Transcripts For CSPAN2 U.S. Senate U.S. Senate 20180121

Majority missed a major deadline, a deadline to pass a budget for america and its government and Appropriations Bills that fund the government for the year. Republicans have the power of the majority here in the United States senate, in the house of representatives, and the presidency. Yet, the Republican Leadership has failed, failed to put together a budget for america and its government. That provides certainty for our country. Families in wisconsin who are struggling pie check to paycheck to paycheck, they put together a budget for their families because they have to in order to make ends meet. But here in washington, my friends on the other side of the aisle have played by a different set of rules. On friday night they didnt put forward a budget for america and its government. Instead they offered their fourth shortterm continuing resolution for the last four months. This is no way to govern, simply kicking the can down the road each month and ignoring the real needs of our country. The federal budget is not a calendar year budget. Rather it runs from october 1 to september 30 each year. There are all sorts of historical reasons for why that is, but among them, if we get our work done on time, local governments and other entities that have calendar year budgets get to see what federal funds have been allocated for the things that we do jointly, that make a real difference in peoples lives. And the congress is supposed to get its budget done actually in the spring, and then finish its appropriation process by september 30. In fact, today we should be starting our work on the 2019 budget. Instead we are still working on the 2018 budget that should have been completed last spring and Appropriations Bills that should have been done by september 30. The majority had from september 30 until december 9. That was the first shortterm continuing resolution as its known, to get the job done. And on a bipartisan basis we allocated that time through a continuing resolution. The majority had then from december 9 until december 22, another shortterm continuing resolution. And then from december 22 to january 19, another continuing resolution. But the governing majority still hasnt done its work, so they asked for yet another four weeks. This monthbymonth approach from the majority has failed. It has failed to provide our military and troops with the budget certainty they need. We heard from secretary mattis and his team this week about how harmful these continuing resolutions are to our nations military, and the majority should heed those words because it impedes the militarys ability to plan for the defense of our nation. Under repeated continuing resolutions, the department cant start new programs, hiring and recruitment are limited, and our National Security Funding Priorities are left on auto pilot. The Defense Department has made it clear that they need a longterm budget, not week by week and month by month measures. But the majority has failed to deliver results. Our veterans need v. A. Reforms so that they can get the Health Care Services that they have earned. And ive worked in a bipartisan manner on a number of reforms of the v. A. Choice program, but the continuing resolution offered and rightly rejected by both democrats and republicans shortchanges Veterans Health when we should be working together to serve those who have bravely served this nation. Four months ago Congressional Republicans let funding for Childrens Health care expire. They refused to pass legislation that funds the Child Health Insurance program otherwise known as chip. 170,000 children in the state of wisconsin rely on chip for their health care. But the Congressional Republicans were more concerned at that period of time in giving away massive tax breaks. 80 plus of the benefits go to the upper 1 in big corporations. In fact, while these children were ignored, republicans gave permanent tax cuts to powerful corporations and now wont provide permanent funding for the chip program, for Childrens Health insurance for lowincome families. Four months ago the Majority Party that controls washington let funding for Community Health centers lapse. In my home state, 300,000 wisconsinites are served by Community Health centers, including kids on chip. Two weeks ago i visited one of those Community Health centers in green bay, wisconsin. The Health Care Workers and staff describe the anxiety and uncertainty they feel every day because they dont know whether they will have the funding they need to minister to the Health Care Needs of those that they serve. Many Community Health centers cant move forward with longerterm contracts for services or repairs or invest in new medical equipment because they dont know if or when washington will act. They found out on friday night a continuing resolution offered just like the three before it failed to address funding for Community Health centers once again. But it did give tax breaks to big insurance companies. We cannot leave our Community Health centers without the funding they need to serve the people that we all work for. We should take action now to fully fund them because they cant wait any longer. I know that every one of my colleagues here in the senate has come facetoface with the opioid epidemic. I know i have. I traveled my state and met with Health Care Workers, local officials, people from Law Enforcement and the judiciary who are working on the front lines of this crisis. I know what its like to have a loved one dependent upon narcotics. I met with families who have lost a loved one to this epidemic. I met with family members who are currently finding their own lives totally upended because of a loved one hooked on opioids. There is bipartisan support for doing more. There is support across party aisles for the federal government to step up and be a stronger partner in this fight. A shortterm stopgap measure isnt going to do it, and we all know it. So lets find the will to Work Together to provide strong investments in local communities so they have the resources they need for prevention treatment and recovery efforts. Lets Work Together to save lives. We are where we are right now because i think washington has lost sight of what our work here should be about. Making a difference in peoples lives. Hundreds of thousands of young people have had their lives placed in limbo by the politics of washington. The dreamers who have only known america as their home, are working hard. Theyre going to school. Theyre serving in our military. President trump has threatened them with deportation. Right now we have a bipartisan solution that Republican Leadership in both the senate and the house have refused to make a commitment to passing. This bipartisan solution strengthens Border Security and does right by the dreamers. Just a couple of weeks ago i spoke with an education leader in wisconsin. He told me that his school, a catholic k through 12 school, employs by his count 23 dreamers. He cant imagine the devastating impact it might have if we dont figure this out. On thursday last week i spoke with a wisconsin dreamer. She made her way to d. C. , and this wasnt her first trip, to tell her powerful story. She asked for an why you want she asked for an update and i told her what i thought was happening here, and she told me she had just eight days left before her daca status expires. And she said i dont know what im going to do, how ill be able to work. Today she has only five days left. We have a bipartisan solution that Senate Republicans and democrats have worked on together, so lets do our job. Lets get it done. I have the privilege of working for a state with a work ethic that is second to none. I am deeply humbled by that privilege, and i do everything i can to respect and reward the hard work of wisconsinites. That is why ive been working for months on pension reforms, because when people work hard and they play by the rules and build their retirement security, they should be able to depend on the pensions they have earned. Right now 25,000 wisconsin retirees and workers have had their pensions threatened through no fault of their own. I have visited with these workers throughout the state of wisconsin, in green bay, in endeavor, in milwaukee, in brookfield. Hundreds of them. They each have a powerful story. I spoke to one worker who started his job as a trucker at age 23. He worked 40 years. At several stages in his career he had the opportunity, if youll call it that, to forego a potential increase in wages so that he could put more into his pension, so that he and his wife could enjoy a secure retirement. But today he and thousands of others are facing the prospect of massive cuts to the pensions they earned unless congress acts. They cant afford to have us kick the can down the road once again. They need us to act and keep the promises of the pensions they worked so hard for. Lets Work Together. Lets Work Together and get the job done by passing the Butch Lewis Act and save the pension that over a million workers and retirees across this country are counting on. Mr. President , enough of round after round of fighting. The American People are fed up with it. They did not send us here to perform a monthly melodrama. They sent us here to get theupbgdz done. They get things done. They didnt send us here to play political games and create chaos. They sent us here to Work Together on solutions to the problems that they face and that we face jointly as a nation. The biggest problem we face right now is that washington is broken. Its up to us to fix it. So lets start working together to get the job done. Mr. President , i yield the floor. Mr. Leahy mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from vermont. Mr. Leahy mr. President , i thank the senator. I see the distinguished senator from alaska on the floor, and i will not be long, as i noted to him. I am speaking in my capacity as the democratic manager of the legislation before us. I think like most of us and most people in the country, were frustrateed by what is happening because i have only heard one person say they want a Government Shutdown. He got exactly what he wanted. It was President Trump who said the country could use a good shutdown. President trump said a shutdown would be good for him politically. President trump tweeted yesterday, the shutdown was a nice present to himself. Well, the United States of america is not designed to give presents to the president. We expect the president to do whats best for the country, not for themselves. Whats best for the country, of course, would be not to have a shutdown. People are suffering under the trump shutdown. For him to call it a nice present to himself escapes reality. In fact, between rubbing his shoulders with the super wealthy at his fathers fundraiser last night, the president s son said the shutdown is a good thing for us politically. It is hard to make up this kind of detachment from our country. I want to make one thing very clear to President Trump. There is no such thing as a Good Government shutdown. Its not a good thing that today medical research has ground to a halt. Its not a good thing that a family in vermont and New Hampshire tried to help their trying to help their loved one overcome opioid addiction cannot access the resources they need. It is not a good thing training exercises for our military were canceled this weekend. But the president is apparently thinking of himself and playing the politics of fear and obstruction. In fact, he was actually prepared for it, hoping for it. Yesterday morning, the first day of the trump shutdown, the president s campaign posted a video that was nothing short of racist fearmongering. Propaganda meant to scare the American People has no place in our democracy. Instead of playing the politics of fear, the president should be leading and working with us to reach a bipartisan deal on a path forward. That could be done if the president really wanted to lead instead of talking about whats a good political present for himself . I think he knows this. In 2013, when talking about the Government Shutdown at that time, he said the president has got to give everybody the room and hes got to lead. So far, the president and the Republican Leadership continue to lock democrats out of negotiations. If they do that, they include the voices of half of the American People. This morning, the president even said the senate should change its rules to permanently exclude the input of the minority party. I have been here many times in the majority, many times in the minority. I cant think of republicans or democrats who wanted to take that chance because someday the shoe is always on the other foot. I was so proud to be asked by senator bob dole, one of the great leaders of this senate, a republican leader to speak on his behalf at the gold medal presentation this past week, because he knew both sides have to Work Together. I have long said the senate could be the conscience of the nation. It could be the con shins of thn precisely because it forces bipartisan compromise. It forces the inclusion of views across the political spectrum and because its members and i include the republican leader, the majority leader today. They have a deep respect for this institution. Were not going to take a sledgehammer to the senate. Now, its the majoritys responsibility to produce a bill to send to the president. They didnt get 60 votes because they had not negotiated with democrats. The Republican Leadership presented the senate with a bill that was produced behind closed doors with no involvement from the democrats. I suspect no involvement from any of his own party and he allowed no amendments. Thats a recipe for failure, and that failure and the president s inability to keep his word puts us here. The republican Party Controls the house, the senate, and the white house, and its their job to govern and to lead. Its their job to reach out with us and come up with a compromise. In my 43 years here, i have been in so many of these compromises. The people across the political spectrum where no one of us got everything they wanted, but the country was far better off. The president promised to treat Daca Recipients with great heart. Instead, hes holding our nations dreamers hostage to a rightwing antiimmigration agenda. He rejected a bipartisan deal, the bipartisan daca deal with senators graham, durbin, and others from both parties, specifically drafted to meet what the president said were his demands. In the wake of his heartless decision to end daca, nearly 122 dreamers lose status every day. 122 yesterday. 122 today. 122 more tomorrow. And the Trump Administration has acknowledged to congress that implementing any dream legislation would take up to six months, during which tens of thousands more could lose their status. The young man was excelling in medical school. In an interview, he says he worries about a knock on the door, and he may have to leave. The irony is there is a whole lot of other countries that would like to have him, even though he is in an area where we have a shortage of doctors. We know that on march 5, hundreds of thousands of Daca Recipients will lose their status because of President Trumps actions. Now, republicans argue there is no urgency to provide protections to dreamers. It couldnt be further from the truth. Since President Trump decided to revoke the protective status, these hundreds of thousands of dreamers have had to live with fear and anxiety every day. No urgency. I tell you right now, if this is part of my family, i would feel the urgency not every hour, every minute, every second. Were here because for 113 days we had 113 days to do this. Just kicked the can down the road on the basic responsibility of congress to fund the federal government. The Republican Leadership has failed to reauthorize the Childrens Health Insurance Program. They have failed to advance legislation to protect the dreamers. Now, for 113 days, democrats supported three continuing resolutions. I voted for a critical one of those. But we had the promise from the republicans to do a little more to reach a bipartisan deal. The time they said they needed it is long gone. We voted for a continuing resolution in september to provide more time. We voted for a second continuing resolution in early december to provide more time. We voted for a third continuing resolution in late december to keep the government going. It wont be different if we wait another four weeks. We have all the pieces to reach a bipartisan path forward. All we have to do is say yeah, lets do our job. We want to raise the budget caps set in place by the budget control act. We want to stop the devastating consequences of sequestration, both defense and nondefense legislation. We want to take care of the bipartisan Childrens Health Insurance Program. We want to extend Community Health centers. We actually have a bipartisan agreement to protect the dreamers. Lets not kick the can down the road. If we pass another continuing resolution without a bipartisan agreement, we only drive further into the fiscal year without doing our jobs. The american public, republicans and democrats alike, will know that. If we then reach an agreement at the end of the next continuing resolution, we would still need another month to write the Appropriations Bills, which could bring us halfway into the fiscal year. Now, as vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee, we are ready to start moving on those bills the second that we have an agreement because we cant govern by continuing resolution. Our military cannot function under a continuing resolution and under the burden of sequestration. We democrats have been ready, willing, and asking to negotiate a bipartisan deal since june. We need to reach a deal on a longterm path forward. We need to have the courage to reach that deal now. Mr. President , i see my friend from alaska on the floor, and i will yield the floor and ask consent that my full statement be made part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Sullivan mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from alaska. Mr. Sullivan mr. President , as you can see here, a lot of senators are coming down, talking about the Government Shutdown. We are in a shutdown, a completely avoidable shutdown, and i think it is important there are a lot of speeches and everything. I think its important to be clear on one fact that the position of the democratic leadership on friday night was this unless you agree with our demands on the daca issue by midnight, well shut down the federal government. I dont think anybody disagrees with thats what the position was friday night. The irony, of course, is there wasnt even a bill to agree on, but that still was the position so the decision was in their hands, they made it, and here we are. Completely avoidable, and we need to get this government of ours up and running again. But, mr. President , what i have been coming to the floor to talk about for the last few days on the eve of the shutdown and each day during the shutdown is to emphasize one point, one point. That the American People need to be skeptical. They need to be very skeptical. As the members of the Senate Democratic leadership and some of their colleagues trot out newly polished talking points emphasizeing their concern for the military and readiness and rebuilding our forces and more spending on defense. You might be hearing this. As a matter of fact, ive heard that argument from the leadership on the other side more in the last three days than i have heard in the last three years. As a senator in this body. Even the junior senator from vermont this morning on cnn was talking about the importance of rebuilding our military. Wow. Thats new. So youre seeing these new talking points. Now, mr. President , i respect, get along well with all these senators, the democratic leader, democratic whip, junior senator from vermont i just mentioned, the senator from wisconsin was just on the floor talking about, again, big emphasis on the democratic side on the military. I have respect for them. I know theyre all patriotic. I know they all love their country. But one thing i think is pretty clear, at least in my three years in the senate, this has not been their area of focus, it hasnt been. Go look at the speeches. It has not been the focus on fully funding, rebuilding our military. Thats not where the democratic leadership has been. But it seems to be now with these new points. Now, of course, i welcome this. I welcome this change of heart. I welcome this new emphasis on fully rebuilding our military forces. In fact, there is many of us in the senate, a lot of us who serve on the Armed Services Committee Like the presiding officer, led by senator mccain, we have been focusing on this issue for years. A lot of republicans, some democrats. And i mentioned a few on the floor the other day, but this is an issue we have been focused on literally daily because its a huge problem right now in the country, and its enormously important for my state, the great state of alaska, whether its our active duty forces, our reserve forces. We have thousands and thousands, not only serving in the military now but who have served. More vets per capita than any state in the country, and thousands of civilians and family members who support them. So these issues of military funding, rebuilding our military are really important to a lot of us, so i welcome, i welcome the democratic leaderships new focus in the past 72 hours on military readiness, on supporting our troops. On rebuilding our forces, but i will admit this, that im skeptical, very skeptical. The American People watching this debate, at home or in the gallery, you should be skeptical today. You should be skeptical when the junior senator from vermont talks about being stronger in the military. What is really going on here, mr. President . Why all this new talk from the democratic leadership about how important it is to fully fund our troops. How come they werent talking about this last year or the year before . Well, i think they might be overcompensating. I think they might be worried. I think they might be feeling a bit defensive. I think they might be trying to preempt arguments that their policies of late have actually been harmful to the military and our troops and their families. And the truth is, mr. President , their policies of late have been harmful to our military forces and our readiness. Here are a few important points. From 2010 to 2016, the second term of the Obama Administration, the department of Defense Budget declined by 25 . Thats not a focus on the military, thats for sure. And there were dramatic, dramatic troop cuts. As a matter of fact when i first started in this body in 2015, the Obama Administration announced they were cutting 40,000 active duty army troops. This was in 2015. 5,000 of which were focused on alaska. And because of this, weve seen readiness in our armed forces plummet. Heres a few disturbing facts, a few disturbing trends. At least onethird of Marine Aviation isnt flying right now. Weve had numerous mishaps that have killed marines because of accidents. Only five out of eight brigade teams are fully ready. We have the smallest u. S. Air force in u. S. History. We have a Pilot Shortage in the air force and navy with regard to being able to recoup pilots. Training hours for our pilots each month have been cut in half, and there are reports right now that chinese and russian pilots are getting much more monthly training than our forces. Weve had naif mishaps naval mishaps at sea that have killed several sailors in the primes of their life. The best and the brightest of our country. We all recognize that there is a big problem because as we are cutting forces and cutting spending for the last several years, the National Security threats to our country were dramatically increasing. Were cutting forces, were cutting spending, and isis is rising. North korea is becoming an enormous immediate threat, iran, china, russia. So the world isnt any safer. And yet weve been cutting our military, our forces and the funding for our troops. Thats why they are starting to be a change right now. We passed the National Defense authorization with a dramatic authorization for an increase in the military spending, but its still not appropriated. Again, mr. President , when it comes to the democratic leaderships new talking points, actions speak louder than words. The new talking points dont mean much in the face of actions that have actually undermined our military. Let me provide a few examples. In the past three years every defense appropriations bill that has passed out of the Appropriations Committee has been filibustered by the democratic side. Let me say that again. Every time we brought a bill, usually a very bipartisan bill out of the Appropriations Committee for the funding for our troops, every single time it gets filibustered by the democratic side. Thats not supporting our military. A number of us have come down. We talked about this. We encouraged our colleagues, dont support the filibuster. And then weve asked, why are you doing this . Why are you doing this . We all know that our forces have been cut too dramatically, that National Security challenges have increased, and yet every single time we bring a bill out of the Appropriations Committee to fund our troops, the other side filibusters that bill. Now, most people back if most people back home knew that, whether they are democrat or republican, doesnt matter what state you live in, if you knew that was going on the senate floor, you probably wouldnt be happy. But that is happening and it still happens every time. A senator will the senator yield to a question . Mr. Sullivan no, i will not yield. Hopefully my colleague from hawaii hasnt been filibustering spending for our troops, but it has happened. In the summer of 2015 it happened five times in a row. Next. Right now were having these discussions on the appropriate level of defense spending but the other side is saying, no, there has to be parity parity, meaning that if we increase defense spending, which people are now saying we need to do, and we do, you have to correspondingly increase domestic spending. Well, again, the vast majority of americans dont agree with that position. Thats not a position thats showing strong support for our military, and yet thats the position right now. Thats one of the reasons weve had a difficulty coming to a final top line number. In other words, if you want to increase the budget for the marines, you need to increase the bunt for the e. P. A. Or another domestic agency. Well, again, thats not showing this newfound emphasis and importance with regard to the military. But let me just provide the last one, mr. President. This government shut down, we all know that really hurts our troops. We all know that really hurts training, we all know it really hurts planning. Right now if youre a Lance Corporal in the marine corps fighting in iraq or somewhere else around the world for our National Security, youve just been told youre not getting paid. Right now the families of survivors for the military, meaning your husband or your wife or your dad was killed in action, you get survivors benefits. Guess what happened on friday night. Those families no longer get survivors benefits. We all heard it, and i would agree, a c. R. Is bad for the military. I fully agree with that, but, mr. President , theres one thing thats actually worse for the military and our troops right now, shutting down the government. Thats worse. Thats worse than a c. R. And when my colleagues on the other side trot out statements from general mattis and others, thats their view. Shutting down the government is the worst thing we can be doing right now. So a little bit of news today. This was in the Alaska Dispatch in news now known as the anchorage daily news. Im going to quote a couple of sentence from this article, mr. President. It says Lieutenant Colonel c olstead said that the Alaska National guard canceled their drills this weekend due to the government shut down. About 4,000 guard members, we have a lot of military, like i said, in alaska, said that the state was somewhere en route and they were told to go home. Now, alaskas a big state. Sometimes you can fly 1,000 miles within alaska to go to a drill weekend. She said, quote, drill weekends are when the bulk of our force, our traditional parttime guard members train alongside our fulltime personnel. Well, thats not helpful for our military. National public radio this morning did a big story on what was going on with the military. Again, they focused on alaska as well. They said at least 4,000 people were impacted. The reporter talked about how stressful this is for families. How, lets say youre a corporal in the army, you and your family can go into debt because youre not getting paid. Think about if youre deployed overseas and your wife is calling you and saying, i cant pay the rent. Thats what we did. Thats what my colleagues did on friday night. So, again, these new talking points, hey, we really support the military, be skeptical because actions speak louder than words. But its not just the military members. In alaska, as i mentioned, there are hundreds, probably thousands members in the civilian store, many who are veterans, according to the n. P. R. Story, they are going to go to work on monday and they are going to tell if they are essential or not and they have four hours to pack up their stuff and go home. So this is clearly clearly mr. President , disrupting our military. And its not just alaska. Its all over the country. And, to be honest, its all over the world. Lets talk about the civilian workforce here in virginia. In this same article that i read from earlier, it says, quote, while uniformed personnel had largely shielded from the shut down effects shutdown effects, because they are still working, but not getting paid, those not essential will be furloughed. There are more than 740,000 Defense Department civilians. General mattis said friday that half of them would be furloughed. And, again, its not just military members. Its the feamtion. I mentioned families. I mentioned survivor benefits. Theres also things called insurance that cover things, for example, like funerals. This article continues, already on saturday other effects were felt across the military. One particularly sensitive one is the temporary suspension of 100,000 payments promised to military families in the event their loved one dies so that they can travel and prepare for funerals. Well, thats now been suspended. And even our forces overseas. The article goes on to say, the Armed Forces Network which carries Television Broadcast of sporting events and other programming was taken off the air at midnight leaving deployed troops without one common way to watch n. F. L. Playoffs this weekend. That might sound like a small thing, but if youre deployed overseas, serving your country overseas, and you want to touch base with america, watching a Football Game is a great way to do that. But, guess what. Our troops arent even going to have that small privilege. So, in conclusion, mr. President , the next time the democratic leadership or some of my colleagues come down to the floor or go on cnn emphasizing their concerns for the troops and rebuilding our forces and knowing that we have to do a lot more to spend on the military, be skeptical. Be skeptical. The talking points are nice. Were hearing them from everybody. Its the actions that count. Its the actions that count. And they speak a lot louder than these newly crafted slick talking points. This has not been the focus of the democratic leadership. It hasnt been. And i believe some of them, giving these new talking points are a little bit concerned or a little bit haunted by the specter of the Democratic Party once against being known, as they were in the 1970s, as the antimilitary party. No, i will say this. The vast majority of my colleagues, democrat, republican, care about our forces, very patriotic, and care about our veterans. But the way you show that is not through talking points. The way you show that is through actions and policies that are truly and sincerely focused on supporting our troops and rebuilding our military, and we we can start that. We can start those kind of actions by ending this illconceived Government Shutdown with a vote tonight. I yield the floor. Mr. Schatz mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from hawaii. Mr. Schatz thank you, mr. President. You know, i was going to give some prepared remarks, but im going to be a little quicker because i see the senator from virginia here, and i know how devastating a Government Shutdown is for the state of virginia. Its terrible for hawaii, for our shipyards, for our federal workers, but i do want to respond to my friend from alaska. And he is my friend. We overuse that word in the United States senate, that is for sure, but dan sullivan is my friend, but hes wrong on this. First of all, a small point. The nfl network is back up and running on the Armed Forces Network. That was fixed on saturday. Second of all, there were unanimous consent requests on friday night to make sure we pay the military. On friday night, a unanimous consent request was made to pay the military. It was objected to by the majority leader. And then we tried again yesterday, and it was objected to by the majority leader. And so when the junior senator from alaska alleges that we are emerging with slick talking points about the need to support our military Service Members and civilian d. O. D. Employees, i take personal offense. And i agree, it should not be slick talking points. This should not be a bluj i dont know that one party a bludgeon or one member of one party uses against the member of another party, but lets just get our facts straight about what happened. I am not excusing what a Government Shutdown does to people. Civilian d. O. D. , Service Members, other government employees, essential, nonessential. The people who depend not just the workers, but the people who get services from the workers. Im not defending this shutdown, but let the facts be clear. On the night of the beginning of the shutdown, a democratic senator tried to ensure that at least we minimize the harm for our Service Members and then we did it again yesterday, and both times it was objected to by the majority leader. With that, i will deliver my other remarks later and yield the floor to the senator from virginia. The presiding officer the senator from virginia. Mr. Kaine i appreciate the deference of my colleague from hawaii. I also echo the comments about friendship with the junior senator from alaska. This is a matter that is of deep importance in virginia, and i rise to talk about why were here on a sunday in january, the second day of the shutdown of the federal government. When i conclude my speech, i will seek unanimous consent for reopening of the government for three days as we find a path forward. Mr. President , were in a shutdown mode before the republican majority has not prioritized completing a budget during the first year of the Trump Administration. As the party in control of the white house, the senate, and the house, there is a calendar set forth in law that we are supposed to follow. The president is supposed to present a budget to congress in february. He didnt. The houses are supposed to pass budgets in the committees in the spring. The authorizing committees are supposed to write bills. Many of them did, but because they didnt have budget numbers to write them to, they were sort of marginal effect. And the Appropriations Committees are supposed to have funding bills ready and passed to start the fiscal year on october 1. The president was supposed to present a budget, and he didnt. The budget committees controlled by republicans are supposed to pass a budget, and they didnt. And the Appropriations Committees are supposed to have bills that are ready to be in effect on october 1 of the fiscal year, and they didnt. Now, thats not unique to this particular congress, but it explains why we are here. Why was there a decision to violate the statutory calendar and not frankly even get to a series consideration of the budget until january, the fourth month of the fiscal year . Well, its because the majority decided that the priority of the budget was a low priority. Instead of working on the budget in Appropriations Bills, what the majority wanted to work on for the first nine months of the year was the ineffective and ultimately failed effort to repeal the Affordable Care act. That took us into late september, essentially a week before the start of the fiscal year. The repeal of the Affordable Care act was more important, was a higher priority than getting a budget done to Fund Governmental services. When that effort was done, did the majority then race to do a budget and do appropriations . No. They then took the next three months now into the fiscal year with no budget to do tax cuts, and eventually before december were able to pass a tax cut bill. Finally, the majority has turned to this issue of the budget and the urgency of the budget in january of the fourth month of the fiscal year, and theyre using a gimmick again, that both parties have used, continuing resolution to evade the responsibility of actually doing a budget. The rs, when they were focusing on other things and they didnt want to focus on the budget because it was about tax cuts and repealing the Affordable Care act, said we cant do it by october 1. Give us until december 8. And then they said give us until december 22. And then they said give us until january 19. The democratic minorities reluctantly agreed, but it was the republicans who said we want to push this budget back, back, back, back. Nearly two weeks ago, mr. President , there was a very important meeting that frankly has not occurred in my time in the senate. It was a request by our secretary of defense, secretary james mattis, to come and speak to the caucus lunches. I had been here since january, 2013. That has not happened before. He came, i believe it was on january 8, a tuesday, to speak to both the democratic and republican caucuses. I know what he told us. I know the honor of secretary mattis, im sure he said the same thing to the republicans. And what he said is dont give me another continuing resolution. He told us, as he has repeatedly testified and as others have testified, that continuing resolutions are des trying the military. Theyre destroying our readiness. Theyre destroying our capacity to meet the threats of today. He said dont continue this continuing resolution mania. Give me a fullyear budget. Give me a fullyear budget. And so when the republican majority proposed yet another continuing resolution until february 19, with no commitment about actually finding a budget deal, many of us, both democrats and republicans, said we would no longer support the continuing resolution gimmick, and we wanted to move expeditiously toward a full budget deal. I think this is very important because, again, this is President Trumps secretary of defense saying do not give me a continuing resolution. Lets find a full budget deal. As my colleague, senator mccain, said in a written statement the other night, a shutdown is bad and a continuing resolution is bad. We need to move forward to find a full budget deal. It was interesting that even as we were here thursday night and the house was passing a continuing resolution to put it on the table here, the department of defense, the pentagons chief spokesperson was tweeting out stop, dont do another continuing resolution. This is wasteful, it is hurting the military. Work toward a full budget deal. That is the position of the department of defense in the Trump Administration that this c. R. Is actually a bad thing. And thats why were here because we didnt heed the advice of the secretary of defense. We delayed consideration of the budget until well into the fiscal year, and were here for another reason. Were here because President Trump announced in september that hes terminating Legal Protections for hundreds of thousands of dreamers. It was interesting, the other night, the majority leader repeatedly called these dreamers illegal immigrants. Theyre not illegal. They are here protected by a president ial executive order thats been upheld in courts. They are legal. President trump is threatening to take away their legal status and make them illegal, but when the majority leader stands here and calls dreamers illegal immigrants, it really shows you the contempt with which he holds these young people. To call people who have a Legal Protection illegal immigrants, as he has done and as the president has done, is deeply offensive. But the president s threat to end their legal status on march 5 creates a huge hardship for them and is a matter of real urgency. When the house passed the continuing resolution thursday night, we asked the majority for a vote. We said lets vote right now to defeat the continuing resolution because the votes arent here. Even republicans will vote against it. The pentagon was sweeting out asking, basically telling us the c. R. Is unacceptable, and we asked for that vote thursday night so we would have the full day of friday to find a compromise and keep the government open. But the majority wouldnt let us vote thursday night. They wouldnt let us vote and then find friday as a day to find compromise to keep the government open. Instead, they postponed the vote until 10 00 friday, thinking that would pressure people, but it failed, as we knew that it would, and when my democratic colleagues stood on the floor twice and asked for shortterm ability to keep the government open, to keep negotiating, the majority objected. And so the government closed down, as the majority objected to those shortterm agreements. Why did the majority object to keeping us open over the weekend while we debated . Thats a question for them to answer, but i have a surmise. My surmise is that theyre okay with the shutdown. Im only aware of two people who think shutdown is good. In virginia, we dont think its good, our military doesnt think its good, our federal employees dont think its good, those receiving Social Security disability checks dont think its good, virginians dont think its a good thing, but i can find two people who think shutdown is a good thing. President trump in a tweet on may 2, 2017, basically said our country needs a good shutdown in september to fix this mess. Well, he didnt get exactly what he wanted. He didnt get a shutdown in september. But can you imagine the mindset of somebody basically saying that a shutdown is a good thing . This president , its President Trump who uniquely says and hes the only person i know who has said it that a shutdown is a good thing. And he actually tweeted out something similar yesterday. He said on my oneyear anniversary, this shutdown has given me a, quote, nice present. Nice anniversary present. Thats what he tweeted out yesterday. So we have President Trump on the record saying a shutdown is a good thing, and its a nice present. I have to have one other person who has said a shutdown is a good thing. I think it was on friday, actually, where the republican director of the office of management and budget was on a radio show hosted by sean hannity, and this is a direct quote. From mick mulvaney, director of the office of management and budget. Quote, in fact, i found out for the first time last night that the person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool. The person who technically shuts the government down is me, which is kind of cool. The reason we on this side are referring to this as the trump shutdown is because its only President Trump who has said the shutdown is good. Its only his office of management and budget director who says its cool to shut the government down. And when we offered to our republican colleagues to avert the shutdown friday night, they objected to it. They objected to it. So here we are. We need to follow the advice of the secretary of defense and reopen government and commit to finding not another continuing resolution but a full budget deal. A full budget deal that deals with all of our priorities, whether it be emergency relief in texas or chip reauthorization or education or defense financing. Thats what secretary mattis has asked us to do, and thats what we need to do. And we must also deal with the emergency created by President Trump with his threat to take legal children and deprive them of their legal status on march 5. And so for that reason, mr. President , i would like to ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar item 36, which is h. R. 1301. That the schumer amendment that would provide for a continuing resolution to fund the government through tuesday, january 23, 2018, which is at the desk be the only amendment in order to the bill, that there be one hour of debate equally divided between the two leaders considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered and read a third time and passed, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Cornyn mr. President. The presiding officer the majority whip. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , reserving the right to object. Shutting down the government only to fund it three days afterwards isnt how this place is supposed to work and it isnt what the American People deserve. We will vote to open the federal government for three weeks and discuss spending caps. If our democratic colleagues are ready to end this needless shutdown, then lets have the vote right now and begin discussions on bipartisan priorities. So, mr. President , i ask unanimous consent that the senators request be amended and that unanimous consent be given, notwithstanding rule 22, that the Senate Immediately vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion which amends chip and reopens the government, and if all post the Senate Immediately vote on the motion to concur with further amendment. The presiding officer does the senator from virginia so modify his request . Mr. Kaine i do not modify request because this has been noticed for later in the evening and the colleagues who have been asked to vote on it are not here so i do not agree to modify my request. The presiding officer is there objection to the original request . Objection is heard. Mr. Merkley mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from oregon. Mr. Merkley i ask unanimous consent to address some questions to my colleague from virginia. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Merkley thank you. Senator, thank you very much for laying out some of the history of the key elements of how we got here. Now, if your continuing resolution had been agreed to we would have a vote to reopen the government. Mr. Kaine thats correct. Mr. Merkley is this not the same request consent that was put forward by our cheeg from montana, senator tester, just on friday night . Mr. Kaine i believe democrats asked for a one day and threeday extension. Mr. Merkley repeatedly, the majority that controls this chamber and has locked up the amendment box, the opportunity for anybody to put one forward, they have locked it up. And we asked to unlock it and had a proposal to keep the government hope and now to reopen the government, they are absolutely refusing to entertain the prospect of this amendment being heard. Mr. Kaine that is correct. I think the point that you made, senator, about locking up the amendment, i think is important. The bill that came over from the house, we should have been able to debate and potentially make it better and acceptable to members of both parties knowing that those votes were needed, but the majority leader decided to make it our way or the highway and gave us no ability to offer amendments to improve it. Mr. Merkley so the citizens of the United States anticipate that this body, once referred to as a great deliberative body, would have a chance to have different ideas to be put forward, but that has not been the opportunity, nobody has been able to put before us any proposal. Mr. Kaine how important this is to keep the government open, the majority refused to entertain any proposal to that effect even if it had bipartisan support. Mr. Kaine they would not entertain any amendments or the oneand threeday extensions to keep the government open. Mr. Merkley the president wanted it, but also the majority leader, on behalf of the majority, also wanted to keep a shutdown and refused to entertain the democratic bipartisan proposals to open it up . Mr. Kaine the senator is correct. I remind the seant if we voted senator, if we voted it down, we would have had a bipartisan support to keep the government open. The majority leader refused to do it. He set the vote at the end of the day on friday to maximize the chance of a shutdown. Mr. Merkley the republicans ins house rejected at least three times the democratic effort to have a bipartisan proposal to keep the government open or after they shut it down with the trump shutdown to reopen it. But even as you put this proposal forward at this moment, they are still determined to keep the government shut down. Mr. Kaine i cant understand it other than dealing with the president who said that he thinks that a shutdown is good and others have said it is good. Mr. Merkley so many of us are ready to have a threeday period in order to force intensive negotiations. What we have seen when republicans do a continuing resolution of a month or longer, they wait two or three days to work on the issues. We want to work on it now. I think thats what your constituents in virginia would like to see us do. Mr. Kaine my constituents in virginia view the gimmick of a c. R. As a shutdown and asking federal employees and troops to do a budget and do it the right way. Mr. Merkley they want to see us open up the Community Health centers because they are important. Mr. Kaine that is true. And the continuing resolution that they forced to wait until a 10 00 vote on friday night did not include the Community Health centers. Mr. Merkley i think were all ready to open it up for three days just as we were determined not to shut it down in the first place. Lets end the trump shutdown and encourage our republican colleagues to quit hatching and continuing this plan to extract this penalty, this damage to our nation. Thank you. Mr. Kaine thank you. The presiding officer the senator from illinois. Ms. Duckworth mr. President , i ask to proceed the immediate consideration of calendar 36, h. R. 1301, that the amendment at the desk, providing for continuing appropriations for pay and death benefits for members of the Armed Services be considered and agreed to, the bill, as amended, to be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection . Mr. Cornyn mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from texas. Mr. Cornyn mr. President , reserving the right to object. I think one of the most offensive things about this Government Shutdown is that our men and women in uniform are being used as political pawns. Thats why im surprised to see so many of our democratic colleagues force us into a twoday Government Shutdown. Part of their strategy and calling into question our commitment to fund our military and support their families. Its completely irresponsible and our Service Members deserve better. We have an obligation to provide them with the certainty of a fullyear funding bill because they deserve it. So, mr. President , i would ask that the request be amended. I ask unanimous consent that the request be amended to provide that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 36, h. R. 1301, that the amendment at the desk, which provides for full funding for authorized activities in the National Defense authorization be considered and agreed to, the bill be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer is there objection to the modification. Ms. Duckworth i object to the modification. The presiding officer objection is heard. Is there objection to the original request . Mr. Cornyn mr. President , i object. The presiding officer objection is heard. The senator from illinois. Ms. Duckworth mr. President , as we enter day two of the trump shutdown, i am here on the floor again imploring my colleagues to take action right now on something we can all agree on. That we enthat our that this shutdown and ensure that the shutdown does not we all agree they have enough to worry about without having to worry if their paycheck will come on time this month. We need to take immediate action to pass the pay our military act to eliminate any threat of our military personnel not being paid, or even works ors, our military families not receiving death benefits when the loved one has made a measure of devotion for this country. We have to do better by our constituents and this great nation. But in that but in the meantime, lets at least take this simple commonsense step that we all agree on. Let us remove any possibility of military pay and even worse military death benefits will be used and held hostage as political leverage. That would be unconscionable. Lets take this off the table right now. The reality is that quickly passing the pay our military act is the least we can do. We must continue working for as long as it takes to develop and pass a bipartisan solution to fund our government. However, if acting now to ensure military pay and death benefits continue during this shutdown brings relief to just one military family, that will be worth it. If it prevents just one survivor from experiencing even more pain and hardship as they struggle with the grief of losing a loved one killed in action while defending our great nation, then it will be worth it. The time to act is now. This should not be a partisan issue. Every member of Congress Supports paying our military personnel and ensuring military death benefits are not delayed. So why delay now . Theres no good reason. Mr. President , that is why i would ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar of number calendar number 36. I yield the floor, mr. President. Mrs. Shaheen mr. President. Mr. President , like i assume most of the rest of the members of the senate, im disappointed to date we have not reached a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government. I think its important to note that theres a lot of shared frustration on both sides of the aisle about how we got here. Leader mcconnell and senator graham and other republicans have expressed their exasperation at the fact that for weeks President Trump hasnt stuck to a position for longer than a couple of hours and he has derailed several proposals that would have addressed the concerns that have been expressed by democrats in this body about how to move forward to keep the government open. Thankfully there is also a lot of bipartisan consensus in the senate that we need to Work Together to fix our situation to get the government up and running again and to address some of the longterm challenges that have led to this moment. But in order to do this, we need the president and we need Republican Leadership to provide some leadership so that we can move forward. Im committed to negotiations that will allow us to address certain key issues. First and foremost, i believe, is a longterm budget agreement that will go through the remainder of this fiscal year, that will put our defense on solid footing and not shortchange our domestic needs. Congress has got to set aside these shortterm funding bills this is the fourth one in just the last three and a half months since the beginning of this fiscal year, because these bills inflict real damage on our domestic needs and also on our armed forces. We also need the necessary federal resources to help communities and First Responders across the country effectively combat the National Opioid epidemic, and we need longterm funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program and for Community Health centers and for other Health Issues that were facing. I have rural hospitals in New Hampshire, that if they dont get the payments, the disproportionate share payments, that they could be in real financial trouble. So we need to address these challenges that are facing states across the country, and we also need a solution that will give dreamers a path to citizenship, a path that they deserve so that they can live and work without fear of deportation. Now, a bipartisan deal that will provide longterm budget certainty is absolutely critical for our National Security. It cant be overstated how much damage continued shortterm funding causes our military. We have been repeatedly warned by the pentagon of the damaging impacts of budget uncertainty. We heard from secretary mattis in just the last couple of weeks he came in to both the democrat and republican caucuses and said please dont give us another continuing resolution. Army chief of staff general mark millie has cautioned that the Army Combat Readiness has significantly hampered the combat training cycles and sometimes they are discontinued. Just recently in fact, on friday, i believe, the pentagon spokeswoman echoed this sentiment, saying that operating under years of continuing resolutions is wasteful and destructive and that what is needed is a fully funded budget. Now, when we had our first navy caucus, i know that the presiding officer can identify with this because we met with admiral richardson, and admiral richardson said we tell everybody in the navy not to count on doing anything in the First Quarter of a fiscal year because we have been operating under continuing resolutions for so long. So as we continue working toward a bipartisan compromise, it is critically important that we ensure our military Service Members as well as department of defense civilians and contractors who support them, receive the pay they have earned. I was disappointed that when senator kaine and senator duckworth made that unanimous consent request, when senator mccaskill made it on friday night that it was objected to. The fact is there is an effort to get this done by unanimous consent, running whats called the hotline here on both sides of the aisle, and the majority is objecting to allowing us to go ahead and make the commitment that were going to pay our men and women of the military and their civilian support. Our men and women in uniform, as well department of defense civilians, work tirelessly to protect our National Security, and they and their families should not have to worry about whether they are going to receive a paycheck. We urgently need to pass the pay our military act legislation. This is legislation that will allow our men and women in uniform to focus on their Critical Missions across the globe that are paramount to protecting this nation. They need the peace of mind to know that they will be compensated. And i believe thats what everybody in this chamber thinks we should do. Importantly, that legislation would ensure that death benefits will be funded should a Service Member be killed overseas. Again, i think this is something that all of us agree needs to happen, that we should agree it should happen now, because whether youre stationed in afghanistan, on the korean peninsula, deterring russian aggression in eastern europe, our Service Members should not have to worry about whether they will be able to provide for their families and their loved ones back home. We passed similar legislation in 2013 during the last Government Shutdown, and i urge swift passage of this important legislation again, so that our men and women in the military can continue to protect our country without worry. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President. The presiding officer the senator from washington. Mrs. Murray mr. President , it was just one year ago that President Trump was sworn into office, promising the American People he would break through the gridlock to get results for workers and families, that he would work with democrats and republicans, that he would be this great dealmaker, the best, he said. Well, mr. President , this past year has proven quite the opposite, and nothing has made that clearer than what we have seen these past few days. This has been a year of chaos and disfunction, of bullying and attacks, of hatred and division and controversy and crises, and thats just what we have been seeing on the president s twitter feed before breakfast. So, mr. President , on the heels of so much utter dysfunction and disarray coming from this republican government, it is fitting, even while deeply disappointing, that President Trumps first year has ended with him pushing our country into a completely unnecessary Government Shutdown, because, mr. President , there is no reason, absolutely no reason at all why we should be in this position. Democrats have spent months, months trying to get the president and Republican Leaders to work with us. We have spent months pushing republicans to work with us to pass a longterm extension of the Childrens Health Insurance Program that gives millions of kids access to care. We have spent months pushing republicans to work with us to pass funding for Community Health Center Programs so many of our patients and families depend on. We have spent months pushing republicans to work with us to pass Disaster Relief for our families and communities who have been hit so hard. We have spent months pushing republicans to work with us to support our veterans and to combat opioid and substance abuse. We have spent months pushing republicans to work with us to increase investments in education and health care and other domestic and defense priorities. And, mr. President , we have spent months and really years pushing republicans to work with us to protect the hundreds of thousands of dreamers across our country. Young men and women who have known no home but america. Who have spent their entire lives reciting our pledge of allegiance. Who think of our great country as their great country. Who now, through no fault of their own, are facing the prospect of being torn from their homes, from their families and their friends, and deported to a country many of them cannot even remember. Mr. President , months and months have been spent trying to get republicans to work with us. Months and months we have been urging republicans to join us at the table. Months and months trying to solve problems with solutions that had bipartisan support, democrats and republicans were on the same page on all of these issues. And for months and months, President Trump and the Republican Leaders have refused. They sat in their partisan corner. They ignored the democrats and republicans who wanted results, and they pushed us to the precipice and then right into this completely unnecessary shutdown. Mr. President , i know this has been discussed here on the senate floor at length today, but it bears repeating. This shutdown is a choice made by republicans, the party that controls the senate, the house, and the white house. It is a choice made through their inaction, months and months of refusing to work with us, and it is a choice made through their actions trying to jam through a partisan bill at the last minute they knew couldnt pass, blocking our lastminute efforts to keep the government open for a few days while we negotiate an actual deal, moving the goalposts in the lastminute negotiations between President Trump and the democratic leader from new york, and now spending their time trying to point fingers and place blame instead of facing up to their responsibilities as the governing party. Mr. President , i know President Trump said this year that our country, quote, needs a good shutdown. Well, i hope he remembers what he said back in 2013 because back then President Trump said and this is a quote problems start from the top, and they have to get solved from the top, and the president is the leader, and hes got to get everybody in a room, and he has got to lead. And he went on to say, and i again quote, when they talk about the Government Shutdown, they are going to be talking about the president of the United States who was president at that time. And that in a Government Shutdown, quote, i really think the pressure is on the president. Mr. President , i dont say this often, but President Trump was absolutely right in 2013 about the trump shutdown of 2018. President trump is not the only one in the white house, but it is republicans who run the senate and they run the house, all of them. The onus is on them to get this done, and they have a Democratic Party who is ready to work with them to get this done right. Now, mr. President , before i close, i do want to make one final point, very much connected. This weekend is not just one year since President Trumps inauguration. It is also the anniversary of the womens march when millions and millions of people across the country stood up to make it clear, wearing those bright pink hats that they werent going to just sit by and watch. I was at that incredible womens march here in d. C. A year ago and i remember thinking to myself this is what a democracy looks like. People getting involved, getting engaged, speaking up, fighting back, and standing strong. So for those women and men at the march this weekend and for the millions and millions more who are looking at what is happening in our country and feel so strongly this just isnt right, democrats agree, and weve got your back. So im going to keep fighting as hard as i can and im going to keep making it clear i stand ready to work with anyone from any party whos willing to stand with me to restore respect and get results, and i believe there are enough members on both sides of the aisle who are more focused on reaching out hands than pointing fingers, and we can get this done. We can reopen our government. We can address the many challenges facing the people we represent, and we can get back to doing the work the people we represent sent us here to do. Now, mr. President , before i close, i do want to mention one thing. A number of my colleagues have been working hard to make sure our military and their families are protected, no matter what. We have a bill, the pay our military act, that would do exactly that. My friend, the senator from missouri, has been working so hard to get this done. I know my friend, the junior senator from illinois has as well. So many of us believe this is the right thing to do right now at a time when there is uncertainty. Unfortunately, mr. President , the republican leader has blocked our efforts so far. I just want to say i am really hopeful he reverses course and allows us to get this done. It is the right thing to do, and it is the least we can do for the men and women who sign up to serve our country and protect all of us. Thank you, mr. President. I yield the floor. And i suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call e