[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S597-S598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SCHEDULE
Mr. REID. Following leader remarks, the Senate will resume
consideration of S. 47, the Violence Against Women Act. Time until 11
a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or
their designees.
At 11 a.m. there will be up to six rollcall votes in order to
complete action on this legislation. Following disposition of VAWA, the
Violence Against Women Act, we will recess until 2:15 p.m. to allow for
the weekly caucus meetings.
The State of the Union Address is this evening. Senators will gather
at 8:20 p.m. tonight in this Chamber in order to proceed as a body to
the House of Representatives, where the speech will be given.
There are up to six rollcall votes remaining: the Leahy amendment
dealing with sex trafficking, the Portman amendment dealing with sex
trafficking, the Murkowski amendment dealing with tribal protections,
the Coburn amendment dealing with consolidation of DOJ rape programs,
the Coburn amendment dealing with notice to victims and, most
importantly, final passage of this legislation.
We are still working on some committee hearings that are creating
some conflict, and we are going to see if we can work something out. At
this stage we have not done that. Unless we ask the Senate to change
the voting order, we will have those votes starting at 11 o'clock
today.
State of the Union
Four years ago, as newly elected President of the United States,
Barack Obama prepared to deliver his first address to a joint session
of Congress. The country at that time was in the midst of a grave
crisis. Our economy had been shaken to its core by a financial crisis
sparked by Wall Street greed. Millions of Americans had lost their
jobs, their homes, and their hope.
President Obama predicted America would rise to meet the challenges
of the day. He said:
We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of
America will emerge stronger than before. The weight of this
crisis will not determine the destiny of this Nation.
Four years later we can say with certainty he was right. Over the
last 35 months, American businesses have created more than 6.1 million
jobs--6.1 million jobs--including hundreds of thousands of jobs in
manufacturing in the auto industry. As a matter of fact, the figures
are staggering. Five hundred thousand manufacturing jobs have been
added, and 1 million jobs have been saved due to the President's auto
rescue program. That is a fairly significant change.
We still have a long way to go to get back to full strength, and
there are still too many Americans out of work. We made solid progress
in the last 4 years, but we have a long way to go. The depth of the
crisis did not determine our destiny. Instead, determination drove us
to prosper again. We are faced with an opportunity disguised as a
challenge. We must build on this progress, fostering a lasting recovery
that ensures Americans' success is determined by the strength of their
will, not the size of their wallet.
Tonight, President Obama will chart a course to maintain the economic
progress we made and revitalize the still struggling middle class. I
look forward to hearing his vision. I expect the President will call
for commonsense investments in our future. Investments have been
deferred for far too long because of economic turmoil. When times are
hard, these investments are easy to put off. If America hopes to
compete in a changing world, we must prepare today's students for
tomorrow's jobs. We must give small businesses and American
manufacturers the support they need to thrive. We must stop relying on
foreign oil and start investing in renewable energy. It is better for
our environment and for our economy.
If we hope to rebuild and maintain a world-class economy, we must
build a 21st century infrastructure to support that economy. Renewing
these investments is not only the right thing to do for our country, it
is the right thing to do for our economy.
In the last 4 years the President has repeatedly reached across the
aisle to Republicans, suggesting we find common ground for the sake of
recovery. Tonight will be no different. He will
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reach across that aisle. I expect the President's proposal will include
ideas supported by both Democrats and, in the past, Republicans. I hope
my Republican colleagues will give his vision the consideration it
deserves.
Tonight President Obama will also propose a balanced alternative to
the devastating automatic spending cuts which take effect next month.
Democrats believe we should prevent these harmful arbitrary cuts, cuts
to both military and, initiatives to help middle-class families
prosper. Remember, Republicans in the Senate and in the House voted for
these harsh measures. We could easily avert these job-destroying cuts
which would hinder the economic recovery by ending wasteful tax breaks
for corporations and giveaways to companies that ship jobs overseas. A
balanced approach to pare senseless spending reduction with a modest
contribution from the wealthiest Americans would limit the damage of
the so-called sequestration.
I was disappointed to learn yesterday the Republican leaders in the
House have no intention of bringing legislation to the floor to replace
the sequester with a more sensible approach. They are going to do
nothing.
Senate Democrats will offer their own solution to the sequester later
this week. If Republicans truly agree that these across-the-board cuts
would be damaging to our economy and to national security, they should
work to help us pass an alternative.
During his first State of the Union Address a long time ago, the
first President of the United States, George Washington, told Congress
this:
The welfare of our country is the great object to which our
cares and efforts ought to be directed.
As Republicans and Democrats from both Chambers come together, I
repeat, the welfare of our country is the great object to which our
cares and efforts ought to be directed.
Democrats and Republicans should hear the message that George
Washington gave a long time ago. It is important to listen to the State
of the Union tonight, which we will, and we should all keep in mind the
words of George Washington. Despite our differences, if there is the
will to work together, the power to build an economy works for every
American, and we will succeed.
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