Harry Reid

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID

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

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, there will be as many as three rollcall votes beginning at approximately 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, following any leader remarks the Senate will be in morning business until 4:30 this afternoon. The filing deadline for all first-degree amendments to the substitute amendment to H.R. 3606 is 4 o'clock this afternoon. Following morning business, the Senate will begin consideration of H.R. 3606, the capital formation/IPO bill. There will be no votes today. We will have a couple of votes in the morning.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this week the Senate resumes debate on a measure to improve innovators' access to capital. This bill passed the House on a bipartisan vote and has President Obama's support. We could make this legislation even better by passing the modest consumer protections included in the substitute amendment we will consider tomorrow. But Members of both parties agree we should pass it quickly. We will finish work on this legislation this week. It is nice to see Democrats and Republicans standing on common ground for a change. But while this IPO proposal will be good for business-- helping to give startups the flexibility they need to hire and grow-- experts agree its impact on job creation will be limited. The IPO bill is a good bill, but we all recognize its job creation impact will be fairly limited. We want to do something with this legislation to increase the amount of jobs that will be forthcoming soon, which we have done. So as part of this IPO bill, it is important Congress also reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank, and do it now. Reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank will help American exporters compete in a global economy and sell more of their products overseas. Last year, Ex-Im Bank financing helped 3,600 private companies and almost 300,000 jobs were added in more than 2,000 communities. That is why the Ex-Im Bank has always enjoyed broad bipartisan support. The last time this measure came before the body, it was offered by a Republican Senator and was passed by unanimous consent. The reauthorization legislation we will vote on tomorrow is also bipartisan. It passed the Banking Committee unanimously. It has three Republican cosponsors and the strong backing of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Yet I read that some of my Republican colleagues don't want to advance this bipartisan measure. Remember, it does not increase the debt whatsoever. Instead, I have been told that some Republicans want to start another drawn-out, knockdown fight over a proposal that passed unanimously the last time the Senate considered it. It doesn't make sense. So let's review what is at stake. Unless Congress acts, Ex-Im Bank may hit its lending limit this month. American exporters could no longer rely on an even playing field with global competitors. The Ex-Im Bank loans money to American businesses when private lending is not available. Its investments made $41 billion in U.S. exports possible last year alone. That is why Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg says our competitors abroad ``are licking their chops'' at the idea that America would stop backing businesses that sell their products overseas. Many of the businesses that are growing and hiring because of Export- Import Bank financing are small businesses. But the men and women who run large outfits such as Boeing, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, Caterpillar, GE, and Motorola are also on record in supporting the Ex- Im Bank. American entrepreneurs can't afford Congress to give up on them now. China already provides three to four times as much financing as we do to help Chinese exporters. So we must help American exporters. We must continue to give American businesses a fair shot to compete in a global market. Since Ex-Im Bank doesn't add a penny to the deficit, there is no excuse for Republicans not to support it. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says this commonsense legislation will actually reduce the deficit by about $1 billion. It is critical we pass the IPO bill to help businesses access capital, but it is even more important we reauthorize the job-creating Export-Import Bank which helps those companies compete abroad. This proposal will support hundreds of thousands of more jobs in the small business capital bill. Together it will be a real knockout. It will be great for America. Democrats brought this measure to the floor in an effort to find more common ground, and passing it would be another major accomplishment of which both parties can be proud.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Will the Chair announce the business of the day.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding passage of S. 1813, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, the Boxer amendment No. 1903 be agreed to. The Boxer amendment is technical in nature. It strikes title V of division C with the heading entitled ``Research and Innovative Technology Administrative Reauthorization Act of 2012,'' which was moved to division E.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that S. 2076 be discharged from the Committee on Homeland Security and be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, S. 2204 is at the desk and due for its first reading.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask for a second reading but object to my own request.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until Tuesday, March 20, at 10 a.m.; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed to have expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day; that following any leader remarks, the Senate proceed to a period of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators permitted to speak therein for 10 minutes each, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first half and the majority the final half; that following that morning business, the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 334, H.R. 3606, with the time until 11:30 a.m. equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, prior to the cloture vote on the Reed of Rhode Island substitute amendment; further, that the filing deadline for second-degree amendments to the Reed substitute amendment, the Cantwell amendment, and H.R. 3606 be at 11 a.m. Tuesday; finally, that the Senate recess subject to the call of the Chair at 12:30 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings and the official photograph of the 112th Congress.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam 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. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any related statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Agriculture Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 473.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Banking Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 886 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, this week the Senate has demonstrated that when Democrats and Republicans cooperate, we are capable of achieving significant results for this country. We passed a transportation bill that will create or save almost 3 million jobs--and these are American jobs--and rebuild our Nation's crumbling infrastructure. Yesterday we chartered a course to confirm 14 new judges in the short term and a path for getting more done following that, and this is important because our Federal courts are overworked and understaffed. We agreed that Congress should continue its work to improve the economy. To that end, the Senate will move today to a piece of legislation that will improve innovators' access to capital and give startups the flexibility they need to hire and to grow. This bill passed the House by an overwhelming margin. President Obama supports this measure, and both Democrats and Republicans are eager to get to work to pass it next week. In addition to the small business capital legislation, Democrats will also advance a proposal to help American businesses sell more of their products overseas. Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank--or Ex-Im Bank, as it is called--will help small businesses export globally. Not only will it help small businesses, it will help large businesses such as Caterpillar and Boeing. These companies really need this to continue the job creation they have been involved in now for the last several years. As an example, last year Ex-Im Bank financed almost 300,000 private sector jobs at more than 3,600 different American companies in more than 2,000 communities throughout America. Foreign governments often provide the financing for companies that compete with American businesses. We need to do this to be more competitive. Ex-Im Bank levels the playing field by being available to help American exporters when private lending is not available. Unless we reauthorize the bank, it will hit its lending limit this month, eliminating support for American exporters. The Export-Import Bank has always had strong bipartisan support, and the Democrats' legislation reauthorizing this measure has the firm backing of the Chamber of Commerce and organized labor. This is a strong combination that equals one result; that is, jobs. Advancing these two items--the Ex-Im Bank and the small business capital bill--will continue the important bipartisan work we have done this week to get our economy back on track. I am pleased that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have been able to find common ground. President Franklin Roosevelt said: Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off. I think we have shown this week that achievement comes when Members all strive, as President Roosevelt said, not to compete but to cooperate.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a cloture motion on the bill, which is at the desk.

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. 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. Mr. President, I am told that S. 2191 is due for a second reading.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I would object to further proceedings on this matter at this time.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, on Saturday Senator Barbara Mikulski becomes the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. Congress. We will mark that occasion on Wednesday when her family and friends will be present here in the Capitol. I have prepared detailed remarks for that occasion, but I thought it was important that we note very briefly here today this milestone in the history of our country. Last January Barbara Mikulski surpassed Margaret Chase Smith from Maine as the longest serving woman in the Senate. On Saturday, March 17, she will surpass Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers from Massachusetts as the longest serving woman in Congress.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we appreciate Senator Burr arranging for this good man to come and offer the prayer this morning. We appreciate that very much.