[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S707-S710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMPREHENSIVE VETERANS HEALTH AND BENEFITS AND MILITARY RETIREMENT PAY
RESTORATION ACT OF 2014--MOTION TO PROCEED
Mr. REID. I move to proceed to Calendar No. 297.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
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, following my remarks and those of the
Republican leader, the Senate will resume consideration of the
conference report to accompany H.R. 2642, the farm bill. The time until
12:30 p.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two
leaders or their designees.
The Senate will recess from 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. to allow for
the weekly caucus meetings. At approximately 2:35 p.m. there will be a
rollcall vote on the adoption of the farm bill conference report.
Visionary Remarks
Mr. REID. While the President pro tempore is here, I want to make a
brief comment.
The headlines over the last couple of days have been about the
death--in my opinion--of one of the great actors of our time, Philip
Seymour Hoffman. He obviously died from a drug overdose of heroin.
The reason I wanted to say a word while the President pro tempore is
presiding is because the Governor of Vermont was very visionary in
directing his State of the State remarks this year to the scourge of
heroin addiction that is sweeping the Nation. It really is a scourge.
According to everything I have been able to learn, it is kind of
unique. We have people who start off with some kind of prescription
drug and then wind up with this stuff that has been prepared by
purveyors of evil. They don't know what is in it. There are some who
believe they use baby laxative or other ingredients that look like
heroin. It is a terrible shame.
I will send the Governor a letter, but I want to make sure my good
friend from Vermont personally tells the Governor what a--I can't find
a better word--visionary he was in the remarks he gave a few weeks ago.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Booker). The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Record will indicate that I opened the
Senate in my role as President pro tempore, and now the distinguished
Senator from New Jersey is in the Chair.
I wish to respond to the distinguished senior Senator from Nevada and
thank him for what he said.
I was in Montpelier, which is our capital, on Friday, and I spent
some time with Governor Peter Shumlin, who did his State of the State
message on this subject, as the distinguished Senator from Nevada has
said. I talked to him about it. I will call him later this morning and
tell him what the leader said. I am also going to wear my hat as chair
of the Judiciary Committee and do a hearing on this issue.
Ours is a very special and very precious State, but I think it points
out that every State in the Union can face this problem. While on the
national news this morning, Governor Shumlin was great and focused the
attention of this issue on many States.
I will close by saying to my dear friend from Nevada that I
appreciate his comments. He knows how precious Vermont is to me and
Governor Shumlin, and I will make sure the Governor knows what he said.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
A Man of Stature
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I had a meeting with a number of Senators
this morning, and one of the topics of conversation was the Presiding
Officer's first speech--the so-called maiden speech--he gave last
night. It was stunningly good, substantive, and it came from the heart.
That is what many Senators told me this morning, and I agree. As I told
the Presiding Officer last night, I had to go to a quick meeting, so I
watched most of it from my office. The Senator's speech was so
important. The speech focused on dealing with people who are in need.
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This good man, who is presiding over the Senate now, is a man of
stature. He is extremely talented academically. He is a Stanford
graduate and decided he would do public service. In the process of
doing public service, he identified with the people who needed help.
He moved into a neighborhood that you would not think a mayor of the
city would live in, but he did that because he wanted to feel the pulse
of the people. It is obvious from the speech given last night that the
Presiding Officer does understand the pulse of the people of his State.
We all admired him before he got here, and we admire him even more
now.
Measure Placed On The Calendar--S. 1982
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk
entitled S. 1982 due for a second reading.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill by title for the
second time.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1982) to improve the provision of medical
services and benefits to veterans, and for other purposes.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I object to any further proceedings with
respect to this bill at this time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection having been heard, the bill will be
placed on the calendar.
The Economy
Mr. REID. Mr. President, last night I had the good fortune to spend
some time with the President, along with Michael Bennet and others. It
was worth commenting on that meeting with the President about the
address he gave a week ago to the Congress and to the Nation.
He addressed Congress and the Nation and described the challenges
facing families in America. Wages are far too low, the cost of
education is far too high, and there are simply far too few jobs.
Each of these challenges places another stumbling block in front of
Americans striving to enter the middle class, as well as the middle
class trying to do their best to hang on to their status as part of the
middle class. The middle class is being squeezed. The rich are getting
richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is being
squeezed really hard.
Unless we open the doors of opportunity, every child in this Nation--
our grandchildren--will no longer be able to do what we expect our
grandchildren to be able to accomplish. Every child in this Nation--our
grandchildren--will have to work longer and harder than we did just to
get by, let alone just to get ahead.
Yesterday I read a story with interest. It was a long, well-
researched story in the New York Times. It was in the business section.
That piece argued that the richest families and the most successful
corporations in America should be just as worried about these trends--
the shrinking middle class--as the Presiding Officer and I are.
The article described the widespread failure of businesses that cater
to the middle class. I repeat that: The widespread failure of
businesses that cater to the middle class. Why? Because the middle
class is going away.
While high-end retailers such as Barneys and Nordstrom flourish, mid-
priced retailers such as JCPenney and Loehmann's stumble. Loehmann's
actually filed bankruptcy. While posh restaurant chains such as Capital
Grille prosper, more modest eateries such as Red Lobster are sinking.
The Times wrote:
As politicians and pundits in Washington continue to spar
over whether economic inequality is in fact deepening, in
corporate America there really is no debate at all. The post-
recession reality is that the customer base for businesses
that appeal to the middle class is shrinking as the top tier
pulls even farther away.
Industry analysis says businesses that sell luxury goods to the top 1
percent are booming. Over the past 30 years, the top 1 percent has had
their wealth increase three times while during that same 30-year period
of time the earning capacity of the middle class has been cut by 10
percent.
Sadly, businesses such as Family Dollar, which caters to the growing
ranks of working families barely scraping by, are also thriving. Why?
Nordstrom is a great place. I love Nordstrom. They have a great return
policy. I am glad they are doing well. But Family Dollar is thriving
because many people who were middle class are now poor.
Families are not going out for spaghetti and meatballs. They are not
even going out for hamburgers like they used to. They are not buying
their kids new jeans or backpacks. They pass them down from child to
child.
I can remember--it has been over a year ago--when I went to this
program in North Las Vegas, NV. There are a lot of poor people in North
Las Vegas. They were giving away backpacks with some pencils and paper.
It was before school started. Those backpacks were so--I don't want to
denigrate the wonderful things that people did--cheap. The backpacks
had names of businesses on them.
These children lined up with their parents for as far as you could
see. They were desperate for a backpack. It was not a very good one,
but they didn't have one. So they are not buying their kids backpacks
like they used to. Purchases that once seemed to be modest treats have
become unaffordable luxuries.
While the economy is growing in spite of this trend, economists worry
that the growth is unsustainable. One economist told the Times:
It's going to be hard to maintain strong economic growth
with such a large proportion of the population falling
behind. We might be able to muddle along--but can we really
recover?
That is the question.
In other words, our fortunes are bound together. A shrinking middle
class isn't just a problem for families in the middle; it is a problem
for businesses, large and small. It is a problem that should worry the
top 1 percent of wealthy Americans as much as it worries the 99 percent
who are under that 1 percent. Can we really recover when so many of us
are falling behind? It is a fair question and an extremely troubling
question. Our entire economy is at risk unless we act now to protect
and grow the middle class whose purchase power is the backbone of our
economy.
How can we do that? We can create some jobs which we as a Congress
have not done because every time we try, there is obstruction from the
Republicans. But to achieve this goal of protecting and growing the
middle class, President Obama called for commonsense investments in our
future. He has called for investments in 21st century infrastructure--
those old-fashioned structures such as roads and bridges and dams--as
well as the new, including renewable energy projects such as solar,
wind, and geothermal, which would create lots and lots of jobs; then
cutting-edge technology such as the new Tesla vehicle, an all-electric
vehicle. I have spoken with Elon Musk who is talking about building
another big factory someplace in the West.
Investment in universal preschool is so important. Other countries
are doing it. Why don't we have it mandatory for every 4-year-old?
And affordable college. Seated next to me is the assistant leader. He
identified a problem years ago which is that kids are being burdened
with debt, trying to go to college. Frankly, a lot of the money these
young men and women borrow goes to schools that don't produce anything.
Investments in medical research. My colleagues heard me cough. I, for
the first time in my life, a couple of weeks ago got the flu. I never
had the flu before. I wasn't very sympathetic with people who missed
work because of the flu. I am now sympathetic. The flu is devastating.
I was so sick. At my home in Searchlight, we didn't have a thermometer.
By the time we had someone bring one over from Vegas, my fever was very
high. I started the medication Tamiflu not as early as I should have,
and it turned into bronchitis.
The reason I mention this--again, speaking about my friend, the
senior Senator from Illinois--he went yesterday to NIH, the National
Institutes of Health. I went there a couple of months ago. We should be
embarrassed by what we have done as a Congress to NIH. We have cut
them. And the reason I mention my flu is because when I went there, I
learned they are so close to having a flu shot that covers all flu--
everything. They are so close. What do they need to go the extra mile?
More money. The devastation of sequestration has hurt the National
Institutes of Health significantly. Chairman Murray did some good work
to help in the future, but money we have
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lost because of sequestration is gone. We have not been fair to the
National Institutes of Health. They are doing lifesaving work there,
and other countries are trying to match what we have done with the
National Institutes of Health. They can't; we are way ahead, but we
will not remain ahead unless we put some money into the National
Institutes of Health.
We need to help companies that build their products here in America.
I go out of my way to buy New Balance shoes, running shoes. Why? They
are made in America. The suit I am wearing, Hickey Freeman, is made in
America, and I am proud of that.
The President also called on Congress to increase the Federal minimum
wage to $10.10 an hour--a huge step forward guaranteeing that no
American working full time lives in poverty as they now do, as the
Presiding Officer so well illustrated last night. This proposal of
raising the minimum wage has been endorsed by seven Nobel Prize-winning
economists. I don't know the political persuasion of these Nobel Prize-
winning economists, but they are all persuaded that what we have done
to the working poor is wrong and we have to do something about it. The
proposal would raise millions of families out of poverty and give tens
of millions of children a shot at graduating from college, securing
high-paying jobs, and joining the middle class.
There is something else Congress should do to prevent hundreds of
thousands of Americans from descending into poverty: Extend
unemployment benefits. In the month we have cut off these benefits
because of obstruction by my Republican colleagues the country has lost
more than $2 billion in purchasing; the State of Nevada $30 million. So
we could do something now to prevent hundreds of thousands of Americans
from descending into poverty. A 57-year-old woman--I read a part of her
letter yesterday--said: How do you think I feel going from friend to
friend to sleep on their couch? Couch surfing we call it. She said:
That only lasts so long. I am selling everything I have. I don't have a
home. I am trying to sell everything I have so if I get an opportunity
for a job interview, I can buy gas for my car.
We must extend unemployment benefits because 1.6 million people have
been out of work for months. These benefits will ensure that more than
2.3 million children have nutritious meals and a safe place to sleep
while their parents hunt for jobs. Renewing emergency unemployment
insurance would prevent Americans who have worked hard to get ahead
from losing their grip on the ladder of success. Restoring unemployment
benefits is by no means enough to secure our shrinking middle class,
but it certainly is a good first step.
recognition of the minority leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
EPA Overregulation
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, over the past several years, I have
often come to the floor of the Senate to draw attention to the Obama
administration's radical environmental agenda and the deeply harmful
effects it is having on the people of Kentucky. The Environmental
Protection Agency's war on coal is the most obvious and tragic example.
Today I wish to highlight this administration's environmental agenda
at perhaps its most absurd. At the heart of our story is a 2\1/2\ inch
minnow--a 2\1/2\ inch minnow called the duskytail darter--a 2\1/2\ inch
minnow called the duskytail darter.
Last week, the Obama administration sided with this minnow over the
economic well-being of thousands of people in southeastern Kentucky who
live near or depend on Lake Cumberland as a major driver of commerce,
tourism, and recreation. The Obama administration did this by
determining that the presence of the darter in the lake's tributaries
meant that the raising of the lake's water level must be further
delayed.
Lake Cumberland is a signature tourist destination in my State and
one of the economic pillars of McCreary, Clinton, Laurel, Russell,
Pulaski, and Wayne Counties. The water level of the lake was lowered
back in January of 2007 due to problems with the dam which feeds the
lake.
The past 7 years of reduced water levels have not only hurt small
businesses that rely on tourism but have also strained local
governments, as local towns have had to lower their water intake.
Marinas have had to spend valuable dollars on both ramp upgrades and
dock relocations--dollars that could have been spent on growing
businesses, hiring new workers, and enhancing local commerce.
In addition, the drawdown of water has deterred tourism, as a
misperception has been created among potential visitors that the lake
is no longer suitable for boating, fishing, and water sports.
Every year, Lake Cumberland brings to the local community $200
million in economic activity and employs, on average, 6,000 people.
Understandably, those in the local community have been anxious to see
the water levels returned to their normal level, after 7 years of
reduced water level.
2014 was supposed to be a great year for Lake Cumberland, as
Kentuckians would mark the end of 7 years' worth of repairs to the dam
and, therefore, reduced water levels and fewer visitors. Now, suddenly,
the Obama administration has announced that the water level cannot be
raised because it could potentially have a harmful effect on this
minnow, the duskytail darter, which is on the endangered species list.
The absurdity of the Obama administration's posture on this issue is
manifest. First, the administration is protecting a fish from water.
Let me get this straight: Protecting a fish from water? The radical
environmentalists in the Obama administration don't want this fish to
be exposed to too much water? What is next, protecting birds from too
much sky?
Second, the administration took this action because raising the water
could--could, not would--potentially--potentially--have an adverse
effect on this poor little minnow. Of course, anything in the universe
could have an adverse effect on this minnow. To the people of
southeastern Kentucky, the President's year of action is apparently
beneficial only if you have gills.
The story of the darter would be humorous if it weren't so harmful to
the economic well-being of thousands of southeastern Kentuckians. This
misguided policy will have deeply harmful consequences for this region
of Kentucky.
Carolyn Mounce, who is responsible for promoting tourism at Lake
Cumberland at the Somerset/Pulaski Convention and Visitors Bureau, put
it best when she said: ``[This is] bureaucracy run amok!'' Bureaucracy
run amok, said Carolyn Mounce. She just returned from attending travel
and tourism shows in Cincinnati and Louisville 2 weeks ago.
She said:
The shows were crowded . . . people wanted to talk about
Lake Cumberland. They were excited about returning the lake
to normal operation. And now this.
J.D. Hamilton, who operates Lee's Ford Resort Marina in Lake
Cumberland in Nancy, KY, was also disappointed to learn of this
announcement. Disappointed is an understatement, as his business has
been stifled by the lowering of water over the last 7 years. In
response to this announcement, he said, ``The Corps is keeping its word
to the fish but not to the economy.''
So, yesterday, my friend and colleague Senator Rand Paul and I, along
with our colleagues in the House, Congressman Rogers and Congressman
Whitfield, wrote the administration calling for an end to this
intolerable further delay. I hope the Obama administration will take
heed and concern itself more with endangered jobs and endangered
livelihoods of actual Kentuckians and Americans than with the possible
endangerment of this apparently water-averse minnow.
Honoring Our Armed Forces
Lance Corporal Adam D. Peak
Mr. President, I wish to speak about a young man from my State who
gave his life while serving this Nation in uniform. LCpl Adam D. Peak
of Florence, KY, was tragically killed by an improvised explosive
device in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on February 21, 2010. A member
of the U.S. Marine Corps, he was 25 years old.
For his service in uniform, Lance Corporal Peak received many medals,
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awards, and decorations, including the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the
Iraq Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War
on Terrorism Service Medal, and the NATO International Security
Assistance Force Medal.
Born on August 30, 1984, Adam was a native of Florence, where he grew
up with a reputation as a performer who made his friends and family
laugh with his quick wit. He and his older sister Sara would quote
movie lines back and forth to each other in a blink of an eye, and Adam
especially liked to entertain his younger sister Angela. ``Adam was
sarcastic with a dry sense of humor, and could get people to laugh all
the time,'' says Adam's mother Diana. ``I guess what I loved most about
him was his love for his sister, who was born with Down Syndrome. He
had unlimited patience with her, and I knew that when his dad and I
were gone, he would take care of Angela.''
Although Adam did not get a chance to have a family of his own, he
loved kids. ``He was like a second father to a lot of the other
Marines' kids,'' says his sister Sara. Adam's mother certainly agrees.
``He loved kids and thought that someday he would have a large
family,'' she says. ``He played Santa every year for his friend's
family, and the kids loved him.''
Adam attended Boone County High School, where he graduated in 2002.
He then attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, KY. In school,
he was active in the Alpha Delta Gamma fraternity, the Saints Club, the
Education Club, and the Villa Players Theater Club. His mother Diana
particularly remembers Adam's interest in theater. ``He developed a
love for the stage while in college at Thomas More,'' she says. ``He
started out behind the scenes, but his friends got him on stage for a
play and he loved it. He appeared in many productions while at
school.''
Richard Shuey, a business administration professor at Thomas More,
taught Adam in three classes. Adam ``was one of those really nice,
clean-cut northern Kentucky kids,'' Richard says. ``Always polite and
interested in doing well, and obviously a true patriot.''
One of Adam's fraternity brothers, Caleb Finch, remembers him as ``a
big-hearted, free-spirited, fun-loving guy who would do anything for
anybody.''
After graduation from Thomas More, Adam enlisted in the Marine Corps
in July of 2007. By December of that year he had been promoted to the
rank of lance corporal. Adam's younger brother Sean enlisted in the
Marines as well, and the two brothers served together in the same unit
in Iraq in 2008. ``Their personalities were night and day,'' says Robin
Peak, Adam's sister-in-law. ``But they always had each other's backs
and were there together.'' In October 2009, Adam and Sean were deployed
to Afghanistan, both as members of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine
Division, Two Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Lejeune,
NC. Sean accompanied his brother back home for burial, and Adam was
laid to rest with full military honors in Taylor Mill, KY.
Mr. President, we are thinking of Adam's loved ones today, including
his parents Bruce and Diana, his brother Sean, his sisters Sara and
Angela, his sister-in-law Robin, and many other beloved family members
and friends.
The loss of LCpl Adam D. Peak is tragic. Indeed, it is only
appropriate that this Senate pause to honor his service and recognize
his sacrifice.
I hope his family can take some comfort from the fact that both the
Commonwealth of Kentucky and the country as a whole are grateful for
and honored by the heroism and courage Adam displayed in his entirely
too short life. The example he set for his loved ones and his country
will not be forgotten.
I yield the floor.
reservation of leader time
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the leadership time
is reserved.
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