Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 7, 2012, at 10:45 a.m., to hold a Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs subcommittee hearing entitled, ``The Path to Freedom: Countering Repression and Strengthening Civil Society in Cuba.''

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5890.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read three times and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, there be no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to this matter 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. 476 and the Senate now proceed to its consideration.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, June 11; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, when the Senate convenes on Monday, it will resume consideration of the farm bill postcloture. We are working on an agreement to move that bill forward. There will be a cloture vote at 5:30, as I announced, on Andrew Hurwitz.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 415, S. 3240.

Mr. REID. Madam President, we are now on the motion to proceed to the farm bill. I now ask unanimous consent that today at 4 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 610; that there be 90 minutes for debate, which will be equally divided in the usual form; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate proceed to vote on the nomination; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then resume legislative session.

Mr. REID. Madam President, following my remarks and those of my esteemed colleague, the first hour will be equally divided, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. We hope to reach an agreement to begin consideration of the farm bill today. Madam President, in a time when too many of the products we buy are made overseas, America can be satisfied that most of the food we eat is grown right here at home. The American agricultural industry boasted a $42 billion trade surplus last year--greater than any other sector in our economy. Our farmers are the most productive in the world, exporting $136 billion worth of their yield last year. It is amazing how States produce agricultural products. The State of New York isn't considered by most people to be an agricultural State, but it is. The State of Michigan is not considered by most people to be an agricultural State, but it is. Even some of the States in the western part of the United States produce products that are exported. For example, in Nevada, alfalfa is exported. It is very high in protein. It is made into pellets, and it is a needed commodity overseas. So all over America the farm bill is important. Our farmers are the most productive in the world, exporting $136 billion worth of their yield last year. At a time of economic uncertainty, America's agricultural industry supports 16 million much needed jobs. So Congress must give farmers the certainty they need to keep this industry thriving. I commend Senators Stabenow and Roberts, the managers of this bill, for crafting a strong bipartisan bill. This measure will create jobs and cut subsidies. It includes important reforms that make farm and food stamp programs more accountable and more defensible. With more farmers seeking global markets for their product more than ever before, this bill supports rural farm jobs as well as urban manufacturing jobs. It will help new farmers--especially those who served their country in the Armed Forces--to build successful businesses. This legislation helps local farmers sell their products where they grow them--connecting farms, schools, and communities. And it saves $23 billion, which we will use to reduce this deficit we have. I know there are a number of Democratic and Republican Senators who wish to offer amendments to this legislation. I have confidence in the leadership of Senators Stabenow and Roberts and look forward to working quickly and cooperatively to pass the bill that creates jobs, cuts subsidies, and reduces the deficit, while protecting American farmers. Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse Madam President, every day the dedicated officers of the U.S. Capitol Police keep members of Congress, our staffs, and millions of visitors from around the world who visit the Capitol grounds each year safe. For the last 6 years, this department has been led and run by Chief of Police Phillip Morse. He spent more than half of his life on the Capitol Police Force, and I think it is time for a little down time. Today Chief Morse retires after 28 years serving and protecting the U.S. Capitol. I thank him for his service and congratulate him on a job well done. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 410, S. 3220.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are now on the motion to proceed to the Paycheck Fairness Act. Following my remarks and those of the Republican leader, the time until 12:30 will be equally divided. The majority will control the first 30 minutes and the Republicans will control the second 30 minutes. The Senate will recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. I ask unanimous consent the cloture vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to S. 3220 occur at 2:30 p.m. and that the time from 2:15 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. be equally divided between the two leaders, with the majority controlling the final half.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, as I indicated, we are on the Paycheck Fairness Act, and we will have that cloture vote at 2:30 p.m. today.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, most Americans believe if they get an education, they work hard and play by the rules, they will have a fair shot at success. But for millions of American women, no amount of talent or dedication will bring pay equality with their male coworkers. In the minds of many employers, they simply are not equal. American women take home 77 cents for every $1 their male colleagues earn for doing the exact same work. That stunning fact holds true whether the woman has a college degree, regardless of how many hours she spends in the office each week or on some manufacturing floor and regardless of what job she holds--77 cents applies. But listen to this. If she is an African-American or Hispanic woman, the disparity is even starker. African-American women make 62 cents on the dollar and Hispanic women 54 cents on the dollar compared to White men working the same hours and doing the same jobs. They are not working at different jobs; these are the exact same jobs. If someone is Hispanic and they are a woman, they get about half as much as a man doing the same job. If they are African American, they get about 62 cents compared to every $1 a man makes. While landmark pieces of legislation such as the Equal Pay Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act have narrowed the pay gap, they have not closed the gap, and that is obvious by the numbers I just announced to the Senate. So Congress must do more. This act that is before the Senate would give workers stronger tools to combat wage discrimination. One of the tools of retaliation employers have is they fire workers if they discuss how much they make with another worker. Our legislation would bar retaliation against workers for discussing salary information. Why do we have this in the bill? We have this landmark legislation that we had to pass because the Supreme Court ruled against Lilly Ledbetter. Lilly Ledbetter is a woman who worked in Alabama for many years, and she didn't know she was being paid far less than her male counterparts who did the same work. So when she learned of this, she filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said: Sorry, Lilly. You didn't file it in time; the statute of limitations has run, meaning she had to file within a certain period of time. We have many different places in the law where we do not start tolling the statute until someone learns something is wrong. For example, we had to go back on medical malpractice cases where people were treated negligently by physicians, but the poor patient didn't realize this until long after. For example, in the State of Nevada, there is a 2-year statute of limitations. So we changed that in most places in the country, and we need to make sure people understand, in this instance--now that we passed the Lilly Ledbetter legislation--the time doesn't start running until one has learned they are being cheated. Our legislation would bar retaliation against workers for discussing salary information, and it would help secure adequate compensation for victims of gender-based pay discrimination. Let's look at the State of Nevada. Over their lifetimes, Nevada women will earn about $475 million less than their male counterparts--almost $500 million. This is not just an issue for women; it is a family issue. Why? Because every year millions of American families are cheated out of money they could spend on groceries, rent, and gas. Every year wage discrimination puts almost 400,000 Nevada children at risk. For many families in Nevada and across the country a woman is the only income generator in that family. For many more women that person is the primary breadwinner. Yet Republicans have vowed to block this legislation. It is in all the news today. Every headline in the news talks about this bill coming up today and the Republicans are saying they are going to vote against it because it creates too much bookwork. They vowed to block legislation that would even the playing field and help women provide for their families even though Americans overwhelmingly support this legislation. Nine out of ten Americans-- including 81 percent of men and 77 percent of the Republicans--support pay equity legislation. Once again, the only Republicans who are against our commonsense measure are the ones who are in Congress in Washington. Even Mitt Romney has refused to publicly oppose this legislation. He may oppose it, but he is afraid to say anything about it. Why? Because it is obvious why. He should show some leadership. In my opinion, Governor Romney should tell his fellow Republicans that opposing fair pay for all Americans is shameful. Instead, no one knows where he stands, but we know where Democrats stand. Everyone knows. We stand firmly on the side of equality for every working woman. Democrats stand with middle-class women who are working to keep their families afloat during these difficult times. We stand with young women pursuing a college education who are hoping to get a good-paying job when they graduate. We stand with little girls whose mothers taught them there is no limit to their dreams. This evening Americans will see where Republicans stand on this issue. It is unfortunate they, once again, favor obstruction over equality. Recognition of the Republican Leader

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID. I now withdraw my motion to proceed to Calendar No. 410, S. 3220.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 415, S. 3240.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a cloture motion at the desk on the motion to proceed to this matter.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule XXII be waived.

Mr. REID. I say to my friend, through the Chair, there is no one in this body who has a reputation for a bigger and better fighter than Barbara Mikulski, the senior Senator from Maryland. I entered the motion to reconsider the vote because I want the fight to continue.

Mr. REID. I say to my friend, through the Chair, she is absolutely right. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans across America support this legislation. Eighty-one percent of men across America support this legislation.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I appreciate very much the statement made by the Senator from Maryland, as usual. She will outline a way to proceed on this matter that will be dignified and strong. I filed cloture on this motion to proceed to this very important bill relating to farm programs in America and nutrition programs in America--extremely important legislation. I am confident--maybe it is the wrong thing in the temperament of the Senate today--that we are going to be able to complete this bill. It is an important bill for America. It will be a good thing for this Congress to do this farm bill. The two managers of this bill, Senator Stabenow of Michigan and Senator Roberts of Kansas, have done a remarkably good job. This bill creates jobs and reduces subsidies by a significant amount. Where else would you find a bill that reduces the debt of this country by $24 billion? This is a fine piece of legislation, and I hope we can work something out so we do not have to have a vote on this matter on Thursday, that we can start legislating. We have had good fortune shine upon us on the last couple of big bills we brought through here. We had the managers work with floor staff to work on the relevant amendments and then have a way to finish the bill. I hope we can do that. I repeat, I have confidence in Senator Stabenow and Senator Roberts. They are very good legislators. We need to proceed on this bill. This bill is not a Democratic bill or Republican bill, it is a bill for America.

Mr. REID. I will be happy to.

Mr. REID. Yes. In the State of Nevada--I am sure it is maybe more than that in California--in the State of Nevada, women earn $400,000 less. A man in his lifetime makes X number of dollars, and in Nevada a woman makes $400,000 less--in fact, a little more.