[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 109 (Thursday, July 7, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4840-S4841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IMMIGRATION LEGISLATION, OPIOID CRISIS, AND ZIKA VIRUS FUNDING

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, my friend the Republican leader talks about 
playing politics. There is no better example of that than what has 
taken place this week.
  Everyone knows the innate problems with what was tried on sanctuary 
cities and on the so-called Kate's Law. Everyone knows they are just a 
political message that means nothing for comprehensive immigration 
reform or immigration reform of any kind. So that is why those matters 
were brought up.
  It is obvious we have a Senator in Pennsylvania, a Republican 
incumbent, who is in deep trouble politically, and that is why they 
tried to jam us with that. There is no better example than what is 
going on with this opioid matter that is sweeping the country.
  I came to the floor 15 minutes ago. In another half hour there will 
be another two people who die from opioids in America, all over the 
country. To show how disingenuous and political the majority is on 
opioids, one need only look to Tennessee. In Tennessee, Knoxville chief 
of police David Rausch knocks Congress over opioid funding.
  My friend talks about the authorization that shot through here. Of 
course it came through the Senate pretty easily--because it was an 
authorization. There is no money there. That is why you have the chief 
of police from a place such as Knoxville, TN, who is saying: Shame on 
you for not giving us money. We can't do anything. All you are doing is 
authorizing more programs that cost more resources. In the police 
department we can't do it all. Rausch said:

       It's absolutely disappointing that Congress didn't move 
     today on funding. Unfortunately, today Congress did not do 
     their job.

  He is right. He said:

       That's the message it sends to our communities. If they're 
     not getting treated, they die.

  That is the way it is.
  We are having a conference report come to us that gives no resources. 
That is why you have people all over the country, and Rausch went to 
the White House with 20 other law enforcement leaders from across the 
country to talk about this. They came for one reason and one reason 
only--to get money so they can do something to stop this terrible thing 
that is going on in America today.
  But, again, just like Zika, it is all for show--no money.
  The threat of Zika continues to rise. Republicans are intent on 
wasting time with their partisan and deeply unserious conference 
report. They will force yet another failed vote on this cynical 
legislation and then pack their bags for the longest Senate vacation 
since 1954. The Senate will not pass this Republican conference report. 
President Obama will not sign it. This reckless exercise will leave the 
public health experts and officials no closer to getting the funding 
they need to help combat this horrible epidemic.
  As we speak, there are more than 2,900 people in the United States 
and our territories with Zika. Nearly 500 pregnant women are showing 
evidence of infection by the Zika virus. At least seven babies have 
been born in the United States with Zika-related birth defects. We all 
know what they are--little heads, skulls caved in, brains that are 
small. And it is only going to get worse unless we act.
  There is a path forward toward a bipartisan solution combating this 
terrible virus if Republicans are willing to do something. In May, the 
Senate passed a bipartisan compromise to address the Zika crisis. It 
had money in it--real money. It got 89 votes, which is an unimaginable 
margin for many pieces of legislation. Only the most conservative, 
conservative rightwing Members of this body voted against it. So maybe 
that is not a plus for my Republican friends. Maybe they want to be a 
part of that. You don't receive anything from the Koch brothers if you 
are not way over there.
  The bill we approved with 89 votes wasn't perfect. I didn't like it 
because I thought there should be more money. We asked for $1.9 
billion, but with 89 votes, we got $1.1 billion in funding, which is 
short of what we feel is needed. It is not sufficient, but at least it 
is a step in the right direction.
  When our country is faced with an emergency, the American people 
should be able to turn to us--Congress--to act. They expect us to put 
politics aside. We have already done that in the Senate--we Democrats. 
The Senate bill, while imperfect, was not riddled with toxic, partisan 
provisions. We need to get the compromise to the President's desk.
  Today I call upon Speaker Ryan to bring the Senate-passed Zika bill 
to us

[[Page S4841]]

for a vote. It would pass. The $1.1 billion is not to my liking, but I 
would accept it in a heartbeat. This legislation would save lives, and 
it would pass the House of Representatives if they would let the 
Democrats vote. But Speaker Ryan has this deal that he is following, 
which is a deal into oblivion. It didn't work for my friend, whom I 
care so much about, former Speaker Boehner. It didn't work for him, and 
it is not going to work for Speaker Ryan. He cannot do this. He cannot 
try to do everything in his power to appease the far-right crazies in 
his caucus. They are even adhering to the Hastert rule, named after the 
disgraced former Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is now in prison.
  Speaker Ryan should listen to the American people. They desperately 
want Congress to act. Americans have had enough of Republicans putting 
party over country this year--and any year, frankly. They want us to 
responsibly solve problems like the Zika virus and opioids and not 
waste time appealing to the most extreme elements in our political 
system.
  The Hastert rule is that the Speaker will not allow a vote unless it 
can pass with the majority of the majority. To get a majority of the 
majority over there is worse than trying to get a majority of the 
majority over here. We have some dandies over here, but they take the 
cake in their efforts. It is not going to work for us, Speaker Ryan. We 
are willing to work with you to get this done.
  We shouldn't just leave here for this 7-week-long vacation with 
nothing done on Zika, this terrible scourge we have. It is time for 
Speaker Ryan and his fellow Republicans to put politics aside and let 
the whole House vote on this. Our country is facing an emergency with 
Zika, and it is time for Republicans to start treating it as such.
  Mr. President, I heard a Republican Senator come to the floor 
yesterday and she said: I don't know what they are talking about. The 
words ``Planned Parenthood'' are not in the legislation we have.
  Of course it doesn't say ``Planned Parenthood,'' but if you read the 
English language, it stops people from going to these Planned 
Parenthood clinics to get their advice on birth control, where millions 
of American women go.
  My Republican friends have an obsession with Planned Parenthood. They 
want to do everything they can to stop them. In fact, as you know, 
there were Republicans who went and got phony pictures that were proven 
false. And, oh, that gave the Republicans such--oh, they loved that. 
Oh, what terrible stuff is going on; they are selling body parts. That 
was totally wrong. It was a scam by some rightwing character who has 
been shown to be just that--a scam artist.
  The provision we are asked to vote for exempts pesticide spraying 
from the Clean Water Act provisions. It cuts veteran funding by $500 
million below the Senate bill. What was that money for? It was to 
process veterans' claims. They whack it out. It cuts Ebola funding by 
$107 million. It cuts ObamaCare by $543 million.
  I am sure my Republican friends are happy voting for this one. What 
we sent over there said you can't have the Confederate flag flying over 
military cemeteries. They took that out. That must be a real joy, that 
we can now start flying Confederate flags in cemeteries.
  This legislation sets a terrible precedent of offsetting emergencies. 
It is wrong.
  Mr. President, I ask the Chair to announce the business of the day.

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