[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 178 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7121-S7122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 5456

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, in just a few minutes, because it is very 
late or very early, if one might characterize the hour of the morning, 
I will be offering a unanimous consent request to pass Calendar No. 
527, H.R. 5456, the Family First Prevention Services Act.
  Just to give a short description of this bill, there has been an 
enormous amount of bipartisan effort and good will to enact this 
legislation that many policy experts consider the most significant 
improvement in child welfare policy in decades.
  In the other body, the legislation passed unanimously, and there was 
superb work done by Chairman Brady, the Speaker, Congressman Ryan, Vern 
Buchanan. There was a whole host of colleagues on the Democratic side, 
Sandy Levin, Lloyd Doggett, and Leader Pelosi, a whole host of Members 
and enormous effort. You had the leadership, the Ways and Means 
Committee. They came together and passed the legislation unanimously.
  The reason they did is, 500 organizations, groups representing 
children and pediatricians and the Catholic bishops, the Children's 
Defense Fund, all came together. They said the current policy today 
with respect to vulnerable children just defies common sense. In 
effect, you cannot get help to the families when it really is most 
critical.
  When a family member or parent, for example, is dealing with drug 
abuse or mental health or a challenge where, if they were able to get a 
modest amount of assistance, the family could come together again and 
be healthy, the youngster would be able to stay in the home. Very 
often, in these kinds of instances, a grandparent or an uncle, if we 
made some modest changes in Federal policy, could step up as well--
something I feel very strongly about having written the kinship care 
law a number of years ago to reward grandparents, aunts, and uncles 
when they could meet the strict standards for qualifying to take care 
of a youngster in these circumstances.
  Chairman Hatch, Chairman Grassley, and many of our senior Members 
have worked very hard with me and our colleague Senator Bennet from 
Colorado, who has devoted an enormous amount of attention to the needs 
of youngsters. I have been on the floor tonight really for the last 5 
or 6 hours trying to resolve remaining concerns.
  Now, we had a hotline months and months ago on this bill, and there 
really wasn't much reaction at the outset, and finally there were three 
Members who had concerns, and we moved to address them. Chairman Brady 
has been particularly gracious on the other side of the Capitol, saying 
if a State needed more time, if there were questions with respect to 
whether they could meet some of the criteria, he was open to giving 
them that kind of additional time.
  I will tell my colleagues: I told my constituents this fall that 
probably nothing is more important to me than to come back here and 
pursue what I call principled bipartisanship. Bipartisanship is not 
about taking each other's bad ideas. Anybody can do that. That is a 
piece of cake. Principled bipartisanship is about taking good ideas 
from both sides of the aisle.
  For example, I know that with the Presiding Officer, there was a 
question about the type of providers in his home State that might be 
eligible for this service. So we said we had heard from a number of 
conservatives that they wanted to make sure that one type of provider 
over another wasn't favored. So we said all of the providers can 
participate as long as they meet the quality standards. That was 
essentially a conservative concept.
  We had a number on our side of the aisle who wanted to make sure 
there really were wrap-around services for these kinds of families. 
There is good foster care. Nobody has ever said that is not the case. 
But we know that Federal policy shouldn't create an incentive to rip 
these families apart. It should create incentives to keep families 
together.
  So I wanted to come tonight and make one more appeal to pass what is, 
according to many of the most authoritative experts of child welfare, 
the most significant improvement in child welfare law in decades.
  There are no objections on our side of the aisle. This is the second 
time I brought up this unanimous consent request, and no Senator has 
come to the floor on the other side of the aisle to raise an objection 
in terms of policy and substance. Frankly, I wish that somebody would, 
because I think we could accommodate them. Because of the graciousness 
of Chairman Brady, the Republican chair on the other side, I think we 
could accommodate them. But no Senator has come now, for the second 
time this week, to actually offer a substantive objection.
  So if you want what I call principled bipartisanship, which is what 
Chairman Hatch, Chairman Grassley, Chairman Brady--so many colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle have been working for--we have to have 
colleagues who will come and actually voice their substantive 
objection. I am making it clear again tonight that if anyone on the 
other side of the aisle has a substantive objection, my guess is we 
could resolve it, because there has been a lot of goodwill on both 
sides. But if people won't come and make a substantive objection, then 
it is hard to know what might satisfy them and allow us to proceed with 
this very important child welfare reform.

[[Page S7122]]

  So I want it understood that I am going to prosecute this case of 
improving the lives of these vulnerable youngsters and these families 
for as long as I have the honor to represent Oregon in the Senate. I 
think this is what public service is supposed to be all about. I will 
continue to work in a bipartisan way. I think that is how we tackle the 
big issues, the big challenges facing our country. Nobody really has 
enough votes to have it all their way. Certainly, if you want a policy 
that you can sustain, it has to be bipartisan.
  So we are going to stay at this until we get it done.
  With that in mind, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to 
the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 527, H.R. 5456, the Family 
First Prevention Services Act, that the Wyden substitute amendment be 
agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, I do not personally object to this bill, 
but on behalf of Senator Enzi, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.

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