Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I wonder if the official reporter could show the big smile on my face. Can my colleagues imagine how ridiculous my friend the Republican leader's statement is. Listen to what he said. We are doing cyber security. We have talked about the dangers of cyber security if we don't do something about it. He is now telling me he wants a vote to repeal all the stuff I just talked about on the cyber security bill? That is very difficult to comprehend. I think we should understand that I don't think a woman getting contraception has a thing to do with shutting down the power grids in America or the financial services in America or our water systems or our sewer systems. That is what cyber security is all about, not whether a woman can have contraception or whether she can have a wellness check to find out if she has cancer from not having had a mammogram.

Mr. REID. I would be happy to yield.

Mr. REID. My response to my friend is this: I try to be very calm about things in life generally, especially things here on the floor, but I can't remain very calm about this. I have, as do a lot of people I know, 16 grandchildren. They are evenly divided between boys and girls. I want my granddaughters to be treated so that if they want to go get some contraception, have some contraceptive device while in school at New York University or Berkeley--I am bragging that they got into those schools--they should have the ability to do that. I just can't imagine what we are talking about here on the Senate floor. Cyber security is one of the most important--it is the most important issue, as I have already said. If my colleagues want to talk to General Petraeus, he will tell us about what it is, or General Dempsey will tell us what the important issue is. The No. 1 issue today is whether we are going to have bad people attack our country and shut it down. Now we are here being asked if we are going to have a vote, on cyber security, as to when my grandchildren can have contraception.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, my friend asked me a question.

Mr. REID. OK. I won't answer the question then.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am going to spend a few minutes talking about the Affordable Care Act. I wonder how many people on the Republican side today are going to talk about ObamaCare. If they do, they should be in a very positive state. We know that as a result of this bill, the Affordable Care Act, people are getting or soon will get a rebate. One of the things we did--led by Senator Franken and others-- was make sure that 80 percent of the money paid for premiums goes to patient care and any amount that doesn't has to be refunded to the patients. That is in the process now. In the month of August, all those moneys will come back in a significant amount to Americans who, in effect, are part of programs that spend too much on salaries for bosses. Also, we are going to talk a little bit today about what this Affordable Care Act does for women in America. As I said, I am going to speak very briefly, but we are going to have people come--as soon as I and the Republican leader finish--to talk about good things in this bill for women. I will touch on them very briefly. There is no question this bill that was signed by President Obama is a landmark piece of legislation. It signaled an end to insurance company discrimination among many but especially against those who are ill, those with a preexisting condition, and especially against women. As a result of this bill we passed, being a woman is no longer a preexisting disability in America. For many years, insurance companies charged American women higher premiums. Why? Because they are women. For years, American women have unfairly borne the burden of the high cost of contraception as well. Even women with private insurance often wind up spending hundreds of dollars more each year for birth control. Today, women of reproductive age spend two-thirds more out of their own pockets for health care costs than men, largely due to the high cost of birth control. But starting tomorrow--Wednesday of this week--new insurance plans must cover contraception and many other preventive health services for women. How much? No additional pay at all. Under health care reform, about 47 million women, including almost 400,000 women in Nevada, will have guaranteed access to those additional preventive services without cost sharing. Many on the other side downplayed the importance of these benefits or fought to repeal them altogether. It is hard to comprehend but true. Forcing American women to continue struggling with the high price of contraception has very real consequences. Every year millions of women in the United States put off doctors' visits because they can't afford the copay and millions more skip pills or shots to save money. It is no mystery why the United States has one of the highest rates of unintended pregnancies of all industrialized nations. Half of all pregnancies in America are unplanned. Of those unintended pregnancies, about half wind up in abortion. Increasing access to contraception is the most effective way to reduce unintended pregnancies and reduce the number of abortions, but the high cost is often a barrier. That is why, in 1997, Olympia Snowe and I began a bipartisan effort to prevent unintended pregnancies by expanding access to contraception. It has not been an easy path, but we did make a start. As part of this effort, we helped pass a law ensuring Federal employees access to contraception. It was a big issue. That was 15 years ago or more. It is an issue that is still important, but we started it, and I am very happy about that. Olympia Snowe was terrific to work with. When this benefit took place in 1999, premiums did not go up one single dime because neither did health care costs--not one penny. It was rewarding to note that a pro-life Democrat and pro-choice Republican were able to confront the issue with a practical eye rather than a political eye. It is unfortunate that over the last 15 years an idea that started as a common-ground proposal has become so polarizing in Congress. The controversy is quite strange when we consider that almost 99 percent of women have relied on contraception at some point in their lives, and many have struggled to afford it. The Affordable Care Act will ensure that insurance companies treat women fairly and treat birth control as any other preventive service. Prior to Senator Snowe and me doing this, anything a man wanted they got. Viagra, fine; we will take care of that. Anything a man wanted they got--but not a woman. The law doesn't just guarantee women's access to contraception, it assures their access to many other lifesaving procedures as well. Thanks to the health care bill--the Affordable Care Act--insurance companies are already required to cover preventive care such as mammograms. For a person who is able to have a mammogram, it is lifesaving. Most people in the Senate know my wife is battling breast cancer. She had a mammogram in December and in August discovered a lump in her breast. Think of what would have happened if she had waited 1 year because she couldn't afford that mammogram. Frankly, the thought of it is very hard for me to comprehend because even though she had that mammogram in December, she had found it and was in stage 3 of breast cancer. It has been very difficult. What if she waited an extra year? Many people wait a lot longer than an extra year. Colonoscopies save lives. I was talking to one of my friends in the Senate who is going to have his done. They do it every 5 years. It takes at least 10 years for polyps to develop into cancer, and some polyps develop into cancer if they are not taken out. People need to have this done. Blood pressure checks, childhood immunizations without cost sharing is part of what is in this bill. It used to be a bill; now it is the law. Starting tomorrow--again, Wednesday of this week--women will no longer have to reach in their pockets to pay for wellness checkups. They can do screening for diabetes, HPV testing, sexually transmitted infection counseling, HIV screening and counseling, breastfeeding support, domestic violence screening and counseling. That is all in the law starting tomorrow. All women in new insurance plans will have access to all forms of FDA-approved contraception without having to shell out more money on top of their premiums. Ending insurance company discrimination will help millions more women afford the care they need when they need it. It will restore basic fairness to the health care system. Sometimes the practical thing to do is also the right thing to do, and that is what the legislation we worked so hard to pass is all about. It is about doing the right thing for everyone. Today we are going to focus on women.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I appreciate very much the Senator from New Jersey coming to the floor to discuss this issue. As my friend from New Jersey knows, as the chairman of the Finance Committee knows, I support the wool and cotton trust funds. That is very clear in the record of this body for what I believe was wrong with the Olympic uniforms. It is such a shame our athletes over there are wearing clothes made in China. I think that is too bad. I support the wool and cotton trust fund. I support the citrus trust fund. There are only three of them. I support all of them. I agree with my friend from New Jersey that we need to find a way to move these forward and ensure that American manufacturers are placed on equal footing with foreign manufacturers so there is an easier place for people to go if they want products made in the United States. I am happy to work with Senator Menendez and Chairman Baucus to find a vehicle to ensure that these trust funds and these American jobs are a priority that is addressed this year. So my friend has a commitment that I will do everything within my abilities to make sure we have an agreement on extending these very important trust funds this year.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, before I yield to my friend from New Jersey, I wish to also state on the record that no one is a better advocate for an issue they believe in than Senator Menendez from New Jersey. This is an issue he has spoken loudly and clearly about. So I reiterate what I said: I feel very compelled to do something to satisfy my friend from New Jersey on such a worthy cause.

Mr. REID. Will my friend yield to me for 1 minute?

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for debate on S. 3414, the cyber security bill, be extended until 5 p.m. and at that time I be recognized.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my understanding that the senior Senator from Tennessee wishes to speak for another 10 minutes, is that right?

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the period for debate only on S. 3414, the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, be extended until 6:40, and that at 6:40 I be recognized.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit the bill with instructions, which is at the desk.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on that motion.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.

Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 473, S. 3429

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be a period of debate only on S. 3414, and that this will go forward until 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 31; further, that at 2:15 p.m. on that date, Tuesday, I be recognized.

Mr. REID. The Senator can do that. It is totally appropriate.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are on the motion to proceed to S. 3414, which is the cybersecurity bill. This is postcloture. At 4:30 p.m., the Senate will proceed to executive session to vote on the nomination of Robert Bacharach, of Oklahoma, to be a U.S. circuit judge for the Tenth Circuit. This likely will be our last vote on a circuit judge for this Congress. I hope we can be successful. This is a person whom I will talk about a little bit, and he is certainly well qualified. He came out of committee unanimously. At 5:30 p.m., today, there will be a cloture vote on the Bacharach nomination. If cloture is not invoked on the Bacharach nomination, the Senate will resume legislative session and begin consideration of the cybersecurity bill following the vote. Measure Placed on the Calendar--H.R. 6082 I am told H.R. 6082 is at the desk and due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings with regard to this bill.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was glad to hear Speaker Boehner say last week he will bring the Senate-passed middle-class tax cut to the House floor for a vote. I heard again today he is going to hold to what he said. I think that is very good. Our struggling Nation is one vote away from avoiding the fiscal cliff for middle-class families. Every Member of the House of Representatives should have an opportunity to show where they stand: with millionaires or the middle class. Members can support the Democrats' plan to cut taxes for 98 percent of Americans while reducing the deficit by almost $1 trillion or they can support the Republican plan to hand out more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, increasing taxes for 25 million American families struggling to put kids through college or even food on the table. The two approaches demonstrate a glaring difference in priorities. There is another difference between the two plans. The Democrats' proposal is the only one with a chance of becoming law. President Obama said he would sign it tomorrow. What he will not do is sign into law any more wasteful giveaways to the wealthiest 2 percent. The Senate has defeated the Republican proposal in a bipartisan vote, so it is simply a waste of time for House Republicans to continue to pursue their middle-class tax hike. House Republicans should stop holding the middle class hostage to extract more tax cuts for the richest of the rich. They should pass our middle-class tax cut now. American families cannot afford to wait until the last moment to find out how their bottom line will look come January 1. People are sitting around their kitchen tables now trying to figure out whether they can afford to buy a home or rent a home, should they send their kids to college or trade school or should they or can they retire? Republicans shouldn't force 114 million families to guess whether they will have $1,600 less to spend or save next year. They certainly need to do something and do it now, and one simple vote can give them that certainty. Mr. President, cybersecurity is basically a new word. Today, the Senate also continues to work to address this problem. This is a problem that national security experts call the most urgent threat to our country; that is, weakness in our defense against cybersecurity. Cyber terrorism could cripple the computer networks that control our electrical grid, water supplies, sewers, nuclear plants, energy pipelines, transportation networks, communications equipment, and financial systems, to name a few. GEN Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: ``A cyber attack could stop this society in its tracks.'' Cyber espionage does not just threaten our national security, it threatens our economic security as well. Hackers have already attacked one of the most important businesses we have in America today, the Nasdaq stock exchange. Major corporations are under attack every day, spending millions and millions of dollars to protect against cyber attacks. These attacks cost our economy billions of dollars a year and thousands of jobs. GEN James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, said Chinese cyber theft of American intellectual property is ``the greatest pillaging of wealth in history.'' ``That's our future disappearing in front of us,'' added GEN Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Administration. In a report released last year, the American Chamber of Commerce said the government and private sector should work together to develop incentives for businesses to voluntarily act to protect our Nation's critical infrastructure. The legislation before this body today does exactly that. It establishes a public-private partnership to make our Nation safer and protect American jobs. I hope the Chamber will join in our efforts to pass this important legislation. I personally believe this bill could go further to address the critical infrastructure, such as the networks operating our electrical grid, our water supply, and other life-sustaining systems. It is a tremendously important first step. I applaud Senators Lieberman, Collins, Feinstein, and Rockefeller for their work on this legislation. The bill managers are compiling a list of relevant amendments for consideration. I hope we can cooperate to work through the list and pass this legislation this week. We can't afford to fail to address what experts have called the greatest security challenge since the dawn of the nuclear age. Bacharach Nomination I said I would talk a little bit about Judge Bacharach, and I intend to do that now. Today, the Senate will vote on whether to end a filibuster of Judge Robert Bacharach, a nominee from Oklahoma to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. By any measure, this man is the type of noncontroversial nominee the Senate would routinely confirm with broad bipartisan support. He was reported out of the Judiciary Committee by voice vote. Everybody said he is a good guy. He has the support of two Republican Senators from his State of Oklahoma. Senator Coburn, the junior Senator from Oklahoma, said Friday that Judge Bacharach is a stellar candidate and ought to get through. Yet Republicans have signaled they are going to block his nomination. If they hold up this consensus candidate, it will be the first time an appeals court nominee with this bipartisan support has ever been filibustered on the floor. Why should we ever be surprised? We have already had 85 filibusters, so we can add another one to it. I hope they don't filibuster this good man. I have already said this would be our last circuit court judge. It is too bad that is the case. If Senator Coburn and Senator Inhofe broadly support this qualified nomination, blatant partisanship will be to blame. Senator Coburn said Judge Bacharach is ``an awfully good candidate caught in election-year politics.'' Will the Chair announce the business of the day. Reservation of Leader Time