[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S79-S80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BUSINESS BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for this 117th Congress, the American 
people chose an evenly split Senate--50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. 
With the election of Vice President Harris, that means the Democratic 
leader will act as majority leader.
  So I want to congratulate my colleague from New York. His pride and 
emotion were palpable yesterday as this self-described ``kid from 
Brooklyn [and] son of an exterminator and a housewife'' became the 
first Jewish Member of Congress to lead either Chamber--a historic 
milestone.

[[Page S80]]

  Now, the Senate has handled an even split before. Twenty years ago, 
faced with the same scenario, the two leaders brokered a power-sharing 
agreement so the institution could function smoothly.
  The Democratic leader and I are discussing a similar agreement now. I 
have been heartened to hear my colleague say he wants the same rules 
from the 2000s to apply today, because, certainly, 20 years ago there 
was no talk--none whatsoever--of tearing down longstanding minority 
rights on legislation.
  The legislative filibuster is a crucial part of the Senate. Leading 
Democrats, like President Biden himself, have long defended it. 
Democrats themselves just spent 6 years using it, literally, to block 
bills from Senator Tim Scott's police reform to coronavirus relief.
  And less than 4 years ago, when it was Republicans who held the 
Senate, the House, and the Presidency, 27 current Democrats plus Vice 
President Harris signed a letter insisting this longstanding rule 
should not be broken.
  So if the talk of unity and common ground is to have meaning and, 
certainly, if the rules from 20 years ago are to be our guide, then I 
cannot imagine the Democratic leader would rather hold up the power-
sharing agreement than simply reaffirm that his side won't be breaking 
this standing rule of the Senate.
  I appreciate our ongoing, good-faith discussions and look forward to 
finding the solution together.
  Our side takes a great deal of pride in the accomplishments that 
three consecutive Republican Senates have delivered for the American 
people.
  In 2014, our majority was elected to check and balance the last years 
of a lameduck Presidency.
  In 2016, we were reelected to help ignite a real, all-American 
economic comeback, rebuild and modernize our military, and fight for 
the forgotten corners of our country. Together with the Trump 
administration and a Republican House, we did just that.
  In 2018, we were rehired again on those strong results, especially 
the historic job market for American workers and our commitment to the 
judiciary.
  And now, even as voters chose President Biden for the White House, 
they simultaneously shrunk Democrats' House majority and elected this 
evenly divided Senate.
  The 2020 election was as far from a sweeping mandate for ideological 
transformation as any election we have seen in modern history. The 
American people stunned the so-called experts with the number of 
Republicans they sent to the House and to the Senate to make sure 
commonsense conservative values have a powerful say in the government.
  So our side is ready to share ideas and work with the Biden 
administration, applying common sense to find common ground for the 
common good. But if and when our Democratic friends depart from common 
sense, when they retreat from common ground or their proposals harm the 
common good, then we will use the power the American people have given 
us to push for what we think is right.
  On the Biden administration's very first day, it took several big 
steps in the wrong direction. The President reentered the failed Paris 
climate agreement, a terrible bargain that would set us up to self-
inflict major economic pain on working American families with no 
assurance that China or Russia would honor their commitments. In fact, 
the United States has already been reducing carbon emissions, while 
China and other nations in the agreement have kept increasing theirs. 
Rejoining will just set us up to kill American jobs while our 
competitors continue to roar on by.
  The President also unilaterally canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline. 
The day-one priority was to kill thousands of American jobs, including 
union jobs, disappoint our strong ally Canada, and reverse some of our 
progress toward energy security. This is a project that the liberal 
Canadian Government and Prime Minister Trudeau support--an investment 
in North American energy. Even the Obama State Department concluded it 
would not harm the climate. But because canceling the pipeline project 
just feels like the green thing to do, the new administration killed 
all these jobs. This was not the day one the American workers deserved.
  The new administration has also sketched out a massive proposal for 
blanket amnesty that would gut enforcement of American laws while 
creating huge new incentives for people to rush here illegally at the 
same time. This kind of failed approach will invite another 
humanitarian crisis on our border and privilege powerful interests 
ahead of American workers.
  For all the talk about norms within government, last night brought a 
truly unprecedented move at the National Labor Relations Board. The 
President fired the Board's independent general counsel almost a year 
before the end of his term. Even leftwing activists called the 
unprecedented move ``aggressive.''
  Now, it is still early. There is still plenty of time for President 
Biden to remember that he does not owe his election to the far left. 
The President can and should refocus his administration on creating 
good-paying American jobs, not sacrificing our people's livelihoods to 
liberal symbolism. Senate Republicans will be ready, willing, and eager 
to help make that happen.

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