[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 200 (Thursday, December 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7923-S7925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to H.J. Res. 123, which was received from the House, and that 
there be 30 minutes of debate, equally divided in the usual form, in 
relation to H.J. Res. 123; further, that following the use or yielding 
back of that time, the joint resolution be considered read a third time 
and the Senate vote on the joint resolution with no intervening action 
or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A joint resolution (H.J. Res. 123) making further 
     continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2018, and for other 
     purposes.

  Thereupon, the Senate proceeded to consider the joint resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.


   Recognizing the UAA Women's Basketball Team and the Great Alaska 
                                Shootout

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, every week I have been coming down to 
the floor to talk a little bit about my great State, about the wonders 
of its natural landscape--a land that everybody should see for 
themselves--and we talk about special people. I know the Presiding 
Officer looks at this as one of the favorite times in his long week. We 
talk about the people who have made a difference in Alaska, our Alaskan 
of the Week. It is one of the best things I get to do here as Alaska's 
Senator because I get to talk about Alaska's beauty; the people who 
make my State so special; the kind, generous people full of rugged 
determination, full of patriotism, full of drive, full of life.
  Living in the North in some of the most difficult terrain and extreme 
conditions of the world breeds competition in the best ways possible. 
It also sparks creativity all across the State. When creativity meets 
competition, great things can happen.
  You saw great things happen on the basketball court late last month 
when University of Alaska Anchorage's women's basketball team, who are 
our Alaskans of the Week, won the championship at the Great Alaska 
Shootout in Anchorage, the seminal sports event of the year that for 
four decades has corresponded with Thanksgiving weekend.
  Let me talk for a few minutes about the Great Alaska Shootout. In the 
late 1970s, a coach from the University of Alaska Anchorage's 
basketball team had a vision to put the fledgeling UAA basketball 
program on the map. How

[[Page S7924]]

would he do that? He would create a preseason college basketball 
tournament, and he would make sure that participation in any tournament 
outside the contiguous lower 48 States didn't count against the limits 
for how many games a team was allowed to play. And so was born the 
Great Alaska Shootout.
  For the past 40 years, tens of thousands of Alaskans from all over 
the State--and I would say Americans from all over the country--many 
who had never been to a professional game or even a college game, 
traveled to Anchorage to watch some of the best basketball in the 
country. In Anchorage, people opened their homes to the teams from the 
lower 48 to enjoy a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner.
  The teams and the players who came to Alaska over the last 40 years 
are legion--Patrick Ewing, Glenn Robinson, Sam Perkins, Ray Allen, 
Dwayne Wade, and Alaska's own Trajan Langdon, just to name a few. All 
the great college basketball coaches at one time or another came to our 
State--Coach K, Jim Valvano, Bobby Knight, Denny Crum, Roy Williams, 
Tom Izzo, Pat Summitt, and so many others. As one reporter put it, ``It 
was an annual Thanksgiving week staple for ESPN and it made Anchorage 
the center of the college basketball world for one bright, shining 
week.''
  Time and again, the UAA Seawolves--both the men and women's teams--
Division 2 programs, who were up against some of the biggest Division 1 
powerhouses in the country, showed the world what basketball in Alaska 
looked like, and it looked strong.
  The Great Alaska Shootout was a gift to the world, to America, and to 
all of Alaska. Times have changed, and so have college basketball 
tournaments. More choices are available. Other States have begun to 
compete with Alaska. So this past Thanksgiving, sadly, was the 
Shootout's last tournament. But, again, UAA's basketball teams made us 
proud. All told, the men's teams won 39 games in 40 Shootouts. This 
past Thanksgiving Day, the UAA women, which has become a Division 2 
powerhouse under the leadership of Coach Ryan McCarthy, claimed the 
women's championship in the final Shootout, beating the Division 1 
University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes 59 to 52 in a thriller. It was 
their seventh title in tournament history.
  Everyone involved--the businesses that sponsored the Shootout over 
the years, the many avid fans who haven't missed a game, and all those 
who played in the Great Alaska Shootout over four decades--is deserving 
of recognition. But at this year's final Great Alaska Shootout, the UAA 
women's team showed us all the true meaning of grit and determination.
  So here is to the Seawolves, our Alaskans of the Week. Here is to the 
history of the Great Alaska Shootout. It is a great day to be a 
Seawolf. Thanks for all the great games, the great memories, and a 
truly great Alaskan and American basketball tournament.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The President pro tempore emeritus, the 
Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, first, I applaud the Senator from Alaska. 
He makes us all want to be there.
  Mr. President, let me speak for a moment in my role as vice chairman 
of the Senate Appropriations Committee about the continuing resolution 
that the distinguished majority leader has just mentioned.
  The current spending caps set in place by law will not responsibly 
fund the government or alleviate the consequences of sequestration on 
both our domestic priorities and our military readiness.
  Since March 1, along with many others, I have constantly repeated 
that we must reach a bipartisan budget deal that is based on parity, 
free of poison pill riders, not waste taxpayer dollars on a useless 
border wall, which we will never be reimbursed for by Mexico. But with 
the current continuing resolution expiring tomorrow, we are running out 
of time to reach an agreement.
  The continuing resolution before us today will allow us more time to 
reach a bipartisan agreement and keep the government's lights on during 
negotiations. I will join with the distinguished majority leader in 
voting for this, but the key to successful negotiation during that time 
is parity. Sequestration has had devastating consequences on our 
country that are going to impact a generation, but we have to raise the 
caps on both sides of the ledger--defense and nondefense.
  Anywhere you go, the vast majority of Americans will agree that it is 
not an academic exercise. The decisions we make here today have real 
impacts on people's lives.
  There is no question that sequestration has hurt our military 
readiness, but it has also hurt our Nation's economy, and it has led to 
a decline in critical government services on which millions of 
Americans depend.
  Our veterans have been shortchanged. An average of 558,000 veterans 
fail to get a healthcare appointment during the 30-day standard. The 
average wait time for the VA to process a benefit appeal is over 3 
years.
  Our infrastructure is crumbling. America, this great Nation, now gets 
a D-plus rating from the American Society of Civil Engineers. This 
means that the roads, the bridges, the dams, the drinking water, the 
public parks, and the schools we all use and depend on have a near-
failing grade.
  Education programs have suffered. The purchasing power of the maximum 
Pell Grant now covers only 29 percent of the average price for college.
  Our elderly citizens are getting shortchanged. More than 1 million 
Social Security benefits appeals are backlogged an average of 605 days. 
An estimated 10,000 people die each year before their appeals are 
completed.
  I could go on and on.
  If we raise the caps for defense programs but do not also raise the 
caps to properly fund our nondefense priorities, we will still 
shortchange our men and women in uniform. If we don't invest in our 
Nation's economy and educate our youth, the military will not have the 
expertise, qualified soldiers, or advanced research that it needs to be 
the best in the world. If we don't invest in diplomacy, our world will 
become less safe and we will be less safe. As our Secretary of Defense 
said: If you are not going to invest in diplomacy, you better buy me 
more bullets. And we would fail to provide the level of care for our 
veterans that they deserve.
  I have talked with both Republicans and Democrats. I am confident we 
can reach an agreement that addresses our country's needs and 
responsibly funds our government.
  As we in the Congress work on it, it is discouraging that the 
President has cast doubt on these negotiations. He has even invited a 
``good [government] shutdown.'' His party is in charge, so I don't know 
why he would say that. Even more discouraging is a recent Washington 
Post story that said the President has told his confidants that a 
government shutdown would be good for him politically.
  Well, there are 325 million Americans who are going to be affected by 
a government shutdown. It is irresponsible. It is no way to govern. In 
all my years in the Senate, with Republican and Democratic Presidents 
alike, never have I heard such damaging rhetoric come from either a 
Republican or Democratic President of the United States.
  The last Republican shutdown in 2013 dealt a devastating blow to the 
Nation's economic growth. It amounted to an estimated $1.5 billion lost 
for each day of the 16 days of the shutdown. Federal workers were 
furloughed through no fault of their own for a combined total of 6.6 
million days, stalling important research and grinding our government 
to a halt.
  I know the Republicans are in charge of the House, the Senate, and 
the White House. If there is a Republican shutdown this fiscal year, it 
is because they want one. I have talked to a lot of Republicans and 
Democrats, whom I respect and work with every day, who hope the 2-week 
continuing resolution before us is an indication we will not go down 
that path. I hope these Republicans will work with Democrats to produce 
a responsible, bipartisan budget deal that meets the needs of our 
Nation.
  We have squandered enough time. I stand ready, as I have been since 
March, when we negotiated a budget agreement that kept us from having a 
shutdown last time. I will work with the Republican leadership, as I 
did then, to secure the funding agreements we need to complete our 
appropriations

[[Page S7925]]

work for this fiscal year. This 2-week continuing resolution will give 
us that chance.
  I urge my Democratic colleagues to join with the Republican leader 
and vote aye.
  Mr. President, how much time is remaining before the vote?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 8 minutes.
  Mr. LEAHY. And how much time is there on the other side?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Nine minutes.
  Mr. LEAHY. So we will not vote unless time is yielded back.
  I believe there are no other speakers.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back 
on both the Republican and Democratic sides.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  All time is yielded back.
  The joint resolution was ordered to a third reading and was read the 
third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the 
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the 
Senator from Idaho (Mr. Crapo), the Senator from Arizona (Mr. Flake), 
the Senator from Kentucky (Mr. Paul), and the Senator from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Toomey).
  Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Toomey) would have voted ``yea.''
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Franken) 
is necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 14, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 311 Leg.]

                                YEAS--81

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Coons
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Daines
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hassan
     Hatch
     Heinrich
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Klobuchar
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Manchin
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Nelson
     Perdue
     Peters
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rubio
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Scott
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Stabenow
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--14

     Booker
     Cruz
     Ernst
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hirono
     Lee
     Markey
     McCain
     Merkley
     Rounds
     Sanders
     Sasse
     Warren

                             NOT VOTING--5

     Crapo
     Flake
     Franken
     Paul
     Toomey
  The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 123) was passed.

                          ____________________