John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Seapower of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2105, at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 2 p.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 11 a.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 2:15 p.m., to hold a hearing entitled ``The Civil Nuclear Agreement with China: Balancing the Potential Risks and Rewards.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 2:30 p.m. in room SR-418, of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Exploring the Implementation and Future of the Veterans Choice Program.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 3:30 p.m.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Personnel of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 12, 2015, at 5:30 p.m.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, later today the Senate will vote on whether to proceed to a bill that was reported out of the Senate Finance Committee, on which I serve, the trade promotion authority legislation. What is so remarkable about this is that we are on the cusp here in the Senate of passing a major piece of legislation--bipartisan legislation on which a Republican majority in the Senate is working with a Democratic President to give him trade promotion authority--something that would be very good for our economy. If the Democrats in the Senate do not blow it, this could be a major hallmark achievement of this Congress. But my understanding is there is an effort on the other side now to prevent us from even getting on the bill to debate it. I hope that as Democrats contemplate that move, they will think long and hard about what they will be doing. Not only will they be undermining their own President, who is very much for this, but they will be hurting the American economy. Almost every President, literally back to FDR, has had trade promotion authority in which he has the ability to negotiate trade agreements with our trading partners in a way that Congress ultimately has to approve but in a way that expedites and gives the maximum amount of leverage to get the best trade agreement possible. We are taking up that legislation, hopefully, later today. But it is all going to depend on Senate Democrats and whether they want to proceed to this bill or not. I certainly hope, as I said, that they will come to the conclusion that it is in the best interests of our country, of our economy, and certainly, I think, in the best interests of creating a bipartisan achievement here in which they are working with their own President and with Republicans here in the Senate. With 96 percent of the world's consumers outside the borders of the United States, trade is essential to growing our economy and opening new markets for products marked ``Made in the USA.'' Over the past few years, exports have been a bright spot in our economy, supporting an increasing number of American jobs each and every year. In fact, in 2014 exports supported 11.7 million U.S. jobs and made up 13 percent of our Nation's economy. In my home State of South Dakota alone, exports support more than 15,000 jobs in industries that range from farming and ranching to machinery and electronics. We need to continue to open markets around the globe to American goods and services. The best way to do that is through new trade agreements. Countries with which we have free and fair trade agreements purchase substantially more from us than other countries. In fact, in 2013, free-trade agreement countries purchased 12 times more goods and services per capita from the United States than non- free-trade agreement countries. Let me restate that. In 2013, those countries with which we have a free-trade agreement purchased 12 times more goods per capita from the United States than those countries with which we do not have a free-trade agreement. It is not just American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers who benefit from trade agreements. American consumers benefit as well. Trade agreements give American families access to a greater variety of goods at lower prices. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that trade increases American families' purchasing power by $10,000 annually. For American workers, increased trade means more opportunity and increased access to high- paying jobs. Manufacturing jobs tied to exports pay on average 13 to 18 percent more than wages in other areas of our economy. Unfortunately, while trade agreements were proliferated around the globe over the past several years, the United States has not signed a new trade agreement in 5 years. Altogether, the United States has just 14 trade agreements currently in effect. That is a lot of lost opportunity for American workers and businesses, since trade agreements have proved to be the best way to increase demand for American products and services. A big reason for the lack of trade agreements in recent years is the fact that trade promotion authority expired in 2007. As I said earlier, since 1934--you have to go back to the administration of FDR--almost all of the United States' free-trade agreements have been negotiated using trade promotion authority or a similar streamlined process. Trade promotion authority is designed to put the United States in the strongest possible position when it comes to negotiating trade agreements. Under TPA, Congress sets guidelines for trade negotiations and outlines the priorities the administration has to follow. In return, Congress promises a simple up-or-down vote on the resulting trade agreement, instead of a long amendment process that could leave the final deal looking nothing like what was negotiated. That simple up-or- down vote is the key. It lets our negotiating partners know that Congress and trade negotiators are on the same page, which gives other countries the confidence they need to put their best offers on the table, and that in turn allows for a successful and timely conclusion to negotiations. Currently, the administration is negotiating two major trade agreements that have the potential to vastly expand the market for American goods and services in the European Union and in the Pacific. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated with a number of Asia-Pacific nations, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam. If this agreement is done right, there could be huge benefits for American agriculture, among other industries. Currently, American agricultural products face heavy tariffs in many Trans-Pacific Partnership countries. Poultry tariffs in TPP countries, for example, can reach a staggering 240 percent. Reducing the barriers to American agricultural products in these countries would have enormous benefits for American farmers and ranchers. Agricultural producers in my State of South Dakota have contacted me to tell me how trade benefits their industries and to urge support for trade promotion authority as the most effective way to secure trade agreements that will benefit South Dakota farmers and ranchers. The leader of the South Dakota Dairy Producers Association wrote to me about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which could have significant benefits for South Dakota dairy farmers, and urged me to vote in favor of trade promotion authority. He said the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks ``have the potential to be positive for our dairy industry, but only if the U.S. insists on settling for nothing less than a balanced deal that delivers net trade benefits for the dairy industry. Passing TPA is a key part of getting there.'' That is from a dairy producer in my State of South Dakota. Mr. President, passing TPA is a key part of getting there. Neither the Trans-Pacific Partnership nor the United States-European Union trade agreement is likely to be completed in a timely fashion without trade promotion authority. If we want to make sure that trade negotiations achieve the goals of American farmers and manufacturers, trade promotion authority is essential. The bipartisan bill we are considering on the Senate floor this week reauthorizes trade promotion authority, and it includes a number of important updates, such as provisions to strengthen the transparency of the negotiating process and ensure that the American people stay informed. It also contains provisions that I pushed for to require negotiators to ensure that trade agreements promote digital trade as well as trade in physical goods and services. Given the increasing importance of digitally enabled commerce in the 21st-century economy, it is essential that our trade agreements include new rules that keep digital trade free from unnecessary government interference. This trade promotion authority bill will help ensure that any trade deals the United States enters into will be favorable to American farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers, and it will hold other countries accountable for their unfair practices. Passing this bill is essential to prevent American workers and businesses from being left behind in the global economy. Since Republicans took control of the Senate in January, Democrats and Republicans have come together on a number of issues to pass legislation to address challenges that are facing our country. I hope this bill will be our next bipartisan achievement. The President has made it clear that he supports this bill, and key Democratic Senators are working to make sure it passes. I hope the rest of the Democratic Party here in the Senate will come together with the President and Republicans to get this done. As President Obama said the other day, ``We have to make sure that America writes the rules of the global economy. . . . Because if we don't write the rules for trade around the world--guess what--China will. And they'll write those rules in a way that gives Chinese workers and Chinese businesses the upper hand, and locks American-made goods out.'' Again, that is a quote from President Obama. To put it another way, if America fails to lead on trade, other nations will step in to fill the void, and those nations will not have the best interests of American workers and American families in mind. It is time to pass trade promotion authority so we can secure favorable new trade deals and ensure that American goods and services can compete on a level playing field around the globe and that American workers and American consumers receive the benefits that come along with that. I hope that will be the outcome of the vote today, and I hope it will be a major achievement for this Senate--a bipartisan achievement where both sides work together for the good of our economy, for the good of jobs, for the good of higher wage levels for American workers, and for the good of a more competitive economy in which our consumers benefit. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, yesterday I missed the vote on S. Con. Res. 16, which states U.S. policy on the release of American citizens in Iran, because I was touring tornado damage in Delmont, in my home State of South Dakota. Had I been able to be here, I would have voted in support of this concurrent resolution. Iran's treatment of these detained Americans is reprehensible, and I believe we should be using every diplomatic tool at our disposal to obtain their release.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety of the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SD-406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled, ``Legal Implications of the Clean Power Plan.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women's Issues be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 3:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing entitled ``Review of Resources, Priorities and Programs in the FY 2016 State Department Budget Request.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 10:30 a.m., in room SR-253 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a Subcommittee hearing entitled ``Surface Transportation Reauthorization: The Importance of a Long Term Reauthorization.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., in room 328A of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Review of the U.S. Grain Standards Act.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on May 5, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing entitled ``Continuing America's Leadership: Realizing the Promise of Precision Medicine for Patients.''

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 2:30 p.m., in room SR-418 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 5, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate recess until 2:15 p.m. today for the weekly conference meetings and that the time during the recess count against the majority time on the budget conference report.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I wish to speak as well about the budget that is before the Senate. I want to point out something I believe the Senator from New York failed to mention in his comments. We are actually doing a budget. That is what is pretty historic about this. A few years back, I got on the Budget Committee because I thought it would be the place where a lot of action was going to occur and where we were going to be doing big, consequential things for the country. I asked our leaders, when they made committee assignments, if I could serve on the Budget Committee. I served on the Budget Committee for 4 years. In the 4 years I was on the Budget Committee, when the Democrats controlled this Chamber, we did not write a budget--not a single year. It was like being on a committee that was completely irrelevant around here. We did not do a budget for 4 years. This year, we are finally going to pass a budget. They only did do one in 2009 so they could pass ObamaCare with 51 votes. The last time we actually had a 10-year balanced budget was in 2001. So we are talking about something that is pretty historic. This is the first time this has happened in 14 years. I will repeat that. The last time Congress passed a joint 10-year balanced budget resolution was 14 years ago, in 2001--the year Apple released the first iPod. This year, the President has, once again, proposed a budget that never balances--not in 10 years, not in 25 years, not ever. When the other side gets up and talks about the Republican budget and attacks it, at least Republicans in this Chamber recognize the importance of having a budget and putting in place a pathway, if you will, for how we are going to get the fiscal situation of this country in a better place, and it sets out our priorities because that is really what the budget process does. It says this is what we are for. What the Democrats argue--and we heard the Senator from New York making the argument--is that we are not spending enough and that this is about spending more. I believe the American people realize that if we want to solve middle-class wage stagnation--they talk about the middle-class wages being lower, and they are lower. They have been significantly lower since this President took office. As I was saying, if we want to solve middle-class wage stagnation, we have to have an expanding economy. The way to help people into a better place economically and to raise the income of people in this country is to get a growing, vibrant, robust, expanding economy that is growing at a faster rate than the anemic 1- to 2-percent growth we have seen in the last few years. The way we achieve that is not by growing the government. It is not about growing the government. We have to grow the economy. When the economy is growing, that is when we start to see people in this country, middle-class income families, benefit. As I said, the President proposed a budget that never balanced, and he proposed increasing spending by a staggering 65 percent over the next 10 years. I don't need to tell the American people that kind of spending is unsustainable. For too long the attitude in Washington has been to spend now, pay later. That only works for so long. Sooner or later your spending catches up with you. Six years ago, when the President took office, our national debt was already a massive $10.6 trillion. Over the past 6 years, during the President's administration, our national debt has increased by more than $7.5 trillion, and today it is at a dangerously high $18.2 trillion. That is the size of our economy. In fact, that is larger than our economy. That is a 1-to-1 ratio. That kind of debt slows economic growth, threatens government programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, and jeopardizes our Nation's future. In 2011, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ADM Mike Mullen, the highest ranking military official in our country, said, ``I've said many times that I believe the single, biggest threat to our national security is our debt.'' I have heard him say that. I served on the Armed Services Committee for 6 years. I heard the chairman of the Joint Chiefs say that repeatedly in front of committees at various hearings and at various times. That is quite a statement from the country's top- ranking military official: the greatest threat to our national security is our debt. If we keep racking up our debt the way we have been doing, we will not be able to pay for our priorities, such as Social Security, Medicare, national defense, and infrastructure. All of those priorities could face huge cuts if we don't get our Nation on a sound fiscal footing. When the Republicans took control of the Senate in January, we were determined to get Washington working again. We knew that one of the most important steps in that process was passing a balanced budget resolution. Republicans understand what every American family knows; that you cannot keep racking up debt indefinitely and that the solution to being in debt is not to increase spending. In March, we introduced a budget blueprint that would balance the budget in 10 years and put our Nation on a path to fiscal health. House Republicans introduced a similar balanced budget resolution. During the month of April, the two Houses came together to iron out the differences in our blueprints and produced the final document that we will be voting on today. It is not a perfect document. It does not solve every one of our Nation's problems, but at long last it gets us moving in a different direction--in the right direction. Instead of ignoring our Nation's fiscal problems, the Republicans' budget resolution addresses them and promotes spending restraint. Under our budget blueprint, by the time the 10-year budget closes in 2025, our Nation will be running a surplus of $24 billion instead of racking up another $1.5 trillion in deficits every single year. Unlike some budget plans, our budget will continue to balance in 2026 and beyond. In addition to restraining spending, the Republicans' budget resolution focuses on cutting waste and eliminating the inefficiency and redundancy that plagues so many government programs. Our budget also puts in place reforms that will encourage honest accounting. The result of these provisions will be a more efficient, effective, and accountable government that works for the American people. Our budget also, as I said, makes a healthy economy a priority. Almost 6 years after the recession has ended, millions of Americans are still struggling and opportunities for advancement are still few and far between. A big reason for that is the oppressive, big-government policies and deficit spending of the Obama administration. Our budget will help stop government from strangling the economy by limiting the growth of spending and reducing the debt, which will help reduce the cost of work and investment and the cost of starting and growing a business. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that our budget will result in an additional $400 billion in economic growth over the next 10 years. The Republicans' budget will also pave the way for the removal of inefficient and ineffective government regulations that are making it difficult for many businesses to hire new workers and create new opportunities and higher paying jobs. Our budget also addresses another priority of American families, and that is fixing our Nation's broken health care system. Now 5 years on, the President's health care law has resulted in higher costs, lost health care plans, reduced access to doctors, and new burdens on businesses, both large and small. In fact, it has been pretty much one disaster after another. Just this week, a USA TODAY headline announced that ``contrary to goals, ER visits rise under ObamaCare.'' The article says: ``Three- quarters of emergency physicians say they've seen ER patient visits surge since ObamaCare took effect--just the opposite of what many Americans expected would happen.'' That is from the USA TODAY article. Of course, as we know, ER visits are our most expensive form of health care. It is no surprise that the majority of the American people continue to oppose the law. Our budget paves the way for a repeal of ObamaCare and the introduction of real, patient-centered health care reforms that will give Americans more health care choices at a lower cost. Finally, our budget will start the process of putting major entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare on a sounder footing going forward. Right now, the Social Security trust fund is headed toward bankruptcy. If we don't take action, Social Security recipients could be facing a 25-percent cut in benefits by the year 2033. Medicare faces similar challenges to those faced by Social Security. Under the worst-case scenario, the Medicare trust fund could become insolvent by as early as 2021. That is just 6 short years away. The Republican budget would help preserve Medicare by extending the trust fund's solvency for an additional 5 years, which would protect retirees' benefits while giving policymakers additional time to ensure that this program provides support to seniors for decades to come. I am proud that today the Republicans in Congress will ensure that we have a joint balanced budget resolution for the first time in 14 years, but I also wish to emphasize that is no more than what the American people should expect. The American people, after all, have to live within a budget; their government needs to do so as well. Going forward, balanced budgets need to be the norm here in Congress. Washington has spent enough time working for its own interests. It is time to get Washington working again for American families. This is the first time in 14 years that we have actually had a budget resolution and a conference report that balance within 10 years. As I said earlier, during my time here in the Senate, which hasn't been that long but about 10 years now, this is the first time--with the exception of 2009, in which we did a budget simply so the Democrats could pass ObamaCare through reconciliation--this is the first time we have done a budget that passed both chambers in the 10 years I have been here, with the exception perhaps of the first few years. It is time to get Washington working again for the American people. It starts with passing the budget. That is why I am proud that Senator Enzi and others worked hard to get us where we are. I hope today we will ultimately have the votes necessary to pass this and do something which hasn't been done around here in a very long time but which is really essential for the good of the American people in this country.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5:20 p.m. the Senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of Calendar No. 76, Willie May to be an Under Secretary of Commerce, and that at 5:30 p.m. the Senate vote on the nomination; further, that if the nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate resume legislative session.

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

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up my amendment No. 1180.