[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 184 (Thursday, December 17, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8733-S8734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   OMNIBUS AND TAX RELIEF LEGISLATION

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the American people have two principal 
concerns: our Nation's security and the economy. The legislation we 
will soon consider will help address both. It would enact permanent tax 
relief for American families and small businesses. That will lead to 
more jobs, more opportunity, and more economic growth here in 
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[[Page S8734]]

  Another way this legislation will support jobs and grow the economy 
is by permanently eliminating a relic from the 1970s. This 40-year 
energy ban has cost our economy jobs, and it strengthens oil exporters 
such as Iran and Russia. It is no secret that Russia views its energy 
resources as a foreign policy tool. It is no secret that Iran views its 
energy resources as a component of national power, nor is it a secret 
that President Obama recently granted the Iranian regime permission to 
export those resources. Many think it is time the American people were 
treated at least as fairly as Iran.
  This critical energy reform would help strengthen America's jobs and 
America's safety, but it is only a small part of how the overall bill 
would support our national security. For instance, we know that 
preventing another crisis in military readiness will require 
significant investments over the medium term and over the long term. We 
know there is much to be done, but we also know this legislation 
represents a critical step forward. It would finally ensure our 
military has the funding it needs to train, equip, and confront the 
threats we face from terrorist groups like ISIL and countries like 
Iran.
  We know that preventing another crisis in military readiness will 
require significant investments over the near, medium, and the long 
term. For instance, our air campaign over Syria and Iraq has our Navy, 
Marine Corps, and Air Force flying sorties that will further stress the 
readiness of the force, and those planes need to be maintained, 
repaired, and ultimately replaced. We know there is much to be done, 
but we also know this legislation represents a critical step forward. 
It would finally ensure our military has more of the funding it needs 
to train, equip, and confront the threats we face from terrorist groups 
like ISIL and countries like Iran.
  We know this legislation would honor our veterans by funding the 
health care and benefits they rely on. We know it would enact critical 
reforms to help address the crises we have seen at the VA.
  We know this legislation would, at a time of new and evolving terror 
threats, bring badly needed reform to the Visa Waiver Program. We know 
it would bolster the FBI's ability to confront terror within our 
borders.
  We know this legislation would prevent--I repeat, prevent--the 
transfer of dangerous terrorists from Guantanamo's secure detention 
center into our communities.
  We also know this legislation would enact an important cyber security 
information sharing measure. It is clear that countries such as Russia, 
China, and Iran are determined to continue launching cyber attacks 
against us. We know that the administration already succumbed to a 
devastating cyber attack just recently. It is time to provide the 
American people with some long-overdue protection.
  The legislation before us would go a long way toward strengthening 
our national security in a dangerous world. Its provisions will help 
advance other important conservative priorities, too, like 
strengthening the First Amendment and helping protect families from a 
health care law that attacks the middle class.
  This legislation would, in the wake of the Obama administration's 
conservative speech-suppression scandal, enact important reforms at the 
IRS and force it to root out waste. These reforms will help prevent 
another Lois Lerner, and they would help ensure that IRS employees who 
target Americans for their political beliefs are actually fired.
  This legislation would strip out more pieces of a partisan law that 
hurts the middle class. One newspaper said the measure before us would 
``take an ax'' to a ``key pillar'' of ObamaCare. It would prevent a 
taxpayer bailout of ObamaCare as well. The administration pushed hard 
to reverse that last provision but did not succeed.
  The legislation before us would root out waste, fraud, and abuse. It 
would consolidate or terminate dozens--literally dozens--of programs. 
It would make long-overdue reforms to our Tax Code and contains pro-
life and pro-Second Amendment protections as well.
  So, in my view, here is the bottom line: This legislation is worth 
supporting. It doesn't mean this is the legislation I would have 
written on my own. It doesn't mean this is the legislation Speaker Ryan 
would have written on his own either. It is not perfect, and we 
certainly didn't get everything we wanted. But it made strides in it 
defending our Nation at a time of global unrest. It advances 
conservative priorities in several areas and enacts significant reform 
in several areas on everything from tax relief to energy policy to 
cyber security.
  I plan to vote for it. I hope colleagues will choose to do the same.
  Before I leave the floor, I wish to acknowledge the impressive work 
of the chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Orrin Hatch, on the 
tax side of this issue. Permanent reform was never going to be easy to 
come by, but this thoughtful legislator, Senator Hatch, never gave up, 
and he and his staff continued to work on this issue for a very long 
time. The result is a significant accomplishment for American families 
and the American economy, and I can't thank Senator Hatch enough.

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