken to its core by a financial crisis sparked by Wall Street greed. Millions of Americans had lost their jobs, their homes, and their hope. President Obama predicted America would rise to meet the challenges of the day. He said: We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before. The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this Nation. Four years later we can say with certainty he was right. Over the last 35 months, American businesses have created more than 6.1 million jobs--6.1 million jobs--including hundreds of thousands of jobs in manufacturing in the auto industry. As a matter of fact, the figures are staggering. Five hundred thousand manufacturing jobs have been added, and 1 million jobs have been saved due to the President's auto rescue program. That is a fairly significant change. We still have a long way to go to get back to full strength, and there are still too many Americans out of work. We made solid progress in the last 4 years, but we have a long way to go. The depth of the crisis did not determine our destiny. Instead, determination drove us to prosper again. We are faced with an opportunity disguised as a challenge. We must build on this progress, fostering a lasting recovery that ensures Americans' success is determined by the strength of their will, not the size of their wallet. Tonight, President Obama will chart a course to maintain the economic progress we made and revitalize the still struggling middle class. I look forward to hearing his vision. I expect the President will call for commonsense investments in our future. Investments have been deferred for far too long because of economic turmoil. When times are hard, these investments are easy to put off. If America hopes to compete in a changing world, we must prepare today's students for tomorrow's jobs. We must give small businesses and American manufacturers the support they need to thrive. We must stop relying on foreign oil and start investing in renewable energy. It is better for our environment and for our economy. If we hope to rebuild and maintain a world-class economy, we must build a 21st century infrastructure to support that economy. Renewing these investments is not only the right thing to do for our country, it is the right thing to do for our economy. In the last 4 years the President has repeatedly reached across the aisle to Republicans, suggesting we find common ground for the sake of recovery. Tonight will be no different. He will reach across that aisle. I expect the President's proposal will include ideas supported by both Democrats and, in the past, Republicans. I hope my Republican colleagues will give his vision the consideration it deserves. Tonight President Obama will also propose a balanced alternative to the devastating automatic spending cuts which take effect next month. Democrats believe we should prevent these harmful arbitrary cuts, cuts to both military and, initiatives to help middle-class families prosper. Remember, Republicans in the Senate and in the House voted for these harsh measures. We could easily avert these job-destroying cuts which would hinder the economic recovery by ending wasteful tax breaks for corporations and giveaways to companies that ship jobs overseas. A balanced approach to pare senseless spending reduction with a modest contribution from the wealthiest Americans would limit the damage of the so-called sequestration. I was disappointed to learn yesterday the Republican leaders in the House have no intention of bringing legislation to the floor to replace the sequester with a more sensible approach. They are going to do nothing. Senate Democrats will offer their own solution to the sequester later this week. If Republicans truly agree that these across-the-board cuts would be damaging to our economy and to national security, they should work to help us pass an alternative. During his first State of the Union Address a long time ago, the first President of the United States, George Washington, told Congress this: The welfare of our country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. As Republicans and Democrats from both Chambers come together, I repeat, the welfare of our country is the great object to which our cares and efforts ought to be directed. Democrats and Republicans should hear the message that George Washington gave a long time ago. It is important to listen to the State of the Union tonight, which we will, and we should all keep in mind the words of George Washington. Despite our differences, if there is the will to work together, the power to build an economy works for every American, and we will succeed.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum, and I ask unanimous consent that the time be equally divided between both sides.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Joel Cohen, a Brookings fellow from the Department of Homeland Security, be granted floor privileges through December 31, 2013.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Presiding Officer of the Senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the Senate to join a like committee on the part of the House to escort President Obama into the House Chamber for the joint session to be held tonight at 9 p.m.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 8:30 p.m. tonight and proceed as a body to the Hall of the House of Representatives for the joint session of Congress provided under the provisions of H. Con. Res. 11; and that upon dissolution of the joint session, the Senate adjourn until 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 13, 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; following any leader remarks, the Senate be in a period of morning business with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the second 30 minutes.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we will gather in the Senate Chamber at 8:20 p.m. this evening to proceed as a body to the House for the State of the Union.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we hope to begin debate on the nomination of Senator Hagel to be Secretary of Defense tomorrow.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of S. 47, the Violence Against Women Act. The time until 5:30 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. At 5:30 there will be several rollcall votes in relation to amendments to the bill. Right now there are up to seven rollcall votes remaining. We don't know if that, in fact, will take place. I have been advised that National Airport has been closed off and on during the day, or at least flights haven't been coming in because of some kind of a weather problem, low-hanging clouds. We have had a number of calls from Senators who are saying they may not be able to be here. I will keep in touch with the Republican leader and we will go from there. The way things are scheduled now, we have up to seven rollcall votes starting at 5:30 today. We are going to complete work on the Violence Against Women Act, or hope we can do that, tonight. We are going to have the State of the Union tomorrow and we hope on Wednesday and/or Thursday we will be able to finish the Hagel nomination. There has never in the history of the country been a filibuster on a Defense Secretary, and I am confident there won't be on this one. I am told the committee will report this matter out tomorrow, and we will move this to the Senate floor as quickly as possible. We have a work period, and when we get back we will try to complete the National Security Director, Mr. Brennan, and we will move on to Mr. Lew, who will be the Secretary of the Treasury. We have some votes, and we will line up this week what we are going to do when we get back after the work period we have at home for 5 days. I look forward to a productive night. I hope we can complete these votes, because there are people working very hard on this, not the least of which has been the President pro tempore, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has worked on this matter for a number of years. I hope we can complete this very quickly. The Chair may announce the business of the day.

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 would object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am told S. 209 is at the desk and due for a seconding reading; is that correct?

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am optimistic that today the Senate will complete work on an important bipartisan measure that has been directed by the President pro tempore of the Senate; that is, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. But Senate passage means little if our counterparts in the House fail to act on this crucial legislation. They failed once before. Let's hope this year they will get it past the finish line. The Republican-controlled House, I repeat, failed to act last year, and the women of America do not want them to fail again. I was reassured to hear House Majority Leader Cantor say yesterday that he ``cares very deeply about women.'' He went on to say the House would act to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. But Americans heard the some promise last year. Despite overwhelming evidence that this legislation saves lives, House Republican leaders used procedural gimmicks and stalling tactics to block its reauthorization. I would remind Leader Cantor and his Republican colleagues of the seriousness of the delay. Every minute House Republicans wait to act, another 24 Americans will become victims of domestic violence. Every day House Republicans stall, another three women will die at the hands of their abusers. Every year House Republicans put off action in order to please extremists within their own party, during that period of time more than 200,000 women will be sexually assaulted, more than 2 million will be stalked, and more than 1.3 million women will be abused by their partners. It has been almost 300 days since the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to help law enforcement officials protect women and their families across this country. But despite strong bipartisan support in the Senate, Republicans in the House refused to join the efforts to end domestic abuse. Those partisan delays put women's lives at risk. Thousands have written letters and e-mailed and called to support this legislation. One Nevada woman shared her story of how her partner held a gun to her head and threatened to pull the trigger. She escaped with her life, but many women are not so fortunate. Every year more than 1,000 women are killed by domestic abusers. Since the Violence Against Women Act expired, more than 16 million women have been victimized. The law is effective. In the two decades since it was enacted, the law has helped millions of women escape their attackers and seek justice. There is obviously much more work to do. I say to my friend Leader Cantor: It is time for the Republican leaders to stop talking about how much they care about women and start acting to protect women. More than one-third of the women in this country have been the victim of violent sexual assault or stalking. Congress must do everything in its power to help law enforcement officials prevent these terrible crimes and prosecute the perpetrators. Reauthorizing this legislation would help law enforcement improve strategies to prosecute crimes against women. It would provide legal assistance to the victims of violence and funding for shelters to allow women to escape their abusers. It would safeguard youth who are experiencing dating violence and stalking. Until we fully reauthorize this law, authorities will not have all the tools they need to fight domestic violence. Today--we hope it does not go over until tomorrow--we do not need another day's delay. For the second time in 2 years to protect American women and their children, we hope to take bipartisan action. I hope the House will act quickly to follow suit, as they did not do last year. I trust Leader Cantor's words that this legislation is a priority. I will not be the only one holding him to his promise he made yesterday, to swiftly reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. In fact, there will be 160 million American women who are watching and waiting to see if he turns his words into action.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the Violence Against Women Act. The time until noon will be divided and controlled equally between the two leaders or their designees. At noon, Senator-designee Cowan of Massachusetts will be sworn in to be a Member of the Senate. We expect to complete action on the Violence Against Women Act. We hope to be able to do that today. If we cannot, we will do it tomorrow.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, a few minutes ago Senator Carl Levin cast his 12,000th vote. It is my honor to say a few words about Carl Levin. He has served the State of Michigan for 35 years and is the longest serving Senator in the history of that State. During his 35 years in the Senate, he has been known as a workhorse. If there is a problem that needs to be looked over by someone who understands the issue, go to Senator Levin. He is a person who dots all the I's and crosses all the T's. I depend--and have depended--on him so much for issues that are difficult. He is a native of Detroit and attended Swathmore College. He graduated--as I always remind him--from Harvard Law School. I called them several times, but obviously my application was lost. I never heard back from them. He served as general counsel to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission and as assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan. He ran for the Detroit City Council and served two terms there. He was elected in 1978 to the U.S. Senate where he has served six terms and is an effective champion for the people of Michigan. Public service runs in his family. Sander Levin is his older brother, who came to the House of Representatives in 1982 with me, Durbin, Carper, Boxer, to name just a few. Senator Levin has heard me say this several times, and I will continue to say it because it is one of the most impressive, memorable statements I have ever had in a very personal setting. I was in the House of Representatives, and I was thinking about running for the Senate. I went over to meet with Carl Levin to get his ideas. As I was trying to establish some rapport with him, I said: I am serving with your brother. He and I came here together. Without hesitation and so sincerely, he looked up at me and said: Yes, he is my brother, but he is also my best friend. I have never, ever forgotten that. That speaks so well of the Levin family. Sandy has been the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and is now the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Carl is very proud of his brother's service, as Sandy is proud of the service of his brother. Carl Levin has been the chair of the Armed Services Committee, which of course is one of the most important and powerful committees in the entire Congress. He is a respected voice on issues dealing with national security. He has done so much to improve the status of men and women in the military for our great country. The very first bill he introduced as a Senator speaks to the kind of person he is and the issues he cares about. He introduced a bill to end discrimination by credit card companies. Two Congresses ago we did some real good reforms during the credit card debate. Senator Levin was involved in that, as well he should have been, because he was the first to bring to the attention of the American people what needed to be done. He is also the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which for decades has done great work for this country. Under his guidance and leadership, it has done some remarkably good work. He was the one who delved deeply into the Enron collapse. Again, that committee has done a lot of work on abusive credit card practices. It is one of the main reasons we were able to get the credit card reform done. He led investigations in the 2008 financial crisis. He has looked very closely and did a wonderful report on what I refer to as tax loopholes, and I think that is how he refers to it also. He has been one of the country's leading experts--and certainly one of the leading experts in this body--of American manufacturers. We know that manufacturing has had such strong forces in Michigan in years past and they are coming back as a result of the work the Michigan delegation has done, led by Senator Levin. He is someone who understands that we have a new world, we have global markets, and we have to continue working hard to make sure we are a part of that, and we are. He has fought to protect the Great Lakes--Michigan's signature natural resource. He is married to Barbara, a wonderful woman, who has been so thoughtful and kind to me, but especially my wife, during her recent illness. They have been married since 1961. They have three daughters and six grandchildren. Carl Levin is somebody whom I so admire. He has a lot of service left in him. There are so many things he is capable of doing as a result of the positions he now holds in the Senate. The one thing I admire so much about Carl Levin--as I have already indicated--is how strongly he feels about his family. He and his brother have a piece of property in Michigan. They call it the tree farm. In Searchlight I still have my hat they gave me that says ``Tree Farm.'' He has talked to me on many occasions--we haven't talked lately--about how he and his brother like to walk on their tree farm. There is nothing there but trees, but it is an occasion for them to be together as brothers. Congratulations to Carl Levin on reaching this impressive milestone of 12,000 votes. Not only has he left that mark--he left that mark in my mind and anyone who has served with him--but he has left his mark as being an extraordinary man.

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we proceed to morning business, with the Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each.