[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 185 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8843-S8844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--S. 145, S. 403, S. 521, S. 593, S. 610, S. 
          873, S. 1103, S. 1104, S. 1240, S. 1305, AND S. 1483

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, reserving the right to object, the bill 
Senator Flake is referring to, S. 145--a bill I support--is part of a 
package of 11 bills that have been approved by the Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee known as the lands bills. By the way, of the 11 
bills, 7 of the principal sponsors are Republican and 4 are Democrats. 
S. 403 by Senator Klobuchar is on that list, which includes the North 
Country National Scenic Trail; S. 521 that I introduced concerning the 
President's Station in Baltimore; S. 593 by Senator Barrasso that 
includes the Bureau of Reclamation report on their infrastructure 
assets; S. 610 that I introduced dealing with P.S. 103, which is 
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School; S. 873 by the chair, Senator 
Murkowski, to designate wilderness within the Lake Clark National Park 
and Preserve; two bills, S. 1103 and S. 1104, by Senator Daines 
extending deadlines; S. 1240 by Senator Heinrich designating the Cerro 
del Yuta and Rio San Antonio wilderness areas in New Mexico; S. 1305 by 
Senator Barrasso concerning the Colorado River Storage Project Act; 
and, lastly, S. 1483 by Senator Alexander that would direct a 
feasibility study for designating the James K. Polk Home in Columbia, 
TN, as a unit of the National Park System.
  So therefore I ask unanimous consent that the request by Senator 
Flake be modified so that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of the following calendar items en bloc: Calendar No. 
204, S. 145; Calendar No. 205, S. 403; Calendar No. 206, S. 521; 
Calendar No. 208, S. 593; Calendar No. 209, S. 610; Calendar No. 211, 
S. 873; Calendar No. 212, S. 1103; Calendar No. 213, S. 1104; Calendar 
No. 214, S. 1240; Calendar No. 215, S. 1305; and Calendar No. 216, S. 
1483; that the applicable committee-reported amendments be agreed to, 
the bills, as amended, if amended,

[[Page S8844]]

be 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.
  That would be the list I just mentioned, the lands bills that have 
been reported out unanimously by the Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator so modify his request?
  Mr. FLAKE. I have no objection to the modification.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CRUZ. Madam President, reserving the right to object, as the 
ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee is well aware, in July 
I told Secretary Kerry in a written letter that if the administration 
sent to the United Nations this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal 
before submitting it to the U.S. Congress, that the consequence would 
be that each and every political appointee to the State Department 
would be held. Secretary Kerry nonetheless decided to disregard the 
contents of that letter, submitted it to the United Nations in 
derogation of U.S. sovereignty, and accordingly, I have been blocking 
those political nominees.
  Mr. CARDIN. Will the Senator yield for one moment?
  Mr. CRUZ. Yes.
  Mr. CARDIN. I think this request deals with the lands bills, not the 
political appointments. I just wanted to point that out. These are the 
bills that came out of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that 
deal with designating certain lands. We will have a chance later on the 
nominations.
  Mr. CRUZ. Well, reserving the right to object to that one, I would 
simply say we were going to do both. I thought you were doing the first 
one, but you are doing the other.
  On that as well, in my view, there is far too much Federal land in 
the United States that is under the control of the Federal Government. 
I was just yesterday in the State of Nevada, where some 84 percent of 
the State of Nevada is controlled by the Federal Government. We do not 
need the Federal Government becoming the largest landlord in the United 
States. Therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator so modify his request?
  Mr. FLAKE. Yes, I so modify.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection was heard to the modification.
  Is there objection to the original request?
  Mr. CARDIN. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The majority leader.

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