[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S7127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Appropriations

  Mr. President, now on appropriations, before the week concludes, we 
must pass legislation to keep the government open and provide 
appropriations for the following year. Luckily, over the weekend, an 
agreement was reached between appropriators--House and Senate, 
Democratic and Republican--that would see us achieve that goal.
  I am proud to report that the final appropriations agreements include 
several important Democratic priorities to help American families and 
to help American security.
  Democrats have secured more than $425 million in election security 
grants--nearly double the amount Senate Republicans reluctantly 
supported in earlier legislation. Democrats have secured an increase of 
$550 million in grants to help offset the cost of childcare for low-
income families. Democrats have made progress on several fronts to 
combat climate change, record-level funding for clean energy and energy 
efficiency programs, record-level funding to provide clean, electric 
buses, and increased funding for climate change science and research.
  For the first time in decades, Democrats have secured $25 million in 
gun violence research at the CDC and NIH, breaking through what had 
been a ridiculous ban on fact--another ban on fact now broken because 
we can do gun violence research. Medical research, scientific research, 
environmental protection, and education and housing programs will see 
significant increases in Federal support.
  Of course, we did not achieve everything we wanted. I am particularly 
and strongly disappointed, for one, that the tax agreement included in 
the second package omits critical clean energy tax incentives to fight 
climate change, including incentives for electric vehicles, battery 
storage, and offshore wind and solar energy. This is a fight we have 
been waging and we will continue to wage. It is a fight Democrats 
intend to return to in 2020 when we negotiate the next tax agreement.
  I am also sorely and deeply disappointed that we were unable to reach 
an agreement on the drinking water standard and more resources to clean 
up PFAS contamination--a toxic chemical that has plagued too many 
communities in New York and across the country.
  People on the other side of the aisle should look at these. The 
President, who was against many of these proposals, should reexamine 
them. We need them. Senate Democrats--Senator Leahy, the 
appropriators--have done a lot of hard work on this issue. Our 
disappointment today will in no way diminish our resolve to force 
Congress to take further actions next year, particularly on PFAS and on 
clean energy.
  I yield the floor.