mr. bennet: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i want to return today to the subject of immigration. today marks the 285th day since the immigration bill passed right here in the united states senate with almost 70 votes and 285 days later we're still waiting for the house of representatives to act on that bipartisan piece of legislation. every single day the house drags its feet on immigration, mr. president, our borders remain less secure, our visa system keeps us less competitive, our economy suffers, millions of families remain in the shadows, hardworking immigrants who came here to live the american dream and who are part of the fabric of our communities all over the state of colorado and all over the united states of america are suffering because congress hospital passed a bill. families like dual se sign's family from hudson, colorado, when sign's father was deported, she and one of her sisters stayed in colorado to start college while her mom and younger sister moved to mexico to be with their dad. it was a hear

mr. bennet: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: i first want to say to my colleague while we disagree on this issue i agree wholeheartedly with his observations about training people for this 21st century economy. i have enjoyed working with him so much on the help committee. madam president, i have nine unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of both the majority and minority leaders of the senate. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. bennet: thank you madam president. i am on the floor today to talk about the minimum wage bill that is before us this week, and once again, i have the opportunity to come here and say that washington d.c., is absolutely decoupled with the conversations that people are having in colorado whether they are republicans, democrats or independents and we have another example of that here today during this debate. if

bennet? two thank you, mr. chairman. adam secretary, it's good to see you again. i'm glad you're here under circumstances other than what those who have predicted before. i do think that what we saw in the fall as a reminder that we may not be up to the task when it comes to certain things like i.t. and procurement and customer service. my hope is that the politics around this, as they subside, which i deeply hope they will. because at home health care is the farthest thing from a political issue for some people. it is a day-to-day way that people live their lives. and i think that any wisdom that has been wired that could benefit other agencies or other levels of government, even a senator menendez was talking about, i ink you could provide a huge service at some are not on whether it's leading a discussion or having an interagency initiative or that this is the work that no one ever gets two. and you know that. at this level, the local level, no one ever gets to it. what it means is the velocity of the world we are living in the we run the risk of finding oursel

mr. bennet: mr. president, thank you very much. for that recognition. i come to the floor today to talk about jobs and about one sector in particular, -- maybe we should should have a job sector to fix this desk but that's not what i'm here to talk about. one job sector that's created tremendous job growth in colorado and across the united states and that's wind energy and the jobs that it's brought to our state. during last thursday's markup in the finances committee, we worked in a bipartisan fashion to include a two-year extension of the production tax credit known as the p.t.c. any -- and the investment tax credit known as the i.t.c. for wind energy. the wind credit has enjoyed broad bipartisan basis over a number of years ranging from its original champ, cons to be a champion, senator grassley from iowa to my friend and colleague from colorado, mark udall, a hireless and relentless supporter over the years for our wind energy jobs in colorado. and i know he'll be a -- a supportive avid cat when the extenders bill reaches the floor. if enacted into