A Busy Work Schedule

Floor Speech

Mr. REID. Mr. President, we expect to quickly wrap up work on the China currency legislation this week. We have a lot to get done this month, so the Senate must move fast.

One out of every nine Federal judgeships remains vacant, which puts at risk the right of every American to a fair and speedy hearing. While I have been frustrated at the slow pace in confirming judicial nominees this Congress, I am pleased we have been able to reach an agreement to confirm 10 judges this week and next. These nominations are noncontroversial, and they have the unanimous support of the Judiciary Committee. Five of the six judges we will confirm today come from States with Republican Senators, and all five have the support of that Republican Senator.

This month, the Senate will also take up three appropriations bills. Last month, we passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through November 18. Now we must finish our work on the annual appropriations bills.

We will also take up three trade bills this work period. Last month, the Senate passed trade adjustment assistance legislation which helps U.S. workers who lose their jobs because of international trade learn new skills and reenter a changing workforce. A global economy means global competition, and a flexible, well-trained workforce is what will allow us to keep pace with our rivals. That is why Democrats insisted on passing trade adjustment assistance before we would take up those three trade bills we will soon consider--Panama, Korea, and Colombia.

Republicans have said these trade agreements are important to them. Yet for months they have prevented them from moving forward by stalling trade adjustment assistance. I hope the House will not delay any longer on their taking up trade adjustment assistance. I am told they will not.

The Senate will also take up President Obama's American Jobs Act this month. Members of both parties should rally behind the commonsense, bipartisan approach of this legislation. It will cut taxes for working families and small businesses to spur job creation and put Americans to work restoring this Nation's decaying roads, bridges, dams, and schools. I am happy to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to improve this bill, but I hope the obstructionism Republicans have employed for the last 9 months will not continue.

This year, Democrats have introduced jobs bill after jobs bill. Meanwhile, our Republican colleagues have put their own political agenda ahead of the Nation's jobs agenda. They claim they are willing to work in a bipartisan fashion to get our economy back on track, and this month they will get another chance to prove this. So I urge my Republican friends to remember that actions speak much louder than words. I hope they will take time out from rooting for our very difficult economy to fail for the sake of politics and help Democrats put this Nation back to work.

Would the Chair announce morning business.

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