[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 6, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4777-S4778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     LEGISLATION BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, last week's passage of responsible, 
bipartisan legislation on Puerto Rico shows what is possible when we 
keep our focus on serious solutions. That is where we should keep our 
focus again during the coming work period.
  We knew that doing nothing was not an option on Puerto Rico. So 
Senators of both parties worked to pass responsible legislation to help 
the Puerto Rican people and prevent a taxpayer bailout.
  We also knew that doing nothing was not an option on Zika, yet 
Democrats blocked over a billion dollars in new funding for women's 
health and pregnant mothers, as well as record funding levels for 
veterans. As I have said before, the Senate will revisit this important 
issue over the current work period.
  We will give Democrats another opportunity to end their filibuster of 
funding that is critical to controlling Zika and supporting our 
veterans. We will also address other important issues.
  Senators will have the opportunity to support proposals designed to 
help keep Americans safer in their communities, to help strengthen our 
military, and to help prevent families from unnecessarily paying more 
for the food they purchase.
  Let me remind colleagues of the four bills on which I filed cloture 
just before the Fourth of July State work period: the Stop Dangerous 
Sanctuary Cities Act, Kate's Law, the biotechnology labeling 
compromise, and the Defense appropriations bill. I will have more to 
say about each of those measures in just a moment.
  First, we will consider Senator Toomey's Stop Dangerous Sanctuary 
Cities Act and, then, Kate's Law from Senator Cruz. Senator Toomey's 
Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act aims to deter extreme and unfair 
so-called sanctuary city policies in the first place. Senator Cruz's 
Kate's Law will help protect the public even when cities insist on 
maintaining these dangerous policies.
  Senator Toomey's bill would support jurisdictions that cooperate with 
Federal law enforcement officials and redirects funds to them from 
those places that refuse to do so. It would also support law 
enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every single day, 
protecting them from having to live in constant fear of being sued for 
simply doing their job.
  It is no wonder that this bill has such broad support from the law 
enforcement community, including the Federal Law Enforcement Officers 
Association, the National Sheriffs' Association, and the National 
Association of Police Organizations. Senator Toomey's bill, in 
conjunction with Senator Cruz's bill, aims to prevent more families 
from experiencing the heartache that Kate Steinle's family has been 
forced to endure.
  It has been a year since Kate was tragically murdered in San 
Francisco by a convicted felon who had been deported five times. What 
makes this tragedy even more heartbreaking is

[[Page S4778]]

that it could have been prevented, but San Francisco had an extreme so-
called sanctuary city policy of not complying with Federal immigration 
laws--apparently, even when it came to detaining dangerous criminals 
residing in our country illegally.
  In this case, the city's irresponsible policy helped lead to a young 
woman senselessly losing her life at the hands of a felon who should 
have never been on the streets to begin with. Senator Cruz's bill is 
about getting dangerous criminals off our streets and keeping our 
communities safer. It will prevent individuals who have been convicted 
of coming here illegally and who have been convicted of committing 
serious criminal offenses from harming more innocent victims such as 
Kate Steinle.
  We are a nation of immigrants. We all appreciate the many 
contributions that immigrants have made to our country over the years. 
Americans from both parties know it would be incredibly dishonest to 
pretend this bill is aimed at law-abiding citizens who enrich our 
country, rather than those at whom it is really aimed--those who come 
to this country illegally and have criminal convictions. Americans from 
both parties also understand that extreme sanctuary city policies can 
inflict incredible pain on innocent victims and their families.
  President Obama's own Secretary of the Department of Homeland 
Security has called sanctuary city policies not acceptable and 
counterproductive to public safety. We took up similar measures last 
year, and it was unfortunate to see them blocked. Let's work together 
now to make the right choice and advance these measures to prevent more 
tragedies like Kate's and support local law enforcement officials who 
put their lives on the line for us every day.
  After the Senate considers these bills, we will move to a bipartisan 
compromise recently announced by the top Republican and the top 
Democrat on the Agriculture Committee. This bill would protect middle-
class families from unnecessary and unfair higher food prices that 
could result from a patchwork of State food labeling laws, and it would 
ensure access to more information about the food they purchase, as 
well.
  While the bill before us may not be perfect, it is the product of 
diligent work from both sides, which, in fact, worked very hard to 
reach an agreement. It is a commonsense measure based on science, which 
has not shown health, safety, or nutritional risks associated with 
bioengineered products.
  Senator Roberts, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said this 
bipartisan bill recognizes the 30-plus years of proven safety of 
biotechnology while ensuring consumer access to more information about 
their food. The ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, a 
Democrat, calls it ``a win for consumers and families.'' With 
cooperation from across the aisle, we will pass it.
  I also filed cloture to begin debate on the fiscal year 2017 Defense 
appropriations bill, which funds the training, equipping, and readiness 
of our Armed Forces. This bill provides the men and women who protect 
us with the resources they need to execute their missions, and it 
provides our military with the tools it needs to prepare and modernize 
the force, which is critical at a time of numerous threats to our 
Nation.
  Senators from both sides have already passed a bill to authorize 
funds for national defense priorities. Now it is time for Senators for 
both sides to pass this bill that will actually appropriate those 
funds.

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