E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 160 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014 No. 107 Senate The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was Senator from the State of Montana, to per- leaders or their designees. At 11:45 a.m. called to order by the Honorable JOHN form the duties of the Chair. there will be a cloture vote on the Bi- E. WALSH, a Senator from the State of PATRICK J. LEAHY, partisan Sportsmen’s Act, as we just Montana. President pro tempore. had approved by the Chair. The filing Mr. WALSH thereupon assumed the deadline for all first-degree amend- PRAYER chair as Acting President pro tempore. ments to S. 2363 is 10:30 a.m. this morn- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f ing and the deadline for second-degree fered the following prayer: RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY amendments is 11:30 a.m. this morning. Let us pray. LEADER Following the vote, the Senate will O God, You are our God. We earnestly turn to executive session to consider search for You, the source of our hope The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- the nominations of Shaun Donovan to and the center of our joy. Enable our pore. The majority leader is recog- be Director of the Office of Manage- Senators to gaze upon Your power and nized. ment and Budget, Douglas Silliman to experience Your glory. Lord, encourage f be Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, them with Your precepts that provide TERRORISM RISK INSURANCE PRO- and Dana Smith to be Ambassador to light for the dark road ahead. Answer GRAM REAUTHORIZATION ACT the State of Qatar. At 2 p.m. the Sen- their prayers and arm our lawmakers OF 2014—MOTION TO PROCEED ate will proceed to vote on confirma- with Your might, giving them reveren- tion of the nominations in the order tial awe that will keep them from evil. Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to listed. I expect a rollcall vote on the Strengthen them to be faithful during proceed to Calendar No. 438, S. 2244, the Donovan nomination and voice votes life’s crises as well as the routine of Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. on the Silliman and Smith nomina- daily duties. O God, we belong to You. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- tions. pore. The clerk will report the motion. Crown our years with the bountiful NOMINATIONS harvest that Your mercy provides. The legislative clerk read as follows: We pray in Your Holy Name. Amen. Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 438, S. Mr. President, I was late coming in 2244, a bill to extend the termination date of here today because I just completed a f the Terrorism Insurance Program estab- conversation with John Kerry, the Sec- lished under the Terrorism Risk Insurance retary of State of our country. Because PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Act of 2002, and for other purposes. of his travel schedule and my schedule The Presiding Officer led the Pledge ORDER OF PROCEDURE and the time difference, it has been dif- of Allegiance, as follows: Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- ficult for us to talk the last 24 hours, I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the imous consent that at 11:45 a.m., the but we were able to speak as he was United States of America, and to the Repub- Senate resume consideration of S. 2363, rushing to an airplane, going from lic for which it stands, one nation under God, the Bipartisan Sportsmen’s Act, and China to Afghanistan. He called me to indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the Senate proceed to vote on the mo- lament what is going on in the U.S. tion to invoke cloture on the bill; fur- Senate about these nominations. He f ther, that notwithstanding rule XXII, has 53 State Department nominations following the cloture vote, the Senate APPOINTMENT OF ACTING pending—53. proceed to executive session, as pro- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE We have problems all over the world. vided under the previous order. We have the Afghan war. We have the The PRESIDING OFFICER. The The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- problems with Pakistan. We have the clerk will please read a communication pore. Without objection, it is so or- Middle East, which every country there to the Senate from the President pro dered. is in some form of difficulty. We have a tempore (Mr. LEAHY). SCHEDULE problem in the Far East—all kinds of The legislative clerk read the fol- Mr. REID. Mr. President, following problems there. It is all over the news lowing letter: my remarks and those of the Repub- today. We have the situation in Israel. U.S. SENATE, lican leader, there will be a period of The Palestinians—rocket fire coming PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, morning business until 11:45 a.m. from Palestine; nondirected missiles, Washington, DC, July 10, 2014. To the Senate: today, with Senators permitted to similar to the Fourth of July. They set Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, speak for up to 10 minutes each during them off. They don’t know or care of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby that time, with the time equally di- where they go. And we are being held appoint the Honorable JOHN E. WALSH, a vided and controlled between the two up here as a country from doing the ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S4367 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 10:19 Oct 06, 2015 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD14\JUL 2014\S10JY4.REC S10JY4 vlivingston on DSKHW7XVN1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE S4368 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 10, 2014 country’s work as a result of this stall- try, and it is mainly due to the admin- the squeeze our constituents are feel- ing, this obstruction, the constant fili- istration’s failure to enforce immigra- ing. One of our bills would restore the busters we have in the Senate. tion laws and secure the border. 40-hour workweek and reverse a pay We have these Ambassadors who have This is a real crisis. So we are taking cut that is built into ObamaCare. Oth- worked their entire lives. They are a hard look at the proposal the Presi- ers would do things such as increase brilliant. It is hard to be a Foreign dent sent over, but we want to make educational opportunities and put an Service officer, but these men and sure we actually get the right tools to end to policies that prevent women women work very hard all over the fix the problem, and that is not what from getting pay raises when they out- world. They dignify our country. Then we have seen so far from the President. perform their male colleagues. they work their way up to make it to What he appears to be asking for is a One bill I introduced with Senator this ‘‘Super Bowl.’’ They are selected blank check—one that would allow him AYOTTE—the Family Friendly and to be an ambassador, and do you know to sustain his current failed policy. Workplace Flexibility Act—would what happens? They get stalled here— Last night in a speech that at- allow workers to take time off as a stalled. Who are the Republicans hurt- tempted to shift the blame from his form of overtime compensation. It is ing? They are not hurting me. Is this failed approach, he doubled down on a an idea that is tailored to the needs of some payback for me? What about the blank check, which is what he has our modern workforce. It is something President? He has a country to run, a asked for. He led Americans to believe a lot of working men and women say world to take care of, and we are being that the problem could be solved if they want, and there is no reason not held up here. I truly appreciate today. only Congress would pass his last- to provide a little more flexibility to We get two ambassadors. We only have minute request, but it is not that sim- working families. 27 more to go, plus all the other State ple. Much more needs to be done, and Another bill I introduced would re- Department people. the President certainly knows it. His duce the cost and hassle of childcare The Secretary of State is a very busy original letter to Congress called for for working parents by allowing them man. He has been trying for 24 hours to reforms we all know are needed to ad- to write off a home office, even if they tell me how bad the situation is around dress the crisis. Under pressure from happen to have a crib in the room. Cur- the world. He does not have people to the left, he has since backed away from rent law prevents working moms and do this country’s work. Twenty-five these critical reforms, but lawmakers dads from taking that deduction if percent of the Ambassadors in Africa in both parties have not. So he needs to they care for a child while working at are not there. work with us to get the right policy home. This is simply unfair. Making that change is just common So I do not understand this. They into effect, not just throw money at sense, and so are all of the bills we want to hold up some of the President’s the problem—get the right policy into have introduced.