John Thune

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, we have begun the new year of the 114th Congress with a Republican majority and a fresh commitment to get Congress working again. Overwhelmingly, Americans supported the progrowth ideas of the Republican Party in the polls in the November election, sending a strong message about their frustration with the gridlock we have experienced in the Democratic-led Senate. So it is time to get to work, time to return to regular order and to debate openly legislation, to move bills through committee, to allow Members on both sides of the aisle to offer amendments, and to get the Senate back on track passing bills the way it should be. The American people deserve a Senate that works, and the new Republican majority intends to deliver. That is why it is so disappointing that President Obama would threaten to veto the very first bill Republicans plan to bring to the Senate floor for a vote--a bipartisan vote to authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline, a bill that was introduced here in the Senate with 60 cosponsors. The Keystone XL Pipeline enjoys widespread public support, and that is not surprising. Polls have demonstrated that the American people are concerned about jobs and the economy, and they want to get the country working again and to strengthen our energy independence. The Keystone XL Pipeline will help do just that. Yet President Obama would rather hold the economy hostage to the far leftwing of his party than put American workers first. His war on energy runs counter to what this country needs--jobs and the affordable energy that will support them. I have shared time and time again on the Senate floor what President Obama's own State Department has said about the project. The State Department has concluded the pipeline will not only support 42,000 jobs during construction, but it will do so without significant impact on the environment--and, I might add, without spending a cent of taxpayer money. The Keystone XL Pipeline has been stuck in limbo for over 6 years and has become more than just an energy issue. In my own State of South Dakota, rail backlogs have caused tremendous delays for farmers trying to get their harvests to market. The Keystone XL Pipeline will help alleviate this backlog by taking 100,000 barrels of Montana and North Dakota oil off the rails, freeing up nearly two unit-trains per day of capacity that is sorely needed by other rail shippers. The pipeline will also bring tax revenue to South Dakota. The State Department estimates that in my home State of South Dakota alone, the construction of the pipeline will support 3,000 to 4,000 jobs during construction and generate well over $100 million in earnings. It will bring more than $20 million in annual property taxes to South Dakota counties. Places like Jones County, where I grew up, could greatly benefit by having this added tax revenue for their schools. The Keystone XL Pipeline will also decrease our reliance on oil from dangerous countries such as Venezuela. Yet President Obama and some Democrats continue to downplay all these benefits. They say the jobs are mostly temporary. Well, construction jobs are temporary by nature, but that doesn't mean they don't matter. Rather, it means we need to keep new projects such as Keystone XL coming to spur growth and to develop new infrastructure. By shutting down what would be a routine energy infrastructure project, President Obama is creating a difficult environment for future development and projects. The far leftwing of the President's party claim the pipeline will increase greenhouse gases, but reports from the President's own State Department undermine his claim. In its final supplemental environmental impact statement, the President's State Department noted that the Keystone XL Pipeline is ``unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States.'' In other words, the emissions associated with the oil sands extractions will not change whether or not the pipeline is built. While oil prices may impact the production rate of oil sands, the State Department also found that ``the dominant drivers of oil sands development are more global than any single infrastructure project'' and that ``the industry's rate of expansion should not be conflated with the more limited effects of individual pipelines.'' And mind you, this is again from one of the five exhaustive reports we have seen from the State Department about this project. In fact, the State Department's final environmental impact statement also compared the operational greenhouse emissions that would result from the pipeline to those that would result from various transportation alternatives such as rail, rail and pipeline, and rail and tanker. The report found that the annual emissions from these alternative transportation modes would be anywhere from 28 percent to 42 percent greater than if the oil were shipped through the pipeline. Plus, a pipeline is safer than truck or rail. The American people have been clear on their feelings about this project. Poll after poll has shown their strong support for it. Republicans support the pipeline, Democrats in both Houses of Congress support the pipeline, and unions support the pipeline. The only people who seem to oppose it are President Obama and members of the far leftwing of the Democratic Party. After the Senate passes the bill, it will have one final hurdle to clear--the President of the United States. I very much hope he will reconsider his veto threat and listen to the voices of American workers and the bipartisan majority in both Houses of Congress. If the pipeline's economic benefits, the support of the American people, and five successful environmental reviews have not yet convinced the President to approve this project, I am pretty skeptical that he ever will approve it, but I hope I am wrong. I hope even more Democrats here in the Senate will join us and send a message about their readiness to work with Republicans in this 114th Congress. My colleagues can help show the American people that Congress has heard their demands for change in Washington and that their economic priorities will be addressed. I am sorry American workers have had to wait years for this project, but I am hopeful we can resolve this issue once and for all. The new Republican Senate majority is about creating jobs and economic opportunities for the American people, and it starts right here, right now with the Keystone XL Pipeline. We hope Democrats and the President will join us. I yield the floor.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I share the view of my colleague from Missouri about the importance of the Keystone Pipeline. We will have an opportunity over the next several days to talk more extensively about that and the importance it has to our economy and to energy security. Obviously it is something that we think is about jobs and the economy, which is why there is so much support for it in the Senate among Republicans in the Senate, and I would argue--I think there will be a lot of Democrats as well. Yesterday Republicans assumed the majority in the Senate thanks to the overwhelming support of the American people, and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work. This week President Obama is going to be traveling around the country attempting to take credit for the recent shred of economic good news we have finally seen after 6 years of economic stagnation under the President's policies. Unfortunately, all of the campaign-style tours in the world cannot disguise the fact that our economy is nowhere near where it should be. More than 5 years after the recession supposedly ended, Americans are still feeling the pinch. Wages are stagnant. Household income has declined by almost $3,000 on the President's watch. The price of everything from health care to education has risen. And the President's policies have done nothing to help. In fact, the President's policies have actually made things worse. Whether it is the taxes in the President's health care law or the energy tax proposed by the President's out-of-control EPA, the President's policies have done nothing to help the economy. But there is reason for Americans to be hopeful. Poll after poll has demonstrated that the American people are concerned about jobs and the economy, and in the new Congress Republicans are going to make jobs and the economy our priorities. We are committed to passing legislation that would help create jobs, grow the economy, and expand opportunities for struggling middle-class families, and we plan to get started right away. This week the senior Senator from North Dakota, Mr. Hoeven, reintroduced legislation to approve the job-creating Keystone XL Pipeline. According to the President's own State Department, this commonsense project would support more than 42,000 jobs. It would also substantially increase revenue to State and local governments, providing increased funding for local priorities such as schools, roads, and bridges. I can speak firsthand to that because it would cross my home county, Jones County, in South Dakota. I can say the people in my home county see the opportunity to generate revenues that would help support the local school district in an area of the State which is losing population and having a harder and harder time keeping the school open. The pipeline has bipartisan support in both Houses of Congress, and I am hopeful that the President will drop his inexplicable opposition and finally sign off on this job-creating project. Republicans also plan to take up the other job-creating measures that spent far too long languishing in the Democratic-led Senate. The Obamacare tax on lifesaving devices, such as pacemakers and insulin pumps, has already had a negative impact on jobs and the medical device industry. At a time when our economy is still suffering from years of stagnation, repealing this tax is a no-brainer. I am confident we will have bipartisan support for this repeal, and I hope--I hope--the President will sign it. Republicans also plan to repeal the Obamacare provision that changed the definition of full-time work from 40 hours per week to 30 hours per week. This provision is forcing businesses to reduce employees' hours and wages and hire part-time rather than full-time workers in order to comply with the Obamacare requirements. Millions of Americans who want full-time work are currently stuck in part-time jobs because they can't find anything else. The last thing the government should be doing is making it more difficult for employers to offer full-time positions. Another Obamacare position that is making it difficult for employers to hire is the employer mandate. Later today I will introduce a bill called the HIRE Act, which would make it easier for employers to hire new workers by exempting Americans who have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks from counting as employees for whom a tax penalty must be paid by the employer under Obamacare's employer mandate. In addition to passing job-creating legislation, the new Republican majority is committed to increasing congressional oversight. Executive branch agencies have been out of control under the Obama administration. The President's EPA alone has proposed billions of dollars' worth of regulations that will have a catastrophic effect on our economy and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs. Just one of these regulations--the backdoor national energy tax on coal-fired powerplants--would cause Americans' energy prices to soar and destroy families' livelihoods. In my State of South Dakota, household energy prices could increase by as much as 90 percent. South Dakotans with incomes below $50,000 a year already spend one-fifth--one-fifth--of their aftertax income on residential and transportation energy costs, which is twice the national average, I might add. They can't afford a 90-percent increase in their costs. What is more, this national energy tax will have almost no effect on our air quality. It would devastate communities and drive up energy bills in this country for nothing. The EPA is far from the only Federal agency to have abused its power under the Obama administration. Take the Obama IRS, for example, which targeted organizations for extra scrutiny based on their members' political beliefs. It is past time for Congress to assert its oversight authority and check the executive branch's overreach. While Republicans want to work with Democrats as much as possible, we will not hesitate to draw a bright line between Democratic and Republican priorities. Republicans want to address some of the biggest challenges facing our economy, to put our Nation on the path to long-term prosperity. That means doing things such as reforming our Tax Code, which is inefficient and bloated, making it simpler and fairer for families and businesses in this country. It also means reforming our regulatory system to eliminate inefficient and ineffective regulations that are discouraging job growth. The Democratic-led Senate was pretty dysfunctional. The minority party was largely shut out of the legislative process. Bills were frequently written behind closed doors. The committee process was largely defunct. Too often the Senate floor was a forum for partisan politicking rather than serious debate. What was the result? The voices of too many Americans got shut out of the process and the Senate accomplished next to nothing for the American people. Republicans intend to change all of that. Under Republican control, the Senate will return to regular order. That means bills will once again be debated and amended in the open, in committee, before coming to the Senate floor. Once bills come to the floor, all Senators, regardless of party, will have the opportunity to offer amendments and to fully debate legislation before it comes to a vote. The American people deserve a Senate that works and Republicans intend to give it to them. The American people have spent a long time struggling in the Obama economy, but they are about to get some relief. Republicans are determined to pass solutions that will help create jobs, grow our economy, and expand opportunities for American families. We hope--we hope--the Democrats in the Senate and the President will join us. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, the American people made one thing clear in November, and it was this. They are ready for change in Washington. The Senate Republicans are too. In fact, I think even some Senate Democrats are ready for a change in Washington. When the Republicans take the majority in January, things will look very different here in the Senate. The start of our majority will mark an end to the dysfunction that has characterized the Senate under the Democrat's leadership. Under Republican leadership, the Senate will return to regular order. We will once again empower the committee chairmen to start the legislative process. Bills will be drafted in committee with input from Members of both parties before the bills are fully debated on the Senate floor, and Members of both parties will be able to offer amendments, which is in strong contrast to the Democratic Senate, where the minority party has been almost entirely prevented from getting amendment votes. History shows us that the Senate functions best when all Members are allowed to have amendments and votes. In the early years of the Reagan administration, President Reagan aggressively pursued tax cuts that faced opposition from Republicans as well as Democrats. However, after 2 weeks of debate and consideration of 141 amendments, the Senate passed the bill by an overwhelming vote of 89 to 11. In President Reagan's second term, the Tax Reform Act of 1986 saw 3 weeks of debate on the Senate floor. After the consideration of 109 amendments and 24 rollcall votes, the bill received 97 votes in the Senate. These are just a couple of examples of a Senate functioning as our Founders intended. An open amendment process softens division among Members and builds bipartisan support for major legislation. The result is reforms which are not only historic but longstanding. In addition to returning to regular order, the Senate will also focus on its oversight responsibilities. Our job is not just to pass legislation. We also have a responsibility to take a look at all government programs and existing legislation to make sure the government is doing its job in the most efficient and effective way possible. Whether it is the IRS targeting conservative groups or a Department of Veterans Affairs that is failing our veterans, Senate Republicans will conduct aggressive oversight to hold unelected bureaucrats and executive branch political appointees accountable for their actions. Finally, and most importantly, Republicans are going to change the Senate's priorities. No longer will the Senate's time be tied up with partisan legislation designed to please the Democrats' far left constituencies. Instead, Americans' priorities will be our priorities-- jobs, the economy, and the middle class. As even the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate admitted recently, Democrats have not done too well at focusing on the people's priorities. The senior Senator from New York said: Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem--health-care reform. Republicans do not intend to blow the opportunity the American people have given us. We will get right to work on legislation to create jobs, grow the economy, and expand opportunities for hard-working Americans. We will take up the dozens of jobs bills that have passed the House but have been collecting dust on the Democratic leader's desk here in the Senate. We will take up legislation to improve the Keystone XL Pipeline and the more than 42,000 jobs that it would support. We will work with the President to reauthorize trade promotion authority to open new markets to American farmers and manufacturers and make sure that American goods are competing on an equal playing field internationally. We will take up legislation to improve flexibility for working families so Americans can meet their responsibilities at work while still having the time they need for their families at home. And, of course, we will take up legislation to address ObamaCare. The President's health care law is not only making our health care system worse, it is also hurting our already sluggish economy. Senate Republicans want to repeal and replace this law with real health care reforms--reforms that will actually lower costs and improve America's access to care. In the meantime, however, we will chisel away at the law's most damaging provisions--provisions like the medical device tax, which has eliminated thousands of workers' jobs in this industry and is driving up the price of lifesaving devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps, and the 30-hour workweek, which is forcing employers to cut workers' hours and wages in order to afford ObamaCare-mandated health care costs. We will also work to repeal the health care law's individual mandate. The Federal Government should not be in the business of forcing Americans to buy a government-approved health insurance product. Finally, Republicans will tackle some of the big challenges that need to be addressed if we are going to put our country back on a path to long-term prosperity. We want to make our Nation's costly and inefficient Tax Code fairer and simpler for families and businesses. We also intend to take up regulatory reform. Recent regulations released by the President's EPA illustrate just how pressing the need is to reform our country's out-of-control bureaucracy. Just one of the recently proposed EPA regulations--the President's national energy tax--would eliminate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs and devastate entire communities. No executive agency should be able to damage our economy in that way or to destroy the livelihoods of so many hard-working Americans. It is time to get America's regulatory agencies under control. Republicans heard what the American people said in November, and we are not going to let them down. January 6 marks the start of a new era in the Senate. The Republican majority will focus on the American people's priorities: creating jobs, growing the economy, and increasing opportunity for middle-income American families. We hope the Democrats will join us. I yield the floor.

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

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President. I support the nomination of Dr. Mark Rosekind to be the next administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA. Dr. Rosekind has served as a member of the National Traffic Safety Board, NTSB since 2009. His expertise is in developing countermeasures for fatigue in order to enhance vehicle safety. He also previously served at NASA for a number of years, and founded a technology company aimed at creating software that helps to reduce the role of fatigue in traffic incidents. While I have some reservations about his somewhat limited management experience, given the size of the workforce he has been nominated to lead, I believe Dr. Rosekind's experience and expertise will enable him to approach this agency that many perceive to be in crisis with an eye toward making it more agile and technologically capable. I believe that NHTSA must have a leader who can hit the ground running, and Dr. Rosekind's extensive work in the safety area gives me confidence that he will be the right leader at this time. As I stated at Dr. Rosekind's nomination hearing last week, the string of auto recalls this year has been cause for grave concern. We are on pace to have the all-time worst year for auto recalls in U.S. history, with about 60 million vehicles being subject to recalls so far. In many of these cases, there are legitimate questions about whether NHTSA should have identified the defective products earlier and communicated more effectively with the public. Since the start of the year, I have called on President Obama to nominate a qualified individual to lead NHTSA without delay because inaction sends a terrible signal to the regulated community and the American people about automobile safety and oversight. It took 343 days for President Obama to nominate a qualified individual to lead NHTSA, at a time when the Nation faced a year of record recalls, from the GM ignition switch recalls that began in February to the recalls involving defective Takata air bags. In fact, President Obama did not formally nominate Dr. Rosekind until the evening before the Commerce Committee was to hold a hearing regarding these defective Takata air bags. By contrast, it has taken only 22 days for the Senate to receive the nomination, work through regular order at the Commerce Committee to hold a hearing and a markup for Dr. Rosekind's nomination, and today, to confirm his nomination by the full Senate. I believe the Senate's action today sends the clear signal that Senators on both sides of the aisle care very deeply about improving auto safety. I look forward to working with Dr. Rosekind as NHTSA continues to work through the issues underlying the record number of recalls this year. I particularly look forward to learning the conclusions of the top-to-bottom review of NHTSA currently being conducted by the Obama administration, which Dr. Rosekind has promised to share publicly. Dr. Rosekind has a challenging road ahead of him, and the Commerce Committee will continue to pursue rigorous oversight of NHTSA for the foreseeable future, as well as possible solutions to better address some of the lapses that have occurred both at NHTSA and with certain auto manufacturers and parts suppliers. I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. I thank my colleague from Oregon Senator Wyden for his continued leadership on this issue. I want to echo what he said about Senator Rockefeller. I had the opportunity to serve as his ranking Republican on the Senate commerce committee and really enjoyed serving with him during his chairmanship and learned a lot. He is someone who has great experience here--36 years in the Senate. I have been here now for 10. So I have a lot to learn from people like Senator Rockefeller. We did some good things together. We just recently got through the Senate the cyber security bill that the commerce committee passed earlier this year and the satellite television reauthorization this year, which ended up being--it is always somewhat controversial to move that legislation, but we were successful in getting that ultimately enacted this year. We moved the STB reauthorization bill, Surface Transportation Board, which had rail reforms in it, out of the commerce committee. Unfortunately, they didn't get it considered on the floor of the Senate but had hearings on numerous issues that are under the jurisdiction of the commerce committee. I appreciate so much Chairman Rockefeller's leadership and his service here. Like him, I come from a small State. We share a lot of things in common. We came from small communities and represent people who work hard and just want a fair break and want to make sure that the people they elect to represent them in Washington, DC, are staying focused on the issues that are important to their livelihood. I appreciate his leadership on those issues. I have to say that he stands tall among our colleagues. I think he probably has the distinction of being the tallest Senator. The Senator from Oregon, Senator Wyden, and I are not far behind. But if Senator Rockefeller ever stood up all the way, I think he would have us by several inches. The tall-guy caucus here in the Senate will be less represented when Senator Rockefeller departs. I have always enjoyed his sense of humor and the way in which he approaches the job and the passion he feels for public service. We wish him well in his retirement and thank him for a long and distinguished career here in the Senate.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I know the Senator from Florida has things he wants to talk about, but I do want to take this opportunity to mention that I very much look forward to working with him. I think we have the potential for a real foundation, hopefully, for accomplishment on our committee. The Senator from Florida is someone who has an interest in working in a bipartisan way to get things done for our country. I know of his great interest, being from Florida, in the space program and NASA, in oceans. Oceans are not an issue we have to deal with a lot in South Dakota; it is an issue our committee deals with. It is an issue that is very important to a lot of our colleagues on the committee as well as the Senator from Florida. So I welcome the opportunity to work with him. As he mentioned, these are tough, thorny issues--telecommunications issues, transportation issues, the highway bill, FAA authorization, perhaps something on rail. There is a whole range of issues falling under the jurisdiction of the commerce committee that are going to require an extraordinary level not only of support from the members of our committee but a willingness on the part of those of us--the Senator from Florida and I--to hopefully craft an agenda to get things done for this country. I appreciate his kind words and would reciprocate by saying how much I look forward to working with him and hopefully to have a real record of accomplishment as we head into this next year. I thank the Senator from Florida for his kind words and wish to let him know we will be doubling down next year, working as hard as we can to put some points on the scoreboard that are good not only for the State of Florida and for the State of South Dakota but for America and for our economy, because we have so many things under the jurisdiction of the commerce committee that contribute to a stronger and more robust economy in this country.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I wish to honor the heroic service of Loren Duke Abdalla, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the great grandson of the great Chief Running Bull. Corporal Abdalla, better known as ``Duke'', is a brave Marine who fought courageously in the Pacific Theater of World War II, earning the Purple Heart. Duke enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps in October of 1943. After finishing his basic training at the age of 18, he was sent to the island of New Caledonia before being assigned to Pavuvu Island alongside the First Marine Division, 1st Regiment, 1st Battalion, A Company, 1st Platoon. Shortly after his training on Pavuvu Island, Duke's regiment was given orders to invade the Island of Peleliu on September 15, 1944. His regiment worked its way toward Bloody Nose Ridge, where they became surrounded on three sides and suffered heavy casualties. Despite persistent enemy fire, receiving shrapnel wounds in both of his legs, and blasts blowing out both his ear drums, Duke fought hard through the 6-day battle. In the end, Duke was one of only 29 survivors of his battalion. He received the Purple Heart and was promoted to corporal for his heroic efforts and leadership at Peleliu. After recovering from his numerous injuries, Duke resumed Active Duty and rejoined his brothers in arms in the Battle of Okinawa. A Company, 1st and 3rd platoons were tasked with advancing on enemy positions, and Duke was assigned 3rd squad leader of the 1st platoon. On May 5, 1945, 2nd Squad Leader CPL John Brady was burned by a phosphorous grenade. Under heavy fire, Duke threw CPL Brady over his shoulder and carried him to safety. Duke then swiftly returned to the frontline and proceeded to engage a series of six enemy machine gun nests. Duke was the only member of his 12-person team to reach the fourth nest, and he continued moving forward and removed the last two nests by himself. His actions permitted the First Marine Division to safely advance up the ridge. While many Americans were honored for their courageous actions that day and throughout the campaign, Duke's heroic actions have largely gone unrecognized. I stand here today and ask that Duke's selfless and brave actions be acknowledged and not soon forgotten. Duke received an honorable discharge from the United States Marine Corps on February 28, 1947, ending a military career that undoubtedly factored into American successes in the Pacific Theater. Duke is most deserving of recognition for his exemplary bravery in the face of great danger and for putting the concerns of others always before his own. His selfless acts saved the lives of his colleagues and helped to secure American victory in that great war. Our Nation will always be grateful for Duke's dedicated service, and as thankful citizens, we must never take for granted the courage displayed by heroes like Corporal Loren Duke Abdalla.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Nancy Erickson for her 26 years of honorable service to the United States Senate. Nancy is a native of Brandon, SD, and is a graduate of Augustana College and American University, where she earned her M.A. in public policy. Nancy began working for the Senate in 1989, when she accepted a position working for Senator Daschle. In 2005, Nancy began serving as the Democratic representative for the Senate's Sergeant at Arms. Then in 2007, Nancy became the 32nd person and the 6th woman to serve as Secretary of the Senate. Nancy has been a constant professional in the way she conducts herself and goes about her work. Nancy has played a pivotal role in the function of the Senate, and I want to extend my thanks and appreciation to her and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell to my colleague and friend Senator Tim Johnson. Tim has deep roots in South Dakota and in the towns of Canton and Vermillion in particular. He has served our State for more than 35 years, first in the State legislature and then, after winning a highly competitive primary against two well-known Democratic opponents, in the Halls of Congress. In 1996, after a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, Tim won his first of three terms in the U.S. Senate. I am well acquainted with his second election because I came out on the short end of that stick. But I have had the privilege of serving with Tim now in the South Dakota delegation for over 16 years, and the last 10 have been here in the Senate. Today I want to pay tribute to his many years of public service and all he has done for our home State. I would also like to take a moment to thank Senator Johnson's staff for their dedicated work. They have worked closely with my staff for many years, and I am grateful for their efforts. Like many South Dakotans, I will always remember Tim as a fighter. South Dakotans are tough, rugged folks, and Tim has exemplified that spirit every day in the Senate. A big part of his legacy as a public servant will be his tenacity, his work ethic, and his unwavering focus on the policies he believed to be in the best interest of South Dakota. Tim and I haven't always seen eye to eye on every issue, but we have always been able to come together and work with South Dakotans in times of crisis. From drought relief, to flood and tornado responses, to protecting the Black Hills from wildfires, Senator Johnson and I have always been able to quickly respond to the needs of our State regardless of party differences or past disagreements. Mr. President, when you represent a State like South Dakota--what some people like to call a flyover State, a State some of our colleagues here in the Senate occasionally mix up with North Dakota-- there are days when it can seem as though the concerns of rural Americans aren't given fair consideration and the needs of rural America are not being heard by the administration or the more densely populated areas of our country. I have had the great pleasure of working with Tim to bring a voice to the concerns of rural America and those of us who hail from the middle of the country. To highlight just one of the many examples I could bring up, since his first term in Congress Tim has fought tirelessly for water infrastructure to deliver clean drinking water to families in South Dakota and throughout the Great Plains. Water is a vital resource in the rural expanses of South Dakota, and Tim's efforts have helped meet this basic need in underserved Indian reservations, small towns, and rural areas across the State. These investments will pay dividends well beyond his tenure in the Senate. Throughout Tim's long career in public service--from his beginnings in the legislature to his ascension to the chairmanship of the Senate banking committee--he has had a hand in numerous efforts that will help South Dakotans and Americans alike for generations to come. I know I speak for all South Dakotans when I say thank you, Tim, for your dedication and your service to our great State. It has been an honor to serve with you here in the United States Senate. Thank you for your example, your efforts on behalf of our beloved South Dakota, and most of all for your friendship. On behalf of my wife Kimberly and me, I wish you, Barbara, and your family the very best as you begin your retirement. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Danielle Hanson, a legislative aide in my Washington, DC, office, for the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Danielle is a native of Rapid City, SD, and is a graduate of Benedictine College. Upon graduation from Benedictine, Dani moved from Atchison, NE, to Washington, DC, to become a member of my personal office staff. In her 2\1/2\ years on my staff, Dani has worked as a staff assistant, legislative correspondent, and legislative aide. I extend my sincere appreciation to Dani for her hard work and dedication and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize Deven Scott, the deputy scheduler in my Washington, DC, office, for the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Deven is a native of Aberdeen, SD, and is a graduate of the University of South Dakota. Upon graduation from USD, Deven moved from Vermillion, SD, to Washington, DC, to become a member of my personal office staff. In her 1\1/2\ years on my staff, Deven has worked as a staff assistant, legislative correspondent, and deputy scheduler. I extend my sincere appreciation to Deven for her hard work and dedication and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, a Bloomberg headline Monday noted: ``Half of the Senators Who Voted for ObamaCare Will be Gone in 2015.'' ObamaCare, it seems, has not been kind to the party that jammed it through Congress. In fact, the third ranking Democrat in the Senate admitted as much 2 weeks ago when he told an audience that Democrats made a mistake after the 2008 election by putting all their focus on passing a health care law. He further said: Unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem--health care reform. Now, as a result, my colleague from New York said: ``The average middle-class person thought, `the Democrats aren't paying enough attention to me.' '' Well, Democrats weren't paying enough attention to middle-class families. The American people didn't support the health care law, and they made that clear. But Democrats just ignored their objections and forced it through anyway. They were far from frank about what was in the bill. In fact, ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber essentially admitted that Democrats were deliberatively deceptive when passing their health reform law. Gruber said: This bill was written in a tortured way to make sure CBO did not score the mandate as taxes. . . . Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the `stupidity of the American voter' or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass. That is from Jonathan Gruber, as I said, an architect of ObamaCare. Well, 4\1/2\ years after the law has passed, it is clear Americans were right to be concerned. The law that was supposed to reduce the cost of health care for American families is actually driving up prices. Each Friday my office puts out a document featuring the ObamaCare headlines of the week. I would like to read a few headlines from the past week that I think give a picture of where we are with this law. This is from the Associated Press: ``Healthcare.gov average premiums going up in 2015.'' From the Wall Street Journal: ``More Cost of Health Care Shifts to Consumers.'' From Businessweek: ``Obamacare's Future: Cancer Patients Paying More for Medication.'' From Gallup: ``Cost Still a Barrier Between Americans and Medical Care.'' From the Fiscal Times: ``High Deductible Plans Have More People Delaying Treatment.'' From U.S. News & World Report: ``Americans Unhappy With Obamacare Shopping Experience.'' And from The Hill: ``Security Flaws Found in Obamacare Fee Calculator.'' And I could go on. Those are just headlines from last week. I could read similar headlines from the week before and from the week before that. Any way you look at it, ObamaCare is a mess. The President promised the law would lower premiums by $2,500. In fact, the average family health care premium has increased by $3,064 since the law was passed, and family premiums are still going up. The President promised Americans could keep the health care plans they had and liked. In reality, ObamaCare has forced millions of Americans off their plans. The President promised that Americans would be able to keep the doctors they liked. In fact, Americans have lost the doctors they liked and trusted, not to mention access to convenient hospitals and needed medications. The President promised that shopping for ObamaCare would be like shopping on Amazon or Kayak. The reality is the President's own former Health and Human Services Secretary recently admitted it was more like buying an airline ticket using your fax machine. We are still just talking about the ways ObamaCare has harmed Americans' health care. But the damage hasn't been confined to health care. ObamaCare is also hurting our already sluggish economy. Take the ObamaCare tax on lifesaving medical devices, such as pacemakers and insulin pumps. This tax has already eliminated thousands of jobs in the medical device industry, and it is on track to eliminate thousands more if it isn't repealed. In fact, this tax is so bad that even Democrats who voted for ObamaCare support repealing the tax. Then there is the ObamaCare 30-hour workweek rule, which has forced employers to cut workers' hours and wages, and there are the numerous-- numerous--ObamaCare rules and regulations that are making it difficult for small businesses to hire and create jobs. It is no wonder that Democrats are rethinking their decisions to support this law. Americans have made it clear they do not like ObamaCare, and Republicans are listening. One of our top priorities when we take the majority in the Senate in the new Congress will be working to repeal this law and replacing it with real reforms--reforms that will actually cut costs and improve Americans' access to health care. In the meantime, we will focus on chiseling away at the law's most harmful provisions. We want to repeal the job-killing medical device tax and restore the 40-hour workweek so that employers will no longer be forced to cut workers' hours in order to afford health care costs. Many Democrats as well as Republicans opposed these ObamaCare provisions, so I look forward to bipartisan repeals. The senior Senator from New York was right when he said Democrats made a mistake when they decided to focus on the President's health care law instead of on jobs and the economy. In poll after poll, Americans have made it clear they want their representatives in Washington focused on creating jobs and on growing the economy, and that is what the new Republican majority in the Senate intends to do. We will take up legislation to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline and the 42,000-plus jobs it would support. We will take up House-passed bills that have been gathering dust on the Democratic leader's desk. We will work with the President to expand trade promotion authority to open new markets for American agricultural products and manufactured goods, and we will take up legislation to repeal the President's national energy tax, which could eliminate tens of thousands--hundreds of thousands--of jobs and devastate entire communities. We also intend to take up big projects that would help put our economy on a path to long-term health, such as legislation to simplify and streamline our costly and inefficient Tax Code. The election results were pretty decisive. Americans made it very clear they were tired of the Democrats' policies and they wanted a change in Washington, and Republicans are listening. Our priorities in the next Congress will be the American people's priorities. We will focus on creating jobs and growing our economy, and we hope the Democrats will join us. The American people have been waiting long enough. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE

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

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I rise to recognize the end of an era in my office in Washington, DC, because at the end of the year, Summer Mersinger will be leaving my office. She has been in my office for 15 years. She comes from a small town in Central South Dakota called Onida. The town is about an hour and a half away from where I grew up. Our towns are similar in size with similar backgrounds when it comes to the area in which we were raised and growing up in Onida, SD. Obviously she had a lot of the same experiences I did growing up in a small town. She took those experiences and has used them now for the past 15 years in my office. Before she got to my office she went to the University of Minnesota and got her degree there in 1999, came to Washington, DC, worked as an intern, and then shortly after that became a full-time employee in my House office at the time. For the past 15 years, through thick and thin, through the ups and downs, the good days and the bad days, Summer has been the rock in our office. She has been the glue that holds things together. I have described her as the center of gravity. I have described her as a mama bear, lots of different things, but people in our office know she is the go-to person. If you want to get something done in our office, you go through Summer. So when it comes time for her to move on to a different opportunity, obviously, it is a time that we want to recognize and pay tribute to her great service in our office. Usually around here--I think most people know this--it is the Members themselves, the Senators whose names are in the press releases, whose names get to be on the door, but it is the staff who really gets things done in the Senate, and I have been very blessed and fortunate to have people such as Summer Mersinger work in our office. I think of all the people who work in the Senate and the hard jobs they have trying to balance the hours we have to put in, the sacrifices that come with that, the time away from family, always being on call on weekends, always having to put out fires, whatever that might be--well, that is the role Summer has served in our office for a very long time. Not only is she very skilled at what she does, but she brings so many other attributes to the job. Summer is somebody who has a powerful work ethic. She is somebody who has over the years expressed a calming demeanor in our office, as somebody who always is able to deal with people, all personalities, and somebody who most importantly has absolute integrity. Her wise counsel is something from which I have benefitted enormously over the years. One of the great attributes is she is intensely loyal when I don't deserve it. She has been somebody who has been an ally and I couldn't have a better ally than she. So as she departs to do something else and moves on with her life, we want to wish her well. I had the opportunity to see a lot of transition and a lot of change in her life over the years from the time she started working for me, particularly when we got to the Senate. She not only worked full time but earned a law degree at the same time. She met a great guy here in Washington, got married, and has four children. At the same time she continued to work full time and handle all the difficult responsibilities that come with working and leading and running a Senate office. There aren't many people who could pull that off, and she has tirelessly dedicated herself to public service, to serving the people of South Dakota, to serving the Senate and serving in our office. There will be a very big void indeed when she leaves. We are grateful for that outstanding service and the time we had to work with her. I thank her for her outstanding work for the people of South Dakota and for the Senate and for our office, but more importantly for her friendship and her always wise counsel. We will miss her, but we know that whatever she does, she will be out there making a difference because that is the kind of person she is. So we say farewell to her at the end of the year and wish her and her family well and look forward to seeing her around the neighborhood and maybe even someday back in the small town of Onida, SD. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Madam President, are we in morning business?

Mr. THUNE. Very good. Madam President, I wish to speak today about some of what is happening here with the agenda and where we might be headed. I think it is important to point out that the Democrats here, after this election, seem to be in disarray. We have fractures emerging on the left and the right. Senate Democrats and the President are blaming each other for the Democrats' devastating election loss. The President is threatening a veto on a bipartisan tax extenders package that was negotiated by the House Ways and Means Committee chairman and the Senate Democratic leader. The senior Senator from New York told an audience last week that passing ObamaCare was a mistake. To quote the Senator: But unfortunately, Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them. We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem--health-care reform. . . . it wasn't the change we were hired to make. I could not agree more, but it is quite an admission from the third- ranking Democrat in the Senate. Back in 2009, Republicans tried to tell Democrats we should focus on the economy and that any health care reform should be targeted at helping those struggling to afford health care rather than upsetting our entire system, but Democrats refused to listen. Now it appears at least some of them are wishing they had. The President tried to sell the health care law as a benefit for the middle class. At a 2010 tele-town hall, he told his listeners that ``once this reform is fully in effect, middle-class families are going to pay less for their health care.'' Unfortunately, as far too many Americans have found, the President's health care law has actually forced them to pay more. I have lost count of the number of letters I have gotten from constituents in South Dakota telling me how much their health insurance has gone up since the so-called Affordable Care Act passed. One constituent emailed me in November to tell me: Please do something about the Affordable Care Act. Health insurance is no longer affordable. In March our family health insurance policy went up $150.00/month. Now [we've] received notice [of] another $112.00 increase effective January 1, 2015, for a total monthly premium of $857.00. This is more than our mortgage and we cannot afford it!! Let me just repeat part of that last line. ``This is more than our mortgage.'' How are middle-class families supposed to afford what amounts to a second mortgage payment each month? The answer of course is they can't. The President can talk all he wants about the supposed benefits of his health care law, but the fact is ObamaCare has made life worse for this South Dakota family and it has made things worse for millions of families across the United States. Since ObamaCare was signed into law, family health insurance premiums have risen by about $3,000. That is a strain on any family budget just by itself, but it is even worse when we realize that the average family's income has dropped by nearly $3,000 over the course of the Obama Presidency. On top of this, ObamaCare has forced millions of Americans off health insurance plans they had and they liked. Frequently, they have been forced to pay more for their new plans while getting less. Thanks to ObamaCare, Americans have lost access to doctors they liked and trusted, they have lost access to convenient hospitals and they have lost access to medications and that is just the damage ObamaCare is doing to Americans' health care. That is not to mention the damage it is doing to the economy at large. As the Senator from New York made clear in his comments, he thinks the Democratic Party erred in passing ObamaCare because what Americans wanted was not health care legislation but jobs legislation, and he is right. But Democrats went ahead with ObamaCare anyway, and not only has it not helped the economy, as the President said it would, it is actually hurting the economy. Take one small part of ObamaCare, the tax on lifesaving medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps. This tax has already been responsible for putting thousands of Americans out of work, and it is on track to eliminate thousands more jobs if it isn't repealed. Then there is the ObamaCare 30-hour workweek rule, which is eliminating hours and reducing wages for thousands of American workers, and the numerous ObamaCare regulations that are making it difficult for small businesses to hire new workers. As Democrats are now realizing, ObamaCare was a big mistake. What Democrats should have done, as the senior Senator from New York admits, was focus on creating jobs and opportunities for middle-class families. The recent Gallup poll listing the overall health of the economy as Americans' top economic concern was just the latest poll in which Americans have listed jobs and the economy among their main worries. Yet Democrats have spent years ignoring the need for jobs and focusing on their own political priorities. As the senior Senator from New York said: When Democrats focused on health care, the average middle class person thought, ``the Democrats aren't paying enough attention to me.'' That average middle-class person is right. In a few short weeks Republicans will take over the Senate, and we will be running things very differently. Our first priority will be passing legislation to create jobs and opportunities for American workers. A significant part of that will be working to undo the damage ObamaCare has done to the economy. We will work to repeal the medical device tax and restore the 40-hour workweek. I hope Democrats will join us. I have a feeling many of them will. As we have seen, opposition to these damaging ObamaCare provisions is not limited to Republicans. Democrats have joined us before to attempt to address these issues, and I look forward to working with these same Democrats and others in the new Congress. As for the President, I hope he will finally admit his law is hurting Americans and join us in undoing the damage. Unfortunately, his actions so far have not demonstrated much openness to cooperation or any sign that he understands the American people are calling for a new era in Washington. Democrats have spent the past several years focusing on the priorities of the far leftwing of their party instead of the American people's priorities--the economy and jobs. That is what the American people have been saying over and over they want their elected leaders to be focused on. I hope the new Congress will mark the start of a new era in which Democrats join Republicans to help create jobs and opportunities for Americans and remove obstacles to success. The American people have waited a long time for relief. It is time for Congress to give it to them. I yield the floor.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Anne Keough, an intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Anne is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, Anne is attending George Washington University, where she is majoring in international affairs/security policy and Arabic. Anne is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of her experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Anne Keough for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Maria Eckrich, an intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Maria is a graduate of Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, Maria is attending American University's School of International Service, where she is studying global governance, politics, and security. Maria is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of her experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Maria Eckrich for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Ross Dietrich, an intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Ross is a graduate of Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls, SD. Currently, Ross is attending the University of South Dakota, where he is working toward an M.A. in addiction studies. Ross is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of his experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Ross Dietrich for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Megan Reiffenberger, an intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Megan is a graduate of Watertown High School in Watertown, SD. Currently, Megan is attending George Mason University, where she is majoring in English. Megan is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of her experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Megan Reiffenberger for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Kelsey Sakos, an intern in my Rapid City, SD office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Kelsey is a graduate of Stevens High School in Rapid City, SD. Currently, Kelsey is attending Black Hills State University, where she is majoring in political science/social science. Kelsey is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of her experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Kelsey Sakos for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

Mr. THUNE

Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I recognize Stuart Campbell, an intern in my Washington, DC office, for all of the hard work he has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota. Stuart is a graduate of Central High School in Aberdeen, SD. Currently, Stuart is attending Georgetown University, where he is majoring in Science and Technology in International Affairs. Stuart is a dedicated worker who has been committed to getting the most out of his experience. I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Stuart Campbell for all of the fine work he has done and wish him continued success in the years to come.