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 ve

mr. leahy: and --. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate >> so the senate is taking a break for the weekly party lunches. last hour lawmakers voted to move ahead on a work extending unemployment for three months for the long-term jobless. "the hill" has a story about it today. in a 60-37 vote the senate ended debate on a motion to consider the bill. 60 votes are required to move forward. gop senators susan collins, kelly a ayote, rob portman, dan coates, joined dean heller vote with democrats. they objected to the $6.4 billion cost of the three month extension is not offset with spending cuts. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said his party could accept extending benefits that go to people that exhausted state benefits only if they were paid for. many would like to see them extended without adding to the national debt, mr. mcconnell said on the senate floor. you can read the story at thehill.com. senators return from the party lunch as the two 15 ea

mr. leahy: mr. president, first i should note i'm pleased to see the acting president pro tempo tempore. it was a pleasure to serve -- to share the podium with him today. i would ask unanimous consent that upon the completion of my remarks that the chair recognize the senior senator from illinois, mr. durbin. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, after many long days and nights of party negotiations across a dozen subcommittees over the past month, on sunday night the appropriations committee completed work on the fiscal year 2014 consolidated appropriations act. i want to commend chairwoman mikulski, without whom this would not have been possible. it was, above all, her relentless pursuit of this goal and her unmatched ability to rally her subcommittee troops to get us to this point. but also i'd note that she was helped by some of the most hardworking members of the senate staff that one can imagine. i'd especially like to commend tim reecer of my staff and others who

mr. leahy: madam president, while the distinguished senator from nebraska is still on the floor, i found much to agree with her in her comments and i hope after we reintroduce the personal data privacy and security act that she may want to become a cosponsor of it. this would better protect americans from the growing threats of data breaches and identity theft. i mean, last year, according to verizon's report, there were more than 600 publicly disclosed data breaches all over the country. the recent breach at target involved debit and credit cards data of as many as 40 million customers. now, that's a reminder that developing a comprehensive national strategy to protect data privacy and cybersecurity remains one of the most challenging and important issues facing our nation. we've -- in the personal data privacy and security act, this better protects americans. and i do thank senators franken and schumer and blumenthal for cosponsoring it. i first introduced this bill nine years ago. i thought

mr. leahy: mr. president i see the distinguished senator from rhode island on the floor rmt. i know he's supposed to speak. if i might take one moment while the distinguished leader is here. i wish to commend senator reid for asking for such cooperation. he has worked very, very hard to bring us together. i think of when we in a very complex and very extensive immigration bill. there were 300 amendments i think filed in the judiciary committee and after we went through the committee senator reid worked hard to get a time on the floor and then we passed it but with a bipartisan, overwhelming -- overwellcoming bipartisan majority -- overwhelming bipartisan majority. mr. reid: through the chair to my friend, the president pro tempore of the senate, chairman of the judiciary committee -- we hear the republicans talking about, they want to do everything they can to reduce the debt. i ask this -- this is the question i ask my friend. twofold: the bible for how to reduce the debt was simpson-bowles. they s

mr. leahy: madam president, i appreciate the comments from my two dear friends, the senator from iowa and the senator from alabama. they've been friends of mine for decades. we've traveled together, we've conspired together, always conspiring for the good of the country, of course, and we have shared our thoughts and our philosophy and our plans, and we've often because we have joined together had better legislation. so, madam president, just a way of saying i want to add my voice to those who have spoken in support of the omnibus appropriation bill. i spoke about it earlier this morning so i won't repeat those, i want the american people to understand the importance of what we're doing. 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 go

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, earlier this week president obama explained to the american people what he hopes to accomplish in the year ahead. and i think it's safe to say that despite the hype, there wasn't a whole lot in this year's state of the union that would do much to alleviate the concerns and anxieties of most americans. it wasn't anything in there that would really address the kind of dramatic wage stagnation we've seen over the past several years among the middle class or the increasingly difficult situation people find themselves in trying to find stable, good-paying jobs. there was no creative proposal for increasing mobility or opportunity for folks who need it most

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 26. -- calendar number 266. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1846, a bill to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance reform act of 2012 and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, on this issue, we have a bipartisan coalition that badly wants to get this done, and so we're going to do everything we can to move afford on this. at this stage, the republicans have not cleared the proposed consent agreement. i've indicated to the republican leader that later today i would ask that, but also to stopgap, we have started the rule 14 procedure, which just in a minute i'll move to that, and we'll have the second reading. so if we can't work anything out on the -- on a c

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of the republican leader we'll be in a period of morning business with the time until noon divided equally. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes and we'll control the second 30 minutes. at none all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to the unemployment insurance extension will expire and the senate will begin consideration of the bill. senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. mr. president, another day has passed and we still have a vast majority of republicans standing in the way of extension of unemployment benefits. some republican senators are having conversations about possible offsets for a full year extension. i've said a number of times i think we would be ill-advised to have another short-term. if we're going to have an extension they're talking about paying for it, let's do in a -- for a year. mr. president, let's see how they want to pay for this. we've heard proposals. the proposals are, one, to stop peopl

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 297, s. 1950. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 297, s. 1950, a bill to improve the provision of medical services and benefits to veterans and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i was happy to move on behalf of chairman sanders who's put together this bill. it's supported by 25 different service organizations. following my remarks this morning and those of the republican leader, the senate will be in a period of morning business for an hour with the majority controlling the first half, republicans the final half. following that morning business the senate will begin consideration of s. 1926, the flood insurance legislation. we were able to reach an agreement for several amendments to be considered to the flood insurance bill. all amendments must be offered by 3:00 p.m. today. other roll call votes are possible later today. senators will be notified when these votes are

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to road to calendar number 24, the flood insurance legislation. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to s. 1926, a bill to dplai the implementation of certain provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance reform act of 2012 and to reform the national association of registered agents and brokers, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: on this issue alone, we have been trying for months to move this afford. on our side we have heard constantly, persistently, always senator landrieu indicating how important this is to her state and to our country. so i would hope that we can finally have a pathway afford on this today, with a consent agreement. it is my understanding that senator isakson from georgia is going to try to come to the floor soon to do that. i want to alert torch this. if that isn't going to work, we're not going to be -- going to delay this any

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of the republican leader, the senate will resume the motion to proceed to the unemployment compensation legislation. we have no votes scheduled yet. when we are able to work something out in that regard we will notify all senate offices. mr. president, yesterday's vote to advance a measure which is so vitally important to our country to extend a lifeline to americans who lost their jobs during this great recession is really a positive development. but we're a long way from restoring benefits to 1.3 million people who have been looking for work for months, some of them, mr. president, for years. a few republicans willing to even debate this measure or threaten a vote against a short term extension unless it's fully paid for. let me start by saying, mr. president, i'm opposed to offsetting the cost of emergency unemployment benefits. i repeat. emergency unemployment benefits. i don't understand why my republican colleagues can't read the script f

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 294. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 294, s. 1926, a bill to delay the implementation of certain proefbgs provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance act of 2012. mr. reid: mr. president, 5:30 today there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill. i'm told that s. 1950 is at the desk due for second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: 1950, a bill to improve the provision of medical services and benefits to veterans and for other purposes. mr. reid: i would object to any further proceedings with respect to this bill at this time. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: mr. president, as i announced earlier today, the senate will vote in -- at 5:30 to advance legislation that w

island, klobuchar, warren, durbin, whitehouse, markey, baldwin, leahy, coons, mikulski, murray, warner, hirono, murphy, harkin and brown. mr. reid: note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. portman: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: is there objection. without objection. mr. reid: madam president, i have the floor here. the presiding officer: the majority leader. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i thank you, madam president, for recognizing me. i've been trying to be recognized before the majority leader decided to what we call around here fill the tree, which means taking away the opportunity for amendments to be offered, although there will be an attempt i believe in a moment to offer some. i'm disappointed in that because i thin

leahy and ranking republican, chuck grassley. they are pushing for recommendations. one more reform not on the table now. the hearing sets the table for mr. obama who will address nsa controversy friday. the timing appears significant coming before the state of the union where the president will try to focus on his agenda. >> one thing you'll see from the president this week is some executive action toss tamp down the nsa controversy. i think he foresees legislative activity will be tough and he has to act to arrest the problem. he wants to move on to other issues. >> one of the wild cards is the nsa leaker edward snowden, whether ehe will continue to lek documents. documents have not dealt with pr privacy rights but sources and methods and u.s. alliances overseas. >> what are we learning about the new report on the effectiveness of nsa programs. do they help us to nab terrorists? >> well, there's a new study by the new america foundation. they are a washington-based group. what they find is one of the most controversial nsa programs, bulk collection of america's phone records based on their research did not in a concrete way thwart majo

mr. president, i want to talk about the omnibus for a brief time before senator leahy has some remarks to be made. first of all, i think it's important, and i want to thank the chair and the ranking member of the appropriations committee and their staffs for their hard work to draft a sensible funding bill that i think really meets the needs of the american people. a bill that helps us move past the stalemate and disagreements of the past few years and do what the american people sent us here to do, and that is roll up our sleeves, work together, work hard and govern. recently, folks have put and politics ahead of our constituents and our responsibilities and the results haven't been pretty, but thanks to chairman mikulski and ranking member shelby and their counterparts in the house of representatives, we now have a responsible bipartisan bill that we can work with, one that invests in our future to strengthen our economy but that makes tough choices so that we can continue to get our fiscal house in order. approving this bill helps us avoid another round of devastate ing sequester cuts,