[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 167 (Tuesday, October 22, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5937]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 1356

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules 
and Administration be discharged from further consideration of S. 1356 
and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that 
the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no 
intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senate majority whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, there are Members who object to this. They 
can't be here to object on their own behalf. I object on their behalf.
  I say to the Senator from Minnesota that, like her, I also want to do 
everything we can to ensure that our elections are fair and transparent 
in this country. I think there are a number of solutions, as she 
pointed out, that are out there. I think there is a lot of good work 
that is being done and can be done, hopefully, on a bipartisan basis. 
As a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, I have worked 
with the Senator from Minnesota on a number of issues where we have 
been able to fashion solutions that are bipartisan in nature. I suspect 
work on this will continue.
  As I mentioned, we have a couple of Members on our side who do have 
objections to the bill in its current form or the process of trying to 
do it this way. I do think there is a way in which we can come together 
and work toward solutions that will help do what I think all of us have 
as an objective, and that is to keep our election process in this 
country fair and transparent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. I appreciate the words from my colleague from South 
Dakota. I point out that the act is a bipartisan bill, with the other 
cosponsor being the Republican chair of the Judiciary Committee, and I 
think we should be focused on election security instead of protecting 
these social media companies. I think we should be protecting the 
American people.
  We need to be a united front. I appreciate his words, and I look 
forward to working with him to get this bill to the floor.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.