[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S736-S738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION EXTENSION ACT

  Mr. REID. Madam President, what is now pending before the Senate?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. S. 1845, which the clerk will report by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1845) to provide for the extension of certain 
     unemployment benefits, and for other purposes.

  Pending:


[[Page S737]]


       Reid (for Reed) amendment No. 2631, relating to extension 
     and modification of emergency unemployment compensation 
     program.
       Reid amendment No. 2632 (to amendment No. 2631), to change 
     the enactment date.
       Reid motion to commit the bill to the Committee on Finance, 
     with instructions, Reid amendment No. 2633, to change the 
     enactment date.
       Reid amendment No. 2634 (to (the instructions) amendment 
     No. 2633), of a perfecting nature.
       Reid amendment No. 2635 (to amendment No. 2634), of a 
     perfecting nature.


                       Motion To Commit Withdrawn

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask that the pending motion to commit be 
withdrawn.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the 
pending amendment No. 2631.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Could we have order in the Chamber.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate will be in order.
  Mr. McCONNELL. We have a number of ideas on this side of the aisle to 
promote economic growth and job creation, and we would like the 
opportunity to offer amendments to implement these ideas.
  For example, Senator Paul has an amendment to create economic freedom 
zones to help struggling areas of our country to recover from the 
economic downturn. Senator Tim Scott's SKILLS Act would improve job 
training programs for the very long-term unemployed that this extension 
is actually designed to help. In addition, Senators Ayotte, Collins, 
Portman, and others have been working very hard--Senator Coats as 
well--to come up with a path forward on a meaningful offset that would 
extend unemployment benefits without adding to the deficit.
  Their ideas have so far been blocked. So I would like to ask the 
majority leader to modify his request to provide for an orderly process 
for amendments. I ask unanimous consent that the pending amendments and 
motions be withdrawn and that the minority and majority sides be 
permitted to offer amendments in alternating fashion so that these 
important ideas can be considered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the majority leader so modify his 
request?
  Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object, Mr. President, when we last 
dealt with unemployment insurance, I offered a unanimous consent 
request at that time that would have allowed up to 20 relevant 
amendments--20.
  Mr. President, my friend, the Republican leader--he is again, through 
a lot of words, saying: We do not want this. We are not going to help 
you pass it. There is more than one way to filibuster a bill. Providing 
for an endless number of amendments is one of those ways to kill this 
bill.
  Mr. President, what we are going to do here is offer a fully paid for 
3-month extension of unemployment insurance. Simple as that. Simple as 
that. That is what the Republicans said they wanted, and we agreed to 
do it.
  We will not agree to an unlimited number of amendments. I look 
forward to hearing from my Republican colleagues if they have a 
proposal that is different than this, which is, again, a different way 
of saying: We do not care about unemployment compensation as it is now 
focused, and we are not going to support it.
  In the meantime, I object to an order providing amendments without 
limit and without any commitment to vote on passage of the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Is there objection to the original request?
  Mr. McCONNELL. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to table the pending amendment No. 
2631.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Virginia (Mr. Kaine) is 
necessarily absent
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from South Carolina (Mr. Scott).
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 98, nays 0, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 22 Leg.]

                                YEAS--98

     Alexander
     Ayotte
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Baucus
     Begich
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Booker
     Boozman
     Boxer
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Chambliss
     Coats
     Coburn
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Donnelly
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Flake
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hagan
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johanns
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson (WI)
     King
     Kirk
     Klobuchar
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Lee
     Levin
     Manchin
     Markey
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Mikulski
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Paul
     Portman
     Pryor
     Reed
     Reid
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Rubio
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Thune
     Toomey
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Vitter
     Warner
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Kaine
     Scott
       
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.


                           Amendment No. 2714

  Mr. REID. On behalf of Senator Reed of Rhode Island, I have an 
amendment at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid], for Mr. Reed of Rhode 
     Island, proposes an amendment numbered 2714.

  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')
  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                Amendment No. 2715 to Amendment No. 2714

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a second-degree amendment at the 
desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2715 to amendment numbered 2714.

  The amendment is as follows:

       At the end, add the following:
       This Act shall become effective 7 days after enactment.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. REID. I have a cloture motion on the Reed of Rhode Island 
amendment and ask that it be reported.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the Reed (RI) 
     amendment No. 2714 to S. 1845, a bill to provide for the 
     extension of certain unemployment benefits, and for other 
     purposes.
         Harry Reid, Jack Reed, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Sheldon 
           Whitehouse, Brian Schatz, Barbara Boxer, Robert P. 
           Casey, Jr., Thomas R. Carper, Elizabeth Warren, Patty 
           Murray, Mark Begich, Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, Angus 
           S. King, Jr., Charles E. Schumer, Bill Nelson, 
           Christopher A. Coons.


                Motion to Commit with Amendment No. 2716

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have a motion to commit S. 1845, with 
instructions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] moves to commit the bill 
     to the Committee on Finance with instructions to report back 
     with the following amendment numbered 2716.


[[Page S738]]


  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.


                           Amendment No. 2717

  Mr. REID. I have an amendment to the instructions at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] proposes an amendment 
     numbered 2717 to the instructions of the motion to commit.

  The amendment is as follows:

       In the amendment, strike ``8 days'' and insert ``9 days''.

  Mr. REID. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.


                Amendment No. 2718 to Amendment No. 2717

  Mr. REID. I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Nevada [Mr. Reid] proposes amendment 
     numbered 2718 to amendment numbered 2717.

  The amendment is as follows:

       In the amendment, strike ``9 days'' and insert ``10 days''.


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. REID. I have a cloture motion at the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under 
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows: Senators.

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on S. 1845, a bill to 
     provide for the extension of certain unemployment benefits, 
     and for other purposes.
         Harry Reid, Jack Reed, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Sheldon 
           Whitehouse, Barbara Boxer, Brian Schatz, Robert P. 
           Casey, Jr., Thomas R. Carper, Elizabeth Warren, Patty 
           Murray, Mark Begich, Sherrod Brown, Jeff Merkley, Angus 
           S. King, Jr., Charles E. Schumer, Bill Nelson, 
           Christopher A. Coons.

                          ____________________