[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6957-S6958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Senate Legislative Agenda

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it is no secret that Washington 
Democrats have been itching to impeach President Trump since the moment 
he took the oath of office. Remember the Washington Post's headline on 
Inauguration Day in 2017: ``The campaign to impeach President Trump has 
begun.'' That was the Washington Post's headline on Inauguration Day in 
2017.
  Just a few months later, in April of 2017, one leading House Democrat 
had already made up her mind. She declared she would ``fight every day 
until he's impeached.'' As an aside, this same senior Democrat is one 
of the committee chairwomen whom Speaker Pelosi asked to help lead the 
impeachment process. She was literally standing at the Speaker's 
shoulder as she announced yesterday that she will bring two articles of 
impeachment up for a vote. Yet she had had her mind made up more than 2 
years ago, long before this supposedly fair inquiry. This is sort of 
emblematic of their whole process.
  House Democrats announced yesterday that they will rush ahead and 
prepare to send the Senate articles of impeachment based on the least 
thorough and most unfair impeachment inquiry

[[Page S6958]]

in modern history. Well, the House Democrats' denigration of their 
solemn duty will not cause the Senate to denigrate ours. If the House 
continues down this destructive road and sends us articles of 
impeachment, the Senate will take them up in the new year and proceed 
to a fair trial.
  Now, in the meantime, our colleagues' obsession with impeachment has 
left us with a host of important, bipartisan legislation that is still 
unfinished at this late date.
  For months, Senate Republicans have been calling on our Democratic 
colleagues to go beyond picking fights with the White House and 
actually legislate for the American people. Yet, for practically the 
entire autumn, our Democratic friends' political calculation seemed to 
be that these vital pieces of business could wait until the eleventh 
hour because impeachment was the higher priority--and wait they have.
  Finally, after weeks of pressure from the Republicans and from hard-
working Americans across the country, Speaker Pelosi backed down 
yesterday and announced that she will let the House vote on President 
Trump's USMCA. The Democrats have stalled this agreement for so long 
that it is now impossible for the USMCA to become law in 2019, 
especially given all of the other urgent things they have stalled right 
alongside it. The Democrats have simply run out the clock. Assuming the 
House Democrats send us articles of impeachment next week, a Senate 
trial will have to be our first item of business in January. So the 
USMCA will continue to be a casualty of the Democrats' impeachment 
obsession for several more weeks before we can actually turn to it. Yet 
I am glad the Speaker is finally beginning to bring her USMCA 
obstruction to a close.
  As we triage in the coming days, the Republicans hope we will be able 
to pass not only the NDAA conference report but also government funding 
legislation that allocates taxpayers' hard-earned money to urgent 
Federal priorities. The NDAA has consistently brought Members together 
from across the political spectrum--and with good reason--in that it 
gives Congress the opportunity to set priorities for the U.S. military 
of the future. The NDAA helps to guide the Pentagon's investments in 
modernization and readiness, cutting-edge weapons and capabilities, and 
in servicemembers and military families.
  I am grateful for the efforts by Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member 
Reed, who made compromises from the beginning and worked hard to ensure 
the conference report remained true to the 58-year tradition of a 
bipartisan bill that prioritizes our military and sets aside unrelated 
partisan priorities.
  I cannot say the same thing about the Democrats in the House, 
unfortunately, but I hope they will learn from this year's difficult 
path to a conference report. Next year, I hope they will produce a 
bipartisan bill from the beginning that will put our national security 
interests first. Now, obviously, that authorizing legislation should be 
paired with the appropriations measure that will actually fund our 
servicemembers' tools and training and enable our commanders to 
actually plan ahead.
  I am grateful for the hard work by Chairman Shelby, his counterpart 
in the House, and our subcommittee chairs to reboot a stalled 
appropriations process and try to get bills over the finish line in the 
short time that remains.
  To be frank, only a laser focus from both parties in both Chambers on 
getting results will create a path to pass appropriations bills this 
year. There is simply not the time left for my Democratic friends to 
continue haggling over the exact kinds of poison pills, partisan policy 
riders, and Presidential transfer authorities that the Speaker and the 
Democratic leader had explicitly agreed months ago would be off the 
table. Under the agreement months ago, these were supposed to be off 
the table.
  The White House, Republican leaders in both Chambers, and the 
Democratic leaders in both Chambers all agreed to these parameters--
literally pledged in writing that these kinds of partisan roadblocks 
would be kept out of the process. So if all parties honor what they 
agreed to, we should have an opportunity to agree on government funding 
in time to make this a law this month, which means next week.
  Now that our Democratic colleagues are back at the table, Senate 
Republicans stand ready to do all we can in the time we still have. 
Let's end this legislative year on the right foot. Let's deliver for 
our All-Volunteer Armed Forces and for families all across our country.
  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. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.