Congressional Record—Senate S6699
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September 24, 2013 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6699 a bipartisan bill—House leaders took cans get back on their feet. Despite the The clerk will call the roll. the unprecedented step earlier this heated rhetoric, our Food Stamp Pro- The assistant legislative clerk called year and split food assistance from the gram is working as intended. the roll. other essential programs supported by I was fortunate to come here when Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the the farm bill, even though we passed a we had two men with entirely different Senator from New Hampshire (Mrs. farm bill that would save $25 to $30 bil- philosophies. Both men became nomi- SHAHEEN) and the Senator from Colo- lion. nees of their party to run for Presi- rado (Mr. UDALL) are necessarily ab- After months of delay, last week the dent, George McGovern and Bob Dole. sent. House voted on a separate nutrition They worked together to feed the hun- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. title, which only moves us further gry people in this country, especially HEITKAMP). Are there any other Sen- away from enacting a farm bill before in the School Lunch Program. ators in the Chamber desiring to vote? the programs expire on September 30. The Congressional Budget Office The result was announced—yeas 98, This latest lurching maneuver means forecasts that the SNAP costs will fall nays 0, as follows: over the next several years. As the even more uncertainty for farmers. [Rollcall Vote No. 204 Ex.] economy improves and people get back Instead of standing with the millions YEAS—98 of Americans who are still struggling to work, those costs will come down. Children who are educated will create Alexander Flake Mikulski to put food on the table—these House Ayotte Franken Moran Members never have to go hungry, ex- jobs. Baldwin Gillibrand Murkowski cept by choice, because of the huge sal- Instead, we have bumper sticker poli- Barrasso Graham Murphy aries they make—it is regrettable and tics—appealing to our worst instincts. Baucus Grassley Murray It is churlish, childish, and irrespon- Begich Hagan Nelson inexcusable that the House Repub- Bennet Harkin Paul licans are turning to slashing essential sible. I might also say it is immoral. Blumenthal Hatch The House-passed CR and the House Portman nutrition help for struggling Ameri- Blunt Heinrich Pryor cans. Ensuring that these programs so-called farm bill will only worsen the Boozman Heitkamp Reed gridlock that crippled the Senate since Boxer Heller Reid can continue to serve Vermonters and Brown Hirono Risch our return from the August recess. We Burr Hoeven all Americans in need is a key part of Roberts are elected not to grandstand but to Cantwell Inhofe enacting a strong farm bill for our Rockefeller Cardin Isakson legislate. Let’s legislate around here. Rubio country. It is a reality recognized by Carper Johanns Members need to stop running to the Sanders the bipartisan Senate-passed farm bill. Casey Johnson (SD) Schatz The House cuts SNAP benefits by cameras, getting little sound bites and Chambliss Johnson (WI) saying things such as: I am standing up Chiesa Kaine Schumer levels 10 times as high as the bipar- Coats King Scott tisan Senate bill and twice as high as for America, as they do everything to Sessions kill the American economy. Coburn Kirk the House’s original bill. These cuts Cochran Klobuchar Shelby We were not elected to make the gov- Stabenow would mean that each year an average Collins Landrieu ernment less efficient. We are even un- Coons Leahy Tester of 3 million people would be kicked off able to make the most basic decisions Corker Lee Thune food assistance, even those who are Cornyn Levin Toomey that the American people elected us to working and making as little as $2,500 Crapo Manchin Udall (NM) make. The American people want us to Vitter per year. What is worse, the bill will Cruz Markey solve the problems now through fair so- Donnelly McCain Warner mean hundreds of thousands of chil- lutions and through the give-and-take Durbin McCaskill Warren dren will lose access to school meals. Enzi McConnell Whitehouse of our elected government. Ask any teacher, whether in Hawaii, Feinstein Menendez Wicker I appreciate the fact that the people Fischer Merkley Wyden Vermont or in any other State, does a of my State—Republicans and Demo- NOT VOTING—2 hungry child learn? Of course not. crats together—give me the honor of These school meals are an invest- Shaheen Udall (CO) serving here. I have become the longest ment in our future and an investment serving Senator from our State and The nomination was confirmed. in our children. Having young people also the longest serving Senator in this The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under who are able to learn is an investment body. I have seen Republicans and the previous order, the motion to re- in the future of the U.S. economy. So Democrats work together on these consider is considered made and laid on what do we say? Oh, no, we are not problems. I have seen people in the the table, and the President will imme- going to feed them. This is a country past do that. I know it can be done but diately be notified of the Senate’s ac- that spends billions of dollars just to not when a tiny minority says: We are tion. get rid of excess food and on needless the only ones who know what to do, diet programs, but we cannot feed chil- f and we will make the decision. No. We dren in school. It is shameful. It is have good men and women from both LEGISLATIVE SESSION mean-spirited, shortsighted, and it parties in the House and Senate. Let’s The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- hurts America. stop the bumper sticker politics. Let’s ate will resume legislative session. If that were not enough, the House get back to work and do things the way Republicans also assert with their bill f they should be done. There is still time that 3 months of benefits every 3 years to show the American people that we RECESS is plenty of time for out-of-work Amer- know why we were sent here and that icans to find a job that pays well The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Congress can still do the work of the enough to feed a family. Get real. Have the previous order, the Senate stands Nation. they seen what happened to the econ- in recess until 2:15 p.m. Mr. President, I yield back all time. Thereupon, the Senate, at 12:30 p.m., omy in this country? Have they seen The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without what happened as we try to drag our- recessed until 2:15 p.m. and reassem- objection, it is so ordered. bled when called to order by the Pre- selves back from the horrible recession The question is on the Hughes nomi- siding Officer (Ms. BALDWIN). they put us into a few years ago? Un- nation. fortunately, when there is only one job Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for f for every three unemployed workers. the yeas and nays. MAKING CONTINUING APPROPRIA- Simply telling out-of-work Americans The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a TIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014— to get a job is easier said than done. sufficient second? Somebody ought to ask them why There appears to be a sufficient sec- MOTION TO PROCEED—Continued don’t they do their jobs. ond. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Times of high unemployment are the The question is, Will the Senate ad- ator from Maryland. very reason we have food assistance. vise and consent to the nomination of Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, as These food programs were always car- Todd M. Hughes, of the District of Co- the chair of the Appropriations Com- ried by Republicans and Democrats lumbia, to be United States Circuit mittee, I rise to oppose the continuing who worked together to help Ameri- Judge for the Federal Circuit? resolution the House passed last week VerDate Mar 15 2010 06:12 Sep 25, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 0637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G24SE6.018 S24SEPT1 tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S6700 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 24, 2013 on a party-line vote of 230 to 189. On be- sis of sustained chronic unemployment This isn’t hard, but in order to get half of all of the people of Maryland at 7 percent or higher in many of my that, we need to clear out the toxic po- and all of the people of the United communities or in certain sectors, such litical items in the CR. So I want a States, I am so frustrated; they should as construction, or in the rural parts of clean CR. A clean CR means getting rid have a government that they can count my State? There is also a real crisis for of the political riders of defunding on to operate, that they could count on those who need health care. There is a ObamaCare and striking the debt limit to work as hard as they do; they should real crisis for those who are seeking rider. be able to count on having the govern- higher education and can’t afford it. Second, we need to have a shorter ment they pay for. However, what we And look at our crisis in the foreign date. My recommendation would be have here is a manufactured crisis, policy arena. around November 15 because the longer with histrionics and theatrical politics On the very day the President is term CR means more autopilot func- attempting to bring us to the brink of speaking at the U.N.