[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10-S11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            WORKING TOGETHER

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, let me start by offering my 
congratulations to my friend and colleague Senator Schumer from New 
York. He is a worthy adversary when we see things differently, as we 
frequently do, but he is also somebody with whom I have found I can 
work productively. I understand he has a new role to play as the 
Democratic leader. I am sure we will see a lot of that worthy 
adversarial part of his character in the forefront. But in this new 
year, with a new Congress, I do hope we can work together.
  I became a little concerned, though, as I heard him go on. He had 
already declared the Trump Presidency over, and he is not even going to 
be sworn in until 17 days from now, by my calculations. Of course, we 
just swore in the new Members of the 115th Congress.
  Let me also congratulate my colleagues across the aisle who were 
elected to join us here in what historically has been known as the 
world's greatest deliberative body. But if there is anything any one of 
us who have been here a while has learned, it is that neither party 
gets everything they want. It just was not designed that way.
  For example in 2009, when one party controlled the White House, had 
60 votes in the Senate, and had a majority in the House of 
Representatives, ostensibly you could get what you want since you 
didn't need to rely on any votes from the opposing party. But if there 
is one great historic example of why it is a mistake to try to do 
things alone or without bipartisan support, it is the example of 
ObamaCare, which we will be talking more about in the coming days.
  The media, of course, is still trying to figure out what happened on 
November 8--how the pundits, all the experts, all the pollsters got it 
wrong. It is still not hard to find articles from those pundits and the 
mainstream media giving their diagnosis on exactly what the American 
voter was saying to us on November 8.
  I personally don't think it is all that complicated; I think it is 
pretty straightforward. After 8 years of an Obama White House, the 
American people wanted a change. They spoke up loudly and clearly, 
demanding a new direction that would actually deliver results for the 
American people. I think those of us on both sides of the aisle ought 
to have enough humility to say it was not exactly a ringing affirmation 
of either political party.
  I am grateful for one thing, though, and that is that the American 
people decided they did not want to change the Republican majority in 
the House and the Senate. We do take the responsibility of being in the 
majority seriously. We believe it is our duty to bring real help to the 
American people.
  I would digress for just a moment and say to my colleague from New 
York, the Democratic leader, that I remember when I came to the Senate, 
Mike Enzi, conservative Republican from Wyoming, and Teddy Kennedy, 
whom you identified as your mentor, the liberal lion of the Senate--
they worked so productively together on the HELP Committee, the Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. I remember one time asking 
Senator Enzi: How is it that somebody as conservative as you are can 
work with someone as liberal as Teddy Kennedy is and do so in good 
faith, good spirits, and so productively?
  Senator Enzi said: It is easy. It is the 80-20 rule. The 80 percent 
that we can agree on, we do. The 20 percent we will never agree on, we 
simply leave for another fight another day. Actually, I think that is a 
pretty good rule of thumb.
  The first job the new Congress will have is to repeal ObamaCare. I 
alluded to that earlier. It is simple. I think if history teaches 
anything about taking advantage of a supermajority in Senate, it is 
that you should not do that because if we did that with Social 
Security, Medicare, or other programs widely supported by the American 
people, it simply would not be sustainable. That is the case with 
ObamaCare, voted through the Senate--jammed through with 60 votes on 
the other side in the Senate, and then a majority in the House, signed 
by President Obama. Actually, after Republicans picked up a vacant 
Senate seat in Massachusetts, it caused our Democratic colleagues to 
have to use the budget reconciliation process to pass it.
  But we know the broken promises of ObamaCare, and we will revisit 
those more and more in coming days. There are higher premiums with less 
coverage. Many lost their insurance all together after being promised 
by the President himself that if you like what you have, you can keep 
it. We know that many folks no longer have access to the doctor or 
health care plan of their choice because their doctor has either quit 
accepting that insurance or retired or health plans have simply pulled 
up stakes because they can't compete under the provisions of ObamaCare.
  I believe the verdict for the American people has been that ObamaCare 
has failed the American people. I would ask our Democratic colleagues 
to look at the fact that they passed it originally with 60 votes. Now 
they are at 48. We have all been in the majority and the minority if we 
have been around here for very long, but I think ObamaCare is one of 
the big reasons our Democratic colleagues find themselves currently in 
the minority.
  As one of our colleagues put it this morning, if we can't do better 
than ObamaCare, we might as well look for another line of work. What we 
owe the American people, I believe, is coverage that they choose, at a 
price they can afford.
  Of course, that is just the beginning. Under President Obama's 
leadership, his administration has imposed thousands of rules and 
regulations, running up the pricetag of hundreds of billions of 
dollars, which has put a stranglehold on the American economy. Many of 
these are job-killing regulations that make it harder for small 
businesses, which are the very lifeblood of our economy, to make ends 
meet, to make a profit, to hire additional employees--things that we 
desperately need in this country--more well-paying jobs.
  I look forward to working with the new administration to roll back 
those regulations and rules that don't make sense. With ObamaCare 
repealed and replaced with coverage you can afford from a provider that 
you choose and with the better economic climate for the country, we can 
help more Americans achieve their dreams. That should be the top 
priority for every one of us here in this Chamber.
  Finally, I look forward to working with the incoming administration 
to consider President-Elect Trump's nominees to fill his posts in his 
Cabinet. If I am not mistaken, on the day that President Obama was 
sworn into office, January 20, 2009, there were seven Cabinet members 
of his incoming cabinet that were confirmed that day. That demonstrates 
the sort of good faith and accommodation that this Senate should 
continue because we understand the importance of the President's 
Cabinet members. Whether it is the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary 
of State, or the Attorney General, they hold critical positions, not 
only in terms of national security but in terms of making sure the 
government works for the American people.
  I have already spoken about one of our colleagues, Senator Sessions, 
the President-elect's nominee to be the chief law enforcement officer 
for the country. I think Senator Sessions is an excellent choice. Our 
colleagues will have a chance to ask all the questions they want, but 
there is one thing I can

[[Page S11]]

be sure of with Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions, and that is 
that he will remove the political orientation of the Department of 
Justice and make sure that it is not just another political branch of 
the White House. I look forward to confirming him as Attorney General, 
and I am confident that he will be prepared to answer the questions 
from our colleagues.
  As we have seen over the last few days, President-Elect Trump 
continues to announce the nominations of many other qualified 
candidates who, I am confident, will serve the American people, 
including people like my friend the former Governor of Texas, Rick 
Perry, as Energy Secretary, and Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State. I 
hope all of our colleagues will understand how integral it is to the 
administration's ability to govern to get well-qualified people 
confirmed to the President's Cabinet. They, of course, have a 
responsibility to be forthcoming and to answer questions and cooperate 
with the process here in the Senate, but I look forward to working with 
our colleagues in getting the President's nominees confirmed. I know we 
have a lot of work ahead of us, and I don't have any doubt that, with a 
little cooperation, we can make the 115th Congress a productive one 
that meets the needs of the American people.
  I would just conclude, perhaps, as I started, by saying that all of 
us who have worked here in the Senate for a while know Senator Schumer. 
We also understand he has taken on a new and more challenging role, 
because, frankly, the Democratic conference is a lot more left-leaning 
than it has ever been since I, certainly, have been here, and he has to 
work with all of his Members. But I hope there is one thing we can all 
agree with--that we have an obligation beyond party, and that is to our 
country and to the people we represent. We are blessed to work in a 
great American institution--a unique institution--and I believe it is 
our obligation and duty to try to find areas we can agree on and build 
consensus to move the country forward for the American people. While 
surely we will have our fights--and they will be glorious fights--we 
shouldn't shy away from those differences, but let's not let our desire 
just to fight for fighting's sake get in the way of our ability to work 
together and try to find consensus where we can.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.

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