[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10120-10121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                        2015--MOTION TO PROCEED

  Mr. REID. I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 428, the 
appropriations bill at the desk.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 428, H.R. 4660, a bill 
     making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and 
     Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes.


                                Schedule

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, following my remarks and those of Senator 
McConnell, the Senate will be in a period of morning business until 
5:30 p.m. this afternoon.
  At 5:30 p.m. there will be three cloture votes on U.S. district court 
judges: Mendoza, from Washington, Yandle from Illinois, and Gayles from 
Florida.


                             2014 World Cup

  Mr. President, on the lower level of the Statue of Liberty, there is 
a poem. It says a lot. It was written by Emma Lazarus.

     Give me your tired, your poor,
     Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
     The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
     Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.

  Those words encapsulate what is good about America. Those few lines 
represent the very makeup of this great country.
  Over its history our Nation has welcomed the tired and poor of the 
world and made them strong. We have opened our doors to the best the 
world has to offer, and the United States has become better for it. Our 
country is a melting pot. Every aspect of our society reflects that, 
especially our athletes and soccer in particular.
  I can remember when my middle son came home one night--he was just a 
boy; I assume he was maybe 10 years old--and he said, ``I want to play 
soccer.''
  I said, ``What?''
  ``I want to play soccer.''
  Soccer was not much of a sport in Nevada at that time. I thought, you 
know, if you are going to be an athlete, you have to play football, 
basketball, baseball, run track, high jump, long jump.
  ``I want to play soccer,'' he said.
  OK. And play soccer he did. That began for me a great education, and 
it was so good for my son Leif, my middle boy. They had a great team. 
My wife and I started going to the games and learning about soccer. It 
was so much fun. When we moved back here, he was a freshman in high 
school and suffered a very badly broken leg playing soccer, so his 
career ended there.
  My next boy was a baseball player.
  My youngest boy was a gifted athlete. I boasted about him for many 
years. He was a soccer player, and he also played basketball. He played 
soccer on two national championship teams for the University of 
Virginia. By the time he went there, I had watched hundreds of soccer 
games. For him to play at this premier school with great athletes, 
playing soccer across the country, was really an experience and, again, 
an education.
  For example, one of my son's teammates was the famous Claudio Reyna. 
Claudio was so good. It was a team of many great athletes. My son was a 
gifted athlete and everybody on the team was good, but Claudio Reyna 
was better than anyone.
  Claudio's dad emigrated from Argentina. His mom was from a Portuguese 
family. They lived in New Jersey, where he was recruited to play for 
the University of Virginia. My son came from a different background. 
His grandfather was born in Russia, emigrated to the United States. His 
grandmother on my wife's side had Lithuanian blood. My grandmother 
emigrated from England.
  So he and Claudio were on that team, and it would be hard to find two 
young men with more different backgrounds than they. They were 
teammates.
  Their other teammates had backgrounds that were similarly unusual, 
different--a young man from Spain, one from Jamaica. An All-American 
named Damien Silvera was from Jamaica. These young men, 11 players--and 
some who didn't play all the time--came from different cities and 
different cultures, but they were one. They were a team. They were in 
rhythm, always united in purpose.
  They were coached by the great Bruce Arena, a famous coach who 
coached the Olympic team--in fact, coached one of the first 
championships here, playing for the Washington professional team here. 
He is now coaching for L.A. They won the championship there many times. 
He was good with a diverse group of men and women playing in sync. It 
was really beautiful to watch. I guess that is why they call soccer the 
beautiful game.
  Tonight our men's soccer team will play Ghana in its first game--
since being twice knocked out by Ghana--in the 2014 World Cup.

[[Page 10121]]

  The World Cup is special, watched by more people than the Olympics. 
It comes around every 4 years, and Americans from all walks of life and 
all backgrounds watch together in support of our Nation's soccer team. 
But our support for Team USA comes from more than just athletics. It is 
more than just competition. I think we see a bit of ourselves in the 
team. Our unique connection to the U.S. men's soccer players stems from 
the team's composition. The roster is a reflection of America itself. 
It is diverse, yet it is united. It is a reflection of us.
  Our head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was a legendary soccer player. I can 
remember his playing in the World Cup. He was from Germany and played 
for West Germany. He has lived in the United States for a number of 
years.
  One of the team's defenders is a man by the name of Omar Gonzalez--
Texas-born, Mexican American--who played professionally in Los Angeles 
for Bruce Arena.
  Our striker, Aron Johannsson, is a 23-year-old Alabama-born Icelander 
who plays in the Netherlands.
  DaMarcus Beasley is the team's 32-year-old veteran defender from 
Indiana, who plays professionally in Mexico.
  Jermaine Jones, who plays midfield, is the German-born son of an 
American soldier and plays professionally in Turkey.
  These are just a number of examples. There are so many more. The 
entire roster is an illustration of America's diversity. We are, after 
all, a nation of immigrants.
  Under Klinsmann's direction, these players will bring their unique 
talents and experiences from across the world and coalesce under one 
flag--the American flag. I wish the team all the best tonight against 
Ghana. I will be watching and cheering on the team.
  Another reason I love soccer: You don't have all those advertisements 
interrupting the game. It is a free-flowing athletic contest. There is 
the background of announcers talking about what just took place, and 
sometimes we don't fully understand it, but the game goes for 45 
minutes and then another 45 minutes, for a total of 90 minutes, plus 
whatever penalty time they get--an extra 3 to 5 minutes after the 45 
minutes is up--not interrupted by commercials.
  So I admit I will be watching and cheering on the game. I hope our 
colleagues do the same, and I have confidence they will. When we do 
watch this team out there, watch what our team represents, what America 
stands for. See what makes this great country of ours so special. The 
United States really has given refuge to the tired, the poor, the 
huddled masses of the world, and they have become strong Americans, and 
we as a nation are better for it.


                       Reservation of Leader Time

  Mr. President, I would ask the Chair to announce the business of the 
day.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
leadership time is reserved.

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