Harry Reid

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, we have had bipartisan conversations about having a more than 1-year extension of the tax extenders, bipartisan conversations about moving to a 2-year bill or maybe doing what we did in the Senate and passing the extend bill. So I respect my friend, who is trying to get us out of here as quickly as possible, but we have to have a path forward to make sure we understand what is happening with the extenders. The Senator mentioned TRIA. We also have some problems with that. So I believe we need a path forward on the omnibus and a way forward on the nominations before we start dealing with whether there should be a 2-year extension or a 1-year extension and what amendments, if any, we would have on TRIA, so I object.

Mr. REID. We have the omnibus we have to do, we have to do the tax extenders, we have to do TRIA, and we have some nominations that we have an obligation to the American people to do, so we are not going to finish tonight. I think we could finish the omnibus tonight, but we are not finishing tonight.

Mr. REID

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 Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. REID. I appreciate everyone's patience. You have all been waiting. I ask unanimous consent that at 5 p.m., Monday, December 15, the Senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 83; that if cloture is invoked, there be 30 minutes postcloture debate time remaining on the motion to concur.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask the Chair to lay before the Senate a message from the House with respect to H.R. 83. The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 83) entitled ``An Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to assemble a team of technical, policy, and financial experts to address the energy needs of the insular areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States through the development of energy action plans aimed at promoting access to affordable, reliable energy, including increasing use of indigenous clean-energy resources, and for other purposes,'' with an amendment. Motion to Concur

Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 83.

Mr. REID. Madam President, there is a cloture motion at the desk. I ask the Chair to order it reported.

Mr. REID. Madam President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 83, with a further amendment.

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

Mr. REID. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. REID. I have a motion to refer the House message with respect to H.R. 83 with instructions.

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. REID. Madam President, we now are waiting for a vote to occur. Under the rules, this will occur 2 days from now, 1 hour after we come into session. So I would hope we can work something out to get this done tonight. Remember, midnight on Saturday the government is out of money. I hope that cooler heads would prevail and we can move forward and get this done. There is just no sense in our waiting around. This bill has been talked about for days now. It has been very good work to get it where we are. The two managers of this bill, the distinguished Senator from Maryland and, of course, the senior Senator from Alabama, have worked hard to get this bill done. I hope we can move forward on this as quickly as possible. There is no reason we have to wait until Sunday to do this.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon tomorrow, Saturday, December 13, 2014; 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; that following any leader remarks, the Senate resume consideration of the motion to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 83.

Mr. REID. Let me say I understand the sincerity of my friend from Utah. I am unable to agree with him, but it doesn't take away from the sincerity of his request.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. For the information of all Senators, rollcall votes are expected throughout the day on Saturday. This is really the way it is going to be. It appears we are going have to have a series of votes all day tomorrow starting as soon as we get here, into the evening and perhaps into the morning.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order. Before the Chair rules on that, we have tried our very best to work something out to move forward with a consent agreement. We have spent all night and have been unable to do that. There have been a number of mixed signals to my Members. They are now being notified--for the last several hours--indicating that we have to be here this weekend. It is inconvenient for a lot of people. I am sorry. We are in the Senate and we are going to have to rearrange our schedules for the weekend.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. For the information of all Members, we have two more votes based on the prior order that was entered last night. I alert all Members they better not leave here right now for the weekend because we have matters we need to dispose of. I have spoken to Senator McConnell recently, and we are going to try to work something out so that we may be able to get off tomorrow and Sunday. We are going to have to work on Monday morning unless something comes up in the meantime. Everybody should just take it easy until we get something worked out; otherwise, the Government will run out of money tomorrow night at midnight. We have to complete this omnibus bill prior to that time.

Mr. REID. I object.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am going to take just a minute, because time is running out, to talk about a couple of Senators. I rise to honor Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas upon his departure from this institution. I have been in the Senate 28 years, and there has been a Pryor here for 22 of those years. I first worked with Mark's dad, David Pryor. David Pryor left this institution because he had quite a significant heart attack. What a fine Senator. I have said before, and I will say again, he was the best legislator I ever served with, whether during my experience in the State legislature of Nevada or here: David Pryor. He was very, very good. Six years after David left, Mark came. What a good legislator he is. He is just such a fine person. But it is no surprise to me that he followed in his dad's footsteps. After all, the Pryor family has worked as public servants in Arkansas for five generations. Mark's great- great-grandfather was a sheriff. Mark's great-grandfather was a sheriff. Mark's grandfather Edgar was a county sheriff also in Arkansas. In fact, just last year, an Arkansan said to Mark: ``I'm for Mark Pryor not because of his dad David but because of Edgar.'' That is how deep the Pryor roots run in Arkansas. On Mark's desk is a plaque that reads: ``Arkansas Comes First.'' This was a plaque that was on his dad's desk and that Mark put on his desk. This has been Mark's mission since he has been here--to put Arkansas first. The Senate and the entire country have benefited from the influence of the Pryors in the United States Senate--David and Mark. Mark was born in Fayetteville, grew up in Little Rock, and attended the University of Arkansas as an undergraduate and later to law school. While working as an attorney in private practice, he began his public service in 1990, when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. He was elected and served there for 4 years. In 1996, Mark was faced with the fight of his life. He had a situation occur near his Achilles tendon on one of his legs. They tried physical therapy, but it didn't seem to get well, and they discovered he had a very rare form of cancer--clear-cell sarcoma--in his left leg. So it is an understatement to say it was a trying experience for Mark. He was faced with the prospect of dying or losing his leg. Mark was buoyed in this difficult experience that he had by his family, his friends, and the people of Arkansas praying for him. It was quite a spiritual experience for Mark and his family. This experience deepened his compassion for those who suffer physically, financially, and emotionally, and he has translated that into his public service. In 1998, he was elected attorney general of the State of Arkansas. In his 2002 Senatorial election he bucked the national trend to become the only Democrat to defeat a Republican incumbent. Bucking trends would quickly become one of his hallmarks here on Capitol Hill. As a Senator, he has shown courage in voting according to his conscience. Key among his legislative accomplishments have been bills to extend tax benefits and improve medical services for men and women to make the products that people buy, especially children, safe. He has also been a strong advocate for honest and transparent business practices in order to preserve our American tradition of responsible free enterprise. His respect for tradition extends to the Senate itself. I say this for a number of reasons, but once a reporter asked him what he would do if he had absolute power over Congress. In his characteristic fashion, he responded he would instill in his fellow Senators greater respect for each other and for the world's greatest deliberative body. That is what Mark Pryor said. While some may have disagreed with Mark, they never ever questioned his sincerity, his integrity. I admire his impeccable dedication to his conscience. Mark Twain said: The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are in the right. With apologies to Mark Twain, if eternal agreement were the price of friendship, we would all have fewer friends. Friendship can transcend policy preferences, as Mark's and mine do. We agree on most everything. There are a few things we don't agree on politically, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because he is my friend. He is a friend to my wife and me. It is no secret there are many people--the Republican leader and his wife--who reached out to console me and Landra during her terrible accident, and then when the cancer was ravaging her body. But she pulled through that. And one reason she did, I am convinced, is Mark Pryor. Mark Pryor, who almost died from cancer, called my wife often--often--texted her often telling her: You are going to be OK; don't be afraid. So my wife loves Mark Pryor. We were talking about the elections not long ago, and I said: I have never prayed to win an election, and this election I didn't either. She said: Well, I did. That is how she feels about Mark Pryor. I am really honored to have served with Mark Pryor, who is such a genuine person, so sincere. He has been an invaluable asset, his service here in the Senate. I congratulate Mark on his exemplary service here in the Senate. Mark will always be my friend. There is a quote that bears directly on my feelings about Senator Pryor: ``A good friend is hard to find, hard to lose, and impossible to forget.'' I will never ever forget Mark Pryor. He is a unique, one of a kind, kind, thoughtful, considerate man.

Mr. REID

Mr. REID. Mr. President, as I have indicated, we are going to take up this important government funding bill today. Senator Mikulski, the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, has performed an extraordinary service in negotiating this bill. And I think it is fair to give a nod to Senator Shelby, of course, who has been involved in this. They get along extremely well and set a good standard for everyone in the Senate. The bill achieves many of our important priorities. It gives the Affordable Care Act the secure financial footing it deserves, gives our military the tools it needs to combat ISIS, it addresses the rape kit backlog, helping police and prosecutors prevent sexual assault, it increases funding for students' loans, ensures that the President's Executive action in protecting families can move forward, and it provides funding to fight the Ebola epidemic. There are lots of other things in it. I have just hit a few of the highlights from my perspective. There are things in this bill that I wouldn't have included--the Democrats wouldn't have included had we written the bill alone. I don't support the weakening of Dodd-Frank and the restrictions on the District of Columbia and other things, but I didn't write this bill. Senate Democrats didn't write this bill alone. It is a compromise. That is what legislation is all about. The Presiding Officer has been a Governor for the State of Maine. He is now a legislator and has been a legislator, and he knows that legislation is the art of compromise. Any chief executive who has to work with a legislature, as Presidents of the United States do, does not get everything he wants. Legislation is a compromise. And that is what this legislation is. We are going to consider this legislation to keep our government open and funded, and we are going to do it today--I hope. There are Senators who are unhappy with this legislation, and they will have a chance to make their objections heard. I hope we can complete work on this bill as soon as we finish the Defense bill. That depends on everyone's cooperation here. But there isn't a lot of time. The government funding runs out at 12 o'clock midnight on Saturday. When we started this Congress, the government was running on autopilot. Since 2011, we have lurched from crisis to crisis, with the country constantly under threat of a shutdown or financial catastrophe. It is a very bad habit, and one the American people are very, very tired of, as they should be. This bill is, I repeat, far from perfect. But when we pass it, we will be able to end this Congress knowing we put our country on a more secure financial footing than when this Congress started. We can then go home to our States, tell our constituents we passed legislation that keeps America safe, makes college more affordable, spurs the economy, and keeps our government operating. Talk about a CR for 3 months should scare everyone. So we are not there. We are going to have a bill that funds this government for the next fiscal year. We can be satisfied that we left our priorities better funded and more secure, and our government on a more sound foundation than when this Congress began.