[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S557-S559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPROVING THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS TO VETERANS--
MOTION TO PROCEED
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 297,
S. 1950.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 297, S. 1950, a bill to
improve the provision of medical services and benefits to
veterans, and for other purposes.
Schedule
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was happy to move this on behalf of
Chairman Sanders, who has put together this bill which is supported by
25 different service organizations.
Following my remarks this morning and those of the Republican leader,
the Senate will be in a period of morning business for 1 hour, with the
majority controlling the first half and Republicans the final half.
Following morning business, the Senate will begin consideration of S.
1926, the flood insurance legislation.
We were able to reach an agreement for several amendments. All
amendments must be offered by 3 p.m. today.
Multiple rollcall votes are possible today. Senators will be notified
when these votes are scheduled.
Our Economy
Mr. President, over the last 45 months America's private sector has
added more than 8 million jobs. We heard that from the President last
night. The stock market has soared. Productivity has never in the
history of our country been higher, and Americans have even started
building and buying homes again. But while the economy is gaining
momentum, for far too many Americans the hopeful headlines don't match
the grim reality.
For the last decades middle-class Americans have seen their paychecks
shrink even as corporate profits climb and the wealthiest are doing
better and better. As the President said last night, there is nothing
wrong with people making money. We are all happy they are doing well.
But the average CEO's income is multiplied 250 times, and the people
who work for that CEO are making less and less every year. That has
happened during the last years. The richest 1 percent have had their
wealth increased by three times while during that same period of time
the middle class has had its earning capacity drop 10 percent. Average
Americans are working even longer and harder than they were 30 years
ago and receiving less in the way of remuneration.
The difference is this. Their hard work isn't paying off the way it
used to. We must change that, and we can change that. It is not too
late to ensure that Americans' success is determined by the strength of
their spirit instead of the size of their bank account.
Fifty years ago, in his first State of the Union Address, Lyndon
Johnson declared unconditional war on poverty. We have seen a lot of
news accounts on that anniversary during the last month or so. But here
is what Lyndon Johnson said 50 years ago:
Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope
. . . because of their poverty. . . . Our task is to help
replace their despair with opportunity.
Thanks to the innovative programs created five decades ago, including
Medicare and school lunch programs,
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the poverty rate has fallen 40 percent since the 1960s. But there is so
much work to do.
The 67 richest Americans' net worth increased $2 billion on average
last year. But during that same time, 1 million more American children
dropped into poverty.
So there is much more to do. Too many American families still live on
the outskirts of hope, struggling to survive, and falling well short of
the American dream.
Last night President Obama laid out a plan to breathe new life into
this country's struggling middle class. The President charted a course
to build on the economic progress we have made over the last 45 months
and to guarantee that progress is felt by every hard-working American.
He challenged us--the Congress--to work with him to replace despair
with opportunity. President Obama called for commonsense investments in
our future--investments that have been deferred for too long.
If America hopes to rebuild and maintain a world-class economy, we
must build the 21st century infrastructure to support that economy and
a cutting-edge energy supply to power it. We must prepare today's
students for tomorrow's jobs by ensuring a higher education is within
reach for every promising student. We must give small businesses and
manufacturers the support they need to thrive, and we must ensure every
American earns a living wage during their working years and has the
opportunity to retire comfortably.
I support the President's action to raise the minimum wage for
private contractors who do work for the government, such as janitors,
food servers, dish washers, and construction workers. But no American
working a full-time job should live in poverty, and Congress must act
to raise the minimum wage for all our Nation's workers.
A strong middle class--and an opportunity for every American to enter
that middle class--is the key to this Nation's prosperity.
Last night the President also asked us to renew our commitment to the
principles on which this country was founded--the principles which made
this country great: Fairness--basic fairness. We must make certain that
every American, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or
income, has the opportunity to a full and equal participation in the
workplace.
There are no guarantees in life. Not everyone succeeds. But every
American deserves a fair shot at that success.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader is
recognized.
State of the Union Address
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to say a word this morning about
the President's State of the Union speech. Let me say that I think
Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers did a great job representing our party
and the people of Washington State's Fifth District last night.
Frankly, I wish the President had laid out an agenda half as hopeful
as the one she did because the State of the Union address is always an
important moment for our country. It is an opportunity for the two
parties to come together with the President, members of the Supreme
Court, and other government officials to show a kind of unity even in
the midst of the great debates we have here every single day. It is a
worthy tradition.
Last night the President had a real chance to unite the Nation around
a forward-looking agenda. He had a huge opportunity to reach to the
middle and chart a new path--at a time when nearly 70 percent of
Americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off now than when
the President took office--that we are on the wrong path. It could have
been a legacy-making moment. Instead, it was the same tired boilerplate
we hear year after year.
When you peel back all the adjectives and the anecdotes, all the
platitudes and nods to the left, what remains for the middle class?
Largely, the same tired policies that led us to this point--the same
failed agenda with its legacy of stagnant unemployment, lower incomes,
growing inequality, and crumbling pathways to the future. The only
difference is that now the President wants to keep doing the same old
thing, but without as much input from the people's elected
representatives in Congress.
It is basically all of the same policies, less of that pesky
democratic accountability. The President didn't talk about embracing a
positive new agenda last night. He didn't talk about reforming our Tax
Code in a way that would drive private-sector growth and job creation.
He didn't talk about finding serious ways to start reducing a massive
$17 trillion debt that threatens to suffocate our economy and crush the
dreams of our children. He didn't talk about saving Social Security and
Medicare or about streamlining and slimming the size of government or
about setting America's entrepreneurs and small businesses free to
dream and to succeed.
As for energy, the President plans seems to boil down to more
regulation and new taxes on energy production.
For all of his talk of phones and pens, he didn't even mention using
his pen to sign off on the Keystone Pipeline. It is the single,
simplest action he could have taken to create jobs soon, and it is
actually a project which would create jobs right away. It still can, if
the President will just lead. Unions support it; powerful members of
his own party support it. The American people overwhelmingly support
it. But there is one small group that doesn't support it: Special
interests on the far left. The special interests on the far left won
last night, and the middle class lost.
There is another big issue where the President turned his back on the
middle class, and that of course is ObamaCare. The State of the Union
was the President's opportunity to finally admit his mistakes and the
painful consequences which have affected so many in Kentucky and around
the country. It was a chance to call for a fresh, bipartisan beginning
and to start over with true health reform that could really help
middle-class families. Instead, he simply doubled down on failed
policies.
I know he tried to paint a rosy picture of life under this law in his
speech, and I suppose that is natural. But he must know it is not a
picture that reflects reality. He must know that Americans suffering
under this law aren't going to buy the spin, and he must know that
trying to sell Kentucky's ObamaCare bureaucracy as some kind of success
story is, to the thousands and thousands of Kentuckians being hurt by
it--well, it is, frankly, insulting.
It is insulting to the quarter-million Kentuckians who have had their
plans canceled because of this law. It is insulting to the families
struggling to afford premiums that have on average increased by almost
half across Kentucky. It is insulting to the taxpayers who have been
forced to subsidize--to the tune of about $250 million in Kentucky
alone--ObamaCare's restricted access to doctors and hospitals. It has a
crushing effect on families and skyrocketing costs.
So look. It is clear. President Obama missed the mark last night.
On some issues he actually said the right things, such as on Trade
Promotion Authority. That is a place where we can work together to
create more American jobs, as long as the President can convince his
own party to work constructively with us to do that. What he didn't say
last night is that the only thing stopping us from creating more trade
jobs is his own party. So we will see if he actually follows through on
trade.
But overall, the President mostly refused to budge from his failed
policies. He refused to reach across the aisle in a way that would lead
to immediate job growth opportunities. That is distressing news for our
country. It is especially disheartening for the middle class, and it is
disappointing for those of us who actually want to get big things done
for our constituents, for those who do want to work with the President,
who want to collaborate on smart, bipartisan policies that could
finally--finally--get Americans back to work after years of this failed
Obama economy. But we cannot do it without President Obama. He has to
lead on trade, jobs, energy, the economy--whatever the issue.
We are not going to give up. We are not going to stop trying to help
him to see that Americans are calling for a new direction, for a
forward leaning agenda that actually puts the middle
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class first and leaves tired leftwing ideas where they belong--in the
history books. And when the President is ready to work with us, he
should know we will be here waiting for him. We have always been here,
actually, and many Members of his party, with other helpful ideas, have
been here too, waiting for him--Democrats with smart ideas the
President has not been willing to consider so far.
All he needs to do is pick up the phone. If he is willing to actually
work in a serious way with Members of both parties, we will send him
some things to sign with that pen too.
I yield the floor.
Reservation of Leader Time
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
leadership time is reserved.
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