[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6459-S6460]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Vote on Rudofsky Nomination

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is, Will the Senate advise and 
consent to the Rudofsky nomination?
  Mr. DURBIN. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Georgia (Mr. Isakson) and the Senator from Georgia (Mr. Perdue).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker), 
the Senator from California (Ms. Harris), the Senator from Minnesota 
(Ms. Klobuchar), the Senator from Vermont (Mr. Sanders), the Senator 
from Massachusetts (Ms. Warren), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. 
Wyden) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). Are there any other Senators in 
the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 51, nays 41, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 350 Ex.]

                                YEAS--51

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Cornyn
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hawley
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Lankford
     Lee
     McConnell
     McSally
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Paul
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shelby
     Sullivan
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--41

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Cortez Masto
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Gillibrand
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Jones
     Kaine
     King
     Leahy
     Manchin
     Markey
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Peters
     Reed
     Rosen
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Sinema
     Smith
     Stabenow
     Tester
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse

                             NOT VOTING--8

     Booker
     Harris
     Isakson
     Klobuchar
     Perdue
     Sanders
     Warren
     Wyden
  The nomination was confirmed.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Democratic leader.


                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 2755

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, it is now several weeks since the 
President asked our troops to leave a critical sector in northern 
Syria, and, subsequently, lots of things happened, including at least 
100 and probably more ISIS prisoners escaping, an uncertainty as to who 
is guarding the prisons where ISIS prisoners are kept, and a whole 
strategy as to how to continue the fight against ISIS.
  ISIS is not vanquished. ISIS is weakened but not vanquished, and we 
all know ISIS can come back. We all know a small group thousands of 
miles away can do untold damage in our homeland. Yet we still have no 
plan, that we have heard, from the administration on how are we dealing 
with ISIS; how are we dealing with the prisoners who escaped; how are 
we dealing with the prisoners who are still incarcerated; and how are 
we dealing with ISIS overall.
  This is one of the greatest security threats America faces, and I 
would hope we could pass this proposal, which simply demands that the 
administration report to Congress on what their plan is to deal with 
ISIS. It is that simple. That is the immediate danger.
  I know my friend, the Senator from Florida, wants to talk about what 
happened in the past. We can argue that all day long, but the immediate 
danger is ISIS, the ISIS prisoners who have escaped, the ISIS prisoners 
who are incarcerated, and the ISIS members who still are around. We 
don't have a strategy, and it is one of the greatest failings of 
foreign policy not only of this administration but of any 
administration.
  A resolution passed the House a while ago. It has laid fallow here. 
All we are asking in this legislation is very simple: to require a 
report on the strategy to secure the enduring defeat of the Islamic 
State.
  I hope we will not hear objection. I don't see how anyone could 
object when the security of America is at risk and when ISIS is still a 
danger. Every one of us could come up with an amendment to make it 
better. We know we will not get it done if that happens.
  I hope we can move this forward, and then we can debate other issues 
that are not directly dispositive here because we have an immediate 
crisis, and we need a report.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent, as in legislative session, 
that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 
281, S.

[[Page S6460]]

2755, a bill to require a report on the plan to secure the enduring 
defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; 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 Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, reserving the right to object.
  I thank the Democratic leader for his concerns about the defeat of 
ISIS. If there is one thing I hope we can all agree on, it is that 
Turkey is not our ally or friend right now. Turkey's invasion of Syria 
is benefiting ISIS, Iran, and Russia, and hurting our great ally, 
Israel.
  The United States must stand up for our partners, the Kurds, who 
helped us fight ISIS. I am hopeful the ceasefire will last, keeping 
American soldiers and our partners, the Kurds, safe. Nobody wants our 
men and women in uniform involved in unnecessary, extended military 
conflicts.
  Bringing our troops home is a goal we all share. In order to achieve 
that goal, we need to have a fuller understanding of the crisis in 
Syria and what got us there--with the hope our troops can finally come 
home.
  I also agree that the President should always be clear with Congress 
on where all U.S. troops are located and the purpose of their 
deployment. Unfortunately, my colleague's proposal would produce a 
report that only tells a small part of the story.
  In the name of transparency and a fuller understanding of how we got 
here, I am proposing a modification to my colleague's bill to require a 
report that includes information on President Obama's plan for Syria.
  We didn't get here overnight. The Democratic leader knows that. He 
said himself it took us 5 years to get here. So I think we all would 
like to see what the strategy--or lack of strategy--was from the last 
administration that put us in this position today. Let's get all the 
facts on the table so lawmakers in Congress and Americans all across 
the country can have all the information we need to keep Americans and 
our allies safe.
  Reserving the right to object, therefore, I ask that the Democratic 
leader modify his request to include my amendment, which is at the 
desk. I further ask that the amendment be considered and agreed to; 
that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed; 
and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Will the Democratic leader so modify his 
request?
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, this is a diversion. We can all debate 
history. Maybe Bush was to blame. Maybe Obama was to blame. Who knows. 
Maybe Harry Truman was to blame when they set up CENTO. That is 
something we can debate at a later time.
  We have an immediate crisis. We need a report, and our Republican 
colleagues keep finding ways so they can object so the President 
doesn't have to answer. That is wrong. It risks the security of 
America, and it is not what we should be doing.
  So I object, and I urge us to pass the amendment without the 
modification, which is still as valid as it was a few minutes ago.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard on the modification.
  Is there objection to the original request?
  The Senator from Florida.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, reserving the right to object. 
I am disappointed in yet another political stunt from the Democratic 
leader. It is clear this is nothing but a political attack on the 
President.
  President Trump's goal is to bring American troops home and keep our 
partners, the Kurds, safe and our ally, Israel, secure. The Democratic 
leader is requesting information from President Trump but refuses to 
join me in asking for information about the sequence of events and the 
strategy under President Obama that led us to this point.
  This is sad, but it is not surprising. It is just another charade in 
a long list of political games. Americans deserve a safe Israel and a 
safe Syria, so I stand today to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Democratic leader.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, if they are worried about an attack, it 
is not on this President or a previous President. That is the political 
stunt here, I would say to my friend in Florida. He knows what he is 
doing. He is trying to stop this from happening. The attack we are 
worried about is an attack by ISIS on the United States.
  Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, liberal, or conservative, the 
country needs a plan. All of the diversion, all of the games will not 
prevent the American people from seeing that we need that, and it is 
our job as Senators to push the administration to do it.
  So I would have hoped we could have passed this amendment without the 
diversionary, partisan proposal made by the Senator from Florida. I am 
sorry we haven't been able to move the amendment. It is so wrong for 
the safety of this country.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________