[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 3, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S707-S708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2015--MOTION TO 
                                PROCEED

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to H.R. 240.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 5, H.R. 240, a bill 
     making appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security 
     for the fiscal year beginning September 30, 2015, and for 
     other purposes.


           Measures Placed On The Calendar--S. 338 And S. 339

  Mr. McCONNELL. I understand there are two bills at the desk due for a 
second reading.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bills by title for the 
second time.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 338) to permanently reauthorize the Land and 
     Water Conservation Fund.
       A bill (S. 339) to repeal the Patient Protection and 
     Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education 
     Reconciliation Act of 2010 entirely.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, in order to place the bills on the 
calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I object to further 
proceedings en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The bills will be placed on the calendar.


                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, at noon today the Senate will vote on 
passage of H.R. 203, the bipartisan veterans suicide prevention bill. 
Following the recess for the weekly party lunches, we will vote on 
cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 240, a bill to fund the 
Department of Homeland Security.


         Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention For American Veterans Act

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, following last week's bipartisan vote 
for American jobs, the new Republican Congress will vote to send the 
President another bipartisan bill today. It is legislation that already 
passed the House of Representatives unanimously, the Clay Hunt Suicide 
Prevention for American Veterans Act.
  This bill would offer critical support to the men and women who have 
already sacrificed so much for all of us. It would extend a helping 
hand to heroes when they need it. It is just the kind of commonsense 
bipartisan action the new Congress can deliver for the American people.
  Let me recognize once more the great work of Senators Isakson and 
McCain on this bill. I hope our colleagues across the aisle will help 
us pass this legislation today with strong bipartisan support.


                Department Of Homeland Security Funding

  Mr. President, when the new Senate convened, I stated my view that 
democracy is not about what you can get away with, it is about what can 
be achieved together. Exercising raw power is easier, no question about 
that. Changing the rules of democracy when they do not suit you can be 
pretty tempting to politicians. But we are hoping our colleagues in the 
Democratic Party will agree that elected leaders can be bigger than 
that. We are hoping Democrats will agree that it is on Presidents to 
consider the long-term consequences of partisan power grabs and to rise 
above the kinds of partisan temptations that tend to emerge.
  The choices Democrats make on the legislation before us will say a 
lot about whether there are still two serious political parties in our 
country, whether there are still two parties interested in governing 
within a constitutional framework.
  At its core, the debate is about whether Democrats think Presidents 
of either party should have the power to simply do what they want. 
While this is about more than just President Obama, it is also true 
that President Obama has repeatedly reached beyond his authority.

[[Page S708]]

  Some of the President's overreach has been so out of bounds that the 
Supreme Court struck it down unanimously. Whether on the left, right, 
or center, every last Justice--even those appointed by the President--
rebuked him for his overreach on recess appointments last June. Then 
just a couple of months ago the President rebuked himself by taking 
actions he had previously said many times that he lacked the legal 
authority to take. When he tried to suggest otherwise, a fact-checker 
blasted the spin and clarified that the President had been asked 
specifically about just the sorts of actions he was contemplating.
  Last year President Obama declared that executive action was ``not an 
option'' because it would mean ``ignoring the law.'' ``There is a path 
to get this done,'' the President said, ``and that is through 
Congress.'' That was his view then. What changed? What changed?
  The truth is, the latest power grab is not really about immigration 
reform. It is about making an already broken system even more broken. 
It is about imposing even more unfairness on immigrants who have 
already worked so hard and played by the rules. It is hard to 
understand why the President would want to impose additional unfairness 
on immigrants like these who just want to live their own American 
dream.
  The question is, Do Democrats agree with the President? Well, we will 
soon find out. We will also find out if Democrats agree with President 
Obama who ignores the law when it suits him or if they agree with 
President Obama who made this statement just a few years ago in Miami. 
Here is what he said in Miami just a couple of years ago.
  The President:

       Democracy is hard, but it's right. [And] changing our laws 
     means doing the hard work of changing minds and changing 
     votes one by one.

  That is the President a couple of years ago.
  So I am calling on Democrats to vote with us now to fund the 
Department of Homeland Security. I am calling on Democrats to join us 
and stand up for core democratic principles such as the rule of law and 
separation of powers.


                   Recognition Of The Minority Leader

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.


                        Loretta Lynch Nomination

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the record held by the Republicans dealing 
with Cabinet officers is not one they should be proud of. For example, 
during a time of the War on Terror, the Republicans held up the Defense 
Department's nominee for a historically long time. Never in the past 
had someone who was to be Defense Secretary been held up by being 
blocked from moving forward.
  You would think that would be a lesson learned and that would be 
enough, but no, that is not enough. Loretta Lynch, for example, who was 
nominated by the President to be Attorney General, has been held up for 
longer than any nominee for Attorney General in the last 30 or 40 
years. It is hard to comprehend that. For example, Senator Lindsey 
Graham said she was ``a solid choice.'' Senator Orrin Hatch has 
indicated that he supports her nomination. Why, then, do we have to 
keep waiting and waiting? We are approaching 3 months that this good 
woman has been held up from a job for which she has been nominated.
  I would hope the Republican leadership would move this out of the 
Senate as quickly as possible.


                Department Of Homeland Security Funding

  Mr. President, I am not going to dwell very long on the matter that 
is before this body, and we will vote at 2:30. We have here with us the 
leading Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, and she will talk 
about homeland security. We have here on the floor today the assistant 
Democratic leader, who was one of the authors of a bill which we 
brought to the floor and which was debated for a long time and passed 
overwhelmingly before it was blocked by the Republicans.
  We have before us a very interesting proposition. We have had 
terrorist attacks in Canada, in Australia, all over the European Union, 
including France and Belgium. Those countries, rather than talking 
about not funding homeland security, are talking about funding it with 
more money--but not the Senate led by the Republicans. They are doing 
everything within their power to make sure Homeland Security is held 
hostage to matters that do not really relate to homeland security.
  If my Republican colleagues do not like something President Obama has 
done dealing with Presidential Executive orders--which, by the way, he 
has done less than any President in modern times--bring it up on the 
Senate floor and let's have a debate on that. Let's not do what 
happened previously and shut down the government. That is the direction 
we are headed. That is really too bad.


                         The President's Budget

  Finally, Mr. President, the President has outlined a good proposal 
for a budget. It is nothing that is new. It is simply building upon the 
budget that was so successfully negotiated by Senator Murray and 
Congressman Ryan. That is what this budget he proposed is all about. It 
would seem to me, rather than the Republicans running out, as soon as 
he said a word, saying no, no, no, let's look at areas where we can 
compromise. Don't we need something done with the infrastructure of 
this country? The answer is obviously yes. Why can't we work something 
out in that regard? So I would hope that rather than saying no to 
everything the President does, that we should understand that our role, 
including Republican Senators, is to legislate. Legislation is the art 
of compromise.


                       Reservation Of Leader Time

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the leadership time 
is reserved.

                          ____________________