Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, 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, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID

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 President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, the transportation conference report was filed in the House just moments ago. We hope to get a chance to move forward on this very early in the morning. There could be a couple of votes. We could get through it very quickly. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date; that the morning hour be deemed to have expired and the time for two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that the majority leader may be recognized, and that Senators be permitted to speak up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, the next hour will be equally divided, with the majority controlling the first half and Republicans controlling the final half. We will continue to debate flood insurance. I hope we can reach an agreement to complete action on this bill. We also need to consider the transportation and the student loan extensions before the end of this week. There are a lot of things going on on Capitol Hill today. We have been in touch with the Speaker's office. Our staffs have been meeting. When we come to these kinds of bills, the Finance Committee is extremely important. And Senator Baucus and I have had many meetings with him and conversations with him. The Senator is key to getting everything done. He is needed on the highway bill, he is needed on the flood insurance bill, and he is needed in student loans. He realizes that and has a tremendous obligation and burden to bear, but he always comes through. He has a good relationship with his counterpart in the House, David Camp. I am cautiously optimistic we can end this week tomorrow even, with a little bit of luck, but we may not be able to. We have to see what happens in the next 24 hours, which will be key. Immigration Reform Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision striking most of the unconstitutional Arizona immigration law reaffirms something most of us already knew: the onus is on Congress to repair our broken system. No one denies that the system is broken. But in the 40 hours since the Supreme Court's ruling, Republicans have engaged in revisionist history to explain why it has taken so long to fix it. Here are the facts. When Democrats brought a comprehensive immigration reform bill to the floor in 2007, Republicans filibustered the legislation. This legislation was led by Senator McCain and Senator Kennedy, among others. The Republicans filibustered this legislation even though Republican President Bush supported it. They twice filibustered the DREAM Act, which would allow children brought to the United States by their parents to go to college, serve in the military, and work toward citizenship. Democrats have done everything that is humanly possible to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We have been trying to do it for years. Two Congresses ago, we spent more time on immigration on the floor than any other issue, and we were spending that time because we were being slow-walked by the Republicans. The Republicans are divided on this issue; we are not. Ninety percent of Democrats support comprehensive immigration reform and, of course, the DREAM Act. Everytime Democrats offer to work together on comprehensive immigration reform, even bringing to the floor bipartisan ideas originally proposed by Republicans, the other side finds an excuse not to support the change. On the floor today is the senior Senator from Illinois, the assistant majority leader. He was one of the pushers of the DREAM Act. He had with him two Republican Senators who were pushing just as hard, but those two Senators have disappeared in supporting the legislation. Yet Republicans blame Democrats for inaction. Well, they cannot have it both ways--they cannot blame Democrats for not passing a bipartisan immigration bill when they are the ones who blocked the bill. Moving forward, Congress has two things in its favor. Thanks to President Obama's decisive action, the specter of deportation no longer hangs over the heads of 800,000 young men and women brought to the country as children. And the Supreme Court offered yet another affirmation that a long-term fix for a broken immigration system must come from Congress and not from the States. Now is not the time for Republicans to continue this harangue that they have had: It is not our fault. It is time for them to work with us for a reasonable solution, one that continues to secure our borders, punishes unscrupulous employers who exploit immigrants and undercut American wages, improves our dysfunctional legal immigration system, and finally requires the 11 million people who are undocumented to register with the government, pay fines, taxes, learn English, and then they do not go to the front of the line, they go to the back of the line. They do this in order to change their status. If my Republican colleagues truly care about changing the status quo, they should step forward now and work with Democrats, not criticize from the sidelines. Unfortunately, Republicans who once favored a permanent solution for America's broken immigration system are deserting efforts to find common ground. The only decisive Republican voice on this issue today seems to be from Mitt Romney, who has called the unconstitutional Arizona law the ``model for the Nation.'' That is what he said. He has also promised to veto the DREAM Act. He said that, I didn't. Democrats believe that the kind of institutionalized racism in the Arizona law is hardly the ``model for reform'' in a country that stands for liberty and justice for all. We believe upstanding young people who have never known any home but the United States of America should be able to go to college, fight for their country, and contribute to society, not face deportation. But at least we know where Mitt Romney stands on those issues, even if we disagree with him. He is for vetoing the DREAM Act, and he believes the Arizona law is the ``model'' for our country. That is really too bad. As long as Republicans remain unwilling to vote for comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform, we will remain at an impasse. I want my Republican colleagues to know this: As soon as they are willing to join us to craft a commonsense legislative solution that is tough, fair, and practical, we are ready to join them. Reservation of Leader Time

Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 341, S. 2237.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague Senator Heller to introduce the Las Vegas Valley Public Lands and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012. This legislation will designate the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Nevada, expand the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, set aside lands for the expansion of Nevada institutions of higher education, and make thousands of acres available for private development and job creation in the Las Vegas valley. I am proud to lead the introduction of this important bill, which has been years in the making. The hallmark component of this legislation is the establishment of the Tule Springs Fossil Bed National Monument. The proposed monument is supported by the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, Clark County, the Governor of Nevada, the State of Nevada's Division of State Parks, the National Parks Conservation Association, Protectors of Tule Springs, and thousands of Nevadans. By designating the Tule Springs area a national monument managed by the National Park Service, we will conserve, protect and enhance this unique and nationally important resource. Nevadans, tourists, scientists, and school children will visit the monument to enjoy its scientific, educational, scenic and recreational values for decades to come. The proposed monument is located in the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley, bounded by the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the Red Rock National Conservation Area, and the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area. The Tule Springs area is recognized as having the largest assemblage of Ice Age fossils in the Southwest. Over 400 paleontological sites have been discovered, providing a record of human activity dating back 11,000 years ago. Scientists have uncovered fossils of the giant Columbian mammoth, ground sloths the size of small cars, the American lion, and camelops. These great prehistoric mammals called North Las Vegas home for thousands of years. Efforts to protect the paleontological treasures contained within the Las Vegas Wash began early last century. In 1933, the first fossil expedition in Tule Springs unearthed prehistoric bones that became known as ``Tule the Baby Mammoth.'' In 1962, scientists conducted the famous ``big dig,'' employing radiocarbon dating for the first time in the United States, which in turn dated Ice Age fossils from 23,800 to 28,000 years old. Despite this significant concentration of important fossil resources in the proposed monument, only a fraction of the area has been studied. Many more prehistoric treasures will be found in the decades to come. The proposed Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is the product of many years of work. Recognizing the threats to the area from off-road vehicles, vandalism, and dumping, a coalition of environmentalists, tribes, academics, and retired Park Service employees formed in the mid-2000s to seek federal protection for Tule Springs. The Protectors of Tule Springs collected over 10,000 signatures, and local and national conservation groups launched a campaign to garner public support for adding the site to the National Parks System. In 2010, a Park Service reconnaissance report commissioned at the request of members of the Nevada congressional delegation found the site suitable for inclusion in the Park System. The monument will also benefit the local economy. Proponents of the monument estimate that it will generate tens of millions of dollars for the regional economy within the early years of operation, bringing tourists and researchers from around the world to visit this one-of-a- kind place to explore fascinating natural history. The stakeholder agreement to establish the proposed monument includes making a modest amount of public lands available for private development in the Las Vegas Valley, and the designation of two 640 acre job creation zones for the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas for master planned commercial development. Furthermore, the legislation makes land available for the future expansion of campuses within the Nevada System of Higher Education, while increasing the size of the Red Rock National Conservation Area. It conveys land to Clark County for flood control for the future Ivanpah Valley Airport, it expands the Metro Police Training Facility by 80 acres to enhance public safety and the facility's security, and allows the U.S. Forest Service to remedy mistaken trespass situations in the Spring Mountains area. Finally, it conveys 1,200 acres to Clark County to establish an off-highway vehicle recreation park, and designates public lands surrounding the park as an off-highway vehicle recreation area to help keep riders off of sensitive lands and habitat. The Las Vegas Valley Lands and Fossil Beds National Monument Act is an ambitious piece of legislation, built on years of stakeholder input. It provides for balanced development and job creation within the Las Vegas Valley, while protecting vital natural and scientific resources that should be made more accessible for the public's enjoyment and education. By making long-term and forward-looking improvements to public land management and stewardship in the Las Vegas Valley, I believe we have crafted a bill that will serve the best interests of Nevadans. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this important legislation through the legislative process.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague Senator Heller to introduce the Las Vegas Valley Public Lands and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012. This legislation will designate the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Nevada, expand the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, set aside lands for the expansion of Nevada institutions of higher education, and make thousands of acres available for private development and job creation in the Las Vegas valley. I am proud to lead the introduction of this important bill, which has been years in the making. The hallmark component of this legislation is the establishment of the Tule Springs Fossil Bed National Monument. The proposed monument is supported by the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, Clark County, the Governor of Nevada, the State of Nevada's Division of State Parks, the National Parks Conservation Association, Protectors of Tule Springs, and thousands of Nevadans. By designating the Tule Springs area a national monument managed by the National Park Service, we will conserve, protect and enhance this unique and nationally important resource. Nevadans, tourists, scientists, and school children will visit the monument to enjoy its scientific, educational, scenic and recreational values for decades to come. The proposed monument is located in the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley, bounded by the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the Red Rock National Conservation Area, and the Spring Mountain National Recreation Area. The Tule Springs area is recognized as having the largest assemblage of Ice Age fossils in the Southwest. Over 400 paleontological sites have been discovered, providing a record of human activity dating back 11,000 years ago. Scientists have uncovered fossils of the giant Columbian mammoth, ground sloths the size of small cars, the American lion, and camelops. These great prehistoric mammals called North Las Vegas home for thousands of years. Efforts to protect the paleontological treasures contained within the Las Vegas Wash began early last century. In 1933, the first fossil expedition in Tule Springs unearthed prehistoric bones that became known as ``Tule the Baby Mammoth.'' In 1962, scientists conducted the famous ``big dig,'' employing radiocarbon dating for the first time in the United States, which in turn dated Ice Age fossils from 23,800 to 28,000 years old. Despite this significant concentration of important fossil resources in the proposed monument, only a fraction of the area has been studied. Many more prehistoric treasures will be found in the decades to come. The proposed Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument is the product of many years of work. Recognizing the threats to the area from off-road vehicles, vandalism, and dumping, a coalition of environmentalists, tribes, academics, and retired Park Service employees formed in the mid-2000s to seek federal protection for Tule Springs. The Protectors of Tule Springs collected over 10,000 signatures, and local and national conservation groups launched a campaign to garner public support for adding the site to the National Parks System. In 2010, a Park Service reconnaissance report commissioned at the request of members of the Nevada congressional delegation found the site suitable for inclusion in the Park System. The monument will also benefit the local economy. Proponents of the monument estimate that it will generate tens of millions of dollars for the regional economy within the early years of operation, bringing tourists and researchers from around the world to visit this one-of-a- kind place to explore fascinating natural history. The stakeholder agreement to establish the proposed monument includes making a modest amount of public lands available for private development in the Las Vegas Valley, and the designation of two 640 acre job creation zones for the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas for master planned commercial development. Furthermore, the legislation makes land available for the future expansion of campuses within the Nevada System of Higher Education, while increasing the size of the Red Rock National Conservation Area. It conveys land to Clark County for flood control for the future Ivanpah Valley Airport, it expands the Metro Police Training Facility by 80 acres to enhance public safety and the facility's security, and allows the U.S. Forest Service to remedy mistaken trespass situations in the Spring Mountains area. Finally, it conveys 1,200 acres to Clark County to establish an off-highway vehicle recreation park, and designates public lands surrounding the park as an off-highway vehicle recreation area to help keep riders off of sensitive lands and habitat. The Las Vegas Valley Lands and Fossil Beds National Monument Act is an ambitious piece of legislation, built on years of stakeholder input. It provides for balanced development and job creation within the Las Vegas Valley, while protecting vital natural and scientific resources that should be made more accessible for the public's enjoyment and education. By making long-term and forward-looking improvements to public land management and stewardship in the Las Vegas Valley, I believe we have crafted a bill that will serve the best interests of Nevadans. I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this important legislation through the legislative process.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are currently considering the motion to concur in the House message to accompany the FDA bill postcloture. We hope to work something out on that so that we can move to it early evening. The first hour of debate this morning will be equally divided and controlled, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. At 11:30 the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider the nomination of Robin Rosenbaum to be a district judge for the Southern District of Florida. At noon there will be a rollcall vote on confirmation of the Rosenbaum nomination. The Senate will recess today from 12:30 to 2:15, as we normally do on Tuesdays, for our weekly caucus meetings. At 2:15 there will be 6 hours 15 minutes remaining on the motion to concur in the House message with respect to the FDA bill. We hope that a significant amount of time can be yielded back and that we can complete action on the bill today. There is an all-Senators briefing at 5 o'clock. We are going to continue--that time will run. We are not going to recess during that period of time. That will be in the classified room down in the Visitor Center. We have accomplished a lot. Everyone knows how grateful I am to Senators Stabenow and Roberts for working their way and our way through that very difficult farm bill. We are watching very closely the great work of Senator Boxer, Senator Inhofe, the Finance Committee, the Commerce Committee, and the Banking Committee on helping us work through the highway bill. There is a possibility that we can get that bill done. I think the chances today are better than 50-50 that we can get a bill done, but we are still looking at Speaker Boehner to help us get that over the finish line. So we will see what happens on that. As I have indicated, the FDA bill--we will complete that tonight. That is a very important accomplishment for us. We have the student loan issue, and we are working on that. We hope to get that done soon. I think there is a general feeling that we have worked out a compromise on that that is acceptable, with the help of Senator Baucus, Senator Harkin, and others. Jack Reed, of course, has led the charge on that for some time. I have talked about the highway bill. We need to get that done. The remaining issue is flood insurance, and we are doing fine on flood insurance, except I was told last night that one of the Republican Senators wants to offer an amendment--listen to this one-- wants to offer an amendment on when life begins. I have been very patient in working with my Republican colleagues and allowing relevant amendments on issues, and sometimes we even do nonrelevant amendments but, really, on flood insurance, are we going to have to start dealing as we did with the highway bill for weeks and weeks with contraception? Now we have another person who wants to deal with when life begins. I don't understand what this is all about, but I want everyone to know that this flood insurance bill is extremely important. The big pushers of this bill are Republican Senators, veteran Republican Senators, and they better work on their side of the aisle because I am not going to put up with that on the flood insurance bill. I can be condemned by outside sources. My friends can say: Let him have a vote on it. There will not be a vote on that on flood insurance. We will either do flood insurance with amendments that deal with flood insurance or we will not do it. We will have an extension. After all of the work that has been put into this bill, this is ridiculous, that somebody says: I am not going to let this bill go forward unless I have a vote on when life begins. I am not going to do that, and I think I speak for the majority of Senators. Now, if the Republicans will not stand up to the person who is going to do that, I am not going to. I have tried my best to deal with these issues that have nothing to do with a piece of legislation, but with the end of the month staring us in the face we have too many important things we have to do. Student loans will be doubled if we do not get that done. Flood insurance will disappear if we do not get it done. The highway program will disappear if we do not get it done. The FDA bill-- it will create all kinds of problems, if we do not get that done. I think this is outlandish. It somebody feels really moved upon to talk about when life begins, have them come and give a speech.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 341, S. 2237.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I made a commitment to proceed to a 5-year flood insurance bill following the farm bill. We have done that. It is the right thing to do. It is an extremely important piece of legislation. So I have lived up to that commitment. I had hoped the broad support we have for this extremely important bill would allow us to reach an agreement and finish the bill in a relatively short period of time. As everyone knows, the senior Senator from Arkansas has had some issues with the bill. I have suggested that he have a vote. From talking to my Republican friends, they do not have a problem with that, giving him a vote. Unfortunately, as happens around here more often than I would like, we have not been able to reach agreement because a small group of Republicans is stopping us from doing this. So my options are really very limited at this stage. I can file cloture and put at risk our ability to complete action on student loans and the Transportation bill. That is what it would do because if I file cloture, we will have to have a cloture vote on this on Thursday. And I would have to file cloture twice because there is the bill and there is the substitute, which everybody agreed was the right thing to do to move forward on the substitute. That is two votes, so at least 60 hours. The flood bill is a very important piece of legislation. It is not something we have to complete the day after tomorrow, but it is something we have to complete a month from now. So do I file cloture and put at risk these important pieces of legislation, meaning the Transportation bill, the student loans--put everything at risk--or I can give supporters of this bill time to try to come to an agreement on limiting the number of amendments. I really believe the right thing to do is to give the people who want this bill passed, Democrats and Republicans, people who support this extremely important piece of legislation, a day or two to figure out if they can get something done. I hope they can. I honestly do. So I am not filing cloture on this bill as I had really actually contemplated. I hope my Republican friends will work with us to get this bill done. This is a bill that deals with flood insurance. I have spoken to a number of Republican Senators, including Senator Vitter, who is the person who has spoken out on this more than anyone else, and he acknowledges that there may be a few relevant amendments that we should have on this bill. I do not care. That is fine with me. Let's set up a list of amendments and finish this bill. So I hope we can get that done. I really do. We should not get in a legislative morass on a bill that is extremely important for the country no matter what part of the country you live in. The dry deserts of Nevada, this is an important piece of legislation; the wetlands of Florida and Louisiana, very important piece of legislation. So I hope we can get this done. Let me just say another word or two. I am very pleased to say that we are close to an agreement to prevent student loan rates from doubling for 7 million young men and women. That would happen at the end of the week. So I appreciate the leadership of President Obama. He has pushed forward on this for a long time. He has given many public statements in this regard. He has been talking to students around the country. He was in New Hampshire yesterday talking to students. They waited in the rain to hear him talk. He has been working with leaders in Congress to ensure that students will not pay the extra $1,000 to get a degree. I would remind my colleagues, the Republicans, including the Speaker, my friend, were willing to give up on this issue a few weeks ago. We are not willing to give up on this issue. I am glad my Republican colleagues have agreed we should not give up on this issue. We do not want to let the rates double. Leader Cantor even said Republicans were done legislating. Remember that? But with the President's leadership and our persistence and the help of my valiant Republican friends, we are going to be able, with a little bit of good luck, to protect 7 million students. I hope that is, in fact, the case. I appreciate the diligent work of the chairman of our committee, Senator Harkin. Senator Jack Reed has worked very hard on this, as have other Senators. I am leaving a few out, but I am certainly not doing that intentionally. I hope everyone understands the legislative issues we have to work to toward the end of this week. I hope we can get it done. I hope we do not get trapped in one of these Senate procedural bogs where we are going to have to be here Friday, Saturday. You know, I hope we do not have to do that. There is no reason to. We can get all of our work done, but we do need a little bit of cooperation.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this resolution, S. Res. 506, on behalf of myself and the distinguished Republican leader, Mr. McConnell, concerns a request for representation in a pro se civil action pending in Indiana small claims court. In this action, the plaintiff seeks damages from a former Member of the Indiana House of Representatives arising out of plaintiff's efforts to obtain Social Security benefits. Plaintiff has issued trial subpoenas to former Senator Evan Bayh and an unnamed employee of his former Senate office for testimony arising out of their Senate duties. This resolution would authorize the Senate Legal Counsel to represent Senator Bayh and employees of his former Senate office in this case to seek to quash the subpoenas on the ground that the Senator and his former staff lack personal knowledge of the relevant events and other legal bases. The resolution would also authorize the former constituent services director for Senator Bayh to submit a declaration in support of the motion to quash attesting that she has no knowledge of anyone in the former Senator's office who has any information relevant to this case.

Mr. REID

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

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

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk to the language proposed to be stricken.

Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.

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

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

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the remaining time postcloture be yielded back and the Senate adopt the motion to proceed to S. 1940.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was coming here today to propound a unanimous consent request on this most important piece of legislation dealing with flood insurance, but after having had some discussions with various people, at this time it would not be of any benefit. There is no need for me to stand and ask unanimous consent when I know it is not going to go anyplace. So we are going to move this forward a little bit, and hopefully with this we can move toward completing this bill at a very early time. Amendment No. 2468 (Purpose: In the nature of a substitute.)

Mr. REID. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Johnson of South Dakota and Senator Shelby, I have a substitute amendment at the desk.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, today the Supreme Court correctly struck down the vast majority of the mean-spirited Arizona law; that is, of course, the immigration law. While I agree with the Court's decision to invalidate three troubling provisions of Arizona's flawed law, there are actually four provisions. Three were declared unconstitutional, one was upheld. I am concerned about the section they upheld. I am surprised they did, but they did. The Justices upheld a measure that allows police to conduct immigration checks on anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally, even if their only evidence is an accent or maybe the color of their skin. Allowing Arizona to keep its ``papers please'' system of immigration checks invites racial profiling. It gives Arizona officials free rein to detain anyone they suspect of being in Arizona without documentation. As long as this provision remains, innocent American citizens are in danger of being detained by police unless they carry immigration papers with them at all times. However, it is reassuring that the Court left the door open to further court challenges of this unsound provision. I say to the Presiding Officer and to anyone within the sound of my voice, someone with my skin color or yours, I do not think we are going to be carrying our immigration papers with us everyplace we go. But if someone is in Arizona and speaks with a little bit of an accent or their skin color is brown, they better have their papers with them. That is unfortunate. It is reassuring that the Court, though, left the door open to further court challenges of this very unsound provision. I am optimistic that once that portion of the law is implemented, it will be discarded. Laws that legalize discrimination are not compatible with laws and traditions of equal rights. So it is disturbing that Mitt Romney has called the unconstitutional Arizona law a model for immigration reform. Anyone who thinks such an unconstitutional law should serve as a model for national reform is clearly outside the mainstream. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with that today. Today's partial victory affirms the Obama administration was right to challenge this awful law, and it is a reminder that the ultimate responsibility for fixing our Nation's broken immigration system rests with Congress. Instead of allowing 50 States to have 50 different enforcement mechanisms, we need a national solution that continues to secure the border, punishes unscrupulous employers that exploit immigrants and undercut American wages, improves our dysfunctional legal immigration system, and requires the 11 million people who are undocumented to register with the government, pay fines and taxes, learn English, work, stay out of trouble, and go to the end of the line to legalize their status. Democrats are ready for this challenge. We have been willing to craft a commonsense legal solution for a long time, one that is fair, tough, and practical. As I have indicated, we have been ready to do this for years. We have tried on a few occasions. The problem now and has been, Republicans will not vote for immigration reform--simple as that. We have tried. The first step would be to pass the DREAM Act, which would create a pathway to citizenship for children brought to the country through no fault of their own. If upstanding young people stay out of trouble, work hard in high school, they should have a chance to serve their country in the military, go to college, and work toward citizenship. Unfortunately, Mitt Romney said he would veto that, the DREAM Act. President Obama, on the other hand, took decisive action in halting deportation of the DREAMers. His directive will protect 800,000 young people and focus law enforcement resources where they belong, on deporting criminals. As we all know, though, this is not a permanent solution. But President Obama's decision to defer these deportations was necessary precisely because Republicans have so far refused to work with Democrats on a solution. Congress must consider a long-term resolution to protect the DREAMers and tackle comprehensive immigration reform that addresses all 11 million undocumented people living in this country. But that will take cooperation from my Republican colleagues. That has not been forthcoming. This week, we have a lot to accomplish, and getting it all done before the July 4 holiday will also take cooperation. By Friday, the Senate must pass flood insurance that will allow millions of Americans to close on new homes or new properties. We must send to the President a bill to ease drug shortages. That is the FDA bill. We need to protect 3 millions jobs with an agreement on transportation legislation, and the deadline to stop student loan rates from doubling for 7 million students looms at the end of this week as well. I am putting my colleagues on notice that the Senate will stay as long as we have to, into the weekend if necessary, to complete this substantial workload. We hope there will be cooperation not only in this body but also in the House of Representatives. I alert everyone, we have a lot to do--extremely important pieces of legislation. We have to complete them before we leave this week.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are now considering the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill postcloture. We will begin consideration of that bill today. At 5:30, there will be a cloture vote on the motion to concur in the House message with respect to S. 3187, which is the Food and Drug Administration bill. This is an extremely important bill. Work has been completed on that. We should be OK tonight and have that as something we look to as having accomplished this week. We also need to complete work on student loans, flood insurance, and transportation this week. We have lots to do and a very short time to do it.