[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 72 (Thursday, May 2, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2581-S2582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Senate Legislative Agenda

  Madam President, we have just concluded another legislative week in 
the Senate, but it was a legislative week in

[[Page S2582]]

name only. There was no legislation. As you may have seen, we have done 
little more than process nominations.
  Later this afternoon, we will see what the majority leader plans for 
next week, but I have a suspicion--just more nominations.
  Meanwhile, there is no shortage of legislation we could work on. The 
House of Representatives has passed no fewer than 100 pieces of 
legislation. Guess how many of those 100 have received consideration on 
the floor of the Senate. Zero. Zero of the House-passed bills on 
legislation.
  Commonsense background checks, voting rights, paycheck fairness, 
defending protections for Americans with preexisting conditions--all 
bipartisan, all supported by the overwhelming majority of the American 
public, but in the Senate there is no action--nothing. We have become a 
conveyor belt for nominations and a graveyard for legislation.
  I have said again and again to Leader McConnell that if he doesn't 
like every aspect of the House Democratic bills, that is fine. That is 
democracy. Let's debate them. Let's have amendments.
  If the leader truly wants to start from scratch, we would love to 
hear his plan. If he doesn't think we should close loopholes in our 
background check system, then, what is his plan to reduce gun violence 
and mass shootings?
  He doesn't like the Green New Deal--fine. What is his plan to deal 
with climate change?
  Before Leader McConnell became majority leader, he promised that if 
he were in charge, he would do things differently in the Senate. He 
would have open debates, an open amendment process. He would have us 
vote on the issues of the day, no matter which party the ideas come 
from.
  Eventually, the American people are going to take a hard look at this 
obstructionist Republican majority of the 116th Congress and wonder 
what the heck we did with our time. When they realize that the 
Republican Senate has spent nearly all of its time so far 
rubberstamping nominees--so many of whom are unqualified and so many of 
whose views, whether they be judicial or executive appointments, are so 
far out of the American mainstream and ignoring real legislation that 
could help middle class families--I wouldn't blame them for wanting to 
change the leadership of the Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.


                              S.J. Res. 7

  Mr. PETERS. Madam President, in the United States, American foreign 
policy is not determined by just one person. The Constitution makes 
that clear. Article I grants Congress the power to declare war, not the 
President.
  Consistent with that responsibility, Democrats and Republicans in 
this body worked together to pass a bipartisan resolution directing the 
President to end U.S. support for Saudi-led hostilities in Yemen. I am 
a proud cosponsor of that bill, which passed both Chambers of Congress 
in recent months.
  We made it unmistakably clear that our involvement in Yemen is not 
authorized by Congress, but the President has chosen to sidestep the 
bipartisan majority by not signing this bill into law.
  In doing so, he is sustaining the crisis through the continuing 
refueling of Saudi aircraft and other activities.
  The American people are not asking the President for this. Taxpayers, 
certainly, do not want to pay for it.
  I serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you 
that supporting Saudi Arabia's operations in Yemen is nowhere--
nowhere--to be found in our national defense strategy.
  I urge my colleagues to reject continued support for Saudi Arabia's 
military actions in Yemen. Congress must do its job and vote to 
override the President's veto.
  We have an opportunity this week to help make the suffering in Yemen 
come to an end. Let's not forget that 22 million people in Yemen still 
need humanitarian assistance or protection. More than 8 million people 
still go hungry every single day. Sixteen million Yemenis still don't 
have clean water, resulting in pervasive disease outbreaks. Children 
are still dying every single day. Every 10 minutes, a child under 5 
dies in Yemen from a preventable cause, according to the United 
Nations.
  For many people, their survival is a daily challenge and struggle. 
Their future hangs, literally, by a thread.
  In addition to disease, starvation, and displacement, the people of 
Yemen are subjected to indiscriminate bombings led by Saudi Arabia.
  Let me be clear. Bombs will not resolve this conflict. All parties 
must come together and work toward a peaceful solution that places the 
dignity of all Yemeni people at the center of those negotiations, and 
we can help facilitate that. That is what the American people want.
  If you go to Michigan, you can meet with some of the Yemeni Americans 
who just want the same thing that everybody else does--help for those 
who are suffering and meaningful steps toward peace.
  American diplomacy can help to resolve this tragedy, and we must make 
every effort to do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.