[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 182 (Friday, December 20, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9115-S9116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CLOSING THE FIRST SESSION OF THE 113TH CONGRESS

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, there are many traditions around this 
holiday season that I cherish, but I must confess that the tradition of 
spending Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve on the floor of the Senate is 
not one of those traditions. Happily, this year we won't be repeating 
that practice from previous years. We are leaving here shortly--some 
have already--to spend the holidays at home with family.

  As we close this first session of the 113th Congress, I wish to 
personally thank our majority leader Senator Harry Reid--and let me add 
his wife Landra--for their leadership and their resolve that helps to 
make this Senate work.
  I also thank the minority leader Senator Mitch McConnell. Although we 
may disagree on many issues and have our debates on the floor of the 
Senate, I have a great respect for my colleagues and particularly their 
leader Senator McConnell. We all know we can't do this work alone. It 
takes a lot of dedicated people to keep the Senate functioning.
  On behalf of Leader Reid, I wish to acknowledge and thank the Senate 
Parliamentarians and clerical staff and doorkeepers. I also thank the 
cloakroom staffs, the members of our floor staffs who put in even 
longer than usual hours these past few weeks, and all of the Senate 
staffers, Democratic and Republican.
  I thank the Capitol Police officers for keeping us safe. We have to 
remember they risk their lives every day for us and all the people who 
work and visit this great Capitol.
  A special thanks to our Senate pages. We ask a lot of them--long 
hours for a lot of young people. We want them to know that their work 
is greatly appreciated. We wish them the best of luck. They will be 
coming back in January to finish their current assignment as pages. I 
hope they have a great time at home with their families. Perhaps 
someday they will return here, maybe as Senators themselves.
  Part of the magic of this holiday season is that it enables many of 
us, even just for a few moments, to consider a new world, to look at it 
with a little less cynicism. I hope all of my colleagues will have a 
few moments like that in the coming holidays, and I hope we are all 
going to come back and try to preserve some small measure of good will 
and make it part of our life's work in the next year of the Senate 
session.
  The budget agreement we passed this week was a good beginning to a 
less

[[Page S9116]]

partisan, more productive Senate. I hope that is a portent of good 
things to come.
  There is a lot more we need to do. The American people are still 
counting on us to work together on measures that will help to create 
good jobs and strengthen America's economy, strengthen working families 
in Wisconsin and Illinois and all across America.
  And particularly at this Christmastime, let's remember the message of 
Pope Francis and religious leaders all over the world: to remember the 
needy and the help they need that we can provide and must provide in 
this caring world.
  We all only serve in this body for a finite period of time. After we 
are gone, we want to look back on our service in the Senate and we all 
want to be able to say: I was part of something important. I helped 
meet the great challenges of my time, and I helped to preserve the 
American dream. I hope that is part of our new year's resolve on both 
sides of the aisle.


                             Senate Agenda

  When we return in January, the Senate will continue working on 
nominations, starting with confirmation of Janet Yellen to head the 
Federal Reserve when we vote on January 6. Our first order of 
legislative business will be to vote to extend unemployment benefits 
for those who have exhausted their benefits and still can't find work 
through no fault of their own. This is a matter of simple fairness. It 
affects more than 1 million Americans and their families. We will not 
give up on them and on our responsibility to help them through this 
difficult time.
  In closing, let me wish all of my fellow Senators and our staffs, 
those who transcribe our remarks, and many others who make the Senate 
work every single day, as well as our fellow Americans, a Merry 
Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year.

                          ____________________