Mr. President, I would like to announce that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will meet on February 13, 2014, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the Business Meeting is to consider…

Madam President, I yield back all time. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is so ordered.

I thank my distinguished colleagues for recognizing my sons' service. One is a marine reservist deployed to Afghanistan and the other is a Navy officer currently in further training. I thank them and offer my support to the goals they have…

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Margaret Taylor, a detailee from the State Department to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, be granted floor privileges today in anticipation of votes on nominations and for the rest of the…

Mr. Speaker, let me thank Mr. Crowley for recognizing me, and I want to pursue the themes that he has offered a moment ago. I listened to the gentleman from Georgia earlier speaking of debt in the years out. That has nothing to do with the…

We are not going to get it. You are not going to get it for your kids because you make too much money.

I think it is $500. But the point is, do you have to have a Social Security number?

I think this is a Ronald Reagan idea. If you are working, even though you may not have any income tax liability, we are going to give you an earned income tax credit. I think it is $500 per child; is that right?

I thank the Senator from Arizona. To conclude, this is not Lindsey Graham or Colonel Graham saying this. This is what General Dunford is saying. I know he is right. I clearly understand what he is telling us. I have seen it firsthand. To…

Let me see if I have this right. There is an earned income tax credit you can receive based on need; is that right?

We are not asking to bring these people back to the United States for trial. We are asking that they go through the criminal process under Afghan law where Afghan judges will decide their fate. Afghan prosecutors and defense attorneys will…

Senator McCain is absolutely right. I thank him for showing such an interest in this topic. He has been so helpful in making sure we get this detention issue right. Having been incarcerated in a war, I think Senator McCain knows the…

And their response was: We can fix it later. Our response was: Well, will you pay for it later? And everybody said yes. So here we are. I appreciate Senator Pryor and Senator Hagan from North Carolina wanting to fix it. The good news is…

Most Republicans, and I am sure some Democrats, would not have voted for a budget deal unless it was deficit-neutral and paid for. I know it wouldn't have passed the House. So now, after the fact, if you fix the COLA problem without paying…

I thank the Chair. Does the Senator agree with me, if the budget deal had not been paid for it would never have passed?

Ok. If the argument is that by adding a Social Security number requirement to the additional credit you are somehow burdening people, why isn't that an argument made against the EITC? Because to get the earned income tax credit you have to…

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any more speakers, and I am prepared to close when Mr. Larsen is finished.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 3578. I want to thank Chairman LoBiondo for bringing this issue to the attention of the committee and for working hard to bring it to the floor so quickly…