[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 121 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Order of Business

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be 
determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the Democratic 
leader, on or before Wednesday, July 24, the Senate proceed to the 
consideration of Calendar No. 153, H.R. 1327; that the only amendments 
in order be Lee amendment No. 928 and Paul amendment No. 929 to be 
offered; that there be up to 2 hours of concurrent debate equally 
divided between the leaders or designees; that the Senate then vote in 
relation to the amendments in the order listed, with no second-degree 
amendments in order prior to the votes; that there be 2 minutes equally 
divided prior to each vote; and that each amendment be subject to an 
affirmative 60-vote threshold. I further ask that upon disposition of 
the amendments, the bill be read a third time and the Senate vote on 
H.R. 1327, as amended, if amended, all with no intervening action or 
debate, notwithstanding rule XXII.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from New York.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I reserve the right to object.
  I am grateful that we now have this agreement on timing so that we 
can get to the floor next week and have an up-or-down vote on the 9/11 
first responders bill and the healthcare they desperately need.
  I just want to go to the merits of Senator Lee's amendment because I 
think there is a misunderstanding. I understand that there is a concern 
about 72 years and that my colleague believes it is a recipe for 
trouble, but the truth is, the timing is limited for this bill because 
these men and women aren't going to survive. So many of them are 
already sick and dying, and all they care about is just being able to 
provide for their families.
  There is nothing about this bill that is trying to play politics with 
the lives of men. There is going to be no fraud. There is going to be 
no disuse. This is literally all that is necessary for families to 
survive during these horrible times when their loved ones are dying.
  I will not support my colleague's amendment because it will cap the 
bill needlessly, and it will mean that if there are survivors who still 
need healthcare, they will have to come back and walk these halls 
again. The gravest concern I have is that we dare ask these brave men 
and women to do this all over again. To watch someone come to the 
Capitol with an oxygen tank, in a wheelchair, unable to breathe or talk 
properly because of their cancer and their illness, is something I 
cannot accept.
  I am grateful that we now have a time agreement for Wednesday, and I 
am grateful that we now have a chance to get an up-or-down vote and to 
get this done.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I will not object. First, I just want to 
thank both my colleagues from New York and Utah for working out this 
agreement with the leader and me.
  What this does is it paves the way, finally, for what we have been 
waiting on for a very, very long time--an up-or-down vote on H.R. 1327. 
There will be two amendments offered. We will oppose them. I don't 
think they have much of a chance of winning, but there is a right to 
offer them.
  I want to thank my colleague from Utah for moving forward here, as 
well as, of course, my colleague from New York for the great work. 
Right now, for the first time, we can not only see the light at the end 
of the tunnel, we are getting very close to getting out of the tunnel. 
I expect that by Wednesday, we will be out of that tunnel, the bill 
will head to the President's desk, having already passed the House, he 
will sign it, and our first responders can go do the job they have been 
intending to do all along, which is to take care of themselves, take 
care of their loved ones, and take care of their brothers and sisters 
who have these injuries or who will get these injuries.
  It has been a long, long and hard, hard struggle for over a decade, 
but now, finally--finally--it looks quite certain that this bill will 
pass the Senate, go to the President's desk, and at long last become 
law, and those first responders who made this happen more than anybody 
else will not--will not--have to come back again.
  I do not object to the offer by my colleague from Utah.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I am grateful to the Democratic leader and to 
both Senators from New York for working with me on this and for getting 
this, along with my amendment and Senator Paul's amendment, set up for 
a vote.
  To be very clear--I want there to be no ambiguity--I would be willing 
to vote on this right now. There is no reason we should have to delay 
that. I am taking into account scheduling requests that were made by 
other Members of this body. As far as I am concerned and, as far as I 
am aware, as far as Senator Paul is concerned, we would be happy to 
vote on these immediately. There is no additional reason for delay.
  This is how the Senate is supposed to work. Each Member is supposed 
to have the opportunity to bring forward amendments to offer up 
improvements to legislation, to make sure that they happen and that 
they happen right.
  I respectfully but strongly disagree with my colleagues on the merits 
of some of the issues we have been discussing. We will debate those 
more in the coming days.
  I would reiterate that it is not unreasonable to suggest that a 
program that takes the unprecedented step of authorizing funding for 
something until 2092--that, coupled with language authorizing the 
expenditure of such sums as may be necessary, creates problems. It is 
one of the reasons we opt to vote on this amendment and one of the 
reasons I believe in this amendment.
  In any event, this is the kind of thing that ought not to be 
difficult. When any Member of any political background sees a potential 
weakness or defect in a piece of legislation, the rules of our body are 
such that we are supposed to be able to offer that up and cast an 
amendment. In this circumstance, I am pleased that it worked out the 
way it did, and we will be able to get votes on these amendments.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.