ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from minnesota is recognized. ms. klobuchar: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i want to thank senators harkin, warren and durbin for their leadership on the important issue of student debt. in the united states, we all appreciate the value of education. we know it leads to higher-paying jobs. we know it leads to better health and even longer lives. education gives everyone in this country a fair shot. my grandpa, he never graduated from high school. he worked 1,500 feet underground in the means of ely, minnesota. he saved money in the coffee can in the basement so he could send my dad to college. my dad went to a community two-year college. he then went on to the university of minnesota, got his journalism degree and went from the coal mines in minn

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i come to the senate floor today to honor the life of a truly remarkable man, a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, a dedicated friend and a true public servant. jim oberstar was a man of purpose and grit who never stopped fighting for the people of his district, the people of northeastern minnesota. his resilience was like the resilience of the people that he represented. he was one of those rare people who was just as comfortable in the aurora, minnesota, parade in khakis and tennis shoes as he was at the french embassy. one unique thing about jim oberstar was that he always broke into french at a moment's notice and he would literally speak french at the french embassy and paris, but he might also speak french at the aurora parade even though no one else there spoke french. whether he was biking the masabi trail or fishing on sturgeon lake or hanging out with some of his constituents at tom and jerry's bar in chisolm which is where he grew up, he always lov

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 88, s. 394, the metal theft prevention act, that the bill be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, reserving the right to object, the theft of valuable metal is a serious crime, one that can damage valuable infrastructure, sometimes government infrastructure and that can cause serious harm to businesses and to the owners of the infrastructure at issue. for this reason, many states including my own state of utah have enacted measures to deter such criminal activity and punish harshly those who engage in this type of criminal activity. these measures are generally appropriate, but where the fed

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. ms. klobuchar: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, the quorum call is suspended. ms. klobuchar: i rise today in support of the industrial savings and competitiveness act of 2014. i'd like to commend senator shaheen and senator portman on their leadership and tireless efforts to craft an energy efficiency bill that is good for consumers, good for our economy, and good for our environment. the shaheen-portman energy efficiency bill is supported by a coalition of environmental organizations, including the natural resources defense council, the sierra club, the blue-green alliance. it's supported by business trade associations like the chamber of commerce and the national association of manufacturers. by working together on a bipartisan basis, the two senators have put together a bill that is officially sponsored by seven democrats and seven republicans, and i believe the vast major

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i come to the floor today to speak in support of the water resources and reform development act, also known as the wrrda bill. i'd like to thank senator vitter for his work on this bill, and of course i would also like to thank chairman boxer for her leadership in shepherding this bill through. i think many people thought it would be a very difficult year to get a major infrastructure bill done. she was able to do it, work with senator vitter, work with the house most significantly, and we're very pleased with this bill. i support this legislation because it will keep invasive carp out of minnesota's northern lakes. it will help towns across the country advance critical flood protection projects. it will address overdue port and harbor maintenance on the great lakes. it will also ensure that navigation will remain strong on the inland waterway system, including the powerful and important mississippi river, which, of course, starts in my state in ataska state park where you

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr.resident, i come to the senate floor today to honor the life of a truly remarkable man, a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, a dedicated friend and a true public servant. jim oberstar was a man of purpose and grit who never stopped fighting for the people of his district, the people of northeastern minnesota. his resilience was like the resilience of the people that he represented. he was one of those rare people who was just as comfortable in the aurora, minnesota, parade in khakis and tennis shoes as he was at the french embassy. one unique thing about jim oberstar was that he always broke into french at a moment's notice and he would literally speak french at the french embassy and paris, but he might also speak french at the aurora parade even though no one else there spoke french. whether he was biking the masabi trail or fishing on sturgeon lake or hanging out with some of his constituents at tom and jerry's bar in chisolm which is where he grew up, he always loved

ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: thank you, mr. president. i would like to thank the leader for his superb leadership on tourism. anyone that represents the state of nevada understands how important tourism is to our states and to our country, and i think one of the things that the leader knows, it's not just about las vegas. it's also about places like the mall of america in minnesota or all of those great bed and breakfasts and fishing operations in the state of maine or arkansas or missouri. senator blunt is the leader, the republican head of this bill along with myself, and we now have 56 authors on the reauthorization of the travel promotion act, brand u.s.a., in addition to, of course, the immigration bill which would allow us to not just reauthorize the travel promotion act but also the jolt act, which creates all kinds of new ways to add more jobs to america by speeding up the visa process, by creating some more visa waiver countries