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a senator: mr. president, i rise today just to give some words again on behalf of the million americans, 2.3 million, including -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. booker: i would ask the end of the quorum, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: thank you, very much. i rise today again to speak on behalf of the 2.3 million americans, including the 140,000 new jerseyans, who've been without a job for months and desperately need our help. these americans are americans who are veterans, who've stood for us in the military and armed forces. these are families, individuals with children. these are our seniors. these are folks who've been working for decades and suddenly found themselves in the worst economy of my lifetime without a job. i'm very proud of this body. we are inching closer towards

passing legislation to restore federal unemployment insurance. what this money does is it takes families from crisis -- the meager checks give a little bit of stability so they can do what they need to find work. helps keep the cable going so they can apply online and file resumes as they hoo look for jo. i want to thank in particular the incredible leadership, bipartisan leadership, of dean heller and senator reed. senator heller and senator reed have been working hard, together with a group with us, relentlessly to bring us thus famplet far. i have been so grateful for the leadership of those two senators and others because they have made us so close in this body to getting unemployment insurance

extended. this is a bipartisan bill. it involves compromise. it's what the american people want us to do. republicans and democrats coming together for millions of americans who are in crisis right now, through no fault of their own, in an economy where there are three people looking for a job for every single job that's available. i want to express my gratitude to the entire bipartisan group cosponsoring the bill: my colleagues senator reed, senator heller, senator merkley, senator sherrod brown, senator durbin, senator sue so susan co, senator portman, senator murkowski, and senator kirk, republicans appeared democrats alike who have hammered out a compromise, done the difficult work and are pushing to move this forward. i also want to thank people from new jersey who've shared their stories with me, who've been

active and engaging from online posts, letters, phone calls, all of them fighting to find work. i've heard from republican new jerseyans and democratic new jerseyans. i've heard from military veterans and single moms. i've heard from folks who are so hungry to work. while they're working or looking to this body, to all of congress, to help them meet the basic minimum needs so that they can continue to have some stability, not swallowed up by the quicksand of economic crisis, to be able to continue to find a job. they are living examples, each and every one of these millions of americans are examples of what's at stake if we do not act. i've heard painful stories of people facing real crises from homelessness to skipping medications, doing everything they can to keep some semblance

of stability so they can find a job. well, unfortunately, many are falling through the cracks. many are facing the darkest of days. as the senate prepares to vote on this incredibly vital, important bill, i want to stress this legislative body is only as effective as both chambers and parties being able to come together, to really follow in that great american tradition that for the last 50 years, democrats and republicans during time of economic crisis have come together and found a way to hammer out compromises to extend unemployment insurance -- under reagan, under bush, under clinton, under carter. we found way to get forward, both chambers being there for americans in an economic crisis. and so today is a significant step in our fight to restore hope to america's unemployed,

but only if this bill is also voted on and passed in the house of representatives. i have sat in living rooms, diners, soup kitchens all across the state of new jersey and i can tell you that the crisis is real. i'm hopeful that if my colleagues in the house of representatives listen to the voices, republicans and democrats, red and blue, north and south -- all across this country -- listen to their unemployed constituents, they will do what's right, they will shun that lazy, intellectually unreal idea that americans are lazy, that they don't want to work. we have millions of americans out there fighting for their hope of finding a job and they need the help of the house of representatives as i believe they will get it from the senate this week. no matter our party, all of us have folks in our home states who are unemployed and suffering because we have thus far failed to do what every other congress

has done -- pass a long-term -- past long-term unemployment rates have been as they are today. we must extend unemployment insurance. america needs our house of representatives to listen to the pleas of those who are barely making ends meet. i remember joan and her daught daughter, a recent rutgers university graduate. they live together and were both cut off from unemployment insurance at the same week in december. the modest unemployment checks that joan and her daughter were receiving had helped them keep up with mortgage payments while they waited for us to vote, their home was placed into foreclosure. then there's lauren from clifton who wrote my office saying that she had sent out close to -- close to a thousand resumes without luck and had reached a point where she couldn't pay to keep the heat on in her house during this brutal winter and

she feared that her phone was going to have to be cut off next. this is what she wrote. "i've been looking tirelessly," she wrote, "looking for a job. what does someone in my situation do?" these folks have worked hard all of their lives. they've played by the rules. but unfortunately happen to be in a bad economy not of their making, which they did not contribute to, caught in these difficult times. they're doing everything right and so should their representatives in congress. today we're casting a vote for them. today i'm proud to say that in the senate, we're coming together, democrats and republicans, hammering out a compromise, meeting each other in the middle, doing what is expected of us by americans. reaching out. lending a hand in a time of crisis. i implore my colleagues to do the same in the house of

representatives. thank you, mr. president. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i rise to speak to my amendment 2959 to the unemployment insurance legislation before us. the amendment is called the good jobs, good wages, good hours act. mr. president, 12 times, 12 times congress has voted to extend emergency unemployment benefits since 2008. and what do we have to show for those 12 extensions of these benefits? more than 10 million americans

remain unemployed. of those, more than 3-z 8 million americans -- 3-z 3.8 million americans have been unemployed alonger than six months. millions more are underemployed or dropped out of the work force altogether, too discouraged to even look for work in the stagnant economy. over that same period a democrat-led senate and the obama white house have done little but grow the size of the government and shrink the size of the middle class. in 2009, congress passed a trillion-dollar stimulus bill that poured taxpayer dollars into projects like solyndra and a battery manufacturer now own by the chinese. it failed to create the jobs and economic growth promised by the white house but has succeeded the creating five straight years of record he deficits. in between congress enacted obamacare, essentially a government takeover of one-sixth of our economy with 2,700 pages

of new laws and 25,000 pages of new regulations. it did fulfill the president's promise of lowering health care costs or letting families keep their doctors, but it has succeeded in canceling health plans and raising taxes. also in between congress enacted dodd-frank. it hasn't fixed too big to fail but in one respect it has succeeded in creating jobs. it is estimated there are more than 30,000 employees that will be required to file the paperwork associated with the $18 billion in dodd-frank compliance costs on our financial sector. meanwhile, congress has failed to put a check on the e.p.a. which continues pushing regulations that have record-setting price tags. these regulations aren't creating jobs, but they are fulfilling the president's promise to make energy prices

skyrocket. five years into the obama administration the scorecard doesn't look very good. $4,656,000,000,000 in new regulations. $1.7 trillion in new taxes. 10.4 million people unemployed. and economic growth far beyond -- behind the pace of other post-world war ii recoveries. here we are, mr. president, debating the 13th extension of unemployment, emergency unemployment benefits in the past five years. because we've got 3.8 million people in this country, workers who have been out of work for more than six months. if enacted, these benefits would last until june. then what? are we going to have a 14th extension, a 15th perhaps, extension, without job-creating policies, this 13th extension

is just another band-aid that doesn't address the true causes of chronic joblessness that plagues the obama economy. mr. president, my republican colleagues and i came to the floor yet again this week to debate and vote again or to vote, i should say, on amendment ideas that will change the course that the obama administration has put the country on. we've offered dozens of amendments that will stimulate private-sector investment, create jobs and make energy and health care more affordable. mr. president, i've worked with many of my colleagues on a package of job-creating ideas we would like to add to this 13th extension of emergency unemployment insurance benefits. my amendment as i said is called the good jobs, good wages, good hours act and includes many of these ideas. i'd like to share a few of them with my colleagues here in the senate just so that people understand that when we come down here and talk about offering amendments and getting

votes on amendment we're serious. we have real substantive ideas that we believe will address the fundamental issue, the underlying cause of chronic high unemployment by getting people back to work through job creation, through an expanding and crowing growing economy. my amendment includes an amendment pushed by senator coburn that would approve the keystone x.l. pipeline. it's time to approve the pipeline and the 45,000 jobs it will support. senator hoeven has been the leading cafd cat -- advocate in the united states senate. this includes the war on affordable economy. leader mcconnell's bill puts consumers ahead of environmental groups by stopping regulations that make it even more difficult for the middle class to make ends meet. my amendment includes a provision pushed by senators barrasso and hoeven to approve more l.n.g. exports to our

allies and to ukraine, something especially timely. now is the ideal time to create more domestic jobs while breaking our allies' dependence on russian energy supplies. my amendment also addresses the problems created by obamacare. it includes a provision pushed by senator collins that will restore the 40-hour workweek. it will finally repeal the job-destroying medical device tax which senators toomey and hatch have been tirelessly fighting which has cost us by some estimates 30,000 jobs already in our economy because of this new job-killing tax. my amendment ensures that veterans and the long-term employed are not -- unemployed are not punished lie the cost of the employer mandate. it includes a provision that senator blunt offered that raised this issue on behalf of veterans and in the house it passed by a vote of 406-1. certainly we can find a few democrats who are willing to

provide obamacare relief to veterans in the -- and the long-term unemployed. my amendment also provides permit targeted tax relief to small businesses. small businesses create 60% of all new jobs yet this administration has done little more than punish them with more regulations and higher taxes. thisthis amendment provides capl gains tax relief for investing in small businesses and expands options to increase cash flow. it allows small businesses to deduct more start-up costs and puts the self-employed on an equal playing field with paying for health care costs. mr. president, this amendment also includes commonsense integrity reform put forward by senator portman that ensures taxpayers know the true cost of regulations. it requires agencies to conduct a cost/benefit analysis and provide advance notice of any new regulations. finally, mr. president, this amendment includes the house

ph.d. skills -- house-passed skills act. currently we have 50 federal worker training programs spread across nine federal agencies. many of them are duplicative and few of them have been evaluated for whether or not they are effective. this amendment would combine 35 of those programs into one work force investment fund that will empower governors to tailor programs to their states and benefit employers and employees alike -- alike. my point simply is that senate republicans stand ready to offer more than just the status quo. we understand that the long-term unemployed want more than just 20 more weeks of unemployment benefits. they want a job. we understand that those who are struggling to adapt in a changing economy want more than a morass of broken worker

training programs. they want relevant training that prepares them for the job that are in demand today. we understand that low-income families want more than government programs designed to help them just get by. they want more opportunity and a better future for their children. and we understand that main street businesses across opportunity cannot afford endless regulations coming from washington, d.c. they want a chance to succeed and to fulfill their american dream. so, mr. president, i'm hopeful that at least some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle understand that basic principle, too, and will join us in including job-creating measures as part of this 13th extension of emergency unemployment benefits. we can do better for the american people, we should do better by the american people, we have serious proposals,

serious job-creating proposals that don't get a chance to see the light of day because the majority party here in the united states senate blocks amendments from being offered, blocks amendments from being debated, and blocks amendments from being voted on. and so what do we have? we have the status quo which means that for the 13th time we have to extend unemployment insurance benefits to people in this country who have been unemployed for way too long because we have failed to put policies in place that are actually good for job creation, that are actually the right types of incentives for our small businesses to hire, that take away the burdensome cost of taxes and regulations that make it more expensive and more difficult for our small businesses to hire, and because we fail to take into consideration the impact so many of these things we do here in washington have on hardworking

people in this country who are trying to lift their families into the middle class and to provide a better future for their children and grandchildren. that's what every american wants, that's what every family in this country aspires to. we ought to do something about it. and another meager government check that helps people get by isn't the way to a brighter and better future. the way to a brighter and better future is a good-paying job with an opportunity for advancement. that's what we ought to be focused on and that's what the amendments that i just mentioned or the provisions that i just mentioned included in my amendment that incorporate many of the ideas that members on our side have advanced, all with an eye toward creating jobs and growing and expanding the economy in a way that will create those good-paying opportunities and give people a better chance at a better future. i just really hope we'll get a chance to vote on this.

we can't get, evidently, individual amendments that have been offered by individual members voted on. so we've taken a number of those ideas and incorporated them into this one amendment, an alternative to what's being proposed by the democrats which simply treats the symptom of this problem but does nothing to address the underlying cause of the problem. we want to focus on the problem, we want to focus on the problem, we want to focus on solutions, and we believe that the united states senate ought to be the place where we have an opportunity to vote on those very solutions. so i encourage my colleagues on both sides, let's open this process up, let's allow the american people to have their voices heard, not just the voices of a few, but the voices of the many people here in the united states senate who have good ideas about how to create jobs, grow the economy and build a better future for our children and grandchildren. mr. president, i yield the floor.

let. the presiding officer: would -- the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. a senator: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: and, mr. president, i ask for unanimous consent to speak to the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you very much. in kansas there's a company called coke industries that is an important part of our state, its economy, and many, several thousand, kansans work there. and unfortunately in the political discourse of our country, koch industries, its owners are often subject to attack. and i happened to be republican colleague the "wall street journal" this morning and i noticed a column, an opinion piece written by the chairman of the board of koch industries, charles g. koch and i wanted to share that with my colleagues today. it seems to me that the things that are outlined in mr. koch's

opinion piece, while not everyone would agree with, they're certainly within the wide mainstream of american thought and certainly reflect opinions that are worthy of debate and discussion in our country and here on the senate floor. we all bring diversity, a different set of values, opinions, beliefs, a political philosophy to the debate on the senate floor, and i wanted to share the -- one of the owners of koch industries' beliefs about those values and those philosophy -- his philosophy and how it affects americans today. this is an opinion piece from today's "wall street journal" written by a kansan, charles koch. mr. koch says this -- "i have devoted most of my life to understanding the principles that enable people to improve their lives. it is those principles, the principles of a free society, that have shaped my life, my family, our company, and america

itself. unfortunately, the fundamental concepts of dignity, respect, equality before law, and personal freedom are under attack by our nation's own government. that's why if we want to restore a free society and create greater well-being and opportunities for all americans, we have no choice but to fight for those principles. i have been doing so for more than 50 years, primarily through educational efforts. it is only in the last decade that i realized the need to also engage in the political process. again, mr. koch speaking -- "more than 200 years ago, thomas jefferson warned that this could happen. what thomas jefferson said was 'the natural process for things is to be liberty to yield and for government to gain ground.' he knew that no government could possibly run citizens' lives for the better.

the more government tries to control, the greater the disaster, as shown by the current health care debacle. collectivists, those who stand for government control of means of production and how people live their lives, promise heaven but deliver hell. for them, the promised end justifies the means. a truly free society is based on a vision of respect for people and what they value. in a truly free society, any business that disrespects its customers will fail and deserves to do so. the same should be true of any government that disrespects its citizens. the central belief and fatal conceit of the current administration is that you are incapable of running your own life but those in power are capable of running it for you. this is the essence of big government and collectivism. instead of encouraging free and open debate, collectivists strive to discredit and intimidate opponents. they engage in character assassination. this is the approach that arthur

schopenhaur described in the 19th century and paul olinski famously advocated in the 20th and that so many despots have practiced. such practices are the antithesis of what is required for a free society and a telltale sign that the collectivists do not have good answers. rather than try to understand my vision for a free society or accurately report the facts about koch industries, our critics would have you believe that we're -- quote -- 'un-american' and trying to -- quote -- "rig the system' that we're against 'environmental protection' or eager to end workplace safety standards. these falsehoods remind mr. koch of the late senator daniel patrick moynihan's observation. everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not to his own fac facts. here are some of the facts about my philosophy and our company. koch companies employ 60,000 americans, many making thousands

of products that americans want and need. according to governmental figures, our employees and the 143,000 additional american jobs they support generate $11.7 billion in compensation and benefits. about one-third of our u.s.-based employees are union members. koch employees have earned well over 700 awards for environmental, health and safety excellence since 2009 and many of them are from the environmental protection agency and the occupational, safety and health administration. e.p.a. officials have commended us for our -- quote -- 'whiment to a cleaner environment' and called us 'a mold model for othr companies.' in 2012, our total case emissions incident race -- that's a safety measure -- was 67% better than the bureau of labor statistics average for our peer industries. even so, we have never rested on our laurels.

we believe there is always room for innovation and improvement. far from trying to rig the system, i have spent decades opposing cronyism and all political favors, including mandates, subsidies, and protection tariffs, even when we benefit from them. i believe that cronyism is nothing more than welfare for the rich and powerful and should be abolished. koch industries was the only major producer in the ethanol industry to argue for the demise of the ethanol tax credit in 2011. that government handout needlessly drove up food and fuel prices as well as other costs for consumers, many of whom were poor or otherwise disadvantaged." mr. koch says, "now the mandate needs to go so consumers and the marketplace are the ones that decide the future of ethanol. instead of fostering a system that enables people to help themselves, america is now saddled with a system that destroys values, raises costs, hinders innovation, and relegates millions of citizens to a life of poverty,

dependency, and hopelessness. this is what happens when elected officials believe that people's lives are better run by politicians and regulators than by the people themselves. those in power fail to see that more government means less liberty and liberty is the essence of what it means to be an american. love of liberty is an american ideal. if more businesses and elected officials were to embrace a vision of creating real value for people in a principled way, our nation would be far better off, not just today but for generations to come. i'm dedicated to fighting for that vision and i'm convinced most americans believe it's worth fighting for too." mr. president, that's the opinion piece from the "wall street journal" this morning, written by the kansan, charles koch, and i commend that opinion piece and its thoughts to my colleagues in the senate. and i yield the floor. mr. president, i notice the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. sessions: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i would rise today to address the -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. sessions: i thank the chair and i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: i want to address the pending legislation to extend unemployment benefits. this legislation is frankly and admission after five years of costly government stus