[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 152 (Friday, December 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S6700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as I have indicated, we are going to take up 
this important government funding bill today. Senator Mikulski, the 
Chair of the Appropriations Committee, has performed an extraordinary 
service in negotiating this bill. And I think it is fair to give a nod 
to Senator Shelby, of course, who has been involved in this. They get 
along extremely well and set a good standard for everyone in the 
Senate.
  The bill achieves many of our important priorities. It gives the 
Affordable Care Act the secure financial footing it deserves, gives our 
military the tools it needs to combat ISIS, it addresses the rape kit 
backlog, helping police and prosecutors prevent sexual assault, it 
increases funding for students' loans, ensures that the President's 
Executive action in protecting families can move forward, and it 
provides funding to fight the Ebola epidemic.
  There are lots of other things in it. I have just hit a few of the 
highlights from my perspective.
  There are things in this bill that I wouldn't have included--the 
Democrats wouldn't have included had we written the bill alone. I don't 
support the weakening of Dodd-Frank and the restrictions on the 
District of Columbia and other things, but I didn't write this bill. 
Senate Democrats didn't write this bill alone. It is a compromise. That 
is what legislation is all about.
  The Presiding Officer has been a Governor for the State of Maine. He 
is now a legislator and has been a legislator, and he knows that 
legislation is the art of compromise. Any chief executive who has to 
work with a legislature, as Presidents of the United States do, does 
not get everything he wants. Legislation is a compromise. And that is 
what this legislation is.
  We are going to consider this legislation to keep our government open 
and funded, and we are going to do it today--I hope. There are Senators 
who are unhappy with this legislation, and they will have a chance to 
make their objections heard. I hope we can complete work on this bill 
as soon as we finish the Defense bill. That depends on everyone's 
cooperation here. But there isn't a lot of time. The government funding 
runs out at 12 o'clock midnight on Saturday.
  When we started this Congress, the government was running on 
autopilot. Since 2011, we have lurched from crisis to crisis, with the 
country constantly under threat of a shutdown or financial catastrophe. 
It is a very bad habit, and one the American people are very, very 
tired of, as they should be.
  This bill is, I repeat, far from perfect. But when we pass it, we 
will be able to end this Congress knowing we put our country on a more 
secure financial footing than when this Congress started. We can then 
go home to our States, tell our constituents we passed legislation that 
keeps America safe, makes college more affordable, spurs the economy, 
and keeps our government operating.
  Talk about a CR for 3 months should scare everyone. So we are not 
there. We are going to have a bill that funds this government for the 
next fiscal year. We can be satisfied that we left our priorities 
better funded and more secure, and our government on a more sound 
foundation than when this Congress began.

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