Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 159 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013 No. 167 Senate The Senate met at 10:30 a.m. and was WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT OF sanctions have brought Iran to the ne- called to order by the President pro 2013 gotiating table. tempore (Mr. LEAHY). Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to I believe we must do everything pos- proceed to Calendar No. 243, S. 1356, the sible to stop Iran from getting nuclear PRAYER Workforce Investment Act of 2013. weapons capability, which would threaten Israel and the national secu- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the bill by title. rity of our great country. fered the following prayer: The Obama administration is in the The assistant legislative clerk read Let us pray. midst of negotiations with the Iranians as follows: Eternal Lord God, the giver of every that are designed to end their nuclear good and perfect gift, during this Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 243, S. weapons program. We all strongly sup- 1356, a bill to amend the Workforce Invest- Thanksgiving season, we lift grateful port those negotiations and hope they hearts to You in prayer. Thank You for ment Act of 1998 to strengthen the United States workforce development system will succeed, and we want them to the splash of raindrops, for the warmth through innovation in, and alignment and produce the strongest possible agree- of sunshine, for the melody of the improvement of, employment, training, and ment. moonlight, and for the stars that hang education programs in the United States, However, we are also aware of the like scintillating lanterns in the night. and to promote individual and national eco- possibility that the Iranians could keep Lord, we are grateful for strength to nomic growth, and for other purposes. the negotiations from succeeding. I meet life’s challenges, for the fulfill- SCHEDULE hope that won’t happen, but the Senate ment of honorable labor, for friend- Mr. REID. Mr. President, following must be prepared to move forward with ships that dispel loneliness, for the my remarks and those of the Repub- a new bipartisan Iran sanctions bill laughter of children, and for the joy of lican leader, the Senate will resume when the Senate returns after the the harvest. We praise You for the consideration of the National Defense Thanksgiving recess. I am committed privilege to receive Your forgiveness Authorization Act. I filed cloture on to do just that. and to make operative Your redeeming that bill last night. As a result, the fil- A number of Senators, Democrats grace in our thoughts, desires, and ing deadline for first-degree amend- and Republicans, have offered their hopes. ments to the bill is 1 p.m. today. own amendments on Iran, and they We also express gratitude for our MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR—S. 1752 have offered a couple of the amend- Senators, who have an opportunity to Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am told S. ments in the Defense authorization participate in history’s great events 1752 is due for a second reading. bill. I know other Senators also have and to serve Your purposes for their The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The their own sanctions bills they would lives in this generation. clerk will read the title of the bill for like to move forward on. Lord of all, to You we raise this, our the second time. I will support a bill that would broad- prayer, of grateful praise. Amen. The legislative clerk read as follows: en the scope of our current petroleum sanctions, place limitations on trade A bill (S. 1752) to perform procedures for f determinations to proceed to trial by court- with strategic sectors of the Iranian martial for certain offenses under the Uni- economy that support its nuclear am- form Code of Military Justice, and for other bitions, as well as pursue those that di- PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE purposes. vert goods to Iran. The President pro tempore led the Mr. REID. I object to any further While I support the administration’s Pledge of Allegiance as follows: proceedings on this bill at this time. diplomatic efforts, I believe we need to I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the The PRESIDENT pro tempore. With- leave our legislative options open to United States of America and to the Repub- out objection, the bill will be placed on act on a new bipartisan sanctions bill lic for which it stands, one nation under God, the calendar. in December, shortly after we return. indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mr. President, I note the absence of a RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME quorum. The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under f The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The the previous order, the leadership time clerk will call the roll. is reserved. The legislative clerk proceeded to RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY IRAN SANCTIONS call the roll. LEADER Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am a Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The strong supporter of our Iran sanction imous consent that the order for the majority leader is recognized. regime and believe that the current quorum call be rescinded. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S8413 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:46 Nov 22, 2013 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21NO6.000 S21NOPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with SENATE S8414 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 21, 2013 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. With- At the beginning of this Congress, We agreed in July that the Senate out objection, it is so ordered. the Republican leader pledged that, should be confirming nominees to en- RULES REFORM ‘‘This Congress should be more bipar- sure the proper functioning of govern- Mr. REID. Mr. President, the Amer- tisan than the last Congress.’’ ment. ican people believe Congress is broken. We are told in the Scriptures—let’s Consistent and unprecedented ob- The American people believe the Sen- take, for example, the Old Testament, struction by the Republican Caucus ate is broken, and I believe the Amer- the Book of Numbers, that promises, has turned ‘‘advise and consent’’ into ican people are right. pledges, a vow—one must not break his ‘‘deny and obstruct.’’ During this Congress—the 113th Con- word. In addition to filibustering a nominee gress—the United States has wasted an In January, Republicans promised to for Secretary of Defense for the first unprecedented amount of time on pro- work with the majority to process time in history, Senate Republicans cedural hurdles and partisan obstruc- nominations in a timely manner by also blocked a sitting Member of Con- tion. As a result the work of this coun- unanimous consent, except in extraor- gress from an administration position try goes undone. dinary circumstances. Exactly three for the first time since 1843. Congress should be passing legisla- weeks later, Republicans mounted a As a senior Member of the House Fi- tion that strengthens our economy and first-in-history filibuster of a highly nancial Services Committee, Congress- protects American families. Instead, qualified nominee for Secretary of De- man MEL WATT’s understanding of the we are burning wasted hours and wast- fense. mistakes that led to the housing crisis ed days between filibusters. I could Despite being a former Republican made him uniquely qualified to serve say, instead, we are burning wasted Senator and a decorated war hero, hav- as Administrator of the Federal Hous- days and wasted weeks between filibus- ing saved his brother’s life in Vietnam, ing Finance Agency. ters. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s nomi- Senate Republicans simply do not Even one of the Senate’s most basic nation was pending in the Senate for a like the consumer protections Con- duties—confirmation of presidential record 34 days—more than three times gressman WATT was nominated to de- nominees—has become completely un- the previous average for a Secretary of velop and implement, so they denied a workable. There has been unbelievable, Defense. Remember, our country was fellow Member of Congress and a grad- unprecedented obstruction. For the at war. uate of the Yale School of Law even first time in the history of our Repub- Republicans have blocked executive the courtesy of an up-or-down vote. lic, Republicans have routinely used nominees such as Secretary Hagel not In the last 3 weeks alone, Repub- the filibuster to prevent President because they object to the qualifica- licans have blocked up-or-down votes Obama from appointing his executive tions of the nominee but simply be- on three highly qualified nominees to team or confirming judges. It is truly a cause they seek to undermine the very the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. This troubling trend that Republicans are government in which they were elected does not take into consideration they willing to block executive branch to serve. twice turned down one of the most nominees, even when they have no ob- Take the nomination of Richard qualified people in my 30 years in the jection to the qualifications of the Cordray to lead the Consumer Finan- Senate who I have ever seen come be- nominee. Instead, they block qualified cial Protection Bureau. There was no fore this body: Caitlin Halligan. So we executive branch nominees to cir- doubt about his ability to do the job. have three more to add to that list.