[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 87 (Thursday, May 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S3066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SENATE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a different matter, as I stated, the 
Senate will not adjourn this week until we have voted on legislation to 
deliver long, overdue relief funding for communities that have been hit 
hard by natural disasters.
  None of my colleagues need to hear me recite yet again why action in 
this area is such an important priority and why it is so urgently 
needed. It is a shame that this overdue subject has been allowed to 
languish for so long due to extraneous questions and, frankly, partisan 
small-ball.
  Wildfire victims in the Western States don't want to hear about House 
Democrats' various disagreements with the White House on a variety of 
issues. They simply want the relief they need and have been waiting 
for.
  The same goes for the flooded Midwest, the hurricane-ravaged 
Southeast, and the Kentuckians I myself represent. They don't want to 
hear about more Washington difficulties. They want an outcome.
  And, of course, everyone is well aware that we have an ongoing 
humanitarian crisis on our southern border and that our Federal 
Government needs more resources to deal with it. Even the New York 
Times editorial board wrote a few weeks ago:

       As resources are strained and the system buckles, the 
     misery grows. Something needs to be done. Soon.

  That is the New York Times.
  The editorial went on:

       [T]he program that deals with unaccompanied minors is 
     expected to run dry next month. . . . Democrats need to find 
     a way to provide money for adequate shelter.

  That is the New York Times.
  And here was the title of the editorial, believe it or not: 
``Congress, Give Trump His Border Money.'' That is in the New York 
Times.
  So on all these matters, it is past time--way past time to bring 
these negotiations to a close.
  I thank Chairman Shelby and all of our colleagues whose leadership 
has brought a bipartisan and bicameral solution this close to the 
finish line--this close. I implore our counterparts in the House and my 
colleagues in this Chamber to quickly resolve the last few issues and 
produce compromise legislation today. We need to do this today because, 
one way or another, the Senate is not leaving without taking action. We 
are going to vote this week, and I sincerely hope we will be voting on 
a bicameral and bipartisan, negotiated solution that could become law 
for the American people.

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