only chairwoman mikulski could have said as well as she did, this compromise bill represents and hopefully for a long time, and i quote her, of "shutdown, slowdown, slamdown politics." i could go on for an hour. i would not say it as well as the senior senator from maryland. it shows that people here want to govern, that they've had enough of political stunts and they're no longer intimidated by extremists. they can work together to get it done. chairwoman mikulski, ranking member shelby, chairman rogers, ranking member lowey made it possible for the house and senate appropriations committees to do what we always do if given the chance. democrats and republicans come together and we forge

agreements. two days ago i spoke about the portion of this only wit omnibul that funds the department of state and foreign operations. but i also note -- and i can say this as the most senior member of the appropriations committee -- the bill also provides funding for many vital domestic programs that have suffered some very painful cuts in recent years. it provides increased funding for public health including mental health. it's going to increase the national institutes of health budget by a billion dollars. in vermont, rural health centers are essential for rural families. this bill includes $700 million more for these health centers nationwide. i know how important they are. i remember my first term in the senate helping to start one of our first community health

centers in the tiny county of grand isle county. beautiful archipelago of beauty north of champlain. some of the hardest hit from sequestration and the bill will help improve these programs by investing nearly a billion dollars. the bill invests $194 million more in the women, infants and children's program, providing nearly 90,000 more mothers and children with nutrition assistance. talk about something that has a rebounding effect in this country. we all know that a hungry child going to school is not going to learn and they're not going to be as productive a member of society later on. now, none of us in this chamber go hungry. none of us senators go hungry except by choice.

but a lot of women, a lot of children, a lot of infants go hungry. now 90,000 more can be given nutrition assistance. many americans are struggling to pay for college and this bill maintains funding for the pell grant program, increased fund for trio and gear-up programs to help low-income and first-generation students get a college education. many of these programs reach vermontervermonters through thet education assistance program. and i'm pleased this bill includes investments for this and similar nonprofits around the country. the omnibus includes funding for programs authorized by the violence against women act for grants to rural areas, for transitional housing, for sexual assault services, for legal assistance for victims and support for native american

victims. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. leahy: mr. president, i remember when we passed the violence against women act and when they wanted to diminish it in the house of representatives. some very brave democrats and republicans stood up and said no, let's pass the bill the senate passed. and we added a number of things, including native american victims, something that even some of the previous supporters of the bill were willing to take out, we kept it in. and the bill raised the cap on the crime victims' fund by $15 million. it's at historic high.

it means more money for victims assistance grants at the state and local levels. mr. president, how i wish we'd had money like this when i was a prosecutor so you could help victims of crime. but it also makes a lifesaving investment in the bill that former senator ben nighthorse campbell and i wrote, the bulletproof vest program. it will protect police officers and other first responders. and every year we hear of police officers whose lives have been saved because of the bulletproof vest program. and we provide increases for homeless assistance grants, a low-income energy assistance program. we preserve funding for rural economic area partnership zones, something extremely important in a basically rural state like mine of vermont. the omnibus also impacts a pay freeze that affects thousands of

federal workers in vermont and all of our 50 states. the bill makes strong investments to support our national guard. i know that i'm a cochair of the national guard caucus along senator lindsey graham. i think he would agree with me how important that investment is. and it overturns a provision in the bipartisan budget act that would reduce cost-of-living adjustments for medically retired service members and survivor benefit plan recipients, even paves the way for congress to repeal the reductions for all impacted military retirees. now, this bill is not exactly what i might have written, chairwoman mikulski would have written, what any one of us would have written if we could write it alone. but after years and years of gridlock on appropriations, we wrote a bill that can pass, so there are compromises. there are programs that are not

funded at the levels many of us wanted, including some provisions important to prplt prplters. i'm disappointed -- important to vermonters. i'm disappointed because of budget caps we were unable to make larger investments in the byrne justice program, a juvenile justice program, which continue to face deep cuts year after year. i'm disappointed the omnibus includes authorizing language that we've been debating as part of the ongoing farm bill negotiations. this antifarmer policy rider will tie the hands of the stockyard administration. it even includes things that i would not have wanted to

include, and many of us would not want to include. the alternative was another continuing resolution and more sequestration and without question would have been far worse, especially in programs that i support and i believe the distinguished presiding officer supports and most of us support. so we've taken a important step back from the destructive politics of the last few years. but let us hope it's only the first step. let's hope we can go on from here to make progress in other important issues the american people sent us here to address. mr. president, i do not see senators seeking recognition. i will suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from colorado.

mr. udall: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, like so many of my colleagues, i rise to speak to this important omnibus appropriations bill that we have before us today and i, too, want to thank the senator from alabama, who i count on as a friend, and the senator fro from -- i was going to say from baltimore, but the senator from baltimore and the great state of maryland more broadly for all the great work they've done and for their colleagues on the appropriations committee as we well. we're showing the country we can work together, we're going to start the new year on a different note and i'm excited to be a part of that effort and i will support the bill of the i did want to come to the floor like a number of my colleagues have and talk about some of the business that's yet unfinished, to set the stage for more work that we can do going forward.

we've had a hot of fires over the west in the last couple of years and this bill does take some important steps to help us combat the threat posed by what are now really fast-moving, indiscriminately burning modern mega fires. we've had mega hurricanes and mega tornadoes. we have mega fires now in the great state of colorado. and we've seen those fires not just in my state but all over the west in. the southeast we've seen increasing fires, you name it. so the budget includes about $3 billion for fire fighting and wildfire prevention programs, which is essentially the same levels as we've seen in recent years. i'm a little disappointed that the bill doesn't include the bipartisan wildfire disaster funding act and this is a bill. it's a bipartisan bill.

it's >> lot cheaper to suppres suppress -- it's a lot cheaper to suppress fires at the beginning than to let them get out of control. it's also a lot cheaper to prevent fires from happening in the first place. i want to talk more about that. if you look at current projections, they only suggest that fires are going to increase in intensity and duration and it underscores the need for us to get ahead of this growing threat to our communities. again, not just in colorado but all our country. there are fiscally responsible reforms in this wildfire disaster funding act which would help us confront the skyrocketing threat that modern fires pose to our state's fiscal health as agencies work to protect life and property while being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. and that's just one of the many reasons i'm going to continue to lead the fight, it's a bipartisan fight, it's a bipartisan cause to see if we can't get this approach in place. this is a plan that would really help us with these fires that

threaten our communities. mr. president, i'm also proud that colorado is leading the way in pioneering commonsense wildfire prevention strategies that cut red tape and then leverage private-sector know-how to create jobs while reducing the fuel loads in our forests. we don't have enough federal employees, we don't have enough government moneys to do all that we need to do in our forests. and one of the ways we can do more of this with this private-public sector type of partnership is to reauthorize the good neighbor authority. the good neighbor authority was a pilot project in colorado initially and it's been successful and we want to expand it and apply it in other locales in other states. and we've succeeded in doing that. it will allow agencies to work collaboratively across arbitrary federal boundaries to improve

forest health and reduce wildfire access. this bill also reauthorizes the job-creating stewardship contracting authority which allows the forest service and the b.l.m. to partner with local businesses to improve fire safety on our public lands. this has been a critical tool in colorado and it's important that we included it in this bill. so, mr. president, where do i think we have some shortcomings? i mentioned a couple of successes and important provisions in the bill. the bill doesn't address several key needs in my state, including support for the emergency watershed protection program and payment in lieu of taxes program. it's known as pilt. i listened to the appropriations chairwoman, i listened to the senator from new mexico, tom udall and others talk about pilt today and i do want to touch on both the e.w.p., emergency

watershed protection program, and then the payment in lieu of taxes program. mr. president, we had real devastation in my state last year during the fall with historic amounts of rainfall and then the floods that followed. we had enormous support from all over the country and we deeply appreciate that outpouring. it was the most destructive natural disaster in our state's history. now, the floodwaters have subsided, thankfully, some three months ago but we're still learning the true extent of the damage. families in towns are clearing debris from their neighborhoods, from their water courses. they're working to rebuild their communities house by house and business by business. yet despite this widespread damage from the floods and the broad consensus that more help is needed, this budget doesn't fund the emergency watershed

protection program. this is a very important and crucial flood recovery program and it's been applied all over our country. i think in almost every state. if we don't get support sooner rather than later, we could see additional flooding this spring. we have a spring thaw almost -- that happens all over our state. streams will overrun their banks particularly because we have so much debris still in many of those stream courses. so we need these resources. it's simply not acceptable that we wouldn't have them in hand before the spring runoff. the federal government's natural resources conservation service, the nrcs, estimates that we need at least $122 million to protect lives and property from future flood damage. now that support, as i've said, is not in the bill, but i'm going to continue fighting to secure this critical aid for

colorado's flood-ravaged communities. finally, mr. president, i want to turn to the payment in lieu of taxes program. as i mentioned earlier, many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have expressed that i remember disappointment that the budget doesn't include pilt funding. it includes, when it works, funding for rural counties across the country. we have 5 o 55 of our 64 countin colorado that equal fa qualify r payments in lieu of taxes funding. they qualify because they're federal lands within that's counties. they are an important part of the character of the west but because they're not subject to local property taxes, they don't support essential services like schools, roads, teacher hires, our firefighters and police.

yure county is in the southwestern portion of colorado in the san juan mountains, home to 4,400 people. over half that county is on public -- is public land, i should say, and half of the local school kids are already on free or reduced-price lunch programs. that county's budget is picked to the bone, and with that $400,000 in pilt funds, yure county will not be able to maintain local roads or roads oe other services. those funds may seem small by the standards here in wawrksd but they're -- here in washington, d.c., but they're indispensable in rural towns of colorado. this week i introduced a bill that would fully fund pilt, and i am pleased that senator heller from nevada has joined me. that fully funded pilt approach would give our rural communities

certainty when it comes to their budgets and their futures. this is a commonsense approach. let's pass it without delay. i'm going to continue to quark with al -- i'm going to continue towork with altoto work with aly colleagues who support the pilt program. i'm going too take a moment to speak to my counties. i know who you're wondering how you're going to keep critical services going this year. i will fight doggedly, every way possible to make sure that you have those pilt funds to which are entitled and that you need to make sure your communities are secure, are safe, and are preparing for the future. mr. president, i want to conclude by sthaig again i intend to vote for this bill, in part because of the critical functions across our government that it supports and because, as the senator from alabama

mentioned a moment, a it avoids another costly and unnecessary government shutdown. i do raise some concerns. i know we'll tend to the unfinished business that i mentioned. i'm going to continue working with everybody on both sides of the ism sides theaisle. i'm going to keep fighting for the tait great state of colorado. i appreciate your attention and service. i yield the floor. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, would the distinguished senior senator from alabama -- with the distinguished senior senator from alabama on the floorks i would ask unanimous consent that the time until 4:45 be equally divided and controlled between senators reed of rhode island and durbin. further that the time until 5:15

-- the time from 4:45 until 5:15 be controlled by the republican leader or designee, that at 5:15 p.m., there be 15 minutes equally guided between senators mikulski or shelby or their designees, that at 5:30 p.m. today, the mandatory quorum required under rule 22 be waived, the senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the moat motio the ms if cloture is invoked on the notion concur with an amendment be warnings all postcloture time be yielded back and the senate proceed to vote on the motion to concur, that the motion to concur as agreed to, the senate proceed to the consideration of h. con. res. 74, that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

the presiding officer: is there objection? the chair hears none. without objection, so ordered. mr. leahy: i would tell the distinguished presiding officer he can tell by all the various clauses of that, why we senators are merely constitutional impediments to our staff who write it up and why i held it in my hand to read it and make sure it was done right. with that, mr. president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the chair notes the excellent job that the senator from vermont just did, and he -- and the clerveclerk will please call th. quorum call:

cur dur mr. president? the presidinmr. durbin: mr. pree senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask that the quorum call be suspendedment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: i never would have imagined that today the senate would be meeting without one of our tree here roarks the recipient of the congressional medal of honor, senator danny inouye of hawaii. he and senator ted stevens of alaska guided the subcommittee on defense of the senate appropriations committee for decades with a steady hand and commitment to working 0en a

bipartisan basis. i've been fortunate in working 0en this appropriations bill to have as my rank member senator thad cochran of mississippi. he's carried on that legacy of bipartisanship. he is my friend. we trust one another, and that has made this job so much more complete and satisfying. we've conferenced a massive defense appropriations bill on an expedited schedule and we encourage our colleagues to vote for it in final passage. virtually 60% of all of the domestic discretionary spending of the united states of america is included in this one appropriations bill. now for nearly two years the department of defense has been in a state of paralysis because of budget uncertainty caused by the budget control act; sequestration, a threat that was never supposed to become a reality; and, sadly, the 16-day totally unnecessary government shutdown. this bill is the first step in

regaining stability and providing a solid foundation for our department of defense to plan for a future. it represents a return to regular order for both the budget and appropriations committees and for congress. finally we're going to exert our constitutional responsibilities over the power of the purse to make certain that every federal tax dollar is spent responsibly. we are really indebted, in particular to two of 0 our colleagues. chairman patty murray of washington, chair of the senate budget committee, sat down with paul ryan, the house republican chair, and hammered out a budget agreement the first in i believe five or six years. and then the assignment was sent to the appropriations committee chair, barbara mikulski of maryland, and she was able to sit down with chairman rogers from the house of representatives, and the two of them worked out an agreement on the actual spending that would follow this budget resolution.

that was no small feat. it is also a fiscally responsible bill. it provides $572 billion for the current fiscal year in this appropriation, meeting the spending caps that were established for the budget. it meets the spending target, $25 billion bloat president's request by make -- below the president's request by making 1,065 more strategic reductions, 1,065 reductions in spending from the president's budget request. the chairman of the joint chief of staffs warned us and the nation several years ago if we don't get the people right, the rest won't matter when it comes to our national defense. this agreement implements of wisdom of general demsey, provides necessary resources to three million men and women who serve in the department of defense. passage of this bill means nearly 800,000 civilian employees in the department of defense finally will get the pay

raise, at least some pay raise which they certainly deserve rather than face the threat of furloughs which they face over and over again. unfortunately, it's the first pay raise since fiscal year 2010, but it will make it just a little bit easier for middle class families who with work for our government in defense of our nation to make ends meet. it contains a pay raise for our military. it funds operation and readiness at $11 billion higher than it would be under a full-year continuing resolution. it means that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines can get the training they need before deploying into harm's way, training and readiness means survivability. it provides $1 billion increase to the national guard and reserve equipment account, includes $218 million for tricare to ensure service members and their families won't pay higher out-of-pocket costs for medical care, $25 million to

fully implement the victims counsels so victims of sexual assault in the military through this appropriation will have the advocates, have the counselors and have the champions they need. we've increased an already robust budget for suicide prevention by $20 million to encourage the department to expand community-based initiatives offering greater support as well to the guard and reserve. we made sure that the medical care our service members receive will still be the most advanced in the world. it adds $200 million for peer-reviewed medical research programs and no apologies. some members may come to the floor and criticize the department of defense engaged in medical research. i can stand and defend every single line-item. and i'll tell you, it will not only benefit our military and their families, it will benefit america and the world for this medical research to take place. $125 million for traumatic brain injury and psychological health. $10 million for prosthetics

research. and i want to thank congressman tammy duckworth of illinois. she has joined me in this effort. she more than any other member of congress understands the critical importance of the most modern prosthetics and orthotics for members of the military who suffer a loss of limb during service to our country. for embassy security, a topic we hear from the other side on almost on a daily basis, we've added funds to provide marine security guard detachments at 35 more state department posts overseas as well as response courses around the globe. finally we had a technical correction. i want to make it clear because this has been a subject of great debate on the floor of the senate and the house. we've added a technical correction to the cola offset regarding military pensions to make it clear that congress never ever intended this to impact medically retired personnel or their survivors. i appreciate the leadership of three of my colleagues on this issue: senator murray, senator

pryor, and senator shaheen. we protect the defense industrial base. we increase science and technology funding for all the branches by $400 million. we add $175 for rapid innovation programs and $75 million for the industrial base innovation fund. make no mistake -- and i had the good fortune of visiting rhode island during the course of this week. make no mistake, the men and women who work in these facilities to build the most add add -- advanced, innovative and technical defense equipment in the world constitute a precious national resource. we want to make sure that we are committed to them so that they'll be ready to help us in the future to defend america. there are two provisions in this bill i want to mention quickly that relate to illinois. first is related to the james lovell federal health care center in north chicago. it is a multiyear pilot program trying to do something which seems so obvious. to blend the medical facilities and hospital of the great lakes

naval training station with the north chicago veterans hospital. it's one of the most challenging things i've ever seen in government. we're getting it done. this bill continues to invest in that concept. secondly, i want to thank senator kirk. he has been my partner in making sure that this happens from the start. secondly, the bill takes a major step forward in preserving and sustaining the skilled workforce in manufacturing arsenals in support of the department of defense. coming out of two wars we know the value of these workers. when we had to put shields on humvees to save the lives of our servicemen we turned to the rock island arsenal. in dramatic fashion they responded with the very best equipment to save our in the usual form. we want to -- in uniform. it includes $150 million in industrial mobilizeation capacity to stabilize their rates to make sthaour they'll continue to -- make sure they'll continue to serve our military so well. i see my colleague, senator reid, has come to the floor

here. i know we have a limited amount of time. i wanted to make a point. when it comes to major defense programs this bill contains $1.2 billion to fully fund two virginia class submarines under a multiyear contract. i visited with engineers, welders and machinists worried about their jobs during the sequestration, and further sequestration would have meant a major disruption. so i'm going to ask consent that the remainder of my statement be placed in the record. i hope all those who support a strong military and a strong national defense will support this good bill. mr. reed: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: first let me thank the senator from illinois for his great leadership on the appropriations defense subcommittee and for joining me in rhode island to see those great workers at electric bode. i want to commend chairwoman barbara mikulski and chair woman murray. we would not be here without

their extraordinary efforts, herculean efforts by two extraordinary individuals. i also want to thank my colleague from the great state of alaska, lisa murkowski, for her work. she is an extraordinary colleague, collaborator, and we worked together to make this subcommittee bill a very good one. chairman ken kalb on the house, ranking member jim moran collaborated on this effort. jim is retiring. i want to thank him for his distinguished service to virginia and to the nation. i am very pleased in particular in this interior subcommittee bill that we could make a strong investment in clean water, in drinking water through the revolving funds, or known, the s.r.f. funds. this is not only about the environment and public health. it is about jobs. in fact, adopting our provisions in contrast to the house lower numbers will keep approximately 97,000 more americans on the job this year. and that, i think, is significant.

it's not just about the environment. it's also about keeping people at work. we've also ensured that we can staff all our agencies, including the e.p.a., so they don't have to face furloughs, so that they can have continuity of operations so that they can do their job more erbtly and more -- efficiently and effectively. the department of interior, solid funding for bureau of indian affairs as well as the u.s. geographical survey. the bill includes $306 million for land and water conservation funding. with respect to our cultural agencies; we've been able to restore sequester cuts. we've increased funding to the smithsonian which will help them complete the national museum for african-american history and culture for its opening in 2015. one aspect of the interior bill is the fire fighting course. these are costs that cannot be

avoided and they continue to increase. but we have fully funded these costs, and we have done that by increasing resources significantly. but we have to be aware, if these costs continue to grow, it will be something that is very difficult to sustain. so we have to apply our efforts going forward to see if we can through suppression efforts, through other efforts, begin to control the cost of fire fighting. but this is something particularly for our western colleagues that is absolutely essential. we responded to this need completely and thoroughly. i want to also commend my colleagues on the appropriations committee for other aspects of the bill. senator harkin, feinstein, murray and durbin, their subcommittees produced great results. low income heating program, liheap, senator harkin. the weatherization program adequately funded. funding for job corps. tiger grant funding and chairman mikulski added $75 million for

fishery disasters which the presiding officer from massachusetts and myself are very keenly aware of and very appreciative of. funding for the securities and exchange commission, funding for the commodities, future trading commission. this is going to make sure that the dodd-frank legislation we passed is actually i implemented and markets are operating efficiently. this is critical to our economic viability and our economic progress. and as senator durbin mentioned, i am extremely pleased two virginia class submarines were included in this appropriations bill. they are built in gratin. they all begin in rhode island but they are built in gratin and norfolk. this is a program vital to our national security and vital to employment. about 2,800 people in rhode island will benefit from these important programs. i think we have to do more to invest in our people, invest in our economy, infrastructure, et cetera.

but this bill goes a very long way. now let me also pay tribute to people who really deserve, as they say, a shout out. and that's the staff members that did this work. rachel taylor, brian hunt, virginia james, rita cull -p and tiffany taylor. senator murkowski's extraordinary staff did extraordinary work. before i leave the floor let me conclude one point. we are, i think, very -- we'll come together this evening on a strong bipartisan basis to pass this appropriations bill but we still have remaining work to do on the unemployment insurance bill. and i hope in the intervening days we can find a path through to pass unemployment insurance bill on a bipartisan basis, because if we don't, there are 1.5 million americans without benefits, 70,000 more a week lose their benefits, be and our economy is losing out because

it's approximately $600 million a week that's being sapped from the economy as estimated by professor lawrence taft at harvard if we don't act. now is the time not only to put these appropriations to work but also to put our u.i. program to work. so that not only can we help americans, but we can also help our economy. i want to thank in this regard with respect to u.i. efforts, senator heller and senator collins; extraordinarily thoughtful members who are committed as i am to helping their constituents and doing it in a wise and prudent way. and with that, mr. chairman, let me just recognize the chairwoman who has come to the floor and say personally thank you, madam chairwoman for an extraordinary bit of work. not surprisingly coming from a giant like yourself. thank you. and with that, mr. chairman, i would yield the floor. ms. mikulski: the senator from rhode island, for his comments

and appreciate them. they were well said. but the compliment should be reversed. this is a committee effort, and on a -- what i'm so excited about this bill is that it's bipartisan, bicameral. it was agreed upon in the house by an overwhelming vote of 359-67. and i look forward to this same type of vote here, but we did it because we listened to each other, we functioned with maximum respect and saw where we could compromise without capitulating on principle. mr. president, i know that other senators will be coming shortly, and i ask -- i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk

will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: mr. president, i rise today to speak of pragmatism and irresponsibility. four years ago, when this body was debating the law known as obamacare, reasonable minds, perhaps, could have differed as to whether that law might work. the essence of pragmatism is looking to the facts as they are today and responding. today, reasonable minds can no longer differ in terms of whether obamacare is working. today, it is abundantly clear that millions of americans are being harmed right now by this failed law. today, it is the essence of pragmatism to acknowledge the facts of the failure of obamacare and for congress to step up and act to stop the harms that have been caused by this body.

irresponsibility, on the other hand, is seeing undeniable harms, undeniable facts and saying nonetheless we will do nothing. so, mr. president, what are the facts from the american people? the facts that we now know today is that already at least 4.7 million americans have received cancellation notices, have had their health care plans canceled because of obamacare. and, mr. president, this was, of course, after president obama repeatedly looked at the tv cameras to the american people and made the promise if you like your health care plan, you can keep it, period. we now know that promise was false, and for over 4.7 million people, painfully false in their lives. pragmatism is responding to the

facts and doing something about it. unfortunately, what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done to protect americans from obamacare? nothing. these facts are known, and congress, senate democrats have done nothing. 4.7 million americans lost their health insurance because of this body. the omnibus bill that this body is galloping to approve does nothing for the 4.7 million americans who have had their health insurance canceled. but it's not just health insurance plans. what else are the facts that we know now? as "time" magazine observed, keeping your doctor under obamacare is no easy feat. now, mr. president, president obama looked at the american people and said if you like your doctor, you can keep your

doctor, period. we now know that that promise, too, was deliberately, repeatedly false. millions of americans facing the very real prospect of losing their doctor. a good friend of mine, a cancer survivor, is facing the very real prospect because texas oncology has suggested it does not intend to participate, of losing his cancer doctor, not being able to go to the doctor that saved his life. this is the father of two young children facing the terrifying reality of losing his doctor because of the conduct of the congress, and, mr. president, in response to millions of americans, losing their doctors, what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done? nothing. the essence of irresponsibility is seeing a harm, seeing the facts and refusing to act. what else do we know? we know that obamacare is

killing jobs all across the country. indeed, obamacare is the biggest job killer in this nation. the u.s. chamber of commerce has said of small businesses impacted by the employer mandate, one half of small businesses say they will either cut hours to reduce full-time employees or replace full-time employees with part-time workers to avoid the mandate. 24% say they will reduce hiring to under 50 workers. the president has been talking about income inequality. this exacerbates income inequality, why the rich have gotten richer under president obama but the people who are struggling, young people, hispanics, single moms, people like my dad who 56 years ago washed dishes for 50 cents an hour as a the -- a teenaged immigrant. those are the people laid off because of obamacare. income inequality is increasing and, mr. president, what have

the senate majority leader and senate democrats done to protect americans from obamacare? the answer is simple. nothing. in response to the millions of americans forced into part-time work, losing their jobs, nothing from senate democrats. what else do we know? "the new york times" front page headline explains new health law frustrates many in the middle class. now, mr. president, i recognize that not everyone is inclined to listen to a republican from texas. so let me instead quote that famed right-wing rag, "the new york times," discussing obamacare. "new york times" talks about ginger chapman and her husband doug are sitting on the health care cliff. the cheapest insurance plan they can find in the new federal marketplace in new hampshire will cost their family of four about $1,000 a month, 12% of

their annual income. as mr. chapman, a retired fireman who works on a friend's farm, and her two sons, mrs. chapman said -- quote -- "that's an insane amount of money. how are you supposed to pay that? now, madam president, in response to the middle class frustrated and getting hit with skyrocketing premiums what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done? the answer is the same -- nothing. but going beyond that, it's not just the middle class who is getting hurt by this. if you were to look at one demographic group getting hammered perhaps the worst by obamacare it is young people. obamacare is a disienld to be a wealth transfer from young people to older, wealthier americans.

40% of young americans today believe that obamacare will bring worse care. 51% believe it will bring higher costs and 57% of young people disprove of obamacare. and, madam president, what is the source of this? another famed right-wing institution, harvard. the harvard institute of politics poll. young people in particular are getting hammered by obamacare. and, madam president, what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done to listen to the young people who are losing their jobs, forced into part-time work, facing skyrocketing premiums? the answer is simple, madam president -- nothing. looking beyond that, forbes reported that obamacare is to increase individual market premiums by an average of 41%. 41%. that's real money from hardworking people who are being hurt because of the failures of

this body and what have senate democrats done in response? nothing. looking beyond that. in my home state of texas the average premium increase for texans will be 26% in the individual market. but let's take a 27-year-old texas man. the average premium increase will be 70% for a 27-year-old texas woman, 22%. these are young people who are struggling, starting to build a family and their premiums are going up because of obamacare. madam president, what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done to listen to young people who are being hurt? the answer is simple -- nothing. let's look beyond that, though, let's look beyond texas and talk about state by state some of the very real harms. let's take a state picked at

random, the state of nevada. you look at the state of nevada, 24 you thousand 600 policies with have been canceled in nevada -- 24,600 policies have been canceled in nevada. in the individual market, a 179% premium increase. now, one might hope these 24,600 peoples who had their health insurance canceled would have senators representing them, one might hope these people paying 179% premium increases would have senators representing them standing up and saying let's act right now. but, madam president, what has the senate majority leader and senate democrats done to respond to the people of nevada? the answer is absolutely nothing. let's look at some other states. the state of california. california, that bright blue state on our west coast. 1.1 million policies have been canceled. 27% increase on average

premiums. what have senate democrats done to respond to californians suffering because of obamacare? the answer is simple -- nothing. let's take another state, arkansas. arkansas people are hurting because of obamacare. the state's not tracking cancellations, but in the individual market in arkansas 138% increase in premiums. now, for the millionaires, many of whom populate this chamber, 138% may not be that much but if you're struggling in arkansas, you need help, you need relief, and what have senate democrats done for the people hurting in arkansas because of obamacare? the answer is nothing. let's look at another state. louisiana. 92,790 policies canceled because of obamacare. 53% increase in average premiums because of obamacare in the individual market.

now, i will note one senator from louisiana has fought hard for those 92,790 people in louisiana who have had their health insurance canceled and another senator in this chamber has fought hard to ensure that the response is not to relieve them from obamacare. what have senate democrats done in response to the people in louisiana who are hurting? the answer is simple and it's tragic -- nothing. let's look at another state. new mexico. 26,000 policies canceled, 142% increase in the individual market. what have senate democrats done to listen to the citizens of new mexico hurt because of obamacare? the answer is nothing. and let's take one more state. the state of north carolina.

183,800 policies canceled. madam president, i want you to think of the single mom raising three kids who receives a notification in the mail that her policy has been canceled not because of anything she's done but because of congress' law that is not working. 136% increase. i want you to think of the immigrant struggling hard like my dad was washing dishes who discovers his premium has gone up 136%. what have senate democrats done to respond to the people of north carolina who are being hurt because of obamacare? and the answer, tragically, is nothing. madam president, four years ago, reasonable minds might have differed. but today these are the facts. and the facts are senate democrats are not listening to the american people. they are not responding to the harms that they have caused. and, madam president, i am

going to suggest that is the essence of irresponsibility. now, madam president, i have filed two amendments. one amendment to the omnibus bill would simply provide that obamacare would be defunded so long as it is the case that obamacare is causing americans who lose the health insurance policies they wish to keep, increasing their premiums, and preventing them from seeing the doctors they want to see. all of those, by the way, were promises president obama and senate democrats made to the american people that obamacare wouldn't do and it's exactly what they're doing. this amendment if senate democrats disagree that they have done nothing, this amendment presents the opportunity for senate democrats to do something. right now they can step in and say it is the essence of pragmatism to recognize this isn't working, people are hurting, let's start over.

so accordingly i'm going to ask the first of two unanimous consent requests. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that my amendment number 2685 to prohibit funding of the patient protection and affordable care act so long as the act is harming the health care of americans be called up and agreed to. the presiding officer: is there objection? ms. mikulski: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. cruz: madam president, i want to turn to a second amendment i've introduced, and this second amendment that i've introduced provides real relief to the millions of americans who are being hurt because of obamacare but it also does something, corrects something this body did that was wrong just recently. which is just recently this body acted to decrease the pensions of millions of veterans, millions of men and women who have served owngs, who have fought or our nation, bled for

our nation and this body decreased their pensions irresponsibly. this defunds obamacare because millions of americans are hurt hurting and uses the savings from defunding obamacare to restore the pensions to the hardworking men and women of the military which never should have been taken away in the first place. this is an opportunity for all 100 senators no to demonstrate we stand together with the working men and women in the military and with all americans who are strublging to make ends -- struggling to make ends meet, struggling to achieve a better life. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that my amendment number 2686 to prohibit funding of the patient protection and affordable care act and to fulfill our nation's promise to our military retirees are called up and agreed to. the presiding officer: is there objection? ms. mikulski: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. cruz: madam president, last

year members of this body could say they didn't know. they didn't know people's plans would be canceled, didn't know premiums would skyrocket, people would be shut off from seeing their doctors. now they know. now they know. and the response of the majority leader and senate democrats, tragically, is to do nothing. this body faces a choice, a choice between pragmatism and irresponsibility. and once this body makes its choice, ultimately in november the american people will have a choice as well. and at the end of the day, every elected official should not ignore the facts but should listen to the american people. we need to make d.c. listen, and the majority leader and senate democrats right now are not listening to the american people. instead they have chosen a course of conduct doing nothing nothing, that is not

responsible and i hope that in time they reconsider. madam president, i yield the floor. ms. mikulski: madam president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. shelby: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: is there a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. shelby: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection.

mr. shelby: madam president, we've had a spirited debate today for very important reasons, and i will conclude my remarks on this bill by just observing that with very few exceptions we've heard nothing but positive comments from our colleagues today here in the senate. we've also heard what an important step this will be to reestablishing regular order in the united states senate appropriation process. in the appropriations world, regular order means receiving the president's budget, holding hearings, marking up bills, and bringing them to the floor of the senate with an open amendment process which both sides of the aisle need and want. the passage of this omnibus bill will be a giant step, i believe, in that direction which is in the best interests in the long run of each individual senator as well as this entire institution.

i would be remiss if i didn't once again recognize the chair of the appropriations committee, senator barbara mikulski, my colleague, and the leadership that she demonstrated in creating the environment -- an environment in which a compromise could be reached here today. anyone who has attempted to bring a single bill to the floor of the senate understands what a difficult undertaking that can be. this particular legislation contains 12 -- yes, 12 separate appropriations bills. i would also like to recognize the efforts of the respective ranking members of each subcommittee here. the christmas holiday as we all know is usually an opportunity to refocus their attention on their families and their home states. this past year, however, we asked them to once again to go the extra mile, to skip their holidays, to make this bill a

reality and because of that and their work, they've done that without hesitation. madam president, it's already been mentioned by a number of my colleagues, no bill ever reaches the floor of the senate without the effort of many different staff members. many this instance, it took the effort of literally dozens of staff on both sides of the aisle to bring this together. i would like to personally thank them all for their incredible dedication and professionalism and literally unceasing effort over the past several weeks. with that, i urge my colleagues to once again support this important piece of legislation, to fund the government and move this body one step closer to being the place we would all like it to be. i yield the floor. ms. mikulski: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: we're coming to the end of a long day and a really long journey.

this journey began last year when this committee was dealing with a crisis situation. on december -- in december of 2012, our beloved and esteemed chairman, senator inouye, passed away and simultaneously we were dealing with the emergency legislation to fund hurricane sandy. at that time, with -- i was asked by my colleagues in the house, based on our seniority system, to become the chair of this committee. it was my goal in taking over the committee that i wanted to continue a great tradition of senator byrd, of senator ted stevens, of senator danny inou inouye, of senator thad cochran, that we would work on a bipartisan basis in the interest

of the united states of america. though we come from different places, different states and have even different priorities, we are one country. and it requires us to make sure we do our job. an appropriations committee is one of two committees that are constitutionally referenced. when our founders wrote the constitution, they said that there should be a committee that has an annual appropriations committee for public review and public vote and there should be a finance committee to raise the revenue. they didn't call it the finance committee but a revenue committee to raise the money to pay the bills. this bill meets its constitutional responsibility.

this is the bill that funds the federal government for fiscal year 2014. we're a little late but we have gotten the job done and we have done that job with due diligence, starting with president obama giving the congress his budget. remember, the president propos proposes, the congress disposes. we took the president's budget and we have -- request and we held our due diligence hearings. however, we faced a real probl problem. the budget committee, which sets the overall cap on discretionary spending, had not passed. many said, you must have a budget. and thanks to the leadership of senator murray through, again, hard work, we voted on a marathon budget bill that overwhelmingly passed in march. i was so optimistic.

i thought, great, the budget committee's done, they've got an april 15 deadline, they're going to go right over to the house and begin negotiations and we'll get our allocation with our cap. remember, we have a cap on discretionary spending. we can't be wild spenders. however, it was not meant to be. there are those in the congress that did not -- in the senate that did not want the budget committee to meet. 122 times senator murray asked to go to conference. so we were delayed. we missed our october 1 deadline, we couldn't bring up individual bills. but we did have all of our bills marked up in full committee in full view -- full committee, full view -- by august 1. that's what we operated on. and then in the fall, when we did get our budget, we did get our discretionary spending and a

very stringent deadline, on december 20, we began to move to work the house to come up with an agreement. well, we did. we worked across the aisle. and i thank the senator from alabama, my vice chairman, for helping me create the environment. our mutual respect for each other enabled us to be able to -- and a mutually -- a mutual way to move our bill forward. we reached across the dome to the house members, so we worked together and we have finished this bill. we brought to the floor what i think people could vote for. yesterday it passed the house with 359 votes, with only 67 votes voting against it. i hope we have a successful margin today. these efforts show that we democrats and republicans can work together for the good of the country, that we can avoid

drama politics with cliffhangers and fiscal cliffs, we could avoid shutdowns, we can avoid government on autopilot. but most of all, those are process arguments. i didn't come to be a member of the appropriations committee to be a process guru. process gets you to the objective you seek. and the objective that i seek is to make sure that the united states of america is the best country in the world, that we lead the world and demonstrate american exceptionalism. that the greatest deliberative body continues to deliberate rather than delay. that the greatest country in the world through american exceptionalism knows how to resolve conflict, which we were able to do. we compromised without any side capitulating on principles. give and take on money, give and take on policy. but that's what america is --

give and take. we were able to do that. and at the same time when i say "the greatest country in the world," we made sure we ensured national security, we met compelling human need, we continued the opportunity ladder that enabled my family to rise as an immigrant family, your family to rise as an immigrant family, the gentleman from texas', as he speaks to eloquently and often -- frequently about his father. we need an opportunity ladder in this country and we've got it in this bill. and we also wanted to make sure that we have jobs today and are look for those investments in research and development for jobs tomorrow. but we will never forget our veterans. we have money in here for adequate funding for veterans' health care, fixing the disability backlog and i know earlier in this debate, the cola for disabled military retirees

and survivors was raised to working age. we have fixed that waiting for a comprehensive solution later on in the year. i think we have a bill that meets the test of working to ensure american exceptionalism, protecting our national securi security, continuing that great opportunity ladder that made the united states of america great and at the same time we made those public investments. we were a frugal committee that kept an eye on public debt. so i urge my colleagues to be able to -- i urge my colleagues to pass this bill. now, there have been many accolades today and i thank th them, but this committee -- this is a committee. this bill is not about a "me." behind a "me," here's a whole lot of "we." working on a bipartisan basis, i would like to thank my vice chairman, the gentleman from alabama, senator shelby, for

being a gentleman of the old school, meaning courteous, civil. he was insistent, he was persistent on those priorities that he represented and also on keeping that frugal eye that he's known for. but we were able to work together and, again, to create a climate in our committee where there was confidence that everybody could be at the table and everybody could have their say. i would like to thank his staff for their professionalism. bill dunky, dana hade, chris ford, jane lee, and shelby begani. now, my own staff are no slouch either and i'd like to thank jack kiefer, gabrielle batkin, melissa zimmerman, bridgette ke ea ton, vince morris and katie madeline who helped. but all of us have fantastic subcommittee staff and that

staff back those subcommittee chairmen. they worked every single day since december 20, with the exception of christmas eve and christmas day. but now we are at the end of this journey as we conclude and vote on the omnibus, the consolidated appropriations. i vote the -- i hope the overwhelming majority of the senate votes "yes." and then later on this month we'll hear president obama's state of the union, he'll give us his budget and we're going to start all over again with this same atmosphere of respect, openness and due diligence. so, madam president, i know there's just minutes left before the vote. if there's any objection, i -- with no objection, i would like to yield back the time and move the senate to a vote. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in

accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3547, space launch liability indemnification extension act and the omnibus appropriations act for fiscal year 2014. signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is: is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 3547, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. any senator wishing to vote or change their vote? on this vote the yeas are 72. the nays are 26. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and suborn having voted in the affirmative, the

motion is agreed to. cloture having been invoked, the motion to refer falls as being inconsistent with cloture. under the previous order, the motion to concur with an amendment is withdrawn. all postcloture time is yielded back. the question is on the motion to concur. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: