mr. merkley: i suggest the answer after quorum -- no i would withhold that request. the presiding officer: 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, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on s. 2199, a bill to amend the fair labor standards act of 1938 and so forth and for other purposes, signed by 18 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 proceed to s. 2199, a bill to amend the fair labor standards act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex and for other purposes 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: are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, on this vote, the ayes

mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i applaud my colleague from ohio for his stories from his home state on the families that have been dramatically impacted by the broken bridge between a lost job and the next job. indeed, in my home state, there are about 26,000 folks who are affected in this manner. you can think of it, the face between two jobs, as a chasm, a chasm that threatens the success of every family. they are hoping to make their payment on their light bill. they're hoping to make their rent payment or their mortgage payment. but they have to make it to that next job and savings run thin, particularly when savings are very hard to come by when our economy is generating fewer and fewer living-wage jobs. in the last recession of 2008, 60% of the jobs lost were living-wage jobs. but the jobs that we're getting back, only 40% are living-wage jobs. and, indeed, that means millions of families have gone from a strong foundation, ability to raise children, to buy a modest home, perhaps to take an annual vacation, p

mr. merkley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, i rise today in this chamber to address an issue that is critical to working families across our nation. and that's the federal minimum wage. first i want to thank senator tom harkin for his leadership on this issue. he's advocated year after year, decade after decade that we need to ensure that we have an economy where workers fully participate in the fruits of their labor. we should not have a society in which all of those fruits go simply to the very few at the expense of a fair wage for those who create that success. so i want to thank senator harkin for leading this fight for this extended period of time on behalf of working families. he believes, as i believe, that we should measure the success of our nation not by the growth of the g.d.p., not by having one eye on the dow jones and one eye on the s&p 500. we should measure the success by the success of our families. that's what this debate about the minimum wage is all about. and this issue matters a gr

mr. merkley will note. he is a graduate of the university of oregon, but he also went to law school at the university of washington. he has handled a diverse portfolio of legal matters including representing counties, public utility districts, fruit growers, medical clinics, brokers and individuals and he brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the federal bench, including 25 years in private practice. as well-rounded and experienced from all sides of the legal process from civil and criminal trials to mediation and arbitration and negotiation of various parties throughout his career, he has shown a dedication to justice and equal access to the law. as an experienced trial attorney, he has earned the support and recognition of his peers. when i interviewed him, i was impressed by his respect for legal precedent and his commitment to the rule of law, his work to improve access to justice and a local knowledge that is very important to serving eastern washington and all of washington. mr. bastian als

mr. president, this legislation is sponsored by senators harkin and merkley. i ask for its second reading and object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be read for a second time on the next legislative dayment. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, that following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. following any leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 2199, the equal pay bill, with the time until 11:00 a.m. equally divide and controlled between the two leaders or their designees prior to the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to 2199. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: t

follows: reid of nevada, harkin, merkley, leahy, booker, warren, reed of rhode island, durbin, cardin, carper, coons, nelson, franken, gillibrand, whitehouse, casey, sanders. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, following my remarks and those of the republican leader, if any, the senate will be in morning business until 5:30 today, the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or her designees. at 5:30 there will be up to four roll call votes. first, confirmation of the friedland nomination, the next a cloture vote on the weil nomination, stob administrator of the wage and hour division of the department of labor, and a confirmation vote on the weil nomination. finally, a vote onccompanying mr. regan, assistant secretary of housing and urban development. today as we convene, i call to the senate's attention today is the commemoration of the holocaust. the holocaust was the systematic genocide of 6 million jews and countless others carried out by adolf hitler and his minions. today is holocaust remembrance today, a reminder that