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, JULY 25, 2013 No. 108 Senate The Senate met at 9:30 a.m. and was ator from the State of Hawaii, to perform system, proposing the investment called to order by the Honorable BRIAN the duties of the Chair. would pave the way for a new era of SCHATZ, a Senator from the State of PATRICK J. LEAHY, American growth. Hawaii. President pro tempore. Why did Dwight Eisenhower do this? Mr. SCHATZ thereupon assumed the As a young major in the Army, he was PRAYER chair as Acting President pro tempore. directed to bring a convoy of troops The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f and equipment across the country and he determined at that time something fered the following prayer: RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY had to be done. The roads were non- Let us pray. LEADER Our Father, be with our Senators not existent, and those that existed were only in great moments but also in the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- not in very good shape. So when he be- repetitive and common tasks of life. jority leader is recognized. came President, after having been such Make them children of faith and heirs f a successful leader of our efforts in World War II, he asked Congress to in- of peace. May they tackle even mun- SCHEDULE dane responsibilities with integrity and vest $50 billion. Under present-day dol- faithfulness, cheerfulness and kindness, Mr. REID. Mr. President, following lars, that would be about $500 billion. optimism and civility. Lord, give them my remarks and those of Senator That meant almost 50,000 miles of new wisdom to be patient with others, ever MCCONNELL, there will be a period of highways. lenient to their faults and ever prompt morning business until 11 a.m., with There are still ideas out there we to praise their virtues. May they bear the first 30 minutes controlled by the should do. Eisenhower, along with Roo- one another’s burdens and so fulfill majority and the second 30 minutes by sevelt, did some things that were new Your law. Keep them ever mindful of the Republicans. and unique. But look back at what the brevity of life and of the impor- Following morning business the Sen- they did. Look at the good of Social tance of being faithful in little things. ate will resume consideration of S. Security. Look at the good of our We pray in Your merciful Name. 1243, which is the Transportation ap- interstate highway system. Amen. propriations bill. Senator MURRAY will With the highway bill, back in 1956, continue to work through the amend- the bipartisan vote wasn’t even close. f ments with ranking member SUSAN Listen to this: It passed the Senate 89– PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE COLLINS from Maine. We also hope to 1. It was approved in the House of Rep- vote on confirmation of the West nomi- resentatives by a voice vote. The Presiding Officer led the Pledge nation to be Associate Attorney Gen- About 40 years after President Roo- of Allegiance, as follows: eral. Senators will be notified when sevelt decided he should do something I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the votes are scheduled. about taking care of people in their United States of America, and to the Repub- lic for which it stands, one nation under God, f golden years here in America, Presi- indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. dent Harry Truman envisioned a pro- DOING WHAT IS GOOD FOR gram that would protect every senior f AMERICA citizen from illness and need. Well, 83 APPOINTMENT OF ACTING Mr. REID. Mr. President, about 80 Republicans helped Lyndon Johnson PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE years ago when President Franklin and Democrats in Congress create Roosevelt first proposed Social Secu- Medicare. Democratic President Roo- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The rity as insurance against poverty in old sevelt, Republican President Eisen- clerk will please read a communication age, the idea was controversial, new, hower, Democratic Presidents Truman to the Senate from the President pro never been done before, nothing like it. and Johnson were the reason we have tempore (Mr. LEAHY). But in 1935, 97 Republicans joined Medicare. Since the law was enacted in The assistant legislative clerk read Democrats in Congress to create one of 1965, poverty among seniors in this the following letter: the most successful programs—if not country has decreased and life expect- U.S. SENATE, the most successful program—in the ancy has increased every 10 years be- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, history of our country and in the cause of Medicare. Washington, DC, July 25, 2013. To the Senate: world. On each of these occasions I have Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, Two decades, about sixty years later, talked about, and countless others of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby President Dwight Eisenhower proposed throughout the course of American his- appoint the Honorable BRIAN SCHATZ, a Sen- the Nation’s first interstate highway tory, lawmakers—divided by political ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S5925 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 01:03 Jul 26, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A25JY6.000 S25JYPT1 tjames on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S5926 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 25, 2013 party—have united to pass important tion for opposition’s sake has resulted start actually working with the rep- groundbreaking legislation. On the in gridlock and dysfunction and bitter resentatives of the people. Because, issues that matter most—when lives bipartisanship, hostage-taking and let’s be perfectly clear, Americans are at stake, when the country and the standoffs. aren’t worried about how many tomor- economy of the country is at stake, I was on a long interview on public rows there are to come. They are wor- when America’s competitiveness is at broadcasting yesterday. They asked, ried about what those tomorrows will stake—lawmakers, divided by political What about the numbers of Congress actually bring: the bills in tomorrow’s party, have been drawn together by being so low? I said, I haven’t gotten a mail, the cuts in tomorrow’s paycheck, shared priorities. It is time to renew call from any of the pollsters, but if I the affordability of tomorrow’s health that tradition. had, I would agree with this number. costs. These are the things that can’t Over the last 5 years, this Nation has Congress is dysfunctional, and that is be addressed with reheated speeches or dug its way out of the hole created by unfair to the American people. It has clever quotes. They require actually the great recession. I could go into rea- made it almost impossible for Congress working with people, including those sons why the great recession happened, to advance the big ideas, to achieve the you might not always agree with. but let’s drop that for now. It hap- big things, to realize the big dreams it For instance, going around telling pened. We have an opportunity now to once could. But it is not too late for people ObamaCare is working the way come together again, this time to lay reasonable people from both parties it is supposed to or that it is fabulous the foundation for a stronger, smarter, and on both sides of the Capitol to or wonderful, as several of our Demo- and more competitive America. change that. It is not too late for law- cratic friends have done, doesn’t As Democrats and Republicans came makers, divided by political party but change reality. It is just words. It together in the past to ensure the sharing the same priorities, to unite to doesn’t change the fact that recent sur- health and dignity of our Nation’s sen- pass important legislation. veys show only 13 percent of Americans iors, as Democrats and Republicans Like President Obama, I am an opti- now believe the law will help them or came together to pave the way for a mist. I remain hopeful despite the dis- that about half believe it will make mobile and competitive economy, so agreements and difficulties over the things worse for the middle class or Democrats and Republicans today last 5 years. I am hopeful my Repub- that actuaries are now predicting cost must come together to build a future lican colleagues are using the same increases of 30 percent or more in my where hard work is all it takes to turn yardstick as I am. And I know they are home State of Kentucky. opportunity into prosperity. asking themselves, as I am, Is it good I know the President likes to point Yesterday President Obama laid out for America? to the few places, as he did yesterday, a roadmap to restore that promise for f where premiums might actually drop every American. The speech took an under ObamaCare, but he is basically hour, but every minute of it was impor- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY silent on the places where it has been tant. He laid out a vision to encourage LEADER announced that premiums will go up responsible home ownership, to educate The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- under ObamaCare, and he will not say a new generation of workers, and to pore. The Republican leader is recog- a word about all the people who have create jobs rebuilding Eisenhower-era nized.