[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 29, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BUSINESS BEFORE THE CONGRESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as the Republican leader mentioned a minute 
or two ago, the Senate has some important work to do before this 
Congress can come to a close. One of the pieces of legislation that has 
to be addressed is the Cures Act, a scaled-back version of the 21st 
Century Cures legislation the House is scheduled to consider tomorrow.
  The staffs of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee have worked 
countless hours on this bill. For more than a year, they have missed 
time with their families and given up vacations in the hope of reaching 
bipartisan agreement. There are many priorities in this bill to address 
funding for opioids, which has been an ongoing problem with all of the 
deaths occurring on a daily basis. We have done nothing to help with 
that--nothing.
  Of course, we are concerned about cancer and the advocacy of Vice 
President Biden and the so-called moonshot, as well as important 
provisions for the National Institutes of Health. There are other 
issues outstanding that will need to be resolved in this matter.
  It is my understanding that the committee work continues in the 
House, and we can expect a managers' amendment in the House Rules 
Committee sometime tonight. We are all eager to see what that is going 
to be. We know it is different from the Senate bill, which we felt very 
good about.
  By the end of next week, we are going to have to pass new legislation 
to ensure that the government does not shut down for lack of funding. 
But we also have to be concerned about what happens with that Cures 
Act. Is this going to be put over again, as we have put over opioid 
funding time and again over the past several years, or are we going to 
move forward with something that is constructive in nature? Right now, 
there is some angst in my caucus about what we should do.
  Now, on funding, I am very disappointed that the Republican 
leadership appears unwilling to pass a comprehensive bill that reflects 
the careful and considered judgment of the Appropriations Committee. 
With only days left in this Congress, we should be working on a 
bipartisan bill, in a manner that is bipartisan, to set out our 
priorities. But that is not happening. We should be funding initiatives 
that serve important needs and eliminate others that are wasteful and 
have a lower priority. Instead, it appears that we are going to pass 
another continuing resolution that just sets the government on 
autopilot, potentially for many months. The exact months we don't know. 
I guess there is some dispute among the Republican leadership as to how 
long the CR is going to be.

  But this isn't governing. That is punting, for lack of a better 
description. They are trapped, and the only thing they can do is punt 
and see what happens later. It is irresponsible, it is wasteful, and it 
is not the way we should be doing the business of this Congress.
  Mr. President, will the Chair announce the business of the day.

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