[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 125 (Tuesday, August 4, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6249-S6250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REPUBLICAN-LED SENATE
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, while Republicans were campaigning last
fall, we promised the American people that if they put us in charge, we
would get the Senate working again. That wasn't a campaign slogan. That
was a commitment.
I am proud to report that we are delivering on that promise. The
first 7 months of the 114th Congress have been some of the most
productive the Senate has had in a long time. We have passed more than
70 bills to help strengthen our economy, reform our government, protect
some of the most vulnerable, and strengthen our national security.
We passed bipartisan legislation to authorize the Keystone Pipeline,
a valuable infrastructure project that would support more than 42,000
jobs during construction and invest $5.3 billion in the U.S. economy,
all without spending a dime of taxpayer money.
We passed a bipartisan bill to strengthen our efforts to eradicate
human trafficking in this country and to help its victims. This
legislation, which passed the Senate with unanimous support from
Democrats and Republicans and was signed into law in May, gives law
enforcement new tools to target traffickers, including increased access
to wiretaps, and it significantly expands the resources available to
trafficking victims as they seek to rebuild their lives.
As negotiations with Iran over a nuclear agreement were repeatedly
extended and as reports of significant compromises emerged, Democrats
and Republicans alike grew concerned that the administration would fail
to negotiate a deal that would be strong enough to prevent Iran from
acquiring a nuclear weapon. To address these concerns, the Senate
passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act. This legislation, which
passed the Senate with overwhelming support from Democrats and
Republicans and was signed into law by President Obama, was designed to
ensure that the American people, through their elected representatives,
would have a voice in any deal with Iran.
Without the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act there would be no
opportunity for an up-or-down vote on this deal in Congress and no way
to prevent the President from immediately waiving the sanctions that
Congress put in place. Congress is currently reviewing the final
agreement announced by the President, an agreement that has been
greeted, I might add, with bipartisan skepticism. We will be holding a
vote on this deal in September.
Increasing access to jobs and expanding opportunities for American
workers is a priority of the Republican-led Congress. In May, with the
support of 14 Democrats, the Republican-led Senate passed legislation
to reauthorize trade promotion authority, which is key to securing
trade deals that are favorable to American workers and businesses.
Since 2009, increasing exports have accounted for more than 1.6 million
new jobs in the United States.
[[Page S6250]]
Manufacturing jobs that depend on exports pay an average of 13 to 18
percent more than other jobs in the economy. Thanks to the bipartisan
trade promotion authority legislation, the administration now has a key
tool to negotiate trade agreements that will create more good-paying
jobs for American workers and open new markets for products labeled
``Made in the U.S.A.''
After taking up bipartisan legislation to protect our economy, the
Senate turned to another key Republican priority; that is, supporting
our military men and women. The National Defense Authorization Act,
which we considered in June, passed the Senate with strong bipartisan
support. In addition to authorizing the funding our military needs to
defend our Nation, this bill contains a number of reforms that will
expand the resources available to our military men and women and
strengthen our national security.
Among other things, this legislation targets $10 billion in
unnecessary spending and redirects those funds to military priorities
such as funding for aircraft and weapons systems and modernization of
Navy vessels. It implements sweeping reforms to the military's outdated
acquisitions process by removing bureaucracy and expediting
decisionmaking. That will significantly improve the military's ability
to access the technology and equipment it needs. It replaces the
outdated military retirement system with a modern system that will
extend retirement benefits to 75 percent of our servicemembers.
During the month of July, the Senate built on its bipartisan
achievements with two important pieces of legislation: the Every Child
Achieves Act and the DRIVE Act. The Every Child Achieves Act, which
passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin, reauthorizes Federal K-12
education programs and revokes problematic Federal mandates such as
those that resulted in the phenomenon of overtesting. This legislation
restores control of education to those who know students the best, such
as parents, teachers, and local school boards.
The DRIVE Act, which passed the Senate by a strong bipartisan margin,
is notable because it is the first Transportation bill in almost a
decade to provide more than 2 years of funding for our Nation's
infrastructure needs. Around the country, hundreds of thousands of
people and hundreds of thousands of jobs depend on the funding
contained in Transportation bills. When Congress fails to provide the
necessary certainty about the way transportation funding will be
allocated, States and local governments are left without the certainty
that they need to authorize projects or make long-term plans for
transportation infrastructure. That means that essential construction
projects get deferred, necessary repairs may not get made, and jobs
that depend on transportation are put in jeopardy. The DRIVE Act will
give States and local governments the certainty they need to plan for
and commit to key infrastructure projects.
Every bill I have discussed today passed the Senate with strong
bipartisan support. One major reason for that is Senate Republicans'
commitment to opening up the legislative process here in the Senate.
Under Democratic control, the legislative process of the Senate had
almost ground to a halt. Instead of being developed in committee, bills
were frequently drafted behind closed doors, and not only the minority
party but many rank-and-file Democrats were shut out of the process.
When Republicans took control of the Senate in January, we changed
all that. We opened up the committee process and debate on the floor.
We made it a priority to ensure that every Senator--every Senator--both
Democratic and Republican, has an opportunity to make his or her voice
heard. During 2014, the Democratic leadership allowed just 15 amendment
rollcall votes in the entire year--2014. Republicans allowed more than
15 amendment rollcall votes in our first month. So far this year, we
have allowed more than 165 amendment rollcall votes, and we still have
5 months to go in the year. The Republican-led Senate has accomplished
a lot over the past 7 months. But we know that we have a lot more to
do.
As the 114th Congress continues, we will continue to fight for the
American people's priorities. We hope the Democrats here in the Senate
will continue to join us.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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