[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

[[Page S598]]

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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