[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 197 (Monday, December 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7811]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Government Funding Bill

  Madam President, on the year-end matter, the most pressing matter 
before the Senate this week is not tax reform. That has no immediate 
deadline. Rather, it is to make sure that we keep the government up and 
running on Friday. Nobody should want to see a government shutdown. We 
should all be working to avoid one. I must say that I don't believe my 
Republican friends, Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan, want a 
government shutdown. The only one at the moment who has flirted with a 
shutdown is President Trump, who tweeted earlier this year that we 
could use a ``good `shutdown' . . . to fix [the] mess'' and was quoted 
in last week's Washington Post suggesting to associates that a shutdown 
could help him politically.
  While congressional negotiators have continued the hard work of 
hashing out a deal, the President's unproductive behavior has been the 
only monkey wrench in the process. It is difficult to find a consensus 
when one of the parties at the table tweets that he ``doesn't see a 
deal.''
  In a very positive development, however, the White House has reached 
out and asked for a second meeting with congressional leadership. We 
hope the President will go to this meeting with an open mind, rather 
than deciding that an agreement can't be reached beforehand, as he did 
before the first meeting.
  We need to reach a budget agreement that equally boosts funds for our 
military and key priorities here at home, including: the opioid crisis, 
pension plans, veterans healthcare, student loan debt relief, and rural 
infrastructure. We have to provide funding for community health centers 
and CHIP, as well as relief for the millions of Americans still reeling 
from the natural disasters that hit us earlier this year. We also must 
come together on a bipartisan deal to pass the Dream Act, along with 
tough border security measures. There is a bipartisan path forward on 
every one of these items.
  As negotiations with our Republican counterparts continue, we are 
hopeful the President will be open to an agreement to address the 
urgent needs of the American people and keep the government open.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.